An appraisal of a piece of research-based evidence relevant to Essay

An appraisal of a piece of research-based evidence relevant to healthcare practice - Essay Example The following appraisal evaluates a clinical research study and its potential applications to nursing practice. The main aims of this research study were to evaluate student nurses’ perceptions of hand hygiene practice compliance in order to explore ways of effectively incorporating best practice standards of hand hygiene compliance into nursing school curricula and training programmes. The impetus for this study was the documentation of increased incidence of health-care associated infections (HCAIs) and data that suggest that there are generally poor compliance rates for hand hygiene among healthcare workers (Creedon 2005). The rationale for the increased attention to hygiene compliance is that greater attention to hand hygiene practices among nurses, doctors and other healthcare workers may produce a decrease in the overall incidence of HCAIs among patients (Boyce & Pittet 2002). This is a very serious problem as noscomial infections are associated with higher mortality rates in critically ill patients, increased hospital stays and excessive antibiotic usage, all of which represent unwanted complications in patient care. There are a number of excellent search engines that would be relevant to this type of search. These include the Cochrane Library Online, which is a website containing journal articles and research findings designed to meet the needs of nursing professionals. Another excellent website is the Centers for Disease Control website (CDC), a USA based database that contains the results of the latest research on infectious disease, and evidence-based practice research findings. Pubmed/medline is an online database that can be used in a search by topic mode to obtain the latest journal research articles on this subject. The rationale for this research study involving nursing students’ perceptions of hand hygiene compliance was the

Central Banks Propel Asia Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Central Banks Propel Asia Markets - Essay Example The loosening of the policy concerning the dollar came because of the slow economic momentum, a factor that prompted the mentioned economies to come to their agreement. The slow economic downturn started as early as November, therefore, an economic intervention was needed to boost the stock markets in Asia, Europe and the other countries, which were included in the financing deal. Critical Analysis It is the job of policy makers to ensure that they set up appropriate policies, which will ensure that the economy is stable and money value is not lost. The policy indicated by the above scenario indicates that the actions by major world economies in the stock market have the capability to influence financial markets in the world. The lowering in dollar financing costs by the major policy deciders in both Europe and the North American continent helped to reduce the risks of global financing, which in turn increases investor confidence in the markets. Therefore, the resultant effect, the r ise in stock markets in the Asian, American and European economies can be attributed to a rise in investor confidence in the stock market. ... expected to benefit other economies, for example, the US, Canadian and European economies witnessed an increase in the indices used in the respective countries. Critical Questions 1. How does the boosting of liquidity in one country affect the stocks in another country? 2. What are the perceived benefits of the increase in liquidity in the Asian economies? Work Cited Turner, Susan. Central Banks Propel Asia Markets, 2011. Web. December 01, 2011. Available at: Portugal Hit by Downgrade and Strike Summary The article â€Å"Portugal Hit by Downgrade and Strike†, by Kowsmann describes two major events that affected Portugal’s economy in the last one week. The article states that the Portuguese economy faced a double tragedy when its debt was downgraded to junk, and a strike paralyzed operations in the country. The nationwide strike was occasioned by growing fears and discontent that austerity measures were pushing the country deep into recession. The second tragedy was the lowering of the country’s debt rating by Fitch’s Rating index, an index that describes the debt-characteristic of various economies. Portugal’s debt rating was lowered from triple-B-Minus to double-B-Plus, which means that the country is considered an ineffective credit controller. This was caused by the country’s perceived fiscal imbalances and debt figures across all sectors of the economy. Effectively, the lowering of the rating indicates that the country is no longer investment worthy, meaning that investors will be scared away from the economy. Critical Analysis The downgrading of the Portuguese economy, accompanied by the nationwide strike is not a stand-alone factor. This is evident from the current debt

An event from the Holocaust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

An event from the Holocaust - Essay Example This research paper attempts to study the political, social and cultural environment which led to the holocaust. We will also briefly explore the Nazi policies of exclusion. Finally, we will look at the atrocities meted out to the prisoners in the concentration camps. Long before Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany, eugenic scientists were conducting experiments to prove the inequality of humans. These research were not restricted to Germany but were worldwide. Tests conducted in the United States "proved" that class, race and ethnic differences "reflected intelligence.2 These research results were not only accepted by the scientific community but also influenced the policy makers. In United States, "inferior races and ethnic groupswere prohibited from entering the country."3 Solution to the "problem" of the "feebleminded individuals who already resided in the United States" ranged from putting them in "permanent custodial care" to sterilization.4 Eugenics eventually lost acceptance in the United States but in Germany, following the coming to power of the Nazi party, eugenic scientists began to enjoy political support. Hitler wanted to build a utopian German society. Such a society would be "racially homogenous, physically hardy and mentally healthy".5 To achieve this utopia, Germany followed a policy of exclusion and the killing operations were the final stage of this policy. Eugenics introduced the idea of human inequality and the Nazi policies institutionalized it. The groups excluded included the physically handicapped, intellectually retarded, mentally disturbed and, eventually, the racially alien people. By 1939, Hitler abandoned his policy of exclusion and started discussing "implementation of what he called euthanasia".6 Nazi Policies The National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) better known as the Nazi party was founded on January 5 1919. Hitler joined the NSDAP on September 16 1919.7 His inspirational leadership and oratorical skills saw him become the chairman of the party by July 1921. Germany's defeat in the World War I and signing of the Treaty of Versailles which put the sole responsibility of the "war guilt" on the Germans was humiliating for the defeated nation. This along with the depression of 1929 and the inability of Germans to come to terms with the resulting hardships saw the Nazi party get 37 percent of the votes in 1932 elections.8 Thus on January 30, 1933, Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany. On February 27 1933, a mysterious fire in the Reichstag building destroyed the German "Parliament". The next day the German President, Paul von Hindenburg declared emergency. The emergency, along with the "Enabling Act, or Law for the Removal of the Distress of the People and Reich, would allow H itler torule Germany as a dictator."9 Between 1933 and 1935, the German government enacted various laws to remove Jews from public life and to revoke their citizenship.10 From April 1, 1933, the Nazi Government started a countrywide boycott of Jewish businesses. This and other policies between 1933 and 1938 were aimed at forcing the German Jews to emigrate from Germany. However, the policies failed due to reluctance of many German Jews to leave their

Abortion Term Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Abortion Term Paper - Essay Example The dominant reasons cited for procurement of abortions are broad and detail concern for or responsibility to other individuals; some women who procure an abortion assert that they cannot afford a child; others cite interference with school, work, or their capability to avail care for dependents while others dread of being a single parent or have problems with their husband or partner (Callahan 116). The discussion makes several clarifications, distinctions, and oppositions that propel the ethical considerations for or against abortion. The core question that manifests in this discussion encompasses two questions, namely: whether abortion is morally wrong. These are unique issues as not everything that is immoral can be regarded as essentially illegal. This essay develops a general argument dwelling on the claim that the vast majority of procured abortions are gravely immoral. Abortion infers the premature removal of a fetus from the Uterus prior to 28 weeks gestation, the random est ablished period of viability or prior to pregnancy reaching its full term. There are two forms of abortion, namely: miscarriage (spontaneous abortion) that happens mainly naturally, statistics indicates that close to 50% of pregnancies end in this manner (Callahan 117). Second, procured abortion encompasses intentional termination of the pregnancy mainly incorporating an operation to expel the fetus from the womb. Viability is entirely a relative term complete with value judgments, rather than a distinct descriptive entity. Although, abortion has over the years grown to become one of the most debate issues within bioethics, no moral consensus has been attained. The lingering debate on when abortions should be carried out, by what means, and the kinds on infants that should be saved demonstrate the complexity of the issue of abortion. The greatest difficulty presented, but abortion literature lies in spotlighting reliable philosophical and scientific arguments amid the dominating rhetorical manipulation (Bok 33). Academically, the issue of abortion centers on the balance between liberties both the mother, plus the baby. Theologically, the issue of abortion flows from two critical questions: 1) at what point is life considered beginning? (Whether at conception or birth); 2) if so, is it a sin to abort a fetus? The explanation suggested by the faiths detail that life commences at conception, and hence the baby is considered to be living from the conception (Monagle and Thomasma 17). Hence, it is a mortal sin (murder) to abort a fetus. The central argument that is mainly against abortion details that: the fetus is in essence an innocent person and it is morally wrong to terminate the life of a guiltless individual. Subsequently, it is morally wrong to terminate the life of a fetus. Some anti-abortionist will admit certain abortions such as abortion prior to implantation, or abortions procured the moment the life of the mother is threatened by a pregnancy, or abortion subsequent to a rape (Callahan 117). These cases of abortion may be considered to be morally permissible. B. The Moral Controversy Surrounding the Problem Public opinion on abortion can be categorized into three camps, namely: conservative, liberal, and moderate (or gradualist) all of which draws on both science and ethical thinking. Conservatives groups such as the Catholic Church perceive the fetus as a human being with full moral rights from conception onward. Conception in this case can be regarded as a critical point since this is the stage in which the embryo develops its distinct genetic code (Singer 189). Liberal approach, on the other hand, concedes that the fetus is

Case assignment cultural Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case assignment cultural Identity - Essay Example 2. To what extent do you think cultural beliefs, values, and traditions may impact health education efforts? Please provide examples of negative and positive impacts that apply to the case studies from the video. Cultural beliefs, values and traditions play a crucial role in the health-care setting. As emphasized in the National Transitions of Care Coalition (NTOCC) (n.d.), â€Å"health care professionals increasingly recognize the crucial role that culture plays in the healthcare of a client or patient and the need to deliver services in a culturally competent manner† (p. 1). Therefore, the ability of health care professionals to educate the patients on the most effective intervention would depend on the ability to communicate messages that accommodate understanding cultural beliefs, values, and traditions. In the case studies from the video, the good cross-cultural patient communication scenario clearly depicts that the following elements assist in effective efforts for health education: (1) eliciting information on the cultural remedies; (2) demonstration of acceptance of patient’s views; (3) accommodating the health beliefs of patients; (4) explores understanding of the cultural impact; and (5) empathizes and supports the patient’s perspectives and cultural views (University of Michigan: Lesson 1, 2010). On the other hand, the bad cross-cultural patient communication scenario exemplified negative impacts on health education and cultural competence: (1) not demonstrating acceptance of patient’s view; (2) not eliciting information on cultural remedies; (3) not accommodating health beliefs; and (4) not empathizing and supporting the patient’s perspectives and cultural views (University of Michican: Lecture 2, 2010). Based on the video, one would suggest to health professionals who want to improve their cross-cultural communications

A comparison between the 1920s and the 1980s Essay Example for Free

A comparison between the 1920s and the 1980s Essay The 1920s and 1980s are similar in many ways. Their similarities are social, economical, and political. Some of the similarities between the decades are Prohibition and the War on Drugs, the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and 1987, and the influence of music on society. Prohibition was passed as the 18th amendment, that importing, exporting, transporting, and manufacturing of alcohol was to be put to an end. Prohibition did not achieve its goals. Instead, it added to the problems that it intended to solve. It was expected that the decrease in alcohol consumption would in turn reduce crime, poverty, death rates, improve the economy, and the quality of life. As a result of the lack of enforcement of the Prohibition Act and the creation of an illegal industry of bootlegging an increase in crime transpired. The Prohibitionists hoped that the Volstead Act would decrease drunkenness in America and thereby decrease the crime rate, especially in large cities. Although towards the beginning of Prohibition this purpose seemed to be fulfilled, the crime rate soon skyrocketed to nearly twice that of the pre-prohibition period. In large cities the homicide went from 5.6 (per 100,000 population) in the pre-prohibition period, to nearly 10 (per 100,000 population) during prohibition, nearly a 78 percent increase. Serious crimes, such as homicides, assault, and battery, increased nearly 13 percent, while other crimes involving victims increased 9 percent. Many supporters of prohibition argued that the crime rate decreased. This is true if one is examining only minor crimes, such as swearing, mischief, and vagrancy, which did in fact decrease due to prohibition. The major crimes, however, such as homicides, and burglaries, increased 24 percent between 1920 and 1921. In addition, the number of federal convicts over the course of the prohibition period increased 561 percent (Hanson 31-34). After Prohibition was deemed a failure, the National Prohibition Act, or Volstead Act, was passed. The Volstead Act was put into place to determine specific laws and methods of enforcement; the Federal Prohibition Bureau was formulated in order to see that the Volstead Act was enforced. Nevertheless, bootleggers and commoners alike flagrantly violated these laws. Bootleggers  smuggled liquor from oversees and Canada, stole it from government warehouses, and produced their own. Many people hid their liquor in hip flasks, false books, hollow canes, and anything else they could find (Hanson 29). Although one would think that prohibition would enhance the difficulty of obtaining alcohol, liquor was actually very easy to acquire. The bootlegging business was so immense that customers could easily obtain alcohol by simply walking down almost any street. Replacing saloons, which were all shut down at the start of prohibition, were illegal speak-easies. These businesses, hidden in basements, office buildings, and anywhere that could be found, admitted only those with membership cards, and had the most modern alarm systems to avoid being shut down (Hanson 28). In the beginning of the 1980s drugs begin to spread rapidly through inner cities because of the easy accessibility. In 1982 the National Survey on Drug Abuse found 22 million Americans had used cocaine one time in their life. It became the choice of drug for the famous and successful; professional athletes, celebrities in entertainment, lawyers, university professors, and Wall Street brokers. It became labeled as the champagne of drugs. Many people took to the popular form of cocaine known as crack, which could be disguised as smoking a cigarette even though it was incredibly addicting. People could also acquire crack cocaine easily and inexpensively. Dealers would disguise regular homes and apartments as crack houses where a user could easily obtain their fix. In the 1980s Reagan had a similar problem with the war on drugs. Inner city violence increased due to gangs fighting for territory. It was also an underlying cause in the rise of domestic violence, child abuse, homelessness, violence in school, and dropout rates. In 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act was passed in effort to stop the drug crisis. The Act was aimed towards accountability and zero-tolerance towards addicts.. Critics accused the government of spending too much on enforcing rather than educating and treatment. Its effects were similar to those of Prohibition so in 1988 the act was redone (Bondi 395). It was almost impossible for government agencies to stop the smuggling of drugs into the U.S. It was done most commonly by boat but dealers would often find new ways to get their contraband past drug sniffing dogs and the border patrol at the Mexico border. When Reagans term ended and George W. Bush took office he gave his inaugural speech in which he said, When the first cocaine was smuggled in on a ship, it may as well have been a deadly bacteria, so much has it hurt the body, the soul of our country. There is much to be done and much to be said, but take my word for it: This scourge will stop. (Bondi 396). By the end of the 1920s the Stock Market was flourishing. In 1928 the New York Stock Exchange was trading at about six to seven million shares a day. Many economists warned about the dangers of rising prices. People disregarded this information and speculation increased about the Stock Market being the easy way to make money. People invested their lifes savings. Banks too invested large sums of money into the Stock Market. On Thursday, October 24, 1929, the bottom began to fall out. Prices dropped precipitously as more and more investors tried to sell their holdings. By the end of the day, the New York Stock Exchange had lost four billion dollars, and it took exchange clerks until five oclock AM the next day to clear all the transactions. By the following Monday, the realization of what had happened began to sink in, and a full-blown panic ensued. Thousands of investors, many of them ordinary working people, not serious players were financially ruined. By the end of the year, stock values had dropped by fifteen billion dollars (Hanson 67). Although the crash of 1929 was devastating on the economy, the crash on October 19, 1987,Black Monday, was more devastating be cause the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 508.32 points, losing 22.6% of its total value. The fall far surpassed the one-day loss of 12.9% that began the great stock market crash of 1929. The Dows 1987 fall also triggered panic selling and similar drops in stock markets worldwide. What made this market break extraordinary was the speed with which prices fell, the unprecedented volume  of trading and the consequent threat to the financial system. Both crashes were significant because they took a devastating toll on the economy. This led to the loss of jobs and shutting down of companies. Although much had been done after the crash of 1929, such as making Paper Companies illegal, it could not prevent the devastating losses of 1987 (Bondi 301). In the early 1920s times were prosperous and people begin to look for a new form of entertainment. It was the commercial dawn of radio, and the continued popularity of the phonograph. Neither invention was new. Radio had been experimented with as early as 1896, and Marconi stations lined the coasts before the Great War. The 20s saw the demise of the wax cylinder recorder (Edison manufactured them into the 20s), and the rise of the disk that was to stay with us in some form until the CD. Music became widely available for the average person because of the availability of phonographs and the accessibility to the radio. Things like the Charleston and dance marathons became popular do to the music that could be played at any given time. Jazz and blues also became big because of musicians like Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Sam Morgan, and Oscar Popa Celestin (Hanson 25).. On October 1, 1982 Sony introduced the CDP-101, the first Compact Disc audio CD player. This new technological advance sparked the development of a new type of music known as New Wave. Like Jazz, it began to gain popularity in New York City. The music became increasingly popular and began the attraction of people to nightclubs, such as CGBGs (Bondi 135). Despite the differences in technology and standards, the 1920s and 1980s were very similar. When it comes down to it, history really does repeat itself in many ways. Historians can only inform us as to what we can expect of the future and what we can do to prevent such devastating events. Works Cited Bondi, Victor. American Decades 1980 1989. Washington D.C. : Amanly, Inc. Book 1996 Hanson, Erica. Through the Decades The 1920s. San Diego: Lucent Books, Inc. 1999

Relationship Between Activity Level and Happiness

Relationship Between Activity Level and Happiness Correlation Study of the Relationship between Three Variables Introduction Personality is one of the key things that psychologists assess, and it is comprised of various things. Happiness, activity-level and sociability are key aspects in the life of every person, and they differ from person to person. These are one of the components of a person’s personality, and there are various causes of the differences in these key life elements. There are considerable differences between males, and females, and it shows that gender impact a number of aspects in the lives of people. Age also has an impact on these aspects, and there are notable variations as a person ages. International personality item pool test is a tool that is used in psychology to assess various aspects of an individual. It was created in the year 1999 by Goldberg, and the aspects that it assesses are emotional stability, agreeableness, openness, extraversion, and conscientiousness. These are personality elements that psychologists can use when describing an individual. It was a tool that was aimed at standardising the people’s psychological assessment, and it contains 50 questions. The five elements that it contains are divided into six subscales. It is a tool that has been widely used by researchers when looking at the differences between ethnic groups; genders; and age groups. Gender and age have an influence on happiness, activity-level and sociability. These aspects can be summed up in the personality elements that are assessed using the international item pool test. There is considerable change that occurs in a person’s level of activity as they age. This change usually starts to occur as a person enters school and it usually a decline. The decline continues until it reaches a level where a person has a sedentary lifestyle when he or she is old. The activity level between males and females is different with the latter having a less level than the former. There are researchers who however attribute this difference to be because of socialisation rather than the biological differences between the two sexes. Age has an impact on the level of happiness, and researchers have found various results when comparing the young and the elderly in terms of their level of happiness. Cooper et al. (2011) found that there are various factors that determine the level of happiness in various age groups. There is a proposed happiness factor that increases as a person passes the age of 46, and this impacted by things like age, gender, and external circumstances. The level of happiness between men and women is different, but is difficult to clearly state that one gender in happier than the other. There are men who are happier than women, and the same is true for women. This is because happiness in the current environment is determines by factors that affect both men and women in equal measure. This is unlike in the past where many women were restricted by the traditional gender roles, and this made a lot of them unhappy. Sociability is a key trait that individuals possess, and it is different between two people. Men are usually more sociable than women because of the freedoms that they have from the time that they are small. In childhood, there are fewer restrictions that are placed on boys on what they can do as compared to girls. Sociability also differs between the young and the old, with a majority of the young people being more sociable. As people age, many become lonely and are not able to move about easily as they did when in years past because of illness, or aging body. Discussion A negative correlation between the level of activity, and happiness was found, and this is similar with the results of some studies that show that old people are happier than the young. This similarity is because those who are old have been shown to have a reduced level of activity. The increased level of happiness in old age has been attributed to having a lifelong partner, and the decrease in responsibility like children who grow up, and leave the homes to become independent. The study also found out that the score of happiness decreased as the score of sociability increased, and this is an inverse relationship. This finding is supported by research that shows that the old people are not as sociable as the young, but they are happier. Various literatures have shown that there age has an impact on the level of happiness, and even though the elderly are lonely, they still live a happy life that is not mainly focused on the interaction with various people. The results however differ with others findings, which show that the young people are happy because they are able to socialise with various people. It also contradicts other research that found that women are less happy in certain settings because the society places restrictions on them regarding their level of socialisation. The difference in the amount of activity between men and women leads to a contradiction of the findings of the study because some studies have shown that men and women in the current world setup are equally happy because of increasing equality. This disproves the findings that the level of activity may have an influence on the level of happiness as was seen in the results of the study. This would mean that men are less happy than women because they are more active, and yet other studies have not been able to show this correlation. The results also showed that there is no significant level of difference of activity between the two genders. This contradicts the findings of other researchers, which have shown that there is considerable difference in the level of activity between men and women. Many studies show that men are more physically active than women, and they tend to take tasks that require a lot of physical activity. From this, it is hard to link the results of this study to what was previously found. The difference is due to genetics, and the musculature of men as compared to that of women, and the results of the study, therefore, shows that even though there is a genetic and biological difference, the level of activity is nearly the same. It was also found that those who are below the age of 60 years have nearly the same level of activity as those who are above the age of 60 years. This totally disagrees with the findings of many studies that show that the level of activity decreases as a person ages. Past results, therefore, show that those who are above the age of 60 are less physically active than those who are below the age of 60. These results are disputed by past findings that show that as a person ages, there are physical changes that occur that lead to a reduction in the amount of physical activity that they can perform. This is the reason many people who are above 60 years of age live a sedentary lifestyle. The results of the study that were aimed at looking at the age and gender differences in the level of happiness, activity level; and sociability differ with a majority of research that have been conducted. There are, however, studies that have found similar findings and show that there may not be major changes in the activity level between men and women. Researches with similar findings as the study also show that a high level of activity may have a negative impact on happiness. This may be true when focusing on the traditional roles of women who were unhappy with the many duties that were placed on them by the society. References Cooper, C., Bebbington, P., King, M., Jenkins, R., Farrell, M., Brugha, T., McManus, S.,Stewart, R., Livingston G. (2011). Happiness across age groups: results from the 2007 National Psychiatric Morbidity Survey. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry, 26(6), 608-614. Ehrharta, K. H., Roeschb, S. C., Ehrhartb, M. G., Kilianc, B. (20008). A Test of the Factor Structure Equivalence of the 50-Item IPIP Five-Factor Model Measure Across Gender and Ethnic Groups. Journal of Personality Assessment, 90(5), 507-516. Singh, A., Misra, N. (2009). Loneliness, depression and sociability in old age. Ind Psychiatry J. 18(1), 51–55.