Right from the publication of his first major work “The Selfish Gene Theory”, Richard Dawkins is never free of controversy. While Dawkins is impeccable as a scholar and an academic, most of his detractors are from the religious and conservative sections of the population. Over the years, Dawkins’ works on evolutionary biology have drawn equally vociferous applause and protest. The last in the sequence of his seminal works is “The God Delusion”. In this book, . . . Read More
Discuss why and how the Eisenhower administration became involved in Guatemala.
Discuss why and how the Eisenhower administration became involved in Guatemala. What were the ramifications of U.S. policies in Guatemala?
During the early months of 1962, hordes of demonstrators took to the streets in protest against the social and economic policies of the Guatemalan government headed by General Miguel Ydigoras Fuentes. The protesters were also disappointed with the level of corruption and election malpractices under . . . Read More
Discuss what Eisenhower meant by the “Military-Industrial Complex.”
Discuss what Eisenhower meant by the “Military-Industrial Complex.” Why did the outgoing president feel the need to warn Americans about this? How justified were Eisenhower’s concerns? Was there any irony to this warning? Explain.
In his farewell address to the citizens of his . . . Read More
Video Production – The Importance of Documentaries
Electronic media has always been advertisers’ medium. Almost all popular electronic media of today – radio, television, the internet, movies, DVDs, etc are predominantly used as tools to leverage commerce and consumerism. In this scenario, what could be the role that documentary films play? Do they hold special significance in terms of their artistic and informative merits? Do they have any drawbacks? What does the future hold for this genre? The rest of the essay attempts to answer these questions.
Some of the . . . Read More
Google Inc.: Company Profile
In 2004 Google became a public corporation. Its debut price was $85 and within a year it rose to $300. The more than 300% growth in its first year is unprecedented to say the least. Google’s main competitor in the search engine business is Yahoo. But in spite of Yahoo’s longer presence in the internet services market, its market capitalization still falls below that of Google (a much later entrant to the market). This figure stood at an impressive 80 billion dollars toward the end of 2005.
One reason for Google’s success is its emphasis on innovation and its reputation of being the . . . Read More
Issues Related to Labor Force in Dubai
One significant problem relating to Dubai’s work force over the last 12 months has been with retaining skilled nationals. The strategy usually referred to as Emiratisation, was designed so as to prevent talented nationals from leaving the country for better opportunities abroad. This is not a recent development by any means. For long, a vast majority of the work force is comprised of expatriates. Consequently, the unemployment numbers among the nationals is one of the highest in the region. The fact that there are as many expatriates in government agencies as there are in . . . Read More
Two-way Bilingualism in American Schools
In many schools in the United States and elsewhere in the world, students are being instructed through two languages in education programs so that they achieve proficiency in two languages alongside their regular academics. The two-way bilingual programs try to integrate students whose native language could be either the minority or majority. The program also tries to provide instructions in chosen area of interest and language development in two languages.
A study was conducted across more than 100 schools during the 1990’s to decipher the current state of two-way bilingual education in the United States. The results showed that
“Two-way programs typically share the goals of bilingual proficiency, academic achievement, and positive cross-cultural attitudes and behaviors. Emerging results of studies of two-way bilingual programs point to their effectiveness in educating nonnative-English-speaking students, their promise of expanding our . . . Read More
Sociology of Mental Illness
A mental illness is a disorder that causes mild to severe abnormalities in thinking, cognitive functions and behavior patterns of the affected people. If these disturbances are too severe, they may impair a person’s ability to cope with life’s ordinary demands and routines.
Mental illnesses are still stigmatized in contemporary society, in spite of a general increase in awareness about such diseases as depression and anxiety. Even the very term “mental illness” has a negative connotation to it as opposed to “physical illnesses”. The widespread perception is that mental illnesses are somehow “worse” and patients afflicted with it “unpredictable” and “dangerous”. While such labels are applicable to a small fraction of patients, a majority of them are “normal” individuals by common . . . Read More
Arguments against Capital Punishment
Thesis statement: Capital punishment proves ineffective as an instrument of deterring violent crime on political, ethical and theological grounds.
The American public has long been supportive of capital punishment for convicted murderers, and that support continues to grow even today. In a Gallup Poll conducted in 1981, two in three Americans expressed overall approval for the death penalty. That support rose to three in four people in 1991, and to four out of five in 1994. Although these polls need to be interpreted with careful attention, it is . . . Read More
Effects of EMTALA on Healthcare
Executive Summary:
On August 29, 2003, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the revised EMTALA obligations for the perusal of hospitals and doctors. In summary, these regulations try to define the cases where EMTALA is applicable, and also the circumstances and situations that warrant its application. The statutes framed therein define the obligations of various parties in a variety of emergency situations and conditions. In effect, the statutes
- Address prior authorization obligations on delivery of healthcare;
- Clarify what is expected of “Dedicated Emergency Departments”
- Makes clear the application of EMTALA to inpatient, outpatient, provider based, and other hospital facilities
- Re-defines on-call obligations and the responsibility of on-call physicians
- Explains its applicability to hospital owned ambulances
- And finally, elucidates requirements during national . . . Read More