Written Assignment: Biology and Technology in the Real World

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Instructions

Written Assignment: Biology and Technology in the Real World

Addresses course outcomes 1-4:

  • recognize and explain how the scientific method is used to solve problems
  • make observations and discriminate between scientific and pseudoscientific explanations
  • weigh evidence and make decisions based on strengths and limitations of scientific knowledge and the scientific method
  • use knowledge of biological principles, the scientific method, and appropriate technologies to ask relevant questions, develop hypotheses, design and conduct experiments, interpret results, and draw conclusions

1. Select one of the topics listed below (a-e).

2. Find at least three reliable information sources related to your chosen topic. You are encouraged to use the UMUC library in your search: https://libguides.umgc.edu/science .

3. Write a paper with title page, introduction, several paragraphs addressing the questions, conclusion and references. You must write in your own words and paraphrase information from the selected information sources, addressing each of the questions for your chosen topic. Your paper should consist of less than 10% direct quotes. Your paper should be 750-1500 words, excluding references and title page. Use APA style for references: https://sites.umgc.edu/library/libhow/apa_tutorial.cfm

4. Submit your assignment to the Assignment folder by the due date listed in the course schedule. The originality of your assignment will be checked with Turnitin. Please review the originality report (https://libguides.umgc.edu/turnitin-students), and if needed, submit a revised assignment before the submission deadline.

a) Stem cells. Your friend has suffered a spinal cord injury after a bad car accident. The medical team has decided that he is a good candidate for a clinical trial using stem cell therapy. Your friend has not had a biology course since high school, so you decide to write him a letter sharing your knowledge of stem cells. Include in your letter a description of the biology of stem cells and how these cells are unique from other cells. Contrast the different types of stem cells, including pros and cons for each type. Explain how stems cells can be used to treat diseases and injury, with special focus on spinal cord injuries. Include information from at least one research study or clinical trial. Conclude with your own opinion.

b) Genetically modified organisms (GMOs). A friend tells you that she avoids foods containing GMOs because they are unhealthy. You decide to use the knowledge gained from your biology class and some additional research to form your own opinion on GMOs. Answer the following questions backed up by reliable information sources. What is the purpose of genetically engineering of crop plants? Include at least two specific examples of commonly grown GMO crops. How are GMOs created? Use the provided course materials and make a connection to the central dogma of molecular biology in your explanation. Which foods in your supermarket contain GMOs? Are foods that contain GMOs safe for human consumption? What types of regulations exist for these foods? Clearly explain your reasoning for each answer in your paper and conclude whether or not you agree with your friend.

c) Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) has been the most recent breakthrough discovery in bioengineering that enables scientists to edit DNA. Because you have studied biology in this course, you have volunteered at your niece’s Middle School Science Club to monitor a student debate about CRISPR. The students will be watching the following video before the discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=252&v=2pp17E4E-O8 and you need to be prepared in case there are any questions. Please research and write an answer to each of the following questions: What is “CRISPR”? What role does Cas9 play in the CRISPR process? How does the CRISPR-Cas9 system snip and replace any DNA sequence? What are the potential benefits and drawbacks of gene editing? Include specific examples. Do you believe that the inherent risks of modifying animal DNA is worth the rewards? Explain. Do you believe that it is ethical to genetically engineer humans and/or animals? Explain.

d) Vaccines. Your friend is worried about the many vaccines that his newborn son is scheduled to receive and asks you for advice since you are taking a biology course. Start with an explanation of how vaccines work. Briefly contrast the traditional methods used to create vaccines with more recently used biotechnology techniques. Then list some of the diseases that babies and children in the US are routinely vaccinated against. How has vaccinations impacted the frequency of these diseases over the past 100 years? Why are some people worried about giving their children vaccines? Is there scientific evidence to support these concerns? Conclude with advice to your friend in regard to getting the recommended vaccines based on what you learned from reliable information sources.

e) Fracking (hydraulic fracturing) and tar sands (oil sands).  With society’s dependence on nonrenewable fossil fuels, the oil & gas industry is turning to hydraulic fracturing and tar (oil) sands to extract natural gas and oil.  A friend asks you “What’s all this controversy in the news about fracking and tar sands?”  Briefly explain to your friend how hydraulic fracturing and tar (oil) sands are used to obtain these fossil fuels. Then, in more detail, describe the environmental problems that may result from these processes and why they are controversial. Issues that should be addressed involves water, air and soil pollution with special focus on global climate change, effects on human health, and effects on other species and natural ecosystems. Finally, give your opinions on possible solutions to these environmental problems, with your reasoning backed by information from reliable information sources.

Please review grading rubric.

Explain a new technology that the business should deploy.  Be specific, don’t only note the type of technology but the specific instance of technology.  (For example, a type of technology is smart automation a specific type of automation is automated light-dimming technology).

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Portfolio Project: This week discuss a current business process in a specific industry.

Note the following:

-The current business process itself.
-The industry the business process is utilized in.
After explaining the current situation, take the current learning from the course and:
Explain a new technology that the business should deploy.

Be specific, don’t only note the type of technology but the specific instance of technology.  (For example, a type of technology is smart automation a specific type of automation is automated light-dimming technology).

Note the pros and cons of the technology selected.

Note various factors the business should consider prior to deploying the new technology.

 

The above submission should be three pages in length.  Remember the total length does not include the APA approved cover page or the references.  There should be at least three APA approved references to support your work

Discuss your company’s use of existing and potential opportunities created by the cultural, political/legal, and economical environments. Discuss the business success potential and anticipated problems.

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Instructions for Project #2
International Business: Operations and Opportunities
Assume that you are a general manager of a U.S. global company in a particular industry. You are
going to expand your business in a foreign country. This is a fictitious business, but can be modeled
after/based on an existing business. Choose a country on List A and an industry on List B. Based on
the country and the industry selected in your study:
(i) Analyze your company’s operations for consistency with international business practices and
requirements by choosing a research topic related to only one of the following subjects:
the monetary policies, capital markets, labor market, transportation of goods, tariffs and other trading
barriers, international law, international marketing, international accounting, etc. (50 pts)
(ii) Discuss your company’s use of existing and potential opportunities created by the cultural,
political/legal, and economical environments. Discuss the business success potential and anticipated
problems. (50 pts)
Your research questions should be briefly stated in the section of “Introduction.” Discussions
should be presented in the sections following “Introduction” and corroborated by relevant facts and
reasoning. The results of your study must be highlighted in the section of “Summary and
Conclusions” at the end of the manuscript (see Zhang and Rauch, 2010).
The deadline for submitting your report is at 11:30 a.m. on December 9, 2020. Also, each group
should submit only one form of performance evaluation signed by all the members in the group.
Format Instructions
(i) The length of your report should be limited between 20 and 25 double-spaced pages.
(ii) Each page of your report should be numbered in the bottom center as: “- # -“.
(iii) Use parenthesis around the last names of the referenced author along with the published year
of the referred publication separated by commas, e.g. (Davenport and Harris, 2007; Hopkins
et al, 2010).
(iv) Follow the format of the research paper of Zhang and Rauch (2010) to write your report.

Describe the most commonly prescribed drugs for the assigned condition “Complicated UTIs”.   Provide evidence by sharing clinical guidelines, research articles, or other scholarly materials to support your findings.  

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Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to enhance the student’s clinical reasoning, confidence and learning of multiple pharmacological agents through facilitated discussion.

Activity Learning Outcomes

Through this discussion, the student will demonstrate the ability to:

  1. Create an appropriate evidence-based medication treatment plan for a select disease (CO1-5)

Requirements:

In Week 5, you will create a PowerPoint presentation on a primary care problem “Complicated UTIs” that is assigned to you by your professor.

  1. Present a fictional patient with the assigned medical condition to address all of the following:
    • Describe the most commonly prescribed drugs for the assigned condition “Complicated UTIs”.
    • Provide evidence by sharing clinical guidelines, research articles, or other scholarly materials to support your findings.
    • Identify barriers to practice or issues related to the condition and the use of pharmacologic treatment, including potential issues related to cultural diversity and healthcare literacy
    • Describe the expected outcomes for medication management, including expectations for follow up care.
  2. The overall presentation must meet the following requirements:
    • Time: between 8-12 minutes total and no more than 15 slides
    • Citations should be provided at the bottom of slides
    • A full reference list should be included in APA format on the final slide.
  3. Additionally, you will create five (5) multiple choice questions derived from your presentation content. Include the questions on a slide in your presentation, but DO NOT provide the answers. Instead, you will provide the answers to these by submitting a Word Document attachment using the paperclip on the week 5 discussion board(as shown below).

 

You will also need to propose relevant metrics that should be collected to ensure that the information governance program is effective.

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You have recently been hired as a Chief Information Governance Officer (CIGO) at a large company (You may choose your industry). This is a newly created position and department within the organization that was founded on the need to coordinate all areas of the business and to provide governance of the information. You will need to hire for all positions within your new department.

The company has been in business for more than 50 years and in this time has collected vast amounts of data. Much of this data has been stored in hard copy format in filing cabinets at an offsite location but in recent times, collected business data is in electronic format stored in file shares. Customer data is being stored in a relational database, but the lack of administration has caused data integrity issues such as duplication. There are currently no policies in place to address the handling of data, business or customer. The company also desires to leverage the marketing power of social media, but has no knowledge of the types of policies or legal issues they would need to consider. You will also need to propose relevant metrics that should be collected to ensure that the information governance program is effective.

The CEO and Board of Directors have tasked you to develop a proposal (paper) that will give them the knowledge needed to make informed decisions on an enterprise-wide Information Governance program, addressing (at a minimum) all of these issues, for the company.

Requirements:

1. The paper should include at a minimum of the following sections:

a. Title page

b. Executive Summary (Abstract)

c. Body

i. Introduction

ii. Literature review

iii. Program and technology recommendations

d. Conclusion

e. References

2. You must include at least two figures or tables. These must be of your own creation. Do not copy from other sources.

3. Must cite at least 10 references and 5 must be from peer reviewed scholarly journals (accessible from the UC Library).

4. This paper should be in proper APA format and avoid plagiarism when paraphrasing content. It should be a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 15 pages in length (double-spaced), excluding the title page and references.

Select an organization that has a Global platform (they operate in more than one country), that has demonstrated operational excellence.  In this paper, perform the following activities: Name the organization and briefly describe what good or service they sell and where they operate. Note how they are a differentiator in the market.

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Select an organization that has a Global platform (they operate in more than one country), that has demonstrated operational excellence.  In this paper, perform the following activities:

  • Name the organization and briefly describe what good or service they sell and where they operate.
  • Note how they are a differentiator in the market.
  • Note the resources used to ensure success in their industry (remember resources are comprised of more than just people).
  • Explain what actions the company took to achieve operational excellence.

The above submission should be three pages in length.  Remember the total length does not include the APA approved cover page or the references.  There should be at least three APA approved references to support your work.

John, an overweight 49-year-old man with history of diabetes and hypertension is playing soccer. After half an hour of an intense game, he feels severe chest pain that travels to his lower jaw. He is pale, diaphoretic, and short in breath.

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John, an overweight 49-year-old man with history of diabetes and hypertension is playing soccer. After half an hour of an intense game, he feels severe chest pain that travels to his lower jaw. He is pale, diaphoretic, and short in breath. Upon arrival to the ER, an ECG was taken and the results show the following (note the changes in leads II, III and aVF):

Choose 3 out of the 5 prompts and answer:

1.  What could be the possible reason for John’s chest pain? Explain your answer based on the clinical information.

2.  How do you know John’s chest pain is heart related? How do you rule out other etiologies of chest pain such as musculoskeletal, pneumonia, and gastric sources?

3.  What actions should John’s teammates have taken at the scene to help him?

4.  How do you differentiate between heart attack and myocardial infarction?

5.  What is TPA? Explain how it relieves the chest pain and how it improves the survival rate in a patient with acute myocardial infarction.

Eyal Weizman is an architect and the language participates of a very material-oriented perspective. Edouard Glissant is a poet and writer, his idiom is quite a unique use of language between reflexion and poetics.

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We are now entering a connected but very specific topic, geopolitical divides in the light of decolonizing design methodologies. I propose a small change in the primary readings, based on the nature of the discussions we are having as a group. I propose that we have these 2 primary readings:

1. Eyal Weizman + Forensic Architecture: Violence at the Threshold of Detectability

5.-Weizman-Forensic-Architecture-2017.pdfPreview the document

2. Either:

Achille Mbembe: Necropolitics

mbembe_necropolitics 2003.pdfPreview the document

Or:

Edouard Glissant’s chapter ‘Errantry, Exile’ (p. 11-22) from “Poetics of Relation”

edouard-glissant-poetics-of-relation.pdfPreview the document

Please chose one of these 2 pieces.

Please be aware that this week the texts speak very different idioms. Eyal Weizman is an architect and the language participates of a very material-oriented perspective. Edouard Glissant is a poet and writer, his idiom is quite a unique use of language between reflexion and poetics. Achille Mbembe is a philosopher. Notice as well that there is a crucial political tension between their different political situations. Mbembe speaks from the non-western south. Glissant is very much situated on the side of the victims of the colonizing forces. Weizman works from the colonial legacy of the UK, but questioning, and to certain extend trying to decolonize, western institutions.

1. Do you agree with the writer’s premise that treating patients with respect is not enough, and it is necessary to learn about the specific customs of other cultures in order to provide quality health care? Explain your reasoning and provide examples.

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discussion

Prepare for your ethical and cultural inquiry. Consider how culture can impact healthcare decisions and outcomes. Read the following article from the Western Journal of Medicine:

Galanti G. A. (2000). An introduction to cultural differences. The Western Journal of Medicine, 172(5), 335–336. doi:10.1136/ewjm.172.5.335

Discuss the following:

1. Do you agree with the writer’s premise that treating patients with respect is not enough, and it is necessary to learn about the specific customs of other cultures in order to provide quality health care? Explain your reasoning and provide examples.

2. Do you think there is a danger in stereotyping when discussing cultural norms? Explain and provide examples.

3. Which cultures and customs are you most familiar with?

4. Does culture play a significant role in the healthcare issue that you are researching? Explain.

Imagine that a company wants to know all the important things about the design/structure/architecture (* important – not just user interface features) and the applications in  solaris operating system, and that company has assigned you the task of writing a report and presenting your findings to the managers and technical staff of that company.

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Prepare a 3 page report and a short powerpoint presentation on the topic mentioned above. More details given below.

Imagine that a company wants to know all the important things about the design/structure/architecture (* important – not just user interface features) and the applications in  solaris operating system, and that company has assigned you the task of writing a report and presenting your findings to the managers and technical staff of that company.  Concentrate on the “big picture” first, that is, the most important things about whatever system(s) or approach you are studying. Don’t let your audience/readers get bogged down  in unimportant details. Only if fine details serve to help to understand the big picture, would you use those fine details as examples to illustrate how the important things work.

How the topic study will be evaluated:

The topic study will be evaluated according to:

(a) The quality, clarity, and completeness of the report and presentation.

(b) Whether the most interesting and most important facts about the topic were emphasized and clearly presented in the report and presentation.

The format for the references in the topic study, should be similar to the format of the references in the paper i have attached.