Journal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Journal - Assignment Example It allows me to be the best â€Å"me† I can possibly be. It also shows me sides of my personality that I might not otherwise know about. For me that is very valuable. When I first found out I would be required to demonstrate my counselling techniques and skills I was somewhat apprehensive. I wondered if I was ready to do that. I wasn't entirely sure if I would be able to measure up to the challenge, but as I thought about it more I began to realize that I had an inherent talent for counselling and that there was nothing to be concerned about. I believe I performed admirably during the demonstration. I realized there a lot of things about myself which I don't often think about. As I gave the demonstration I began to consider all the things that go into making a good counsellor. There are so many aspects of a person's identity that play a role in them being a sympathetic and professional counsellor. As Bitar, et al, write in their fascinating study of counselling, family origin, for example, can often play a major role: Family of origin experiences influenced the process in two main ways. First, several therapists chose theories that helped them work through their own family of origin issues. Second, family of origin experiences seemed to sensitize several therapists to particular models. For example, one participant was drawn to a model that directly addressed an already resolved but previously painful family of origin dynamic (115).

Automobile and Scientific Inventions Essay Example for Free

Automobile and Scientific Inventions Essay There are many scientific inventions in our world. Some of these inventions are even in the houses that we live in. There are inventions such as computer games, the microwave oven, and even the Moto vehicle. These inventions make our lives much easier but it destroys the world as well. Everything and everyone gets harmed some way by these inventions. Let’s start off with this. The computer is entertaining but yet dangerous to our eyes. Children of our world love being on the computer. But they shouldn’t love it too much, because if you stare and are too close to the computer for far too long, your eyes begin to hurt and you become shot sighted. This is so because your brain decides that you don’t need to be able to see things far away and only see thing that are close to you. The computer is one of the best inventions because it helps you with a lot of things. Number one is work. It allows us to save all our important document and keeps them in a private file. The microwave oven. This is a machine that heats thing. It’s great in homes for when you want to heat foods. About 1/3 of the world has one. I’ll say this; microwave oven heats your foods but also destroys your health. As the microwave heats up, it sends of radiation inside and out. Your foods become polluted with radiation and if you’re too close to it you as well. Who likes eating cold food? I mean we all like food nice and hot, so we should have a microwave oven in our houses. I personally can’t go without a microwave. It one of my favorite scientific inventions. One of the most used scientific inventions would be the motor vehicle. Now this is brilliant! The motor vehicle or should I say, cars are very common to our modern day lives. EVERYBODY has one. Well if you have a license of course. Now cars are a complex piece of machinery. It’s like you’re basically holding a fully loaded gun. Almost every day there is an accident that occurs. We may not see it, but it happens. People get greatly injured or even die from car accidents. On the positive side, cars do have its advantages. People use cars to transport themselves around. It takes you from one place to another. Instead of having to walk, you drive. Another thing about cars, it pollutes the air badly. This is so because cars give off a great deal of smoke sometimes. This affects the greenhouse gases and even worse, the ozone layer. If the air is completely contaminated people with die. People that believe these machines are not good for our lives are somewhat correct but wrong. I believe that it has made our lives really easy and less complex. I think it has done wonders to the world and we should all appreciate the advantage we get from this.

The History And Influence Of Latin Music

The History And Influence Of Latin Music The history and influences of Latin American music started in the 1550 by the Moorish and African slaves. Latin Americas style of music has a mix of European, African, and Indigenous influences. Latin music today is played to celebrate events and many other happy happenings this is where in my essay I will focus in the early times of Latin America, the indigenous civilizations of Aztec, Maya, and Inca had their style of music for rituals and ceremonies, but when the Europeans came in the colonial period, they brought their Roman Catholic religious and also changed the views of many indigenous people including their style of music. At the time European was conquering Latin America, the Europeans brought African slaves for labour, but because they were not allowed to believe in their believes, the African slaves used their own instruments that were brought with them when they were forced into slave trade to create rhythms to communicate, tell stories, and share unspeakable joy which al l created the beat of Lain Music. Lastly I will talk about present Latin music itself and what influences was kept. Oldest musical traditions in Latin America were based on the three great civilizations of Maya, Inca, and Aztec. The three great civilizations played three types of music. The first one was played for pleasure that inspired group singings and dances. The second type was functional music for instance, work songs and martial music. The last type of music was the largest category, it was religious music used for rituals and communication. For the largest category of music, their religion was extremely important to the indigenous people. They had their unique kind of music to please the evil gods to bring good lucky, another to bring good harvest and most importantly the rain god to bring water for drinking and farming. Many of these type of music was played when a ritual was happening, sacrifices would be done at the same time. There were centuries where the music that were heard by authors and music scholars and they would say it was barbaric and frightful. Though many disagreed with t he music of sacrifice, many were impressed by the large variety of detailed instruments ranging from flutes made out of clay, conch shells used like a trumpet, rattles, and drums ranging from different sizes. Music was always played in festivals, and a particular song was played for each big event. Even small villages of Amerindians musicians produce music that is diverse and unique to each village. As the European came in the colonial period, their influenced evolved indigenous style of music to more detailed pieces. When Spain and Portugal started to settle on American land in the colonial period, the Spanish and Portuguese brought their culture along with them especially their Roman Catholic religious believes, where the indigenous people began the use their influence of arts. In this period the indigenous people were beginning to be influenced by their arts and many Europeans played many kinds of their famous music in churches to convert Indians into Catholicism. Their music however did not play a major role in the development in Latin American and especially Brazils popular music. When the Christmas season came, autos were introduced to the Indians and they were highly influenced by the later music of Latin America. At this time, the colonist of Europe brought European instruments and the natives quickly adopted these, but because the Indians tried not to copy the exact instrument, they would construct similar ones but with better quality items. For example the guitar, the Indians would chang e the tuning of the strings or change the guitar box with an armadillo shell. But not till the twenty-first century, the Maya still played their old songs but with European instruments where they shared Mayan roots with both Aztec and Spanish borrowings. Latin America gained independence during the early nineteenth century. With the independence, music shifted its status in leadership. In the nineteenth century the musical life of Latin American started using the piano to produce salon music. Many different kinds of Latin American music were produced but not all kinds were so popular. Italian lyricism, German and French romanticism were the three biggest influences to Latin American composers of the nineteenth century. By the end of nineteenth century, Latin America started to not lean so much towards the European traditions and started to create national music. As this new development of nationalism music, composers started to focus more into folk and popular themes. In this new de velopment, Brazil began to use native melodies to compose their music. The most important development of Latin American music during the Colonial Period was in the sixteenth century when African slaves were sent to the Caribbean Islands and Brazil, and this is where the base of contemporary Latin American music started. Latin American music is highly influenced by European colonization and by the African slaves. The African slaves brought the following characteristics for their style of music: multiple percussive lines, polyrhythms, polymeric vocal polyphony, choreographic features, mystical-religious references, the use of a stanza-refrain form, and specific instrumentation as they were forced into labour on unfamiliar land from salve trades, which created vibrant rhythms and melodies to Latin America from their homeland. The music they play associates with work, play and spiritual purposes because they were not allowed to practise their believes so they create rhythms to communicate, tell stories, and share unspeakable joy. Their music comes in a range for every occasion from lullabies to punishments and because of their diversity, each group of African slaves produce different musical styles with a wide variety of instruments from rattles, to woodwinds, to drums, to stringed instruments. One of t he larger groups known as the Moorish people also known as Afro-Caribbean brought their culture up front and it came forth. In 1776 Moorish people were prohibited to play drums and the Caribbean slaves were allowed, which were just for recreation, entertainment, and the most important, communication. All of these played the traditional Moorish and African rhythms on a drum and the basic beat for Latin American music. The African slaves were always interested in coming up with new rhythms that they liked to play in ensembles of different percussion instruments but because they are rich in rhythmic form, their melodic variation is extremely poor. African beats highly influenced the creation of samba, where ancient drumming and circular dance ritual called the bataque are included. Although the bataque was originally a religious dance, slaves disguised it as a secular celebration because the Portuguese forbade the Africans to practice their sacred beliefs. The word samba first appeared in 1838 where it originally originated from an African dance known as the mesemba but the actual samba dance and music was created in 1917. History has said that the African-Brazilian people in the working class of Rio de Janeiro probably invented the samba. The rhythms of the samba had three roles: to sing, dance, and to parade at carnivals. Ernesto does Santos; a black musician recorded the first samba song in 1916. When Manuel Diniz opened a maxixe academy in Paris, the samba dance gained much popularity in Europe in 1921. Sambas name was for its rhythm, but there were different kinds of samba. The most fast paced and extreme was the batucada. The batucada is both the name for a large samba percussion group and a drumming style with two rhythms mixed together. Latin music is a combination of influences from Africa, Europe, and the indigenous people of Latin America. Latin music is influenced by Spanish songs, African and indigenous rhythms, European classical and popular music from the Catholic Church. In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, ballad, rhythm, blues, jazz, rocks, reggae, Afro-pop, and hip-hop were created. Rhythms and harmonies are the two elements that help differ Latin music from European and North American music. Many European classical and church influences were incorporated into Afro-Cuban music. The rhythmic structure or the beat is the most distinctive elements in Afro-Cuban music. Latin music is a five-beat pattern called the clave. There are two wooden clave sticks which are used by musicians to tap out the underlying rhythms of a song. Contemporary Latin music shows three main trends. The first are the ones who follow the footsteps in expressing their love for their country in the late nineteenth century or ear ly twentieth century. The second most influential group are composers who seek to accommodate their cultures myths and express their own individuality at the same time. Lastly they are the ones who ignore both the love of their country and cultural myth. Their music is developed along experimental lines. In conclusion Latin American music is a popular music that has a history of cultural mixes. Without the conquest of the Spanish and Europeans, they would never have given influences to the style and also the bring African slaves over for the beat of todays Latin music From Africa to the Aztec and the Inca, the forebears of Latin music have circled the globe for hundreds of years. The unique melodies and instruments played important roles in ancient societies, and they continue to influence millions of musicians in the 21st century

Bernoullis Principle and the Wing :: physics bernoulli principle

Well we all love flying in planes from one place to another but have you ever wondered how those large vehicles stay in the air? The answer of coarse is the wings. Now that you know that wings keep a plane aloft you are probably wondering how they work. Wings keep a plane in the air because of Bernoulli's principle. In the following pages you will learn who Bernoulli was and how we can apply his principle to the wing model. Daniel Bernoulli ( 1700 - 1782 ), son of Johann II Bernoulli, was born in the Groningen, Netherlands. At the age of 13, Daniel was sent to Basel University to study philosophy and logic. Later he obtained his master's degree in philosophy at the age of sixteen. Although Daniel was interested mainly in mathematics, his father pushed him into the medical field where he could profit the most. Again, Daniel attended Basel and other colleges around Europe where he obtained his doctorate in medicine in 1720. While studying medicine in Venice, Daniel published his first book entitled Mathematical Exercises. Daniel soon became interested in fluid flow while working with the flow of blood and blood pressure. With the help of the famous scientist Euler, Daniel published his most famous book Hydrodynamica in 1738. In this book Daniel discusses equilibrium, pressure, and speed in fluids which led to Bernoulli's principle. Read on to find out about his principle. The Bernoulli's equation explains the how pressure and velocity are affected as liquid moves through a tube with segments of different area. The fundamental rule shown here is as the speed of a fluid increases, its pressure decreases. Now we can apply this rule to a wing traveling through air, otherwise known as an airfoil. When an airfoil is tilted upwards the air above the airfoil travels faster than the air below the airfoil because it has a greater distance to travel. The higher velocity above the airfoil creates a drop in pressure and the lower velocity below the airfoil creates an increase in pressure. This results in a "push" from the bottom otherwise known as lift. Since the wing is also angled upward a downward push is created from the trailing edge also pushing the airfoil upward. All of this allows a plane to fly. More efficient designs in wings have been made to allow maximum lift for different types of planes.

NanoGene Technologies Essay

NanoGene Technologies, Inc is a life sciences start-up based on nanotechnology. The firm was founded by an unusually large number of people; five employees of the Eastern Institute of Technologies Advanced Materials Sciences Lab (AMSL). The founders worked in different sections of AMSL, but they were working on a set of technologies that were linked in the human genome project. Together, the founders developed techniques and compounds that caused the genes to ‘stretch out and straighten up’ making it much easier for labs to do the cutting and manipulation that is required in diagnostic testing. NanoGene planned to use this technology, which is owned by the Eastern Institute of Technologies, to begin to sell the patented substrate material to diagnostic testing labs around the world. As the business model of NanoGene formed, the founders decided to equally split the equity among the five members and all of them would have the same salary of $120,000. Will Tompkins, one of the founders, was named the CEO. In the first year, NanoGene secured the required intellectual property to the technology by offering the Eastern Institute of Technologies 15% in equity and a 3% royalty on sales. Will Tompkins used one of his contacts, an active angel investor, to obtain the angel funding of $600,000 at $2.25 million post-money valuation. The value proposition, customer segment, and revenue streams are fairly straight forward. NanoGene’s technology offers their target customers, diagnostic testing labs around the world, an easier and faster way to complete diagnostic testing. The sales of the substrate material will provide NanoGene with its source of revenue. Currently, NanoGene is trying to recruit Paige Miller, a Havard Business School graduate who has been doing some consulting for NanoGene. Additionally, NanoGene is in their Series A funding. NanoGene is looking to raise $10 million which will be sufficient to fund them for 18 months, to prove their technology, and to get them to a pilot production. At a meeting with a venture capitalist, NanoGene learned about the issues VCs have with the firm. The first concern the VCs have involves the founding team. The founding team is quite large, five members, and all of the founders are pure scientists with little to no business experience. Generally, the VCs invest in technology based start-ups with a founding team of two to three members. Usually one of the founders has had experience driving the commercialization of technology, typically as a Chief Scientific Officer at an established  firm. The unique size of NanoGene’s founding team and their lack of experience is an area of worry for the VCs. The VCs are also concerned about the founding team’s decision to compensate all founders equally. The scientists are splitting the equity evenly and are receiving a salary of $120,000 which is, at a minimum, $30,000 more than the annual salary of their former jobs at AMSL. VCs believe the founders and future employees should be compensated based on their added value to the company; a strategy commonly practiced in the business world. Typically, biotech CEOs have a higher salary and will retain about 2.5 times as much equity as VP-level founders. The VCs think Will Tompkins should be compensated more and the rest of the founders should be compensated less. NanoGene needs to address the VCs concerns in order for NanoGene to be a viable company. Paige Miller, a consultant for NanoGene, should be part of the solution in eliminating the VCs concerns. The founders have little to no background in business and have not been very professional as a team. In business, team members communicate and are not afraid to disagree with each other. With NanoGene, the founders want to make everyone happy. The scientist agreed to compensate equally since it would have been disruptive in their opinion to try to determine equity share and compensation based on a more complicated set of principles. Members didn’t want to upset the rest of the team. Additionally, the founders are already having disputes about how to compensate future employees. NanoGene needs someone with business experience who can be professional and focus on the goal of the company.  Paige Miller has the business experience and personality NanoGene requires. The only complication is her compensation of $175,000 in salary and 3% of the company equity. Paige Miller can lead the company through the disagreements and difficult challenges they will face in the early stages of development. Will Tompkins does not have enough experience to lead the company and commercialize the technology. The CEO should instead be Paige Miller, who is more qualified than Tompkins. Instead of increasing Tompkins salary and share of equity, NanoGene can compensate Miller. Installing Miller as the CEO will help solve the CEO payment issue and the lack of business experience found at NanoGene. At present, the founders may not be happy about their smaller share of equity and potentially lower salaries, but in the long run, the action of making Miller CEO will pay off. Miller has valuable knowledge of in commercializing technology and running a business, and can guide discussions on the hiring process, the potential compensation policies, the company goals, and company culture. She will also bring the professional touch NanoGene needs. Miller is also one of the few people familiar with the technology and business ideas of NanoGene since she has worked with NanoGene in the past. Without Miller, NanoGene may not get the funding they need to continue as a company. Another top priority of NanoGene is proving the technology. This can’t be done if there is no funding for the VCs. In the future, NanoGene should conduct more market research on diagnostic tests. Currently, NanoGene has a simple value proposition with a very general customer segment. NanoGene needs to identify specific customer segments of high growth and low competition. Research in other value propositions such as cost and accuracy will help also NanoGene’s profitability.

Avoid These 5 Mistakes When NetworkingÂÂ

Avoid These 5 Mistakes When Networking   We all know how daunting networking can be. It’s often the last thing we want to do: going out to â€Å"socialize† when we could be on the couch with take-out and Netflix, having to sell ourselves in every conversation, having to get in front of the right people to make the right impression. But, it has to be done. And it should be done right. Here are 5 common networking pitfalls and how to avoid them.1. Don’t get caught with your pants downEven if you make a last-minute decision to attend, make sure you’re prepared. Don’t forget your business cards. Don’t go up to anyone uninformed. Spend 15 minutes before you hit the party making a game plan- who you’d like to introduce yourself to, what specifically you’d like to accomplish, etc. Do some research into the people and companies you’re likely to run into; this will make for better conversations and you’ll come across as intelligent and on top of your game. Pick yo ur marks and take accurate, appropriate shots.2. Don’t be unprofessionalYou don’t need to  make a special hair appointment or show up in a cocktail dress to a casual after-work event, but you also shouldn’t dress like a slob. Go no lower than business casual, and when in doubt, take your cues from coworkers or other contacts you know are also attending.Once you’re there, act like a professional human. Don’t dismiss people just because they don’t look important. Don’t go around collecting business cards as if you were trick-or-treating. Don’t lie- you’ll always get caught. And make sure to have your elevator pitch practiced and ready to go. There’s nothing worse than being asked what you’re looking for and having to reply â€Å"Uh†¦. Um†¦. Work and stuff?†3. Don’t be naà ¯veAct like you’ve been to a networking event before. Don’t expect a job from every decision-maker you happen to shake hands with. And make sure not to ask for too much from everyone you meet. This is where a little strategic planning can really come in handy. Plan your big asks before you go. Once you’ve made them, try to  relax, act normally, and enjoy yourself. People are just people, after all.4. Don’t be selfishNobody likes a party hog. Don’t be the kind of networker who talks only about herself, thinks only about her needs, barges into conversations uninvited, and otherwise monopolizes everything and everyone. That goes for the shrimp puffs, too.5. Don’t forget to follow upThis is perhaps the most important. If you’ve made good contact with anyone, make sure to send a polite follow-up email the following day. Or even a phone call, depending on your level of connection! And if anyone does you any favors- i.e. puts you in touch with someone or agrees to circulate your resume- make sure to send a gracious thank you ASAP.

AIDS Cases Article Essays

AIDS Cases Article Essays AIDS Cases Article Paper AIDS Cases Article Paper Somewhere among the million children who go to New Yorks publicly financed schools is a seven-year-old child suffering from AIDS. A special health and education panel had decided, on the strength of the guidelines issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control, that the child would be no danger to his classmates. Yet, when the school year started on September 9th, several thousand parents in two school districts in the borough of Queens kept their children at home. Fear of plague can be as pernicious, and contagious, as the plague itself(Fear of dying 1). This article was written in 1985. Since then much has been found out about AIDS. Not enough for a cure though. There probably will be no cure found in the near future because the technology needed is not available. AIDS cases were first identified in 1981,in the United States. Researchers have traced cases back to 1959. There are millions of diagnosed cases worldwide, but there is no cure (Drotman 163). There are about a million people in the United States who are currently infected with HIV (HIV/AIDS 1). It infects the population heavily in some areas of the country and very lightly in other areas. No race, sex, social class, or age is immune (AIDS Understanding 10). AIDS has killed more Americans than the Vietnam War, which killed 58,000(AIDS Understanding 10). AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Acquired means that it is not hereditary or introduced by medication. Immune indicates that it is related to the bodys system that fights off disease. Deficiency represents the lack of certain kinds of cells that are normally found in the body. Syndrome is a group of symptoms and signs of disordered function that signal the diagnoses (Hyde 1). You dont catch AIDS, you catch HIV. HIV is the virus that leads to AIDS. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency virus. HIV severely damages a persons disease fighting immune system. There are two viruses that cause AIDS. They belong to a group called retroviruses. The first virus is HIV-1. It was isolated by researchers in France in 1983, and in the U.S. in 1984. In 1985, the second one was identified by scientists in France. It is closely related to HIV-1. It is called HIV-2. HIV-2 mainly occurs in Africa but HIV-1 occurs throughout the world(Drotman 163). There are three stages of the infection. The first stage is acute retroviral syndrome and asymptomatic period. This is the flulike or mononucleosislike illness that most people get within 6-12 weeks after becoming infected. It usually goes away without treatment. From this point on the persons blood tests positively for HIV. The second stage is symptomatic HIV infection. This is when the infected persons symptoms show up. It can last anywhere from a few months to many years. The third and final stage is AIDS. This is when the immune system is severally damaged and the opportunistic diseases set in. The progressive breakdown of the immune system leads to death, usually within a few years. HIV causes a severe wasting syndrome. A general decline in the health and in some cases, death. The virus infects the brain and the nervous system. It may cause dementia, a condition of sensory, thinking, or memory disorder. Infection of the brain may cause movement or coordination problems (Drotman 164). HIV can be present in the body for two to twelve years without any outward sign of illness. It can be transmitted to another person even if no symptoms are present (Drotman 164). When HIV picks up speed, a variety of symptoms are possible. The symptoms include unexplained fever, fatigue, diarrhea, weight loss, enlarged lymph glands, loss of appetite, yeast infections of the mouth and vagina, night sweats lasting longer than several weeks, breathing difficulties, a dry cough, sore throat caused by swollen glands, chills, and shaking (Quackenbush 23). Pink or purple, flat or raised blotches or bumps occurring under the skin, inside the mouth, nose, eyelids or rectum are also symptoms. They resemble bruises, but dont disappear. They are usually harder than the skin around them. White spots or unusual blemishes in the mouth is another symptom (Quackenbush 24). There are two illnesses that commonly affect AIDS patients. One is a type of pneumonia called pneumocystis carinii. The other one is a type of cancer called kaposis sarcoma, which attacks the skin (What are HIV/AIDS 1). Pneumocystis carinii is a yeast infection in the esophagus. It causes severe pain when swallowing which results in weight loss and dehydration. It is the leading cause of death among AIDS patients. Kaposis sarcoma are tumors that look like bruises, but grow. These two diseases plus many other are called opportunistic diseases. For decades cases declined in the U.S. until the mid-1980s. Since the mid-80s cases are growing especially in HIV infected people. People with AIDS eventually contract atleast one of the opportunistic diseases. These are the diseases that AIDS patients usually die from (Drotman 164). HIV is transmitted three ways. One way is through unprotected vaginal, anal, or oral sex. The most risky is anal sex because the anus doesnt stretch. Therefore, it is easier for the skin to tear and bleed. This makes it easier for the infection to get into the bloodstream. It can get soaked up by the mucous membranes that line the vagina, rectum, hole in the tip of the penis, mouth, and the throat (Johnson 17). The second way is through direct contact with infected blood. There are a couple ways of getting it through direct contact with infected blood. One way is by sharing a hypodermic needle with someone who is infected. A tiny drop of infected blood stays inside the needle and syringe. So if a person uses it he or she is actually shooting the infected blood directly into his or her bloodstream. That little droplet of infected blood is enough to give you HIV. Sharing needles for skin-popping can spread HIV in the same way. This way a person is more likely to get infections such as abscesses. A person can also get HIV from sharing other drug works with someone who is infected. Containers or cookers such as spoons or bottle caps, crackpipes, cotton, or water for dissolving drugs or rinsing syringes are some of the works. It doesnt matter what a person is shooting in the needle-heroin, cocaine, speed, steroids, insulin, or any other drug. If a person shares a needle or works with someone who has HIV, he or she could get infected too(Johnson 20). Another way is through a blood transfusion. Chances of getting HIV through a blood transfusion in the U.S. are now very low, but still possible. Testing began in 1985, of all blood and plasma that is donated. The tests that doctors use are over 99% accurate. Blood is destroyed if signs of the virus show up in the donated blood. Therefore, it is almost impossible to get infected through a blood transfusion. Before 1985, some people became infected through infected blood and certain blood products. In the U.S. every piece of equipment used to draw blood is brand new. It is only used once and then it is destroyed. Therefore it is impossible for a donor to get HIV from giving plasma or blood(HIV/AIDS 2). The third way of getting HIV is an infected woman transmitting it to her fetus or baby. A pregnant woman with HIV can pass the virus to her child before or after birth. The way this happens is the fetus gets nourishment from its mother through the placenta and the umbilical cord. That is one of the ways. The other way is through breast feeding(Johnson 24). The only way to stem the spread of infection remains the public health approach, educating people on how to avoid infection or educating the infected people on how to avoid infecting someone else. There are many ways to prevent the transmission and spread of AIDS. A person has to be aware, because most people who are infected dont know they are(Nichols 3). One way to prevent infection is to not engage in the act of sexual intercourse with anyone who is or might be infected. If someone is going to , then he or she should atleast use a latex condom. It is medically proven that latex condoms can help to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. HIV can not pass through the intact rubber film. It is almost impossible to catch the virus if the condom is used properly. This means using a good quality condom, one with the kite mark, with a spermicide. The condom itself can kill the virus(HIV/AIDS 2). Condoms dont completely eliminate the risk of being infected because they can tear, break, or slip off. Birth control pills and diaphragms will not protect a person or his or her partner from getting HIV either(HIV/AIDS 4). Drug users should seek professional help to stop doing drugs. They should never share hypodermic needles, syringes, or other injection equipment. Azidothymidine, commonly known as AZT, may reduce the risk of an infected woman transmitting it to her fetus or baby. Also, infected women should not breast feed their infants, since HIV can be present in the breast milk of an infected woman(Drotman 164). There are a number of things that a person can not get HIV from, that people are skeptical about. A person can not get AIDS from handshakes, hugs, coughs, sneezes, sweat, tears, mosquitoes, or other insects, pets, eating food prepared by someone else, or just being around an infected person. A person cant get it from sharing a cigarette, cigar, or pipe, drinking from the same fountain, or from someone spitting on him or her. A person also cant get it from using the same swimming pools, toilet seats, phones, computers, straws, spoons, or cups. Although the virus has been found in saliva, medical opinion states there is no evidence of contamination through wet kissing(What are HIV/AIDS 1). HIV is not spread through the air or water, unlike many other viruses(HIV/AIDS 2). No one has ever caught AIDS by going to a physician or an eye doctor who has treated AIDS patients. No one has ever caught AIDS by eating in a restaurant where AIDS patients have been, nor by sharing a dwelling in which AIDS victims live. No one has caught AIDS by working, studying, or playing with an AIDS patient, unless bodily fluids were exchanged. No one has ever gotten AIDS from an insect bite, even where there are many people with AIDS and even where there are many people with dozens of mosquito bites(AIDS, Understanding 2). HIV is very fragile. It doesnt live long or well outside the human body. It is easily killed with a 1:10 solution of bleach and water. It can be washed from skin with regular soaps. HIV will not survive outside the human body for more than a few hours at the most(Quackenbush 23). If a person thinks he or she might have HIV, he or she can get tested. HIV tests determine the presence of antibodies to the AIDS virus. Antibodies are proteins produced by certain white blood cells to react with specific viruses, bacteria, or foreign substances that go into the body. The presence of antibodies to HIV indicates infection with the virus. The tests that detect the presence of HIV-1 became widely available in 1985. The tests that detect HIV-2 became widely available in 1992. All infected patients should get blood tests done periodically. They should also have their health monitored by a physician(Drotman 164). There is no cure for HIV or AIDS, but treatments have been developed. The treatments help most people live longer. The infected people have to take medications to help them keep healthy and possibly postpone the development of AIDS(Johnson 33). Most of the medication has difficult side effects. Even with all of this, about 18 months after a person has been diagnosed with AIDS, he or she usually get quite sick and require hospital care(AIDS, Understanding 4). Scientists are not sure how, when, or where the AIDS virus originated. Researchers have shown that HIV-1 and HIV-2 are more closely related to simian immunodeficiency viruses than to each other. Simian immunodeficiency viruses infect monkeys. It has been suggested that HIV evolved from viruses that originally infected monkeys in Africa. It was somehow transmitted to people. There are many arguments to this theory. One is that HIV has only been found in human beings. It has never been isolated from any other animal species. Scientists believe The infection became widespread after significant social changes took place in Africa. Somewhere around the 1960s and the 1970s. HIV was isolated as being the cause of AIDS in 1983, and 1984. Tests were then developed to detect the virus. These tests have been used to analyze stored tissues from people who had undetermined deaths in the 60s and the 70s. Scientists found that some of these people died from AIDS. During the 1990s an estimated one million people in the U.S. had the HIV infection or AIDS. There are millions more throughout the world(Drotman 165). AIDS deaths has dropped significantly for the first time since the epidemic began in the early 1980s.They fell 13 percent in the first six months of 1996, to 22,000 people, down from 24,900 deaths in the same period a year earlier, reported by the Centers for Disease Control. The number of people diagnosed with AIDS still continues to grow, but the growth rate is slowing. From 1995 to 1996 the growth rate was less than 2%. The growth rate from 1993 to 1994 was 5%. First signs of drop in deaths of AIDS victims came in January 1997, when New York City reported a 30 percent drop in the number of Aids deaths in 1996. The Center for Disease Control credits better treatments, new drugs, and better access to treatment through state and federal programs. Some think that the decline is unfortunately only a standstill, because for some patients the new drugs are not effective(Meyer A1). Doctors and researchers have been doing research on the virus. They have studied several drugs that stop the growth of HIV in laboratories. One of the drugs is zidovudine, formerly called azidothymidine and commonly known as AZT. Research suggest that azidothymidine can delay the onset of opportunistic illnesses. This drug produces toxic side effects. Some other ones are didanosine(ddl), zalcitbine, which was formerly known as dideoxycytidine and commonly called ddc, and stavudine, which is commonly called D4T. These three drugs also produce dangerous side effects. Researchers are investigating treatments to help restore normal function to the immune system. They believe that any eventual cure must stop the growth of the virus, prevent opportunistic illnesses, and restore the immune system(Drotman 164). Some vaccines are being tested on animals and as of 1993, one is being tested on people who are at very high risk(Nichols 11). Magic Johnsons HIV is now undetectable, but not absent. Though he is not cured, powerful drugs have reduced the AIDS virus in his body to undetectable levels. Undetectable does not mean absent. Activists hope that his progress encourages people to get tested and take advantage of improved treatment. Thousands of HIV patients have had their infections recede to undetectable levels after taking drugs called protease inhibitor. Even though a person with undetectable virus levels can still infect other people. Even if the virus is undetectable in blood or semen, it can still be present in other areas such as intestines. Protease inhibitors reduce illnesses in infected people. These drugs are taken on a strict schedule along with two other AIDS drugs. It requires particular timing. Some drugs must be taken an hour before eating or two hours after. Even with this patients still get side effects. Some of the side effects are nausea, vomiting, headaches, backaches, and gastrointestinal problems. As many as forty percent of the people who take the concoction of drugs develop a resistance to them either because the virus becomes resistant after years of on other drugs, or because patients dont or are unable to take the drugs as ordered. These wonder drugs are expensive costing between $12,000 and $15,000 a year. Although these drugs are expensive it is still worth prolonging a persons life. The virus infects children and newborns, too. Newborns become quite ill by age 1, because their immune system has not fully developed. Most babies that are infected die by 18 months(Quackenbush 23). Today kids need to know about HIV and AIDS. They need to know how a person gets the virus, how it is spread, how they wont get it, what it is, how they can protect themselves from it, and whats going to happen to them if they get it. The real risk of infection for them is through sexual molestation by an infected adult. There are three main reasons why children need to know. One is natural curiosity. AIDS is now an undeniable part of the world. They are curious about the world. They have questions about the world. Another reason is the anxiety children may have about the disease. They understand that AIDS is a very serious disease. The thing they dont understand is the concept of not casually transmitted. The final reason is some children have family members or friends with HIV or AIDS. The kids that have an infected family member or friend face many personal challenges. They get harassed by their peers because their peers dont know what HIV or AIDS is. They think that t! he kid has cooties or something. Children need to know about HIV and AIDS so they can understand and so they dont harass other kids about it(Quackenbush 27). In the United States, federal, state, and local government have provided funds for education, treatment, and research of AIDS. Public health clinics have counseling and HIV-antibody testing to people who have symptoms or are at risk of infection(Drotman 164). Community organizations hope that greater awareness will lead to more compassion and more funding. One project is the AIDS quilt. It was begun in 1986 by an organization called the NAMES Project. This quilt consists of thousands of individually designed panels, which memorializes a person who died of AIDS. This quilt has been displayed in many cities throughout the world(Drotman 164). AIDS has killed many people. People need to be more aware and protect themselves so they dont become another statistic, because HIV and AIDS are serious, deadly, and they will be with us for a long time. There will not be a cure found anytime soon, but hopefully there will be a cure found.