Science and Technology (Early Development) free essay sample

Early developments The key disciplinary components of STS took shape independently, beginning in the 1960s, and developed in isolation from each other well into the 1980s, although Ludwig Flecks monograph (1935) Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact anticipated many of STSs key themes: Science studies, a branch of the sociology of scientific knowledge that places scientific controversies in their social context. History of technology, that examines technology in its social and historical context. Starting in the 1960s, some historians questioned technological determinism, a doctrine that can induce public passivity to technologic and scientific natural development. At the same time, some historians began to develop similarly contextual approaches to the history of medicine. History and philosophy of science (1960s). After the publication of Thomas Kuhns well-known The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), which attributed changes in scientific theories to changes in underlying intellectual paradigms, programs were founded at the University of California, Berkeley and elsewhere that brought historians of science and philosophers together in unified programs. We will write a custom essay sample on Science and Technology (Early Development) or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Science, technology, and society In the mid- to late-1960s, student and faculty social movements in the U. S. , UK, and European universities helped to launch a range of new interdisciplinary fields (such as Womens Studies) that were seen to address relevant topics that the traditional curriculum ignored. One such development was the rise of science, technology, and society programs, which are also—confusingly—known by the STS acronym. Drawn from a variety of disciplines, including anthropology, history, political science, and sociology, scholars in these programs created undergraduate curricula devoted to exploring the issues raised by science and technology. Unlike scholars in science studies, history of technology, or the history and philosophy of science, they were and are more likely to see themselves as activists working for change rather than dispassionate, ivory tower researchers[citation needed]. As an example of the activist impulse, feminist scholars in this and other emerging STS areas addressed themselves to the exclusion of women from science and engineering. Science, engineering, and public policy studies emerged in the 1970s from the same concerns that motivated the founders of the science, technology, and society movement: A sense that science and technology were developing in ways that were increasingly at odds with the publics best interests. The science, technology, and society movement tried to humanize those who would make tomorrows science and technology, but this discipline took a different approach: It would train students with the professional skills needed to become players in science and technology policy. Some programs came to emphasize quantitative methodologies, and most of these were eventually absorbed into systems engineering. Others emphasized sociological and qualitative approaches, and found that their closest kin could be found among scholars in science, technology, and society departments. [citation needed] During the 1970s and 1980s, leading universities in the U. S. , UK, and Europe began drawing these various components together in new, interdisciplinary programs. For example, in the 1970s, Cornell University developed a new program that united science studies and policy-oriented scholars with historians and philosophers of science and technology. Each of these programs developed unique identities due to variation in the components that were drawn together, as well as their location within the various universities. For example, the University of Virginias STS program united scholars drawn from a variety of fields (with particular strength in the history of technology); however, the programs teaching responsibilities—it is located within an engineering school and teaches ethics to undergraduate engineering students—means that all of its faculty share a strong interest in engineering ethics.

What Is An Air Pollution Essay Sample Essay Example

What Is An Air Pollution Essay Sample Essay Example What Is An Air Pollution Essay Sample Essay What Is An Air Pollution Essay Sample Essay What cause air pollution Air pollution control is an integral part of environmental management as it is directly related to climate change. The effects of air pollution are often far-reaching and are spatially harder to control once the damage is done. In the United States, state governments are required to adopt air quality control measures through legislative process. These measures are submitted to EPA for approval and then included in each states implementation plans. The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), whose mandate is to enforce environmental health laws and regulations, has put in place various measures for air quality control. This measures include setting standards for ambient air quality, determine hazardous emissions and conducting extensive research on appropriate pollution prevention techniques.; The provisions are provided in the Clean Air Act to curb both state and interstate air pollution issues. EPA provides technical guidance for implementation of environmental plans in each state.; More specifically, some of this measures include the following:; Emissions Control EPA has placed standards for emissions from mobile and stationary sources of air pollution like manufacturing industries to ensure use of cleaner fuels and technologies. Additionally, there are economic incentives in banking and trading for using cleaner technologies. This is also combined with the command-and-control regulations that have for long been used by EPA. Controlling air pollution at the sources This is a preventive strategy instituted to reduce or eliminate air pollution at its source. This is done first by identifying sources of air pollution and subsequently ensuring use of approved fuels and raw materials, using non-polluting/less polluting industrial processes and improving process efficiency.; The Clean Air Technology Center This is a vital resource for the prevention and control of air pollution. This center provides a platform for research and use of effective processes. It features wet scrubbers, electrostatic precipitators, condensers, absorbers, mechanical collectors among other clean production mechanisms. It also serves as a resource for research of renewable and cost effective energy resources. EPA encourages industries to reduce emissions and account for these emissions. The Agency also encourages voluntary initiatives to achieve emission reduction through trading programs like the Emission Reduction Credits(ERC). Business operators receive credit for reducing emissions below; the set limits.; Creating Awareness The government also has various mechanisms for educating the public and private sectors on efficient use of clean and renewable energy sources at both local and national levels. EPA provides guidelines for controlling indoor air pollution in households and workplaces. Also, during formulation of air control policies the public is widely consulted to ensure appropriate measures are formulated. Public participation helps to streamline implementation of this laws. Likewise, the same forums are used to communicate, guide and interpret already instituted laws and policies.; Pollution Control Subsidies This comes in form of financial support from the government for environmentally friendly activities.; A polluter is rewarded for reducing emissions either through receiving grants, favorable tax reliefs or lower interest rates. EPA voluntary programs encourage companies to implement environmental best practices which gives them a good public image and encourages more business to follow suit.

Don’t Miss the National Career Summit †FREE This Week!

Don’t Miss the National Career Summit – FREE This Week! The job search process has become more complicated in the last several years. No longer can a job seeker simply look up interesting positions in the Classifieds, then send in a resume and cover letter on nice bond paper, hoping to get an interview. There is a whole world job seekers need to know about that includes job search strategy, branding, networking, social media, and more. Writing is still a key piece of the job search process, and the Essay Expert focuses almost exclusively on writing resumes and writing LinkedIn profiles (in the other aspects of the business, we edit business documents and help students write college application essays). If you need to bring your written documents up a level or two, we are a great resource. Although I will be taking a Job Search Strategist Course starting this week, I still plan to provide clients primarily with writing services. For the other aspects of the job search, I’m thrilled to announce the National Career Summit, which is being offered FREE by a top-notch group of career experts this week. You may have noticed my announcement of the event in my newsletter – it started November 4 – and there is still a week to go. If you are a job seeker or considering starting a business, this is a rare opportunity to learn from the best! Some of the topics include: Building Your Online Reputation Preparing Veterans and Others for Federal Employment (a great tribute to Veteran’s Day) Entrepreneurship: Creating a Business Plan Great Jobs for Everyone 50+ Networking (On and Off Line) Twitter and Facebook for Job Seekers How to Do Research to Find the Job You Want It’s quite a full schedule for the week – a tremendous opportunity really. If you consider job seeking as a full-time job, then it will be a clear choice for you to spend a couple of hours a day learning from these experts. Sign up for the National Career Summit here. View the schedule here. Events are being recorded and can be accessed after the telesummit is over for a small fee. Register now and take advantage of this weeks session at no cost! I’m so convinced you’ll get value from this summit that I am announcing it even though I am not one of the speakers! It’s important to me to provide resources to my readers and this is a great one. It’s also important to me to support my colleagues who are doing such important work supporting job seekers and entrepreneurs to reach their goals. I highly encourage you to participate in the presentations that look useful to you. If you do participate, please let me know how the sessions went!

Nursing Cancer Patient Case Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Nursing Cancer Patient Case - Assignment Example Osteoporosis is a chronic progressive metabolic disease of the bone characterized by low bone mass and micro-architectural deterioration of the tissue of the bones (Serota and Lane, 2006). It affects 16% of women and 7% of men above 50 years of age (Tenenhouse et al, qtd. in Targownik, Lix and Metge, 2008). The most dreaded complication of fall in this age group of people is hip fracture. Burt is 68 years old. Aging is a natural physiological process and there are many changes which occur in the various organs of the body. The common health problems frequently encountered in the elderly are altered response to medication, altered nutritional status, urinary incontinence, urine retention, fecal incontinence, pressure ulcers, mood disorders, dizziness, dementia and functional impairment, immobility and impaired gait (Nettina, 2006). Elderly people are more prone to falls and fractures, cognitive dysfunction, postural hypotension, electrolyte disorders, cardiac failure and polypharmacy. Burt needs to be given several medications because of his health condition. Pharmacokinetics of the aged is different and hence the effects of the drugs are more. The factors which contribute to altered pharmacokinetics are decrease in lean body mass and total body weight, increased percentage of body fat, decreased protein binding of drugs, increase in volume of distribution for lipophilic drugs that penetrate the central nervous system, decline in the metabolic capacity of the liver, decreased liver mass and hepatic blood flow, decreased renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate. There may also be changes in the receptor numbers, affinity, and post receptor cellular effects. Along with these, there are also changes in the homeostatic mechanisms (Tregaskis and Stevenson, 1990). Dementia is a haunting problem amongst elderly who frequently get admitted to acute care settings for other health problems. Due to dementia, proper treatment is difficult to institute.

The Homestead Strike 1892 compared to The Great Sit Down Strike 1937 Research Paper

The Homestead Strike 1892 compared to The Great Sit Down Strike 1937 - Research Paper Example The strike was able to attain goals meant for the benefit of the workers. They averted the reopening of the plants thus resulting in the recognition of their right to organize, a right which has been repeatedly denied by this corporation (Weinstone, 1). The union was formally recognized as the collective bargaining agency for its members in all the plants (Weinstone, 1). The union was able to put a stop to the open-shop system practiced by this American industry (Weinstone, 1). It was also able to successfully bargain wage increases for the GM workers and for the auto workers in other plants. Finally, it also successfully bargained â€Å"an agreement to open negotiations between the union and the corporation for the demands on wages, hours and working conditions† (Weinstone, 1). Aside from the above successes, the union was also able to resist and hold off forceful efforts to remove the sit-down strikers, who only left the plants when their conditions were met (Weinstone). Fin ally, this strike successfully endorsed â€Å"the policy of industrial unionism, of militant unionism and progressive leadership based upon rank-and-file democracy,† which confirmed that such system is â€Å"the only correct form of organization† that â€Å"can effectively meet and defeat the corporations of big capital† (Weinstone, 1). The tactics used by the union includes first by strategically locking themselves in, â€Å"making it difficult to dislodge them without the use of considerable force and numbers, while at the same time, by taking over the gates, they obtained the possibility of freely coming and going and thereby relieved the strain which they would otherwise have found a serious factor in their ‘voluntary imprisonment’† (Weinstone, 1). The workers went on shifts hence, were able to withstand continued stay inside the plants for a long time. They were also able to create a â€Å"complete and efficient organization† by s etting up an elected strike committee, various sub-committees, captains, including health and sanitation, patrol and policing, trial committee† (Weinstone, 1). The elected strike committee was the one assigning particular duties to every worker which includes the â€Å"reception of visitors, guarding, and cleaning up† (Bliven, 377). Through this, they were able to utilize an effective strategy that heightened their awareness and control against any possible attacks against them (Weinstone, 1). The workers â€Å"barricaded themselves within the plants† and readied themselves to employ devices available to secure their positions within the plant† (Weinstone, 1). Their preparedness can be best illustrated in the following: covering â€Å"the windows with bullet-proof metal sheets† and at the same time a way wherein fire hoses could be placed to prevent â€Å"any gas or firearm attack†; systematizing and drilling squads in using water hoses; organ izing â€Å"a police patrol† making rounds at given hours, to monitor â€Å"the movement of people in adjoining wings of the building† to prevent any â€Å"surprise attacks† (Weinstone, 1). The strikers also were said to hold â€Å"court every morning†, and those found guilty of inappropriate behavior such as â€Å"bringing liquor into the plant or circulating rumors† was removed from the plant (Lovett, 123). The workers could even â€Å"take classes in parliamentary procedure, collective

Childhood Obesity Solutions Essay Example for Free

Childhood Obesity Solutions Essay Prevalence of childhood obesity has increased greatly in the recent years, so much so that the number of children considered overweight by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has nearly quadrupled among children aged 6-11 years old (Cawley, Meyerhoefer, and Newhouse, 2007, p.506). Many members of the public, media, and congress have declared childhood obesity as a major public health concern, considering it to be an â€Å"important cause and consequence of wider disparities in health† (Freudenberg, Libman, and O’Keefe, 2010). Director of the division of nutrition, physical activity and obesity at the CDC, Dr. William H. Dietz, went as far as to say â€Å"This may be the first generation of children that has a lower life span than their parents† (Roberts Wilson, 2012). Though it is evident steps are needed to be taken to help protect the health and futures of our youth, those with the most power to actually make a visible, long lasting environmental change are the most reluctant to do so. Policymakers have alternate interests in finances that water down their attempts to take charge. Sadly, often times playing the social problems game takes precedence over the more genuine social problems work. As a Washington Post article so boldly states â€Å"In the political arena, one side is winning the war on child obesity. The side with the fattest wallets.† (Roberts Wilson, 2012) Proposals that frame childhood obesity as being an inevitable result of increasing environmental surroundings by unhealthful foods are too often neglected by government officials more willing to frame childhood obesity as an individual problem. Indeed it is more convenient to claim providing freedom of choice to individuals who are capable of making their own decisions, emphasizing self regulation, and freeing themselves of responsibility to their nation to lead in financially beefy actions. This essay seeks to demonstrate that childhood obesity should no longer be considered an individual cause stemming from lifestyle choices which can be changed through minor solutions such as education in physical activity and nutrition. Unfortunately, this social problems ownership has become the taken-for-granted frame for this problem (Loseke, 2003, p.69). Childhood obesity really is a social problem which is a direct result from our environment, social structures emphasizing fast, unhealthy, frankly JUNK food which is readily available in any given neighbourhood and continuously marketed through all mediums to increase profits to some select wealthy individuals. I will stress that the only solutions met by this pressing issue have been solely symbolic solutions which have been prematurely praised as they are false attempts to appear loyal to the public, communities, and school systems, while truly remaining loyal to the corporations, who some may very well be held entirely accountable. Within this paper the exploration of three chosen symbolic solutions to date will include: American Government’s distribution of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Midcourse Report: Strategies for Increasing Physical Activity Among Youth, the national law passing of requiring restaurants with 20 or more chains to provide calorie information on menus and menu boards, and lastly, the enhancement of PE requirements for school aged children. The distribution of said guidelines is reported to be important by reviewing â€Å"the evidence on strategies to increase youth physical activity and make recommendations and to communicate findings to the public.† (Rodgers, 2012, p.10) This report focuses on five settings, but in reality only offers strategies for 3 of them. Two settings (Home and Family, and Primary Care settings) received no proposed strategies to increase physical activity among youth, and focused only on areas requiring further research (p.7). Those settings which did receive proposed strategies were quite obvious suggestions which doubtfully would have any significant impact on physical activity among youth. One such suggestion is to â€Å"provide teachers with appropriate training† (p.5). Although it must be noted that this is not a report distributed solely to decrease obesity among youth, it is distributed to increase physical activity among youth, which is not the same, though admittedly similar. On the webpage this guide is provided, a number of other arbitrary tools can also be found. Webinars on online nutrition information, fact sheets, blogs, access to printable posters, and more. Educating the public, educating the parents of youth, and the youth themselves of course is important. At what point however will it be supplemented by restrictions on marketing of food and beverages to youth, which this guideline reports is estimated at a whopping $10 billion per year, but shows no indication of wanting to reduce or restrict this, and can only suggest counterbalancing with media campaigns directed to offset these unhealthy images (Rodgers, 2012, p. 3). One article is more forward in summarizing â€Å"Despite this widespread recognition of negative impact of marketing unhealthy foods, the practice continues unabated.† (Harvard School of Public Health, 2012) Mandated menu labelling of calories in some American jurisdictions was passed in 2008, requiring restaurant chains with 20 or more facilities to post calorie information next to each item on their menus and menu board (Kuo, Jarosz, Simon and Fielding, 2009, p.1680). This new law was backed by evidence that â€Å"eating fast food has been shown to increase caloric intake and the risk of becoming obese† (Harvard School of Public Health, 2012). As an alternative to restricting what is sold in these fast food chains, restricting advertising of these products, or perhaps even zoning restrictions on how many fast food restaurants were permitted to be within a certain range of schools, this new law appears to be the most liberal of solutions, and the most beneficial for the companies selling these high calorie foods. Findings from a health impact assessment are as follows: â€Å"mandated menu labelling at fast food and other large chain restaurants could reduce population weight gain, even with only modest changes in consumer behaviour.† (Kuo, Jarosz, Simon and Fielding, 2009, p.1683) As promising as this is, it is followed by a stronger and more realistic assessment stating â€Å" if nonobese restaurant patrons were more likely to order reduced calorie meals than were obese patrons, the impact on the obesity rate could be less than what we reported†. Because there was no study conducted on the weight of those opting for calorie reduced items, it is difficult to say if this solution is beneficial to the target audience, obese people in these jurisdictions. If changes are being made that is great, but there is no evidence to date to support this influencing the rising issue of obesity. It is just another means of essentially saying that the government is willing to educate on the food being provided and it is the choice of the individual, to consume or not consume. One solution offered by government recognizes that with the majority of youth enrolled in schools, school is an ideal place to provide much needed physical activity to students (Rodgers, 2012). In implementation, many state policies require schools to â€Å"have a PE unit requirement that constrains students to spend a minimum amount of time in PE class† (Cawley, Meyerhoefer, and Newhouse, 2007, p. 508). A study evaluating the effectiveness of such policies revealed that, naturally, a required PE unit is correlated with a higher probability that the student participates in PE (Cawley, Meyerhoefer, and Newhouse, 2007, p. 511). Although this is clearly a positive outcome of enforcing requirements among youth to enroll in PE classes, this same study goes on to say that â€Å"a requirement is correlated with students reporting fewer minutes spent active in PE†(p.511). Yes, you read that correctly, specifically 15.1 fewer minutes active in PE for boys, and 3.1 fewer in PE for girls (p.511-512). In conclusion, this report sums up the opposing information by stating that â€Å"curriculum development is not significantly associated with the amount of time spent active in PE†. As such, the implementation of these programs sounds a lot more effective in theory then it is in practice. All three of these solutions offered by government are certainly steps in recognizing that childhood obesity is in fact prevalent in our society. These solutions also claim that something can be done to reduce the level of harm to children’s health, and that actions should be implemented in correcting this epidemic. Essentially childhood obesity is a recognized social problem in our society. Unfortunately because the victims, (obese children), are politically powerless individuals, proposals to decrease the harm attributed to them have been, and will continue to be symbolic. Sadly, effort from interest groups with good intentions can be overshadowed by the social problems game of politics. This concept is not lost in an article posted in The New York Academy of Medicine which reads as follows: â€Å"private interests generally have more resources and skills than public health reformers to achieve their policy goals, and are more successful in resisting changes than advocates are in implementing them. These structural barriers are a powerful deterrent to reducing childhood obesity. Creating cities where health rather than business concerns take precedence will require new approaches to governance and democracy.† (Freudenberg, Libman, and O’Keefe, 2010, p.761) It appears as though, for now, the social problems game of proposing symbolic solutions for childhood obesity is being accepted by audiences. Since Loseke claims that â€Å"the goal of social problems game is persuading audience members† (p.51), government officials, the players, are succeeding. References Cawley, J., Meyerhoefer, C. and Newhouse, D. (2007), The correlation of youth physical activity with state policies. Contemporary Economic Policy, 25: 506–517. doi: 10.1111/j.1465-7287.2007.00070.x Fredenberg, N., Libman, K., O’Keefe, E. (2010), A tale of two obescities: The role of municipal governance in reducing childhood obesity in New York city and London. Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 87:5 doi:10.1007/s11524-101-943-x Harvard School of Public Health, (2012), The obesity prevention source toxic food environment. Retrieved from: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/ Kuo, T., Jarosz, C., Simon,P., Fielding, J. (2009), Menu labelling as a potential strategy for combating obesity epidemic: A health impact assessment. American Journal of Public Health, 99:9 doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2008.153023 Loseke, D. (2003), Thinking about social problems. New York: Walter de Gruyter, Inc. Robert, J., Wilson, D., (2012, April 27), Special report: How Washington went soft on childhood obesity. Reuters. Retrieved from: http://www.reuters.com/ Rodgers, A., (2012), Physical activity guidelines for Americans mid-course report: strategies to increase physical activities among youth. US Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from: http://health.gov/paguidelines/default.aspx

Fascism - Alternative Approach Essay -- essays research papers

Fascism. The name of this movement alone provokes thoughts of hate, racism and evil throughout all modern western civilizations. Never before has one word created such a cultural taboo for nearly two generations. As a people, we immediately think of Fascism as Hitler’s methodical destruction of nearly six million Jews during World War II, but as a movement, there is so much more to be learned. It is the aim of this paper to accurately and without judgement look at Fascism from its creation to modern day applications. Benito Mussolini was catapulted into power in 1919 after helping create and naming his movement Fascism. Italian Fascism began on the left but stressed the dire need for strong nationalism with an urgency to industrialize. His style prized violence, idealism and anti-materialism, bonding him with the plight of the socialists of the time. As time went on in Italy, Mussolini merged with many modern corporations, luring him further and further to the right. Benito’s vision of Fascism facilitated national liberation, and racism was never his political nor personal goal. Many of Mussolini’s top aids and elite were Jews prior to his alliance with Hitler in 1937. In 1932 Mussolini wrote a lengthy definition of Fascism for the Italian Encyclopedia. This work shows exactly what it was Mussolini believed he was doing, creating a new wave of change. The definition is lengthy and often repetitive, however it is absolutely essential to the understanding of fundamental fascism t hat some of its points be explained and discussed herein. "Fascism, the more it considers and observes the future and the development of humanity quite apart from political considerations of the moment, believes neither in the possibility nor the utility of perpetual peace. War alone brings up to its highest tension all human energy and puts the stamp of nobility upon the peoples who have courage to meet it. All other trials are substitutes, which never really put men into the position where they have to make the great decision -- the alternative of life or death.... " This paragraph alone explains the reasons for nearly all modern wars in this century. Mussolini’s founding ideal was that of struggle. He believed war to be the climax of human emotion, believing that peace was not, an... ...bsp;In France, the primarily Fascist party led by Jean-Marie Le Pen gained 29% of the vote. This excerpt not only applies to France, but to conditions that will continue to rise throughout the world. Whenever a group of people go unheard, unrest immediately occurs. What follows unrest is the willingness to be apart of something that will lead you somewhere great. The rising popularity of Fascism is not due to a change in man’s thinking, but due to nations not listening to their people. Thousands of "skinheads" march through the streets of Germany waiting for a time when they will once again stake their claim for the world. It is only a matter of time before the comfort and discipline Fascism offers becomes a reality in the world. Benito Mussolini believed in the power of state and corporate becoming one to best represent the needs of the people. The time has come for the ordinary people of the world to declare what they desire to be known as next, before the choi ce is made for them. Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you." — Friedrich Nietzsche