Archive for month: February, 2023

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How to make Vegetable Samosas

Food is a source of cultural identity. Other than providing nutritional support, food is associated with various attachments used to identify cultures and traditions. As such, different regions across the globe have specific foods associated with that area. This essay will explain how samosa, a pastry snack common in Central Asia, is made. As the world slowly turns into a global village, people can use food to taste the different cultures around the world. Foods worldwide taste differently due to different cultures; hence food represents different traditions and cultures.

Culture significantly influences food-related beliefs, tastes, and preferences. Samosas are spice-filled pastries used as snacks and appetizers in Central Asia. Depending on religious beliefs in a region, the filling used in this pastry can either be vegetarian or non-vegetarian. Vegetarian samosas are common in regions such as India. This is because the Hindu belief opposes the use of meat sourced from cows (Harris et al. 51-66). Hindus believe that cows are sacred animals that should be treated like family.

The first step of making a vegetarian samosa is making the pastry dough. The dough is made by sieving two cups of all-purpose flour, one teaspoon of salt, and one teaspoon of sugar. Once these ingredients are well mixed, one cup of water and three tablespoons of vegetable oil are added to the mixture. The dry and wet ingredients are mixed by hand until they are well combined. Next, the dough is kneaded for five minutes until it is shiny and smooth, then it is enclosed in a plastic wrap and left to rest for thirty minutes. One should be extremely cautious of the amount of ingredients used as it can result in an undesirable dough mixture that is either soggy or extremely hard.

The second step involves making the vegetable filling used in the samosa. First, cumin seeds are toasted in a hot pan with one tablespoon of vegetable oil. The cumin seeds are toasted until they release their aroma and start to crack. Once the cumin seeds crackle, a ginger garlic paste is added to the pan. The mixture is sautéed until it turns golden brown. Lastly, cooked vegetables such as mashed potatoes and peas are added to the mixture. To enhance the flavor of the filling, additional spices such as turmeric, chili peppers, garam masala, and salt are added. When adding these spices, one should carefully measure and use half a teaspoon of each spice. It will ensure that the taste of the filling does not overpower the entire dish. Once this mixture is well cooked, the filling is removed from heat and set aside to cool.

The last step of making samosas involves assembling all ingredients. First, the rested dough is cut into small pieces. With the amount of ingredients used, one should easily end up with eight equal dough pieces. Using a rolling pin, each small dough piece is then pressed into flat circular pieces. The flat pieces are then cut into halves and individually folded by overlapping the edges together. The folded pieces take up a hollow triangular shape. 2 tablespoons of the now cooled vegetable filling are added to the hollow part of each piece, and the edge is sealed by pressing one’s fingers to the edges of the samosa. One should air fry the samosa for a healthier alternative instead of deep-frying the pastries. The samosas are air-fried for four minutes at three hundred- and fifty degrees Fahrenheit. Once cooked, these crispy, savory treats can be served with a cup of tea. I frequently make samosas due to their great taste and the sense of travel they provide. By making samosas, I get a sense of traveling to India, thus I get a taste of the region without leaving the comfort of my home.

The taste of food is dependent on people’s culture. As such, food can represent the traditions and cultures of different places. The ingredients used in the vegetarian samosa highlighted above indicate the food elements that are commonly used in Hindu culture. Based on this savory snack, one can tell that the people of this culture are mainly vegetarians. Also, the people of this culture heavily rely on different spices to enhance the flavor of their foods. Truly, food is an indicator of people’s culture.

Work Cited

Harris, Marvin, et al. “The cultural ecology of India’s sacred cattle [and comments and replies].” Current Anthropology 7.1, 1966, pp. 51-66.

Factors Influencing the Wellbeing of Individuals with Autism

Autism is a developmental disability that affects the normal development of the human brain, and eventually affects an individual’s ability to effectively communicate and to interact with other people, as well as their environment. Also known as Autism spectrum disorder, autism affects a person ability to understand what they see, hear or sense. The condition begins at birth or within the first two to three years of life. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is considered one of the Pervasive Developmental Disorders (Buron, 2008, p. 21). Prior to the mid-20th century, autism was a rare condition. The first case of autism was identified by child psychologists at John Hopkins Hospital in 1950s. Since then, cases of autism have been increasing over time. In fact, cases of autism during the last one and half decades have been increasing at a rapid rate. The data released by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2009 by 2009 indicated that 1 out of 110 of all children born was diagnosed with ASD in the world (Dodd, 2010, p. 12). Recent surveys also indicated that four times as many males are diagnosed with ASD as compared to females.

There is not specific cure for autism. However, there are various interventions that can help to improve the overall wellbeing of individuals on the spectrum. During the last three decades, the problem has attracted the attention of many scholars. Psychologists and sociologists in particular have tried to explain the effects of autism to an individual and the factors that affect the wellbeing of individuals on the spectrum during lifetime (Dodd, 2010, p. 13). Sociologists and psychologists have found that autism affects three main areas of development, namely, communication, behavior and social interactions. Theories established by psychologists and sociologists try to explain the intervention strategies that should be adopted in order to improve the ability of the individuals in the aforementioned areas, or to maintain their wellbeing during the lifetime. The current section, therefore, examines the perspective of the psychological and sociological theories on the interventions that should be provided to individuals with autism to support their wellbeing.

Theoretical perspectives on needs

Cognitive theories of learning

The behaviors of individuals with autism and the needs that influence their overall wellbeing are comprehensively explained by the cognitive theories of learning. There are four main social cognitive theories that explain the differences between individuals with autism and normal persons, namely, the theory of mind, the extreme male brain theory, the central coherence theory and social cognitive theory. The theory of mind, established by Simon Baron-Cohen in 1995, posits that individuals with autism have a condition called ‘mind blindness.’ According to the theory, the individuals with autism are unable to intuit what other people are intending, perceiving or thinking. In other words, their minds are blind and are unable to read minds of others (Benjafield, 2008, p. 248).

Simon Baron-Cohen later in 2002 expanded the theory of mind to form the extreme male brain theory (Whitcomb & Merrell, 2013, p. 46). The theory posits that the brains of males are different from those of females; males have ‘empathizing brains,’ whereas the males have ‘systemizing brains.’ According to Baron-Cohen, the term ‘empathizing’ refers to the ability of an individual to understand the thoughts and emotions of another person and to respond to them in an appropriate manner. As such, empathizing enables an individual to predict the behaviors of another person and take care about how he/she feels. On the other hand, systemizing refers to the drive to analyze variables embedded in the system and to understand the rules that govern human behavior (Whitcomb & Merrell, 2013, p. 46). Systemizing enables individuals to understand the behaviors portrayed by individuals as a result of system influences. In other words, systemizing focuses on understanding the behaviors of the system and not individuals.

According to Baron-Cohen, a balanced person possesses equal measures of empathizing and systemizing abilities. However, the average man leans more on the side of systemizing, while the average woman leans more on the side of empathizing. According to Baron-Cohen, individuals with autism lack the empathizing abilities completely. As such, they do not have ability to read the behaviors of others through perception, intentions, word emotions and actions, body language and expressions (Tarkington & Anan, 2007, p. 141). However, individuals with autism have incredible systemizing abilities. As such, Baron-Cohen explains that they have ‘extreme male brain.’ Consequently, they are usually good in evaluating non-human systems. For instance, they are good in evaluating objects, scientific phenomena and machines. In fact, they have ability to predict changes in non-human systems. However, the ability varies depending on the level of disability. The fact that they are systemizing abilities and they lack emphasizing abilities explains the reason they tend to be obsessed to objects. Also, this explains the fact that most of them are resistant to change (Simpson, 2007, p. 37). Most of them are preoccupied with interests, routines and objects. A slight change in environment may cause a lot of distress to an individual with autism.

The central coherence theory, initially developed by Uta Frith in 1989, tries to explain the reason some of the individuals with autism have exceptional abilities. Frith noted that some individuals with autism have exceptional abilities such as making calculations, memory and music. People with such abilities tend to give deep focus to details, and thus, they are able to pick every little element pertaining to the subject matter of study (Whitcomb & Merrell, 2013, p. 47). However, when additional details from areas or subjects that they are not gifted, they become confused and the performance goes down.

Social cognitive theory, on the other hand, is a learning theory that suggests that individuals learn by observing others. Social cognitive theory focuses on how people are affected by the behaviors of others. The theory was developed by Albert Bandura, a Canadian psychologist (Rogers & Dawson, 2009, p. 68). While the proponents of the theory agree that the environment in which an individual grows influences his/her behavior, they argue that individual’s personality is equally important. There are five key concepts that are described in the social cognitive theory, namely, observational learning/modeling, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, self-efficacy and self-regulation.

The concept of observational learning or modeling posits that individuals learn from others within social contexts. For instance, a student learns how to behave by observing the behaviors of teachers, parents and peers. The teachers, parents and peers act as models to the student. An individual can learn from others either directly from live demonstrations or indirectly by observing the non-verbal, verbal and written behaviors of the models (Cervone & Pervin, 2013, p. 357). The concept of outcome expectation suggests that the consequences of behavior influences whether the behavior will be repeated or not. Depending on whether the outcomes are positive or negative, an individual may decide whether to repeat the behavior or not. Motivation to repeat a particular behavior is important since it influences whether the behavior will be successfully learnt or not (Powell, & Powell, 2010, p. 129). According to Powell and Powell (2010, p. 129), individuals with autism can learn effectively through observational learning, especially in cases they are attracted to specific behaviors. Also, they learn behaviors through practicing them repeatedly. However, they often require motivation to engage in certain behaviors initially.

The concept of self-efficacy suggests that an individual’s self-efficacy influences his/her ability to learn a particular behavior. Self-efficacy refers to an individual’s belief that he/she can learn a particular skill or not. Generally, individuals become highly motivated, more active, pay attention and become better learners when they believe that they have ability to master a particular skill or behavior (Carducci, 2009, p. 97). Goal setting is another core concept in the social cognitive theory framework. Goals refer to future desired outcomes that are embedded in an individual’s cognitive framework. Models can provide an individual with instructions that can help in formulating effective goals which can facilitate effective learning (Carducci, 2009, p. 97). Lastly, the concept of self-regulation suggests that individuals can control and evaluate their own learning behaviors. The concept posits that depending on goal setting, individuals can manage their own thoughts and actions in order to achieve desired outcomes. The attitudes and beliefs that influence an individual’s motivation for self-regulation and the skills that are needed to effectively manage behavior can be obtained through modeling (Carducci, 2009, p. 97). As Carducci (2009, p. 97) explains, individuals with autism often have a low level of self-efficacy. In other words, they do not understand their abilities and hardly set goals. However, as Carducci (2009, p. 97) argues, the individuals with autism have ability to develop self-efficacy through guidance and support. They can be assisted to set goals and with additional support, they can meet them. They can also learn to regulate their behaviors.

In short, the three cognitive theories try to explain the behaviors of the individuals on the autism spectrum. In addition, they give an understanding of how the individuals with autism should be assisted in order to perform optimally. In fact, the cognitive theory suggests that, if provided with the necessary assistance, some of the individuals on the spectrum can perform like the typical individuals. In some cases, they can even perform better, especially in areas where they have exceptional abilities. The cognitive theories of learning and development propose that engaging in physical activities can help individuals on the autism spectrum disorder develop and maintain physical wellbeing. Further, the cognitive theories propose that the psychological support can help to enhance the mental wellbeing of individuals with autism (McClannahan, MacDuff, & Krantz, 2002, p. 11). Psychological support can be provided through counseling.

Social Motivation Theory

The social motivation theory of autism is based on the works of Dawson and other sociologists. The theory tries to explain the effects, the special needs of individuals with autism and the suitable intervention approaches. The theory posits that most of the behavioral complications of individuals with autism stem from childhood. Precisely, the theory posits that individuals with autism have many deficits with they were not born with. According to Dawson, such individuals have impairments in imitation, affective sharing, emotional perception, joint perception and social orienting (Dawson & Zanolli, 2003, p. 271). The theory of social motivation suggests that individuals on the spectrum develop such impairments due to inability to interact effectively with other people during the early stages of growth and development.

Young children with autism usually fail to orient effectively to social stimuli. For instance, they often fail to orient to human sounds such as calling names and clapping. Also, they fail to distinguish and to prefer to human or non-human speech. Dawson suggests that such problems mainly occur due to the impact of autism on the ability of individuals to shift attention between different modalities and stimuli. The theory posits that autism affects the ability to rapidly shift attention between different modalities and stimuli (Dawson & Zanolli, 2003, p. 271). Dawson and colleagues argue that the inability to do so is mainly influenced by lack of motivation, as a result of abnormalities in neural systems. However, Dawson and colleagues argue that the ability to shift attention between different modalities and stimuli in individuals with autism can be enhanced through continuous motivation during the early years of development. In other words, acknowledging the special needs of the individuals with autism and trying to encourage them to be involved in social interaction contexts as early as possible in life can help to curb most of the deficits that they have. The needs and intervention strategies to enhance the wellbeing of the individuals with autism are explained in the next section (Dawson & Zanolli, 2003, p. 271).

The social motivation theorists acknowledge the significant role of early intervention in enhancing the wellbeing of individuals with autism. The process of training and educating individuals with autism is highly effective when started in early childhood. Individuals with autism are likely to respond to training more easily at earlier ages than when they become adults. According to McClannahan et al. (2002, p. 15), children with autism need to be assisted to develop a better understanding of their environment, enhance their social and communication skills, and develop the required career and personal planning for their future.

Both the cognitive and the social motivation theories agree that the level of social interaction skills and social support can help to enhance, restore or maintain emotional and social wellbeing of the individuals with autism. Secondly, the theories propose that enhancing communication skill of individuals with autism can help to enhance their interactional skills, as well as ability to learn and to work. In turn, this can help to enhance the social, financial and physical wellbeing of the individuals with autism (Gabriels, & Hill, 2007, p. 97). The cognitive and social motivation theorists acknowledge the importance of basic needs and finances in supporting the wellbeing of individuals with autism.

Part 2: Causes of Social Inequality in Health

Employment

Employment influences whether an individual has good access to health services or not. In many cases, people who have long-term employment contracts have health insurance, and are always able to access health services without struggle. Their health services are paid for by the employers. In many cases, employers pay health insurance for their workers (Goddard & Smith, 2001, p. 1152). On the other hand, people who are not employed, or do casual jobs may not have similar access to health services. Also, the kind of job that an individual does determines his or her overall health. Some jobs involve health hazards that end up damaging an individual’s organs. A good example is a job that involves cement manufacturing. Some of the workers in such a job have direct contact with the processes that involve mixing chemicals and thus, they inhale them, especially if they do not have good protection. On the other hand, some jobs, such as office secretary involve less exposure to health hazards that may have a huge impact on health. Lack of employment, on the other hand, leads to lack funds needed to access good adequate health services (Goddard & Smith, 2001, p. 1153). The problem often encounters individuals with limited opportunities for getting employment, yet they require constant treatment, such as persons with disabilities.

Individuals on with disabilities often lack capacity to work like the typical individuals.

In many cases, they lack some of the basic social and personal skills required for independent living (Ernsperger, 2008, p. 286). In other words, most of them are unable to engage in economic activities, especially when there are no interventions. In comparison with the normal individuals, individuals with disabilities required additional assistance to gain knowledge and skills required in the job market. In some cases, they may require additional assistive tools to enable them acquire the knowledge and skills. Without such support, they may not gain the required knowledge and skills to work effectively. In this regard, theorists suggest that individuals with disabilities should be provided with occupational therapy services (Gerhardt, 2007, p. 35). Occupational therapy is a service that helps to develop effective techniques to for working with the needs of such individuals and enhance independent living.

Occupational therapists can assist disabled individuals to develop skills that are applicable in various jobs. They can devise strategies that are essential for individuals with autism to help them during the transition from one setting one person to another, from one setting to another and from one life phase to another (Lundine & Smith, 2006, p. 56). According to Cameto Levine and Wagner (2007 p. 74), individuals with disabilities should be assisted to acquire problem-solving and decisional skills, in order to prepare them for independent living. Developing these skills should also be a leading objective when designing an educational strategy to educate individuals with disabilities. Such skills will help such persons perform an important task like organising, controlling, and coordinating their activities. The goals and aspirations of individuals with disabilities should not be seen as different from those of normal individuals. The goals are the same and similar to those of typical individuals (Myles et al., 2007, p. 45). According to Myles et al. (2007, p. 45), an individual with disabilities can achieve high level personality, and occupational success if they are taken care of properly.

Myles et al. (2007, p. 45) noted that, despite many effective measures which are taken by parents and professional bodies to facilitate the complete transition of children with disabilities to a promising future, many of them have been unable to get employment opportunities. Myles et al. (2007, p. 45) further explains that even those individuals on the spectrum but with relatively less severe symptoms continue to depend fully on their parents or guardians because only few opportunities are available for them. This shows a fault in the effectiveness of some of the training services provided for individuals with disabilities. Effective training should enable them to live up to their potential in their future lives especially through securing employment opportunities.

Education

Unequal access to education prevents equal access to health services. One major aspect of education is that people to not have equal access to education. Education teaches people how to behave in order to maintain good health. For instance, educated persons are often aware of the benefits of recreation on health. As McGill-Franzen (2009, p. 75) explains, recreation is a very helpful tool in enhancing the health of all people. For instance, play can be very effective in assisting children with autism to explore their feelings, their relationships with parents, other people and the surrounding environment. In persons with disabilities, recreational therapy is essential in improving socialization skills, language development, physical, cognitive and eye-hand coordination. To this end, recreational therapy is an important component of personal planning for individual with disabilities (McGill-Franzen, 2009, p. 76). Also, education teaches people to adopt healthy eating habits. Educated persons understand the kinds of food they should avoid and those that they should take to enhance their health in the long-run. Further, educated persons are aware of the destinations where they can get the best health services for their health problems. Unlike the educated persons, the uneducated individuals may not understand the importance of recreation and adopting healthy eating habits. Also, they may not be aware of the destination where they can get good healthcare services (McGill-Franzen, 2009, p. 76).

In some cases, the problem of education is caused by unequal access to quality educational services. Various studies have been conducted to examine the availability of adequate access of quality education personal planning services for individuals with disabilities in both the public schools and special education institutions in different parts of the world. First, Hanafi conducted a research in the same topic in special education institutions in the year 2008 (Hanafi 2008, p. 2). The findings of the research showed that medical and health services were available to students with disabilities and both public schools and special education services institutions in different countries. However, the author found that services and social workers were not available in some of the institutions. Also, a study conducted by Al-Otaibi and Al-Sartawi in Asian countries under the same of research provided related results (Hollander, Kolevson & Coyle, 2010, p. 154). The researchers examined that public schools and special education institutes in Saudi Arabia provided physical therapy, medical and health services but social services were not present in most schools and institutions.

The effectiveness of personal planning services for children with disabilities is highly dependent on the perception of the teachers and administrators of such students. Cook (2001) explained that the negative perspective of such students by their teachers and administrators may impede the process of providing services provided by the education system for such students. The authors pointed out that some of the teachers dealing with students with disabilities prefer to work with moderate rather than severe disabilities. According to Cook (2004, p. 205), there have been numerous studies focusing on the role of teachers in enhancing the effectiveness of personal planning services provided in the education system for students with disabilities. But according to Kozub & Lienert (2003, p. 23), only a few of them indicated that teachers and administrators of students with disabilities both in public schools and in special education institutes have a negative attitude towards such students. An example of this is a study conducted by Cook (2001) (as cited in Kozub & Lienert, 2003, p. 23) on the same topic in Saudi Arabia. Cook concluded that some teachers hold negative attitudes towards their students with autism and other disabilities characterised by rejection nomination and indifference. According to cook, the depth of the feelings is usually dependent on the levels of disabilities. In addition, cook found out that children with severe disabilities are likely to be rejected by some teachers and administrators compared to those with moderate and mild disabilities. This explains that, such teacher and administrators may not provide the required education services and personal planning services to disabled persons, which are provided in the education system.

Religion

Religion may also be a source social inequality in health. There are cases where religion (especial cults) influences followers not to access health services. For instance, the leaders of cults such as Raelians and Church of God advise their followers that it is wrong to seek medical services from the hospitals. As such, the followers may not access the health services. In other cases, faith embedded in a religion may limit a specific group of people from accessing heath services (Goddard & Smith 2001, p. 112). A good example if the Islamic faith in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, the society in that state is based on Islamic faith and follows the teachings of Sunnah and the Qur’an stated by Prophet Muhammad. Consequently, the cultural values of Saudi society deals with disabilities in accordance with policies in the Sunnah and the Qur’an (Al-Mousa, 1999, p. 29). According to the teachings of these books, disability is sometimes perceived to result from punishment for a person who has disrespected a family with a child with a disability. Also, it may be perceived as a test of patience for those who have been prepared a place in heaven by Allah and who will not go unrewarded for the patience. These perceptions lead people in Saudi Arabia to treat persons with disabilities negatively. Sometimes, such individuals are discriminated against or ignored in public. They are also prevented from practicing their rights like typical individuals do. As a result, some teachers and administrators in public and special education institutions may have such perception of the people with autism. A teacher with such a perception is likely not to provide quality support services for students with autism even when such services are availed by the state (Al-Mousa, 1999, p. 29).

Access to housing, water, food and Income

Access to housing, water and food influences the health of individuals. At the same time, access to income determines the ability of individuals to access basic needs and health services. People with limited access to the key human basic needs have poor health. They are likely to get health problems or diseases that are caused by malnutrition and related problems. In addition, access to contaminated food and water may also lead to poor health. Access to adequate income, on the other hand, leads to ample access to the aforementioned key basic needs. As well, the have access to quality health services since they are able to pay for them (Goddard & Smith 2001, p. 118). The problem of accessing income and the basic needs often faces individuals with disabilities.

Unlike normal individuals, persons with disabilities require additional support to access basic needs. Many of them are unable to acquire basic needs on their own, and they depend on the support of the family members (Matson, 2008, p. 78). In some case, families of persons with disabilities are disadvantaged and do lack ability to provide all the basic needs to the individuals with autism during the lifetime. In cases where the individuals with disabilities lack adequate support for food and housing, for instance, their overall health may be significantly affected. Further, many individuals with disabilities require a lot in terms of financial resources for the purpose of treatment and therapy services (Matson, 2008, p. 78). Parents or guardians of children with disabilities who cannot afford the finances to take their children to special schools and to pay for treatment and therapy services may encounter numerous problems. In such cases, the individuals with may not benefit psychologically, socially and physically. On the other hand, availability of basic needs and financial support may enhance the overall wellbeing of individuals with autism to the extent that they perform just like normal individuals. In this regard, the national governments and other authorities should provide support to individuals with disabilities in cases where family members and guardians are unable to adequately provide such support. As Matson (2008, p. 78) notes, parents and guardians of individuals with disabilities in many countries seek financially and professional assistance from national governments and social welfare organisations to ensure those individuals make a proper and consolidated transition to adulthood, and are able to perform optimally in all dimensions.

Part 3: Capacity of Policy and Practice in Challenging Stigma and Discrimination

In most cases, individuals with disabilities suffer from stigmatism and discrimination. In schools, for instance, typical children hardly understand the condition with the children with disabilities and thus, they perceive them as having odd behaviours. They may find it difficult to accept them, or even interact with them. In some cases, they may openly show rejection to the individuals with disabilities. Adults with disabilities are also likely to face rejection in the society. A significant problem with individuals with disabilities is inability to perform equally to other people. In most cases, individuals with disabilities wonder why they have lower abilities to perform various activities like other individuals. Such thoughts often lead the persons with disabilities to suffer from low esteem and resentment. In other words, such issues affect the emotional well-being of individuals with disabilities. The extent to which the society provides social support to individuals with disabilities influences their ability to cope with emotions. When they are provided with emotional support, their emotional wellbeing is enhanced. Emotional wellbeing of individuals with disabilities can be supported through encouraging the other members of the society to accept and give them any necessary support. In order to do so, all people in the society must be sensitized on the special needs of individuals with disabilities and the need to support them. This calls the need for solid policies to support them. In addition, it is essential to come up with effective social policies that will facilitate enhancing of the wellbeing of disabled persons.

Different countries have different policies that guide their practices on how they deal with disabled persons. In almost all countries, the set policies discourage the stigma and discrimination of disabled persons. In the UK and the US, for instance, have various policies that help to support the inclusion of the persons with disabilities in the society. In the UK, the social policies for disabilities are developed by the Department of Health. As well, practices involving the treatment of the disabled individuals are regulated by the Disability Discrimination Act and the Equity Act (2010). The social policies in the UK require record of all disabled individuals to be kept. According to the policies, the methods used to treat several cases of disability should also be maintained so that, should a similar disorder be diagnosed in another individual, then it will be easier to deal with it. Records should also be kept determine the number of individuals with disabilities in a given region so that plans to deal with the disorder can be put in place (Department of Health, 2010, p. 19).

Secondly, the policies acknowledge that every individual with disabilities has unique and special needs, thus requiring a personal plan because of their unique patterns of learning. Personal planning is based on the principle that any individual can succeed despite a current impairment. The policies stipulated that all parties involved in the intervention programme for individuals with disabilities should have high and realistic expectations on education so as to allow the expectations of the individuals to be realised. The social policies acknowledge that all parties should also understand that the education of individuals with disabilities is completely different from education in a typical education system. The law stipulates that the education system for individuals with autism should consist of seamless social, cognitive and communication transitions which should be closely monitored to ensure effectiveness (Department of Health, 2010, p. 19).

According to the policies, individuals with disabilities, just like typical individuals, should be provided with all necessary supportive services and programmes, especially social and material, and appropriate environments to enable them achieve their potential. For successful and effective educational programmes for individuals with disabilities, parents and teachers need to be provided with the necessary, important information about the disorders so as to devise the best intervention methods to use. Parents and teachers have different roles to play in the intervention programmes though their roles must converge in the end. Teachers must take the entire responsibility for developing the literacy, cognitive and numeracy skills of the individuals while the parents must focus more on social and communication skills (Department

Evolution

Institution

Name

Evolution of species is less in scope than macroevolution. Macroevolution incorporates origin of species as well as fates of major differences observed in living organisms. These differences could be found in limbs, wings, bone structure, and body covering. Macroevolution links the impact environment and earth movements such continental drift alongside other earthly physical processes to evolution of species (Jablonski, 2012). Paleontology, the earth science that studies fossil organisms and related remains is said to play a vital role in macroevolution. There are evidence of fossil records stand as a proof of the large pattern in evolution and macroevolution (Jablonski, 2012). These evidences do not stand a full chance in making every person believe in macroevolution. There are those agree with the fact the current species are due to the forces of macroevolution while at the same time there are those who do not agree with the process. This essay supports the argument that macroevolution exists.

Most scientists support the process of evolutionary origin of species with respect to earth movement process such as tectonic movements and continental drift. Some scientists do not agree with the theory whatsoever. This group of scientists argues that evolution no happening now nor did it happen in the past (Morris, 2012). They argue that there is no distinct evidence that shows one organism having evolved into another organism with completely different traits. In supporting this argument, evolution and macroevolution are taken to be scientific belief. The research behind this proof of non existence of evolution include various documentations that points out that evolution did not occur at any time in the pass, is not happening in the current life and will never happen in the future (Morris, 2012). There is no person having seen it happen but what is seen are various kinds of animals and plants. These species of plants and animals have no bridgeable traits (Morris, 2012).

Other people, specifically biologists argue about the existence of evolution and go further to point out the existence of microevolution and macroevolution. There is a broad acceptance of the Darwin theory of evolution (Erwin, 2000 ). This fact has led to evolution of more other theories on evolution, macroevolution, and microevolution and all of them agree firmly with the process of natural selection as part of evolution. They talk of macroevolution to be associated with morphologic novelty. A controversy originates from an existence of discontinuity between microevolution and macroevolution with a second phase of the argument emphasizing on differences in innovativeness between species (Erwin, 2000 ). The main subject of the argument is not on whether macroevolution exist or not, but that macroevolution is a system of repeated microevolution patterns.

Looking at the current changes in the human development and various breeds or species, one would notice that evolution is still happening and subsequently has occurred in the past (Freeman, 2004). Macroevolution often occurs from the accumulation of very small changes in organisms. Some could be unnoticeable. The summation of all these changes brings about macroevolution. It is today seen with the development of the human brain and creation of better animal and plant species (Luskin, 2011). An observable phenomenon in macroevolution could be seen in evolution of automobiles. This is an evidence of the human intellectual evolution. Engineer whose brains tend to improve from one generation to another, intellectually designs the newer and better models of automobile. This is a clear evidence of macroevolution, an evolution influence a lot by environment and exposure, part of the strange theory of light and matter (Feynman, 1985).

Some bodies such as the Supreme Court of the United States do not support this innovation and evolution in the automobile industry. This US court suggests that such innovativeness comes from the combination of ideas and the addition of various designs by intelligent designers to a single basic design plan. Whatever biologist claim to be a common ancestry or evolution, the Supreme Court of the US terms it as a common evidence of a design (Luskin, 2011).

To get much about the existence of macroevolution, one has to understand about the universal common descent hypothesis. It states that all organisms, living and terrestrial, are related genealogically (Theobald, 2012). Evolution is gradual and the existing species evolved gradually through biological and reproductive process. This evolution happens on a timescale of geology and with effects from geological physical activities. There are original species commonly referred as ancestors, from which the current organisms originated (Darwin, 1872).

Most who disagree with evolution or macroevolution deny the genetic process that gradually causes changes within species and ultimately ending up generating completely new species. Genetic changes may not be noticed immediately but the morphological changes usually appear first (Theobald, 2012). Gradualness is not termed to be an evolution mechanism but posses stun constraints on macroevolution. A research on the evidence of macroevolution mechanism and the associated theories found various fundamentals to have been based on assumption although correct. Such fundamentals include developmental biology, genetics, molecular biology geology and biochemistry. They mainly do not aim to explain on adaptation of species (Rhodes, 1983).

Macroevolution is not addressed clearly by any of the many existing prediction on the process. Morphological changes such as the way fins developed into limbs and an instance of the leopard developing spots are never clearly explained in many books and researches (Grantham, 1995). The same problem comes in whenever trying to figure out the evolution of the vertebrate eye among other morphological changes believed to have been caused by macroevolution. This lack of support on such evidences brings a weakness to be used by those who argue against macroevolution. The evidence from fossils, tectonic movements and continental drifts collectively prove that evolution and macroevolution have occurred (Grantham, 1995). At the same time, the current developments in human history as well as improvement in animal and plant breeds proves that macroevolution is occurring today and its morphological changes may be observable in an undefined future.

References

Darwin, C. (1872). The Origin of Species. Sixth Edition. . New York: The Modern Library.

Erwin, D. (2000 ). Macroevolution is more than repeated rounds of microevolution. Evol Development vol 2 issue 2 , 78-84.

Feynman, R. P. (1985). QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Freeman, S. a. (2004). Evolutionary analysis 3rd edition. . Upper Saddle River NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Grantham, T. (1995). Hierarchical approaches to macroevolution: Recent work on species selection and the “effect hypothesis”. Annual Review on Ecological Systems, vol. 26 , 301-321.

Jablonski, M. J. (2012). Macroevolution in the 21st Century. Retrieved October 26, 2012, from Macroevolution : http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/paleonet/paleo21/mevolution.html

Luskin, C. (2011, May 19). Karl Giberson and Francis Collins Commit Berra’s Blunder While Arguing for Macroevolution. Retrieved October 26, 2012, from Evolution New and Views: http://www.evolutionnews.org/2011/05/karl_giberson_and_francis_coll046661.html

Morris, H. M. (2012). The Scientific Case Against Evolution. Retrieved October 26, 2012, from Proclaiming Scientific Truth in Creation: http://www.icr.org/home/resources/resources_tracts_scientificcaseagainstevolution/

Rhodes, F. H. (1983). Gradualism, punctuated equilibria, and the origin of species. Nature, vol 305 , 269-272.

Theobald, D. (2012, April 16). 29+ Evidences for Macroevolution . Retrieved October 26, 2012, from The Scientific Case for Common Descent: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/comdesc/

American Airlines

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American Airlines

American Airlines History

The American Airlines Incorporation is among the leading airlines in the United States. The owner of the American Airlines is the AMR Corporation with its headquarters located at Fort Worth in Texas State. The development of the American Airlines Incorporation was through a formation of the conglomerate of 82 small airlines. This was through an active bid f acquisitions and reorganizations, majorly carried out in the 1930s. In fact, American Airlines was a common brand used by most of the independent carriers such as the South Air Transport from Texas, Colonial Air Transport from the Northeast, and Universal Aviation from the Midwest. This airline operated a transcontinental air and rail route in 1929. These small conglomerate airlines also included the Thompson Aeronautical Services, which operated a Cleveland – Detroit route as from 1929, as well as the South Air Fast Express (SAFE), which operated in the Western United States (Miles, 2008).

The American Airlines acquired an American Export Airline after the Second World War and renamed it as the American Overseas Airways destined to serve its destinations in Europe. However, the company sold AOA to Pan Am in 1950. The American Airlines once again launched a second subsidiary named Líneas Aéreas Americanas de Mexico S.A. This new branch was to fly through Mexico as well as create a number of airports. During the early years, and to promote its brand, the American Airlines provided free usage as well as advertising on its aircraft, especially for the “Three Guys Named Mike” film of 1951. The American Airlines was the largest airline in America until when Capital merged into the United in 1961. This meant that the American airlines were still the second largest airline in the world alter Aeroflot. The airline continued its expansion over the years, with August 1940 seeing the airline increasing its scheduled flights to 44 airports, 66 airports in august 1953, and 68 airports in November 1978 (Rolow, 2009).Economic Status

The American Airlines is currently financially stable, and the best proof of this is their planned merger with the US Airways. This is thanks to the products and services that the airline provides to both its passengers and cargo travelling. The airline strives to ensure it meets all the needs of its customer, both affluent, as well as, those from a low-income level do. The airline operates a Flagship Suit service, which provides ambience, class and prestige to passengers using this service. The services at these suites are first class as the airline ensures that customers get the right value for their money. Other flight class categories that the airline operates include the domestic first class, the business class, and the economy class. The services offered at these different levels of flight categories varies in relation to the chosen level, with the economy class being the most affordable class for most users (Szurovy, 2003).

This differentiation of flight classes enables the airline to serve a diverse majority of the society depending on their economic capabilities. As such, the airline becomes a major leader in the industry as all customers identify positively with it, basing on the travel fares and quality of on-board services that they receive while using the airline. In addition, the flyer program launched by the company assists in the development of a loyalty program in the world, whereby passengers earn points for every time they use the airline’s services, which they can later redeem free flights and other gifts (Miles, 2008).Possible Merger with US Airways

The American Airlines announced a possible merger with the United States Airways in February of 2013. A successful merger between these two major airlines would result into the formation of the largest airline in the world, both in fleet capacity, as well as regional and geographical coverage by their flights. The merger terms and conditions stipulated that the shareholders of AMR would own 72% of the newly created the company while those of the United States Airways would own the remaining percentage of shareholding, which was 28%. The new combination of the airline formed would bear the name of American Airlines as well as carry its brand. Furthermore, the new holding company that would list in the stock exchange for trading would use the name American Airlines Group Incorporation (Rolow, 2009).

However, despite the major benefits that would arise through the culmination of this merger, the planned move got some serious opposition from a civil suit filed by the District of Columbia, six attorney generals as well as the United States justice department. These groups filed a petition against the planned merger of the two largest airlines in the United States basing on antitrust concerns. Nonetheless, this did not deter the two airlines from realizing their chief goals, which was to form the largest airline in the world. In fact, the American Airlines vowed to go ahead with the planned merger as well as fight against the law civil suit presented against their merger. This strong match ahead got a reprieve in November 12, 2013 when the two airlines reached a common consensus with the six state attorney general’s as well as the united states justice department to allow the merger to take place (Szurovy, 2003).Ticket Pricing

The ticket-pricing model used by the American Airline is so simple and systematic that it provides it users with convenience and satisfaction. A customer gets an opportunity to book a flight, alongside a hotel room, a rental car, a cruise, and other assortment of activities all at a single click owing to the great package offers from the airline’s website. Furthermore, the company adopts a low pricing range for its tickets in order to attract more passengers to travel with its flights. The airline offers its travelers the lowest airfares charges as well as provides a guarantee on their travel prices. In addition, passengers get to earn AAdvantage miles whenever they travel using the airline’s services (Miles, 2008).

Passengers save a lot of time when booking their flights with the American Airlines, or any of its partners, such as the American Connection and the American Eagle which through a combined effort serve to a maximum of two hundred and fifty destinations in fifty countries across the world. Passengers use a search by price schedule to check availability on a wide range of forty flights and their prices within their travel dates. In addition to convenience and variety while booking flights at the American Airline Corporation, the passengers also get the best packages in the pricing of their airfares. The airline guarantees the lowest airfares in the region, as well as zero charges for online booking of flights. In addition, passengers using the Airlines services get to earn AAdvantage frequent flyer miles using it major flights. The passengers can later redeem these flyer miles for gifts and bonuses, or use them to travel another flight at the airlines expense (Rolow, 2009).

Market Power

The American Airlines operates an extensive flight network, involving both domestic as well as international flights. The flights made by the airline’s schedule to fly through numerous corners of the globe, inclusive of Asia/Pacific, South America, the Caribbean, and North America. The largest hub of the American Airline is the international airport at Dallas/Fort Worth. As such, the American Airlines as well as the American Eagle, which is a regional carrier of the AMR group, account for 85% of the traffic at the airport, together with accounting also for 83% of the landing fees at the airport. The American Eagle and the American Airlines use this hub to travel to more destinations compared to the frequency they apply in using other hubs located across the United States (Szurovy, 2003).

The American Airlines serves four of the seven continents in the world, trailing behind the United Airlines and the Delta Airlines. Both of these airlines serve six continents. The company has a number of hubs that serve certain markets and destinations. For instance, the Miami and Fort Worth/Dallas hub serves as the Americas gateways, whereas the American Chicago hub graduated as the primary gateway used by the airline to Asia and Europe. On the other hand, the New York JFK airport is the primary gateway for the airlines Americas and Europe markets with the airlines Los Angeles hub (LAX) serving as the primary gateway to Asia. This shows that the airline has perfect control over its respective markets (Miles, 2008).

References

Miles, J. (2008). Dear American Airlines. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Rolow, A. (2009). The Plane Truth from an American Airlines Flight Attendant. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse.

Szurovy, G. (2003). Classic American Airlines. Hong Kong: Zenith Imprint.

Evolution of Health Care Systems Paper

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Date:

Evolution of Health Care Systems Paper

Evaluation of the health care industry prior to introduction of information technology offers a significant insight on the changes that has occurred in this field. Assimilation of technology in various operations undertaken by health care practitioners such as nurses and physicians has called for a long process. In this case, these changes can be identified by assessing the situation as it was twenty years ago in terms of data handling and analysis in health care institutions. It is evident that evolution of health care systems over the years has promoted increased in effectiveness of delivering health services. This paper will focus on exploring the evolution of health care systems by comparing a current working environment in a health institution to the condition twenty years ago. It will also seek to identify two major events and technological advantages that led to current HCIS practices. Therefore, the paper will also discuss the evolution of health care systems, thereby proving examples of changes related to factors such as external event, error, or omission in scope of the product, value added change and risk response.

Twenty years ago, the patient’s information was recorded and stored using papers and filed, which were locked in a cabinet. This led to increased difficulties in retrieving patient health records. Two events have taken place since 1980s leading to significant changes in health care industry. One of them is a call that was made by former president George W. Bush in 2004, whereby he urged health practitioners to support implementation of Electronic Health Records. The other event that contributed to evolution of health care system involves the formulation of new legislations by Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). However, over the years, the health care system developed leading to establishment of conversion projects aimed at facilitating assimilation of Electronic medical record (EMR). This project focuses on providing computerized way that facilitates the accessibility of various records about the patients’ treatment. This conversion has also enabled storing of data electronically that is considered analogous to the traditional storage of information using paper files. Evolution of health care systems, which is attributed to this conversion, is aimed at increasing the efficiency of medical services and communication among the service providers, for the plan of healthcare management.

It is evident that twenty years ago, health care institutions incurred extra costs in management of patient’s health records. In these case, expenses incurred in management of these records included hiring more personnel to facilitate recording, storing and retrieving information. Moreover, the health care institutions incurred expenses through purchases of papers and files to record information for every new patient, who visited the hospital. These organizations had to create and maintain storage space of the cabinets and lockers where these files were stored. Nonetheless, after introduction of Electronic Health Records (EMR), organization no longer store information using papers. Instead, information is recorded by keying it into a system, which in-turn stores the information in databases that are secure and less expensive to maintain compared to paper files. Moreover, this has increased the effectiveness in the process retrieving patient’s records.

Before introduction of technology in the healthcare industry, there were increased numbers of errors in processes such as billing, and coding important patient’s claims. These errors have been eliminated by template-based documentation, which has been developed through integration technology in the process of capturing information from the patients (Goldstein & Groen, 2007). Adoption of technology in the health care field has involved redesigning of workflow, thereby facilitating productivity through usage of EMR by members of staff in their routine operations. Moreover, this effectiveness leads to elimination of durations of time consumed in accessing patients’ records from different department in the health care institution. Technology in health care institutions can also be attributed to installation of remote access, which exceeds the office and it eliminates physical retrieval of paper chart. Prior to introduction of EMR, the same patients’ records could not be accessed concurrently from different locations. Therefore, this was made possible by establishment of electronic health records, which has significantly increased performance among staff members.

Evolution of the health care system has led to establishment of a need to increase the level of compliance towards standards set by regulatory agencies in the health care industry (American Nurses Association, 2001). This evolution has led to increasing need for the institution to seek a mandate permission from the federal government in order to ensure that sharing of information, through the EMR among the health care providers has met the standards. However, the other external permission has been sought from patients concerning sharing of their information, and in this way, the standards will be met effectively. Moreover, implementers of the system have been ensuring that security measures are taken to reduce chances of compromises process of data transfer through the network involved.

Evolution of health care information system can be greatly attributed to elimination of errors and omissions during the process of undertaking various operations by staff as they offer health care services to patients, thereby increasing the quality of services offered to patients. Integration of information system with information technology has significantly reduced problems that result from errors and omission of information. Moreover, this can be attributed to injunction of EMR with application such as intelligent e prescribing, and improvement of patients’ safety, since this eliminates need to interpret handwriting. Years ago, prescribed medicine was checked against the list of medication, and this led to increased chances of omission. Moreover, there were chances of interaction that considered inappropriate before the prescriptions reaching pharmacy department.

Evolution of health care systems has also improved the quality of services delivered in physicians’ offices through critical implementation of the relevant medical practices with integration of information technology. Moreover, unlike before, the physicians are able to build protocols that are evidence based in relation to medical records from the patients and other department. This evolution has also facilitated retrieval of data for assessing performance of the practices related to patients’ health care services delivery. Furthermore, current health care systems have led to improved practices such as cost control through use of effective systems in the offices. In addition, there are cost saving information technology that creates other businesses of technology as a manual work (Wang & Middleton, 2003). Increased technological advancement in the health care field has also focused on value addition through change of response towards risk. Precisely, this involves the risk that results from the delays in the administration and omission of medication. Therefore, this leads to prevention of loss incurred due inadequate measures to reduce the risk subjected to patients.

References

American Nurses Association. (2001). Scope and Standards of Nursing Informatics Practice. Washington, DC: American Nurses Publishing

Goldstein, D., & Groen, P. (2007). Medical Informatics 20/20: Quality And Electronic Health Records Through Collaboration, Open Solutions, And Innovation. New York: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Print

Wang, S. J., & Middleton, B. (2003). A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Electronic Medical Records in Primary Care. American Journal of Medicine, April 1, 114: 397-403