Tremors Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tremors - Assignment Example The only thing that remains unchanged in this condition is amplitude. On the other hand, tremors can be described in various ways. There are four distinctive forms of tremors including rest tremor, intention tremor, chorea, and athetosis. The various forms are grouped based on characteristic moment or the situation of occurrence (Abdo et al., 2010). The resting tremor is identified with various characteristics. It can be perfectly noticed when the affected body part is not in motion and when there is no influence of gravity. The other notable thing is that this type of tremor usually disappears during voluntary actions (Abdo et al., 2010). The tremor may also be activated through eye closure or distraction. In some cases, the tremor is observed in the arm when the affected person is walking. The other characteristic is that this type of tremor can be extremely focal (Abdo et al., 2010). The other type of tremor is intention tremor. The tremor occurs through controlled movements. The main characteristic of this tremor is that its amplitude increases wi th time in the movement until the anticipated target is reached (Abdo et al., 2010). It is easily noticed in patients as they engage in various forms of movements. On the other hand, chorea is characterized by random movements. The movements are involuntary and experience some form of interruption. The random movement is as a result of the difference in timing, duration, direction, or the anatomic location (Fung & Wong, 2012). Such random movements may occur from one muscle to the other, in the neck, face, and tongue. The other form of tremor is athetosis. It is described as slow, uninterrupted, and involuntary movement that hinders continuance of a normal posture (Fung & Wong, 2012). The movements are usually smooth and the flow is not interrupted at any stage. The assessment and diagnostic tools used in evaluating a patient are

A Comparison Of Machiavelli And Hobbes Politics Essay

A Comparison Of Machiavelli And Hobbes Politics Essay Machiavelli and Hobbes were the most important political philosophers of early modernity. Politically, modernitys earliest phase starts with  Niccolà ³ Machiavellis works which openly rejected the medieval and Aristotelian style of analyzing politics by comparison ideas about how things should be, in favor of realistic analysis of how things really are. He also proposed that an aim of politics is to control ones own chance or fortune, and that relying upon providence actually leads to evil. Machiavelli argued, for example, that violent divisions within political communities are unavoidable, but can also be a source of strength which law-makers and leaders should account for and even encourage in some ways.  [1]   Machiavellis recommendations were sometimes influential upon kings and princes, but eventually came to be seen as favoring free republics over monarchies. Machiavelli in turn influenced  Francis Bacon,  Marchamont Needham,  Harrington,  John Milton,  David Hume, and many others.  [2]   Important modern political doctrines which stem from the new Machiavellian realism include  Mandevilles influential proposal that Private Vices by the dexterous Management of a skilful Politician may be turned into Public Benefits (the last sentence of his  Fable of the Bees), and also the doctrine of a constitutional separation of powers in government, first clearly proposed by  Montesquieu. Both these principles are enshrined within the  constitutions  of most  modern democracies. It has been observed that while Machiavellis realism saw a value to war and political violence, his lasting influence has been tamed so that useful conflict was deliberately converted as much as possible to formalized political struggles and the economic conflict encouraged between free, private enterprises.  [3]   As I said in the first paragraph of this essay I will start with  Thomas Hobbes, attempts were made to use the methods of the new modern physical sciences, as proposed by  Bacon  and  Descartes, applied to humanity and politics. Notable attempts to improve upon the methodological approach of Hobbes include those of  Locke,  Spinoza,  Giambattista Vico  and Rousseau.  David Hume  made what he considered to be the first proper attempt at trying to apply Bacons scientific method to political subjects, rejecting some aspects of the approach of Hobbes.  [4]   Modernist republicanism openly influenced the foundation of republics during the  Dutch Revolt  (1568-1609),  English Civil War  (1642-1651),  American Revolution  (1775-1783) and the  French Revolution  (1789-1799 A second phase of modernist political thinking begins with Rousseau, who questioned the natural rationality and sociality of humanity and proposed that  human nature  was much more malleable than had been previously thought. By this logic, what makes a good political system or a good man is completely dependent upon the chance path whole person has taken over history. This thought influenced the political (and aesthetic) thinking of  Immanuel Kant,  Edmund Burke  and others and led to a critical review of modernist politics. On the conservative side, Burke argued that this understanding encouraged caution and avoidance of radical change. However more ambitious movements also developed from this insight into human  culture, initially  Romanticism  and  Historicism, and eventually both the  Communism  of  Karl Marx, and the modern forms of  nationalism  inspired by the  French Revolution, including, in one extreme, the German  Nazi  movement. Francis Bacon inspired by Machiavelli Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was one of the leading figures in natural philosophy and in the field of scientific methodology in the period of transition from the Renaissance to the early modern era. As a lawyer, member of Parliament, and Queens Counsel, Bacon wrote on questions of law, state and religion, as well as on contemporary politics; but he also published texts in which he speculated on possible conceptions of society, and he pondered questions of ethics (Essays) even in his works on natural philosophy (The Advancement of Learning).  [5]   After his studies at Trinity College, Cambridge and Grays Inn, London, Bacon did not take up a post at a university, but instead tried to start a political career. Although his efforts were not crowned with success during the era of Queen Elizabeth, under James I he rose to the highest political office, Lord Chancellor. Bacons international fame and influence spread during his last years, when he was able to focus his energies exclusively on his philosophical work, and even more so after his death, when English scientists of the Boyle circle (Invisible College) took up his idea of a cooperative research institution in their plans and preparations for establishing the Royal Society.  [6]   Bacons method for permeating his philosophical ideas into the collective unconscious of the age can best be summarised in his motto: bene visit qui bene latuit One lives best by the hidden life. Bacon resurrected the Rosicrucian Mystery School and the Freemasons, and injected new life into these secret fraternity societies so they became vehicles for the new Baconian philosophy of reason and scientific enquiry. Bacon, like Goethe, scorned knowledge that did not lead to action and also scorned the denial of evil in ourselves. Bacon was grateful to Machiavelli for his frank appraisal of the shadow side of human nature in politics: We are beholden to Machiavelli, and writers of that kind, who openly and unmasked declare what men do in fact, and not what they ought to do; for it is impossible to join the wisdom of the serpent and the innocence of the dove, without the precious knowledge of the nature of evil.  Bacons works touch on all aspects of humanity politics, religion, theology , scientific method, but his most brilliant observations are psychological. Foreshadowing the discoveries by Carl Jung about the nature of the unconscious and the shadow side of man, Bacon recognized that the baseness of man should be recognized and dealt with openly, not repressed and personified as the devil.  [7]   In modern political vernacular, Bacon was a conservative. He saw an ideal Government as one which was benevolent without the worst excesses of despotism by rulers, or by the majority the same as Machiavelli. It is almost without instance that any government was unprosperous under learned governors.  Ã‚  [8]   In science, Bacon sought nothing less than the reconstruction of a system that could be applied to the relief of mans suffering. He constructed a new Classification of Science (The Advancement of Learning, 1603-05), described a new method for the Interpretation of Nature (Things Thought and Seen, 1607, Thread of the Labyrinth, 1606, Novum Organum, 1608-20). He investigated the phenomena of nature in Natural History (1622), and showed how the writers of the past had advanced their truths to the time of Bacon in Forest of Forests, published in 1624. Bacon recorded anticipations of scientific results he felt would come from application of his methods in On Origins (1621). As a result of applying these principles, he described the basis of a new society that would emerge in The New Atlantis (1624). This Magna Instauratio, the great reconstruction, was inspired by the vision Bacon had in his youth, and was a herculean task without precedent in the history of thought. As Bacon stated in th e preface to Magna Instauratio. and I am laboring to lay the foundation not of any sect or doctrine, but of utility and power. To Bacon, Knowledge is power, not mere argument or ornament. In Advancement of Learning, Bacon suggested that all areas of life had rational rules and an empirical basis: medicine, psychology, even dreams, predictions and other occult phenomena. Yet he comes full circle at the end of this survey, concluding that science needs to be guided by philosophy. Bacon applies this to politics.  [9]   Comparison Hobbes and Machiavelli on Human Nature Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), whose current reputation rests largely on his political philosophy, was a thinker with wide-ranging interests. In philosophy, he defended a range of materialist, nominalist, and empiricist views against Cartesian and Aristotelian alternatives. In physics, his work was influential on Leibniz, and leads him into disputes with Boyle and the experimentalists of the early Royal Society. In history, he translated Thucydidess  History of the Peloponnesian War  into English, and later wrote his own history of the Long Parliament. In mathematics he was less successful, and is best remembered for his repeated unsuccessful attempts to square the circle. But despite that, Hobbes was a serious and prominent participant in the intellectual life of his time.  [10]   Thomas Hobbes and Machiavelli shared a commonality in the time period in which they each lived. Separated by approximately 100 years, both thinkers were focusing on political theory. Hobbes theory tended to focus on the social contract between a people and its government. Machiavellis theory focused on the attributes that formed a successful ruler. Examining both theories, a comparison is evident in that Machiavelli and Hobbes both seem to discuss the human nature of society. In Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes views human nature as individual self-preservation and as a place of constant war. There is a constant struggle between men. What causes this conflict amongst men? Hobbes believes that competition and glory causes war between men. He says, If two men desire the same thing, which nevertheless they cannot both enjoy, they become enemies to destroy one another. He concludes that self-preservation is the only way to safeguard from being destroyed. The only way to preserve one is to become more powerful than the other. Government must also be instituted to ensure peace and security through whatever means necessary. Hobbes believes that life without government would be poor, nasty, brutish and short.  Ã‚  [11]   In the Prince, Machiavelli views human nature as pertaining to those who are ruled and those who rule. He promoted a secular society and believed that morality stood in the way. He distrusts people and believes that in a time of adversity, when the state is in need of its citizens there are few to be found. He questions the loyalty of the citizens. Because of this, he advises the Prince that, because men are wretched creatures who would not keep their word to you, you need keep your word to them. Machiavelli believed that the secular form of government to be the most successful. His views were to benefit the prince by maintaining power rather to serve the well being of the citizens. Hobbes and Machiavelli both have interesting ideas on Human Nature. Both of their ideas also contain an evident theme. The theme is the usage of fear as a means acquiring power and maintaining it. The theme of fear is not illustrated in great detail in Hobbes work as it is in Machiavellis. Nevertheless an interesting comparison can be drawn between the two.  Ã‚  [12]   Hobbes believes that people naturally fear death. The easiest and safest way to avoid death was to create a centralized state. An autocracy would ensure the universal desire for life. According to Hobbes, people would give up their power collectively to one ruler. In turn, the people would shut up and do what they were told. The only right they would have would be the right not to be killed. They would live under a tyrannical ruler who had all powers to decide good and evil for the people. He believes that fear is essential to maintain power and authority of the people. This is evident in his text with, And covenants, without the sword are but words, and strength to secure a man at all.  [13]   Machiavelli poises the question to the Prince is it better to be loved than feared or vice versa He addresses this question in regards to what benefits a ruler more. He concludes that a prince cannot be both feared and loved. Machiavelli believes that it is better to be feared by the citizens. This is seen as an economy of violence in which fear is used by violence to invoke a lasting impression on the people. This economy must happen at the beginning on an event where the timing is equally important. The violent act must be made into a spectacle done in the open where people can see and judge. People judge by appearances, so what they see will affect their mentality. The more violent the act the more fearful the individual will be of the same act upon them. Fear in a sense is used by both authors to train the people. It must be instilled upon them in order to maintain a successful regime. It is like the training of an animal. The master must instill on the animal that he is in charg e. If he does not then the animal will overpower the master. The master must make the animal afraid of him by punishing it when it does wrong. Eventually the animal will realize who is in control.  Ã‚  [14]   Spinoza and Machiavelli ideas. Spinoza is one of the most important philosophers-and certainly the most radical-of the early modern period. His thought combines a commitment to Cartesian metaphysical and epistemological principles with elements from ancient Stoicism and medieval Jewish rationalism into a nonetheless highly original system. His extremely naturalistic views on God, the world, the human being and knowledge serve to ground a moral philosophy centered on the control of the passions leading to virtue and happiness. They also lay the foundations for a strongly democratic political thought and a deep critique of the pretensions of Scripture and sectarian religion. Of all the philosophers of the seventeenth-century, perhaps none have more relevance today than Spinoza.  [15]   Spinozas political thought draws from a number of sources, both classical and modern. As one commentator puts it, Spinoza formed new conclusions from facts and concepts borrowed from others. It is worth briefly considering some of the sources of the facts and concepts that he inherits.  [16]   At some point in the mid-1650s. Spinoza began studying Latin with Franciscus Van den Enden. Van den Enden was an ex-Jesuit and radical egalitarian with revolutionary tendencies. He was put to death in 1674 after having been found guilty of conspiring to depose Louis XIV in order to establish a free republic in Normandy. Van dan Enden was an anti-clerical democrat who appears to have profoundly influenced Spinoza. One commentator has gone so far as to call Van den Enden the genius behind Spinoza, claiming that Van den Endens writings contains a political theory which is in fact the same as the one worked out by Spinoza. Whether or not this assessment is fair, it is clear that Spinozas thinking was nourished through his association with Van den Enden and the larger radical Cartesian circle in Amsterdam.  [17]   Hobbes influence on Spinoza is unmistakable. We know that Spinoza read  De Cive  carefully and that it was among his possessions when he died in 1677. He might also have read  Leviathan, which appeared in Latin in 1668, as Spinoza was completing the TTP, although we do not know this for sure. I will discuss Spinozas work in relationship to Machiavelli in some detail below. Here I want to mention the impact of Machiavellian on Spinoza. Machiavellian thought was introduced into Dutch political discourse by Lambert van Velthuysen, an anti-clerical, liberal physician. Velthuysens Dissertatio  is an unabashed defense of Machiavelli thought, in which the duty to preserve one is given pride of place. Spinoza read and admired Velthuysen as a man of exceptional sincerity of mind, and was thus disconcerted when Velthuysen denounced the TTP as the work of a cunning atheist.  [18]   Aside from Velthuysen, the other primary Dutch conduits for Machiavellian thought prior to Spinoza were the De la Court brothers. Most of the De la Courts writings were published by Pieter De la Court after the death of his brother Johan in 1660. However, because it remains unclear how much Pieter added and how much he profited off his studious younger brother, I will refer to these authors of these writings simply as the De la Courts, so as to avoid attribution problems. The De la Courts were ardent republicans who maintained good relations with Johan De Witt. Indeed, De Witt is thought to have written two chapters in the second edition of their book  Interest van Holland. The De la Courts adopted the basic features of Machiavellian anthropology, but eschewed juridical concepts like right and contract, opting to analyze the civil condition in terms of the competing interests of participants. According to them, the aim of the state is to ensure that the interests of rulers are tied to the interests of the ruled, which is possible only if one adopts a series of institutional measures, such as the use of blind balloting, the removal of hereditary posts, and the rotation of offices. Republics, they argued, will be marked by greater checks against self-interested legislation than monarchies. Spinoza evidently studied these works carefully; his institutional recommendations in the  Tractatus Politicus.  [19]   It was likely the writings of the De la Courts that impressed upon Spinoza the perspicacity of Niccolo Machiavelli. The notion of balancing the interests of competing parties was ultimately derived from Machiavelli. Spinozas  Political Treatise  is shot through with Machiavellian insights and recommendations. Right at the outset of the work, Spinoza parrots Machiavellis critique of utopian theorizing, elevating statesmen over philosophers, since only the latter begin with a realistic conception of human psychology. Machiavellian realism pervades Spinozas political writings, playing a particularly large role in the constitutional theorizing of the TP. Spinoza, like Machiavelli, understood that prescriptions for improving the governance of a state can be offered only after one has a proper diagnosis of the problems and a proper grasp of human nature.  [20]   Machiavelli and Locke John Locke (b. 1632, d. 1704) was a British philosopher, Oxford academic and medical researcher, whose association with Anthony Ashley Cooper (later the First Earl of Shaftesbury) led him to become successively a government official charged with collecting information about trade and colonies, economic writer, opposition political activist, and finally a revolutionary whose cause ultimately triumphed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Much of Lockes work is characterized by opposition to authoritarianism. This opposition is both on the level of the individual person and on the level of institutions such as government and church. For the individual, Locke wants each of us to use reason to search after truth rather than simply accept the opinion of authorities or be subject to superstition. He wants us to proportion assent to propositions to the evidence for them. On the level of institutions it becomes important to distinguish the legitimate from the illegitimate functions of institu tions and to make the corresponding distinction for the uses of force by these institutions. The positive side of Lockes anti-authoritarianism is that he believes that using reason to try to grasp the truth, and determining the legitimate functions of institutions will optimize human flourishing for the individual and society both in respect to its material and spiritual welfare. This in turn, amounts to following natural law and the fulfillment of the divine purpose for humanity.  [21]   John Locke and Niccolo Machiavelli are political philosophers writing in two different lands and two different times. Lockes 17th century England was on the verge of civil war and Machiavellis 15th century Italy was on the verge of invasion. The focus of this part of my essay is to examine the treatment of the people by both authors, to discover what Machiavelli and Locke write about the peoples role in their different structures of government. In particular, this paper seeks to understand that role in regards to the political power each author yields to, or withholds from, the people. In addition, these treatments of power and the people will be compared to the writings of another timeless political philosopher, Plato. By Discourses on Livy, The Prince, and The Republic against one another, this paper will show how writers from three very different centuries all agreed upon an identical notion of the relationship between the power of the people and their role in government. This the ory is not readily apparent upon initial reading of these authors. Indeed, most political philosophers would argue that each author has a very distinct notion of what role the people play in government. Therefore, an ideal place to start is in the differences of each authors portrayal of the people and the political power they wield. Machiavelli, the most pessimistic of the three writers in regards to humans and human nature, writes that all men can be accused of that defect which Livy calls vanity and inconsistency. He continues by writing: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦people are nothing other than a brute animal that, although of a ferocious and feral nature, has always been nourished in prison and in servitude.  [22]   Animals, that are by their nature ferocious, become scared and confused when released from captivity. Without the shelter and food they had come to expect when domesticated, they are more susceptible to future attempts at captivity. Man also becomes scared and confused in freedom after living under the government of others. Machiavelli writes that these men lack understanding of public defense or public offense, and quickly return beneath the yoke that is most often heavier than the one it had removed from its neck a little before. Men are docile like domesticated dogs or cattle, according to this description, and have a role in government of little political power. With Plato, there is a continuation of the same theme started by Machiavelli.  [23]   The oligarchic rule the city through the license of the multitude, and the orderly rule in business through the disadvantage of the multitude. Thus, Machiavelli sees the people as subjugated and Plato sees the people as fatuous, both doomed to political ineptitude. With Locke, however, the character of the people is redeemed. The people, for Locke, represent a political power akin to force. Indeed, the people are the ultimate source of power for Lockes government, whether that government is a legislative body or a prince. In the closing chapter of his second treatise, Locke details the ways that government can dissipate when rulers misuse their power. According to Machiavelli, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the people neither desire to be commanded nor oppressed by the great. In this sense, the people constitute a humor of the city, the opposing humor being the desire of the great to command and oppress the people. A man should be wary of becoming prince with the support of the great instead of the support of the people. Without their support, the prince is doomed to govern either a territory filled with an unmanageable great or a large body of unruly people. Indeed, Machiavelli echoes this in a later chapter by stating à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ a prince should have two fears: one within, on account of his subjects; the other outside, on account of external powers.  [24]   In both this text and Lockes Two Treatises, the authors yield an incredible amount of power to the people: the power to both influence the creation of and bring about the destruction of governments. For Machiavelli, the people are a large body of people, viewed as more formidable, and, therefore, more influential, than the great aristocrats in principality building. For Locke, the people exert a similar influence over the building of a commonwealth, since it is from the people that the power of the prince or legislature originates. Moreover, the people can decide to bring about the end of a particular regime of government if they feel that it no longer adheres to its responsibilities. Thus, the people, in both Machiavelli and Locke, appear to share a similar amount of power both in the formation of government and in its oversight: namely, that of adjudication. In the Discourses, Machiavelli writes of a cyclical succession of governments, one after another, each one rising to prominen ce only to fall to licentiousness. It is through this cycle that Machiavelli demonstrates the power of the people to adjudicate, and he argues that it is this adjudication that perpetuates the cycle. Kings rise to prominence based upon character, until the monarchy becomes hereditary and degenerates into sumptuousness and lasciviousness.  [25]   Machiavelli and Locke both considered the nature of government and mans individual interests as they relate to governmental structures. Machiavellis idea of fortune and Lockes state of nature concept both shaped the theorists arguments about the purpose of political life. It has been posited that for Machiavelli, politics is an unpredictable arena in which ambition, deception and violence render the idea of the common good meaningless, while Locke would argue that political or civil society exists only to preserve the rights of the individual. It can be argued that for both Machiavelli and Lock, political activity, then, becomes merely a means of satisfying selfish ends.  Ã‚  [26]   Napoleà ³n Bonaparte a follower of Machiavelli One of the greatest military commanders and a risk taking gambler; a workaholic genius and an impatient short term planner; a vicious cynic who forgave his closest betrayers; a misogynist who could enthrall men; Napoleon Bonaparte was all of these and more, the twice-emperor of France whose military endeavors and sheer personality dominated Europe in person for a decade, and in thought for a century.  [27]   In 1513, Niccolo Machiavelli wrote a piece of work called, The Prince. It was written to all principalities, and that which is parallel to what Machiavelli suggests is often referred to as being Machiavellian. The purpose of this essay is to ask the question Is Napoleon Bonaparte Machiavellian in Nature? By the evidence found from Napoleons life and accomplishments it can said that he was not Machiavellian in nature, which can be demonstrated by numerous accounts as well as some suggested characteristics given by Machiavelli, to support this theory. This essay will take a look at Napoleons leadership skills, his beliefs and ideals, as well as his personality that made him a great political figure. These aspects of Napoleons persona give a description of how his character was different from that in Machiavellis The Prince. In the area of leadership, Napoleon had many qualities that set him apart from the rest. Napoleon was a great leader but at times his people hated him. Machiavelli believed that, one cannot call it virtue to kill ones citizens, betray ones friends, to be without faith, without mercy, without religion; these modes can enable one to acquire an empire, but not glory.  [28]   Machiavelli said, it remains now to see what the modes and government of a prince should be with subjects and with friends. Apparently Napoleon was not a good friend considering when he was exiled the second time his friends that had been with him since the beginning were said to have killed him. Based on this it can be said that Napoleon does not display characteristics of being Machiavellian. Napoleon believed that he would be a much more successful leader if the people liked him. This is thought so because when he was trying to get political support by the people he did not user fear, he found something they all wanted to hear and he said them. Even though Machiavelli said, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ it is much safer to be feared, then loved, if one has to lack one of the two. Napoleon also tried to make the people like him by setting up the Napoleonic Code, which was a set of laws that gave religious freedom and equality. Another illustration of Napoleons beliefs and, or ideals was, instead of appearing to have Machiavellian characteristics, Napoleon actually had them. Thus it is not necessary for a prince to have all the above mentioned qualities in fact, but it is indeed necessary to appear to have them. Napoleon was actually a feared leader and thought of people as disposable but Machiavelli only said to appear to have these traits. The final area of Napoleons behavior is his p ersonality. Machiavelli stated, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ it is very natural and ordinary to desire to acquire, and always, when men do it who can, they will be praised and not blamed; but when they cannot, and want to do it anyway, here lie the error and the blame.

Essay on Voltaires Candide - Fallacy of Optimism Exposed

Fallacy of Optimism Exposed in Candide In Candide, Voltaire paints a dismal and satirical view of the world. Voltaire paints a pessimistic portrait of a naà ¯ve youth who is raised to believe that this is best of all worlds. Time and again, Voltaire clearly portrays his belief that this is not the best of all possible worlds.    The characters of the story face great adversity. In chapter 10, Cunegonde states that her misfortune is so great that she does not see how the old woman's story of woe can surpass her own. In chapters 11 and 12 the old woman then goes onto tell of her misfortune. When she finishes Candide and Cunegonde are amazed at the hard times this woman has faced. At the proposal of the old woman, Candide and Cunegonde ask others on the ship relate their adventures, and sure enough, the others on the boat have stories that can match or surpass Cunegonde's tale of woe.    Throughout most of the book, Voltaire pokes fun at Leibniz's that according to the hierarchical structure of monads that this is best of all possible worlds. Candide and Pangloss are the main characters used to satirize the belief that this is the best of all possible worlds. Pangloss is a blind optimist; he refused to see things being anything other than the best. No matter what sort of natural disaster or misfortune falls upon someone Pangloss heralds it is being for the best.   Candide-the naà ¯ve follower of Pangloss-is first a blind follower of Pangloss, but eventually comes to reject his teachings. In chapter 3 after meeting John the Anabaptist, Candide affirms, "now I am convinced that my Master Pangloss told me truth when he said that everything was for the best in this world." However, in the beginning of Chapter 4 only few p... ...t this is not the best of all possible worlds. Though some good things happen along their adventures, Candide's fellow adventurers face great misfortune. Eventually they are forced to live a life of labor-not at all befitting their noble ancestry. Though greatly disappointed with their outcome all but Candide insist on claiming that all is for the best. The complete absurdity that one could go through as much and end up in the place where they end up and still claim that all was for the best furthers Voltaire's belief in the fallacy of systematic optimism.    Works Cited and Consulted: Frautschi, R.L. Barron's Simplified Approach to Voltaire: Candide. New York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1998. Lowers, James K, ed. "Cliff Notes on Voltaire's Candide". Lincoln: Cliff Notes, Inc. 1995. Voltaire. Candide. New York: Viking Publishers, 1996.

Determination of the Heat of Vaporization of N-Pentane

Chemistry 202 – Lab: Wed 2:30 11 April 2012 The Determination of the Heat of Vaporization of n-Pentane Introduction Section: The purpose of the Heat of Vaporization for Normal Pentane (n-pentane) Laboratory Experiment is to determine the heat of vaporization of n-pentane. This experiment was performed as a class. Each pair of partners had to go to the monometer and take the various measurements in order to determine the heat of vaporization. Experimental and Theory Section: PLS (cm)PRSP mmhgTÂ ° CT (K)ln(P)-1000/RT 4. 524. 659929. 3302. 456. 395261598-0. 397682418 85. 5523. 7618. 530303. 156. 427297192-0. 396764135 85. 523. 55619. 530. 3303. 456. 428912701-0. 396371881 86. 222. 863430. 9304. 056. 452048954-0. 395589697 86. 622. 364331. 1304. 256. 466144724-0. 395329655 86. 82264831.5304. 656. 473890696-0. 394810594 87. 221. 665631. 8304. 956. 486160789-0. 394422192 87. 521. 466132305. 156. 49375384-0. 394163681 88. 120. 667532. 6305. 756. 514712691-0. 39339018 88. 520. 368232 . 9306. 056. 525029658-0. 93004566 89. 119. 769433. 4306. 556. 542471961-0. 392363554 The monometer was already pre-set up before the laboratory section started. Each group went up one by one with the aid of Professor Nelson to the collect the various measurements. Each pair of partners had to read the left and right side of the mercury pressures in the barometers and read the temperature at which the system was. Each pair of partners collected this data, which resulted in eleven different observations performed.The data numbers slowly increased between the pressure and temperature as the experiment progressed. With this data, a graph can be created. The graph is a typical one-quadrant graph with an x-axis and y-axis. However, for this experiment, the x-axis would be _____ and the y-axis was replaced with ________. The relationship between vapor pressure and temperature is given by the Clausius-Clapeyron: ln? (P_2/P_(1 ) )=? -? H? _vap/R [1/T_2 -1/T_1 ] Results Section:

Childhood

In her remembering event essay, Annie Dullard a professor of English and writer at Wesleyan College, recalls the time when her and her friends where chased by a stranger that wouldn't give up. At the age of seven, Dullard felt that nothing girls did could compare to the trill and excitement she experienced while playing football and baseball with the boys. She was somewhat of a tomboy and had what some people Like to call a boys arm.She loved the two sports, from the thought of new strategies whispered among one another and throwing her body mightily at someone's legs to he concentration and courage It took for a chance at victory. Once winter arrived there wasn't any baseball or football; however, In the winter, they made and threw snowballs at the oncoming/outgoing vehicles as they drove by. One cold and cloudy morning after Christmas, Dullard and the boys strayed away from their homes In search of potential traffic to throw snowballs at.On Reynolds Street, a black Buick was headed in their direction. They spread out quickly made snowballs, aimed, and launched at the approaching vehicle. As usual they hit their target, but this particular time was different from all the other times. The driver pulled over, jumped out, and began chasing after the young juveniles. Without saying a word they all split up, with the exception of Dullard and one of the young boys, Mike Fay. The angry man continued the pursuit, following the two kids without any signs of giving up.Block after block, through backyards and over picket fences Dullard and Fay fled with the man trailing closely behind. Before being caught, they ran ten blocks and were extremely exhausted. Dullard admits to being terrified, but did not want the glory to end. Childhood By Foundation stranger that wouldn't give up. At the age of seven, Dullard felt that nothing girls did like to call a boys arm. She loved the two sports, from the thought of new strategies the concentration and courage it took for a chance a t victory.Once winter arrived there wasn't any baseball or football; however, in the winter, they made and threw snowballs at the oncoming/outgoing vehicles as they drove by. One cold and cloudy morning after Christmas, Dullard and the boys strayed away from their homes in particular time was different from all the other times. The driver pulled over, Jumped out, and began chasing after the young Juveniles. Without saying a word they all split Childhood In her remembering event essay, Annie Dullard a professor of English and writer at Wesleyan College, recalls the time when her and her friends where chased by a stranger that wouldn't give up. At the age of seven, Dullard felt that nothing girls did could compare to the trill and excitement she experienced while playing football and baseball with the boys. She was somewhat of a tomboy and had what some people Like to call a boys arm.She loved the two sports, from the thought of new strategies whispered among one another and throwing her body mightily at someone's legs to he concentration and courage It took for a chance at victory. Once winter arrived there wasn't any baseball or football; however, In the winter, they made and threw snowballs at the oncoming/outgoing vehicles as they drove by. One cold and cloudy morning after Christmas, Dullard and the boys strayed away from their homes In search of potential traffic to throw snowballs at.On Reynolds Street, a black Buick was headed in their direction. They spread out quickly made snowballs, aimed, and launched at the approaching vehicle. As usual they hit their target, but this particular time was different from all the other times. The driver pulled over, jumped out, and began chasing after the young juveniles. Without saying a word they all split up, with the exception of Dullard and one of the young boys, Mike Fay. The angry man continued the pursuit, following the two kids without any signs of giving up.Block after block, through backyards and over picket fences Dullard and Fay fled with the man trailing closely behind. Before being caught, they ran ten blocks and were extremely exhausted. Dullard admits to being terrified, but did not want the glory to end. Childhood By Foundation stranger that wouldn't give up. At the age of seven, Dullard felt that nothing girls did like to call a boys arm. She loved the two sports, from the thought of new strategies the concentration and courage it took for a chance a t victory.Once winter arrived there wasn't any baseball or football; however, in the winter, they made and threw snowballs at the oncoming/outgoing vehicles as they drove by. One cold and cloudy morning after Christmas, Dullard and the boys strayed away from their homes in particular time was different from all the other times. The driver pulled over, Jumped out, and began chasing after the young Juveniles. Without saying a word they all split Childhood EYMP1: Context and principles for early years provision 1. 1. Explain the legal status and principles of the relevant early years framework/s, and how national and local guidance materials are used in settings. (Relevant early years framework: This refers to the frameworks for early years provision used within the relevant UK Home Nation. ) The early years framework in England is the EYFS. The early year’s foundation stage consists of a statutory curriculum for children from birth to 5years.All child care providers must use the early year’s foundation stage to ensure a consistent and flexible approach to children’s care, learning and development in order for the child to meet the five every child matters outcomes. The welfare requirement is enforced by Regulations made under Section 39, (1) (b) of the Childcare Act 2006. There are six area covered by the early learning goals and educational programmes. Which are:- -Personal, Social and Emotional Development -Comm unication, Language and Literacy -Creative Development -Physical Development -Problem-solving, Reasoning and Numeracy Knowledge and Understanding of the World These six areas are equally important; all areas are delivered through planning, child-initiated and adult-led activities. There are four distinct EYFS principles which guide the work of all practitioners. The elements of the principles into practice are, :- A unique child :-Positive relationships :-Enabling environment :-Learning and development These four elements underpin effective practice in the EYFS, put the requirements into context, and describe how practitioners should support the development, learning and care of young children.The four aspects also underpin the five elements of Every Child Matters. The five elements of every child matters are staying safe, being healthy, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and achieving economic well-being. We achieve this by setting the standards for learning, pr omoting equality of opportunity, creating the framework for working in partnership, improving quality and consistency and laying a secure foundation for future learning. 1. 2. Explain how different approaches to work with children in the early years have influenced current provision in the UK. (Different approaches e. g. : Reggio Emilia Reggio Emilia’s approach has influenced our roles by combining parent’s roles and communities’ roles. Parents are encouraged to be involved with the child’s development and curriculum planning. Teachers are leaner’s too, as we are continually developing and enhancing our understanding. Reggio Emilia influenced how we lay out our rooms, with the use of open free flow spaces and using the children’s work for displays. * High/Scope * The high scope approach influenced how we organise our planning, implement, review and how we plan our next steps. * Montessori * Maria Montessori believed that children have a desi re to learn.After many hours of observation she concluded that they learned best by experiencing things. * Steiner * Steiner influenced how we organise our setting and how we plan our environment, he also contributed to the five elements of every child matters. He believed nutrition, rest and play are very important. Steiner believed children learn through reparation. Steiner’s approach worked effectively at integrating special education need children into the setting and encouraged the other children to actively care about them. * common core * Common core skills and knowledge are essential to everyone who works on a regular basis with children.The common core influences our practices and provisions by highlighting the skills and knowledge we as practitioner should have. It also promotes equality, respect, diversity and challenges stereotypes. * There are six areas within the common core skills and knowledge. * Effective Communication and engagement with children, young peop le and families. * Skills:- Listening and building empathy, summarise and explain and consultation and negotiation * Knowledge:- How communication works, sources of support and the Importance of respect * Child and young person development. Skills:- Observation and judgement and empathy and understanding * Knowledge:- Understand context, understand how babies, children and young people develop and be clear about your own role * Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child and young person. * Skills:- Relate, recognise and take considered action, communication, recording and reporting and personal skills * Knowledge:- Legal and procedural frameworks, wider context of services and Self understanding * Supporting transitions. * Skills: – Identify transitions and provide support. Knowledge: – How children and young people respond to change and when and how to intervene. * Multi – agency working. * Skills:- Communication, teamwork and assertiveness * Knowledge :- Your role and procedures and working methods * Sharing information. * Skills: – Information handling. * Knowledge: – The importance of information sharing and roles and responsibilities. * country specific: statutory or guidance) * See 1. 1 * 1. 3. Explain why early years frameworks emphasise a personal and individual approach to learning and development.The emphasis is on the individual and how we can adapt to personalise activities and the care we offer. All children are individual and develop at different rates. Children have universal needs that are essential to survival (food, drink, sleep and shelter). The psychological needs are love, affection, stable relationships, intellectual stimulation and independence, meeting these needs is essential to the quality of life. 3. 1. Explain the partnership model of working with carers. The role of practitioners differs from parents but the one thing they have in common is they all want the best for the child.Trust and re spect is of upmost importance. Home visits, hands book and brochure are greatly appreciated by parents and carers. Also See 3. 3. A  partnership model  looks like this 3. 2. Review barriers to participation for carers and explain ways in which they can be overcome. As a practitioner my first duty is to the child, promoting their welfare, development and learning. Some situations are very sensitive and need to be approached with great care. Parents can be very defensive and sometime even hostile. Arrange any discussion in a confidential space, in a calm and supportive atmosphere.Barriers| Ways in which they can be overcome. | Being a single parent| Offer times that are suitable for the parent to discuss any issues/child’s development. If this is not practical I would arrange a convenient time to phone home and discuss. In some cases a e-mail or text may be appropriate. | If English is not their first language| The parent/carer is encouraged to bring a member of the family or friend to translate, although we do have bilingual practitioners at my setting. | Work commitments| Offer alternative times or arrange a phone call home. If this is still not suitable I would send a letter/report home. Illness| Firstly I would be sensitive to their illness and provide an appropriate time suitable to for them. Sending a letter home/report and discussing any issues over the phone. | Disabilities | I would provide appropriate access. If the parent/carer is deaf I would write what I want to communicate. | Child’s health (over weight/ not in good health)| This is a hard situation to tackle, showing concern for the child and not criticising the parent is very important. Offering my help and support to the parents, suggesting alternative foods and making them aware of adequate exercise. Their child has special education needs| I would discuss my concerns and reassure the parent/carers that they will receive support and help not only for their child but for themse lves too. | The child isn’t receiving support at home. | This is a sensitive matter as many parents do have a lot of time after they finish work. I would suggest just 10 minute a day of reading to their child will make a dramatic impact. I would not criticise the parent/carers as everybody’s home life is different. | 3. 3. Explain strategies to support carers who may react positively or negatively to partnership opportunities.At my setting we offer opportunities for parents/carers to volunteer for any period of time, we hold open days for existing parents and children as well as new parents/carers and children. This helps the transition of starting nursery and gives parents and children to meet the staff, gain knowledge of our routine, how we work as a setting and what our aim is. At events like this we have stalls providing information about each staff member’s role, our policies and work from staff and children that display how diverse we and our multi-cultura l workings.Parents don’t always have time to attend open days, events or parents evenings and may feel guilty. At my setting we hold events on Saturdays and for parents evenings we arrange times to suit parents. We have bilingual staff members to help and translate if English is not the parent/carers first language or they are welcome to bring someone with them. Parents are always encourages to become more involved and we are open to new ideas. 3. 4. Explain how effective multi-agency working operates within early year’s provision and benefits children and carers.A number of different services, practitioners and parents join forces, sharing information in order to prevent problems occurring. Parental permission will always be obtained before accessing these services, unless the child is deemed to be at risk of significant harm. Practitioners should assist parents and guide them in the direction of other agencies/services which could benefit them. Multi agency working e nables services to work alongside one another to ensure the best possible outcome for the child, young person and their families.Services are sometimes integrated to enable more effective care for the child/young person. Anyone who works with children should integrate, placing the child at the centre in order to improve their lives. Multi agency workings benefit the child and their families by identifying problems, providing information, their needs are addressed more appropriately and the family receive a tailor made support network. By working together and integrating the child’s outcome can be positive and can have a positive impact on the child health, development and learning. Every agency places the whole child at the centre. Similar article: How Different Types of Transitions Can Affect Children

Free Essays on Search And Sezuries

Hi, my teammates and I believe that going to a safe and drug free school is very important to gain a good education. A safe environment is somewhere that drugs, guns and violence don’t exist. But of course that environment can’t be gained unless certain precautions are taken, such as search and seizures. Search and seizures are used to insure that schools stay safe. Some might think that search and seizures are illegal but at the beginning of every school year students have to sign the Stafford County Code of Conduct. In it, It states that a student may be searched if there is reasonable suspicion. Reasonable suspicion is when an observation of specific and describable behavior leading someone to believe a student is engaging in or has engaged in prohibited conduct. The fourth amendment of the United States Constitution also backs the Code of Conduct. In it is says a student has the right to be free from any unreasonable searches. Thus any search conducted with reasonab le suspicion is perfectly legal. To provide a desirable environment at school searches must be conducted. If school administrators cant search someone who is suspected of having a weapon, who knows what could happen. Searches are in the best interest of every student and teacher in school.... Free Essays on Search And Sezuries Free Essays on Search And Sezuries Hi, my teammates and I believe that going to a safe and drug free school is very important to gain a good education. A safe environment is somewhere that drugs, guns and violence don’t exist. But of course that environment can’t be gained unless certain precautions are taken, such as search and seizures. Search and seizures are used to insure that schools stay safe. Some might think that search and seizures are illegal but at the beginning of every school year students have to sign the Stafford County Code of Conduct. In it, It states that a student may be searched if there is reasonable suspicion. Reasonable suspicion is when an observation of specific and describable behavior leading someone to believe a student is engaging in or has engaged in prohibited conduct. The fourth amendment of the United States Constitution also backs the Code of Conduct. In it is says a student has the right to be free from any unreasonable searches. Thus any search conducted with reasonab le suspicion is perfectly legal. To provide a desirable environment at school searches must be conducted. If school administrators cant search someone who is suspected of having a weapon, who knows what could happen. Searches are in the best interest of every student and teacher in school....

Theory Of Evolution Essays - Evolutionary Biology, Charles Darwin

Theory Of Evolution Essays - Evolutionary Biology, Charles Darwin Theory of Evolution TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ............................................... 2 DARWINIAN THEORY OF EVOLUTION .............................. 4 THE THEORY OF BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION: CONTRIBUTING ELEMENTS ....................... 7 WALLACE'S CONTRIBUTIONS ................................... 13 HARDY-WEINBERG PRINCIPLE .................................. 15 COMPARISON: LAMARCK vs. DARWIN ........................... 16 DARWIN'S INFLUENCES ....................................... 20 METHODS OF SCIENTIFIC DEDUCTION ........................... 23 LIMITS TO DARWIN'S THEORY ................................. 25 MORPHOLOGICAL & BIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS ....................... 27 BIO-EVOLUTION: POPULATION vs. INDIVIDUALS ................ 29 MECHANISMS FOR GENETIC VARIATION .......................... 31 GENETIC VARIATION AND SPECIATION .......................... 35 DARWIN'S FINCHES .......................................... 37 SPECIATION vs. CONVERGENT EVOLUTION ....................... 39 CONCEPT OF ADAPTATION ..................................... 41 PUNCTUATED EQUILIBRIUM .................................... 43 VALUE/LIMITATIONS: THE THEORY OF BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION .... 45 ALTERNATE EXPLANATIONS OF BEING ........................... 47 CONCLUSIONS ............................................... 48 INTRODUCTION Theories explaining biological evolution have been bandied about since the ancient Greeks, but it was not until the Enlightment of the 18th century that widespread acceptance and development of this theory emerged. In the mid 19th century english naturalist Charles Darwin - who has been called the "father of evolution" - conceived of the most comprehensive findings about organic evolution ever . Today many of his principles still entail modern interpretation of evolution. I've assessed and interpreted the basis of Darwin's theories on evolution, incorporating a number of other factors concerning evolutionary theory in the process. Criticism of Darwin's conclusions abounds somewhat more than has been paid tribute to, however Darwin's findings marked a revolution of thought and social upheaval unprecedented in Western consciousness challenging not only the scientific community, but the prominent religious institution as well. Another revolution in science of a lesser nature was also spawned by Darwin, namely the remarkable simplicity with which his major work The Origin of the Species was written - straightforward English, anyone capable of a logical argument could follow it - also unprecedented in the scientific community (compare this to Isaac Newton's horribly complex work taking the scientific community years to interpret ). Evolutionary and revolutionary in more than one sense of each word. Every theory mentioned in the following reading, in fact falls back to Darwinism. DARWINIAN THEORY OF BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION Modern conception of species and the idea of organic evolution had been part of Western consciousness since the mid-17th century (a la John Ray) , but wide- range acceptance of this idea, beyond the bounds of the scientific community, did not arise until Darwin published his findings in 1958 . Darwin first developed his theory of biological evolution in 1938, following his five-year circumglobal voyage in the southern tropics (as a naturalist) on the H.M.S. Beagle, and perusal of one Thomas Malthus' An Essay on the Principle of Population which proposed that environmental factors, such as famine and disease limited human population growth . This had direct bearing on Darwin's theory of natural selection, furnishing him with an enhanced conceptualization of the "survival of the fittest" - the competition among individuals of the same species for limited resources - the "missing piece" to his puzzle . For fear of contradicting his father's beliefs, Darwin did not publish his findings until he was virtually forced after Alfred Wa! llace sent him a short paper almost identical to his own extensive works on the theory of evolution. The two men presented a joint paper to the Linnaean Society in 1958 - Darwin published a much larger work ("a mere abstract of my material") Origin of the Species a year later, a source of undue controversy and opposition (from pious Christians) , but remarkable development for evolutionary theory. Their findings basically stated that populations of organisms and individuals of a species were varied: some individuals were more capable of obtaining mates, food and other means of sustenance, consequently producing more offspring than less capable individuals. Their offspring would retain some of these characteristics, hence a disproportionate representation of successive individuals in future generations. Therefore future generations would tend have those characteristics of more accommodating individuals . This is the basis of Darwin's theory of natural selection: those individuals incapable of adapting to change are eliminated in future generations, "selected against". Darwin observed that animals tended to produce more offspring than were necessary to replace themselves, leading to the logical conclusion that eventually the earth would no longer be able to support an expanding population. As a result of increasing population however, war, famine and pestilence al! so increase proportionately, generally maintaining comparatively stable population . Twelve years

Needle Blight Tree Disease - Prevention and Control

Needle Blight Tree Disease - Prevention and Control This group of blight diseases - including Diplodia, Dothistroma and brown spot - attacks conifers (mostly pines) by girdling needles and killing branch tips. These needle blights are caused by the fungus, Dothistroma pini mostly on western pines and Scirrhia acicola on longleaf and Scots pine needles. Needle damage can cause major commercial and ornamental damage to conifers in North America significantly affecting the nursery and Christmas tree industries. Infected needles often fall from the tree creating a symptomatic scorched, denuded look. The blight usually results in dramatic browning and dropping of the foliage beginning on the lower branches. It rarely attacks upper branches on conifers so the tree might not immediately die. Diseased Needle Identification Early symptoms of a blighted needle would be deep-green bands and yellow and tan spots on needles. This deep green color banding is short-lived. The spots and bands quickly turn brown to reddish brown during the summer months. These bands tend to be brighter red and more numerous on pines in California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, where this disease is often referred to as the red band disease. Needles may develop extensive leaf browning within several weeks of the first appearance of symptoms. Infection is typically most severe in the lower crown. Infected second-year needles usually drop before infected current-year needles. Needles that become infected the year they emerge often are not shed until late summer the following year. Successive years of severe needle infection can result in tree death. In most cases, the disease makes pines in landscapes unsightly and pines in Christmas tree plantings unmarketable. Prevention Repeated annual cycles of disease infection can result in dead limbs and eventual loss of any meaningful ornamental or commercial value of the conifer. Breaking this infection cycle has to happen to effectively stop the fungus. Brown spot needle blight in longleaf pine is controlled using fire. The use of genetic resistant pine strains or clones has been identified in Austrian, ponderosa, and Monterey pines. Seeds from Eastern Europe have shown high resistance and are currently used to produce Austrian pines for Great Plains plantings. Sources of ponderosa pine seed have been identified as having high resistance and collected for planting in endemic areas. Control High-value nursery and Christmas tree plantings can benefit from chemical fungal control. Early detection is important and high dollar trees may be sprayed as a preventative measure in locations where the fungus is active. A copper fungicide spray program, repeated over several years, will eventually allow new, undamaged needles and branch tips to replace the diseased ones. Chemical applications should begin in spring where the first spray protects the previous years needles and the second spray protects the current years needles. When symptoms of the diseases have disappeared, you can discontinue spraying. Ask your local extension agent for recommended chemicals.

Child Obesity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Child Obesity - Research Paper Example In 2008, 35% people believed that obesity in children was a huge problem, while in 2009, that number increased to 45%. Childhood Obesity is a medical state that affects young children as well as adolescents. It is such a serious condition that some countries have declared it an epidemic that needs to be dealt with. Obesity in childhood is determined by age, weight and height; it occurs when a child’s weight is way above what is required for his/her height and age (Paxton, 2006). Obesity is a serious medical condition because it is a risk factor to many other conditions that were once only found in adults, For instance, increased blood pressure, high levels of cholesterol and diabetes. Other than these risks, obese children are more likely to have low self esteem that may lead to depression. Childhood obesity is preventable; the most recommended strategies are to improve diet by decreasing the intake of energy-dense foods that have high content of sugars and fat and increasing intake in minerals, vitamins and other micronutrients that are healthy. Obese children are likely to continue with the condition in adulthood and may lead to early death. Preventing obesity in childhood ensures better and quality health even in the future (Paxton, 2006). Obesity is a global problem and has posed a great public health challenge. It affects both the low and high income earners especially in urban settings. The prevalence of obesity is steady and increasing at a rate that has stunned health officials. Global statistics by the World Health Organization indicate that in 2010 over 42 million children below the age of five are overweight. A significant number of these children (about 35 million) live in the developing countries (Holecko, 2011). These statistics are alarming considering the risks associated with obesity. Obesity has been prioritized by many governments because of its risks and the fact that it is preventable. A recent study on childhood obesity found in Arc hives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine finds that 1 in every 5 children in preschool is obese with a BMI of 18 or more. The study also focused on the racial factor. Of the 8000 children included obese children were found in the following percentiles in the study 13% were Asian 16% were white,21 % were black,22% were Hispanic and 31% were American Indians(Holecko,2011). Physiologists have continued to research childhood obesity and have come up with a lot about its pathology. The prenatal stage marks the beginning of life and has an influence on obesity predisposition. If the fetus is exposed to some hormones in the womb, then it becomes predisposed to obesity. For instance, Neuropeptide Y is a hormone that controls gluttony. The diet of a pregnant woman also influences obesity in children. A mother who ate a diet low in saturated fats and rich in protein significantly improves the lipid profile of their baby. A baby whose mother was undernourished in pregnancy is at a risk of ob esity (James et al., 2004). Some children have a sedentary lifestyle, and this directly relates to obesity. Children are using their leisure activities on the computer and watching television. Lack of exercise means that, they cannot maintain the required body weight (Jimerson, 2009). Some curriculums have removed physical education from their programs, thereby denying children their primary source of physical exercise. Children develop habits between the age of

Csa study Case Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Csa - Case Study Example 1. Assessment There are many illnesses that could be happening with Bret but there are many preliminary tests that would have to be done. The first thing would be to check his vital signs. I would want to know his blood pressure to rule out high blood pressure because it could cause fatigue and weakness over time. I would also check to see whether he had been drinking enough water when he does sports because some of the weakness could be due to dehydration (Mayo Clinic). I would want to do an ultrasound on his legs to make sure that there were no blood clots or other challenges with his legs. I would also want to send him to an neurologist because the weakness in his legs may be early signs of multiple sclerosis (MS). Some of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis are the fatigue, had tremors, and double vision (Merk Online Manual 2010). The challenge with is symptoms is that they could be one of many types of diseases and it would be important to narrow down the focus. I would also want to order an MRI to see if there are challenges in the brain or the muscles that are more physical. 2. Treatments The treatments would depend on what was found from the various tests. If it was MS, it is a treatable disease. Some of the treatments that may be used would be dependant on how the symptoms are working with Bret. There are Corticosteroids are used more often than other treatments. Also, Interferon Injections may be used in order to help delay the total disability of this issue. 3. Prognosis Many people who have MS live for a very long time and are able to maintain a lifestyle that stays healthy. Regular exercise is important and physical therapy can help maintain balance. Case Study 2 Corey is 14 years old and is an avid mountain biker. He has been riding with his friends every weekend. At one point in the current ride, he has decided to ride the Abyss trail because none of his friends have had the courage to ride it. As Corey was negotiating the last trail, he hit a roo t sideways with his bike and it spun out of control, flipping Corey backwards over a small ravine. He hit the back of his head on a rock outcrop and flipped over face down into pine needles. He jumped up, brushed himself off, and said he was okay. However, he had cracked his helmet and on the way home, he could not remember what happened or starting down the hill. His head was hurting and the boys noticed that the back of his head was bloody. Corey was very thirsty, drank a Mountain Dew quickly and threw up. His friends rush him to the hospital and his parents meet them there. Once his head and scalp are stitched he says that his head still hurts, but he does not feel that he will throw up. He knows what school he goes to, but he cannot recall starting down the hill before the accident. It is apparent that he has suffered a concussion because of the headache, nausea, and the amnesia about the traumatic event (Mayo Clinic 2011). I would tell the parents that they should watch him clo sely for the next couple of days because he may have had a head injury that we cannot see. I would have ordered an MRI for him to see whether there was anything else to be concerned about in this process. However, he could have some other challenges with dizziness or nausea in the next couple of days. I would tell them to bring him back if he had any other symptoms or if he seemed to be drowsy or more fatigued than normal. I would also tell them that if his speech begins to slur or he has other symptoms that are not

Musculoskeletal System Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Musculoskeletal System - Article Example Since this system is comprised of bone and muscle, it is also responsible for giving mass or shape to our body and protecting our internal organs. This system is also responsible for storing calcium in bones and producing red and white blood cells as well as corpuscles (Judge, 2007). There are four common conditions that affect this system and these are osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and injuries relating to muscles from strenuous activities such as with sports. Some of the conditions are more related to age and the general degeneration of tendons and ligaments, such as with osteoarthritis that damages tendons and ligaments due to the bearing down of weight on the joints (Judge, 2007). Before diagnosing musculoskeletal conditions, it is important to make a patient assessment first. Taking note of the patients' past medical history, family history and social history need to be taken in consideration because these play an important factor in some musculoskeletal conditions. The medication or drug history of the patient should also be assessed because some drugs cause muscular degeneration. Certain ethnic groups are also predisposed to conditions that affect this system due to their diet, an example of which are Asians who lack Vitamin D in their diets and are at high risk for osteoporosis (Judge, 2007). Next is the pain assessment where the mnemonic PQRST is used. The mnemonic stands for Provoke, Quality, Region, Severity and Timing. These keywords are used in order for the patient to describe the pain, for example if the pain is provoked by sudden movement, or where the pain is localized. Once the description of the pain is noted, physical examination can be done on the affected region where pain is reported. General inspection of the affected region requires the patient and the nurse to assess how much pain or swelling there is and if the patient can move or mobilize the affected part without adding more injury. This inspection may also require assistance especially for those who may find it difficult to move because of the pain or swelling. One of the common methods in managing sprains that affect the musculoskeletal system is to cold or hot compress the affected area. Resting and elevating the affected region is also one of the common methods of management in order to alleviate the pain and swelling. This is for minor conditions that help alleviate the pain and swelling. Monitoring the affected region for possible complication is the next step in the management process if the pain aggravates or the swelling gets worse. In monitoring the pain or swelling, checking the temperature of the swelling is important so that it can be checked for further infections. Taking pain killers like analgesics can help in the management of musculoskeletal conditions. The prescribing of analgesics depend on the gravity of the pain and if it will not counteract with any medication currently taken by the patient. There are non-medication types of pain management such as positioning of the body, distractions or massage of the affected area. Another part of management is immobilization and mobilization. The affected part may need to be rested or immobilized for a few days in order for the swelling to

Classification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Classification - Essay Example Offline marketing on the other hand, involves use of media such as television, radio and newspapers for advertising. These are the conventional forms of marketing which companies have been successfully using over the years. Volkswagen has effectively made used of newspaper audio advertisements in emerging economies in its marketing campaigns. Another way of classifying marketing is through who finds whom. When the companies make efforts to reach their potential customers, it is called as outbound marketing. In this type, organizations make efforts to market their products even if customers are not searching for them or just don’t need them. Marketers use tools such as billboards, newsletters, banners and telephone calls to approach the customers. The opposite of outbound marketing is inbound marketing. In this type of marketing, the customers start with a need of a product or service and then look out for companies who can fulfill their requirement. When customers look out for a product or service on a search engine such as Yahoo or Google, the search engine optimization helps in inbound marketing. Similarly, when a person looks to buy a home, he is using this type of marketing. Another way to classify marketing is through the use of marketing methods. When marketers need to send message directly to customers without use of middlemen or third parties, they make use of direct marketing. In this marketing, they make use of tools such as mail marketing, telemarketing and direct selling. In this marketing, the marketer directly faces the customer and hence can easily interpret the success or failure of his product or service and can work on its improvement with other organizational members. Indirect marketing comprises of all other methods which are not direct. Thus, when a company uses Television, Newspapers, advertising agencies and Internet, it is making use of indirect

Stages and Spheres of Discipleship Research Paper

Stages and Spheres of Discipleship - Research Paper Example The spiritually dead do not consider Christ. They do not consider Christ as their lord and savior. They are the unsaved and not born again people in the society. The spiritually dead do not believe in god. To them, the bible is just a bunch of myths. Christians are intolerant and homophobic people to God and they need to develop patience. Religion is a crutch for the weak individuals and such take chances in god.1 They do not differentiate between the right and wrong and they consider what might be right for one person to be right for another person. For them, the truth is just relevant for the one who perceives it. The spiritually dead do not consider the existence of hell and consider many ways a person can get to God. They consider themselves good individuals, and when they die, everything will be okay. Ephesians two 1-5 â€Å"God due to his great love for us and his rich mercy make us alive makes us alive with Christ even when we are dead in transgression."2 These individuals just know the Christ as their lord and savior. They are in the stage to learn the way God taught his disciples. They are described as infant babies filled with many questions and with many curiosities. The spiritual infants consider it necessary to go to church regularly to learn more about Christ. The spiritual infants need to pray and read the bible regularly. They consider it not necessary to need anyone else in their lives apart from themselves and Jesus. However, the infants are faced with dilemmas; they consider Jesus to be the solution of their problem. They will tell you that they were saved recently, but they still have problems in their lives. Peter 2:2-3 peter a servant and apostle of God says, â€Å"To those who have received Gods righteous and Jesus Christ as their savior, Grace and peace be abundant upon them through the knowledge of Jesus Christ and God. The divine power of God will give them everything they need.†3 The spiritual children

Case10 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case10 - Assignment Example Various marketing concepts such as the 4 P’s i.e. pricing, products, place and promotion shall be discussed in this report: It shall focus on how these concepts are presented in the article and how other external sources dwell with this issue. Consequently, the analysis shall focus on provision of a conclusion that basically describes the writer’s understanding of the lessons learned from the article as well as other external sources that delve on issues ascribed to the information indicated in the article. Additionally, the conclusion section will explicate various recommendations; specifically indicating way forward on challenges faced in marketing activities. The article begins by describing a scenario of a certain client, Mr. Richard Garber relates with car higher company, Hertz Car Hire Company. He is described as a loyal customer to the company for over a long period of time. However, he is currently re-thinking on whether to divert his loyalty to another company owing to the current challenges he is facing with Hertz. In addition, the article provides various reasons why the company is currently experiencing challenges with its clients. It asserts that many companies are currently facing operational challenges due to the economic recession that has affected many large business enterprises; hence reducing their overall level of profitability. It is apparent that the article is an economic situational analysis; providing various issues that may affect the overall performance of companies for instance: In the article, economic recession that has affected the success of many companies, is identified as the reason that has affected the relationship between Hertz Company and Mr. Garber. The article attributes this issue to the fact that the Hertz Company has laid-off many of its workers even those who facilitate

Stages and Spheres of Discipleship Research Paper

Stages and Spheres of Discipleship - Research Paper Example The spiritually dead do not consider Christ. They do not consider Christ as their lord and savior. They are the unsaved and not born again people in the society. The spiritually dead do not believe in god. To them, the bible is just a bunch of myths. Christians are intolerant and homophobic people to God and they need to develop patience. Religion is a crutch for the weak individuals and such take chances in god.1 They do not differentiate between the right and wrong and they consider what might be right for one person to be right for another person. For them, the truth is just relevant for the one who perceives it. The spiritually dead do not consider the existence of hell and consider many ways a person can get to God. They consider themselves good individuals, and when they die, everything will be okay. Ephesians two 1-5 â€Å"God due to his great love for us and his rich mercy make us alive makes us alive with Christ even when we are dead in transgression."2 These individuals just know the Christ as their lord and savior. They are in the stage to learn the way God taught his disciples. They are described as infant babies filled with many questions and with many curiosities. The spiritual infants consider it necessary to go to church regularly to learn more about Christ. The spiritual infants need to pray and read the bible regularly. They consider it not necessary to need anyone else in their lives apart from themselves and Jesus. However, the infants are faced with dilemmas; they consider Jesus to be the solution of their problem. They will tell you that they were saved recently, but they still have problems in their lives. Peter 2:2-3 peter a servant and apostle of God says, â€Å"To those who have received Gods righteous and Jesus Christ as their savior, Grace and peace be abundant upon them through the knowledge of Jesus Christ and God. The divine power of God will give them everything they need.†3 The spiritual children

Design and Entrepreneurship Schools of Strategy - Comparative Analysis Research Paper

Design and Entrepreneurship Schools of Strategy - Comparative Analysis - Research Paper Example Strategy formation is establishing a fit between the strengths and weaknesses of an organization and the opportunities available in its external environment.   Christensen, Andrews, Bower, Hamermesh and Porter (1982) are among the major proponents for the design school strategy The model of strategy formation of the design school is one in which leaders seek to attain a fit between an organization’s internal capabilities and the possibilities external to the organization (i.e., the need to bring together the organization’s internal state with its external expectations). The design school model proponents place primary emphasis on the appraisals of the external and internal situations.   Appraising the external situations is accomplished by uncovering the threats and opportunities in the environment.   Appraising the internal situations is accomplished by revealing the strengths and weaknesses of the organization (Wang 2008, p. 643). The external environment includ es technological, economic, social and political aspects of a company’s environment and also includes issues of forecasting and scanning.   The design school proponents also consider the role played by managerial values and organizational social responsibility important in the process of strategizing.   Mintzberg et al (1998) provided a diagram detailing the process in the design school. Rumelt (1997), one of the proponents of this school, proposed a framework to evaluate strategy making.   In his framework, a formulated strategy should be consistent in terms of the goals and policies of the organization and must be adaptive to the changes in the organization’s environment. Rauch et al (2004) examined this framework through collected empirical evidence and found that the framework has a positive effect on strategic outcomes. The proponents of the entrepreneurial school focus on the leader and his vision. The central construct of the entrepreneurship school is a vision: a mental representation of strategy created or at least expressed in the head of the leader.

Exploring Optimal Levels of Data Filtering

Exploring Optimal Levels of Data Filtering It is customary to filter raw financial data by removing erroneous observations or outliers before conducting any analysis on it. In fact, it is often one of the first steps undertaken in empirical financial research to improve the quality of raw data to avoid incorrect conclusions. However, filtering of financial data can be quite complicated not just because of the reliability of the plethora of data sources, complexity of the quoted information and the many different statistical properties of the variables but most importantly because of the reason behind the existence of each identified outlier in the data. Some outliers may be driven by extreme events which have an economic reason like a merger, takeover bid, global financial crises etc. rather than a data error. Under filtering can lead to inclusion of erroneous observations (data error) caused by technical (e.g. computer system failure) or human error (e.g. unintentional human error like typing mistake or intentional human err or like producing dummy quotes for testing).[1] Likewise, over filtering can also lead to wrong conclusions by deleting outliers motivated by extreme events which are important to the analysis. Thus, the question of the right amount of filtering of financial data, albeit subjective, is quite important to improve the conclusions from empirical research. In an attempt to somewhat answer this question, this seminar paper aims to explore the optimal level of data filtering.[2] The analysis conducted in this paper was on the Xetra Intraday data provided by the University of Mannheim. This time-sorted data for the entire Xetra universe had been extracted from the Deutsche Bà ¶rse Group. The data consisted of the historical CDAX components that had been collected from Data stream, Bloomberg and CDAX. Bloombergs corporate actions calendar had been used to track dates of IPO listing, delisting and ISIN changes of companies. Corporations not covered by Bloomberg had been tracked manually. Even though few basic filters had been applied (for e.g. dropping negative observations for spread/depth/volume), some of which were replicated from Market Microstructure Database File, the data remained largely raw. The variables in the data had been calculated for each day and the data aggregated to daily data points.[3] The whole analysis was conducted using the statistical software STATA. The following variables were taken into consideration for the purpose of identifying outliers, as commonly done in empirical research: Depth = depth_trade_value Trading volume = trade_vol_sum Quoted bid-ask spread = quoted_trade_value Effective bid-ask spread = effective_trade_value Closing quote midpoint returns, which were calculated by applying Hussain (2011) approach: rt = 100*(log (Pt) log (Pt1)) Hence, closing_quote_midpoint_rlg = 100*log(closing_quote_midpoint(n)) log(closing_quote_midpoint(n-1)). Where closing_quote_midpoint = (closing_ask_price+ closing_bid_price)/2 Our sample consisted of the first fifteen hundred and ninety five observations, out of which two hundred observations were outliers. Only the first two hundred outliers were analyzed (on a stock basis chronologically) and classified as either data errors or extreme events. These outliers were associated with two companies: 313 Music JWP AG and 3U Holding AG. Alternatively, a different approach could have been used to select the sample to include more companies but the basics of how filters work should be independent of the sample selected for the filter to be free of any biases so for instance if a filter is robust, it should perform relatively well on any stock or sample. It should be noted that we did not include any bankrupt companies in our sample as those stocks are beyond the scope of this paper. Moreover, since we selected the sample chronologically on a stock basis, we were able to analyze the impact of these filters more thoroughly on even the non-outlier observations in the sample, which we believe is an important point to consider when deciding the optimal level of filtering. Our inevitably somewhat subjective definition of an outlier was: Any observation lying outside the 1st and the 99th percentile of each variable on a stock basis The idea behind this was to classify only the most extreme values for each variable of interest as an outlier. The reason why the outliers were identified on a per stock basis rather than the whole data was because the data consisted of many different stocks with greatly varying levels of each variable of interest for e.g. the 99% percentile of volume for one stock might be seventy thousand trades, while that of another might be three fifty thousand trades and so any observations with eighty thousand trades in both stocks might be too extreme for the first stock but completely normal for the second one. Hence, if we identified outliers (outside the 1st and the 99th percentile) for each variable of interest on the whole data, we would be ignoring the unique properties of each stock which might result in under or over filtering depending on the properties of the stock in question. An outlier could either be the result of a data error or an extreme event. A data error was defined using Dacorogna (2008) definition: An outlier that does not conform to the actual condition of the market The ninety four observations in the selected sample with missing values for any of the variables of interest were also classified as data errors.[4] Alternatively, we could have ignored the missing values completely by dropping them from the analysis but the reason why they were included in this paper was because if they exist in the data sample, the researcher has to deal with them by deciding whether to consider them as data errors, which are to be removed through filters or change them for e.g. to the preceding value and hence it might be of value to see how various filters interact with them. An extreme event was defined as: An outlier backed by economic, social or legal reasons such as a merger, global financial crises, share buyback, major law suit etc. The outliers were identified, classified and analyzed in this paper using the following procedure: Firstly, the intraday data was sorted on a stock-date basis. Observations without an instrument name were dropped. This was followed by creating variables for the 1st and 99th percentile value for each stocks closing quote midpoint returns, depth, trading volume, quoted and effective bid-ask spread and subsequently dummy variables for outliers. Secondly, after taking the company name and month of the first two hundred outliers, while keeping in consideration a filtering window of about one week, it was checked on Google if these outliers were probably caused by extreme events or the result of data errors and classified accordingly using a dummy variable. Thirdly, different filters which are used in financial literature for cleaning data before analysis were applied one by one in the next section and a comparison was made on how well each filter performed i.e. how many probable data erro rs were filtered out as opposed to outliers probably caused by extreme events. These filters were chosen on the basis of how commonly they are used for cleaning financial data and some of the popular ones were selected. 4.1. Rule of Thumb One of the most widely used methods of filtering is to use some rule of thumb to remove observations that are too extreme to possibly be accurate. Many studies use different rules of thumb, some more arbitrary than others.[5] Few of these rules were taken from famous papers on market microstructure and their impact on outliers was analyzed. For e.g.: 4.1.1. Quoted and Effective Spread Filter In the paper Market Liquidity and Trading Activity, Chordia et al (2000) filter out data by looking at effective and quoted spread to remove observations that they believe are caused by key-punching errors.   This method involved dropping observations with: Quoted Spread > à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬5 Effective Spread/Quoted spread > 4.0 % Effective Spread/%Quoted Spread > 4.0 Quoted Spread/Transaction Price > 0.4 Using the above filters resulted in the identification and consequent dropping of 61.5% of observations classified as probable data errors, whereas none of the observations classified as probable extreme events were filtered out. Thus, these spread filter looks very promising as a reasonably large portion of probable data errors was removed while none of the probable extreme events were dropped. The reason why these filters produced good results was because it looked at the individual values of quoted and effective spread and removed the ones that did not make sense logically rather than just removing values from the tails of the distribution for each variable. It should be noted that these filters removed all the ninety four missing values, which means that only five data errors were detected in addition to the detection of all the missing values. If we were to drop all the missing value observations before applying this method, it would have helped filter out only 7.5%[6] of probab le data errors while not dropping any probable extreme values. Thus, this method yields good results and should be included in the data cleaning process. Perhaps, using this filter in conjunction with a logical threshold filter for depth, trading volume and returns might yield optimal results. 4.1.2. Absolute Returns Filter Researchers are also known to drop absolute returns if they are above a certain threshold/ return window in the process of data cleaning. This threshold is subjective depending on the distribution of returns, varying from one study to another for e.g. HS use 10% threshold, Chung et al. 25% and Bessembinder 50%.[7] In case of this paper, we decided to drop (absolute) closing quote midpoint returns > |20%|. Perhaps, a graphical representation of time series returns of 313music JWP 3U Holding can be used to explain why this particular threshold was chosen. Figure 1. Scatter plot of closing quote midpoint return and date As seen in the graph, most of the observations for returns lie between -20% and 20%. However, applying this filter did not yield the best results as only 2.5% of probable data errors were filtered out as opposed to 10.3% probable extreme events from our sample. Therefore, this filter applied in isolation doesnt really seem to hold much value. Perhaps, an improvement to this filter could be achieved by only dropping returns which are extreme but reversed[8] within the next few days as this is indicative of data error. For e.g. if T1 return= 5%, T2 return= 21% and T3 return=7%, we can tell that in T3 returns were reversed, indicating that T2 returns might have been the result of a data error. This filter was implemented by only dropping return values > |20%| which in the next day or two, reverted back to the value of return, +/- 3%[9]of the day before the outlier occurred as shown below: r(_n)> |20%| |r(n-1) -r(n+1)| |r(n-1) -r(n+2)| Where r(_n) is closing quote midpoint return on any given day. This additional filter seemed to work as it prevented the filtering out of any probable extreme events. However, the percentage of filtered data errors from our sample fell from 2.5% to 1.9%. In conclusion, it makes sense to use this second return filter which accounts for reversals in conjunction with other filters for e.g. spread filter. Perhaps, this method can be further improved by using a somewhat more objective range for determining price reversals or an improved algorithm for identifying return reversals. 4.1.3. Price Filter We constructed a price filter inspired by the Brownlees Gallo (2006) approach. The notion behind this filter is to gauge the validity of any transaction price based on its comparative distance to the neighboring prices. An outlier was identified using the following algorithm: | pi -   ÃŽÂ ¼ | > 3*à Ã†â€™ Where pi is the log of daily transaction price, the reason why logarithmic transformation was used is because the standard deviation method assumes a normal distribution.[10] ÃŽÂ ¼ is the stock sorted mean and à Ã†â€™ is the stock sorted standard deviation of log daily prices. The reason why we chose the stock sorted mean and standard deviation was that the range of prices vary greatly in our data set from one stock to another, hence, it made sense to look at each stocks individual price mean as an estimate of neighboring prices. This resulted in filtering 56.5% of probable data errors which were all missing values. Thus, this filter doesnt seem to hold any real value when used in conjunction with a missing value filter. Perhaps, using a better algorithm for identifying the mean price of the closest neighbors might yield optimal results. 4.2. Winsorization and Trimming A very popular filtering method used in financial literature is trimming or winsorization. According to Green Martin (2015a), p. 8, if we want to winsorize the variables of interest at ÃŽÂ ±%, we must replace the nÃŽÂ ± largest values by the nÃŽÂ ± upper quantile of the data, and the nÃŽÂ ± smallest values by the nÃŽÂ ± lower quantile of the data. Whereas, if we want to trim the variables of interest by ÃŽÂ ±%, we should simply drop observations outside the range of ÃŽÂ ±% to 1- ÃŽÂ ±%. Thus, winsorization only reduces extreme observations rather than dropping them completely like trimming. For the purpose this paper, both methods will have similar impacts on dropping outliers outside certain ÃŽÂ ±%, hence, we will only analyze winsorization in detail. However, winsorization introduces an artificial structure[11] to the dataset because instead of dropping outliers it changes them, therefore, if this research was to be taken a step further for e.g. to condu ct robust regressions, choosing one method over the other would depend entirely on the kind of research being conducted. The matter of how much to winsorize the variables, is completely arbitrary,10 however, it is a common practice in empirical finance to winsorize each tail of the distribution at 1% or 0.5%.5 We first winsorized the variables of interest at the 1% level, on a stock basis, which led to limiting 100% of probable extreme events and only 42.9% of probable data errors. Even though intuitively it would make sense for all the identified outliers to be limited because the method used for identifying outliers for each variable considered observations which were either greater than the 99th percentile or less than the 1st percentile, and winsorizing the data at the same level should mean that all the outliers would be limited. However, this inconsistency in expectation and outcome results from the existence of missing values winsorization only limits the extreme values in the data, overlooking the missing observations which have been included in data errors. We then winsorized the variables of interest at a more stringent level i.e. 0.5%, on a stock basis, which led to 51.3% of the identified data errors and 18.6% of probable extreme events to be limited which doesnt exactly seem ideal as in addition to data errors, quite a large portion of extreme events identified was also filtered out. Taking this analysis a step further, the variables of interest were also winsorized on the whole data (which is also commonly done) as opposed to on a per stock basis, at the 0.5% and 1% level. Winsorizing at the 1% level led to limiting 51% extreme events, 24.2% data errors and an additional one thirty four observations in the sample not identified as outliers. This points toward over filtering. Doing it at the 0.5% level led to limiting 28% extreme events, 12.4% data errors and an additional seven observations in the sample not identified as outliers. Thus, it seems that no matter which level (1% or 0.5%) we winsorize on or whether we do it on a per stock basis or on the whole data, a considerable percentage of probable extreme events is filtered out. Of course, our definition of an outlier should also be taken into consideration when analyzing this filter. Winsorizing on a per stock basis does not yield very meaningful results as it clashes with our outlier definition. However, doing it on the whole data should not clash with this definition as we identify outliers outside the 1st and the 99th percentile of each variable on the data as a whole. Regardless, this filter doesnt yield optimal results as a substantial portion of probable extreme events get filtered out. This is because this technique doesnt define boundaries for the variables logically like the rule of thumb method, rather it inherently assumes that all outliers outside a pre-defined percentile must be evened out and outliers caused by extreme events dont necessarily lie within the defined boundary. It must also be noted that the winsorization filter does not limit missing values which are also clas sified as data errors in this paper. Thus, our analysis indicates that this filter might be weak if we are interested in retaining the maximum amount of probable extreme events. Perhaps, using it with an additional filter for limiting missing values might yield a better solution if the researcher is willing to drop probable extreme events for the sake of dropping probable data errors. 4.3. Standard Deviations Logarithmic transformation Many financial papers also use a filter based on x times the standard deviation: xi > ÃŽÂ ¼ + x*à Ã†â€™ xi x* à Ã†â€™ Where xi is any given observation of the variable of interest, ÃŽÂ ¼ is the variable mean and à Ã†â€™ is variable standard deviation.[12] An example would be Goodhart and Figliuoli (1991) who use a filter based on four times the standard deviation.[13] However, this method assumes a normal distribution, 9 so problems might arise with distributions that are not normal and in our data set, except for returns (because we calculated them using log), the rest of the distributions for depth, trading volume, effective and quoted bid-ask spread are not normally distributed. Therefore, we first log transformed the latter four distributions using: y = log (x)[14] Where y is the log transformed function and x is the original function. The before and after graphs, using log transformation are shown in Exhibit 4. We then dropped observations for all the log transformed variables that were greater than Mean + x*Standard Deviation or less than Mean x*Standard Deviation, first on a stock basis and then on the whole data for values of x=4 and x=6. Applying this filter at the x=6 level on a stock basis seemed to yield better results than applying it at the x=4 level. This is because x=6 led to dropping 25.6% less probable extreme events for a negligible 3.1% fall in dropping probable data errors. The outcomes are shown in Exhibit 3. However, upon further investigation, we found that 100% of the probable data errors identified by the standard deviation filter at the x=6 level were all missing values. This means that if we dropped all missing values before applying this filter at this level, our results would be very different as this filter would be dropping 7.7% extreme events for no drop in data errors. Applying this filter on the whole data led to the removal of less outlier than applying it on a per stock basis. Using the x=6 level (whole data) appeared to yield the best results 58.4% of probable data errors were filtered out while no probable extreme events were dropped. For more detailed results, refer to Exhibit 3. However, even in this case, 100% of the probable data errors identified were missing values. This means that if we were to drop all missing values before applying this filter, this filter would identify 0% of the probable extreme events or probable data errors. Thus, the question arises if we are actually over filtering at this level? If yes, then should x Data cleaning is an extremely arbitrary process which makes it quite impossible to objectively decide the level of optimal filtering, which is perhaps, the reason behind limited research in this area. This limitation of research in this particular field and inevitably this paper should be noted. That being said, even though some filters chosen were more arbitrary than others, we have made an attempt to objectively analyze the impact of each filter applied. The issue of missing values for any of the variables should be taken into consideration because they are data errors and if we were to ignore them, they would distort our analysis because they interact with the various filters applied. Alternatively, we could have dropped them before starting our analysis, but we dont know if researchers would choose to change them to the closest value for instance or filter them out, therefore, its interesting to see how the filters interact with them. Our analysis indicates that when it comes to the optimal amount of data cleaning, rule of thumb filters fare better than statistical filters like trimming, winsorization and the standard deviation method. This is because statistical filters assume that any extreme value outside a specified window must be a data error and should be filtered out but as our analysis indicates, extreme events dont necessarily lie within this specified window. On the other hand, rule of thumb filters set logical thresholds, rather than just removing/limiting observations from each tail of the distribution. The outcomes of different filters which are shown in exhibit 1, 2 and 3 are represented graphically below. Figure 2. Box plot of outcomes of all the data cleaning methods As shown in section 4.2 and the graph above, Winsorization whether on a stock basis or on the whole data, tends to filter out a large portion of probable extreme events. Thus, it is not a robust filter if we want to retain maximum probable extreme events and should be probably avoided if possible. As far as the standard deviation filter is concerned, as shown in section 4.3, applying it at the x = 6 level, whether on a per stock or whole data basis, seems to perform well but it is not of much value if combined with a missing values filter and all other scenarios tested, actually dropped more probable extreme events than data errors. Therefore, it is not advisable to simply drop outliers existing at the tails of distributions without understanding the cause behind their existence. This leaves us with the rule of thumb filters. We combined the filters that performed optimally spread and additional return filter which accounts for reversals, along with a filter for removing the missing values. This resulted in dropping one hundred and two i.e. 63.4% of all probable data errors without removing any probable extreme events. At this point, a payoff has been made: in order to not drop any probable extreme events, we have foregone dropping some extra probable data errors because over scrubbing is a serious form of risk.[15] This highlights the struggle of optimal data cleaning, because researchers often dont have the time to check the reason behind the occurrence of an outlier, they end up removing probable extreme events in the quest to drop probable data errors. Thus, the researcher has to first determine what optimal filtering really means to him does it mean not dropping any probable extreme events albeit at the expense of keeping some data errors like done in this paper, or does it mean giving precedence to dropping maximum amount of data errors, albeit at the expense of dropping probable extreme events? In the latter case, statistical filters like trimming, win sorization and standard deviation method should also be carefully used. The limitations of this paper should also be recognized. Firstly, only two hundred outliers were analyzed due to time constraint, maybe, future research in the area can look at a larger sample to get more insightful results. Secondly, other variables can also be looked at in addition to depth, volume, spread and returns and more popular filters can be applied and tested on them. Moreover, a different definition can be used to define an outlier or to select the sample for e.g. the two hundred outliers could have been selected randomly or based on their level of extremeness but close attention must be paid to avoid sample biases. Future research in this field should perhaps, also focus on developing more objective filters and method of classifying outliers as probable extreme events. It should also look into the impact of using the above[16]two approaches of optimal filtering on the results of empirical research for e.g. on robust regressions, to verify which approach of optimal filtering performs the best. Table 1: Outcome of Rule of Thumb Filters Applied Table 2: Outcome of Winsorization Filters Applied Table 3: Outcome of Standard Deviation Filters Applied Figure 3: Kernel Distribution before and after log transformation 3.1 Depth 3.2 Effective Spread 3.3 Quoted Spread 3.4 Volume   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Figure 4. Kernel Distribution before and after log transformation of transaction price   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   References Bollerslev, T./Hood, B./Huss, J./Pedersen, L. (2016): Risk Everywhere: Modeling and Managing Volatility, Duke University, Working Paper, p. 59. Brownlees, C. T/Gallo, M. G. (2006): Financial Econometric Analysis at Ultra-High Frequency: Data Handling Concerns. SSRN Electronic Journal, p. 6 Chordia, T./Roll, R./Subrahmanyam, A (2000): Market Liquidity and Trading Activity, SSRN Electronic Journal 5, p. 5 Dacorogna, M./Mà ¼ller U./Nagler R./Olsen R./Pictet, O (1993): A geographical model for the daily and weekly seasonal volatility in the foreign exchange market, Journal of International Money and Finance, p. 83-84 Dacorogna, M (2008): An introduction to high-frequency finance, Academic Press, San Diego, p. 85 Eckbo, B. E. (2008): Handbook of Empirical Corporate Finance SET, Google Books, p. 172 https://books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=0080559565 Falkenberry, T. N. (2002): High Frequency Data Filtering, S3 Amazon, https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tick-data-s3/pdf/Tick_Data_Filtering_White_Paper.pdf Goodhart, C./Figliuoli, L. (1991): Every minute counts in financial markets, Journal of International Money and Finance 10.1 Green, C. G./Martin D. (2015): Diagnosing the Presence of Multivariate Outliers in Fundamental Factor Data using Calibrated Robust Mahalanobis Distances. University of Washington, Working paper, p. 2, 8 Hussain, S. M (2011): The Intraday Behaviour of Bid-Ask Spreads, Trading Volume and Return Volatility: Evidence from DAX30, International Journal of Economics and Finance, p. 2 Laurent, A. G. (1963): The Lognormal Distribution and the Translation Method: Description and Estimation Problems. Journal of the American Statistical Association, p. 1 Leys, C./Klein O./Bernard P./Licata L. (2013):   Detecting outliers: Do not use standard deviation around the mean, use absolute deviation around the median, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, p. 764 Scharnowski, S. (2016): Extreme Event or Data Error?, Presentation of Seminar Topics (Market Microstructure), Mannheim, Presentation Seo, S. (2006): A Review and Comparison of Methods for Detecting Outliers in Univariate Data Sets, University of Pittsburg, Thesis, p. 6 Verousis, T./Gwilym O. (2010): An improved algorithm for cleaning Ultra High-Frequency data, Journal of Derivativ