CAMBRIDGE AICE AS LEVEL Analysis Writing

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The Ethical Right to Healthcare in the Affordable Care Act

Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, It has been questioned whether the right to healthcare in it can be ethically justified. The objection to a right to healthcare in general has been prominent over many decades in the U.S. The concern over higher personal taxes, quality care, and national debt steered the opposition. Responding to these concerns has a direct effect on each individual in society. In particular, the lack of healthcare is very significant. The idea of a comprehensive national healthcare in the United States caught the attention of the public in the 1970s. It was inspired by the positive results of the Medicare and Medicaid programs which were passed and signed into law in the 1960s. The public would see the benefit of access to healthcare, which led to acquiring the expansion of it. Most people were wiling to accept and agree on providing free healthcare to the elderly and the poor. There was, however, a strong opposition to a system of a national healthcare. The opposition did not dishearten proponents to advocate for the right to healthcare in subsequent decades. After a vigorous congressional debate, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed and signed into law in 2010. This dissertation engages the four standard ethical principles (known as principlism) to justify the right to healthcare that is provided in the Affordable Care Act. In addition, theories of distributive justice and normal functioning are used to argue and justify the provision of Affordable Care Act

Organizing for power: understanding changing conceptions of power in rural community organizing

Community organizing is a practice of building and utilizing collective power, often initiated by groups who have little or no preexisting social or economic power. By acting together in a disciplined, organized, and targeted fashion, organizing is used to exert influence in the public square to achieve policy outcomes, provide mutual aid, and reweave the fabric of social relations in communities, frequently in direct opposition to existing power structures. Thus, creating a shared understanding of power that is fundamentally liberative is key to the success of organizing efforts and moreover, to creating lasting community cohesion that can continue to mount effective opposition to domination and oppression. The analyses in this project are the result of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with highly active members of a rural community organizing network, True North Organizing Network, that operates in schools and faith- and spirituality-based institutions in Del Norte and Humboldt counties and adjacent Tribal lands in rural Northern California. Interview data was analyzed in parallel with field notes taken over more than two years of participant observation. Analyses showed strong connections between conceptions of power, spirituality, and conflict that indicate the importance of organizational approaches that challenge normative understandings of dominating power or power over. The project presents these connections and moves towards hypothesizing new methods for analyzing the efficacy of community organizing practices through generating collective shifts in conceptions of power as collective and relational

How effective are leukotriene inhibitors for asthma in children?

Evidence on the use of leukotriene inhibitors in children is insufficient to permit conclusions regarding efficacy. Given the proven efficacy of inhaled corticosteroids in asthma management, leukotriene inhibitors should not replace inhaled corticosteroids for maintenance of asthma in children (strength of recommendation: B). Current guidelines that list leukotriene inhibitors as a potential addition or alternative to corticosteroid therapy in children with asthma appear to be based on scant studies and extrapolation from adult research

A Fuzzy-Logic Approach to Dynamic Bayesian Severity Level Classification of Driver Distraction Using Image Recognition

open access articleDetecting and classifying driver distractions is crucial in the prevention of road accidents. These distractions impact both driver behavior and vehicle dynamics. Knowing the degree of driver distraction can aid in accident prevention techniques, including transitioning of control to a level 4 semi- autonomous vehicle, when a high distraction severity level is reached. Thus, enhancement of Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS) is a critical component in the safety of vehicle drivers and other road users. In this paper, a new methodology is introduced, using an expert knowledge rule system to predict the severity of distraction in a contiguous set of video frames using the Naturalistic Driving American University of Cairo (AUC) Distraction Dataset. A multi-class distraction system comprises the face orientation, drivers’ activities, hands and previous driver distraction, a severity classification model is developed as a discrete dynamic Bayesian (DDB). Furthermore, a Mamdani-based fuzzy system was implemented to detect multi- class of distractions into a severity level of safe, careless or dangerous driving. Thus, if a high level of severity is reached the semi-autonomous vehicle will take control. The result further shows that some instances of driver’s distraction may quickly transition from a careless to dangerous driving in a multi-class distraction context

Utility of RAPD Markers in Evaluating the Status of the Hawaiian Tree Fern Cibotium x heleniae

Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers provide data consistent with the conclusion based on morphological characters that the recently named taxon Cibotium xheleniae is indeed of hybrid origin. This assertion is supported by (I) placement of C. xheleniae intermediate to the parent taxa, as determined by genetic similarity data; (2) location of C. xheleniae individuals on a clade intermediate to the parent species in the cladistic analysis; and (3) clustering of the C. xheleniae individuals between clusters of parental individuals in principal components analysis. Additivity of parental genetic markers in the putative hybrid ranged from 54 to 64%, providing additional though modest support for the hypothesized origin of C. x heleniae. Our results indicate that RAPD data can be of considerable value in assessing potential hybridity of individuals in naturally occurring populations

An Exploratory Study of the Nature and Composition of Current Library and Information Science Programs in Indian State Universities

This brief article explores the current state of library and information science (LIS) programs in terms of their nature and composition in state universities in India. Preliminary findings were based on a content analysis of representative information regarding LIS education available on the websites of all state universities and colleges that offer LIS programs in India. Findings indicated broad trends in administrative structuring and nomenclature of LIS programs which requires standardization. The type of degrees awarded, the composition of faculty positions, student places per year and student-faculty ratios was also found to be varied among the different institutions. The lack of detailed and up-to-date information on university websites was a barrier in collecting accurate data on LIS programs. The minimal web information must be addressed by LIS professionals to further develop interest in the discipline and to increase the number of students graduating in LIS education. The findings reported here are hoped to direct future research in other domains of LIS education which may help determine better strategies and practices for adopting in LIS educational settings in India. DOI: 10.5339/pil.2012.

Field performance of anther culture-derived breeding lines of barley

Non-Peer ReviewedSince 1984, evaluation of anther culture derived lines has been carried out at the University of Saskatchewan. The anther culture method has been compared to pedigree, single seed descent, and Hordeum bulboeum methoda of cultivar production. In 1986 and 1987, the lines were evaluated in yield trials with grain yield, heading date, thousand kernel weight, hectolitre weight, kernels per spike, and percentage plump kernels were examined. In assessment of the cross of Abee and Norbert the means of the analyzed traits were found to be generally lower for anther culture, but variability was similar among all methods. Furthermore, the best lines of each method expressed similar potential. In the current studies the performance of the Abee/Norbert cross appears to support the previous evidence of lower mean performance. Materials from the crosses of Abee/Harrington and Abee/TR215 were also grown in 1987 for assessment