Analysis of the Australian Healthcare System

Analysis of the Australian Healthcare System INTRODUCTION The health of people belonging to any nation is the prime topic of interest for the government of that very nation. On the same lines, it is very essential that the health system should be based on equity principle, such that no one is denied the right to utilize the benefits of the health care system. According to the National Health Reform Agreement, Australian Health care system is also founded on the concept of equity of access efficiency and effectiveness (Adityan2, 2013). It is found to be a world class system in terms of both effectiveness and efficiency. The population has a good health status, with the average life expectancy at birth of 81.4 years (women-83.7 and men- 79.2). This is the highest in the entire world. Still even with such statistics, there are certain groups like those of aboriginals and the Torres Islanders, who have a poor health status (AGDH, 2014). Australian government works under the scheme of medicare, which aims at providing help with high medical cost s and the hospital costs. Another scheme called the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) has also been implemented so that the costs of most of the medicines is subsidized. This essay describes the current scenario that prevails in the Australian democracy, regarding the status of equity of access, its effectiveness and the efficiency of the healthcare system. Effectiveness in this regard focuses on the ratio of outputs to outcomes. These three components form the basis of an ideal health system. In other words, a health system that if effective and efficient, is able to yield estimated outcome, is able to generate profitable outputs and is easily accessible (widely distributed), is an ideal health system for any country (NHHRC, 2009). The aim of this essay is to discuss the postulates of equity of access, effectiveness and efficiency in the Australian health care system and also throw light on the interrelationships among these concepts. EQUITY According to the US health and human rights academics Braverman and Gruskinn equity is an ethical concept with the baseline of distributive justice. With respect to healthcare, equity aims to eliminate unequal opportunites that are provided, to be healthy. Such opportunities are not given to those who have membership of socially less privileged groups like the poor people, handicapped, disenfranchised racial, cultural or ethnic groups. Mostly the people living in the rural areas are treated this way. If equity has to be considered with respect to the health care practices, then all the disparities or discriminations based on races, castes, origin, etc, should be eliminated completely. Thus, equity aims at diverting the attention of authorities towards the less privileged people of the nation (Braverman et al., 2003). As depicted by this definition, the requirement for medical health care depends upon the medical and social situation of an individual. In Australia, indigenous populati on is the one suffering from denial from health care services. They are generally linked with the economical, social, educational and cultural causes. The World Health Organisation has described inequity as follows,† Inequities are the differences or discriminations that are unjust, unfair, unnecessary and avoidable, but still persist in our society. It is not that every inequity is unfair, but yes all inequities are a result of unfair differences among the people. In the field of healthcare, just refers to the access permission for those who are not able to pay large sums of money, but are in desperate need of medical aid. Inequity should be prevented in granting access to medical aids for such cases depending upon the needs of various groups †. Gavin Mooney has defined equity as â€Å"equal access to equal care for equal need† (Mooney G., 2003). It was surveyed and found that the current health care facilities do not cater to the special needs of the indigenous people. There are many barriers to equity of access like the cost of care is very high, the fees of the consumer is again high, there is low health literacy among the people, poor access to health service information by the patients living in the remote areas, timely unavailability of the doctors, prevalence of quality services only in the posh parts of the country and lastly, the discrimination in giving the treatments. The last point itself explains the loopholes in the health care system. Some of the major reasons for such inequity are as follows: Most of the shopkeepers have closed their outlet in remote and poorer areas because there is decline in bulk billing. Patients who are willing to pay some extra amount are treated well while the rest are just ignored and left to die. Generally there are no hospitals in the remote areas. But even if some are there, they are too old that they need replacement/ Access to high technology treatments is doubtful in such areas and for such population. Richardson has shown the data statistics saying that the treatment of heart disease is thrice as common as in the insured patients. Also the provision of timely surgery is not applicable for public patients, as they have to wait in long queue and are treated once all the private patients have been taken care of. Better access to high quality services like that in dentistry and ancillary healthcare are offered to only those who either belong to the privately insured group or belong to a rich class. The Australians belonging to the White society are given the best possible treatment available in the world. While on the contrary, people belonging to the indigenous (Aboriginals and Torres Islander) population do not even have the facility to disclose their problem to a medical practitioner, leave apart getting the correct treatment. Australian Council of social Service (COSS) has implemented various strategies to overcome this gap by supporting the closing the gap priorities and promoting aboriginal health. EFFECTIVENESS Effectiveness can be defined as the measure of accuracy of a therapeutic method of treatment or success of the treatment when conducting the medical practice in remote location, or in the areas where sufficient funds or facilities are not available. Use of information technology in conjugation with high speed internet, is a ray of hope for managing patient’s records, health, finances, work force, advancements in medical field and delivery of services (Imran Muhammed et al., 2012). In this context, in order to introduce positive medical reforms, the government of Australia has implemented Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) as the e health solution in this country. Earlier, the records of the patients were stored electronically in an electronic health recorder (EHR) system. Such systems were managed by a health care official and it helped a lot in maintaining records of so many people and also provided safety of personal information. But the major drawback of this system was that it was limited to the institutional access. If the family or any other person wanted to look after the patient, he/ she didn’t have any access to these records (Perlin, Kolodner, Rosswell, 2004). To avoid this problem a more patient centered model of health care system was developed (Perlin et al., 2004). This new model was termed as electronic personal health record (PHR) systems. An example of this new technology is Australia’s Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR). PCEHR was introduced in July, 2012. PCEHR had the function of keeping all the key components of the patient’s health information in one database, in form electronic records. Only registered users and their medical service providers had the access to all the records and summary of the treatments and their medical history. The main aim of developing this kind of electronic database was to help the medical practitioners to take better decisions with respect to t he treatments to be given to the patients (Les Schumer, 2013). PCEHR has some basic postulates like voluntary participation, providing access under consumer (or patient’s) control and a source of authentic information. PCEHR is not a substitution for clinical records. Instead depending upon the interest of the patients, they can register themselves online and choose a health care provider to create and maintain their records. People can now view their very own medical history ranging from the time, type and duration of medications, allergies and adverse reactions as well (Les Schumer, 2013). EFFCIENCY Efficiency, when defined in relation to the healthcare, is a relative term. It can be used to refer to technical as well as productive efficiency or even social efficiency. The extent to which effort, cost and time can be used for the desired task or purpose, is the efficiency. It is the final stage of a logical process which comprises of three steps starting from efficacy to effectiveness and finally efficiency. Australian government aims in maximizing the health care outputs produced from a set of standard input and improving the input quality. Conversely, the government is incorporating some measures to ensure that the health care inputs in terms of cost are minimized. As mentioned there are basically three types of efficiencies that are considered in Australian health care system (James F. Burgess, 2011). Technical efficiency: It is measured by production of outputs by utilizing fewer inputs. The potential inefficiencies prevailing in the system are long duration of stay, drugs a nd IV fluids that have expired and unused CPOE system. Productive efficiency: It is measured by production of outputs at minimized cost. Some of the potential inefficiencies faced by Australia are the Positron emission tomography (PET) scan vs. standard imaging for Alzheimer’s diagnosis, high discharge cost and high cost of care. Social efficiency: It is measured by making an individual cope with the current ailment without harming any other person. Again the system is filled with potential inefficiencies like use of cardiac defibrillator in low risk patients and wrong scope and scale in hospitals. Palmer and Torgerson reported that efficiency is the realtion between resource inputs ( which can be costs arising from labour input, capital investment and equipments) and either intermediate outputs (number of patients treated, waiting time, etc) or final health outcomes (lives saved, life years gained, quality adjusted life years (QALYs)) with an ideal target on the final health outcomes. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY Efficiency is not possible without efficacy and effectiveness because both describe the extent to which the goal can be reached (Stephen Leeder, 2003). Keeping in view the Healthcare system of Australia, it is evident that even though the government is trying to reinforce new reforms into the healthcare system every now and then, yet there is lack of equity of access. The aim of such reforms is to improve the healthcare system and help it emerge as the high quality system. For this it is essential to have effective and efficient functioning of the system. But this is not the case. As said before, the health of the people in a particular nation, determines the progress or economic status of the country. And the health of people is determined by how quickly the treatment facilities are available for the patients. The aboriginals and the Torres Islanders are unable to access the medical institutions because of the discrimination and their location (which is generally outside the main ci ty or it is a remote location). The average life span of indigenous Australians is between 10-17 years of age, which is quite lower as compared to that in the non indigenous populations. Also, the rate at which the new born babies die (in indigenous populations) is two times higher than the rate in non indigenous and they also experience frequent situations of illness as well. Thus, it is need of the hour to seal this gap between the two populations so that equal rights and equal opportunities are provided to both the classes of people, irrespective of their origin, race, tribe, etc. Thus, there is a deep connection between equity of access, effectiveness and efficiency. When all the populations, whether indigenous or non indigenous, have equal access to all the medical facilities, the ratio of healthy to ill will definitely rise and the statistics will improve. But this is only possible when the medical facilities are effectively organized and made available in the remote areas too . Further, the successful execution of all these agendas will determine the efficiency of the Health care system. Thus, all the three terms go hand in hand. Without one, the other two are meaningless. CURRENT SCENARIO Many clinicians and the analysts do not consider it appropriate to include economics (costs) inbetween the medical decisions as they consider this as unethical. But they are definitely mistaken as one of the main advantages of health economics is that everything is transparent and all the concepts of equity, effectiveness and efficiency are maintained. It has been reported that the richer countries use the public funds more in the field of healthcare as compared to those used by the underdeveloped countries (Stephen Leeder, 2003). Since the investment made in health care demonstrates a country’s economic strength and its democratic values, it is both desirable and essential for a government to invest in health care. Secondly, the salaries offered to the doctors or other medical officers are very less as compared to what actually should be offered. Moreover, the funds given to the health care systems are not enough to procure the most appropriate treatments and thus this causes problems. Also since the funds are not sufficient, proper medical instruments are also not available for the treatment of chronic disorders. For an instance, there is no provision of NSAIDs which have an anitinflammatory effect on the disease. According to the Canadian social commenter John Ralston Saul, the governments that believe in corporatism, rationalism and cost reduction, as a means to improve the efficiency, become the main reason for the failure of the publically funded health care facilities (Stephen Leeder, 2003). The second scenario prevalent in Australian democracy is that even though the governments provide enough funds for the health care institutions, yet they do not guarantee equity of access. The big private sectors are generally biased and divert all the contribution from the government towards the richer institutions. CONCLUSION In order to place equity on the agenda of the health care policies of the Australian government, it is important to generate awareness about what Medicare and other public agencies actually fund for healthcare. It is also necessary to take the initiative and make the government realize that the topmost priority of any healthcare system should be to provide equity of access, as only then can the policies or treatments be implemented effectively and efficiently. The Australian Bureau of statistics health insurance survey and AXA/ National Mutual Data for NSW (1998), Spencer quoted that around $300 million of the public funds were used for dental care and allied health professional services (Stephen Leeder, 2003). Since dental care is not a luxury, but treatment of chronic illness is, therefore, the basic dental services for all the Australians should be subsidized. Secondly, the salaries received by the doctors from the bulk billed vs. the non bulk billed patients, should be redressed. Third, (hypothetically) a new body say National Council for Equity in Healthcare should be formed, so that it is directly answerable to the Australian Parliament and aim at making the Australian Health care more equitable (Stephen Leeder, 2003). Therefore, as discussed, it is very important to reform the current medical practices so that there is efficiency in the functioning of the health care department of Australia.

Discrimination in Steinbecks Of Mice and Men Essay -- essays research

In the literary work Of Mice and Men, the reader is introduced to the ranch as a world of its own, within which prejudice plays a significant part. The characters in this novel act as a community in a world of their own, having no connections to any other type of society. A strong point, enforced through many examples in the book, is the constant ability of the stronger to overcome the weaker. The prejudices of the majority towards the minority, at the ranch are the white-males, who retain power over the lesser groups of people. This inequality, as well as the influence of the time period, causes discrimination against people of color, women, and those that are disabled, either mentally or physically. The crippled, African American stable hand, Crooks, is the victim of racial discrimination on the ranch. He is given his own room off the stables as if a privilege, but in truth the white-male majority of the ranch wants to have as small an amount of contact with Crooks as possible. Crooks understands this, as is shown when he explains it to Lennie in a simple statement, ?They play cards in there, but I can?t play because I?m black. They say I stink.? (p. 33) As a result of this separation, Crooks becomes incredibly bitter and lonely. Through his request of having a part in George and Lennie?s dream, it becomes obvious that he searches for a friend, struggling to be recognized as a human being. Curley?s wife is the typical example of discrimination based on misunderstanding. Because she is never given the chance to express her point of view, the men have a strong opinion on her based only on their interpretations of her actions. In the men?s opinion, she does not belong around the ranch, and should stay... ... to share a farm with George and be allowed to tend the rabbits, and he does not seem to understand why people stand against him. Lennie?s failure to recognize his own strength unfortunately leads him to harm many living things, eventually Curly?s wife, which leads to his death by the hand of George, who only did what he thought was best. The novel Of Mice and Men presents to us the unjust causes and painful results of discrimination. It clearly shows the loneliness of those that fall victim to the harsh judgement of others in the world of the ranch, as well as the way the strong overcome the weak. As in the world itself, the existance of the ranch hands is based on survival, and in this case, a dream had to be surrendered by George in order to survive. As Slim said in the end while comforting George, ?Never you mind. A guy got to sometimes.? (117)

Lady Macbeth Essay -- essays research papers

Discuss whether or not you feel sympathy for Lady Macbeth There are certain aspects of Lady Macbeth’s character that suggests she is good and therefore her downfall increases my sympathy for her by the end of act 5. But I would also argue that she entailed evil to fuel her sleeping ambition that would make her nemesis, her mental collapse, fully justified. Lady Macbeth’s role as a supporting wife at the start of the play exceeds the duties of a ‘normal’ wife. She is the ‘Eve’ to Macbeth’s ‘Adam’ and is tempted. Although Macbeth hints at the idea of taking the crown in his letter home, it is Lady Macbeth’s ruthless determination to make him king that persuaded him to murder Duncan. Did she do this in the interests of Macbeth or was it to fulfil her own ambition? I would argue that it was to fulfil her own ambition because she decided straight away that murder was the best option to take without any regard to guilt, in this view I have no sympathy for Lady Macbeth because it is a sign of her inner evilness. To commit the murder of King Duncan Lady Macbeth calls upon â€Å"†¦the spirits that tend on mortal thoughts†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . She evokes evil to commit the deed and loses her identity; I would then argue that if she has lost her identity then she has lost her soul and that, in my opinion, makes her a monster. This is illustrated by her willingness to â€Å"†¦dash the brains out†¦Ã¢â‚¬  of her baby, if she had one. The loss of her feminine qualities exemplifies her knowledge of the consequences of kill...

Ethics and Amtrak

The Amtrak case study is a horrible accident that occurred in 1993. I feel the entire cause of the accident was a series of events that could not have been known. The stakeholders in this care are the Amtrak employees, customers and land owners of the railway lines. The biggest interest of the stakeholders would be loss of life. No one wants to be involved with the loss of a human life. And I am sure there are several financial reasons for the interest, as well. To begin with, corporate social responsibility functions as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business would monitor and ensure its support to law, ethical standards, and international norms. The legal obligation Amtrak has is to provide a safe service for its customers. They need to show the customers that they put every effort into providing a safe and dependable service. Economically Amtrak needs to clear up this disaster and correct the problems so the customers will continue to use Amtrak. If this situation is not handled correctly it could have ruined the company. Ethically Amtrak needs to seriously improve it tracking and emergency response procedures. When they couldn’t really determine where the train, in my opinion, was the biggest problem with the EMS reaching the crash. Philanthropic is showing concern for humanity, especially by performing charitable actions such as donating money. I feel if Amtrak agreed to pay for the services of the people who died in the accident, that would be a good start. Finally, my recommendation for this case is simple. Figure out what went wrong and what went right. Correct all the wrongs and make sure the corrections stay in place. They also need to determine some type of checks and balances for these new procedures. I understand accidents happen, but, Amtrak needs to take every precaution to ensure this does not happen again. I feel if the current managers and supervisors had a stronger sense of morals this accident would have been much easier to deal with. In fact, this accident might not have happened if the current administration had enforced stricter rules. I also feel that a situation like this can destroy a transportation company if it’s not handled properly. The company needs to get the customers confidence back at any cost, because no customers no revenue. I feel Amtrak has a long way to go to repair the faults in their company, however at least admitting they need help or have problems is the first step in correcting the issues.

Physics Preliminary Course Overview

Physics Preliminary 8. 2 The World Communicates 1. The wave model can be used to explain how current technologies transfer information 1. Describe the energy transformations required in one of the following: – Mobile telephone – Fax/modem – Radio and television A. An energy transformation is a change in the type of energy, for example a change from sound energy to electromagnetic waves.Relating this to the mobile telephone, it undergoes basic energy transformations of, sound wave (your voice), to electrical energy (in the wires inside the phone), to electromagnetic waves (from the phone to the tower), to electrical energy (at the tower), then to electromagnetic waves (to reach the receiving phone), then electrical energy (inside the receiving phone), then to sound waves (at the speaker of the receiving phone) 2. Describe waves as a transfer of energy disturbance that may occur in one, two or three dimensions, depending on the nature of the wave and the medium A.W aves carry energy and sometimes they require a medium and sometimes they don’t. Laser lights are an example of a 1 Dimensional wave, water waves are an example of a 2D wave while an example of 3D waves is a sound wave 3. Identify that mechanical waves require a medium for propagation while electromagnetic waves do not A. Mechanical waves, such as sound waves, water waves and earthquake waves need a medium (a substance) to travel through, they cannot move from one point to another if there is nothing (a vacuum) between the two points.On the other hand electromagnetic waves do not need a medium to travel through. An example of this is in space, which is a vacuum, if you call out in space your sound waves do not penetrate out of your space suit. However electromagnetic waves do, therefore you can see the light from the sun. Even simpler, in space you can see a planet explode, but you cannot hear it. 4. Define and apply the following terms to the wave model: medium, displacement, amplitude, period, compression, rarefaction, crest, trough, transverse waves, longitudinal waves, frequency, wavelength, and velocity A.Mechanical Waves: The group of waves that required a medium for transmission, e. g. sound waves Electromagnetic Waves: The group of waves that do not require a medium for transmission i. e. ultraviolet light, visible light etc. They all travel at the same speed in a vacuum, which is the speed of light. Transverse Waves: Waves in which the particles oscillate at right angles to the direction of motion of the wave, e. g. surface water waves. Direction of Propagation: The direction of motion of a waveLongitudinal Waves: Waves in which the particles oscillate parallel to the direction of motion of the wave e. g. sound. Periodic Waves: Wave disturbance that repeat themselves at regular intervals. Compressions: Regions of a longitudinal wave where the particle are close together. The point where the medium has a maximum density Rarefactions: Regions of a longitudinal wave where the particles are spread apart. The point where the medium has a minimum density. Crest: The point of a wave where the particles of the medium have a maximum displacement upwards or in a positive direction.Trough: The point of a wave where the particles of the medium have a maximum displacement downwards or in a negative direction Amplitude: The maximum displacement of the particles of a medium from their rest position Wavefront: An imaginary line joining any group of adjacent particles that are in a phase with each other. Wavelength: The distance between any two corresponding points of a wave Frequency: the number of waves that pass a point in one second Period: Number of crest passages per unit time. 5. Describe the relationship between particle motion and the direction of energy propagation in transverse and longitudinal waves A.Particles in the medium move in a direction perpendicular to the motion of transverse wave. Particles in the medium move in a di rection of parallel to the motion of longitudinal waves 6. Quantify the relationship between velocity, frequency and wavelength for a wave: A. V=fw (v=velocity, f= frequency, w=wavelength) 2. Features of a wave model can be used to account for the properties of sound 1. Identify that sound waves are vibrations or oscillations of particles in a medium A. Sound is a longitudinal wave that requires a medium to travel through.As compressions and expansions (or rarefactions) of particles that make up the medium, sound is a vibration of the medium. 2. Relate compressions and rarefactions of sound waves to the crests and troughs of transverse waves used to represent them A. Compressions: Regions of a longitudinal wave where the particle are close together. The point where the medium has a maximum density Rarefactions: Regions of a longitudinal wave where the particles are spread apart. The point where the medium has a minimum density. Crest: The point of a wave where the particles of the m edium have a maximum displacement upwards or in a positive direction.Trough: The point of a wave where the particles of the medium have a maximum displacement downwards or in a negative direction 3. Explain qualitatively that pitch is related to frequency and volume to amplitude of sound waves A. Frequency is the number of waves that pass a point in one second while the pitch is related to the number of vibrations per second. The pitch of a sound relates to the frequency of the sound emitted while the amplitude relates to the volume of that sound. E. g. if you have a high amplitude you will have a loud sound.When the frequency increases so does the pitch. 4. Explain an echo as a reflection of a sound wave A. An echo occurs when a sound wave is reflected off a surface and returns to the source. 5. Describe the principle of superposition and compare the resulting waves to the original waves in sound A. When two separate waves meet they can be added to or subtracted to make a new wave. An example of this with sound waves is, if you have one person shout, and then you get two people to shout, each at the same volume as the first person, the resulting volume will be the sum of the two volumes. . Recent technological developments have allowed greater use of the electromagnetic spectrum 1. Describe electromagnetic waves in terms of their speed in space and their lack of requirement of a medium for propagation A. Electromagnetic waves do not need a medium to travel through because electromagnetic waves do not vibrate particles so they don’t need a vaccum. In space (a vacuum) electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light, a constant equal to 2. Identify the electromagnetic wavebands filtered out by the atmosphere, especially UV, X-rays and gamma rays A.The Earth’s atmosphere provides a protective shield from harmful electromagnetic radiation. Fortunately this portion of the EM spectrum (UV rays, X-rays and Gamma rays) is filtered by the Earth’ s atmosphere. Earth’s atmosphere filters out most of the electromagnetic waves except for visible light and radio waves. 3. Identify methods for the detection of various wavebands in the electromagnetic spectrum A. – Radio waves are detected with radio receivers that are connected to aerials. – Microwaves are detected with piezoelectric crystals. – Visible light is detected by photoelectric cells. 4.Explain that the relationship between the intensity of electromagnetic radiation and distance from a source is an example of the inverse square law: A. The strength of a signal is proportional to the square of the distance from the source of that signal. This means that at twice the distance the signal has 1? 4 of its original strength. 5. Outline how the modulation of amplitude or frequency of visible light, microwaves and/or radio waves can be used to transmit information A. Modulation is the process of conveying a message signal inside another signal that c an be physically transmitted.With amplitude modulation (AM), the amplitude or strength of the carrier signal is varied, which corresponds to changes in the sound, while its frequency remains constant. With frequency modulation (FM), the frequency of the carrier wave is altered according to changes in sound while the amplitude remains constant. 6. Discuss problems produced by the limited range of the electromagnetic spectrum available for communication purposes A. There is only a limited range of wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum that can be used for communication purposes. 4.Many communication technologies use applications of reflection and refraction of electromagnetic waves 1. Describe and apply the law of reflection and explain the effect of reflection from a plane surface on waves A. Reflection is the bouncing of a wave when it hits a surface or obstacle. Reflections of all types of waves follow the law of reflection. Angle of Incidence = Angle of Reflection The law of reflection states that the angle of the incident wave must equal the angle of the reflected wave and the incident wave and the reflected wave must lie in the same plane.It is important to remember that the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection is measured from the normal. The normal is perpendicular to the plane of reflection (e. g. a mirror). 2. Describe ways in which applications of reflection of light, radio waves and microwaves have assisted in information transfer A. Reflection of light is used fibre optics and in CD’s. Fibre optics allow for massive amounts of information transfer. Reflection of radio waves are utilised when radio waves are reflected off the ionosphere. Television and radio use this reflection to transfer information. . Describe one application of reflection for each of the following: – Plane surfaces – Concave surfaces – Convex surfaces – Radio waves being reflected by the ionosphere A. Reflection on a plane surfac e is used in applications such as, CD-ROM, where the laser beam is either reflected of the CD or not. Reflection of convex surfaces is used in security mirrors, where it widens the field of view. Reflection of concave surfaces is used in torches, where the rays of light travelling backwards are projected forward, for more brightness. It is also used in satellite dishes.The ionosphere reflects a percentage of radio waves sent up, back towards earth. This allows for data to be sent through the radio waves over long distances. 4. Explain that refraction is related to the velocities of a wave in different media and outline how this may result in the bending of a wavefront A. Refraction is the bending of light as it changes speed upon entering a medium with different optical density. 5. Define refractive index in terms of changes in the velocity of a wave in passing from one medium to another A. The refractive index of a medium is the change in velocity of a wave from one medium to anoth er.Therefore refractive index is related to the speed of a wave in that medium 6. Define Snell’s Law: A. 7. Identify the conditions necessary for total internal reflection with reference to the critical angle A. The critical angle is the angle of incidence, which forms an angle of refraction at 90Â °. If the angle of incidence is less than the critical angle then you will have normal refraction, and if the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle then you will have total internal reflection. 8. Outline how total internal reflection is used in optical fibres A.Optical fibres work by having one medium coated by another medium with a lower refractive index. The angle that enters this is greater than the critical angle so therefore the ray of light bounces around inside and travels from one end to another, never exiting the fibre. Therefore a light ray can travel through the wire. The ray of light never has an angle of incidence of less than the critical angle, so t he ray never escapes the optical fibre. 5. Electromagnetic waves have potential for future communication technologies and data storage technologies 1.Identify types of communication data that are stored or transmitted in digital form A. Digital data is data that can be defined by numbers. Examples of digital communication include; fax, Internet, telephone calls, etc 8. 3 Electrical Energy in the Home 1. Society has become increasingly domestic energy dependent on electricity over the last 200 year 1. Discuss how the main sources of domestic energy have changed over time A. The first main source of domestic energy used by humans was fire, through wood, and then came domesticated animals, wind and water, coal, coal gas, electricity, fuel oils, solar and lastly nuclear energy.These have developed from the start of human existence to now. 2. Assess some of the impacts of changes in, and increased access to, sources of energy for a community -More pollution -More demand for electrical en ergy -More electrical devices -Increased demand for energy 3. Discuss some of the ways in which electricity can be provided in remote locations Alternative power sources can be used, such as solar or wind. 2. One of the main advantages of electricity is that is can be moved with comparative ease from one place to another through electric circuits . Describe the behaviour of electrostatic charges and the properties of the fields associated with them A. An object becomes electrostatically charged when there is either a deficiency or excess of electrons. The two types of charge are called positive charge and negative charge. Electrostatic charges cause charged particles to move of change direction. Electrostatic charges create a field of charge. An electric field is a region in which a charged particle will experience a force. 2. Define the unit of electric charge as the coulomb. A.The SI unit of charge is the coulomb (C). A charge of 1 C is equal to the charge provided by 6. 25 x 10 ( to the power of 18) electrons. This gives a charge of -1. 6 x 10 (-19 power) C for one electron. One coulomb is defined as the amount of charge that passes a point when a current of one ampere flows for one second. 3. Define the electric field as a field of force with a field strength equal to the force per unit charge at that point 4. Define electric current as the rate at which charge flows (coulombs/ second or amperes) under the influence of an electric field A.Electric current is defined as the amount of electric charge flowing past a given point in a given time interval. The SI unit of electric current is coulombs per second (C. s-1) or ampere (A), 1 amp is equal to 1 coulomb of charge passing a given point in 1 second. Conventional current runs from + to -. The electron movement is in the opposite direction of conventional current. 5. identify that current can be either direct with the net flow of charge carriers moving in one direction or alternating with the charge carriers moving backwards and forwards periodically A. AC current involves the oscillation of electrons due to an electric field that is constantly changing direction. Most generators produce alternating current by means of a coil rotating in a magnetic field. – With DC current flow, the electrons in a wire have an overall flow in only one direction. This is the method used in batteries, torches, portable radios, lights in cars, and toys. 6. Describe electric potential difference (voltage) between two points as the change in potential energy per unit charge moving from one point to the other (joules/coulomb or volts). A. 7.Discuss how potential difference changes at different points around a DC circuit A. Voltage or potential difference is defined as the change in energy when one unit of charge is moved from one point to another or the work done to move one unit of charge from one point to another. Decreases as it move around the circuit. 8. Identify the difference between conductors and insulators A. -A conductor is a substance in which there are ‘free’ charged particles and so a charge is able to flow through it. -An insulator is a substance in which ‘free’ charged particles are limited and so a charge is not able to flow through it. . Define resistance as the ratio of voltage to current for a particular conductor: 10. Describe qualitatively how each of the following affects the movement of electricity through a conductor: A. – Length: The longer the material the higher the resistance is. – Cross sectional area: The larger the cross sectional area the lower the resistance is. So the thicker the wire then lower the resistance. – Temperature: The higher the temperature of a material, the higher the resistance is. – Material: Different materials have different resistances. This is called the resistivity of that material. . Series and parallel circuits serve different purposes in households 1. Identify the diff erence between series and parallel circuits A. – A Parallel circuit is a closed circuit in which the current divides into two or more paths before recombining to complete the circuit. – A series is a circuit having its parts connected serially Advantages of using parallel circuitry over series circuitry in household wiring include: – You can have some devices on and others off at the same time. – If one device fails the others still work. – All devices receive the highest possible voltage. 2.Compare parallel and series circuits in terms of voltage across components and current through them A. In a parallel circuit the voltage is the same throughout the whole circuit while the current is divided between evenly throughout the circuit. In a series circuit the current is the same throughout the circuit while the voltage is divided evenly through the components of the circuit. 3. Identify uses of ammeters and voltmeters A. Ammeters are used to measure c urrent. Voltmeters are used to measure voltage. To measure the voltage of a component the voltmeter is placed in parallel with the component.To measure the current passing through a component, the ammeter is placed in series with the component. When an ammeters work best if they have a low resistance. And voltmeters work best if they have a high resistance. 4. Explain why ammeters and voltmeters are connected differently in a circuit A. Voltage is sometimes called potential difference. So it is measuring the difference between two points, so is must be placed in parallel so that it can measure the difference between before and after that component. Current is a measure of the rate at which charge flows, and therefore must be connected in series.Ammeters have a low resistance. 5. Explain why there are different circuits for lighting, heating and other appliances in a house A. Because if they were all on the same circuit there would not be enough power to run all the appliances so the y are spread out on several circuits so there is enough power. 4. The amount of power is related to the rate at which energy is transformed 1. Explain that power is the rate at which energy is transformed from one form to another A. Power is the term used to describe how quickly energy (otherwise known as work) is transformed from one form to another, or transmitted from one point to another. . Identify the relationship between power, potential difference and current A. 3. Identify that the total amount of energy used depends on the length of time the current is flowing and can be calculated using: Energy = VIt A. – Energy = Voltage ? Current ? Time – Energy = Power ? Time – Energy is measured in joules (J). 4. Explain why the kilowatt-hour is used to measure electrical energy consumption rather than the joule A. 1 kWh is 1 kW every hour. The kWh is used to measure energy consumption. 5. Electric currents also produce magnetic fields and these fields are used in different devices in the home . Describe the behaviour of the magnetic poles of bar magnets when they are brought close together A. Magnetic fields are from north to south. When two bar magnets are brought close together the magnetic fields around their poles will produce a force between the two magnets. If two like poles (north pole and north pole OR south pole and south pole) are brought close together they will repel each other while if two unlike poles (a north pole and a south pole) are brought close together they will attract each other. Like poles repel: Unlike poles attract. 2.Define the direction of the magnetic field at a point as the direction of force on a very small north magnetic pole when placed at that point A. The direction of a magnetic field at any point is defined as the direction the north pole of a compass would indicate at that point. 3. Describe the magnetic field around pairs of magnetic poles A. The magnetic field around pairs of magnetic poles is best des cribed by describing the lines of magnetic flux. Lines of flux are directed from the north pole to the south pole and never cross. In a strong magnetic field they are close together while in a weak magnetic field they are well apart. . Describe the production of a magnetic field by an electric current in a straight current carrying conductor and describe how the right hand grip rule can determine the direction of current and field lines A. When current is passed through a conductor, a magnetic field is created around it. The direction of the magnetic field can be found using the right hand rule. Point your right hand thumb in the direction of the current and the direction of your fingers is the direction of the magnetic field. 5. Compare the nature and generation of magnetic fields by solenoids and a bar magnet A. A solenoid is coil of wire.When a current is passed though a solenoid, a magnetic field similar to that of a bar magnet is produced. 6. Safety devices are important in hou sehold circuit 1. Discuss the dangers of an electric shock from both a 240volt AC mains supply and various DC voltages, from appliances, on the muscles of the body A. There are several dangers when the muscles of the body are exposed to electric shocks. These are: – Pain receptors are usually activated. – Involuntary contraction of the muscles usually means that the person will not be able to let go of the power source. – The heart is stunned and goes into fibrillation. Severe burns are inevitable. – Instant death often occurs. 2. Describe the functions of circuit breakers, fuses, earthing, double insulation and other safety devices in the home A. – Double Insulating works by wrapping or encasing the electric components of an appliance with insulating material The insulating property of these materials sets up a physical barrier to prevent the flow of electricity from the electric appliance to its user. – A fuse is a short piece of an alloy of lead and tin, connected in series with the devices that it controls. The fuse is designed to melt when the current passing through it exceeds its threshold value. Circuit Breakers breaks the circuit when the current passing through it exceeds the threshold value by mechanical means – The active and neutral wires are connected to the functional electric unit of the appliance to deliver electricity. The earth wire is attached to the case of the appliance, which is made of metal. 8. 4 Moving About 1. Vehicles do not typically travel at a constant speed 1. Identify that a typical journey involves speed change A. Motion occurs when an object changes its position relative to other objects or within some coordinate system.A frame of reference is an object or a coordinate system that can be used to describe or compare motions. At the start of a journey your speed is 0 by the end of the journey you would have had to stop at traffic lights go up and down hills and e. g. 2. Distingui sh between the instantaneous and average speed of vehicles and other bodies A. Average Speed Is your total distance taken by the time it took you to go that distance. Instantaneous Speed is the speed that you are travelling at any given instant 3. Distinguish between scalar and vector quantities in equations A. Scalar uantites have a magnitude but no direction examples include distance, speed and time. Vector quantities have a magnitude and a direction. Examples include velocity, force and displacement 4. Compare instantaneous and average speed with instantaneous and average velocity A. Instantaneous speed is a scalar quantity, on the other hand instantaneous velocity is a vector quantity. Average speed is also a scalar quantity and average velocity is a vector quantity. Average speed takes into account your whole journey, where as average velocity only takes into account the starting and ending points. 5. Define average velocity as:A. 2. An analysis of the external forces on vehicl es helps to understand the effects of acceleration and deceleration 1. Describe the motion of one body relative to another A. Motion occurs when an object changes its position relative to other objects or within some coordinate system. e. g. You are watching Coyote chase Road Runner. Road Runner’s velocity is 17 m. s east and Coyote’s velocity is 15 m. s east. Road Runner’s velocity RELATIVE to you is 17 m. s east. Road Runner’s velocity RELATIVE to Coyote is 2 m. s east. 2. Identify the usefulness of using vector diagrams to assist solving problems A.Vector diagrams are used to add vectors, to find the resultant vector. This can be used to find the net force on an object from many smaller forces. Addition of vectors is also used to find total displacement 3. Explain the need for a net external force to act in order to change the velocity of an object A. An object remains at rest, or in uniform motion in a straight line unless acted on by an external forc e. This is also known as the law of inertia. It basically means that a moving object will travel in a straight line at a constant velocity until an external unbalanced force acts pon the object. 4. Describe the actions that must be taken for a vehicle to change direction, speed up and slow down A. As stated by Newton’s 1st law of motion, in order to change a vehicles direction or speed, you need an external force, to act on the vehicle. However on earth there is, gravity, air resistance and friction to slow a car down, and trust from the engine and friction with the ground and the tyres to speed up a car. 5. Describe the typical effects of external forces on bodies including: – Friction between surfaces – Air resistance A.Friction examples are constantly seen throughout a normal day and it normally slows you down or helps change direction 6. Define average acceleration as A. 7. Define the terms ‘mass’ and ‘weight’ with reference to the effects of gravity A. Mass is the amount of matter in a body whereas weight is the force due to gravity acting on that mass. Weight is equal to mass times force due to gravity, which on earth is 9. 8 m. s. This is an extension of newton’s 2nd law of motion. F=ma 8. Outline the forces involved in causing a change in the velocity of a vehicle when: – Coasting with no pressure on the accelerator Pressing on the accelerator – Pressing on the brakes – Passing over an icy patch on the road – Climbing and descending hills – Following a curve in the road A. 9. Interpret Newton’s Second Law of Motion and relate it to the equation: A. The net force of an object is equal to the product of its mass and its acceleration in the direction of the force. 10. Identify the net force in a wide variety of situations involving modes of transport and explain the consequences of the application of that net force in terms of Newton’s Second Law of Moti on A. Net force is defined as the vector sum of all forces.The net force is the resultant force of all individual forces acting on an object at that time. If the net force is zero, then the forces acting are described as balanced. The object will obey Newton’s first law of motion, that is, it will either continue to move at a constant velocity or remain stationary. If the net force is not a zero value, it is described as an unbalanced force. In this case, the object follows Newton’s second law of motion and acceleration will result. 3. Moving vehicles have kinetic energy and energy transformations are an important aspect in understanding motion . Identify that a moving object possesses kinetic energy and that work done on that object can increase that energy 2. Describe the energy transformations that occur in collisions Elastic potential energy is the energy stored in elastic materials as the result of their stretching or compressing. In an elastic collision, the EK a fter the collision is equal to the kinetic energy before the collision. Inelastic collisions result in the transformation of energy into other forms. It is usually lost to the surroundings in the form of heat or sound and is no longer in a useful form. . Define the law of conservation of energy Energy can neither be created nor destroyed but can be transferred from one body to another or transformed from one type to another. 4. Change of momentum relates to the forces acting on the vehicle or the driver 1. Define momentum as: Momentum is a measure of an object's tendency to move in a straight line with constant speed. Momentum is the product of mass and velocity p ? mv 2. Define impulse as the product of force and time Impulse is force applied over a period of time Impulse = Force (Times) Time 3.Explain why momentum is conserved in collisions in terms of Newton’s Third Law of motion In any collision, the total momentum before the collision is equal to the total momentum after the collision 5. Safety devices are utilised to reduce the effects of changing momentum 1. Define the inertia of a vehicle as its tendency to remain in uniform motion or at rest The inertia of a vehicle is its tendency to remain at rest or in uniform motion unless acted on by an external force. That is why when you crash a vehicle into a wall, it will continue to collide and squash into the wall instead of just stopping.This is also why a passenger in a vehicle continues to go forward when the breaks of a vehicle are applied. Because the car may have forces slowing it down but the passenger has a tendency to continue forward 2. Discuss reasons why Newton’s First Law of Motion is not apparent in many real world situations There is always some type of friction that will oppose motion. Whether it is air resistance or friction between the object and the surface it travels on, it is impossible to completely eliminate friction. This is why objects do not remain in uniform motion. 3.Assess the reasons for the introduction of low speed zones in built-up areas and the addition of air bags and crumple zones to vehicles with respect to the concepts of impulse and momentum Air Bags and Crumple Zones both increase the stopping distance of a vehicle. Relating back to Impulse = Force ? Distance, If the distance is increased, the force is lower, this reduces the forces put on an the vehicle, and the occupants inside it. Low Speed zones are in place because, the slower your velocity, the less momentum you have and the faster you can stop 4. Evaluate the effectiveness of some safety features of motor vehicles 8. 5 The Cosmic Engine

Everything Happens For a Reason Essay

â€Å"I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they’re right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.† – Marilyn Monroe. I believe in everything happens for a reason. Have you ever thought about everything that takes place might have a reason? Day by day you make mistakes; you say the wrong things; you show off; you make someone else smile; you do a good deed; etc. But, those have reasons. You make a mistake because you don’t understand or didn’t pay attention; you make someone else smile because you have a good heart; you show off because that’s what everyone does; you do a good dead because that’s who you are. Everything happening for a reason is a way of coping with the disasters in someone’s life. People tend to question if everything does happen for a reason and that’s because most refer to a higher power such as; God. They tend to wonder if the drastic situations that happen, really did have a reasoning behind it. When someone tends to question a reasoning, most of the time, it’s because the death of a loved one. I have these feelings a lot. Why ? My great grandfather died before I was born from suicide and my best friend also committed suicide last year. 10 years ago; my grandfather died because he was a alcoholic, that same year my uncle passed from a blood clot in his brain. My other grandfather passed away 2 years ago from pancreatic cancer. Sometimes I tend to wonder why these things happen to people who mean so much to me and then other times I get it together and say it was time. The things that tend to happen in people’s lives always have a positive and negative effect. Most people tend to look at the negative effect, instead of coping with the positive effects. Most negative effects deal with someone lying to you or leaving you. You learn to never trust anyone and that’s your way of coping. Where if you were to think of the positive effects, they lied so you would learn to strive for the truth; they left so that way the bad things could fall apart and the good things fall together. â€Å"Everything happens for a reason, though the reason is not always as clear as would like it to be.†-Unknown

Landscape Urbanism

This modern period, architecture gives attention not only on creating new designs on buildings and structures but on reinventing the environment as well by taming the nature and aestheticizing them for man’s use and pleasure.   Architects understand arts and environmental care which they formed together to reflect a culture and history in the midst of modernization and industrialization.   This is because people begun to reject the complexity of urban life and the consequence of global capitalism.Landscape urbanism is one area of architecture which becomes significant in the overall formation of a building’s construction.   Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, defined landscape urbanism as a â€Å"theory of urbanism arguing that landscape †¦ is more capable of organizing the city and enhancing the urban experience.†Ã‚   Its purpose is to create an environment for human to enjoy, live and work; thus making the city or urban distinct from rural areas. Thi s concept was elaborated by Charles Waldheim in his book in which he stated that landscape urbanism is the union of landscape with urbanism which â€Å"promises new relational and systematic workings across territories of vast scale and scope, situating the parts in relation to the whole† (p. 33).   In his explanation, he emphasized that the concept lies on â€Å"mobilizing the new ecologies of our future metropolitan regions† (p. 33).   Ad Graafland, Leslie Jaye Kavanaugh and George Baird on the other ha  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   nd, described the term as a strategy that â€Å"the overlaying of ecological and urban strategies can offer a means by which projects may create new systems of interconnected networks that complement the existing structures† (p. 585).Thus, landscape urbanism is integration in the architectural design of the evocative power of landscape and the principles of ecology; it is a celebration of diversity or urban life by discovering an d articulating the aesthetic appreciation and expression of urban life. It is indeed sustainability that is taking place in a city in a technical way by giving it a character in between buildings and public places.Why Landscape Urbanism Emerged in ArchitectureThe discipline of landscape urbanism according to Charles Waldheim has emerged from landscape architecture but with greater consideration of â€Å"cultural and historical as well as natural and ecological† (p. 127).     Waldheim strongly pointed out that it has emerged from architecture because, the concept of landscape urbanism lies strongly on one function of architecture as a device in urban transformation (p. 127).Landscape urbanism has come out from the very idea of landscape architecture according to Richard Weller is â€Å"relatively ineffectual in reshaping the world†¦ and seems nonetheless theoretically correct and worthy in its aspiration† (p. 71), because of the influence of capitalism and trad itional hegemony of engineering and architecture.   In the same way, Weller believed that landscape urbanism alone could â€Å"prepare and practically capable of collapsing the divide between planning and design† (p. 71).Igor Marjanovic, Lesley Naa Norle Lokko clearly pointed out that landscape urbanism is distinct from landscape architecture in a way that the former is not traditional and it even â€Å"looks at the contemporary city and its problems and tries to define the possible contributions that architects†¦ can make† (p. 24).   Urbanism looks at the city and responds to aspect of popular culture while architecture proposes big structures derived from everyday consumer culture; these two work hand in hand for one goal which, the emphasis is on aesthetic and position of public places within community for human comfort that feed human spirit.Comparison and Contrast between the Park de la Villette and Downsview ParkThe two considered great models in terms o f landscape urbanism are the Park de la Villette by Bernard Tschumi and Downsview Park by Bruce Mau.Heather Stimmier-Hall narrated that La Villette was built in an abandoned quarrysite or dump area and at the same time slaughterhouses.  Ã‚   The park which was designed by Bernard Tschumi, was redeveloped and opened in 1986 as a modern city park in Paris â€Å"dedicated to science, arts and entertainment† (p. 96).   In the description made by Stimmier-Hall, Parc de la Villette does not have gates or walls; it has mini-forests, bamboo groves and vast lawn in its seventy acres of land.   In that vast of land, it has numerous museums, concert halls and whimsical playground.   At the entrance of the science and technology museum was the sphere La Geode Cinema that mirrors the green grass and blue skies. The author added that Parc de la Villette has â€Å"all there is to see and do† (p. 96).Downsview Park on the other hand, is a former Canadian military base at the n orth end of Toronto, Canada since 1929; and in 1996, it was closed for renovation.   Downsview Park is approximately 586 acres or 237 hectares that is underutilized tract of land.   With the initiative of its parent company, it became very important place in the heart of Toronto.   It is committed to sustain education and community development and awareness by offering venues for backyard birds, eco-footprints, butterfly landing, tree city, natural habitats and wildlife, history and walking tours.   Both children and adults are accommodated in this place for special civic activities (Parc Downsview Park).   Downsview Park is committed as a â€Å"unique recreational greenspace, a safe and peaceful place, developed according to the principles of environmental, economic and social sustainability, for Canadian to enjoy in all seasons (Parc Downsview Park).These two great and beautiful parks were both renovated from once unproductive and underutilized ground.   Both won the awards for being the largest park that give emphasis on green open space for appreciation of nature though domesticated.   These two parks serve same purposes which are to house special and big events from cultural to sports.   Both have museums and landscape designs.On the other hand, they differ in many ways.   (1) First, they differ in emphasis in aesthetical concept.   Downsview Park promotes the social and natural histories that supports natural ecology; it does not intent to change the site but simply to inaugurate the transformation of it (Van Alen Institute).   Parc de la Villette’s design suggests the conventional conception of a park designed to â€Å"express the fact that it is artificial and domesticated† (Berman, 1999), meaning it has a lot of man-made design to make it beautiful.   (2) Downsview Park retains the old military buildings which are kept for special uses such as for cultural, recreational and community; while Park de la Villette is a total renovation of a place in which the relics of the old place cannot be seen in the place. (3) Park de la Villette is completely constructed and Downsview Park is set for further development which will last after many more years. (4)Lastly, Park de la Villette is privately owned while Downsview Park is government owned and controlled yet self-supporting.Work CitedBerman, Jay 1999.   Le Parc de la Villette, Paris. http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/villette/Downsview Park International Design Competition,’ Van Alen Institute.   http://www.vanalen.org/exhibits/downsview.htmGraafland, A., Jaye Kayanaugh, L. and Baird, G. 2006.   Crossover: Architecture, Urbanism, Technology.   Netherlands:   010 Publishers.Gauzin-Muller, Dominique, 2004.   Sustainable Architecture and Urbanism: Concepts, Technologies, Examples.‘Landscape Urbanism.’ Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landscape_urbanismMarjanovic, I. and Norle Lokko, L. 200 3.   The Portfolio: An Architecture Student’s Handbook.   Elsevier Ltd.Stimmer-Hall, Heather, 2004.   Adventure Guide. England: Hunter Publishing, Inc. Waldheim, Charles, 2006.   The Landscape Urbanism Reader.   USA: Princeton Architectural Press ‘Making it a Reality.’ Parc Downsview Park Inc. (PDP). Canada, 2005/http://www.yorku.ca/mclaughlin/documents/downsviewpark.pdf