Intentional & Unintentional Socialization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Intentional & Unintentional Socialization - Essay Example This affect the person’s development of how their self-concept, how they feel, how they think, and how they act. Hence, socialization may be intentional and unintentional. Intentional socialization is the acquiring of social experience which is done on purpose. This happens â€Å"when adults have certain values that they consistently convey explicitly to the child, and when they back these up with approval for compliance and negative consequences for noncompliance† (Berns). Take for an instance the potty training that a child receives. Reminding the child continuously on how to use the toilet for urination and defecation makes the child aware that there is a proper place to do it. Another example is an adult reminding the child on not talking to strangers. The consistent reminder will let the child learn that it is not proper to talk to a person that you do not know because that person may hurt him or her. Also, an adult reminding a child to brush his teeth three times a day gives the child the impression of the importance of oral hygiene. The negative reinforcement of hitting or embarrassing the child when he/she did not do it right or giving positive reinforcement when he did it right makes it easier for him to remember these. On the other hand, unintentional socialization is acquired more as â€Å"the product of involvement in human interaction or observation† (Berns). For example, when a child sees his parents fighting, he might take it as if it is okay to shout at each other during a conversation. Another instance is that when a child sees that an adult smokes frequently, he may perceive smoking as good for the health. Moreover, the child will have the instinct to do it when he reaches the same age. Also, if a child is the only girl born in the family, she might have the tendency to resemble the look of his boy siblings, choosing more loose pair of jeans and clothes. So to say, the development of human personality is influenced

Supervalu Company Analysis Essay Example for Free

Supervalu Company Analysis Essay One company that may provide investors such an opportunity is Supervalu, Inc. Supervalu is an Eden Prairie, Minnesota based retail supermarket chain that has experienced sharp drop in the value of their share over the past several years. The company has committed itself to a turn-around by replacing Wayne Sales with Sam Duncan as CEO. Duncan followed his appointment as CEO by shuffling the top management deck and bringing in a new president in charge of Save-A-Lot, the companies most important subsidiary. All this was done with the ultimate aim of speeding up the turnaround. The company is also trimming down with layoffs and selling some of its well known brand to investment group Cerberus Capital (Anderson, 2013). 2. Overview of Supervalu Supervalu is an American retail giant. It has been in business for more than a century. With over 130,000 employees, it is the third largest food retail company in the United States (after Kroger and Safeway), and ranks number seventy five on the 2012 Fortune 500 list of America’s largest companies (Forbes, 2012). On June 2nd 2006, the company announced the purchase of Boise, Idaho based Albertsons, Inc and all of its 1,124 stores. The Supermarket News magazine’s ranking of â€Å"Top Wholesalers for 2008† put Supervalu at the very top of the list (Supermarket News, 2008). The company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 1967. The company’s mission is served by operations consisting principally of grocery and pharmacy operations with a total of 2,432 stores with the firm also offering supply chain services for smaller retailers, serving over 4,300 retailers (Supervalu, 2012). The retail operations are supported by 22 distribution centers, and the wholesale distribution is supported by nine distribution centers, the latter of which also supply company owned stores. The company benefits from a solid level of diversification with a number of different brands targeting different markets, including Acme, Albertsons and Shop ‘n Save brands. The company owns 1,102 traditional food retail stores, as well as 397 hard discount stores trading under the Save-A-Lot brand name (Supervalu, 2012). In addition the company also licenses the Save-A-Lot brand to 935 independent operators. With what seems to be a successful operation, the company however still faces a number of uphill battles with the last three years reporting significant losses and extreme pressure from competitors. In 2012 CEO Craig Hackert in charge since 2009 was replaced by company chairman Wayne Sales. A move that saw a sharp drop in share prices was met eight months later with Sales’ own firing and replacement with newcomer Sam Duncan in January of this year with the aim of accelerating the company’s turnaround. There have been significant problems including massive losses and decline in revenue production. Measures are now being taken to limit losses, slash cost and regain sales, including the sale of non-profitable brands as well as a shakeup in top management as discussed earlier. However, issues such as high levels of debt, a low level of equity and difficult trading conditions may persist for some time. In order to assess the organization as a potential investment, it is necessary to look at the financial analysis. 3. Financial Analysis Companies produce annual reports designed with the shareholder as the primary audience. The annual reports which are published using the standard format present the performance of the organization in the preceding 12 month period. The annual reports the 10-K in the United States – are overseen by an auditor to ensure that they reflect a true and honest picture of the company and are compiled in line with the required account standards. It should however be noted that financial reports may sometimes be rife with misleading information as was the case in recent years with Enron and WorldCom. However, for the purpose of this project, it is assumed that there are no potential misstatements. 4. 1 Summary of Statements All figures presented will be in millions of US dollars when examining the different financial statements – unless otherwise specified with the exception of per-share numbers. All figures for Supervalu, Inc. , have been extracted from the 10-k for the financial year ending February 2011 and 2012. Where industry comparisons are made, these have been taken from relevant ratio pages on MSN Money. 4. 2. 1 Income Statement The income statement, which can be found in appendix 1 is also called the Consolidated Statement of Earnings and shows that the financial year which ended on February 25th 2012 (a 52-week year) saw net sales of $36,100. This represented a deep in revenues on the previous two years as the 2011 net sales was $37,534 and the 2010 net sales was $40,597. Since 2010 the company has seen an 11. 0 percentage point decline in revenues. Some downward movement in revenue was however expected as a result of the divestments that occurred in mid to late 2011. The gross profit for the year 2012 was $8,019 which is a gross profit margin of 22. 1%. However the company saw a loss in operating profit of $519, primarily the result of high cost on intangible assets. 2012’s operating profit was still a lower loss in operating profit compared to 2011 when it was $976 and a gain of $1,201 in 2010. Net earnings are shown on the income statement. For the sake of accounting, net earnings may be presente d before or after taxes. Since Supervalu is experiencing an adverse financial climate and took advantage of a negative tax payment in 2010 and 2011, this paper will utilize the definition of net earnings as being earnings after tax. After provisions for income taxes were factored in, the company showed a loss of $1,040 or -2. 88% in net earnings in 2012. It must however be noted that this number represents an improvement on the previous year when net earnings registered a -4. 02% loss at $1,510. In 2012 there was a loss of $43. 91 per share in net earnings. This number is however an improvement from 2011 when the net loss per share was $7. 13 . It should be noted that these changes are not influences by the weighted average of outstanding share which stood at 212 million (Supervalu, 2012). The income statement highlights a company in some serious difficulties; however the numbers show encouraging signs of a rebound to better times in 2010. 3. 1. 2Balance Sheet The balance sheet referenced in Appendix 2 defines the company’s position in terms of assets and liabilities. The company experienced a drop in the value of its assets in 2012, however there was also a decrease in total liabilities overall. Current assets generally calculated as having an economic shelf life of 12 months or less fell steadily from 2010 ($3,711) to 2011 ($3,420) and 2012 ($3,225). This decline can be seen across all asset categories. Long-term assets also declined to $12,053 representing a 12. 39% drop in value. Measures to cut cost and control debt are starting to take hold as the level of current liabilities has declined year to year since 2010. The long term liabilities of the companies on the other hand have seen an upward tick with total liabilities rising from $11,524 in 2011 to $12,032 in 2012. Important to investors is the decline in the level of equity within the organization. This has gone down from $2,887 in 2010 to $1,340 in 2011 and just $21 in 2012. The balance sheet continues to paint a picture of current gloom face the organization in the near term. 3. 1. 3 Cash Flow Statement The cash flow statement in Appendix 3 shows $157 in cash and cash equivalents in hand at the end of 2012. This represented a decline in the previous two years of $211 in 2010 and $172 in 2011. This represents a gradual but consistent drop in cash and cash equivalents of the company. Significant impacts are the losses carried over into cash flow which amounted to $1,040 for 2012 and $1,510 for 2011. The net effect is a reduction in the amount of cash provided for operating activities. It is important to make note of the fact that while the company has engaged in disposing of some assets, there have also been new investment resulting in overall net investing of $484 in 2012 and $227 in 2011. Cash flow from financing activities was also negative with $291 raised from the issuance of long-term debt, but this is counteracted with $798 payment of long-term debt and capital lease obligations. This results in net cash outflow from financing activities of $587. However, this is a decline on the previous year of $975. 3. 1. 4Statement of Owners Equity The consolidated statement of stockholders equity found in Appendix 4shows the balance of equity over a period of four years, 2009-2012. The statement shows that the position of common stock has not changed, with a total of $230. The capital in excess of par has only change very slightly from $2,853 in 2009 to $2,855 in 2012. The major factor of the equity level is a deficit which resulted in a negative balance of -$1,892 at the end of 2012. When added with other accumulated losses results in a total shareholder equity in the firm of $21. This is a notable change compared to 2009 when the total balance of equity was $2,581. . 1 Ratio Analysis Ratio analysis can be used here to explore the financial position of the firm and the way in which it is performing by analyzing internal performance as well as providing a benchmark for comparison with the industry. This section puts forward some ratio analysis calculations and makes comparisons with industry averages where available. 3. 2. 1 L iquidity Liquidity is an important measure companies facing hard times. It measures the firm’s ability to survive in the short term and meet its current financial obligations (Libby et al, 2010). The current ratio and the quick ratio are the two main measure of liquidity also known as the acid test. The current ratio measures the firm’s ability to use current assets to settle current liabilities. In the case of Supervalu, there are insufficient assets available to pay current liabilities. This is however not unusual as like in many industries with rapid cash flow, a relatively low current ratio may be acceptable based on expected cash flow. Supervalu is therefore not necessarily showing any signs of mounting distress with the current ratio at 0. 0 as shown in table 1. The industry average is slightly higher, however this difference may be indicative of better use of capital – although it could also indicate cash flow issues. Table [ 1 ]: Current ratio Current ratio| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Current assets| 3,711| 3,420| 3,225|   | Current liabilities| 4,167| 3,786| 3,590|   | Current ratio| 0. 89| 0. 90| 0. 90| 1. 1| (Supervalu figures are extracted from Supervalu Inc. 10-K. Industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012). The quick ratio is another way to evaluate liquidity within a company. The idea behind this is that an organization may not be able to realize the full value of its inventory if they are required to liquidate inventory in order to pay current liabilities. Calculations for the quick ratio are similar to the current ratio minus inventory value which is deducted from the total current assets as can be seen in Table 2. Table 2: Quick ratio Quick ratio| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Current assets| 3,711| 3,420| 3,225|   | Inventory| 2,342| 2,270| 2,150|   | Net current assets| 1,369| 1,150| 1,075|   | Current liabilities| 4,167| 3,786| 3,590|   | Quick ratio| 0. 3| 0. 30| 0. 30| 0. 7| (Supervalu figures are taken from Supervalu, Inc. 10K. Industry figures are taken from Microsoft Money, 2012) 3. 2. 2Asset Management The company’s ability to manage assets will be a key deciding factor in its return to profitability. Measures of asset management include return on assets and return on equity. For Supervalu, the return on assets shows a sligh t improvement in 2012 at -8. 06% compared to -10. 00% in 2011. Table [ 3 ]: Return on assets Return on Assets| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Net income| 393| -1510| -1040|   | Total assets| 16436| 13758| 12053|   | Return on assets| 2. 31%| -10. 00%| -8. 06%| 6. 80%| (Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K, industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012) The return on equity is poor. While the actual loss has declined in 2012, the phenomenal change in the return on equity showing large losses is the results of adjustments that followed the steep decline in the level of equity. Table [ 4 ]: Return on equity Return on Equity| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Net income| 393| -1,510| -1,040|   | Equity| 2,887| 1,340| 21|   | Return on equity| 13. 60%| -112. 69%| -4952. 38%| 15. 5%| (Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K, industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012) The return on equity may not be enough to make an assessment of management’s use of assets. An alternative measure will be asset turnover (Libby et al, 2010). This analyzes the way in which assets are used to generate revenue. It will show how many times assets have been turned over in a given year. Supervalu seems to be improving efficiency in terms of utilization. They turned over assets equivalent to 2. 8 times in 2012 which was an increase from the previous two years (2. 9 times in 2011 and 2. 39 times in 2010). Looking at this in terms of industry context where the average is 2. 4 times, Supervalu appears to be improving efficiency which is positive for recovery. 3. 2. 3Debt Management The company’s debt equity ratio seems to spell doom for the future. This ratio measures the proportion of debt to equity. Compared to the industry average of 1. 03 shown in table 5 Table 5: Return on equity Debt to equity ratio| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Total debt|   | 11,524| 12,032|   | Total equity|   | 1,340| 21|   | Debt/Equity|   | 8. 6| 572. 95| 1. 03| Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K, industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012) Another measurement of debt management is the debt ratio. Supervalu’s debt ratio show s that it is in a delicate position with the majority of assets being funded by debt. Many companies have gone through similar issues due to losses in equity but have rebounded as was the case with auto maker General Motors. These numbers do not therefore signify an inability for Supervalu to rebound. 3. 2. 4 Profitability An important measure of viability is the profitability of the organization. There are various measures of profit, however in this report I shall focus on net profit margin. This is the level of profit that remains after all cost has been deducted. In this report, I shall utilize the measure after interest and taxes. As can be seen on table 6, the company is slowly digging itself out of a low point in 2011 when the net profit margin was negative 4. 02%. However in an industry where the average is 3. 24%, it is obvious the organization has a long way to go. Table 5: Return on equity Net profit margin| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Revenue (Net sales)| 40,597| 37,534| 36,100|   | Net profit| 393| -1,510| -1,040|   | Net profit margin| 0. 96%| -4. 02%| -2. 88%| 3. 24%| (Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K, industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012) 3. 2. 5Market Value There are a number of different measures of market value, the most common of which is the price earnings ratio. This is a measure that assesses Harold company will take to earn is total capitalization. However, as Supervalu is making a loss this ratio is not relevant and cannot be calculated. To assess market value a measure which may be utilized are the earnings per share. The earnings per share are shown in table 10, and are a measure of the profit, or loss, the company makes attributed to each share outstanding. As expected, this is in line with the net profit margin in table 5, with the earnings per share being -$4. 91 in 2012 falling from -$7. 12 in 2011. Table 6: Return on equity Earnings per share| 2010| 2011| 2012| Net profit| 393| -1,510| -1,040| Average share out| 213| 212| 212| Net profit margin| 1. 84%| -7. 12%| -4. 91%| (Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K 3. Competitors Supervalu is widely considered the third largest supermarket chain in the country. Its main industry peers are  Safeway, Kroger, and  Whole Food Market. Supervalu generated a steady gross margin of 22. 21% in 2012 and 22. 41% in 2011. However, the company is a loss-maker and it produced negative earnings in the previous year. Safeway, Kroger and Whole Food Market generated operating margins of 2. 37%, 1. 61%, and 6. 36%, respectively. It is clear from these gross margin numbers that the grocery industry has very slim operating margins on sales. Table 7: Competitor Analysis Figure in Million| Net Income| Long term D/E| Operating Margin %| Supervalu| -1244| Very High| -2. 1| Kroger| 728| 1. 8| 1. 61| Whole Food Market| 465| 0. 001| 6. 36| Safeway| 523| 2. 3| 2. 37| (Competitor results taken from Finviz. com) It also seems that Supervalu continued to struggle with insufficient growth in its operating activities in the last quarter of 2012. The corporations operating income fell for fiscal 2012. Furthermore, Supervalu is susceptible to financial leverage as it took on a new $2. 5 billion of debt in the third quarter of 2012 (Boehme, 2012). Supervalu needs to continue to reduce its operational cost in order to record positive results. 4. Conclusion The shedding of 877 grocery stores in a $3. 3 billion dollar deal with Cerberus Management LP in the first quarter of this year seems to have been a sign of a new and positive beginning (Dezember, 2013). The company’s stock has been one of the top performers this year; contradictory for a company still drowning in debt and declining sales. However the market has a positive outlook on the company. Since January 1st this year, shared of the company have gained a solid 133%. Supervalu closed the first day of trading this year at $2. 60 and ended the last week trading at $5. 26. Thanks to these positive numbers, both Fitch and Moody’s have upgraded their ratings on the company from negative to stable which has been a boost to investor confidence. The reduction in non-performing assets is expected to continue to improve the stability of the company. With less exposure to market volatility, the company should be able to rebound and even thrive. Decreasing the debt level will boost the balance sheet and future net revenues. 5. Recommendation Although the bullish run of Supervalu which started early this year continues, the company still has a long way to go in its quest to recover. Therefore the subjective recommendation of this report will be to hold. Based on the company’s current trend, it is very likely that within the next year the company will show even more positive signs of improvement and therefore warrant a change to a buy recommendation. If the organization is able to make a recovery it will be in a very strong position in the market as the number three grocer that also benefits from a large wholesaler and supply chain management operation. References Anderson, Jake, (January 10th 2013), Supervalu to Sell 5 Chains in $3. 3B Deal, Replace CEO. Retrieved April 13th 2013 from http://tcbmag. om/News/Recent-News/2013/January/Supervalu-to-Sell-5-Chains-in-$3-3B-Deal,-Replace Patton, Leslie, (July 30th 2012), Supervalu Names Wayne Sales CEO Amid Strategic Review. Retrieved April 13th 2013 from http://www. bloomberg. com/news/2012-07-30/supervalu-names-sales-chief-executive-officer-to-replace-herkert. html Forbes Inc. (2012), Fortune 500 List of Best Companies (2012). Retrieved April 13th 2013 from http://money. cnn. com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2012/full_list/ Supermarket News (2008, SN Top Wholesalers for 2008. Retrieved April 17th 2013 from http://supermarketnews. om/top-75-retailers-amp-wholesalers/sn-top-wholesalers-2008 Supervalu, (2012). About Supervalu. retrieved April 13th 2013 from http://www. supervalu. com/sv-webapp/about/about. jsp Boehme, Kate, (September 16th 2012), Can Supervalu Survive Its Debt? Retrieved April 18th 2013 from http://seekingalpha. com/article/869491-can-supervalu-survive-its-debt Dezember, Ryan and Hudson, Kris (January 10th 2012), Property Is Plum in Supervalu Deal. Retrieved April 18th 2013 from http://online. wsj. com/article/SB10001424127887324581504578233411904827872. html

Stress In The Medical Field Psychology Essay

Stress In The Medical Field Psychology Essay Problems of stress in various professions have attracted the attention of psychologists of different directions for a long time. A big majority of classical studies have shown that prolonged stress exposure leads to such adverse effects as the decrease in overall mental stability of the organism, the emergence of dissatisfaction of its activities, the tendency to reject assignments in situations of increased requirements, setbacks and defeats. Analysis of the factors that cause similar symptoms in different activities shows that there is a number of professions in which a person begins to feel self emotionally drained by the internal need for continuous contact with other people. It is a well-known fact that the medical profession like any other is related to interpersonal interaction, so timely diagnosis and correction of such violations are highly relevant to doctors and nurses. Thus, we are going to discuss stress in the medical field combining its impact on professional doctors a ctivities and personal lives. First of all, the interest in occupational stress in doctors is provoked by general trend towards the humanization of modern science, which is reflected in a wide variety of industries from the theory of management teams, to the fundamental philosophical epistemology and methodology of science. One manifestation of this trend is attracting the attention of researchers to the subject of professional activity, in particular the effect of chosen occupation on the nature and character of the person. Another reason for interest in this problem is the tightening of requirements for the professionals of different profiles and requirements tempo and rhythm of a modern lifestyle. The requirements for representatives of the so-called helping professions need additional attention, because their psycho-physiological state directly influences the effectiveness of their professional activities, whose importance in contemporary society can hardly be overestimated. In particular, studying of this problem in the annex to the medical staff is the question of extremely high importance, because exactly a human life is often the possible price of any mistake in their activities. Thus, the group of observation is doctors who provide mental, urgent, or palliative care and doctors in hospices. In psychology under the term stress we should understand the mental stress that occurs in humans under the influence of complicated, difficult, unfortunate circumstances of activities and daily life, or in special, extreme situations. As the stressors (the factors leading to the rise of human stress in short-term, and to the development of severe, long-lasting experiences) can be adverse physical effects of environmental emergencies, physical and psychological trauma, etc. Mental stress that arises under the influence of stressors may be a useful adaptive significance, mobilizing people to overcome difficulties. This phenomenon, for example, is well known to athletes or actors, prestarting excitement which serves as a setting for the upcoming activities. However, if stress is too high because of the intensity of exposure or its unexpectedness, human resources may be insufficient to cope with stress, and it begins to have a destructive effect on the person until the appearance of physiological disorders and complete disorganization of human life. Observing stress factors among doctors in hospices we see that exactly among people of this occupation the problem of occupational stress acutely announced itself at the present time, because in the modern post-industrial society, peoples attitude to work is changing at a pace that does not come across any previous generation. In developed countries, especially today, when the economic crisis continues, workers are increasingly losing confidence in the stability of their own social and material status, warranty in the workplace, and material well-being. Competition for the prestigious and highly paid job is rather high nowadays. On the one hand, parallel processes are taking a narrow specialization in the profession, and on the other hand the globalization of related industries is popular. Demand of the labor market is changing rapidly and facing some difficulties, one can not fully realize the accumulated energy due to physiological stress. As a result this energy begins to destroy human character and soul. In this case, instead of completely normal stress reactions the organism begins to literally tear apart the mechanisms of distress, when the energy can not be realized in constructive activities. As a consequence, a mental, emotional stress associated with stress in the workplace increases. People find in their behavior symptoms of revealed anxiety, depression, emotional burnout syndrome, psychosomatic disorders and other malfunctions. It leads to growing dependence on psychoactive substances, including alcohol, tranquilizers and other psychotropic substances. Thus, the data presented in Dollard, Winefield Winefield work shows that 81,4 % of examined doctors, 85,9% of nurses and 79,8% of medical students use alcohol. Also 33,3% of surveyed students regularly drink beer and other alcoholic drinks. (Dollard, Winefield Winefield, 2003). Thinking about the future of medical students and according to Levey we see that medical students are inundated with stress from the start of their medical training as they attempt to adjust to lifestyle changes and increasing hassles incurred by the demands of medical education. Characteristics commonly associated with medical training and identified as situational or professional stressors include: variable hour shifts, sleep deprivation, cumbersome administrative responsibilities, poor administrative support, and curriculum overload (Levey, 2001). Dollard, Winefield Winefield stated that Additional characteristics are: perceived lack of professional knowledge and skills, health care policy changes, difficult patients, patient care, life and death situations, and unexpected shill in academic performance. Further stressors mentioned in the literature include family responsibilities, incurring financial debt, decreased chances for social, leisure, or physical activities, decreased s upport network due to relocation, cultural and minority issues, and inadequate coping skills (Dollard, Winefield Winefield, 2003). The interest for the topic of stress in the medical field was provoked by Wicks words who wrote in the foreword for his own book, describing the appearance of stress and hardships of medical profession, the following: Who among us has not identified with the young leukemia patient who is refractory to treatment and scared to death, or the midcareer professional deeply unresponsive and too young to have had this massive stroke, or parents trying to absorb into their consciousness the sudden accidental death of a child? Instead of the afflicteds Why me? the caregivers frightened imponderable becomes Why not me? What roll of the dice, what act of fate, what divine intervention preserves me from any one of these circumstances? What makes it possible for physicians and nurses to confront these patients and circumstances day after day with caring and therapeutic resolve and to walk the balance beam between the paralyzing fear of their own mortality and the numbness of emotional disengageme nt or indifference? And while the hospital environment is the epicenter of personal exposure, the reminders are distributed ones day from office visits with patients to telephone calls with distraught family members. In each encounter, we see ourselves separated from our patients circumstances by the luck of the draw but believe at a subconscious level that we are somehow protected. Its like wearing a Red Cross arm badge in the battlefield. (Wicks, 2006) This phrase deeply impacts on people who work in the medical field and we can say with confidence that the structure of clinical manifestations of occupational stress among specialists of the helping professions (so-called emotional burnout) includes different features that bring together this phenomenon with the number of traditional mental (such as asthenic neurosis), and psychosomatic disorders. This state of affairs suggests the presence of etiopathogenetic structure of occupational stress in psychological level, playing almost the leading role in the origin and development of this phenomenon. WHO European Ministerial Conference (2005) noted that the stress associated with work, is an important issue for about one-third of workers in the European Union. The cost of solving problems related to mental health in this context includes in average 3-4% of gross national income of developed countries (Wicks, 2006). Observing literature about stress in medical field it was found that among physicians (as it was mentioned above the focus group for this project is doctors in hospices) as among other health professionals, there is a higher incidence of mental disorders compared with the averages in the population, and it is generally considered that it is connected with the peculiarities of the medical profession. In 1997, one of the issues of the journal Advances in Psychiatric Treatment was devoted to the overall theme of mental disorders among physicians with an emphasis on phenomenology and treatment. Interviewing Dr. Thomas, who is the doctor in hospice it was found that stress greatly influences not only professional life, but also personal life of any doctor. Dr. Thomas stated that often the patients life depends on the timely receipt of adequate medical care for high-quality rendering of which the doctor of hospice requires self-discipline, high level of concentration and clarity of action. The need for rapid decision-making under tough time constraints and information leads to long-term emotional suspense and, as a consequence, the development of stress. Dr. Thomas also mentioned during the interview that among health care workers professionals who are most distinguished by a heightened sense of responsibility, willingness to always come to the aid for the patient, the desire to be important, the desire to provide psychological support, a high degree of moral duty to the patient and the desire to conform to certain ethical-deontological requirements, experiences about their professional competence are in the group of risk for the stress development. While making the research of stress in the medical field it was found that according to British researchers as it was stated by Levey, in 41% of the cases among general practitioners high levels of anxiety are revealed, and clinically evident depression is present in 26% of cases. (Levey, 2001). The third part of doctors use medication for correction of emotional stress, and the amount of alcohol use exceeds the average level. According to Wicks stress is provoked by three types of factors in the big majority of cases (Wicks, 2006). In such situation personal role and organizational factors have the leading place in the medical field. Personal factor. It describes burning doctors as sympathetic, humane, gentle, fond, idealists, people-oriented, and at the dame time unstable, introverted, obsessed by fixed ideas, fiery and easily identifying themselves personalities. Role factor. The relationship between the role conflict, role ambiguity and emotional burnout was observed many decades ago. Wicks stated that employment in the case of a clear division of responsibility limit the development of stress in the medical field (Wicks, 2006). Moreover, doctors who feel fuzzy or uneven distribution of responsibility for their professional actions, understand that this factor increases sharply, even at much lower workload. Organizational factor. The main organizational factors that contribute to stress burnout include: high workload, lack or absence of social support from colleagues and management, insufficient remuneration for work, a high degree of uncertainty in assessing the work performed; inability to influence decision-making process; ambiguous requirements for the work; the constant risk of penalties, monotonous and unpromising activities, the need to outwardly show emotion, that is not conform to reality, lack of holidays, vacations and interests outside of the own medical profession. It is also necessary to mention that among the other important factors in the development of stress are the destabilizing organization of activities and unfavorable psychological atmosphere in the team. Making the accent on the development of stress among doctors of hospice we should mention that high medical pressure, twenty-four-hour regimen with the mandatory duty, the expectation of complications in the condition of patients require a high functional activity of the organism and can be qualified as the leading professional pathogenic factors. In addition, an aggravating effect on the health of workers has the contact with dying patients when the health worker does not see the positive results of the own efforts to save the patient and often feels his own weakness. As a result there can be mentioned developing brain disorders in the form of neurosis, hypertension, stenocardia, ulcers of the gastrointestinal tract and other health problems. It is obvious that professional activities often have an adverse impact on individuals that leads to depression. The greater medical workload lead to the fact that health care worker experiences less pleasure from the process of his own work. Exceeding regulatory number of patients, a large amount of clerical work-design, low technical equipment of the workplace and the permanent shortage of drugs also contribute to the manifestations of fatigue and nervousness. From the ergonomic factors doctors in the hospice often observe eye strain, overload of the musculoskeletal system. Thinking about the way how stress in the medical field relates to culture it is possible to say that the recent radical changes in society have an additional psychological burden on the medical staff, since society needs the higher quality workers in a much shorter time since economic restrictions are providing health services. Innovation activities of health care institutions is focused on the practical use of scientific and technical results and intellectual capacity to expand the range of services, methods for their production, to improve quality of care and meet patients needs for high quality medical services, and ultimately to optimize the level of health among population. The most part of health professionals who work in an innovative environment, have long working hours, overtime, associated with combining positions or additional training workload (training, development of new methods of diagnosis and treatment). Intensification of professional activities affects the health, helping to increase the level of overall incidence and prevalence of chronic diseases. In addition to the above observed facts Dr. Thomas stated that people working in health care facilities are often subjected to considerable personal stress They have problems in the private life because they cannot show their feelings to other people and have the predominant feature of the medical profession to deny the problems related to personal health. Due to the research work in the medical field we can state that among doctors in hospice there is a widespread idea that the stress at work is like a failure and doctors own weakness. Thats why stress calls denials based on the feeling of guilt and leads to the fact that doctors have many difficulties in admitting of the existence of these problems, respectively, it is difficult to share and solve them timely. Thinking about the negative impact of stress on the work of any doctor we should pay the specific attention to the fact that development of this state contributes to certain personality traits a high level of emotional lability (neuroticism), high self control, especially when expressing negative emotions with the desire to suppress them, the rationalization of the motives of personal behavior, a tendency to increased anxiety and depressive reactions associated with unattainability of internal standard and blocking negative emotions, rigid personality structure. The paradox is that the ability of health care workers to deny their own negative emotions can sometimes be a power in their hands, but often it becomes their weakness. Therefore it is useful to remember that we are always a part of our problem, or part of their solutions is always in our mind. Thus, the fieldwork shows that the syndrome of burnout is accompanied by the daily, routine professional work, often requiring from physicians a sufficiently intense, not spontaneous, unimportantly conflict, but for different reasons emotionally intense communication with patients, and therefore it is not associated with its extreme conditions. So, it becomes clear why frequency and intensity of this syndrome are much higher among oncologists and doctors in hospice than among surgeons or traumatologists. It is impossible to leave without attention the fact that the restriction of the possibility of using existing personal potential, the monotony of work, a high degree of uncertainty in the assessment of the work, dissatisfaction with social status are noted among the characteristics of communicative professions that have a significant impact on the development of stress. And only after the above numerated factors physicians emphasized that they considered low pay and poor working conditions as stress factors, considering them important, but not leading, as it often seems to be the sources of occupational stress in health care workers. Conformity / fail capabilities of professional in the medical field and social conditions of his activities lie in the focus of the problem of occupational stress. Therefore, this issue was explored in complex of specialist communication profession and its social environment. Emotional infectiousness burnout syndrome, which also emphasizes its social nature plays also an important role in the discussion of the information in this project. In conclusion, stress in the medical field and occupational stress in its wide sense are not the problem of difficult people, but the problem of difficult (unsolved) cases in the relationship and structure of interpersonal relations, fuzzy symbols of social roles and responsibilities, lack of emotional support from counterparts and leaders.

Revolution in France, Latin America, and British North America :: Peasuasive Argumentative History Essays

Revolution in France, Latin America, and British North America One possible definition of a revolution is "an act of organized violence to bring about radical changes in the economic, social and political relations within a given system. It uses force to destroy (sometimes physically) and replace those who hold power." Using this definition, can the events on France, Latin America and British North America in the period 1776-1820 be considered revolutions? Are some more revolutionary than others? Many changes occurred during the 19th century with the industrial revolution. The revolution, if we can call it that, started in Britain with the introduction of new machinery that substituted man power. These new machineries, first in the textile industry and then in others, were used in factories to create mass productions, of textiles in the case of the textile industry. This new ability to create mass production of textiles very quickly and with the quality of the most expensive textile in the market, created great changes, not only in Britain, but also in other countries. The prices of textiles drop drastically, which made is possible for poor people to afford it. This was a very good change, since people had the chance to live life with a little more comfort. Another positive effect of the industrial revolution in Britain, is that the newly created factories created a lot of jobs. This jobs gave a new opportunity for farmer; they began to think of themselves differently, and many of them did move to the city, to take a job in a factory. Like any change in life, the industrial revolution also had negative effects. A shortage of food was one of these negative effects. The people that moved to the city lost the ability to feed themselves, and the few farmers who stayed barely produced enough to feed their families, so there was place to get enough food to feed all those workers. Housing was another growing problem in Britain. The cities in Britain developed fast, specially the working class neighborhood which were constructed for factory workers to live in because they could not afford anything else. However, this development could not keep up with the increase in population, so very quickly the working neighborhoods became overcrowded, and then extremely overcrowded. The living conditions of the working class in the cities decayed as fast, or even faster as the population increased.

Describe the attitude and values underlining beliefs of Mr Briggs and Mrs Kay in text 23 ‘Our day Out’

Text 23 is taken from ‘our day out' by Willy Russel. In the text it describes of a school trip where a class of students are taken on a day out. Two of the main teachers in the text Mr Briggs and Mrs Kay have conflicting ideas on the purpose of the trip. They also believe differently about the education of the children and the reality of their situation. The children are less interested in learning and more interested in enjoying their day out much to the dislike of Mr Briggs. Mr Briggs believes that even though the students are on a school trip they should still behave in an orderly fashion and that they should be learning at the same time as behaving themselves. Mr Briggs has much more stricter views and ideas on how a school trips should be conducted. Mrs Kay realises and is very aware that none of the children are interested in anything other than enjoying themselves and since the children are, in her words, ‘rejects since the day they came into the world' so what is the point in trying to make them learn. When Mrs Kay makes these views clear, Mr Briggs is horrified even though he most likely knows its true. The main difference between Mr Briggs and Mrs Kay is that Mrs Kay has accepted the truth that these children haven't learnt and aren't going to start on there big day out. Mrs Kay has much more realistic values and beliefs such as, it's too late for teaching the children anything and they aren't interested. In her opinion the children should at least enjoy there one day out they have although Mr Briggs thinks much more differently. She hides truths from the children so they are not disheartened such as when a girl asks her whether one day she could own a nice house she basically says you might do instead of being pessimistic like maybe Briggs might have been if asked a similar question. The attitudes of Mrs Kay and Mr Briggs are hugely different. Mr Briggs is constantly ignoring the fact that the children don't want to learn and in Mrs Kay's opinion it's too late for that now. In some ways Mr Briggs still believes that the children can be educated either that or he is just kidding himself. Throughout the text Mr Briggs is constantly trying to show his authority over everyone claiming â€Å"I was sent by the headmaster to supervise this trip†. Mrs Kay has a different attitude towards the children. She knows that they are troublesome but claims its too late for the children and that no one will teach them because no-one knows what to do with them. She also mentions that what the children are good for, or would have been good for, she uses the term ‘factory fodder' but mentions that the factories have closed down so what future do the children have. Overall Mr Briggs and Mrs Kay have totally different opinions and beliefs about the children. Ideally Briggs would like to see the children behaving and trying to learn but as both Mr Briggs and Mrs Kay knows it wont happen. Whereas Mrs Kay is more realistic and is looking out for the children's enjoyment instead of further making there lives a misery.

10 Fascinating Facts About Cockroaches

10 Fascinating Facts About Cockroaches Nobody wants to see a cockroach scurrying under the fridge when flipping on the light switch. These creatures arent exactly revered. Entomologists know otherwise, though; these insects are actually rather cool. Here are 10 fascinating facts about cockroaches that just might persuade you to think differently about them. 1. Most Species Are Not Pests What image do you conjure up when you hear the word cockroach? For most people, its a dark, dirty city apartment teeming with cockroaches. In truth, very few cockroach species inhabit human dwellings. We know of some 4,000 species of cockroaches on the planet, most of which inhabit forests, caves, burrows, or brush.  Only about 30 species like to live where people do. In the U.S., the two most common species are the German cockroach, known as  Blattella germanica, and the American cockroach,  Periplaneta americana. 2. Cockroaches Are Scavengers Most roaches prefer sugar and other sweets, but they will eat just about anything: glue, grease, soap, wallpaper paste, leather, bookbindings, even hair. And cockroaches can survive a remarkably long time without food. Some species can go as long as six weeks without a meal. In nature, cockroaches provide an important service by consuming organic waste. As with houseflies, when cockroaches take up residence among humans, they can become vehicles for spreading diseases as they scuttle about the home. Feeding on waste, trash, and food, they leave germs and droppings in their wake. 3. Theyve Been Around For a Long Time If you could travel back to the Jurassic period and walk among the dinosaurs, you would easily recognize the cockroaches crawling under logs and stones in prehistoric forests. The modern cockroach first came to be about 200 million years ago. Primitive roaches appeared even earlier, about 350 million years ago, during the Carboniferous period. The fossil record shows that Paleozoic roaches had an external ovipositor, a trait that disappeared during the Mesozoic era. 4. Cockroaches Like to Be Touched Roaches are thigmotropic, meaning they like feeling something solid in contact with their bodies, preferably on all sides. They seek out cracks and crevices, squeezing into spaces that offer them the comfort of a tight fit. The small German cockroach can fit into a crack as thin as a dime, while the larger American cockroach will squeeze into a space no thicker than a quarter. Even a pregnant female can manage a crevice as thin as two stacked nickels. Cockroaches are also social creatures, preferring to live in multigenerational nests that can range from a few bugs to several dozen. In fact, according to research, cockroaches that dont share the company of others can become ill or unable to mate. 5. They Lay Eggs, Lots of Them Mama cockroach protects her eggs by enveloping them in a thick protective case, called an ootheca. German cockroaches may encase as many as 40 eggs in one ootheca, while the larger American roaches average about 14 eggs per capsule. A female cockroach can produce multiple egg cases over her lifetime. In some species, the mother will carry the ootheca with her until the eggs are ready to hatch. In others, the female will drop the ootheca or attach it to a substrate. 6. Roaches Love Bacteria For millions of years, cockroaches have carried on a symbiotic relationship with special bacteria called Bacteroides. These bacteria live within special cells called mycetocytes and are passed down to new generations of cockroaches by their mothers. In exchange for living a life of relative comfort inside the cockroachs fatty tissue, the Bacteroides manufacture all the vitamins and amino acids the cockroach needs to live. 7. Cockroaches Dont Need Heads to Survive Lop the head off a roach, and a week or two later it will still respond to stimuli by wiggling its legs. Why? Surprisingly, its head isnt all that important to how a cockroach functions. Cockroaches have open circulatory systems, so as long as the wound clots normally, they arent prone to bleeding out. Their respiration occurs via spiracles along the sides of the body. Eventually, the headless cockroach will either dehydrate or succumb to mold. 8. Theyre Fast Cockroaches detect approaching threats by sensing changes in air currents. The fastest start time clocked by a cockroach was just 8.2 milliseconds after it sensed a puff of air on its rear end. Once all six legs are in motion, a cockroach can sprint at speeds of 80 centimeters per second, or about 1.7 miles per hour. And theyre elusive, too, with the ability to turn on a dime while in full stride. 9. Tropical Roaches Are Big Most domestic roaches dont come close to the size of their giant, tropical cousins. Megaloblatta longipennis boasts a wingspan of 7 inches. The Australian rhinoceros cockroach,  Macropanesthia rhinoceros,  measures about 3 inches and can weigh 1 ounce or more. The giant cave cricket, Blaberus giganteus, is even larger, reaching 4 inches at maturity.   10. Cockroaches Can Be Trained Makoto Mizunami and Hidehiro Watanabe, two scientists at Japans Tohoku University, found cockroaches could be conditioned much like dogs. They introduced the scent of vanilla or peppermint just before giving the roaches a sugary treat. Eventually, the cockroaches would drool when their antennae detected one of these scents in the air. More Crazy Cockroach Facts Its often been said that cockroaches are so hardy that they can survive a nuclear explosion. Although the bugs can survive levels of radiation that would kill a human being within minutes, higher levels of exposure can be deadly. In one experiment, cockroaches were exposed to 10,000 rads of radiation, about the same amount as the nuclear bombs dropped on Japan during World War II. Only about 10 percent of the test subjects survived. These hardly bugs can also hold their breath for 4 to 7 minutes at a time. Scientists arent sure why cockroaches do this, but researchers in Australia say it may be in order to preserve moisture in dry climates. They can also survive for several minutes under water, though exposure to hot water can kill them. Sources: BBC editors. Cockroaches. BBC.co.uk. October 2014.Sampaolo, Marco, et al. Cockroaches. Brittanica.com. 14 September 2014.Walker, Matt. Why Cockroaches Need Their Friends. BBC.co.uk. 2 May 2012.Willis, Bill. Separating Fact from Fiction: Cockroach Myths and Misconceptions. National Institutes of Health. 1 February 2017.

Samuel Johnsons Dictionary of the English Language

Samuel Johnsons Dictionary of the English Language On April 15, 1755, Samuel Johnson published his two-volume Dictionary of the English Language. It wasnt the first English dictionary (more than 20 had appeared over the preceding two centuries), but in many ways, it was the most remarkable. As modern lexicographer Robert Burchfield has observed, In the whole tradition of English language and literature the only dictionary compiled by a writer of the first rank is that of Dr. Johnson. Unsuccessful as a schoolmaster in his hometown of Lichfield, Staffordshire (the few students he had were put off by his oddities of manner and uncouth gesticulationsmost likely the effects of Tourette syndrome), Johnson moved to London in 1737 to make a living as an author and editor. After a decade spent writing for magazines and struggling with debt, he accepted an invitation from bookseller Robert Dodsley to compile a definitive dictionary of the English language. Dodsley solicited the patronage of the Earl of Chesterfield, offered to publicize the dictionary in his various periodicals, and agreed to pay Johnson the considerable sum of 1,500 guineas in installments. What should every logophile know about Johnsons Dictionary? Here are a few starting points. Johnson's Ambitions In his Plan of a Dictionary of the English Language, published in August 1747, Johnson announced his ambition to rationalize spellings, trace etymologies, offer guidance on pronunciation, and preserve the purity, and ascertain the meaning of our English idiom. Preservation and standardization were primary goals: [O]ne great end of this undertaking, Johnson wrote, is to fix the English language.As Henry Hitchings notes in his book Defining the World (2006), With time, Johnsons conservatism- the desire to fix the language- gave way to a radical awareness of languages mutability. But from the outset, the impulse to standardize and straighten English out was in competition with the belief that one should chronicle whats there, and not just what one would like to see. Johnson's Labors In other European countries around this time, dictionaries had been assembled by large committees. The 40 immortals who made up the Acadà ©mie franà §aise took 55 years to produce their French  Dictionnaire. The Florentine Accademia della Crusca labored 30 years on its Vocabolario. In contrast, working with just six assistants (and never more than four at a time), Johnson completed his dictionary in about eight years. Unabridged and Abridged Editions Weighing in at roughly 20 pounds, the first edition of Johnsons Dictionary ran to 2,300 pages and contained 42,773 entries. Extravagantly priced at 4 pounds, 10 shillings, it sold only a few thousand copies in its first decade. Far more successful was the 10-shilling abridged version published in 1756, which was superseded in the 1790s by a best-selling miniature version (the equivalent of a modern paperback). Its this miniature edition of Johnsons Dictionary that Becky Sharpe tossed out of a carriage window in Thackerays Vanity Fair (1847). The Quotations Johnsons most significant innovation was to include quotations (well over 100,000 of them from more than 500 authors) to illustrate the words he defined as well as provide tidbits of wisdom along the way. Textual accuracy, it appears, was never a major concern: if a quotation lacked felicity or didnt quite serve Johnsons purpose, hed alter it. The Definitions The most commonly cited definitions in Johnsons Dictionary tend to be quirky and polysyllabic: rust is defined as the red desquamation of old iron; cough is a convulsion of the lungs, vellicated by some sharp serosity; network is any thing reticulated or decussated, at equal distances, with interstices between the intersections. In truth, many of Johnsons definitions are admirably straightforward and succinct. Rant, for instance, is defined as high sounding language unsupported by dignity of thought, and hope is an expectation indulged with pleasure. Rude Words Though Johnson omitted certain words for reasons of propriety, he did admit a number of vulgar phrases, including  bum, fart, piss, and turd. (When Johnson was complimented by two ladies for having left out naughty words, he is alleged to have replied, What, my dears! Then you have been looking for them?) He also provided a delightful selection of verbal curios (such as belly-god, one who makes a god of his belly, and amatorculist, a little insignificant lover) as well as insults, including fopdoodle (a fool; an insignificant wretch), bedpresser (a heavy lazy fellow), and pricklouse (a word of contempt for a tailor). Barbarisms Johnson didnt hesitate to pass judgment on words he considered socially unacceptable. On his list of  barbarisms were such familiar words as budge, con, gambler, ignoramus, shabby, trait, and volunteer (used as a verb). And Johnson could be opinionated in other ways, as in his famous (though not original) definition of oats: a grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people. Meanings Not surprisingly, some of the words in Johnsons Dictionary have undergone a change in meaning since the 18th century. For example, in Johnsons time a cruise was a small cup, a high-flier was someone who carries his opinions to extravagance, a recipe was a medical prescription, and a urinator was a diver; one who searches under water. Lessons Learned In the preface to A Dictionary of the English Language, Johnson acknowledged that his optimistic plan to fix the language had been thwarted by the ever-changing nature of language itself: Those who have been persuaded to think well of my design, require that it should fix our language, and put a stop to those alterations which time and chance have hitherto been suffered to make in it without opposition. With this consequence I will confess that I flattered myself for a while; but now begin to fear that I have indulged expectation which neither reason nor experience can justify. When we see men grow old and die at a certain time one after another, from century to century, we laugh at the elixir that promises to prolong life to a thousand years; and with equal justice may the lexicographer be derided, who being able to produce no example of a nation that has preserved their words and phrases from mutability, shall imagine that his dictionary can embalm his language, and secure it from corruption and decay, that it is in his power to change sublunary nature, or clear the world at once from folly, vanity, and affectation. Ultimately Johnson concluded that his early aspirations reflected the dreams of a poet doomed at last to wake a lexicographer. But of course Samuel Johnson was more than a dictionary maker; he was, as Burchfield noted, a writer and editor of the first rank. Among his other notable works are a travel book, A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland; an eight-volume edition of The Plays of William Shakespeare; the fable Rasselas (written in a week to help pay his mothers medical expenses); The Lives of the English Poets; and hundreds of essays and poems. Nonetheless, Johnsons Dictionary stands as an enduring achievement. More than any other dictionary, Hitching says, it abounds with stories, arcane information, home truths, snippets of trivia, and lost myths. It is, in short, a treasure house. Fortunately, we can now visit this treasure house online. Graduate student Brandi Besalke has begun uploading a searchable version of the first edition of Johnsons Dictionary at johnsonsdictionaryonline.com. Also, the sixth edition (1785) is available in a variety of formats at the Internet Archive. To learn more about Samuel Johnson and his Dictionary, pick up a copy of Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr. Johnsons Dictionary by Henry Hitchings (Picador, 2006). Other books of interest include Jonathon Greens Chasing the Sun: Dictionary Makers and the Dictionaries They Made (Henry Holt, 1996); The Making of Johnsons Dictionary, 1746-1773 by Allen Reddick (Cambridge University Press, 1990); and Samuel Johnson: A Life by David Nokes (Henry Holt, 2009).

Free Essays on Over And Out

Muscles, axes, water and CPR; all these will be needed to survive a fire, treat injuries or other vital functions. Firefighting is a job that protects the public by rapidly responding to a variety of emergencies in hazardous conditions at irregular hours. Because of the dangerous encounters, it requires organization, and precise teamwork. My interest in this profession is the nature of the work, benefits, and a typical day as a hero. Firefighters are usually the first assistance to an accident, a house fire or simply a 911 call. They are the total package, all services in one emergency unit. Most calls responded to by the fire crew involve some type of medical assistance. All firefighters must be certified as emergency medical technicians. This knowledge comes in handy while busting threw smoked filled buildings or scrambling threw wreckage at an accident. At the scene of a crisis each fighter has a duty assigned to them by a superior officer, whether it would be to position the ladder, connect the hose or to enter the site on foot. All these duties must be done to have success as a team. Firefighters spend most of there time at the fire station performing mandatory labor on equipment or brushing up on their skills. Crews also conduct practice drills, fire inspections, and participating in physical fitness activities. Hours for a firefighter are not like a regular job. Most crews work 50 hours a week, working 24 hours then having 48 hours off. Qualifications to become a firefighter include: written test, test of strength and physical stamina, coordination and agility; and a medical examination that includes drug screening. Applicants can be accepted at the age 18 with a high school education. Workers will then train for several weeks; if successful you will then be assigned to a fire station and start a period of probation. Soon after becoming a firefighter you may obtain higher positions such as an Engineer or a fire captain... Free Essays on Over And Out Free Essays on Over And Out Muscles, axes, water and CPR; all these will be needed to survive a fire, treat injuries or other vital functions. Firefighting is a job that protects the public by rapidly responding to a variety of emergencies in hazardous conditions at irregular hours. Because of the dangerous encounters, it requires organization, and precise teamwork. My interest in this profession is the nature of the work, benefits, and a typical day as a hero. Firefighters are usually the first assistance to an accident, a house fire or simply a 911 call. They are the total package, all services in one emergency unit. Most calls responded to by the fire crew involve some type of medical assistance. All firefighters must be certified as emergency medical technicians. This knowledge comes in handy while busting threw smoked filled buildings or scrambling threw wreckage at an accident. At the scene of a crisis each fighter has a duty assigned to them by a superior officer, whether it would be to position the ladder, connect the hose or to enter the site on foot. All these duties must be done to have success as a team. Firefighters spend most of there time at the fire station performing mandatory labor on equipment or brushing up on their skills. Crews also conduct practice drills, fire inspections, and participating in physical fitness activities. Hours for a firefighter are not like a regular job. Most crews work 50 hours a week, working 24 hours then having 48 hours off. Qualifications to become a firefighter include: written test, test of strength and physical stamina, coordination and agility; and a medical examination that includes drug screening. Applicants can be accepted at the age 18 with a high school education. Workers will then train for several weeks; if successful you will then be assigned to a fire station and start a period of probation. Soon after becoming a firefighter you may obtain higher positions such as an Engineer or a fire captain...

Good Grocers, Inc Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Good Grocers, Inc - Research Paper Example The settlement may provide a cheaper alternative than court proceedings. August, Mayer & Bixby (2013) are of the assumption that court proceedings may dent the publicity of an organization if the plaintiff presents a believable argument. The organization should seek for an outside court settlement as a public relation strategy (August, Mayer & Bixby, 2013). In this case, Ms. Greene requires to be provided with benefits that are offered to employees who work on a part-time basis. The new demand would require more than the $15 per hour wage. In addition, she will be provided with additional incentives that are not provided with contractors. However, before she can be granted the request, the terms and conditions of her contract should be reviewed. If Ms. Greene knew what her contract entailed, she cannot alter the terms of the product. Emerson (2009) asserts that an employee contract binds their relationship with their employer. They further point out that the terms on a contract can only be changed when it is necessary (Emerson, 2009). In this instance, it is not necessary. The store has enough employees, and Ms. Greene supplements the three days her services are

Precursers to WWII and Non-Germany Contributors to the Prosecution of Essay

Precursers to WWII and Non-Germany Contributors to the Prosecution of Jews - Essay Example In the aftermath of the First World War serious unrest in Europe grew, especially revanchist and irredentist nationalism. Under the Treaty of Versailles German Empire lost over 10 per cent of its pre-war territory as well as all of its overseas possessions. Furthermore limits were imposed upon the size of German army. During the period of Weimar republic domestic civil conflict took place in Germany involving both nationalists and reactionaries against moderate democrats and communists. In the aftermath of World War I concerns about anti-Semitism rose throughout Europe. By late 1928 European states were legislating immigration that sometimes prevented Jews from entering their territories. Moreover some of the newly established European states viewed ethnic Jewish immigrants as a menace to their stability. Due to the large number of Jews among bolshevist leadership some European politicians feared that Jews arriving to their countries from the east would smuggle revolutionary spirits with them. The rise to power of National Socialists in Germany in 1933 gave another powerful impetus for growing Zionist support as well as immigration to British-controlled Palestine. The long held non-Zionist and assimilationist view that Jews might live safely as minorities within European societies was seriously undermined, since Germany had been regarded before as the state in which Jews had been successfully integrated. With almost all other states closed to immigration a new wave of Jewish immigrants rushed for Palestine. Those who could not pay the due fees for immediate entry joined British waiting lists. It is worth to mention that the British did really contributed much into committing genocide against European Jewry during World War II. In 1939 they issued the o-called White Paper. That document declared that the Jewish National Home had already been established so all of their obligations under the mandate had already been fulfilled. Further migration was viewed as harm ful to Palestinian Arabs. Only 10,000 Jewish migrants were allowed to arrive to Palestine each year from 1939 to 1944. Moreover Jewish migration was supposed to require consent of the Arab majority in Palestine. Palestinians were promised independence by 1949. Furthermore the British restricted Jews’ land purchases. Being preoccupied with securing Arabian support for British war efforts against the counties of the Axis while the latter’s propaganda was targeting Muslim world. As a result Palestinian Zionists increasingly viewed Great Britain as their enemy. Having contributed much into the catastrophe of European Jewry they by no means may be blamed for killing Jews. This notwithstanding Nazi Germany was not the only power responsible for killing 6 million of them. Germany’s allies are also responsible for crimes against humanity perpetrated during World War II. As a result of 1938 Munich treaty prewar Czechoslovakian Republic was dissolved and the puppet Slovak Republic was proclaimed in March 1939. Two years later Slovakian parliament passed the so-called Jewish Code which followed notorious Nuremberg Law of Nazi Germany. Slovakian Code required that Jews were to

Occupational Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Occupational Performance - Essay Example It also tries to explain why the impairment could cause difficulties and the consequences for the individuals of these difficulties and finds ways in which these difficulties might be reduced or overcome. Occupational performance can be defined as the ability of a person to perform tasks for the purpose of carrying out her/his occupational roles in a satisfying manner. The importance of analyzing functional performance is of crucial importance to occupational therapy. The assessment of an individual's / group or populations' level of functioning is very important in planning an occupational therapy for an individual. Occupational therapists take into account the many types of occupations humans might engage, sort them into categories called 'areas of occupation' Let's look at the various performance roles first: Occupational performance roles are patterns of behavior in different kinds of occupation in ones daily life i.e. self-maintenance, productivity, leisure and rest. The roles are determined by individual's physical, mental and spiritual conditions and her/his relationship with external environment. Biomechanical components refer to the operation and interaction of and between physical structures of the body during task performance. This can include range of motion, muscle strength, grasp, muscular and cardiovascular endurance, circulation, elimination of body waste. From the perspective of the task or sub-task, this component refers to the biomechanical attributes of the task; for example, size, weight, dimension and location of objects. Sensory-Motor Performance Component refers to the operation and interaction of and between sensory input and motor responses of the body during task performance. Cognitive Performance Component: refers to the operation and interaction of and between mental processes used during task performance. Intrapersonal Performance Component: refers to the operation and interaction of and between internal psychological processes used during task performance. Interpersonal Performance Component refers to the continuing and changing interaction between a person and others during task performance that contributes to the development of the individual as a participant in society. Elements of Occupational Performance are the body, mind and spirit. The Occupational Performance Model (Australia) acknowledges that together these core elements of human existence form the human body, the human brain, the human mind, the human consciousness of self and the human awareness of the universe (Popper, 1981) Body Element: The tangible physical components of human structure consists the body element. Mind Element: the basic intellectual component of an individual is called the Mind element Spirit Element: is defined loosely as that aspect of humans which seeks a sense of harmony within self and between self, nature, others and in some cases an ultimate other; seeks an existing mystery to life; inner conviction; hope and meaning.As stated earlier the areas on which occupational performances are observed are Self-maintenance, productivity, leisure and rest. Self-Maintenance Occupations are regular tasks and sub-tasks done by an

Database Design and data security breeches Essay - 1

Database Design and data security breeches - Essay Example The information with de-identified status can be given to the researcher. This is the information that gives details about a particular group off patients but cannot be narrowed to a specific patient. Such information is exempted from the HIPAA regulations since it is in a general format (Wilson, 2010). Such information do not have any hint of that links the information to a particular patient, such as contacts, names, job number, geographical information, official documents, account number, e-mail and medical record number. The current rules and regulation governing health information is HIPAA. This stands for health insurance portability and accountability act. The laws were put in place in the year 1996 by the congress. The rules are meant to give the mandate to transfer and link health insurance coverage and reduce heath information abuse and fraud. It also give rules on the confidentiality and protection of health information. Giving access to the restricted areas has to involve some consultations first with the senior administrators. Later the researcher is given access using MySQL 5.1 version which can access different databases. The privileges to be accorded to the academic researcher include being allowed to be a member of the data reader so that he or she can access the data easily. The database system should only avail the information needed by the researcher. Other information should be kept private. The SQL statement used should be able to sort the data according to the limited privileges. Such statements include GRANT PRIVILEGE_NAME option. Creation of restricted views of the data are to be created using SQL. The statement retrieves the information that can be accessed by any user. The user name specifies the type of information that is being given. For this case, the user can read and modify (Andrews, 2012). The department of health of Utah had their system accessed and personal information stolen. This is where a hacker made the figures

Phosphoaspirin (MDC-43) a novel benzyl ester of aspirin, inhibits the Essay

Phosphoaspirin (MDC-43) a novel benzyl ester of aspirin, inhibits the growth of human cancer cells - Essay Example This study by Zhao, Mackenzie, Murray, Zhang, and Rigas (2009) aims to observe the anticancer activity and mechanism of the new phosphoaspirin (MDC-43). For the purpose of this study, several reagents were purchased, or gifted, from different pharmacological companies. Cell cultures were grown in the laboratory in line with the American Type Culture Collection instructions. The trypan blue exclusion method was used to measure the cell viability and growth. Moreover, the cell cycles were analyzed following standard PI protocols (Zhao, Mackenzie, Murray, Zhang, and Rigas 2009, p. 512). Human cancer cells derived from colon, pancreas, breast, liver and lung were used in this study; these are some of the major and most common forms of cancer and account for around â€Å"54% of all new cases of cancer in the USA† (Zhao, Mackenzie, Murray, Zhang, and Rigas 2009, p. 517). All cell lines that were studied showed that Phosphoaspirin was more powerful than aspirin in preventing cancer cell growth (Zhao, Mackenzie, Murray, Zhang, and Rigas 2009, p. 513). Moreover, phosphoaspirin was also shown to stimulate the creation of reactive oxygen species (Zhao, Mackenzie, Murray, Zhang, and Rigas 2009, p. 514). The study also observed that phosphoaspirin had an inverse effect on thiol levels in the cells, and produced intrinsic apoptosis (Zhao, Mackenzie, Murray, Zhang, and Rigas 2009, p. 514-516). Furthermore, the phosphoaspirin also increased cell signaling in some cells, however, the effect was limited to protein activation alone (Zhao, Mackenzie, Murray, Zhang, and Rigas 2009, p. 516). The data collected by the study clearly demonstrated that phosphoaspirin has a strong reduction effect on human cancer cells. Moreover, the effect is stronger than that of aspirin, as well as being more generalized. The strength of phosphoaspirin was found to be more uniformly superior to ordinary aspirin; however, no reason

Investing in Enterprise Project Management Essay

Investing in Enterprise Project Management - Essay Example Investing in Enterprise project management helps business organizations integrate different computer interconnected applications connected to a computer-based environment in a workplace setting. This website is a renowned provider of cloud-based and on-premise project portfolio management solutions aimed at enhancing operational excellence, financial performance, and strategy execution across the enterprise. Oracle operates from a single vendor to supply quality in-class solutions that enhance the environments in all major project portfolio management. This website explores a program in its portfolio project management solutions known as the Primavera. It states that Primavera is a proven provider of portfolio project management solutions that is critical in the management of capital projects in industries that are assent-intensive in nature. The Website indicates that Primavera accomplishes the PPM by addressing both the EPC contractor and the owner of the capital projects environment. The website indicates that Oracle Primavera helps in the scheduling, planning controlling and executing individual projects and large-scale capital projects. Oracle Primavera also tracks progress and allocates best resources, as well as balancing the capacity of the resources. The website also indicates that Oracle Primavera helps in fostering collaboration among the project teams, visualizes and monitors the performance of the project versus plan. The Oracle Primavera also helps in implementing governance for the management of change process in the Enterprise. It is also noted in the website that Oracle Primavera integrates with human capital management and financial management systems. The website also indicates that it the program called Instantis Enterprise Track helps in the optimization of resource investments and optimization of IT projects across the enterprise. The Instantis Enterprise

Database Design and data security breeches Essay - 1

Database Design and data security breeches - Essay Example The information with de-identified status can be given to the researcher. This is the information that gives details about a particular group off patients but cannot be narrowed to a specific patient. Such information is exempted from the HIPAA regulations since it is in a general format (Wilson, 2010). Such information do not have any hint of that links the information to a particular patient, such as contacts, names, job number, geographical information, official documents, account number, e-mail and medical record number. The current rules and regulation governing health information is HIPAA. This stands for health insurance portability and accountability act. The laws were put in place in the year 1996 by the congress. The rules are meant to give the mandate to transfer and link health insurance coverage and reduce heath information abuse and fraud. It also give rules on the confidentiality and protection of health information. Giving access to the restricted areas has to involve some consultations first with the senior administrators. Later the researcher is given access using MySQL 5.1 version which can access different databases. The privileges to be accorded to the academic researcher include being allowed to be a member of the data reader so that he or she can access the data easily. The database system should only avail the information needed by the researcher. Other information should be kept private. The SQL statement used should be able to sort the data according to the limited privileges. Such statements include GRANT PRIVILEGE_NAME option. Creation of restricted views of the data are to be created using SQL. The statement retrieves the information that can be accessed by any user. The user name specifies the type of information that is being given. For this case, the user can read and modify (Andrews, 2012). The department of health of Utah had their system accessed and personal information stolen. This is where a hacker made the figures

Investing in Enterprise Project Management Essay

Investing in Enterprise Project Management - Essay Example Investing in Enterprise project management helps business organizations integrate different computer interconnected applications connected to a computer-based environment in a workplace setting. This website is a renowned provider of cloud-based and on-premise project portfolio management solutions aimed at enhancing operational excellence, financial performance, and strategy execution across the enterprise. Oracle operates from a single vendor to supply quality in-class solutions that enhance the environments in all major project portfolio management. This website explores a program in its portfolio project management solutions known as the Primavera. It states that Primavera is a proven provider of portfolio project management solutions that is critical in the management of capital projects in industries that are assent-intensive in nature. The Website indicates that Primavera accomplishes the PPM by addressing both the EPC contractor and the owner of the capital projects environment. The website indicates that Oracle Primavera helps in the scheduling, planning controlling and executing individual projects and large-scale capital projects. Oracle Primavera also tracks progress and allocates best resources, as well as balancing the capacity of the resources. The website also indicates that Oracle Primavera helps in fostering collaboration among the project teams, visualizes and monitors the performance of the project versus plan. The Oracle Primavera also helps in implementing governance for the management of change process in the Enterprise. It is also noted in the website that Oracle Primavera integrates with human capital management and financial management systems. The website also indicates that it the program called Instantis Enterprise Track helps in the optimization of resource investments and optimization of IT projects across the enterprise. The Instantis Enterprise

The French Revolution Essay Example for Free

The French Revolution Essay The French Revolution signaled the end of the monarchy as a form of government in France. From the ousting, trial and execution of Louis XVI, it appalled all of the European nations and got them thinking how to prevent it. This work aims to gain perspective and give fruitful insight on this unfortunate monarch. The revolution was fueled mainly by basic necessity: food. Bread shortages were a normal occurrence and the government appeared to be helpless to solve it. Compounding the issue was the royal treasury was almost depleted and the king and his court were living in opulence. A lot of things could have gone differently. â€Å"Louis also had a strong desire to be loved by his people and considered himself to be their benevolent father. This idea was almost certainly a factor in explaining why Louis did not simply crush the French Revolution in its early years. While the opportunity certainly presented itself, Louis simply did not have the stomach for it. †1 Benevolence might have its uses but remember the age old adage, â€Å"Spare the rod and spoil the child. † A father needs to be both stern and loving in raising children in order to differentiate right from wrong. The king in general appeared to be a simple man. â€Å"This was not for lack of education: he was the first French monarch who spoke fluent English, and nourished philosophers of the Enlightenment. He sought to divorce himself from the royally authoritarian image of Louis XIV. To do this, he tried to develop an image for himself as a simple man, an image more in keeping with that of the enlightened despots of Europe, like Frederick II of Prussia. †2 In keeping with his goal for simplicity then he should not have publicized the lavishness of his parties in Versailles. These are some facets we can consider and debate but the fact of the matter is that it could have been avoided. Although there were so many variables which could have changed the outcome, there were signals like the desire for a new constitution and assemblage or the women’s march on Versailles. Things could have been handled differently like preparing a feast for the women’s march or moving court to Paris instead of appearing to be forced after numerous demands. We need to keep an eye out for the warning signs and focus on prevention. Reference List 1. Andress, David (2006). The Terror: The Merciless War for Freedom in Revolutionary France page 13. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006. ISBN 0-374-27341-3 2. Article on Louis XVI from Wikipedia (2008) retrieved 10 March 2008 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Louis_XVI

Saliva: Functions, Composition and Chemistry

Saliva: Functions, Composition and Chemistry 1-3 Saliva 1-3-1 Secretion and function; The components of saliva essentialy are produced by acinar cells. Saliva is the main product of the salivary glands. It is an acidic, clear, slightly mucoserous exocrine fluid forming a complex mixture of secretions from major and minor salivary glands and gingival crevicular fluid (Humphrey and Williamson, 2001; Kaufman and Lamster, 2002). This mixture of fluids derived from different salivary glands is termed ‘‘whole saliva’’, while the fluid which is secreted by single glands is called ‘‘duct saliva’’ (Edgar, 1992). The constant flow of saliva from the mouth into the gut has a protective action. This flushing effect push, for example, food debris and exogenous and possibly noxious substances into the gut (Tenovuo, 1998). Saliva is an organic fluid that can indicate local and systemic alterations, such that the components of saliva can be related to the immunologic, hormonal, neurologic, metabolic and nutritional state of the individual (Carlson, 2000). Saliva is derived from many types of salivary glands. Each type of salivary gland secretes saliva with composition ,characteristics and properties. The secretions from these different glands have been shown to be different considerably, to be affected by different forms of stimulation and to be complex in composition, time of day, age, diet ,gender, several pharmacological agents and a variety of disease states (Forde et al., 2006; Wong, 2007). 1-3-2 Salivary Composition Saliva is a clear, slightly acidic (pH 6-7) liquid; it consist of: Inorganic components The highest and abundant component in saliva is water (approximately 99%), followed by ions H2PO4–, F–, Na+, Cl– Ca2+, K+, HCO3–,I–, Mg2+, thiocyanate. The ionic composition of saliva is different from the plasma that derived from it. (Humphrey and Williamson, 2001). The hypotonicity hydrates various organic compounds that form a protective coating on the oral mucosa and facilitates taste sensitivity. Resultant bicarbonate act as a buffering agent, also calcium and phosphate neutralize acids that would otherwise inhibit tooth mineral integrity (Humphrey and Williamson, 2001; Van Nieuw Amerongen et al., 2004). Organic components Saliva includes a huge number of organic compounds such as: glucose, cholesterol, urea, uric acid, , fatty acids, mono–, di–, and triglycerides, phosphor and neutral lipids, steroid hormones, glycolipids, amino acids, ammonia and proteins that aid in the protection of oral cavity tissues, including mucins, amylases, agglutinins, glycoproteins, lysozymes, peroxidases, lactoferrin and secretory IgA. It also includes of non-immune factors include cystatins, mucin G1 and G2, lactoferrin, lysozyme, defensins, myeloperoxidase and histatins, (Hicks et al., 2004; Kavanagh and Dowd, 2004; De Smet and Contreras, 2005; Dodds et al., 2005). In addition, these macromolecules form tooth enamel pellicle and a viscoelastic mucosal coat and and cleanse and aggregate debris and bacteria from the oral cavity (Heramia, 2002). Saliva contains growth factors and a variety of antimicrobial constituents (Shugars and Wahl, 1998).There is a strong relationship between functions-constituents of saliva and a number of salivary proteins participate in more than one function. Function of saliva are: mastication, digestion, deglutition, defense (spiting and oxidative stress), protective (antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral activity, lubricant and buffering agent), drug testing, water balance, excretion, chemical communication (kissing or infant salivating) ,speaking, denture retention, tasting, (Greabu, 2001; Battino et al., 2002; Pesce and Spitalnik, 2007; Wong, 2007; Zimmermenn et al., 2007). There is a fact that saliva has been used as diagnostic fluid for more than two thousand years. Ancient doctors of traditional Chinese medicine h ave suggested that blood and saliva are ‘brothers’ in the body and they come from the same origin. It is believed that salivary changes are indicative of the wellness of the patient. Saliva offers some distinctive advantages (Tabak, 2001; Kaufman and Lamster, 2002; Forde et al., 2006; Koka et al., 2006; Pesce and Spitalnik, 2007). Smaller sample aliquots, the possibility of a dynamic study, stress free, greater sensitivity, easy collection procedure and non- invasive, a good cooperation with patients, the possibility to collection somewhere and anywhere, not a trained technician and no special equipment are needed for collection, correlation with levels in blood, potentially valuable for older adults and children , could eliminate the potential risk of contracting infectious disease for both a technician and the patient, more accurate than blood for detection of many oral and systemic diseases, may provide a cost-effective approach for the screening of large populations. Advances in the use of saliva as a diagnostic fluid have been affected by current technological developments: enzyme-linked fluorescence technique, Western blot assays, polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Saliva is one of the most important host factors that play a role in prevention of the caries process through its inorganic and organic constituents, besides the physiological functions. The continuous flow of saliva through the mouth removes cariogenic challenges and bathes the dentition with remineralizing ions (Edgar et al., 2005; Fejerskov and Kidd, 2008; Guy, 2012). For that reason saliva plays an important role in the equilibrium between the demineralization and the remineralization of enamel (Choi, 2010). 1-3-3 Diagnostic uses of saliva Saliva is critical for maintaining and preserving the health of oral tissues and has been used to eliminate of many drugs and as a source of non-invasive investigation of metabolism . However, it receives little attention until its quantity diminishes or its quality becomes altered (Axelsson, 2000; Humphrey and Williamson, 2001; Tabak, 2001; Malamud, 2006). At present, saliva represents an increasingly useful auxiliary means of diagnosis (Malamud, 2006). Many researchers have made use of sialochemistry and sialometry to monitoring general health, diagnose systemic illnesses and as an indicator of risk for diseases creating a close relation between systemic and oral health (Gonzà ¡lez and Sà ¡nches, 2003). Recently , saliva has gained attention as an important diagnostic fluid just as for blood and urine. It is now obviuos that saliva contains the same of many biomolecules that are commonly measured in other body fluids. As an example, approximately, 30% of the proteins which found in saliva are also found in blood improving the diagnostic potential of saliva. Saliva tests give us an advantages and preferable in comparison to blood tests due to simple collection being inexpensiv, noninvasive, simple, and with minimal risk of contracting infectious organisms such as HCV, HPV and HIV by the healthcare professional. In addition saliva is an ideal biofluid for children because of no compliances (Pfaffe et al., 2011). Saliva is a plasma ultra filtrate and contains proteins either derived from blood or synthesized in situ in the salivary glands. It contains biomarkers derived from gingival crevicular fluid, mucosal transudate and serum,. Saliva is produced in the acinar cells and acinar cells are connected to the vasculature which enables molecular transportation from blood into saliva. Salivary components may originate entirely from the salivary glands or may be derived from the blood by active transport or passive diffusion (Aps and Martens, 2005). To date, researchers have identified 2, 340 proteins in saliva (Bandhakavi et al., 2009; Schulz and Cooper, 2012). Saliva resembles the plasma proteome in amanner that proteome has a large dynamic range and it is essential to suppress this dynamic range in order to enable low abundant proteins of diagnostic potential. 1-4 Smoking and changes in saliva that can be used diagnostically: It has been known for long time that thiocyanate level are increased in the saliva of smokers and still used as a biomarker of smoking activity (tsuge et al., 2000). Because of thiocyanate is a product present in tobacco smoke, it is also measures the exposure to passive smoking (Ferguson, 1998). Determining the concentration of nicotine and cotinine in biological fluids is widely used in both clinical and epidemiological smoking studies (Hatsukami et al., 2003). Both nicotine and cotinine concentrations are used to measure tobacco consumption, to validate abstinence in smoking cessation programmes and to determine exposure to environmental smoke (Hatsukami et al., 2003). Nicotine, when smoked in cigarettes is absorbed across nasal and buccal membranes. The drug has a rapid onset of action with a half-life of 2 h and can be detected in saliva, urine and blood (Hatsukami et al., 2003). As nicotine is present mainly in the non-ionised form in alkaline pH and it is a weak base (pKa of 8.0), and hence more easily absorbed with increased levels of pH (Ciolino et al., 2001). Thus, salivary pH changes will affect the amount of nicotine that is absorbed across the buccal mucosa (Zevin et al., 1998). Cotinine, the main metabolite of nicotine, is used widely for estimating exposure to nicotine. This pharmacologically inactive compound has a half-life of 20 h (15 40 h), is slowly cleared from the body and it is important to know that Cotinine is specific to tobacco (Hatsukami et al., 2003; Patterson et al., 2003). Urinary levels of cotinine have been shown to be quite variable, because of the differences in nicotine metabolism among individuals (Yang et al., 2001). Generally, cotinine levels depend of degree of exposure to ETS. increased cotinine levels were predictors of an Increased number of cigarettes smoked at home (Mannino et al., 2001). The study in adolescents in Tenerife established correlation between the degree of ETS exposure and cotinine levels in saliva . The highest values noticed in active smokers who smoked at least more than ten cigarettes daily, was 341.1 ng/mL. The smokers who smoked fewer number cigarettes, average value of cotinine was 142.7 ng/mL, while in passive smokers it was 4.2 ng/mL. In the same study, it is established that persistent cough , bronhospasm as well as infections of lower respiratory tract, are more frequent in adolescents with higher concentrations of cotinine (Suarez, 2001). 1-4-1 Amylases: Salivary ÃŽ ±-amylase is the first enzyme in the gastrointestinal tract for extracting caloric value from food. However, beyond the primary role of ÃŽ ±-amylase to begin digestion of sugars, carbohydrates and complex starches,. salivary ÃŽ ±-amylase is known be a important marker of stress. It has also been found that salivary ÃŽ ±-amylase may be influenced by psychological and behavioral factors and processes (Kivlighan, 2006). Human salivary amylase hydrolyses ct-I- 4 glycoside bonds in starch, yelding maltotriose, maltose, glucose and dextrins as final products. In spite of and having similar composition and immunological activity and playing the same role as pancreatic amylase (Liang et al., 1999), these enzymes have different molecular weights, catalytic properties and isoelectric points, (Liang et al., 1999). Salivary amylase exists in two families: family A is glycosylated while family B is nonglycosylated. At least six izoenzymes have been recognized (Liang et al., 1999). Although playing an important role in the initial digestion of starch (Tseng et at., 1999), the importance of salivary amylase in digestion has been shown to be minor compared to pancreatic, as people who lack it jul to show any digestive perturbations. However, salivary amylase has many important intra-oral functions such as participation in ACDP, modulation of intra-oral microflora and affimity for hydroxyapatite, (Scannapieco et al., 1995; Gong et al., 2000). The catalytic activity of salivary amylase also participate in degradation of sticky starch rich foods which are retained in dental surfaces and theft transformation in slow glucose releasing devices which may play quite a role in dental caries pathogenesis (Tseng et al., 1999). It has been suggested that amylase represent between 40 to 50% of the total protein produced by salivary gland, most of the enzyme being synthesized in the parotid gland (Noble, 2000). Human submandibular saliva and parotid saliva contain about 45 mg and 30 mg of amylase, respectively, per 100 mg of protein However, it has also been suggested that amylase makes up about 1/3 of the total protein content in parotid saliva, and the content would be lower in whole saliva (Pedersen et al., 2002). The concentration of amylase increases with the increase of salivary flow rate, and it is generally considered to be a reliable marker of serous cell function (Almstà ¥hl et al., 2001). Amylase is also present in human acquired pellicle in vivo (Yao et al., 2001). Fasting has been found to decrease whole saliva amylase levels and activity (Mà ¤kinen, 1989). The amylase concentrations has been found to be reduced in radiation-induced hyposalivation (Almstà ¥hl et al., 2001). During chewing, some starch is hydrolyzed into dextrins and glucose by salivary ÃŽ ±-amylase but the degree of hydrolysis ranges considerably (1 to 27%) depending on the type of food (Woolnough et al., 2010). variation in human salivary ÃŽ ±-amylase activity has been reported, with values ranging between 50 and 400 U.mL-1 60 (Kivela et al., 1997; Mandel et al., 2010). An indirect measure of ÃŽ ±-amylase activity, which is particularly relevant to food application (Gonzalez et al., 2002), can be obtained by measuring the decrease in viscosity of starch pastes with the addition of ÃŽ ±-amylase (Collado Corke, 1999). This assay has been used to study the relationship between sensory analysis of starch thickness perception, ÃŽ ±-amylase activity, starch paste and mechanical properties (Evans et al., 1986; de Wijk et al., 2004; Mandel et al., 2010). Furthermore, the effect of decreased starch viscosity (due to ÃŽ ±-amylase activity) affects saltiness perception (Ferry et al., 2006) and aroma release (Ferry et al., 2004; Tietz et al., 2008). Amylomaltase-treated starches were found to be particularly good fat substitutes in yoghurts and a loss of instrumentally-measured firmness thats because ÃŽ ±-amylase was reported in those systems (Alting et al., 2009). It is therefore accepted that ÃŽ ±-amylase has a significant 70 impact on a number of critical starch attributes during eating (Engelen Van Der Bilt, 2008), thickness perception being the main one. In literature reviews, there appeared to be a great variation in sensory analysis of thickness perception for the same starch-thickened food system which could be due to the natural variation of ÃŽ ±-amylase activity between donors. Recently, ÃŽ ±-amylase concentration variations in saliva has been linked to genetic differences (Mandel et al., 2010) and this was suggested as an explanation for the natural variation observed in thickness perception of starch-thickene systems. Moreover, sAA levels are influenced by numerous factors which may lead to variability among individual, thus again undermining the accuracy of sAA as a biomarker for fatigue. For instance, studies have shown that cigarette smoking decreases basal ÃŽ ±-amylase activity in saliva and that people who chronically drink alcohol have decreased levels of amylase (Rohleder and Nater, 2009). Activity of amylase was decreased in passive smokers compared to healthy group (Rezaei and Sariri 2011). Similar results have been reported by Granger et al who found lower salivary amylase activity for mothers, not for infants as a result of tobacco smoking exposure (Granger et al., 2007). The results showed also a decrease in salivary amylase smokers as compared to non-smokers were recorded by (Sariri et al., 2008). It was explained that inhibition of salivary amylase by cigarette smoke may be caused by the interaction between SH groups of the enzyme moleculesand smoke aldehydes. Moreover, the percentage of the enzymatic inhibition showed a negative correlation with the basal level of salivary reduced gluthation (GSH). Regular exposure of passive smokers to cigarette smoke may accumulate in their saliva a smoke aldehydes leading to their interaction with –SH group of amylase. Another study by Greabu et al. Concluded that exposure to cigarette smoke caused a significant decrease in salivary uric acid and amylase. (Greabu et al., 2007). 1-4-2 Proteins: Human whole saliva has a protein content of about 0.5 to 3 mg/mL, and parotid saliva has a protein content of about 0.4 to 4 mg/mL, while sublingual and submandiblar saliva of about 0.6 to 1.5 mg/mL. The protein concentration is independent from the flow rateand is rather stable, Besides maintaining buffer capacity and osmolarity, salivary proteins are also involved in several specific functions. The number of distinct salivary proteins is roughly between 100 and 140 (Wilmarth et al., 2004; Yao et al., 2003), from which 30.40 % are produced by the salivary glands, whereas other proteins are originated from serum, from mucosal and/or immune cells, or from microorganisms (Wilmarth et al., 2004). The most important proteins of glandular origin are alpha-amylase, glycoproteins with blood-group substances, cystatins, epidermal growth factor (EGF), gustin, histatins (HRPs), lactoferrine, lysozyme, mucins, salivary peroxi dase, proline-rich proteins (PRPs) and statherin. The most important serum derived proteins are albumin, alpha1-antitrypsin, blood-clotting factors (VIII; IXa; XI) and members of the fibri- nolytic system (proactivators, traces of plasminogen activator). Most important proteins that originate from immune cells are myeloperoxidase, calprotectin (Ca2+ binding L1 leukocyte pro- tein), cathepsin G, defensins, elastase, immunoglobulins (90% to 98% sIgA, 1% to 10% IgG, a few IgM, IgD, IgE). Finally, the most important protein constituents of microbial (unknown) or mixed origin are fibronectin, alpha2-macroglobulin, , DNases, RNases, kallikrein, streptococcal inhibitor, secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI), , molecular chaperone (Hsp70), and cystein peptidases. (Data are summarized in Table 1-2). The most important proteins involved in oral ecosystem maintenance are, lysozyme, agglutinins and histidine , lactoferrin, peroxidases, proline-rich proteins, as well as secretory immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulins G and M (Lià ©bana et al., 2002), Moreover, saliva contains a many types of proteins and some of them might have protective properties. Additionaly, proteins can protect the tooth structure by the formation of a salivary pellicle when tooth are exposed to saliva (Siqueira et al., 2007). This pellicle may act as a barrier for acids (Dawes, 2008). In hyposalivation, caries process and erosive wear are phenomena that occur simultaneously (Lajer et al., 2009). With respect to the development of caries it was proposed that the salivary pellicle derived from whole saliva has a preventive role (Featherstone et al., 1993). Concentration of salivary total protein did not show considerable variation in passive smokers compared to control (Rezaei and Sariri2011). A similar result was obtained for salivary protein concentration in school children with smoker parents (Granger, 2007).