Educational Web Portal's Use in the Study of Environmental Sciences Essay

Educational Web Portal's Use in the Study of Environmental Sciences - Essay Example While environmental science has gained a lot of attention of people in general and the educationalists in particular in the advanced economies, it remains a relatively neglected area of education in the third world countries primarily because there are several issues of much greater importance like poverty, hunger, violence, and terrorism that need to be solved before the people can pay attention towards the environment. Reduced emphasis of the government and the people in power on environmental sciences as an area of research and education restrains people’s access to the potential sources of information related to environmental sciences in the third world countries. In such circumstances, there is dire need of an online network that encapsulates all the required information about environmental sciences and one that is constantly upgraded and updated to make the latest findings and knowledge generated from the ongoing research and surveys in the advanced countries accessible to the interested learners in the third world countries. An educational web portal is a very effective tool to inculcate knowledge about the environmental science. People can connect with one another to form a learning community using the educational web portals. ... Educational web portals host research, lesson plans, and online course work, provides parents with a means to access the grades, monitor student outcomes, and satisfy the reporting standards established by the state. Educational web portals develop a common gateway to all the services and data that people need to share knowledge and jointly work on the environmental science projects. Educational web portals can be developed using such basic technologies as Windows Server and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server. Rapid availability of these technologies and expertise in their use extends the investment’s value in the Microsoft technologies. Educational web portals help the people achieve different kinds of goals and tasks that include but are not limited to the development of online communities for collaboration among the learners, administrators and the subject experts. â€Å"Portals, when properly designed, increase both effectiveness and efficiency of an institution†¦[an d] can be used as an effective communication tool† (Popovic et al., 2005, p. 322). People can use the educational web portals to improve the sharing of best practices in the industry among the members of the community. Users of the educational web portals can access the institution’s resources whenever required. The online document libraries available on the educational web portals are constantly updated with latest research findings and important documents like conference proceedings. When educational web portals are implemented in schools, it provides several kinds of services including lunch ordering, and online class registration. Educational web portals use dashboards to display updated performance data of the students. Students can share information with the community members, school

Computer versus Paper charting for nurses Essay

Computer versus Paper charting for nurses - Essay Example With so many responsibilities and so much information to assimilate, it becomes even more essential to take care of the documentation of information as this is the only method to reduce errors. Charting information regarding medication, observations, patients' history, etc. has been an age old practice and is the responsibility of nurses. The purpose of the medical chart is to serve as both a medical and legal record of patient clinical status, care, history, and caregiver involvement. The detailed information contained in the chart is intended to provide the patient's clinical condition by detailing diagnoses, treatments, tests and response to treatment, as well as any other factors that may affect the clinical state of the patient. Hence, it is beyond doubt that documentation is one of the most important activities that needs to be accurate. This essay compares computer and paper charting methods and also discusses in detail the history of charting technology; reveal medication errors in computerized and non-computerized charting, illegibility of orders and double charting, and accuracy. In the 21st century, nursing informatics has become a part of the professional activities. Informatics has advanced the field of nursing by bridging the gap from nursing as an art to nursing as a science. The term medical chart is a general description of a set of information on a patient. It is important that the information in the chart be clear and to the point, so that those utilizing the record can easily access accurate information. In some cases, the medical chart can also assist in clinical problem solving by tracking the past history of the patient. For instance, the baseline information or status on admission, orders and treatments provided in response to specific problems, and patient responses can be easily retrieved from the medical chart. Another reason for the standard of clear documentation is the possibility of the legal use of the record. For example, these records are frequently investigated for insurance clams and when medical care is being referred to or questioned by the legal system, the chart contents are frequently cited in court. In the earlier days, all the documentation was prepared on paper. But today, most of these are fed into the computers directly and is stored in it. The disadvantages with the paper charting are as follows: it is a tedious process to write and store the records and it takes away a lot of space. Since nurses work in shifts, different nurses handle each record as a result different handwritings appear in single report. A single nurse handles several patients as a result there are high chances of medication errors with serious consequences. These factors are even more of a problem for those nurses who are working in intensive care units (ICU). With the increase in stress due to shortage of nurses, the working staff will be handling more patients and many times it is possible that errors occur in medication. Nursing Informatics is a broad ranging field that combines nursing skills with computer expertise. Nursing informatics is the modern technology that

Rise of the electronic music scene in todays generation Research Paper

Rise of the electronic music scene in todays generation - Research Paper Example From that time, music that became created with electronic instruments, instead of the electromechanical designs from which they were made. Major factors promoting the rise of Electronic Music Electronic music scene in its self has seen so much rise and advancements from the very first days of its origin when it was created. These changes are due to a number of factors, which can be given timelines right from the onset of the production of the first electronic instrument. For example in the seasons of the 1940s and the 1950s, the Electroacoustic tape music was introduced. This brought about the production of the very first practical audio tape recorder in Berlin (Brophy et al, 2009). It was the development of the audio tape recorder that gave way to the electroacoustic tape music. Then in the 1960s, there was further expansion of electronic music with the advent of computer music and live electronic. Indeed, this was going to be a major break through for the rise and advancement of el ectronic music as computers were engineered to play recognizable tunes by the use of complex amplification of sounds (Brophy, 2002). Today, the developments have reached sections whereby there have been the production of sequencers and drum machines, MIDI, chip tunes, circuit bending, digital synthesis, among others as part of the expansion of electronic music. To sum it all, electronic music has grown to a stage where it has become more accustomed with today’s generation. Electronic Music as Popular Culture Whether by accident or as a plan, the people of today have become more sophisticated with the genre of music they cherish to listen to. Indeed, the people of today’s... This "Rise of the electronic music scene in today’s generation" essay outlines the origin of this musical style and its impact on the modern society. Discussions on the rise of electronic music would almost be incomplete if the subject of globalization is not mentioned. This is because globalization has shot up the popularity of electronic music so much so that there is virtually no corner of this world that electronic music is not found. It is not surprising therefore that some analysts choose to say that electronic music has grown beyond the description of how a piece of music was produced into a genre of music. With globalization, which is led by the use of computers and its sophisticated partner, the internet, music produced in the smallest part of America can reach the smallest part of Asia or Australia in a matter of seconds. This way, what was originally supposed to be the line of music of the American people, has today become a global music genre because of globalizati on. One other trick that electronic music is doing so well and so fast is the fact that the production of electronic music has become a universal phenomenon. In other words, a person living in Africa would not only have the pleasure of listening to an electronic music from America but also have the honor of using sophisticated electronic devices in composing electronic music even when he wants to make a genre of music popular to his culture. There are several impacts of the rise of electronic music scene on today’s generation that can be pointed out.

Computer versus Paper charting for nurses Essay

Computer versus Paper charting for nurses - Essay Example With so many responsibilities and so much information to assimilate, it becomes even more essential to take care of the documentation of information as this is the only method to reduce errors. Charting information regarding medication, observations, patients' history, etc. has been an age old practice and is the responsibility of nurses. The purpose of the medical chart is to serve as both a medical and legal record of patient clinical status, care, history, and caregiver involvement. The detailed information contained in the chart is intended to provide the patient's clinical condition by detailing diagnoses, treatments, tests and response to treatment, as well as any other factors that may affect the clinical state of the patient. Hence, it is beyond doubt that documentation is one of the most important activities that needs to be accurate. This essay compares computer and paper charting methods and also discusses in detail the history of charting technology; reveal medication errors in computerized and non-computerized charting, illegibility of orders and double charting, and accuracy. In the 21st century, nursing informatics has become a part of the professional activities. Informatics has advanced the field of nursing by bridging the gap from nursing as an art to nursing as a science. The term medical chart is a general description of a set of information on a patient. It is important that the information in the chart be clear and to the point, so that those utilizing the record can easily access accurate information. In some cases, the medical chart can also assist in clinical problem solving by tracking the past history of the patient. For instance, the baseline information or status on admission, orders and treatments provided in response to specific problems, and patient responses can be easily retrieved from the medical chart. Another reason for the standard of clear documentation is the possibility of the legal use of the record. For example, these records are frequently investigated for insurance clams and when medical care is being referred to or questioned by the legal system, the chart contents are frequently cited in court. In the earlier days, all the documentation was prepared on paper. But today, most of these are fed into the computers directly and is stored in it. The disadvantages with the paper charting are as follows: it is a tedious process to write and store the records and it takes away a lot of space. Since nurses work in shifts, different nurses handle each record as a result different handwritings appear in single report. A single nurse handles several patients as a result there are high chances of medication errors with serious consequences. These factors are even more of a problem for those nurses who are working in intensive care units (ICU). With the increase in stress due to shortage of nurses, the working staff will be handling more patients and many times it is possible that errors occur in medication. Nursing Informatics is a broad ranging field that combines nursing skills with computer expertise. Nursing informatics is the modern technology that

Imam Ali in my word Essay Example for Free

Imam Ali in my word Essay Imam Alis (p.b.o.h.) stories are so fascinating to read and to hear about. Knowing about Imam Ali (p.b.o.h.) life style and stories is so wonderful. Especially how Imam Ali (p.b.o.h.) saved Islam and won battles for example when Imam Ali (p.b.o.h) slept in prophet Mohammeds (p.b.o.h.) bed so that prophet Mohammed could take his last journey, Imam Ali slept in the prophets bed because the people that wanted to prevent and kill the prophet so to save Islam Imam Ali took . Also to understand how Islam was saved for and passed to us to be Muslims now. All the stories I enjoyed. But the one that I liked most is well is not actually a story but what will happen in the future to Imam Ali (p.b.o.h.). When Imam Mahdi (p.b.o.h.) comes back before Qiyamat and the Imam Ali (p.b.o.h.) comes and slowly the rest of the Imams (p.b.o.h.) come back, I found that so lovely knowing that one day the Imams will come back, and if I live I may see then return to the world and take over. I liked Imam Alis personality how Imam Ali cared for his family dearly by helping out at home and the way Imam played with his two sons: Hasan and Hussain. The way Imam Ali was fair and considerate to other people as in another story about The pomegranate how Fatima (p.b.o.h.) wanted a pomegranate and Imam Ali went to get one but when he got to the shop there was only one left that he could have, but along the way Imam Ali met a old man and gave half to the old man because he was thinking if Fatima but the man asked for the other half so kindly Imam gave, when he got home he was a bit shy to face Fatima as Fatima never asked for any thing but when he found out that send from heaven, Fatima was eating pomegranates.

Analysis of Medicine Availability

Analysis of Medicine Availability 4. Results 4.1 Availability of Medicine Chart 4.1 Comparative Availability of Medicine in both public and private sector along with high priced and low priced generics Chart 4.1 shows the comparative availability of the surveyed medicines in public sector facilities (mean availability in all PHCs over the period of seven months) and in private sector at the time of visit. Findings show that out of the thirty (30) medicines surveyed, three (3) medicines; diethyl carbamazine, ampicillin and human premixed insulin are neither available in public nor in private. Nine (9) medicines; ampicillin, diethyl carbamazine, Enalapril, furosemide, human premixed insulin, mannitol, methyldopa, phenobarbitone and sodium valproate were not available in public sector at any point of time. Availability of seven (7) medicines was found to be less than 50 percent; isosorbide dinitrate (40%), metaclopromide (40%), metronidazole (40%), dextrose NaCl (30%) and dexamethasone, glyceryl trinitrate and beclomethasone with 10, 10 and 1.4% respectively. Availability of twelve (12) medicines; Albendazole, amoxicillin, ascorbic acid, ibuprofen, paracetamol, ranitidine, cotrimoxazo le, atenolol (70%), gentamicin (70%), glibenclamide (70%), salbutamol (70%), vitamin B complex (80%) was more than 50% with first seven medicines available at all times (100%). In the private sector, the availability of medicines assumed either all or none except for the low priced versions of cotrimoxazole (70%) and glibenclamide (90%). Low price generics of 13 medicines; amoxicillin, ampicillin, beclomethasone, chlorpheniramine, dexamethasone dextrose NaCl, diethyl carbamazine, human premixed insulin, isosorbide dinitrate, mannitol, metaclopromide, methyldopa and phenobarbitone and both versions of 6 medicines; ampicillin, beclomethasone, chlorpheniramine, diethyl carbamazine, human premixed insulin and isosorbide dinitrate were not available in any facility. Chart 4.2 Comparative availability of medicines in public sector among all the PHCs survey for the period of seven months Chart 4.2 shows the mean availability of the surveyed medicines across all the PHCs over the period of seven months. Availability ranged from forty percent (40%) to fifty seven percent (56.67%) with the mean availability at forty eight percent (47.57%). Chart 4.3 Comparative availability of Medicines in Private Sector Chart 4.3 shows the mean availability of surveyed basket of medicines in private sector for both high price and low price versions. Availability of high price generics was found to be eighty percent (80%) and for low price it was fifty two percent (52%). 4.2 Price Differentials Chart 4.4 Price Comparison of median prices of individual drugs of both high price and low price generics Chart 4.4 cont.†¦.. Chart 4.4 shows the median prices of all the surveyed medicines in Indian rupee per unit dose of the medicine except for gentamicin, dextrose NaCl and mannitol (price of full pack is considered). Table 4.1 Ratios of median prices of high price and low price generics Table 4.1 gives the information on the ratios of median prices of high and low price versions of medicines available. Values ranged from 6.44 for atenolol to 1.02 for ranitidine. Higher the ratio, higher is the price difference between the generic versions available. Table 4.2 Median Price Ratios of high priced and low priced generics in comparison with International Reference Prices Table 4.2 shows the median, percentile, minimum, and maximum values of median price ratios in the private sector for both versions of generics. Maximum MPR for high price version was found for diclofenac (18.84) and minimum for dexamethasone (0.22). Maximum and minimum MPR in the low price version were for vitamin B complex (8.43) and glyceryl trinitrate (0.18). 4.3 Affordability Table 4.3 Affordability of treatment for certain conditions in terms of daily wages Table 4.3 shows the information on cost of treatment regimen for few conditions using the surveyed medicines. Average wage/ salary earnings (Rs. 0.00) per day received by casual labours of age 15-59 years engaged in works other than public works in urban areas of Andhra Pradesh (INR 178.34) were considered (NSS 68th round). Cost of the treatment ranged from 6 days’ wages for treating Echinococcus infection with high price generic of Albendazole to 0.24 days’ wages for treating urinary tract infection using co-trimoxazole. 4.4 Prescription Audits Chart 4.5 Comparison of drugs prescribed by branded name, generic name and from essential medicines list among all the PHCs surveyed Chart 4.5 shows the percentage of drugs prescribed by generic name and branded name and as per the essential medicines list. It was found in seven PHCs the 100 percent of drugs were prescribed as per essential medicines list and in the rest it was more than eighty five percent. It was found around seventy percent of drugs were prescribed by generic name with a maximum of ninety four percent and minimum of sixty seven percent. Table 4.4 Table 4.4 shows the maximum, minimum and mean values analyzed in the prescription audits. Maximum and minimum drugs per prescription were six and one respectively with a mean of 2.75. Maximum and minimum drugs prescribed by generic name per prescription were four and zero with a mean of 2.15. Maximum and minimum drugs prescribed by branded name per prescription were three and zero with a mean of 0.6. Maximum and minimum drugs prescribed as per EML per prescription were six and zero with a mean of 2.7.

Affirmative Action: Keeping minorities down for 30 years. Essay

The subject of affirmative action in college admissions has been hotly debated since its inception. Although affirmative action was originally supported by the vast majority, that same majority is now starting to wonder if there is a better way. Commonly asked questions include: â€Å"Is affirmative action still working?† and â€Å"Is there an alternative?† The answers to each of these questions will provide insurmountable evidence that affirmative action in college admissions no longer fulfills its intended purpose and that the only viable alternative is to focus more attention on primary schooling for the underprivileged. The most common question that arises in contemporary debates over affirmative action is, â€Å"Does affirmative action still work as intended?† The original purpose of affirmative action in college admissions was to eliminate racial bias in the applicant selection process and provide a helping hand to disadvantaged minority students. Has this happened? The simple answer is â€Å"No†, but a more precise answer requires more elaboration. Richard Rodriguez, the Mexican-American author of Hunger of Memory and a direct beneficiary of early affirmative action policies, puts it this way, â€Å"I think – as I thought in 1967 – that the black civil rights leaders were correct: Higher education was not, nor is it yet, accessible to many black Americans† (Rodriguez 144). In 1967, civil rights leaders of all types began to pressure universities and colleges all over the United States to admit more minority students and hire more minority teachers. They claimed that racial bias was the nefarious culprit responsible for the low numbers of non-white students and teachers at these institutions and that these low numbers were unrepresentative of the surrounding populations. Affirmative action policies were born in a drive to better represent minorities in institutional America. However, all has not gone according to plan. In an effort to avoid the label of Racist, colleges and universities sometimes give preferential treatment to minority applicants. This preferential treatment means that promising majority (white) applicants are often passed over for less promising minority applicants. The term Reverse Discrimination has been applied to this phenomena and th... ...needed now is to focus all of our efforts on improving primary schooling for the underprivileged. Referring to the above cartoon, why not give everyone the advantages of the majority instead of lowering the standards to fit the minority? Works Cited Billingsley, K.L. "Affirmative Action Is Racist." 1995. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. University Library. IUPUI, Indianapolis. 14 Nov. 2004. Cohen, Carl. "Affirmative Action in Admissions Harms College Students.† 1998. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. University Library. IUPUI, Indianapolis. 14 Nov. 2004. < http://galenet.galegroup.com.proxy.ulib.iupui.edu/servlet/ OVRC?vrsn=218&slb=SU&locID=iulib_iupui&srchtp=basic&c=15&ste=17&tbst=ts_basic&tab=1&txb=%2522Affirmative+Action%2522&docNum=X3010148224&fail=8192&bConts=16207> Detroit Free Press. 2001. 14 Nov. 2004. Messerli, Joe. â€Å"Should affirmative action policies, which give preferential treatment based on minority status, be eliminated?† 2003. BalancedPolitics.org. 14 Nov. 2004. < http://www.balancedpolitics.org/affirmative_action.htm> Rodriguez, Richard. Hunger of Memory. New York: Bantam Books, 1983.