Patriot Act 2: The Domestic Security Enhancement Act :: essays research papers

Patriot Act 2: The Domestic Security Enhancement Act   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the horrendous terrorist attack on the New York Trade Center a new Bill was passed by congress shortly after September 11, 2004. This bill is known as The Domestic Security Enhancement Act also called Patriot Act 2. This bill was designed as a follow-up to the USA Patriot Act to work in increasing government surveillance, detention and other law enforcement powers while reducing basic checks and balances on such powers. By the beginning of the year 2003 a draft of the legislation was available.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Amongst the most severe problems the bill diminishes personal privacy by removing checks on government power, diminishes public accountability by increasing government secrecy, and diminishes corporate accountability under the pretext of fighting terrorism. Also the bill undermines fundamental constitutional rights of Americans under overboard definitions of â€Å"terrorism† and â€Å"terrorist organization† or under a terrorism prete xt. Furthermore, unfairly targets immigrants under the pretext of fighting terrorism. (http://www.aclu.org/Safeand Free/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=11835&c=206)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Patriot Act 2 would give more power to the government, eliminating and weakening many of the checks and balances that remained on government surveillance, wiretapping, detention and criminal prosecution even after passage of the USA Patriot Act. The Patriot Bill was drafted by the Bush Administration that would expand law enforcement and intelligence gathering authorities, reduce or eliminate judicial oversight over surveillance, authorities secret arrests, create DNA database based on unchecked executive â€Å"suspicion,† create new death penalties, and even seek to take American citizenship away from persons who belong to or support disfavored political groups. A few renditions and provisions of the bill is explained in the next few paragraphs. These are only a few of the examples of the powers the new bill will give the government. (http://www.cdt.org/security/usapatriot/030210cole.pdf)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Section 201 authorizes secret arrests, overturning federal court decision requiring government disclose identity of persons it has detained during the 9/11 investigations. This part mandate that all arrests in connection to international terrorism investigations remain secret until indictment is filed. In our history we have never permitted secret arrests, it contradicts our rights and liberty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Section 312 end the consent Decrees Against Illegal Police Spying. Automatically eliminating any consent decree governing police spying abuse entered before 9/11 no matter the basis of the pronouncement. This section states that it would eliminate consent pronouncements for the future with respect to police spying, and place substantial restrictions on judicial injunctions   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Section 503 provide the Attorney General unchecked power to deport foreign nationals, including lawful permanent resident aliens.

African American Cultural Assessment Essay

Abstract In order to provide culturally appropriate care, an examination of one’s personal views, beliefs, and prejudices must be examined. The first portion of this paper will examine my personal values, beliefs, biases, and prejudices. The remaining paper will analyze the African American culture relating to the Ginger and Davidhizar’s Transcultural Assessment Model cited in Hood (2010). This model uses six key cultural elements that include communication, space, social organization, time, environment, and biological variations. This model provides a systematic approach for assessing culturally diverse clients. I will also discuss an aspect of care that I would advocate a change in my clinical practice for the African American population. Cultural Self-Assessment Culture is one of the most basic elements that makes up the identity and personality of each individual. Every individual has their own culture rooted from the community they lived in and the family they grew up making up the personal identity people have in the general society Personal views, aspects of reasoning and judgment and the general logical thinking of an individual are affected significantly by the culture he or she has. In this aspect, the entire well-being of a person depends greatly on his or her culture. Becoming aware of how your actions and cultural beliefs affect the patients that you deal with is important. Thus, a person must regularly assess himself because an action or a mere word done or spoken by a nurse can be misunderstood by these patients coming from different cultures Being an American born and lived all my life in New Bedford, Massachusetts, culture has really affected me as a person. My mother and grandparents were born in Portugal and this gave me a variety of culture since we all know that New Bedford is a melting pot of cultures. Portugal possesses rich cultural inheritance from European, African, and North American cultures. Aside from that, mainly Portuguese and Hispanic people populate the community where I live in. These further made me grow as an individual that is rich in cultural inheritance. I am a person who has a Portuguese lineage, since my grandparents were natives of Portugal and a person who grew up in a community wherein Portuguese people mainly inhabits the land. Having an ethnic identity as a Portuguese American who acquiring the Portuguese cultures and practices surrounding me molded me as to who I am now. This ethnic affiliation will always be a part of me, my friends, and my family. Each cultural belief that I introjected within has already affected how my mentality works, and how my feelings reacts. Family and friends have always served as my fortress in time of trials and difficulty. They remain as my comfort zone whenever I feel so down. They are the main support people in my life from which I extract my energy from. Adopting this belief from my parents and from the community I live in is one of the proofs that the culture of the people around me had affected me well. Living with people who provide high regards to friends and families will make you have the similar perspective too. My culture does not affect much my preferences with medical treatments. In line with this, being an independent person, the decisions for my health mainly comes from me since I am the owner of this body. My family and friends will surely voice out their concerns, but it does not mean that I have to follow them, I might consider it but what would really matter will be my decision for my own health. As of what I have observed in my family, especially among my grandparents, the family is mainly a patriarch form of family. Decisions mainly depend on my grandfather since he is the father and the man in the family. Especially among Portuguese, it was noted that people in Portugal gives higher regards to male than to female. They still have this belief that a woman shall always be better than woman. However, in my case, growing as an American with a Portuguese lineage, things were far more different. I grew up having giving importance to democracy and equality. Voices of the female are now more heard, and I think male and female are both equal. This is because I think they have equal abilities, as well as, equal rights. Living in a community filled with Portuguese people made me learn English and Portuguese. Aside from that, my grandparents required me to learn those languages too, especially Portuguese which is their main language in their main land. However, the primary language that I utilize in everyday conversation is English and the secondary language that I know is Portuguese. However, most of the time, I am comfortable with non-verbal forms of communication, especially doing hand gestures. I am more expressive with this form of communication because I think it can bring many messages to the people that I interact with. With a mere wave of a hand, it can show joy, respect, accommodation, or even comfort to those people you interact with. Being a Roman Catholic is very importance to my daily life because this gives me support, comfort, and security whenever difficult situations occur. This belief helps me to cope with the trials I face by knowing that there is a supreme being up there that is in control of everything. That the God whom I know as my Father, my King, and my Savior loves me so much and will never forsake me whatever happens. Daily life gives us opportunities to grow with our spiritual relationship with God by walking each day with him, and applying his will and commandments in everything that we do. Foods are one of the things that I truly enjoy. I do not have any prohibitions whenever it comes to food. I know how to eat a variety of foods. I do not have any food allergies that might prohibit me from eating other foods. As long as it is clean and digestible, I can definitely give it a shot. Currently, I am in a relationship with my boyfriend of eight years who is interracial himself. My work provides me career growth and financial security that I definitely need to support myself. I have no issues with the job that I have right now, since it suffices the finances that I have. Nevertheless, of course, like anyone else, an opportunity for greener pastures will be much appreciated and entertained when it comes. Being a nurse, I am aware of all the possible medical treatments that can be done to each person experiencing illness. Even though I know how much these practices could help me survive various predicaments in health, I still prefer not to undergo through some of it in case I will encounter them in my life one day. I do not have problems taking medications and intravenous lines; however, I really do not want to be intubated at end of life decisions. I know how awful it seems, and how difficult is it having a tube being attached to me. I also do not want to live on life support because I think that such modalities only prolongs the agony that you feel. It has been my personal belief ever since that when the time comes that God wants to take the life He has given me, nothing can prevent that. As a Catholic, I believe that birth is a gift of life from God. Thus, I definitely go against with abortion, which kills an innocent child’s life. With regards to death, I believe that after death, the soul goes to purgatory, and God will judge you whether you will go to heaven or to hell. However, with regards to miracles and afterlife, I do not think that these are rational. As a person, I give high regard to a person’s hope. I believe that hope is essential for a person to live the life we have, and to fight the everyday battles that we face. Without hope in our lives, we lose the chance of living and enjoying the life we received from God. Instead, we become a living corpse, a person who is literally living physically yet the inside of the heart is as cold as a corpse, because he has no hope and no joy for anything. Cultural Assessment and Analysis Paper on African American Population The population that interested me to do additional research is African American population. The total population including all races and ethnicities in the United States is 308 million. After researching on the U. S. Census Bureau, I found 39 million African Americans live in the United States. One of the most glaring disparities is apparent in the African. American community, where 48% of adults suffer from a chronic disease compared to 39% of the general population (Health Reform, 2009). The CDC states that in 2004, African Americans had the highest age-adjusted all-causes death rate of all races/ethnicities (CDC, 2008). African Americans have become susceptible to many diseases and health problems throughout the last number of years. The male and female citizens of the African American population have been struggling with high rates of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer rates, stroke, diabetes, asthma and HIV/AIDS just to name a few. African Americans have numerous health risks as well such as; higher incidence of homicide, lower physical activity levels, obesity, cigarette smoking, alcohol abuse, incarceration, unintended pregnancy, and untreated dental carries (Hood, 2010). Despite remarkable improvements in the overall health of our nation during the past couple of decades, compelling evidence suggests that our nation’s racial and ethical minority African Americans suffer increasing disparities in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases and adverse health outcomes compared with white Americans (Copeland, 2005). The predominant barriers to accessible health care services for African Americans include inability to pay for services, lack of transportation and childcare, decrease understanding of treatment plans and inability to incorporate prescribed health plans into daily living patterns (Russell & Jewell, 1992). Furthermore, the African American population’s cultural beliefs and health practices have a significant impact upon their well-being regardless of their educational levels and income. Therefore, these health beliefs and practices affect utilization of contemporary health-care service delivery systems even when other barriers have been eliminated. Differences in health beliefs and practices can be observed among African Americans in varying age groups, socioeconomic levels, and geographic locales. The commonalities include religious orientation, social support networks, and inform health care systems (Russell & Jewell, 1992). Religion is a focal point within the lives of African Americans. Many African Americans characterize health as a continuum evolving around mind, body, and spirit. African Americans also have large support systems including nuclear and extended families. They would rather rely on someone who may not be related by blood or marriage than to receive help from community agencies. Informal health care systems within the African Americans community often are consulted. A study showed that African Americans used an informal social network rather than receiving professional health care. Instead of consulting appropriate personnel, they are consulting family members and friends in regards to their personal health problems. This could be a factor in why the health disparities in this particular population are greater than any other race or ethnicity. The Ginger and Davidhizar’s Transcultural Assessment Model focuses on cultural elements. The model includes six cultural phenomena: communication, time, space, social organization, environmental control, and biological variations. These provide a framework for patient assessment and from which culturally sensitive care can be designed. In the following paragraphs, I will begin to talk about each key element and how it corresponds to the African American population. Communication is meaningful because of the culture that frames it, and culture must be expressed to exist. Communication is seen as a problematic part of cultural affiliation and not as caused or predicted by affiliation. Miscommunication is a frequent problem in hospitals. The most obvious is when the patient and hospital staff does not speak the same language. Although the dominant language spoken among African Americans is English, there is a way of speaking among some African Americans that sociolinguists refer to as African American English (AAE) (Campinha-Bacote, 2009). These terms include Black English, Ebonics, Black Vernacular English (BEV), and African American Vernacular English (AAVE) (Campinha-Bacote, 2009). They also prefer the use of nonverbal communication. Therefore, as nurses we should be able to provide care to African Americans without there being a language barrier present. In addition, a head nod does not necessarily mean agreement and when asked personal questions on initial contact with a person it may be viewed in their eyes as intrusive. Space refers to the distance between individuals when they interact. All communication occurs in the context of space. There are four distinct zones of interpersonal space: intimate, personal, social and consultative, and public. Research on use of space among African Americans is mixed. Some studies indicate that, in race-matched pairs, black children will stand closer to each other during conversation than white children do. Other research has shown that African American adults employ a greater public distance from each other than compared when interacting with family and friends. They also prefer close personal space and touching another’s hair is considered improper. African Americans tend to be late for appointments because relationships and events may be deemed more important than being on time. Social organization refers to the manner in which a cultural group organizes itself around the family group. Family structure and organization, religious values and beliefs, and role assignments may all relate to ethnicity and culture. African American’s have many female single-parent families. They are also known for large extended families, in which elders are respected. There preferred religion is Protestant (Baptist), majority of African Americans have a strong church and social affiliations. In 2005, the National Institutes of Health urged African Americans to use family reunions as venues for discussions about diabetes and kidney disease—diseases that disproportionately affect this group (McCoy, 2011). Time is an important aspect of interpersonal communication. Time orientation varies according to age, socioeconomics, and subgroups and may include past, present, or future orientation. Preventive health care requires some future time orientation because preventive actions are motivated by a future reward. African Americans time orientation is present over future. Environmental control refers to the ability of the person to control nature and to plan and direct factors in the environment that affect them. African Americans have traditional health and illness beliefs. They also are known to use folk medicine; the folk healers are root workers. Some African Americans, particularly of Haitian background, may believe in sympathetic magic. Sympathetic magic assumes everything is interconnected and includes the practice of imitative and contagious magic. Contagious magic entails the belief that once an entity is physically connected to another, it can never be separated. This type of belief is seen in the practice of voodoo, when an individual will take a piece of the victim’s hair or fingernail and place a hex, which they believe will cause the person to become ill (Campinha-Bacote, 2009). To African Americans God is thought to be the spiritual healer. Biological differences, especially genetic variations, exist between individuals in different racial groups. Although there is as much diversity within cultural and racial groups as there is across and among cultural and racial groups, knowledge of general baseline data relative to the specific cultural group is an excellent starting point to provide culturally appropriate care. Nutritional preferences for African Americans include fried foods, and among pregnant women pica ingestion. African Americans are susceptible to many health conditions such as; keloid formation, lactose intolerance, sickle cell anemia, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, thalassemia, sarcoidosis, hypertension, coccidioidomycosis, esophagus and stomach cancers. African Americans are at greater risk for many diseases, especially those associated with low income, stressful life conditions, lack of access to primary health care, and negating health behaviors (Campinha-Bacote, 2009). The greatest risk factor for cardiovascular disease and heart attacks amongst African Americans is hypertension. Compared with hypertension in other ethnic groups, hypertension among African Americans is more severe, more resistant to treatment, and begins at a younger age, and the consequence is significantly worse, including organ damage (Brewster, Van Montfrans, & Kleijnen, 2004). African Americans also have an overall higher cancer incidence and mortality rate than any other race African Americans suffer from certain genetic conditions. Sickle cell disease is the most common genetic disorder among the African-American population, affecting one in every 500 African Americans. In addition to sickle cell disease, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, which interferes with glucose metabolism, is another genetic disease found among African Americans (Caminha-Bacote, 2009). African Americans also metabolized certain drugs differently such as immunosuppressants, antihypertensive, cardiovascular, antiretroviral, psychotropic drugs. After reading through several articles and journals regarding African Americans there are many areas that I would advocate for change but if I had to choose just one, I would pick HIV/AIDS. Many African-Americans are at high risk for HIV infection, not because of their race or ethnicity, but because of the behaviors, they may engage in. As with other ethnic/racial groups, HIV risk depends not on who you are, but on whether you engage in risk-taking behaviors with an HIV positive partner, and whether you have access to care, education and prevention services. The greater number of people living with HIV in African American communities and the fact that African Americans tend to have sex with partners of the same race/ethnicity means that they face greater risk of HIV infection with each new sexual encounter (CDC, 2011). Lack of awareness of HIV status can affect HIV rates in communities. Late diagnosis of HIV infection is common, which creates missed opportunities to obtain early medical care and prevention of transmission to others (CDC, 2011). This disease/illness can be prevented if maximizing the effectiveness of current HIV prevention methods. Implementing programs that teach individuals how to get tested for HIV and prevent the spread of the infection to others. The CDC has set up numerous activities within the communities to address prevention and spread of HIV. For example, The Act against AIDS campaign encourages African American women to get tested for HIV. In 2010, the CDC also began an Expanded Testing Initiative (ETI) for individuals to be tested for HIV. Even though there are multiple resources available to the African American population, I believe stigma, fear, and discrimination are a risk factor in which why they are afraid to be tested. Working in a hospital facility for almost over a year already, I have only been across two individuals who were tested for HIV/AIDS. After learning so much about African Americans and their numerous health disparities this particular infection, can be prevented. It amazes me that in 2009, black men accounted for 70% of the estimated new HIV infections among all blacks. By the end of 2008, an estimated 240,627 blacks with an AIDS diagnosis had died in the U. S. (CDC, 2011). After researching African Americans this particular race/ethnicity bares the most health disparities of all. A major aspect is the quality of the relationship with a health care provider, which is linked to patient satisfaction, adherence, and health outcomes. If African Americans feel that their provider has been, disrespectful they may not return for treatment, may try another provider, or may change their health care plans. This may be an enormous reason why the health disparities are the way they are in African Americans. Success in eliminating disparities in health care access and utilization requires all professionals to critically examine their own biases and to adopt the values and behaviors needed for social change. References Brewster, L. , Van Montfrans, G. , & Kleijnen, J. (2004). Systematic review: Antihypertensive drug therapy in Black patients. Annals of Internal Medicine, 14(18), 614-627. Campinha-Bacote, J. (2009). Culture and Diversity Issues: A Culturally Competent Model of Care for African Americans. Urologic Nursing, 29(1), 49-54. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008). Highlights in Minority Health & Health Disparities. Retrieved from http://www. cdc. gov/omhd/Highlights/2008/HFeb08. htm Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). HIV among African Americans. Retrieved from http://www. cdc. gov/hiv/topics/aa/PDF/aa. pdf Copeland, V. C. (2005). African Americans: Disparities in Health Care Access and Utilization. National Association of Social Workers, 30(3), 265-270. Health Reform. (2009). Health Disparities: A Case for Closing the Gap. Retrieved from http://www. healthreform. gov/reports/healthdisparities/ Hood, L. , Leddy, S. (2010) Conceptual Bases of Professional Nursing (7ed. ) Philadelphia: Lippincott William & Wilkins. McCoy, R. (2011). African American Elders, Cultural Traditions, and the Family Reunion. Generations-Journal of the American Society on Aging, 35(3), 16-21. Russel, K. , Jewell, N. (1992). Cultural Impact of Health-Care Access: Challenges for Improving the Health of African Americans. Journal of Community Health Nursing, 9(3), 161-169. U. S. Census Bureau. (2010). County Business Patterns and Demographics. Retrieved from http://www. census. gov/cbdmap/.

Controversy Behind Qatar 2022 Bid

Qatar 2022 On 2 December 2010 it was announced that Qatar would host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, after the FIFA Executive Committee voted in a secret ballot in Zurich. The government of Qatar’s successful proposal bid defeated four other candidates to stage the 2022 edition of the world’s greatest sporting event: Australia, Korea Republic, Japan and the United States of America. Qatar, with a population of 1. 69 million people will be the first Arab state to host the World Cup. Consequently, Qatar is the smallest nation, both by relative population and by area, ever to have been awarded the tournament hosting privilege. The Qatar bid was emphasized as the only one representing the Arab World (which has never hosted a World Cup prior) and positioned their bid as an opportunity to bridge the gap between the Arab World and the West. Their hosting of the 2006 Asian Games as well as the 2011 Asian Cup proved to legitimize their capabilities of hosting the tournament. Further, its superior financial capabilities were evident in their proposals for new stadia and infrastructure. While the decision on 2 December 2010 brought delight to Qatar, it inversely brought concern and controversy in the West. A number of rival candidates, western groups and media outlets have expressed concern over the suitability of Qatar to host the event, with regard to climatic conditions, interpretations of human rights, press freedom and allegations of corruption. Climate: Winter World Cup? The World Cup is traditionally held in the northern hemisphere’s summer. During this season in Qatar, the temperature can get to 50  °C  (122  Ã‚ °F). The Qatar bid’s chief executive, Hassan al-Thawadi has attempted to quell fears of an unbearable environment by stating â€Å"heat is not and will not be an issue† and that the 2022 World Cup would benefit from â€Å"state-of-the-art air cooling technologies. † The Qatar 2022 Bid’s official site explains this: â€Å"Each of the five stadiums will harness the power of the sun’s rays to provide a cool environment for players and fans by converting solar energy into electricity that will then be used to cool both fans and players at the stadiums. When games are not taking place, the solar installations at the stadia will export energy onto the power grid. During matches, the stadia will draw energy from the grid. This is the basis for the stadiums’ carbon-neutrality. Along with the stadiums, we plan to make the cooling technologies we’ve developed available to other countries in hot climates, so that they too can host major sporting events. † This method of cooling techniques is theoretically able to reduce temperatures from 50 to 27 degrees Celsius. The bidding committee also proposes to use such cooling technologies in fan-zones, training pitches and walkways between metro stations and stadiums. However, the architect in charge of one of the venues has abandoned their project claiming that a more old-fashioned solution would be cheaper and better. Leading firm Populous, which is designing the Sports City stadium in Doha, is trying to persuade Qatari organizers to scrap plans to have air conditioning at the venue. Populous director John Barrow said the system is too expensive and â€Å"notoriously unsustainable† for the environment when used on a large scale. Given the debate on the subject, a proposal of hosting a â€Å"Winter World Cup† has arisen. Backed by the likes of Blatter and Platini, the proposal suggests for the tournament to be held in January of 2022, rather than the summer. Blatter has told reporters â€Å"Personally, now that the decision has been taken [to have the tournament in Qatar], we must play at the most adequate period to have a successful World Cup and to have a successful World Cup we have to do it when it is best for the actors which means winter. † However, Mr. Blatter has failed to provide a solution on the effect it would have on European domestic leagues which operate in this period. There is nothing in FIFA’s rules to prevent a host changing the time of year when a World Cup is played. It is only tradition that dictates this. And the FIFA executive committee has the authority to change any aspect of the World Cup after the decision is made. Worker’s Conditions Given its lack of sporting infrastructure, the Gulf state must build nine football stadiums in the next ten years- and they’ll be using primarily migrant labor (over 90% of Qatar’s workforce is made up of foreign migrant workers). Trade union activists are now lobbying FIFA to highlight what they say are poor working conditions in Qatar. International trade unionists say FIFA has the power to impose decent working standards on Qatar and will campaign for the tournament to be moved unless FIFA presses for better conditions. If Qatar is unable to support the tournament on its own, Secretary-General Jerome Valcke has suggested the tournament be shared with neighboring states, such as Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Alcohol and Homosexuality Qatar is not a dry country. Alcohol can currently be consumed legally in a few clubs, bars, certain hotel restaurants, and the Pearl Island by showing your passport for reporting. Hassan Abdulla al Thawadi, chief executive of the Qatar 2022 World Cup bid, said the Muslim state would also permit alcohol consumption during the event. Specific fan-zones will be established where alcohol can be bought. Though legal with a permit, drinking in public is not permitted as Qatar's legal system is based on  Sharia  law. The selection of Qatar as hosts attracted controversy, as  homosexuality  is illegal in Qatar. FIFA President  Sepp Blatter  stated that â€Å"we (FIFA) don't want any discrimination. What we want to do is open this game to everybody, and to open it to all cultures, and this is what we are doing in 2022. Corruption: Bribery Scandal Six members of Fifa’s executive committee — a quarter of the membership – were accused by Lord Treisman (Chairman of England’s bid) of â€Å"improper and unethical behaviour† with two members, Issa Hayatou, of Cameroon, and Jacques Anouma, of Ivory Coast, alleged to received $1. 5 million each in bribes from the Qatar 2022 bid in exchange for their votes. The bribery allegations against Qatar were made in evidence from  The Sunday Times  and published by the committee. As a result, in November 2010, two ExCo members,  Reynald Temarii  and  Amos Adamu, were banned for one and three years respectively. Temarii was also fined 5,000 Swiss Francs, while Adamu was fined 10,000 Swiss Francs. More corruption allegations emerged in the summer of 2011. In May, ExCo member Chuck Blazer claimed fellow members Mohammed Bin Hammam and Jack Warner offered bribes for votes in the upcoming presidential election. As a result of this scandal, Bin Hammam stood down from the June 2011 presidential election and FIFA later suspended both he and Jack Warner. Sepp Blatter stood unopposed and won the election with 186 out of 203 votes. Bin Hammam’s suspension had been met with widespread anger in the Middle East- He was subsequently banned for life in July. Warner responded to his suspension by exposing an email by Valcke in which the Secretary-General suggested Qatar had â€Å"bought† the right to host 2022 tournament. Valcke defended his statement, insisting he was referring to Qatar using financial muscle to lobby legitimately for votes. â€Å"They were a candidate with a very important budget and used it to heavily promote their bid all around the world in a very efficient manner,† he said. â€Å"I have made no reference to any purchase of votes or similar unethical behaviour. Qatar 2022's bid team said they â€Å"categorically deny† any wrongdoing, and asked for clarification from FIFA on the meaning of the Valcke e-mail. Nevertheless, the scandal has raised concerns over $10 billion of investment and development contracts related to stadiums and hotels for the World Cup in Qatar. Possibility of a Re-Vote Given the developments in corruption and bribery scandals, as well as questions concerning the Qatar’s capabilities of hosting the tournament effectively, there is a ground swell of popular support to re-hold the 2022 vote won by Qatar. Blatter has said that a FIFA inquiry into persistent and increasingly detailed claims of corruption could lead to the Executive Committee (ExCo) making the unprecedented move of rerunning the vote. Blatter also conceded that support for re-running the vote was â€Å"circulating around the world†. Such a move would be a monumental embarrassment to FIFA but that has to now be balanced with the equivalent embarrassment of more allegations leaking out.

How to Develop High School Science Fair Projects 3 Key Tips

How to Develop High School Science Fair Projects 3 Key Tips SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Interested in science? Science fair is a great way to pursue your interest in science. It can help you figure out if you’re interested in a career in research. It’s also a good activity for your college application, especially if you win awards. I should know! I placed 3rd in my state science fair and won an award from NASA #sciencenerd #brushingdirtoffmyshoulders. What exactly is science fair? How do you compete and win? In this guide, I’ll explain exactly what you need to do to develop winning high school science fair projects and why you should consider participating in this challenging but fun extracurricular. What Is Science Fair? Science Fair is a competition at which students (in grades 6-12) present the results of a scientific experiment thatthey conducted. The experiment must fall into one of the following categories (this may vary slightly depending onthe state you live in): Animal Biology Animal Physiology Behavioral / Social Science Biochemistry / Molecular Biology Chemistry Earth/Space Sciences Ecology Engineering Applications Engineering Research Environmental Management Mathematics Computer Science Microbiology Pharmacology Physics Plant Biology Plant Physiology There are two levels of science fair competition, middle school (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12). I’m going to focus on high school science fair competitions, but much of my advice holds true for middle school science fair competitions as well. Some high schools conduct an in-school science fairthenadvance their winners to the county or regional science fair.This varies by state. Some states have regional science fairs (where several counties are grouped into one competition) while other states have individual county science fairs. Some such as California have a mix of regional and county science fairs. The winners of the county or regional science fair then advance on to the state science fair. Each state hosts their own science fair and selects winners. Who Can Compete in High School Science Fair? Any high school student with a project idea that fits into one of the above categories can compete in science fairs!However, each high school is only allowed a specific number of entries into the regional or county science fair.This may vary slightly from region to region.The maximum number of entries per school into the RegionalScience Fair is usually around 13. Most high schools host a school-wide science fair to decide who they’ll send to the RegionalScience Fair.Small schools may just send all interested students (without hosting a school-wide science fair) if they have less than 13 projects to send. How Do You Sign Up for Science Fair? Talk to your guidance counselor about how to sign up to compete in science fair.Usually, one of the science teachers at your high school will be in charge of science fair for your school. Ask your guidance counselor who that person is, then check with that person to learn what you need to do to sign up.You’ll likely need to have a good idea of what your project will be when yousign up! You should sign up as soon as you can.If you’re a Freshman, sign up as soon as you start school.If you’re a Sophomore, Junior, or Senior, you also should sign up at the start of the school year, or sign up at the end of the previous school year to compete the following year. Deadlines will vary from school to school andregionto region.The important thing is to sign up as soon as you decide you want to compete in the science fair; depending on your project idea, you might need special approval before you can sign up or start your experiment. How to Develop High School Science Fair Projects When brainstorming science fair project ideas, I recommend starting with the science fair competition categories (see above).Are any of the areas of particular interest to you?Is there a burning question you had in one of your science classes that you’d like to try and answer? Was there a recent scientific discovery that you found interesting? What was interesting about it? Is there something else you’d like to test that’s related to that discovery? Is there a problem you have, or you see in the world? Do you have an idea of how to fix it?For example, I’d always been interested in how oil spills were cleaned up. I knew bacteria and fungi were sometimes used to clean up oil spills, and I wanted to know which was faster at cleaning up oil spills.That ultimately was the topic of my science fair project. If all of this is drawing a blank, I recommend reading some articles on Science Daily to see if you find anything interesting.Why is it interesting? Do you want to know something more? Once you have your basic project concept, read each of the three considerations below to make sure it's a top-notch idea. Consideration #1: Is it a Good Science Fair Project Idea? What makes a good science fair project idea? I'm defining "good" in this context as a project that will grab the attention of judges and give you a better chance of winning awards. A good science fair project idea will meet the following qualifications: Be unique. Try to come up with an original concept. How do you test the originality of your concept? Do a Google search for your potential idea. If you come up with 5 or more exact matches for your idea, consider picking a different one. If you come up with less than 5 matches,you might have a good project idea! Beapplicable in some way. Try to come up with aproject that will be useful to the world. For example, the results of my project (whether bacteria or fungi cleaned up oil faster) would help in the event of future oil spills. Someone could use the results of my experiment and clean up an oil spill more efficiently. Projects don't need to change the world, but it is helpful if the results of the experiment mean something. As another example, let's look at anaward-winning project from 2015.For this project, the student took chicken breasts and sutured them together in 3 different ways. The student then ran a test to see which of the 3 sutures held together longest under heavy weight. The results of this experiment apply tothe field of medicine. A surgeonmay choose to use the suture technique that held together the longest in lieu of the other suture techniques. What's an example of a non-applicable project? In my middle school science class, we conducted an experiment to see if ketchup or mustard would run down an incline faster. This experiment really had no application to the real world. Consideration #2: Is the Project Idea Feasible? After doing this preliminary round of brainstorming, start to think about feasibility.Can you realistically conduct this experiment with the resources you have at yourdisposal and in the given time frame (likely a month or two - depending on how early you start)? Next, create a basic schedule so you stay on track.I recommend that you conduct yourexperiment and finish it at least 2 weeks before the science fair.You need time to organize the data, write up the results, get the board made, etc. (I’ll discuss this more in-depth below.) For resources, do you have access to a lab through your high school? If you don’t, consider reaching out to local community college professors or to local scientists to see if someone would be willing to be your mentor for your science fair project and let you use their facilities.The mentor would be there to oversee your use of their facilities. It’s doubtful a lab would let you use their facilities without a supervisor. For example, for my project, I needed an incubator thatneither my school nor I had. Luckily, my uncle worked at the local community college and was able to get me access to a mentor and the incubator at the lab. Also, make sure that whatever project you choose you can complete withinyour given time frame.For example, don’t plan to measure how bird population size changes over 5 years after the introduction of a predator species.This is a terrible idea for 2 reasons.One, you don’t have 5 years to conduct an experiment to present at the science fair.Two, you definitely wouldn’t be allowed to introduce a predator into the wild. Some project ideas will require a much larger time commitment that others. Take this into consideration when picking your project.How much time do you have in your schedule to dedicate to science fair? Some projects might only take a single day or weekend.For example, if your experiment wasdetermining which acidic fruit could conduct the most electricity, you could do it in a day. All you would need to do is buy the fruit and buy an electrical conductivity meter. Stick the meter in the fruit and write down the results. Others require you to do something every day for several weeks or months.For example, if your experiment was determining whether fungi or bacteria is better at cleaning up an oil spill, you’ll need a lot more time and advanced planning. You’ll need to monitor your Petri dishes on a daily basis for several weeks to track the progress. Consideration #3: Does Your Project Follow Science Fair Rules? My next point is aboutfeasibility. What experiments are you allowed to do for science fair?Most states have rules regarding the types of science fair experiments students can conduct. Beyond having to fit your experiment into one of their categories (as I mentioned above), you have to obey certain rules about the use of animals, humans, animal tissue, human tissue, hazardous materials, and/or microbes in your experiment.The use of these things isnot prohibited (I used microbes in my experiment). However, you need to get approval in certain cases. These rules will vary by state, so find your state’s and county’s science fair rules by searching Google for â€Å"[State Name] Science Fair Rules† or â€Å"[County Name] County Science Fair Rules.† If one of the potential experiment ideas that you brainstormed passes each of the considerations mentioned (i.e. you have the resources to complete the experiment in the time allowed without breaking any rules), then you should next try to nail down more specificcomponents of the experiment. How to Go From an Idea to Reality Once you've come up with a good science fair project idea that's feasible and doesn't break any rules, how do you take it from an idea to reality? Start by trying to phrase the idea as a question.All experiments should answer a question. What is the question you're trying to answer? For my experiment (on bacteria and fungi cleaning up oil spills), my question was "do bacteria or fungi clean up oil spills faster?" Once you have your question, try to figure out what your independent variable, dependent variable, and controlshould be for your experiment. The independent variable is what you change in the experiment, and the dependent variable is what changes as a result of the change you made. For my experiment, the independent variable is whether bacteria or fungi is used. The dependent variable is how much oil was cleaned up.The control is what you use as the standard of comparison for your other samples. It ensures the reliability of your test by showing nothing else was affecting the results. For example, in my experiment, the control was simply oil in a Petri dish with nothing else. If oil had dissipated from that control Petri dish, I would know there was something else affecting the cleanup of oil. After figuring out your variables, try to figure out how you will measure the results.This can often be the trickiest part of planning your experiment. For my experiment, I checked the Petri dishes once per week for 2 months. At each visit, I put the Petri dishes on a grid and countedthe number of grids that didn't have oil in them. This was not a perfect measurement, but I didn't have any better tools at my disposal. If you're having trouble coming up with the question, variables, or measurement for your project idea, consider talking to your science teacher(s). Theywill likely have advice on what question, variables, and measurements to use. These teachers have seen many years worth of science fair projects and will know if your project is feasible and can give you advice on how to best execute the project. You can alsoresearch similar projects online with a simple Google search. See how those experiments were conducted and if you could do something similar. Once you come up with your idea, you need to get it approved by your science fair coordinator before starting the experiment.Your science fair coordinator is likely one of the science teachers at your school. Ask your science teacher or your counselor who the science fair coordinator is.The coordinatorwill know if you need to submit paperwork before starting your project or if you can get started without further paperwork. How to Present Your Science Fair Project At the science fair, you'll be expected to have a board that presents the results of your experiment and a packet that is basically a printed version of your board. On the day of the science fair, you'll spend most of the time standing next to your board waiting for a judge to approach you. The judges are typically volunteers with a science background (former science teachers or scientists). You will present your entire experiment to the judges, and then they will typically ask you a few questions about your experiment (I'll discuss this more in-depth below). You'll likely go through this process more than once. At some science fairs, you present to each judge individually (most fairs have at least 3 judges per category). Also, some science fairs have additional judges from companies that give out supplemental awards. For example, at my state science fair, NASA sent their own judge that, separate from the state judges, heard presentations and asked questions. You might also be asked about your experiment by parents and fellow science fair competitors. What Should You Include on Your Science Fair Board? I've includedanexample of a science fairboard below to demonstrate how your board should look. The actual topic of this board is a little too juvenile for a high school science fair (it was probably presented at a middle school science fair), but the visual presentation of the board is the same as you'd expect atthe high school level. Flickr/Oddharmonic Before we dive into the content of the board, you should make sure the board is visually appealing. Make sure it isn't too cluttered. Make sure to include some pictures or graphics (I'll discuss this more below). Your board's appearance will be the first impression people have of your experiment, so make sure it's a good first impression. At the top of your board, you should have the title of the experiment. It can be something clever like the one in the picture (the experiment was trying to find out if shampoo helped carnations hold color dye better) or it can be more basic (i.e. Does Shampoo Help Carnations Hold Dye?). The front page of your presentation packet should be a cover page with your experiment name and your name. In the following section, Ilistwhat you should include inboth your board and in your packet. Examples (using the carnation experiment) are highlighted in blue: Problem (or Experimental Question):What was the question you were trying to answer with your experiment? Does shampoo help carnations hold color dye better than acetone? Hypothesis: What did you think the answer to that question is? I think shampoo will help carnations hold color dye better than acetone. Materials:What did you use to conduct your experiment? 24 carnations, Dove brand shampoo, red color dye, acetone, a measuring cup, etc. Variable:What was the independent variable, dependent variable, control? As I said before, the independent variable is what you change. The dependent variable is what changes because of it. The independent variable iswhether acetone or shampoo was used. The dependent variable is the color of the carnations. Procedure:What steps did you follow to conduct the experiment (be as detailed as possible). 1. Place 2 carnations into a vase with 2 ml of shampoo, 2 ml of red dye, and 2 ml of water. 2. Place another 2 carnations into a separate vase with 2 ml of acetone, 2 ml of red dye, and 2 ml of water. Data/Graphs:What data did you collect? Can you present it as a table or graph? (If you can, you should.) After two days, the carnations in the shampoo mixture were pink, and the carnations in the acetone mixture were red. Conclusion:What were the results of the experiment? I found that the carnations absorbed the dye better with acetone than with shampoo. The carnations in the acetone mixture turned a deep red while the carnations in the shampoo mixture only became a light pink. As I said above, when presenting your experiment, you’ll be asked questions about your experiment. How can you best prepare for these questions? Most importantly, know your project details inside and out. Know how your project results applyto the real world.For example, if your experiment is which fruit has the most conductivity, you could discuss how viable an option fruit is as a source of alternative energy (even if it’s not).Even if your experiment would not be realistic in the real world, it is great to show that your knowledge of science goes beyond your project. Brainstorm what questions you might be asked. Some examples include:How did you come up with the idea for your experiment?What did you use as your control? What do your results tell you? Then, try to answer all of the questions you’ve brainstormed.Write your answers down.Perfect them.This way you’ll be prepared to eloquently answer the questions you’re asked. What Are the Benefits of Participatingin Science Fair? Competing in science fair has many benefits. Through science fair, you'll get to meet like-minded students who are interested in science. If you get to go on to county/regional/state competitions, you'll make science-interested friends from other schools as well! Science fair is a great opportunityto test out whether you’d like to pursue a career in scientific research. It's great to try and find your passion in high school so you don't waste time and money during college trying to figure out what you want to major in.By doing science fair, hopefully, you'll find out if science isa subject you want to continue studying or not. If you compete in science fair, you can potentially be recognized for your scientific ability by receivingawards from your school, county, region, state, or other science fair sponsors (such as NASA). If you win an award, it looks great onyour college application. Colleges love to see students who were recognized for their talents!Additionally, science fair is a free experience that won’t cost you anything other than time and maybe a little money for supplies for your experiment.I highly recommend competing in science fair if you’re interested! There are a couple of cons to competing in science fair. Science fair can be extremely time-consuming. Ifyou're worried about not having enough time, I recommend doing a more manageable project (an experiment that can be completed in a shorter time frame). Sciencefair projects do not need to take a lot of time. Just because an experiment doesn't require a lot of time doesn't make it any less sophisticated than other more time-consuming projects. Also, some studentsfind science fair boringif they don't care that much about science. I still think it's valuable to try science fair once if you have any interest in science. If you find science fair boring then, at least, you figured out science is probably not your desired career path, and you can move on to exploring your other interests. What’s Next? Interested in learning more about other extracurricular activities? Learn about Model UN and how to join your high school newspaper. Looking for something to do this summer? Check out the Emory Pre-College Program and the Boston University Summer Challenge! Looking to get started on SAT/ACT preparation? Check out our ultimate SAT/ACT study guideschedule and plan! Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Essential Stats for Aspiring Executive Assistants!

Essential Stats for Aspiring Executive Assistants! The folks at CareerStep have pulled together some highlights from the Bureau of Labor Statisticss most recent report on executive assistants: where theyre most likely to be employed, where their wages are most competitive, and what those competitive rates are likely to be.Where to LookIf youre just entering the industry and want to make sure youre targeting the most promising opportunities, consider looking at colleges, universities, and professional schools (the highest employing industry!) in top paying states: New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Other industries in the top 5 included local and state governments, corporate employers, and elementary and secondary schools.Highest Earning IndustriesIf your eye is on the hourly wage prize, though, consider pursuing opportunities at alcohol vendors (where the mean hourly wage $35.02!), telecommunications industries ($34.14), securities and commodity exchanges aka Wall Street ($33.16), banking and f inancial analysis companies ($32.89), and clothing and wholesale vendors ($32.22).These average rates should also help you detect underpaid (and potentially exploitative) job postings and empower you to negotiate for more competitive rates, especially if you work in one of the more competitive states like California, New York, Texas, Florida, or Illinois.Check out more statistics in the full report on the BLS.gov website or explore wage comparison profiles at Glassdoor.com to figure out what you should be making as an executive assistant!Executive Assistant Job Outlook and Stats!Read More at www.careerstep.com

A Violation of Title IX Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 61

A Violation of Title IX Law - Essay Example The first compliance test of Title IX is that enrolment of women should be proportional to sports participation for example if enrolment is at 49%, sports participation ought to be 49%. In the first test, we will fail because the women enrolment rate is 52% with sports participation rate at 42% depicting a huge difference (10%) in participation. The courts have previously decided on cases using this test in Cohen v. Brown University (13%) and Roberts vs. Colorado State University (10.6%), since the case is substantially similar the decision of the court will stand and we will fail the first test. Â  The second test requires that the school depict recent expansion of women sports offering through offering a new sport in the past 3 to 5 years. A new sport has not been offered for over 10 years and following a substantially similar case decided by the court in Favia v. the Indian University of Pennsylvania; we will fail the second test based on the history of expansion. Â  The third test requires that there is full and effective accommodation of interest of women through documenting emerging interests of women in sports regularly through surveys. Since there is no documentation of recent interests of women in surveys and instead the growing interest in swimming by women is intended for demotion or cutting we will fail this test on full accommodation of interest as exemplified by court decisions in Cohen v. Brown University and Favia v. the Indian University of Pennsylvania. Â  Component 3 of Title IX requires the equivalence of benefits and opportunities including access to rights by women teams, competent officials, quality equipment and facility, among other factors.

The effects of work related stress and working in a call centre, Dissertation

The effects of work related stress and working in a call centre, stressfull or not - Dissertation Example According to the HSE, a total a total of 12.8 million working days were lost to stress in 2004-2005, while the CIPD annual absence management survey for both 2005 and 2006 revealed that stress was one of the primary reasons for long term absence for non manual employee (CIPD, 2010). The term â€Å"stress† has now crept into common parlance and is widely used both in personal and professional life. However, the term has many definitions and in a generic sense can be used to cover a wide variety of different situations. For the purposes of this study, stress will be defined as â€Å"the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demands placed on them† â€Å"stress can be caused by things at work or outside work, or both† (HSE, n.d) Even within this definition it is important to accept that stress is not an illness in itself but a condition which, left unchecked, can contribute to a whole host of health problems: â€Å"Between fifty and s eventy per cent of all illnesses are linked to stress response† (Corbin, Lindsay, & Welk, 2000, p. 15). ... several challenging targets as part of a long term strategy: In Securing Health Together, they aim by 2010, to: reduce the incidence of work-related ill health by 20 per cent reduce ill health to members of the public, caused by work activity by 20 per cent reduce the number of working days lost due to work related ill health by 30 per cent The rise in the condition has also prompted national legislation and regulation. Changes in the Disability Discrimination Act in December 2005, means that mental impairment no longer needs to be â€Å"clinically well recognised† to potentially be classified as disability (CIPD, 2010) The significance of which, is that it is now easier for employees to bring disability cases and discrimination claims involving stress and depression. The potential risk to employers is therefore high, and expected to become even more substantial as future EU legislation is likely to put more responsibility on employers for the health of their workforce. The co st of litigation, should an employee decide to sue is substantial. John Walker, a social worker at Northumberland Country Council, was the first British employee to prove that working conditions caused his stress related breakdown. As a result The High Court ruled in 1996 that Northumberland County Council had failed to reduce his workload and awarded Walker with compensation of ?175,000 (WorkstressNet, n.d.). In 2004, 6,428 stress claims were made costing British employers ?321 million (BusinessHR, 2004). Within the financial Services sector there have been two high profile cases, one involving Commetzbank, in 2004, and the other Deutsche Bank, in 2006. As a result of these cases both these organisations took steps to strengthen their stress management strategies. Alongside the regulatory