Epilepsy Essay -- Neurology Neurological Disorders Essays

Epilepsy Epilepsy is a very common neurological disorder. Some reports estimate that five in one-thousand people suffer from this problem. Throughout history, people with epilepsy have been shunned or considered inferior. Even today, ignorance leads many people to treat the epileptic as "abnormal" or "retarded". Although the etiology of epilepsy is still not fully understood, it is quite treatable due to advances in modern medicine. Epilepsy is characterized by uncontrolled excessive activity of either a part of, or all of the central nervous system. A person who is predisposed to epilepsy has attacks when the basal level of excitability of the nervous system rises above a certain critical threshold. As long as the degree of excitability is held below this threshold, no attack occurs. Basically, epilepsy can be classified into three major types: grand mal, petit mal, and focal or partial epilepsy. Grand mal epilepsy is characterized by extreme neuronal discharges in all areas of the brain: in the cortex, in the deeper parts of the cerebrum, and even in the brain stem and thalamus. Also, discharges into the spinal cord cause generalized tonic convulsions of the entire body, followed toward the end of the attack by alternating tonic and then spasmodic muscular contractions called tonic-clonic convulsions. Often the person bites or "swallows" the tongue and usually has difficulty in breathing, sometimes to the extent of developing cyanosis. Also, signals to the viscera frequently cause urination and defecation. The grand mal seizures lasts from a few seconds to as long as three to four minutes and is characterized by post-seizure depression of the entire nervous system; the person remains in stupor for one to many minute... ...l. 16: S31-S38. Bleck, T. and H. Klawans. (1990) Convulsive Disorders: Mechanism of Epilepsy and Anticonvulsant Action. Clinical Neuropharmacology 13(2):121-128. Cohen, P. G. (1984) The Metabolic Basis for the Genesis of Seizures: The Role of the Potassium-Ammonia Axis. Medical Hypothesis, 13:199-204. Craig, C. R. (1984) Evidence for a role of neurotransmitters in the mechanism of topical convulsant models. Federal Proceedings, 43(10):2525-2528. Fisher, R. S. (1989) Animal models of the epilepsies. Brain Research Review, 14:245-278. Guyton, Arthur C. Textbook of Medical Physiology, 8th Ed. ,Saunders Co. (1991) p.663-665. W.B. Schmidt, D., C. Cornaggia, and W. Loscher. (1984) Comparative Studies of the GABA System in Neurosurgical Brain Specimens of Epileptic and Non-epileptic Patients. Neurotransmitters, Seizures, and Epilepsy II, p.275-283.

Compressor Stall :: Essays Papers

Compressor Stall Gas turbine engine performance is limited by aerodynamic instabilities called rotating stall and surge. Currently there are several control strategies for enhancing the operability boundary of laboratory compressors by actively controlling rotating stall and surge. Models which capture the qualitative behavior of the aerodynamic instabilities have been found to exhibit abundant dynamic behavior and to be useful for designing control laws. Operability boundary is defined as the operating point where steady axisymmetric flow is unstable and untolerable amount of rotating stall and surge is present in the system. Operability enhancement is defined as the gap between the operability boundary for the controlled system and that for the uncontrolled system. Operability enhancement is one of the main goals for active control of rotating stall and surge. Actuator limits and system noise are found to limit the operability enhancement. We are interested in two problems: Analysis problem: given a controller with actuator limits and certain noise level, find the operability enhancement; Synthesis problem: given a set of controllers with actuator limits and certain noise level, find one that maximize the operability enhancement. It turns out that the synthesis problem is a minimax problem. We try to answer the analysis problem and the synthesis problem by nonlinear reduction using bifurcation theory and invariant manifold theory. For stall control with bleed valve actuators, we have derived analytic formulas that agree qualitatively with the experimental results on a low speed rig. We have solved the synthesis problem for the case when surge inception is close to stall inception by normal form reduction for a low order compressor model. We are also interested in extending the above control problems to general dynamical systems. We think center manifold reduction and normal form reduction are potential tools.Gas turbine engine performance is limited by aerodynamic instabilities called rotating stall and surge.

Dispute on Employee Motivation

Arnold Bright is the Director of Human Resources at Company XYZ, in the same industry as Company ABC. John Chaplin has recent joined Company XYZ as Human Resources Manager. A recent graduate with a major in Organizational Behavior, he presents new ideas to Bright almost everyday. But, Chaplin has a speech disorder. He stammers, and cannot make himself clear at all times. A week back, Bright and Chaplin began to argue about employee motivation. Bright informed Chaplin that their company has the budget to enhance employee motivation with the best motivation enhancement program in the industry.He was referring to the use of Company ABC’s motivation enhancement program for its employees. Company ABC happens to be a leader in the industry, after all. Yet, Chaplin asserted that Company XYZ should develop its own employee motivation enhancement program with new research on the needs of employees at Company XYZ in particular. The argument turned into a dispute because Bright refused t o agree with Chaplin. The latter was threatened that he would be fired if he fails to follow Bright’s instructions to implement Company ABC’s program. The Problem:Chaplin would lose his job if he does not agree to implement Company ABC’s program for employee motivation enhancement in Company XYZ. He knows, however, that his boss has an amenable personality. Thus, Chaplin would like to provide further information to Bright. He firmly believes that Bright has to be explained why it is best for Company XYZ to develop its own employee motivation enhancement program based on new research on its employees’ needs. After all, Chaplin is aware of latest research in the field of Organizational Behavior. Should Company XYZ implement Company ABC’s motivation enhancement program?Organizational behavior theories are known to differ as to what motivates employees, but not necessarily because the essential characteristics of all employees are varied across organiz ations and industries. Rather, the motivational needs of employees differ from organization to organization because separate work situations, ethics and settings, in addition to their interaction with individual personalities, teams, and managements call for different employee needs to be prioritized. Employee motivation is simply referred to as an organizational method to satisfy employees in areas where they feel unsatisfied.Whereas poor health and safety conditions might be the Number One challenge to encounter in Company ABC, it is possible that the employees of Company XYZ would be more motivated by higher salaries. Moreover, the employees of Company XYZ may hold a collective opinion that their working conditions are the best in the industry. Given that job performance is a function of ability and motivation, it is appropriate to inquire into the needs of workers in order to employ the correct mix of employee motivation strategies to boost job performance, company-wide (â€Å" Employee Motivation†).As an example, the employees of the Piketon Research and Extension Center and Enterprise Center were asked about the main motivating factors at their particular workplace. According to research findings, the employees believed themselves to be motivated by the following in the order of importance: â€Å"a) interesting work, (b) good wages, (c) full appreciation of work done, (d) job security, (e) good working conditions, (f) promotions and growth in the organization, (g) feeling of being in on things, (h) personal loyalty to employees, (i) tactful discipline, and (j) sympathetic help with personal problems† (Lindner).Contrary to these findings, a peer reviewed study on employee motivation found that most employees across various organizations believe the following to be the chief motivators at the workplace: â€Å"enjoyment of the work; work/life balance; pay satisfaction; link between pay and performance;† and â€Å"adequate staffing level s† (Katcher). Thus, it appears essential to increase employee motivation only after inquiring into the main motivators in a specific organization.Also within a single organization, the blue collar workers are expected to be more motivated by an increase in pay, while the white collar employees might believe that enjoyment of work is most essential. In this case, the organization would have to divide up its employees in two separate groups to inquire into the particular motivators for the blue collar workers as opposed to the white collar employees.It is best, therefore, for employee motivation strategies to be based on group by group studies. Chaplin should write a memorandum to Bright with latest research on the subject. It is possible that the latter has misunderstood Chaplin because of his speech disorder. Chaplin knows that Company XYZ has the budget to conduct new research on its employees’ needs to enhance their motivation.He should also mention in his note to Bri ght that implementation of Company ABC’s employee motivation program may possibly waste the resources of Company XYZ. After all, it may very well be that employees at Company ABC have a different set of needs altogether. So, even though Company ABC is a business leader, Company XYZ should refrain from blindly following its programs without a scientific inquiry into its own business processes and workplace culture.

Physical Security Essay

Securing networks or systems within institutions and corporations is not enough. At present, security is not only concerned with the ethereal aspect of it but also with the tangible dynamics of physical security. Although physical security seems too basic, establishing even the most sophisticated network security is useless if its physical environment does not keep it sheltered and protected. Security threats that have something to do with the physical aspect of institutions include burglary and theft. In this case, even the most established digital security system that functions within the computer networks will not be able to prevent these crimes. A breach in physical security makes the network or digital system of the institution susceptible to power interruptions that disrupts the security system, addition of hardware devices that may used to hack or spy into the system, removal of hardware devices that paralyzes the system, copying confidential data from the system through USBs, CDs, and such, logging in the system directly without authorization, etc. Stewart, 2004) The importance of high standard physical security systems and policies ensure that aforementioned situations that seek to jeopardize the position of institutions that might affect all its aspects, especially its finances, are avoided. Having a secure digital system is impressive, but having a secure digital system and physical environment is highly recommended. To uphold high quality standards of security, both the digital and physical aspects of security should be merged. Sturgeon (2004) defines this as marrying digital and physical security. Physical security involves the use of high-tech gadgets such as cameras that will be used for close monitoring, 24-hour video coverage and storage, video recording triggered by movements, wireless and mobile installments within the physical environment, etc. (Physical Security, 2008) The physical security approach is based on four principles or strategies. First, physical security follows the necessity of protecting the network or institution, detecting security threats and possible risks, responding to these threats and risks, and allowing recovery for the network or institution from damages or indemnities brought about by security breaches. This process requires setting up of security systems that will accomplish these four phases of protecting (with the use of controlled access systems that restricts involvement of the public to authorized personnel only), detecting (using surveillance systems and frequent check-up of the physical areas of institutions), responding (well-trained security officials and network protocols that carry out these responses to security threats and risks), and recovering. (Operational Security Standard on Physical Security, 2004) Second, physical security builds up on hierarchical zones that protect or safeguard access to the security system. These hierarchical zones include the public zone (areas accessible to the public), reception zone (area wherein the boundary between the public and restricted zones is determined), operations zone (areas private to personnel), security zone (areas private to only authorized personnel or visitors), and the high security zone (areas private to authorized and escorted personnel or visitors). Within these zones, technological facilities and security officials are installed and designated respectively to carry out four phases in the previous approach discussed. (Operational Security Standard on Physical Security, 2004) The third approach in physical security is controlling access to determined hierarchical zones. This approach has something to do with controlling access most especially to restricted areas. It does not only control individual access, but is also concerned with the entry of materials considered to be potentially threatening or risky to security, such as mobile phones and other technological gadgets, harmful objects such as knives, guns, and such, etc. Although institutions should consider this approach in physical security, controlling access should not limit or restrict authorized individuals too much, allowing them ease in visiting each zone within the institution. Aside from security officials designated at every zone, there should also be systems that carry out state-of-the-art security protocols, such as technologies installed within the institution that asks for PIN or access numbers, access cards, biometrics, etc. Fourth, physical security systems should be designed to increase security levels in times of emergency or security threats. (Operational Security Standard on Physical Security, 2004) These four approaches, as recommended by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat follow the requirements of a strong and efficient physical security system. The concepts supported by these four approaches suggest how physical security systems and policies should be established in order to ensure that it will serve its purpose. However, accomplishing all the requirements in establishing a physical security system and a set of policies is not enough. Institutions should make sure that these elements of security are assessed and evaluated to ensure that it is properly sustained and it is up-to-date with trends in security technologies and processes. Part of the evaluation process includes frequent training and drills for security officials, checking-in with technological innovations that improve quality of security measures and systems, and observing existing systems to determine much-needed replacements or tweaks. With all these information in mind, physical security is a vital part in institutions that should not be neglected nor taken lightly. It complements digital network security systems, such that it prevents it from being jeopardized or subjected to external control, manipulation, and possible damages that affects the operations within the institution. Establishing a solid physical security system require that all aspects of the physical environment within an institution is identified. Mapping out requires that the institution determines where security is most needed and where access is most likely to be controlled. Aside from going over the basics and technical details of physical security systems, institutions should provide time and effort to evaluate the system in order to ensure that it functions efficiently according to its purpose, and that it meets the highest requirements of quality standard physical security.

Organisational Behavioral Disciplines Essay

Before we start, we must first understand what Organizational Behaviour is. Organizational Behaviour is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, group dynamics, and structure have on behaviour within the organizations and its effective use for the purpose of such knowledge towards improving its performance.A multidisciplinary field devoted to understanding individual and group behavior, interpersonal processes, and organizational dynamics. . Organizational behavior is built upon contributions from a number of behavioral disciplines/sciences, this is too understand, manage and predict effectively in a work environment. The first in psychology, sociology, social psychology, anthropology, and political science. Psychology is the science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of humans. It is used to improve organizational effectiveness and the work of individual in the organization. This is the learning, perceptions, personality, emotions, training, leadership effectiveness, decision–making, fatigue, boredom, and other factors relevant to working conditions that could impede efficient work performance. More recently, their contributions have been expanded to include, job satisfaction, decision-making processes, performance appraisals, attitude measurement, employee selection techniques, work design, and job stress. Sociology; Sociology studies people in relation to their fellow human beings to improve organizational performance. Some of the areas within Organizational behaviour that have received valuable input from sociologists are group dynamics, design of work teams, organizational culture, formal organization theory and structure, organizational technology, communications, power, and conflict. Social psychology Social psychology blends concepts from both psychology and sociology. It focuses on the influence of the people on one another. One of the major areas under considerable investigation by social psychologists has been, how to implement it and how to reduce barriers to its acceptance. Yet we find social psychologists making significant contributions in the areas of measuring, understanding, and changing attitudes, communication patterns, building trust, the way in which group activities can satisfy individual needs, and group decision-making process. Anthropology Anthropology is the study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities. For instance, anthropologists’ work on cultures and environments has helped us understand differences in fundamental values, attitudes, and behaviour between people in different countries and within different organizations. Much of our current understanding of organizational culture, organizational environments, and differences between national cultures is the result of the work of anthropologists or those using their methods. Political Science Political science studies the behaviour of individuals and groups within a political environment. Specific topics of concern here include the structuring of conflict, allocation of power, and how people manipulate power for individual self-interest. Challenges in Organizational behaviour Similar to the evolution of man and its environment there has been a substantial change in the approach for better productivity within an organization through the brainstorming efforts applied by a business executive /entrepreneur. Understanding organizational behaviour within a corporation and particularly the factors influencing the organizational behaviour of a single entity has become the key to the success of any organization. There is no one single approach to organizational behaviour which is best for all organizations; instead, organizations/companies or businesses must evolve the system which works best for them with the help of effective planning and technological support which changes over time as their current work environment and the individuals within that current work environment similarly. They are seven organizational behaviour current work challenges I have noted: I.One of the major current work challenges of organizational behaviour is finding ways to motivate employees as a way to improve activity. Some of the ways organizations improve productivity within the organization is to empower the employees. When organizations and businesses empower its employees, it gives them a sense of loyalty to the company because they feel like they are part of the success of the business. II.Second of the challenges of organizational behaviour is hiring the right employees for the company. Hiring the right employees for the organization is not only about finding the people with the skills and knowledge that the position requires, but also employees that fit into the organizational culture or can help to improve employee relations. For example, it can be de-motivating to employees if upper management is not open to progressive thoughts and actions that can move the business forward. Hiring a progressive and forward thinking executive manager who also has the experience and knowledge can help to give the employees a new outlook on the company. III.Third of the main challenges of organizational behaviour is how to run a productive organization but also show its employees that it cares about them as well. In other words, it is about helping employees find the right work-life balance. For example, a company that provides an on-site clinic center as an employee benefit or at a reduced cost is one way for the company to show that it cares about its employees both professionally and personally. This can lead to the employees contributing to organizational behaviour and culture in a positive manner. IV.Another example in challenges of organizational behaviour is overcoming ethnic and cultural diversity among employees. Because different employees have different beliefs, opinions and ways of working, it can be challenging for employees to work together because of these differences. Some organizations choose to offer diversity training courses or workshops to help overcome these issues. The point is to illuminate how the diversity of an organization actually makes it better for the different benefits that each of the employees bring to the table. V.It is easy for corporate scandals to reach the public within a short time. Organizations often have policies that facilitate ethical behaviour within the workplace. The challenge for managers is to promote an ethical organizational behaviour and culture such that employees will not put their individual interests ahead of organizational interests. Personal interest is an aspect of organizational behaviour and managers face the task of encouraging group interest over personal interest so as to preserve ethical values. VI.Last but not least, Individual employee problems can be personality conflicts, supervisor issues, personal trauma or company structure oriented. Organizations must learn the cause of the problem and who or what keeps â€Å"fuelling the fire.† If there is no clear trigger, the answer could fall back to insufficient or confusing communications. For example, an employee in a decentralized organization may feel they must answer to multiple supervisors if the chain of command is not communicated clearly. VII.Finally, Information technology plays an integral role in workplace communication. Additionally, workplace communication also influences how people and groups behave in the organization. Although technology brings with it efficiency in collating and disseminating knowledge, it can also alienate individuals such as the elderly within the organization. The challenge here is in finding ways in which technology promotes organizational communication and inclusion rather than exclusion and discrimination. Conclusion Various challenges confront organizations within the context of organizational behaviour. With new challenges arising every day, there’s a need for adaptation in the current work environment. With the use of technology and team building tasks, one can achieve a good working environment leading to a motivated and sustained work force.

Plan for visiting your policymaker Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Plan for visiting your policymaker - Assignment Example For instance, the â€Å"clinical guidelines on the identification, assessment and management of overweight and obesity adults† was instituted in 1998. These guidelines were aimed to be employed by health practitioners dealing with obese and overweight individuals. The government has also instituted the weight-control information network to deal with obesity (Voigt & Kristin, 2014). The government has also instituted other policies and programs that seek to educate the people on their diets and the importance of exercising. Over the past few decades, the different presidents that have been in power have encouraged people to eat healthy and exercise. Prevention of child obesity is particularly significant in nursing practise as the primary goal is to prevent diseases and promote healthy lifestyles in the society (Institute of Medicine US, 2012). This goes a long way to imply that nurses must take a leadership role in responding to the epidemic of obesity. Voigt and Kristin (2014) argue that obesity can be caused by genetic, metabolic and environmental factors or a combination of the three. Nurses can promote healthy lifestyles patterns that minimizes the risk of overweight by emphasizing on the importance of breastfeeding, physical exercises, regular meals and nutritional weight counseling. Obesity is an issue that requires the input of almost everyone including federal, state and local policy makers. The policy makers involved in childhood obesity include my congressperson, Carlos Curbelo and Commissioner Juan C Zapata. I will try to contact the policy makers through calling their offices to book appointments. Terry (2013) acknowledges that calling is an appropriate way of booking for appointments or contacting policymaker’s offices. Each of these policy makers’ offices have contact numbers that are available on their webpages. Additionally, their numbers are listed on the blue pages of my phone book.

Ethnic Groups and Discrimination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethnic Groups and Discrimination - Essay Example Major emigration from Sweden to America started after 1839, when the initial organized emigrant communities began to arrive in New York (Beijbom 1996). From 1850 to 1929, more than 1.3 million Swedes migrated to America, a quantity that covered around 26 percent of the total population of Sweden during that time. Sweden had one of the top rates of emigration of all of the European countries. The rates of immigration to America varied every year, nevertheless, mirroring economic conditions in both Sweden and America. The first major migration of Swedes to the United States came between 1868 and 1873, as famine in their home country and opportunity for land in America encouraged around a hundred thousand Swedes, primarily farm families, from Sweden. (Granquist 2009) Swedish-Americans had relatively little negative experience with regard to discrimination, because the Swedes did not experience some of the cruelties other ethnic groups experienced. Swedish immigrants were in general well accepted by majority of Americans and appeared to mingle well with their neighbors. It helped that the Swedes were seen as welcome immigrants, because they came from a Protestant northern European nation (Granquist 2009). All in all, Swedish Americans were educated, possessed skills, and industrious type of people, and found employment on farms and in mines and factories. Young Swedish women were particularly in demand as domestic servants in American homes. In many areas in the United States during that time, Swedes lived near other Scandinavian and German immigrants. A conventional typecast of nineteenth-century Swedish immigrants was that they were either farmers or agricultural laborers in the countryside areas, or domestic servants in urban areas. There was a certain amount of veracity in this typecast since such jobs were often occupied by immigrants who have recently reached the United States. Many Swedish immigrants were educated, skilled, and self-driven,