Why Migraines Occur Essay Example

Why Migraines Occur Essay Migraine tends to affect more than 300 million people from across the world.   For many, the condition is more than a headache and is characterized by several distinctive symptom phases.   The condition is characterized by severe, debilitating and disabling headache that often needs no description.   The people suffering from migraine also had several other problems including photophobia, burning, nausea, vomiting, visual disturbances, altitude sickness, etc.   Migraine may have several other implications.   About 17 billion dollars a year is lost due to lost work, disabilities and healthcare expenditure owing due to headache.   Through historical records, it has been suggested that the disorder has affected man for more than 7000 years.   However, medicine still continues not to identify the cause and a treatment that could help cure the disorder.   Many people do not even approach the doctor to get the disorder treated as they feel that medical treatment can do litt le or no help.   Earlier, scientific research proved that the disorder was a vascular condition, but today scientists have identified that it is more of a neurological condition that develops primarily from pathology in the brain stem cells.   The nerve cell malfunction tends to sweep across other parts of the brain.   Today, the exact cause of migraine is still unknown, but scientists are developing several new forms of treatment for the condition including gene therapy (after considering the genetic basis of the disease), molecular biology and imaging of the brain.   This would enable to get back to normal activities faster (Dodick, 2008, Kantor, 2006). The neuro-vascular model which has been implicated for the cause of migraine includes vascular and neurological factors.   Another model frequently being considered is the Convergence Hypothesis that tries to associate the clinical symptoms with the pathophysiology of migraine.   According to this model, migraine is considered to be an event with a beginning, a mid and an end.   A symptom-based diagnostic approach would consider migraine during the peak stages.   With the convergence model, the entire process would be looked up on including the prodromal, the aura and the end phases.   Using the convergence model, the events can be drawn as a curve when charted against time (Curtis P. Schreiber, 2005). We will write a custom essay sample on Why Migraines Occur specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Why Migraines Occur specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Why Migraines Occur specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Body Migraine is a chronic medical disorder characterized by disabling headache, nausea, vomiting and photophobia.   In many people, the throbbing headache may be experienced on one-side of the face. The condition usually occurs in 11 % of the people in the US.   Migraine is more common in people with a family risk of the condition. It occurs anywhere between the ages of 10 to 46 years, and is more common in women compared to men.   In women, the condition may even occur beyond till the age of 55 years.   During the period of pregnancy, the number of migranous attacks usually reduces.   During the 1980’s scientists found that migraine develop due to a disorder in the blood vessels that supply the brain.   However, today it is clear that the condition develops due changes in the brain, nerve pathways and the chemicals present in the brain (Dodick, 2008, Kantor, 2006). From one individual to another, the frequency, duration, severity and aggravating factors of migraine would differ significantly.   On an average, people suffer from migraine, one or two days every month.   About 10 % of the population gets the disorder every week and 20 % get the attacks every 2 to 3 days, and about 14 % develop a serious version of the disease, in which the symptoms are seen every alternate day (Dodick, 2008, Kantor, 2006). Several events may trigger or aggravate attacks of migraine including alcohol consumption, dehydration, physical stress, exertion, menstruation, emotional stress, anxiety, seasonal, climatic or weather changes, allergy, bright lights, loud noises, florescent lights, sleep alterations, missing meals, tension headache, use of birth control pills, lack of sleep, staying at higher altitudes, hunger, certain foods, smoking, tobacco consumption, etc.   Some of the foods that can trigger migraine attacks include foods containing tyramine, monosodium glutamate or nitrates. Some of the foods that contain tyramine include red wine, cheese, smoked fish, liver of chicken, bens, figs, etc, and foods that contain nitrate include hot dogs, salami and bacon.   Other foods that can also trigger migraine attacks include citrus fruits, bananas, avocados, onions, dairy products, chocolates, pickles, nuts, peanut butter, fermented products, etc.   The ancient Greeks were the ones to coin the word m igraine from ‘megrim’ meaning hemicrania or one-sided headache.   Galen considered migraine to be a painful disorder that affected one half of the head.   The Greeks considered to be caused due to descent of the vapors from the liver to the brain.   Later, in the 17th century, blood flow defects were considered to be the main cause for migraine rather than humors.   From the 17th century to the 1980’s, the vascular theory proved to be responsible cause for migraine.   Wolff from the Presbyterian hospital New York considered that migraine was caused due to dilatation and expansion of the blood vessels present in the brain.   Once the expansion of the blood vessels occurs, the pain-signaling neurons of the brain get activated, leading to a headache.   Before the headache actually occurs, there is a drop in the blood supply to the brain causing constriction of the blood vessels.   However, newer research work conducted in the field of migraine demons trates that the disorder is caused not due to vascular alterations but due to neurological changes.   Earlier it was thought that vascular flow of the blood in the brain had increased something like 3-fold times.   In fact, latest scientific evidence clearly suggests that just before the migraine attack, the cerebral blood flow is either normal or drops down a bit (Dodick, 2008, Kantor, 2006). The aura that occurs before the migraine attacks was a serious clue to the scientists that the disorder had a neurological basis.   The aura can be seen in two conditions, one in migraine as a preceding symptom and the other in epileptic seizures as a part of the sensory visual hallucinations.   The individual in migraine would be able to see stars, bright lights, sparks, lightning bolts, geometric designs, etc.   In some people weakness, speech impairments and tingling sensations develop.   In some people, the visual aura may not appear and all, but in other it may even occur during the entire headache phase.   Today, scientists have identified the exact mechanism of this aura.   A wave of intense nerve activity (cortical spreading depression) spreads throughout the cortex especially the areas of vision.   Following the hyperexcitability, there is a phase of neural inhibition.   During the phase of intense neuronal activity, there is active firing and a lot of energy is required.   Following the intense neuronal firing, the nerve cells require less quantity of blood.   The neuronal firing spreads at the rate of 2 to 3 millimeters every minute, and this is just the exact rate at which aura develops.   Besides affecting vision, the intense neuronal activity would also affect sensory and motor signals (Dodick, 2008 NINDS, 2008). Studies have clearly shown that genetic factors play a very important role in the development of migraine.   The genetic susceptibility of migraine is similar to other disorders such as diabetes, hypertension, etc.   In identical twins, the other twin is at a higher risk of developing the disorder, when one twin actually suffers from it.   However, non-genetic or environmental factors play an important role in the development of migraine.   Genetic factors may increase the excitability of the neurons, leading to a disturbance in the ion transportation system.   Several other disorders may also be as a cause of ion transportation defects including seizures and cardiac arrhythmias (Dodick, 2008 NINDS, 2008). The exact way in which the spreading cortical depression of neurons causes’ headache is not understood clearly, but scientists feel that the trigeminal nerve may be involved.   The manner in which the trigeminal nerve causes pain sensation is not understood clearly.   When the intense cortical depression spreads, it causes chemical changes in the neurotransmitters leading the trigeminal nerve to transmit pain sensations.   The spreading depression can also activate the trigeminal nerves in the subcortical regions leading to headache.   The mechanism of aura may operate in both, people suffering from migraine with or without aura.   However, in people who do not suffer from aura may develop other symptoms including tiredness, weakness or difficulty concentrating.   Besides, involvement of the cortical and the subcortical regions in migraine, the brain stem (an ancient part of the brain) may be responsible for migraine pain.   The brain stem contains three groups o f nuclei that can play an important role in migraine.   The nuclei would inhibit the firing of the trigeminal nerve, thus causing the trigeminal neuron to fire without any pain signal.   There would be an incoming pain signal although actually there are no stimuli.   Besides, involvement of the trigeminal nerve from the brain stem, other sensory nerves including those that control visual functions may also be affected, resulting in false sensory incoming signals causing visual field disturbances (Dodick, 2008 NINDS, 2008). During an attack of migraine several processes tend to occur.   Certain triggering factors mentioned may stimulate the release of peptides such as substance P, Calcitonin Gene-related peptide, etc.  Ã‚   They tend to dilate blood vessels and cause inflammation which results in over-excitation of the trigeminal nerve.   The brain would not be affected with the headache, but the blood vessels and the meninges would be involved.   Auras occur as a result of blood flow changes (Daniel Kantor, 2007). Certain migraine headaches occur due to abnormalities in the calcium channels and also the magnesium, potassium and sodium channels.   Calcium channels present control the release of the neurotransmitter serotonin.   This neurotransmitter can play an important role in the development of migraine.   Besides, abnormalities in the levels of other neurotransmitters such as dopamine and stress hormones can result in migraine.   Dopamine could act as a stimulant of migraine and in certain individuals with genetic characteristics, higher levels of dopamine can result in nerve cell excitation.   Several prodromal symptoms such as mood changes, drowsiness and yawning are closely associated with dopamine disturbances.   The calcium channels play a vital role in the development of the cortical spreading depression (which is the cause of the migraine symptoms).   In people who suffer from migraine, magnesium deficiencies have been found.   During a migraine attack, a drop in the magnesium levels has been observed.   Once the levels of magnesium levels are low, the nerve cells become highly unstable and tend to misfire.   This could be responsible for the aura that develops.   Magnesium has been strongly associated with the calcium channels in the body.   Certain inherent deficiencies in the calcium channel systems may be present in people who develop migraine. Individuals with familial hemiplegic migraine have mutation of the gene that expresses for calcium channel systems.   Nitric Oxide has also been associated with migraine and other headaches.   Over-excitation of the nerve cells can result in the production of nitric oxide.   A rise in the nitric oxide in the blood vessels may stimulate several nerves in the brain and cause the development of pain.   Hormone fluctuations can also play a role in the development of migraine.   The changes in several hormones especially estrogen can be responsible for migraine development.   If the hor mone levels are high, low or normal for long, the migraine process would not be activated.   Hormonal fluctuations are more likely to cause migraine.   This is because fluctuations impact the serotonin and other neurotransmitter levels (Daniel Kantor, 2007). Conclusion Today, a lot of research has been identified which potentially helps to better under the migraine process.   Migraine is more of a neuro-vascular condition rather than a vascular condition earlier thought.   Currently, there are no specific drugs to treat migraine, and most of them are other groups of drugs that are utilized to treat other conditions.   Usually, ergotamine preparations, painkillers, NSAIDS, etc are given which works partially.   Hence, it has been clearly observed that they can work only in half the number of migraine patients.   Several groups of antihypertensive drugs, anti-seizure drugs, calcium channel blockers and antidepressants may work by normalizing the membrane potential thus helping to curb the rapidly-spreading cortical nerve depression.   They would work in patients who develop migraine with or without aura.   These groups of drugs would work by prevent channels present on the nerve membrane from opening up, thus helping to control calcium movement.   In this way, the nerve membrane would be stabilized.   Individuals also need to adopt a diet that can effectively help avoiding headache provoking foods and substances such as cheese, tobacco, alcohol, etc.   Blood glucose and blood pressure should be monitored and kept under control.   Better sleep hygiene and exercising patterns need to be ensured.   Stress needs to be handled in more appropriate fashions (Curtis P. Schreiber, 2005, Dodick, 2008 Mayo, 2007). Works Cited Curtis P. Schreiber. â€Å"The Pathophysiology of Migraine.† Clinics in Family Practice 7.3 (2005). Daniel Kantoor. â€Å"Migraine headaches – Highlights, FDA Warning: Serotonin Syndrome.† 2007. ADAM. 29 Nov 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/patient/body/111946799-8/777861931/10041/9399.html Daniel Kantor. â€Å"Migraine.† Medical Encyclopedia. 2006. Medline Plus. 16 Nov 2008. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000709.htm David W. Dodick and J. Jay Gargus . â€Å"Why Migraines Strike.† Scientific American. (July, 2008). http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=why-migraines-strike Mayo Clinic. â€Å"Migraine.† 2007. Mayo Clinic. 16 Nov 2008. http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/migraine-headache/DS00120/DSECTION=allMETHOD=print NINDS. â€Å"Headache: Hope through Research.† 2008. NINDS. 16 Nov 2008. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/headache/detail_headache.htm Why Migraines Occur Essay Example Why Migraines Occur Essay Migraine tends to affect more than 300 million people from across the world.   For many, the condition is more than a headache and is characterized by several distinctive symptom phases.   The condition is characterized by severe, debilitating and disabling headache that often needs no description.   The people suffering from migraine also had several other problems including photophobia, burning, nausea, vomiting, visual disturbances, altitude sickness, etc.   Migraine may have several other implications.   About 17 billion dollars a year is lost due to lost work, disabilities and healthcare expenditure owing due to headache.   Through historical records, it has been suggested that the disorder has affected man for more than 7000 years.   However, medicine still continues not to identify the cause and a treatment that could help cure the disorder.   Many people do not even approach the doctor to get the disorder treated as they feel that medical treatment can do litt le or no help.   Earlier, scientific research proved that the disorder was a vascular condition, but today scientists have identified that it is more of a neurological condition that develops primarily from pathology in the brain stem cells.   The nerve cell malfunction tends to sweep across other parts of the brain.   Today, the exact cause of migraine is still unknown, but scientists are developing several new forms of treatment for the condition including gene therapy (after considering the genetic basis of the disease), molecular biology and imaging of the brain.   This would enable to get back to normal activities faster (Dodick, 2008, Kantor, 2006). The neuro-vascular model which has been implicated for the cause of migraine includes vascular and neurological factors.   Another model frequently being considered is the Convergence Hypothesis that tries to associate the clinical symptoms with the pathophysiology of migraine.   According to this model, migraine is considered to be an event with a beginning, a mid and an end.   A symptom-based diagnostic approach would consider migraine during the peak stages.   With the convergence model, the entire process would be looked up on including the prodromal, the aura and the end phases.   Using the convergence model, the events can be drawn as a curve when charted against time (Curtis P. Schreiber, 2005). We will write a custom essay sample on Why Migraines Occur specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Why Migraines Occur specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Why Migraines Occur specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Body Migraine is a chronic medical disorder characterized by disabling headache, nausea, vomiting and photophobia.   In many people, the throbbing headache may be experienced on one-side of the face. The condition usually occurs in 11 % of the people in the US.   Migraine is more common in people with a family risk of the condition. It occurs anywhere between the ages of 10 to 46 years, and is more common in women compared to men.   In women, the condition may even occur beyond till the age of 55 years.   During the period of pregnancy, the number of migranous attacks usually reduces.   During the 1980’s scientists found that migraine develop due to a disorder in the blood vessels that supply the brain.   However, today it is clear that the condition develops due changes in the brain, nerve pathways and the chemicals present in the brain (Dodick, 2008, Kantor, 2006). From one individual to another, the frequency, duration, severity and aggravating factors of migraine would differ significantly.   On an average, people suffer from migraine, one or two days every month.   About 10 % of the population gets the disorder every week and 20 % get the attacks every 2 to 3 days, and about 14 % develop a serious version of the disease, in which the symptoms are seen every alternate day (Dodick, 2008, Kantor, 2006). Several events may trigger or aggravate attacks of migraine including alcohol consumption, dehydration, physical stress, exertion, menstruation, emotional stress, anxiety, seasonal, climatic or weather changes, allergy, bright lights, loud noises, florescent lights, sleep alterations, missing meals, tension headache, use of birth control pills, lack of sleep, staying at higher altitudes, hunger, certain foods, smoking, tobacco consumption, etc.   Some of the foods that can trigger migraine attacks include foods containing tyramine, monosodium glutamate or nitrates. Some of the foods that contain tyramine include red wine, cheese, smoked fish, liver of chicken, bens, figs, etc, and foods that contain nitrate include hot dogs, salami and bacon.   Other foods that can also trigger migraine attacks include citrus fruits, bananas, avocados, onions, dairy products, chocolates, pickles, nuts, peanut butter, fermented products, etc.   The ancient Greeks were the ones to coin the word m igraine from ‘megrim’ meaning hemicrania or one-sided headache.   Galen considered migraine to be a painful disorder that affected one half of the head.   The Greeks considered to be caused due to descent of the vapors from the liver to the brain.   Later, in the 17th century, blood flow defects were considered to be the main cause for migraine rather than humors.   From the 17th century to the 1980’s, the vascular theory proved to be responsible cause for migraine.   Wolff from the Presbyterian hospital New York considered that migraine was caused due to dilatation and expansion of the blood vessels present in the brain.   Once the expansion of the blood vessels occurs, the pain-signaling neurons of the brain get activated, leading to a headache.   Before the headache actually occurs, there is a drop in the blood supply to the brain causing constriction of the blood vessels.   However, newer research work conducted in the field of migraine demons trates that the disorder is caused not due to vascular alterations but due to neurological changes.   Earlier it was thought that vascular flow of the blood in the brain had increased something like 3-fold times.   In fact, latest scientific evidence clearly suggests that just before the migraine attack, the cerebral blood flow is either normal or drops down a bit (Dodick, 2008, Kantor, 2006). The aura that occurs before the migraine attacks was a serious clue to the scientists that the disorder had a neurological basis.   The aura can be seen in two conditions, one in migraine as a preceding symptom and the other in epileptic seizures as a part of the sensory visual hallucinations.   The individual in migraine would be able to see stars, bright lights, sparks, lightning bolts, geometric designs, etc.   In some people weakness, speech impairments and tingling sensations develop.   In some people, the visual aura may not appear and all, but in other it may even occur during the entire headache phase.   Today, scientists have identified the exact mechanism of this aura.   A wave of intense nerve activity (cortical spreading depression) spreads throughout the cortex especially the areas of vision.   Following the hyperexcitability, there is a phase of neural inhibition.   During the phase of intense neuronal activity, there is active firing and a lot of energy is required.   Following the intense neuronal firing, the nerve cells require less quantity of blood.   The neuronal firing spreads at the rate of 2 to 3 millimeters every minute, and this is just the exact rate at which aura develops.   Besides affecting vision, the intense neuronal activity would also affect sensory and motor signals (Dodick, 2008 NINDS, 2008). Studies have clearly shown that genetic factors play a very important role in the development of migraine.   The genetic susceptibility of migraine is similar to other disorders such as diabetes, hypertension, etc.   In identical twins, the other twin is at a higher risk of developing the disorder, when one twin actually suffers from it.   However, non-genetic or environmental factors play an important role in the development of migraine.   Genetic factors may increase the excitability of the neurons, leading to a disturbance in the ion transportation system.   Several other disorders may also be as a cause of ion transportation defects including seizures and cardiac arrhythmias (Dodick, 2008 NINDS, 2008). The exact way in which the spreading cortical depression of neurons causes’ headache is not understood clearly, but scientists feel that the trigeminal nerve may be involved.   The manner in which the trigeminal nerve causes pain sensation is not understood clearly.   When the intense cortical depression spreads, it causes chemical changes in the neurotransmitters leading the trigeminal nerve to transmit pain sensations.   The spreading depression can also activate the trigeminal nerves in the subcortical regions leading to headache.   The mechanism of aura may operate in both, people suffering from migraine with or without aura.   However, in people who do not suffer from aura may develop other symptoms including tiredness, weakness or difficulty concentrating.   Besides, involvement of the cortical and the subcortical regions in migraine, the brain stem (an ancient part of the brain) may be responsible for migraine pain.   The brain stem contains three groups o f nuclei that can play an important role in migraine.   The nuclei would inhibit the firing of the trigeminal nerve, thus causing the trigeminal neuron to fire without any pain signal.   There would be an incoming pain signal although actually there are no stimuli.   Besides, involvement of the trigeminal nerve from the brain stem, other sensory nerves including those that control visual functions may also be affected, resulting in false sensory incoming signals causing visual field disturbances (Dodick, 2008 NINDS, 2008). During an attack of migraine several processes tend to occur.   Certain triggering factors mentioned may stimulate the release of peptides such as substance P, Calcitonin Gene-related peptide, etc.  Ã‚   They tend to dilate blood vessels and cause inflammation which results in over-excitation of the trigeminal nerve.   The brain would not be affected with the headache, but the blood vessels and the meninges would be involved.   Auras occur as a result of blood flow changes (Daniel Kantor, 2007). Certain migraine headaches occur due to abnormalities in the calcium channels and also the magnesium, potassium and sodium channels.   Calcium channels present control the release of the neurotransmitter serotonin.   This neurotransmitter can play an important role in the development of migraine.   Besides, abnormalities in the levels of other neurotransmitters such as dopamine and stress hormones can result in migraine.   Dopamine could act as a stimulant of migraine and in certain individuals with genetic characteristics, higher levels of dopamine can result in nerve cell excitation.   Several prodromal symptoms such as mood changes, drowsiness and yawning are closely associated with dopamine disturbances.   The calcium channels play a vital role in the development of the cortical spreading depression (which is the cause of the migraine symptoms).   In people who suffer from migraine, magnesium deficiencies have been found.   During a migraine attack, a drop in the magnesium levels has been observed.   Once the levels of magnesium levels are low, the nerve cells become highly unstable and tend to misfire.   This could be responsible for the aura that develops.   Magnesium has been strongly associated with the calcium channels in the body.   Certain inherent deficiencies in the calcium channel systems may be present in people who develop migraine. Individuals with familial hemiplegic migraine have mutation of the gene that expresses for calcium channel systems.   Nitric Oxide has also been associated with migraine and other headaches.   Over-excitation of the nerve cells can result in the production of nitric oxide.   A rise in the nitric oxide in the blood vessels may stimulate several nerves in the brain and cause the development of pain.   Hormone fluctuations can also play a role in the development of migraine.   The changes in several hormones especially estrogen can be responsible for migraine development.   If the hor mone levels are high, low or normal for long, the migraine process would not be activated.   Hormonal fluctuations are more likely to cause migraine.   This is because fluctuations impact the serotonin and other neurotransmitter levels (Daniel Kantor, 2007). Conclusion Today, a lot of research has been identified which potentially helps to better under the migraine process.   Migraine is more of a neuro-vascular condition rather than a vascular condition earlier thought.   Currently, there are no specific drugs to treat migraine, and most of them are other groups of drugs that are utilized to treat other conditions.   Usually, ergotamine preparations, painkillers, NSAIDS, etc are given which works partially.   Hence, it has been clearly observed that they can work only in half the number of migraine patients.   Several groups of antihypertensive drugs, anti-seizure drugs, calcium channel blockers and antidepressants may work by normalizing the membrane potential thus helping to curb the rapidly-spreading cortical nerve depression.   They would work in patients who develop migraine with or without aura.   These groups of drugs would work by prevent channels present on the nerve membrane from opening up, thus helping to control calcium movement.   In this way, the nerve membrane would be stabilized.   Individuals also need to adopt a diet that can effectively help avoiding headache provoking foods and substances such as cheese, tobacco, alcohol, etc.   Blood glucose and blood pressure should be monitored and kept under control.   Better sleep hygiene and exercising patterns need to be ensured.   Stress needs to be handled in more appropriate fashions (Curtis P. Schreiber, 2005, Dodick, 2008 Mayo, 2007). Works Cited Curtis P. Schreiber. â€Å"The Pathophysiology of Migraine.† Clinics in Family Practice 7.3 (2005). Daniel Kantoor. â€Å"Migraine headaches – Highlights, FDA Warning: Serotonin Syndrome.† 2007. ADAM. 29 Nov 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/patient/body/111946799-8/777861931/10041/9399.html Daniel Kantor. â€Å"Migraine.† Medical Encyclopedia. 2006. Medline Plus. 16 Nov 2008. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000709.htm David W. Dodick and J. Jay Gargus . â€Å"Why Migraines Strike.† Scientific American. (July, 2008). http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=why-migraines-strike Mayo Clinic. â€Å"Migraine.† 2007. Mayo Clinic. 16 Nov 2008. http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/migraine-headache/DS00120/DSECTION=allMETHOD=print NINDS. â€Å"Headache: Hope through Research.† 2008. NINDS. 16 Nov 2008. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/headache/detail_headache.htm

How to Write a Reflective Essay on Communication

How to Write a Reflective Essay on Communication Reflective Essay on Communication How to start off How to write the introduction How to compose body paragraphs How to finish the essay: Conclusion writing Essay revision Outline sample A reflective essay on communication (Sample) A reflective essay on communication revolves around the writer’s reflection on communication per se, how they perceive it with regard to their personal experience and viewpoint. Hence, its main purpose is to inform the audience about perspectives, attitude, and impression towards the topic at hand. One important objective behind such an essay is to shed light on the widely-varied angles of communication and how they all contribute to shape our life and harmonize it in a way that makes understandability and intelligibility omnipresent. How to start off What do I know about this topic? Before you start writing a perfect essay, it would be useful to ask yourself about your knowledge about the topic. In this context, I might ask myself: â€Å"What is communication? How can I define it? Does it have only one definition? How does it relate to my personal experience? In few words, I should ask myself the following question: Does this concept apply to my life experience and skills? Does it have anything to do with my actual behaviors? Be mindful not to ignore those instant answers that come to your mind once your ask the very simple questions because they will be needed later on. What could the educational purpose behind this topic be? One could think about the communicative skills they have acquired from different social contexts so as to help the reader benefit from valuable and authentic tips. How to write introduction and thesis statement The following are useful tips on how to master the writing of a full introduction on communication: Relevance It’s true that we should start from the general to the specific, yet this does not mean that we should start with how delicious Italian ice-cream is without showing any relevance to our topic- communication. Thus, start from the relevant general to reach the relevant specific. Respect the commitment Writing a thesis statement is a sort of engagement or commitment. Upon writing it, the essay writer should be committed to the explanation and illustration of the focal points mentioned at a later stage. Mention your focal points In the thesis statement, I should announce that I am going to tackle the means of communication in the first part, communication from a social perspective in the second, and insight into the optimal ways for the acquisition of communicative skills useful for various life tasks in the third. How to compose body paragraphs Body paragraphs in a reflective essay on communication should be based on the following tips: Format When the reader skims the essay before reading, they have to notice that the paragraphs are well-balanced, no one should be too long or too short than the other. Coherent content All body paragraphs should be explained equally; ideas have to be illustrated thoroughly. That is to say, no paragraph should be given more focus than the others. Congruity and applicability Make sure not to leave out information about how the topic applies to your experience. The balance in the reflection on the topic using personal experience would add to the congruity of the essay. How to finish the essay: Conclusion writing In order to finish a reflective essay in a correct way, one has to observe these three rules: Look back . Have a look at what you have already written in each body paragraph to make sure that nothing important is missing. Summarize . The writer should provide a brief summary that puts together all the main points dealt with in the body without having to fall into details and examples. Link the topic to your personal development. In the conclusion, you should mention how the communication means you have used have honed your communicative skills and shaped your personal development. Essay revision Another pair of eyes is useful to have a look at your work. Thus, it could be a good idea to ask one of your classmates to verify if it contains any spelling or grammar mistakes. Re-read the whole essay so that you make sure that you did not miss the crux of the matter. Give yourself a break, and read the essay a second time with a fresh pair of eyes; you might want to edit some structures consequently. Outline sample I.Introduction General introduction Thesis statement II. Body Paragraph 1: means of communication Paragraph 2: communication from a social perspective Paragraph 3: insight into the optimal ways for acquiring communicative skills III. Conclusion Brief summary that links all three body elements. A reflective essay on communication (Sample) Communication is the transmission of messages. It could manifest itself in various fashions; it could be verbal, non-verbal, or written. That said, the present essay is going to focus on the means of communication, communication from a social perspective, as it will give insight into the optimal ways for the acquisition of communicative skills. The means of communication have evolved to a great extent recently. In this line of thought, one could not turn a blind eye to language as a body of complex linguistic systems wired in the human brain or in database management systems enabling comprehensible interaction. Languages could be natural or constructed; they all allow the transmission of ideas for different purposes. The development of technology and the dying out of some natural languages have given rise to many technological devices that corroborated the human-human interaction and the human-machine interface. Nowadays, computers, smartphones, and tablets have reached their zenith, as the flow of communication has become smoother and easier. The modern means of communication, mainly the wide array of applications such as Facebook and Skype have grown into most useful tools that help us keep up with the pace of the 21st century. Communication is the means by which interactants manage to voice their ideas and articulate their concerns within a social context. Once socialization is brought to the scene, language seems to be called into play, eventually. People, as social members, tend to communicate face-to-face, verbally, non-verbally, or through writing. Thus, in a real social context, ideas could also be shared through paralinguistic cues such as silence, pitch, tone, gestures, postures, and facial expressions. I have once told my friend that her brother’s fiancà ©e is beautiful. Her response was as follows: â€Å"Yeah, she is!†; once you read this answer, it might seem like a confirmation on her part. But, digging down into the social, linguistic, and human mechanisms of communication, with the consideration of the context, one could understand that it was a sarcastic answer thanks to the paralinguistic features used. So, communication as a social instrument helps us uncover the real meaning intended. Communication skills could be acquired. Personally, I have learned a lot from classroom presentations. When the teacher used to ask us who would like to take the next Powerpoint presentation, I have always had the courage to accept. I noticed that many of my classmates avoided those presentations because they did not possess conversational skills that would allow them to communicate their ideas in an informative way. What I am driving at is the idea that if you do not communicate more often in different social contexts, you will never sharpen your communicative skills. If you do not train yourself to adapt to different conversational situations, you will not overcome your shyness and embarrassment. I also used to ask questions in international conferences, which fortified my self-esteem and made me improve my academic communicative abilities. To wrap up, today’s world has brought to life numerous means of communication that are all related to language as the backbone of communication. It is also worth mentioning that communication as a social tool could be performed differently in various contexts. However, honing one’s social communication skills could only be done through continuous practice in various speech events, such as conferences and workshops.

Make Non-toxic Dry Ice Smoke or Fog

Make Non-toxic Dry Ice Smoke or Fog All you need is dry ice and water to make cool, spooky fog or smoke. Its easy and happens instantaneously. Heres how to make dry ice fog and how to color it. What You Need for Dry Ice Smoke Look for dry ice in grocery stores (you may need to ask for it) or specialty gas stores. Its also possible to make homemade dry ice. The materials needed for this project are: Dry Ice  (Carbon Dioxide)Hot WaterInsulated Container How to Make Fog This is so easy! Add chunks of dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) to hot water in a styrofoam or other insulated container.The fog will sink to the ground. You may use a fan on a low setting to move your smoke.The water will cool, so you will need to refresh the hot water to maintain the effect.Room temperature matters. You will get the most fog in a cool room. Have fun! How to Make Colored Smoke The vapor that comes off of dry ice is white. Eventually, carbon dioxide gas mixes into the air and disappears. While you cant dye the smoke to produce colors, its really easy to make it appear colored. Just add a colored light below the fog. It will illuminate it and make it appear to glow. Useful Tips Dry ice is cold enough to give frostbite. Wear protective gloves when handling it.Larger chunks of dry ice will last longer than smaller ones. This is because the smaller pieces have more surface area, so they vaporize more readily.Be aware that extra carbon dioxide is being added to the air. Under some circumstances, this can present an asphyxiation hazard. Cool carbon dioxide vapor sinks before mixing with air, so the highest concentration will be near the floor.Sometimes inexpensive dry ice machines are available. Otherwise, check party supply stores and shipping companies for availability.Keep dry ice away from children, pets, and fools! Adult supervision is required.

The Human Population Explosion on a Finite Planet Essay

The Human Population Explosion on a Finite Planet - Essay Example The exponential growth of the world’s population is a fact that is undisputed by many scholars concerned with the ecological support the world can comfortably offer, which has created a growing concern about whether the world can eventually support future generations given that the population has shown no signs of declining (Hauser, 1979). Currently, the world’s population stands at more than 7 billion and it is expected to hit a higher record because the populations in the developing world are still growing at very high rates since people their people have not been exposed to family control methods that are, currently being used in the developed world. One of the reasons that have contributed to this is the lack of education that has led to higher levels of illiteracy. Therefore, it is, undoubtedly the world’s population would hit the expected 9 billion mark by 2050 (Meyer & Turner, 1992). Safety has become a major challenge today due to human encroachment on unsafe areas that have often led to the loss of life and property. For instance, human beings have encroached areas prone to floodplains and tsunamis, and this has caused a number of loss of lives whenever catastrophes have struck. Most of these areas, which were 30 years ago sparsely populated have now registered a high number of people due to human encroachment (Hauser, 1979). Moreover, because land has become a scarce resource people have now moved to occupy lands that were formerly being used for agriculture. All these has been attributed lar to population explosion, which has seen many people moving to urban areas due to rural-urban migration. This has reduced the population that was actively engaged in farming and thus leading to the food shortage in some parts of the world (Bouvier & Bertrand, 1999).

Human Development- 2 different assignments-Chapter 13 and chapter 14 Assignment

Human Development- 2 different assignments-Chapter 13 and chapter 14 - Assignment Example Several theories have been presented in an attempt to explain the human growth and development process; some basing on related factors while others adopting different bases. This paper explores the cognitive development during the early adulthood stage relative to college students and establishment of intimates as the key crisis of adulthood as expounded by Erikson. Early adulthood refers to the late stages of the adolescent stage. According to scholars, this stage of development is characterized by the individuals’ resilience and ability to bring their life under control after tumultuous adolescent stage. The person starts to clearly understand the consequences of their actions and risky behavior that characterize the previous stage- adolescent stage; they start developing lasting mutual relationships especially with the opposite sex. According to Arnett (66), early adulthood cognitive development is characterized by five features. These attributes include instability, identity exploration, self-focus, divided feeling and a feeling of possibilities. Under instability, individual in this stage experience divided commitment towards education, work and love; they face a challenge of adequately allocating their available time to the relationships/activities signifying their transition to adulthood. Under identity exploration, an individual start detaching themselves from peer groups to personal life; they value self-focus more than peer-focus that is they abandon social obligations to autonomy. The fourth feature, age of possibilities, indicates that the person begins comprehending the prospects of transforming their lives from adolescence to adulthood; however, they may experience the fifth feature- divided feeling. The double feeling leaves the person perplexed of their exact stage; as much as they consider themselves as not fully fledged adults, they never view themselves as adolescents. This is very much

The real message of the survey Essay Example for Free

The real message of the survey Essay And the real message of the survey results may have as much to do with maintaining the size of janitorial staffs as it does with cleanliness. We all knew that maintaining cleanliness of the school is one of the problem of students because they are depending to school’s janitor. Nowadays, many students don’t know their obligations in school one is that Cleanliness. They throwing their garbage around, they throwing anything around inside campus but why? Because they are being aloof. They don’t know how cleanliness is important in our lives. Why? Of course, you cannot survive in this world without having cleanliness. So as a student avoid being a sluggard.And the real message of the survey results may have as much to do with maintaining the size of janitorial staffs as it does with cleanliness. We all knew that maintaining cleanliness of the school is one of the problem of students because they are depending to school’s janitor. Nowadays, many students don’t know their obligations in school one is that Cleanliness. They throwing their garbage around, they throwing anything around inside campus but why? Because they are being aloof. They don’t know how cleanliness is important in our lives. Why? Of course, you cannot survive in this world without having cleanliness. So as a student avoid being a sluggard.And the real message of the survey results may have as much to do with maintaining the size of janitorial staffs as it does with cleanliness. We all knew that maintaining cleanliness of the school is one of the problem of students because they are depending to school’s janitor. Nowadays, many students don’t know their obligations in school one is that Cleanliness. They throwing their garbage around, they throwing anything around inside campus but why? Because they are being aloof. They don’t know how cleanliness is important in our lives. Why? Of course, you cannot survive in this world without having cleanliness. So as a student avoid being a sluggard.And the real message of the survey results may have as much to do with maintaining the size of janitorial staffs as it does with cleanliness. We all knew that maintaining cleanliness of the school is one of the problem of students because they are depending to school’s janitor. Nowadays, many students don’t know their obligations in school one is that Cleanliness. They throwing their garbage around, they throwing anything around inside campus but why? Because they are being aloof. They don’t know how cleanliness is important in our lives. Why? Of course, you cannot survive in  this world without having cleanliness. So as a student avoid being a sluggard.And the real message of the survey results may have as much to do with maintaining the size of janitorial staffs as it does with cleanliness. We all knew that maintaining cleanliness of the school is one of the problem of students because they are depending to school’s janitor. Nowadays, many students don’t know their obligations in school one is that Cleanliness. They throwing their garbage around, they throwing anything around inside campus but why? Because they are being aloof. They don’t know how cleanliness is important in our lives. Why? Of course, you cannot survive in this world without having cleanliness. So as a student avoid being a sluggard.And the real message of the survey results may have as much to do with maintaining the size of janitorial staffs as it does with cleanliness. We all knew that maintaining cleanliness of the school is one of the problem of students because they are depending to school’s janitor. Nowadays, many students don’t know their obligations in school one is that Cleanliness. They throwing their garbage around, they throwing anything around inside campus but why? Because they are being aloof. They don’t know how cleanliness is important in our lives. Why? Of course, you cannot survive in this world without having cleanliness. So as a student avoid being a sluggard.And the real message of the survey results may have as much to do with maintaining the size of janitorial staffs as it does with cleanliness. We all knew that maintaining cleanliness of the school is one of the problem of students because they are depending to school’s janitor. Nowadays, many students don’t know their obligations in school one is that Cleanliness. They throwing their garbage around, they throwing anything around inside campus but why? Because they are being aloof. They don’t know how cleanliness is important in our lives. Why? Of course, you cannot survive in this world without having cleanliness. So as a student avoid being a sluggard.

Martyrdom and September 11th :: Martyr Islam Muslim 9/11 9-11 Terrorism Terrorist

On September the 11th 2001, the international crisis of terrorism exploded in America. The dark cloud that loomed over lower Manhattan eventually cleared but the reality of the American entrance into the battlefield of terror didn’t dissipate. When President Bush addressed his stunned and grieving nation, he declared a crusade on terrorists and all who harbored them, and â€Å"when [his] remarks were translated into Arabic for broadcast throughout the Middle East, the word crusade was rendered as ‘war of the cross’† (Carrol 5). This religious reference rang true to those terrorists who had attacked the World Trade Center; all were members of Osama Bin Laden's terrorist network Al Qaeda. The group is a militant Islamist organization that believes those who commit acts like those of September 11th are martyrs, welcomed into eternal paradise. The phenomenon of martyrdom is not exclusive to Islam. By definition, a martyr is â€Å"one who voluntarily suffers death rather than deny his religion by words or deeds; such action is afforded special, institutionalized recognition in most major religions of the world†¦the term may also refer to anyone who sacrifices his life or something of great value for the sake of principle† (Britannica). The word is derived from the Greek word for witness. Throughout the ages, willingness to die for a noble cause has been a persistent idea. In three of the world’s major religions- Judaism, Christianity and Islam, martyrdom has played a significant role. In Judaism, the concept of martyrdom is referred to as Kiddush Hashem which means sanctification of God's name. This definition includes refusal to renounce the word of God for reasons of convenience or to save one’s life. According to Judaic beliefs, Abraham, the first Hebrew patriarch, was thrown into a furnace for denouncing idolatry. Though he was saved by God, his brush with death made him the first martyr of the Jewish faith. During medieval times, Jews were persecuted by Christians throughout Europe, and were frequently put to death for crimes such as blood libel and host desecration1. Many Jews were forced to flee Spain during the Inquisition to avoid being unjustly persecuted under the pretense of similar offenses. These martyrs were usually burned at the stake. In the 1940’s Hitler systematically slayed over six million Jews during the reign of the Third Reich. These are just a few examples of martyrs of Judaism. In early Christianity, all believers were considered martyrs. Later, this distinction was reserved for those who refused to renounce their faith and suffered as a result, whether they were injured or killed. Eventually, only those who were killed for their beliefs were considered martyrs.

Discrimination and Retaliation

Betty Dukes was a cashier who used to work at Wal-Mart. For nine years Ms. Dukes worked hard and aspired to move up the ranks in the company. She thought that if she became loyal and dedicated to her job she will one day move to a higher position in the company. The time came that she felt that she was ready for the next challenge. She came up to her immediate supervisor and asked to be trained for the higher job (Daniels, 2004). Unfortunately she was denied being given the training needed to move up the order.This incident triggered what now is the biggest class action sex discrimination lawsuit in the United States. Widely known as the Dukes vs. Wal-Mart Inc, this lawsuit charges Wal-Mart of committing sex-discriminatory practice against their employees especially women. Upheld in June 2004 to be a class action lawsuit, this case covers over 1. 5 million current and former employees at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart appealed the district court’s decision but on February 2007, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the court’s class certification.The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or EEOC helped in this case. The commission is the federal arm of the government with the sole agenda of ensuring that equal employment opportunity is given to every individual. The EEOC has the power of prosecuting work related discriminatory cases against companies or employers who have been accused of doing such a thing. They enforce the laws that protect employees from discriminatory practices. Dukes vs. Wal-Mart Inc. is basically a sex-discrimination case.This lawsuit accuses Wal-Mart of choosing which employee will be given the chance to move up the corporate ladder. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is prohibited to give employment discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, or national origin (U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2004). Any person who has the ability and capability of advancing in the company should be treated fairly. This sense of fairness is what Ms. Dukes did not felt while working at Wal-Mart. Another act which Wal-Mart violated is the Equal Pay Act of 1963.Under this law, women and even men are protected from sex-based wage discrimination. Men and women who basically do the same job should also have the exact same amount of wage. Wal-Mart is being criticized for violation this act. The company clearly showed its bias towards its male employees by giving them higher wage against their female counterparts. Ask Ms. Stephanie Odle about this since she experienced this discrimination first hand. Ms. Odle accidentally found a W-2 form lying around the office which belongs to her male officemate, an assistant manager just like her.They have basically the same job but the wage of the male assistant manager was significantly higher than her wage (Daniels, 2004). There are many other discriminatory practices that Wal-Mart exercises, but based on the two above examples, EEOC has every right to prosecut e Wal-Mart. On my opinion a fair settlement on a case like this is give the victims what they are really due. Wal-Mart must pay each individual who have been victim of its bias towards its male and white workers. No ifs or buts for Wal-Mart because the money really belongs to their underpaid workers.Since we are talking about multi billions of dollars, it is also fair to give Wal-Mart a feasible amount of time to pay. I think it is fine to let Wal-Mart pay in installments. Another option for Wal-Mart is to give their victims a few thousands of dollars worth of gift certificates every month which can be used at Wal-Mart and all of its other subsidiaries. Lastly I think Wal-Mart also owes all its victims an apology for all the wrongdoings and hurt that they have caused. Discrimination should not be happening in the first place but since we are not living in a perfect world, discrimination will always be there.In an organization, the best way to battle discrimination is prevention. If an organization prevents it from happening then class action lawsuits like the one discussed above may never happen again. Organizations can fight discrimination by having a stronger policy against it. Companies should setup its own committee which will look for the welfare of their employees. This committee will also be responsible for hiring and promoting employees instead of giving this task to a single person which is the complete opposite at the scenario at Wal-Mart.At Wal-Mart, managers have the sole power of hiring and promoting. With this privilege, a manager can be bias consciously or unconsciously on making decisions based on his or her preferences (Parloff, 2007). It’s hard to fight discrimination but it is not an unbeatable foe. Every person must just have an open mind, a mind that will look beyond color, race, sex or religion. Discrimination has no place in the school, community, work place or wherever. Discrimination should just cease to exist and let no one fel l prey to it ever again.

Advance Effects On Eearly Relationship Against Tinagers Essay

The biggest threat about teenage dating is their inability to maintain a relationship. Teenagers mostly, do not understand the necessity of sustaining a relationship over a period of time. Therefore, frequent break ups and fights lead to attempts of suicide, teenage pregnancy or mental instability in extreme cases. This happens due to lack of experience and a broader understanding of what relationships are. Teenage relationship deals more with exploring their new-found youthfulness than exploring the extent of love. This makes them reduce a relationship to the concept of possessing a boyfriend or a girlfriend making them lose sight of what is important. This is why we have more cases of teenage dating than cases of everlasting friendship. Most teenagers lack the proper understanding of balancing friendship and dating causing even best friends to grow apart. This also implies increasing isolation with their new found boyfriends or girlfriends making them further unavailable and unexposed to potential friends in their immediate circle. The most visible negative impact of teenage dating is the school grades. Teenagers lose interest in studies and this is emblematic of their shifting priorities in life. This involves a double failure when teenagers lose their marks in class followed by problems in a relationship on the personal front. FURTHERMORE As teens develop emotionally, they are heavily influenced by their relationship experiences. Healthy relationship behaviors can have a positive effect on a teen’s emotional development. Unhealthy, abusive, or violent relationships may contribute to negative consequences. Research focused on the consequences of teen dating violence have similar limitations as those focused on identifying risk factors for teen dating violence making it difficult to make causal connections between teen dating violence and  certain outcomes. DESPITE LIMITATIONS, CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT VICTIMS OF TEEN DATING VIOLENCE ARE MORE LIKELY TO: Do poorly in school or not attend school due to feeling unsafe. Report binge drinking, smoking, using drugs, or engaging in unhealthy diet behaviors, including taking diet pills or laxatives and vomiting to lose weight. Become pregnant or have an STD. Attempt suicide and report feelings of hopelessness and sadness. Develop a negative body image and become uncomfortable with their sexuality be overly dependent on others and not achieving independence Ending up into violent adult relationships. VICTIMS OF TEEN DATING VIOLENCE MAY ALSO FIND IT VERY CHALLENGING TO Establish intimacy with a partner; Become a positive member of society; Develop a personal value system; And establish an adult identity. Abusers involved in teen dating violence create a pattern of behavior for themselves, which puts them at risk for ruining future relationships. In addition, perpetrators of teen dating violence may be more likely to bully and perpetrate violence against their peers. The earlier a problem is recognized, the sooner it can be addressed.

How to Build an Awesome Marketing Stack With Real Life Examples

How to Build an Awesome Marketing Stack With Real Life Examples Tools are only as good as your ability to use them. That much is true. However, without the right tools, it’s impossible to do your job well. That’s why modern marketing teams must be thoughtful and strategic about how they build their marketing technology stacks. By aligning the right tools and technologies with each step in your marketing process, you can ensure you’re well-equipped to work efficiently and effectively to tackle tough challenges. In this post, we’ll cover three key points: What should an effective marketing stack include? What does a marketing stack look like when it’s mapped out? Which tools should your business consider adopting? Plus, we’ll give you the inside scoop on the exact marketing tools and technologies we’ve used to build into North Dakota’s fastest-growing startup. See ’s Marketing Technology Stack has quickly grown into the industry’s preferred marketing calendar solution. Here are some quick stats highlighting our growth: More than one million unique monthly page views. More than 200,000 email subscribers. More than 60,000 total social media followers. How did we do it? By executing an agile marketing strategy with the right tools and technologies (including our own). Want to see which marketing tools uses today? Snag our free infographic and take a look.How to Build an Awesome Marketing Stack With Real Life Examples by @brebergstromWhat Is A Marketing Technology Stack? According to Optimizely, a marketing technology stack is: A grouping of technologies that marketers leverage to conduct and improve their marketing activities. Why Does My Organization Need A Marketing Stack? Modern marketing is nearly impossible to do well without tools. By choosing the best technologies for each task and area of need, marketing departments can give themselves the edge over competition while working more effectively and efficiently. What Does A Marketing Stack Look Like? The specific tools that make up a marketing technology stack may vary from one organization to another. Each tool in your stack needs to fulfill a specific obligation, like letting your social media strategists post content more often for example. A typical marketing tool stack will look something like this: What does a #marketing stack look like?What Tools Make Up A Full Marketing Stack? A marketing tool stack is usually made up of one or more tools across multiple categories. Here are all the different types of tools we’ll cover in this post: Table of Contents Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tools Customer Support Tools Email Marketing Tools Social Media Marketing Tools Marketing Project Management Tools Social Listening and Brand Monitoring Tools Landing Page Tools Content Management System (CMS) Tools Analytics Tools SEO Tools Online Advertising Tools Video Tools Automation Tools Content Curation Tools Keep reading to learn more about the different tools in each of these categories. DID YOU KNOW: makes it easy to plan and execute every project on one leading marketing calendar solution? Start your free trial or schedule a demo today. CRM Tools Customer relationship management (CRM) tools allow organizations to track detailed customer data and maintain relationships with them. Source: https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/blogs/d27b1c65-986e-4a4f-a491-5e8eb23980be/entry/2017_CRM_Statistics_Show_Why_it_s_a_Powerful_Marketing_Weapon?lang=en If you’re looking for a CRM, check out these options. Salesforce Salesforce  offers an array of marketing software solutions, including their popular CRM, with features like account and contact management, social customer service, and order management (to name a few) SalesForce helps businesses connect with customers. Infusionsoft Infusionsoft  is another versatile platform. Users can focus on customer and data management, lead scoring, and segmentation features. Infusionsoft also offers a mobile app for on the go work. Hubspot CRM Hubspot CRM  is a free tool from Hubspot. Organizations can manage their pipeline in a visible calendar, create enriched contact records for consumers, and set up personalized email sequences. Pipedrive Pipedrive  focuses on giving your customer support and sales teams a visual pipeline that lets them manage their deals, plan and organize their tasks, as well as keep track of their progress. Microsoft Dynamics Microsoft Dynamics  offers a suite of business intelligence applications that offers pre-built and custom solutions to gather and analyze consumer data (and a whole lot more). Searching for a #CRM? Check out these five recommendations: Customer Support Tools Your customer service team will need technology, too. Since customer support and marketing teams often work closely together to identify common problems customers often have, we’ve included some options here. Sources: https://www.groovehq.com/support/customer-support-statistics https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2013/12/31/why-omnichannel-strategy-matters/ Intercom Intercom  is a customer service messaging tool that allows your CS team to access your customer requests through multiple channels. They also have a built-in team inbox and powerful analytics. Zendesk Zendesk  focuses on giving users the ability to connect directly to customers to solve problems, as well as live chat options to address issues the second they appear. Freshdesk Freshdesk  allows users to work in a team inbox to manage all incoming tickets, agent collision detection to make sure multiple people aren’t working on the same ticket, and custom ticket status help keep your representatives on track. Desk.com Desk.com  is part of the Salesforce platform that is focused purely on customer support. Its features include multi-channel assistance, case management, and mobile support. TeamSupport TeamSupport  is a collaborative customer support system. Users can build customer and contact databases, create notes and alerts for each customer and it has system that lets you know the distress level of your client. Looking for customer support software? @offers five recommendations here. Email Marketing Tools Email marketing tools are an essential tool in your marketing stack. On the fence about email marketing? Maybe these three statistics will change your mind. Sources: https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/2016/01/70-email-marketing-stats-you-need-to-know/ https://blogs.constantcontact.com/email-marketing-stats/ https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/customer-communication-by-channel MailChimp Mailchimp  has an easy to use interface, advanced analytics and the ability to integrate with other apps. As one of the most popular options on the market, MailChimp might be the tool you’re looking for, especially if you’re just getting started. Emma Emma  is another email marketing platform that offers the ability to create targeted messages, list segmentation, and A/B test newsletters. Aweber Aweber  is an email marketing platform that utilizes drag and drop editorial functions, an RSS to email tool that will automatically create an email for your new blog posts, and autoresponder follow-ups that send your emails to your audience at the right time. Get Response Get Response  is a multi-feature tool. Some of its abilities include built-in design templates, dynamic content that helps personalize your emails and automated autoresponders to help send your content to your consumers at the right time. Campaign Monitor Campaign Monitor  is able to build smart segments and data collection to help you give a personalized approach to your emails. There’s even marketing automation features that can help you customize the email journeys. Is your favorite #email #marketing tool on this list? Social Media Marketing Tools Social media is a staple in most every marketing plan, and the right tools can help you get it done in less time without pulling your hair out. Sources: https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/channels-preferred-by-age-groups# https://www.statista.com/topics/1538/social-media-marketing/ https://www.vendasta.com/blog/163-stunning-social-media-stats-to-savor#generalstats HootSuite Hootsuite  is a social media marketing platform that gives it’s users the ability to scale their plan based on how much content they send on their channels. Some of Hootsuite’s popular features are bulk scheduling, RSS feed integrations, and social analytics. Buffer Buffer  users can set a posting schedule, queue content, and check how their posts are doing with built-in analytics. Sprout Social Sprout Social  includes features for planning campaign content, engaging directly with your audience through the app and the ability to identify brand advocates. Meet Edgar Meet Edgar  is a strictly social media marketing tool. Its features revolve around everything automated content scheduling to an unlimited content library and category based scheduling.   is a powerful all in one marketing calendar that allows marketing teams to plan, publish, and measure content, projects, and campaigns. That includes robust social media scheduling and analytics features. First offers a drag-and-drop calendar that you can use to schedule social media content, from one-off posts to entire campaigns. Recommended Reading: What is the Best Social Media Scheduling Tool on the Market? Marketing Project Management Tools Marketing project management can seem like an impossible task. But, with the right tools, you can make it a snap. Here are some stats on why project management is so important. Wrike Wrike  is a project management tool offering real-time status updates, resource and workload management, and the ability to collaborate across teams. Asana Asana  allows teams to create custom projects, control who sees what tasks, and see the progress of projects at a glance. Basecamp Basecamp  is a team based tool that sorts  your co-workers into categories who are then given their projects, task lists and more based what team they’re on.   knows how difficult it can be to juggle multiple marketing campaigns. Our calendar lets users create different content pieces that are grouped together under one project title. From their users can give feedback, check on progress or ask questions without getting lost in an email chain or having to wondering when a deadline is coming up. Take a look at how our own team uses for marketing project management (skip to 48:00 ... or watch the entire webinar recap, we promise it's good stuff):Trello Trello  is a kanban-style tool with customizable boards, lists, and cards that allow users to see at a glance the status of their project, share updates and communicate directly in the app. See what makes @ideal for marketing project management (plus find 60+ more #marketing... Social Listening and Brand Monitoring Tools Dropping in on conversations and seeing what your audience and others have to say about your brand is a vital part of maintaining the story of your organization. With the right tools, your social media team can eliminate the tedious task of tuning in manually. Here are a few more statistics to show you why your marketing tool stack should have a monitoring tool: Sources: http://upfrontanalytics.com/social-listening/            https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-listening/ Mention Mention  is a social listening tool that lets users monitor discussions around their brand on social and the web. Talkwalker Talkwalker  lets you monitor the conversations happening about your brand on over 150 million websites with customizable alerts and real-time response capabilities. Google Alerts Google Alerts  is an easy way to set up keyword or topic related alerts that send links directly to your email address. BrandWatch Brandwatch  lets users monitor the conversation about their brand with custom reports and demographic data about their audience and share of voice data which allows you to see how much of the conversation your brand is dominating. Buzzsumo Buzzsumo  has features that create custom alerts for content around keywords, authors, and domains. This gives a brand a chance to see what their customers are talking about and what types of content they’re consuming the most of. If you're not using #social listening tools, you're missing the conversation around your #brand.... Landing Page Tools Landing pages are the bread and butter of your website and building them correctly can make or break your organization. A tool can help make that process easier. Check out these three statistics on why you need a landing page tool. Sources: https://marketingexperiments.com/lead-generation/registration-form-optimization-steps https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33756/Why-You-Yes-You-Need-to-Create-More-Landing-Pages.aspx?__hstc=191390709.b583dbed445186745ec403c45a67fd37.1510202030766.1510246731441.1511490465214.4__hssc=191390709.1.1511490465214__hsfp=1105613783 https://marketingexperiments.com/lead-generation/registration-form-optimization-steps Unbounce Unbounce  allows marketers to create landing pages without having to code by having multiple templates to choose from. Plus, they integrate with a ton of other tools. Leadpages Leadpages  has created features like mobile-friendly templates and drag-and-drop customization options. Instapage Instapage  is a landing page tool with the ability to create custom fonts, generate heat maps and it integrates with multiple platforms. Build landing pages quickly and easily with these three recommended tools: @unbounce @Instapage... Content Management Systems (CMS) There are a lot of content management systems out there. How do you pick the best one for your business? It all comes down to balancing budget with your unique requirements. Let’s look at some popular options, from free and open source, all the way up to commercial enterprise solutions. Contentful Contentful  is a CMS that has a rich editor interface, multi-language options, and a full media library. WordPress WordPress  lets users build everything from blogs to full-blown websites with 100s of themes to choose from. Expression Engine Expression Engine  has features like the ability to publish in multiple locations, community management tools, and flexible content types to name a few. Adobe Experience Manager The Adobe Experience Manager  has the ability to create mobile content and marketing campaigns as well as managing multiple sites. Hubspot Hubspot  allows businesses to create, edit and manage their blog content, landing pages and more all in one spot. Find the perfect #CMS for your organization (and get 60+ more #marketing #tech recommendations... Marketing Analytics Tools As a marketer, you want to be able to prove that efforts that you are putting forward are having a positive effect on your business. Having an analytics tool allows you to see what’s working, and what isn’t. Here are three reasons to show you why you should have an analytics tool in your marketing technology stack. Clicky Clicky  gives users features like heat maps and on-site analytics which are updated in real time. Google Analytics Google Analytics  has the ability to build, segmentation options, custom reports and gives it to users in real-time. Plus, integrates with Google Analytics and bit.ly to make tracking social media referral traffic easy. Piwik Piwik  has options customizable dashboards, goal conversion tracking, content tracking and site search analytics just to name a few. Kissmetrics Kissmetrics  is another analytics app that allows users to build customizable reports based on metrics and KPIs that your organization wants to track. It will enable users to A/B test almost anything as well as track activity on your website. Adobe Analytics Adobe Analytics  is another powerhouse tool from the Adobe software team. Its features include advanced segmentation, activity maps and the ability to build and see customer fallout and flow movements. DID YOU KNOW: includes robust content, social media, and team productivity analytics features? Start measuring performance here. SEO Tools Search engine optimization tools are a powerhouse when it comes to getting your organization in front of potential consumers. Targeting the right keywords at the right time can help increase the conversion potential of your audience. In case you need any more reasons to have an SEO tool check out these three statistics. Sources: https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/14416/100-Awesome-Marketing-Stats-Charts-Graphs-Data.aspx https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/study/2276184/no-1-position-in-google-gets-33-of-search-traffic-study https://www.searchenginejournal.com/24-eye-popping-seo-statistics/42665/ Moz Moz  makes it easy to do keyword research, track rankings, monitor inbound traffic, gather backlink data, crawl your site, and more. Ahrefs Ahrefs  includes features for backlink analysis, keyword research, and more. Raven Tools Raven Tools  has built an SEO auditor, a link manager, and the ability to monitor your competitors from one place. SERPs.com SERPs.com  includes access to a keyword rank checker, a keyword research database, and Google location changer. SEM Rush SEM Rush  allows users to conduct SEO research using keyword difficulty tools, backlink analysis, and a keyword research database. Which #SEO tool is your favorite: @Moz @ahrefs @semrush @serpsapp or @RavenTools ? Online Advertising Tools Online advertising has become a massive tool for marketers because of its necessity. Without a tool it becomes nearly impossible for your team to execute your ads well. Why? Because of all the different moving parts. Check out these statistics on why you should be involved with online advertising. Sources: https://www.invespcro.com/blog/effectiveness-online-advertising/ https://www.statista.com/topics/1176/online-advertising/ https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics WordStream WordStream  helps users manage multiple online advertising channels including Facebook, Google, and Bing as well as being able to handle online advertising for companies if they choose. AdRoll AdRoll  let’s customers create ads with CRM data, expanding the reach of your ads and options to personalize ads for your audience. SEM Rush SEM Rush  has some PPC functionality including the ability to manage and optimize keyword lists using Google Ad Words. Adwords Performance Grader WordStream created a free Adwords Performance Grader  which allows users to grade things like account activity, click through rates and wasted spend through their AdWords account. Adstage.io Adstage.io  is an all in one tool that tracks your organization's paid search and social search across multiple channels. It also builds automated custom reports that users can download at any time.

What Tear Gas Is and How It Works

What Tear Gas Is and How It Works Tear gas, or lachrymatory agent, refers to any of a number of chemical compounds that cause tears and pain in the eyes and sometimes temporary blindness. Tear gas can be used for self-defense, but it is more commonly used as a riot control agent and as a chemical weapon. How Tear Gas Works Tear gas irritates the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, mouth, and lungs. The irritation may be caused by a chemical reaction with the sulfhydryl group of enzymes, though other mechanisms also occur. The results of exposure are coughing, sneezing, and tearing. Tear gas generally is non-lethal, but some agents are toxic. Examples of Tear Gas Actually, tear gas agents arent usually gases. Most compounds used as lachrymatory agents are solids at room temperature. They are suspended in solution and sprayed as aerosols or in grenades. There are different types of compounds that may be used as tear gas, but they often share the structural element ZC-C-X, where Z denotes carbon or oxygen and X is bromide or chloride. CS (chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile)CRCN (chloroacetophenone) which may be sold as Macebromoacetonephenacyl bromidexylyl bromidepepper spray (derived from chili peppers and most commonly dissolved in a vegetable oil) Pepper spray is a little different from the other types of tear gas. It is an inflammatory agent that causes inflammation and burning of the eyes, nose, and mouth. While it is more debilitating than a lachrymatory agent, it is harder to deliver, so it is used more for personal protection against a single individual or animal than for crowd control.

Sexuality around the world Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sexuality around the world - Essay Example As medicine strives to provide medical explanation of homosexuality, sociologists and sexologist aim to understand the psychology of homosexuality in the cultural aspect. While homosexuality is an expression of personal freedom, it also leads to social issues such as harassment, persecution by the society, and violence. One of the most common factors contributing to discrimination against homosexuals is the gender orientation of the society. As cultural traditions vary from country to country, so does the acceptance of homosexuals and bisexuals. In a research by Judith Mackay, about 50 countries consider male homosexuality as illegal; 8 of which (mostly Muslim countries) impose the death penalty (75). This unfavorable attitude toward homosexuality causes sexual dysfunction as homosexuals are hindered in expressing their sexuality. Homosexuals experience sexual dysfunction for fear of being persecuted. In addition, social pressures contribute to the loss of integrity, as well as the economic and social status of homosexuals. While gender orientation causes psychological, sexual dysfunction among homosexuals, women in cultures practicing female genital mutilation experience the same dysfunction in the physical aspect. Female genital mutilation (FGM), as a cultural practice, deprives women to have sexual pleasure for the thought that it prevents them from having sexual relations with men other than their husbands. FGM also causes physical, sexual dysfunction, which is otherwise known as hypoactive sexual disorder. Hypoactive sexual disorder is characterized by several symptoms including reduced pleasure in having sex, formation of keloid scars, and complications in the female reproductive system (Whitehorn, Ayonrinde, and Maingay 166-167). While FGM raises issues on human rights, it also influences the advancement of studies with regard to women’s health. Sexuality, as an issue concerning