Child Obesity in Canada: Strategies for Intervention

Child Obesity in Canada: Strategies for Intervention   Child Obesity in Canada Immediate Action Needed for a Better Future Executive Summary Obesity is a condition that there is excessive body fat which leads to increased morbidity and mortality. Obesity puts children at significant risks for not only health problems such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancers, but also mental and societal issues such as stigma, discrimination, social exclusion and decreased academic performance. Obesity in Canada has become a leading public health concern. The prevalence of childhood obesity has increased five-fold from 1981. Currently, there are approximately 600,000 obese school-aged children countrywide. Obesity costs the nation approximately $1.27 to $11.08 billion per year just in health care. Obesity is preventable. Promotion of healthy eating and active lifestyle is considered the most effective measure targeting childhood overweight and obesity. There are efforts to tackle this problem from federal, provincial and territorial governments, community, and school boards. However, they are not enough to end the obesity epidemic. There is still no nationally standardized school nutrition policy, resulting in different interpretation and implementation of school nutrition policies for our children across the country. The federal, provincial and territorial governments could work together to fix this. In addition, the federal government has attempted to tackle childhood obesity by the Child Fitness Tax Credit (CFTC) program since 2006. However, the CFTC does not prove to be effective and achieving its objectives. There is also a need to review and revise this initiative accordingly. School-based intervention is proved to be effective in modifying dietary habit and promoting active lifestyle. Reduction of overweight and obesity among students has been observed in the APPLE School program in Alberta. The potential obesity associated cost savings for our nation would be up to 330 million per year if this model was scaled up countrywide. Problem Definition Obesity is a condition involving an excessive amount of body fat. Obesity is normally determined by a simple index of weight-for-height called body-mass-index (BMI). In adults (20 years and older), a BMI of larger than 25 and 30 is considered overweight and obesity respectively [1, 2]. For child and teen (2 to less than 20 years), the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends a BMI-for-age percentile scale, in which BMI-for-age from 85% to 95% tile and 95% tile and higher is considered overweight and obesity respectively [3]. Although the causes of overweight and obesity are complex, the fundamental reason is the imbalance between energy consumed and expended. This is normally caused by increased intake of energy-excessive foods and sedentary lifestyle. Obesity is the most commonly seen disorder in children in developed world. Childhood obesity puts children at significant risks of many health problems. This can include chronic and fatal disease like type-2 diabetes, various types of cancer and cardiovascular disease [4-6]. Obesity also places children at a higher risk of stigma, discrimination, social exclusion and decreased academic performance in school [7]. However, scientists suggest that the greatest health problems will be seen as the present generation of overweight and obese children becomes the next generation of adults [8], probably with more social and medical problems and a shorter lifespan than their parents. Childhood obesity in Canada is on the rise and has become a leading public health concern. Currently, more than a quarter of Canadian children and youth are overweight or obese. Obesity and its resulting health effects are extremely expensive. Obesity is theoretically responsible for 9% of deaths among adults aged 20-64 years [9]. The cost of obesity in health care ranges from $1.27 to $11.08 billion per year [10]. The objectives of this policy brief are to: Promote awareness of childhood obesity problem in Canada and urge for immediate policy actions from federal, provincial and territorial governments, and school boards; Make recommendations on interventional policy actions to tackle obesity problem. Only peer-reviewed publications, health professional agencies’ (CDC, WHO) materials and government reports are used to provide evidence and supportive argumentation. Review of Evidence Canada, like many other developed nations, is facing an emerging epidemic of overweight and obesity. Scientific evidence indicates dramatic increases in both overweight and obesity over the last decades, particularly among children. Prevalence of childhood overweight has tripled since 1981 while that of obesity has increased five-fold during the same period [11, 12]. Presently, there are approximately 7 million obese adults and 600.000 obese school-aged children in Canada [12]. If current trends continue, 55% of Canadians will be either overweight or obese by 2020 [13] and up to 70% of adults aged 40 years will be either overweight or obese by 2040 [14]. Childhood obesity is driven by a number of factors, including personal, interpersonal factors, organizations, community and a broader social environment [15]. It is a complex and multifaceted web of reasons. Thus, a multidimensional and coordinated approach is needed to tackle this health problem. Among many possible interventions, promotion of healthy eating and active lifestyle is considered the most effective measure targeting childhood excessive body weight [16]. Junk food and sugar-added beverage provide excessive calorie intake while they lack nutritional value. However, this kind of food is still available in school vending machines or cafeterias in a number of provinces. Further, there is no standard policy on school nutrition, especially those related to vending machine foods, across provinces and territories of Canada. While New Brunswick and Ontario have mandatory regulations to ensure that only healthy foods are available at school environment, some others also have but do not cover all levels of education or have weak nutrition standards, which allow sale of high fat and high salt foods [17]. Apparently, the differences in school nutrition policies create unequal schooling environment for our children across Canada. It seems agreeable that any obesity prevention program should include some form of physical activity advocacy and education [18]. The Canadian Paediatrics Society recommends a healthy living for children and youth, in which children and adolescents are recommended to â€Å"increase the time that they spend on physical activities and sports by at least 30 min/day, with at least 10 min involving vigorous activities† [19]. In addition, promoting physical education in school has proved to be effective and is required in a number of places. Arkansas State in the United States mandates that every student in kindergarten through grade nine receive no less than one hour of physical education instruction per week for every student who is physically fit and able to participate [20]. For a maximum effectiveness, physical activities should be promoted at both community and school levels to create a continuum of active living from home to school and vice versa for our children. Possible Ways to Address the Problem Overweight and obesity are preventable [2]. Even though there are many policy options, this paper opts to highlight three possible solutions for federal, provincial and territorial policymakers, as well as school boards to win the fight against childhood overweight and obesity. Development of a national school nutrition policy Even though education and health rest with provincial and territorial responsibility, a policy from Health Canada can help shape common standards of school nutrition nationally. Such a policy can ensure that our children have access to heathy and nutritious foods while they are in school in all provinces, and hence provides better protection to our children in fighting against overweight and obesity. This can include, for example, nationally nutrition standards for foods provided in cafeterias, vending machines, and at school special events. This national policy should be mandatory and implemented at all levels of education. Provincial and territorial governments could issue additional school food-related policies to further protect their population. However, the national policy requirements should be adhered and kept as minimum standards. School boards and provincial, territorial health authorities will be responsible for implementation and monitoring of these policies. Revision of Child Fitness Tax Credit program Since 2006, the federal government has actively attempted to tackle childhood obesity by introducing Child Fitness Tax Credit (CFTC), in which parents can claim up to $500 to alleviate participation costs when they register children into eligible physical activity programs [21]. However, research has shown that this program does not meet its objectives. CFTC appears to provide little to no benefit to those who cannot afford physical activity program cost and carry that burden until the end of the tax year [22] and those who have no taxable income. Therefore, the CFTC has little impact on physical activities of children in low income families, who most need it. As overweight Canadians in low income households are 40% more likely to be obese than those in high income category [14], the CFTC has failed its childhood obesity prevention. Thus, there is a need to review and revise this initiative, so every Canadian kid has an equal and better chance of participating in physical activity pr ograms. Implementation of school-based intervention program School is an ideal place for childhood overweight and obesity prevention intervention as children spend a large proportion of their time at school. There is strong evidence supporting school-based intervention. A review of 16 school-based childhood obesity prevention programs in Chile, Belgium, United Kingdom and the United States shows that a positive change of dietary habits is highly achievable [18]. Specifically, the Alberta Project Promoting Active Living and Healthy Eating (APPLE) School program has proved that an intervention on healthy nutrition and active lifestyle in schools has resulted in reduced overweight and obesity in students. Currently, there are 40 APPLE schools in Alberta. If this school model was to be scaled up nationally, the potential cost savings for Canada would be $150 to $330 million per year [23]. Recommendation School-based program is effective in preventing childhood obesity and thus reducing comorbidity and health spending in the long run. This approach has an advantage of reaching almost all children in the community. In addition to health benefits, it may improve student academic performance and provide additional social benefits. Further, it establishes healthy behaviors at early stage of life that can lead to life-long healthy habits [16]. Given the complex nature of determinants of childhood overweight and obesity, school-based prevention intervention should be guided by behavioral theoretical frameworks. It is also worth to note that involvement of school food program and parent influence is the key to success. It has been shown that parent involvement is an important component of school-based intervention [18]. It would not be realistic to expect immediate results. Notable reduction in childhood overweight and obesity can only be seen in years with intensive and diversified interventions [18]. However, if no action is taken now, our children’s lives are at risk of being deteriorated by social and medical complications of excess body weight in the years to come.

Mathematics Initiative Training On The Math Academic Education Essay

AbstractionPercepts of Effectiveness the Mathematics Initiative Training on the Math Academic Performance of Elementary Students. Emmaundia Whitaker, 2011. Applied Dissertation Concept Paper, Nova Southeastern University, Fischler School of Education and Human Services. ERIC Forms: Mathematicss, Mathematics Initiative, Math Academic Performance, Elementary Students This applied thesis was designed to determine identify instructors ‘ perceptual experiences of the effectivity of the Mathematics Initiative Training on impacting the Math academic public presentation of simple pupils.Table of ContentssPage Table of Contentss iii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 C Chapter 1: IntroductionStatement of the ProblemOne of the intents of instruction research-and 1 that has been progressively stressed in recent old ages with the passage of the Education Science Reform Act of 2002 and the constitution of the Institute of Education Sciences ( IES ) -is to develop and rigorously evaluate plans to measure whether they are effectual in back uping pupils ‘ acquisition and accomplishment. This research docket includes an accent on mensurating execution fidelity and associating those steps to plan impacts ( U.S. Department of Education, 2006 ) . Harmonizing to Tomlinson ( 2003 ) , research is needed to place effectual ways to educate and foster success among pupils. Elementary pupils in School District X have hapless academic public presentation in Mathematics. Still, mathematics and reading are typically considered by the bulk of society to be the cardinal topics to cognize and are therefore what are most normally used to mensurate a pupil ‘s or school ‘s success or failure. In peculiar, mathematics is said to function as a â€Å" critical filter, † or a gateway to many high-status businesss ( Schoenfeld, 2004 ) , as quantitative accomplishments are important in such countries as commercialism, medical specialty, engineering and defence ( National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008 ) . In add-on, mathematics accomplishment is considered to be a better index of school effects because it is thought to be less influenced by household background and place effects than other topics ( Heyneman, 2005 ) . Therefore, the research presented herein focal points on mathematics achievement as a step of school effectivity. The research job. Progressive educational reform has been a little yet ever-present current in schooling in the United States ( Wilson, Floden, & A ; Ferrini-Mundy, 2001 ) . As the subject has grown and developed during the last 20 old ages, mathematics instruction in peculiar has been forcing on the boundaries of this on-going motion ( Cuoco, 2001 ) . A peculiarly ambitious issue with progressive mathematics instruction reform is that instructors are being asked to make for pupils experiences those instructors have ne'er had themselves ( Richardson & A ; Placier, 2001 ) . Naturally a critical inquiry has emerged as many mathematics teacher pedagogues, math pedagogues, mathematicians, professional developers, and research workers likewise have been working to do such progressive mathematics larning environments a world: how do we best prepare instructors to learn a mathematics radically different from that which emphasized drill, pattern, and memorisation of stray facts and algorithm s? ( Kilpatrick, Swafford, & A ; Findell, 2001 ) . Background and justification. A instructor ‘s cognition is one of the biggest influences on schoolroom ambiance and on what pupils learn ( Hill, Rowan, & A ; Ball, 2005 ) . Elementary school instructors need professional development in mathematics because, most normally, they have been trained as Renaissance mans. This means that simple instructors may hold been trained to learn all nucleus topics, such as reading, scientific discipline, societal surveies and math ; but the instructors have non developed specialised accomplishments in the instruction of any one topic ( Greenberg & A ; Walsh, 2008 ) . â€Å" Bettering the mathematics acquisition of every kid depends on doing cardinal the learning chances of our instructors, † ( Ball 2003, p. 9 ) . The work of Ball ( 2001 ) unveiled those instructors with increased mathematical cognition for learning produced significantly larger additions in pupil accomplishment. Due to its proved influence, the mathematical cognition of import for the work of instruction has become a important issue in mathematics instruction ( Stylianides & A ; Ball, 2004 ) . Sing the aforementioned, it is imperative understand how, why and under what conditions the Math Initiative is effectual in bettering the Math academic public presentation of simple school pupils. Presently, many pupils are non accomplishing province criterions ( Tomlinson, 2003 ) . With this in head, the current survey efforts to gestate the sensed impact, by instructors, that engagement in the Math Initiative has had on mathematics academic public presentation. To make this, the research worker will use a plan rating using a summational attack. Harmonizing to Patton, rating has philosophical roots, such as formative, summational, and knowledge-oriented ratings. Each rating attack has different ends and aims and seeks to turn to different issues. A formative rating seeks to better a plan in some manner through analysis of the plan constituents, while a summational rating Judgess the plan ‘s effectivity ( Patton ) . A summational rating measures the success of the completed plan. It is used to do determinations about the hereafter of the plan. Use the consequences of this rating to enroll new host sites, support beginnings, and participants, and to publicise the plan. The summational rating frequently turns up unforeseen results, placing facets of the plan that would be otherwise overlooked. Lacks in the grounds. As schools endeavor to maintain up with national criterions for improved scheduling for instructors ‘ professional development, more surveies are needed that take into history teacher perceptual experiences of the types of professional development available ( Ellis & A ; Berry, 2005 ) . In add-on, Grouws and Cebulla ( 2007 ) asserted that surveies are needed to measure the quality of the professional development instructors have attended and the positions on the value of the professional development. Last, Kulm ( 2009 ) contended that more surveies are needed to measure what pupils benefits are a by merchandise from what the instructors have learned. Audience. Harmonizing to Dooley ( 2001 ) , plan ratings help decision makers, school boards, and forces make informed determinations sing course of study content or way. By uniting quantitative informations related to plan effectivity and qualitative informations related to single instructor ‘s perceptual experience sing plan strengths and failings, this survey will lend to the organic structure of bing cognition related to the Math Initiative as a whole. Additionally, the consequences of this survey have potential to help collegiate mathematics pedagogues in understanding the common and specialised content cognition that pre-service instructors should obtain from mathematics content classs. This apprehension can help those responsible for developing appropriate course of study for pre-service instructors ‘ mathematics content classs.Definition of FootingsAcademic public presentation. Academic public presentation refers to a kid ‘s public presentation in academic co untries ( e.g. , reading or linguistic communication humanistic disciplines, math, A scientific discipline, and history ) ( 71 Fed. Reg. at 46662 ) . Effectiveness. Effectiveness is the grade to which an educational plan or forces yields the coveted results of accomplishment or specific demands ( Sammons, 1999 ) . Elementary School Student. A kid in kindergarten through 5th class ( GaDOE, 2011 ) .Math Initiative.Math schemes. Multiple waies in Math that enable pupils of different abilities, involvements or larning demands experience every bit appropriate ways to absorb, usage, develop and present constructs as a portion of the day-to-day acquisition procedure ( Faivillig, 2001 ) . Percepts. Percepts involve the procedure of geting, construing, choosing, and forming centripetal information ( Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary ) . Professional development. Professional development is the activities instructors participate in to inform or better the job-related cognition, accomplishments or attitudes of school employees or a procedure of turning and going a professional ( Cooney, 2001 ) . Traditional text editions. Traditional text editions refer to commercially generated text edition stuffs that reflect a acquisition position focused chiefly on processs and direct instruction methods ( Ball, 2001 ) .Purpose of the StudyThe intent of this plan rating is to demo how the assorted degrees of execution and fidelity to the Mathematics Initiative Training affect pupil academic public presentation in the country of mathematics. Specifically, the intent of this survey is to place instructors ‘ perceptual experiences of the effectivity of the Mathematics Initiative on impacting the Math academic public presentation of simple pupils. Sing the aforementioned, a plan rating will be a utile tool for finding the effectivity of the Mathematics Initiative. A summational plan rating of the Mathematics Initiative will supply a method for roll uping, forming, analysing and describing informations for multiple audiences. Harmonizing to Babbie ( 2007 ) , summational plan rating measures the success of a course of study in accomplishing scholar aims for all targeted scholars, its success in accomplishing its procedure aims, and/or its success in prosecuting, motivation, and delighting its scholars and module. In add-on to quantitative informations, summational plan rating may include qualitative information about unintended barriers or unforeseen effects encountered in plan execution ( Denscombe, 2007 ) .Research QuestionsA reappraisal of the literature resulted in the undermentioned research questions/hypothesis, which will steer the current survey: R1. What are the instructors ‘ perceptual experiences of the effectivity of the Math Initiative Training?Focus Group QuestionsIn what ways is the Math Initiative Training effectual or uneffective in impacting the Math academic public presentation of simple pupils? What grounds supports the effectivity of the Math Training Initiative? What are the most effectual constituents of the Math Training Initiative? What are the most uneffective constituents of the Math Training Initiative? What do you see as the educationally related hereafter of the Math Training Initiative in simple school scenes? R2. Is at that place a difference in the Math academic public presentation of pupils in the 2006-2008 school old ages before the Math Initiative Training compared to the 2008-2010 school old ages after the Math Initiative Training?Null HypothesisHO1: There is non a statistically important difference in the Math academic public presentation of pupils in the 2006-2008 school old ages before the Math Initiative Training compared to the 2008-2010 school old ages after the Math Initiative TrainingDrumheadEducational and social stakeholders want to cognize if professional development is a worthwhile investing ( Clotfelter, Ladd, & A ; Vigdor, 2006 ) . Opportunities have to be in topographic point for followup, reappraisal, and monitoring of execution of the instructors new cognition from professional development ( Ball, 2003 ) . Claims of effectivity or ineffectualness may be indefensible and invalid unless the grade to which plans are implemented as intended by the developers is defined a nd assessed ( Rivkin, Hanushek, & A ; Kain, 2005 ) . Puma and Raphael ( 2001 ) argued that rating of any enterprise or preparation should be viewed as portion of the procedure of constructing local capacity reform. Documenting the connexions between the aforesaid professional development chances and instructor acquisition is important for the betterment of pupil acquisition. Following this debut chapter is Chapter 2, which will show a reappraisal of related literature. Chapter 3 will discourse the research design and methodological analysis for the research survey. Selection of topics, instrumentality, informations aggregation and premises will be detailed in this chapter. The chapter will reason with the processs utilized for carry oning the research and the information processing and analysis and the appropriate statistical process for proving the hypotheses. Chapter 4 will show the informations collected for the research every bit good as the information analysis employed to reply each research inquiry and the findings from the information analysis. Chapter 5 will reason the research with a treatment of the findings, decisions, deductions for professional pattern, and deductions for future research. Additionally, recommendations for execution will be presented.

Chinese fiction Essay

â€Å"No Longer Human† is a Japanese novel written by Osamu Dazai. It is considered as Dazai’s masterpiece and categorized as the second-best selling novel in Japan, whereas â€Å"To Live† was written by Yu Hua is a Chinese fiction. â€Å"No Longer Human† is describe as a labor of fiction, the novel is recited in the first person and have several elements which laid down an autobiographical source, such as suicide, a recurring theme in the author’s life whereas, the story of â€Å"To Live† started some time in the 1940s. The main character of this sotry is Xu Fugui who is a local rich man’s son and habitual gambler, who lose his family property to the tricky Longer, driving his father to his grave in the process. His attitude also causes his long-suffering wife Jiazhen to leave him with their daughter, Fengxia and their unborn son, Youqing, the same thing with Oba Yozo in â€Å"No Longer Human†. The novel â€Å"No Longer Human† covers the portrayal of the life of Oba Yozo, who is a trouble soul not capable of revealing his true self to others and who is instead forced to uphold an impression of worthless jocularity. This story tells the emotional and interesting story of a young man who is caught between the disintegration of the traditions of a northern Japanese aristocratic family and the impact of Western ideas. The novel is made up of three chapters which narrate the life of Oba Yozo from early childhood to late adolescence. In the first chapter of the novel, it deals on how the overcome by an extreme feeling of alienation and finding it nearly impossible to socialize with those who besiege him, Oba Yozo can but resort to buffoonery in order to ascertain an interpersonal relationships and fit into place in a vain effort to disregard the furious sexual abuse he was subjected to by a couple of servants during his childhood. In the second chapter, Oba Yozo becomes more and more troubled over the potential penetrability of his cheerful impression, which, together with the pressures of academic life, leads him into a violent cycle of drinking, smoking and harlotry, ending in a one-night stand with a married woman with whom he planned to commit double suicide. Though he survived, the woman passed away, leaving him with nothing but an unbearable feeling of guilt. In the this chapter, several years later, Oba Yozo is dropped out from High School and commits into a relationship with a destructive woman, who immediately betrays him with another man. Oba Yozo is once again driven to the edge of committing suicide, but was not able to do so because he becomes an alcoholic and a morphine addict. The story comes to a close with Oba Yozo’s confinement in a mental institution where he finally assumes he is no longer human, neither happy nor unhappy, but merely a man of excesses. The story of â€Å"To Live† is somewhat similar to the novel â€Å"No Longer Human† in a sense that both the main characters of the novels were engaged into alcoholism, drug addiction and losss of their families. However, in the novel of â€Å"No Longer Human† the main character’s story ended upon his confinement in a mental insitution, while in the story of â€Å"To Live† the main character after he loses his entire family fortune, eventually reunites with his wife and children, but is forced to start a shadow puppet troupe with partner Chunsheng to support his family. The story of â€Å"To Live† during the Chinese Civil War is in full swing, and both Fugui and Chunsheng are forcibly enlisted into the Kuomintang forces during a performance. After a heavy battle, Fugui and Chunsheng are captured by the communist side, where they quickly become entertainers for the troops. Eventually Fugui is able to return home, and once there, finds out that Fengxia has become mute due to a fever. The story of â€Å"To Live† gives emphasis to the peak of the Great Leap Forward. During this period the local town chief enlists Fugui and Jiazhen to donate all scrap iron in their possession to the national drive to produce steel and make weaponry for liberating Taiwan. As an entertainer, Fugui performs for the entire town, which has been devoted entirely over to producing steel. They enter this work with great passion, and the movie devotes some time to portraying the family’s unity and happiness. For example, the young boy Youqing defends his sisters from bullies picking on her for her muteness. Aside from the Great Leap Forward period, the novel also give attention to the period of Cultural Revolution. The village chief advises Fugui’s family to burn their shadow puppet drama props, which have been deemed as counter-revolutionary as they are traditional cultural elements. Also, Fugui’s daughter is now grown up. Her family arranges for her to meet Wan Erxi, who is a local leader of the Red Guards, a worker with a salary, and also a kind-hearted and caring man, but lame in one leg. They fall in love and marry. During Fengxia’s childbirth, her parents and husband accompany her to the county hospital, where they find out that nurses are in charge as all doctors have been sent to do hard labor for being â€Å"reactionary academic authorities†. The nurses assure the family that they have nothing to fear, but the family is skeptical, and manages to retrieve a doctor from confinement to oversee the birth, under the pretext of making the doctor â€Å"see his revolutionary mistakes†. As the doctor has not eaten for several days, the family purchases for him seven steamed buns. However, the young woman begins to hemorrhage, and the nurses panic, admitting that they are only students and do not know what to do. The frantic family and nurses seek the advice of the doctor, but it is found out that he has overeaten and is semiconscious. The family is helpless, and Jiazhen can only hold the hand of her daughter as she slowly dies. The story ends several years later, with the family now consisting of Fugui, Jiazhen, their son-in-law Erxi, and grandson Mantou. The family visits the graves of Youqing and Fengxia, where Jiazhen, as per tradition, leaves dumplings for her son. Erxi buys for his son a box full of young chicks, which they decide to keep in the puppet drama prop chest, now empty of its contents. â€Å"To Live† such is not the same as â€Å"No Longer Human† because as you can see the character of the novel â€Å"No Longer Human† is more on of being useless to the family and to the society because Oba Yozo just ended up in confinement because his woman had another man. Another distinction between the two stories was that the character of â€Å"To Live† realized and did something good for himself and for his family, whereas in the novel â€Å"No Longer Human† the main character shows no changes in his life. â€Å"No Longer Human† on the other hand is basically autobiographical, founded on events from Dazai’s own life. He was a literary rock star, but a deeply unhappy guy, attempting suicide several times before finally succeeding. There is in fact a monument at the spot where he killed himself that is, along with his mistress. The book is uncommon from what we think of as autobiography, in that the reason for writing is not so much to tell a story – there is no real employment, beginning, middle, and end in the traditional sense, but rather, the text is a sort of rambling exploration of the self. There is no forced form, instead, an effort to create a straightforward relation between author and reader, to explain a precise point of view. The book itself is very fascinating. It makes the reader want to learn Japanese, for beginners, because no matter how talented the translator, there is no getting throughout the fact that the grammatical structure of Japanese is completely different from that of English in that it is completely possible, and even ordinary, to compose a sentence in Japanese with no subject. Clearly, the entire book is written in this form, which would be particularly appropriate to the work itself. The book is the related story of a very unhappy guy who is essentially chronicling his downward spiral. Nevertheless it is hard to say if it is really a downward spiral, that is, though he does identify a moment at which he came to an end to be human, it is not totally clear that he was ever really human, through his own definition, to begin with. One question is what it means, in his eyes, to be human. . Oba Yozo’s character is raging against rationality, and the way, in which it dehumanizes people, so in a sense, though he calls himself a mouse, etc, he could be seen as claiming that he is really the only human. Dazai’s character, Oba Yozo in the novel, sees himself as inhuman, primarily, it seems, because he lacks certain fundamental human character. He maintains for instance, that he has in no way felt starving. On the other hand, there is also a certain issue of domination at play like; he is not capable to say no to anyone, to refuse permission for anything. In this sense, one could say that he is entirely determined by the outside world. Notwithstanding the fact that he has an inner life, he maintains it hidden from the outside world. As a matter of fact, his behavior is entirely, he claims, an act, he â€Å"plays the clown† for the pleasure of others, declining to let his own emotions reveal. The main characters of the novel have a clear similarity to notes from deeply unhappy men who are convinced of their own uniqueness, but there are definitely differences the way they choses to end up their stories. References: Dazai, Osamu. No Longer Human. New York: New Directions, 1973. Yu Hua. To Live: A Novel. (1993). Trans. Michael Berry. New York: Anchor-Random House, 2003.

Changes in the Healthcare Industry - 1281 Words

There have been a great many changes in the healthcare industry in the past two decades, largely due to the globalization of the workforce and changing demographic patterns, and technological advances. The industry changed in terms of a reliance on hospital-based care to more emergency clinics, outpatient and nursing home services, and managed care. More hospitals merged, and many doctors have banded together to form larger, more cost-effective, speciality groups. One of the largest and most obvious changes has been in cost of healthcare. In 1990 the avereage cost of care per person was $2800, rising in 2000 to $4700, and then in 2010 exceeding $7500. In 1990, 14.1% of Americans had no insurance and in 2010, and additional 50 million people, or 16.3%. Certainly these issues are concerns, but there have been incredible innovations that have changed the lives of all those involved in the healthcare industry. For example, doctors can turn their I-phones into an EKG monitor and transmit data in real time to a cardiologist, will cost less than $100, and will change the way patients interact with their physicins (Chideya, 2012). For society in general, and especially for physicians and the medical care industry, technology has driven vast changes in the healthcare environment. Computers were available 20 years ago, the MacIntosh had developed a bit, PCs were using better technology, but the Internet and massive memory and processing availablity for the general public had notShow MoreRelatedIs The Healthcare Industry Manage Change Effectively?1817 Words   |  8 Pages Is the Healthcare Industry Able to Manage Change Effectively? A Conceptual Review Annmarie J. Brutus East Carolina University Author Note Annmarie J. Brutus, Department of Health Services Information Management, East University. This research was completed as a part of the COHE 6630 (Quality Management in Health Care). Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Annmarie J. Brutus, Department of Health Services Information Management, East Carolina University, GreenvilleRead MoreThe Healthcare Industry : Changing Change Through A Change Arrangement1038 Words   |  5 PagesThe Healthcare Industry is changing to drive change through a change arrangement. At the leader of this arrangement is institutionalization and partners. A partner is any individual, gathering or society that possesses a stake in the business and its exercises. It can incorporate proprietorship and property interests, legitimate interests, and duties, and moral rights. While institutionalization is the way toward executing and creating specialized standard. What s more, institutionalization canRead MoreChanges The Health Insurance Coverage Of The Healthcare Industry3605 Words   |  15 Pagesbeen paradigm shift in the healthcare industry because it has been moving towards the structure of consumer driven indu stry rather than the patient engagement based industry. It has become the mobile industry just like financial and publishing industry. In such type of consumer driven model, there is more transparency and transmission of patient’s related data in real time based data. It has occurred basically due to introduction of Affordable Care Act (ACA) which changes the health insurance coverageRead MoreEmployer Based Health Insurance : The Affordable Care Act ( Aca ) Changes The Healthcare Industry1089 Words   |  5 PagesEmployer based health insurance has received much criticism and its existence is in jeopardy as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) changes the healthcare industry. Penalties enacted by the ACA may cause businesses to reevaluate their standing on providing insurance coverage. However, evidence shown by Klein (2013) and Radnofsy (2012) give way to thinking that large business may not change their policies on providing insurance coverage. Moore (2013) and Pear (2010) s how how small to mid-sized businesses mayRead MoreRunning Head: Accessibility Of Healthcare For Undeserved1540 Words   |  7 PagesACCESSIBILITY OF HEALTHCARE FOR UNDESERVED POPULATIONS 1 Accessibility of Healthcare for Undeserved Populations Name: Institution:  Introduction Skewed provision of healthcare services to common populations is not a new issue in the world. in the developed world, social stratification of populations goes beyond social borders; deep into service provision in hospitals. Probably unethical, provision of inequitable services to undeserved populations has craved its way deep into the healthcare industryRead MoreHealth Care Industry Paper1546 Words   |  7 Pages Health Care Industry Paper Lucionda Berry HCS/449 May 14, 2013 Dr. Leslie Freeman Introduction In today’s society, healthcare and the issues surrounding the topic has went through some major changes within the last decade. Some of these changes in my opinion were decent and very importantRead MoreThe Healthcare Financial Executives Encounter Challenges For The Health Care Industry1622 Words   |  7 PagesAssignment 7 Introduction The healthcare financial executives encounter numerous challenges for their day-to-day operations. Consequently, the health care industry is a highly competitive market and the access to capital is limited, which increases the stakes and the importance of strategic planning (Sussman, Grube, Samaris, 2009). In addition, there was a variety of financial conditions for the health care industry in 2007 and 2012. Overall, the health care costs tend to consume a significantRead MoreThe Committee of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative1385 Words   |  6 Pageswork that eventually resulted in the Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health report. Quite specifically, this organization was responsible for performing the research that many of the measures of this report were based on. The Committee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing went to the Institute of Medicine and analyzed a number of different data that pertained to the healthcar e industry, governmental entities (both at the state and federal levels) andRead MoreSupply Chain Management And Healthcare Industry1745 Words   |  7 PagesSupply Chain Management –For Healthcare Industry Introduction: Economic downturn in Healthcare sector has given renewed importance to supply chain management in healthcare industry. Supply chain management has great effects on hospital organizations. On papers Supply chain accounts for 30 to 40% in healthcare industry but that is only if we consider just the cost of goods under the supply chain , instead if we look at factors like cost of inventory , cost of procuring and other costs associatedRead MoreOperations Management Definition1014 Words   |  5 Pagesthat healthcare has lagged behind other industries with regard to automation. Healthcare is being asked to provide high quality care with increased efficiency yet the patient population believes they are not receiving quality care. McCleave (1996) states that health care managers should look to manufacturing operations for ideas to improve quality and productivity in their organizations. This paper will address the definition of operations management, its importance in healthcare and what