Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Does the research evidence support using caesarean section for Essay

Does the exploration proof help utilizing cesarean area for lessening mother to child transmission of hepatitis C during work and birth - Essay Example y Armstrong and his associates, the frequency of Hepatitis C contamination in the US raised from zero to 44 cases for each 100,000 people before 1965. The predominance of the ailment arrived at its top in the 1980’s when the occurrence of HPV disease became 100-200 for each 100,000 people (Armstrong et al., 2000, p. 779). In spite of the fact that HCV contamination in many patients is asymptomatic, a few cases exhibit certain manifestations including jaundice, weariness, myalgia, second rate fever, right upper quadrant agony, sickness, or spewing (Moore et al., 2001, p. 658; Maheshwari et al., 2008, p. 325; Webster et al., 2009, p. 110). If not given suitable clinical consideration, hepatitis C frequently prompts liver fibrosis, liver cirrhosis, hepato-cell carcinoma, and liver harm (Vogt et al., 1999, p. 868; Moore et al., 2001; 657; Geller and Herman, 2006, p. 88) The most productive mode by which the infection is gained happens by means of rehashed and direct percutaneous presentation to tainted blood and organs from unscreened benefactors, introduction of blood using debased clinical instruments, infusion tranquilize use, and haemodialysis methods (Lavanchy, 1999, p. 147; Bartolotti et al., 2007, p. 784). Be that as it may, with the appearance of better needle trade programs, blood contributor screening, cleanliness care, and training among infusing drug clients, a critical decrease in the predominance of Hepatitis C has been accounted for since the 1990s (Armstorng et al., 2000, p. 779; Geller and Herman, 2006, p 86). Another course by which HCV contamination can be gained is through vertical transmission ( e.i. latent securing of the infection by youngsters from contaminated moms) ( Kudo et al., 1997, p. 225). The genuine system of mother-to-kid HCV transmission isn't yet known, however presentation to contaminated mucous, liquids and bloo d from the mother altogether builds the danger of transmission (Indolfi and Resti, 2009, p. 837) As indicated by Plunkett et al. (2004, p. 998), the most elevated predominance of Hepatitis C happens

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Famine, Affluence, and Morality Essay Example for Free

Starvation, Affluence, and Morality Essay By suffocating, I mean the individuals who are enduring assistance individuals. A couple of the counter-contentions that Singer addresses are: One, that he government will be less inclined to assume liability since private associations are sorting out help reserves. Giving secretly permits the administration to get away from their obligations of providing help. Vocalist doesn't accept that this supposition that is conceivable. He states: I don't, obviously, need to question the dispute that administrations of well-off countries ought to be giving commonly the measure of real, no hidden obligations help that they are giving at this point. I concur that giving secretly isn't sufficient, and that we should battle effectively for completely new principles or both open and private commitments to starvation help. For sure, I would feel for somebody who believed that crusading was a higher priority than giving one-self, in spite of the fact that I question in the case of lecturing what one doesn't practice would be exceptionally compelling. Shockingly, for some individuals that its the administrations obligation is an explanation behind not giving which doesn't seem to involve any political activity either. Two, until there is a powerful populace control, mitigating starvation will delay starvation. On the off chance that we alleviate enduring that is going on in the now, the future may end p enduring. The best methods for forestalling starvation is populace control. Be that as it may, there are associations who work explicitly with populace control. Along these lines, this counter-contention isn't sufficiently adequate to permit us to remain out of sight. The third counter-contention would be the amount we ought to be parting with. Would it be a good idea for us to be parting with more that would make enduring ourselves? Prior in Singers article, he proposes that on the off chance that everyone in his circumstance could give E5, at that point no one would be committed to give more. He doesn't recommend that we give until we each the level negligible utility-the level at which by giving more, would cause as much enduring to ourselves or our wards. Artists idea of negligible utility identifies with his contention by clarifying and understanding that there are a few people who can't stand to help alleviation reserves. He essentially states if everybody in conditions like mine. This implies not every person will be in a similar condition to give assets to help. Obligation and good cause, as indicated by Singer, ought to be redrawn or canceled. Doing great by parting with cash isn't viewed as beneficent by Singer, however it is doing ood. We should shun purchasing garments for design on the off chance that we have old garments that are appropriate to keep us warm and part with the cash. He says, We would not be giving up anything critical if we somehow managed to keep on wearing our old garments, and give the cash to starvation help. Thusly, we would keep someone el se from starving. It follows from what I have said before that we should part with cash, instead of spend it on garments which we don't have to keep us warm. This demonstration isn't viewed as altruistic to Singer either. Our general public, in any case, sees hese go about as magnanimous in light of the fact that it is an intentional gift. Actually, I don't totally differ with Singers sees be that as it may, I don't totally concur with them either. Jan Narveson (2004) wrote in her article Is World Poverty a Moral Problem for the Wealthy? That she doesn't think we owe the poor anything extraordinary. Individuals may profit for noble cause, however we ought not be taken a gander at as not the obligation of another countrys government to deal with a poor nation. It is equivalent to I don't figure the rich ought to need to pay more assessments than poor people. We as a whole beginning from some place and a few tycoons and very rich people needed to begin from the base also. We as a whole buckle down for the compensations we acquire. Then again, I feel that foundations are utilized for a decent aim that advantage others instead of ourselves. Artist unquestionably had a few focuses that in the event that we as a whole give a little, the world might be a superior spot. Narveson likewise wrote in another article Welfare and Wealth, Poverty and Justice in Todays World (2004), every one of us could do unfathomably more than we do to the poor. That we don't is a genuine good coming up short. This is totally evident and upports Singers sees also. Be that as it may, her announcement is undeniably progressively precise in what we could do, as opposed to what we ought to do. My view would fall under deontological morals. Mosser (2010) states that deontological morals centers around the desire of the individual doing the demonstration being referred to, their expectation in doing it, and, especially, the standard as indicated by which the demonstration is completed. For me this implies there could be various results for Singers contention and that each perspective ought to be taken a gander at. It doesnt make his view right or wrong, however it doesnt make the iews that counter his set in stone either. Dwindle Singers article Famine, Affluence, and Morality, was composed to persuade individuals that our choices and activities can keep different nations from torment. He proposes that individuals ought to do what is ethically directly by contributing monetarily to help the individuals who are starving, instead of buying needs for the individuals who can bear the cost of it. Artist contends his position, gives counter-contentions, and clarifies his ideas for helping nations out of luck. My perspectives are not against Singers position, however they are not for his position either. References Mosser, K. 2010).

Monday, August 10, 2020

Pottermania hits MIT

Pottermania hits MIT The campus and, indeed, the world is abuzz with excitement for the release of the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows. I dont know what will happen this time around, but on the morning of July 16, 2005 when the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was released MIT hackers put Harrys lightning bolt scar on the Great Dome. On Confessions of an Aca/Fan, Professor Henry Jenkins of MITs Comparative Media Studies program blogged Mays Harry Potter conference, where he spoke on his thoughts on the ways fandom in general and Harry Potter in particular have shaped contemporary culture. Here are some of his thoughts from his blog entry: Shortly after I arrived in New Orleans, I was interviewed on camera by a producer for Dateline. Among the many questions he asked me was whether we would ever see something like the Harry Potter phenomenon again in our lifetime. The question was relatively banal but for some reason, it caught me off guard, as I realized that according to many theories, we shouldnt be seeing anything like the Harry Potter phenomenon now. Harry Potter is a massive mass market success at a time when all of our conversations are focusing on the fragmentation of the media marketplace and the nichification of media production. There has been so much talk about the loss of common culture, about the ways that we are all moving towards specialized media, about the end of event based consumption, and so forth. Yet very little of it has reflected on the ways that Harry Potter has bucked all of these trends. I got into my taxi from the airport and had the usual conversation you have with a taxi driver in a convention city. He asked where I came from and why I was in town as if following a script and then asked me what kind of conference I was attending. But when I told him I was going to a Harry Potter conference, his eyes brightened up, his voice grew more intense, and he told me how very very much he was waiting for the final novel to come out this summer. I checked into the hotel and went across the street for some late lunch and played out more or less the same conversation with the waitress. When she saw I had a conference program, she brought several of her friends around including some from the kitchen who wanted to flip through the program, who wanted to sneak across the street and attend a session or two, who wondered aloud who I thought might be killed in the final installment and whether or not Snape was an evil person. Some of them had stories of the lengths they had gone to celebrate their affection for and affiliation with these books. These folks werent simply the readers of a best-selling book series; they had all of the passion and at least some of the expertise one associates with the most hardcore fans of any other media property, only they had no direct affiliation with any kind of fan culture or community. I tried explaining this to the television producer, worried that the final documentary, when it airs later this summer, will fall prey to the usual stereotypes of crazed and obsessive fans, totally outside of the cultural mainstream. But statistically speaking, the people who are not fans of Harry Potter are outside of the mainstream. According to Wikipedia, the six books have so far sold 377 Million copies and been translated into more than 63 different languages. Harry Potter will be widely recognized by people all over the world, including many who have not read the books but watched the movies or simply read a newspaper over the past decade. Prof. Jenkins isnt the only MIT expert being asked about Harry potter these days. The Boston Globe published an article this week about one point of anxiety about the release of the new book: some people, especially parents, are worried about the psychological effects on children should a beloved character like Harry be killed in the book. Psychiatrist David Jones of MIT advises parents to read the book as quickly as their children do. If a child says, Why did he/she have to die? saying, I dont know, I havent read the book, is a bad answer, he says. Fan websites offer plot summaries of all the books, and he expects the new one will be up by midday Sunday. You need to be informed so you can help your child find meaning in whosever death it is, Jones says. It is, of course, just a book, and thats a fine thing to remind your reader. But sadness for a fictional character is very real to children, and they need help processing it. What will be most troublesome to explain is if the character dies in a random act of violence rather than in some meaningful way, Jones says. Recently, a student team in an MIT design class designed a Harry Potter-themed product. In SP.778: Toy Product Design, every group of 5-6 students, working with local elementary schools and Hasbro, creates a new toy. Some of the toys have included Eggman Friends, Flosszilla, and Roli Boli. One team designed a very neat dental toy called Harry Potters Magical Toothbrush. The basic pitch: Harry Potters Magical Toothbrush levitates before your eyes when placed inside its holder. The base illuminates when the toothbrush is near. At this point, you may be wondering, so where will MIT students be partying on Friday night? Here in Boston, there are several exciting options. One is Hogwarts Square. One of this events highlights is Wizardstock, a big concert featuring world renowned wizard rock bands including Harry the Potters, Draco and the Malfoys, the Hungarian Horntails, and the Harry Potter Alliance. Other highlights include magic classes, wand making, fortune telling, a screening of Harry Potter The Sorcerers Stone, the Potter Puppet Pals (video), and a fan fiction contest. An alternative (closer to where Bryan O. lives) is Potterpalooza, an indoor/outdoor street festival. This includes the Wizards Ball dance, a costume competition, temporary tattoos, and more. For the visually impaired, the Perkins School for the Blind will host the Harry Potter extravaganza. It will feature readings from the new book by basketball players from the Boston Celtics. There will also be a raffle for a 18 inch tall, 10-volume stack of the Braille version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Regardless of where you go for the book release, its sure to be a very exciting night for Harry Potter fans everywhere. What are you doing? Previous Harry Potter coverage on the MIT blogs: Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans + Peanuts + Crackerjacks (Bryan O.) Boston becomes Pottersville (Me) Wangoballwime? (Laura) He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Returns (Bryan O.) A quick one, while hes away (Sam) At right: Bryan dresses up for the release of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. [Please, no spoilers in the comments!]

Saturday, May 23, 2020

I Am An Expert At The Store - 1664 Words

Over the past three months at Talbots, I feel I have grown not only as an employee but also as a person. Talbots has given me the skills and information that I will need for my corporate internship and for my future. As my time at the store comes to an end, I feel it is important to evaluate myself on my performance at the store. I used the final evaluation sheet given to me by my professor and self-evaluated my performance. Overall, I would rate my performance at the store as outstanding, or a 9/10. I personally feel that I have improved a substantial amount as an employee and I really have seen growth in myself with customer interactions and understanding the merchandise. For my mid-semester evaluation, I needed improvement on my knowledge of the merchandise and customer interaction; I can now say that I am an expert at both. I took the criticism from my last evaluation and used it to fuel my desire to learn the products. Even though I still need improvement on punctuality, I am un able to improve due to train schedules. Maybe, once I move back into the city I will have an easier time arriving to work in a timely manner. Besides punctuality, all other areas of my evaluation were rated outstanding. Even though there was nothing else to improve, I still made sure I was working to the best of my abilities. I really believe I did the best job I could working at Talbots and that is why I rated myself outstanding for the evaluation. At the beginning of my internship class,Show MoreRelatedThe Is The Rationalization Of The Store Of Department Stores Across The Country Essay886 Words   |  4 Pagesaccording to George Ritzer, â€Å"is the rationalization taken to its extreme.† I have the â€Å"luxury† of being employed by Sears, company which is a chain of department stores across the country. At Sears, I am an appliances sales consultant. 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Now that I am an adult, I can see the life lessons deeply imbedded into these gamesRead MoreRecommendation For Mosaic And Dell Campus Ambassador Project 71462 Words   |  6 Pagesthat people are an effective form of media: Mosaic’s trained ambassadors convey key messages about their brand to customers and ultimately deliver an impression about their products. Before taking this job I was wondering how and why are people a more effective medium. After several days of training I realized that ambassadors offer a deeper engagement, givi ng the consumer a ‘reason to believe’ through a more immersive experience. It’s these experiences that allow consumers to engage and better connect

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

A Comparison of Chapters 1 and 39 in Charles Dickens...

A Comparison of Chapters 1 and 39 in Charles Dickens Great Expectations Great Expectations is and epic novel by Charles Dickens. Set in the Victorian times of 1850, it tells the story of Phillip Pirrip (Pip) and his life up into his 30s. Originally used in a magazine as a short story series, it has lengthy chapters and an in depth look into society classes of the time. When Pip was orphaned by the death of his parents and left alone by 5 brothers who did not survive, he was sent to live with his older sister, Mrs Joe Gargery and her husband, Joe Gargery the blacksmith. Although he was cared for to a basic extent, he was by no means spoiled or expected to do great things; his future would be in†¦show more content†¦He dreams of one day becoming a wealthy gentleman so that he can be worthy of her, here is where Dickens begins to introduce the idea of the benefits and differences between upper and lower social classes. When regular visits to Miss Havisham being to take place, Pip dreams of her paying for him to become a real gentleman so he can wed Estella. However, his hopes are dashed when Miss Havisham puts in to place plans for him to become a common labourer in the family business. Pip works there unhappily, improving his education with Biddy, and meeting Orlick the day labourer. After a particularly bad run-in with Orlick, Mrs Garger y is attacked and becomes a mute invalid, although Pip suspects from her hand signals and gestures that Orlick was the culprit. Pip continued with his monotonous work and imagined wistfully the life of a gentleman. Out of the blue, a lawyer called Jaggers appears at the Gargery residence claming that a secret benefactor has left Pip a large amount of money with the instructions that Pip learns to be a gentleman. Jaggers says that Pip must leave for London immediately to begin his education and Pip believes that his hopes have come true; Miss Havisham is paying to make him a gentleman and allow him to marry Estella. Upon arrival in London, Pip befriends Herbert Pocket who is the son ofShow MoreRelatedEssay on Pips Relationship with Magwitch in Great Expectations3097 Words   |  13 PagesHow does Dickens use Pips relationship with Magwitch to interest the reader? -------------------------------------------------------------------- The novel called ‘Great Expectations’ written by Charles Dickens, uses a very unique relationship between two characters to form the main ‘stem’ of the book. Pip’s relationship with Abel Magwitch is extremely interesting because it is so significant. 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HD58.7.R62 2012 658.3—dc23 2011038674 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN 10: 0-13-283487-1 ISBN 13: 978-0-13-283487-2 Brief Contents Preface xxii 1 2 Introduction 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 3 The Individual 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Diversity in Organizations 39 Attitudes and Job Satisfaction 69 Emotions and Moods 97 Personality and Values 131 PerceptionRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagesorganization theory within the scholarly debates on modernism and postmodernism, and provides an advanced introduction to the heterogeneous study of organizations, including chapters on phenomenology, critical theory and psychoanalysis. Like all good textbooks, the book is accessible, well researched and readers are encouraged to view chapters as a starting point for getting to grips with the field of organization theory. Dr Martin Brigham, Lancaster University, UK McAuley et al. provide a highly readableRead MoreMetz Film Language a Semiotics of the Cinema PDF100902 Words   |  316 PagesMichael Taylor. p. cm. Translation of: Essais sur la signification au cinà ©ma, tome 1. Reprint. Originally published: New York: Oxford University Press, 1974. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-226-52130-3 (pbk.) 1. Motion pictures—Semiotics. 2. Motion pictures— Philosophy. I. Title. PN1995.M4513 1991 791.43 014—dc20 90-46965 C1P The French edition of Christian Metz s Essais sur la signification au cinema, volume 1, was published by Editions Klincksieck in 1971,  © Editions Klincksieck, 1968Read MoreCrossing the Chasm76808 Words   |  308 Pagestrademarks of HarperCollins Publishers. Adobe Acrobat E-Book Reader edition v 1. October 2001 ISBN 0-06-018987-8 The original hardcover edition of this book was published in 1991 by HarperBusiness, a division of HarperCollins Publishers. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Marie Contents PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION FOREWORD ACKNOWLEDGMENTS PART I Discovering the Chasm INTRODUCTION If Bill Gates Can Be a Billionaire 1 High-Tech Marketing Illusion 2 High-Tech Marketing Enlightenment PARTRead Morepreschool Essay46149 Words   |  185 PagesInformation Copies of this publication are available for sale from the California Department of Education. For prices and ordering information, please visit the Department Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ re/pn or call the CDE Press Sales Office at 1-800-995-4099. An illustrated Educational Resource Catalog describing publications, videos, and other instructional media available from the Department can be obtained without charge by writing to the CDE Press Sales Office, California Department of

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Identifying Three Sources of Professional Values Free Essays

Identifying three sources of professional values and ethics â€Å"Gold existed before barter, money, and systems of economics were invented to use gold. Animals existed before Zoology was invented to study animals. Ethics and morals existed before religions and philosophies were invented to use to study ethics and morals. We will write a custom essay sample on Identifying Three Sources of Professional Values or any similar topic only for you Order Now No religion nor philosophy invented ethics, nor can any religion or philosophy lay claim of being the source or measure of ethics. † (Gowdy, 2008). The sources of professional values and ethics when researched are open to many interpretations. Early philosophers debated whether values and ethics were internal or were they an individual will; or could it be social to justify a moral norm? (Chambliss, 1996). One source of professional values and ethics is the self, or individual. When an individual is born, they began to adopt ethics and values, whether they are good or bad. An article in the Business Ethics Quarterly by Bill Shaw sums up the individual as a source of ethics by stating, â€Å"The acquisition of an ethic is not an optional thing. It is, instead, a way of life. One cannot not have an ethic any more than one cannot not have a personality. An ethic simply â€Å"comes with the territory,† and as one matures that ethic is capable of undergoing change, perhaps even radical change. † (Shaw, 1997) The organization is a source of the professional values and ethics; it is where individuals within a business environment focus on group conduct. The organization has the code of ethics; these codes are a set of rules that guide individuals in decision-making and behavior. (U. S. Legal Forms Inc, 2010). There are normally three types of codes; an aspirational code is a statement of ideals to which professionals should strive. The educational code seeks to buttress understanding of its provisions with extensive commentary and interpretation. The regulatory code includes a set of detailed rules to govern professional conduct and to serve as a basis for adjudicating grievances. (Frankel, 1989) Our societies are the source that examines the pattern of cultural, political, and economic forces that drive individuals and firms. This particular source has many levels, there is not one particular right, or wrong there are many shades of gray here. That is why we have courts with juries who listen to each individual story and makes the best decision based on the evidence provided. (Becker, 2001). References Becker, L. C. (2001). In Encyclopedia of Ethics. Retrieved October 22, 2010, from Business Ethics: http://www. credoreference. com/entry/routethics/business_ethics Chambliss, J. (1996). In Philosophy of Education: An Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 18, 2010, from Ethics and Morality: http://www. redoreference. com/entry/routpe/ethics_and_morality Frankel, M. S. (1989). Professional Codes: Why, How, and with What Impact? Journal of Business Ethics , 110-111. Gowdy, L. N. (2008). Defination of Ethics, Morals, Virtue and Quality. Retrieved October 22, 2010, from Angelfire. com: www. angelfire. com/home/sesquiq/2007sesethics. html Shaw, B. (1997). Sources of Virtue: The Market and the Community. Business Ethics Quarterly, 6. U. S. Legal Forms Inc. (2010). USLegal. Retrieved October 24, 2010, from USLegal. com: http://definitions. uslegal. com/c/code-of-ethics/ How to cite Identifying Three Sources of Professional Values, Papers

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Project Controls Managing And Controlling The Project

Question: Discuss about the case study Management for Managing and Controlling the Project. Answer: Project methodology and its role in project management Project methodology is a strategic level plan that is used for managing and controlling the project throughout the project lifecycle. Project methodology is also used for phase and process development for supporting the IT project in a flexible way. Image1: Project Life Cycle Project methodology plays a crucial role in the project management and offers beneficiary results in tackling projects comprehensively and in an integrated manner that helps a project manager to handle acceptable risk. Project methodology also provides strategic benefits, tactical benefits and operational benefits during the project. In the initiating process, project methodology provides a structured approach to proposing a project. In the controlling/monitoring phase, an appropriate methodology offers the timeline and includes regular milestones for project development by monitoring the associated risk in the project. In closing process, a perfect project methodology evaluates the customers review on the final project and its quality criteria, costs, duration and tolerance. The primary objective of this approach is to monitor whether the user's requirement have been fulfilled or not as projects are not closed after the closing proves and will continue to consume resources. In this phase, project management and maintenance of the used resource is important and further developments ideology is being applied in this phase. Waterfall and Agile project methodology Two of the most common used project methodologies for developing a project are Waterfall and Agile project methodology. Compare and contrast Image 2: Waterfall and Agile project methodology Waterfall model is used when project manager knows the structure of the final project and when the clients will not have the ability to change the scope of the project once the designing of the software is started. Agile project methodology is used to overcome the disadvantage of the waterfall model that is to develop a simplistic project design and divide the entire software in modules. Agile project methodology enables the user to modify the stage of a software development life cycle in the middle of the software development. Similarities and differences The similarity between the waterfall model and agile project methodology is that these methodologies are used for developing software for customers for their business or fulfil objectives. Moreover, these processes need time, resources and budget to complete the project. Waterfall Agile Differences Waterfall project methodology manage activities Agile project methodology manages time The customer cannot be involved in the process for adding any further modifications and hence lessons are learned from previous mistakes. The customer can be included in the process for adding modifications and hence is flexible project methodology. Waterfall model is highly structured and well documented Agile project methodology is highly collaborative and offers continuous improvements. This project methodology comprises of planning of the software, release the resources and then document the process This project methodology consists of the development of the project. This methodology emphasizes on quality focus changes from analysis to design to code and then test. This methodology emphasis on SDLC at any stage of the software Prior risk cannot be identified without experience of the project manager in development of the software during the testing phase. Early risk identification can be possible and can be mitigated in every module. The project owner will decide the project scope. The team member of the software development decides the formulation of each module as per as the resource availability and product backlog. The final delivery of the product is done phase by phase. The final delivery of the project is based on demo feedback so that the final output can be error free and perfect. Table 1: Difference between waterfall and agile project methodology Relation with the project life cycle In a project life cycle, waterfall model for departmentalization and control the entire software development by formulating schedule and deadline to accomplish the software. Waterfall project methodology is easy to manage due to its rigidness and specify each project requirement from the first phase to last. The software is produced in module format and integrates all the moduleq for developing the software. Agile project methodology involves in iterations, analyzing, designing, developing and testing of the software model and is based on customers interactions for developing the software This methodology helps in a feasibility study with users requirements and checks whether the program is financial, practically and technologically feasible. Team developers decide a roadmap of the plan and then implement the entire software based on the developed codes and estimate the error present in the program. In the last phase, the operation and maintenance of each phase of the software developed are carried out and handed over to the customer for use in their business or for the actual purpose the business software is being developed. Reference List Balaji, S., and M. Sundararajan Murugaiyan. "Waterfall vs. V-Model vs. Agile: A comparative study on SDLC."International Journal of Information Technology and Business Management2, no. 1 (2012): 26-30. Bassil, Youssef. "A simulation model for the waterfall software development life cycle."arXiv preprint arXiv:1205.6904(2012). Burke, Rory. "Project management: planning and control techniques."New Jersey, USA(2013). Dalcher, Darren. "Going Beyond The Waterfall: Managing Scope Effectively Across the Project Life Cycle."Project Management Journal46, no. 1 (2015): e2-e2. Elghondakly, Roaa, Sherin Moussa, and Nagwa Badr. "Waterfall and agile requirements-based model for automated test cases generation." In2015 IEEE Seventh International Conference on Intelligent Computing and Information Systems (ICICIS), pp. 607-612. IEEE, 2015. Gottipalla, Ashok Kumar, N. M. S. Desai, and M. Sudhakar Reddy. "Software Development Life Cycle Processes with Secure."The International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications3 (2013): 1-3. Kerzner, Harold R.Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons, 2013. Marchewka, Jack T.Information technology project management. John Wiley Sons, 2014. Moniruzzaman, A. B. M., and Dr Syed Akhter Hossain. "Comparative Study on Agile software development methodologies."arXiv preprint arXiv:1307.3356(2013). Pedersen, Mitra. "A Quantitative Examination of Critical Success Factors Comparing Agile and Waterfall Project Management Methodologies."ProQuest LLC(2013). Raval, Ratnmala R., and Haresh M. Rathod. "Improvements in Agile Model using Hybrid Theory for Software Development in Software Engineering."International Journal of Computer Applications90, no. 16 (2014): 26-31. Stoica, Marian, Marinela Mircea, and Bogdan Ghilic-Micu. "Software Development: Agile vs. Traditional."Informatica Economica17, no. 4 (2013): 64. Turk, Dan, Robert France, and Bernhard Rumpe. "Assumptions underlying agile software development processes."arXiv preprint arXiv:1409.6610(2014).

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

fMRI Brian Visuals as Fields for Interaction

A clear understanding of how fMRI scans work calls for the involvement of different faculties. First, it is important to note that the fMRI scans are a combination of two major elements in that they are not only visual or digital, but they are both visual and digital. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on fMRI Brian Visuals as Fields for Interaction specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This means that the functioning of the fMRI scans is conceptualized on the clear understanding of the interplay of how the scans are a combination of the above-mentioned aspects. Understanding the fMRI scans as fields for interactions, also entails the understanding that digital scientific visuals cannot be understood in a representational manner, but must have an in depth participation of their readers and writers. Those tasked with the responsibility of deciphering the meaning of the fMRI scans must ensure that they invoke several facult ies so that they can accurately deduce the brain activities that are depicted by the fMRI scan technology. In the article, the author stresses that the entire concept of understanding the fMRI scan technology, should be explained in an indexical manner as opposed to iconic or as a sign manner. The argument here is that when the technological results are given the iconic meaning, they tend to have a direct relationship between the scan and the icon representing them. Signs, according to the author, just like icons give a vague representation between what is in question and what should be represented. To avoid this, fMRI scans should have an indexical representation (Alac 14). In presenting the views of this article, it is clear that the author has invested in a good structure. The paper starts with a defense of why the concept of the fMRI scan technology as part of the modern neuroscience should be viewed as fields for interactions. When the technology is viewed in this manner, inde xing as the main method of reference should be adopted. This makes it easy for all the concerned stakeholders to accurately decipher the indented meaning of the brain scans. In conclusion, the writer is of the view that the adoption of indexical interpretation of the fMRI scans is beneficial to the field of modern neurosurgery in that, this technology makes it easy for brain experts to conceptualize the functioning of the brain. This means that the concept of brain mapping is developed higher due to the technology that is adopted by the neurosurgery experts hence, producing greater insights into how the brain works. Scientific use of fMRI scans can be used to identify the specific areas of the human cortex that process certain types of information. Such an examination also helps the experts doing the analysis to decipher the relatedness or otherwise of information that is being processed. Advertising Looking for essay on computer science? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This is done by analyzing the areas of the brain that are in activity, a fact that is enabled by the analysis of the fMRI scans. Active areas of the brain are more pronounced especially due to the increased blood flow in such parts. This way, the technology has been hailed for its role in expounding on the functioning of the brain. Question In digital imaging, the main areas of activity can easily be denoted through the observation of the colors of the brain being imaged. Briefly explain how different colors such as bright red areas, blue areas or green areas of the brain mean in relation to brain activity. Work Cited Alac, Morana. fMRI brain visuals as fields for interaction, In Handling Digital Brains.Massachusetts: MIT Press. ND. Print. This essay on fMRI Brian Visuals as Fields for Interaction was written and submitted by user Aginar to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Friday, March 6, 2020

Bell Curve and Normal Distribution Definition

Bell Curve and Normal Distribution Definition The term bell curve is used to describe the mathematical concept called normal distribution, sometimes referred to as Gaussian distribution. Bell curve refers to the shape that is created when a line is plotted using the data points for an item that meets the criteria of normal distribution. The center contains the greatest number of a value and, therefore, would be the highest point on the arc of the line. This point is referred to the mean, but in simple terms, it is the highest number of occurrences of an element (in statistical terms, the mode). Normal Distribution The important thing to note about a normal distribution is the curve is concentrated in the center and decreases on either side. This is significant in that the data has less of a tendency to produce unusually extreme values, called outliers, as compared to other distributions. Also, the bell curve signifies that the data is symmetrical. This means that you can create reasonable expectations as to the possibility that an outcome will lie within a range to the left or right of the center, once you have measured the amount of deviation contained in the data.This is measured in terms of standard deviations. A bell curve graph depends on two factors: the mean and the standard deviation. The mean identifies the position of the center and the standard deviation determines the height and width of the bell. For example, a large standard deviation creates a bell that is short and wide while a small standard deviation creates a tall and narrow curve. Bell Curve Probability and Standard Deviation To understand the probability factors of a normal distribution, you need to understand the following rules: The total area under the curve is equal to 1 (100 percent)About 68 percent of the area under the curve falls within one standard deviation.About 95 percent of the area under the curve falls within two standard deviations.About 99.7 percent of the area under the curve falls within three standard deviations. Item Nos. 2,3 and 4 are sometimes referred to as the empirical rule or the 68-95-99.7 rule. Once you determine that the data is normally distributed (bell curved) and calculate the mean and standard deviation, you can determine the probability that a single data point will fall within a given range of possibilities. Bell Curve Example A good example of a bell curve or normal distribution is the roll of two dice. The distribution is centered around the number seven and the probability decreases as you move away from the center. Here is the percent chance of the various outcomes when you roll two dice. Two: 2.78 percentThree: percentFour: 8.33 percentFive: 11.11 percentSix: 13.89 percentSeven: 16.67 percentEight: 13.89 percentNine: 11.11 percentTen: 8.33 percentEleven: 5.56 percentTwelve: 2.78 percent Normal distributions have many convenient properties, so in many cases, especially in physics and astronomy, random variations with unknown distributions are often assumed to be normal to allow for probability calculations. Although this can be a dangerous assumption, it is often a good approximation due to a surprising result known as the central limit theorem. This theorem states that the mean of any set of variants with any distribution having a finite mean and variance tends to the normal distribution. Many common attributes such as test scores or height follow roughly normal distributions, with few members at the high and low ends and many in the middle. When You Shouldn't Use the Bell Curve There are some types of data that dont follow a normal distribution pattern. These data sets shouldnt be forced to try to fit a bell curve. A classic example would be student grades, which often have two modes. Other types of data that dont follow the curve include income, population growth, and mechanical failures.

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Not one less (film review) Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Not one less (film ) - Movie Review Example Specifically, teachers in the school can go for several months without payment, important tools of delivering education are in scarcity, and beds are not enough for every student. The film is based on the tenets of the deplorable state of poverty the Chinese rural areas are undergoing. Poverty is prominent when Wei Minzhi is forced to share a bed with a lot of other fellow students. Further, poverty is evident in that the schools are suffering from the scarcity of important materials like chalks for writing. In fact, poverty is the real issue that faces most rural parts in china. The state of affairs in such parts of the country is best described in this movie. In a nutshell, the unfolding of events in this film is a true representation of what is taking place in the rural parts of china, where most pupils are forced to abandon schooling due to abject poverty. The political structure is another prominent theme articulated by Zhang Yimou. The film exposes how verbal negotiation, bureaucracy, and struggle are the main attributes that characterize the contemporary politics in the china’s society. Zhang Yimou creates scenery that pits Wei as the only female who has the guts to withstand her obstacles despite the fact that she does not have money. Most of the characters in this film seem to be very blind to following all that the corrupt authority offers. These characters do not have the courage to question anything that is being proposed by the authority, they only accept and move on. Though Wei is poor and does not have any powers in the society, she stands tall against her obstacles because of her persistency. In this case, Wei is a representation of the few courageous people in the Chinese country who are ready to face difficulties while challenging how the leaders conduct things. The determination of Wei through speech is an example of heroes in the society. Heroism requires perseverance of the highest order

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Auscultation and Spirometry Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Auscultation and Spirometry - Lab Report Example Therefore, it is necessary for the lab partner to expel as much air as feasible through this process in order to determine the exact expiratory volume. The tidal volume of an individual is the amount of air that an individual can move in the lungs during the breathing procedure (Marieb & Hoehn, 2010). According to the information, the tidal volume is approximately 500ml. Approximately 340ml reaches the alveoli while the rest of the air remains in the respiratory tract. However, this breathing procedure is heavily affected by factors such as exercise, weather conditions and medical conditions. In addition, there is a residual volume of air that keeps the respiratory system partly filled. COPD is an initial for the term chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Marieb & Hoehn, 2010). As previously stipulated, the tidal volume usually represents the volume of gas that is exchanged during every single ventilated breath. However, individuals with COPD are not able to exhale all the air in a single breath. Therefore, the tidal volume in these patients depends on the lung condition of the patient. In normal cases, individuals have a tidal volume of 5 to 8 mL/kg. In a normal individual, approximately 70% of the forced vital capacity is expelled. However, individuals who suffer from COPD produce a less ratio (Marieb & Hoehn, 2010). The severity of the conditions vastly affects the vital capacity of the individual. This asserts that individuals with the COPD condition produce a lower percentage of vital capacity due to complications in the respiratory

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Fire Safety Management Procedures Of Storage Warehouse Construction Essay

Fire Safety Management Procedures Of Storage Warehouse Construction Essay The individual report is a team members study into one specialist area of the project which is assigned by the team. It should be essential materials to support the final conclusions and recommendation for this project in the team report. The clients requirements details as follows. Building size: 250 sq meters (office) Building size: 3,500 sq meters (warehouse) Building height: 14 meters Twenty glass windows for the offices on the front One door on the front Ten windows for each side Five gates and three windows on the rear Brick front Sainsbury (client) plans to build up a warehouse along with offices of two storeyes. The building will be constructed of pre-engineered steel structure. For example, Fig 1 shows a typical structure of the pre-engineered steel building. Fig 2 displays the inside of the building under construction Figure Figure Background Since the 1960s there has been a rapid increase in the construction of large single storey storage warehouse facilities in the United Kingdom (UK). One of the most notable of these was the 40,000 m2 unsprinklered military storage facility constructed by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) at Donnington. In 1983 this storage facility was completely destroyed by fire despite the presence of an on-site fire service. The fire at Donnington and other unsprinklered warehouses circa 1980 raised concerns in the UK and United States (US). The major concern in unsprinklered warehouses is rapid conflagration, especially if the following features are present: †¢ 12-30m internal building heights †¢ High racked storage †¢ Highly combustible and flammable stored commodities †¢ Combustible wall and ceiling linings, †¢ Poor fire safety management Regardless of the above concerns, recent research undertaken by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) into sprinkler installation trends and fire statistics for warehouse buildings has shown that occupants generally make their escape from fires in unsprinklered warehouses un-hurt. The likely reasons for this are: 1. The large internal volume can act as a reservoir for combustible products and hence will increase the available safe escape time (ASET) 2. An occupants awake and familiarity state within the building reduces the required safe escape time (RSET) on this basis, BREs research stated that it could be difficult to justify the provision of sprinklers solely on safety grounds, indicating that the provision of sprinklers would have a negligible impact for life safety purposes. Since the 1980s there have been several full scale sprinklered fire tests on warehouse commodities (stored to various heights). These tests have been performed by BRE, Underwriters Laboratory (UL), Factory Mutual (FMGlobal) and the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST). Such research has assisted in the development of BS5306-2, BS EN12845:2004 and bespoke fire safety engineering guidance such as The Design of Smoke Ventilation for Single Storey Industrial Buildings, including those with mezzanine floors, and high racked storage warehouses by the Smoke Ventilation Association (SVA). Where property protection sprinkler systems are installed with additional enhanced features, significant improvements upon the typical 80% reliability can be achieved. Enhancements such as locking valves in the open position to prevent manual shut-off, fast response sprinkler heads and secondary pumps can all ensure that an enhanced property protection sprinkler system offers an operationa l reliability of in excess of 90%, which is the equivalent reliability for a system designed to a life safety standard. Description The purpose of this Outline Fire Strategy Report is to facilitate preliminary discussions with the Approving Authorities and to outline the approach that will be taken to demonstrate compliance with Part B (Fire Safety) of Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations (2000-2006). This report will provide a brief summary on the all aspects of fire safety which correlate with the corresponding Building Regulations. However it will focus primarily issues pertaining to the Fire Detection and Alarm system and linking factors, such as evacuation times and fire growth. The overarching areas within the project incorporate: Determine metal building frames and column profiles; Choose the materials for the walls and roof; Lay the floors plan out; Fire sprinkler system and fire-fighting water pipe; Fire detection and alarm system; Smoke control system; Architectural design for egress means; Structural fire resistance calculations; Although the provisions for the fire safety aspects noted above are covered under separate regulations, they are interlinked. Therefore, these fire safety aspects will be reviewed holistically in this strategy in order to ensure the requirements of the Building Regulations are achieved in the proposed works. The facility will incorporate approximately 3,500 sq m of warehousing space and a two storey office block. The facility will be typical portal fame construction clad in composite panels with the portal haunch being at approximately 16m above adjacent ground level and the apex of portals being at approximately 18m above adjacent ground level. The two storey office block is compartmented from the remainder of the building in fire resisting construction effectively creating two separated parts. The warehouse compartment is single storey. Automated Garment Racking System The automated garment racking system will be spread over five levels (i.e. ground and four upper access gantries/walkway levels). A common feature of automated hanging garment storage systems is that there are no discernible floors. Access to the automated garment racking system will be via elevated walkways and open stairs. A typical arrangement is shown in figure 3 Figure The existing facility is fitted out with high racking bays incorporating in-rack sprinklers. It is intended to alter the existing high racking bay arrangement to incorporate a more efficient system to meet with specific operational requirements. The existing sprinkler system will be amended/extended to ensure that all high rack storage bays are adequately protected with in-rack sprinklers. Building Regulations Regarding fire safety, the proposed automated hanging garment racking system and associated works must comply with The Building Regulations 2000 (England and Wales) but in existing areas only to the extent where no new or greater contravention of any regulation is created. As a general principle the recommendations of Approved Document B (ADB) Volume 2 Buildings Other Than Dwelling Houses can to be applied to most buildings. Although, in respect of certain buildings and structures, in particular those purpose-designed for automated storage plant, the recommendations set out in ADB might be either inappropriate or unreasonably restrictive. A common feature of automated hanging garment storage systems is that there are no discernible floors and no fire separation provided between deck levels. Automated hanging garment delivery, picking or transportation systems are generally accessed via elevated walkways, stairs and ramps. The Building Regulations are written in a functional manner and rather than follow the prescriptive guidance of a particular code of practice, a fire engineered approach can be taken to demonstrate compliance with Statutory requirements where deemed appropriate. In this regard ADB states the following: Fire safety engineering can provide an alternative approach to fire safety. It may be the only practical way to achieve a satisfactory standard of fire safety in some large and complex buildings and in buildings containing different uses ADB: Fire Safety Engineering (0.3) Therefore, where the proposed development does not fully comply with the recommendations of ADB m it is intended to incorporate the latest guidance available as part of an alternative fire safety engineering approach. This approach will be based on the recommendations of BS7974 with the overarching aim of achieving the optimum design solution and Building Regulations approvals. THE REGULATORY REFORM (FIRE SAFETY) ORDER 2005 When the premises become a workplace, the responsible person, i.e. employer, must ensure that any duty imposed by The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, England Wales, specifically articles 8 to 22 or by regulations made under article 24 is complied with. Generally, compliance can be achieved with robust maintenance, staff training and housekeeping regimes and by undertaking regular fire risk assessments (FRA). The local Fire and Rescue Service will be responsible for enforcing these Regulations. Purpose Groups Purpose groups can apply to the whole building or to a compartment in the building. ADB recommends that different uses within a building should be assessed as separate purpose groups except when certain criteria are met (i.e. classified as ancillary if less than1/5 of the compartment floor area). The design of the existing building incorporates a significant amount of single storey open spatial planning, with the warehousing areas being completely separated from the main office block by fire rated construction. Therefore, when account is taken of proposed material alterations and the definitions noted in Appendix D of ADB the proposed warehouse compartment is classified as Purpose Group 7(a) Storage and Other Non-Residential. The existing multi-storey office compartment is classified as Purpose Group 3, Office. Supporting documentation In tandem with the application of recommendations in ADB, a fire safety engineered approach has been used where considered appropriate for aspects of the buildings design. This approach has used recommendations from the following guidance documents to achieve a robust fire strategy: †¢ BS7974 Application of fire safety engineering principles to the design of buildings (BSI 2003) †¢ BS9999 Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings (BSI 2008) †¢ BS5588 Fire Precautions in the design, construction and use of buildings; Part 5 Access and facilities for fire-fighting (BSI 2004) †¢ BS5588 Fire Precautions in the design, construction and use of buildings; Part 8 Code of practice for means of escape for disabled people (BSI 1991) BS7974 framework BS7974 is specifically noted in standard fire safety guidance material as providing further guidance on fire safety engineering principles. Figure 4 presents the basic fire engineering design process suggested in BS7974. Figure Deviations BS7974 states the following regarding the use of fire safety engineering in buildings that are otherwise compliant with standard practice: In many projects it is likely that the provisions of existing codes of practice and other guidance will be largely followed and that fire engineering techniques will not be necessary (or may be used only to justify limited departures from the codes). At its simplest the QDR team may therefore, define the acceptance criteria in terms of compliance with existing code recommendations. The acceptability of a particular design may be evaluated by means of a comparison. The level of safety provided by alternative fire safety strategies can be compared with that achieved by the well-established codes. This approach involves deterministic and/or probabilistic techniques and requires less extensive analysis than a full study. The objective of a comparative study is to demonstrate that the building, as designed, presents no greater risk to the occupants than a similar type of building designed in accordance with a well-established code. Most existing codes and guides allow elements of trade-of f and/or alternative measures. Examples can be found for fire resistance, compartment sizes and building separation In a comparative study these examples may be applicable without the need for detailed analysis. The evacuation strategy for the proposed buildings will involve simultaneously evacuating all areas on activation of the fire alarm system. As part of the Management and Health and Safety procedures the management team shall have prepared and implement procedures for the safe evacuation of occupants from the building. Required Safe Egress Time and Available Safe Egress Time In performance based fire safety engineering approaches it is fundamental that the evaluation of the complex interactions between fire, occupants and buildings for means of escape considers the following: †¢ Required Safe Egress Time (RSET) time to detection warning time (alarm) response time (occupant pre-movement) travel time queuing †¢ Available Safe Egress Time (ASET) Time to untenable conditions governed by fire growth, smoke production and size of room. A simple diagrammatic representation of the relationship between ASET and RSET is shown in figure 5 Research on Evacuation Times Standard fire safety recommendations for means of escape relate to travel time, i.e. the time taken to travel to and through exits to a place of relative safety. However, it is widely acknowledged that the time taken for occupants to start to evacuate can be considerably longer than the time taken to actually move out of the building. Significant research has been carried out in recent decades on occupant behaviour during building evacuations. Fires and human behaviour by Canter in 1990 and Safety and the built environment by Sime in 1988 were significant contributions. Through such research it is now widely acknowledged that occupants behaviour varies appreciably depending on a wide range of factors such as social affiliation, role and responsibility, commitment to a present task, the presence of a focal point, etc. BS7974-6 Human Factors: Life safety strategies occupant evacuation, behaviour and condition is the latest guidance available in relation to human behaviour in evacuatio ns. Recognition and Response Times How occupants respond to a fire will depend initially on the cue they receive. The components of occupants evacuation time are recognition time, response time and travel time. Both recognition and response times are known as pre-movement time. The former represents the time taken to appreciate that the alarm is a fire alarm relating to the occupant (as opposed to a security alarm, car alarm, etc). During this time occupants will continue with activities as they were prior to the activation of the alarm, e.g. staff members undertaking duties, etc. The latter represents the duration taken by occupants to begin to move towards an escape route, e.g. investigative behaviour, shutting down machinery, etc. In warehouse buildings occupants are generally familiar with their surroundings and are trained in fire emergency evacuation protocols. In the proposed storage facility and associated offices, occupants should be familiar with the sounding of the fire alarm and as such would commence evacuation reasonably promptly. Where a reasonable standard of fire safety management is provided and a high standard of automatic fire detection is provided, BS7974-6 recommends that familiar occupants of a building can be expected to take between 1mins and 2mins before they start to evacuate. By comparison, occupants of an unfamiliar building with a complex internal layout and a more basic standard of fire alarm system could take up to 15mins before commencing an evacuation. Recent research would indicate that even in unfamiliar buildings, occupants prompted by familiar staff can commence their evacuation within the first 30secs. Impact of Evacuation Management To comply with ADB and other fire safety legislation a reasonable standard of management will need to be provided in the building. This will include regular fire drills and the appointment of fire wardens for various areas to encourage an efficient evacuation of the building in the event of a fire. Such protocol should assist in limiting the recognition and response times of occupants. However, the proposed strategic approach to fire safety adopted in this fire strategy will not place any greater onus on management of this building than would be considered reasonable for any other storage facility of this size. An extract of Table C.1 from BS7974-6 is partially replicated in Figure 6. This demonstrates the potential variation in pre-movement times of evacuees which is dependent upon on the level of management and fire alarm provision. The management of this building will adopt a proactive fire safety management approach to comply with standard fire safety regulations for the workplac e. Figure A1-A2: Automatic fire detection and alarm throughout the building A3: Automatic fire detection and alarm only in certain areas, or manual call points only throughout Components of Available Safe Egress Time The Available Safe Egress Time is the time from ignition until conditions on occupants escape routes become untenable. The time taken for hazardous conditions to occur on the escape route will depend on three governing factors: †¢ the growth rate of the fire (and rate of smoke production) †¢ time to sprinkler activation and containment of fire size †¢ the compartment size/smoke reservoir Determination of Design Occupancy in the Warehouse Compartment To assess the likely required capacity of escape routes in speculative buildings, floor space factors are commonly used. When a designated bespoke occupancy is not known there are varying recommended floor space factors in current guidance documents that can be used. The proposed works are not for a speculative end user and Sainsburys have a good understanding of necessary staffing levels to carry out their logistics operations based on current arrangements and their other warehousing operations across the UK. Fire Growth Rate During the evacuation period the main hazard to occupants is smoke. The amount of smoke produced is directly linked to fire size and fire growth rate. The most common method of determining fire growth rates for unsprinklered fires is through the use of t-squared fires. Figure 7 illustrates the heat release rates over time of the four common fire growth rates published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). BS7974 acknowledges that storage warehouse commodities growing unchecked will generally follow an ultra-fast fire growth rate. This attracts a coefficient of g = 0.187kW/s2. Charters et al undertook a recent study to review the probabilistic aspect of fire growth in storage warehouses serving retail facilities. One of the main findings of the research was that fires in high-racked storage cash and carry warehouses were ultra-fast growing. This correlates with BS7974-1. An ultra-fast growth rate will be used for the comparative assessment of both the proposed and code c ompliant layouts. Figure Fire Size Sprinklers are installed in buildings to suppress fire size by the distribution of water so as to decrease the heat release rate and pre-wet adjacent combustibles while controlling gas temperatures to avoid structural damage. The proposed warehouse compartment will be fitted with a comprehensive in-rack sprinkler system to ensure fire size is kept to an absolute minimum. Figure 8 below from BS7974-1 demonstrates sprinkler control and extinguishment. Figure Given the enhancements to the property protection sprinkler, the proposed model will be based on a sprinkler controlled fire scenario. Although, there is significant potential that the provision of in-rack sprinklers will fully extinguish a fire, for the purposes of this comparative assessment, it will be considered that the fire size on sprinkler activation in the proposed building will be controlled as per (b) in Figure 7 rather than (d) i.e. the fire being extinguished. This provides an additional factor of safety for the analysis. There has been a number of real fire tests carried out on high rack storage arrangements by insurance companies. Tests carried out by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. concluded that fire size is unlikely to exceed 5MW where in-rack sprinklers have been provided. Smaller tests on single racks of clothing would indicate a typical peak heat release rate of 2.5MW for isolated arrangements. BRE 368 would also suggest a peak heat release rate of 2.5MW for sprinklered retail fires using fast response sprinkler heads. Travel Distances at Ground Floor Level The final exits from Ground Floor Level, independent of the Office Block, will be maintained as part of the proposed works. The existing exits are well distributed around the external faà §ade thus ensuring that occupants can turn their back on a fire and move towards an alternative exit. Existing travel distances to final exits will remain are unlikely to exceed 80m. Code Recommendations When minimum fire protection measures are provided (i.e. manual fire alarm, 2m floor to ceiling height, etc), ADB suggests maximum travel distances in warehouse accommodation of 25m in a single direction of travel and 45m where two means of escape are provided. The proposed building contains a number of inherent fire safety features such as high ceilings, automatic fire detection, sprinklers and an open plan environment. Such features assist in prolonging the onset of hazardous conditions and increase the chance of a person becoming aware of a fire in the early stages of its development independent of the alarm being raised by others. Therefore, the basic recommendations set out in ADB are considered to be unduly restrictive for the proposed building. A detailed assessment of allowable travel distances will be based on the recommendations of BS7974 and the results of this analysis will be presented in the detailed Fire Strategy Report (FSR). A detailed bespoke fire engineering analysis of allowable travel distances based on the recommendations of BS7974 and incorporating Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling will be carried out when layouts have been finalised. The results of this analysis will be presented in the detailed FSR in due course. For the purposes of this OFSR and preliminary design we have carried out a preliminary two zone model analysis to gain an understanding of the likely results to be obtained from the detailed CFD modelling. AUTOMATIC FIRE DETECTION AND ALARM Time to Detection and Alarm for the Proposed Arrangement It is proposed to provide a high standard of automatic fire detection and alarm system throughout the Warehousing compartment. The standard of detection and alarm in the building will affect the general time to warning for occupants and provide an enhanced level of fire safety through early warning and shorter evacuation times. Activation of the sprinkler system will also lead to the fire alarm sounding throughout the building. To ensure a conservative estimation of fire alarm activation our analysis has been based on an anticipated sprinkler activation time of 123sec Time to Detection and Alarm for a Typical Code Compliant Arrangement Many code compliant warehouse facilities with code compliant travel distances only require manual fire detection to meet with code recommendations. Therefore the time to detection would depend on the time taken for occupants in the room of fire origin to raise the alarm. However, should the room of fire origin be unoccupied then the time to alarm for people who may be in rooms remote from the fire would depend on them or other occupants becoming aware of cues of the fire scenario, e.g. sounds of burning material, smell of smoke or seeing smoke through a vision panel. Although BS7974-6 recommends a time to detection of at least 15mins for such scenarios, a reasonable worst case for a typical code compliant open plan warehouse could be 3 5mins. Pre-Movement Times The elevated walkways will be accessed by a relatively small number of transient staff who should be familiar with their surroundings and location of their escape routes. In compliance with health and safety legislation, fire drills will be carried out on a regular basis. Therefore, staff should be familiar with the fire alarm signal and the evacuation procedure. Current fire research would suggest that occupant pre-movement times in a managed facility such as this Sainsburys Distribution Centre is between 30secs and 60secs after alarm. However, BS7974-6 Table C1 (see Figure 5) conservatively presents a 120secs occupant premovement time for this type of occupancy. In line with BS7974-6 recommendations the code compliant layout could be 900secs. However, the comparative analysis will consider a pre-movement time of 120secs for both layouts. This is an onerous consideration and as such adds a significant degree of conservatism to the analysis. Travel Times Extensive studies have been carried out on the travel speeds of people of various abilities. CIBSE Guide E Fire Engineering and BR459 Fire Safety Engineering A Reference Guide both state that a travel speed of 1.2m/s is considered reasonable for able bodied people in low occupant density areas. This is based primarily on work by Pauls and Fruin. Personnel who will be accessing the proposed elevated walkways will be doing so to maintain/ensure the smooth operation of the automated system and will need to be reasonably mobile/physically fit to carry out such operations. Therefore, a travel speed of 1.2m/s is considered reasonable for this assessment. As previously noted travel distances on elevated walkways of the Automated Hanging Garment Racking System could be up to 100m when racking layouts are finalised. Based on a 1.2m/s travel speed it could take these occupants 84secs to reach a storey exit. For a typical compliant layout with a 45m travel distance it would take 37.5secs to rea ch a storey exit. For the above RSET components, Table 2 below presents the corresponding trset Δ . The above analysis would indicate that occupants located on one of the elevated walkways could Conservatively take up to 327secs to evacuate from the upper walkway levels of the automated hanging garment racking system. The analysis also demonstrates the benefits of providing a good standard of automatic detection and an in-rack sprinkler system that is linked to the fire alarm system as such systems should ensure that the required safe egress time from the proposed building is kept to a minimum. As can be seen from Table 2 above such systems should also ensure evacuation times from the proposed building would be comparable with many typical code compliant arrangements, if not better. To meet with code recommendations a Type M manual fire alarm system would be necessary in a standard warehouse building. However, the provision of an automatic fire detection and alarm system is an integral part of the overall fire safety package from a fire engineering perspective. The current fire alarm system will be extended to ensure the earliest possible detection of fire in the vicinity of the Automated Hanging Garment System areas. The system will provide high standard smoke detection coverage above and to the underside of elevated levels of the Automated Hanging Garment System level. The sprinkler system will also be linked to the fire alarm system so that in the event of a sprinkler head activating the alarm will sound throughout the building thus ensuring the earliest possible alert of the need to commence evacuation. The additional provision of smoke detection and linking the sprinkler system to the fire alarm is considered a significant additional life safety benefit whi ch should substantially reduce the time to alarm and pre-movement time of occupants in the building. The Type L5 fire alarm system will be designed in compliance with BS5839-1. Office Block Compartment No changes are proposed for the Office Block Compartment. Means of escape from the Warehouse Compartment is independent of the Office Block. Therefore, no further analysis of this area is necessary as part of the proposed works. EVACUATION PROCEDURES Comprehensive fire safety management procedures should be developed in consultation with the Enforcing Authorities. A detailed Fire Safety Management Plan should be developed for the management of the proposed scheme to ensure the safety of all occupants is not comprised. This section only serves as a brief introduction to the evacuation procedures which will need to be written into the Fire Safety Management Plan. Further guidance can be found in BS5588-12 Managing fire safety.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Need for speed Essay

The desire to innovate and to improve is one of the most precious human feelings because it is this very same desire that has paved the road to progress in society. At the outset, the first trains were useful but not efficient enough that people could ride on them: only goods and commodities could be transported. One of the reasons why is because safety and comfort weren’t a top priority for the railroad owner; he or she just wanted to maximize his or her profit. Then, James Watt and his steam engine came about and rocked the world into the Industrial Revolution, a time when railroads were constantly being built all over Europe. Cities grew, economies boomed and busted, and economies and cultures became intertwined so that a small business man who lives in Lille, France or Barcelona, Spain had to travel to Ukraine or Italy for a business deal as quickly as possible (as quickly as possible since now, as opposed to the relaxed and laid back past, time is money). So engineers were needed to devise a train that could travel at very fast speeds while keeping energy consumption as low as possible. The Japanese started the race for faster high speed trains with their â€Å"bullet trains†, the French countered with the TGV, and many other companies came out with their own high speed trains: Acela, Eurostar, and the Shinkansen, among others [3]. The increase in competition benefitted the consumer, the individual needing to get across the continent because now he or she had a choice between different trains, each known for a specific accommodation. For example, TGV was an electric train so the energy consumption of the trains is very low. However, it is little noisier than other lines so the trade off is subjective to the person’s taste. Eventually, all the train lines would try to balance energy consumption, safety, speed, and comfort in order to provide the smoothest trip they could possibly offer. [4] In essence, aerodynamics is the interaction of air on an object [7]. In the case of high speed trains, the aerodynamics of the train depends on many factors: â€Å"aerodynamic drag, pressure variations inside train, train-induced i ¬ow, cross-wind effects, ground effects, pressure waves inside tunnel, impulse waves at the exit of tunnel, noise and vibration†. [8] Ultimately, finding solutions to these problems will result in a faster and smoother train ride, so it becomes imperative to identify the factors that affect each of these so one can manipulate them, if possible, to one’s needs. However, having so many factors that affect the aerodynamics of a train, one can truly begin to see how complex this problem is for engineers since every change made to the train or the tracks could cost the companies owning them a huge amount of money for even the smallest of changes. Specifically, the invention of the high speed train has revolutionized long distance ground transportation since it has provided people with a much faster way to travel, sometimes cutting a seven hour long trip to three hours! However, to reduce such a trip so significantly, the path from city to city (in this place Boston to Washington D. C. ) must be as direct as possible [2]. This means that in some cases a tunnel must be built through a mountain to allow for a high speed train to pass through the mountain and get to its destination as quickly as possible. In terms of high speed trains, there are many different types, each with its advantages and disadvantages. For example, the world renown TGV It has huge advantage in that it can use the same railroad lines as local trains so the cost of making railroad tracks is reduced. However, one of the disadvantages is that using these same train tracks, just the mere fact that the TGV uses the same tracks as local trains means that the TGV limits the size and specifications of local trains because the wake of the TGV causes a wind tunnel that affects the trains behind it. [1] [2] In terms of what the future has in store, trains haven’t even started to reach their limit. From regular train to the high speed train, the speed was increased. The TGV is an obvious example of this transition given that it broke the record for the fasted train, maxing out at 357 mph. The next step is along the lines of the Japanese Maglev; taking friction out of the equation, the Maglev has the ability to greatly reduce the drag and the vibration in the train, thus making the train that much faster. In the foreseeable future, there is a concept that would take the Maglev above and beyond its achievements so far: an â€Å"evacuated tube† is a massive vacuum in a tube stretching for miles and miles. Interestingly, if this method is designed and works, it may potentially reap the benefits since the beginning. This occurs because air drag takes such a significant amount of energy out of the system (the system being defined as the train) that minimizing it to a negligible level could immediately save millions upon millions of dollars [8] [9]. On the other hand, there are changes that have been made to the train itself rather than to the environment surrounding it. The Japanese Hayabusa’s nose is angled and sleek so it can eliminate tunnel boom, the sound of a train leaving a tunnel. Tunnel boom is caused by a fast train pressurizing the air in front of it as it goes through a tunnel until it comes out of the tunnel with the pressurized air and makes a very loud sound. Trains in the past had a smaller tunnel boom that occurred right before the train left the tunnel (the sound of a train coming from inside a tunnel); however, now that the trains are that much faster, they catch up to the pressurized air and come out together, creating constructive interference, to make a bigger sound [5]. Furthermore, the French Alstrom developed an upgraded TGV called the AGV. What was interesting about how the French upgraded the TGV is that they took the power system of the TGV and completely transformed it; now it has the capacity of generating higher speeds at a fraction of the original TGV energy consumption. Don’t forget that the TGV was designed as an electric train, so to have a power system that can do more with less energy is a huge advancement! [5] In conclusion, the fact remains that the fast paced society of today has geared people to want to do everything more quickly. Following this train of thought, it makes sense that high speed trains are the future in transportation. Throughout history, people have shown a want, a need for speed. Works Cited [1] Fox News. Associated Press. http://www. foxnews. com/story/0,2933,263542,00.html (accessed July 15th, 2012) [2] Plumer, Brad. The Washington Post. http://www. washingtonpost. com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/07/16/amtraks-151-billion-high-speed-rail-plan-are-there-cheaper-options/ (accessed July 15th, 2012) [3] European Railway Server. TGVweb. http://www. trainweb. org/tgvpages/history. html(accessed July 17th, 2012) [4] http://www. buzzle. com/articles/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-maglev-trains. html [5] Railway-Technology. com. On Track. http://www. railway-technology. com/features/feature117829/(accessed July 15th, 2012). [6] James, Randy. Time U. S. http://www. time. com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1892463,00. html (accessed July 16th, 2012) [7] Bopp, Rudolf; Hagenah, Bernd. Gruner. http://www. gruner-gmbh. at/aktuelles_gmbh_at/pdf_pool/D_HAB_Porto. pdf [8] Raghunathan, Raghu S. ; Setoguchi, T. Progress in Aerospace Sciences. Aerodynamics of high-speed railway train http://ompldr. org/vMXlsOA/Aerodynamics_HSR02. pdf [9] Hoffman, Carl. Popsci: Trans-Atlantic Maglev. http://www. popsci. com/scitech/article/2004-04/trans-atlantic-maglev.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Persuasive Essay on Adoption

Homosexual Couples Should Be Allowed to Adopt New Jersey’s statewide parenting legislation espouses a progressive stance on the matters of same-sex parenting and child care in the processes of adoption and foster parenting. The Garden State allows for same-sex adoption; allows single homosexuals to adopt; and allows second parent same-sex adoption (â€Å"Same-Sex Adoption Laws,† n. d. ). New Jersey has passed progressive laws and policies that prohibit discrimination charged against gay individuals in the adoption process (Sudol, 2010).New Jersey state law also bans discrimination against gay individuals in the foster parent process (2010). New Jersey Statutes Annotated 9:3-43 enables for any person to adopt permitted the said person(s) pass a background investigation and meet adoption criteria for eligibility(N. J. S. A. 9:3-43). Unmarried joint adoptive parents petitioning to adopt a child can do so because of N. J. S. A. 9:3-43. In re Adoption of two Children by H. N . R. , 666 A. 2d 535 (N. J. Super. 995) permits second parent adoption; this statute exercises the possibility for an individual to petition for shared rights of custody with a parent who already possesses legal parental custody of a child. Several states prohibit joint adoption due to unmarried status. This statute is favorable for unmarried parents seeking to adopt in New Jersey. This New Jersey statute provides for an overall tolerant atmosphere for queer individuals and couples looking to adopt or become foster parents. In summary, laws and policies regarding same-sex adoption vary from state to state.The three common forms of adoptive guardianship are individual (single) parent adoption, joint adoption, and second parent adoption. Firstly, the most traditional type of adoptive parents is the single parent adoption. This is where an unmarried individual adopts a child that has been put up for adoption by the birth parent or by the state. Secondly, joint adoption is when an unmar ried couple can petition the court to adopt a child. Lastly, in the case of a second parent adoption, one parent has legal guardianship over a child and a second parent petitions the court to become a legally recognized co-parent.Bans on gay marriage vary state by state, as a consequence, gay couples cannot petition for adoption as a married couple but, as single individuals. This creates the opportunity for gay couples to become legal parents of foster children since most states prevent unmarried couples from adopting. As a result of state to state differences in the question of gay adoptive parents, second-parent adoptions are either permitted or the laws are unclear (Montana, 2009). Montana (2009) argues that ambiguity in court decisions are prevalent regarding gay second parent adoption petitions.Montana (2009) asserts how a state’s unclear and ambiguous position on second parent adoption places the decision on the judge to rule according to his or her personal beliefs co ncerning homosexuality rather than the letter of the law. The courts of twenty-one states including Washington, D. C. have granted second-parent adoption availability to several individuals applying to become legal second parents or co-parents of former foster children (Public Broadcasting Service, 2006).Mississippi law bars same-sex couples from all possibilities of adoption but, allows the viability for single gays and lesbians to adopt (Public Broadcasting Service, 2006). In Utah and New Hampshire, all unmarried couples, regardless of sexual orientation are allowed to adopt (Public Broadcasting Service, 2006). The following states allow adoption by openly gay and lesbian couples: Florida, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Washington, D. C. Social movements and countercultures during the 1960’s and 1970’s emerged and challenged institutionalized oppression.The Civil Rights movement addressed the pli ght of African Americans in a viciously racist society. Gay rights and the feminist movement actively subverted traditional gender norms through political activism. The American public’s disapproval of the Vietnam War served as the political platform to advance anti-war, civil rights, feminist, and queer political agendas in the increasing struggle for equal rights in a discriminatory inequitable society. The social movements of the 60’s and 70’s impacted the traditional views of adoption in the United States.The trend of challenging the dominant society’s oppressive social structures that best represent the interests of the dominant group, influenced society to question adoption laws during the 1970’s (Montana, 2009). Much like today, openly gay applicants were barred from adoption. The majorities of the cases was and still are second-parent adoptions, in which the biological parent is the legal guardian and their life partner petitions the state court to adopt (Montana, 2009). Adopting a child that is unrelated to either partner is still difficult in contemporary society; however, it is o longer illegal in most states (Montana, 2009). The seventies birthed professional organizations designed to advocate for disenfranchised oppressed groups. One of the most renowned organizations that continues to engage in public education and legal activism is Lambda Legal. Lambda Legal’s mission is to achieve full equality and secure the legal protection of the LGBT community. Throughout the 1970s, Lambda Legal was instrumental in winning some of the nation's first court cases on behalf of gay and lesbian parents and same-sex couples (Lambda Legal, n. . ). Since its inception in the seventies, Lambda Legal has battled to institute policy change, social change through political and legal activism, and to shape new positive attitudes about the LGBT community through educational awareness. For instance, a landmark court case, Finstuen v. Edmondson, was a paramount victory for LGBT individuals and same-sex parents everywhere. In 2004, the Oklahoma legislature exacted a punitive law that rendered children orphans if adopted in other states by same-sex couples.Thus, when their families returned, moved to or traveled through Oklahoma, the parents’ legal custody over the newly adopted children is not recognized by the state of Oklahoma. The three families in this case were headed by same-sex couples with children adopted in Washington, New Jersey and California respectively. Two of the families moved to Oklahoma. In the legal defense of the three families, Lambda Legal argued that the law is unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment violating the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses. All legal parents have a fundamental right to care for and raise their children, which is protected by the Fourteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution (Lambda Legal, n. d. ). Lambda Legal remains active in challenging discriminatory laws and policies on the local and state level that work to invalidate the legal adoptions of children by same-sex parents. Lambda Legal secured pivotal wins for the LGBT community’s adoptive parents in its most recent trials; these trials are similar to the Oklahoma court case where the rights of same-sex couples and their adopted children were denied. The Evan B.Donaldson Adoption Institute is another notable organization that partnered with the Illinois chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) to produce a legal document to ensure ethical practice and policy to secure the well-being of same-sex adoptive families. The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute and the NASW Illinois chapter are dedicated to promote the best interests of children by engaging in research regarding adoption. The adequate education and training of child welfare professionals encourages fundamentally sound and ethical practice when interacting with the gay community. In an effort to fight for ethical public policies and laws for same-sex adoption, the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute immerses itself in political activism to apply pressure to local and state political officials to consider issues that inhibit the likelihood of same-sex parents for homeless foster children. The number of children in need of homes is steadily increasing; organizations like the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute and Lambda Legal are instrumental in changing the willingness of adoption agencies to accept same-sex parents. Organizational response creates room for social change.Although the debate about same-sex adoptive parents continues to gain national attention, state, local courts and adoption agencies will continue to arbitrarily deny or accept same-sex petitions for adoption if the federal government does not intervene to standardize this issue by implementing an overriding national policy. Ryan Nishimoto, author of â€Å"Marriage Makes Cents: How Law ;um p; Economics Justifies Same-Sex Marriage,† suggests that society’s objections against same-sex marriage and same-sex adoptive parents are rooted in homophobic sentiments, religious views, and denigrating stereotypes (Nishimoto, 2003).The Supreme Court has historically undermined the gay rights question in contemporary American law (Nishimoto, 2003). The Supreme Court shares the general public’s sentiments about homosexuality’s immoral nature which deems same-sex couples unfit for marriage and parenting (Nishimoto, 2003). The prohibitions on same-sex marriage intimately impact the legal and economic dimensions of homosexual relationships. Marital benefits heterosexual couples receive do not apply to same-sex couples looking to adopt.Nishimoto (2003) lists how same-sex partners are excluded from insurance awards, social security benefits, public pensions, worker's compensation, income tax benefits, and estate tax benefits. Being that gays are not able to mar ry, their partners are not considered spouses. As a result, same-sex â€Å"unions† and â€Å"partnerships† are not legally recognized to qualify for the aforementioned benefits that heterosexual couples reap. This reality complicates adoption and custody cases for LGBT same-sex couples. Same sex couples must file for a second parent adoption so that both artners have legal custody over the adopted child. This process is emotionally draining and financially costly; a petitioning gay or lesbian parent faces extensive social work assessment to establish suitability (Nishimoto, 2003). State laws can prohibit same-sex second-parent adoption nullifying the possibility of a couple possessing joint custody of a child. Once again, second-parent adoption may be unclear in state legislations. This leaves the decision to appeal a petition on the court judge. A couple’s opportunity to gain joint custody relies on the judge’s personal views on homosexuality (Nishimoto, 2003).Nishimoto (2003) concludes the discussion of adoption and custody battles for LGBT couples by stating, â€Å"Thus, even if the parents overcome the lengthy, costly obstacles in their path, a judge may simply choose not to authorize the adoption. † Recommendation/Conclusion Interventions at the practice level can have far reaching benefits for same-sex parents and their children. Same-sex friendly foster agencies must engage in practice that does not further oppress the LGBT population with uninformed and unethical practice, policy, and unprofessional behavior.According to Sudol (2010) foster care agencies must cultivate a culture of inclusive practice integrated at the agency and case levels. At the agency level, staff training must have a comprehensive coverage of LGBT issues and topics; paperwork documentation, informational materials must use inclusive language, advertisements should portray a diverse representation of LGBT families, and inclusive recruitment effort s. Inclusive practice suggests that a practitioner uses culturally competent language as preferred by individual/family, avoids â€Å"outing† people, and includes other LGBT people/groups in family engagement/kin search (Sudol, 2010).In addition, Sudol (2010) adds that child welfare professionals and social workers alike, need to avoid focusing on the sexual identity of the individual/family by seeing the human not the identity. We strongly agree that the federal government must negotiate the contemporary question of same-sex parenting. It makes no sense for the federal government to give a blind eye and a deaf ear to same-sex parenting. Same-sex marriage coupled with this debate is gaining increasing attention as homosexuality gains legitimacy within the broader dominant society.The overview of current adoption law concerning lesbian, gay, and bisexual parents by the National Center for Lesbian Rights perfectly considers contemporary evidence justifying why LGBT parents are fit for adoption and why the Supreme Court must address this ensuing issue as opposed to leaving it for individual states to reconcile. One, a growing number of children lives in families with two same-sex parents. University of Maryland, Family Policy Impact Seminar, conducted research juxtaposing the rates of adoption in â€Å"gay-friendly† states in comparison to states with â€Å"anti-gay† policies.Studies showed that â€Å"gay-friendly† states adopted children and found permanent residencies as twice as much as â€Å"anti-gay† states. Two, sexual orientation is not relevant to parental ability. Discourse on the capabilities of same-sex parents to be adequate parents is governed principally by harmful stereotypes and moral judgments condemning homosexuality. â€Å"Not a single study has found children of gay or lesbian parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents.Indeed, the evidence to date sugg ests that home environments provided by gay and lesbian parents are as likely as those provided by heterosexual parents to support and enable children’s psychosocial growth. † (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2002). Three, the need for adoptive homes and the increasing visibility of lesbian, gay, and bisexual parent families has contributed to a dramatic decrease in anti-gay discriminatory policies and practices on the part of adoption agencies and courts.Four, adoption provides legal protection to children of LGBT parents. The United States guarantees financial support, inheritance rights, social security benefits, retirement benefits, and state worker’s compensation benefits for children of heterosexual parents. The downfall to this is that current law is bias against LGBT couples. Children are not eligible for these benefits if the co-parent in a same-sex partnership is not legally recognized as a guardian.For example, if the child is sick and needs to be hosp italized, the second parent cannot give medical consent for treatment to his/her child. These incentives/benefits must apply to all children regardless of the parent’s marital status and sexual orientation. The LGBT community has made progressive strides for legal rights in the area of family law (NCLR, 2011). To strengthen and preserve the emotional health of a family in a same-sex parented household, society must change their traditional views of what constitutes a family.LGBT organizations remain fierce and persistent in advocating for equality and legal rights of the gay community. Custody, visitation rights, domestic partnership benefits, sick-leave benefits, marriage, and adoption are all arenas which the gay community continues to transform for their benefit (NCLR, 2011). Legal recognition of family relationships for same-sex families further enables courts, social welfare policies, and child welfare institutions to adopt LGBT inclusive protections. Mass media mirrors our society’s values and social attitudes.The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) encourages media outlets to recognize the highly increasing numbers of families with gay, lesbian and bi-sexual parents by incorporating their stories and experiences into the coverage of all issues related to families. The diversity of images in popular media aids in the reconstruction of the idea of the â€Å"ideal† family. It is more important than ever for literature, publication, television, cinema, advertisements, and music to be change agents in today’s society.Structural change may be slow; however, as a society we must realize that thousands of loving individuals and couples are being denied the chance of giving orphans a loving home. The numbers of orphans increasing in foster care services are disproportionate to the number of foster parents willing to adopt them. This fact alone without a shadow of a doubt calls to question the involvement federal govern ment to revise law and policy to integrate the needs of same-sex parents and the growing orphan problem in the United States.The investigation of same-sex parents continues to produce evidence suggesting that children growing up in same-sex households report feeling more tolerant of other groups. The quality of parenting and family functioning are not inhibited by the parent’s sexual orientation. Lastly, children raised by same-sex parents do not exhibit psychosocial and emotionally disruptive behaviors (Children Welfare Information Gateway, 2011). | |