ASQ Agile v Waterfall Essay Example for Free

ASQ Agile v Waterfall Essay Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Lisa Sieverts, PMP, PMI-ACP Phil Ailes, PMI-ACP Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Agenda †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ What is a Project Overview –†¯ Traditional Project Management –†¯ Agile Project Management The Differences –†¯ Product Life Cycle –†¯ The Teams –†¯ Requirements –†¯ WBS/Product Backlog –†¯ Schedule –†¯ Risk –†¯ Quality QA 2  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes 1 Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management What is a Project? †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Temporary †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Goal †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Constrained 3  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management What makes projects special? †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Projects are characterized by uncertainty 4  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes 2 Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Traditional Waterfall Projects †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Traditional Waterfall Projects –†¯ Dates from the end of WWII –†¯ Grew out of Defense industry –†¯ Based on Deming Cycle of Plan-Do-Check-Act –†¯ Emphasizes heavy up-front analysis –†¯ Lots of documentation –†¯ PMBOK versions 1-4  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Traditional Waterfall Project High Medium Requirements Low Optional High Design Medium Low Optional High Development Medium Low Optional High Testing Medium Low Optional High Deploy Medium Low Optional 6  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes 3 Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Waterfall Advantages 7  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Waterfall Advantages †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Established Processes- Project Management Body of Knowledge †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Management Controls †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ (Apparent) Predictability †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Great for low uncertainty/high dependency projects –†¯ Construction –†¯ Update of established product –†¯ Maintenance projects 8  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes 4 Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Waterfall Disadvantages 9  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Waterfall Disadvantages †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Sometimes is more about the Process than the Product †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Keeps the customer at bay – by the time they see the end results it may be too late †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Project teams often become rigid and resistant to change: â€Å"Those darn users keep changing their minds.† †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Long product development time 10  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes 5 Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Agile Project Management †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ The Agile Way –†¯ Experiments in the 1990s –†¯ Values self-organizing teams –†¯ No formal â€Å"project management† –†¯ Iterative approach –†¯ Flexible  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Manifesto †¢ The Agile Manifesto for Software Development –†¯ â€Å"We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value: †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Individuals and interactions over processes and tools †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Working software over comprehensive documentation †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Customer collaboration over contract negotiation †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Responding to change over following a plan –†¯ That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.† 12  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes 6 Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management The Agile Way Sprints – High Priority Features Integrate Test Sprints – Low Priority Features Integrate Test Integrate Test Design Test Test Develop Integrate Test Demo Feedback Develop Requirements Test Test Develop Sprints – Optional Priority Features Demo Feedback Requirements Design Test Design Test Demo Feedback Develop Requirements Test Demo Feedback Requirements Design Test Sprints – Medium Priority Features 13  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Agile Advantages 14  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes 7 Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Agile Advantages †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Shorter development cycles †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Customer participates, providing direct feedback †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Team-ownership – developers, testers, analysts and customers work together †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Process encourages and easily adapts to change †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Improved quality because testing is continuous 15  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Agile Disadvantages 16  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes 8 Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Agile Disadvantages †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Lack of established processes †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Management resistance to change †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Reduced (apparent) predictability †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Requires culture change †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ It’s new – there isn’t a lot to draw upon 17  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Project Life Cycle †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Traditional: waterfall –†¯Initiate –†¯Plan –†¯Define –†¯Design –†¯Build –†¯Test †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Agile Projects: iterative –†¯Envision –†¯Speculate –†¯Explore –†¯Adapt –†¯Close –†¯Repeat as necessary 18  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes 9 Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management The Team †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Waterfall –†¯Sponsor –†¯Product Manager –†¯Project Manager –†¯The Team – defined roles †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Agile –†¯Sponsor –†¯Product Owner –†¯Scrum Master –†¯The Team – variable roles 19  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management The Requirements †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Waterfall –†¯ Large Document –†¯ Formal, based on analysis –†¯ Performed by Business Analyst –†¯ Completed before any development begins †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Agile –†¯ Small Index Cards –†¯ User Stories, based on conversation –†¯ Performed by the Product Owner –†¯ Completed â€Å"just in time† 20  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes 10 Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management The Foundation Documents †¢ Waterfall –†¯ Work Breakdown Structure 100 % of Scope 21  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management The Foundation Documents †¢ Agile –†¯ The Product Backlog Roman Pichler, Agile Product Management 22  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes 11 Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management The Schedule †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Waterfall –†¯ Built before work begins –†¯ End date is often †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Agile –†¯ Rebuilt every sprint –†¯ End date evolves based on team velocity –†¯ Focused on nearterm accuracy –†¯ Emphasizes regular delivery of working features predetermined –†¯ Strives to predict the future –†¯ Emphasizes delivery of the entire product 23  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Risk †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Waterfall –†¯ Inherently high-risk based on long product cycles –†¯ Emphasizes the ability to predict the future –†¯ Risk Register †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Agile –†¯ Inherently low-risk based on customer feedback –†¯ Emphasizes adaptation to changing environment –†¯ Risk Register 24  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes 12 Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Quality †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Waterfall –†¯ Testing is at the end †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Agile –†¯ Testing begins before development of the project –†¯ Testers work separately from developers –†¯ User Acceptance occurs at the end of the project –†¯ Testers and developers work together simultaneously –†¯ User Acceptance occurs at end of every sprint 25  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management What’s Different? †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Waterfall –†¯ Plan all in advance –†¯ Work Breakdown Structure –†¯ Functional specs –†¯ Gantt chart –†¯ Status reports –†¯ Deliver at the end –†¯ Learn at the end –†¯ Follow the plan –†¯ Manage tasks †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Agile –†¯ Plan as you go –†¯ Product Backlog –†¯ User stories –†¯ Release plan –†¯ Story boards –†¯ Deliver as you go –†¯ Learn every sprint –†¯ Adapt everything –†¯ Team ownership 26  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes 13 Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Summary †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Both Waterfall and Agile have the same goals: –†¯ Delivering a well- tested product that satisfies the customer within an efficient time frame that doesn’t leave the team worn out 27  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Questions 28  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes 14 Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Thank You 29  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes Waterfall vs. Agile Project Management Contact Us †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Lisa Sieverts –†¯ Facilitated Change –†¯ www.lisasieverts.com –†¯ 603.762.0235 †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Phil Ailes –†¯ Ailes Consulting –†¯ www.ailes-consulting.com –†¯ 603.903.7051 30  ©Lisa Sieverts Phil Ailes 15

Impact of Alcohol Misuse on Parenting Capacity

Impact of Alcohol Misuse on Parenting Capacity Introduction: Alcohol and substance abuse has been found to adversely affect the ability of parents to attend to the emotional, developmental and physical necessities of children. Several governmental and health policies have provisions of services to support parents who engage in substance misuse or neglect children (NHS, 2005). Most research focus on the implications of mothers using drugs and the usual treatment method is counselling or residential programmes. Very few research studies have evaluated the impact of substance misuse on parenting capacity along with other disadvantageous conditions such as poverty and unemployment. For parental support services confidentiality is maintained about the parental condition although children often get to know of their parents’ misuse and may feel a sense of shame at their parents condition and at the same time have a fear of being separated from their parents (Barnard, 1999). A recent government framework document has defined parenting capacity as ‘the ability of parents or caregivers to ensure that the child’s developmental needs are being appropriately and adequately responded to, to be able to adapt to the child’s changing needs over time.’ The child’s needs include providing the basic physical needs as well as ‘ensuring the child’s emotional needs are met and giving the child a sense of being specially valued’. According to the Department of Health, ‘Securing the wellbeing of children by protecting them from all forms of harm and ensuring their developmental needs are responded to appropriately are primary aims of Government policy. Local authority social services departments working with other local authority departments and health authorities have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in their area who are in need and to promote the upbringing of such children, wherever po ssible by their families, through providing an appropriate range of services’(Department of Health, 2000). Promoting the child’s intellectual development is also an important aspect of parenting as the child can develop only through encouragement and stimulation and through demonstrating and modelling control of inappropriate emotions and showing acceptable social behaviour providing a stable family environment. Thus adequate parenting capacity involves attending to the emotional, intellectual and physical needs of a child and promoting a healthy and supportive family environment (Children Act, 1989) Substance misuse, as identified by governmental health department covers both drug and alcohol misuse which is considered to have an adverse impact on the health and behaviour of parents and also on the lives and emotions of the children (Sher 1991). Excessive alcohol consumption severely affects the behaviour of the person who engages in drinking although there are differences in social perception of drug and alcohol use. Drug abuse carries with it more social stigma than alcohol misuse and may be consequently concealed from the family. In this essay we would give a statistical report on the nature and extent of substance misuse especially in Scotland and provide Scottish executive guidelines for child care in cases of parental substance misuse. The impact of parental alcohol misuse has been discussed in detail along with protective measures and social care policies that can provide adequate care to the vulnerable children. The Problem of Alcohol Misuse Alcohol misuse however causes substantial deaths, injuries and health problems and rates of drinking are high in the UK, within Wales and Scotland as well (NHS, 2005). In 1996, an estimated 27% male and 14% females drank beyond limits. 6% of men and 2% of women drink at levels which are considered dangerous. The age at which young people begin drinking is also decreasing rapidly (Department of Health, 2000). Alcohol consumption is the major factor in causing injuries and has been associated with most accidents and drowning deaths. Alcohol also causes significant health problems associated with hypertension, haemorrhages, stroke, cardiovascular disease, liver cirrhosis, alcohol dependence as well as social and behavioural problems. Is has been reported that in Accidents and Emergency departments, 80% of people admitted have alcohol related problems (NHS, 2005). Educational messages, informational campaigns and personal behavioural-change interventions are important in raising awarenes s on the potential dangers of alcohol and the importance of maintaining safe limits in alcohol consumption. Minimal or brief interventions are given at a primary care level and trained nurses provide care and support which are sometimes quite effective in reducing drinking. Family social learning and family social processes are an important influence on adolescent alcohol misuse and more research may be necessary to understand the effectiveness of including family members in group alcohol prevention programmes and the role of parenting skills in prevention of alcohol misuse (Kroll, 2004). The workplace can be another influential factor in reducing or increasing alcohol consumption. Interventions for behavioural modification have to be related to workplace alcohol consumption policy. The UK home office suggests that Rights and responsibilities in relation to alcohol are important in a Government’s approach to alcohol. Although most people drink responsibly but there is general agreement that the scale of disorder fuelled by alcohol is also quite high. According to the Home Office, in 2002/03, 1.2million violent crimes were alcohol related and 44% of all violent crime was fuelled by alcohol. 35% of all attendances at hospital accident and emergency departments are related to alcohol as are 70% of those which occur between midnight and 5 am (Home Office report, 2005). One in five violent incidents due to over-consumption of alcohol takes place around pubs or clubs. All this involves a high cost with crime and disorder resulting in losses of up to  £7.3 billion in a year. According to the NHS – Alcohol Misuse, Chief Nursing Officer Bulletin, 2005. According to Scottish executive 2001, there may be certain differences between alcohol misuse, alcohol problems and alcoholism. The term ‘alcohol misuse’ might refer to a less serious or frequent problem than alcoholism as it may not refer to any addiction but on having alcohol for the sake of it. Alcohol misuse has been largely associated with over-consumption or binge drinking which may be different from habitual consumption. Social or medical services related to alcohol consumption are perceived as curative rather than preventative and people generally seek help after becoming dependent on alcohol and not prior to this. Alcohol problems are associated with daily life problems that begin to take over a person’s life and begin to affect personal behaviour. Alcohol dependency is sometimes seen as an alcohol problem although alcohol problem is more defined not by the amount of alcohol being consumed but by the impact it has on the lives of people around a person wh o engages in such habits. However alcohol physical and emotional dependency is related to alcoholism rather than alcohol misuse or alcohol problems and alcoholics are usually the ones who tend to hide their problems and their dependency which is usually marked by physical helplessness. Extreme misuse of alcohol is again seen as alcoholism although some service providers use the term ‘alcoholic’ with some discretion as some patients may be less comfortable with the term which may even be harmful and detrimental to treatment. Statistics on Alcohol Misuse – The following interesting statistics have been provided by Scottish Executive Publications on Alcohol Misuse: Source: Scottish Executive Publications – Statistics on Alcohol Misuse. Table 1 Casualties which involved motor vehicle drivers or riders with illegal alcohol levels by severity of accident, Scotland *above current drink-drive limit of 80mg alcohol per 100ml of blood [Road Accidents Scotland 2000 SE 2001] The severity of the problem of alcohol consumption could be seen from the report presented which indicates that alcohol related deaths, violence, mental illness, emergency admissions and road accidents have all gone up in the last few years with the UK alcohol consumption also showing a steep rise in the late 90s and early 2000. These problems are especially reflected in parental alcohol consumption cases which have severe adverse impacts on children. Promoting Child Welfare – The Perspective from Scottish Executive The Scottish Executive documents provide the following vision for the welfare of Scottish children: ‘A Scotland in which every child matters, where every child, regardless of his or her family background, has the best possible start in life’. Two important documents have been released for these purposes. ‘For Scotland’s Children’, which was published in 2001, gave advice on how better to integrate children’s services and the ‘Report of the Child Protection Audit and Review 2002’, aimed to improve services for children who experience abuse or neglect at home or elsewhere. The Child Protection Review (2002) states: â€Å"The problems of neglect and problem drug or alcohol use are often related, particularly where household finances are spent on drink or drugs, or the behaviour of the parents or their associates impact on the child’s welfare. Some problems are intergenerational, particularly neglect. We have concerns about the future well being of a large number of children who are now being born into drug misusing families, and ensuring their better protection must be a priority.† Child Protection Committees, Drug/Alcohol Action Teams, and agencies involved in preparing Children’s Service Plans should ensure that all agencies agree on how they will work together to protect children, support families and provide appropriate services (Daniel, 2004). Tackling all kinds of substance misuse is a high priority for the people of Scotland and the Scottish Executive and all methods need to be developed according to Scottish National strategies. One such strategy is Tackling Drugs in Scotland: Action in Partnership and the Plan for Action on Alcohol Problems. Scottish Executive Committee recognises that although not every family with substance misuse experience difficulties, parental substance misuse can have significant and damaging consequences for children at home. The Committee proposes that such children are entitled to help, support and protection even within their own families although sometimes help from agencies are necessary for their safety and security. Parents are also required to support their children and help children to overcome their problems by promoting children’s full potential. The national drugs strategy calls for agencies to assess the needs of children who are neglected by parents on drug misuse and help provide services to these children for their safety and welfare. The Scottish executive has provided guidance to all Drug Action Teams and Child Protection Committees and encouraged these organisations to have local policies on support to help children of drug misusing parents. Within the specified Alcohol Plan for action, children of problem drinkers are also identified as a group with specific needs. Drug and Alcohol Action Teams look at the needs of children whose parents misuse alcohol. The main tenets of the Scottish Executive are given as follows: 1. Children’s welfare is the most important consideration; 2. It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that children are protected from harm; 3. We should help children early and not wait for crises – or tragedies – to occur; and 4. We must work together, in planning and delivering services, in assessment and care planning with families, and in multi-disciplinary training. According to the Scottish executive, as there is currently, no national database of problem alcohol users in Scotland, data on alcohol use come from a number of sources: †¢ in 2000, 26% of all women and 44% of all men drank more than twice the daily benchmark on their heaviest drinking day †¢ the proportion of women aged 16-64 drinking more than the weekly recommended limits increased from 13% to 15% from 1995 to 1998 †¢ young people, aged 16-24, in Scotland are drinking more; average weekly consumption in young people aged 16-24 has risen from 1995-1998 for both sexes †¢ men living in the most deprived areas of Scotland are seven times more likely to die an alcohol-related death than those in the least deprived areas †¢ 72% of victims of violent crime reported that their assailant was under the influence of alcohol Recent estimates has also suggested that 40,000-60,000 children in Scotland are affected by their parents’ drug use and 80,000-100,000 are affected by parental alcohol misuse. The following examples give data from two urban areas – Glasgow and Dundee – I A local study of children’s cases, in which Glasgow City Council had sought Child Protection Orders between 1998 and 1999, found that of 111 Orders made on children in 62 families, 44 (40%) cited drug-related risk. 47 of the children were named on the local child protection register, 27 because of concerns about neglect and 16 for physical injury (Quinlan, 2000 cited in Scottish Executive 2002). Source: Scottish Executive II- In Dundee the proportion of children subject to child protection case conferences whose parents were recorded as having problems with alcohol and/or drug misuse, rose from 37% in 1998/1999 to 70% in 2000. Of the 30 children on the child protection register in October 2000, 53% had parents with problems associated with drug and/or alcohol misuse. Source: Scottish Executive The Impact of Parent’s Substance Misuse on Children According to Mountenay (1998) parental substance misuse is neither a necessary nor a sufficient cause of problems in children. However, alcohol and substance misuse greatly increases the risks of family problems and substance misuse in parents can become a focal issue of life and social behaviour of children at home. Mountenay (1998) has further claimed that long term drug or alcohol misuse in parents lead to deteriorating mental health and permanent mental problems for children. Alcohol dependence causes severe problems in households and the fact that drug use is illegal can cause similar problems among children who perceive the problems of their parents with considerable shame and disgust. The problem of children is however mainly ill-researched and less known and they are seen as hidden tragedies or unseen casualties (Wilson, 1982) Due to parental substance misuse, children may be at high risks of maltreatment, emotional and physical neglect, family conflict and inappropriate parental behaviour (Barlow, 1996). Children may be exposed to or get associated with drug or alcohol related crimes and as a consequence they are more likely to show behavioural problems and experience social stigma and isolation and may also themselves become substance mis-users as adults. Since parents on drugs and alcohol spend a lot of time on buying, assessing or obtaining these substances, their emotional or social relationships with their children are hampered as they do not have much time or availability for their children. This problem is especially acute in single parent household and in economically deprived areas, especially when there is no support from relatives or family members. Households in which drug or alcohol abuse is common is characterised by violence, criminal activity and poor or unstable environments. Drug or alcohol dependent parents ultimately make poor relationships and have strained and conflictual relationships with their children. Parents may fail to keep up or perform their parental duties and provide ineffective supervision, inconsistent care or overly punitive or strict discipline which may strain their relations with the children. There may be deficiencies in parenting skills of parents which may in turn have been imbibed from the parents of the drug users who served as poor role models. Barlow (1996) claimed that children of drug using parents may in the long term show serve social and motional difficulties, and may show strong reactions against change, isolation, with difficulty in learning, problems with social humour and estrangement and isolation from family and peers. However the impact of parental alcohol or drug misuse varies according to the age of children and according to which developmental stage they are in. The impact also depends on abilities of children. Children with physical or learning disabilities or with some health problems may be more vulnerable to emotional difficulties due to their parents’ conditions and parents involved in substance misuse may have difficulties in understanding these especially sensitive children or meeting their needs. Thus assessment of care quality and parental support should always consider each child individually. Infants in their pre-school years and babies in general are particularly vulnerable to effects of physical and emotional injury and neglect and this can have damaging effects on their long term development and social adjustment. Neglect can happen when the parent in care is in an alcoholic or drugged condition and unaware of the child’s needs or reactions. Parental commitment to care for children is severely affected when in drugged or alcoholic condition and can lead to inappropriate responses to the questions or concerns of the child. The parents in drugged or alcoholic state may be unhappy, tensed or irritated and can even injure or harm the child under the influence of such conditions (Forrester, 2000). Poor and inconsistent parenting damages the attachment process and unpredictable parental behaviour hinders the child’s cognitive and emotional development. Substance misuse is usually an expensive vice and there may be financial demands on the parents which mean mon ey would be wasted and not used appropriately to improve a child’s material environment. Physical or emotional rejection in such household can prevent children from developing a positive sense of self esteem or even a sense of identity and children may have their physical needs neglected and tend to remain unwashed, uncared and unfed (Sher, 1991). Children may be beaten up and be subjected to direct physical violence and by witnessing direct domestic abuse, they may themselves learn inappropriate behaviour which may take the form of post traumatic stress disorder in which they display emotional symptoms if parental behaviour becomes unpredictable and frightening. Older or primary school children are at increased risks of injury and they may show symptoms of fear of hostility with parents and also anxiety. The gender of the children play an important role and girls may show different reactions to such parental behaviour than boys. Although boys tend to show behavioural problems like aggressiveness, girls can be equally affected. At this stage, poor parental supervision and parental neglect or disinterest can lead to failure in academic attainment and children’s attendance to school can become irregular or erratic. Separation from parents can also cause distress and disrupt social behaviour and academic achievement (Kroll, 2004). Parental behaviour can lead to feelings of embarrassment and shame in these individuals and may be responsible for making children socially isolated for fear of humiliation by friends. Children can also start taking responsibilities for themselves and their younger siblings and may become too independent trying to move away from home and family life. Children and adolescent with drug or alcohol problems at home may not attend school and become delinquent. They may become isolated with no friends, may reject family altogether and experience significant disruption in their education (McKeganey et al, 2002). Without parental support children at adolescence and puberty may have to face increased problems although they may become increasingly beyond parental control. Sexual aggression, bullying tendencies and emotional disturbances may accompany concerns of shame and embarrassment in children to compensate physical neglect by parents. Children with parental substance misuse might develop an early problem of drug and alcohol abuse themselves. Chandy et al (1993) discuss that children of alcoholics constitute an at-risk population and their study attempted to understand the impact of parental alcohol misuse on school performance of children. They used a sample of 838 teenagers from alcohol misusing parents and found that these teenagers performed significantly poorer in all the six measurements of school performance. The study identified that the teenagers who did perform well in school said that their parents have high expectations of them and these teenagers rated themselves highly in terms of health and also claimed to be religious and thus religiousness and parental expectations could be considered as protective factors as identified in this study. In another study by CoSandra et al. (2000) the effects of parental alcohol use on African American and White adults were studied. The study results indic

The Biology of the Venom of Hapalochlaena Maculosa :: Poisonous Australia Wildlife Essays

The Biology of the Venom of Hapalochlaena maculosa Hapalochlaena maculosa, commonly known as the blue-ringed octopus, is a golf ball-sized cephalopod inhabiting the waters around Tasmania and southeastern Australia with a highly potent neurotoxin that it uses as a predatory and defensive mechanism. H. maculosa does not actually synthesize its venom, but rather, the neurotoxin (known as maculotoxin) is produced by a bacterial symbiont of the octopus that lives in its salivary glands. While not overly aggressive, H. maculosa has been known to bite humans when they disturb the usually reclusive octopus. Tetrodotoxin (TTX), the principle component of maculotoxin, inhibits the nervous system by binding to sodium channels on nerve cells to prevent the flow of sodium and release of neurotransmitters. Recent findings have shown that there are sodium channel variants that are either immune or resistant to tetrodotoxin. In most humans, however, victims of the blue-ringed octopus’s neurotoxin will enter into increasingly dangerous s tages of paralysis, which will often end in death of the victim without medical assistance. Sustained medical care for the duration of the toxin’s effects will improve the likelihood of a victim’s survival, but mortality rates are still staggeringly high despite current medical efforts and attempts to find an antidote. Introduction Australia is home to many of the most venomous animals in the world. Many people know that the bites from many of Australia’s snakes and spiders or the stings from its jellyfish and scorpions can be lethal, and oftentimes images of a person writhing in agony as a toxin courses through his or her body come to mind. However, one of Australia’s deadliest creatures has a toxin that works in a very different way. The venom of Hapalochlaena maculosa, or the blue-ringed octopus, causes relatively little pain, but its effects are much more terrifying for the victim. This venom, known as maculotoxin, is an unusual venom both in how it has come to be the weapon of the blue-ringed octopus and in how it works. Physical Biology H. maculosa is a member of Class Cephalopoda and Family Octopodidae. The octopus is made up of a main body, or head, in which there is a well-developed brain, a mouth region that houses the beak, and a pair of eyes. Surrounding the mouth are eight or ten tentacles which are lined with suckers. Within the mantle cavity are the visceral organs, including the venom apparatus (Halstead et al.

Fall of Usher :: essays research papers

"The Fall of the House of Usher" Summary The narrator approaches the House of Usher on a "dull, dark, and soundless day." This house--the estate of his boyhood friend, Roderick Usher--is very gloomy and mysterious. The narrator writes that the house seems to have collected an evil and diseased atmosphere from the decaying trees and murky ponds around it. He notes, however, that although the house itself is decaying in pieces (for example, individual stones are disintegrating), the structure itself is fairly solid. There is only a small break in the front of the building from the roof to the ground. The narrator reveals that he is to stay in this house because his friend, Roderick, sent him a letter earnestly requesting his company. Roderick told the narrator in this letter that he was feeling bodily and emotionally ill, so the narrator rushed to his house. The narrator also mentions that the Usher family, while an ancient clan, never flourished. Only one member of the Usher family survived from generation to gener ation, so they were all in a direct line of descent without any siblings. The inside of the house is just as spooky as the outside. The narrator makes his way through the long passages and to the room where Roderick is waiting. The narrator notes that his friend is paler and less energetic than he once was. Roderick tells the narrator that he suffers from nerves and fear. His senses are heightened. The narrator also notes that Roderick seems afraid of his own house. Further, Roderick's sister, Madeline Usher has taken ill with a mysterious illness that the doctors cannot even identify. The narrator proceeds to spend several days trying to cheer Roderick. He listens to Roderick play the guitar (and makes up words for his songs), he reads to Roderick, he sits with him for hours. Still, he cannot lift his sadness. Soon Roderick posits his theory that the house is unhealthy, just as the narrator had supposed at the beginning of the story. Soon, Madeline dies, and Roderick decides to bury her temporarily in the tombs below the house. He wants to do this because he is afraid that the doctors might dig up her body for scientific examination (since her disease was so strange to them). The narrator helps Roderick put the body in the tomb. He notes that she has rosy cheeks, as some do after death.

Hamlet and His Home Essay examples -- William Shakespeare Hamlet Essay

Hamlet and His Home Hamlet begins at the open mouth of the Void. Barnardo and Francisco call out to each other and into darkness; they stand atop a guard platform that is naked to the open air and to the night. Every character's entrance is marked by a series of interrogatives, as characters already on stage try to ascertain the identity of those who are newly arrived and yet unseen. Darkness isolates these men from each other as they stand on the edge of civilization, the place where the solid stones of Elsinore castle open up into the world of night and the supernatural. The nature of the ghost remains debatable: Horatio has initially insisted that the guards' delusions have conjured the phantom (1.1.21), and, even accepting the reality of the apparition, Catholic teaching (ghosts are spirits of the dead coming up from purgatory) and Protestant doctrine (all ghostly apparitions are demons in disguise) hold divergent opinions on the nature and source of phantoms (Garber 12/15). The men have gather ed together on the guard platform, which has become a kind of stage within a stage. They have come to see a visitor who is a creature of hallucination, purgatory, or hell. This ghost is coming out of the open maw of night above and around the platform; what is known clings to the battlements, and all else in existence hails from the empty, the unknown, the imagined, the demonic. When Barnardo reports to Marcellus, "I have seen nothing" (1.1.20), the word "nothing" takes on a number of meanings. He has not seen the apparition; gazing out into the dark, he has barely seen anything at all. But "seeing" is still phrased in the positive, and so "nothing" becomes something to see. It is more than absence: emptiness itself exists as an ... ...st famous moments deal with a nothing that is the absence of what is known: as Hamlet asks what it would be not to be, the ultimate opaqueness of death is fearsome enough to make him go on living. It is too much for the prince to stare Nothing in the face. Later, in the play's most famous tableau, Hamlet literally stares at an embodiment of Nothing as he holds Yorick's skull. The skull's eye sockets are without subjectivity, empty of their tenant organs and the mind that saw through them; they contain, in a word, "nothing." But from their hollows something maddeningly elusive stares back: simultaneously a presence and an absence, as haunting as Hamlet's own dead father, and opaque as the darkness that envelopes Elsinore. Part of the play's power is in this substantive "nothing," a portal of slippage that relentlessly destabilizes what is known and what is knowable.

The Main Theme of “On Liberty”

The main theme of on liberty was the individual. Everything else, society, education,government and so forth had their basis in the individuals rights to his own liberty. Noone, no member of society, government, even God, if he appeared before an individual, could inforce his will upon him. That is not to say that you couldnt change someones mind through discussions, but instead, that noone had a right to force his views upon another. Your happiness is yours(individual) to enjoy without any infringements. Conversations between individuals or groups of individuals is essential in eveloping the notion of liberty. Mill claims that you should feel free to convey your views openly without forcing them onto others. After all, a man who learns from noone but himself has a fool for a teacher. There is however an exception to this rule. That is, if an individual in any way harms or comes onto anothers rights to liberty, or causes a social threat, hence he or she is subjected to forced inclinations by other members of society. For example, walking around nude on the streets of Cairo might be youre cup of tea, alas, in Cairo they prefer coffee. In other words, if ou offend other individuals, you are in fact infringing on their rights as free citizens who poses a sovereign mind. However if you choose to remain nude while in the comfort of your hotel room in Cairo, then there is no reason why you According to Mill, education is a fundamental requirement for being an individual as well. But once again, there should be no forceful applications towards what is being taught. Man is after all, a rational being and has the capabilities to reason things through. Education serves more as a guide then as a factual basis for each individual. No wo individuals can have the exact same experiences in life. Therefore, it is up to the individuals themselves to conclude what they perceive to be their own ideas of happiness. An individual who follows traditions and customs soleley because they are inherrent in society, is nothing more than an animal. The very fact that you can reason said mill, means that you have the option of disregarding all customs and traditions if you feel they are not beneficial towards your happiness. That is not to say that you shouldnt follow customs and traditions, merely that you ought not to, for the sake of eing just another brick in the wall. The progressive nature of humans leads to the ultimate conclusion that there is no need for a governing force outside society consisting of individuals that have their own interests at heart. There should not be a government, a monarch, a ruler that is outside society. Instead, it should be attached to the people, having their best interests at heart. Rulers are not needed to protect the people from themselves. In fact, they should be in all regards, responsible to the people and subjected to being removed by he people, beacause it is the people who ultimately have the power. This is a true democratic state, with individuals as the microscopic entities that make it up. Members of this society must not allow themselves to be surpressed by any group who claim to be their legitimate representative of the state. This will subdue individual growth and sovereignity, creating a state with tyranny at its heart. TO avoid this, individuals should freely express themselves, their beliefs, ideas and so forth. No government has the authority to silence individuals who convey their eliefs as the truth. Even if there are a thousand people with a thousand different views, it is for the benefit of society as a whole to hear them out, for there is a chance that among the various beliefs, one of them may contain the essence of truth. Noone has the right to silence another merely because they express conflicting views. Members of society must be able to keep an open mind towards other individuals â€Å"truths†. Reason and logic will see to it that they are capable of readjusting and reconstructing themselves if they find that there is truth in what another individual ays. This is exactly why individuals and society are The only way a state can progress is by allowing its members to progress. Supression of individual rights and happiness will lead to nothing more than stagnation. Governments are the watchdogs of the people, granting them liberty to expand without inteferences. Mill undoubtedly believed in laissez-fairre for the very reason that it promoted individuality with minimum government intervention. All said, Mills on liberty held the individual as the nucleus of society, with everything else revolving.

A Composition of My Mother Essay

I am a country girl, and my mother is a country woman. She and my father are both junior-middle school graduates. Partly because of this, I, as their only daughter, bear their high expectations of me becoming a university graduate. Besides, I think their big hopes on me also come from some historical reasons our neighbor, my grandpa’s younger brother’s family, have been mean to us. The second family in our neighborhood to build a two-story brick house, they are far better off than us, and most importantly, they have a university-graduated son so, that’s why I must try to bring credit for my family and make them regret having despised us. Where there is high expectation, there is strictness. I have been obedient since in elementary school. At home, I was obedient to my parents and at school to my teacher. At first, I did well in both Chinese and math, among which my Chinese was better, and this was where the tragedy lay. Besides the homework given by my teachers, there was a great amount of math exercise having asterisk, namely difficult and not required, given by my mother, which she picked from my coach book. Apart from this, I had to practice handwriting for 2 pages on schooldays and 5 on holidays under my mother’s supervision. All those composed my miserable childhood no playing, no joy, only homework, homework and homework. However, my mother’s efforts didn’t work on me, on the contrary, my math was getting worse and my handwriting was neither neat nor beautiful, because every time I just try hard to finish all the endless homework as quickly as I could, pursuing speed but not quality, so that I could have some poor little time to watch cartoons. At that time, I had a strong adoration for music, especially for singing. Both my music teacher and my head teacher in elementary school thought that I had gift in singing, and whenever there were occasions needing performance like Children’s Day, National Day etc. and singing contexts at school or in the community, they offered me the chance to show my talent. And I often lived up to their expectations, winning many prizes in singing. That has been a most glorious period in my school life. Whereas, good times don’t last long. My mother considered my singing a waste of my precious learning time, so she ordered me not to take part in those meaningless things and concentrate on my study. I obeyed and quitted. Now, I am scared of gong KTV and being asked to sing, because after so many years, my talent has abandoned me. For those aforementioned aspects, I hated my mother, because she stripped me of my childhood joy and my singing talent. Although I hated her for those things, I know she loves me and I also love her. The economic condition of my family is bad, as both my parents are peasants and my grandparents were in bad health condition. Diligent and thrifty, my mother is the one in my family to make budget. Even though we lead a hard life, as for expenses on my schooling, such as buying learning materials, coach books, my mother never hesitates for a second to give me the money. Besides, as long as I am studying, even if reading a novel, in no case would my mother ever ask me to do any housework or work in the fields. I know, though she never said, that’s because she, believing deeply that knowledge can change one’s destiny, wanted me to acquire as much as knowledge so as to live a happy and easy life in future, rather than repeat her life, all year round working hard in the field while getting little in return. Though she resorted to some inappropriate ways in educating me, it was out of good intention and out of love. In a word, mother’s love is like the sun’s warmth, while daughter is just like grass, such unselfish and devoted kindness, how can grass repay?