Policy Advocacy Assignment Human Immunodeficiency Virus...

Policy Advocacy Assignment Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is an incurable illness that can lead to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) - a life-threatening condition (CDC.gov). According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 1, 218, 4000 people aged 13 and older are living with HIV in the United States. In the initial stages of receiving a positive diagnosis, a person may experience a mix of emotions as they process the way the disease will affect his or her life (Kalipa, Bereda-Thakhathi, Tshotsho, Goon, 2014). In addition, those who choose to disclose their positive status may also have to face the stigma associated with the disease; and discrimination from family, friends, and other community†¦show more content†¦Historical Background Since the emergence of the HIV epidemic in the early 1980s, strategies have been put into place by state governments to help with the spread of the HIV virus from those who are HIV-positive to those in the general public who are HIV-negative (Lehman et al., 2014). Some of the laws that have been enacted by the state have protected the rights and liberties of individuals with HIV; for example, the laws promoting HIV screening and the enactment of federal laws that protect the confidentiality of HIV-positive persons (Neff Goldschmidt, 201 1; aspe.hhs.gov). But on the other hand, in addition to implementing laws that protected the HIV population, some States also enacted laws that criminalized individuals living with HIV/AIDS (Lazzarini, Bray, Burris, 2002). Formally known as HIV-specific laws, these pieces of legislation were, and are still intended to criminalize HIV individuals by penalizing HIV-positive persons who engage in actions that can potentially expose the HIV virus to others (Galletly et al., 2014). The first of these laws were first seen in 1986, and were passed by the state governments of Florida, Tennessee, and Washington (Lehman et al., 2014). The laws were developed due to a belief that they would deter HIV positive people from behaving in aShow MoreRelatedDeveloping a Health Advocacy Campaign for HIV Stigma Reduction2746 Words   |  11 Pages My preparation for this assignment began with a review of the Healthy People initiative that was developed by the Department of Health and Human Services. There are many ongoing health issues that our healthcare system is currently dealing with. The Healthy People initiative is a set of goals and objectives designed to guide national health promotion and disease prevention to improve the health of all people in the United States (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). The populationRead MoreCommunity Health Nursing Final Exam Study Guide Essay15874 Words   |  64 PagesHypertension- exacerbated by high rates of alcohol abuse and the high sodium content of foods served in fast-food restaurants, shelters, and other meal sites. Diabetes nutritional deficits Respiratory infections COPD Tuberculosis (TB) HIV/AIDS- prevalence of HIV in the homeless is estimated to be at least double that found in the general population. Use of intravenous drugs and the risk for sexual assault are other factors. Homeless persons with AIDS develop more virulent forms of infectious diseasesRead MoreEssay Paper84499 Words   |  338 PagesArmy Regulation 600–20 Personnel–General Army Command Policy Rapid Action Revision (RAR) Issue Date: 20 September 2012 Headquarters Department of the Army Washington, DC 18 March 2008 UNCLASSIFIED SUMMARY of CHANGE AR 600–20 Army Command Policy This rapid action revision, dated 20 September 2012-o Updates policy for the administration of unit command climate surveys: adds requirement for personnel equivalent to company level commanders; updates timelines to withinRead More1000 Word Essay85965 Words   |  344 PagesResponse Program reinforces the Army s commitment to eliminate incidents of sexual assault through a comprehensive policy that centers on awareness and prevention, training and education, victim advocacy, response,reporting, and accountability. (AR 600-20 June 2006 / 8-1 / PDF 72) The Army s policy on Army Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program applies where and when? This policy applies -Both on and off post and during duty and non-duty hours. To working, living, and recreational environments

Council vs. Counsel Commonly Confused Words

Council and counsel are homophones, and both words relate to the concept of advice and guidance. However, they do not have identical definitions. Heres how to master the differences between these two words. How to Use Council Council is a noun that refers to a group of people who have been chosen to serve in an administrative, legislative, or advisory role. The word most commonly appears in a government context, but there are also town councils and student councils. A council can be any assembly of individuals who have been chosen to lead a certain organization. Members of a council, called councilors, typically make decisions related to the group or organization they serve. How to Use Counsel The word counsel can be both a verb and a noun. As a verb, counsel means â€Å"to give advice.† As a noun, counsel sometimes refers to a piece of advice or an opinion, often in a legal context. However, the noun form of counsel can also refer to an assembly of people intended to give such advice. A counsel does not have to be elected. The word counselor comes from counsel. Counselor refers to an advisor or other individual who can offer opinions or guidance, such as a guidance counselor or a marriage counselor. How to Remember the Difference A helpful way to distinguish between council and counsel is to think of people involved in a counsel as trying to sell you on their advice or opinion: they are trying to coun-sell you. To remember that a council signifies an elected leadership group, recall that council has two cs, and c stands for city and committee. Examples Megs father, a town councilor, met with the high school counselor to discuss Megs college options. Megs father is an elected member of the town council. The high school counselor is employed by the school to offer advice and opinions about a student’s collegiate prospects.We thanked the lawyers for providing counsel on the matter. Counsel, functioning here as a noun, refers to the legal advice given by a group of lawyers.  They were excited to be elected to the church council based on their vision of the church’s future. Here, council refers to a group of officials elected to help lead and oversee the church, ultimately making decisions that will shape the future of the church.The president discussed financial policy with the economic council members, but kept his own counsel when it came to his personal life. The president consulted a group of people who had been chosen to serve in advisory roles related to his economic policies. However, he kept the details of his p ersonal life to himself and did not seek others insight.My mother counseled me to apply sunscreen before going to the beach with my fellow student council members. The mother offers advice, or counsels, to her child before the child spends the day with the other members of the organization to which she was elected (the student council). What About Consul? The less-used term consul creates another point of confusion when determining which word to use. Consul is a noun that refers to a person who has been appointed to represent a government or state in a foreign country. For example, the U.S. president can appoint a consul to represent U.S. interests in another country. Unlike council and counsel, which in their noun forms refer to groups of individuals, consul refers to one individual.

Biogeography as Evidence That Evolution Accounts for Diversity of Life Free Essays

2) Biogeography is one source of evidence that evolution accounts for the diversity of life. Biogeography is the study of the geographic distribution of species and has contributed evidence for descent from common ancestors, which was hypothesized by Charles Darwin. Darwin and Alfred Wallace were both very interested in biogeography, which provided Darwin with evidence for evolution. We will write a custom essay sample on Biogeography as Evidence That Evolution Accounts for Diversity of Life or any similar topic only for you Order Now Species distribution can be accounted for by ecological factors or by historical factors. The three major historical factors affecting geographic distribution are dispersal, extinction and vicariance. Island biogeography has been extensively studied to show the evolution of species due to geographic barriers. Biogeography along with the history of the earth lends supporting evidence to evolution and the diversity of life on earth. Darwin showed that biogeographic facts make sense if a species has a definite site of origin, achieves a broader distribution by dispersal, and becomes modified giving rise to descendent species in the regions in which it migrates. He noticed that unrelated organisms inhabit parts of the world with similar climates and habitats, such as Old and New World organisms. Darwin also found that organisms of various regions may be different due to barriers or obstacles that may limit migration. He also stated that there is a relation between inhabitants of the same continent or sea but that species differ from place to place. An example of this is aquatic rodents of South America are related to mountainous and grassland rodents of South America, but not to aquatic rodents of North America. Alfred Wallace noticed that several higher taxa had similar distributions and that the composition of biota is more uniform within certain regions then between them. He had collected specimens in the Malay Archipelago and had thought of natural selection. He did extensive field work in the Amazon and noticed that geographic barriers, such as the Amazon River itself, separated the ranges of closely related species. These observations led him to designate several biogeographic realms. He observed that the fauna of Australia and Asia were different and the break between them is known as the Wallace Line. Historical factors affecting geographic distributions of species include extinction, dispersal, and vicariance. Extinction of certain opulations reduces the distribution of species but it also allows for diversification. Extinctions are selective in that some species are more likely to survive then others. For example, gastropods with wide geographic and ecological distributions and those with many species survived the end-Permian extinction. Extinction can lead to diversification in that it resets the stage for evolutionary radiations, perhaps by p ermitting the appearance of new community structures. Futuyma suggests that the extinction of one group permits the efflorescence of others, which is also shown in the fossil record. Dispersal and vicariance are the major hypotheses attributing to a taxon’s distribution. An example of vicarance is taxa that have members on different land masses in the Southern Hemisphere, which is hypothesized to be due to the breakup of Gondwanaland isolating descendents of common ancestors. America, Africa, Madagascar, and India are all home to the freshwater fishes, cichlids. Molecular phylogenetic analyses has shown that two sister clades of cichlids have been found, one consisting of Madagascan and Indian species, and the other of two monophyletic groups, one in Africa and one in South America. However, the splits between the clades are more recent than the breakup of Gondwanaland which suggests that perhaps the cichlids achieved their distribution by dispersal. Both vicariance and dispersal could be the likely cause of the geographic distribution of cichlids. Species expand their ranges by dispersal which is a critical process for geographic isolation in evolution and the current geographic distributions. Most species are restricted to certain biogeographic realms by their dispersal ability but many species have expanded their range due to human transplant. For example, the European starling has expanded in North America following its introduction into New York City in 1896 (Futuyma, 2005). Transplanted species may disrupt the ecosystem at its new location by evolving and adapting to the new environment, possibly causing the extinction of native species. Adaptation to the environment as a primary product of evolution was suggested by Jean Baptiste Lamarck who believed that evolution is the best explanation of the diversity of life. Vicariance is the separation of populations of a widespread species by barriers arising from changes in climate, geology, or habitat. Vicariance can lead to speciation if populations are separated by a geographic barrier and evolve genetic reproductive isolation such that if the barrier disappears, the species can no longer interbreed. Natural selection is a powerful evolutionary force and therefore the genetic changes that result in reproductive isolation in vicariant speciation are likely due to adaptive evolution. Several geological processes can fragment a population into two, such as a mountain range emerging, rivers, lakes, or land bridges. Island biogeography is a very good example of evidence for evolution. Islands are generally where endemic species of plants and animals are found but Darwin observed that most island species are closely related to species from the nearest mainland or neighbouring island. Two islands that have similar environments in different parts of the world are populated by species that are taxonomically affiliated with the plants and animals of the nearest mainland which generally has a different environment. Speciation may occur on islands if a species that disperses from a mainland to an island succeeds in its new environment and gives rise to several new species as populations spread to other islands. Once isolated, geographically separated populations become genetically differentiated as a result of mutation and other processes such as natural selection. Environmental factors are likely to be different from one place to another so natural selection can contribute to geographic variation, differences in the gene pool between populations. Speciation is often a gradual process as the reproductive barriers between the groups is only partial in the beginning but leads to complete reproduction separation (Campbell and Reece, 2002). An example of vicariance and island biogeography is the finches on the Galapagos Islands. Darwin noticed that the finches he collected from the islands were very similar, but that they were in fact different species. Some were unique to individual islands, while other species were distributed on two or more islands that were close together. New finch species had arisen from an ancestral form by the gradual accumulation of adaptations to a different environment. For example, the different beak sizes of the finches are adapted to the specific food available to them on their home island. This is an example of species adapting and evolving to suit their new environment. The Hawaiian Islands are another example of the world’s showcase of evolution and island biogeography. Each island started bare but was gradually populated by species that either rode ocean currents or blew over in the wind, either from distant islands or continents. The physical diversity of each island provides many different environmental opportunities for evolutionary divergence by natural selection. Many of the plants and animals that are currently found on the islands are found nowhere else in the world, they are endemic to the Hawaiian archipelago (Campbell and Reece, 2002). The history of earth also helps to explain the current geographic distribution of species. For example, the emergence of volcanic islands such as the Galapagos opens new environments for species to inhabit and adaptive radiation fills many of the available niches with new species. On a global scale, continental drift is a major factor correlated with the spatial distribution of life and with such evolutionary episodes as mass extinctions followed by increases in biological diversity. The continents drift about earth’s surface on plates of crust floating on the hot mantle and their positions can therefore change relative to one another. At the end of the Paleozoic era, plate movements brought all the landmasses together into a super continent named Pangaea. Species that had been evolving in isolation were brought together at this point and forced to compete. The formation of Pangea reduced shoreline, drained shallow coastal areas, changed the climate and increased the area inland destroying a considerable amount of habitat and reshaping biodiversity. During the Mesozoic, Pangaea broke apart creating new continents that became separate evolutionary areas allowing flora and fauna to diverge. The diversity of life on earth is due to millions of years of evolution. Darwin and Wallace were both important figures in the field of biogeography as their interest and research led to ideas that are still apparent today. Historical geographic factors and the history of the earth are a few aspects that have led to current biodiversity. Biogeography shows compelling evidence that species evolve through natural selection by adapting to new environments. Speciation will continue to occur as the environment changes and as the continents continue to drift. References: Campbell, N. A, and Reece, J. B. 2002. Biology; Sixth Edition. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco. Futuyma, D. J. 2005. Evolution. Sinauer Associates Inc. , Massachusetts. How to cite Biogeography as Evidence That Evolution Accounts for Diversity of Life, Papers

The Legacy of Jackie Robinson free essay sample

He was a speedster who led his team to six World Series, won Rookie of the Year honors, an MAP award and was a six-time All-Star. But its not because of his marvelous career that Jackasss number 42 is retired in every major league ballpark. Its because on a chilly afternoon in 1947 at Beets Field, Robinson took the diamond for the Dodgers to become the first black man to play in a major league baseball game in the modern era. His stellar play and moreover, his pose under fire paved the way for baseball integration, as barriers broke down in assessable, they also started to crumble in society at large. While Jackie is best remembered for integrating major league baseball, an incident that occurred before his fame as a Dodger heralded his future as a warrior in the battle for civil rights. America entered World War II, as in most of America at the time; blacks suffered the indignation of segregation. We will write a custom essay sample on The Legacy of Jackie Robinson or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Jim Crow laws 0 the name given to the laws that created whites only restaurants, hotels, restrooms and other segregation C held sway in the Army, too. Jim Crow rules called for white officers to lead black men in their segregated outfits. But the necessities of war were beginning to change things.Jackie was accepted to an integrated Officer Candidate School and assigned to Camp Hood, in Texas. It was there that he became entangled in an incident that nearly ended his military career and the future that he didnt know awaited him. One evening, while boarding a camp bus into town, he dutifully began moving to the back, as blacks were required to do. On his way down the aisle, he saw the wife of a friend sitting mid-way back, and sat down with her. After about five blocks, the driver, a white man, turned in his seat and ordered Jackie to move to the back of the bus.Robinson refused. The driver threatened to make trouble for him when the bus reached the station, but Jackie wouldnt budge. In 1942, Robinson was drafted into the U. S. Army and sent to a segregated unit in Fort Riley, Kansas, where under existing policy he could not enter Officers Candidate School. After protests by heavy. Veggie boxing champion Joe Louis, then stationed at Fort Riley, and other influential persons including Truman Gibson, an African American advisor, the secretary of war, black men were accepted for officer training.Upon completion of the course of study, Robinson was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1943. A racially charged incident at Fort Hood, Texas, threatened to discredit Robinson s service record, when in defiance of a bus drivers command to go to the rear of the bus, he refused to leave his seat. Robinson, a lifelong teetotal and nonsmoker, was charged, originally, with public drunkenness, conduct unbecoming an officer, and willful disobedience.