Medical Ethics Abortion Essay

Most moral issues in medicine and healthcare will instigate lively debate, but no subject seems to inflame tempers more than the question of abortion. The gulf between pro-life and pro-choice can be an uncompromising stance of deeply held beliefs and principles. On the one hand, there is the claim that the foetus is a human being with the same right to life as any other human being, and abortion is therefore nothing less than murder. On the other hand, it is argued that a woman has a right to choose what happens within her own body, and is therefore justified in deciding to have her foetus removed if she so wishes. Even a liberal view is problematic; these tend to take the view that it is permissible for an abortion to take place before a certain stage in the foetuses development, but not beyond that given point. Such an arbitrary perspective does seem difficult to quantify; how can anyone determine the criteria that would navigate a decision that finds termination acceptable today but morally reprehensible tomorrow? It is sometimes argued that the foetus reaches personhood well before birth. â€Å"By the tenth week, for example, it already has a face, arms and legs, fingers and toes; it has internal organs, and brain activity is detectable.†[1] But does this undermine a woman’s right to self determination—can it still be reasonable for her to choose abortion, given its level of development? We shall explore this question; not from the perspective of whether the foetus is human, but from the premise â€Å"that the woman’s rights over her body are more important than the life of the person or part person in her womb.†[2] A Woman’s Right to Self-Defence Judith Jarvis Thomson presents the following hypothesis:[3] a woman becomes pregnant and then learns that she has a cardiac condition that will cause her death if the pregnancy continues. Let us grant the foetus personhood, with a right to life. Obviously the mother too has a right to life, so how can we decide who’s right to life is greater? A way of answering this question could be to say that an abortion is an act of aggression with the sole intention to kill. Whereas to do nothing would not be an attempt by anyone to murder the mother, rather to just let her die. The passivity of the latter could be seen as morally preferable than directly killing an innocent person. Thomson argues that â€Å"It cannot seriously be said that†¦she must sit passively by and wait for her death.†[4] There are two people involved, both are innocent, but one is endangering the life of the other. Thomson believes that in this scenario a woman is entitled to defend herself against the threat posed by the unborn baby, even if ultimately this will cause its death. I feel Thomson is correct in her appraisal. If an impartial judgement was sought by an individual as to whose life has greater worth; the foetus or the woman, they might not feel able to choose—both lives could be seen to hold equal value. But there is nothing objective about the woman’s situation—her life is endangered. If a person threatens my life—even if they are not conscious of their actions—I have a right to kill them, if that is the only course of action I can take to repel the attack. The scenario becomes less clear when we consider if a woman holds the same right to defend herself if the continuation of her pregnancy causes her serious health problems that are not terminal. Again, I would assess the situation in terms of an attack. Do I have a right to kill an assailant if he attempts to wound me? The answer, I think, is dependent upon degree—the injury that would be inflicted. It seems reasonable that the degree of retaliation should be proportional to the severity of the attack. Similarly, a woman has the right to terminate her pregnancy if its continuation instigates a degree of illness that is severe enough to warrant that decision. The problem then is quantifying such comparatives. It might seem reasonable to nominate the woman involved as the person best qualified to make that decision, but shouldn’t such judgments emanate from an objective source? After all, should I be able to ‘take the law into my own hands’ and choose whatever reprisal I thought necessary against my attacker? A Woman’s Right to Ownership A woman holds ownership of her own body; therefore she may abort her foetus if that is what she chooses â€Å"it is in a very real sense her own—to dispose of as she wishes.†[5] Professor Thomson analogises: it is not that the woman and foetus are like two tenants occupying a small house that has been mistakenly rented to both of them—the mother owns the house.[6] But not all claims of ownership hold an automatic right to dispose of their property. John Harris gives an example[7] suppose I own a life-saving drug, and have nothing planned for its use other than placing it on my shelf. If I meet a person who was dependent on that drug otherwise they will die, I would not be morally entitled to withhold the drug—it would be wrong of me to exercise that right. What Harris is expressing is that a woman may have the right to do what she wishes to her own body, but it would be wrong of her to exercise that right. The question then is; does the value of ownership of your body take precedence over the value of the foetus? Property is sometimes commandeered during war, and this action is usually justified because national security is thought to take priority over an individual’s right to ownership.[8] Another compelling, and I think decisive, argument comes from Mary Anne Warren. She states that ownership does not give me a right to kill an innocent person on my property, furthermore, it is also immoral to banish a person from my property; if by doing so they will undoubtedly perish.[9] If one does not accept that a foetus is a human being, then the woman may have it removed from her body, similarly to having a kidney stone taken out. But if the foetus is believed to be a person, then I do not think any argument of ownership can hold up against the soundness of the given examples. A Foetuses Right to its Mothers Body Can a woman’s right to choose abortion take priority over the foetuses right to life? Professor Thomson argues that â€Å"†¦a right to life does not guarantee having either a right to be given the use of or a right to be allowed continued use of another person’s body—even if one needs it for life.†[10] Thomson goes on to give an example[11], that if she was terminally ill, and the only thing that would save her life was the touch of Henry Fonda’s cool hand on her fevered brow, she would have no right to expect him to travel to her side and assist her in this way. No doubt, Thomson adds; that it would be frightfully nice of him, but she holds no right against him that he should do so. An obvious criticism is to argue that a woman has a special responsibility to her foetus, simply because she is its mother—a responsibility that ‘Henry Fonda’ does not owe, so the analogy, is rendered useless. But Thomson postulates that â€Å"we do not have any such ‘special responsibility’ for a person unless we have assumed it, explicitly or implicitly.†[12] Thomson therefore argues that if a pregnancy is unwanted, and the woman holds no emotional bond to the foetus, there is no attachment and so no responsibility. A possible dispute to Thomson’s idea is to suggest that the ‘special responsibility’ is bonded through genes rather then emotion. If a child is born and the mother abandons it, her culpability is held through their ‘mother and baby relationship’ rather then what the mother ‘thinks’ of her baby. Another argument that can give claim by the foetus to its mother’s body is one of contract.[13] It could be said that by voluntarily engaging in sexual intercourse a woman—even if using contraception—risks the chance of pregnancy. By understanding the possible consequences of her actions, she must be seen as responsible for the existence of the foetus, because no method of contraception is known to be infallible. Since the woman is accountable for bringing the foetus into the world (albeit in her womb) she assumes an obligation to continue to provide nourishment for its survival. Michael Tooley offers an example that he believes analogises this argument[14] there is a pleasurable act that I practice. But by engaging in it, it can have the unfortunate risk of destroying someone’s food supply. This will not cause the person any problem, as long as I continue to make such provisions, even though it causes me immense trouble and expense. Tooley says that he arranges things so that the probability of the ‘pleasurable act’ having such an effect is as small as possible (contraception). But he says that if things do go wrong, he is still responsible for the person needing food, and therefore obligated to supplying the food needed. Tooley believes that once we engage in an activity that can potentially create a child, then we assume responsibility for its needs, even if bringing that child into existence was accidental and precautions were taken to prevent that outcome. Professor Thomson offers her own powerful analogy in contrast to the above view: If the room is stuffy, and I therefore open a window to air it, and a burglar climbs in, it would be absurd to say, â€Å"Ah, now he can stay, she’s given him a right to the use of her house—for she is partially responsible for his presence there, having voluntarily done what enabled him to get in, in full knowledge that there are such things as burglars, and that burglars burgle.† It would be still more absurd to say this if I had had bars installed outside my windows, precisely to prevent burglars from getting in, and a burglar got in only because of a defect in the bars.[15] Abortion, Due to Rape As already stated, most views against abortion base their position from the value they place on the foetuses life. Even so, in the case where pregnancy had occurred through rape, most opponents of abortion would believe that there would be sufficient justification for termination. Obviously, there is something paradoxical about this—if the foetus is valuable because it is human, it is obviously no less human because its mother had been raped. So how can some opponents of abortion hold such contradictory ideas? Janet Radcliffe Richards’ explains that when a woman is forced to continue pregnancy until childbirth, â€Å"†¦the child is being used as an instrument of punishment to the mother, and that talk of the sanctity of life is being used to disguise the fact.†[16] The only thing that a woman that wants to abort for reasons of accidental pregnancy has done differently, is to of engaged willingly to sex—and that is what she is being punished for.[17] Richards’ offers an interesting approach to the apparent inconsistency stated, although I don’t find its supposition altogether convincing. I think the ‘double-standards’ described, portray an individual that holds only a relative opinion to the value of life that is held by the foetus. That is, the foetus is human, with rights, but not as human and not as much rights as an adult human being. And this is how I feel critics of abortion consider priority to women in rape cases. A Father’s Right To what degree, if any, does the father’s opinion count on whether his unborn child should die at the hands of the mother? After all, the foetus is very much a part of him—sharing his genetic make-up. It is noted by John Harris[18] that a man is not entitled to violate a woman for the purpose of impregnating her—that is rape—so then it follows that he must not violate her by forcing his wishes for a pregnancy to continue until birth. The counter argument is that by agreeing to sex, a woman has tacitly agreed to carry the man’s child. Ultimately the woman’s opinion must take priority over the man’s—because she has to carry the foetus, but, once a foetus is formed, one can have a degree of sympathy for the man’s situation. If copulation had taken place for the purpose of impregnation, then why should the man suffer a feeling of loss just because his partner changes her mind? Where contraception is used, his argument may be weakened—they did not intend parenthood. But if both were planning for a baby, is it fare that once that child exists, the mother can take it away from its father, even though he has done no wrong? A Right to Death If a pregnancy is terminated during its early stages, the foetus will undoubtedly die. But if an abortion takes place later in pregnancy, and by some miracle survives, the mother has no â€Å"right to secure the death of the unborn child.†[19] If the baby was still unwanted, the â€Å"woman may be utterly devastated by the thought of a child, a bit of herself, put out for adoption and never seen or heard of again†[20] but she can only demand her separation from it; she may not order its execution. I guess there would be few opponents to this assertion; but it is interesting to understand why. If a person accepts the permissibility of abortion, how is it so different to kill a child that survives its attempted termination? Presumably the foetus has acquired rights that it didn’t hold inside the womb, or perhaps the woman loses her rights during that transition. It seems strange that location should alter the foetuses perspective so drastically—after all, it is the same being. It could be argued that it is independence that qualifies the foetus for its right to live. When it no longer needs its mother for survival, and is not ‘reliant’ upon her in any way, she loses the right to decide its fate. Professor Thomson’s explanation is somewhat different; she too agrees that there is no justification for a woman to order the death of a foetus that lives following an abortion, but her reasoning is not dependent upon any acquisition or loss of rights. Thomson argues that a termination is just the right for a woman to detach the foetus from her body. This is not an act of murder (even though its death is inevitable during its infancy) but an entitlement to liberation, whatever its outcome.[21] Professor Thomson presents an account that would be reasonable if the act of abortion was purely an attempt of separation. But in fact the procedure used is an attempt, not only to detach and remove the foetus, but to kill it.[22] If the abortionist fails in this task, then Thomson allows the baby a right to live. But as the method of termination is designed for the foetus to die, I believe it renders Thomson’s point unsound. Conclusion Professor Thomson concedes that â€Å"It would be indecent in the woman to request an abortion, and indecent in a doctor to perform it, if she is in her seventh month, and wants the abortion just to avoid the nuisance of postponing a trip abroad.†[23] So, even staunch defendants of feminist ethics feel compelled to consider the foetuses interests once its development reaches a mature stage. It could be argued that the foetus has become a baby, and abortion is therefore tantamount to infanticide. I believe that anyone can exercise their right to self-defence if their life is threatened, and a woman can use her prerogative against the unborn baby at any stage of its development without recrimination. However, I feel that a woman’s right to expel her foetus for any other reason has only relative justification. Relative: because a woman’s rights to abort become less valid as the foetus develops. There is, in my opinion, a necessary correlation between foetal development and a woman’s right to termination. A woman may exercise her choice without compromise during early pregnancy, because the foetus is nothing more then potential, but justification becomes less palatable as potential becomes actualised. Can a woman really hold the same rights to ‘choose what happens within her own body’ when the foetus is twenty five weeks old, as she did when it was ten weeks old? As previously mentioned, arbitrarily choosing a point in the foetuses life and exclaiming ‘before this point the thing is not a person, after this point it is a person,’ does appear contrived. But its comparison with ‘before this point a woman can choose, after this point she can’t; does seem vindicated against less satisfactory views. The purpose of this essay was to assess a case for abortion that was not dependent on the foetuses right to life, but instead to appreciate a woman’s right to choose. I don’t believe that either position can be considered without respecting the rights of the other. Therefore, in my opinion; a woman holds considerable rights; but they are only relative to the foetuses level of development. BIBLIOGRAPHY Dwyer, Susan, The Problem of Abortion. London: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1997 Glover, Jonathan, Causing Death and Saving Lives. London: Penguin Books, 1997 Harris, John, The Value of Life. London: Routledge, 1985 Info on Abortion â€Å"Abortion†, Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopaedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion#Other_means_of_ abortion Richards, Janet, The Sceptical Feminist. Harmondsworth: Pelican, 1982 Sherwin, Susan, No Longer Patient. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992 Thomson, Judith, â€Å"A Defence of Abortion†, Philosophy and Public Affairs, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1971: pp. 47-66 Tooley, Michael, Abortion and Infanticide. London: Oxford University Press, 1983 Warren, Marry Anne, â€Å"On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion†, The Monist, 1973

I’M Black You’Re White Who’s Innocent Essay

Summary: This paper is based on an article called â€Å"I’m Black You’re White Who’s innocent† by Shelby Steel. The article takes a position that is against affirmative action because it takes the independence away from people of color. The article â€Å"I’m Black, You’re White, Who’s Innocent?’ is an analysis of the black and white racist situation that America has been facing. It is a claim to the fact that both the groups have created the racist situation. Some whites accept that the racist attitude that enforced slavery was due to the fact that whites in ‘innocence’ felt they were superior to blacks. The pursuit of power-convinced them they were entitled to it. Once convinced it was easy to believed in innocence. Conversely, they were morally secure in their actions which led to centuries of subjugation. Their power was derived from the innocence, and that is why Steele called it ‘innocence is power.’ Thus, racial struggle becomes the struggle of innocence. In the 1960’s more whites began to realized they were not so innocent and so began the loss of power. With that realization there seem to be a transfer of power to black people, as they became the ‘innocents’. Guilt, shame, innocence, and power all became integrated to leaving behind the factor we call racism’. Shelby Steele is an English professor and widely read author who taught at San Jose State University for 20 years before taking a position as a fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Steele claims that affirmative action is a double-cross of black Americans and he loathes affirmative action. Affirmative action presents a sense humiliation; a Faustian bargain presented to minorities, for the hypocrisy and shameless self-congratulation it brings out in its white supporters. Steel believes the victimized self-image of blacks, slows individualism, initiative, and diminishes one’s sense of possibility, while contributing to the demoralization of this ethnic group. In many ways Shelby Steele, makes a strong case against affirmative action . One testament of this, according to Steele is the good will of the whites towards the blacks whose effect can’t be seen until years later when it shows to be more harmful than beneficial. In the 1960s, whites were confronted with their racial guilt and blacks for the first time blacks felt empowered. In this stormy time, white absolution and black power coalesced into virtual mandates in the law. In the later 60s and early 70s these mandates escalated from simple anti-discrimination enforcement to social engineering by means of quotas, goals, timetables, set-asides, and other forms of preferential treatment. This shift was due to the white mandate to achieve a new racial innocence and the black mandate to gain power. In my opinion I believe Steel was saying that whites were trying to clear their guilt by repairing the damages from the past by allowing black the appearance of more access to white societies basics rights†¦ such as being able to get a good job , better educa tion and better housing. Conversely, many years later it allowed racism to fester within society causing more harm than good. One example Shelby Steele used was the rate of job advancement. He attributes the differences between black rates of advance and those of other minority groups to white folks’ pampering. Most blacks, Steele claims, make it on their own as voluntary immigrants have done–were they not held back by devitalizing programs that presented a picture of one’s self as as somehow dissimilar to and weaker than other Americans. The claim remains that progress depends upon recognition of black-white sameness. Steele argues, black America has adopted a model of morals in which it preserves the legacy of slavery and segregation in order to keep white America feeling guilty. I completely disagree with that comment because I feel that black people only want those would be oppressors to understand that it has been a struggle and by remembering where we have been will prevent things from going back that way. The oppression of blacks in the United States was the worst case of oppression in human history, and not discounting the American Indian. At the end of such a period, the formerly oppressed get busy building a new nation, and they develop a nation-building ethic. Those ethics value individuals who sacrifice for the good of the group and work hard to develop the talent and skills necessary to close the achievement gaps that naturally exists at first between the liberated groups and their former oppressors. Unlike other historical cases, blacks remain in the same society with their former oppressors. As white America faces past inequalities, they buffer it by making promises to eradicate poverty through large-scale federal programs. Steele does not dismiss the legacy of slavery and persecution, and the economic and social subordination of black people as a responsible force leading to affirmative action in the first place. If anything, he argues that affirmative action, is society’s repayment. Steele argues loudly that over the long run policies based on racial preference serve only to prolong the social and economic disparity between whites and minorities. His position is that blacks will have to lift themselves out of poverty by dint of hard work, perseverance, and patience. Some blacks would disagree with that comment, but I for one believe that is the only way. reveling in self- pity will get you nothing and nowhere fast. In his essay he states that today, most racism exists in the heads of people. They perceive themselves such that they become the perception. A white man sees a black and is immediately reminded of his guilt. The black remembers his innocence and the two combine to form a relationship that is ‘perceived’. Actions are based on imaginary perceptions prolonging the condition. The ‘victimization’ criteria that the blacks are so fond of is not an escape, rather, it is a bargain made that has recuperations that no one ever thought possible. The blacks in their victimization have become slaves to the guilt of the whites and thus, are still oppressed. The bargain they made was a necessary one at the time yet, today it chains the two segments of society in bonds of slavery making the bargain one that Steele calls ‘Faustian’. Seemingly powerful, it actually takes from them the power to be independent. It makes them lack the initiative to aim for something more than that which is handed out by the whites. I’m black, you’re white, who’s innocent? Race and power in an era of blame By Shelby Steele Retrieved June 1, 2012 http://www.harpers.org/archive/1988/06/0023431

Process Flow Diagrams Essay

1. Consider the Custom Molds, Inc. case on pages 125-127 of the text. Prepare a process flow diagram of the Mold Fabrication process and the Parts Manufacturing process, showing how they are linked. We will discuss this flowchart in class on March 29. 2. Founded in 1966, DAV is one of the world’s largest insurance companies with locations in 32 countries. Given the description below, flowchart the New Policy Set-up process as it existed in 1996. Individual customers who wanted to set-up a new policy would visit one of DAV’s eighty branch offices or make contact with an agent. They would then fill out an application and sometimes attach a check. The branch office then sent the application package through company mail to the VEG division in Hamburg. In addition, a customer might also fill out the application at home and send it directly to a number of DAV locations, which would then transfer it to the Hamburg operation. Once received, VEG separated the various parts of the application, then scanned it and digitized it. The electronic image was then retrieved from a server and delivered to an associate’s desktop client computer. The associate was responsible for entering the information on the form into the appropriate database. If the information supplied on the application was complete, a confirmation notice was automatically printed and sent to the customer. If the information was incomplete, then another associate, trained to deal with customers on the phone, would call the customer to obtain the additional information. If the customer noticed something wrong on the confirmation notice she received, she would either call a toll-free number or send in a letter describing the problem. The Customer Problem Resolution division dealt with problems arising at this point. An updated confirmation notice was sent to  the customer. If the information was correct, the application transaction was complete. 3. Prepare a process flow diagram of the field service division process at DMI, as described below. Start from the point where a call is received to the point where a technician finishes the job. DMI was a multi-billion dollar company that manufactured and distributed a wide variety of electronic, photographic, and reprographic equipment used in many engineering and medical system applications. The Field Service Division employed 550 field service technicians who performed maintenance and warranty repairs on the equipment sold by DMI. Customers would call DMI’s National Service Center (NSC), which received about 3,500 calls per day. The NSC staffed about 40 call-takers. A typical incoming service call was received at the NSC and routed to one of the call-takers who entered information about the machine, caller’s name, type of problem, etc. into DMI’s mainframe computer. In some cases, the call-taker attempted to help the customer fix the problem. However, call-takers were currently only able to avoid about 10% of the incoming emergency maintenance service calls. If the service call could not be avoided, the call-taker usually stated the following script, â€Å"Depending upon the availability of our technicians, you should expect to see a technician sometime between now and (now + X).† (â€Å"X† was the target response time based on the model number and the zone.) This information was given to the customer because many customers wanted to know when a tech would arrive on site. Call-takers entered service call information on DMI’s computer system, which then sent the information electronically to the regional dispatch center assigned to that customer location. (DMI had five regional dispatch centers with a total of about 24 dispatchers.) Service call information was printed on a small card at the dispatch center. About every hour, cards were ripped off the printer and given to the dispatcher assigned to that customer location. The dispatcher placed each card on a magnetic  board under the name of a tech that the dispatcher believed would be the most likely candidate for the service call – given the location of the machine, the current location of the tech, and the tech’s training profile. After completing a service call, techs called the dispatcher in the regional dispatch center, cleared the call, and received a new call assigned by the dispatcher. After getting the service call from a dispatcher, a tech called the customer to give an expected time of arrival, drove to the customer site, diagnosed the problem, repaired the machine if parts were available in the van, and then phoned the dispatcher for the next call. Sometimes techs did not have the right parts for a repair. When this happened, the tech informed the NSC and the part was express mailed to the customer; the repair was done the next morning.

Assignment 1 Week 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Assignment 1 Week 5 - Essay Example help entrepreneurs learn what trends a certain country has been following or what are the driving factors for people. Google Analytics gives details of traffic, sources of traffic, new visitors, average number of pages visited, the search engine driving most traffic and even the key words driving traffic. There are some sites that even provide information regarding how trends in countries have changed. Such data can be used by entrepreneurs when entering new markets and when venturing into new business arenas. This whole data eventually leads to the fact that entrepreneurs need to keep bringing innovation, because at the end of the day it is the entrepreneur’s Unique Selling Proposition that makes him the winner. IT is not only used for competitive analysis, but is also used by different professionals in order to look for information regarding their field. For instance, IBM has designed an innovation called Care360 which helps the doctors to learn about the effects of a certain medicine on a specific patient. This has helped the doctors and the patients by giving them satisfaction and a sense of safety and

E.G'S Refutation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

E.G'S Refutation - Essay Example this. In order to prove our position, we will be examining both sides of the story, as well as comparing his opinion with others in order to be able to better understand his position. By using the available research and literature that is available, in this paper will be able to be proved is the matter of how Gettier's opinion does have reason. This is what will be dissertated in the following. There are actually many different points that can be used in order to prove Gettier's opinion as being intelligent and basically correct, and several of these in particular will be used here. Edmond Gettier is an American philosopher and Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and he is most noted for that of his refutation of the principle of deduction for justification, which was most aptly described in an article which he wrote. In this article, Gettier was incredibly outright in his position, and he challenges the justified true belief definition of knowledge, and this definition of knowledge dates as far back as Plato's Theaetetus. One of the biggest disputes in regards to Gettier's refutation is the fact that it 'had already been done', in particular by the work of Wittgenstein; at first his account was widely accepted, by most philosophers in fact, however it was the actual validity of his article that was put into question. His criticism of the Just ified True Belief model is definitely systematic, and in his article he provides several incredibly significant and influential examples of beliefs, of which are both true and justified. However, although they are - and for the most part always have been - considered as being true and justified, it has yet been considered that we should not classify this as being actual knowledge. There are certain opinions that have been made in regards to Gettier's work, and this includes the fact that Gettier's use of 'justification' is too broad, for example, and that he should not use it overly, as it is considered that only some kinds of justification count; some believe that his examples do not count as justification at all; as well, Robert Nozick, who was an American philosopher and professor, suggested in this regards that knowledge absolutely must consist of only justified true belief that is held in such a way that if, say, it turned out to be false, would not have been held. In order to prove the fact that Gettier's work and refutation was actually worthwhile and influencing, we must include the opinion of someone whose views went against his, such as Kwame Anthony Appiah. In Appiah's most noted book, Thinking it Through: An Introduction to Contemporary Philosophy, he offers an incredibly thorough introduction to contemporary philosophy, and as well he answers some of the most crucial questions in regards to human existence overall. Appiah, a Princeton philosophy professor, overtly attempts to

Environmental effects on leukemia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Environmental effects on leukemia - Essay Example This is what will be dissertated in the following. Leukemia is clinically and pathologically split up in to its acute and chronic forms. The acute form of leukemia is characterized by the rapid growth of immature blood cells. â€Å"Acute forms of leukemia can occur in children and young adults.† (Wikipedia, 2006). If left untreated, this form of leukemia will cause the patient to die within months or even weeks. The chronic form of leukemia is different in that it is distinguished by the excessive buildup of relatively mature, but still abnormal, blood cells. â€Å"Chronic leukemia mostly occurs in older people, but can theoretically occur in any age group.† (Wikipedia, 2006). Effects of leukemia are things such as damage to the bone marrow, by way of displacing the normal marrow cells with increasing numbers of malignant cells; and easy bruising, excessive bleeding, and even the development of pinprick bleeds (or petechiae). Other related symptoms of leukemia include: fever, chills, and other flu-like symptoms; weakne ss and fatigue; loss of appetite and/or weight; swollen or bleeding gums; neurological symptoms (headache). The effects that the environment has on leukemia are many. Firstly, there are possible environmental causes in relation to the cause of childhood leukemia. Although not many agents have actually been officially documented as causes of leukemia, in acute lymphoblastic leukemia, most researchers believe that â€Å"†¦it takes 2 or 3 ‘hits’ to the DNA in just the right places to turn a normal developing cell into a leukemia cell.† (Ped-Onc Resource Center, 2005). These ‘hits’ are considered to be either totally and completely random, or that perhaps they are due to causes or exposure to something in the environment. The effects of the environment in regards to leukemia is not only categorized with children, however. Our blood perfuses all of our body’s organs and can carry toxic

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 46

Marketing - Essay Example 193). In this regard, services marketing need to design strategies that cater specifically to services, as contrasted to products or goods, due to the very nature and characteristics of services. As emphasized, services possess six distinguishing characteristics that make it distinct: its being (1) intangible; (2) inseparable in production and consumption; (3) perishable; (4) heterogeneous; (5) focused on client-based relationships; and (6) emphasis on customer contact (Chater 13: Services, n.d., pp. 193-194). Therefore, marketing practitioners should be able to recognize these characteristics in designing strategies that would cater to the needs and demands of the clientele. The strategies for services are also different from goods or products in terms of the need to consider these characteristics, as well as the ability of service organizations to satisfy the customers’ needs. Thus, a more comprehensive knowledge of the customers’ profile need to be established, in conjunction with the ability of the organization to provide the services that match their needs. Likewise, since services are intangible, it was also learned that the design of strategies would depend on the continuum of intangibility that is exemplified. According, â€Å"knowing where a product lies on this continuum is important in creating marketing strategies for service-dominant products† (Chater 13: Services, n.d., p. 193). Services marketing is therefore more challenging due to the nature of services, as well as the evaluation of the customers on the service quality that was provided. Therefore, the success of service marketing depends on the ability of service pr oviders to meet the customers’ demands and address any weaknesses as a means to achieve defined targets and goals. Essay 2: Generally, marketers use one of three basic targeting strategies to focus on a target market: undifferentiated, concentrated, or differentiated. Locate a news item or an article that discusses the target

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Community Health Nursing - Assignment Example These flies can easily spread the disease when they come to contact with clean food to be consumed by human beings. This often leads to an outbreak of cholera, a deadly disease if treatment is not quickly sought. However, of notable concern is the fact that cholera is a preventable disease if necessary precautions are taken. As such, the nurses play different roles in environmental health. They can take a leading role in educating people about the need to maintain a clean environment in order to prevent the outbreak of deadly diseases such as cholera. These health professionals can also enlighten people about the importance of taking safety precautions such as washing hands before eating any food. These are preventive measures that can help mitigate the problem identified. The nurses can also educate people about the measures they can take once they have witnessed symptoms of deadly diseases like

Ex-Basketball Player Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Ex-Basketball Player - Essay Example The poem explores the other side of fame and the downside of losing tracks of a big shot career. The protagonist’s failure and mediocrity as he experienced the pinnacle of his life at far too young an age is portrayed by strong characterization, use of symbolism and imagery to raise the theme about the harsh reality of what real fame can be in terms of sustaining it. The poem sends out a message that if one is sidetracked by the fame and does not work on his goals, it is not possible to reach his dreams. â€Å"The ball loved Flick† (Updike) and â€Å"he was the best† (Updike) this clearly mentions that Flick used to be a local hero and that the entire town looks upon his past with a sort of admiration as well as pride. Flick did not exactly make it big but he did make it big enough to be remembered by his peers. There is a sense of sorrow in the eyes of the townspeople, as if they are mourning the lost talent. Flick’s talent was realized but was never purs ued. ... It straightforwardly tells us that Flick now works at â€Å"Berth’s Garage† (Updike) and that he does not have a â€Å"chance to go two blocks† from his former high school. From the first stanza we can concluded that Flick is a failure who ended up working in a garage. His attachment to his old school is also very strong as he does not want to be very far from his old school where he had been celebrated as a hero. The description of his job indicates that Flick is doing a job which is less suited for him with no potential to move up in life. The poem does not have any rhyming scheme or a consistent meter. Throughout the poem, the author uses a free verse. This is effective in conveying the message and reminders amongst the young readers. The author uses simple language to express himself and to convey the message about the importance of learning a trade and honing your skills to make it out in the real world. High school may be the place where we are a star, but there is life outside high school where one needs to survive. Without real skills it is tough to survive in the real world and this is what the poem tries to convey. One needs to work hard to achieve his goals as there is no place in this word for the lazy people. Even though we may be gifted with a special talent, we cannot expect the gift to nurture itself, it is our responsibility to hone our skills. The author tries to convince us using a simple language and a simple example about the fact of life and how it is our responsibility to make use of our talent by not wasting it. Flick wasted his talents by not learning the trade and therefore he ended up doing a minimal monotonous job without any prospect of moving forward in life. In an interview, the

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Assignment Example In cyanobacteria, strains with a clock period length that matched the environmental photoperiod outgrow strains with no clock or with an out of phase period length in competitive culture conditions (Woefle et al., 2004). This does gesture to the probability of the clock being an important evolutionary step that allowed survival of early organisms. Circadian rhythms can influence sleep-wake cycles, hormone release, body temperature and other important intrinsic functions. Organization and function Function: The main principle of circadian clocks is oscillatory gene activation. The initial gene activation is regulated by the last one in the sequence, making up an auto-regulatory feedback loop that lasts about 24 hours. That is, feedback loops of transcription and translation, whereby the protein product of a clock gene will indirectly shut off its own expression. Such feedback loops are controlled and probably lengthened by post-translational modifications of most proteins involved (Ha rms et al., 2004) Organization: They have three major components: 1) A central oscillating mechanism with a period of about 24 hours. 2) Several output pathways associated with distinct phases of the oscillator. These control the activities of the organism. 3) Several input pathways to this central oscillator to allow programming of the circadian clock. Metazoans possess circadian clocks in most cells of the body. Each of these clocks is autonomous (Welsh et al., 1995). This means that each of the cells has to be entrained autonomously as well. But, since the oscillations of the clocks are roughly 24 hours in length, there has to be a form of synchronization. In the case of direct light entrained organisms, such as the drosophila, this entrainment occurs in cells independently (Plautz et al.,1997) (Whitmore et al., 2000). In drosophila, the Drosophila ring gland and Malpighian tubules show some sort of rhythms. This autonomous cell entrainment may also be seen in higher organisms wh ere the parasympathetic system is responsible for entrainment (Ishida et al., 2005). It is itself entrained by the central master clock. In higher organisms, the process is more complex and requires what is known as hierarchical entrainment. This is discussed below. In higher organisms such as man, the entrainment of the clock is hierarchical. This is similar to most other vertebrates. In mammals, the suprachiasmic nucleus acts as the main/master clock. It is a paired neuronal structure located at the base of the hypothalamus. It is just above the optic chiasm/bifurcation (Klein et al.1991). It facilitates entrainment and synchrony of all other tissues by direct and indirect methods. These include use of hormones, temperature regulation, feeding regulation and metabolism. The suprachiasmic nucleus undergoes entrainment by relation with the optic apparatus via optic tract. This is the retionohypothalamic tract (Ben-Schlomo and Kyriacou, 2002). The SCN consists of a mixed population o f neuronal and glial cells, but which types of cells might be capable of acting as circadian oscillators is presently unknown . Since they are autonomous in function, several theories have been proposed as to their synchronization. One is the synchrony of circadian rhythm due to production of melatonin by the pineal gland. It

Pick an idea from the book,In The Belly of the Beast by Jack Henry Essay

Pick an idea from the book,In The Belly of the Beast by Jack Henry Abbott), and discuss about it.Write it on the paper if you ar - Essay Example Authorities at prison deemed him vulnerable for the environment of the jail. When he fights against the filth, the psychiatric torture of the jail administration and insults, he is hated. This was the situation that forced Abbott to write so harsh about the world. He was of those who had found ill-luck to go with them for the whole of their life. He was forced to bring up the cruel mentality which allowed no one and not even for a second to agitate against his wish. He developed a strange opinion of the world; to him, the people can be treated only with bullets and swords. He tells the same flaw in his mentality in the words: â€Å"The only time they appear human is when you have a knife at their throats. The instant you remove it, they fall back into animality† (Abbott and Mailer 83). One of the most interesting ideas which Abbot presents in his letters from jail is the one appealing towards communism. His life-long sufferings, flaw in mental health, the brutalities of the so ciety and his own violent behavior made him believe that there was no God. The theories which the religions produce about God or gods are all false, according to Abbott. Had there been any God, he would surely have helped Abbott to get out of his sorrows. The world could not understand the genius in him and had there been God, there would have been no need for Abbott to explain his innocence before the world. Abbott expresses the cruelties the world has done to him in the words: â€Å"And what is so odd about it all is that society has denied me the experience it enjoys (or thinks it enjoys). The oddity exists in the fact that I cannot know from experience what I have missed, so why am I not happy? I have been denied the society of others: it is as simple as that† (Abbott and Mailer 146). Because the society denied him his due rights, he agitated against it. His agitations turned violent causing bloodshed and he had to bear the consequences in the shape of eternal solitude in jail. In In The Belly Of The Beast, he complains that the society could not treat him like he deserved. At this stage, he wants the society be reproached by the God for his maltreatment. But the God does not do it and he arrives at the conclusion that all the miseries happened to him because there was no God. He is troubled by the concept of God. This idea developed because he sees no solution for his troubles. It reveals he has cried a lot for a God to be there to listen to him. It shows his state of hopelessness against anticipation. He was in fact in dire need of God to solve all his problems but when disappointed, he created his hypothesis by telling Mailer that God was the concept which the human creates of his own and which is created due to despair. Communism is, according to him, the cure of all the diseases. Abbott resembles in fact aligns to Marx in his views. He believes that communism is above all the religions and it should be adopted likewise. In a communist society, all are told that they can get what they want irrespective of their abilities and capabilities. Abbott was unable to find luxuries for his life. It turned him violent and at last a vulnerable criminal ready for bloodshed every time. He could guess no reason behind his violence but the society which behaved brutally towards him. He thought he had to react in a harsher way. The only solution his mind picked was his yearning for a society where he could find everything he wished whether due or undue. When this was his mindset, the

Micro and Nanotechnology Adoption by the Pharmaceutical Industry Essay Example for Free

Micro and Nanotechnology Adoption by the Pharmaceutical Industry Essay Micro and nanotechnology is starting to show promise in the pharmaceutical industry. The two key questions in this field are ‘what is nanotech’ and ‘aren’t all drugs nanotech – after all, they are in the nano size range’. These can be answered fairly simply; Nanotechnology is where the nano-size of a substance affects its activity – the size placing the substance at the interface between quantum and material effects. The classic example to demonstrate these effects is that of gold nanoparticles. Bulk gold is insoluble and metallic-yellow in colour. However, once the gold is formulated as a nanoparticle it is soluble and the size of the particle determines its colour – from bright blue to vivid red. Two key areas where nanotechnology is showing promise in the pharmaceuticals industry are tools for drug discovery, and secondly in formulation and delivery systems. In the development of tools to support drug discovery, nanotechnology is developing a trend to move away from high throughput to high content screening, where greater information on fewer compounds is achieved. As our knowledge about drug-target interactions increases, it is becoming apparent that high-volume/low-content screening can miss extremely interesting interactions and effects. For example, SPR biosensors can detect a ligand binding step and measure the binding constants. But it cannot measure surface stresses caused by binding, which are an important factor for example in antibiotic efficacy against MRSA and VRE. Here nanomechanical cantilevers have been shown to be effective in providing extremely elegant information that can explain the difference between various drugs that appear to have the same binding kinetics.[i] The move to high content screening has been slow due to the large investments in high throughput screening laboratories and so new systems need to be compatible. However, where systems are compatible with these techniques – for example using 96 well plate platforms, adoption is possible. As a result, improvements and adoption is currently iterative, rather than revolutionary, but it is happening. With regards to nanotechnology in formulation and delivery science, there are a number of early adopters of nanotechnology in the pharmaceutical industry. Table 1 shows a number of types of nanoparticle formulations that are already approved for marketing. The full list of approved ‘nano-enabled’ products is very small and those that have made it to the market are generally reformulations of existing generic drugs. We are still awaiting the second-generation nanodrug, where the nano-effect is integral to the product activity. Nanotechnology appears to be following the classic technology adoption curve as shown in Figure 1. This shows the bell-shaped adoption curve for any technology, overlaid by the technology acceptance line. Nanotechnology appears to have passed through the hype and trough and is now starting to be slowly adopted. It appears that the problem for nanotechnology in formulation is one of risk. Companies need to get their products to market quickly to allow as much market exclusivity time as possible not to recoup their investment, as this is a sunk cost, but to recoup the cost of developing future drugs, the cost of which is becoming ever more expensive. The Tufts Center for Drug Development estimated that the cost of bringing a single drug to market was in the order of $1.2 billion in 2008, compared to $802 million in 2000.[ii],[iii] Given these issues, companies won’t adopt new technology unless they know that the technology has a clear and fast route to approval. This is particularly poignant in drug formulation and other rate-limiting activities that occur post-patent filing. Once a patent is filed, the clock is ticking on the product’s life. If a product is going to be a $1billion a year blockbuster, lost revenues will be at least $2.7 million for every day a product is held from the market. This produces a catch 22 scenario; no-one will take the risk to demonstrate a new technology, especially if it is competing with existing and proven methods, so no-one will see a clear adoption path and use it. This is reminiscent of the fledgling biotech industry 15-20 years ago. Pharma was focussed on small molecules and didn’t want to risk bringing into their portfolio relatively unstable products, with complex manufacturing methods and which were without a clear regulatory pathway. Now however, many traditional large-pharma refer to themselves as biopharma companies and Amgen and Genentech (prior to the Roche purchase) are in the top twenty pharma by revenue. Early adopters, such as Abraxis and Elan, have started to clear a pathway to approval, but as yet no company has developed a true nanodrug – ie one which was conceived as a nano-enabled product from first principles as opposed to using nano-formulation on existing products. Nanotech has a lot to offer the pharmaceuticals industry and if it follows previous technology examples such as biotech, the successful early adopters will reap the rewards. It still has a number of hurdles to leap, such as a clear regulatory pathway and a demonstration of value above and beyond current technologies, before it can become mainstream. However, there are significant efforts by industry and governments to help it to jump the technology adoption gap quickly and ensure it can assist in developing the next generation of products that are needed to solve some of the significant unmet medical needs faced by patients and healthcare professionals. [i] Ndieyira, J. W. et al. Nanomechanical detection of antibiotic–mucopeptide binding in a model for superbug drug resistance. Nature Nanotech. 3, 691-696 (2008). [ii] Outlook 2008, Tufts Center for Drug Discovery (Available at http://csdd.tufts.edu/InfoServices/ OutlookReportsRequest.asp) [iii] Outlook 2000, Tufts Center for Drug Discovery (Available at http://csdd.tufts.edu/InfoServices/ OutlookReportsRequest.asp)

Tic Tac Toe Game Computer Science Essay

Tic Tac Toe Game Computer Science Essay Most of the research nowadays is focused towards problems that deal with complexity or are influenced by some kind of random events. Interesting about these problems is that if they are deterministic, then a solution is expected to exist, at least a theoretical one. These problems are often inspired by games, such as mathematical games (ex. Tic-Tac-Toe, Chess). On the other hand the point of randomness involved in these problems increases the difficulty of prediction on the possible solution, or in some situations outcome. This is thy, there are certain methods of operations devised, that in turn give some supplementary information to a decision maker. In most of the cases, the probability distribution of an even which took place randomly, it is possible to be affected by prior events. These games are often played by at least 2 players (or many), out of which the one is called an opponent. The decisions at each step are made by the last move of the opponent. The operations research in these games is called game theory. The vital Tic-Tac-Toe game consists of two players, X and O, who take turns marking the spaces in a 3ÃÆ'-3 grid (Crowley, 1993; Gardner, 1998). The game usually begins with the X player, and the player who will manage to place three respective marks (in any direction, i.e. in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal row) wins the game. This basic version of the game is rather simple, what allows the game to be used as a useful tool in combinatorial game theory, as well as a branch of artificial intelligence that deals with the searching of game trees (Beck, 2008). Using game theory there are few approaches that can be undertaken: The games solution is resulted by dominance when the game has only 1 rational strategy for each player Minimax strategies decide a stable solution useful if the opponent makes the wrong play Minimax strategies do not decide a stable solution using a probability distribution Even though, game theory researches are made on the possible playing strategies, they might not be employed in real life when playing a game, because: There might be too many strategies to enumerate (this number is simply too large to be estimated). Players are not always rational. There might be more than two players. Real-life games are not zero-sum games. This project deals with developing a Tic-Tac-Toe to be used on a mobile device. The following chapter discusses the Aims and Objectives of the game. Chapter 3 talks about a background research on this game, starting with a review on existing Tic-Tac-Toe games, which in turn leads to discussion about the existing models of this game and the proposed model of this work. Finally, Chapter 3 concludes with a technology research concentrated towards Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME). Chapters 4 and 5 describe the system requirement analysis and design on this work, and chapters 6, 7, and 8 include explanation on the implementation, testing and evaluation. And finally, chapter 9 concludes this work. 2. Aim and Objectives The aim of this project is to develop a Tic-Tac-Toe game for mobile device. The game is supposed to consist of two parts, one a single player game (a player against a system), and the other a multi-player game (two players on their mobile devices, playing against each other). In order to accomplish these, the following objectives were defined. Single player game The player should play Tic-Tac-Toe game on his mobile device. The player should have option to edit his name. The player will start the game of choosing his symbol as X or O. If player 1 selected X then O has to be automatically allotted to the mobile device as a second player, and vice versa. The player has an option to choose the small game grid out of 4 small tic-tac-toe games. If player X marked horizontally or vertically or diagonally of his symbol X in a row, then player X won that small match. Finally, which player won the maximum small games will be declared as winner of the tic-tac-toe game. Multi-player game Using Bluetooth as communication channel the two players should play Tic-Tac-Toe game from different mobiles. Players should have options to edit his name. Once both players connected together, then first player will start the game of choosing his symbol as X or O. If player 1 selected X then O has to be automatically allotted to player 2. Then main game grid has to display in both mobiles. Player2 have option to choose the small game grid out of 4 small tic-tac-toe games. After grid selection both players will play tic-tac-toe game in that small grid. If player X marked horizontally or vertically or diagonally of his symbol X in a row, then player X won that small match. That small grid is marked with X and Player1 awarded 1 point, screen should zoom out and have to display whole main game grid and now player who won the previous game will have the choice to choose on which grid have to be select to play remaining game. This process will be repeated until the whole Four (4) small games grids marked with X, or O, or T. Finally which player won the maximum small games will be declared as winner of the tic-tac-toe game. then game ends. 3. Background Research In this section the Tic-Tac-Toe game will be discussed in details. At the outset, the basic rules of the game are going to be covered. Then, there will be a review on existing Tic-Tac-Toe games, which in turn will lead to discussion about the existing models of this game and the proposed model of this work. Finally, this section is going to be concluded with a technology research concentrated towards Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME). 3.1 Basic Rules of Tic-Tac-Toe game The basic Tic-Tac-Toe game consists of two players, X and O, who take turns marking the spaces in a 3ÃÆ'-3 grid (Crowley, 1993; Gardner, 1998). The game usually starts with the X player, and the player who will manage to place three respective marks wins the game. The marks can be placed in any direction, i.e. in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal row. This basic version of the game is rather simple and very often leads to draw. This simplicity allows the game to be used as a useful tool in combinatorial game theory, as well as a branch of artificial intelligence that deals with the searching of game trees (Beck, 2008). The Roman Empire is known to have established the beginnings of the earliest known variant of tic-tac-toe. It originated around the first century BC (Crowley, 1993). At that time, the game was called Terni Lapilli. Instead of having any number of pieces, each player only had three. The game was played by moving them around to empty spaces to keep playing. However, according to Claudia Zaslavskys book, the game Tic Tac Toe is originating from ancient Egypt (Zaslavsky, 1982). Chess and Tic-Tac-Toe are one of the most famous games to which the moves are not left to chances, rather than pure mathematics and logical reasoning. In these games, a player wins by achieving a winning configuration first, like for instance: checkmate in chess, and 3-in-a-row in a basic Tic-Tac-Toe game in 33 board (Gardner, 1998). Thus, the question which can be posed at this point is: How a player can achieve a winning configuration first? Even though there isnt a general theorem to answer this question, there might be a well-known strategy stealing argument that can give a partial answer about when a player can achieve a winning configuration first (Beck, 2008). In order to find a winning strategy, in theory all the paths could be explored. However, in practice this is not easy because the total number of strategies can be calculated a double exponential function of the size of the board. For example, a 3-dimensional 5ÃÆ'-5ÃÆ'-5 version of Tic-Tac-Toe, has about 3125 positions. This is because each one of the 53 cells has 3 options: Marked by the first player, Marked by the second player, or Unmarked. Thus the backtracking on a graph of 3125 vertices takes at least 3125 steps. This is the main reason that this 3-dimensional 5ÃÆ'-5ÃÆ'-5 version of Tic-Tac-Toe remains unsolved up to date. Moreover, only two explicit winning strategies are known from in the whole class of nÃÆ'-nÃÆ'- ·  ·  ·ÃƒÆ'-n = nd Tic-Tac-Toe games. This is the 33 version and it is characterized with an easy winning strategy, and the 43 version that in turn has an extremely complicated winning strategy. In order to play a perfect tic-tac-toe game, i.e. a win or a draw, the player can play given they move consistent with the uppermost possible moves. This is presented in the following table (Crowley, 1993): Win If the player has two in a row, play the third to get three in a row. Block If the opponent has two in a row, play the third to block them. Fork Create an opportunity where you can win in two ways. Block opponents fork Option 1: Create two in a row to force the opponent into defending, as long as it doesnt result in them creating a fork or winning. For example, if X has a corner, O has the center, and X has the opposite corner as well, O must not play a corner in order to win. (Playing a corner in this scenario creates a fork for X to win.) Option 2: If there is a configuration where the opponent can fork, block that fork. Center Play the center. Opposite corner If the opponent is in the corner, play the opposite corner. Empty corner Play in a corner square. Empty side Play in a middle square on any of the 4 sides. Initially, the player that starts first gets the X and has 3 probable positions to mark in his turn. Even though it seems that there are 9 possible positions, as there are 9 squares in the grid, by rotating the board, this is not the case. It can be observed that: Every corner mark is tactically equal to every other corner mark, and Every edge mark is tactically equal to every other edge mark. There are therefore only three possible first marks: corner, edge, or center. The first player could win (or make a draw) from any of these starting marks. It can be also observed that playing a corner would give the opponent the smallest choice of squares. This is a nice strategy as could be played to avoid losing (Zaslavsky, 1982) . The second player can be identified as O and this player must respond to Xs opening mark. However, this should be done in such a way as to avoid Player X to win. It can be stated that Player O must always respond with (Zaslavsky, 1982): To a corner opening with a center mark, To a center opening with a corner mark and To an edge opening either with a center mark, a corner mark next to the X, or an edge mark opposite the X. Any different play would allow X to compel a win. After every next turn of player X, the player O should follow the above list. This way the player O can achieve a draw (or a win if the player X makes a weak play). 3.2 Existing Tic-Tac-Toe games As many other games like: three mens morris, nine mens morris, pente, gomoku, Qubic, Connect Four, Quarto and Gobblet, Tic-Tac-Toe also has the same goal, i.e. a player wins if he is the first one to get n-in-a-row. Basically, if a generalization is to be provided, it can be concluded that all the different formations of Tic-Tac-Toe can be represented as nd-games, which are accordingly played on a d-dimensional boards with edge n (Zaslavsky, 1982). As it was discussed in the previous section as well, the original Tic-Tac-Toe game is actually a 32-game. There are many variations, discussed as follows (Patashnik, 1980; Gardner, 1998; Beck, 2008). A slightly different version of a Tic-Tac-Toe game is the 33-game, played on a 3x3x3 board (Patashnik, 1980). It can be noted that this game gives good opportunities to the player that plays first, so he could achieve an easy win by playing at the center with his first move. Similarly, playing on a 4x4x4 board also gives the first payer better chances for wining. More complex version of a Tic-Tac-Toe game is playing it on a board with higher dimensional space. 4 dimensional, i.e. 3ÃÆ'-3ÃÆ'-3ÃÆ'-3 board is one of the most commonly played Tic-Tac-Toe (Patashnik, 1980). In this version there are 2 possible aims. One of them is to position elements through all of the board, thus the player that has more rows of 3 totally than the other one is the winner of the game. And the other strategy is to include 4 players, in which case the winner is the payer that will get a row of 3 first. Another version is the misà ¨re tic-tac-toe game. It is played according to its conventional rules, such as in this variation 33 game would be a draw, whereas the winner is the player that will get n in a row (Berlekamp, 1982). Quite a new game is the Tic Tac Tactic variation of tic-tac-toe (Berlekamp, 1982). This game is played on a 3 dimensional curved board, and the here each player tries to roll a ball at least half the way, as it would then drop on a grid that has 9 positions (33 grid). This way the players should make a row of 3 in order to gain a ball. The winner is the player that will have won the first 5 balls. In order to roll their balls precisely, they could use a device that helps into changing a balls trajectory. Yet another version is the nine board tic-tac-toe. In this game, there are in essence 9 boards, arranged as 33 grids, and the first payer can start on any of them by his choice (Gardner, 1998). The following moves are supposed to be places on the board chosen by the first player. Once this board gets full and there is no more space left, the next move can be again on any of the boards left, by the choice of the player. The winner is the one that will achieve 3 in a row. However, having 9 boards gives the game yet another spirit than the usual tic-tac-toe game, as the players can have an opening, middle and end of their game. Similar to the nine board tic-tac-toe game is the super tic-tac-toe game (Beck, 2008). The difference in this variation is that this game does not end once a player makes 3 in a row in one of the 9 boards. As an alternative, the position of that board is marked on a new 33 grid, and the winner is the one that will make 3 in row there. Tic-Tac-Chess is an interesting combination of games, as it involved playing a chess game, as well as a tic-tac-toe game at the same time (Beck, 2008). In this variation, once a player captures a piece from the challenger on the chess game, makes a move on the tic-tac-toe game (even if the challenger has not placed anything on the tic-tac-toe game yet). And of course, the winner is the player that will make 3 in a row on the tic-tac-toe game first. A game that in essence is an isomorphic to a tic-tac-toe game, even though it seems as a completely different game, is described as follows (Beck, 2008). Basically, there are 2 players that should say a number between 1 and 9, without repeating the previously said numbers. The winner is the player that will first make a sum of 15. This game is isomorphic to a tic-tac-toe, because if those numbers are to be placed on a 33 magic grid, then it will be exactly as playing a tic-tac-toe game, because a straight line is formed only if the sum of the numbers is 15. This information is mostly useful in programming variations of a tic-tac-toe game. Another different variation again employs numbers from 1 to 9 (Gardner, 1998). These are to be placed on a 33 grid, but must be held with an order of precedence defined by the players. Then the players play a tic-tac-toe game, filling the grid by the precedence defined beforehand. Check Lines is a very old variation of tic-tac-toe game, invented in the 1970s by Tri-ang Toys Games. In this game the board is actually any geometrical pattern that consists of 12 lines. There are 11 holes in total, distributed in a way that each line has 3 holes. At this point, each player is given 5 coins, and each player on their turn should place a coin on the board. The winner is the one that will have first completed 2 lines. Because the players have only 5 coins, this means that they have to complete intersecting lines. If none of the players have won after placing their 5 coins, then they will continue playing by replacing the position of the coins, on the remaining spaces, with the rule that it must be done only on an adjacent hole. Very similar game to the tic-tac-toe game is the Toss Across game. Here, the players are given bags with beans and they are throwing them on a big board for marking the squares. Star Tic Tac Toe is another popular variation of tic-tac-toe. This game is played with checkers like movable pieces. It has a 33 board, thus a player has 3 pieces accordingly. The participants keep on replacing pieces into the spaces which are left empty in the board, until one the players wins; this actually adds some more dynamism in the game. Moreover, the players have supplementary star shaped pieces, which can be swapped. Similar category of games as the previous bullet, are the: Mojo, Mojo Too and Mojo tic-tac-toe games. In these variation the payers also pieces and pawn(s) onto empty positions until there is a winner. Moreover, there are many shows based on the tic-tac-toe game, as well: Hollywood Squares is a show with 9 celebrities, which fill the cells of the tic-tac-toe grid. Tic-Tac-Dough is a show on which the players put symbols up on the board. This is achieved by answering queries in a variety of categories. In Beat the Teacher competitors respond to questions to win a turn, again on a tic-tac-toe grid. On The Price Is Right, there is a pricing game called Secret X, in which players must estimate prices to win Xes, in order to place them on a blank board. They must position the Xes as to provide speculation of the location on the secret X. This is in turn hidden in the middle line of the board, forming a tic-tac-toe line across. The fictional game Dni game of Gemedet, has an aim to place 6 balls in a row to a 9x9x9 grid (Gardner, 1998). The fictional game Squid-Tac-Toad, has an aim to place 4 or 5 balls in a row to a 44 or 55 grid, accordingly (Gardner, 1998). A more simplistic variation of this game is having the rules as of the Y formations to count as a win. This is rather simple, because all the scenarios basically forming some kind of a Y configuration. Quantum tic tac toe is yet another variation in which the participants are positioning a quantum superposition of numbers on a tic tac toe board (Gardner, 1998). A larger grid (for example 1010) tic-tac-toe games also exist. In a 1010 grid the winner should place 5 in a row. The more the grids there are on a board, the larger complexity of the game is. Another similar game named Go-moku, originating from Vietnam, also has the strategy for a player to get 5 in a row in order to win the game (Gardner, 1998). The players put Xs and Os, but in order to try blocking each other, in this variation they should also try to create changes for wining. Another difference is that the board has no limit, thus the game is played until there is a winner. Three Mens Morris and Nine Mens Morris are also variations, in which there is a limiting on the number of pieces in order for a move to be allowed (Gardner, 1998). Finally, the last variation of the tic-tac-toe game, employs the words: eat, an, laf, it, line, if, lot, on and foe. In this game, the winner is the one that will select 3 words that start with the same letter. If the game was places on a tic-tac-toe grid, it would mean 3 words in order to form a line (three in a row line). 3.3 Proposed model There are quite a few algorithms hat can be used for creating the Tic-Tac-Toes game strategy. The most popular ones are the semantic algorithms and the lexical algorithms. For this project, a lexical algorithm was utilized. The model of the tic-tac-toe game described in this work contains 2 different game strategies. Basically, the one strategy is the Single Player game where a player plays against a system. The other strategy involves Multiple Player environment, and it is being played by a player versus another player. In order to analyze this game, a decision tree might be used. Moreover, for the analyzing part it should be assumed that both the players in the Multiple Player environment, and the single player in the Single Player game, are in essence experienced. This means that the result of a game can be foreseen after the first move from each participant (again assuming that there are no mistakes). Let us represent with 1 if the player that has the X wins and with -1 if the player that has the O wins. The following figure represents the decision tree after the first move from each participant. As it was already discussed in section 3.1 Basic Rules of Tic-Tac-Toe game, the tic-tac-toe game is symmetric and therefore it is sufficient to consider only the squares 1, 2 and 3 for the first player (see the figure below). The rest of the moves are symmetric and will be presented. So, following this reasoning, the first player has the positions 1, 2 and 3 available, and the second player has the remai ning two positions. The figure above presents an expansion, so called an extensive form. It demonstrates that even in the simplest scenario the decision tree can be quite large. For example, if the first two moves were to be presented, this would be impossible to be demonstrated on a single page. Similarly to this discussion, the strategic form of the game can be presented by a different model, i.e. as a matrix. In order to demonstrate this approach, it should be assumed that the players choose one strategy and they strictly follow it when their turn comes. Of course, each strategy should represent all the paths of action and in every possible situation. At the beginning, let us assume that there is a strategy that the first player uses for their first move, and another strategy for the first move of the second player. This logic would create some rules like the following (Zaslavsky, 1982): For the first player: select one of the nine squares on the game board. For the second player: Select one of the nine squares on the game board. If the first player already uses the selected square, then à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ put an O in square 3, 5, 7, or 9 if an X is in square 1 (center) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ put an O in cell 1 if an X is in cell j. These rules are examples of complete strategies, and these can be selected by the payers before the beginning of the game, and thus followed with their first moves. The strategic form of a tic-tac-toe game is presented on the figure below. It should be noted that the entries in the table below are in essence the values of the game. They hold values for every possible selection of strategies. Each tic-tac-toe game that can be actually presented in an extensive form would have an equivalent strategic form similar to the one shown in the table presented above. Moreover, this table is also equivalent to the matrix established previously. The payoff matrix in cooperation with the descriptions of the strategies comprises the model for the two-person tic-tac-toe game. 3.4 Comparison of Proposed model with Existing Models The semantic algorithm is yet another approach towards the tic-tac-toe game. The semantic algorithm is in essence a learning algorithm, and it might be structured in the following way. It might have as initial information the ability to recognizing the 3 states of a game: lost, won or a draw. The algorithm in this case would play the X, and it will play against another algorithm, i.e. the O. As soon as a game is finishes, the information if the game was won or lost is stored. Moreover, the moves are presented with the smaller letters x and o accordingly. A possible structure of stored information could be the following line: x5 o3 x9 o4 x1 won. The first move is always randomly selected. So, given that the algorithm played 7 (x7), and the opponent played 6 (o6), the algorithm will search for previous games that are most similar to x7 o6. If such a case is found, then the following rules apply: If the game found was a win, than the algorithm will try to reproduce the move. If the position is not available, it will play randomly. If the game found was a loss, the algorithm will try to correct the move, by not placing an element in the same position as in the lost game. This is repeated until there is a winner. Moreover, if a game end with a draw, it is not saved in the database. Comparing this algorithm with a lexical algorithm such as our proposed model, it might be noted that the semantic algorithm usually plays very badly at the begging. But, after a certain number of games, the learning curve of the algorithm becomes better. On the other hand, our proposed model behaves well during all the stages of the game. 3.5 Technology Research (j2me) Being quite different from other programming languages, Java does both compiling and interpreting when it comes to process code. As it can be seen from the photo above, the source code (i.e. the .java files) is initially translated by the compiler. This gives an output of an intermediate language, called Java bytecode (i.e. the .class files). The bytecode is then ready to be executed (or in other words, interpreted) within a particular virtual processor, known as the JVM (Java Virtual Machine) (Hayun, 2009; Knudsen, 2008). This is in essence a simulated processor that executes all the bytecode commands. The Java Virtual Machine is the basic components that give to Java the feature to compatibility. This is simply because it represents a reliable layer between bytecode and the concrete machine instructions, translated at runtime. Over the years, the Java language has undergone many changes and development. J2SE (Java 2 Standard Edition) had its first edition targeting GUIs, applets, and other basic and rather simple applications. Recently, the language was extended with the Java suite known as J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition). This edition is based for server side development, and includes tools for: database access, messaging, content rendering, inter-process communications, and transaction control (Hayun, 2009; Li, 2005). J2ME (Java 2 Micro Edition) came into existence as to cover the needs for applications targeting mobile devices. As it can be seen from this short overview, there are versions of Java to suit different environments: from the enterprise development tools intended for use in servers, to the micro systems. An important thing to note at this point is that the separation between platforms is not just unconditional (Knudsen, 2008). Many times these are not a simple line than can be drawn. In ord er to demonstrate this, it might be explained that Java 2 Micro Edition development sometimes requires the use of Java 2 Enterprise Edition and Java 2 Micro Edition. This is the case with multiplayer games for instance, so and Java 2 Micro Edition is used for the client side, but Java 2 Enterprise Edition is used for the server side of the application/game. Moreover, different Java editions target different hardware configurations. Similarly, there are 3 virtual machines to be used for the different environments (Li, 2005). For example, Hotspot VM is a default virtual machine suitable for a executing the full-scale edition of JavaHotspot. JavaHotspot is a newer type of virtual machine competent of vigorously optimizing a great deal of executed code (called as hotspots) during the runtime (Li, 2005). Other versions of virtual machine are the Compact Virtual Machine (CVM) and Kilobyte Virtual Machine (KVM). These are in essence smaller virtual machine implementations. They are targete d to run within the restrictions of the limited resources found on the micro devices (these will be discussed later in this section, as well). The requirement of having another version (like the Java 2 Micro Edition) for the mobile devices came because these devices do not have sufficient recourses to run Java 2 Standard Edition, since J2SE was clearly way excessively large to fit on even the bigger micro devices. However, the question was imposed initially was which features should be left out from the J2SE, so to be minimized in a smaller edition. Also, having great diversity of different devices, it would not have been a nice decision to restrict all the J2ME applications to the lowest compatible hardware configuration (Li, 2005; Kochnev, 2003). Moreover, this solution would not have been practical as well, because it would incorrectly neglect the capabilities of the higher end devices. The final solution is comprehended through a mixture of J2ME configurations and profiles (Krikke, 2005). It represented a revised Java architecture, which actually offers for the leaving out of parts of the platform, at the same time as a ddition to device and category precise components. Along these lines, the configuration would identify the abilities of a Java platform intended for use on a sequence of analogous hardware. Possible components that can be removed are the following (Kochnev, 2003; Lefevre, 2005): Java language mechanism smallest amount hardware necessities, such as the memory, screen size, and processor power for the family of devices integrated Java libraries By utilizing this approach, there are actually 2 preset configurations for mobile devices: one for somewhat restricted devices such as PDAs and Set-Top-Boxes (for instance the digital TV receivers), and another one for devices such as pagers and mobile phones. These two configurations are (Kochnev, 2003; Krikke, 2005; Lefevre, 2005): CDC (Connected Device Configuration) CLDC (Connected, Limited Device Configuration) All of these configurations are to be reviewed as follows. On the other hand, a good example of java profiles is the UI (User Interface) for mobile phones. For example, the J2ME configuration CLDC that wraps this type of device, keeps out the typical Java UI libraries (AWT and Swing). The devices do not have the ability of presenting anything derived from these libraries in any case. This is due to the fact that their screens are just too small. Thus, there is no point to slaughtering valued space on them. The solution was to generate an innovative User Interface, fitting to the exact necessities of the poor mobiles LCD display. The consequential LCD UI is built-in in the CLDC profile. This targets MIDs (Mobile Information Devices), for this reason the name is MIDP. The CDC is built for bigger devices such as digital TV set-top-boxes and PDAs. These are devices characteristically with numerous space of memory. The CDC is the bigger brother of the J2ME configurations. It encloses a single profile (the Foundation profile) as well as a high performance virtual machine (known as the Compact Virtual Machine CVM). This Java language implementation, as well as the API, practically has all the influence of J2SE. Unluckily, the CDC is not accessible on the platform for the most micro-game players (the mobile phones). The CLDC is especially targeted to micro devices, like mobile phones. It fundamentally defines a standard, which in turn is used by all the device manufact

Positive Verbal Communication Analysis

Positive Verbal Communication Analysis What are some things you can do as a customer service professional to project a positive image to the customer? First, think carefully about the words you choose in front of them. Use customer-friendly words. Avoid acronyms and industry-specific language. Youll never impress the customer with how smart you are if you make them feel dumb. Second, consciously choose your tone of voice. You may say the right words and say it in a way that communicates something entirely different. How many husbands have asked their wives, Honey, is there anything wrong? And the wife says, Nothing! And the husband gets in trouble because he believed her! Make sure your tone is professional and pleasant. Is that hard? Yes! At the end of your shift when you have a headache, when youve just been bawled out by an angry customer, when youve just had a run-in with your boss all these situations make it difficult to treat the next person with respect and courtesy; however, thats your job. If you want to keep customers coming back and telling their friends, youve got to treat them right. The third thing you can do to create a positive image is to be aware of your body language. How you are standing or sitting can communicate a loud message. If you have a face-to-face business, you must put some thought into your appearance. You always want to appear clean and neat. Im not talking about how expensive your clothes are or are not, but are they clean? Ironed? Do they fit? All these things speak loudly to the customer. After all, if you dont care enough to present yourself well, the customer wonders if you care enough to do the job well. What element(s) of the do you believe are the most important in a customer service environment? Explain Two way communications involves the sender and the receive who each contribute to the communication process. Part of the process is declining which is the best channel to ensure clear message delivery. What are some strategies to use in order to avoid words or phrases that will negatively affect your relationship with your customer? While we seek to communicate effectively, there are often distorted perceptions of what we view as truth or right. As a result of these colored reality, conflict often result. A continuation of this miscommunication is likely to create a downward spiral of increased tension. You have probably heard the term passive aggressive and did not know what it meant. You are probably familiar with the terms passive and aggressive. These are three communication styles that should be eliminated if you are to communicate effectively with other individuals. Aggressive communication can be described as follows: -Shouting -Using intimidation or threats -Underlying violence -Talking down to people in a disrespectful manner -Being very controlling -Saying rude and hurtful things to people under the guise of being blunt -Name calling -Offensive behavior Do you exhibit any of these signs of aggressive behavior? If so, you probably have found that it has gotten you into quite a few fights, maybe even some physical altercations. You are a walking time bomb who always seems to be able to go off. There is nothing wrong with being assertive in making sure that your needs are met. There is something wrong if you are hurting other people in your quest to do this. People who exhibit aggressive style behavior are usually bullies. They often will resort to talking to people in this manner at stores and places where employees are trained not to talk back. It gives them a false sense of superiority and makes others feel bad. To say that this communication style is ineffective is an understatement. It is toxic. And sooner or later, it will cause negative effects in your life. No matter how much of a bully you are, and how aggressive, there is always someone who is a bit tougher. Continue this type of behavior and be prepared to have very few friends, move around from different jobs all of the time and have problems in your personal life as well as with the criminal justice system. Have problems in your personal life as well as with the criminal justice system. Passive behavior is almost as destructive as aggressive behavior. You never know what a passive person is thinking, but they are usually seething on the inside about something. Because they are so stifled in their emotional range, they will not let anything out for others to see. Somewhere in their lifetime, they were told that it was not okay to display any of their feelings nor have any value to their feelings. They simply allow people to walk all over them. When the passive person has had enough of the conflict, they will just take off. You have heard about passive people before. Surely you know someone who knows someone who has had a father or mother just take off without explanation. Chances are that the conflict they were experiencing was developing for some time. But because they did not know how to address the conflict, it never came out. Until the day that they decided to take off and leave. Passive behavior is destructive in that it does not allow someone to communicate their thoughts and feelings in an effective manner. In fact, it does not allow them to communicate their feelings at all. This is almost as alienating as being aggressive. People who are extremely passive usually have a very low self esteem and simply do not feel that their needs are worth fighting for. Until they get to the point where the conflict builds up and they just escape. In many cases, a person who is very passive may not escape physically from the conflict, but in their own mind. They may appear distant to others. This is because they have found it more comforting to slip into a dream world where the conflict does not exist. Passive Aggressive A person who is passive aggressive has deep rooted anger issues but will not address them. Instead, they will act out in other manners that are destructive. They usually have a problem with being told what to do by authority figures and are generally very negative individuals. Being passive-aggressive is considered as having traits that are reflective of having a personality disorder. A person who has been diagnosed with a personality disorder needs a more than conflict coaching, although this is a step in the right direction. Signs that someone is passive aggressive include: -Harboring resentment and underlying seething; -Communicating through indirect means by using children, messengers or e-mails to get their message to the individual who is causing the conflict; -Negative self image and image of others around him or her; -Angry all of the time but inability to express it appropriately. The person may resort to hurting animals or other pets; -Making snide remarks or giving backhanded compliments to people. Someone who is passive aggressive can use a good dose of therapy to get to the root of his or her negative self image. Their negative self image does not only affect them, but others around them. Normally, someone who is passive aggressive learns this behavior in childhood. Chances are that there is a parent who also suffered with this issue. If you have one of these communication styles, you will want to do something to overcome it and be able to communicate more effectively. What are some of the tips outlined in this chapter for ensuring effective customer interactions? Responsible for ensuring that a meaningful exchange of information takes place. By accepting this responsibility. You can perform your job more efficiently. Generate goodwill and customer loyalty for the organization. Provide service excellence. What is feedback? Your feedback could affect the relationship you have or are building with your customers. The effect may be positive or negative, depending on the content and delivery. Verbal feedback Nonverbal feedback Body language Actions Appearances How can verbal feedback affect customer encounters? Give some examples of nonverbal feedback and explain how they can affect customer interactions? List at least five tips for providing positive feedback. Giving positive feedback is one of the more enjoyable tasks in the workplace. From the most senior to most junior, regular appropriate praise can enhance job satisfaction and boost motivation. Build Trust Contrast Focus on Improvements Use Examples Give Positive Feedback SCENARIOS: You are a customer service professional in a dry cleaners shop. A customer who has been coming for years stops by with a silk shirt that has a stain that, according to him, was not there before the most recent dry cleaning. He is upset because the garment is expensive and was to have been damaged to a class reunion yesterday. As we try to dry our customer clothes as superior as we can do. But we are also human beings all the things we cant do properly. Since he complains about the shirt stain and he spoil the class reunion yesterday, we ask thousand apologies from him, and we try to get that kind of shirt for him. So he may have a good confident about our shop. You are a member service representative in an automobile club that provides maps, trip information, towing and travel service, and a variety of travel-related products. A member has supported by to find out whether she can get a replacement membership card and assistance in planning an upcoming vacation. As u knows our business is giving service to customers. We always try to keep a good relationship with our customer. We happily help our customer difficulties because they are our future without them we cant grow up. Since she is our customer and we want give a replacement membership because if we dont do that now we know we will lose one customer, for us each and every customer is important. So we will be always want keep in touch with customer. You are a counter clerk in a fast-food restaurant. It is lunchtime, and the restaurant is full of patrons. As you are taking an order form a customer, a second customer steps to the front of the line, interrupts the first customer, and demands a replacement sandwich because the one she received is not what she ordered. If he is interrupting it is better to solve his problem first, and for second one can give a nice smile and get an excuse and can talk the first one and can ask for apologies for bringing wrong one, and can tell to him that we will try our best not to repeat this again. So the problem will be solve charm and satisfactorily. As a clerk in a local video rental store, you see many of the same patrons regularly and have a fairly good relationship with many of them. Once of the regular customers has just come in to rent a video but is not sure what he wants. You must determine his needs and properly assist him. Be sure to ask probing, open-ended questions, phrased positively, to help you get the information you need. If he is a regular customer, we can understand his feeling and his taste. So when he come to store we can ask question like, how was the last film that your brought? And can tell you always take this kind of thing so you like this and that. And can give our feeling about that and can tell like that other good one also there. So he will tell his feeling about that and tell again what he wants. CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS Since you dont have a relationship with Sylvia, what will you do to get off to a solid start during your visit? Try to meet her and create a relation with Sylvia. Observe her perfectly. Respect her and her ideas. Watch her expirations carefully, ask about her needs and wants. How should you approach Sylvia verbally and nonverbally? Take with her warmly and sincerely. Try to build a foundation to trust on her mind. What strategies among the ones discussed in this chapter can you use to find out where you and LKM stand in Sylvias mind?

Free Process Essays - How to Prepare Kool-Aid :: Expository Process Essays

How to Prepare Kool-Aid It has been said that Kool-Aid makes the world go 'round. Let it be advised, however, that without the proper tools and directions, the great American beverage is nothing more than an envelope of unsweetened powder. There are five simple steps to create this candy-tasting concoction. Picking the proper packet of flavoring is the first step in making Kool-Aid. Check the grocer's shelf for a wide variety, ranging from Mountain Berry Punch to Tropical Blue Hawaiian. If it is a difficult decision for you, knock yourself out and buy two. The packets usually run under 65 cents. After choosing the flavor that best suits your taste buds, the second step is making sure that your kitchen houses some necessary equipment for making the Kool-Aid. Find a two-quart pitcher. Plastic is nice, but glass pitchers allow the liquid to shine through and add festive coloration to any refrigerator shelf. Next, find a long-handled wooden spoon, a one-cup measuring cup, a water faucet that spouts drinkable water, usable white sugar, and an ice cube tray full of ice. Then, you are ready to mix. Third, grab the left edge of the Kool-Aid packet between your thumb and index finger. With your other hand, begin peeling the upper-left corner until the entire top of the envelope is removed. Next, dump the contents of the envelope into the pitcher. Notice how the powder floats before settling on the bottom of the pitcher. Then, take the measuring cup and scoop two cups of sugar into the pitcher as well. At this point, adding the water is a crucial step. Place the pitcher under the water faucet and slowly turn on the cold water. If the water is turned on too quickly, powder will fly all over when the initial gusts of water hit. After the pitcher is filled within two inches of the top, turn the water off and get prepared to stir. With the wooden spoon submersed three-quarters of the way in the liquid, vigorously stir in a clockwise motion until all of the powder is dissolved.