Code Blue Essay -- essays research papers

Nothing instills fear in a physician more than a nurse yelling "code blue, ," especially if the patient is having a heart attack. Heart disease, specifically heart attacks, the leading cause of death in the United States, is triggered by a variety of factors. The most important of these factors include: family history, cholesterol levels, smoking, high blood pressure, race, obesity, and gender. Heart disease is hereditary. The single most important cause of the illness is family history. This is to say that if one has heart disease, then his or her progeny will be at an increased risk of suffering from the disorder. If a patient knows that his or her family has had problems related to the heart, preventive measures can be instituted. Many people experience troubles with their heart because they have levels of cholesterol that are not conducive to good health. Red meat is extremely high in cholesterol content. There are two basic types of cholesterol: Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL) and High Density Lipoproteins (HDL). LDL is a harmful type of cholesterol, whereas HDL is key in the prevention of heart disease. Thus, there are two ways that cholesterol level can potentially attack the heart: a high LDL level or a low HDL level in the blood. Another very common cause of heart trouble is smoking. It is a known fact that a higher percentage of smokers have heart attacks than non-sm...

Model: African Culture Essay

A critical assessment of the Zulu community reveals their belief that if the necessary resources for HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and support are available, accessible, acceptable, and affordable, they would make positive decisions and actions regarding the disease and its effects (Gumede & Dalrymple, 2004). Additionally, the believe that their head of state’s openness in discussing HIV/AIDS issues influences effective policies to control the epidemic. They also believe the open utterances by the president help people accept those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS as dignified community members hence decreasing the associated stigma. Accordingly, the role played by government policies is recognized by the Zulu community as the force behind the consistently reducing HIV/AIDS incidence and prevalence (Airhihenbuwa & Webster, 2004). Existential enablers As for the existential enablers, the community believes that they can prevent HIV/AIDS, care, and support the victims by utilizing the traditionally available resources that are accessible, acceptable, and affordable to the particular family faced by the challenge (Airhihenbuwa & Webster, 2004). It is evident that the Zulu traditional medicinemen have formulated some herbal regimen which the community members believe treat HIV. However, this treatment is currently under clinical tests at the South African Medical Research Council and its initial results are promising. Negative enablers The Zulus hold the belief that the scarcity and costly nature of particular resources needed for effective prevention, care and support of HIV/AIDS impact negatively on their decisions and actions in controlling this epidemic (Airhihenbuwa & Webster, 2004). Moreover, they believe that the reluctance of their religious leaders to openly discuss HIV and AIDS contributes to increasing the stigma on those infected and/or affected by the disease. Furthermore, the aspect of people blaming the infection on others also impacts negatively on the Zulus as in such cases of blame-game no one takes the initiative to prevent HIV transmission or even care or support the victims (Gumede & Dalrymple, 2004). In like manner, the failure of the government to distribute enough Anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) to those living with HIV/AIDS explicitly creates a disenabling atmosphere for effective addressing of HIV/AIDS. Notably, the Zulu people who refuse to be tested for HIV cited the unavailability of ARVs as their reason for declining. Concisely, the health educator, upon assessing and recognizing the health needs, strengths, and weaknesses of the community concerning HIV/AIDS prevention and care according to the enablers discussed above, will be able to prioritize, plan, implement, and evaluate a suitable health education program on prevention, care and support of HIV/AIDS (National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC), 2006). REFERENCES Airhihenbuwa C. O. , & Webster J. D. (2004). ‘Culture and African contexts of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support’, Journal of social aspects of HIV/AIDS research alliance. Vol. 1 No. 1 Gumede K. , & Dalrymple L. (2004). Caring communities project – KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). Durban:DramAide. Retrieved on August 23, 2010 http://www. creativexchange. org/hivaids/CCP National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC). (2006). Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) responsibilities. Johannesburg: NCHEC.

What Was the First Alphabet

A slightly different question from what was the worlds first writing system? is what was the worlds first alphabet? Barry B. Powell in his 2009 publication provides invaluable insight into this question. Origin of the Word Alphabet West Semitic people from the eastern coast of the Mediterranean (where Phoenician and Hebrew groups lived) are usually credited with developing the worlds first alphabet. It was a short, 22-character list with (1) names and (2) a fixed order for characters that could (3) easily be memorized. This alphabet was spread by Phoenician traders and then modified by the inclusion of vowels by the Greeks, whose first 2 letters, alpha and beta were put together to form the name alphabet. In Hebrew, the first two letters of the abecedary (as in A-B-C) are, likewise, aleph and bet, but unlike the Greek letters, the Semitic alphabet lacked vowels: Aleph wasnt an /a/. In Egypt, too, writing has been found that uses only consonants. Egypt could be named as the nation with the first alphabet were the provision of vowels was considered unnecessary. Barry B. Powell says it is a misnomer to refer to the Semitic abecedary as an alphabet. Instead, he says the first alphabet is the Greek revision of Semitic syllabic writing. That is, an alphabet requires symbols for vowels. Without vowels, consonants cant be pronounced, so only partial information on how to read a passage is provided by just the consonants. Poetry as Inspiration for the Alphabet If the vowels are dropped from English sentences, while the consonants remain in their correct position with respect to the other consonants, literate, native English speakers can usually still understand it. For example, the following sentence: Mst ppl wlk. should be understood as: Most people walk. This may be opaque to someone not raised with English, perhaps especially if his native language is written without an alphabet. The first line of the Iliad in the same abbreviated form is unrecognizable: MNN D T PLD KLSMENIN AEIDE THEA PELEIADEO AKHILEOS Powell attributes the Greek invention of the first real alphabet to the need for vowels to transcribe the meter (dactylic hexameters) of the great epics, Iliad and Odyssey, attributed to Homer  and the works of Hesiod. Greek Modification of the Phoenician Symbols Although it is conventional to refer to the introduction of the vowels by the Greeks as an addition to the 22 consonants, Powell explains that some unknown Greek reinterpreted 5 of the Semitic signs as vowels, whose presence were required, in conjunction with any of the other, consonantal signs. Thus, the unknown Greek created the first alphabet. Powell says this was not a gradual process, but the invention of an individual. Powell is a Classical scholar with publications in Homer and mythology. From this background, he posits that its even possible the legendary Palamedes really did invent the (Greek) alphabet. The Greek alphabet originally had only 5 vowels; the additional, long ones were added over time. The Semitic Letters That Became Greek Vowels The aleph, he, heth (originally an /h/, but later long /e/), yod, ayin, and waw became the Greek vowels alpha, epsilon, eta, iota, omicron, and upsilon. Waw was also kept as a consonant called wau or digamma, and located in the alphabets order between epsilon and zeta.