Debate Team paper on Obamacare

Our team’s debate topic covers a controversial issue within the Affordable Care Act in America, known as Obamacare. Obamacare is the universal health care in the United States that provides Americans access to affordable, quality health insurance, with a goal of reducing growth in healthcare spending. This universal health plan is technically a mandate or tax, in which non-compliers may be penalized through their federal return. Our topic debates whether Americans should be forced to pay this ‘shared responsibility fee’ for not complying with Obamacare. Arguments for Pro’s The United States of America is a rich and powerful country.The way we handle political, social, and ethical issues are closely watched by the entire world. We are a free democratic society who has entrusted our government to make the best, most appropriate decision for each individual in this country, even if that means we have to pay a little more. Obamacare is one of many policies that illustrate the American people’s willingness to help one another.According to â€Å"Obamacare Facts† (2013), Health and Human Services (HHS), the department in charge of implementing and overseeing the Affordable Care Act, reported that in the first two months of open enrollment nearly 1.2 million Americans had selected a health plan. With so many people utilizing these policies, it sends a positive message to other countries demonstrating how, through democracy the American people’s concern for and willingness to help one another is evident. In countries like Japan, the government has been working together with its citizens to help with healthcare costs without any hesitation. According to â€Å"The Lancet† (2011), â€Å"In healthcare the government overtime succeeded in changing the basis of medical practice from Chinese to Western medicine.Moreover the transition was achieved without minimal cost and limited social disruption [ The same social compli ance can be achieved through Obamacare, even with the tax mandate in place. Throughout history, the American people has overcome tremendous social hardships (9-11 and Sandy Hook/Connecticut to name a few), by coming together and supporting one another, exemplifying our tenacity, resilience and dedication to each other] Arguments for Con There is another side of the coin that should be addressed.With the tax penalty and the implementation of Obamacare not being as smooth as our government would have liked, many Americans who were in favor of Obamacare are quickly rethinking their stance. For Americans to fully utilize the Obamacare healthcare system, Americans must accept responsibility and pay the tax for non-compliance. Obamacare offers healthcare packages specific to ones’ needs along with many added benefits. Due to a significant amount of Americans who need or want to obtain health insurance, the cost of these plans must be covered.For Americans who are experiencing an in crease in healthcare expenses due to the unacceptable regulations of insurance companies and the rising costs of prescription medications, Obamacare seems to be a perfect solution. Yet, some Americans insist that the tax is unfair and feel they should not be forced to pay anything. According to the â€Å"ARC† (2007), â€Å"Observe that all legitimate rights have one thing in common, they are rights to action not to rewards from other people. The American rights impose no obligations on other people, merely the negative obligation to leave you alone.The system guarantees you the chance to work for what you want not to be given it without effort by somebody else. † Ethical, Moral, Legal, and Technical Issues There are many ethical, moral, and legal issues that lie within the Affordable Care Act. Ethical issues like younger American’s being relied upon to cover the benefits of the older, sicker Americans. The moral issues like the fact that other countries with uni versal healthcare- Japan for example, strictly regulates cost to keep insurance affordable yet, Obamacare does not guarantee affordability for its citizens; and legal issues like the â€Å"fix† on grandfathered health plans.Americans who will consume healthcare less frequently are â€Å"needed to subsidize the cost of older sicker ones† (Oliphant, 2013). In order to achieve affordable health insurance and include the benefits of the packages, not only must Americans actively participate in the healthcare law but younger Americans especially. â€Å"In theory, the law would create large pools of younger, healthier participants whose premiums would help offset the cost of providing care for older policyholders who use the health care system more† (Cohen, 2013).As the  deadline approaches for Americans to shop and purchase healthcare packages, the desperate need for compliance by young Americans has increased and has been communicated to the People. According to C NN News reporters, President Obama encouraged young supporters to recruit their peers to sign up for healthcare on Wednesday December, 4th 2013 (Cohen, 2013). Americans who will be depending on their healthcare more, will also depend on Americans who are healthier, to comply and pay into the plan as an attempt to maintain affordability in Obamacare.Affordability in Obamacare is not however guaranteed. â€Å"The ACA was enacted with the goals of increasing the quality and affordability of health insurance [and] lowering the uninsured rate by expanding public and private insurance coverage† â€Å"Wikipedia/Affordable Care Act† (2013). As Americans shop, some are experiencing significant rate increases. Obamacare offers many rights, protections and benefits including, â€Å"improvements to women health services†, â€Å"better care and protection for seniors†, â€Å"no annual or lifetime limits† (Obamacare Facts, 2013), and acceptance of pre-existing c onditions.In order to include these essential additions, some Americans are facing increases in their premiums or, for Americans who were not covered before, experiencing higher than expected insurance costs. â€Å"Several studies on insurance premiums expect that with the subsidies offered under the ACA, more people will pay less (than they did prior to the reforms) than those who will pay more, and that those premiums will be more stable (even in changing health circumstances) and transparent, due to the regulations on insurance† â€Å"Wikipedia/Affordable Care Act† (2013).Even though many Americans will notice a discount, when compared to health care in Japan, Obamacare communicates a stance of quality over affordability. The Japanese Government strictly regulates health care to ensure its consumers are paying as little as possible out of pocket. The affordability of Japanese healthcare may be a factor in utilization that is 4x that of the United States. This govern ment regulation guarantees affordability for the Japanese causing an increase of usage of health care.Not to mention,â€Å"people who live in Japan can expect to remain in good health longer than anybody else in the world, according to the World Health Organisation(WHO)† (BBC news, 2000). Legal issues like the â€Å"grandfathered plan† fix have impacted the roll-out of Obamacare. Confusion raised when already insured Americans experienced significant increases in costs of current premiums. This confusion was due to the promise of President Obama to Americans, â€Å"if you like your plan you can keep it†; that Americans who were already insured would experience no change in premium costs.After further review, Grandfathered plans (plans in effect before March 23, 2010) now remain effective until 2015. President Obama’s statement â€Å"if you like your plan you can keep it† still stands. Previously insured Americans can take advantage of their current plans that â€Å"don't have to follow ObamaCare's rules and regulations or offer the same benefits, rights and protections as new plans† (Obamacare Facts, 2013). The issues that exist within the healthcare law require the American people to develop skills that aid in the execution of complying with Obamacare guidelines.Despite these issues, all Americans share a responsibility to obtain the means and abide by the healthcare law Career Competencies Obtaining health insurance requires many Americans to develop a skill-set of research, evaluation, critical thinking, decision making, and also coping with pressure due to the many inconsistencies of the roll-out and progression to deadline. Too short paragraph. One’s competence in assessing and shopping for plans provides him or her (or business) the incentive to choose the package that fully covers all specific needs.Creating an understanding of information on plans and details within the package, along with applying these expertise to shop and choose the perfect plan, allows consumers to take an active role in achieving health insurance. Whether you are shopping for individual, family, or employee coverage, paying attention to the qualifications, offers, and costs of each package will allow one to find quality health insurance while remaining aware of the benefits of Obamacare. Americans who choose not to shop for healthcare packages must also achieve competence in evaluating fees.â€Å"The individual mandate goes into effect January 1st, 2014. The penalty will be applied to your annual taxable income for each month you do not have health insurance. The fee for not having insurance in 2014 is $95 per adult and $47. 50 per child or 1% of your taxable income (up to $285 for a family), whichever is greater† (Obamacare Facts, 2013). For employers who have over 50 fulltime equivalent employees and wish not to provide insurance, competence in calculating the fee is also important.â€Å"The annual fee is $2,000 per employee if insurance is not offered. The fee is a per month fee due annually on employer federal tax returns starting in 2015. So the per month fee is 1/12 of the $2,000 or $3,000 per employee† (Obamacare Facts, 2013). Americans who choose to shop, as well as those who make the decision not to comply must obtain the necessary skill-set to remain informed and be prepared of how Obamacare will affect their finances and life beginning January 1st, 2014.In times of non-compliance, web-site flaws, the need to become familiar with new information, and fighting the clock to deadline, Americans must also cope with pressure. Maintaining a positive outlook and working productively to choose a plan, despite the circulating flaws that may arise, will promote healthy mental processes that will guide one to successful decision making. Keeping emotions under control during difficult situations will help individuals, families, and businesses obtain quality health insurance while remaining stress free and open-minded.Making the decision to pay tax rather than comply with standards of Obamacare may also increase stress. Americans making this tough decision must think critically on the matter yet remain level-headed to ensure valid and sound arguments against the insurance of their health. Conclusion American’s may feel stripped of their â€Å"freedom of choice† when forced to either pay more taxes on private health insurance or enroll in the Affordable Care act, better known as Obamacare.Many years Americans have gone without having health insurance which has increased the cost of insurance, as well as increased the cost of hospitals, medications, health insurance premiums, and other medical related costs. Over the past few decades, health in American people had deteriorated due to lifestyle choices. One of the initiatives of Obamacare is geared towards young people also known as â€Å"get covered†. â€Å"It also seeks to nudge you ng adults into action by portraying insurance as a social responsibility, and encouraging peers and parents to put pressure on the uninsured† (Bohan,2013).After many years of this continued practice and still increasing costs, we are indirectly paying for the people who go to receive treatment and do not pay their medical bills. It could be argued that Obamacare will force Americans to reassess and accept responsibility of their healthcare. Obamacare allows Americans to make a conscious decision to carry the cost for being provided quality health insurance, whether it is choosing to pay the â€Å"penalty tax† or enrolling in a healthcare plan.Life expectancy has increased over the past decades and unfortunately, this means more people have utilized Medicaid over a longer period of time. Instead of being reactive when diagnosed with heart disease, diabetes, or other long term conditions which are very costly over time, Obamacare will make Americans proactive in awareness of their health by having set parameters of the requirements in coverage, i. e. , â€Å"requiring a physical†. Having a healthy nation that helps young Americans understand the importance of health is something we all must contribute to.The mentality of why Americans must pay penalties, follow requirements, and how freedom of choice will change is the first reaction to the unknown. Obamacare provides access to a market of quality and affordable health insurance for Americans. Obamacare mandates that anyone who can afford it must provide themselves, family, or employees with quality health insurance. To ensure a more healthy nation and align with the notion of shared responsibility and a willingness to help each other, Americans must abide by the mandate or pay the shared responsibility fee.

Office Star Usefull for Market Research

Background OfficeStar, a regional chain of office supply stores, has decided to launch its own ink cartridge line of products. The goal of the company is to compete with the usual actors in the market by offering a lower-priced product to its core customers, with which it hopes to capture significant market share in that business. The key figures for this market are as follows: .. The market for ink cartridges in the region is approximately 2. 3 million units sold every quarter (to simplify, we assume 2. 3 million customers buy one ink cartridge each). ..The production cost of an ink cartridge is $6. 50; it is sold at a price of $19. 95 in stores, leading to a gross margin of $13. 45. .. OfficeStar has a house list of 500,000 identified potential customers, to whom the company could send samples if that were deemed profitable. .. Sending a sample costs $3 in shipping and handling. Just before launching the product line, OfficeStar hired a market research company to perform simulation s and forecast the future market share of the product. Results were disappointing. The market research company has identified two key issues: ..Prospective customers are unwilling to try this product, and most appear likely to remain loyal to their current provider (usually, the printer manufacturer). .. Even for those customers willing to try the product, market research pretests show a low level of repeat sales. Exercise As the new product manager of the OfficeStar ink cartridge product line, you wanted to identify the opportunities and ways to penetrate stronghold of OEMs. Data from 40 respondents was captured and is available in OfficeStar Data. xls file. Carry out segmentation study and report your findings in the form of 1 page memo.

Argument of Love Essay

But how can we learn about something or someone without any experience? It takes being around someone on a regular basis to know and see how he/she handles different situations. This helps you know if this is someone who compliments you. So, why not give yourself time to experience the questions and answers you would ask if you would have met later in life. When people meet at an older age, they do not know anything about their partner’s character. Both people in the relationship are experienced and ready to settle down, usually before having time to figure out each other. On the other hand, when a couple starts out young you can catch the flaws as they grow. You can get used to the changes, leave them, or work it out. You are able to be together and become friends before lovers. You will know where the person came from, where they seem to be going, and what has already been accomplished. This is better than meeting a random person and trying to learn them quickly, â€Å"because life is too short. † Our parents are often loving, however, they have the meanest way of expressing it. They seem to always try to save you from the heartache and trouble they know you will encounter because â€Å"they have been there done that. They have lived and experienced life so they know more than we could imagine. This only made them stronger because â€Å"you learn from your mistakes right? † So why is it so bad for us to experience and learn from our own mistakes? They expect us teenagers to watch how their relationships went, and do what they did or the opposite. They would even tell you to look at your friend and how she/he started young and has a child. But everyone does not end up with the same outcome. I am not saying the first person you find at sixteen will be your lifetime partner. However, just because you are in love at sixteen does not mean the relationship will not last or the love is not true. Let us say you meet a person in the eighth grade and you have a crush on that person from the start. Whether it is their style, charm, or the fact he/she can answer many questions the teacher asks that attracted you to this person, you may also notice their flaws or disagree with them on many occasions. By being around your crush day by day, some days you may like them a lot, and some days you will not care for him/her at all. This is the beginning of what I feel is true love. When you see a person’s true character but still look past their imperfections just to be with them shows how much you care for that person. The older generation may call this naive or say we do not know any better. Now you are in high school and in a relationship with your crush. You begin to go on dates to the movies, skating, or just sitting on your sofa at home, it is not anything major but it is still spending time. When things start going great, one or maybe both of you start cheating. This is when your feelings are put to the test. You may break up, make up, and/or do it all over again. This process is the beginning to the perfect ending. Adults may call us teenagers stupid, but what we call cheating is talking on the phone, texting, or smiling at the opposite sex. Adults tend to think that sexual encounters with other people are the only type of cheating. When we find ways to work out our insecurities with our partner shows the dedication and potential our relationship has. No matter how people look at other people relationship problems we will all have to deal with the same things. Whether it is learning how to cope with a flirt in high school or trying to save a marriage with a cheater later on in life. Starting off young give you more time to figure your problems out so when it is time to get married you have truly been through it all with your lifetime partner. Once people reach about thirty-five they have had a few relationships that ended up bad, so they become close minded to people’s personalities. However, they still feel the need to settle down. They expect someone to be a certain way and if they are not what they think they should be then etting to know that person is over. Now a year has passed, they have met someone, dated, had sex, and met each other’s family. While overlooking the city sipping wine and smoking cigarettes, you have finally talked about the past, present, and future. â€Å"Oh NOW you are in love? † You were fed dreams in the sunset while washing it down with Alize so it just has to be true. Six years after being married, you are divorced with a five year old and high blood pressure. Your done with men/women but you still want love deep down inside. The one you fell in love with that night as the sun went down turned out to get overly angry when he would mix his Alize with Patron behind your back. Or it could be the other way around; she was a freak in the bed but also with Ned, Fred, and your best friend Simon. In reality, it is better to try and find your true love while you are still young. The first person that breaks your heart may or may not be the person you should spend the rest of your life with. But when you are young it is much easier to start all over again rather than waiting until â€Å"the time is right. Maybe that time would be twenty or thirty years from your first heartbreak. Then it will be like you are forced to settle for the first person that comes back into your life. On top of meeting someone new during middle age, you would have to catch up and learn more and more about a person which you should have experienced together. When you grow with a person you are able to see the whole process. You are there t o encourage him/her to do right. You can help the person grow while they are doing the same for you. If you both stick around through the toughest times then that is real love. If you leave and they do the most to get you back it is love. Being shown that they will not let you go no matter what should be enough to show you how genuine ones love is for you. You do not have the time to experience and find these things out when you are thirty-five because the time is limited. If you are able to figure those things out as an adult then you are truly blessed. Parents should be more open minded towards their children teenage love because one day they could be introducing him/her as their son-in-law or daughter-in-law. Argument of Love Essay But how can we learn about something or someone without any experience? It takes being around someone on a regular basis to know and see how he/she handles different situations. This helps you know if this is someone who compliments you. So, why not give yourself time to experience the questions and answers you would ask if you would have met later in life. When people meet at an older age, they do not know anything about their partner’s character. Both people in the relationship are experienced and ready to settle down, usually before having time to figure out each other. On the other hand, when a couple starts out young you can catch the flaws as they grow. You can get used to the changes, leave them, or work it out. You are able to be together and become friends before lovers. You will know where the person came from, where they seem to be going, and what has already been accomplished. This is better than meeting a random person and trying to learn them quickly, â€Å"because life is too short. † Our parents are often loving, however, they have the meanest way of expressing it. They seem to always try to save you from the heartache and trouble they know you will encounter because â€Å"they have been there done that. They have lived and experienced life so they know more than we could imagine. This only made them stronger because â€Å"you learn from your mistakes right? † So why is it so bad for us to experience and learn from our own mistakes? They expect us teenagers to watch how their relationships went, and do what they did or the opposite. They would even tell you to look at your friend and how she/he started young and has a child. But everyone does not end up with the same outcome. I am not saying the first person you find at sixteen will be your lifetime partner. However, just because you are in love at sixteen does not mean the relationship will not last or the love is not true. Let us say you meet a person in the eighth grade and you have a crush on that person from the start. Whether it is their style, charm, or the fact he/she can answer many questions the teacher asks that attracted you to this person, you may also notice their flaws or disagree with them on many occasions. By being around your crush day by day, some days you may like them a lot, and some days you will not care for him/her at all. This is the beginning of what I feel is true love. When you see a person’s true character but still look past their imperfections just to be with them shows how much you care for that person. The older generation may call this naive or say we do not know any better. Now you are in high school and in a relationship with your crush. You begin to go on dates to the movies, skating, or just sitting on your sofa at home, it is not anything major but it is still spending time. When things start going great, one or maybe both of you start cheating. This is when your feelings are put to the test. You may break up, make up, and/or do it all over again. This process is the beginning to the perfect ending. Adults may call us teenagers stupid, but what we call cheating is talking on the phone, texting, or smiling at the opposite sex. Adults tend to think that sexual encounters with other people are the only type of cheating. When we find ways to work out our insecurities with our partner shows the dedication and potential our relationship has. No matter how people look at other people relationship problems we will all have to deal with the same things. Whether it is learning how to cope with a flirt in high school or trying to save a marriage with a cheater later on in life. Starting off young give you more time to figure your problems out so when it is time to get married you have truly been through it all with your lifetime partner. Once people reach about thirty-five they have had a few relationships that ended up bad, so they become close minded to people’s personalities. However, they still feel the need to settle down. They expect someone to be a certain way and if they are not what they think they should be then etting to know that person is over. Now a year has passed, they have met someone, dated, had sex, and met each other’s family. While overlooking the city sipping wine and smoking cigarettes, you have finally talked about the past, present, and future. â€Å"Oh NOW you are in love? † You were fed dreams in the sunset while washing it down with Alize so it just has to be true. Six years after being married, you are divorced with a five year old and high blood pressure. Your done with men/women but you still want love deep down inside. The one you fell in love with that night as the sun went down turned out to get overly angry when he would mix his Alize with Patron behind your back. Or it could be the other way around; she was a freak in the bed but also with Ned, Fred, and your best friend Simon. In reality, it is better to try and find your true love while you are still young. The first person that breaks your heart may or may not be the person you should spend the rest of your life with. But when you are young it is much easier to start all over again rather than waiting until â€Å"the time is right. Maybe that time would be twenty or thirty years from your first heartbreak. Then it will be like you are forced to settle for the first person that comes back into your life. On top of meeting someone new during middle age, you would have to catch up and learn more and more about a person which you should have experienced together. When you grow with a person you are able to see the whole process. You are there t o encourage him/her to do right. You can help the person grow while they are doing the same for you. If you both stick around through the toughest times then that is real love. If you leave and they do the most to get you back it is love. Being shown that they will not let you go no matter what should be enough to show you how genuine ones love is for you. You do not have the time to experience and find these things out when you are thirty-five because the time is limited. If you are able to figure those things out as an adult then you are truly blessed. Parents should be more open minded towards their children teenage love because one day they could be introducing him/her as their son-in-law or daughter-in-law.

Technical Writing-Document Design Newsletter Assignment Essay

Technical Writing-Document Design Newsletter Assignment - Essay Example the marketing department are required to come up with innovative marketing campaign for the upcoming year and submit it to their marketing manager by the end of this month. As the manager, I have held a meeting with the manufacturing department to discuss our ever increasing manufacturing costs. It was decided that the leather we import has heavy taxes levied on it which keep increasing. To keep our customers satisfied we are in need of another cheaper source of leather to make our shoes. Hence, I have undertaken an initiative to use the best leather available in our country. Three months testing period will be decided to check the quality of our shoes. All employees are notified that the sales management department office has been shifted to a new locality for ease of vicinity to promote better communication with other departments. Your respective managers will give you the detailed address in this regard. I am sure all employees are eager to know where we will hold our end of month activity. This month we have taken notice of one of our employee’s suggestion in this regard and planned a movie outing for all our departments to get together to. Your department managers will give you all the details in this regard. The human resource department has initiated a monthly survey program which will serve to keep check of the progress since recruitment of all the employees regardless of their departments. It will also oversee the satisfaction level of our employees so we can help you serve better. Your suggestions regarding our improvement will be highly welcomed in the survey. I am the manager of Shoe It Company’s limited. It deals with the manufacture of shoes for ladies and men. Recently we have started the manufacture of children’s shoes as well. We also deal with the retail sales of our shoes under the same brand. We are a well established company however due to the increase of competition in our area we have a reduced sales outcome for the previous month.

Customer Relationship Marketing Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Customer Relationship Marketing - Article Example Introduction: The legendary question in the history of the business management is how to satisfy the customers. It is very obvious to understand that customer is the king in any business as the customers are the vital factor in the business that generates the revenue for the company. The customer’s perception and attitude towards the services provided by the hospitality industry are the vital factors. The customer loyalty programs are very much vital for this industry mainly for the hotels, in most of the hotels the loyalty programs run as these hotels want their customer to be happy and the lingering effect of the loyalty programs will get back the customers in the hotel in the near future. Part A: The correlation between the CRM and hospitality management: It is very important to understand that customer relationship management and the hospitality industry are closely related to each other and they are the supplementary factors for each other for a successful business enviro nment. It very important to understanding that service products are not the tangible product it is strictly intangible product. People don’t get the feeling of the product while they are buying the product they get the actual feelings of the product while they pursue the service and that is the reason the presales customer relation management is very much important for the hospitality industry. All the major hotels in the world follow the strict regulations of the long term customer relationship management. The loyalty is a factor which enables the customer to buy a product in repeated manner. There are some factors are related in this context to support the power of loyalty and they are trustworthiness, dependability, allegiance, devotion and excellence. The loyalty programs are the reason for the Starbucks to pull the same old customer for repeated time. The hospitality industry is surviving on these loyalty programs as the cost of acquiring new customer is high so retentio n of a customer would lower down many recurring costs. The hotel industry works with three main functional entities and they are the owner of the hotel, the management team and the brand itself. The proper alignment of the interest towards the betterment of the service is the main motto of all of these three parties. Most of the time these parties don’t want to share the customer data related to their own department and that leads toward the malfunctioning of the whole system. Most of the big hotels use CRM software to maintain the customer database. Mainly for the hotels who are having multiple locations, they use centralized CRM which is been used from the head office. Monitoring the existing customer database in very much important for the further improvement of the system. CRM is the cross functional management philosophy that focuses on reconfiguration of the activities of the firms towards their customers. The CRM and marketing management are different in many aspects. The marketing activity can be a small time promotional activity but, the customer relation management is a long term process to satisfy the existing customer. CRM focuses on maximizing revenues where marketing focuses on brand building and other activities for the future sales. The betterment of the business relies on a strong interpersonal relationship with the customers. The proper CRM (Customer Relation Management)

Diversity Of Phylum Chordata Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Diversity Of Phylum Chordata - Essay Example In fish they are modified to form gills and they may disappear as the animal grows especially in some of the vertebrates. The pharyngeal gill slit is present at some point in life of the animals. Nerve cord: It is hollow and dorsoventrally placed to the notochord and ends in the brain. Other features are muscular tail (post anal tail) and endostyle (a groove like structure in the ventral wall of the pharynx. However the general features exhibited by animals in this phylum are: The animals have a bilaterally symmetrical body Their bodies are segmented and therefore have segmented muscles Their coelom is well developed They have well developed circulatory system with a ventrally placed heart and are therefore more active than their counterpart invertebrates. Their skeleton is either bony or cartilaginous Their digestive system is complete meaning that their gut runs through the body from mouth to the anus. The phylum chordate falls under the Kingdom Animalia and is further divided into the subphyla Urochordata, Cephalochordata and Vertebrata. However, animals in these subphyla may show different characteristics but the reason for them being grouped in the same phylum is because they exhibit similar characters referred to as unifying links such as urochordates’ larvae have both notochord and nerve cord which vanishes in adulthood. Cephalochordates have a notochord and nerve cord which persist to adulthood but do not have cranium. In vertebrates, the notochord is replaced with vertebral column at adulthood stage and the nerve cord becomes the spinal cord. Subphylum Urochordata Urochordates also known as Tunicates and exemplified by Ascidia have the following characteristics: At adult stage, their body is covered with a suck like structure (Tunica) and has two siphons one through which water enters the body (incurrent siphon) and the other through which water leaves the body (excurrent siphon). They are filter feeders and sessile. Although adults are sessile, their larvae are free swimming and exhibit almost all chordate characteristics. Subphylum Cephalochordata Exemplified by amphioxus and lancelets, cephalochordates have eel like bodies, they are marine, their bodies are segmented. Members of the phylum are soft bodied and therefore, cephalochordates are not fossilized. A notochord extends through their elongated body and mouth is armed with cirri which aids in obtaining food. They have numerous gill slits and are also dioecious. They are filter feeders (extract food from water taken in though the mouth by help of cilia on their wheel organ. Subphylum vertebrata Vertebrates are the most advanced chordates and apart from having an internal skeleton, they exhibit the following characteristics: Their bodies are segmented They have a bilateral symmetrical body Their endoskeleton is either a bony or cartilaginous Pharyngeal gill slits are lost in adults but are present during embryonic stage Their heart is ventrally placed They posses pos t anal tail They have a closed circulatory system Vertebrata Classes Classes captured are: Agnatha, Chondrichthyes, Osteichthyes,Amphibia ,Reptila ,aves and Mammalia Class Agnatha Agnathans arise from a group of vertebrates known as Cylclostomes (fishes or group of vertebrates without jaws) which excludes Gnathostomes (group of vertebrat

Future Career Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Future Career - Essay Example I have always had a way with children. Their curiosity and complete lack of inhibition has fascinated me and I have enjoyed hours of fun and frolic with kids. I am a good listener and am patient and tactful. I enjoy an excellent rapport with kids due to my sense of humor and storytelling skills. I can be perceptive, and time spent with children never tires me - in fact I find it a refreshing change from work or study. I believe this attachment to children has been a major factor in my chosen career options of either Early Childhood Teacher or Children’s psychologist. Early childhood teaching is a specialized field; hence I shall have to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education. I shall also have to look up the requirements of the state where I shall want to work to attain further teaching credentials. This will enable me to get a job as an early childhood educator. I may have to begin as an assistant in order to gain some experience before I can be hired as a teacher. I shall also have to learn special skills to be able to descend to the level of my young charges and view life from their perspective in order to hold their interest and make learning a rewarding and enriching experience for them. Besides, I shall need to improve my arts and crafts skills so as to increase their creativity and learn to think on my feet in order to be able to handle sticky situations. The first years of a child’s life are crucial because here the foundations of their social skills, sense of self, moral values as well as perception of the ir surroundings and cognitive skills are laid. This is also the time when the human brain grows at its fastest pace. Therefore these first few years are critical to nurture healthy development of a child’s physical and mental abilities. At this point in their lives, when they will probably be interacting with people outside their immediate family for the first time; I shall have to adapt to the emotional needs

Analytical report on a current 'people issue' in the business news Essay

Analytical report on a current 'people issue' in the business news event as a 'case study you are required to undertake an - Essay Example The two major areas of HRM chosen for the purpose are human resource management care for the employees in organisations; and resourcing the organisation. The article chosen is on a recent survey which was undertaken by the â€Å"WorldatWork† (HRM Guide, 2010). The article has been chosen to ensure that it highlights the major aspects of recruitment practices and other benefits that employees are liable to in an organisations. It tries to bring about a link between the theories and practices and identifies the gaps between the same. Lastly, it provides suitable and needful recommendations to be undertaken by organisations in removing the same. Description about the news article The news article which was published on July 02, 2010 brings forth the results of a survey which was conducted on a number of employers in the US over â€Å"paid time off work† (HRM Guide, 2010). Three fourth of the employers in USA responded by saying that it was necessary to offer programs of pa id time off in order to remain competitive in the labour market. They conducted the programs through traditional and non-traditional ways. There were 1036 numbers of respondents from the benefits and compensation departments in the large corporations in USA. Lenny Sanicola, a member of the WorldatWork said that â€Å"time is the new currency and employers remaining committed to providing paid time off as a key employee benefit and reward† (HRM Guide, 2010). The three programs which were used in by employers are the traditional method, the PTO Bank type method and the Unlimited Leave method. The first method was used by 54% of the US companies. Under this program, employees are given particular allotments for vacations, sick and personal days. The PTO Bank model were being used by 40% of the employers under which employees were given a particular numbers of days to be used as leave for individual purposes. The unlimited leave strategy was undertaken by only 1% of the organisat ions under which employees would be given as many leaves as they wanted. It was seen that majority of the companies in USA were losing numerous dollars in the form of productivity and payroll expenses. The reason was that they were failing to manage the employees’ time off effectively. Employers believed that this would be crucial for successful recruitment, selection and retention of candidates but most of them did not maximise on the value of this aspect in the benefits program. The survey on 421 companies showed that 11% of them provided the time-off programs equally among all the employees. This made it difficult for them to manage and administer. The reports showed that the time-off programs were important tools for increasing attractiveness of organisations as employers but it had become extremely complex. This had made their administration and management difficult. It is crucial that companies undertake such programs which would allow them to quantify and track the tim e-off that their employees take since the programs involved are as expensive as that involving health care benefits, or overtime and temporary labour. It is realised that employers are the first ones and directly responsible providers of welfare to the employees. It is their involvement with the welfare facilities which

Duke Heart Failure Program Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Duke Heart Failure Program - Case Study Example What are the financial results of the CHF disease management program? Hint: Examine revenue and cost impacts for the Hospital (inpatient and outpatient) and Physicians perspective. According to the American Heart Association, the annual direct cost was estimated to be $ 22.2 billion to treat the CHF patients, in addition to $ 2.1 billion in the loss of productivity. The costs of the hospital were about 60 percent of the direct costs of CHF. Hospital readmission rates were about 2 percent with in 2 days, 20 percent with in 1 month, and 50 percent for 6 month time. The only one largest expense for Medicare was CHF and it was also the basic cause of admission in emergency room among the Medicare population. Non-compliance of diet and medication resulting in readmission was about 33 percent to 64 percent whereas 35 percent of readmissions were related to inadequate discharge planning or follow- up. 3.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Essay Example for Free

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Essay The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA got enacted in the year 1996 by U. S Congress. The first title of HIPAA offers protection to the workers as well as the families when they decide to change their jobs or incase they lose jobs. The second title of HIPAA which is also known as Administrative Simplification does require for establishments of the national standards of electronic care transactions, employers, the plans of health insurance and the national providers. This paper hence gives limelight to what HIPAA is all about and the people who ought to comply with the standards of HIPAA. HIPPA which was enacted in the year 1996 does require the HHS secretary to publicize all the standards for electronic exchange, security of the health information as well as privacy. The new standards are integral and are developed in order to offer protection to the integrity, confidentiality as well as the availability of the health information (Department of health Human services, n. d). In the past there were no any standards that offered uniform and comprehensive protection of the health information. The new HIPAA’S security standards will offer correct access of health information by the health providers, health plans, clearinghouses offering the appropriate safety measures against dissemination and misuse. The Electronic Signature Standard will offer a reliable way to assure there is message integrity, non repudiation and authentication. The covered entities ought to comply with the standards of HIPAA. The covered entities comprise of Health plans, health providers who do transmit any health information through electronic form and the Health Care Clearinghouses (Department of Health Human Services, n. d). The health plans include group or individual plans that offer or pay costs of the medical care which are covered in the entities. They comprise of vision, dental, vision, drug insurers, health organizations and maintenance, Medicaid, Medicare as well as the long term insurers (HIP, 2008). They also include the church and government sponsored health plans, employer groups and others. Every health provider who does transmit the health information electronically is also covered by this entity. The healthcare clearing houses are those entities that do process some of the nonstandard information that they do receive from other entities to a standard. The main benefits of HIPAA regulations to the healthcare organizations are the fact that the standardization of the electronic data will improve the transfer of information between the provider and the payer. Also HIPAA is beneficial as the codification of standards of the electronic data will trigger the medical providers to effectually move their medical services to the internet(Bureau for Medical Services, 2008). HIPAA will also offer the healthcare organizations with a prospect to simplify as well as streamline their infrastructure and operations offering important savings potential. With the implementation of the standards of HIPAA the administrative needs might decrease. The standards of HIPAA do not apply to the employers, casualty, life, disability and workers insurers as well as other health information users. The major goal of HIPAA’s privacy rule is to make sure that the individual’s information on health is protected and there is flow of the health information that is required to offer as well as promote quality healthcare in order to offer protection to the well being of the public. The privacy rule offers protection to people seeking healing and care and given the fact that the marketplace for healthcare is quite diverse, this rule is hence designed in a comprehensive and flexible way to cover disclosures and uses that ought to be addressed.

Chemical Synthesis of a Gene: Phosphodiester Approach

Chemical Synthesis of a Gene: Phosphodiester Approach Chemical synthesis of a gene is the process of synthesizing an artificially designed gene into a physical DNA sequence by chemical methods. The amino acid sequence of the protein encoded by a gene enables the deduction of base sequence of the concerned gene. From the amino acid sequence of the protein and using a set of optimal codons, the nucleotide sequence of the gene can be back translated. However, the degeneracy of genetic code may present some problems, but a functional sequence of the gene can nonetheless be worked out and can be optimized for codon usage as well as for base composition. In principle, a DNA synthesizer can be used to synthesize the DNA sequence chemically and this can be cloned in the usual manner. But this is not so simple. A synthesizer will add bases sequentially one at a time to the growing oligonucleotide chain through a series of chemical reactions and washing steps. Synthesis of oligonucleotides 30-50 bases long is very reliable, longer sequences can be synthesized but the practical limit is not more than 100 bases. One way to solve this is to synthesize short fragments and join them chemically or enzymatically to create the longer fragment. However, the synthesizer makes single-stranded DNA, so the complementary strand has to be synthesized again to create a double-stranded DNA. It involves a lot of work but is achievable. Early studies. The synthesis of nucleic acids in the laboratory started about thirty years ago. Early synthetic efforts used phosphodiester approach which enabled the synthesis of short oligonucleotides of 10-20 nucleotides. This approach was based on the selection of the proper condensing agents for phosphodiester bond formation and at the same time suitable protective groups were employed for the bases and the ribose moiety. These oligonucleotides were then assembled into longer DNA fragments with the help of kinase and DNA ligase. From the known primary structure of a ribonucleic acid, tyrosine tRNA, Dr H Khorana and his colleagues deduced the DNA sequence and synthesized successfully a DNA segment containing 200 bp coding for the structural gene for tyrosine tRNA. However, the low yields in the condensation step, the long reaction times, and especially the time-consuming purification of intermediates led to believe that chemical gene synthesis is unlikely to become a standard lab oratory method. Since then, the procedure for oligonucleotide synthesis has been improved by several workers and they provide different approaches for synthesis as well as protection of bases and sugar moieties. There are three distinct methods: (1) phosphodiester approach, (2) phosphotriester or phosphate triester approach and (3) phosphite triester or phosphoramidite approach. Phosphodiester approach This method involves the formation of an ester linkage between an activated phosphate group of one nucleotide with the hydroxyl group of another nucleoside, thus forming the natural phosphodiester bridge between the 5-OH of one nucleoside unit and the 3-OH of the next. Here, 3-O-acetylnucleoside-5-O-phosphate (a) is activated by N,N-dicyclo- hexylcarbodiimide (DCC) or p-toluenesulphonylchloride(PTS/PTsCl) and subjected to react with a 5-O-protected nucleoside (b) to give a protected dinucleoside monophosphate or phosphodiester (c). Activation of phosphate moiety is essential for easier formation of the phosphodiester linkage and this is mediated by DCC or PTsCl. Now, to increase the chain length, one has to remove the 3-O-acetyl group by base catalysed hydrolysis. Further chain elongation is carried out by repeating the process. The major drawback of the phosphodiester method is the formation of pyrophosphate oligomers and oligonucleotides branched at the internucleosidic phosphate. Phosphotriester approach In this method, oligonucleotide branch formation is avoided by protecting the phosphate group with an ethylcyano group. A nucleotide containing 5-OH protected and phosphate protected by MMT and 2-cyanoethyl group respectively (compound a) is activated with 2,4,6-Triisopropylbenzenesulfonyl chloride (TPSCl) and subjected to reaction with a 3-O-protected nucleoside (b). This generates a dinucleoside monophosphate or phosphotriester (c) in which phosphate group is protected by 2-cyanoethyl group. The basic difference between phosphodiester and phosphotriester method is that, in phosphodiester method, the phosphate group is protected by two phosphoester linkage but in phosphotriester method the phosphate group is protected by one extra phosphoester linkage with 2-cyanoethyl group. In phosphotriester method, the formation of oligonucleotide branch at the internucleosidic phosphate is avoided. Phosphite triester or phosphoramidite approach The phosphite triester or phosphoramidite approach for oligonucleotide synthesis was based upon the use of phosphoramidite monomers and the use of tetrazole catalysis. In phosphite triester method, the starting compound is N-6-benzoyldeoxyadenosinephosphoramidite (if adenine is the first base) where the phosphorous atom is in the +3 oxidation state. So unlike the other methods, the formation of oligonucleotides branch is not possible in this process. In this approach, the oligonucleotide is synthesized by a series of reactions described below. Protection of base and sugar In this step, the free -NH2 group of the bases are protected by benzoylation or acylation depending upon the nature of bases. The 5-hydroxyl group is also protected by dimethoxytrityl group (DMT), which protects only primary hydroxyl group but not secondary. The reactions are illustrated in CSG_Fig 3., the blocked bases are shown in the inset. Formation of phosphite triester or phosphoramidite In this step phosphite triester is synthesized by a series of reactions. First, 2-cyanoethanol on reaction with phosphorus trichloride produces an intermediate compound which on further reaction with di-isopropylamine (two-equivalent) and 5-OH protected nucleoside (one-equivalent) produces phosphite triester (CSG_Fig 4). This phosphoramidite will be repeatedly used during the oligonucleotide synthesis process described below. The synthesis procedure The synthesis is carried out in several steps described below: Step 1: The deblocking step The first base, which is attached to the solid support, is at first inactive because all the active sites have been blocked or protected. The free -NH2 groups in the bases remains protected by benzoylation or acylation depending upon the bases and the -OH group is protected by dimethoxytrityl group (DMT). To add the next base, the DMT group protecting the 5-hydroxyl group must be removed (deblocking). This step is also called detritylation. This is done by adding either dichloroacetic acid (DCA) or trichloroacetic acid (TCA) in dichloromethane (DCM), to the reaction column. The 5-hydroxyl group is now the only reactive group on the base monomer. This ensures that the addition of the next base will only bind to that site. The reaction column is then washed to remove any extra acid and by-products. Step 2: Base condensation The step2 is basically a condensation step. Now prior to addition of the well protected nucleotide to the column, it is essential to activate the phosphate group, so that the nucleophilic attack on phosphorous atom takes place easily. This is best done by adding tetrazole to the nucleotide in dichloromethane medium. In presence of tetrazole, diisopropylamine group of the nucleotide becomes positively charged and hence its departure would be easier after nucleophilic attack of 5-hydroxyl group of the previous nucleotide which is attached with resin column. After the reaction, the column was washed to remove extra tetrazole, unbound nucleotide and byproduct (diisopropylamine). Step 3: Capping In case of unreacted nucleoside attached with resin, the 5-hydroxyl group is unprotected this may react later with the addition of different nucleotides. If left unprotected, it will lead to the formation of a mixture of oligonucleotides. The 5-hydroxyl group is therefore blocked by adding acetic anhydride and N-methylimidazole (capping). After capping, the reaction column is thoroughly washed to remove extra acetic anhydride and N-methylimidazole. Step 4: Oxidation This step is basically an oxidation step. In this step, the phosphite linkage is oxidized to give more stable phosphate linkage. The oxidation is best done by adding a mixture of dilute aqueous iodine solution, pyridine (Py) and tetrahydorfuran (THF) to the reaction column. The steps one through four, i.e., deblocking, base condensation, capping and oxidation, are repeated until all desired bases have been added to the column. This cycle is completed once for each additional base. Step 5 Detachment of oligonucleotide from solid support After all bases have been added the oligonucletide must be cleaved from the solid support and deprotected before it can be effectively used. For detachment of oligonucleotides form resin, the column is treated with 28% ammonium hydroxide solution (NH4OH), and at the same time the ethylcyano group on the phosphate group is removed. Step 6: Purification and isolation of oligonucleotide In this step, NH4OH is evaporated from the ammonium hydroxide solution of oligonucleotides to get crude product. The crude product is a mixture of oligonucleotide, cleaved protective groups and oligonucleotides with internal deletions. Now this crude product is subjected to boiling in a sealed tube with NH4OH at 55 °C. The main purpose of this reaction is to remove the base protecting group. After evaporation of NH4OH, the crude product is subjected to desalting followed by Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis, to purify the oligonucleotides. Desalting is used mainly to remove the ammonium ion. This is done by ethanol precipitation, size-exclusion chromatography, or reverse-phase chromatography. Oligonucleotides are synthesized by the stepwise addition of nucleoside-3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ²-phosphoramidite monomers to solid-phase supports in an automated DNA synthesizer. In solid-phase synthesis, 3-terminal hydroxy group of the first added nucleoside is attached to the solid surface by covalent interaction. The solid support is contained in columns whose dimensions depend on the scale of synthesis. The two most frequently used solid phase materials are Control Pore Glass (CPG) and macroporous polystyrene (MPPS). CPG is commonly defined by its pore size, for example pore sizes of 500Ã… are used to allow the oligonucleotides preparation of about 50 -mer. To improve the performance of native CPG some modification is required. This is done by treating the material with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane) to give Aminopropyl CPG. The amino group then serves as the anchoring point for the first added oligonucleoside. MPPS is synthesized by polymerization of divinylbenzene, styrene, and 4-chloromethylstyrene in the presence of a porogeneous agent. It is a low-swellable, highly cross-linked polystyrene and suitable for oligonucleotide synthesis. The macroporous chloromethyl MPPS obtained is often converted to aminomethyl MPPS to improve the efficiency of the support. Annealing of oligonucleotides For chemically synthesize a gene, the next step will be to assemble the oligonucleotides to form a complete gene. This is achieved by enzymatic methods which include polymerase cycling and ligase reactions. Some of the strategies are discussed below. Assembling oligonucleotides by single-step PCR. For synthesis of a gene, the oligonucleotides (about 30-60 nt long) are synthesized chemically so that each oligonucleotide has a 6-9 nt overlap with its neighboring oligonucleotide. These are then assembled in a single-step PCR. In this method, oligonucleotides are first ligated and then the product, the entire gene, is PCR amplified using the outmost oligonucleotides as primers. This method was first used to synthesize a 924-bp gene coding for an isozyme of horseradish peroxidase. Another method was developed by WPC Stemmer which did not use any ligase for joining the oligonucleotide products. It however, relied on Taq DNA polymerase (PCR cycling) for joining the individual oligonucleotides. Assembling oligonucleotides by two-step PCR. The method involves two steps. (i) Synthesis of individual fragments of the DNA of interest: ten to twelve 60mer oligonucleotides with 20 bp overlap are mixed and a PCR reaction is carried out with high-fidelity DNA polymerase Pfu to produce DNA fragments that are 500 bp in length. (ii) Synthesis of the entire sequence of the DNA of interest: five to ten PCR products from the first step are combined and used as the template for a second PCR reaction using high-fidelity DNA polymerase pyrobest, with the two outermost oligonucleotides as primers. Several modifications of the above procedure have been presented. One such method called PAS (PCR-based accurate synthesis) involves (i) synthesis of oligonucleotides to cover the entire DNA sequence (ii) PCR to synthesize DNA fragments (iii) second PCR for assembly of the products of the first PCR and (iv) cloning of the synthetic DNA and then verification by DNA sequencing. Besides, other methods in use for gene synthesis are successive extension PCR, simplified gene synthesis (PCR based), synthons and ligation by selection, to name a few. Review questions and problems What is the advantage of phosphatetriester method over phosphatediester method? What is the advantage of phosphitetriester method over phosphatetriester and  phosphatediester method? What is the main advantage to use DMTCl for protecting the 5-hydroxyl group? How could you attach the first nucleoside to the solid support? What is the utility of capping step in the oligonucleotides synthesis? Why capping is done by aceticanhydride? What is the function of iodine in the oxidation step of oligonucleotides synthesis? How could you protect only the free -NH2 group of the bases of a nucleoside? What is the reagent used for the removal of 2-cyanoethyl group from the  synthesized oligonucleotides? What is the byproduct produced from the base-condensation step of oligonucleotides  synthesis in phosphite triester method? How could you deprotect the bases of oligonucleotides? What is the function of tetrazole in the base condensation step of oligonucleotide synthesis? What is the basic principle for synthesizing a gene from the corresponding oligonucleotides by (a) PCR-based one-step DNA synthesis, (b) PCR-based two-step DNA synthesis?

sleep rem :: essays research papers

States of Consciousness Consciousness   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1960 a man named W. Dement conducted a series of studies relating to sleep. His main goal was to understand and learn about the effects of dream deprivation. His tactics would soon be very useful in the quest of answering some very complex questions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He started out with the idea of observing infants while they were asleep, without realizing that he couldn’t get no verbal feed back from a new born. He then decided to choose 20 random adults to be his ginnea pigs. He would then end up putting these 20 individuals through a series of test and trials. Dement did this by a series of awakenings through the course of sleep. He would monitor his subjects in another room by hooking up electronic devices to the patients muscles located around their eyes. The purpose of the electronic devices was to be able to wake up the subjects in two different periods. One being eye movement and the other no eye movement. He would then wake them up and ask if they could remember their dream.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Dement 74% of the 27 awakenings during the periods of sleep accompanied by eye movement, could remember detailed visual dreams. The other 26% reported â€Å"the feeling of having dreamed,† but they could no recall the content in detail. During periods of no eye movement, there were 23 awakenings of which 82% did not remember dreaming and 4 of them said that they might have been dreaming but were not for sure. While his study progressed each subject would have to be awakened more frequently because of the bodies way of REM-rebound. Your body needs sleep and when it is denied sleep it tries to make up for lost sleep.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Today we know that there are four different stages of sleep. One being the lightest and four being the deepest. At the time, Dement had no idea that he was messing with one’s circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is like the body’s clock in which it sends messages to your brain to let you know what your body needs. For instance if your body needs sleep you will then start to feel tired.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The results could be used to improve interrogation tactics by utilizing dream, or sleep, deprivation. Dement did this by depriving his subjects of sleep. The body’s continued effort to make of for lost REM sleep, can force someone to say, or do, something that they normally would not have done.

Essay --

The Last Lecture is a powerful and inspirational book written by a Professor of Computer Science, Randy Pausch. The book is a memoir of his life based on the last lecture he gave at Carnegie Mellon University about a year before he died of pancreatic cancer. Although, it was his last lecture, it is clear that the lecture itself is not about dying. Similarly, the book is not about Pausch’s death. The book consists of various stories from Randy’s Pausch life, and ideas on living life to the fullest. In this paper, I will review Pausch story, and identify issues, concerns, and possibilities discussed in the book. Further, I will explore what needs to be done in respond to these issues. Book overview In the beginning of the book, Pausch reveals that he is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and his recent treatments did not work, so he has only months to live. â€Å"While for the most part I’m in terrific physical shape, I have ten tumors in my liver and I have only a few months left to live. I am a father of three young children, and married to the woman of my dreams. While I could easily feel sorry for myself, that wouldn’t do them, or me, any good† (Pausch, 2008). Knowing that he has a very limited time to live, Pausch decides to write a lecture on achieving childhood dreams. To him, the lecture will be a legacy that he can leave for his children. When Pausch discusses his childhood dreams, he describes how his parents made achieving his dreams possible by their constant support. He talks about each of his childhood dreams and what he has learned from them. Pausch never made it to the NFL, but he had learned many valuable lessons from participating in sports. For instance, Pausch learned important lessons from his... ...g dealers or gang dealers (Rudkin, 2003). Conclusion This paper is a report of the book The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. In my work I made an attempt to identify issues, concerns, and possibilities discussed in the book, and to explore what needs to be done in respond to these issues. The book is a memoir of Pausch’s life in which he shares his wisdom about how to live a productive and meaningful life. The lessons, questions and issues that this book raise are universal. Many people can benefit from the book regardless of their age, race, or social status. I cannot express how much I enjoyed this book. Randy’s Pausch life is a truly unique powerful story that can serve as a guide for families, schools, and community leaders on how to help our children develop the skills of resilience to deal more effectively with stress, and to cope with everyday challenges.

John Winston Lennon :: Essays Papers

John Winston Lennon "You make your own dream. That's the Beatles' story, isn't it? That's Yoko's story. That's what I'm saying now. Produce your own dream. If you want to save Peru, go save Peru. It's quite possible to do anything, but not to put it on the leaders and the parking meters. Don't expect Jimmy Carter or Ronald Reagan or John Lennon or Yoko Ono or Bob Dylan or Jesus Christ to come and do it for you. You have to do it yourself. That's what the great masters and mistresses have been saying ever since time began. They can point the way, leave signposts and little instructions in various books that are now called holy and worshipped for the cover of the book and not for what it says, but the instructions are all there for all to see, have always been and always will be. There's nothing new under the sun. All the roads lead to Rome. And people cannot provide it for you. I can't wake you up. You can wake you up. I can't cure you. You can cure you." ~John John Lennon was known best for his music, but in addition to that he was a philosopher, artist, visionary, social leader and most importantly a common man with a dream. John Lennon was born October 9th, 1940 in the town of Liverpool, England. His father abandoned him at the age of two. Three years later he was also abandoned by his mother. He was raised primarily by a woman John affectionately called, â€Å"Aunt Mimi.† Later in his life, John reestablished a relationship with his mother only to lose her again when she was killed by a drunk off-duty police officer. As a teen, John formed a band called the "Quarry Men" with boys from his High School. After a performance, one of the members, brought his friend Paul McCarthy to meet John. After hearing Paul play he immediately asked him to join his band. Later Paul brought George Martin into the group and soon the band that would later take the world by storm, was born. One of the so called "5th Beatles" the best friend of John, Stuart Sutcliffe, left art school, at John's urging and joined the band.

A POSITION PAPER ON SOPHOCLES’ OEDIPUS REX Essay

THE KING WEARS A SHADES AS THE SUN SHINES BRIGHT WHICH MAKES HIS DAYS DARKER AND DARKER EVERY SINGLE DAY (with some relations to the Philippine Government and setting as a whole) A POSITION PAPER ON SOPHOCLES’ OEDIPUS REX REGULANO, Jean Paula Bermudez 2011-05787 HUM 1 X Oedipus Rex’ knowledge, which served as his gut against the others to be the King of Thebes, is only limited to the information on his people and his environment, excluding the information about himself due to his blindness and innocence on his own identity. In the midst of the downfall of the City of Thebes, is the entrance of a great leader who will dare to make a change, held the city up despite its fall, which will do his best for his term to be progressive and be full of legacy. What is it that makes this man a King, the kind of king projected in the story of Sophocles, the King who does not know some things behind? How could he achieve his goals for his city in the future if he cannot go back and take a look of what happened in the past? The city of Thebes, the city of secrets, the city of Gods, the city full of tragic with their King are what consists the play entitles, Oedipus Rex. What made Oedipus the King of Thebes? It all started with the legend of the Sphinx, a terrible monster in the Ancient Greece, whose body is consist of a lion, with wings of an eagle, and whose head is a head of a woman which had been sent to earth by the Gods to terrorize the land of Thebes to have a revenge on the former King, Laius, who raped a prince from another kingdom. All citizens of the poor city will be asked by the Sphinx by his riddles, a mind blowing riddle, and those who cannot answer, will be sent out of the earth. This had been a continuous process until one day, a man dared to pass a gate and unseemingly, become able to answer the riddle of the Sphinx. This man is Oedipus. Since the Sphinx’ riddle was answered, that means the fiend will now stop from terrorizing the city of Thebes. With that, people  idolized Oedipus, praised him as if he was a God like Zeus and the other great Greek Gods, and then a bit later, he was declared as the new King of Thebes, primarily because of his knowledge and not because of having someone who will pass the crown and position to him, which what actually happens in the Greek times that is if we are going to put it in the current government, specifically in the Philippine Setting, is what happens with a Political Dynasty. Painting by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres depicting Oedipus after he solves the riddle of the Sphinx. The Walters Art Museum. Therefore, his wisdom is what he used to be  able to lead the city in downfall, to be able to be a  King, which position is always dreamt by all the  citizens because of power hungriness and desire to  have a power to do all things for their own and for their  family which makes them selfish just like what we  have in the Philippine Congress right now, the misuse  of the taxpayers’ money, the continuous planning of  white elephant projects, misallocation of budget, all  becoming part of the politician’s pocket. But, will it  really benefit the society if someone like Oedipus will take the lead? Let us examine more who Oedipus is and what it that will and will not is make him a good leader. FREE WILL VERSUS DETERMINISM The idea of free will will always settle down in the word free, freedom. Attaining freedom and the word free are extremely big words. This simply means that having our own free will is having our own choices and it is on us to consider such constraints. It is not asking others of what is best for us, for example, when choosing a dress to wear or shoes to buy. This plays a very important role in our decision making process. Determinism is also another word that is so hard to define because of its vagueness of use and application. In any way, determinism is what pushes and  pulls us to do certain things which actually will lead us to the goal and/or maybe, will give us the answer whether we are up for this or not. This is also a philosophical position, a metaphysical one, which states that for everything that happens, there are conditions such that, given these conditions, nothing else could happen. This describes, simply, a cause and effect relation in variables. The free will and determinism concepts in the play in one way can be projected in the part where in Oedipus’ leadership was carefully examined. What is really, a hidden agenda of a man to be a King of such a place? All politicians who run for a position, saying or hiding this, have their own agendum of doing so. It would be so scripted for the people or for the mass to say that their only reason for asking a position is to have a better avenue to serve them, provide their basic social needs, to return back to them what they do for their nation as part of the nationbuilding, to offer his life as to bring progress and unite the people of a specific land. Though there are really some whose objective is this, but I wonder if they are placed in position right now. Oedipus’ is fortunate enough to be able to be the King of the City of Thebes, but, how about his tragic reversal of fortune as the story starts to end? Is it attributed to his own conduct? Or will it more reflect on his fate, which means that what happened is merely because it was planned, that is it was really meant to happen, and that it was not caused by the conduct of Oedipus? In an audience point of view, what happened towards the end is mainly because of his conduct. The death of Laius is really a big issue and as the one who overtook the position of the King who passed away, Oedipus was expected to give him the justice he deserves. He called on all of the people who may give him the answer of who is the man behind the death of the former King and to somehow diminish the vagueness of the case, but then, after hearing those that were said by the concerned people, Oedipus did not believe what they have just said. Instead, he continued searching for the truth, but since it all comes back to him, that he is the murdered of the former king, he chose to disagree. If at the first place, he accepted what his people said and searched for more details, the play might have ended in a less tragic moment. If, on the other hand, he did not gave his city a  somewhat like an information black out of what is happening to Laius’ case, it might have ended in a better way. In Oedipus’ point of view, as the play ends, he still chose not to believe on the words of his people which says that it was he who is the man behind the death of the king of Thebes who passed away, used his innocence of what he is, and made it to the point that everything was dictated by fate, first, him, being fortunate enough to be able to answer the riddle and be the King of the city, to have his people listen to him and such. Since he reflects every happening to fate—both the fortunes he received and the unnecessary unfortunate events that comes to life, what happened to him is governed and not related to his conduct as a leader and as a person as well. Oedipus can have avoided the tragic ending if he chose to lay down in his people’s words regarding the death of Laius. But what Sophocles did, is he chose to give his reader a somewhat heart attack, that as the play progresses, Oedipus kept all the information in him only, because he does not want anybody recognize him as a murderer especially because he is in a position, and it was an extreme shame for him and to his family as well to be called as one, and because the one that is under investigation is the death of a big man in politics too, the former King of Thebes, Laius. Man’s behavior in the world should be governed by free will. This is what it should be. But due to many constraints brought by the society, it becomes more governed by determinism as time passes by. What brings about determinism as the one which is responsible in governing people’s behavior? The social class. The concept of discrimination. The image of religion. The colonization and existence of imperialism. These are some factors which makes man’s behavior be determined. Others have to be slave and others have to be masters. Others have to be the politicians in the Philippine government, while others have to be part of the marginalized, oppressed and powerless. Inequality, it is. INNOCENCE VERSUS GUILT Innocence is mainly due to lack of information. This causes lots of vagueness to things which happens to be difficult to understand. It affects people’s decision making and this is detrimental in coming up with something that is relevant, rational and critical. Guilt, on the other hand, is what people feel after doing something which brought something that is bad or is not advantageous to the other. It is more of a kind of reflection people usually does after a sin has been committed. This makes a people better, because as he feels guilty, he becomes more prone in the realization of what he has done and that he should not do it again or any more so as not to affect or hurt his and the other people’s life in any way. Fig. 2 Oedipus and his wife. Oedipus Killed his father and marry his mother. One of the moral question of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex is that is He (Oedipus) should really be accountable for the death of Laius and for marrying his own mother? Is he innocent or if not, what makes sense? Some scholarly articles, says answers a firm no on the question of whether Oedipus was innocent on the crimes he did. â€Å"Oedipus was ignorant of the true nature of his actions and is therefore morally blameless.† (Carel, 2000) The rationale behind this is that, he cannot be held responsible because the true identity of his mother whom he married and his father who is the former king of Thebes, tragically, at that time, is different than his knowledge. Meaning, these two personas are strangers to him in the first place. But then, how can an intelligent man, holding accountable for knowing some information regarding his lineage, fail to understand the meaning of his actions towards the end of the play? In an audience point of view, Oedipus’ case of being innocent should no longer be laid under the table. He is not innocent; rather, he keeps his record on his own. As the story progresses, there is his secret that will soon be in the mouth of the public. It will all boil down to him, being regarded as an intelligent man who was able to answer the riddle of the Sphinx which happened to be the turning point of  the citizens of Thebes that later gave rise to the declaration of Oedipus as the new King who will take over the term of the old man who died in the crossroad. Therefore, if he will be regarded as innocent, then the justice for the death of Laius will not be attained, it will forever be a mystery or a case unsolved but is set aside, and it will also be possible to have more cases as such to come, which will make the city more in trouble instead of bringing the light back to them. Therefore, the daughter of Janet Napoles is then innocent for using the fund for the masses for her own stuff because she does not know that her mother is a thief, where in it is not possible for her not to ask her mom of where there billions came from or even realize what her mom does and how come she (Janet) was able to generate hundreds and hundreds of thousands per day. Another unfair thing, it is. This scenario significantly explains the importance of knowledge, a full and not partial and biased knowledge, a relevant one. Having a full knowledge on something is very important in a way that it can help himself and even other people when they encounter problems, in such way, looking and formulating solutions will never be that hard. In the story of Oedipus Rex, it is possible for him to avoid the occurrence of what had happened in the end if he just evaluated very carefully all the things the people who are knowledgeable of what happened. But it happened to be not. It is because he just contained the information that he was able to gather from the people and rejected the fact that it may be really possible to be him who is the man behind the death of the former King of Thebes. In a more clearer perspective, he already had all the resources but then, he just disregarded everything and tried to make his own process in giving the justice that should be obtained by the killed King. SIGHT VERSUS INSIGHT Darkness and light. The darkness in the play may be reflected in Oedipus’ blindness, literally and figuratively. Figuratively in a way that he is blinded from his own identity that he did not even know that he was the one who killed his King before his term, that his king happened to be his own  father, that he married a women on the age twice as he, that he did not know that it happened to be his mother. There are lots of revelations happened in the play and that made it as tragic as how Sophocles wanted it to be. This inconsistent argument brings confusion to whether Oedipus should really be held accountable for killing his father and marrying his mother. There is a point that is mentioned in earlier paragraphs that he lacked knowledge that is why, there is a mere possibility that it is really not his intention to render the crimes that had been raised against her towards the end of the play. On the other hand, light signifies the latter  part of the play where in, slowly, every single  thing turns to be a much clearer that it is in the  earlier part. It is when the vagueness of the story  started to diminish, having a brighter view of  prediction of what will happen next. In the end, it  is really true that no secret can be kept forever.  Oedipus is indeed a very intelligent king, that as he  received the responsibility of being the King  Fig. 3 Blind Oedipus embraces Antigone and Ismene  of Thebes whose primarily goal is to raise the city out of the downfall left by the former king who is killed. But then, there is really no perfect creature in the real world, though people might say that this is only a product of Sophocles’ wide imagination. Oedipus Rex’ knowledge is limited like the resources of the species in the world. It is only limited to the information on his environment, not with the information of his lineage, which set him b lind from his identity that even his behavior have no a hundred percent hold that it was governed by free will or determinism. BIBLIOGRAPHY (2010,09) Oedipus Rex: Innocence vs Guilt. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 09, 2010, from http://www. Studymode.com/essays/Oedipus-Rex-Innocence-Vs-Guilt409245.html Carrel, Havi Hannah. 2000. Secrets and Lies: What Oedipus Really Knew. Orani: Culture, Creation and Critique. France. Rueda, Edward. (n.d).Oedipus Family Circus. Texts for Craig White’s Literature Courses. University of Houston Clear Lake.

Educational Tour Narrative Report Essay

Introduction: Educational Tour gives us ideas likewise opportunities to visit prestigious agencies that may help us visualize what we are learning at school. This activity helps us develop our personality since social graces and etiquette are learned too by experience. Moreover, important to every student since it is a part of our learning process to acquire more knowledge through actual exposure to the different agencies. Educational Tour: A Narrative. A great way to explore and gain experience, the Junior Bankers Association had its educational tour on February 6 to 9, 2012. Day 1: February 6, 2012 The day wherein I have to wake up early because it should be a big No for rush. Yes, we’re pretty much excited to invade Manila, so we departed Vigan City at around 6:30 in the morning. We prayed the rosary, praying for a safe trip. After the rosary, here it goes, we already started talking, laughing, picture taking and of course sleeping since it will consume a lot of time before reaching our destination. After 5 hours of travel, we had a stopover in Pangasinan, we ate our lunch. My friends and I shared on the different meals we brought. When we’re done, we assure that the place where we ate our lunch was clean, and then travel continued. We arrived at Garden Plaza Hotel, Paco Manila around 7:15 in the evening. When our baggages are out of the bus, we immediately headed at the conference room and there they have discussed to us the rules and regulations of their hotel. After telling the do’s and don’ts they have let us signed their visitors list and gave the room key to room leaders. I was given the responsibility to keep our room key, I was chosen by my roommates to be their leader. After a tiring long trip, my friends and I took pictures and watched television, then we take of our uniforms on our bags as well as our clothes we’ll be using the next day and put it on the cabinet. When everything was in order, we went down stairs for dinner, the hotel prepared for our meal. Then immediately we went back to our rooms after eating to take a bath. Before going to bed we’ve entertained our room visitors for the day: Sir Lawrence and Ma’am Angela. After their visit we already go to bed and sleep. Day 2: February 7, 2012 Since we’ve left all the things we used to do at home, one major adjustment I’ve made is to wake up early. This day I look forward to be well groomed because our destination is the Philippine Stock Exchange Tektite Building, Ortigas Center Pasig City. We took a bath, make ourselves presentable as what we always wanted, and went down at 6:00 am for our breakfast. We went back to our room after eating to have a toothbrush, make things up and be ready for our visit to the Philippine Stock Exchange. Around 7:30 when we travelled. At about 8:30 we’re already in front of the building. We waited for their signal to go inside, while waiting, we noticed the fountain in front of the building, it was awesome. When they have given us the signal to go, we entered. The first thing I noticed was the large board with 3 different colors of light on it, and numbers blinking. They lectured while we are sitting on their clean carpet. My curiosity about the large board disappeared when I’ve known that it is the E-Board (Electronic Board) and that their transactions have already started since it’s already 9:30 in the morning. Two young men and one woman shared their time to us to know more about Philippine Stock Exchange. The woman discussed to us the history of Philippine Stock Exchange, while the two young men shared their knowledge about stock market, stock exchange, the different types of stock, when to invest and how to invest. I can say that at about 2 Â ½ hours of listening to them, I’ve already learned. After the lecture, we took a lot of pictures. We even had the opportunity to take picture with the girl speaker. She’s kind and sweet. Then we leave Philippine Stock Exchange. It was already 12:00 noon when we leave Philippine Stock Exchange building, so right after entering the bus, when our lunch has already prepared, we then ate. Honestly, I didn’t enjoy th food, because it was a bit salty. Then after an hour, we departed Philippine Stock Exchange and went to our next destination, Securities and Exchange Commission. At Securities and Exchange Commision, we used the elevator since their lecture room was at the 10th floor of their building. Some of my classmates got dizzy using the elevator. Their lecture room couldn’t accommodate us all, so they have divided us into 2 groups, the FM 3A and 3C were the first to have the lecture. The lecture room was too cold which maybe one of the reason why I couldn’t give my full attention to the first speaker. But still I have learned something, the company registration, the CA 83 which created Securities and Exchange Commission and on November 11, 1936 their operations have already started, their core functions and the law of SEC. During the discussion of Atty. Marlon Facun, the boredom have risen maybe because his voice couldn’t encourage me that much to listen. But still I have learned from him, I’ve known what are the classes of corporation, kinds of partnership, the requirements of Incorporation and of Stock Corporation and the requirements for registration of partnership. After the discussion, they were kind enough and maybe they’ve felt we’ve got hungry after a long discussion they have made. They gave us bun and juice to eat. When we’re done eating, we went down immediately so that the next batch will already have their turn for the lecture. We waited for them as they have waited for us. While waiting, we took the chance to take pictures and have a sleep. Then at around 5:15 we departed Securities and Exchange Commision and go for a side trip at Greenhills. At the shopping center, I bought the long sleeves and necktie needed by my brother for his prom. We even bought our dinner at KFC considering that there is no KFC at Vigan. We arrived at the hotel at around 7:00 pm; we ate first then Jobelle and Erika washed their clothes for they have nothing to use tomorrow if they won’t then we took a bath. At around 9:00 a food raid and an inspection was made by Ma’am Angela, Ma’am Maan, Sir Lawrence and the JBA officers namely Kuya Dean, Kuya Jumar, Kuya Gyner, Ate April. Some of our classmates like Bernadane, Dianne and Cristal came. Friends from other class Jovelyn and Elaine also came for a visit. After their visits, we then go to bed and rest. Day 3: February 8, 2012 The day I’ve been waiting for. BSP here I come! We woke up early and really prepared ourselves for this day. We took a bath, ate our breakfast then make things up. We had a long time before departing the hotel so we used it taking pictures in our room. Around 7:30 in the morning we departed the hotel and say hello to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas at 8:30. We waited for a several minutes before entering to the Bangko Sentral Museum, so we took the chance to take pictures with friends and classmates for souvenir. Then finally when we are about to enter the museum they have instructed us put our cameras and cellphones on our bags because it is restricted to take pictures inside the museum. The place is so secured considering that the memorabilia of the Philippine money on the past were all there. After letting us go and find out what’s inside the museum, they gave a short briefing about the history of Philippine money, evolution of Philippine money, kinds of money in the past and the conquest of other country in the Philippines. They’ve let us watch again the process on how to make bank notes and how to mint coins, again because we already watched it when BSP members came to our school for a lecture. When we already watched it, and they are done on their short briefing, they gave us the chance to go and see what the museum has. I saw the money used on the past and it’s really amazing. This experience is one of the best I ever had; it’s something I could be proud of. After viewing all the money, we played the Bispos machine, which comprises of questions related to money in the past. Then time to go out of the museum. It was 10:45 am and so we are instructed to go to Harrison Plaza for lunch. We ate lunch at Jollibee, I am with Jobelle, Laure Jean, Lea, Erika, Leo, Ailon, Mark Jan, Lexter and Meddy. After eating, we decided to go around the place until such time that we could feel the ache on our feet so we bought slippers. After buying we went back to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and waited for the others to come back. When we’re all at the place we went back to our designated bus for a short rest. Then unfortunately when it’s about time to go to the Department of Finance, my skirt was torn. I was so ashamed; I was only the one who is on my organizational t-shirt. Despite of the thing that have done, I still listened to the lecturer of the Department of Finance.

Realistic View Essay

Everyone views life differently since no one is the same. In the poem, â€Å"Boy with His Hair Cut Short† by Muriel Rukeyser, and in the story, â€Å"Furniture Art† by Sarah Miller, show the realistic views of two different characters about life. Comparing both stories, the sister in â€Å"Boy with His Hair Cut Short† has a lest realistic view of life than Mr. DuPont’s in â€Å"Furniture Art†. The â€Å"solicitous tall† (line 9) sister in â€Å"Boy with His Hair Cut Short† pretended to be optimistic during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The sister did everything she could to help her brother: â€Å"[cut] his hair with her cheap shears†, â€Å"[new-pressed] his decent suit†. (line 10, 21) She cut his hair to encourage him that he can find a job if he changed his look. â€Å"You’ll surely find [a job], they can’t keep turning you down; the finest gentleman’s not so trim as you!† (line 17-19) Even though, she told his brother to be hopeful, she knew that find a job was impossible because her fascal expression cannot lie. â€Å"The impersonal sign, her motion, the blue vein, bright on her temple, pitifully beating.† The sister did not truthfully told her brother her actual view of life, perhaps to raise her brother’s hope of finding a job, but this proved she was being unrealistic. Mr. DuPont in â€Å"Furniture Art† was a strong French accent man of about sixty who â€Å"live off unemployment†.(Para. 2) He was a artist with strange style: â€Å"walls [filled with] murals of bright colors†, â€Å"furniture was a mess, paint-splattered and arranged in unconventional patterns†. (Para. 6) When asked about his opinion about the world, he asked the narrator for her opinion first and when the narrator said that the school â€Å"say unemployment’s down and economy’s booming†(Para. 12). He interpreted her answer by asking the narrator that â€Å"are people more happy [with the booming economy]?†.(Para. 18) This shown that he cared more about the happiness in people. Mr.DuPont was trying to teach the narrator to have her own point of view. For example, he told the girl to look at the furniture as art and that economy and quality of life is not the same thing. He believed that by opening our eyes to the world meaning that we should look at the world in many different prospective. Mr. DuPont taught the narrator to view the world  in her own side, instead of viewing the world through the school’s or nowaday’s sociality side. Comparing both poem and the story, Mr. Dupont has a more realistic view of life than the sister in â€Å"Boy with His Hair Cut Short†. Mr. DuPont taught the narrator to observe the world in her view, not in the school prospective. While the sister only encouraged the brother that he will soon find a job, even if she knew the possibility of finding a job was low. Mr. DuPont cared about the happiness in people rather than the improvement in people life. He did not cared what people think of him and did not followed people’s taste in furniture. Mr. DuPont has his own view of life and own style. On the other hand, the sister only hid her own view in her brother’s situation and helped her brother in any way she could. She encouraged her brother to keep trying but overall she did not told her brother anything about her view of life. Mr. DuPont has a more realistic view of life than the sister because he thought we should open our eyes and looked at the world in our view rather than in other people’s view. He was a strange man but who has his own view in life. Mr. DuPont was different from anyone in the sociality while the sister like everyone during the time was trying to make life better by viewing it optimistically.

Most Important Scientific Event of 2007

The scientific event with the most significant implications for the future was recognition of unique differences between genome sequences of individual people (Pennisi, 2007). It is believed that about 99.5% of human DNA is exactly the same in every person. Within that 0.5% lies the variations that are responsible for individual traits and diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, depression, alcoholism, heart disease, and other serious diseases (National Human Genome Research Institute). Genetic variations also affect how individuals respond to drugs and environmental factors. The goals of National Human Genome Research Institute are to discover and type single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and other forms of genetic variation on a large scale across the genome; to develop high-resolution maps of genetic variation and haplotypes; and to develop methods for the large-scale experimental and statistical analysis of SNPs, other forms of genetic variation, haplotypes and complex traits (National Human Genome Research Institute). Previous work on the human genome has including the search for a relationship between specific genes and various diseases, such as an â€Å"addiction gene† or a â€Å"cancer gene† or some similar link. This research has already led to the identification of specific genes that are responsible for several diseases. Previous research on the human genome has also identified what separates humans from other primates, genetically speaking. In addition to identifying the genome sequences that are responsible for diseases, breakthroughs that occurred during 2007 will allow scientists to pinpoint the genetic variations that make me, me and you, you. Individual genomes appear to include the causes of behavioral traits that had been previously attributed to personality or psychiatric characteristics and not to genetics (Pennisi, 2007). The most obvious application of this research will be in the use of gene therapy to combat diseases. At the simplest level, understanding an individual's predisposition towards certain diseases will allow physicians to recommend preventative treatments and lifestyle choices that can reduce or eliminate the genetic threat. On a more complex level, genetic research can provide new, customized treatments that are specifically designed to match the genetic needs of the individual patient. Genetic medicine could be used to treat diseases after the disease has developed or, in some cases, used to treat genetic disorders during pregnancy. While the medical applications for genome research show much promise, there are also serious implications for individual privacy and genetic discrimination. Once again, legal and ethical development has not kept pace with scientific and technological development. Despite the introduction of several pieces of legislation designed to help ensure genetic privacy and to shield individuals from the misuse of genetic information, there is still no federal legislation that addresses the issue of genetic discrimination in individual insurance coverage or to genetic discrimination in the workplace (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, 2007). As the ability to sequence the genome sequences of individuals becomes more practical, insurance companies and other interested parties might consider it cost effective to use genetic sequencing to reduce any potential liabilities from policy holders or applicants. Many insurance companies already have policies regarding preexisting conditions. The leap from policies that exclude   preexisting conditions a policy that excludes diseases for which the individual has a genetic predisposition is not that far removed. The ability to map individual genomes will open new doors for medical treatment of disease. Hopefully, 2008 will see breakthroughs of a similar magnitude in ethics and laws regarding the gathering, sharing, and use of genetic information. References National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health (2008). Genetic variation program. Online. Retrieved May 1, 2008, from http://www.genome.gov/10001551 Pennisi, E. (2007). Breakthrough of the year: Human genetic variation. Science, 318 (5858), pp. 1842 – 1843. Retrieved May 1, 2008, from http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/318/5858/1842 U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (2007). Genetics Privacy and Legislation. Online. Retrieved May 1, 2008, from http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/legislat.shtml