Nutrition Final Paper Essay Example for Free

Nutrition Final Paper Essay Question 1 (3 pts): Clients will often approach the RD, bewildered as to how to select, plan, and prepare a healthy diet for themselves or their families. Using yourself as an example, discuss the six basic principles of diet planning and how they apply to your dietary intake. Answer 1: Preparing and eating health meals for me and my family can be difficult with our busy schedule, but it starts with a plan. Using the 6 principles of diet planning I start with adequacy. I accomplish this by writing out a grocery list of all the things my family will need for the week. I also shop weekly because we prefer fresh fruit and vegetables. Next, I make sure we have an even balance of foods. I write out meal plans for the week to make sure my family has an even items of food and also a variety of foods. This can be very challenging with young picky kids, because my son would just eat fruit and oatmeal all day long if I let him. Variety is really hard in the Parker home because of the limited food choices do to my husband intolerance to red meats and dairy products. I also struggle because my favorite food list consists of about 10 different kinds of foods. We dont really have problems with the nutrient density because we only eat lean proteins such as fish, turkey, and chicken. My husband cannot tolerate fatty food so we dont fry, and we enjoy a fixed variety of fruits and vegetables. I do not pay attention to calorie content unless it is a prepackaged food you heat up or add water to, but I do make sure what Im putting into my families bodies is enough to keep them going for the day. Moderation is the last of the principles and a big one in my house. When cooking we do not add extra salt for taste nor do we consume foods with high trans fat, saturated fat,or cholesterol. Water is also the most consumed beverage. Soda has no home in my pantry, but we do elect for juices that are not made from concentrate. Question 2 (2 pts): Discuss the key recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 and differentiate these guidelines from the Canadian Guidelines for Healthy Eating. Do you have a preference as to which one you would use with clients? Answer 2: The dietary guidelines for Americans in 2010 have 4 main points. Starting with balancing calories to manage weight. With in this section it talks about how to maintain calorie control,intake,and balance. Also, is talks about physical activity and keeping active to maintain a healthy weight. In the Canadian guidelines it has in own section for keeping active and doing it in accordance to your body weight, but it really doesnt touch on calorie balance or intake. Next, the American guidelines touches on foods to reduce from your diet. Focuses limiting sodium, saturated, mono and poly saturated,cholesterol ,trans fats,added sugars,refined grains,and alcohol. Whereas Canadian guidelines really just focus a lot on salt intake, alcohol, and caffeine. Next American guidelines talks about food to increase. Included in this list is fruits, vegetables, fat free dairy, lean proteins, seafood, and foods that have more vitamins within them. The Canadian guidelines emphasis consuming a variety of complex carbs and foods from the earth. Also, incorporating low fat dairy products as part of a daly routine. Although, both will guide the average person to a healthier lifestyle I would refer my clients to the American guidelines because it goes in to more depth of how to live healthier. Question 3 (3 pts): MyPyramid is a popular graphic source for nutrition information. In fact, it is so popular that it has been duplicated as a graphic for exercise information, vegetarian diets, etc. Given its popularity, it would appear that MyPyramid is the best pictorial to teach consumers nutritional information. Would you agree or disagree? Why? After you have stated your own personal argument, consider the other perspective and discuss why someone would take this perspective. Answer 3: I believe MyPyramid is a great way to teach consumers nutritional information, but I disagree thats it is the best way. The people who need these guidelines the most are most likely ones who do not take the time to get on the Internet and use the tools that MyPyramid has to offer. I dont think it properly educates people on the right food choices in each group. Education on nutrient density is a lacking component when using MyPyramid. I also believe that the MyPyramid is lacking in teaching balance of healthy foods. It seems like they stress certain foods more than others and thus creating unhealthy habits for individuals not properly understanding their nutrition needs. Question 4 (3 pts) : Food manufacturing and technology continue to grow in sophistication. While one can certainly debate about the pros and cons of such growth, there is no doubt that consumers are often confused about the different labels given to the different types of processed foods! (a) In a few sentences, describe each of the following: fortified, refined, enriched, whole grain, and textured vegetable protein. (b) What are your thoughts on how these types of foods fit into the diet of the American consumer? Question 4 a) Refined foods are highly processed that have been stripped of their original nutrient content such as white flour and white pasta. Enriched foods add vitamins and minerals to replace the ones lost in the refining process. Fortified foods add vitamins and nutrients in addition to the ones found before the refining process. Question 5 (3 pts): To fully gain command of their dietary intake, consumers should know how to read food labels. Many find reading food labels very confusing. Why do you personally believe that consumers find food labels hard to read? Describe how you, if you were an RD, would educate your client on reading a food label. What do you think would be your priority point of education for your client? Question 6 (5 pts): As noted in your readings, describing a vegetarian diet is somewhat like describing a typical American diet; there are many varieties. Please describe the types of vegetarian diets one might come into contact with and provide a short synopsis on the food plan that would be followed. Question 7 (3 pts): Discuss the rationale why consumers/clients select to pursue a vegetarian dietary plan as well as the health benefits of following a vegetarian diet. Question 8 (3 pts): Discuss nutrients that an RD should be careful to assess for and discuss with a client pursuing a vegetarian program to ensure that their dietary plan allows for sufficient quantities of that nutrient.

The Negative Effects Of Animated Cartoons

The Negative Effects Of Animated Cartoons What are cartoons? According to Oxford Advanced Learner Dictionary (1948), a cartoon is an amusing drawing in a newspaper or magazine, especially one that comments satirically on current events. Also, it defines animated cartoon as a film made by photographing a series of gradually changing drawings, giving an illusion of movement. An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn (or made with computers to look similar to something hand-drawn) film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot (even if it is a very short one) (Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, 2001). AudioEnglish.net (2000) defines animated cartoon as a film made by photographing a series of cartoon drawings to give the illusion of movement when projected in rapid sequence. Then, Britannica Concise Encyclopaedia (1994) claims that originally, a cartoon was regarded as a full-size drawing used for transferring a design to a painting, tapestry, or other large work. The encyclopaedia also claims that it was in the 19th century that the term acquired its popular meaning of a humorous drawing or parody. Cartoons are not simply animated, sketched or drawn figures as unfamiliar viewers may think, they are comic constructions, ranging from mildly humorous to savagely satirical, based on current happenings and/or peoples lives (Websters Dictionary, 1972). This is where the problem comes in. What are cartoonists making children feel is funny, trivial or even of no consequence? Before the advent of the word cartoon in its modern sense in the 19th century, all sorts of funny and/or awkward drawings were referred to as caricatures. (Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopaedia, 2004) The most famous figure of early times for the world of cartoons is William Hogarth created in 18th-century Britain. Honorà © Daumier, a French man, introduced text to his cartoons to convey their unspoken thoughts in the 19th century. Following this, Britains punch became the leading source of cartoons in the 19th century and then The New Yorker took the lead for the Americans (Britannica Concise Encyclopaedia, 1994). According to Museum Broadcast Communication (2008), cartoons as we know them today generally evolved in the teens, however, their growth was stifled by the fact that for every second of animation, about 25 scenes had to be drawn. This made production tedious and uneconomical. Nonetheless, Earl Hurd revolutionized the insipid industry of the era by designing the cel (a sheet of lucid celluloid) patented with Bray Studios Inc. The cel provided cartoonist with new light; they only needed to redraw the part of the cartoons that moved. Studios also discovered ways to simplify the process of animation by initially departmentalizing the steps of the process of making the cartoons and then using storyboards (little drawings of scenes that represented different sections in the cartoon) to plan cartoons. Thus, something similar to a production line was formed for producing animation, making it much more economical. Furthermore, Jerry G. Butler states that the animated cartoon industry was born with Krazy Kat created by the American George Herriman. This was followed by Pat Sullivan and Otto Mesmers Felix the cat which was the first series of the animated cartoon industry; the majority of the first animated cartoons were adapted from comics, following their earlier popularity with readers. Walt Disney, one of the early producers, was one of the first to use new technologies and devise competent modes of cartoon production. His Steamboat Willie (1928) was the first notable cartoon with harmonized sound and also his Flowers and Trees (1932) was the first to employ the tri-colour, Technicolor procedure which became the industrys primary colour scheme of the time. The major reason for the success of the cartoon industry according to the Museum Broadcast Communication (2008) was an effective distribution system. Before sound was introduced to cartoons, they were produced by smaller studios with restricted theatre access. Later on, major studios such as MGM and Warner signed distribution deals with these smaller studios gaining their distribution rights and greatly increasing the distributing power of these smaller studios. Some major studios even went on to produce their own cartoons, as the standard way of exhibiting films at the time included cartoons. Jerry Butler says that cartoons started emigrating to television around the late 1940s when Van Beuren (a smaller studio) started selling its shows to early programs for children like Movies for small fry. Disney was one of the first major studios to follow this trend posting The Mickey Mouse Club to television. Thereafter, the other major studios joined in. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopaedia (2004) says that concurrent with the vital changes for the film studios, there were also changes in the aesthetics of the cartoons that were made. Hitherto the 1950s, cartoonists in particular those working for Disney strived to achieve naturalistic figures so much so that they transformed dancer Marge Champion into Snow White. However, World War II and post World War II art movements including Pointillism cast off this natural style to nurture an approach that stressed abstract line, shape, and pattern. United Productions of America (UPA) was at the fore front of this revolution, with its first achievement coming with the Mr Magoo series in 1949 followed by its Gerald Mcboing Boing which won an Academy Award in 1951; truly setting this new style into motion. According to Wikipedia, UPAs style featured flat perspectives, imaginary backgrounds and strong primary colours all with limited animation. UPAs cartoons were simply flat in backgrounds of wide fields of colour; squiggles suggesting clouds and trees. Also, Wikipedia says that crucial for the progress of television cartoons, was the limited nature of UPAs creations summarized as, the amount of movement within the frame was greatly reduced, the motions are often repeated. A character chattering his teeth, for example, might contain only two distinct movements which are then repeated without change. Thirdly, limited animation uses less individual frames to embody a movement. Full animation might use 24 discrete frames to represent a movement that takes one second; however, limited animation might cut the number in half. The result is a faintly jerkier movement. Wikipedia noted that UPAs changes in animation which appeared to have been aesthetically inspired, also made good business sense. Flattened perspective, abstract backgrounds, strong primary colours, and limited animation result in cartoons that are cheaper and quicker to produce. When animators began creating programs specifically for television, they quickly adopted UPAs economical practices but did away with their aesthetics in the process. The first successful, designed-for-television cartoon was Jay Ward and Alexander Andersons Crusader Rabbit initially distributed in 1949. Network television cartooning which came along eight years later had its first cartoon series developed by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera, the most successful producers of television cartoons. The Ruff and Ready Show was the first made-for-TV cartoon to be broadcast nationally on Saturday mornings; its popularity helped to establish the practicality of Saturday morning network programming. Hanna-Barberas The Flintstones (1960) was prime-times first successful cartoon series but also its last until the debut of The Simpsons in 1989. With these first well established cartoons, the characteristics of the made-for-TV cartoons were laid down (Toontracker, 1996). UPA-style aesthetics (especially limited animation) were mixed with narrative structures that were developed in 1950s television making the final trait of the made-for-TV cartoons an emphasis on dialogue as dialogue in the made-for-TV cartoons often re-states that which is occurring visually. In this way, televisions roots in radio are revealed. There is a reliance on sound in, for instance, Tom Jerry cartoons in which there is no dialogue at all, made-for-Television cartoons are often less visually oriented than theatrical cartoons from the golden era. (Museum Broadcast Communication, 2008) Television cartoons in the 1990s were dominated by the phenomenal success of Matt Groenings The Simpsons, which thrived after its series first appearance in 1989. Its success was principally responsible for the creation of the FOX network and the launching of one of the largest merchandising campaigns of the decade. (The Simpsons Bios, 2009). With this history in view, there are various types of cartoons which different sources including Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia (2001) have highlighted, they include: Fine art These types of cartoons were basically blueprints used by artists to transfer their ideas from the canvases to actual pieces. They were used in the production of frescoes and also by weavers to transfer designs to their looms. Tapestry cartoons which were usually coloured, were followed by eye by the weavers on the loom. Print media In the sense as used by print media today, a cartoon is a work of art, typically intended to be funny. This use dates from about 1843 when the Punch applied the term to the sardonic images it contained. Cartoons were initially meant to be ironic, mocking the outrageous events of the time. Print media cartoons can also be further broken down. Gag cartoons or single-panel cartoons, are found in all print media and they are generally made up of a single drawing with a subtitle immediately below or a speech balloon. Editorial cartoons are a type of gag cartoons found mostly in media dealing with news and although they may be humorous, they are more serious in tone parodying recent happenings. Comic strips, also called cartoon strips are found every day in newspapers globally. Usually they are short series of cartoon illustrations in sequence and although humour is the rifest subject matter, adventure and drama are also represented. Motion Picture Due to the close similarities between early animated cartoons and comic strips, cartoon as generally used today refers to motion picture cartoons. This type of cartoons are displayed on television or in cinemas and are created by showing illustrated images in swift succession to give the illusion of motion. They may or may not include synchronized sounds but most modern motion picture cartoons do. In the past few years, it has been noticed that there is an increase in violence and other inappropriate behaviours among children who we expect to be generally peaceful. What do many children today have in common, what do they share that could be the cause of this change in behaviour? The quest for a reason, an answer has led to the main source of entertainment for children today, cartoons (Leonard Erin, Senior Research Scientist at the University Joanne Cantor, 2002). Cartoons have become the favourite past time of most of the worlds children today. Their lives revolve around everything they watch on television or read in comic books and this has been estimated to take up about 4 hours of their day (Mariam, 2009). Normally, children start watching cartoons whilst they are very young and at the age of two or three they would have been converted to ardent apostles. This has become an issue as many problems have been discovered to have roots in watching cartoons (Stevie Hossler, 2004). MENTAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF CARTOONS ON CHILDREN By Stevie Hossler (2004) Children spend a total of about 13,000 hours in school from day one till graduation day. This seems like a very long time under which the influences of their teachers can be felt. However, within the same time frame children spend a total of about 18,000 hours watching cartoons. This is more than enough time for cartoons to take their effect on the childrens brains, emotions and sense to feel pain. David Satcher, the United States Surgeon General, stated in a report on adolescent violence (2000) More aggressive behaviour in a young childs life is caused by recurrently watched entertainment that contains violence. The American Psychological Association passed a resolution in February of 1985 due to its research findings, communicating the dangers violence on the television has on children. The major effects proved by their study are: The children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others; children who watch violence do not fear violence nor are they bothered by violence in general. The children are more likely to become aggressive or use harmful actions towards others. When we are born we have the capacity for motivation, experience, and training, and because of this our minds are very impressionable. Therefore, our brains development is an active mix of nature and nurture, so it is important to choose a healthy environment for all children. This means cartoons with violence will be detrimental to a child because in general, being interactive with any environment enhances the development of a successful brain. As a result, a tremendous amount of childhood involvement with electronic media can limit social interaction and may obstruct the development of a brains social systems. However, some cartoons promote creativity in children making them more exposed to information that was once unavailable to people their age. Also, children seem to have become brighter and are more emphatic INCREASED CHILD SAFETY RISKS DUE TO CHILDREN WATCHING CARTOONS BY Brandon Ybarra (2004) Today, very many unrealistic things can be seen in cartoons; surviving gunshots at extremely close range and even coming back from the dead. Unfortunately, parents seem to be happy with these cartoons as they do not promote sex but these sorts of cartoons are not good for children. In many episodes of Pokemon for example, brawls can be seen between the Pokemon and in the incident of the death of any of the pocket monsters they are simply reborn, they can never die. Teaching children this is relatively unhealthy as they are young and inquisitive and may not know the full implications of death. It is understood that growing children admire and most often imitate their cartoon heroes even to the extent of trying to fly like Superman or climb walls like Spiderman. Unfortunately, this is not just a cut when talking about injuries to children. VISUAL SUBLIMINAL MESSAGING IN CHILDRENS CARTOONS BY Chris Choma, (2004) Cartoons are packed with many contentious matters which are not consciously noticed but do have an effect on the subconscious minds. This is called subliminal messaging. It is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as, Below the threshold of conscious perception; inadequate to produce conscious awareness but able to evoke a response (AHD, 1352). It means therefore that broadcasters are brainwashing people and more significantly children. Unfortunately, this act is not yet illegal but it is widely frowned at. The use of subliminal messaging has greatly reduced due to advances in technology which enable viewers to scrutinize what they are watching frame by frame. Although subliminal messaging seems to have reduced, no one can be certain as only those who put these messages there are supposed to know that they are there. AUDITORY SUBLIMINAL MESSAGING IN CHILDRENS CARTOONS BY Shawnte Ray (2004) The delivery of auditory information to parts of the mind without an individuals actual perception is called auditory subliminal messaging. A classic example is a statement made by Meowth in an episode of Pokemon which was aired on Monday, October 11th, 2004 at 4:00 p.m. He said, If thats the Democratic way, I am voting Republican. Children are exposed to auditory subliminal messages which are quite common in popular cartoons. Their effects may never be discovered as they will become part of the childrens lives. CARTOONS EFFECTS ON CHILDRENS BEHAVIOR BY Ben Wikox (2004) Organizations such as the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry have discovered from research that children who watch cartoons in which violence is incorporated are more likely to employ violence in real life. They insist that parents should screen the cartoons their children watch and also parents should act as interpreters when necessary, telling the children violence is not the best course of action. The American Academy of Paediatrics states, Neuroscientists have shown that external experiences notably mould a young brain and following this they have discovered that a higher rate of cartoon viewing can be linked to lower academic achievements, particularly comprehension scores. Their humorous nature stifles the development of the left hemisphere of the brain which dominates our use of language. Television is a very quick medium, with messages shot at the viewers like lightening bolts. The minds of children have therefore adapted to obtaining such high speed information and therefore tend to refute slower forms of gaining information or thorough reading as in day to day schooling. TELEVISIONS EFFECT ON THE BRAIN AND EYES After watching an episode of Pokemon which was aired in December 1997, many children across the globe were reported to have suffered seizures (Warner, 2004) It has been agreed on by eye specialist that watching television under right conditions does not cause any harm to the brain or the eyes, however, doing so in inappropriate conditions; in a dark room closer than five feet, will lead to eye fatigue and as scientific evidence also corroborates, brain damage (Adams, 1992). A study which was carried out by the Childrens Hospital and Regional Medical Centre of Seattle, Washington made known that children who watch three to four hours of cartoons daily have a 30 to 40 percent higher possibility of developing attention deficit disorder than children who did not watch cartoons (Todays Chiropractic, 2004). From the foregoing, it can be suggested that though cartoons have some advantages to their viewers, their disadvantages out weigh those advantages, thus, this research hopes to prove that the seemingly harmless cartoons children are exposed to and/or allowed to watch have some adverse effects on their behaviours and at the same time create an awareness of the dangers of cartoons to our communities and have these dangers checked so as to prevent an aggravation of what seems at present to be a harmless situation.

The Fragility of Freedom Gadamerian :: Gadamer Freedom Essays

The Fragility of Freedom Gadamerian ABSTRACT: This paper examines the nature of freedom in Hang-Georg Gadamer’s hermeneutics. It focuses on the last section of Wahrheit und Methode advancing the hypothesis that Gadamer’s model of understanding is derived from his particular appropriation of the Platonic notion of the beautiful which poses a passive interpretative posture toward the object of understanding and deprives the activity of interpretation the essential creative quality of freedom. I argue that to the extent that the object of understanding presents itself as immediate revelation of truth, the interpreting subject is reduced to a mere acknowledger of truth as opposed to a creative producer. Opponents of teleological ontology and of philosophy of history have been attracted to hermeneutics as a more congenial perspective for the exploration of such issues as truth and right, knowledge and action, necessity and freedom. The appealing claim of hermeneutics is that universality need not be and should not be absolute as an ultimate end of a process of actualisation. In the view of hermeneutics, a determinate universal converts freedom to necessity however much consciousness may mediate activity. That is, even though activity engenders change, consciousness is more an expression of necessity in relation to the absolute than an expression of freedom. Indeed, in this view, teleological mediation between freedom and necessity is no reconciliation but rather a subsumption of freedom by necessity. To rehabilitate freedom, hermeneutics opts for a non-teleological history with an open, indeterminate future. The departure from teleology finds a new non-essentialist ground for truth a nd universality, namely, mutual understanding. In this paper, I examine Gadamer’s notion of mutual understanding, fusion of horizons, to assess the place reserved for freedom. I focus on Gadamer’s appropriation of the Platonic notion of the beautiful as the model of understanding and I argue that such a notion of understanding poses a passive interpretive posture toward the object of understanding, i.e. tradition or contemporary alien culture. In this model of understanding, I shall argue, the latter presents itself as immediate revelation of truth and thereby deprives interpretation of the productive quality which Gadamer would like to attribute it. I begin by providing some theoretical background to Gadamer’s notion of understanding noting its debt to Heidegger’s phenomenological ontology. I then proceed to examine Gadamer’s appeal to the Platonic dialectic of the beautiful as a model for understanding which highlights, to my mind and as I noted, the latent passivity of Gadamerian interpretati on.

Societal Norms and Masturbation Essays -- Sociology, Sexuality

Societal norms greatly influence our views and attitudes concerning masturbation. In American society, Psychology Today says people tend to consider masturbation â€Å"as a sexual refuge for singles† who are looking to â€Å"compensate for a lack of sex† (Castleman) and gives others the impression that one who masturbates in inferior or incapable of having sexual relations. However, Castleman’s article references a survey conducted by the University of Chicago that disputes this theory and suggests instead that â€Å"a sexless relationship [will suppress] masturbation† (Castleman). Historically, masturbation was thought to lead to serious medical side-effects; however this is not the case. As more and more doctors medically proved that masturbation is not physically harmful, others looked to support the idea that masturbation could possibly have positive health effects. Both of these factors lead to a greater normalization of masturbation today. Media plays a considerable role in our society’s sexual education and views. Most commonly, the stigma that masturbation is an inferior or weak sexual act crosses our television and computer screens often. For example, both â€Å"That 70s Show† and â€Å"Seinfeld† suggest that those who give in or fail to be â€Å"masters of his domain† (Chaney) are substandard to the rest of society. Physical evidence that masturbation and sexual pleasure are positive behaviors seems to be more evident now than ever before. Not only is the act arousing, but serotonin and â€Å"epinephrine [course] through your body† (Daniels), increasing one’s mood significantly. Also, many researchers argue that people who masturbate have a heightened sense of what pleases them sexually, which often leads to a better intimacy with a partner (... ...t I introduce in their sessions. However, I am concerned that not all participants will be completely honest and candid because of the stigmas inherent in our society. Works Cited Castleman, Michael. "All About Sex." 30 March 2009. Psychology Today. 1 February 2012 . Chaney, Jen. "'Seinfeld,' Four: It's Real and It's Spectacular." 17 May 2005. The Washington Post. 2 February 2012. Daniels, Chris and Jes Levatter. "Masturbation key to healthy, functional sexual relationships." 19 April 2007. The Badger Herald. 31 January 2012. Dolphin, Lambert. Masturbation And The Bible. 5 March 1991. 31 January 2012 . Wells, Ken R. "Masturbation." 2006. Health Line. 2 February 2012 .

Human Resources Information Essay

Introduction This report on data management; has been compiled to explain to you the reasons why HR data is important to an organisation, the types of data that should be recorded, the methods for collecting HR data and some of the UK legislation surrounding the recording, storing and accessibility of HR Data. Types of Data That Should Be Recorded and the Reasons Why â€Å"HR records include a wide range of data relating to individuals working in an organisation, for example, pay or absence levels, hours worked and trade union agreements. This information may be stored in a variety of media, such as computer databases or paper files.† (http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/retention-hr-records.aspx#link_0, accessed 3/3/2015) There are some statutory records that need to be recorded and stored; these statutory records must be kept because the law requires them. Statutory records will include things like the job title, address and emergency contact. Records such as pay and working hours will  be stored to help management adhere to the Working Time Directive and the Minimum Wage Act 1998. Non-statutory records are kept for the internal purposes of the organisation. These records such as attendance, punctuality, skills, strengths and weaknesses can all be used to recognise trends within the company and aggregate management or big data so that managers can act on any trends that may need sorting. For example at P.P. Plasma Ltd there is only one person in the sales department who is trained to read and understand technical drawings. This person is currently in line for a promotion within the group of companies and will no longer be part of the sales team in the next eighteen months. After aggregating the records it has been identified that the manager of the drawing office has the skills to teach the other sales team members enough to fill this skills gap. Other reasons for storing records could be to review capability issues; induction records, training records and health and safety documentation should all allow the organisation to challenge staff on the reasons that they are not following procedures when they have had training and have signed to show understanding. These will also show any other training that may be necessary. As evidence in case of any tribunal or discrimination challenges; recruitment and selection data and termination of employment data will show the organisation has been fair and unbiased in its selection process or how they have dealt with a termination without discrimination. Methods of Storing HR Data Paper Method The paper method of storing records has many more disadvantages than advantages; but for small organisations would still be a viable solution to storing HR records. â€Å"Data relating to employees is of a highly contentious and potentially litigious nature and has to be managed in accordance with compliance regulations. To do this manually is a daunting task and often liable to malpractice.† (http://www.ipcgroup.co.uk, accessed 7/3/2015) There are time limits on the information that can be kept and if you are storing this information manually then this also means that you must remove or redact information every so often. This means that data could be stored for too long. Aggregating all of the data collected into big data can also be a challenge; most of this data will need to be entered into spreadsheets  manually in order to create the management data needed. Other issues with paper records are the cost of floor space needed to store the information, the difficulty of backing up such a system; this would require the same amount of floor space on an alternate site and the security of the records; some filing cabinets may be locked with a key but if somebody were to forget to lock the cabinet then these files are open to anybody with access to the room. Digital Method The digital method could be a cheaper, much more secure, simple and timesaving solution to all organisations but especially the larger ones. â€Å"Given the low cost and the easy accessibility of electronic records storage, many employers are making the digital leap to â€Å"paperless† HR. These days, most records are created and maintained electronically, and some never even make their way to paper.† (http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com, accessed 7/3/2015) Security on a digital system whether it be local or cloud based would be much easier to manage, an electronic record of anybody that as accessed data can be kept automatically and permissions can be set to allow some people to see records that others do not have permission to see; for example at P.P. Plasma Ltd the Managing Director will have access to the HR of everybody in the organisation whereas a departmental manager will only have access to the records on their own staff. Space is only an issue of how much cloud space you can afford or how big a hard drive you can have in your server if you are doing it locally. When using a cloud based service you need to ensure that the cloud service that you are using has a backup system in case of a failure or natural disaster and what the time constraints on these being implemented if needed. Whereas if you are using a local system you will need to speak with your IT department and ensure that the system is backed and removed from the site, this solution will also need a time constraint on how long the system will need to be put back into place. Other reasons to use a digital HR system would be that the data could be aggregated into management and big data easily, whether the HR system has this built in or the data needs to be copied into a spreadsheet or database in order to create graphs, charts , tables and reports. Searching digital records could be done with a few clicks of the mouse and as long as the permissions are set up correctly this could also tell you who you need to  speak to in order to gain access to the information that you are searching for. UK Legislation regarding HR Data There are many pieces of legislation surrounding the recording, accessing and storing of HR data but the two that I am going to explain are the Date Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The Data Protection Act 1998 controls how your personal information is used by organisations, businesses or the government. Anybody responsible for storing and accessing HR data has to follow the data protection principles. They must make sure the information is: used fairly and lawfully used for limited or specifically stated purposes used in a way that is adequate, relevant and not excessive accurate kept for no longer than is absolutely necessary handled according to people’s data protection rights kept safe and secure not transferred outside the UK without adequate protection Anybody who feels that there data has not been used in accordance to these principles can make a complaint to the organisation themselves and if they are still unhappy with the response can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives the general public right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities and those providing services for them. It also sets out exemptions from that right and places a number of obligations on public authorities. Recorded information includes printed documents, computer files, letters, emails, photographs, and sound or video recordings. In order to adhere to the Freedom of Information Act; any person making a request to a public authority for information will be entitled to be informed whether that information is held. The Freedom of Information Act does not give people access to their own personal data such as their health records or credit reference file. If a member of the public wants to see information that a public authority holds about them, they should make a subject access request under the Data Protection Act 1998

Mental/Behavioral Case Study Essay

I am doing a case study for Jenny Stanson, who is a 20-year-old college student who that is currently living with her grandmother. Lately, she has been noticing that her grandmother seems to be confused at times, and often forgets things she has told her. She also informed me that her grandmother is often rather short-tempered. From what jenny says, this does not seem to be her usual manner and happens only infrequently, but Jenny is concerned. She stated that someone told her that her grandmother might be suffering from early stage of Alzheimer’s disease. Upon doing research on the disease I learned that Alzheimer’s disease is perhaps the most common form of dementia, although several others exist. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease of the brain. In the early stages, people experience some memory loss which progresses to marked memory loss, then to a decrease in thinking ability such as decision making. Later the disease leads to the loss in the ability to perform activities of daily living or recognize loved ones. The changes in the brain that often mirror the decline in thinking are the development of plaques and tangles in the brain. These changes may begin in areas of the brain associated with memory, but later spread more widely throughout the brain. The plaques and tangles can lead to a gradual loss of connections between brain cells and eventually cell death. Based upon the information she shared with me, I’m placing her grandmother in the early stages of Alzheimer’s due to her age and the symptoms she’s currently presenting. Especially after learning that starting at age 65, the risk of developing the disease doubles every five years, and that by age 85 years and older, between 25 and 50 percent of people will exhibit signs of Alzheimer’s disease. I did inform Jenny though, that there are things she could do and practice and speak to her grandmother about as far as  prolonging the onset of Alzheimer’s. There are a number of studies that suggest behaviors that might lessen the risk of developing the disease. Among these are increasing physical activity, having a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, maintaining social engagement, and participating in intellectually stimulating activities. I informed her that the approved treatments for Alzheimer’s disease are designed to enhance the communication between nerve cells. In some individuals, this will lessen the symptoms. However, these treatments will not prevent the progression of the disease. When it comes to cultural issues pertaining to this issue, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia affect all racial and ethnic peoples. Communities of color and other historically underserved groups often encounter problems when accessing services or information about Alzheimer’s disease. Because of this, the local chapter is working to increase awareness of the disease and understanding about the obstacles to service for rural communities, ethnic groups, and communities of color. This though should not be a reason people do not step out on their own and seek help In conclusion, I informed Jenny that there is a lot of information on the Alzheimer’s disease on the internet, libraries, hospitals and other places one can go to seek treatment. I told her that she and her grandmother are not alone. If she wants some really good information and help, she should turn to The Alzheimer’s Association, which is the most trusted resource for reliable information, education, referral and support to millions of people affected by the disease. She can Call their 24/7 Helpline number at: 800.272.3900 or she can locate a chapter in her community, she can use their virtual library or even simply just go to the Alzheimer’s Navigator within the associations website to create customized action plans and connect with local support services. References http://www.alz.org/alzwa/in_my_community http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_what_is_alzheimers.asp http://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/basics/mental-illness/dementia.htm

Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis and Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Analysis

In situations of desperation, desolation or depression humans may become capable of acting inexplicably. When a person is faced with a grim situation he may try to deny the reality of the situation, and as such remain optimistic that all will be set right. The protagonists of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis and Alexander Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich must cope with these elements of self-delusions, their bitter wisdom and the fragility of their own hope. People who believe they have nothing to look forward to, begin to change their perceptions of happiness to cope with their dismal situation. The human Gregor Samsa enjoyed happiness from making others happy, as seen through his intentions of sending his sister to the musical Conservatory or his ability to provide for his family. When he is no longer able to find happiness in human interaction, he begins to find happiness for himself in the simplest occurrences. Read also Analysis of Characters in Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"The Life You Save May Be Your Own† â€Å"He especially liked hanging from the ceiling it was completely different from lying on the floor; one could breathe more freely; a faint swinging sensation went through the body; and in the almost happy absent-mindedness which Gregor felt up there, it could happen to his own surprise that he let go and plopped onto the floor.† During the initial stages of his metamorphosis, Gregor is proud and happy about his ability to provide such a comfortable life for his family. After his transformation he is not able to make others happy consequently being forced to seek pleasure for himself in the smallest things, despite how simple they may seem. Ivan Denisovich, also referred to as Shukhov, finds himself in a similar situation. He is forced to abandon the common goals shared by other men and to adopt a mentality where survival provides him with satisfaction. Ivan is happy about his day because he avoids additional punishment, has more than usual to eat, works at building a wall which he takes pride in and acquires some new tools. His enjoyment of these simple accomplishments demonstrates the changes which have occurred within him. â€Å"Shukhov went to sleep, and he was very happy. He'd had a lot of luck today. They hadn't put him in the cooler. The gang hadn't been chased out to work in the Socialist Community Development. He'd finagled an extra bowl of mush at noon. The boss has gotten them good rates for their work. He'd felt good making that wall. They hadn't found that piece of steel in the frisk. Caesar had paid him off in the evening. He'd bought some tobacco. And he'd gotten over that sickness. Nothing had spoiled the day and it had been almost happy.† The happiness felt by Ivan results from incidents that others would take for granted. His additional labour in the prison is not for any reason other than for his survival and satisfaction. Rather than thinking of how he could be made happier by what he does not have, he appears happy with what he is given. The protagonists of both novels force themselves into believing they are happy, to be better able to cope with the grim reality of their circumstances. Although there is no rationale given for their respective situations, the protagonists both have the knowledge that their life has changed for the worse. When Gregor reflects upon the life he once gave to his family, he begins to feel guilty about Grete having to care for him. His life has been based upon his role as the provider, but fulfilling his duties after the transformation is no longer plausible. â€Å"Often during Gregor's short stays in the city the Conservatory would come up in his conversations with his sister, but always merely as a beautiful dream which was not supposed to come true, and his parents were not happy to hear even these innocent allusions; but Gregor had very concrete ideas on the subject and he intended solemnly to announce his plan on Christmas Eve. Thoughts like these, completely useless in his present state, went through his head as he stood glued to the door.† His motivation has been fulfilling the financial and emotional needs of his family put forth on him, but he is no longer needed by his family. The Samsa family is now capable of surviving without his contributions, and seemingly are better people as they become independent. As the bug he is a burden to his family because his purpose in life has been made impossible to fulfill. Unlike Gregor, Ivan believes that he has a purpose (to work with his hands) but he is unable to because of an unfair conviction. â€Å"Easy money doesn't weigh anything and it doesn't give you that good feeling you get when you really earn it. The old saying was true-what you don't pay for honestly, you don't get good value for. Shukhov's hands were still good for something. Back home he'd surely find himself work making stoves, or something in the carpentry line, or mending pots and pans. The only catch was- if you'd been convicted with loss of civil rights, you couldn't get work anywhere and you weren't allowed back home.† Ivan is proud of the work he does with his hands but he is not permitted to choose his living because of the sentence. He is not able to return home and has lost his civil rights. His future will never exceed his past life. For Ivan true freedom means home but he will never have that freedom again. The male prisoners create a society in which they have the security of knowing what they will be doing and eating from one day to the next yet remain powerless over their futures. The changes caused by the peculiar situations give both protagonists a more pessimistic view of their lives. The promise of hope causes people to be optimistic even in the grimmest of situations, but a lack of it may be detrimental. In the case of Gregor the fragility of his hope is a disadvantage. He retains a human sense of frustration, memory and optimism despite his increasing animal instincts. During the incident when Grete attempts to remove his furniture he at first seems passive to the notion but once his mother voices doubts, saying the removal of the furniture would be symbolic of the family giving up hope of his return, he too becomes more hopeful, even wanting to give up crawling to retain his humanity. â€Å"Nothing should be removed; everything had to stay; he could not do without the beneficial influence of the furniture on his state of mind; and if the furniture prevented him from carrying on this senseless crawling around, then that was no loss but rather a great advantage.† The hope of others around him greatly influences his own, as instanced when he opens his door to measure the reaction of his family to his initial transformation. Later Grete declares the bug would have already left if it really were Gregor. She is essentially giving up the hope that the bug is her brother; expectedly Gregor dies that night. The will to live for Ivan, however, is strong enough to overpower his hopelessness and the endless difficulties of a life he cannot control. He has enough hope of getting out of prison to maintain his own sanity, but not so much that he becomes dejected about his situation. â€Å"Shukhov sort of liked the way they pointed at him- the lucky guy nearly through with his sentence. But he didn't really believe it. Take the fellows who should've been let out in the war. They were all kept in till forty-six- â€Å"till further notice.† And then those with three years who'd gotten five more slapped on. They twisted the law any way they wanted. You finished a ten-year stretch and they gave you another one. Or if not, they still wouldn't let you go home. But sometimes you got a kind of funny feeling inside. Maybe your number really would come up one day. God, just to think you might walk out and go home!† Ivan realizes that he will never have freedom yet wants nothing more than being released from prison. Restraining his hopes with a touch of reality enables him to find a balance between escape and contentment during his sentence. It is difficult to be truly happy when keeping the dismal reality in mind. The protagonists find their lives are worse because they know it is not possible to find the happiness they once had. Despite this knowledge, they maintain the hope of returning to normal for as long as they can. This hope serves to protect the potentially false happiness they experience. Both characters are described as being almost happy because, despite their self-delusions, they can only obtain true happiness if their lives were to return to the way they once were; but that is unfeasible.