Research Methods in Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Research Methods in Criminal Justice - Essay Example In this case, it is used in clarifying the idea behind a concept. Conceptualization, in criminal justice, can be changed by setting clear standards that can be universally recognized in order to cut back on the wide disparity found in research. In addition, the issue of accuracy of research in criminal justice comes in under changes to research. This is concerning discerning the accuracy and measures of variables used in crime and justice (Gibbs, 1989) One of the possible issues likely to arise from the definition of conceptualization is the variation found in research findings. This is in terms of different conceptualization strategies used by different researchers. In criminal justice, conceptualization of crime is difficult in that there are numerous variables to consider thus creating the wide, or rather narrow disparity. This is dependent on the influence of different variables since the issue of crime happens to be very wide (Gibbs, 1989). Influence of certain aspects may be overlooked, as there are no set standards to conceptualization. It also creates issues in terms of how to measure certain phenomena related to crime and justice. This is due to the presence of multiple methods of measuring similar concepts of

Strategies for Building Successful Leadership Research Paper

Strategies for Building Successful Leadership - Research Paper Example Moreover, to be a successful leader, I must be of high integrity, which simply means doing what I say and behaving in a way that I expect the team to behave. Basic Leadership Skills to Succeed As with any other job, resisting the work of leading makes it difficult to be effective and makes it impossible to find fulfillment or enjoyment in whatever an individual does. Therefore, lacking the desire to lead makes an individual unwilling to perform the work that pertains to a leader of a team. If a leader does not like the work he or she performs, chances are that the leader is not inspired to lead others to perform the tasks. In such a case, a leader is unable to reach his or her potential as a leader unless the leader works for an organization he believes in, as my uncle’s business. Commitment to the organization’s mission and vision is crucial since the first leader of the organization, who is my uncle, had a mission and vision about the company functions, service and ch anges that the company would bring to the industry. My uncle had to hire other people who could share his vision and believe in the mission of the organization; therefore, as a leader, I would have to coach newly hired employees to help them learn what would move the organization toward its objectives. In an ideal world, each employee works as if fulfilling the organization’s vision and mission were his or her personal goal; however, we do not live in an ideal world, hence as a leader, I have the task of remaining committed to and promoting the company’s vision and mission. Integrity is a crucial trait for a successful leader and it involves being true to one’s word, being authentic in actions and speech and demonstrating a behavior that a leader needs employees to emulate. Similar to other leadership skills, integrity requires practice and involves an effort to honor an individual’s word each time as well as remaining an example to employees even when un der stress or when having a personality conflict. As a leader, the gains of integrity are enormous in comparison to the harm that can result from lack of integrity within the workplace. To develop integrity as a leader, three areas that are essential and demand concentration include sincerity, consistency, and substance. For a leader, sincerity involves accepting responsibility for my commitment and striving to achieve them, being honest about my limitations, accepting responsibility for my mistakes and telling the truth. Consistency for leaders involves demonstrating this feature of integrity by treating employees equally, following through on promises and working as hard as, or even harder than, other employees. A substance in integrity refers to what I am regarding work relationships and includes keeping private employee information private and doing what is right for the team and not merely for me (Reina D. & Reina M., 2006). Successful leaders are entrepreneurial and, therefore , able to recognize opportunities and organize resources to tap into the advantages of the opportunity.  

Urinalysis of Four Urine Samples

Urinalysis of Four Urine Samples Urinalysis Practical Background: As you have learned, the urinary system performs many vital functions in the body including: Regulating blood volume and pressure by regulating water excretion, Regulating plasma ion/solute concentrations by adjusting urine composition, Assisting blood pH stabilisation, Removing nitrogenous waste, Conserving water and important nutrients and Assisting the liver in detoxifying poisons. Therefore, analysing a sample of urine from a person can provide important information on the health of that person. Urinalysis can reveal diseases such as diabetes mellitus, urinary tract infections and renal (kidney) infections such as glomeronephritis and kidney stones (renal calculi). A medical professional may perform a urinalysis for several reasons: As a general health check-up, Diagnosing metabolic or systemic diseases that affect renal function (heart failure will lead to decreased blood flow to the kidneys, pre-eclampsia during pregnancy will lead to increased protein in the urine), Diagnosis of endocrine disorders e.g. infertility (low levels of FSH and/or LH), Diagnosis of urinary system disease, Monitoring of glucose levels in patients with diabetes, Testing for pregnancy (hCG levels secreted by the embryo), Screening for drug use. Urinalysis is a technique involving physical, chemical and microscopic analyses of a sample of urine. Physical parameters: Normal urine is a clear yellow colour due to the presence of uribilin. Abnormal urine may be dark orange, red or brown and cloudy in appearance. This can be due to the presence of red and/or white blood cells or pigments and may indicate a urinary tract or renal infection or disease, liver or gall bladder disease. Normal urine has a specific gravity of between 1.002 – 1.028 (this is a measure of the number of particles/solutes in the urine, its concentration). A urine sample that has an elevated specific gravity can indicate dehydration, diarrhea/vomiting, glucosuria, inappropriate ADH secretion. A diminished specific gravity may indicate such diseases as renal failure or pyelonephritis. Chemical parameters: The chemical analysis of urine is routinely performed using an inexpensive and relatively accurate dipstick test (Uristix from Bayer or other brands). The test uses a reagent-coated plastic stick that is placed or dipped into the urine sample. The reagent areas change colour according to the presence of glucose and/or protein. (a) Figure 1. Colour chart (a) for determination of glucose and/or protein.   Ã‚   The glucose test on the dipstick is based on a double sequential enzyme reaction. One enzyme, glucose oxidase, catalyses the formation of gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide from the oxidation of glucose (if present in the urine). A second enzyme, peroxidase, catalyses the reaction of hydrogen peroxide with a potassium iodide chromogen to oxidise the chromogen to colours ranging from green to brown. Normal urine has less than 0.1% glucose concentration. The protein test on the dipstick is based on the protein-error-of-indicators principle. At a constant pH, the development of any green colour is due to the presence of protein. Colours range from yellow for ‘negative’ through yellow-green and green to green-blue for ‘positive’ reactions. Normal urine has a protein concentration of less than 100  µg/ml. Although the dipstick test is semi-quantitative, significantly more accurate levels of glucose and protein can be determined by other means. In this practical you will use a BCA Assay (discussed later) to quantify the amount of protein present in a sample of urine. Urinalysis may also include assaying for levels of ketones (an indicator of diabetic ketosis, fasting or starvation), blood cells (indicating infection or kidney stones), bilirubin (liver or gall bladder disease), drugs and many other substances. Microscopic parameters: The urine sample can also be analysed by a microscope, often after staining to reveal any pathogens such as bacteria, urine crystals, cells and/or mucous. The presence of any of these may indicate infection or disease and further medical investigation will provide a thorough diagnosis. Aim: The aim of this practical is to perform glucose and protein urinalysis techniques on five samples of ‘urine’ provided by five ‘patients’ and use this information to provide an initial diagnosis for each patient. Part One: Using Dipsticks To Provide A Qualitative Measure of Protein And/Or Glucose. Materials: 5 samples of urine labelled A – E (these will be required for Parts One and Two), 5 Uristix dipsticks. Method: Perform a basic physical analysis of the urine samples noting the colour and cloudiness of each sample: Urine A Urine B Urine C Urine D Urine E Colour Cloudiness Immerse a dipstick into each of the samples, wait 60 seconds and record your results using the colour chart in Figure 1 to determine if the sample contains glucose and/or protein or neither substance: Urine A Urine B Urine C Urine D Urine E Glucose Protein Ketones Negative Negative Negative Negative Strongly positive Blood Negative Negative Trace Negative Negative Part Two: Using A Commercial BCA Assay To Provide A Quantitative Measure of Protein. Background: The BCA Protein Assay exploits the chemical reduction of Cu2+ to Cu1+ by protein in an alkaline medium with the selective colorimetric detection of the cuprous cation (Cu1+) by bicinchoninic acid (BCA). The first step is the chelation of copper with protein in an alkaline environment to form a blue coloured complex. In this reaction, known as the biuret reaction, peptides containing three or more amino acid residues form a coloured chelate complex with cupric ions in an alkaline environment containing sodium potassium tartrate. Single amino acids and dipeptides do not give the biuret reaction, but tripeptides and larger polypeptides or proteins will react to produce the light blue to violet complex that absorbs light at 540 nm. In the second step of the colour development reaction, BCA, a highly sensitive and selective colorimetric detection reagent reacts with the Cu1+ that was formed in step 1. The purple-coloured reaction product is formed by the chelation of two molecules of BCA with one Cu1+. The BCA/Cu complex is water-soluble and exhibits a strong linear absorbance at 562 nm with increasing protein concentrations. The rate of BCA colour formation is dependent on the incubation temperature, the types of protein present in the sample and the relative amounts of reactive amino acids contained in the proteins. Figure 2. Reaction diagram for the bicinchoninic acid (BCA) protein assay. Materials: The 2 samples of urine from Part One that were positive for protein, Protein stock standard (BSA, bovine serum albumin) at 1mg/ml, 0.9% Saline (diluent) BCA (bicinchoninic acid) Working Reagent (labelled BCA WR), 6 Tubes for dilutions for the standard curve, 96 Well microtitre plate, P100, P200 P1000 pipettes tips, Marker pen, 37ËÅ ¡C Incubator, Microtitre plate reader set to read at a wavelength of 562 nm. Method: Set up the dilutions for your standard curve, Label your tubes as 1,2,3,4,5 6, Prepare your standards according to the table below: Dilution tube # Volume of diluent ( µl) Volume of BSA or from tube # ( µl) Final BSA (protein) concentration ( µg/ml) 1 0  µl 300  µl BSA 1000 2 250  µl 250  µl bsa 500 3 250  µl 250  µl Tube 2 250 4 250  µl 250  µl Tube 3 125 5 800  µl 200  µl Tube 4 25 6 Blank 250  µl 0 0 Label your microtitre plate so that you know which wells hold your standards and which contain your samples (perform in triplicate), Pipette 25  µl of each standard (in triplicate) and sample (in triplicate) to each well, Add 200  µl of the Working Reagent to each standard or sample and shake for 30 seconds, Cover the plate and incubate at 37ËÅ ¡C for 30 minutes, Cool the plate to room temperature, Measure the absorbances at 562 nm on a microtitre plate reader, insert the average values in the table below: Dilution tube # Average absorbance at 562 nm (add 3 values divide by 3) Subtract blank (Tube 6) from value in previous column Final BSA (protein) concentration ( µg/ml) 1 1000 2 500 3 250 4 125 5 25 6 Blank 0 Sample 1 Sample 2 Prepare your standard curve: use the corrected absorbance readings for standards 1 – 6 (in column 3 in the previous table) and plot them against the amount of BSA in each tube, Once you have plotted your standard curve, you can determine the protein concentration in your samples, enter this value into the table above.   The patient scenarios are outlined below. You now need to match the urine samples with their corresponding patient scenarios and include justification for your decisions in your practical report: Patient Scenarios: Kidney Stones: Nida is a 17 year old student. She arrives at her GP feeling nauseous, feverish with acute pain in her lower back. She is also passing large amounts of blood in her urine. Glucose Drink: Thomas has just started a new job but is feeling quite stressed has lost weight. He arrives to see his GP but has had to skip lunch so drinks a litre of cola to maintain his energy levels. Diabetic: Jenny is studying for her A levels. Recently she has been losing weight although she is eating much more than usual is always hungry. Athlete: Dave is a professional athlete requires a blood urine test before competing in his next event. His test results are negative for drugs but are positive for another substance. Nephrotic syndrome: Keely is a 20 year old student. She has been feeling very unwell for some time with general fatigue, listlessness, weight loss puffiness around her eyes ankles. Her urine is very sparse very dark in colour

Roger and Me1 Essay -- essays papers

Roger and Me1 The Modes Moore Employs Roger and Me is the story of Michael Moore’s quest to right the wrong done to Flint, Michigan by Roger Smith, CEO of General Motors. GM factories closed down in Flint, resulting in unemployment for of thousands of workers. These laid off auto workers are products of generations of auto workers. GM has been a Flint way of life since the factories first opened. But, finding that operation and labor costs were substantially less in Mexico, Roger Smith filled for bankruptcy and closed the plants down. The consequences of this shut-down were devastating to Flint. The rat population exceeded that of humans, houses were abandoned, and families who couldn’t afford the rent were evicted. The citizens who remained in Flint were now residents of the city with the highest crime rate in all of America. These are just a few of the issues which spurred Michael Moore’s pursuit for the illusive Roger Smith. Roger and Me, on a basic level falls into the Interactive category with its involved interviews and archival footage. On page thirty-three, Nichols comments on the use of archival footage in the Interactive Mode of Documentary. Writing that old news clips are often appended onto expert and witness interviews as to avoid reenactments and voice of god commentaries. Moore uses archival footage in several different ways. First, he uses it to show the way Flint t used to be. There are shots of a parade used while Moore talks about growin... Roger and Me1 Essay -- essays papers Roger and Me1 The Modes Moore Employs Roger and Me is the story of Michael Moore’s quest to right the wrong done to Flint, Michigan by Roger Smith, CEO of General Motors. GM factories closed down in Flint, resulting in unemployment for of thousands of workers. These laid off auto workers are products of generations of auto workers. GM has been a Flint way of life since the factories first opened. But, finding that operation and labor costs were substantially less in Mexico, Roger Smith filled for bankruptcy and closed the plants down. The consequences of this shut-down were devastating to Flint. The rat population exceeded that of humans, houses were abandoned, and families who couldn’t afford the rent were evicted. The citizens who remained in Flint were now residents of the city with the highest crime rate in all of America. These are just a few of the issues which spurred Michael Moore’s pursuit for the illusive Roger Smith. Roger and Me, on a basic level falls into the Interactive category with its involved interviews and archival footage. On page thirty-three, Nichols comments on the use of archival footage in the Interactive Mode of Documentary. Writing that old news clips are often appended onto expert and witness interviews as to avoid reenactments and voice of god commentaries. Moore uses archival footage in several different ways. First, he uses it to show the way Flint t used to be. There are shots of a parade used while Moore talks about growin...

Discovering Truth in Personal Experience

There are a few chosen moments in a person’s life that are pivotal and life-changing. I have been fortunate to have one of those moments in my life and I think that it has shaped my personality and character today. As I look back to that experience, I am amused by the fact that it took me some years to realize how influential my high school biology teacher was in shaping my values towards education, hard work, and responsibility. I was only a teenager when I met her and naturally, I did not care the least about how she was teaching us or what impact she was making on our volatile and malleable minds.But years after I left high school and have now encountered various situations that challenged my character and personality, I see how her methods of teaching equipped me to face these situations. When she was teaching us high school biology during the second year of high school, she already had two children. It was not surprising that I and my peers always felt that she treated us very motherly, concerned not only with our academic performance but also with our character formation.She taught us beyond the classroom and was always accessible even outside the school premises. She was very interactive and made sure that we have healthy communication. Once, I and a few my classmates were having difficulty with a laboratory experimentation which she made us do. Without hesitation, she invited us over her house and helped us accomplish the experiment by guiding us through the instructions. She was accommodating and open to questions and even complaints.There was a healthy exchange in our communication and during that year with her, I experienced how guidance could aid student in charting their progress. Because of the nature of her class, she was able to instill to us the value of cooperation and interaction within the group. She maximized our laboratory sessions to instruct us how a team functions. The class was not her monopoly. She delegated as much responsibil ity to us and put confidence in our skills and capacity to work together. Our laboratory sessions became more than tedious, repetitive and routine class requirements.Aside from including bits of fun in it, she also made sure that we work effectively in groups. She constantly monitored how we go through experiments, roaming around the laboratory and observing one group after another. She insisted on involving every member of the group and I remember that she specifically designed her experiments to ensure that everybody in the group participates. Nobody was left behind in her class. It is very important that a class progress as whole and not only individuals or certain groups within the class.The sign of an effective teacher is that he or she sufficiently meets the needs of every student in the class. I realize now how huge her responsibilities were trying to assess how each of her students learn and teach in a way that enables her to match these various learning styles. It was durin g the second year of my high school when I learned to depend on my skills. This was primarily made possible by my biology teacher who always encouraged us to learn actively, using our own strengths and capabilities.She rarely monopolized the class by spoon feeding information to us. Instead, she allowed us to discover the answers for ourselves. During our class discussion on taxonomy, she had each of us report on the basic classification of animal and plant kingdom giving us only the bare details. She suggested a few places where we can gather information, but she did not assign a book or a particular material. She said that we can stretch our creativity in our reports as long we educate the class on our assigned topic.As her way of guiding us through the task, she opened her office for consultation. I realized that she was adapting methods used in college by allowing us to be independent students. Through her efforts of making our learning active, I learned to form study habits on my own and depend on my own skills and capabilities in accomplishing goals. In terms of reaching goals, my biology teacher also influenced my sense of time. When working on certain tasks inside the class, she reminded us that we were bound by time and cannot afford to lax or procrastinate.She was strict on deadlines and imposed sanctions on those who disregard the schedule she set. Time management is a crucial part of effective education and she made sure that we internalize that importance during that year. It was just recently that I encountered Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People in which he gives certain guidelines on effective time management. As I look back, I realize that my high school teacher was already teaching us some of the basic principles which Covey outlines in his book.One important information which my teacher imparted on us was prioritization which Covey emphasizes in the section ‘Put First Things First’ (1989). My biolo gy teacher taught us to make important, but not ‘urgent’ [in Covey’s words], matters a top priority in our lives. By this, she meant that we should be balanced individuals devoting our time not only to her subject but also to our families and friends. It was important for her that we balance our activities because she told us that education was not merely based on the book.Education goes beyond the confines of the class and the textbook. Information is useless if it does not fit appropriately in an individual’s life. Thus, she taught us not only to value time but also to assess how our high school education figures in the rest of our life plans. By showing me and my classmates an overview of life, not only in the literal sense knowing that she taught biology, I was able to endure the tedious parts of high school and utilize my learning to be a more effective student in my succeeding education.I only spent a year with my biology teacher and most of informat ional things she taught us regarding the science of life I have already forgotten. But, she remains to be of central significance in my life education because what she imparted to me were skills essential not only to pass an examination but to survive life in general. Her methods and her nurturing character helped me discover my own strength, the value of cooperation and the high regard for the limits of time. Reference: Covey, S. (1989). The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. UK: Simon and Schuster.

Normalization: Pedagogy and James Paulik Montessori

Paulina V Edmunds James Paulik Montessori Philosophy and Pedagogy 27 January 2013 NORMALIZATION The children, who benefit enormously from the Montessori legacy, enjoy what Maria Montessori called â€Å"a Cosmic Education†. These children transform by the order, harmony and tranquility they experience every minute in this Montessori environment. They begin to transform, and this natural transformation was called by Dr. Montessori: â€Å"Normalization†, â€Å"It is the mental state children reach when they approach their studies with enthusiasm, work with little direction, treat others in a respectful way, and can work quietly on their own or with others. (Montessori, 148) When Dr. Montessori began her work in San Lorenzo, Rome, she questioned herself if the accomplishments of the children were â€Å"the work of angels†; but after 40 years of hard work and observation she came to the realization that â€Å"normalization is the single most important result of our work† (The Absorbent Mind, 204) She borrowed the term from the Anthropology, and it means becoming a contributing member of society and used it to distinguish the process that occurs when the development is happening in a normal way.Even young 3 year olds can experience and desire concentrated work, which leads them to contentment, restfulness and calm. They start being responsible for their environment and care for the other members in their community. This transformation appears through the repetition of this cycle: 1. Prepare to perform an activity: get holds of all the materials, movement involved and thought put into it. 2. The activity in which the child reaches total concentration. . Rest, a feeling of totality, satisfaction and being happiness. In Montessori schools, educators recognize this progression as being the normal work cycle. A perceptive educator can recognize a child who is normalized by these characteristics: love of work, concentration, self-discipline and sociability. . It is said that the adults work hard to change the child’s environment, but it is the child himself who uses the environment to change.Works Cited Montessori, Maria. The Secret of Childhood. City: Ballantine Books, 1966. Page 148. Polk Lillard, Paula. Montessori Today. City: Schocken Books, 1996. Pages 41-43. Shaefer Zener, Rita Dr. â€Å"The Secret of Childhood: Normalization and Deviations. † Lecture given on the AMI 3-6 course Nakhon Pathon, Thailand. April 2006. Permission given to Michael Olaf Company for reprinting. â€Å"Classroom Guide 6-12†, NAMC, Pages 202-205.