Shila Gonsalves Essays - Cancer, RTT, Medicine, Colorectal Cancer

Shila Gonsalves Eng 102 Professor Streeter Essay #3 Colon Cancer C ancer is a malignant disease that is widespread nowadays . It can potentially up shoot anywhere in the body with no unique warning signs. A sufferer might come to kn ow at a very later stage that they have got cancer . There may well be a chance that he or she is warned way before the disease reaches the stage where it can not be treated. All this is a matter of luck rather than anything else. C ancer can occur in many forms for example liver cancer, breast cancer, thyroid cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer etc. In short a cancerous tissue can form anywhere in the body. We will focus on colon cancer in this essay. Colon cancer or colorectal cancer is a cancer , which occurs in rectum. The colon is known as the large intestine o r large bowel and t he rectum connects the colon to the anus . If colon cancer is diagnosed at an early stage it can be cured through chemotherapy or surgical treatment however that i s only possible if it spreads in t o the near by lymp h nodes. The American Cancer society stated that colon cancer is one of the main reasons of deaths in America . U nlike breast c ancer or cervical cancer, which a ffects women only , colon cancer can a ffect men and women alike, irr espective of class, race or eth nicity . Despite this it has been seen that it i s more common in men than in women. Colon cancer s ymptoms are simply the apparent changes that one can notice. Many colon cancer patients do not notice any visible change how ever there are few thi ngs that indicate if a person is affect ed by this disease. F or example , according to Cappell (2008), a person might feel abdominal p ain and tenderness in the lower abdomen . D iarrhea or constipation may also be one of the symptoms but many patients tend to ignore such symptoms as these may be caused by food poisoning or not eating enough fibrous food. H owever if the blood comes in the stool or the re is a constant weight loss or intestinal obstruction then the se symptoms are often taken relatively seriously by the people. In almost all cases as stated in Lieberman (2009) , with proper screening , doctors can detect colon cancer before symptoms develop. T he doctor will simply perform a physical test, he or she will press the belly or abdomen and if t he y feel a mass then t he y will c onfirm doubts through fecal occult blood test (FOBT), this test can detect small amounts of blood in the stool but t he loop hole here is that it can also come negative for pati ents who do have colon cancer thus for this reason it must be done along with colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy ( these are the imaging tests that show the entire colon). I f these tests show that a person has colorectal cancer then the doctor s further confirm it through a CT or MRI scan of the abdomen and pelvic area. S ometimes the docto r might also get a CT scan of brain and chest to see how far the cancer has spread and at until which stage the cancer has matured . " C olon cancer is divided into 5 stages; stage 0 is the early stage where it only affects the inner most layer of the intestine and the first stage affects the inner layer . By the end of stage three, the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes and fifth stage is where it has affected the other organs ( the chance of survival at thi s stage is very less). " T he kind of treatment given to the patient depends upon the stage of cancer the person is going through. G enerally there are three kinds of treatments ; surgery, radiation therapy and chemo therapy. S urgery means removing the cancerous cell through an operation. I t is more often

American education reform

American education reform The vision for all children, regardless of their societal setting, should be to receive meaningful education that prepares them for responsibilities, opportunities and challenges that lie ahead, in order to have a significant impact in not only their societies, but also the international economy.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on American education reform specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is for this reason that the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and their affiliates continue to push for Common Core State Standards (CCSS), though their efforts lack the support of policy makers, who are fixated on the use of standardized tests for the purpose of accountability. Following the enactment of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2001, more attention was given to fulfilling the needs of students by employing CCSS and assessments to evaluate student and school performance. However, this system left educators as the only par ty responsible for the performance of students and schools, while policy makers set out to increase the number of standardized tests administered to students as a way to benchmark their performance levels and set prerequisites for graduation or promotion. Educators acknowledge the importance of measuring student learning through the appropriate use of standardized testing and logical accountability measures, though they continue to assert that there should be proper balance between teaching and testing. As such, reforming the American education system requires a lot of work to be done, beyond the administration of regular assessments, through professional development, aligned curriculum, and access to resources for educators to advance their knowledge and collaboration efforts. One of the requirements of the NCLB is the administration of standardized testing in all 50 states on an annual basis for all students above the third grade. These tests are motivated by the notion that stude nts will feel increased pressure to perform well, owing to the eventual reward or punishment, which will then increase their learning and achievement. The use of tests is vital for monitoring student learning, but the current accountability system under the NCLB Act has brought about serious implications including: reduced attention to critical elements of the curriculum that are not mandated to accountability testing, compromise of student learning time to test preparation and testing, and the shift of educators attention to attaining a minimum score as opposed to gaining knowledge. Popham (11) claims that the use of a test-based accountability system is rational since it provides educators with a means to assess the comprehension level of their students, though the absolute reliance on this strategy obstructs proper teaching and learning.Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Lu nenburg (2) argues that high-stakes testing does not increase student learning. Instead, it interferes with student motivation and narrows the curriculum as teachers provide instruction based on the appropriate response to test questions. This is done at the expense of vital skills traditionally provided in schools, including problem solving, critical thinking and group work. In the last decade, the time spent on test preparation and testing has increased drastically, in similar proportion to the lost instructional time and additional testing expenses. Proponents of more testing argue that the improved rate of student achievement, owing to additional tests, outweigh the extra costs of testing or money paid to testing companies, and fail to realize that the increase in number of ‘bubble students’, or those whose scores are concentrated at the minimum score, compromises the development of every student’s full potential (Nelson 8). There are different kinds of asses sments administered in schools including those mandated by the state and those developed at the district level, though the recent focus on data reporting and analysis has made all assessments high-stakes assessments with implications for students, schools and teachers. State tests mandated by NCLB are aimed at determining whether the students are satisfying state standards on an annual basis, and are administered in the spring to sum up the school year. The test scores are then compared to those of previous years in order to determine the effectiveness of a school. However, Lunenburg (3) argues that the use of a single summative test score to assess student achievement is flawed as it does not reflect on the progress of the students. A study performed by Nelson on two mid-sized urban school districts revealed that students in grade 3 to 10 spend between 20 and 50 hours every year taking high-stake tests, and an additional 60-110 hours preparing for those tests. In addition, an estim ated cost of $6.15 for every lost instructional hour translated to an annual testing cost of about $700 per students. However, this study did not take into consideration a variety of other time and testing costs including: cost of test prep materials, the teacher’s non-classroom time spent preparing the test, time and cost of special education testing, cost of preparing hardware and technology for testing, and time spent on data reporting and analysis.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on American education reform specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Other costs not incorporated in the study are those pertaining to time spent by students on quizzes or teacher-made tests, and the time spent on assessing homework and grading tests (Nelson). Nonetheless, Nelson (27) observed that the scrutiny of current testing policy, in regard to budgetary costs, would spark policymakers to consider alternative uses of teacher and stud ent time, like allocating more time to non-test subjects in the curriculum. According to the study performed by Nelson, the abolishment of testing would free up between 20 and 40 minutes in every school day for most grades, and in some cases, add an entire class period for students in grades 6-11. Furthermore, it would be possible to relocate about $100 of the amount used on every student for testing to buy instructional programs or provide technology. According to Nelson (28), reducing the time and costs of testing by even half of the current levels would still produce considerable benefits to the learning school day, and create funds for the preparation of tests that are better suited to enhance knowledge acquisition, and even increase the access of teachers, students and parents to valuable resources and information. In the recent past, different states have started to acknowledge the pleas of educators to focus less on excess-testing and more on imparting meaningful knowledge. T he Texas legislature, for instance, decided to slice the amount of high school end-of-course mandated exams for graduation from fifteen to five. On a similar note, the New York Orchard Park Central School District proposed that the 2013 state assessments be used in evaluating the progress of the state in introducing the CCLS, as opposed to assessing the performance of students or the effectiveness of educators (Popham). According to Popham, the level of poverty in the communities where various schools are situated does not serve as an indicator for the quality of education or instruction that occurs in the classroom, but has the largest impact on the variation of test scores from one institution to the other. Besides the amount of wealth in the community where a school is located, the resources available in that school also affect its performance and test scores; hence the distinction in the scores of Beverly Hills’ schools and those in Birmingham. Using test scores to evalua te teachers is erroneous since the scores of the students are only partly dependent on the kind of education that they receive. These scores are also a reflection of the interference of the community on the student’s education, long before the child interacted with the teacher in the classroom (Popham).Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The results obtained from high-stakes tests inform the state of the resources available in a school, and the socioeconomic status of the community, but not about the quality of education provided within those schools. If standardized tests continue to be administered, the outcomes of those tests should be provided to parents, teachers, school districts, and other relevant parties for accountability purposes instead of using them for research and intricate systems for evaluating schools and teachers (Lunenburg). In addition, the purpose of testing should be to enhance instructions offered to students and assist in improving schools, rather than to sanction, punish and shut down schools. It is not rational to issue tests to students for the sole purpose of determining the impact that their educators have on imparting knowledge. A measure of achievement should be one of the components used when assessing the school. Nelson (31) suggests that state and school districts should evaluate t he cost implications of the entire testing and assessment systems employed in typical school districts, including the cost and time for test preparation and lost instructional time. Nelson also proposes the incorporation of support measures to enhance the evaluation literacy of teachers that is required for improving and employing classroom assessments, as well as the appropriate utilization and interpretation of formal tests. It would then be the responsibility of the state to hold teachers accountable for employing the best assessment practices. It is important that all parties concerned with testing students to determine their progress or check teacher and school effectiveness to streamline their processes. To achieve this, school districts should include educators in the evaluation of testing systems to establish their usefulness in improving teaching, and in so doing, abolish any assessments that are not meaningful. In the effort to promote student knowledge acquisition, it may also be advisable to either reduce or abolish interim testing since they have no useful impact in promoting the teaching process. Nelson claims that these tests are exceedingly complicated, confusing, and do not reflect the state standards, but instead lead to an increase in â€Å"bubble students† and mediocrity. While in this process, it may also be advisable to do away with redundant, obsolete state tests and establish Common Core assessments designed by PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) or SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium) as the only state-mandated assessments. In conclusion, teachers should embark on processes that allow them to drastically reduce the time spent on assessment preparation and benchmark testing. This can be achieved by shifting their focus from administering old tests to gaining new skills and knowledge that is vital for executing the Common Core standards in a setting that does not motivate learning throu gh the promise of reward and punishment. Another way to save on time and costs is to embed assessments in instructional materials. This can be achieved through challenging tasks and projects that require students to engage at their own pace, and use brief tests to check their comprehension in the course of the training schedule. Lunenburg, Fred C. America’s Obsession with Student Testing: Costs in Money and Lost Instructional Time. International Journal f Scholarly Academic Intellectual Diversity 15.1 (2013): 1-4. Print. Nelson, Howard. Testing More, Teaching Less What America’s Obsession with Student Testing Costs in Money and Lost Instructional Time. Washington, D.C: American Federation of Teachers, 2013. Print. Popham, James. Classroom evidence of successful teaching, mastering assessment. Boston, MA: Allyn Bacon, 2011. Print.

Definition and Examples of Cacophemisms in English

Definition and Examples of Cacophemisms in English Cacophemism is a  word or expression thats  generally perceived as harsh, impolite, or offensive, although it may be used in a humorous context. It is similar to dysphemism, and a contrast with euphemism. Etymology is from the Greek, bad plus speech. Cacophemism, says Brian Mott, is a deliberate reaction against euphemism and involves intentional use of strong words, very often with the aim of shocking the audience or the person to whom they are addressed (Semantics and Translation for Spanish Learners of English, 2011). Examples and Observations A cruel or offensive dysphemism is a cacophemism (from Greek kakos bad), such as using it for a person: Is it coming again tonight?(Tom McArthur, The Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford University Press, 1992) How Neutral Terms Become CacophemismsWhen we use cacophemisms,....we do not necessarily speak ill of anything. Cacophemistic language is a rough and raw, blunt and vulgar way of saying anything - good, evil, or neutral - of a thing. Not all of it is obscene by any means; witness grub and duds for example. Some are extremely vulgar, but not quite obscene (that is, not quite categorically tabooed in polite society), likely to offend but not to shock, like puke, guts, fart, stink, belly, croak, and burp. A genuinely obscene word, in virtue of the taboo its utterance violates, is as cacophemistic as a word can be. . . .People naturally find some perfectly accurate descriptive terms unflattering and displeasing. It is therefore considered good manners for others to avoid these terms as much as possible, and when one cannot avoid speaking the unpleasant truth, to find descriptive synonyms that strike the ear as less blunt, though they say the same thing as the unflattering term. In this way, we generate a stream of euphemisms, in comparison to which the original descriptive term seems ever more coarse, until that term, originally neutral, becomes a cacophemism. The words fat and old are good examples of this process. It is now considered to be blunt almost to the point of uncouthness to refer to a fat person as fat. And while there are a few dysphemistic ways of saying the same thing (potbellied, fat-assed, lard-assed, gross), there are few other terms that are as cacophemistic now as the straightforward unadorned fat.(Joel Feinberg, Offense to Others. Oxford University Press, 1988) Rationalizing With Euphemisms and CacophemismEuphemism and cacophemism play a central role in rationalization. When we call someone a terrorist, we may be using a cacophemism - making an activity seem worse than it actually is. When we call the same person a freedom fighter, we may be using a euphemism - making the activity sound better than it really is. Either way, by using these words, we set ourselves up for rationalizing the harming of others.(Ronald A. Howard and Clinton D. Korver, Ethics for the Real World. Harvard Business Press, 2008) Cacophemisms and HumorA euphemism is generally no more than the triumph of squeamishness over reality: little person for dwarf, senior citizen for old man, disturbed for crazy, etc. Cacophemisms, on the other hand, tend to reflect an attitude of rough-and-ready good humor toward the person or object in question: egghead, grease monkey, quack, etc. A further difference between the two isms is that cacophemisms are more readily recognized for what they are; euphemisms tend to have acquired a wider  currency in normal parlance and hence to be accepted more unthinkingly by the listener.(Peter Bowler,  The Superior Persons Book of Words. David R. Godine, 1985)

Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Statement - Essay Example rition with focus on behavioral and social determinants of food choices, diet quality and health, human nutrition, and relationships between autism and diet. This identifies diversified topics for my dissertation and my focus in the dissertation will be household poverty and wellbeing with focus on the factors’ covariance and their individual and interaction effects on education. The dissertation may also consider demographic factors and their effects on households’ economic and social status as well as effects on academic achievements. My interest for the dissertation further extends to health conditions among poor population segments, especially obesity and diabetes. Within this scope, I may focus on the relationship between poverty levels and incidence rates of obesity as well as relationship between incidences of obesity and diabetes and food security among the population segment. The research interest identifies diversified target population segments. Of prime target are adolescent girls because of their presumed vulnerability to their environment. Other population segments for consideration in my research are parents of the adolescents, the elderly, and adults with disabilities. I have not developed a work schedule for my Qualitative II project but shall likely precede with my project on Nutrition Advertisements Influence the Perception of Adolescent Girls on their Eating Habits and Nutritional

Mergers & Acquisitions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Mergers & Acquisitions - Essay Example The activity of merger & acquisition is predominantly undertaken by the acquired firms to improve the financial performance. The following factors are considered to improve the financial status of the organisation: The combined company oftenly reduces its fixed costs by extracting extra departments, lowering the costs of the company and to increase the revenue of the organisation, thus increasing the profit margins. A profitable company can buy a company who are at loss so as to make use of the targets loss as their merit by decreasing the tax liability. In the United States and other countries, rules are that of profitable companies buys those companies who suffer from loss, which limits the tax motive of acquiring a company. Geographical diversification is for earning easily from a company, which in the long term helps in the trends of the stock market of a company to rise, giving investors’ confidence while investing in the company. Vertical integration occurs when the upstream and downstream companies are combined. There are various reasons for vertical integration to occur. One reason is a relationship of internal with an external problem. A common example one of an external problem is that of double margins. Double margins occur when the upstream and downstream companies are the monopolies in power, every company decreases output from the competition to the monopoly level, which results to two losses. By merging the firm can burden one loss by putting the downstream company’s output in the competition. This result to increase in the profit. A merger that introduces a vertically integrated firm can be profitable. The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), owned by the Saudi Arabian Government, is a collective, global petroleum initiative, and a world leader in discovering and producing, refining, distribution, and etc. The company operates and reserves of 260 billion bpd oil , the largest than any other company in the world, and is the fourth

Belonging Essay Example for Free

Belonging Essay Belonging is a natural reaction, intrinsic. We search in order to find a community, a group of friends, a country in which we belong. America is a place whereWhen we feel uncomfortable, we say â€Å"I don’t belong here† and when you find a situation in which you are happy, you can be yourself, natural and free you feel as if it was created only for you. It can also be the most wonderfully liberating experience when you find yourself in a culture in which you do not belong. In not belonging, you become someone free of restrictions, free of the expectations, free to creatively exre your imagination without the guilt that often latently lies behind the veiled threat of failure and disappointment. The apparent fact of not belonging is open for everyone, but ittms the course of action taken in light of this cultural segregation which should be the goal of the traveler today. I had, I realized become strangely accustomed to living in Korea, even though a part of me desired to be back on the beach in Thailand. Rules, or lack of, which shaped me more as an individual than any thing else I had experienced in my life. We are expected to increase our spending power as we age, not our understanding of other cultures, not our compassion for each other or for those living on the other side of the economic spectrum. The traveler, if open to the possibility, is in a perfect position to experience this transcendence. America is the ultimate machine, the ultimate company, and the by-product of its hyper capitalist model is the increasingly glaring loss of personal creativity and individualism within its borders. We are consumers and we are resources to be used and abused in a cycle of production of consumption. I didntmt belong, but I could never belong and it was a liberating experience, one which taught me in a way the rules for living on the fringe of a society. I was an outsider, I obviously did not belong into this society, one which is very homogeneous, one in which a foreigner learns to live with the constant attention of being gawked and stared at, around each corner, in each subway car, in every restaurant, everywhere. In our own cultures, where in a sense, at least culturally, linguistically and historically we do belong, life often becomes a stifling world in which our lives are predestined, packaged products.

Review Of Shakespears The Tempest :: essays research papers

Why is it that people fawn Shakespeare and have unreasonably high reguard for his works, including The Tempest, and label them as â€Å"immortal classics†? Indeed Shakespeare’s works had great significance in the evolution of English literature, but these works, including The Tempest are mostly devoid of significance and literary value in the present day. One can expect to gain little educational benefit of the english language or hightened apreciation for fine literature from the reading of Shakespeare’s titles for reasons enumerate. First of all, the colorful and sophisticated metephoric vernacular style of the language utilized is archaic; even the speech of intellectually refined individuals and other respected literary works do not imploy of this rich style of speech. The poemic composition of The Tempest does not increase one’s ability to apreciate distinguished literature because the refined and respected works of most other classical writers are in novel form and thus differ highly from Shakesperian works in the literary devices and mannerisms from which they are comprised. The Tempest was written in early seventeeth century England. At this period of history and country the English language was quite different from what it is today in many ways. First, standard, formal vocabulary was different at this time. An great expample is found in the line â€Å"...you bawling, blasphemous, incharitable dog!† (act 1 sc. 1, p. 9). In this line, the word incharitable is the modern equivalent of the word uncharitable. The standard dictionary word has changed prefixes somewhere througout the centuries. Another thing that would have made a further gap between the vernacular in the play and modern English is Shakespeare’s deployment of common language, or slang (although I have no proof because I don’t speak sixteenth century slang). â€Å"A pox o’ your throught...† (act 1 sc.1, p. 9) and â€Å"...give o’er...† (act 1 sc. 1, p. 9). These phrases seem to be slang therms because they are so deviant from there modern english equvalents, â€Å"curses on† and â€Å"give up†, respectiveley. What value does learning the archaic vernacular give to the reader. Surely it does not increase thier word power or sophisticate thier vocabulary, for nowhere, not even in among people of high intellecutal refinement such as venerable college professers, is this dead language used. Another distinctive trait of the vernacular used in The Tempest is the heavy use of metaphor. This use of metaphor is so heavy and outlandish that it becomes extrodinarily difficult to interpret and causes the words to fall into chaotic ambiguity. In fact, it is not unreasonable to define the language of the text as sophistry. A great example of heavy metaphor in The Review Of Shakespears "The Tempest" :: essays research papers Why is it that people fawn Shakespeare and have unreasonably high reguard for his works, including The Tempest, and label them as â€Å"immortal classics†? Indeed Shakespeare’s works had great significance in the evolution of English literature, but these works, including The Tempest are mostly devoid of significance and literary value in the present day. One can expect to gain little educational benefit of the english language or hightened apreciation for fine literature from the reading of Shakespeare’s titles for reasons enumerate. First of all, the colorful and sophisticated metephoric vernacular style of the language utilized is archaic; even the speech of intellectually refined individuals and other respected literary works do not imploy of this rich style of speech. The poemic composition of The Tempest does not increase one’s ability to apreciate distinguished literature because the refined and respected works of most other classical writers are in novel form and thus differ highly from Shakesperian works in the literary devices and mannerisms from which they are comprised. The Tempest was written in early seventeeth century England. At this period of history and country the English language was quite different from what it is today in many ways. First, standard, formal vocabulary was different at this time. An great expample is found in the line â€Å"...you bawling, blasphemous, incharitable dog!† (act 1 sc. 1, p. 9). In this line, the word incharitable is the modern equivalent of the word uncharitable. The standard dictionary word has changed prefixes somewhere througout the centuries. Another thing that would have made a further gap between the vernacular in the play and modern English is Shakespeare’s deployment of common language, or slang (although I have no proof because I don’t speak sixteenth century slang). â€Å"A pox o’ your throught...† (act 1 sc.1, p. 9) and â€Å"...give o’er...† (act 1 sc. 1, p. 9). These phrases seem to be slang therms because they are so deviant from there modern english equvalents, â€Å"curses on† and â€Å"give up†, respectiveley. What value does learning the archaic vernacular give to the reader. Surely it does not increase thier word power or sophisticate thier vocabulary, for nowhere, not even in among people of high intellecutal refinement such as venerable college professers, is this dead language used. Another distinctive trait of the vernacular used in The Tempest is the heavy use of metaphor. This use of metaphor is so heavy and outlandish that it becomes extrodinarily difficult to interpret and causes the words to fall into chaotic ambiguity. In fact, it is not unreasonable to define the language of the text as sophistry. A great example of heavy metaphor in The