Robots in Ophthalmology Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Robots in Ophthalmology - Article Example Sociologist Alvin Toffler may have travelled through time and witness the future when he said, "Technology makes more technology possible". He is right, as after thirty-seven years of rapid technological advancement here were are facing a what he called "abrupt collision with the future" (Toffler 1970), and practically living with these amazing technologies created to make life easier in our homes, built to run our industries, and designed to perform medical care to save lives. Technology in the medical field has come along way; molecular and biometrics, wave technology, nanotechnology, and robot aided surgery is now possible (Combs 2005). As nanotechnology makes it possible to build up materials and systems to produce new physical, chemical and biological properties out of existing common materials, robotics are all about computer controlled mechanical devices built to mimic human movements and intelligence (Woods 2007).Advanced robotic products such as surgical robots are now commo n in operating rooms of large medical centres, and it is recognized as a dynamic surgical tool for enhancing human surgeon's dexterity in less invasive surgical procedures Although their high cost prohibits general use, initial applications of these robots considerably prove their clinical benefits and surgical potential. In general, intelligent surgical robots main advantages are its ability to register medical images accurately, to move consistently without exhaustion and tremor, work in a hazardous environments unsuitable to human surgeons, and their ability to reposition instruments swiftly and precisely through complicated trajectories or on top of numerous targets. The precision and steadiness of these robots is what makes them ideal for surgical procedures particularly in delicate eye surgery (Webster and Li 2003). Although robots are precise and steady, there is no evidence that they can perform cataract removal surgery alone or perform any surgery independently. They merely serve as robotic mechanical arms for ophthalmologist performing remote surgery through a three dimensional virtual-reality console. With hands and head partly inserted inside the console, the surgeon moves his hands as if he is directly performing the surgery while the robot is simultaneously imitating the movement of the surgeons arm and physically performing the operation. Surgical robot now is more like an interventional piece of technology than a self-sufficient intelligent machine. For instance, the popular surgical robot, the da Vinci Surgical System (see Fig. 1), priced at more than one million dollar, is just a three arm (with 4th optional arm) mechanical machine equipped with a variety of electronic hardware who perform surgery by following instantaneous instructions from a surgeon while imitating his hands and ar ms movements. There is no known technology yet that is capable of virtually emulating a human surgeon's competence and senses particularly in the field of ophthalmology. Although ophthalmic surgery with a robot can increase precision, speed, and eliminate tremor, they do not have substantial or convincing advantage similar to robots in other surgical fields (Roach 2007). For instance, using the same da Vinci Surgical robot in heart surgery provides a better alternative to customary chest cracking technique, lengthy incision, bone cutting, and ripping of the ribs. Since "cutting people open is no longer the focus of modern surgery" ( Darzi 2007).The success rate of robot assisted closed chest surgery approach and less invasive surgeries shows significant positive results particularly in patient's health and quick recovery; since they do not have to endure the excruciating traditional surgery procedures with large incisions involved (Goldschmidt 2007). However, surgical robot in general is still in a transition stage and used primarily as a tool. They still do not have the capability and intelligence of a real surgeon who can perform surgery independe

Economic & Monetary Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economic & Monetary Policy - Essay Example Steel prices have been found to have fallen of a cliff, an indication of weakening demand generally. China’s response had been to try and prop up the economy by a host of measures, including reducing reserve requirements for banks and cutting interest rates in 2014, all moves that no doubt are meant to encourage lending and to spur growth by providing liquidity to the market (Wildau, 2015; Roach, 2014). At the same time, the government has moved to tweak the asset holdings levels of banks in order to allow for banks to shore up its own lending portfolio and allow property developers, ordinary consumers, and a host of government corporations to avail of liquidity to finance purchases and investments, as well as loan repayments. The problem being foreseen is that as the liquidity levels grow, so do pressures on the interest rates downward, and so do the pressures on the currency to devalue, as more liquidity translates to a cheaper currency due to its greater availability. There re concerns that such moves may not work s China intended, because from experience past moves to inject liquidity resulted in the use of such new money to finance activities related to speculating on property and taking bets on the stock market, rather than for the purposes of expanding production and investing in real capital expenditure projects that drive growth in the long term (Deng et al., 2014; The Economist Newspaper Limited, 2014). The opinion from the market is that China should do more to shore up the economy by ensuring a fundamental shift away from a reliance on loans to finance growth, and a reliance on exports, towards making domestic consumption a bigger driver of growth (Reuters, 2015; Bradsher, 2015; Fernald et al., 2014). In Japan the conditions are different from China’s in terms of the problems of the economy and the monetary policies that have been instituted

How Changes Of Family Structure Affect Society

How Changes Of Family Structure Affect Society Many countries have experienced very significant changes in patterns of family formation and family structure. Great Britain is one of the countries where these changes have been particularly marked with the result that British families have become less stable . The roles of women and men with the parents or within the family have also changed. The last 100 years have seen changes in attitudes and expectations. Bruner, J. (1985) Vygotsk, the last 100 years have been seen in the structure of technology, attitudes and expectations. Families are mix of cohabiting parents, stepfamilies, single parent families, those living apart together and civil partnerships, as well as the traditional family. it was necessary to prove that in one of five ways such as unreasonable behaviour, desertion, adultery, two years separation with consent, five years separation without consent. The changes in marriage, divorce and cohabitation have contributed to the growing number of new types of family. Two in five of all marriages are now remarriages, which makes stepfamilies one of the fastest growing family forms in Britain. In the decade to 2006, the number of single parent families also increased to 2.3 million, making up 14% of all families. Consequently more and more children are now growing up in single parent families, and in stepfamilies. A growing number of couples are also now living apart together, often following failed marriages or cohabitations. Initial estimates suggest that around two million people have regular partners in other households excluding full-time students and people who live with their parents. In most cases this is due to working in a different location to the family home or because the relationship is still in the early stages . However, womens focus on their career may also be a factor. As women choose to focus on their career before set tling into a committed relationship, they are getting married and having children later in life. Finally civil partnerships between same sex couples have created a new type of family. By the end of 2007 there had been 26,787 civil partnerships since the law was introduced in December 2005. Teenage motherhood is one of the most distinctive features of British Demography. Without teenage pregnancies, Britains rate would fall from 1.8 to 1.68 (Coleman and Chandola, Chapter 2; also Coleman 1997). Teenagers throughout Europe both East and West now engage in sexual intercourse at earlier ages than their parents or grand-parents. In disapproval pre-marital sex . Marriage was broken, little remained to prevent young people who are physically ready to have sex from doing so. The analysis of European social attitudes data (Chapter 3; also Scott, Alwin, and Braun 1996) provides information about attitudes to pre-marital sex in various countries in 1994. In these information ,52 per cent were opposed to men, and 63 per cent opposed to women, having any pre-marital sex. Only a small number believed that pre-marital sex was natural (McKibbin 1998: 296) For teenage men and women in Britain today, the average age at à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ rst intercourse is 17. But whereas in most of Western Europe, rates of teenage motherhood have fallen as teenage sexual activity has risen. Demographically, Britain more closely resembles to Eastern Europe, where a tradition of marriage has long meant high teenage fertility rates (Coleman and Chandola, Chapter 2; also Coleman 1996b: 23).Almost all of the East European births are inside marriage while all of the Western are outside marriage with a large number being outside partnership as well. In Britain, teenage births account for just over one-à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ fth of all non-marital births 21 per cent while 80-90 per cent of teenage births are outside legal marriage. In 1996, there were 44,700 babies born to women aged 15-19. Although this represents a rise over the previous year. However, it is also the case that the number of teenage girls in the population was falling from the early 1980s onwards and that the rate at which 15-19 year olds become pregnant and remain pregnant .The conception rate and the abortion rate was stable or rising throughout the period and into the late 1990s (ONS 1997d: 62). Figure shows changes in the abortion rates for selected years since 1974.There was a large drop from 1974-84 when teenage births fell steadily. From 1984 onwards, however, conceptions have à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uctuated around 60 and abortions around 35, per 1000 women aged 15-19. The stability of both the conception and abortion rates gives few grounds for thinking that in the short term at least . British teenagers will behave different than they have in the past. And as their numbers in the population are set to rise over the next decade and number of b abies born to teenagers (Craig 1997). Britain is also distinctive for its high divorce rate. Thirty years ago, there were two divorces for every 1,000 marriages. Liberalization of the divorce laws in the 1970s was sharp rise in divorce and by the mid-1980s about 1,000 marriages ended in divorce a rate (Pullinger 1998). The rate of increase is slower now than in the 1970s and early 1980s largely because the married population contains fewer of those at high risk (Murphy and Wang, Chapter 4). Nonetheless, 40 per cent of marriages will end in divorce measures of divorce per 1,000 marriages or per 1,000 population. Moreover, people are divorcing after shorter periods of marriage. One in ten marriages which took place in 1981 ended in divorce within 4.5 years, compared with one in ten divorcing within 6 years in 1971 and after 25 years in 1951 (Roberts 1996: 2). Early marriage have long been understood to be strongly associated with marital breakdown. The younger the age at marriage, the greater the likelihood of the marriage ending (Kiernan and Mueller, Chapter 16). Between 1971 and 1996, people under age 25 experienced the greatest growth in divorce rates with rates increasing for men and women (Pullinger 1998). The problem of lone motherhood is poverty. Research suggests that, as a group, lone mothers have few chances of obtaining other than low-paid work, often because they enter the labour market disadvantaged by their low level of qualià ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ cations (Bryson, Ford, and White 1998). The majority, however, have young children to care for and thus need jobs which provide enough income to meet the costs of child care. Consequently, lone mothers in Britain are less likely to be employed than in most other case countries and in the 1970s and their employment rate has declined. The difference in economic activity between married and lone mothers is particularly sharp between women with children under age 5. In the 1970s, lone mothers with preschool children were more likely to be in work than married mothers This changed during the1980s, and during the 1990s married mothers with young children have been twice as likely as lone mothers to be economically active. During the1990s one in two m arried mothers with pre-school children have been in employment compared with fewer than one in four comparable lone mothers (Kiernan, Land, and Lewis1998: 128). Most of the fall in employment among lone mothers has come in full-time work while the full-time employment of married women has risen with part-time work remaining stable. People live alone for a variety of reasons. For example, living alone may be a permanent choice and for others , it may be a temporary. While there are more people living alone at all ages and the largest increases since 1971 have come among men and women under retirement age, particularly those aged under 40 (Hall and Ogden 1997). The increase in solo living among people under pension age rejects the way in which household change is some-times linked to economic change. Since 1970s ,the number of lone-parent families has been increased in Britain and also the proportion of children raised in such families (Coleman and Chandola, Chapter 2). In the late 1990s, 1.6million families in Britain with dependent children. During the 1960s, divorce overtook death as the primary source of lone-parent families while in the 1970s and 1980s, sharply rising divorce rates and falling remarriage rates furthered their growth (Kiernan, Land, and Lewis 1998; Murphy and Wang,Chapter4). From the mid-1980s, however, most of the growth in lone-parent families has come from never-married mothers as changing attitudes towards pre-marital sex. Nonetheless, there has been a substantial increase in the number of single women who become mothers while not living with a partner (Berthoud, McKay, and Rowlingson, Chapter 15). Since in 1990s, women who had never married before becoming mothers (Pullinger 1998). The parents who were working and busy of whole day to day responsibilities, grandparents could spend more time with their grandchildren and develop a special bond (Weissvourd, 1998). Children and their grandparents each were close to each other and were able to offer mutual support for each other. There were lot of facilities on the parents to teach their children even that grand parents played important role in this situation. This gave scope for reciprocal social relationships and joint interaction in learning and contrasts with the role of the parents as well as grand parents in learning (Bruner, 1985). In the context of the family, mutual trust and respect for each members perspective (Rommetveit, 1974, 1979) was a important to this process. Government has moved away from financial support for marriage towards families. Legislative changes have given families more flexibility to maintain their home and work lives and have a degree of choice in their options. The public would like to see support made available to families and delivered to the service provider and providing additional cash. In recent years the amount of money spent by government to support families has increased significantly but it has also been dramatically re-targeted which has the effect of shifting support from one type of family form to others. Up until 1999 the three key family benefits were Child Benefit (which began in 1975), Family Credit for low-income working families, Married Mans Allowance (it became the Married Couples Allowance in 1990). Family benefit as it is available to all those in employment with a low income including single people with no dependants. However, couples and single parents do get additional credit and there is a childca re element for those that have children.

Religion, Slavery, and Democracy in Huckleberry Finn :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

Religion, Slavery, and Democracy in Huckleberry Finn This essay will analyze the themes of religion, slavery, and democracy in the book Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. By exploring these themes that lie behind the book’s veneer, we can understand Twain’s objective for writing this book. Religion is sarcastically reflected in Huckleberry Finn by Twain’s sense of storyline and the way his characters talk. A predominant theme, and probably one of Twain's favorites, is the mockery of religion. Twain tended to attack organized religion at every opportunity and the sarcastic character of Huck Finn is perfectly situated to allow him to do so. The attack on religion can already be seen in the first chapter, when Huck indicates that hell sounds like a lot more fun than heaven. This will continue throughout the novel, with one prominent scene occurring when the "King" convinces a religious community to give him money so he can "convert" his pirate friends. Twain’s skeptical take on religion can be elicited because superstition is a theme that both Huck and Jim bring up several times. Although both of these characters tend to be quite rational, they quickly become irrational when anything remotely superstitious happens to them. The role of superstition in this book is two-fold: First, it shows that Huck and Jim are child-like in spite of their otherwise extremely mature characters. Second, it serves to foreshadow the plot at several key junctions. For example, spilling salt leads to Pa returning for Huck, and later Jim gets bitten by a rattlesnake after Huck touches a snakeskin with his hands. Another theme that is dealt with in this book is slavery. In fact, slavery is one of the main topics that has been frequently debated in regards to Huckleberry Finn since it was first published. Twain himself was vehemently anti-slavery and Huckleberry Finn can in many ways be seen as an allegory for why slavery is wrong. Twain uses Jim, a slave who is one of the main characters, as a way of showing the human side of a slave. Everything about Jim is presented through emotions: Jim runs away because Miss Watson was going to sell him South and separate him from his family; Jim is trying to become free so he can buy his family's freedom; and Jim takes care of Huck and protects him on their journey downriver in a very materialistic manner.

MBA in Project Management Essay

Quality is having different meanings for different people. In spite of this any organization aiming for sustainable competitive advantage needs to assess customer’s needs to fix a quality objective. Immaculate planning is required to attain the pre decided quality goals. Proper monitoring and people’s involvement can ultimately enable an organization to achieve the desired results. In the long run the good quality always wins the customer’s heart. I have to agree with Ian on this one. Quality management is an odd field in that almost every type of industry has some form of quality management or continuous improvment component to it. However, the good news is that nearly all of the skills associated with quality managment are easily transfered to almost any industry. Theory of constraints is the same in automotive manufacturing as it is in retail sales or financial management. check out your favorite job board and type in continuous improvment and you can see the options available. MBA in Project Management What Are the Job Duties of a Project Management Consultant? In general, project managers assist companies in making sound business decisions. These people also oversee and manage business projects from inception to completion. In order to achieve financial goals and objectives, project managers plan, develop, and execute schedules in order to ensure timely completion of projects within an organization. Additional duties include hands-on involvement throughout the life cycle of a project, as well as communication with staff to make sure everyone is on track for completion. In a software environment, a project manager works closely with software developers to ensure that software coding and programming are completed on time. After that, project managers work with quality assurance personnel to make sure the code is bug-free and software tests are completed and documented on schedule. Finally, the project manager works with technical writers to ensure that the software documentation is completed on time as well. Overall, project managers coordinate all team activities. Project manages analyze data and identify trends and deficiencies in order to prevent any problems down the road. Project managers also develop and implement contingency plans during the course of a project. Although some project managers telecommute, most of them work in offices. Occasional travel to satellite offices and other facilities and other locations may also be required. What Types of Skills Do You Need for Project Management? Top employers are looking for project managers who are sharp, creative, and motivated. Since many of them are looking for specialized knowledge in areas of management, a degree from one of many fully accredited MBA Colleges is definitely in your favor. Career Opportunities in Project Management Graduates with an MBA in project management have no problem at all finding a job in their field. These people are able to find work in a variety of large companies—from construction to oil and gas and mining. Many experienced project managers find jobs overseas, where they work as independent contractors. Average wages for entry-level managers start at $107,000, and more experienced professionals earn over 186,000 per year. If you have the skill and the drive to become a project manager, don’t hesitate to get started on your new career. With so many colleges and universities offering MBA courses in project management, you should be able to find one that suits your needs.

Future of the New York Times

The Future of the New York Times In my opinion there should not be a â€Å"trade-off between the company philosophy and the core goals of sustainability, profitability, and growth†. The goal of any company and organization is to survive. Companies and organizations create mission statements and set forth goals. Pearce and Robinson (2013) states â€Å"the unique purpose that sets a company apart from others of its type and identifies the scope of its operations in product, market, and technology terms† (pg. 3). The mission statement or philosophy that is a distinguishing factor of differences between companies, helping to set for the company’s operations and ethics for their products, as well as for their place in the market, as well as in the community. With the New York Times, the message given (mission) is to deliver responsive and accurate â€Å"journalism† to their customers, as well as to areas outside of New York.The New York Times has lived up to it s mission, by adhering to its ideals; the New York Times has foregone being profitable, as well as sacrificing growth. In the article we read,† The constancy of their commitment to high-cost journalism has put the Sulzberger family in an increasingly contrarian position†¦the Sulzberger’s have subsidized the Times in valuing good journalism and the prestige it confers over profits and the wealth it creates†¦for much of its history, the Times barely broke even† (Bianco, 2005, p. 65).How a company image is portrayed to the world is a crucial factor and element of their values, ethical standards, mission and goals. The New York Times, without the Sulzberger’s wealth, would have failed years ago with its current stated mission and goals. The New York Times needs to take a step back and examine where they started, where they have been, where they are now and where they want to go, as well at taking a good look at today’s world and begin to benchm ark their competitors and creating a new vision for the New York Times.The Sulzberger’s and Bill Keller are giving the impression that they are endeavoring to changes in order and moving away from their belief â€Å"that quality journalism pays in the long run† (Bianco, 2005), it’s hard to change 100 plus years of business strategy. In all companies, not just the New York Times, the image portrayed is important and may also determine a company’s credibility, as well as its future. The value system, including its mission and goals will set the direction of the company.The ethic’s which are portrayed daily need to be consistent with the direction that the company has set from the top (President & CEO and Board of Directors) on down to each and every employee. Years of hard work in preserving a company’s image and place in the community can be lost in a single failure or lack of foresight. References Bianco, A. , Rossant, J. , & Gard, L. (2005) . The future of the new york times. Businessweek, 3916, 64-72. Pearce, J. A. , & Robinson, R. B. (2013). Strategic