Grant Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Grant Proposal - Essay Example Statistical data from WIC tell us that 50% of the new mothers in this area initiate breast feeding but only 14.5% maintain breast feeding (WIC). This implementation plan will put into place a peer to peer breastfeeding program. The aim would be to improve the numbers of maintained breast feeding mothers and infants. The program is a peer to peer (buddy program) to support mothers attempting to breast feed. As noted, many women initiate the attempt (50%) but those who manage to continue are only (14%). There are many reasons for this, some of which are lack of support, confusion, fear, and anxiety (Stube, 2009). The primary goal of this program would be to increase the numbers of women who are able to maintain breast feeding. Keeping mothers breast feeding at least the first few months could improve the health of both mother and infant (Stube, 2009). It has been shown through several recent studies that peer coaching improves the continuation of breast feeding. Hoddinott, Chalmers, and Pell (2006) supported the fact that in some areas this has increased up to 35%. This is further supported by a quasi experimental evaluation done by Olson, Haidir, and Vanggel et. al. (2010) in which they found that peer to peer counseling improved initiation by 27 points and increased duration by 3 week. In Bangaladesh Hollander showed that peer counseling increased breast feeding at five months by 70% and Shafer, Vogel, and Vigas (2009) showed in their randomized control trial, an increase of 6% initiation and 9% continuation in rural low income women. Referral Peer support is provided through a network of volunteers that are trained in the problems related to breast feeding as well as having been successful at breast feeding themselves. This training will be initiated through the WIC and LaLeche League International program to assure that the new mothers are getting the support that is needed. The idea is to choose a supporting peer that has the same culture and socioeconomic background as the mother to be supported. The new mother may be referred in several ways including WIC, Public Health, Food Stamps, physician, social services, self referral and others. Access Once the mother has been referred she is contacted by a peer and given information, including classes that she can attend that prepare her for the breast feeding process. This includes such procedures as needed to harden nipples, decreasing pain on initiation of breastfeeding. After childbirth, the provide nonmedical assistance as needed to reduce frustration and anxiety in the new mother who is attempting to breast feed. This includes the mother who goes back to work. Often, the transition from breastfeeding to pumping and bottle feeding is extremely difficult (Dennis, Hodnett, & Gallop, 2002). The peer who has been successful through this transition can help quite a lot in improving this transition, keeping the mother breast feeding for a longer period of time. This program would be based in the community clinics in each of these counties but the peers are available through the hospital setting as well as phone. Telephone counseling and support are available 4 times per day. Peer Training Peers will be expected to attend classes on basic breastfeeding management, nutrition, infant

A Thousand Splendid Suns Essay Example for Free

A Thousand Splendid Suns Essay â€Å"Come. There is a way to be good again,† said Rahim Khan to Amir. In the novel the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir, the main character, expresses his thoughts and actions due to his baneful choices. The tribulations he faced were all repercussions of the sin committed by his disdainful youth. His sins ravaged the early stages of his life and gave him a troublesome memory full of guilt. As the novel progressed, Amir attempted to disengage the memory of his sin and forget about it. Amir soon faced the long over due road to redemption. Khaled Hosseini’s novel the Kite Runner is about redemption, and that the lifelong pursuit of happiness will never be fulfilled without it. At a young age Amir and Hassan were best friends, even though Amir was roughly expressing it. Amir and Hassan enjoyed many activities together as Khaled expressed in his novel: â€Å"I spent most of the first twelve years of my life playing with Hassan. Sometimes, my entire childhood seems like one long lazy summer day with Hassan, chasing each other between tangles of trees in my father’s yard, playing hide-and-seek, cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, insect torture†¦ We saw our first Western together, Rio Bravo with John Wayne, at the Cinema Park†¦,† stated Amir. Amir stated all these â€Å"friend-like† activities, yet witnessed the sexual abuse administered by Assef and his goons on Hassan without a peep from his mouth. At this point Amir’s lust for obtaining the kite, so he could finally enjoy love from his father had over come his friendship. That temporary love given to Amir by his father was enough for Amir to attempt to get rid of Hassan permanently, which worked. Amir’s sin committed in his early years set the stage for the rest of his life, for he would seek redemption for his acts. Many years passed, Amir was on his own now in America, with his wife Soraya that could not bare children. Amir received a call from Rahim Kahn who was dying and wanted a last visit from Amir. Amir had jumped at the chance to visit an old friend/father figure and flew to see Rahim. Little did Amir know he was about to face all of the tribulations he had seemed to forget of his past ten fold. Rahim Khan reveals â€Å"Hassan, Amirs childhood friend, the presumed son of the family servant was in reality, Amirs half-brother, his fathers illegitimate son with Alis wife. † He also reveals that the prolonged redemption is just around the Taliban by saving Amir’s half-nephew Sohrab (Hassan’s son) from Kabul. Amir was in a state of confusion, he expressed his plead to Rahim: â€Å"I can’t go to Kabul,† I had said to Rahim Khan. â€Å"I have a wife in America, a home, a career, and a family. † But how could I pack up and go and go back home when my actions may have caused Hassan a chance at those very same things (talking to himself)? I wished Rahim Khan hadn’t called me. I wished he had let me live on in my oblivion. But he had called me. And what Rahim Khan revealed to me changed things. Made me see how my entire life†¦had been a cycle of lies, betrayal, and deceit. ‘There is a way to be good again’ he’d said. Thus started Amir’s road to redemption. Amir searched through Kabul for Sohrab and an orphanage leader had stated that Sohrab had been sold to a Taliban leader. The Taliban Leader who showboated John Lennon glasses and conducted the stoning ceremony at halftime of the soccer game was the man that Amir had to speak with. As Amir conversed with the Taliban lead he learned of his cruel ways of massacring the Hazaras. Then the Taliban leader revealed, â€Å"What did you think? That you’d put on a fake beard and I wouldn’t recognize you? I never forget a face. Not ever. † The Taliban revealed himself as Assef, Amir’s childhood enemy. Assef created an ordeal stating that if Amir were to overcome him in a blood brawl, then Sohrab would be Amir’s boy to take. Assef completely demolished Amir by breaking several ribs with his brass knuckles. Amir was barely able to stand, but he withheld the beating for he knew that destiny had brought him to this moment. The moment came when Sohrab had pierced Assef’s eye and he and Amir escaped. Amir had finally accomplished his self-turmoil and had almost completed his redemption by saving his half-brother’s son, and almost dying for him. Amir knew that he had to adopt Sohrab when they got back to a safe haven. This caused some trouble with the embassy for they required legal documents of the orphaned child. Sohrab believed that there was no possible way for him to come to America and he did not want to return to an orphanage, so he attempted suicide. Amir had gone through a father’s worst nightmare when he thought his soon to be adopted son would die. Sohrab survived though, leaving a reckless, unrighteous Muslim, self- centered Amir behind. Amir’s pursuit of happiness was fulfilled as he and his son were flying kites in America. He had redeemed himself as he said to Sohrab, â€Å"Do you want me to run that kite for you? †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦A nod from Sohrab†¦ â€Å"For you, a thousand times over,† and a smile cracked open on Sohrab’s face.

Hepatitis B 2 Essay -- essays research papers

Hepatitis B can be prevented with a highly effective vaccine, but this year ten to thirty million people will become infected with the hepatitis B virus. I feel that because this disease is preventable, only knowledge can help reduce the number of people infected.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hepatitis B is a serious liver disease caused by the hepatitis B virus. This virus is a blood-borne pathogen. It is one hundred times more infectious than HIV. “Hepatitis B is one of the most frequently reported vaccine preventable diseases in the United States,'; according to the Centers for Disease Control. This disease is transmitted through oral, vaginal, and anal sex. You can also acquire the disease through sharing needles, toothbrushes, and razors, or if you come in contact with infected blood. For these reasons, the people at the highest risk of contracting the disease are: anyone who is sexually active; health, dental, and emergency workers; adoptive families with children form Asia, Africa, South America, Eastern and Mediterranean Europe (as these areas have a high number of people infected); drug users; and anyone in close contact with someone infected. This is not as scary as it seems, for you cannot contract the virus through sneezing, coughing, or holding hands. A surprising fact about hepatitis B, considering it is preventable, is that one in twenty people are or will be infected in their lifetime. There are one million people infected in the United Stat...

Impressionism: Art and Literature Essay

Impressionism, the history started in the 19th century. A group of French artists has rebelled in their work of art by painting the things around them. Among them are Berthe Morisot, Cezanne, Degas, Monet, Pissarro, and Renoir. The term ‘impressionism’ was coined by an art critic named Louis Leroy regarding a painting from Monet in 1873, the ‘Impression: Sunrise (‘Impression, Soleil Levant’). According to Louis Leroy the paintings from the group lacked details, unfinished and did not show the hard works that were exerted in traditional arts. Impression I was certain of it. I was just telling myself that, since I was impressed, there had to be some impression in it — and what freedom, what ease of workmanship! A preliminary drawing for a wallpaper pattern is more finished than this seascape. (Leroy, 1874) However, other critics were more sympathetic of the Impressionism art of the group describing them to stamp on the senses. Impressionism art spread on other western countries fast. The Impressionism was adopted in literature. The incorporation of impressionism in poems, prose and other literary works were applied whereas the literary appeals on the feelings, thoughts, impressions, emotions, sensations and impressions of the character. Impressionist literatures are characterized when actions, scenes or characters are portrayed to view reality subjectively. The characteristic of such works are subsumed in some categories including Symbolism. Among the writers who adapted such style are Baudelaire, Laforgue, Mallarme, Rimbaud and Verlaine. Novels like The Lagoon by Joseph Conrad and Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf are great examples of this genre since the comprehension of their novels are not easy. Conclusion The connection of both arts and literatures under the Impressionism genre is the way the works are conveyed to the viewers or readers. The way the Impressionism literatures allow the readers to use their senses allows stimulating different intellectual interpretation from one person to the other rather than conveying in plain words the character or scenes detailed in the written works. The same were applied to the early work of arts of Impressionism. Therefore, I disagree on the description of the unfriendly critic Louis Leroy when he said that the early work of arts do not have the hard work in traditional artworks because to stimulate the thinking and emotions through artworks and literary is a challenge for every artist and writer into Impressionism.

Dimensional Fund Advisors Case Analysis Essay

1)DFA’s investment strategy is based on their belief in the principle that stock market is efficient. They attempt to match a broad-based, value-weighted small-stock index and position themselves in the market as a passive fund manager that still claimed to add value by capturing specific dimensions of risks identified by financial science. DFA’s investment strategy incorporates elements of both passive and active management. It is passive in the sense that like many other index managers, it focuses on the importance of diversification, lower turnover and lower fees than actively managed portfolios. It is active in the sense that it develops its small-value stock focus based on academic research and uses certain techniques (such as its unique trading method in obtaining discounts and lower transaction cost) to contribute to a fund’s profits eve when the investment is inherently passive. 2)DFA’s clients are mainly major institutions (including corporate, government, union pension funds, college endowments and charities) and high-net-worth individuals. The main concern of their existing clients is potential high costs due to illiquid nature of many DFA holdings. DFA’s new product is a family of funds managed to reduce tax payments and the new clients it tries to serve are investors who are eventual taxpayers on any taxable flower received by a DFA fund they hold. To serve this new client base, DFA needs to continue its strength in keeping trading costs low and focus on reducing the taxes paid by clients. Some new issues that DFA will face include the complication of tax-optimization (such as handling the trade-off between putting more weight on non dividend-paying stocks and assuming more portfolio tracking error and volatility) as well as the possibility that tax management may lead to higher transactions costs. 3)Based on information given in the case, DFA accepts semi-form efficiency which indicates that stock prices fully reflect all past prices and all publicly available information. DFA’s trading strategies reflects that it felt that on average the market price correctly incorporated all public information, so it is only concerned about whether there is negative private information known to the seller of the block of stocks but not to the market. DFA’s trading strategy such as avoiding stocks if news  announcements are coming in the near future or if stock has recently reported sales by insiders reflect a belief that stock prices can potentially not reflect all private information. DFA also does not accept the weak-form efficient because if stock prices only reflect all information in past prices, they would see the value of performance fundamental analysis of the firm they are looking at (but the case indicates that DFA does not performance fundamental analysis). 4)Fama and French’s three factor model attempts to explain the variation of stock prices through a multifactor model that includes a size factor and BE/ME factor in addition to the beta risk factor. Fama-French model essentially extended the CAPM (which breaks up cause of variation of stock price into systematic risk which is non-diversifiable and idiosyncratic risk which is diversifiable) by introducing these two additional factors. Fama and French find that stocks with high beta didn’t have consistently higher returns than stocks with low beta and this indicates that beta was not a useful measure under their model. Their model is based on research findings that sensitivity of movements of the size and BE/ME factor constituted risk, and therefore risks associated with small companies and risks associated with high BE/ME companies in addition to beta risk explain a great deal of the variation of stock prices. The two factors in Fama-French model(company size and company BE/ME)are both firm specific risk and not market related risk, and it would appear that DFA (which base a lot of their strategies on this type of academic research) is not utilizing macroeconomic variables. However, as Fama and French argued, these factors explained so much of the common variation in stocks that they essentially capture sensitivity to risk factors related to macroeconomic variables. Therefore, not directly using macroeconomic variables (which is inherently hard to find or predict), but using the size and BE/ME factor may be a better way to represent certain types of market risk. In addition, because DFA is positioned as a passive manager that adds value, its goal then would not be to beat the market, but to follow it with the belief that in the long run indices will perform better than active strategies (which may focus on designing products that addresses macroeconomic variables such as market timing, etc ). 5)The efficient market enthusiasts believe that small stocks will outperform large  ones, and stocks with high BE/ME will generate higher returns than stocks with low BE/ME. On the other hand, behaviorists believe that the size and value premia is not always true, and there are several variable factors need to be considered. For example, in the early 1980s, when the US went into a recession, the small companies were particularly performed poorly, even when the economy and stock market rebounded after a decade, those small stocks still continued to lag.Also, by late 1990s, value stocks’ return was surpassed by the spectacular performance of growth stocks due to the high-tech stocks with very high market capitalization and relatively low assets. However, DFA believes in the efficient market theory, they prefer small stocks over large ones and value stocks over growth stocks. 6)DFA should justify its belief by stating that although the systematic risk would cause certain efficient market theories to bereversed during such times (large stocks outperform small stocks; growth stocks outperform value stocks), the market efficient theory will eventually prevailin the long-run based on the historical data done by Fama and French. Other than the market efficient theory, DFA also believes in two other principles: the value of sound academic research and the ability of skilled traders. Those two factors can contribute to fund’s profits. Because of DFA’s ability to excel in those two areas, they believe that they can provide more value even in efficient market environment. 7)Trading costs associated with small and value stocks include illiquidity and adverse selection problems. To be more specific, the illiquidity of small stocks may cause the stock price move substantially when a purchased is made. Also, the information asymmetry may also result in the adverse selection problem. DFA manages the small stocks illiquidity problems by using block trade to extract a discount on a stock purchase, thus creating value for the clients. In addition,to avoid the adverse selection problems, DFA’s traders follow several steps: 1) DFA will not buy a stock if the target company is going to make major announcement. 2) DFA will leverage the research system to avoid stocks that are more likely to have negative prices in the near future. 3) DFA avoids stocks that have recently reported sales by insiders. 4) DFA pays attention to its sellers and the nature of stock  block they traded. 8)It’s not an embarrassment for DFA when small stocks underperformed large stocks in the mid of 1980s. Because systematic events can’t be possibly avoided. In fact, DFA’s small stocks portfolio outperformed other small stocks investing competitors during the recession. This suggests that DFA’s focused principles in academic research and traders’ ability are adding value to its investors. Besides, this event alone doesn’t prove either rational or behavioral explanation is more likely since the recession is a one-off event. Therefore, DFA should not abandon its small stocks strategy because in the long run the trend is more likely to reverse itself. Even if small stocks were to continue to outperform large stocks for another decade, DFA could still provide value then other small stock investment fund. And as more fund are trading on large stock, the benefit of return on large stock may eventually goes away, making small stock.

Diversity in Colonial Times Essay Example

Diversity in Colonial Times Essay Example Diversity in Colonial Times Essay Diversity in Colonial Times Essay Name: Course: Lecturer: Date: Diversity in Colonial Times There was diversity during the colonial period, even as the country remained sparsely populated. In the third chapter, â€Å"Diversity in Colonial Times†, the author examines different aspects of diversity that were present at the time. In particular, he observes how the scarcity of the English immigrants contributed to the development of the cultural diversity as more people from different European countries migrated to the New World. The author disputes other authors who speak of cultural homogeny during the colonial period. These authors speculate that the country did not have a cultural mix of people, because of the relatively few migrants, and the fact that most of the migrants seemed to have come from the same region. This chapter illustrates how, defining people from the same continent as a single entity, limits the study of the different cultures found within the group. There was diversity during the colonial period, as the migrants came from different countries, spoke different languages, and ascribed to different religions. People in the New World came from different European countries, and all these countries had different languages, cultures, and belief system. Just because the people were from the same continent, and were similar in appearance, did not make them homogenous. The Swedes were different from the French, who were different from the Germans. People from different countries were able to maintain their cultures, by living in clustered communities. They did this even after they learnt the English language, which unified the people. The people spoke different languages, and each geographical location had a majority. Even after they learnt the English language, people maintained their sense of identity by speaking their own language in their clustered communities. They maintained their individual cultures, even after adoption and assimilation. The Africans slaves developed their own way of speaking. They were from different countries, and had different dialects, and they could not communicate well with each other. Their need for interaction contributed to them forming their own language, which enabled them to communicate with each other. This served to homogenize them, as they now spoke the same language. Although this decreased diversity among the African people, it contributed to diversity among the communities. That diversity continues today, as African Americans seem to speak English differently from the white Caucasians. The people had different religions, and this contributed to the diversity among them. Although most of the people were Christians, they were of different Christian backgrounds and denominations, and some of their beliefs were very different. Some of the religions represented during the time included Catholicism, Anglicanism, and Presbyterianism. This contributed to their diversity. The author fails to mention the different religious backgrounds. Although the chapter recognizes some of the diversity among the Africans, especially in terms of their language, it fails to recognize the different religious beliefs, practices, and traditions that existed among the people, and how these differences contributed to their diversity, and future culture. The author uses different historical documents, as well as the work of other authors who have written on the subject. He has included authors who do not depict the presence of diversity during the colonial period, as well as the authors who showed different elements of diversity during the period. This makes his work more objective, in the sense that he has considered all the possibilities. The work differs from the work of others who have attempted to write on the same issue, by including detailed information concerning the immigrants. He has considered the diversity of the African slaves, who were diverse in many ways, having come from different countries. He has observed how their learning of the English language and lifestyle did not stop them from keeping some of the elements of their culture, some of which remain today.

King Cotton and the Economy of the Old South

King Cotton and the Economy of the Old South King Cotton was a phrase coined in the years before the Civil War to refer to the economy of the American South. The southern economy was particularly dependent on cotton. And, as cotton was very much in demand, both in America and Europe, it created a special set of circumstances. Great profits could be made by growing cotton. But as most of the cotton was being picked by enslaved people, the cotton industry was essentially synonymous with slavery. And by extension,  the thriving textile industry, which was centered on mills in northern states as well as in England, was inextricably linked to the institution of American  slavery. When the banking system of the United States was rocked by periodic financial panics, the cotton-based economy of the South was at times immune to the problems. Following the Panic of 1857, a South Carolina senator, James Hammond, taunted politicians from the North during a debate in the U.S. Senate: You dare not make war on cotton. No power on earth dares make war upon it. Cotton is king. As the textile industry in England imported vast quantities of cotton from the American South, some political leaders in the South were hopeful that Great Britain might support the Confederacy during the Civil War. That did not happen. With cotton serving as the economic backbone of the South before the Civil War, the loss of enslaved labor that came with  emancipation  changed the situation. However, with the institution of sharecropping, which in practice was generally close to slave labor, the dependence on cotton as a primary crop continued well into the 20th century. Conditions Which Led to a Dependence on Cotton When white settlers came into the American South, they discovered very fertile farmland which turned out to be some of the best lands in the world for growing cotton. Eli Whitneys invention of the cotton gin, which automated the work of cleaning cotton fiber, made it possible to process more cotton than ever before. And, of course, what made enormous cotton crops profitable was cheap labor, in the form of enslaved Africans. The picking of cotton fibers from the plants was very difficult to work which had to be done by hand. So the harvesting of cotton required an enormous workforce. As the cotton industry grew, the number of slaves in America also increased during the early 19th century. Many of them, especially in the lower South, were engaged in cotton farming. And though the United States instituted a ban against importing slaves early in the 19th century, the growing need for slaves to farm cotton inspired a large and thriving internal slave trade. For example, slave traders in Virginia would transport slaves southward, to the slave markets in New Orleans and other Deep South cities. Dependence on Cotton Was a Mixed Blessing By the time of the Civil War, two-thirds of the cotton produced in the world came from the American South. Textile factories in Britain used enormous quantities of cotton from America. When the Civil War began, the Union Navy blockaded the ports of the South as part of General Winfield Scotts Anaconda Plan. And  cotton exports were effectively stopped. While some cotton was able to get out, carried by ships known as blockade runners, it became  impossible to maintain a steady supply of American cotton to British mills. Cotton growers in other countries, primarily Egypt and India, increased production to satisfy the British market. And with the cotton economy essentially stalled, the South was at a severe economic disadvantage during the Civil War. It has been estimated that cotton exports before the Civil War were approximately $192 million. In 1865, following the end of the war, exports amounted to less than $7 million. Cotton Production After the Civil War Though the war ended the use of enslaved labor in the cotton industry, cotton was still the preferred crop in the South. The system of sharecropping, in which farmers did not own the land but worked it for a portion of the profits, came into widespread use. And the most common crop in the sharecropping system was cotton. In the later decades of the 19th-century prices of cotton dropped, and that contributed to the severe poverty throughout much of the South. The reliance upon cotton, which had been so profitable earlier in the century, proved to be a severe problem by the 1880s and 1890s.