Mobile Phone use: Reaction Times

Mobile Phone use: Reaction Times The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of divided attention upon response time. Participants consisted of 51 female and 10 male students from the University of Canberra, ranging in age from 19- 60 years (M = 24.95, SD = 7.99). Participants were asked to complete a spatial cueing task while using their mobile phone to either send text messages or make phone calls. Data was collected using the universities computers on the program Cog Lab 2.0. Results revealed that the text and talk conditions for all task types (neutral, valid, and invalid) had significantly slower reaction times than the control condition. The text group showed significantly slower reaction times than the talk group. Furthermore, the control group showed that the reaction times for the valid tasks was significantly faster than the neutral, and significantly faster for the valid than invalid tasks. These results do support previous research and literature in the area of mobile phone use while driving. The use of mobile phones has grown over the last five years, with over 21.26 million users in Australia alone (White, Hyde, Walsh Watson, 2010). Despite increasing evidence that mobile phone use while driving presents risks; drivers still engage in this behaviour. A self- report study on mobile phone use while driving in Australia, found that 43 percent of mobile phone owners use their phones while driving to answer their calls, followed by making calls 36 percent, reading text messages 27 percent, and sending text messages 18 percent. Approximately a third of these drivers used hand free units, indicating that most Australian drivers use hand held mobile phones while driving (White Watson, 2010). The impairment potential of mobile phone usage while driving has been the focus of various behavioural and experimental studies. Although these studies differ in the extent of behavioural changes found, most researchers agree that there is a significant negative effect on different aspects of driving performance. The most common aspects are the withdrawal of attention and slower reaction times (Reed Green, 1999). The impact of driving while using a mobile phone on reaction time is often explained with reference to a phenomenon commonly referred to as inattentional blindness or change blindness (Strayer, Drews Johnston, 2003), wherein a person who is focusing attention on one particular task will fail to notice an unexpected stimulus even while directly looking at it (Simons Chabris, 1999). Strayer and Johnston (2003), determined that drivers conversing on a hands free mobile phone were more likely than drivers not using mobile phones to fail to notice traffic signals and respond slower to brake lights. As a result drivers were more likely to cause rear end accidents and less likely to be able to recall detailed information about specific visual stimuli (Strayer et al., 2003). These researchers also found this behaviour in participants who fixated their vision, suggesting that mobile phone conversations may induce inattentional blindness in the context of driving. However, Strayer Johnston (2003) considered that because they used a high- fidelity driving simulator that these results were conclusive of real life driving. These results may not be accurate in real life scenarios were participants would be driving on real roads with real vehicles. Beede Kass, (2006) also used a driving simulator to measure the impact of a conversation task on a hands free mobile phone and a signal detection task while driving. Results suggested driving performance in terms of traffic violations, was significantly impaired while participants converse on the hands free unit and overall performance in the signal detection task were low. Finally they found an interaction between the mobile phone conversation and a signal detection task in measures of speed, speed variability, reaction time and attention lapses (Beede Kass, 2006). However, drivers that are not subjected to distracting tasks may also fail to notice important features of the traffic environment. That is, even when scanning different parts of the visual scene appropriately, there is a risk that important features will be missed in unattended areas (Simons Chabris, 1999). In considering the phenomena of inattentional blindness, it is worth reiterating a key modifier, unexpected events. Generally, the occurrence of these inattentional failures seems to be reduced when the observer anticipates the object. Therefore, the unexpected events seem to be the most problematic. In the context of traffic, these may be somewhat harder to define quantitatively because these events can take on many different forms (Simons Chabris, 1999). A study conducted by Posner, Snyder Davidson, (1980) using a spatial cueing task, looked into the theory of expected versus unexpected events. They believe that participants responses to cued targets are usually faster and sometimes more accurate than responses to uncued targets. Results from the study conducted by Posner et al., (1980) suggest that participants were faster when the cue appeared in the same location (valid) and slowest when the cue appeared opposite the indicated cue (invalid). Posner, Snyder and Davidson, (1980) interpreted these results as showing that participants shifted their attention to the location of the target prior to its appearance. Equally, when participants were expecting the cue to appear in the opposite area, participants shifted attention to the wrong location. However, it may be possible to describe these results as being due to participants anticipation of the target position, or even chance. Alternatively, Simons Chabris (1999) provided a review of experiments in which participants focusing on visual tasks fail to notice unexpected visual stimuli, and present their own seminal explanation of the phenomenon. Results suggest that the probability of noticing the unexpected object depended on the similarity of the particular object within the display and the difficulty of the task. Simons Chabris (1999) add that the spatial proximity of the object to attended location did not affect the detection, suggesting that participants attend to objects and events, not positions (Simons et al., 1999). However, this study did not explore whether individual differences in noticing, take place from differences in the ability to perform the primary task. Strayer, Drews Crouch (2006) compared drivers using mobile phones to drunk drivers, concludingthat when controlling for driving difficulty and time on task, mobile-phone drivers exhibited a greater impairment than intoxicated drivers. Results of this study found that the reaction time of drivers using a mobile phone were slower by 8.4 percent relative to drivers who neither had consumed alcohol nor were using phones. Also drivers using mobile phones were actually more likely to have a rear- end crash than drivers who had consumed alcohol (Strayer Crouch, 2003). The impact of using a hands free phone on driving performance was not found to differ from the impact of using a hand held phone, which researchers suggested was due to the withdrawal of attention from the processing of information in the driving environment while engaging in mobile phone conversation (Strayer et al., 2003). However, the measures used for the two impairments mentioned above, are quite unusual. Mobile phone i mpairment is associated with the diversion of attention and is temporary, while the impairment from alcohol persists for longer periods of time. Furthermore, while mobile phone users have some kind of control (e.g. pausing a conversation) drivers who are intoxicated cannot do much to control their performance. Studies that have looked at the effects of texting while driving have also suggested a negative impact on drivers performance (Drews, Yazdani, Celeste, Godfrey Cooper, 2009). Research by Drews Cooper (2009) found a lack of response time in participants who used their mobile phones to send text messages while driving on a simulator. They concluded the texters in the driving simulator had more crashes, responded more slowly to the brake lights of cars in front of them- and showed more impairment in forward and sideways control than drivers who talked on their mobile phones while driving. (Drews et al. also found that text messaging participants longest eyes off the road duration was over six seconds. At 55mph this equates to a driver travelling the length of a football field without looking at the roadway. In summary, the purpose of this study is to explore the effects of divided attention on response time. To achieve this purpose, this study aims to measure response times in the neutral, valid, and invalid conditions of a spatial cueing task, while participants use their mobile phones to talk or text. Based on both theory and past research, it is hypothesised that the control group will have significantly faster reaction times over all groups (text and talk). It was also hypothesised that the reaction times for the control group across all task types (valid, invalid, and neutral) would be significantly different. More specifically, it was predicted that the task type for the valid condition would be faster than the neutral task, and significantly faster for the valid than the invalid task. It was hypothesised that there would be a significant difference between participants reaction times within the talk group across all three conditions (valid, invalid, and neutral) in contrast to th e text group. More specifically it was predicted that the reaction times for the talk group will be significantly faster overall compared to the text group. Method Participants The participants of this study consisted of 61 graduate and undergraduate students of the unit cognitive psychology, from the University of Canberra (51 female and 10 male). Ages ranged from 19 to 60 years (M = 24.95, SD = 7.99). Participants were allocated a condition based on their tutorial group. Tutorial one were allocated to the text condition, this group included 20 participants of which two performed the control condition due to non- availability of a mobile phone. Tutorial two participants were allocated to the talk condition, this group included 18 participants, of which one participant did the control condition. Tutorial three and four participants were allocated to the control condition, this group included 24 participants, of which three participants did the text condition. One participant was excluded from the study, as they did not record their mean response times. Materials All 61 participants were given a spatial cueing task on the universities computer during class tutorials. Participants used the computer program Cog Lab 2.0 to view and complete the cueing task. Each participant was given an instruction sheet as per his / her tutorial group. Participants within the text and talk condition used their own personal mobile phone. Procedure Student participants were divided into three groups as arranged by their tutorial time and group. These groups comprised of three conditions text, talk, and control. While in tutorials participants were given an instruction sheet and told to follow the instructions as per their group category (text, talk, or control). In order to maintain confidentiality participants were asked to select and record a code name. They were than asked to give their age, gender, and identify the group they had been assigned to. Each group of participants were given a set of instructions that were unique to their own group. The text group were told to complete the spatial cueing exercise while writing and sending three text messages. They were instructed not to answer their phone or talk to anyone else during the experiment. The talk group were instructed to make a series of short calls or one long call while taking part in the experiment. They were also told not to answer the phone or talk to any one else in the room. The control group were given instructions to focus only on the experiment and give it the same attention they would if driving a car on a busy road. They were told not to talk on the phone, message, or talk to anyone else in the room. Participants were then asked to complete the spatial cueing task on the computer (Cog Lab 2.0) per their assigned group. Design Variables: The independent variable in this study was the mobile phone = 3 levels, the dependant variable was response time. Results Effect of Condition on Reaction Time Mean reaction times for the Text group were slower than for the Talk group, and those for the Talk group were slower than the Control group. Mean reaction times for each condition on the Neutral, Valid and Invalid tasks are shown below in Figure 1. Figure 1. Mean reaction time for control, text and talk conditions across neutral, valid and invalid spatial cueing tasks. A Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA indicated a significant difference in reaction times across Control (Mean Rank = 15.0), Talk (Mean Rank = 31.3), and Text (Mean Rank = 48.3) conditions, H(2,61) = 38.60, p The significance level was reset to p = .02 using a Bonferroni correction. A Mann-Whitney U tests indicated that the Text group (Mean Rank = 33.48 for Neutral task, Mean Rank = 33.95 for Valid task, Mean Rank = 33.0 for Invalid task, n = 21) had significantly slower reaction times than the Control group (Mean Rank = 12.48 Neutral task, Mean Rank = 12.04 Valid task, Mean Rank = 12.91 Invalid task, n = 23), U = 11.0, z = -5.416;U = 1.0, z = -5.181; U = 21.0, z = -5.651; (corrected for ties), p Follow-up Mann-Whitney U tests indicated that the Talk group (Mean Rank = 28.59, Mean Rank = 29.24, Mean Rank = 28.18, n = 17) also had significantly slower reaction times than the Control group (Mean Rank = 14.52 Neutral task, Mean Rank = 14.04 Valid task, Mean Rank = 14.83 Invalid task, n = 23), U = 58.0, z = -3.762; U = 47.0, z = -4.063; U = 65.0, z = -3.57; (not corrected for ties) , p Follow-up Mann-Whitney U tests indicated the Text group (Mean Rank = 25.81, Mean Rank = 26.86, Mean Rank = 26.05, n = 21) had significantly slower reaction times than the Talk group (Mean Rank = 11.71 Neutral task, Mean Rank = 10.41 Valid task, Mean Rank = 11.41 Invalid task, n = 17), U = 46.0, z = -3.89; U = 24.0, z = -4.536; U = 41.0, z = -4.037; (not corrected for ties), p Effect of Task Type on Reaction Time A Friedman ANOVA showed there was a significant difference in reaction times across task type for the control group, à Ã¢â‚¬ ¡2(2) = 24.09, p Discussion This study explored the effects of divided attention on response time. The results of the Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA did show a significant difference between reaction times across all three conditions (control, talk and text). However this analysis leaves the ambiguous situation of not knowing which condition/s differed more so than others. A second analysis was performed, this revealed that response times for the text group across all task types (valid, invalid, and neutral) were significantly slower than the control group, the effect was large. Results also revealed that the response times for the talk group across all task types were significantly slower than the control group; the effect was medium to large. These results are consistent with the first hypothesis. Previous studies much more scientific than ours, conducted in vehicle simulators have also found a significant relationship between similar aspects of texting, talking, and driving. However, drawing comparisons between this s tudies results and past studies results, issues arise over the current studies methods. This study was not employed in a driving simulator, nor was the task undertaken in a real driving environment or vehicle. Participant simply sat in front of a computer in a class room where they were told to imagine driving a car on a busy road. There is no possible way this would accurately represent actual driver duties or a real driving environment. The sample size is also quite questionable and would not represent the current driving population. A future benefit for this study would be to create a more legitimate driving environment and increase the sample size. The results of the fourth analysis also supported the hypothesis; these results showed the text group to have significantly slower reaction times than the talk group across all task types, the effect was large. Results are also consistent with past research on texting, driving and mobile phone use. Although, this study was not performed in a real or simulated driving environment these results were expected because texting required the participants to remove their eyes and attention away from the computer screen. However, these results only indicated a difference between reaction times, they do not suggest where the difference lies or how much interference can be attributed to the manual manipulation of the phone (e.g. texting), or how much can be attributed to the demands placed on attention by the phone conversation. A benefit to future studies would be to measure each one of these underlining factors separately and then compare those with other activities commonly engaged during dr iving. The last analysis showed there was a significant difference in reaction times across task type for the control group. More specifically results showed reaction time for valid tasks to be significantly faster than for neutral tasks, and significantly faster for the valid than the invalid. These effects were described as large. This result also supports the hypothesis and the previous study conducted by Posner and Davidson, (1980). However, most spatial cueing experiments including this one have been concerned with the effect of directing attention on the detection of stimuli. Little has been done on the influence of visual attention on higher-level cognitive tasks, i.e., where a response would involve making a decision between two or more alternatives (Johnston, McCann Remington, 1995). According to Johnston et al. (1995) responding to a higher-level cognitive task and detecting a stimulus may only be the first stage or a single process in a series of mental procedures involved in th e response. Directing attention to the location of the stimulus might result in faster detection of the stimulus. It may be beneficial for this study and others like it to explore this theory more comprehensively. References Beede, K. E., Kass, S. T. (2006). Engrossed in conversation: The impact of cell phones on simulated driving performance. Accident Analysis Prevention, 38, 415-421. Retrieved from http://www.Canberra.edu.au/library Drews, F. A., Yazdani, H., Celeste, N., Godfrey, Cooper, J. M., Strayer, D. L. (2009). Text Messaging during simulated driving. Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 51, 762-770. Johnston, J. C., McCann, R. S., Remington, R. W. (1995). Chronometric evidence for two types of attention. Journal of Psychological Sciences, 6, 365-386. Posner, M. I., Snyder, R. R., Davidson, B. J. (1980). Attention and the detection of signals, Journal of Experimental Psychology, 109, 160-174. Reed, M. P., Green, P. A. (1999). Comparison of driving performance on-road and in a low-cost simulator using a concurrent telephone dialling task. Ergonomics, 42, 1015-1037. Simons, D. J., Chabris, C. F. (1999). Gorillas in our midst: Sustained inattentional blindness for dynamic events. Perception, 28, 1059-1074. Strayer, D. L., Drews, F. A., Crouch, D. J. (1999). A comparison of the cell phone driver and the drunk driver. Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 48, 381-391. Strayer, D. L., Drews, F. A., Johnston, W. A. (2003). Cell phone- induced failures of visual attention during simulated driving. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 9, 23-32. White, K. M., Hyde, M. K., Walsh, S. P., Watson, B. (2010). Mobile phone use while driving: An investigation of the beliefs influencing drivers hands- free and hand- held mobile phone use. Journal of Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 13, 9-20. Retrieved from http://www. canberra.edu.au/library Self-evaluation Form for Cognitive Psychology 2010 Lab Report For each item in the table, highlight or bold the description that fits your work for that component of the lab report. HD D CR P F Title n/a n/a n/a > 12 words Abstract concise, accurate and elegant description of problem, participants, experimental conditions, method, results, and conclusion. concise and accurate description of problem, participants, experimental conditions, method, results, and conclusion. D accurate description of problem, participants, experimental conditions, method, results, and conclusion (one omitted) generally accurate description of problem, participants, experimental conditions, method, results, and conclusion (up to two omitted) poor description of participants, problem, participants, experimental conditions, method, results, and conclusion (three of more omitted) Introduction concise, accurate and elegant introduction of the topic concise and accurate introduction of the topic accurate introduction of the topic CR generally accurate introduction of the topic, some minor errors of understanding less than accurate introduction of the topic comprehensive coverage of literature and substantial critical thought and analysis establishing importance, relevance and context of the issue comprehensive coverage of literature and sound critical thought and analysis establishing importance, relevance and context of the issue good understanding of the literature but limited critical analysis establishing importance, relevance and context of the issue CR good understanding of the literature but little or no critical analysis establishing importance, relevance and context of the issue little or no understanding of the literature or critical analysis establishing importance, relevance and context of the issue developed and justified argument for experiment using own ideas based on a wide range of sources which are thoroughly analysed, applied and discussed critical appraisal of the literature and theory from a variety of appropriate sources and developed own ideas in the process D clear evidence and application of readings relevant to topic and use of appropriate sources lit review is less complete than for D and HD literature is presented in a purely descriptive way (no critical thought); there may be limitations in understanding of the material literature is presented in a disjointed way with no critical thought and major limitations in understanding of the material exceptional understanding of problem and theoretical framework, and integration and innovative selection and handling of theories clear understanding of the general problem and theoretical framework and insightful and appropriate selection of theories good understanding of general problem and theoretical framework and most key theories are included in a straightforward manner CR adequate understanding of general problem and theoretical framework and selection of theory is appropriate but some aspects have been missed or misconstructed little or no understanding of the general problem and/or the theoretical framework concise, clear and accurate argument leading to a statement of hypotheses clear and accurate argument leading to a statement of hypotheses accurate argument leading to a statement of hypotheses CR generally accurate argument leading to a statement of hypotheses; hypotheses incomplete/inaccurate inaccurate or missing argument or statement of hypotheses Method concise, accurate and elegant description of participants, materials, design and procedures concise and accurate description of participants, materials, design and procedures accurate description of participants, materials, design and procedures CR generally accurate description of participants, materials, design and procedures (one may be missing) poor description of participants, materials, design and procedures; one or more of these may be missing experiment is completely and easily replicable from the information in the method experiment is completely replicable from the information in the method D experiment can be almost replicated from the information in the method errors are more noticeable and may be more serious experiment can be replicated with moderate accuracy from the information in the method one or two major errors experiment cannot be replicated with a satisfactory level of accuracy from the information in the method major and serious errors Results results from Moodle are included and correctly placed HD n/a n/a results from Moodle are included but incorrect placement or they have been altered results from Moodle are not included and/or correctly placed, or are not those provided via Moodle Discussion concise, accurate and elegant summary and interpretation of results related back to the hypotheses concise and accurate summary and interpretation of results related back to the hypotheses (only very minor errors) accurate summary and interpretation of results related back to the hypotheses (only minor errors) generally accurate summary and interpretation of results related back to the hypotheses (one or two more major errors) poor or inaccurate summary and interpretation of results related back to the hypotheses (major errors) comprehensive discussion of the results in relation to previous literature and theory, and substantial critical thought and analysis of where the current findings belong in the literature comprehensive discussion of the results of the results in relation to previous literature and theory and considerable critical thought and analysis of where the current findings belong in the literature sound discussion of the results in relation to previous literature and theory, and some critical thought and analysis of where the current findings belong in the literature CR reasonable discussion of the results in relation to previous literature and theory, but no critical thought or analysis of where the current findings belong in the literature poor discussion of the results in relation to previous literature and theory critically evaluation of evidence supporting conclusions including reliability, validity and significance comprehensive evaluation of the relevance and significance of results including reliability, validity and significance sound evaluation of the relevance and significance of the results including reliability, validity and significance CR satisfactory evaluation of the relevance and significance of the results including reliability, validity and significance little or no evaluation of the relevance and significance of the results including reliability, validity and significance exceptional interpretation of any unexpected results and discussion of alternative interpretations of findings clear interpretation of any unexpected results and discussion of alternative interpretations of findings good interpretation of any unexpected results and discussion of alternative interpretations of findings CR satisfactory interpretation of any unexpected results and discussion of alternative interpretations of findings little or no interpretation of any unexpected results or discussion of alternative interpretations of findings concise, clear and thoughtful discussion of problems, limitations and generalisability of the study, and implications for future research projects clear, accurate and thoughtful discussion of problems, limitations and generalisability of the study, and implications for future research projects D accurate and competent discussion of problems, limitations and generalisability of the study, and implications for future research projects discussion of problems, limitations and generalisability of the study, and implications for future research projects little or no discussion of problems, limitations or generalisability of the study, or implications for future research projects Norovirus: Causes and Solutions Norovirus: Causes and Solutions Contents Origin and spread of the Norovirus: Symptoms: Transmission in health care facility: Prevention of Norovirus: Preventive measures for spread of virus in health care facility: Early (or primary) control actions: Control of transmission at the ward level: Specific Nursing care for patients: Personal care: Proper hand hygiene: Extra care: Bibliography Essay Origin and spread of the Norovirus: Norovirus, occasionally acknowledged as the winter vomiting bug in the United Kingdom, is the utmost common reason of viral gastroenteritisin human beings. It affects individuals of all ages. The virus is transferred byfecally polluted water or food, by person-to-person interaction and through aerosolization of the disease and following adulteration of surfaces.The virus affects about 267 million individuals and reasons above 200,000 deceases every year; these deaths are frequently in less advanced republics and in the very young, aged and immunosuppressed. Norovirus infection is categorized by watery diarrhoea, forceful vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, and in several cases, general lethargy, muscle aches, loss of taste, headache, weakness and low-grade fever may arise. The illness is typically self-limiting, and severe sickness is rare. Though having norovirus can be spiteful, it is not generally hazardous and most that contact it make a full retrieval in a couple of days. Norovirus is speedily disabled by either adequate heating or by chlorine based disinfection, but the virus is less vulnerable to alcohols and cleaners. (Ben Lopman, 2011) Aftercontamination,resistanceto norovirus is usually partial and momentarywith one publication drawing the deduction that defensive immunity to the similar pressure of norovirus continues for six months, but that all such resistance is disappeared after two years. Outbursts of norovirus contagion often happen in closed or semi closed societies, such as long-term care amenities, overnight campsites, clinics, schools, dormitories, prisons, and cruise ships, where the contamination spreads very speedily either by person-to-person spread or through polluted food. Numerous norovirus outbursts have been outlined to food that was controlled by one infected individual. (Sears, 2008) The species name  Norovirusis derivative of Norwalk virus, the only kind of the genus. The species causes about 90% of epidemicnonbacterial outbursts of gastroenteritisround the domain,and may be accountable for 50% of all foodborne outbursts of gastroenteritis in the USA. Symptoms: Symptoms recorded by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (2011) contain vomiting, non-bloody diarrhoea with stomach cramps and biliousness. These seem following a development period of 24-48 hours, though there are examples where signs present after only 12 hours succeeding disclosure to the virus.(Mcgeary, 2012) Blacklow (1996) found grown-up volunteers injected with the virus established a momentary mucosal laceration of the proximal minor intestine but had no colon association; this proposes norovirus infection frees the large intestine; hereafter faecal leucocytes do not exist in stool testers. This feature has been used to aid distinguish the contamination from others such as salmonellosis, C difficile infection orshigellosis. Transmission in health care facility: Noroviruses are found in the faeces and vomitus of infected individuals. This virus is very spreadable and can feast rapidly through healthcare amenities. People can become infested with the virus in numerous ways: Having straight contact with another individual who is infested (a healthcare employee, guest, or another patient) Ingestion food or drinking fluids that are polluted with norovirus. Touching tops or objects polluted with norovirus, and then touching your face or other food items. (HAIs, 2013) Prevention of Norovirus: In a healthcare capacity, patients with supposed norovirus may be located in isolated rooms or share accommodations with other patients with the identical infection. Extra prevention actions in healthcare amenities can reduce the chance of interacting with noroviruses: Follow hand-hygiene rules, and cautiously washing of hands with cleanser and water after interaction with patients with norovirus contagion. Use robes and gloves when in connection with, or caring for patients who are indicative of norovirus. Regularly clean and sterilize high touch patient exteriors and apparatus with an Environmental Protection Agency-approved produce with a tag claim for norovirus Eliminate and wash polluted clothing or linens Healthcare employees who have signs consistent with norovirus should be barred from work. Preventive measures for spread of virus in health care facility: The virus is characteristically conveyed to persons by the faecal-oral path from fecally polluted foodstuff or water, person-to-person interaction or interaction with polluted fomites. In current institutional outbreaks, airborne spread via vomiting has been suggested as expediting rapid spread of contagion. Once noroviruses are presented onto a region or floor, the contamination may spread speedily through the facility in spite of cohorting and actions to limit the feast of the contaminations. To support in the decision-making procedure for infirmaries and nursing homes when these contaminations happen, the Bureau of Communicable Diseases, Division of Public Health has collected a list of recommended, but not required control actions established from knowledge with organization of earlier hospital eruptions. The movements taken by diverse hospitals or nurturing homes may vary with the sum of cases and degree of spread within the facility. (health protection agency) Early (or primary) control actions: †¢ Once a catalogue case presents within an area, immediate separation of the patient and the instant area is necessary. †¢ Patients inflowing the hospital with indications evocative of norovirus contagions should be admitted straight to a private area until another cause of disease are recognized. †¢ The contamination control staff should be instantly notified about the beginning of the first case. †¢ Infection control run should meet every day to screen the outbreak and assess control actions. †¢ Support enteric defences and strategies to all staff associates. †¢ Staff should be repeated that good hand washing after all patient interaction (washing with warm running water and cleanser for at least 10 seconds) is the utmost operational way of dropping person-to-person feast of contamination. In the absenteeism of running water, alcohol emollient may be used except hands are totally soiled. †¢ The native health officer should be instantly notified once an outburst is alleged. †¢ Indicative patients or inhabitants should be cohorted. †¢ If an outburst lasts consider closing the facility to new admittances. †¢ Pretentious staff must be controlled from patient interaction for 48 hours after termination of signs. (management of norovirus, 2004) Control of transmission at the ward level: †¢ Unluckily, by the time the outburst has been documented on a ward, it is probable the majority of vulnerable patients and employee on duty may have been exposed to the infested agent, mainly if vomiting is an extensive symptom. †¢ Gowns, gloves and masks should be worn every time contact with a diseased patient or polluted atmosphere is expected. †¢ Affected areas or floors should be sealed to new admittances and companions to avoid the introduction of other vulnerable individuals. †¢ Airborne spread may be a noteworthy contributor to the sum of cases since projectile retching could possibly create infectious sprays. Air flows created by open spaces or air conditioning could scatter aerosols extensively. Air streams should be reduced. †¢ Affected areas should persist closed until a 48-hour period has passed with no fresh cases amongst patients or staff. †¢ Non-essential employee should be excluded from pretentious clinical zones. †¢ Reducing the risk of communication from sickness may be problematic. (HPS norovirus outbreak, 2013) The following actions may be valuable and are suggested: †¢ Removal of exposed foodstuffs such as plates of fruit †¢ Rapid washing and fumigation of parts where vomiting has happened with a 0.1% hypochlorite solution (made fresh everyday) †¢ Administration of anti-emetics drugs †¢ Full cleaning routine on all pretentious wards. (Norovirus outbreak prevention toolkit, 2012) Specific Nursing care for patients: Personal care: Patients with Norovirus infestation are very sensitive because this disease is very irritating due to its unbearable symptoms. Nurses should provide such patients great personal care. Nurses must give attention to individual patient for hygiene. Symptomatic treatment is provided to such patients so nurses must provide extra care to patients. Nurses should wear Gowns, gloves and masks all the time and should not move outside of ward frequently to prevent spread of the disease. (Caballero, 2014) Proper hand hygiene: Staff should rinse their hands (or use alcohol-based hand disinfectant) whenever they go in and leave a patient/resident area. Staff may be more directed to achieve hand hygiene at the following intervals: †¢ Particular intermissions (e.g., once per hour) †¢ Upon ingoing to a kitchen †¢ After using the washroom †¢ After shaking hands or other bodily contact with colleagues or visitors †¢ After sneezing †¢ After touching the face of patient †¢ After puffing the nose †¢ After rubbing hands on dress and similar actions †¢ After treating raw foods †¢ After usage of dirty kitchen gears and kitchenware †¢ After sweeping, cleaning, or mopping †¢ After a discontinuity †¢ After eating, smoking, or drinking †¢ Before and afterward using PPE e.g. gloves †¢ Before treating the food, particularly ready-to-eat foods and frost. Though, detailed hand-washing is also significant in keeping gloves or other gears from flattering vehicles for transporting microorganisms to the food. †¢ Preceding to handling or administering any oral medicines †¢ After changing diapers †¢ After handling other possibly polluted objects. (norovirus management toolkit) Extra care: Extra assistance is a need of these patients. Patients of Norovirus are disturbed psychologically due to its irritating symptoms so these patients require extra care and time. Vomits should be cleaned immediately and properly to prevent the airborne spread of this disease. Nurse should be present in ward all the time to provide extra care to these patients. Nurses have very significant role in patient care because they are the only staff in the health care facility that takes care of the medications, hygiene and moods of patients and patients with Norovirus require extra care due to their conditions. Bibliography management of norovirus. (2004, feburary). Retrieved from public health: http://www.publichealthmdc.com/environmental/food/documents/ManagementofNorovirusInfectionOutbreaksinHospitalsandNursingHomes.pdf Norovirus outbreak prevention toolkit. (2012, october). Retrieved from public health country of los angeles: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/acd/docs/Norovirus/NoroToolkit2012.pdf HAIs. (2013, feburary 25). Retrieved from Centres for disease control and prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/organisms/norovirus.html HPS norovirus outbreak. (2013, september). Retrieved from national services scotland: http://www.documents.hps.scot.nhs.uk/hai/infection-control/toolkits/norovirus-control-measures-2013-09.pdf Ben Lopman, P. G. (2011, december 11). Environmental transmission of norovirus gastroenteritis §. Retrieved from http://uepa.br/portal/downloads/Lopman2012.pdf Caballero, v. (2014, november 15). role nursing in norovirus outbreak. Retrieved from American public health association: https://apha.confex.com/apha/142am/webprogram/Paper298230.html health protection agency. (n.d.). Retrieved from british infection association: http://www.his.org.uk/files/9113/7398/0999/Guidelines_for_the_management_of_norovirus_outbreaks_in_acute_and_community_health_and_social_care_settings.pdf Mcgeary, t. (2012, feburary 3). how to prevent the spread of norovirus. Retrieved from nursing times: www.nursingtimes.net/how-to-prevent-the-spread-of-norovirus/5040972.article norovirus management toolkit. (n.d.). Retrieved from nevada state health division: http://www.health.nv.gov/PDFs/HSPER/NorovirusManagementToolkitResponsePlan_Version1-1.pdf Sears, T. M. (2008, july 8). Gastrointestinal Flu: Norovirus in Health Care and Long-Term Care Facilities. Retrieved from clinical infectious diseases: http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/47/9/1202.long

Prewriting Strategies Essay

1. In academic writing, assignments may require students to present the results of their research without including their personal opinion. By avoiding first- and second- person pronouns, and writing in the third person will help one doing so. The use of first- and second- person also gives the writing an informal feel. When writing academically, the writer should always be formal. 2. www.jackiekcooper.com/MovieReviews/Limitless.html a.In this movie, Jackie Cooper has the starring role and holds his own even in scenes with the legendary star Robert De Niro. In this sentence the adjective legendary describes Robert De Niro. b.In the film Cooper plays Eddie Morra, a down-on-his-luck aspiring writer. The adjective describes the writer as being aspiring. c.His girlfriend Lindy is fed up with his shiftless ways and breaks up with him. The adjective describes his ways as shiftless. d.When he takes the pill, his life becomes much clearer. The adjective describes life as clearer. e.It is not a great role and De Niro is only adequate in it. The adverb describes how De Niro acted in the role. f.It is not a great role and De Niro is only adequate in it. The adjective describes the role as not great. g.In â€Å"Limitless† the story centers totally on his character and he rises to the occasion to give the role his all. The adverb describes how the story centers on hi s character. h.Eddie may be riding high for a while but there is always that possibility of him falling down or being brought down. The adverb describes how Eddie is riding. Overall, the critic used the adjectives and adverbs in a very descriptive and effective way. 3. This class has already taught us that although we may have the imagination to write, we have much more to learn about proper academic writing mechanics. The most important lesson we have learned is to proofread carefully. When we first started our studies at the University of Phoenix, we were not aware of the significant difference between academic writing and casual writing. The difference between academic writing and casual writing is becoming clearer to us. The difference between the two is clearest when we receive instructor feedback. We will continue to pay closer attention to details in our writing. This is the way that we will change our focus in the future and also the way we will come closest to achieving our goals. 4. There are three key parts of a paragraph; the topic sentence or introductions, the body of the paragraph or supporting information, and the conclusion that summarizes the content of the paragraph. 5. It is important that the topic sentence and supporting points within that paragraph be directly related or else the writer’s message will be lost, and the reader will be confused. The writing will not flow smoothly, and the reader will be forced to work at trying to figure out exactly what they are reading. Unless the topic sentence and supporting paragraphs do not connect or relate, the reader will be left confused. In the end, the reader may dismiss the frustrating writing altogether. 6. An evaluation is the writer’s informed judgment about a reading. The author did a great job summarizing and tying in what they have learned from the reading. The author was able to relate to the topic by adding an experience he or she conducted to the material. One thing the author could have done better was to point out why he or she thought it was a good overview.

What You Need to Know About Sample Topics for Ged Essay

What You Need to Know About Sample Topics for Ged Essay Then take a couple of minutes to brainstorm what you would like to say about that topic. Begin each paragraph by stating the major point that you wish to speak about. Add a few middle paragraphs, where you speak about specific points in your primary idea. Tie this up neatly with a concluding paragraph of a couple of sentences. In reality, you may pick any topic which you find interesting. Yet, you'll have to express your views on a specific question and explain why you think so. The only problem includes grammar problems like harmful rather than harm in the question at the start. To begin with, rewrite the assigned topic in your words. What You Don't Know About Sample Topics for Ged Essay Evidently, you haven't been involved in any academic activity for quite a long time. Huge quantities of children were advantageous. A corporation need to encourage its products or services. Fortunately, there are methods to make this part simple for you. Don't forget the topic needs to be interesting and catching not just for you, but additionally for the instructor. There isn't a lot of help available for you. At length, it is helpful to find an outside perspective. My approach is quite easy. In reality, very frequently you can select any topic you enjoy and, as an example, write about your future expectations and career aspirations. Where to Find Sample Topics for Ged Essay Prompts differ from test to test, cover various topics, and aren't released beforehand. GED Testing Service is almost always a terrific place to find excellent GED essay topics. Students lead busy lives and frequently forget about an approaching deadline. Organization is among the critical elements of writing a prosperous GED essay. The Benefits of Sample Topics for Ged Essay When it's tricky to compose an essay in 45 minutes, begin by taking more time. So you observed blissful that you'll be likely to secure other assignment at no charge. In addition, we guarantee your order is going to be completed punctually. Our services are thoroughly extensive and our costs handle the total procedure of generating your essay from starting to end. You're going to be free after you are twenty-one, but I'm a slave for life! The majority of us break out in a sweat at the idea of having to tackle an assignment similar to this. For instance, you mention that a kid may want to taste alcohol. Then lower your time until you may write faster. It's alright to never to try out a Britain essay that you're designated with if you're feeling you wouldn't can design it take employing the target audience. Practicing the elements of excellent essay writing is helpful regardless of what topic you concentrate on. Try to remember, you are going to want to support your primary idea with examples from the reading. Great connections between arguments are frequently a pitfall to writers, and by making sure fantastic connections are created, you really can strengthen your essay! In order to come up with own style you're able to utilize English essay samples which you may come across online. An excellent vocabulary will permit you to express precisely what you mean, as clearly and concisely as possible. You do have some language mistakes which make it a little hard to follow along with. English essay format is essential, so you need to adhere to a specific structure. Then identify what sort of essay you need compose. Such sample essays can be very helpful, because they can give a complete picture of what a great essay is. The subject of your essay is critical. You will learn that you're test-ready and you could conquer any argumentative essay topic. For organization, a superior resource for you is possibly the five-paragraph essay. Alternately, you can search for essay topics online. Add ideas for examples you need to have in your essay. If you realize that you are stuck in regards to writing an essay, request somebody's assistance to assist you proceed through writing an essay.

Essay on “Sociology”

Essay on â€Å"Sociology† A good understanding of people; socially, politically and economically yield the best relations in work place hence better productivity. Thanks to sociology that now different societies have been studied making it easier to know what a person’s social life is like. Every society has it social line of living which includes cultures, religion and on the wider scope political system. Most of these social aspects may remain unchanged for as long as they are practiced while others tend to be dynamic. The dynamism in a society changes these aspects or the changes in social aspects trigger changes in the society’s way of living. Now we take an example like Brazil. This is a country that’s located in the South America and inhabited by Brazilians and is the largest in Latin America. Brazil is a unique country among other Latin American countries. The great difference seems to emanate from the fact that Brazil is made up of a blend of different ethnic groups. Portuguese, African and Native American culture are all blend to make one country. The Portuguese attempt to impose the Natives and the Africans with their cultures turned out to be more difficult than they thought. The locals accepted some and rejected other cultures. Most of the Natives pretended to have abandoned their culture only to fool the colonialist. Due to these circumstances Brazil remained multiethnic to date. Many studies have been done to try and define a Brazilian with only most elites giving up since the society is so diverse. Brazilian writers like Joaquim Maria Machado tried to came up the ‘Brazilian character’ using the middle class who tried to copy the European lifestyles. Many authors tried too to explore this character with only little break through (Caldwell,Hellen, 40). Finally, most of the conclusions were draw on the basis of different characters living together and the only thing was to now study the conflicts between these multicultural practices. In individual relations we find Brazilians even more different from their neighbors who too are Latin Americans. In other Latin American countries, Spanish is widely the lifestyle practiced. Spanish are more formal and stiff in their behaviors compared to the Portuguese speaking nations like Brazil. Brazilians are more conciliated and tolerate each other than the Spanish speaking nations. Cordiality is also highly practiced by the Brazilians to the extent of avoiding direct confrontation between themselves. This type of cultural behavior gives its credit to the fact that, during colonial era, Portuguese were lenient to the Natives and the Africans. Another possible cause of this behavior was the heightened resistance by the Native from being exploited which earned them the respect of the colonialist. With regards to this, these people are seen as informal, people of good nature and charming. The Brazilians respect and value each other at personal stage relations holding on to a lot o f warmth and spontaneity (Freyre Gilberto 56). On the flip side, the Brazilians are exploitative as a whole when we put environment into the limelight. Authors like Viana Moog and Jorge tried to explain the conquistador way of thinking by colonizers. In their explanation, they termed colonialist as people who need to acquire wealth as fast as possible and then progress to the next colony. This made these elite to come up with the consequences that this might bring; which included selfishness, transience and discount of others together with Mother Nature. This led to environmental pollution and human degradation. Similarly, Brazilians do not believe in mutual benefit due to mistrust which most finds emanating from the sense that it’s a colonization or exploitation in disguise. Consequently, most of the rules are constantly evaded giving rise to major crackdowns by the authorities hence the mistrust continues to increase. People with common goals that are to benefit everybody find it hard to move on with the helpful plans an d rules have to be even more rigid to push on with plans. Brazilians have to be given credit to their ‘jeito’ behavior. This word characterizes people who tend to not comply in any way with any illegitimate authority, and that’s Brazilians. The world means bending the regulations or in other words finding an alternative way to going about something. Most times the behavior tends to give birth to vices like corruption. On the contrary, the culture can be of help and guide in solving problems without having to involve unwanted awareness. Brazil is also widely known for their love of football but not many people know why the love is so deep. Not all for fame and money but Brazilians uses football as a way to let go frustrations and anger in their daily lives. The Carnival is also a treasured festival that gives the Brazilians time to forget their hardships and relax (Web, carnival-brazil). Imported and local music also plays a big role in helping people to relax and cool down in anger scenarios. Native music plays a greater role in the characterizing a Brazilian. Forro’ type of music is the widely done here followed by lambada and few doing padoge. Political system in Brazil is a framework of federal government. The president is the head of state and runs the government as the head. The politics here is of a multi-party system where there is the ruling party and the opposition or a coalition. Political structure here is composed of a federal government. The States are the next divisions followed by the municipalities. The central government is run by the federal government and which is sub divided into three independent organs. The executive is one of the organs that are in control of the president and the cabinet advises him or her on how to go about it. Secondly is the Legislative which is its powers are exercised by the National Congress. Finally, Judiciary exercises the judicial powers and has a number of divisions. The Brazilian political arena has its cultures which are regionally practiced. The north and northeast states tend to be more dependent on the political sweep of the capital Brasilia. The south east and south states do not endorse that much the Brasilia politics due to the civil wars that rocked Rio Grande do Sul due to political conflict. The conflicts were due to the political loyalty witnessed here in the south and south east states. In the Minas Gerais, a southeast state, politics here are cautiously conducted since politicians are known to be very cunning. Politicians in this state have the power to negotiate and buy people’s choice with their cunning ways or money. In west Brazil, states conduct their politics in a manner that is not to the heights of more advanced southeast states but the trend is changing due to immigration. States on the southeast of Brazil namely Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo have and still are experiencing much rural-urban migration. This is highly contributed to the fact that these states are more industrialization (Baer Werner, 62). The people in these areas have increased drastically causing a rise in political consciousness than in the north and western states. Due to the immense movement to urban areas the voting lot increased with a big margin. In 1960 only 30 percent were regarded as urban voters compared to 70 percent in 1994. The new urban people enhanced their political knowledge through media houses, schooling and joining labor unions. Economically, Brazil has seen a lot of dynamism throughout its history especially after independence. The Brazilian economy is mainly supported by agricultural and industries. In early years agriculture was the main pillar in the economic activities of the Brazilians but that changed after the rapid rural- urban migration that saw to the massive industrialization. Most of agriculture is done in large scale with only a few practicing subsistence farming. Brazil is a large producer of coffee being the number one in the world (Baer Werner, 94). Due the political stability and good policies the economy of this country has grown tremendously to clinch a slot in the G8 of the world (countries with big economies). In the family docket, Brazilians tend to be more of the traditionalist. A typical marriage would consist of a man and his wife then the kids. Men are the head of the house and women are seen as the subordinates in a home. Although most of the marriages are typical, new treads have emerged with many women becoming employed and roles of subordination and master switch in scenarios that a husband is not working. The world is also proving to be harsher with increased single parenthood in Brazil. Big cities in Brazil have some of the best living conditions in the South America. Although this is a complement to the Brazilian government, most of the fast growing metropolises are characterized by large informal settlements. These settlements mushroom so fast that the government finds it hard to provide better living conditions since the rural-urban is rampant. The gap that’s between the poor and the rich is always on the widening in the cities. Most of the people living in these slums work in industries which the required working conditions are not met. Brazilians have social classes; the rich class A, middle class B C and the poor D E. The Brazilian constitution provides for equal privileges men and women but this is not always the case here; women have been paid less than men and disparities in country’s top jobs have been witnessed. But this has changed drastically with more women pushing for their rights. Brazilian women are now attending schools and becoming elites. Women have made much improvement their national issues involvement (Selwyn, 78). Politics has seen an influx of women and the recent mile stone is the woman who holds the presidency in Brazil. For the first time the Brazilians are being ruled by a woman. The children in Brazil are the future of the country and are enjoying free education to the university level if one gets lucky and secure a slot in the public funded college. Most of the elderly middle class have retired from their jobs and moved to rural areas and enjoys government money and pensions. The poor are mostly landless and still live in the cities even with the old age, sickly an d with less to feed on every day. Brazil is a country with a diverse religion practices which emerged due to the immigration of people here. The Portuguese came with them the Roman Catholic Church which till today holds the majority of the Brazilians. The Natives also have their religion which some still practice. Also the African has theirs too. Together with the natives their regions are regarded as Afro-Brazilian Religions. Due to constant movement more of the Pentecostal church have emerged Brazil. The constitution provides the nation with the right to worship hence making Brazil a multi-religion country. Through the years the black and the indigenous have been marginalized in Brazil. In terms of opportunities, economic empowerment and social arena, the black and the natives has witnessed the least to be enjoying the great economic growth. In all arenas, political economic and social the latter has ragged behind but thanks to the constant push for equality in Brazil by the UNESCO.