Monday, September 30, 2019

Nursing Theorist Grid Essay

Madeleine Leininger’s theory is call The Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality. Because Leininger had degrees in nursing and anthropology, her theory had a combination of derivatives of both disciplines (Bibb, 2006). While working as a nurse in the 1950s, Leininger became disturbed by nurses who could not understand nor respect the culture variations. She then set out to bridge the knowledge gap between nursing and cultures. Leininger became the authority on cultural diversity in healthcare. The key points of her theory include honoring a state of holistic well-being that is culturally defined, valued, and practical. Cultures include technology, religion, philosophy, kinships, socioeconomics, politics, and education. Term Definition Applied to Nursing Practice Applied to Nursing Education Applied to Nursing Research Person Culture-dependent and holistic and sometimes includes families, groups, and communities Nurses can establish individualized care plans and care by respecting and honoring the diversity of the patients. Nurses are continually educated on transcultural nursing. In nursing school and in the workplace, cultural diversity is taught. Continued research to increase the knowledge of the nurses to assess the â€Å"person† in different cultures. Health A state of well-being that is culturally defined, valued, and practiced After appropriate nursing education has been done, nurses have to assess and respect the individual’s decisions on health. Everyone will not accept smoke cessation and weight loss as a part of health. As we learn cultural health  preferences, it is imperative that nurses pass this information on to other nurses. Employee in-services are important to pass on these diversities. Continued research to increase the knowledge of the nurses to assess the idea of health in different cultures. Nursing A transcultural, humanistic, and scientific care discipline and profession with the central purpose to serve humans worldwide Care is still essential in the nursing process. Care is now individualized and culturally congruent by respecting preferences of diverse cultures. We continue to learn through formal education and staff development how to care for persons of different cultures. We honor the research on different groups. This is also used to educate nurses on cultural diversity. Environment A combination of physical, ecological, socioeconomical, and cultural settings. We learn to respect a person’s space even if it is very different from what we are accustomed to. Especially important in home health settings. Be careful of facial grimaces and nonverbal actions. Important to learn and teach others that our impression of a livable and decent environment are not the same as others. Research empowers and teaches nurses how to respect and interact in the patients’ personal environment. From the old adage, â€Å"When in Rome, do what the Romans do†. Research helps to dissect what the Romans actually do. Bibb, S. C. G. (2006). Leininger’s theory of culture care diversity and universality. New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Attentional Blink

INTRODUCTION The Attentional Blink Experiment aims to determine the capability of an individual to recognize both the targets given that he or she is subjected to rapidly changing stimuli. Moreover, the theory states that after the detection of the first target in a rapid stream of visual stimuli, the second target is missed (Niewenstain, Potter, & Theeuwes, 2009). Hence, the experiment means to prove whether attentional blink is present in the experiment and if the theory is correct.Furthermore, the suggested hypothesis for this experiment is that the higher separation of the two targets with each other will increase the probability of discriminating and reporting the second target with respect to the first. In addition, the experiment was conducted inside the ergonomics laboratory at the Science and Technology research building on February 5, 2013 using the Wadsworth Coglab program application. It was done at only one site to ensure the consistency of the environment. Also, each te st consisted of 100 trials. I. PROBLEM STATEMENT Attentional blink is present between targets of short separation.II. OBJECTIVES 1. Aims to confirm the presence of attention blink in the different subjects. 2. Aims to show that the percentage reported for the 2nd target increases as the separation of the two targets increases through the use of statistical analysis. 3. To identify improvements for the report of the second target in the stimulus presentation, assuming the theory is correct. III. METHODOLOGY A. Selection of Subjects The minimum required subjects was fifteen subjects which consists of the students of the present Ergcog2 laboratory class, and they were asked to answer the attention blink experiment honestly.The group decided to add additional of 10 subjects outside of DLSU with the same conditions given to the first fifteen subjects in the class. This was done for the reason that more data leads to more consistent and less biased results. There was no particular reason nor criteria used in choosing the subjects. They were chosen out of convenience. Apparently, the subjects chosen were composed of both male and female and all subjects were in between the ages of 18-22 years old. B. Experiment Proper 1. Fifteen subjects (from the class) and ten subjects (outside DLSU) were chosen to answer the experiment on attention blink.They were chosen using convenience sampling distribution. 2. There are two trials in this experiment and the group considered this factor. Trial 1: Subjects took the experiment without being distracted. Trial 2: Subjects took the experiment while being disturbed during the whole experimental period. Subjects were having simultaneous conversation during the whole experiment. 3. The software is activated. Pressing the spacebar indicates the start of the first trial where a sequence of letters appears. Each letter in the sequence is only flashed for 100 milliseconds. 4.The task of the subjects is to determine if letter J, letter K, o r both letters were flashed in each sequence. 5. The subject presses the â€Å"J† and â€Å"K† keys to indicate that the letters â€Å"J† and â€Å"K† were flashed in the sequence respectively. The subject can also press both â€Å"J† and â€Å"K† keys if he/she believes that both letters were flashed. 6. The keys that were pressed by the subjects are flashed immediately in the screen for the subjects to be able to check whether the software was able to receive the information correctly or not. 7. Space bar is pressed by the subject to proceed to the next trial. . After the 100 trials, a window appears which shows the graphical result of the test that was done by the subject. The graph shows the rate of how the subjects were able to detect the targets due to how the targets were separated. 9. The results were analysed and conclusions and recommendations were made at the end of the experiment. C. Tools Used * Computers with CogLab Software ar e used to run the trials in which data are gathered. D. Possible Causes of Error (Factors) Fatigue of the subjects is a possible cause of error in the experiment.One run is composed of 100 trials, which can be very tiring for the eyes. As a result, the subject’s ability to detect targets may deteriorate at the latter trials of the experiment. Environmental factors can also be a possible cause of error like having noise in the background or having a conversation while doing the test. This is to test whether this kind of factor has a significant effect on the ability of the subject to detect targets. The subjects not taking the attention blink test seriously may also be a possible source of error in the experiment.Some subjects may have just rushed the test. How the subjects would take the experiment is solely dependent on their level of seriousness. IV. RESULTS & DISCUSSION Table 1. Summary of the Mean and Std. Deviation Response on 1st target | Separation target| | 0| 2| 4| 6 | 8| Mean (percent)| 56| 54. 5| 58| 54. 5| 58| Std. Deviation| 11. 7| 13. 4| 17. 2| 15. 5| 19. 6| Figure 1. Percent Response Vs Target Separation for 1st target Table 1 shows that for the first target the average responses for the 5 separation target are near to each other.The results for each target separation might be varied for the subjects as seen in the deviations which are at the range of 11. 7 to 19. 6, but comparing the 5 mean would only result to a standard deviation of 1. 75. This means that the results are almost constant and has minimal deviation. Figure 1 also shows this trend that the % responses for each target separation are near each other. Looking at the results it can also be seen that the subjects can only see 54. 5% to 58% of the 1st target, since fluctuations in the graph is within these range. Table 2. Summary of the Mean and Std.Deviation Response on 2nd target | Separation target| | 0| 2| 4| 6| 8| Mean (percent)| 5. 0| 39. 0| 42. 5| 58. 5| 60. 5| Std. Deviat ion| 6. 2| 16. 6| 11. 4| 11. 6| 15. 7| Figure 2. Percent Response Vs Target Separation for 2nd target Table 2 shows that the percent mean of the responses increases as the target separation increases. Again the results for each target separation also varied for the subjects since the deviation ranges from 6. 2 to 16. 6. But the deviation for the zero separation is not that big compared to the others, since most of the respondents here cannot detect the 2nd target.The deviation for each target separation might be big but the data and Figure 2 would show a linear relationship with between the % response and the target separation of the 2nd target. This means that the respondents are able to detect the 2nd target more as the separation between the two target increases. The % response of the respondents for the 2nd target is from 5% to 60. 5%. Figure 3. Percent Response Vs Target Separation for 1st and 2nd target Figure 3 would show a clearer relationship between the 1st target and the 2nd target.The line for 1st target (blue) would show an almost straight line pattern while the line for the 2nd target (red) would show a line that increases as target separation increases. The graph also shows that for target separation 0 to 4, the 1st target has a higher % response. But when the separation became 6 and 8 the 2nd target is seen more by the respondents. We could also see that the deviation between the 1st and 2nd target decreases as the target separation increases. For the 0 target separation the difference between the two targets are 51% for the 2 sec target separation it became 15. % and the difference becomes smaller as target separation increases. The best result is seen in the 8 sec target separation since 1st target has a 58% response and the 2nd is 60% response the difference between the two is only 2%. In addition, in order to identify the targets better the subject only focuses on the letters â€Å"J† and â€Å"K† and disregards the other lett ers in the series. In fact, this selective nature of perception would lessen the overloading of information. According to Reed (2004), selectivity is defined as the focusing of aspects of attention, wherein the subject pays attention to some aspects while ignores the others.To prove that the attentional blink theory is correct in stating that the first target is unaffected by the separation of the signals. And the second target, on the other hand, shows that the longer the separation period of the first signal to the second, the higher the response (Mackewn & Goldthwaithe, 2004). Regression technique is used to see the relationship between the target separation and % response of the 1st and 2nd target. This would show how the target separation (independent) affects the detection of the target for the 1st and 2nd target (dependent). Table 3.Regression summary for 1st target. N= 50| Beta| Std. Err. of Beta| B| Std. Err. of B| t(48)| p-level| Intercept|   |   | 55. 4| 3. 75| 14. 77 | 0. 00| Separation| 0. 04| 0. 14| 0. 20| 0. 77| 0. 26| 0. 80| The regression summary would show that the separation of the target is not related with the percent response of the 1st target since the p-level of the regression is 0. 80 meaning it is not significant in identifying the value for the 1st target. Table 4. Regression summary for 2nd target. N= 50| Beta| Std. Err. of Beta| B| Std. Err. of B| t(48)| p-level| Intercept|   |   | 15| 3. 9| 4. 18| 0. 00| Separation| 0. 79| 0. 09| 6. 53| 0. 73| 8. 92| 0. 00| The regression summary shows that for the 2nd target the target separation is significant since a p-level of 0. 00 is shown. Therefore, this means that target separation affects the % response for the 2nd target. On the other hand the beta value of 6. 53 shows that as the target separation increases the % response for the 2nd target also increases. The Attentional Capacity Theory Duncan et al. have proposed that T1 occupies attentional capacity to the detriment of a trai ling T2 target.This theory suggests that the duration for which T1 continues to occupy attentional capacity is related directly to the T2 processing difficult (Rochester Institute of Technology). This explains why the 2nd target increases as the separation time increases. It is because the theory states that every person has their own attentional capacity and if separation time is bigger the information processing do not overlap and the two targets are seen by the respondent. This also why the first letter is first seen since it is the one that occupies the person’s attentional capacity first and is first processed by the person.Outside Factors In the conduction of the experiment, although the distraction may have a small effect on the signal detection of the subjects, the results as shown in the graphs make it clear that attentional blink is not affected by the amount of external distraction since it is an internal issue. As mentioned, in trial 2 the subjects were distracted by assigning someone close enough to generate a conversation with them through the whole duration of the experiment. There is no significant difference found in the detection of the targets between being distracted and not.This is because the subjects were observed to say â€Å"ha? † more often than not during the conversation. Having their attention focused on the experiment applies the theory of selective attention wherein one tries to pay attention to one input in the presence of others (Glass & Holyoak, 2004). Visual dominance is another concept that can be seen in the experiment. It can be observed that visual targets dominate over auditory targets (Glass & Holyoak, 2004). This also explains why the subject is more inclined in doing the experiment rather than chatting with the distracter. V. CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONSBased on the results of the experiment, it can be concluded that the theory of attentional blink is correct. The hypothesis made at the beginning could b e verified by the results obtained. These results show that separation does not have a large effect on the probability that the first target would not be detected by the respondents, since the average percentage reported for the first target by the respondent is relatively unaffected by separation. The values were close to each other. On the other hand, average percentage reported for the second target increased as the separation increased.This shows that the hypothesis that the longer the separation between the targets, the higher the chance of getting the targets right is correct. There are less chances of an attentional blink when more letters are in between, since the second letter is delayed. This gives the user a chance to have more accurate results. Although the program was effective in proving that the Attentional Blink Theory is correct, there could still be some improvements that could be done. Since the program has a black background and white letters for the stimuli, a w ay of making the second target easier to detect is to add color or change the background color.According to (Pashler, 1999), the second target could be easier to detect when there is color discrimination. When provided, it seems to cause the blink to virtually disappear because there is a different dimension. Sizes of the letters were the same for all. Biased attention may occur when the contrast and sizes of the targets differ (Proulx & Egeth, 2006). In the research conducted by Proulx and Egeth (2006), objects with better luminance contrast are processed rapidly and precisely compared to lower contrast items. It also shows that larger objects can influence visual performance.In order for the subject to identify the second target, the size of the signals or targets can be made bigger. A sample for this is illustrated below. Based from observation, the respondents made mistakes on entering what letter they saw. The program did not allow the respondent to change his or her answer. A recommendation for the enhancement of the program could be having the function to let the respondent change his or her answer, so that the respondents’ probability of getting the correct answer would increase. This in turn can improve the respondents’ data.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Should the new republic called Azawadi be recognized as an independent Essay

Should the new republic called Azawadi be recognized as an independent state - Essay Example As their rebellion failed, the fighters left for Libya and joined Libyan Army. However, as the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya was defeated in 2011, many of these fighters came back to the Azawadi region of Mali1. On coming back, many of these groups joined together and declared that they would be fighting for the liberation of all peoples of Azawad, including Songhal, Arab, Fula, and Taureg2. These various fractions joined together to form the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA). According to its official website, MNLA consists of ‘old rebels from MFUA of 1990s, the members of 2006 MTNM, fighters who returned from Libya, volunteers from various ethic groups in northern Mali and various soldiers and officers who have let Mali Army (MNLA Website). MNLA started its armed agitation in January 2012. Soon, there were various attacks on various places including Anderamberkane, Menaka, Tessalit, Niafunke, and Aguelhoc. Soon, by March, bigger cities like Kidal, Gao, Tinzawaten , and Timbuktu were under the control of MNLA ((ibid). After capturing Timbuktu, almost the whole northern region of Mali was under the control of MNLA. ... More interestingly, the parties have failed to continue with the pact as MNLA has withdrawn from the same. as a result, presently, MNLA and Ansar Dine are in conflicts, and this resulted in the Battle of Gao on 27th June. Through this move, the Ansar Dine and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) drove MNLA out of Gao city. Soon, Ansar Dine declared that it is in total control of all the cities in Azawad. The reasons behind the rebellion In fact, the Tuaregs are semi-nomadic people in the Saharan and Sahelian areas of Southern Algeria, Western Libya, northern Mali, northern Niger, and northeast Burkina Faso3. According to present day census, their number is around 1.5 million. They possess a combination of Islam and tribal practices. Thus, they do not belong to pure Islamism that is monotheistic in nature. As colonisation came, the nomads lost their freedom movement from place to place as territories were strictly guarded. Also, these people became further isolate d from centres of power. Though they had constant conflict over issues of autonomy, there were repeatedly defeated by the military might of colonial powers. When Mali gained independence, Tuaregs were in more trouble as they allegedly faced discrimination from the part of the southern ethnic groups which governed Mali. Secondly, they feared that their culture would be diluted as modernisation comes. Thus, they continued their agitation on and off. As the Mali president Moussa Traore realised that a military solution would be too dearer to bear, he held discussions with the Tuareg and reached the Accords of Tamanrasset. According to the Accord, a cease-fire was to be established, prisoners

Friday, September 27, 2019

The Argument for Managed Care Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Argument for Managed Care - Research Paper Example Long-term managed care often involves the care of chronically ill individuals. As the term implies, the chronically ill often spend a significant amount of time in long-term care facilities or under constant supervision and care in the community setting. Such long-term care also implies various health needs including medicines, health personnel, and rehabilitation, and similar needs. This health needs all add up to significant financial costs for health insurance and for health authorities, and most especially for families. In the current climate of economic hardships, the health sector has not been spared from the financial crisis. In fact, in the past few years, budget cuts have been made for health allocations. Health rationing and rationalization practices have been considered in order to establish effective ways of health financing. With the significant costs of long-term care, health authorities review the possibility of reducing long-term health costs. The implications of this decision impact on the quality and on the availability of health services for those who are under long-term care. These patients would likely impact them negatively, and yet, the financial burden of long-term care is a significant issue which is weighing heavily on the health care industry as a whole. In applying health care rationalization processes, budget cuts to long-term care in relation to other health services would seem more rational. Based on these assumptions, this study shall then consider the financial burden of long term managed care and the implications of health rationalization on the delivery of adequate long-term managed care. Tentatively, this study answers the query posed by expressing that long-term managed care has a significant financial burden on the health care system and that based on health rationalization, long-term managed care would have to suffer financial cuts. Discussion of Findings The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) (2008) discuss th at long-term care is the blanket term for various services which are meant to meet the medical and social needs of a patient. Patients under long term care mostly include elderly patients and the patients with permanent disabilities or those who are terminally ill. These care facilities include assisted living facilities; these are facilities meant to cater to those who need assistance with their daily activities, but are otherwise able to live on their own (DHHS, 2009). The Continuing care communities are small communities which include various housing apartments, small houses, and nursing homes. These communities cater to the needs of those who are still active and healthy. Home care includes care which is offered by private agencies delivering care in the patient’s homes. Hospice care is also considered long-term care. This type of care is usually offered to those who are terminally ill, helping make the patient and his family as comfortable as possible during the last day s of his life. Long-term care involves numerous activities and services. For nursing homes, the care includes room and board, meals, assistance in activities of daily living, housekeeping, 24-hour supervision, skilled nursing

Thursday, September 26, 2019

[Art subject] Christian Imagery of Madonna Essay

[Art subject] Christian Imagery of Madonna - Essay Example The earliest depictions of the virgin mother appeared upon sarcophagi, but she is often represented within groups and never given any individual importance (54). During the next 300 years the worship of the virgin mother expanded and representations of her came in various forms and materials. At the arrival of the 10th and 11th century, although art was not given much importance, the Cult of the Virgin saw a steady increase in its followers (55) during this era the virgin was often represented in the forms of â€Å"Madonna and the child†, the â€Å"Annunciation†, the â€Å"Nativity† and the â€Å"Worship of the Magi† (55). Naturally a large number of artworks depicting biblical figures and scenes can be found in churches and other venues for worship, just like in the St. James Cathedral in Seattle, Washington, USA. Among the major artworks housed in the cathedral is a collection of stained glass by Charles Connik and an altar piece made by a Florentine artist, Neri di Bicci, which depicts the Madonna and Child surrounded by six saints. It can be noted that the image of the Madonna is prominent throughout the cathedral in various forms. From paintings, to statues, to carvings, and even stained glass the Madonna is portrayed in different roles and scenarios. Mentioned earlier is the artwork done by Florentine artist Neri di Bicci, Madonna and Child surrounded by six saints, dated to have been done in 1456. The artwork depicts the virgin mother sitting on a (heavenly) throne while holding the infant Jesus on her lap ("Madonna and Child with Saints"). Both the central figures are surrounded by six saints who are seemingly engaged in a conversation either with each other and/or with the Madonna and Child. Immediately noticeable is the regal aura that comes off from the virgin mother sitting on her queenly throne. In typical theological concept, the enthroned Madonna stands for the virgin mother as the Queen of Heaven (Hurll  37). A closer look at the altarpiece

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

The UK yoghurt market (marketing plan) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

The UK yoghurt market (marketing plan) - Essay Example Yoghurt is used to supplement the main diet. Various developments have been registered in the production and marketing of this product in different markets across the globe. Different production companies have developed different brands of the product leading to an increased competition in the market. Besides, other related milk products give stiff competition to yoghurt in the market. The company that is to succeed in the market has to be sensitive and able to respond to the changing market trends. It has to develop a product brand that meets the changing needs of the clients. The organization should develop a marketing strategy that ensures proper brand positioning in the market. There has been a significant growth in the UK yoghurt market in the recent years with 21% increase in the period 2006- 2011 (UK-June 2011 Report, 2011). One of the players in the UK yoghurt is Yeo Valley Organic. This is a farming and dairy company situated in the Yeo Valley of Somerset, England. The company deals in a variety of dairy products and other desserts. Initially starting with the natural yoghurt, the company has expanded its operations to produce more brands of the products to meet the customer needs in relation to tastes or costs of the products. Other companies offer similar products in the market leading to increased competition in the UK yoghurt market. The organization is then faced with the challenge to develop products that rank above those produced by the competitors in customer satisfaction. A good market plan will help the company to position its brand above the competing brands. This calls for an analysis of all the market forces in the UK yoghurt market and id entifying procedures of overcoming the forces. Due to the changing customer needs, the organization has introduced a new product that is of better medicinal value. Apart from the normal ingredients, this new product has a component that makes it suitable for relieving mid pain. The company is in the process of marketing this new product. This paper illustrates a market plan that is to be adopted by Yeo Valley Organic to help achieve its marketing objectives. It is a one-year program to market the new yoghurt products by the company. 2. Mission and Business objectives The management at Yeo Valley Organic has noted that the quality of the products can be improved through proper care given to the dairy animals. This requires proper environmental conservation initiatives. Thus, the organization is committed to providing quality products to customers while reducing the adverse effects of their operations on the environment to ensure sustainable production. The organization has set a numb er of objectives that are concerned with management of environment. It is concerned with ensuring sustainable production in order to survive in the future market. To reduce the production cost

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Financial Institutions and Instruments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Financial Institutions and Instruments - Essay Example An investment strategy has more to do with responsibly, and often conservatively, managing an investment portfolio in order to maximize gains with a minimum of maintenance, a low number of transactions (and their attendant costs), and a minimum of risk. This paper will explore the investment strategy approach for the most part, whilst also exploring some of the more simplified and well-tested technical strategies of the trading approach. A simplified investment strategy is the one most likely to be employed by an ordinary person with a modest portfolio, a minimum amount of time to devote to managing that portfolio, and limited ability, desire, and/or resources to devote to the use of sophisticated analysis tools. In other words, the kind of person who has a day job as opposed to being a fulltime day trader, and needs a strategy that includes a fair degree of automatic execution and pre-determined portfolio protection devices. Finding a consistent strategy that meets these requirements would be useful to a great number of people who are currently disadvantaged in the area of maximizing their investment gains by lack of financial resources, time, and expertise, whilst at the same time they may be very dependent on their investment pe rformance for their future financial security needs. Much work has been done in pursuit of a system that would consistently provide excess returns, with mixed results. The very existence of technical analysis seems to belie the Efficient Market Hypothesis. Some researchers have concluded that "technical rules do not earn excess profits over a simple buy-and-hold strategy," (Beechey, Gruen, and Vickery, 2000). However, there are aspects of market performance that are not completely explained by EMH, and the available evidence suggests that "financial market returns are partly predictable, in ways that sometimes conflict with the Efficient Market Hypothesis" (Beechey, et al, 2000). Other discordant findings regarding the EMH versus actual stock performance include evidence that in the stock market, "shares with high returns continue to produce high returns in the short run (momentum effects). In the long run, shares with low price-earnings ratios, high book-to-market-value ratios, and other measures of 'value' outperform the market (value effects)." Further, "at times, asset prices appear to be significantly misaligned, for extended period," (Beechey, et al, 2000). Whenever inefficiencies such as misalignments or mispricings occur, an opportunity for excess returns also occurs - if someone with a technical analysis filter is watching for them and knows when and how to act on them. At best it would seem the EMH semi-strong or weak version best describes what is observed in the markets. Therefore it would seem that there may, after all, be something to be gained from at least a cursory investigation of the technical analysis tools that are most readily available to the average investor, and that are easy to understand and use, and that is the criteria that was used when choosing technical analysis tools for inclusion in the investment strategy that will be outlined herein. St. George's Bank has been traded on the Australian exchange since 1992, and is currently the fifth largest bank in Australia. It shares with the banking sector a 100%

Monday, September 23, 2019

The History and evolution of health care economics Essay

The History and evolution of health care economics - Essay Example Health care economics is one branch of economics that deals with problems like scarcity in the distribution of health care. A general overview of this study includes social issues in healthcare (alcoholism, smoking), health care system, and allocation of funding to public healthcare. Early studies in this field can be attributed to Kenneth Arrow when he published his article titled â€Å" Uncertainty and the Welfare economics of medical care â€Å" in 1963. Nowadays, numerous researches dwelling on health care economics just shows the importance of this issue to modern living. The study of economics would always be a relationship between supply and demand, and healthcare is no exception to such. First, it must be understood that healthcare is a derived demand since it is affects the result of health and must be directly consumed ( Newhouse, 1996) in order to feel its benefits. Although people would not like the idea of receiving this service, they have no choice when they get sick. In fact, Evans and Stoddart (1990 ) asserts that â€Å"Health care is one the determinants of health and from an economic perspective, it is simply an input into the production of health†. This is the main reason why government should spend on healthcare since healthy citizens are more productive and costs less to society. Even individuals should ideally spend for their own preventive healthcare so they would not get sick thereby reducing downtime in terms of man hours. Unfortunately, people do not prioritize healthcare issues all the time since there are other equally important things to spend for such as food, education and housing. It is only when one’s health is endangered do people pay attention to this issue; thus, people even buy costly medicines when they are really sick. On the other hand, Kowalski’s paper in 2003 revealed that â€Å"medical care and prices have an elastic

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Situation Awareness Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Situation Awareness - Case Study Example Situation awareness is even more critical, yet more difficult for military pilots because apart from the normal hazards of flight and navigation, they must also be aware of friendly and enemy aircraft; as a result, they are required to be conversant with and aware of a greater number of elements in their surrounding environment. As Endsley (1999) points out, pilots are not only required to know how to operate the aircraft and the proper procedures and rules for flight, they must also have an accurate and up-to-date picture of the surrounding environment. The research article by Banbury et al (2007) deals with situation awareness specifically from the perspective of how training can be a tool to reduce the incidence of mishaps caused by problems with situation awareness. The objective of this study was to examine whether the safety and efficiency of flight operations could be improved through training in situation awareness using a high fidelity simulator environment. ... On the basis of the literature review, the second stage examined incident and accident reports to determine the extent to which situation awareness was contributing to mishaps. During the third phase, the SA skills were decomposed into their underlying competencies, such as knowledge, skills and attitudes which were set aside as potential candidates for training. During the fourth and final stage of the project, a specialized training solution was developed around these concepts, the objective being to examine the effectiveness of the ESSAI program. The relevant factors in the SA questionnaire have been set out clearly, and they also identify the existing lacunae in the research, i.e, existing measures of situation awareness focus on measuring it in terms of "product" (participant awareness) rather than "process", or the processes involved in situation awareness that produce a representation in memory. This identified the need for an effective diagnostic measure, and the study carried out an exhaustive search using laboratory and field based sources. The study also shows effective testing for bias, because a pilot questionnaire was administered. The article therefore builds upon the research findings from other people and carried it further. The ESSAI program was evaluated using simulator training sessions and the Simulation Awareness Rating technique, a subjective assessment measure that is used to assess operator knowledge in three areas: demands being made on attentional resources, the supply of those resources and an understanding of the situation. The choice of the rating tool was also a good one - the Factors Affecting Situation Awareness scale, containing five sub-scales, was used to measure how susceptible the

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Planning practices and training Essay Example for Free

Planning practices and training Essay I am going to do my practise sessions for a beginner, who has little experience and very basic skills in trampolining, such as straight bouncing and stopping. By the end of these sessions, they should be able to do a short sequence of simple skills, becoming more confident and fluent in the execution of them. Each sessions length will depend on the time needed to learn and practice a skill. Routine: 1. Tuck jump, 2. 1/2 twist jump, 3. Straddle jump, 4. Full twist, 5. Pike jump 6. Seat drop to feet. Warm up: Pulse raising activities: o 20 straight bounces with correct arm movements on the trampoline, 5 star jumps and 5 leaps, on the floor. o These simple exercises are appropriate for younger children (usually beginners) and as they are easy. o They also use the muscles required in trampolining. (Quadriceps, hamstrings and calf muscles.) Mobility activities: o 10 shoulder shrugs, 10 large circular motions with arms (forwards and backwards) neck movements, elbow and knee flexions and extensions and hip rotations. o These loosen the joints to be used, (shoulders/hips/neck) and help injury prevention. o They are simple. Stretches: o Quadricep stretch, by holding the foot behind the performer and pushing the hips forwards slightly. o Hamstring stretch, by bending one leg at the knee and putting the other leg out straight so that the heel is on the floor. The hands should rest on the bent knee. o Calf stretch, by putting one foot back and parallel but not adjacent to the other foot, and pushing down on the back heel until a slight strain is felt. This warm up should be done before each session and will increase heart rate, so the body is warm. By the end of the sessions, the performer will probably be suppler (more flexible) therefore will have to push the stretches further. Their cardio vascular endurance should increase too. Warm down: o 10 straight bounces and walking around the trampoline 2 times to decrease the HR and rid of any lactic acid. Gentle stretching will increase flexibility. Session 1: Aim-Learn and practice shapes. Tuck, straddle and pike jumps. (Duration-1 hour) Warm up. Start by showing a demonstration of each skill separately. Teach and do a broken down run through of each slowly and finally re-demonstrate the skill. Tuck jump-At the top of the bounce, the knees are bought up t the chest and the hands to the shins. Push the legs back down afterwards, and stop. Straddle jump-At the top of the bounce bring both legs out to the side and to the front, so an angle above about 100`dergees is formed. Touch between the knees and the feet, anywhere on the shins. Bring legs back together, down and stop. Pike jump- Involves bringing both legs out straight in front of. Ideally, the angle between the trunk and the legs should be 90à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. The legs should be squeezed together, straight, with pointed toes, and the hands should touch the tops of the legs anywhere between the knees and toes (although the nearer the toes the better it is.) These should be learnt in about 40 minutes on a class of 5-8 performers. Practicing of the skills should take place for 20 minutes, so the performers can learn the feel and begin to improve their feel of the skill-specificity. Warm down. Session 2: Aim-Practice and develop tuck, straddle and pike jumps. Learn and develop 1/2 and full twists. (Duration-1hour, 15 minutes) Warm up. Start by practicing the skills from session 1. Do these, correct and improve for 15 minutes. Show a demonstration of and 1/2 twist, to introduce variation. Explain and teach it: To twist, the performer should stretch out of the trampoline and twist with the arms above the head. Look for the mats as reference points. Practice 1/2 twists for 25 minutes. Show a demonstration of a full twist, to introduce variation. Explain and teach it: To twist, the performer should stretch out of the trampoline and twist with the arms above the head. Look for the mats as reference points. Practice full twists for 30 minutes. These are more demanding. Control and tension are required for good twists. This will overload the performer with information with this session, but a lot will need to be practiced. Warm down. Session 3: Aim-Practice shapes in a sequence, e.g. 3 tuck jumps, 3 straddle jumps then 3 pike jumps. Practice twists. Start to integrate twists on the end of skills, to introduce variation. (Duration-1hour, 10 minutes) Warm up. Practice skills separately from session 1 to refine the skill, for 10 minutes. Practice twists for 20 minutes, to build confidence in the performer and to improve the skills. This will help the performer consolidate knowledge and progress. Do each of the shaped bounces with a 1/2 twist before. Do the skill again with a 1/2 twist after. Practice these for 40 minutes. This is using overload methods to teach here. Each performer will find this tricky at first but will get to an appreciation of the joint skills and will probably be able to do them by the end of the session. Session 4: Aim- To introduce the seat drop skill to the performers and practice the shaped bounces with full twists and 1/2 twists before and after each skill. (Duration-1 hour, 10 minutes.) Warm up. Practice full and 1/2 twists so the performer is confident with them. 10 minutes. Practice each shaped bounce with a 1/2 twist before and after, then with a full before and after the skill. Do this for 30 minutes. Demonstrate, explain and teach the seat drop. This move sounds easy, but it is more difficult to do well. For a good seat drop, the performer should stretch to the top of the jump pushing the hips forward slightly at the same time. On the way down, pointing the toes towards the mat will allow the performer to land sitting on the trampoline. The correct position is with the legs together, leaning slightly backwards with the hand just behind, and to the side of, the bottom. Fingers should point the same way as the toes. Integrating moves into/out of seat drops introduces variation. Practice and get familiar with the seat drop position and practice from standing and with a small bounce beforehand for 30 minutes. Getting more confident. Warm down. Session 5: Aim Improve seat drops and run through routine in two stages, then as a whole. (duration-1 hour,15 minutes) Practice shaped bounces with 1/2 and full twists before and after for 10 minutes to refine the skills together as one. Do specific skills then practice as a whole. Re-talk through and demonstrate seat drops, as these are a more difficult skill. Practice seat drop position, seat drops from standing and seat drops with a small bounce before, for 20 minutes. Go through skills 1-3 of the routine until they run smoothly together and practice. Approximately 10 minutes. Go through skills 4-6 of the routine until they run smoothly together and practice. Approximately 15 minutes because the seat drop adds difficulty. Run through the whole routine until it runs quite smoothly. About 20 minutes. The performer should have shown progression through the last five sessions, and can now apply them fully to a routine. Warm down. Session 6: Aim- to refine the routine as a whole. (Duration- 1 hour, 10 minutes.) Warm up. Practice seat drops with height for 15 minutes. Go through the whole routine, spotting any difficulties and practice the difficulties, i.e. skills 3-5 could be hard to do. Do this until the performer is comfortable with the difficulties, for up to 30 minutes. Practice the whole routine through for 20 minutes.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Determination of Vitamin C in Tablets

Determination of Vitamin C in Tablets INTRODUCTION Nowadays, health has become the most important property of humans life. Commonly, diets with high contents of fruits are protective against several human diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and even cancer. Therefore, people are putting more and more attention on antioxidant substances such as vitamin C which is also known as ascorbic acid or more specifically L-ascorbic acid. Vitamin C is probably one of the most highly well known. Furthermore, people have become more aware to the importance of vitamin C. Hence, this causes the global market flooded with vitamin C fortified foods (Arya, Mahajan and Jain, 2000). The term of vitamin C is used as generic term for all compounds exhibiting qualitatively the biological activity of ascorbic acid. The molecular structure of vitamin C is C6H8O6 and the molecular weight is 176.1 (Ball, 2006). Vitamin C is highly polar and readily soluble in aqueous solution and insoluble in less nonpolar solvents (Fennema, 1996). It is an acidic compound due to the facile ionization of hydroxyl group on carbon 3 (pK1 = 4.17) while the hydroxyl group on carbon 2 is much more resistant to ionization (pK2 = 11.79). The structure of L-ascorbic acid is shown in Figure 1 (Ball, 2006). Ball (2006) also stated that ascorbic acid is easily and reversibly oxidized to dehydroascorbic acid, forming the ascorbyl radical anion which is also known as semidehydoascorbate as an intermediate as shown in Figure 2. Dehydoascorbic acid possesses full vitamin C activity because it is readily reduced to ascorbic acid in the animal body. However, dehydoascorbic acid is not an acid in the chemical sense, as it does not have the dissociable protons that ascorbic acid has at carbon 2 and carbon 3 positions. One of the most important properties of vitamin C is that it is an antioxidant. Nevertheless, it has a wide range of antioxidant properties outside the body and can quench most biologically active radicals. It scavenges superoxide, nitroxide, hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide and will reduce vitamin E (Hickey and Roberts, 2004). It is also found to be a strong antioxidant as it helps to neutralize harmful free radicals (Izuagie and Izuagie, 2007). Vitamin C is an almost odorless white or pale yellow crystalline powder with a pleasant sharp taste and melting point of about 190Â °C. It is not a carboxylic acid but a lactone and ease of oxidation to the presence of an enediol grouping (Izuagie and Izuagie, 2007). Vitamin C is highly susceptible to oxidation, especially when catalyzed by metal ions such as copper(II) ion and iron(III) ion. The functions and activities of vitamin C are based on its properties as a reversible biological reductant (Hickey and Roberts, 2004). Vitamin C participates for the growth and repair of tissues in all parts of the body (Kleszczewski and Kleszczewska, 2002). Vitamin C is a natural antioxidant that mostly found in fruits and vegetables. The main sources of vitamin C are citrus fruits, strawberries, peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, and spinach. Vitamin C plays crucial roles in electron transport, hydroxylation reactions and oxidative catabolism of aromatic compounds in animal metabolism (Gazdik et al, 2008). Vitamin C can help to prevent and treat common cold, mental illness, infertility, scurvy, cancer and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) (Yusuf and Gurel, 2005). It is reported to lower cancer risk and also said to have important interactions with other vitamins. For example, excessive intake of vitamin A is less toxic to the body when vitamin C is readily available (Izuagie and Izuagie, 2007). Due to the great importance of vitamin C in human beings, the quantitative analysis of vitamin C has gained increased significance in several areas of analytical chemistry such as pharmaceutical and food applications (Yusuf and Gurel, 2005). Vitamin C is also used as an index of the nutrient quality for fruit and vegetable products. This is because it is much more sensitive to various modes of degradation in food processing and subsequent storage (Ozkan, Kirca and Cemero, 2004). It is well known that vitamin C is easily oxidized to dehydroascorbic acid in alkaline solutions, while it is relatively stable in acidic solution. Vitamin C of fruit juices is readily oxidized and lost during staying of the juices (Kabasakalis, Siopidou and Moshatou, 2000). In the food industry, vitamin C is used as food additive (Mai and Mohammed, 2004). It preserves and protects food from any colour changes and act as an important component of our nutrition as well. Vitamin C helps to prevent the degradation of soft drinks and juice which helps to retain their flavors. Hence, it increases the quality of food and nutritional value as well (Burdurlu, Koca and Karadeniz, 2005). Degradation of vitamin C undergoes both anaerobic and aerobic pathways. Qxidation of vitamin C in aerobic pathway occurs mainly during the processing of food whereas anaerobic degradation of vitamin C mainly during storage. Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is one of the decomposition products of vitamin C and acts as precursor of brown pigments (Burdurlu, Koca and Karadeniz, 2005). Vitamin C degradation in packaged fruit juices depends mainly on storage temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen level, residual hydrogen peroxide,H2O2 left after the sterilization of packaging material and trace metal ions (Ozkan, Kirca and Cameroglu, 2004). Consequently, studies on vitamin C content in foods are important in relation to the control of nutritional labels, the update of food databases and the establishment of dietary reference intakes. Orange juice is probably the most globally accepted fruit juice and it is recognized worldwide as a good source of ascorbic acid (Sharma, Singh and Saxena, 2006). In addition, there are many analytical methods used to determine the concentration of vitamin C in the pharmaceutical samples which are colorimetric method, titration, enzymatic method, flow injection analysis (FIA) and high- performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (Arya and Mahajan, 1997). Reflectometer is an instrument that can used to analyze many different types of test which include ascorbic acid test that is concerned in this project. It provides a simple and rapid determination of vitamin C content in many pharmaceuticals product. LITERATURE REVIEW Various methods used in determination of Vitamin C In recent years, the determination of vitamin C has become an important subject in the field of biochemistry and commercial foods. This is because vitamin C plays an important role in maintaining human health (Chen and Sato, 1995). Due to the importance of vitamin C in human beings, the quantitative analysis of vitamin C has gained a significant increase in several areas of analytical chemistry such as pharmaceutical and food applications (Yusuf and Gurel, 2005). There are numerous methods for the determination of vitamin C in a variety of natural samples, biological fluids and pharmaceutical formulations. The methods for the determination of vitamin C are spectrophotometric methods and non-spectrophotometric methods (Arya and Mahajan, 1997). For non-spectrophotometric methods are such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), titration, enzymatic method and fluorometry (Arya, Mahajan and Jain, 2000). Direct spectrophotometry also has been applied to determine the vitamin C content in soft drinks, fruit juices, and cordials after correction for background absorption in the UV region. Flow-injection analysis (FIA) In FIA, there is no air segmentation and it is not necessary for a state of chemical equilibrium to be reached. The sample is introduced into a carrier stream as a discrete plug. The presence of a sample-carrier interface allows diffusion-controlled dispersion of the sample as it is swept through narrow-bore tubing to create a concentration gradient. The flow-through detector monitors the change in concentration of the reaction product, which is displayed as a well-defined peak (Ball, 2006). Flow-injection analysis permits a simple, rapid and sensitive method for the determination of vitamin C where its systems allow faster sampling rates and consumed fewer reagents compared with segmented-flow analysis (Kleszczewki and Kleszczewska, 2002). Memon, Dahot and Ansari had proposed a method by using mono 1, 10-phenanthroline-iron(III) complex as oxidant. This experiment was based on its reducing reaction on mono(1-10-Phenanthroline)-iron(III) to tris(1,10-Phenanthroline)-iron(II) (ferroin) and the absorbance of ferroin was monitored at 510nm through spectrophotometer equipped with a flow through cell (Memon et al, 2000). In this analysis single channel manifold is used as shown in Figure 3. The reagent stream is pumped at the flow rate 1.1mL/min via a peristaltic pump equipped with PVC pump tubing. The vitamin C sample is introduced into the reagent stream via a rotary teflon valve. A calibration curve for vitamin C in the range 0-50ppm was plotted from the results obtained by Memon, Memon, Dahot and Ansari which are shown in Figure 4. They also studied about the effect of reaction coil and reagent concentration. From the graph (Figure 5), the maximum intensity was observed at 50cm reaction coil. While the results of the effect of reagent concentration obtained is shown in Figure 6 indicating that the maximum signal could be obtained at 35% reagent (Memon, Memon, Dahot and Ansari, 2000). This method can be improved within certain limits by increasing the volume of the injected sample in flow injection analysis. The sensitivity is increased two fold with the increase of sample volume. As conclusion, since the time required for sample preparation is short and reagent consumption is low, hence the method is highly economical and is suitable to use on routine basis for determination of ascorbic acid in pharmaceutical preparations (Memon et al, 2000). Ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometry Direct ultraviolet spectrophotometry is a fast, simple and reliable method for the determination of vitamin C. This method can be done through alkaline treatment and the maximum absorption of vitamin C falls at 243nm at pH2 (Yanshan, 1997). The absorption of UV light by the sample matrix was the major problem in this method. Therefore, alkaline treatment method was found to be used as background correction in blank. This is because more than 95% of vitamin C will be destroyed in 10 minutes after alkaline treatment which is in the range of pH 12 to 13 (Salkic and Kubicek, 2008). UV spectrophotometry method was found to be applicable for most fruits, fruit juices and soft drinks except those that are unstable to alkaline treatment, and were deeply colored, or contained high concentration of caffeine, saccharin, caramel and tannic acid (Yanshan, 1997). To determine the total content of vitamin C in food samples, a well-established method was investigated by Khan, Rahman, Islam and Begum, 2006 by using the 2,4-dinitrophenyl hydrazine methods (DNPH). This is a simplified method for the simultaneous determination of total vitamin C employed coupling reaction of 2,4-dinitrophenyl hydrazine dye with vitamin C and followed by spectrophotometric determination. The spectrophotometric method involves the oxidation of ascorbic acid to dehydroascorbic acid by the action of bromine solution in the presence of acetic acid. Reaction between dehydoascorbic acid and 2,4-dinitrophenyl hydrazine at 37 Â °C temperature for three hours will form an osazone. The solution is treated with 85% H2SO4 to produce a red color complex. The absorbance of all standards was measured at 521 nm by using a UV-spectrophotometer. The results obtained were taken to contruct a calibration curve (Khan et al, 2006). The calibration curve was constructed by plotting the concentration versus the corresponding absorbance as shown by Figure 7. The molar absorptivity, ? can be obtained using Beer-Lambert plots. The reliabilty of this method was justified by the calculations of the % of standard deviation and it was found to be varied within the range from 0.20 to 2.45%. The reliability of this method was also confirmed from the consideration of the following expected interferences (Khan et al, 2006). There are a few interferences that might affect the results. First, the interference was due to the diketogulonic acid. At higher pH, destructive oxidation hydrolysis might occur. This results in the opening of the lactone ring of the ascorbic acid and loose the vitamin activity. These processes are naturally occurred in fruits and some amounts of diketogulonic acid are presence in the fruits. Besides that, diketogulonic acid has keto group that might form osazone when react with DNPH. Hence, there is a chance of error in this method which may give false results (Khan et al, 2006). Another interference was due to the extracted glucose which contains similar structure like vitamin C. Therefore, some of the glucose may be extracted in the meta-phosphoric acid during the extraction of ascorbic acid from sample. Glucose may also cause the formation of colored complex with DNPH and gives the false result in the determination of vitamin C. This was proven in Figure 8 where there is no absorption peak around the interested peak at 521nm (Khan et al, 2006). As conclusion, the method is simple and excellent for the determination of total vitamin C in fruits and vegetables (Khan, Rahman, Islam and Begum, 2006). Fluorometric Method Fluorometric analysis has been used for ascorbic acid assay in pharmaceutical preparations, beverages, special dietary foods and even for human serum (Arya, Mahajan and Jain, 2000). This method had been reported to have successful application to a wide range of foodstuffs, including liver, milk, fresh and canned fruit, raw and cooked vegetables, and potato powder (Ball, 2006). Previously, fluorometric determinations of vitamin C have been developed based on condensation reactions of vitamin C with o-phenylenediamine and on the oxidation with mercury (II) of vitamin C to form quinoxaline derivative. The reaction products of these methods exhibit fluorescensce (Yusuf and Gurel, 2005). Figure 9 shows the reaction of the dehydroascorbic acid with 1,2-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride to form the fluorescent quinoxaline derivative 3(1,2dihydroxyethyl) furol[3,4-b]quinoxaline-1-one. The blank can be prepared by complexing the oxidized vitamin with boric acid to prevent the formation of the quinoxaline derivative. It is used to reveal any fluorescence due to interfering substances (Ball, 2006). Yusuf and Gurel have described a method by using Methylene Blue (MB) for the determination of vitamin C. This experiment was run by using a spectrofluorimeter to record the spectra and carry out fluorescence measurements. This method was used to determine the amount of vitamin C in the purified materials, specifically vitamin C tablets. MB is a member of thiazine dye group. It is widely used in many different areas. For example, a photo sensitizer is used to produce singlet oxygen in photodynamic therapy for the treatment of cancer. The highly colored oxidized form of MB can be reduced to be colorless leuco form, Leuco-Methylene Blue (LMB) which is shown in Figure 10. LMB is the reduced and colorless form of methylene blue (Yusuf and Gurel, 2005). According to Yusuf and Gurel, the fluorescence bands of MB were obtained at 664nm for excitation state and 682nm for emission peaks. This was proven by the other researchers who also examined the emission bands at 682nm for MB and 452nm for LMB. In Figure 11, the emission peak of MB at 682nm increased due to the increase of its concentration. A linear relationship between MB concentration and intensity was obtained over the concentration range of mol L-1 MB (y= 49.082x + 94.46,r2=0.9969). The excitation peak of MB at 664 nm also linearly increased depending on the increase of its concentration (Yusuf and Gurel, 2005). The studies of the effect of vitamin C on the fluorescence of MB is made to avoid any errors that might affect the accuracy of the results. In order to examine the effect of vitamin C on the fluorescence of MB at 664 nm, mol L-1 MB solutions, each solution was added with different concentration of vitamin C and were prepared under nitrogen (N2) atmosphere. This was shown in Figure 12 where the spectra were recorded at 664nm (Yusuf and Gurel, 2005). Figure 12 above shows the excitation intensity of mol L-1 without adding vitamin C was about 1000.0 and above. The intensity was decreased by the increase of vitamin C concentration in MB solutions (Yusuf and Gurel, 2005). Figure 13 shows the emission spectrum of mol L-1 MB as a function of time. Each spectrum was recorded at 1 minute intervals. The results showed that the fluorescence was not changed with time, reflecting that the fluorescence spectrum of MB was highly stable with time (Yusuf and Gurel, 2005). In the redox reaction between ascorbic acid and MB, the ascorbic acid is oxidized to dehydroascorbic acid, while MB was reduced to colorless LMB as shown in the following: The calibration curve was made based on the concentration of MB (mol L-1). The results indicate that the fluorescence intensity of the system is a linear function of vitamin C concentration in the range of mol L-1 and the regression coefficient is 0.9941 as shown in Figure 15 (Yusuf and Gurel, 2005). Table 1 below shows the tolerance towards different compounds that might cause interferences in this method. These compounds are usually present in most vitamin C tablets. The experimental results showed that the presence of hundred-fold excess of the all contaminant compounds and twenty-fold excess of citric acid did not significantly influence the determination of vitamin C using this method. Therefore, it can be concluded that there is no major interference caused by these compounds (Yusuf and Gurel, 2005). So it is possible to use this method for direct determination of vitamin C in pharmaceuticals without separating the interfering materials. Table 2 lists the results obtained by the proposed method with triiodide method. It can be clearly seen that the results are in good agreement with the triiodide method (Yusuf and Gurel, 2005). Thus, the proposed method provides a simple and sensitive fluorimetric procedure by using MB for the determination of vitamin C. This experiment also shows that MB could be used for fluorimetric determination of vitamin C in vitamin C tablets although it has only slightly fluorescence property compared to LMB. Therefore, as conclusion, it can be explained that the fluorescence intensity of MB was more sensitive to determine vitamin C concentration (Yusuf and Gurel, 2005). Stability of Vitamin C in Orange Juice Vitamin C is very susceptible to chemical and enzymatic oxidation during the processing, storage, and cooking of food. The catalyzed oxidation pathway of vitamin C degradation is the most important reaction pathway for the loss of vitamin C in foods. Therefore, vitamin C of orange juice is readily oxidized and lost during staying of the juice (Ball, 2006). On the other hand, there are several factors that will also affect the stability of vitamin C in orange juice. The factors are such as the effect of vitamin E, pH, and parameters which include air, heat, water as well as prolonged storage and overcooking (Kabasakalis, Siopidou, and Moshatou, 2000). According to Ball, a meta-oxygen-ascorbate complex is formed in the presence of molecular oxygen and trace amounts of transition metal which particularly are copper (II) and iron (III). This complex contains a resonance form of a diradical that rapidly decompose to give the ascorbate radical anion, the original metal ion, and hydrogen peroxide. This radical anion will in turn reacts with the oxygen to give dehydroascorbic acid (DHAA). For anaerobic pathway of vitamin C which occurs in the absence of free oxygen, the degradation is caused by the formation of diketogulconic acid. As the rate of degradation is maximum at pH 3 to pH 4, therefore this pathway is mostly responsible for anaerobic loss of vitamin C in canned grapefruit and orange juices (Ball, 2006). Effect of vitamin E on the stability of vitamin C in orange juice Vitamin E is a fat soluble antioxidant that has four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. In nature, these four tocopherols and four corresponding tocotrienols are designated as alpha-(?), beta-(?), gamma-(?) and delta-(?) according to the number and position of methyl substituent in chromonal ring (Ball, 2006). The vitamin E functions as a biological antioxidant by protecting the vital phospholipids in cellular and subcellular membranes from peroxidative degeneration. Vitamin E mostly accumulates in body which are liver and pancreas. But unlike vitamins A and D, vitamin E is essentially nontoxic (Ball, 2006). Nagymate and Fodor (2008) have designed a method to study the effect of vitamin E on the stability of vitamin C. In this experiment, vitamin E stock solution was prepared by dissolving ?-tocopherol in absolute ethanol. The orange juice which contained vitamin E and vitamin C was used as sample. The storage temperature of the vials was 4Â °C and they were covered with aluminium foil to prevent the effect of sunlight. Besides, two different temperatures were used to examine the effect of vitamin E at that temperature which half of the samples were stored at 20Â °C. On the other hand, the additive effect of these vitamins was also examined but only cool samples (4Â °C) were used for this experiment. Two samples were prepared which one contained vitamin E stock solution and vitamin C stock solution while another contained only vitamin C stock solution. The samples were analysed once a week for five weeks (Nagymate and Fodor, 2008). The results of the stability of vitamin C show that the presence of vitamin E influenced the decay of vitamin C. Figure 17 shows that there were differences between samples with or without vitamin E. From figure 17, it can be clearly seen that the concentration of vitamin C without vitamin E fell down to 1.2mg/L on the second day. However, in the presence of both vitamins, the decay was also observed, but it was lesser. The concentration of vitamin C in the orange juice with vitamin E was 13mg/L in the fifth week. As a result, it seems that vitamin E stabilized vitamin C in orange juice at a determined concentration. This is because vitamin E delay the oxidation of vitamin C thus, enhances the stability of vitamin C in orange juice. The combination of vitamin C with vitamin E makes the orange juice more stable and slower the degradation of orange juice. This concluded that orange juice with vitamin E addition is a good way to preserve the vitamin C content during storage (Nagymate and Fodor, 2008). Effect of temperature on the stability of vitamin C in orange juice Vitamin C of fruit juice is readily oxidized and lost depends on the conditions of storage. There are studies about the determination of the amounts of vitamin C content in fruit juices under different storage conditions. Kabasakalis, Sipadou and Moshatou had done an experiment to determine the rate loss of vitamin C with respect to time and temperature of storage. A long-life and short-life commercial orange juice 100% without preservatives and fresh orange juice were used for analysis. In this experiment, the days before the expiration date were recorded in Table 3 and Table 4 to observe the loss of vitamin C in short-life and long-life orange juice 100% as the expiration date was approached (Kabasakalis, Siopidou and Moshatou, 2000). Table 5 shows the loss of vitamin C from fresh and long-life commercial orange juice 100% during a 31 days period, with measurements made every 1 to 3 days. The samples were refrigerated into containers which after the initial measurement remained either open or with closed cap until the next measurement. Based on the results shown in table 5, the magnitude of vitamin C did not differ significantly between open and closed cap for both juices. The commercial orange juice lost higher amounts of vitamin C compared with fresh orange juice. As reported, decreases of vitamin C upon storage did not correspond to increases of dehydroascorbic acid levels. In fact, there was an increase of dehydoascorbic acid levels in aseptically packaged orange juices. This means that the overall nutritional quality of orange juices is affected upon storage (Kabasakalis, Siopidou and Moshatou, 2000). The loss of the vitamin C in a commercial long-life orange juice 100% stored in refrigerator and non-refrigerated for a period of 10 days in open containers were shown in Figure 18 (Kabasakalis, Siopidou and Moshatou, 2000). According to Figure 18, non-refrigerated samples show higher percentage loss of vitamin C as compared to refrigerated samples. This is because the dehydoascorbic acid, the oxidized form of ascorbic acid was more stable at lower temperatures. Thus, the vitamin C, in the form of dehydroascorbic acid for refrigerated orange juice was well retained than non-refrigerated orange juice (Kabasakalis, Siopidou and Moshatou, 2000). Effect of hydrogen peroxide on the stability of orange juice Hydrogen peroxide, H2O2 is the primary chemical for sterilization of plastic packaging material used in aseptic system. Aseptic packaging technology is widely used by fruit juice industry for the production of shelf-life stable fruit juices. A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation currently limits the residual of H2O2 to 0.5ppm, leached into distilled water, in finished food packages which stated in Code of Federal Regulations, 2000. However, during the sterilization of aseptic chambers or packaging material with H2O2, some residues will still be left on the packaging material or vapors generated during drying may get trapped inside the package upon sealing. These residues will then cause the degradation of vitamin C (Ozkan, Kirca and Cemeroglu, 2004). An experiment was proposed by Ozkan, Kirca and Cemeroglu to determine the rates of vitamin C degradation in orange juice with or without addition of H2O2 at various storage temperatures. In this experiment, the orange juice sample was thawed at room temperature and sodium benzoate was added to prevent spoilage. The degradation studies were done at H2O2 with 0.5ppm concentration at 20Â °C, 30Â °C and 40Â °C respectively. At regular time intervals, samples were removed from the water bath or incubator (Ozkan, Kirca and Cemeroglu, 2004). Then, the predetermined amounts of diluted sodium hydroxide solution were added rapidly to the samples to halt the reaction between H2O2 and vitamin C. The samples were then rapidly cooled by plugging into an ice water bath and held at -30Â °C until analyzed for vitamin C content. Vitamin C concentration was measured by using HPLC method. Qzkan, Kirca and Cemeroglu had modified the method by blending the orange juice sample with metaphosphoric acid. The sample was filtered through a membrane filter and was analyzed using HPLC (Shimadzu brand) (Ozkan, Kirca and Cemeroglu, 2004).Vitamin C contents of orange juice were plotted for various temperatures at 0.5ppm H2O2 concentration which is shown in Figure 19 below. From Figure 19, the results show that at higher temperature, the rate of vitamin C degradation also increased. The addition of 0.5ppm H2O2 did not greatly increase the degradation of vitamin C. However, raising H2O2 concentration from 0.5ppm to 5ppm resulted in a tremendous increase in degradation rates which was recorded in Table 6. At 0.5ppm H2O2, the antioxidant substances in orange juice which was flavonols reacted with H2O2, thereby preventing the autoxidation of vitamin C. The protective mechanism of flavanols was mainly due to chelation of metal ions and action of antioxidant. Flavanols function as antioxidants by donating the hydrogen ions to reactive free radicals which may otherwise cause the autoxidation of vitamin C (Ozkan, Kirca and Cemeroglu, 2004). Ozkan, Kirca and Cemeroglu also studied the degradation of vitamin C in the absence of H2O2. In this case, the activation energy, Ea was taken into account to determine the stability of vitamin C in orange juice. The temperature dependence of the degradation of vitamin C in orange juice was compared by calculating Ea and temperature quotients (Q10) at 20Â ° to 40Â °C from the following equation: These results clearly indicate that the rate of vitamin C degradation in the presence of H2O2 was slower at 30Â °C to 40Â °C than 20Â °C to 30Â °C. This indicates that at 30Â °C to 40Â °C, the least effect of temperature rise on vitamin C degradation. The results obtained for Ea shows that higher Ea in the presence of H2O2. This means that higher energy needed for the degradation of vitamin C. Therefore, the reaction time is slower and the degradation of vitamin C also slower. As conclusion, the effect of temperature on the degradation rates of vitamin C in orange juice was more pronounced at higher H2O2 concentrations. Therefore, greater vitamin C losses should be expected as residual H2O2 concentration and storage temperature increase in aseptically packaged fruit juices (Ozkan, Kirca and Cemeroglu, 2004). Effect of pH on the stability of vitamin C pH is a measure of acidity or basicity of a solution. pH is one of the primary factor that would affects the stability of vitamin C in orange juice. Hence, the pH value of the matrix has an influence on the stability of vitamin C. According to FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Human Vitamin and Mineral Requirements, Bangkok, Thailand, 1998, the vitamin C will decay if the pH higher than 4 (Nagymate and Fodor, 2008). Vitamin C is unstable in neutral and alkaline environments, therefore the higher the pH value and the longer the exposure, the greater the loss of vitamin C. This is because the higher the pH value, the faster the oxidation reaction of vitamin C and causes the degradation of vitamin C. Besides that, the increase in pH also related to deterioration of fruit characteristic which in this literature review, orange juice is more concerned. Table 8 below shows the pH value of the fruit juice with storage time (Ajibola, Babatunde and Suleiman, 2009). In this Table 8, the pH values of the orange juice were higher at room temperature and keep increasing from week to week. This study concluded that, though pH was significant for the stability of vitamin C, it was not the sole factor in controlling the deterioration of vitamin C in orange juice with storage life (Ajibola, Babatunde and Suleiman, 2009). On the other hand, the loss of vitamin C activity during oxidative degradation of vitamin C occurs with the hydrolysis of the dehydroascorbic acid lactone to yield 2,3-diketogulonic acid. This hydrolysis is favored by alkaline solution. Dehydroascorbic acid is most stable at pH 5.5 but decrease in stability as pH increases which is more than pH 5.5 (Fennmena, 1996). For example, half-time values of dehydroasorbic acid hydrolysis at 23Â °C were 100 and 230 minutes at pH 7.2 and pH 6.6 respectively as shown in Figure 20. At pH 5.0 or below, dehydroascorbic acid was quite stable which decayed by less than 3% over 4 hours. This experiment evaluated the effect of hydrogen ion concentration on delactonization of dehyroascorbic acid over the range of pH 3.0 to pH 8.0. The possible influence of the presence of oxygen was done by equilibrating the reaction mixture before and during the incubation with 100% oxygen or with 100% nitrogen. The results indicated no change in the decay rate of dehydoascorbic acid was obvious with these alterations of atmospheric conditions. The rate of dehydroascorbic acid hydrolysis markedly increases with increasing temperature but was unaffected by the presence of oxygen (Bode, Cunningham and Rose, 1990). Other researchers had proposed a method to determine the effect of pH on the degradation of vitamin C in orange j

Thursday, September 19, 2019

A Literacy Event that Changed my Life Essay -- Personal Narratives The

A Literacy Event that Changed my Life All my life I have been a lazy person, doing just enough to get by. Most of the time, in high school, I was content with just a â€Å"C†. The only time I wasn’t, was if it was a class I liked, and I paid attention to. If this was the case, I could have received a 99% on a test and been dissatisfied. But, for the rest of my classes, which were most of my classes, that I didn’t like, I never paid attention to or did homework, and I still managed to do well on tests. So basically I didn’t do anything except take tests and I still got satisfactory grades. In school I was so lazy that there could have been a project due worth about 20% of the final grade and I still wouldn’t do it. Once in my 11th grade English class, we had to do a project about anything to do with the medieval time period. This project was worth a great deal of points. So to try to get a grade without doing anything, I went to Redners and bought an apple pie. I then brought the pie to English class and presented my project. I told them that the medieval people ate apple...

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

A Sense of Hope in Miltons Sonnet XIX Essay -- Sonnet essays Milton 1

A Sense of Hope in Milton's Sonnet XIX      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   John Milton's contemplative "Sonnet XIX" reveals the idea of man in adversity coming to terms with fate. Milton reflects upon the condition of his own soul in physical blindness through his ideas of service, duty, and talent in order to explore his relationship with God and his art: writing. Milton's use of diction and structure provide clues to the sonnet's interpretation and help resolve the thematic dilemma presented. The sonnet's imagery connotes multiple meanings. An examination of Milton's allusions to biblical verse and historical parallels help give important insight towards understanding the sonnet. Milton divides this sonnet into two structural parts of iambic pentameter in the Petrarchan style. The octave is concerned with Milton's contemplative state which flows from, "When I consider how my light is spent" (line 1). Milton links the words spent, light, death, and soul through the heavy stress of their syllables. According to Steven Wigler, the egocentric tone of the octave is revealed in the use of the pronouns I, me, and my, which appear eight times in the first eight lines (Wigler 156). Milton's obsessive concern with whether he will be expected to fulfill the demands of his service builds until the first part ends with his question, "Doth God exact day-labor, light denied," (line 7) followed by, "I fondly ask but Patience to prevent"(line 8). Milton has capitalized the word patience. He is deifying the word to help transform the tone in the sestet. Milton foreshadows a resolution by associating the qualities of patience with God. Milton seems consumed with emphasizing his serious intention and concern for himself as a writer in the octave, but later balances ... ...necessarily imply extinguished light. It can simultaneously represent the burning of light in the present. Milton has left his reader with a sense of hope.    Works Cited Honigmann, E.A.J. "Sonnet XIX." Milton's Sonnets. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1966. 169-76. Nardo, Anna K. Milton's Sonnets & the Ideal Community. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1979. 145-51. Parker, William R. Milton: A Biography. Vol. 1. London: Oxford UP, 1968. 2 vols. 469- 72. Stringer, Gary A. "Milton's 'Thorn in the Flesh': Pauline Didacticism in Sonnet XIX." Milton Studies 10 (1977): 141-54. Wigler, Steven."Outrageous Noise and the Sovereign Voice: Satan, Sin, and Syntax in Sonnet XIX and Book VI of Paradise Lost." Milton Studies 10 (1977): 155-65. Wilcox, Joel F. "'Spending the Light:' Milton and Homer's Light of Hope." Milton Quarterly. 18.3 (1984): 77-8.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Success in Islamic Concept

Happiness and success in Islamic concept Arifa Tariq Saira Virk Information Technology University Dr.Junaid Qadir11 May 2018?AbstractPurification of heart and soulHuman being is created of water and clay as we know but after that we have body and soul in it. People just care about body, what about soul? People do not care about soul, how to purify it, how to be closer to satisfaction, how to reach closer to happiness and success?Many people around the world suffering from stress, emotional diseases looking for the cure, but they are still hollow inside and don't know how to find the cure. Try to recognize the sickness inside your own self. ALLAH almighty in Quran focused on the importance of purifying the soul and heart. Try to recognize the sickness inside your own self. †¢ Quran Verses: ALLAH says in Quran:1. He has succeeded who purifies the soul, and he has failed who corrupts the soul. Surah Ash-Shams[91:910]So you have two choices either purify your soul, try to reach closer to the level of satisfaction or corrupt it. Purification comes from Zakat, Tazkiyah and Tazkiyah of naf's.He also said:2. Go to Pharaoh, for verily, he is a transgressor. Say to him: Will you purify yourself? Surah An-Naz'iat [79:17-18]3. He has succeeded who purifies himself, who remembers the name of his Lord and prays. Surah Al-A'la[87:14-15] This is how purification is related to the success and happiness.We learn from these verses that our success and happiness in life here and hereafter depends on our spiritual purification. We must purify our hearts from environmental and spiritual diseases like greed, hatred, lie, pride, ignorance and other harmful worldliness diseases and try to adopt the spiritual virtues to help the environment and serve humanity by adopting justice, generosity, compassion and many more. †¢ Types of heart1. Sound and healthy heart:ALLAH says in Quran:A day when there will be no benefit in wealth or children, but only in he who comes to Allah with a pure heart. Surah Ash-Shu'ara [26:88-89] The type of heart which is healthy and sound and only sake refuge from ALLAH and will rescue him on the Day of Judgment. The truth and secure heart is which is secure from shirk and work will all the love and desire that his actions are only for ALLAH's sake by obeying his all orders and sayings. Their some question can come in someone's mind that: 1. Does all these activities done by man are just temporary, for to attain worldly things and desire for the sake of praise from the people? 2. Was all these activities done without any fear of people? Was all the activities done just with the pure believe to serve the Master ALLAH almighty? 3. Was all the actions done also to please the last Prophet (PBUH) of ALLAH.The 1st two questions requires sincerity (IKHLAS) that all the things are just for the Master and 3rd question requires to follow the foot step of last Prophet of ALLAH (MUTABAAH). None of our actions will be considered accepted if â€Å"Ikhlas† and â€Å"Mutabaah† both conditions do not met. Having sound heart it joins the ranks of truthfulness, secure, healthy and happy heart. We clean our house, when we invite someone to our house similarly clean your heart as if you want to invite ALLAH and have faith and patience. He will make all the doors of happiness and success open for you. Nobody knows your pain more than who creates us, nobody in this world cares for us as much as the ALLAH and HE is all knowing and most wise Indeed. 2. Sick heart:The diseased heart which is either closer to secure his dreams of world, secure his worldly life or very close to devastation. This heart only contains love of ALLAH, show trust and reliance upon him only for the sake of his worldly essentials. This heart only shows eagerness to attain his desires, the desires which only does exists in this temporary world. This heart also contains jealousy, arrogance, pride, self-amazement and corruption only for the worldly matters which does only make us much closer to destruction and devastation. Man just had forgotten his purpose of creation in this mortal world, ho forgot that each body part has a job, similarly a heart also had a job, and if it is sick it will not do his job properly . â€Å"Indeed ALLAH is the Guide of those who believe, to the straight path.† 3. Dead heart:This type of heart is dead, having no life. This heart does not follow any path else than then path which pleased him. This heart does not know about its Lord or Master, in short it is a slave of his own desires, action and activities. If he fulfills his dreams, he does not care about pleasing or displeasing of his Master (The one who creates him). If it loves, it loves just for the sake of his desires and if he hates it does only just for the sake of his own mean. In short his dreams are his master. He is a person of his own desires. The man with this heart is putting himself to the way to destruction and devastation.Soul:Soul is the essence of human body, the main importance as compared to other creations of ALLAH. Science does not reached about the soul, that what is the essence of the soul. When any living creator dies like an animal as compared to human there is no difference in its wait, but the moment when human dies, immediately there is a loss of wait that means something he is losing the moment he dies. Quran Says: 1. Every soul shall have taste of death. (Surah Al Imran) In this world there is a life for the test of here after and every person shall have taste of death. 2. ALLAH has created death and life to test which of you in good deeds (Suran Al Mulk)For there is no pleasure, sweetness, ibtihaaj or perfection except by knowing and loving to the Master,there is only peace in remembering him, happiness and success is only by being closer to him and desiring to meet him in the life hereafter. Discovering self for happiness In Islamic tradition, the â€Å"who am I?† question in the broadest sense of the word is more important and comes prior to the strongly related subject of happiness. Happiness is not a goal to be pursued on its own, rather to be attained as part of realization of discovering and nurturing the self. As the subject of happiness is enclosed within the study of the â€Å"self†, it cannot be explained outside the term self or soul, (nafs) that includes a broad range of topics including the heart (qalb), spirit (ruh), intellect (aql), and will (irada) as well as human nature (fitrah) (Nasr, 2014). The nafs when mentioned in the Quran without any addition, refers to â€Å"self† and exists of three levels that are interconnected to each other (Schimmel, 1994, 184): †¢ nafs ammara (12:53) – The lower (animal) self, the carnal soul that incites to evil. †¢ nafs lawwama (75:2) – The struggling self .†¢ nafs mutma'inna (89:27) – The higher self at peace, the satisfied, peaceful God realized rational soul.Naquib Al-Attas (Philosopher) explains the two dimensions to happiness in Islamic understanding with two different terms – pleasure and true happiness. The self (nafs) attains â€Å"true happiness† from knowledge and good character (virtue) experienced by the rational soul (higher self) and â€Å"happiness of transient quality† from worldly (bodily) pleasures experienced by the animal soul (Attas, 1995, 91-92). However, comprehending and knowing the truth about the ‘self' and God is not sufficient, one also needs to act according to this truth and therefore moral virtues are important (Khadduri, 1984, 82). The connection between happiness, success and moral virtues, Al-Kindi explains that in overcoming material and psychological causes of sorrow, material possessions and other worldly deeds are nothing compared to the cultivation of virtues. Virtues play an important role in the attainment of happiness related to this world and the hereafter (Nasr, 2014).Tawakkul on Allah and Ibadat for happiness & successThe person who possesses tawakkul attains the state of contentment. This person still faces the ordinary challenges of earthly life but does so in a state of inner contentment. As the Quran states explicitly, this is why the friends of God (the awliya?'), who have fully attained the stations of tawakkul and rida? ?, are neither fearful nor sorrowful. For such people, even the fear of God is transformed into joy, for this fear is the beginning of wisdom, as stated by St. Paul and also in the famous saying (hadith) of the Prophet, â€Å"The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom†. 13 Performing obligatory ibadat requires self-discipline and sacrifice but result in happiness and success. As call of prayer (Adhan) states: Hayya ‘ala-l-FalahHurry to success (Rise up for Salvation)Success of Muslim is to hurry for its obligatory duties which make him/her successful in this life and also in hereafter. Similarly, Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah has narrated that the Holy Prophet stated, ‘There are two glad tidings for the man who fasts; one at the time of sunset and the other when he meets his Rab.' (Sahih Bukhari 255/1 # 1805)It is not however only the ‘ibadat themselves that bring about happiness; it is also our knowingthat in performing them we are doing God's Will and thereby experiencing the grace (barakah) that issues from the performance of sacred rites. In carrying out ordinary human transactions, or muy'a?-mala?t, in accordance with the Shary'ah, one is also doing God's Will.14Success of the selfThe success of the self, as explained in the Quran, lies in allowing the self to grow and one who disallows the self (soul) to grow, who destroys this growth, is describes as one who is in failure (91:7-10). The development of the self, that is given the capacity to distinguish right from wrong (91:7), includes falling and standing and making choices. This process of growth is not focused on making faultless, sinless, pure good creatures (angels) at the end (4:31).The highest stage in that sense that is aimed at, is the level where there is mutual satisfaction reached between the self and God but also within the self as a whole (89:27).Also for the success of a person soul and self the ihsan is necessary element. As mention in Quran â€Å"Verily Allah likes from a doer of an action that when an action is performed, it is made beautiful (yuhsinahu)†Ã¢â‚¬ Allah is good and only accepts that which is good.† Related by Muslim (no. 1686)Ihsan entails acquiring good character trait. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, â€Å"I was sent to perfect good character. â€Å"Also, come in hadith â€Å"The best of you in Islam are those who are most excellent in character as long as you deeply understand the religion.† [Ahmad, Sahih]The person who possess the character traits of ihsan and does his/her work with perfection are true successful people. These traits are: †¢ No harming and reciprocating harm †¢ Do not envy what people have †¢ Trust in Allah (Twakkul)If a person have these traits that is close to Allah and most satisfied. Sufism The Islamic philosophers have also dealt extensively with the question of happiness, which they, like the Sufis, associate in its essence with the abiding and the enduring and, following the Quran, with paradisal realities and the Hereafter. Ibn Sna? [in Latin, Avicenna], the prince of the Islamic philosopher-scientists whose influence pervades all later Islamic philosophy, associates happiness with purification of the soul and knowledge of the intelligible world, the world of light, from which it descended into this world. In his famous â€Å"Poem of the Soul,† he writes,15Why then was she [the soul] cast down from her high peakTo this degrading depth? God brought her low;But for a purpose wise, that is concealedE'en from the keenest mind and loveliest wit.And if the tangled mesh impeded her,The narrow cage denied her wings to soarFreely in heaven's high ranges; after allShe was a lightning-flash that brightly glowed Momentarily over the tents, and then was hidAs though its gleam was never glimpsed below. Ibn S?n?a? considers the happiness of the soul to be the result of the process of the soul to reach, through self-purification, the state of tajarrud, which can be attained not only in the Hereafter, but also in this life. Purification prepares the soul for the attainment of that knowledge that results in true happiness.16The Attainment of happiness and success (Conclusion)To understand and attain happiness is different thing. All religion and cultures know how to achieve transient happiness and success. But real challenge is achieving permanent happiness and success in this world and hereafter. In Islam, as in other authentic religions, that permanent state of happiness is attained by gaining not the freedom of the passionate self to receive whatever it desires, but freedom from desire and from the passionate self. 17.To attain permanent happiness, we must therefore remember who we really are, where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going. We must detach ourselves from fleeting pleasures and joys and seek permanent joy by attaching ourselves to the spiritual world, which is our original home and the only place where we shall attain permanent happiness. We must die before we die; die to the world here and now in order to gain eternal felicity in the life of the spirit and the intellect understood in its traditional sense. We must experience the happiness that issues from faith (ma?n), which provides for us security (ama?n) from all that would deprive us of happiness. 18Through faith, correct actions, prayer, and realized knowledge, we must break all the walls of ego, we must do so through compassion, charity, and through karam, which are bound to love and independent of selfishness and self-centeredness that are impediments of the attainment of happiness.Bibliography 1 Nasr, S. (2014). HAPPINESS AND THE ATTAINMENT OF HAPPINESS: AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE. Journal of Law and Religion, 29(01), pp.76-91. 2 (Alfarabi, â€Å"The Attainment of Happiness† 75) 3 There is a partial translation of this work by Claude Field, The Alchemy of Happiness of al-Ghazzali (Chicago: Kazi Publications, 2007). The critical edition of this text is edited by H?usayn Khad?w? jam (Tehran: Shirkat-I Saha?m-yi Kita?bha?-yi Jb, 1354 SH). There is also a later edition of this text edited by Manu?chihr Da?nishpazhu?h (Tehran: Ahl-i Qalam, 1381 SH).4 Altiner, s. (2015). Happiness. Theology and Religious Studies.5 Ibn Altiner, s. (2015). 6 Ibn Altiner, s. (2015).7 Lino, C. (2018). Positive Psychology Theory in a Nutshell. [online] Positivepsychologyprogram.com. Available at: https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/positive-psychology-theory/ [Accessed 11 May 2018].8 Riaz, D. (2018). [online] Szic.pk. Available at: https://www.szic.pk/journal/dec2015/4.pdf [Accessed 11 May 2018]. 9 See Gul B?a?ba? Sa'?d? ?,? Farhang-i isti?la?ha? ?t-i ‘irfan-yi Ibn ‘Arab (Tehran: Intisha?ra?t-i Shaf,? 1383 SH), 35610 Q. 2:201.11 Al-Suhrawardy, Allama Sir Abdullah al-Mamun, comp., The Sayings of Muhammad (New York: Citadel Press, 1990), 63.12 Muhammad ibn ?Abd Alla?h Khatb? al-Tabr?z? ?,? Mishka?t al-Masa?bh,? trans. James Robson (1970; repr., Lahore: Sh.Muhammad Ashraf, 1981), 2:99313 Nasr, S. (2014). HAPPINESS AND THE ATTAINMENT OF HAPPINESS: AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE. Journal of Law and Religion, 29(01), pp.76-9114 Ibn ‘Arab, The Tarjuma?n al-ashwa?q, trans. Reynold A. Nicholson (London: Theosophical, 1978), 19, 67.15 ibid 8018 The House of Yoga. (2018). THE RELIGION OF LOVE BY IBN ARABI. [online] Available at: https://www.thehouseofyoga.com/magazine/religion-love-ibn-arabi [Accessed 11 May 2018].44 Arthur J. Arberry, â€Å"Avicenna: His Life and Times,† in G. M. Wickens, ed., Avicenna: Scientist ; Philosopher (London: Luzac, 1952), 28; See also S. H. Nasr, An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993), 259–60.

Monday, September 16, 2019

A Christian Perspective on Political Thought Essay

Civil disobedience is state in which people do not follow the rules and laws of a country as a form of political protest. The people who practice civil disobedience refuse to disperse; they block access to some buildings and block some roads or may disobey the laws of the country. A good example of civil disobedience in the Bible is when Jesus shut down the temple. Scholars say that this was one of the causes of his death on the cross. Civil disobedience is acceptable if the people feel they have to do it so long as they do not infringe in other people’s business. Civil disobedience did not start recently but has been in existence during the past. In the Bible, a few instances of civil disobedience can be noted. According to the Bible, Daniel disobeyed the king so that he could have the right to worship. He refused to worship as the king had instructed and decided to worship his God. This led to the king throwing him in a den of lions. This disobedience to the king and doing what he pleased can be viewed as a form of civil disobedience (2 Kings). Another instance of civil disobedience can be sited when Ester went to the king’s chamber without the king summoning her. It was a law that nobody went to the king’s chamber without being summoned. However, Ester defied the law and went to the king’s chamber (the book of Ester). In the New Testament, civil disobedience is portrayed by Peter and John. Peter had healed a lame man and this led them to be arrested by the authorities. Even after being arrested, Peter and John remain fi rm and insist that they will continue worshipping their God and preaching the gospel about Jesus (the book of Acts). Another instance is in the book of revelation when John writes and says that the Christians will go against the rule of the antichrist during the end times. He states that the Christians of that time will refuse to bow to his image. (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery 115) From the instances above, the characters that practiced civil disobedience broke some laws so that they could have their way or do what they thought was right. Civil disobedience can therefore, be viewed as a sort of rebelliousness by a person so that they can have their way. The person who practices civil disobedience can feel that he is oppressed and not allowed to do what he wants. He may result to practicing civil disobedience so that the authorities can take note of him. It is also good to note that the civil disobedience is practiced when there is a conflict between man’s laws and God’s laws. Daniel did not follow the king’s laws but followed God’s law (worshipping). Ester on the other hand went against the law of the land so that she could save her people from being killed. Civil disobedience can be taken as a course of action if the individual feels oppressed and has to follow God’s law rather than man’s law. Some people may oppose the use of civil disobedience but Christians can put civil disorder into action because of their religious beliefs (Mott 105). Christians can non-violently oppose the government that promotes evil. This implies that they can peacefully work to change the government of the country while working with the laws of that country. Besides that, the Christians may also result to civil disobedience if the laws of the land conflict with the laws of God. Good examples where this comes into action are stated earlier in this article. However, Christians are subject to the laws of the country unless they flee from that country. If they disobey the laws of the country, they will be caught and cannot escape justice. In accordance to that, the decision to use civil disorder by an individual is according to the religious beliefs of a person or what he believes is right for him but is not allowed to do it. Civil disobedience has been used by other people other than in the Bible. A good example is when Gandhi of India decided to have a salt march (Falcon 135). He rallied the people and they had a salt march due to the high taxes of the salt. The march was also a good step for the attainment of independence of India. Civil disobedience was also put into action by the leaders of the black in South Africa. They did peaceful marches and the police did not arrest them. This yielded the desired effect since Nelson Mandela was freed from prison and led the country to attain its independence. The use of civil disobedience can therefore, be termed as an important tool to voice one’s displeasure. The examples cited have shown how civil disobedience can yield results. Whenever it has been put into action, the civil disobedience yields the desired effect. Mostly, the authorities give in to the demands and the people have their way. Reference Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. Place of publication not identified: Ivp Academic, n.d.. Print. FalcoÃŒ n, y T. M. J. Civil Disobedience. Leiden [u.a.: Nijhoff, 2004. Print. Mott, Stephen C. A Christian Perspective on Political Thought. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Internet resource. Bottom Source document