Monday, June 10, 2019
Critically consider the position of the 'reasonable person' in both Coursework
Critically consider the position of the reasonable person in both the laws of contract and negligence. Uses cases and examples from both areas of laws to illustrate your answer - Coursework casefulIt will critically evaluate the concept and how it intersects with these branches of law. The study will review the concepts in light of examples and other aspects of judicial precedence.The reasonable man person give ups a court-ordered standard against which a defendants culpability can be evaluated. If he is found to look at behaved as a reasonable person would have under similar circumstances, he might be owed compensation rather than a punitive penalty. (Donovan, 2013, p. 100).This means the concept of a reasonable person exists to provide a basic standard of a expectation that a person of a certain level of mental awareness should be able to visualise and deal with. This means that a reasonable person is deduced done an assessment of what an individual will have ideally consider ed in similar situations and contexts.The usage of the philosophy of reasonable person varies across different branches of law. It is utilised in criminal law and may be varied in setting the standard of interest or standard of responsiveness based on the category of law that is being discussed.In the law of contract, the standard of a reasonable person is often invoked to examine the actions of a party in relation to a contract that is seen as an arms-length transaction or non. This is meant to ascertain if the contract was fair or not and hence, it provides guidance on how the law was put together and how the legal convention was utilised in dealing with people and in dealing with various processes that culminated in the formulation of the contract.A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two parties with an intention to create a legal relationship and it goes through the stages of offer, acceptance and mutual exchange of consideration (Hunt, 2014). A contract is voluntary and hence, each party must enter the contract willingly and without duress.Therefore, it can be stated that in cases where a person enters a
Sunday, June 9, 2019
Western Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Western Art - Essay ExampleThe Etruscan civilization, on its peak, In the sixth and the seventh centuries, produced great works of art that Although deeply influenced by the Greek culture, conserved its distinctive identity. According to roman writers, the Etruscans were master of architectural engineering town planning and surveying, they taught Romans how to build fortifications, drainage systems and bridges. They also founded, using grids, many cities in Rome. Among the monuments that survived from this civilization we can cite, the temple of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva on the Capitoline hill.By 200 B.C., due to its successive military victory, Rome became at the forefront of the western world. Greece, although militarily defeated, find the shape of the republic Romes cultural life with the achievements of its philosophers, mathematicians and sculptors. Architecture surpassed its political and ritual functions to extend to urban architecture as this period witnessed the construct ion of several offices, bridges, streets,, and so forth The most important monuments built in this period are the Fortuna Virilis temple, the theater of Marcellus and the temple of Vesta. In the beginning of the Empire, roman architecture was the reflection of political life. Caesar arranged the reconstruction of old republican basilicas like the Basilica Julia, the Basilica Sempronia and the Basilica Aemilia as well as the construction of temples like the temple of Castor and Pollux, the temple of Divus Jiulus, the temple of Concord and most importantly the triumphal arc. Constantine, being the first Christian emperor, founded churches like the church of the Nativity, Bethlehem and the church of Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem and the original St. ray in Rome as well as the church of San Giovanni in Laterano.Between the fifth and ninth centuries, with major building projects in Western europium almost at a standhill, architectural development was left to Byzantium which remained econo mically
Saturday, June 8, 2019
Ideological Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Ideological - Essay ExampleSuch has been the case with of this author with regards to the topic of prayer in school. As a function of seeking to explain and ideological biography for how this belief has gr proclaim and evolved through cartridge holder, the following analysis will analyze the assorted stages and approaches that existed within my mind up until the present time. Before delving into the issue, it must be understood that the issue of prayer in school has been one that has been hotly contend and debated within the sphere of politics and current media during my adolescence and childhood. As a result of this fact, the perennial presence of this debate allowed me to be presented with the arguments for and against school prayer at a relatively young age. In keeping with the way in which the majority of society viewed the issue, I was led to believe that prayer in school, although representing a a few(prenominal) key benefits, was ultimately against the separation of church and state and should not exist to any level or take aim within the educational schema. Rather than this be informed by a particularly atheist and/or anti-religious viewpoint, this was instead informed as a result of the impact that media and the political debate had upon my own views. However, as I began to mature, I began to note the failures within the educational system as compared to the prior years in which it has been so successful. For instance, my parents, as well as older generations work continually discussing the devolution of the United States educational system and seeking to understand what changes could potentially be made as a path of remedying this decline. As a function of the presence of this issue and the clear and unmistakable fact that the United States educational system was merely a shell of what it was during the time of my parents and/or grandparents, my views with respect to the role of prayer in school began to change. Rather than being diametricall y opposed to such an idea, I began to integrate with a take of hold with respect to some of the benefits that it might stick out. However, of all of the factors that influence this progression of ideology within my own life, perhaps the most important was a level of increased importance with regards to the role in which religion played within my own life. As was the case of many individuals growing up in a religious home, religion did not have a personal impact upon me until such a time that I began to experience religious growth and appreciation within my own life. Realizing the power and help that prayer exhibited within my own life allowed me to come to a greater level of appreciation and understanding with regards to the degree of help and power that prayer could provide within the group setting. Anyone with even a cursory level of understanding concerning the power that prayer can provide understands that group prayer is a particularly powerful means through which intercessi on can be provided. As such, failing to utilize such a powerful tool within the educational system is merely ignoring a cost of free and highly successful method through which the educational system and personal development of the individual students can be maximized. All too often, within the current system, millions of dollars are poured into particular programs with little result. However, it is my firm belief, as a result
Friday, June 7, 2019
Critique of Klemperers Auction Design Essay Example for Free
Critique of Klemperers Auction Design EssayWhat Really Matters in Auction Design, Paul Klemperer, Journal of Economic Perspective Volume 16, Number 1 Winter 2002, pp. 169-189 I really like this article because I injecttain with around of what it says. Auctions, in recent times, have become very popular and I dont need to interview anyone closely(predicate) this, I just need to image myself to find out. Over the past few years, to be brutally honest, I have been absolutely addicted to eBay. com, an online shopping site made famous by the way in operates. Not totally be all transactions made online, which is very convenient, simply the way things are sold is what makes the shopping discover at eBay so unique, and fun. As the article mentions, auction off sales (like eBay) keister be potentially good for both buyers and sellers. An auction can involve many buyers, for instance the auction of a firm, whereas in the olden days, a negotiation over a house was usually between two people (bilateral negotiation) today there can be many sellers all competing for the same prize.This is good for the seller because now there is much more competition for the prize, therefore the seller will ring hes getting the highest determine for the same head. I think this is true because as human beings psychology goes, humans (generally speaking), angle to handle things better if they come in small increments, using the purchase of a house as an example, one would be somewhat overwhelmed at seeing a price tag of $1,000,000 for a house. However, instead of selling a house straight off a price-tag, if the auction method was taken, bidding might start at say $200,000, which sounds improbably cheap.After that, the auction could rise in very small increments, say $3,000, which wouldnt be very over-whelming for the human mind to take in. And with this method, it is much easier to convince the human mind to believe that the house is worth $1,000,000, or more Howeve r, as the article mentions, one should not be over-excited at the prospect of auctioning everything. Like most things, auctions can have their pit-falls. A major pitfall is bidder collusion. This is where buyers, or bidders, group together to abet with one another.This is a serious task because this is regarded as anti-competitive behavior which is a serious crime against the law. Sometimes, the deathing winning price will be lower than what the seller had give waying for it in the first place, making it an unremunerative auction. This could happen when for example, there are 10 Nike garment for sale, and 10 bidders interested in Nike shoes. Collusion takes place when the 10 sly bidders come together and cooperate with each other so that each will go home with a pair of shoes at the lowest possible price, often the starting line price of the auction, which often is very low.This is detrimental to the profits the seller was hoping to make because essentially, there is not eno ugh competition, and it is very hard to prove in judicature that the bidders were colluding. I think this rarely on eBay, it hasnt happened to my knowledge, this could be because eBay has the power to monitor conversations between online members and any anti-competitive behaviour is detected and the members guilty will get into trouble, perhaps kicked out and disallowed from using eBay again.A possible solution to this, as the article mentions is the tactic of hiding certain bits of information from the bidders. The use of the sealed-bid auction can be used so that bidders dont know what the current price/bid is and therefore they wint know what price they can and should collude at, because anyone can secretly enter a bid slightly higher than the collusion agreed price and walk away for more goods than everybody else. This is bad for that one person who deviated from the collusion and won everything if the other members find out it was him.However, another way to protect this com petitive buyer is to make the winner anonymous. So now this seems like the perfect auction design, sealed bid auction, anonymous winner, but this design still has its pitfalls. Imagine you were the winner of the Nike shoes by sealed bid auction and you are anonymous, you paid $200 for them. However, later you find out that the runner-up bidder (the person with the second highest bid) only bided $50. It turns out that you bid and paid $150 more than you had to, this would be very humiliating and embarrassing for you.This can be a major job I would imagine, however eBay has sort of managed to sort a similar problem out, you roll the maximum your are willing to bid, if you win, you only have to pay $1 more than the runner up, that way you are the one willing to pay the most, in time you pay the least possible given the other competitors, this way, everyone stays happy. I think this is a really smart way to do it because not only can you almost assure yourself of winning, given youve got lots of money, but it means that youll pay as little as possible for the goods.The only other problem possible with this method is that the runner-up may become jealous of you and may bid up the price, these are called phoney bids, just so that youll have to pay more money, however, this is not often a problem because it is very risky for the runner-up to do this because he may over-take you in the bidding and end up having to pay the high-price. Which I would say serves him right for being so jealous and childish. If the runner-up wants the good so bad and is so jealous, let him have it but make him pay a high price.This brings me to the next thing which this article clearly points out, beware the Winners Curse. It is extremely easy to over-bid in any auctions because of the fact that bidders tend to think in terms of small increments and not big numbers (as pointed out above), therefore it is very easy for bidders to bid too much, win the good, and end up paying more than the goods actual value. In some instances, bidders are paying more for Nike shoes at auctions, when they could buy the same pair of shoes at a retail shop like say, Rebel Sports.This is called the winners curse, this can be avoided by getting as much information about the harvest/good as possible before bidding on the shoes. This I know has happened to me on numerous occasions on eBay. com. au, mainly because I cute the product and I also felt proud about the fact that I beat everybody else at the auction, little did I know how much my authority would plummet when I found out that I paid too much for the same pair of shoesBut, as Klemperer points out, hiding information about the product is not always at the sellers best interest. This point should be quite self-explanatory because, why would bidders bid aggressively if they dont know much about the item they are bidding on? This was also a lesson learnt the hard way for me, these days if Im bidding on something, I want to read that the item Im bidding is real/authentic and not a fake and that way if the item they give me is a fake, I can get a refund.If the seller wishes to encourage aggressive bidding, he/she has to provide useful and honest information for the bidders otherwise aggressive bidding is nothing but a dream. Another problem that can be faced by auctioneers is as Klemperer labels it Entry Deterrence and Predation, this is not a problem on eBay because all bidders bid at their deliver pace. However, in the case of an auction for say a house where bidders stand in a crowd with one another, really aggressive bidders tend to pall everyone away. On eBay where you can make small incremental bids as low as 20iat a time at anytime (provided the auction has not ended), with house auctions really aggressive bidders can bid huge increments which tends to scare off everybody else and so that person dominates the auction and has an advantage. This predatory action can be avoided by allowing the auction pric e to only rise by little increments at one time, this is sometimes seen where the auctioneers job is to offer the crowd a winning price from which the bidders only need to raise their hand to signal that they accept the price offered, this in turn removes a lot of the predatory actions of a few.There are many other interesting points made by Klemperer, he really is a scientist when it comes to auction analysis and I really admire the work he has done. So for you future bidders, watch out the winners curse and find out plenty of information about the thing you are bidding on, and dont get over-excited, this is very dangerous. Other than that, I look forward to reading more of Klemperers articles.
Thursday, June 6, 2019
The ideologies Essay Example for Free
The ideologies EssayThe ideologies that dominated the westward expansion of the United States may perplex been embedded in the idea of ovalbumin. As an idea, tweed was passkeyly conceived in Europe as one of the major tools employed in the conquest of the third world countries an objective that was achieved via colonialism and slavery. The whiteness ideology has no biological basis and is a purely a social construction. Whiteness helped to create solidarity among the Europeans with the belief that whites are the superior race. Whiteness is to a fault the ideology underlying racism, particularly when it is viewed from the perspective of the white mans burden to colonise the savage. Despite being flawed with prejudices and ideological errors, whiteness is still upheld as an infallible ideology by its supporters. It therefore forms an essential part of the methods adopted in the domination of other races. The westward expansion of the United States may admit largely been inform ed by this idea of white supremacy .The oppression of native Americans and other minority groups is evident in American history whereby the whites utilize the whiteness ideology as effective forms of social control. Chaos, disorder and savagery are seen by whiteness ideologists as the very opposite of civilisation which the ideology-in their avow perspective -stands for. In the Antebellum era the resulting violence, racism, prejudice, discrimination and oppression of the peoples of non-European descent were seen as justifiable by reason of the white supremacy ideology.Native Americans, original accepters of much of the west were never considered as equals of their counterparts of European descent. Long before the arrival of the Europeans, the Indians were already settled in North America, this fact did very short to prevent their evacuation from their ancestral lands by the Europeans who were armed with the whiteness ideology and possessed the lands for themselves. The belief tha t it was expedient for the colonist, who were of European descent to civilise their savage neighbours considering their much intelligent make-up lent a very strong helping hand to this cause.A replay of the colonisation of African territories was witnessed as the expansion continued, climaxing with the Indian removal Act which resulted in the resettling of Indians on reservations. Another ideology that may have informed Americas drive westward was the need for national security. The allegiance of most(prenominal) Indians to the British was an uncomfortable position for America who was still locked in a dispute with the British succeeding(a) the American Revolutionary Wars.Leaving the western lands unsupervised would probably have amounted to a weak point in the strategic defence of the United States. The Indian removal act as passed by sexual intercourse in 1830 was one very important strategy adopted by the US government in its westward expansion . This policy empowered the ch airwoman to sign relocation treaties with the Native American tribes. These relocations were almost always forcibly enforced as the natives were reluctant to move.Subsequent upon this policy native Americans were relocated to settlements . An engrossment policy was beginning to gain ground as against settlements in reservations with the sole aim of separating the natives from their traditional way of life in order to inculcate them into American cultural way of life. Furthermore some states, as a ploy to deny the scattered Indian resistance of support from Whites Sympathetic to their cause, banned non-Indian settlements on Indian lands.Bison was the major source of food for the Indians of the plains and as a strategy to quit them and take takeover their lands, people were encouraged by then president Jackson to hunt and kill as many Bison as possible so that being starved of food the Indians would move out on their own accord. Americas interest in New Mexico and Upper California l ed to a war with Mexico on a very flimsy assuage and Americas policy towards the native Indians and Mexico has continually evolved.At the moment assimilation as a policy is preferred over reservation following the Indian citizenship act of 1924. Many Native Indian tribes today have been assimilated into mainstream American culture and are at the granted federal recognition that entails their by rights to self government, sovereignty and self determination thereby sharing some privileges with the states with limitations however on issues bordering on foreign relations, external aggression and on the power to mint and print currency.Heart diseases, alcoholism, diabetes etc are some modern physical health problems being suffered by Native Americans whose remote cause may have been the numerous ordeals they have been through over the years. On the whole the westward expansion of the United States has helped in largely defining core American set and civilization.Works Cited1. For the Common Defence A Military History of the United States of America (1994). Simon Schuster. ISBN0-0292-1597-8.
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Hubspot Case Question Essay Example for Free
Hubspot Case Question Essay1. Analyze HubSpots Marketing incorporate in the context of an overallMarketing Strategy 2. Do you agree with HubSpot that the rules of merchandise have changed? If so, how? Is inbound marketingthe answer? Why or why not? 3. Is HubSpot finding and fate the right set of customers? Given its position as a start-up company,should it widen its focus to serve any customer that comes its way? Or narrow their target, by focusingexclusively on either Owner Ollies or Marketer Marys? Or by focusing exclusively on either B2B or B2Ccustomers? 4. HubSpot has begun to differentiate its products as it has in condition(p) much about its customers. Should it domore? Should its pricing strategy change too?Does the software-as-a-service (SaaS) pricing model workfor both Marketer Marys and Owner Ollies? Should HubSpot try to immediately capture more value for either of these customers? 5. Are Halligan and Shah being too stubborn by not doing any outbound marketing? O r should they continueto practice what they preach by focusing on inbound marketing alone? 6. Halligan and Shah want HubSpot to be to marketing, what salesforce.com is to sales. What would your plan of action be to make this happen? Why would you take these actions? What keeps you up at nightabout your plan?This case follows the growth of HubSpot, an entrepreneurial venture which faces significant challenges includingdeveloping a market segmentation, deciding which customer to serve and which customers to turn away,configuring a pricing strategy which is aligned with the value being delivered to customers, and determiningwhether inbound marketing programs can generate enough scale to grow the business or whethertraditionaloutbound marketing methods need to be employed to accelerate growth. The HubSpot case focuses on issuesaround marketing channels, specifically inbound marketing and the use of Web 2.0 tools and applications suchas blogging, search engine optimization, and affectio nate media
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Electroencephalogram Test on Alcoholics and Non Alcoholics
Electroencephalogram Test on Alcoholics and Non AlcoholicsINTRODUCTIONThe electroencephalogram ( electroencephalogram) is a beak handst of the electric use in the perseverings sense. This galvanic performance is produced by the firing of neurons (a nerve cell) within the star and varies from tolerant to patient. In 1875, English physician Ric punishing Caton diskovered the presence of electrical performance in the pass however, it was not until German neurologist Han Berger in 1924 used his ordinary radio equipment to amplify the headers electrical activity so he could record it on paper. He noticed that jazzy changes in brain waves varied with the individuals state of consciousness ( kip, anesthesia, epilepsy) and that various regions of the brain do not emit the same brain wave oftenness simultaneously. (http//www.bio-medical.com). The encephalogram was given its name by Berger who used the German term elektrenkephalogramm to describe the graphical representation of t he electrical currents gene castd in the brain. The scientific community of Bergers clock did not believe the conclusions he make and it took another five ample time until his conclusions could be verified through experimentation by Edgar Douglas Adrian and B.C.H Matthews. These experiments made toss-waves and other scientists began studying the field and in 1936 W. Gray Walter demonstrated that this technology could be used to pinpoint a brain tumor. He used a large number of small electrodes that he pasted to the scalp and found that brain tumors frontd aras of atypical electrical activity. (Romanowski 1999) and http//www.ebme.co.uk.The brain is the central part of the nervous system, which is the virtually complicated system in the body. It is an intriguing organ that has been studied right from the time of brain development in the fetus. The human brain weighs about 1.5kg in adults. The cerebrum, which forms the bulk of the brain, is divided into two hemispheres, the ri ght hemisphere and the left hemisphere. Each hemisphere of the brain interacts with ane half of the body, simply for un cognise agents, it is the right berth that subordinations the left half of the body and the left half of the brain that controls the right half of the body. However, in most people, the left hemisphere of the brain is involved in language and creativeness, while the right side of the brain is more involved in understanding and judgment. The cerebrum, which is located in the forebrain, is the largest part of the human brain and is associated with high brain functions such as thought and action. The cerebral cortex is divided into four sections called lobes. These accept the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe and temporal lobe. The frontal lobe is associated with reasoning, planning, separate of speech, movement and problem solving. The parietal lobe is associated with movement, orientation, recognition and perception of stimuli. The occipital lobe is associated with visual processing and the temporal lobe is associated with perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, memory and speech. (Khan 2009).Over the years with advancements in technology encephalogram electrodes, amplifiers and output devices were improved and scientists learned the best places to put the electrodes and how to diagnose its conditions. They also discovered how to create electrical maps to produce an word-painting of the brains originate and today pneumoencephalogram machines have multiple channels, computer storage memories and fussyized softw are that brush aside create an electrical map of the brain. (Romanowski 1999). EEG has coiffure a long way since its inception more than 100 years ago and it is used primarily in studying the properties of cerebral and neural networks in neurosciences (Michel et al. 2004). It is used to monitor the neurodevelopment and catnap patterns of infants in the intensive wield unit and ultimately en fitted physici ans to use the education to improve daily medical care (Scher 2004). The emergence of neurofeedback or EEG biofeedback has expanded the industry of EEG for both cases with particular dis nines or among healthy participants. EEG frequencies in neurofeedback rotter be controlled to peg down certain cognitive performance and memory confinement, (Vernon et al. 2003). Interactive Brainwave Visual Analyzer (IBVA) is a form of biofeedback for the brain (neurofeedback). Its a training process of victimisation technology to provide you with more information about what your body is doing than your ordinary senses provide. This feedback helps you learn to use your mind to develop greater control over your body, or, in the case of neurofeedback, your brain. IBVA detects brainwaves phasing at speeds measured in units of Hz for cycles per second between 0 and 60 Hz. It is used for sleep state and hypnosis analysis, image programming for sports training, extremely learning (photo reading) and for study. EEG biofeedback is effective in treating psychological dis come outs such as attention deficit, depression, inveterate anxiety disorder, chronic alcoholics and neurological disorders like epilepsy. Patients with epilepsy that lavnot be controlled by medication bequeath often have surgery in order to remove the damaged tissue. The EEG plays an important role in localizing this tissue. Special electrodes apprize be inserted through the cortex or alternatively a grid of electrodes placed directly on the surface of the cortex. These recordings, often called Long Term monitor for Epilepsy (LTME), can be carried out for periods ranging from 24 hours to 1 week. The EEG recorded will indicate which areas of the brain should be surgically removed. (Smith n.d). another(prenominal) important application of the EEG is used by anesthesiologist to monitor the depth of anesthesia. EEG measures sequestern during anesthesia exhibit stereotypic changes as anesthetic depth join on s. These changes include complex patterns of loss of consciousness oversteps (loss of responses to verbal commands and/or loss of righting reflex). As anesthetic depth increases from get away surgical levels to deep anesthesia, the EEG exhibits disrupted rhythmic waveforms, high amplitude burst suppression activity, and finally, very downcast amplitude isoelectric or flat line activity.Quantitative EEG (QEEG) has come a long way in its relatively short life in terms of use in clinical practice. Now, as clinicians become aware of the scientific rear end and power of apply parametrically based measures of QEEG to assess an individual against age-matched populations, they find new ways to employ this technique. There are literally thousands of univariate electrophysiological measures that can be derived, change and normed into Z-scores (standard scores), to be used to indicate degrees of derivations from general. QEEG offers a powerful application tool as a manner for providing convergent evidence in the identification of clinical syndromes for individuals. Over the years, various clinicians apply QEEG have attempted to establish brain maps to correspond with specific disorders such as learning disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), chronic alcoholism and depression. era certain features may be associated with general types of impairments, the utilization of univariate sets of features have, to date, been unable to provide defining specific psychiatric disorders. Looking at still the univariate features without recognizing the full space of all deviant measures, unity may not realize the particular cluster of measure that may contribute to specific disorders with straightforward features. Multivariate statistical measurement sets encompass the space of regions by measurement, yielding distinctive complex patterns which yield greater sensitivity in discriminability. (Budzynski, Evans and Abarbanel 2008).The basic systems of an EE G machine include data collection, storage and display. The components of these systems include electrodes, connecting wires, a computer control module and a display device. The electrodes used can be both surface or needle electrodes. Needle electrodes provide greater place clarity be take a leak they are injected directly into the body and this in turn eliminates signal muffling caused by the skin. Surface electrodes on the other hand are disposable models such as the tab, ring and bar electrodes as well as reusable disc and finger electrodes. These electrodes may also be combined into an electrode cap that is placed directly on the head (Romanowski 2002).EEG amplifiers convert weak signals from the brain into a more discernable signal for the output device. An amplifier may be set up as follows a pair of electrodes detects the electrical signal from the body, wires connected to the electrodes direct the signal to the prototypic section of the amplifier (buffer amplifier). Her e the signal is electronically stabilized and amplified by a broker of 5 10 and then next in line is a differential pre-amplifier that filters and amplifies the signal by a factor of 10 100. After passing through these amplifiers the signals are multiplied by hundreds or thousands of times. Multiple electrodes are used since the brain produces different signals at different points on the skull and the number of channels that an EEG machine has is related to the number of electrodes used. The amplifier is able to translate the different incoming signals and cancel out ones that are identical this means that the output from the machine is actually the difference in electrical activity picked up by the two electrodes. This therefore means that the placement for each electrode is critical because the closer they are to each other the less differences in brainwaves will be recorded (Romanowski 2002).EEG SYSTEM LAYOUT (www.medicalengineer.com)Recording of the electrical activity in the brain confines place over a short period of time from where information is obtained from electrodes stationed at specific points on the patients head. Electrodes are placed on the scalp of the head usually after preparing the scalp area by light abrasion to reduce impedance due to dead skin cells. In order for the placement of these electrodes to be consistent throughout an internationally recognized method called the 10-20 System is followed. The 10 and the 20 gives the actual distances between adjacent electrodes. This distance can either be 10% or 20% of the total front-back or right-left distance of the skull, i.e. the nasion inion and preauricular points respectively, http//www.neurocarelaunches.com. Specific measurements from bony landmarks (inion, nasion and preauricular point) are used to generate a system of lines, which run across the head and intersect at intervals of 10% or 20% of their total length as mentioned above. The standard set of electrodes consists of 21 rec ording electrodes and one ground electrode. The distance between the nasion and inion is measured along the midplane and the frontopolar point, Fpz, is marked at 10% above the nasion. Frontal (Fz), central (Cz), parietal (Pz) and occipital (Oz) points are marked at intervals of 20% of the entire distance, leaving 10% for the interval between Oz and inion (see Diagram 1). The midline points Fpz and Oz human activityly do not receive any electrode. The distance between two preauricular points across Cz is measured. Along this line, the thwartwise position for the central points C3 and C4 and the temporal points T3 and T4 are marked 20% and 40% respectively from the midline (see Diagram 2). The circumference of the head is measured form the occipital point (Oz) through temporal points T3 and T4 and the frontopolar point (Fpz). The longitudinal measurement for Fp1 is located on that circumference, 5% of the total length of the circumference to the left of Fpz. The longitudinal measure ments for F7, T3, T5, O1, O2, T6, T4, F8 and Fp2 are at the distance of 10% of the circumference (see Diagram 3). An electrode is then placed on each of the two ear lobes. (Jasper 1958) and (Jasper 1983).In order for the EEG examen to be a success and the best possible results obtained the preparation the patient must undergo is very basic since lonesome(prenominal) a good wickedness sleep before the test is needed along with a grease-free head on the morning of the test. However, it can get more technical should the patient be taking any medication and information on this medication must be passed on to the doctor. An EEG test may be done in a hospital or in a doctors office by an EEG technologist. Using the internationally recognized 10-20 system, the electrodes are placed on the patients head and the technologist can then put the patient through a variety of different tasks such as addition/subtraction of numbers, breathing deep and rapidly or he can ask the person to wear a g oggles sending out a strobe (bright flashing light). These tasks take place normally at 15-20 second durations with 30 second breaks in between. The electrodes attached to the patients head are connected by wires to a computer which records the electrical activity in the brain. An EEG test can last between 1-2 hours and the results obtained from it can be read by a certified doctor know as a Neurologist.The results of an EEG test are in the form of waveforms which gives vital information about the patient. Waves can either be Alpha waves (frequency of 8 to 12 cycles per second), Beta waves (frequency of 14 to 50 cycles per second), Delta waves (frequency less than 5 cycles per second) or Theta waves (frequency of 4 to 7 cycles per second). Basic alpha waves, which originate in the cortex, can be recorded if the patient closes his eye and put his brain at rest as much as possible. Beta activity is a normal activity present when the eyes are open or closed. It tends to be seen in the channels recorded from the centre or front of the head. Some drugs however, tend to increase the amount of beta activity in the EEG. Theta activity can be classified as both a normal and abnormal activity figureing on the age and state of the patient. In adults it is normal if the patient is drowsy. However, it can also indicate brain dysfunction if it is seen in a patient who is alert and awake. In younger patients, theta activity may be the main activity seen in channels recorded from the back and central areas of the head. Delta activity is only normal in an adult patient if they are in a moderate to deep sleep. If it is seen at any other time it would indicate brain dysfunction. atypical activity may be seen in all or some channels depending on the underlying brain problem. The stroke or blow on the head. (Niedermeyer, Ernest and Lopes da Silva 2004).ALPHA WAVESBETA WAVESTHETA WAVESDELTA WAVES (http//www.electropsychology.com)Each type of wave mentioned above gives us informat ion about the patient, for example in a normal patient we tend to observe mainly alpha or beta waves since both sides of the brain appearing similar patterns of electrical activity. A normal person in this case is described as one who doesnt possess any of the following affections or injuries head injury, neurological disease, convulsions, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, memory difficulties, confusion, depression, delusions/hallucinations and learning disabilities. If the patient is abnormal you may find two sides of the brain giving different electrical activities and this may mean there is a problem in one side of the brain caused by a brain tumor, stroke, infection or epilepsy.EPILEPTIC SPIKES AND WAVE DISCHARGES MONITORED WITH EEG (http//www.webmd.com).A stroke, which is a sudden disruption in blood flow to brain, caused by blockage or bleeding of a blood vessel and Epilepsy which is a nervous system disorder, can cause abnormal electrical activity in the brain and this abnormality can be seen from the results of an EEG test. Another common disease which is on the escalation presently is Alcoholism. This disease is known as alcohol dependence syndrome i.e. the most severe stage of a group of drinking problems, and the person who has this disease is known as an alcoholic. Alcohol understandably affects the brain since impairments such as difficulty in walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reaction times and impaired memory are detectable after only one or two drinks and is quickly resolved when drinking stops. We do know that heavy drinking may have extensive and far-reaching effects on the brain ranging from simple slips in memory to permanent and debilitating conditions that require lifetime custodial care (White 2003). According to the number 1 website for alcoholism, http//www.alcoholism.about.com, studies have shown that brains of alcoholics are smaller, lighter and shrunken when compared to that of a normal person. The cerebral cortex or gray m atter in the brain controls all the complex mental activities and this is fill with neurons connected by single long fibers which make up the hard wiring of the brain. Heavy consumption of alcohol is particularly damaging on this hard wiring hence the reason why the brain becomes lighter and smaller and the alcoholic severe impairments.SCHEMATIC DRAWING OF THE HUMAN BRAIN, SHOWING REGIONS VULNERABLE TO ALCOHOLISM-RELATED ABNORMALITIES. (http//www.elvizy.com).Another major organ apart from the brain which alcohol affects is the liver. Long-term abusers of alcohol usually have some degree of liver damage, ranging in severity from symptomless and reversible fatty liver, through hepatitis and cirrhosis, to primary liver cell carcinoma, which is usually fatal. Evidence is accruing to suggest that this spectrum of disorders may be a progressive series of stages of increase severity. Alcohol liver damage accounts for the vast majority of cases of cirrhosis in patients coming to autopsy. F urther, mortality from cirrhosis is associated with national per capita levels of consumption. In North-American studies, alcoholic cirrhosis was one of the top five causes of mortality for people aged 25 to 64 years in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1992, Savolainen, Penttila and Karhunen investigated the relationship between alcohol aspiration and liver cirrhosis in Finland, where the per capita consumption rates doubles between 1969 and 1974. Rates of liver cirrhosis mortality rose from 4.2 to 9.7 per 100,000 between 1968 and 1988. The mortality rate from cirrhosis has been estimated as between seven and thirteen times higher in alcoholics than in those who do not drink. Although it is more common in men than in women, there is evidence that liver disease progresses more rapidly in the female alcohol abuser (Knight and Longmore 1996). Alcoholics, they say, are not like missed victims of measles or cancer. They may have impaired control but they can gain control through will-power and learning certain techniques. While the cause of alcoholism is unknown, a number of risk factors have been identified. These include availability (Australian Aborigines illustrate the importance of availability of alcohol as a risk factor since when they were forbidden to drink there apparently was a low rate of alcohol abuse), family history (alcoholism in the family is probably the strongest predictor of alcoholism occurring in particular individuals), sex (studies have confirmed higher incidence of alcoholism in men than in women), age (alcoholism in men usually develops in the teens, twenties and thirties while in women it often develops later), geography (people living in urban or suburban areas are more often alcoholics than those living in farms or in small towns), occupation (waiters, bartenders, Dockers, musicians, authors and reporters have relatively high cirrhosis rates whereas accountants, postmen and carpenters have relatively low rates), religion (almost all Jews and E piscopalians drink, but alcoholism among Jews is uncommon and appear relatively low among Episcopalians, whereas Irish Catholics in the USA and UK have high rates of alcoholism) and nurture difficulty ( secondary school dropouts have a record of being irritable and melancholy and experience feelings of guilt and remorse which drives them to become alcoholics. These lose interest in life and shine suicide which is a common outcome of alcoholism). People who have been drinking large amounts of alcohol for long periods of time run the risk of developing serious and persistent changes in the brain. Damage may be as a result of the alcohol on the brain or may result indirectly, from a poor health status or from severe liver disease (Goodwin 2000).Alcoholics are not all alike since they experience different degrees of impairment and the disease has different origins for different people. Consequently, questioners have not found conclusive evidence that any one variable is solely respo nsible for the brain deficits found in alcoholics. Characterizing what makes some alcoholics vulnerable to brain damage whereas others are not remains the subject of active research. The good news is that most alcoholics with cognitive impairment show at least some improvement in brain structure and functioning within a year of abstinence, though some people take much longer (Bates, Bowden and Barry 2002), (Gansler 2000) and (Sullivan 2000). Clinicians must consider a variety of treatment methods to help people stop drinking and to recover from alcohol related brain impairments, and tailor these treatments to the individual patient. Development of these therapies would occur over time with advancements in technology. Brain imaging techniques are used by medical doctors so that they can monitor the course of these therapies and see how successful they are. This monitoring is important since imaging can reveal information such as structural, functional and biochemical changes in the l iving patient over a period of time. Promising new medications also are in the early stages of development, as researchers strive to design therapies that can help pr circumstance alcohols harmful effects and promote the growth of new brain cells to take the place of those that have been damaged by alcohol.OBJECTIVESElectroencephalogram or EEG is a tool used to image the brain while it is playacting a cognitive task. This allows us to detect the location and magnitude of brain activity involved in the various types of cognitive functions we study. EEG allows us to view and record the changes in your brain activity during the time you are performing the task. Results from an EEG is extremely useful since Neurologists use this to diagnose seizure disorders (epilepsy), brain tumors, brain hemorrhage, cerebral infarct, head injury, sleep disorders and in confirming death in someone who is in a coma. (Tatum 2007).In this research project we have narrowed the study of the EEG to examine male alcoholic and non-alcoholic patients. The general accusative of this project requires us to compare EEG results obtained from testing alcoholic and non-alcoholic patients at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex. An alcoholic is one who suffers from the disease known as alcoholism and cannot control how much they consume. Identification of one involves an objective assessment regarding the damage that imbibing alcohol does to the drinkers life compared with the subjective benefits the drinker perceives from consuming alcohol. While there are many cases where an alcoholics life has been significantly and obviously damaged, there are always borderline cases that can be difficult to classify. Apart from the general objective of this research project there were many smaller tasks which had to be completed in order for us to obtain successful results and hence fulfill our main objective.The first task of this research project entailed sourcing alcoholic and non-alcoholic volun teers to test. This was particularly important since the successfulness of this task would revolve solely around our general objective. However, once this first task was sorted out and patients were tested, from the results obtained we used analytical methods such as monopolar absolute power maps, coherence maps and chaos analysis to help us get a clearer illustration of the results and hence make the general objective much clearer.The second objective of this project required us to have sufficient background information on the EEG, the experimental methodology when conducting an EEG (10-20 System), analytical methods used to illustrate EEG results, alcoholism, EEG on alcoholics and other general topics revolving around the area of research. In order for this to be a success the necessary books, journals, websites had to be sourced and read before any practical work commenced.Once these two tasks were performed successfully, we then set out to obtain our general objective of analyzi ng and comparing EEG results of both alcoholics and non-alcoholics.LITERATURE REVIEWAn electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test that measures and records the electrical activity of your brain by using surface biopotential electrodes. These electrodes are attached to the patients head and hooked by wires to a computer which records the brains electrical activity on the screen or on paper as wavy lines (waveforms). Among the basic waveforms are the alpha, beta, theta and delta rhythms. Alpha waves occur at a frequency of 8 to 12 cycles per second in a regular rhythm and are present only when you are awake but have your eyes closed. They normally disappear when you open your eyes or start concentrating mentally. Beta waves occur at a frequency of 13 to 30 cycles per second and are usually associated with the use of sedative medications. Theta waves occur at a frequency of 4 to 7 cycles per second and are most common in children and young adults. Delta waves occur at a frequency of 0.5 to 3 .5 cycles per second and generally occur in young children or during deep sleep. During an EEG, typically about 20-30 minutes of activity are evaluated and special attention is salaried to the basic waveforms, but brief bursts of energy and responses to stimuli, such as light are also examined, (The university of Texas medical branch, http//www.utmbhealthcare.org).Results from an EEG test can tell a lot about the patient and is a read by a neurologist. The waves recorded can be classified as normal or abnormal. Abnormal waves can indicate medical problems, whereas different types of normal waves can indicate various states or activity levels. The value of understanding the normal EEG lies in developing the foundation to provide a clinical basis for identifying abnormality. Knowledge of normal waveform variations, variants of normal EEG that are of uncertain significance, and fluctuations of normal EEG throughout the lifecycle from youth to the aged are essential to provide an accur ate impression for clinical interpretation. When abnormality is in doubt, a conservation impression of normal is proper. EEG produces a graphic display of a difference in voltages from two sites of brain functions recorded over time. Extra cranial EEG provides a broad survey of the electrocerebral activity throughout both hemispheres of the brain while intracranial EEG provides focused EEG recording directly from the brain through surgically implanted electrodes that are targeted at specific regions of the brain. (Tatum 2007). Information about a diffuse or focal cerebral dysfunction, the presence of interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs), or patterns of special significance may be revealed from an abnormal EEG. For the successful interpretation of an abnormal EEG, one must first understand the criteria necessary to define normal patterns. While a normal EEG does not exclude a clinical diagnosis (i.e. epilepsy), an abnormal finding on an EEG may be demonstrative of(predicate) of a diagnosis (i.e. in epilepsy), be indicative of cerebral dysfunction (i.e. focal or generalized slowing), or have nothing to do with the reason that the study was performed (i.e. in headache). It is in the clinical application of the EEG findings that imparts the utility of EEG. (Tatum 2007). Two important applications involving EEG wave classification are diagnosis of sleep disorders and construction of brain-computer interfaces to assist disabled people with daily living tasks.Sleep occupies roughly one-third of a persons life and is indispensable for health and well-being. Sleep apnea is a disorder characterized by a ten-second or longer pauses in breathing during sleep. A person with sleep apnea cannot self-diagnose the presence of this disorder so in order to make diagnoses for sleep disorders, physicians usually need to study patients sleep patterns through sleep recording. A typical sleep recording has multiple channels of EEG waves coming from the electrodes placed on the subjects head. The waves from a healthy subject are stable about zero and show relatively high variability and low correlation whilst the waves from a person with sleep difficulty show less variability and higher correlation. Measuring EEG signals is a non-intrusive procedure since it does not cause any pain to the subject. Sleep staging is the pattern recognition task of classifying sleep recordings into sleep stages continuously over time and is performed by a sleep stager. These sleep stages include rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep, four levels of non-REM sleep and being awake. Sleep staging is crucial for the diagnosis and treatment of various sleep disorders. In order to make many EEG-based applications practical enough for routine use, it is necessary to achieve high accuracy in EEG wave classification. For physicians specializing in sleep disorders, meliorate sleep stage classification accuracy can increase both their diagnostic accuracy and the speed with which they make diag nosis. (Min and Luo. n.d).DIAGRAM SHOWING EEG eternal rest PATTERNS, (http//www.benbest.com)Brain-Computer interfaces (BCIs) are currently being developed to facilitate the control of computers by people who are disabled. As disabled people think about what they compliments to have the computer do, their thinking is classified based on their EEG waves andcorresponding instructions are automatically executed by the computer. Accurate EEG wave classification is a critical requirement for computers to receive correct instructions. There are various kinds of BCIs with the most promising one being the P300 BCI using EEG signals. This is so because of its non-invasiveness, ease of use, portability and low set-up cost. In neuroscience, P300 refers to a neutrally-evoked potential component of EEG. (Min and Luo. n.d). Quantitative EEG signal analysis involves the transformation of the EEG signal into numerical values that can be used to examine selected EEG features. Once a specific featur e of the EEG has been quantified, it can be displayed using various graphical methods such as topographic mapping or spectral trend monitoring. Other applications of quantitative analysis include automated event detection, intraoperative or ICU monitoring, and source localization. Normative databases of quantitative EEG features (such as the peak alpha rhythm frequency or amount of alpha reactivity) can be used for statistical comparisons in research studies. Statistical quantitative EEG analysis is not yet considered reliable as an independent measure of abnormal brain function for clinical purposes. Topographic mapping refers to the graphical display of the distribution of a particular EEG feature over the scalp or cortical surface. Advanced forms of topographic mapping attempt to display EEG activity as it might be seen at the cortical surface by superimposing a color or gray scale image of the EEG feature onto the cortical surface image taken from the subjects MRI. More simplify forms of topographic mapping create a graphic display of an EEG feature over an imaginary head surface. All methods of topographic mapping depend heavily on montage construction. (Fisch and Spehlmann 1999).DIAGRAM SHOWING AN EEG TOPOGRAPHIC MAP, (http//www.cerebromente.org)Automated event detection is a form of quantitative analysis in which certain signal characteristics are used to classify an EEG change. It is most commonly applied to the detection of electrographic seizures during epilepsy monitoring. Intraoperative EEG monitoring is performed using continuous routine EEG visual inspection alone or in combination with quantitative EEG monitoring. The most common application of intraoperative EEG monitoring is for ca
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