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Wednesday, November 27, 2019

The Best SAT and ACT Test Dates for Senior Fall

The Best SAT and ACT Test Dates for Senior Fall SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Senior year is coming up, and you're ready to take a last shot at the SAT or ACT before applying to college. But when should you take the test? And how can you ensure that your scores make it to colleges on time? Read on to see a list of the fall and winter test dates as well as a detailed guide onhow to choose the best date for your situation. First Up: Make Sure You Have the Right Target Score Make sure that you know what score you need for the schools you're applying to. Read our guide on figuring out what score you need for the SAT and for the ACT. Test Dates and Deadlines for Seniors PrepScholar uses analysis of historical data and date selection principles to project these registration deadlines. The official registration deadlines for the 2019-20 school year haven't been released by the College Board and the ACT yet, but the test dates themselves are definitively based on official predicted schedules. SAT Test Dates August 24 Regular registration deadline: July 26 Late registration deadline: August 14 October 5 Regular registration deadline: September 6 Late registration deadline: September 25 November 2 Regular registration deadline: October 4Late registration deadline: October 23 December 7 Regular registration deadline: November 8Late registration deadline: November 26 ACT Test Dates July 13 Regular registration deadline: June 14Late registration deadline: June 24 September 7 Regular registration deadline: August 9Late registration deadline: August 25 October 26 Regular registration deadline: September 27Late registration deadline: October 13 December 7 Regular registration deadline: November 1Late registration deadline: November 18 February 8, 2020 Regular registration deadline: January 10Late registration deadline: January 17 These are just dates that are most relevant to seniorscheck out our full list of 2018-2019 test dates here. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! Which Test Dates Should I Pick? Your decision should be based on a few different factors;college application deadlines and score goals are the most important. In general, try and go for the earlier dates to reduce stress! Choosing the Best Test Date for Your College Applications Before you settle on a testing date, make sure you know the application deadlines for your schools.If you are applying Early Decision or Early Action, most colleges have November application deadlines. If you are applying regular decision, applications are usually due in early January. Schools often accept SAT and ACT scores after application deadlines, but to verify this you should look up policies at the specific schools where you are planning on submitting scores. Harvard, for example, advises you to submit at least one component of its testing requirements (SAT, ACT, or two SAT subject tests) by October for Early Action and November for regular decision. However, they will continue to accept results from test dates as late as November for Early Action and as late as January for regular decision. There are some schools, including Yale, that will even accept scores from regular decision applicants on tests taken as late as February (for the ACT). As a general rule, if you are applying Early Action or Early Decision, the latest you should take the SAT is November 5, and the latest you should take the ACT is October 22.If you are applying regular decision, the latest you should take the SAT is January 28, and the latest you should take the ACT is February 11. Again, these are the LATEST dates you might take the tests - they may not be the best dates for your situation. If you wait for your results before sending scores to colleges rather than choosing to send scores the day of the test, you will end up with about a month between when you take the test and when colleges receive your scores.The ACT takes around two weeks to give you your scores, and theSAT takes around three weeks.Then it’s another two weeks or so to send the scores to your schools unless you use Rush Reporting. Rush Reportingsends your scores to colleges within two business days, but it will cost you almost three times the fee associated with a regular score report ($31 vs. $11.25), and some schools don't accept it. Make sure you're aware of how late your schools will accept SAT and ACT scores if your scores won’t make it there by the application deadline. How the College Board apparently sends your scores, am I right? Choosing the Best Test Date for Your Score Goals Whether or not you're planning on taking the SAT or ACT more than once this year, my advice is toaim for the first fall test date. That's October 1 for the SAT and September 10 for the ACT. Then, you can formulate a game plan for the rest of the year based on your performance. I Took the October SAT, Now What? The most important considerations for you to plan your testing strategy are: 1) whether you can even register for the next test date, and 2) whether you can avoid late fees. Generally speaking, the registration deadlines are packed so tightly that if you don't register for the next test right before you get your scores back, you're going to run into late fees. Here's a chart that shows how this will play out: Which Test? Test Date Deadline Late Deadline Score Release SAT Oct 5, 2019 Sep 6, 2019 Sep 25, 2019 Oct 25, 2019 SAT Nov 2, 2019 Oct 4, 2019 Oct 23, 2019 Nov 22, 2019 SAT Dec 7, 2019 Nov 8, 2019 Nov 22, 2019 Dec 27, 2019 For example: October's test date is October 5, and test scores should come out around October 25. November's normal registration deadline is October 4, and its late registration deadline is October 23. Therefore: If you're sure you want to take both October and November tests, register for the November test before you take the October test on October 1 to avoid late fees. If you take the October test and have not registered for the November test,wait for your scores to arrive. If they're not good, register for the November test immediately so you don't miss the late registration deadline. November and December are even tighter: If you're sure you want to take both November and December test dates, register for the December test before you take the November test on November 3 to avoid late fees. November scores should come out November 22. The late registration deadline for December is November 22. Thus, you cannot wait to receive your November scores before registering for the December test. If you take the November test and feel like you did poorly, immediately register for the December test for your last chance. If the extra fees are not significant to you, and you feel like you need many chances to take the test, err on the side of caution and register for all the test dates. You can cancel your test dates without any issueit won't go on your record and the College Board will gladly just take your money. I Took the September ACT, Now What? Let's go through the same logic for ACT test dates in 2018-19 here. Which Test? Test Date Deadline Late Deadline Score Release ACT Sept 7, 2019 Aug 9, 2019 Aug 25, 2019 Sept 17, 2019 ACT Oct 26, 2019 Sept 27, 2019 Oct 13, 2019 Nov 12, 2019 ACT Dec 7, 2019 Nov 1, 2019 Nov 18, 2019 Dec 17, 2019 If you take the September test: the normal registration deadline for the October test is September 27. This is after the September test date of September 8, 2018. Therefore, if you take the September test and don't feel good about it, before you get your scores back, register for the October test to avoid late fees. when you get your September scores back on September 17, if you need to retake, quickly register for the October test to avoid a late fee. If you take the October test: the normal registration deadline for the December test is November 1. This isafter the October test date of October 27, 2018. Therefore, if you take the October test and don't feel good about it, before you get your scores back, register for the December test to avoid late fees. when you get your October scores back on November 12, if you need to retake, quickly register for the December test with a late fee. Hopefully all of this helps you plan out the step by step testing plan for senior year. Choosing the Best Test Date for Your Study Plan By the end of your junior year, you probably know how much you are looking to improve on standardized tests before you send scores to colleges. The summer between junior and senior year is a great studying opportunity. If you are hoping to dramatically change your scores, putting in 5 hours a week for those three months is likely to give you a 150-200 point boost on the SAT or a 4-6 point boost on the ACT.For more advice on creating a study plan, check out our Complete Plans for both the SAT and ACT. You should register for the first fall test date even if you think you still need to study more. Every test session presents a unique opportunity to assess your strengths and weaknesses in a controlled environment.You can always sign up for the next date right away if the first test doesn't go as well as you hoped! Make sure you save time outside of studying to engage in fun summer activities, which apparently at some point in history included walking along depressing beaches in wildly impractical dresses. Overview Be aware of your application deadlines. Check with your schools to see when they accept test scores. Be prepared to sign up for the test again if you aren’t satisfied the first time. The earlier test date is the better test datebecause you will have more opportunities later on to improve your scores! What's Next? Find out which exact dates you want to choose with our Table of 2016-2017 SAT Test Dates. Check out this article if you're wondering how many times you should take the SAT overall.Or, take a look at this advice if you're just debating whether you should retake the ACT or SAT. Still need to take your SAT subject tests? Here are some upcoming dates and advice on which ones you should choose. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 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:

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Topographic Maps

Topographic Maps Topographic maps (often called topo maps for short) are large scale (often greater than 1:50,000) maps that show a wide range of human and physical features of the Earth. They are very detailed maps and are often produced on large sheets of paper. The First Topographic Map In the late 17th century, French finance minister Jean Baptiste Colbert hired surveyor, astronomer, and physician Jean Dominique Cassini for an ambitious project, the topographic mapping of France. He [Colbert] wanted the kind of maps that indicated man-made and natural features as determined by precise engineering surveys and measurements. They would portray the shapes and elevations of mountains, valleys, and plains; the network of streams and rivers; the location of cities, roads, political boundaries, and other works of man. (Wilford, 112) After a century of work by Cassini, his son, grandson, and great-grandson, France was the proud owner of a complete set of topographic maps the first country to have produced such a prize. Topographic Mapping of the United States Since the 1600s, topographic mapping has become an integral part of a countrys cartography. These maps remain among the most valuable maps for government and the public alike. In the United States, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is responsible for topographic mapping. There are over 54,000 quadrangles (map sheets) that cover every inch of the United States. The USGS primary scale for mapping topographic maps is 1:24,000. This means that one inch on the map equals 24,000 inches on the ground, the equivalent of 2000 feet. These quadrangles are called 7.5 minute quadrangles because they show an area that is 7.5 minutes of longitude wide by 7.5 minutes of latitude high. These paper sheets are approximately 29 inches high and 22 inches wide. Isolines Topographic maps use a wide variety of symbols to represent human and physical features. Among the most striking are the topo maps display of the topography or terrain of the area. Contour lines are used to represent elevation by connecting points of equal elevation. These imaginary lines do a nice job of representing the terrain. As with all isolines, when contour lines lie close together, they represent a steep slope; lines far apart represent a gradual slope. Contour Intervals Each quadrangle uses a contour interval (the distance in elevation between contour lines) appropriate for that area. While flat areas may be mapped with a five-foot contour interval, rugged terrain may have a 25-foot or more contour interval. Through the use of contour lines, an experienced topographic map reader can easily visualize the direction of stream flow and the shape of the terrain. Colors Most topographic maps are produced at a large enough scale to show individual buildings and all streets in cities. In urbanized areas, larger and specific important buildings are represented in black though the urbanized area surrounding them is represented with a red shading. Some topographic maps also include features in purple. These quadrangles have been revised solely through aerial photographs and not by the typical field checking that is involved with the production of a topographic map. These revisions are shown in purple on the map and can represent newly urbanized areas, new roads, and even new lakes. Topographic maps also use standardized cartographic conventions to represent additional features such as the color blue for water and green for forests. Coordinates Several different coordinate systems are shown on topographic maps. In addition to latitude and longitude, the base coordinates for the map, these maps show UTM grids, township and range, and others. Source Campbell, John. Map Use and Analysis. 1991. Monmonier, Mark. How to Lie With Maps. Wilford, John Noble. Mapmakers.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Inadequate nutrition and cognitive decline Essay

Inadequate nutrition and cognitive decline - Essay Example This course study will dwell on the subject of age-related cognitive decline and nutrition as a contributing factor. The lecture will cover the normal and the non-normal aging process of individuals and in particular how nutrients add up to the neurological well-being of the elderly. The hypothesis in this discussion is that: nutritional imbalance is a resultant factor in cognitive decline. We shall review related studies and literature to support this hypothesis which aims to create awareness among all individuals to continue trying to find the nearest approach to cure and prevention of cognitive abnormalities.As the human body tends to grow with age, a certain amount of memory decline is felt which includes the minute reductions or delay in thought processing. For others though, a magnitude of reduction beyond what may be considered "normal" and are relentlessly progressive, robbing individuals of their memories, intellect, and eventually their abilities to recognize close members of their families may concurrently result to a certain cognitive decline. The increasing risk of demented elderly adults created the idea of preventing or reversing neurological disorders associated with cognitive decline. The results of the clinical investigative studies revealed according to Amador(1998) the discovery of vitamin deficiencies causing neurological and psychiatric symptoms. Further, Amador added that the potentials of Vit.B(cobalamin) deficiency has been overlooked as a treatable cause of reversible dementia. Markle(1996)critically reviewed the alteration in thought processes associated with Vit. B deficiencies and discovered several causes that contribute its loss in the bodies among elderly patients. Quadri et al(2004)further added elevated homocysteine concentration results to folate deficiency that aggravates the early risk factor for cognitive decline in elderly individuals. However Under Wright's(2000) free-radical theory of aging, he provided that the effects of "oxidative damage" are responsible for much aging particularly of the premature kind. Wright also suggested based on animal studies that diets high in anti-oxidant-rich foods may be beneficial in slowing ARCD. Among people aged 65 and older, high vitamin C and beta-carotene levels have been associated with better memory performance. Zagaria(2002)further explained that these nutrients as explained may be markers for other dietary factors responsible for protection against cognitive disorders. In most cases when physical activity is diminished, cellular metabolism is likewise affected which results to mal-absorption of nutrients that are needed by the body. Inadequate dietary intake, intake of drugs that inhibit B12 absorption, increased cobalamin excretion that can occur according to Amador in the presence of normal hematological studies. A detailed description on the role of specific nutrients in age-related cognitive decline will be discussed which includes: Vit.B (cobalamin) an d folates; antioxidants and other food products. Vit.B(cobalamin) Andel et al (2005) noticed strong evidence of connection between the low levels of vitamin B12 and warned that this is a common nutritional deficiency in the Western world. Commonly present in meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products adults over 50 are mostly lacking than most people due to atropic gastritis whereby B12 absorption in the small intestine is reduced. However, it should be noted that certain acidic elements are persistent in the stomach of the elderly despite age, it is unusually unthinkable to blame the lack of needed nutrients to gastritis. Teunisse et al(1996)related that cobalamin is an essential vitamin for hematopoiesis and the maintenance of neurologic and psychiatric health. Since it is not synthesized in the body, animals must obtain Vit.B 12 from their diet. Vit.B12 works by aiding in cellular formation and longevity. Essentially it shares in the proper digestion,

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest Movie Review

The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest - Movie Review Example This interesting movie shows the behavior of the market. It makes it easy to see how the performance in real life through a movie. To be an entrepreneur is not an easy thing it requires many things, but above all, you have to be hardworking, smart and innovative to stay ahead of your competitors. This movie revolves around people who want to create a niche in the tough market, but they face many challenges. When Andy quits his job as a marketer because he did not find the job interesting, he finds another job in a research company. Benoit gives him a pc to sell at a cost of $99, but it proves to be a tall order. He quickly finds a team consisting of Alisa who is an artist, Salman Fard, Darrell and Curtis. They together form a team to ensure they cut a niche in the market to sell their product. The strategies they employ are similar to the ones suggested by Michael E. Porter, who suggests strategies to employ whenever a business faces competitive forces. Michael suggests that, a business is faced by the following competitive forces; the threat of new entrants in the market, bargaining power of buyers, threats of substitute product or services, bargaining power of suppliers, and rivalry among existing competitors. It is evident that Andy and his team face similar competitive forces in their quest to sell their product in competitive market with the ones named by Michael. For example, they find that they cannot sell their product at a cost of $99 because it is expensive and nobody will buy it.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Research Papers in Computer Science Essay Example for Free

Research Papers in Computer Science Essay Since we recently announced our $10001 Binary Battle to promote applications built on the Mendeley API (now including PLoS as well), I decided to take a look at the data to see what people have to work with. My analysis focused on our second largest discipline, Computer Science. Biological Sciences (my discipline) is the largest, but I started with this one so that I could look at the data with fresh eyes, and also because it’s got some really cool papers to talk about. Here’s what I found: What I found was a fascinating list of topics, with many of the expected fundamental papers like Shannon’s Theory of Information and the Google paper, a strong showing from Mapreduce and machine learning, but also some interesting hints that augmented reality may be becoming more of an actual reality soon. The top graph summarizes the overall results of the analysis. This graph shows the Top 10 papers among those who have listed computer science as their discipline and chosen a subdiscipline. The bars are colored according to subdiscipline and the number of readers is shown on the x-axis. The bar graphs for each paper show the distribution of readership levels among subdisciplines. 17 of the 21 CS subdisciplines are represented and the axis scales and color schemes remain constant throughout. Click on any graph to explore it in more detail or to grab the raw data.(NB: A minority of Computer Scientists have listed a subdiscipline. I would encourage everyone to do so.) 1. Latent Dirichlet Allocation (available full-text) LDA is a means of classifying objects, such as documents, based on their underlying topics. I was surprised to see this paper as number one instead of Shannon’s information theory paper (#7) or the paper describing the concept that became Google (#3). It turns out that interest in this paper is very strong among those who list artificial intelligence as their subdiscipline. In fact, AI researchers contributed the majority of readership to 6 out of the top 10 papers. Presumably, those interested in popular topics such as machine learning list themselves under AI, which explains the strength of this subdiscipline, whereas papers like the Mapreduce one or the Google paper appeal to a broad range of subdisciplines, giving those papers a smaller numbers spread across more subdisciplines. Professor Blei is also a bit of a superstar, so that didn’t hurt. (the irony of a manually-categorized list with an LDA paper at the top has not escaped us) 2. MapReduce : Simplified Data Processing on Large Clusters (available full-text) It’s no surprise to see this in the Top 10 either, given the huge appeal of this parallelization technique for breaking down huge computations into easily executable and recombinable chunks. The importance of the monolithic â€Å"Big Iron† supercomputer has been on the wane for decades. The interesting thing about this paper is that had some of the lowest readership scores of the top papers within a subdiscipline, but folks from across the entire spectrum of computer science are reading it. This is perhaps expected for such a general purpose technique, but given the above it’s strange that there are no AI readers of this paper at all. 3. The Anatomy of a large-scale hypertextual search engine (available full-text) In this paper, Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page discuss how Google was created and how it initially worked. This is another paper that has high readership across a broad swath of disciplines, including AI, but wasn’t dominated by any one discipline. I would expect that the largest share of readers have it in their library mostly out of curiosity rather than direct relevance to their research. It’s a fascinating piece of history related to something that has now become part of our every day lives. 4. Distinctive Image Features from Scale-Invariant Keypoints This paper was new to me, although I’m sure it’s not new to many of you. This paper describes how to identify objects in a video stream without regard to how near or far away they are or how they’re oriented with respect to the camera. AI again drove the popularity of this paper in large part and to understand why, think â€Å"Augmented Realityâ€Å". AR is the futuristic idea most familiar to the average sci-fi enthusiast as Terminator-vision. Given the strong interest in the topic, AR could be closer than we think, but we’ll probably use it to layer Groupon deals over shops we pass by instead of building unstoppable fighting machines. 5. Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction (available full-text) This is another machine learning paper and its presence in the top 10 is primarily due to AI, with a small contribution from folks listing neural networks as their discipline, most likely due to the paper being published in IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks. Reinforcement learning is essentially a technique that borrows from biology, where the behavior of an intelligent agent is is controlled by the amount of positive stimuli, or reinforcement, it receives in an environment where there are many different interacting positive and negative stimuli. This is how we’ll teach the robots behaviors in a human fashion, before they rise up and destroy us. 6. Toward the next generation of recommender systems: a survey of the state-of-the-art and possible extensions (available full-text) Popular among AI and information retrieval researchers, this paper discusses recommendation algorithms and classifies them into collaborative, content-based, or hybrid. While I wouldn’t call this paper a groundbreaking event of the caliber of the Shannon paper above, I can certainly understand why it makes such a strong showing here. If you’re using Mendeley, you’re using both collaborative and content-based discovery methods! 7. A Mathematical Theory of Communication (available full-text) Now we’re back to more fundamental papers. I would really have expected this to be at least number 3 or 4, but the strong showing by the AI discipline for the machine learning papers in spots 1, 4, and 5 pushed it down. This paper discusses the theory of sending communications down a noisy channel and demonstrates a few key engineering parameters, such as entropy, which is the range of states of a given communication. It’s one of the more fundamental papers of computer science, founding the field of information theory and enabling the development of the very tubes through which you received this web page you’re reading now. It’s also the first place the word â€Å"bit†, short for binary digit, is found in the published literature. 8. The Semantic Web (available full-text) In The Semantic Web, Tim Berners-Lee, Sir Tim, the inventor of the World Wide Web, describes his vision for the web of the future. Now, 10 years later, it’s fascinating to look back though it and see on which points the web has delivered on its promise and how far away we still remain in so many others. This is different from the other papers above in that it’s a descriptive piece, not primary research as above, but still deserves it’s place in the list and readership will only grow as we get ever closer to his vision. 9. Convex Optimization (available full-text) This is a very popular book on a widely used optimization technique in signal processing. Convex optimization tries to find the provably optimal solution to an optimization problem, as opposed to a nearby maximum or minimum. While this seems like a highly specialized niche area, it’s of importance to machine learning and AI researchers, so it was able to pull in a nice readership on Mendeley. Professor Boyd has a very popular set of video classes at Stanford on the subject, which probably gave this a little boost, as well. The point here is that print publications aren’t the only way of communicating your ideas. Videos of techniques at SciVee or JoVE or recorded lectures (previously) can really help spread awareness of your research. 10. Object recognition from local scale-invariant features (available in full-text) This is another paper on the same topic as paper #4, and it’s by the same author. Looking across subdisciplines as we did here, it’s not surprising to see two related papers, of interest to the main driving discipline, appear twice. Adding the readers from this paper to the #4 paper would be enough to put it in the #2 spot, just below the LDA paper. Conclusions So what’s the moral of the story? Well, there are a few things to note. First of all, it shows that Mendeley readership data is good enough to reveal both papers of long-standing importance as well as interesting upcoming trends. Fun stuff can be done with this! How about a Mendeley leaderboard? You could grab the number of readers for each paper published by members of your group, and have some friendly competition to see who can get the most readers, month-over-month. Comparing yourself against others in terms of readers per paper could put a big smile on your face, or it could be a gentle nudge to get out to more conferences or maybe record a video of your technique for JoVE or Khan Academy or just Youtube. Another thing to note is that these results don’t necessarily mean that AI researchers are the most influential researchers or the most numerous, just the best at being accounted for. To make sure you’re counted properly, be sure you list your subdiscipline on your profile, or if you can’t find your exact one, pick the closest one, like the machine learning folks did with the AI subdiscipline. We recognize that almost everyone does interdisciplinary work these days. We’re working on a more flexible discipline assignment system, but for now, just pick your favorite one. These stats were derived from the entire readership history, so they do reflect a founder effect to some degree. Limiting the analysis to the past 3 months would probably reveal different trends and comparing month-to-month changes could reveal rising stars.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Shakespeares Macbeth as a Tragic Hero :: Macbeth essays

Macbeth as a Tragic Hero For Macbeth to be considered a â€Å"Tragic Hero†, he must have some potential nobility, some good qualities that make his downfall terrifying. He must be examined as a human being with human weaknesses. Is he one who, as Lady Macbeth says, Act I, Sc. v, "is too full of the milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way" or is he the "butcher" that Malcolm considers him to be in the final scene of the play? Or is he a victim of his ambition or of moral weaknesses or of his limited concept of manliness, or even of a combination of circumstances that cause him to fall? From the opening scene Macbeth is chosen as a target for temptation; the witches, as agents of evil plan their trap; so the stage is set for his downfall. One good quality of Macbeth is his bravery. We learn of his physical prowess and bravery on the battlefield - "brave Macbeth", "valour's minion", "valiant cousin! worthy gentleman!", he is an eagle, a lion, "Bellona's bridegroom". These are the outward signs as seen by the Captain, Duncan and Ross, Act I, Sc.ii. Unfortunately, Macbeth is prone to temptation. In the following scene we observe his interest in the Witches' predictions. He is tempted - "Your children shall be Kings" ; but temptation is not guilt. When Ross tells him he has been made Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth asks, "why do you dress me in borrowed robes?" Does this suggest that, at this stage, he wants no honors that are not rightfully his? * A Materialist - In this soliloquy (aside) in Act I,Sc. iii we see how the fulfillment of the first prediction is working on him. Does he show himself to be a materialist here, looking for success and closing his eyes to the fact that achievement and goodness do not necessarily go together? Is this what Lady Macbeth sees in him when she says in Act I, Sc. v, "wouldst not play false And yet wouldst wrongly win?" * Virtuous or Hypocrite - He is aware of his duties as a subject "...and our duties Are to your throne and state children and servants, Which do but what they should, by doing every thing Safe toward your love and honor." Is this an inclination of his virtue, or is it hypocrisy? * Conscience?

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Pneumonia and Older Adults

What is pneumonia? Pneumonia is a lung infection that can make you very sick. You may cough, run a fever, and have a hard time breathing. For most people, pneumonia can be treated at home. It often clears up in two to three weeks, but older adults, babies, and people with other diseases can become very ill. They may need to be in the hospital. You can get pneumonia in your daily life, such as at school or work. This is called community-associated pneumonia. You can also get it when you are in a hospital or nursing home. This is called healthcare-associated pneumonia. It may be more severe because you already are ill. This topic focuses on pneumonia you get in your daily life. What causes pneumonia? Germs called bacteria or viruses usually cause pneumonia. Pneumonia usually starts when you breathe the germs into your lungs. You may be more likely to get the disease after having a cold or the flu. These illnesses make it hard for your lungs to fight infection, so it is easier to get pneumonia. Having a long-term, or chronic, disease like asthma, heart disease, cancer, or diabetes also makes you more likely to get pneumonia. What are the symptoms? Symptoms of pneumonia caused by bacteria usually come on quickly. They may include: †¢Cough. You will likely cough up mucus (sputum) from your lungs. Mucus may be rusty or green or tinged with blood. †¢Fever. †¢Fast breathing and feeling short of breath. †¢Shaking and â€Å"teeth-chattering† chills. You may have this only one time or many times. †¢Chest pain that often feels worse when you cough or breathe in. †¢Fast heartbeat. †¢Feeling very tired or feeling very weak. †¢Nausea and vomiting. †¢Diarrhea. When you have mild symptoms, your doctor may call this â€Å"walking pneumonia. â€Å"

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Database Enviroment Essay

THE DATABASE ENVIRONMENT: A database defines a structure for storing information and it collects information that is organized in such a way that a computer program can quickly select desired pieces of data. A database can also be thought of as an electronic filing system. Data and information are extracted from a database by creating a query and then submitting it to the query database management system (DBMS) and it is posed in a language that only the DBMS can understand. PROBLEMS AND CONSTRAINTS: The museum’s current system is efficient but there seems to be some problems with the rights and privileges to the current users. For example, all users currently have the rights to input registration dates for certain events. The current system in not tracking the dates therefor there is no log of how many people are attending or the dates that they are supposed to attend. There seems to be lost inventory because the inventory does not match the reports that are generated. Some other problems that may exist is if artwork is removed and it is not enter into the database location it will not be updated. The reports also take too long to generate and scan the inventory. This requires the help of a user who has better access to the system rights. The administrator will have the rights to go in, access information and change and fix issues that occur. The basic employees will have limited rights to access certain information such as certain artist and artwork in the museum as well as dates that the artist will be in the museum. There is also a need for an explicit backup and recovery implementation. The administrator also needs to track openings for new artwork in the museum. Security The administrative support can use the systems database along with other authorized personal as long as he or she has a username and a password to access it. The system is password protected and is a secure system. Security is a plus when using a database where many users will be accessing the system. There will be a set standard to what a user can and cannot do based on what their position is on the databases. OBJECTIVES: The Museum of Fine Arts needs to install an updated database to track the new and existing art work along with the location of the art and artist as well as new artist. It needs to store all of the artists information as far as phone numbers, how many pieces of art they have in the museum, as well as clients that have purchased artwork or that is interested in certain pieces of art. The database also needs to store the quantity of art pieces sold and its current inventory at the museum along with the prices. They also need to log the attendance of the people that come to the museum. This system is maintained so that personnel have the ability to check the artist details, updated artwork as well as the entire museum notices, if any should be in the database. SCOPE AND BOUNDARIES: The scope is to design a database that holds the museums information in a secure environment. The database design will encompass one or more functions in a single environment or department. One of the boundaries is working with the existing hardware. Since the new database system will use standard reusable components, such as standard date routines or file access routines that will be modified. We will improve service by providing an information system to respond to customer inquiries which is all screen based. Cost of implementing the database, training and training materials for the employees might be another boundary. We will also, be implementing a disaster recovery plan for the system. Data Specifications List- Purpose- The purpose is to store information about the artists as well as current and new artwork in the museum. The database will also store information about the entire inventory that is currently in the museum along with the sale prices. A list of the major entities and the attributes about which information will be captured. Entities Attributes 1. ArtworkYear and Date Made, size, name 2. ArtistName, Artist ID number, Phone number, 3. PriceHow many   SaleDate of purchase, Item Purchases, Cost of Item Functionality- The data will be used to generate reports and track the inventory that is in the museum as well as facilitate searching and matching of the artist and artwork. Data Quality- The art museums manager and assistant manager will work to keep the data up to date. The data quality of the art museum is very important to the operation of the business. Without data quality for the museum it could lead to the loss of cliental, artist, revenue and potential closing of the art museum. Business Rules- There is many business rules that apply to the database. To determine whether a client is considered â€Å"active† or â€Å"inactive† they should have some type of communication and or contribute artwork to the museum every six months. Certain client’s information is mandatory such as address but we need to have at least their name and two contact numbers. The art museums manager is the only one who has the authority to authorize particular transactions. Classifications –The classification schemes that might be used by the database is alphabetical order or last names first. Data, which is categorized in a meaningful way, is much easier to search, sort and report on. User Interface-The user interface should look and behave in a simple manor for the user to navigate between different parts of the database. Specific functionality should be implemented and easy to use for such things as searching, adding new records and updating existing records. Reports- There are many reports that are required. There needs to be an inventory report done weakly to track the inventory. There needs to be an expense report generated as well as a loss and gain report. Security- The access to certain data needs to be restricted by user name and password because some information in the database contains sensitive information. The manager will be the only one that can add, edit or delete information. The types of art, prices and the artist information will be accessible to people outside of the museum via the internet. Scale- The museum needs a large database considering the amount of work it is required to do for example, the records the database will contain and the fact that it is available 24 hours a day. Operating Environment- The museum will need a system that can be added to in the future. References: Management-Hub.Com. (2013). Understanding the Objectives of Database Management in an Organization. Retrieved February 2, 2013, from URL http://www.management-hub.com/database-management-objectives.html Benda, S. (2011).Constraints and the Test-Driven Database Retrieved January 30, 2013, from URL http://www.simple-talk.com Peter, R. and Coronel, C. (2009). Database Systems: Design, Implementation, and Management –Computers, Scope and Boundaries. Retrieved February 1, 2013 from URL http://books.google.com University of Phoenix. (2004).Week Two overview. Retrieved February 1, 2013, from University of Phoenix, Week Two, Resource. DBM/380-Database Designs Web site: www.ecampus.phoenix.edu

Friday, November 8, 2019

Free Essays on Maidens Tears

Maidens Tears Long ago in the land of Skyloo a mother was giving birth to a baby girl. She named her â€Å"Maiden.† Maiden was a beautiful young baby soft brown hair and dark brown eyes. The mother and father were weary of keeping the child, frighten that she might grow to have more beauty than of the Goddess Lydian. Everyone in the village knew that if you have a child that grows to be prettier than that of Lydian the Goddess would punish your child. Days, Months, and years pasted. In those years Maiden became more beautiful than that of Lydian. Mortified Maidens parents made her wear a cloth over her face and forbidden her from taking it off. Maiden did not know of the Goddess of Lydian nor did she know the reasons for her parents’ strange ways. So she did what she was told, until she met Dorian. Dorian was Lydian’s evil twin brother; he was a very sly young man, who had heard of this beautiful lady by the name of Maiden. One day Dorian decided to go down to the village Skyloo to see Maiden. At the first sight of Dorian Maiden fell in love, hoping to marry him. Being he was a stranger to the town the only polite thing to do was to take him in. So for five years Dorian stayed with Maiden and her family. In those five years Maiden and Dorian became very attached. Then one day Dorian asked Maidens hand in marriage, Maiden accepted. The day of the wedding was set and they were to be married. For 5 years Dorian had been acting to be in love with Maiden, for his plan was to see how beautiful she really was and for his sister to get horribly jealous. Finally his plan was about to take action after so long. On the day of the wedding it was pouring outside making the wedding not as wonderful as Maiden had planned. Everyone in the village was there, even some of the Gods and Goddess came in disguise, to support Dorian. Dorian was in such a mess, being too tense wanting to take the cloth off of her face at the end of ... Free Essays on Maidens Tears Free Essays on Maidens Tears Maidens Tears Long ago in the land of Skyloo a mother was giving birth to a baby girl. She named her â€Å"Maiden.† Maiden was a beautiful young baby soft brown hair and dark brown eyes. The mother and father were weary of keeping the child, frighten that she might grow to have more beauty than of the Goddess Lydian. Everyone in the village knew that if you have a child that grows to be prettier than that of Lydian the Goddess would punish your child. Days, Months, and years pasted. In those years Maiden became more beautiful than that of Lydian. Mortified Maidens parents made her wear a cloth over her face and forbidden her from taking it off. Maiden did not know of the Goddess of Lydian nor did she know the reasons for her parents’ strange ways. So she did what she was told, until she met Dorian. Dorian was Lydian’s evil twin brother; he was a very sly young man, who had heard of this beautiful lady by the name of Maiden. One day Dorian decided to go down to the village Skyloo to see Maiden. At the first sight of Dorian Maiden fell in love, hoping to marry him. Being he was a stranger to the town the only polite thing to do was to take him in. So for five years Dorian stayed with Maiden and her family. In those five years Maiden and Dorian became very attached. Then one day Dorian asked Maidens hand in marriage, Maiden accepted. The day of the wedding was set and they were to be married. For 5 years Dorian had been acting to be in love with Maiden, for his plan was to see how beautiful she really was and for his sister to get horribly jealous. Finally his plan was about to take action after so long. On the day of the wedding it was pouring outside making the wedding not as wonderful as Maiden had planned. Everyone in the village was there, even some of the Gods and Goddess came in disguise, to support Dorian. Dorian was in such a mess, being too tense wanting to take the cloth off of her face at the end of ...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

What to Do if You Get Sick in College

What to Do if You Get Sick in College Being sick in college is not the most pleasant of experiences. You likely have no one taking care of you, like you would  at home, while at the same time your responsibilities and obligations continue to pile up as youre stuck in bed. So just what are your options if you get sick in college? Let Your Professors Know If you are a student in a small class, have a big day in class (meaning you have a paper due or presentation to give), or have any other responsibilities where your absence will be both noted and problematic. A quick email letting your professor know youre sick while promising to follow-up with them about how to make up the assignment (including a gracious request for an extension), should only take a few minutes to write but will save you quite a bit of time later. Take Care of Yourself True, you have that midterm to take, a huge event your cultural club is planning, and the concert you and your roommate have had tickets for months. It may be frustrating, but you need to take care of yourself first and foremost. The last thing you need, after all, is to just get even sicker just  because you didnt take care of yourself. It may seem impossible at first, but there really are ways to get more sleep in college. Let yourself sleep! Healthy eating in college can be a challenge- but it also can be accomplished. Think of what your mother would want you to eat: fruits and veggies, things with nutrition, healthy liquids. Translation: no, a donut and a Diet Coke wont work for breakfast, especially when youre sick. Grab a banana, slice of toast, and orange juice instead. Sometimes, common over-the-counter medications like aspirin and DayQuil can make a bad cold or flu manageable. Dont be afraid to ask a friend or roommate to grab you something while theyre out and about! Get a Check-up at the Campus Health Center If youre sick for more than a day or two, have really bad symptoms, or otherwise just dont feel right, utilize what your campus has to offer. Make an appointment- or just walk in- to the campus health center. They can check you out while also offering advice and medication to get you back on your feet. Keep Checking in With Your Professors If youre missing a day of lecture in your chemistry class, you can usually grab notes from a friend or get them online. But if youre missing a few days, especially when theres intense material being covered or discussed, let your professor know whats going on. Tell your professor that youre really sick and  that you might need a little help catching up. Its much, much easier to be in touch early on than try to explain later why you havent been to class, havent been in touch, and havent turned in your assignments. Prioritize Your To-do List If youre sick for more than a day or two, you will likely fall behind on at least something- life in college moves very, very quickly. Take a few moments to write down a little list of what you have to do and then prioritize. Getting to the health center for a Strep Throat test? Priority! Updating Facebook with pictures from last weekends Halloween party? Not a priority. Take care of the most important things now so you can do the other things you want and need to do later. Major Illness or Extended Sick Time If your sick day or two turns into a major illness or youre sick for long enough that your academics suffer, you might need to take more drastic measures. Always Let Your Professors Know Whats Going On Even if you just shoot them a quick email letting them know that youve been really sick for a week and are trying to figure out whats going on, that email is much better than complete silence. Ask them what they need from you, if anything, to justify this much-missed class (a note from the health center? copies of your hospital paperwork?). Additionally, check your syllabi or ask your professors directly about what their policy is if youve missed something major, like a midterm or paper deadline. Check in With Your Campus Health Center If youre sick for more than a day or two, definitely go see the campus health center. On top of a check-up, they can verify with your professors that, indeed, you do have a nasty case of the flu and need to be out of class for another day or so. Keep the Faculty up to Date Check in with your academic adviser, an academic support office, the dean of students office, and/or the dean of faculty office. If youre missing a lot of class, are sick, and your academics are suffering, youll need some help from the campus administration. Dont worry, though: this doesnt mean youve done anything wrong. It just means youve been sick! And everyone from your adviser to the dean of faculty has dealt with sick students before. Life happens in college; people get sick. Just be smart about it and let the appropriate people know so that, as you begin to recover, you can have the support you need academically instead of having to stress  about your situation.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

China - Essay Example Moreover, he also believed that everything in nature has two sides and that opposite sides complement each other i.e. the dialectical nature of things (Hansen, 2000). Therefore, Laozi emphasized on the fact that emptiness or nothingness is not emptiness or nothingness, but complements certain objects. Zhuangzi further emphasized on the issue of dialectic ism that was recognized by Laozi. He recognizes the nature as a movement, which has a different phenomenon in the world that is derived from and manifestations of nature (Hansen, 2000). In addition, Zhuangzi can be described as a renowned philosopher who praised human ambition, as well as imagination, which facilitated everyday thinking in order to understand how things interact in nature. Zhuangzi influenced the development of Daoism by emphasizing further on Laozi’s position on dialectic ism. By doing so, he introduced a new notion of self-transformation as the key precept in the Taoist process (Hansen, 2000). He also stated that it is essential to transcend all the dualities of existence. According to him, the way nature worked and reconciled the opposite sides showed how the Tao dualities were resolved in unity. On the other hand, Laozi influenced the development of Daoism by advocating for humility in leadership. He also promoted the development of anti-authoritarian movements that stressed on giving power to the weak (Hansen,

Friday, November 1, 2019

International trade and finance law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International trade and finance law - Essay Example The crisis also played an important part in the decrease of consumer wealth and poor economic activity ultimately leading to the global economic recession experienced between 2008 and 2012. Various causes of the 2008 economic crisis have been identified. These causes have been assigned weights by various economists in order to offer a comprehensive understanding of the event. According to a report presented to the U.S. senate on the financial crisis, the main causes were identified as poor regulatory systems, failure of rating agencies and high risk products among other cumulative effects2. By considering the financial crisis, we find that various questions need to be answered. First, what reasons resulted in the vulnerability of banks to problems in the credit market? What roles does the effectiveness of current international and national regulatory frameworks play on this vulnerability and finally, what changes are needed in the regulatory framework to prevented any future occurren ce of a global financial crisis. Looking at the situation preceding and following the financial crisis, we conclude that the main cause of the financial crisis included poor implementation with regards to corporate governance and risk management, poor design of regulatory frameworks and weaknesses in risk assessment and reporting. ... The main trigger of the financial crisis was the collapse of the U.S. housing bubble that begun in the late 1990s and peaked in 20073. According to Bullard (2009), the rapid demand for housing and the resulting increase in prices can be attributed to rare low interest rates, fast income growth, improvements in the mortgage market and large capital influx. During the housing bubble, there was a rapid increase in the offering of nonprime mortgage loans especially those with unusual terms. According to research, there was a 40% increase of nonprime mortgage loans between the year 2001 and 20064. Most of these loans were given to consumers with poor credit histories, marginal down payments and other deficiencies precluding them from prime loans5. The rise in subprime lending was accompanied by a fast increase in the percentage of subprime loans that lenders sold to banks. Firms such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac played a crucial part in the development of lending, which they funded throu gh selling of bonds in the capital markets. Ultimately, Government Sponsored Enterprises that were tasked with policing mortgage originators and maintaining underwriting standards were forced to relax these standards in order to compete with private banks6. When the bubble burst and there was a sharp fall in house prices, most borrowers realized that their loans exceeded what their houses were worth. This resulted in the inability of most borrowers to refinance their mortgages ultimately creating the motivation for defaults. Due to this, loan defaults and foreclosures increase sharply as can be seen in Figure 1 Fig 1: The U.S. Housing Bubble7 The failure of the mortgage market was also accompanied by the explosion and subsequent collapse of shadow banking.