Focus vs. Locus

Focus vs. Locus Focus vs. Locus Focus vs. Locus By Mark Nichol What’s the difference between a focus and a locus is it all just hocus-pocus? and where does nexus fit in? The technical meaning of focus is â€Å"a point of convergence or divergence, or seeming divergence,† in terms of particles of matter. It also refers to adjustment for clear vision as well as the field of clear vision, and it has a geometrical definition of a fixed point. From the scientific sense have developed literal and figurative connotations of a point, center, or area of activity or occurrence, as well as direction, emphasis, perception, and understanding. The original plural spelling of the word, borrowed directly from Latin and meaning â€Å"hearth† (the area of premodern households that was the center of activity), is foci, but focuses is an alternative; the adjectival form is focal. Focus can be employed, depending on context, with or without a preceding article: â€Å"This plan lacks focus†; â€Å"His story doesn’t have a focus†; â€Å"That is the focus of the argument.† A locus, meanwhile (in Latin, the word means â€Å"place†), is a site or location. As is the case with focus, the sense can be figurative or literal. (Unlike focus, locus has only a Latin plural: loci.) The difference between focus and locus, then, is subtle. Both words can refer to a place where something happens, but the fine distinction is that the former denotes a center of attention and the latter refers to the location itself. A locus may become the focus, but the reverse is not true, because the site preceded the attention focused on it. Nexus, from the Latin word nectere, meaning â€Å"to bind† (the root term is also the basis of connect), can also mean â€Å"focus,† but it is better reserved for the senses of â€Å"connection† or â€Å"link,† or of a connected group or series. And what of other related – or seemingly related – terms? An axis is a geometrical or physical or figurative line, or a vertebra or a stem. It can also be somewhat synonymous with the terms defined above, relating to a point or a spectrum, or, as in the manner in which it was used in World War II to refer to the alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan, a partnership. (The Latin word refers to a line or an axle; the plural in both Latin and English is axes.) A cynosure is a guide or a center of attention. (The word is from Greek by way of Latin and means, literally, â€Å"dog’s tail†; it refers to the constellation Ursa Minor, or the Little Bear.) An omphalos (the word is Greek for â€Å"navel†) is a focal point or a hub, and a hub (perhaps a variant of hob, a word for a shelf on a hearth) is a center of activity, either on a large scale or at the center of a wheel. An epicenter is, in figurative usage, a center of activity; the original meaning is the point on Earth’s surface above an earthquake’s point of focus. Now, how about that hocus-pocus? It evidently originated with itinerant performers who incorporated mock-Latin incantations into their magic or juggling acts to impress gullible onlookers, who associated the classical language with learned scholars and ancient mysteries. It is likely a corruption of the blessing â€Å"Hoc est corpus meum,† meaning â€Å"This is my body.† Hokey-pokey is probably a further variant, but neither it nor hocus-pocus has any focus, locus, or nexus. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:4 Types of Gerunds and Gerund PhrasesWhat is Dative Case?Sentence Adverbs

Personal Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Personal Ethics - Essay Example It is beneficial if a nurse who is not a native speaker communicate in English as their second language. This makes it very easy for the nurse to communicate with the patients since most of them speak English. One’s culture impacts on their belief that a warm environment is crucial to maintaining optimal health. In the Filipino culture, formal greetings are usually welcomed with handshakes. Furthermore, a nurse may ask the patients how they feel and nod their heads as a sign of agreement. However, a Filipino nurse may not understand since in their culture head nodding does not always mean agreement. They are also very close to the patients since they believe that kinship goes beyond biological connections. A nurse needs to use an indirect approach when discussing terminal illness for the first time. This has enables effective passage of information without creating the feeling of anxiety. As cited by Ludwick and Silva (2012), nurses need to encourage the patients with chronic illness to have strong faith and they will survive. It is believed that if a person has a strong faith he or she will actually survive. Nurses need to have personal values, such as, managing time. This ensures that they provide care in a timely manner. Studies have demonstrated that nurses are self-less and determined people and always ensure that they take care of the patients as well as clients who deserve suitable and safe care. In some instances, they also apply religious values both in times of happiness and despair. According to Yeo & Moorhouse (2010), ethics in nursing practice entails seeking the best way to take care of the patients together with the best nursing action. Â  It has been found out that ethical values form the basis for collection of codes of ethics. Nurses often act based on the morals and values they have chosen (Mahmoodi, Alhani, Ahmadi, & Kazemnejad, 2008). As cited by Carr and Steutel (2009), morals define a personal character.

Security Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Security - Case Study Example Computers had literally made the task of computing very fast and ultra accurate; people expect results within minutes or seconds. Scientific, medical, and technological progress had been achieved with the use of all the computer technologies currently available, accelerating human advancement by several degrees if compared to the prior centuries and millennia before the advent of computers. Other areas of human endeavors have likewise benefited from this computer-related development such as in the business and industry sectors, in the telecommunications, banking, trading and commerce sectors as well as in almost all aspects of human life. Today, there is no escaping the fact of interacting with computer-related equipment as people go along their lives in their daily activities. Computers are used in various ways wherein people may not be aware of, like in a building with a computer-controlled air conditioning system, using an elevator or an escalator, trying to get in touch with thei r friends, acquaintances, and relatives through social media sites, to buy a product or service on-line through electronic commerce (e-commerce), and get the news or entertainment from the Internet. This paper focuses on one such aspect, which is the human-computer interface (HCI) that is at the basic level by which people interact with computers. Discussion The field of study concerning the use of computers by humans is called as the human-computer interface (HCI) or also called alternatively as human-computer interactions (HCI). The basic premise of HCI is to study the optimal design of the interaction between people (the users) and the computers or machines they are using in order to give the maximum benefit and likewise avoid unexpected problems between man and machine. HCI is a multidisciplinary approach that utilizes several fields such as engineering design, architecture, computer graphics, the operating systems, and the software programming (confidentiality, integrity, and a vailability or CIA). It is supplemented by the human side of this knowledge such as linguistics, communication theories, cognitive psychology, the social sciences, and human factors like logic, ease of use, user satisfaction, memory recall, attention span, and user experience that contribute to desired results. There are a good number of engineering designs to observe as a guide when designing a human-computer interface (HCI) but it can be reduced to the basic principles which are a focus on the user, emphasis on the task to be performed, and actually measuring the real uses of this interface based on several or repeated simulations to detect any deficiencies and eliminate these. The designer or engineer of the HCI must firstly determine who will be the eventual users of the HCI, so that the final design will be suited for them. Secondly, the designer must know the tasks to be performed using the computer interface, specifically defining these tasks in detail, and also how often the se tasks are to be performed within the day, or during a certain work period. This will hopefully help establish the parameters to be used in the HCI design, using empirical ways or methods to determine the required benchmarks or performance levels (Sarmento, 2005). In order to be able to properly analyze the design issues of the new cash register

Health Care Framework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health Care Framework - Essay Example As a result, the healthcare system needs to deal with issues such as developing an advance care plan and coming up with ways to manage the comorbid conditions associated with chronic illnesses. At present, most inpatients with complications of chronic illness still lack access to proper care that emphasizes effective management of their condition. This leads to poor disease control and complicates matters for patients compared to an environment where there is emphasis on appropriate care or effective management. In the United States, most patients suffering from complications of chronic illness tend to receive treatment from primary care clinicians (Wensing et al., 2014). In an effort to improve the care of patients with complications of chronic illness, health care providers need to consider the fact that most patients seek treatment from primary care providers, this trend is also likely to continue in the foreseeable future. Most patients tend to place value on a physician or a group of health care providers who have knowledge of the patient’s condition. However, since such care involves an integrative function, most patients report diminishing satisfaction or value over time. In addition, patients who require comprehensive treatment can benefit from a specialized care rather than primary care (Trehearne, Fishman, & Lin, 2014). Other than seeking specialized care for complex conditions, general training and experience among the primary caregivers is also crucial in managing the complications of chronic illness. The caregivers also need to understand behavioural change and self-management support to realize success in the care of patients with complications of chronic illness. Conversely, while seeking specialty care is seen to be more adaptable to new development with regard to the effective management of chronic illness, a shift from primary care elicits concerns

Fire Protection system Essay Example for Free

Fire Protection system Essay Aqueous and non- aqueous agents employed in fire service means the use of such substance in the fire service work which helps in fast control and quick remedial measures against the broken out. Substantially non- aqueous, plastic, high magnesium oxide are used so that materials remain fluid over longtime providing for easy workability and require no addition of water prior to use. In the same manner aqueous substance in form of concentrated ammonium salt containing binder and viscosity agent are used by fire service provider to prevent wildfires. For decreasing the toxicity of the chemicals used in fire service organization, non- aqueous and aqueous fluid is used to provide easy control over heavy fire. Non–aqueous compositions are used containing an amount of volatile silicon which helps to maintain waterproof composition than previous conventional non- aqueous substance used by fire service provider. In recent time various aqueous mixtures containing tricalcium phosphate are used as it is experienced that when the mixture is used fire os frequently extinguished and even the fire did not catch up readily. Aqueous substances are treated as fire control agent as it has great adhesive power when applied to extinguish fire. Aqueous film foaming foam is a special type of foam stabilizer which is diluted with water and exclude air from mixing the water and thereby suppressing the fire. Various factors are to be considered while selection of an agent by fire service provider as it directly and indirectly affects the decision. The fire agencies need to take help and identified the problem of reduction in fuel, cost sharing efforts and wild land fire problems. Fire agencies should take necessary action to meet the fire expenditure cost and to respond to fire areas at fast speed. Fire service providers have to base their decision on the chances of fire broke out, fuels available in form of various chemicals, devices or material needed, air tanker having with the company , their capacity , any agency, state or government organization participating, location or fire station and flame resistant synthetic fabric used in fire fighting. These fire service’s should comply while selecting or appointing any agent and it can be done after adopting the following procedures such as record keeping system, providing instructions at regular interval, risk assessment, inspection or regular review of guidelines to make it more meaningful, cleaning and decontamination procedure, preparing policy for repair and in the same way for store. With the adoption of above mentioned methodology the agent selected should be more beneficial for specific fire and thus more efficient development of fire service agent. REFERENCE Referred to sites: 1. http://scofmp. org/glossary. html Glossary of Wild land Fire Terms 2. http://www. tcfp. state. tx. us/standards/SOP_template. asp Standards and Certification Compliance Template for Newly Required SOPs 3. http://www. patentstorm. us/patents/6345632-description. html Method of cleaning and passivating a fire protection system Dated 23rd August 2007

Unknown Ionic Compound Preliminary Lab

Unknown Ionic Compound Preliminary Lab Discussion of Results and Scientific Explanation The main goal was to identify the unknown compound, which was MgCl2, better known as Magnesium Chloride. Before knowing what the unknown was, we had several test that needed to be done in order to determine the unknown compound. To find the identity of the compound we did various experiments for example, we observed the physical properties, tested the qualitative and quantitative solubility, did a cation and anion test and tested the conductivity of the compound. First we observed the unknown from its physical properties. It was white and had a rough and grainy feel to it. It was also observed as a solid and did not have a smell. All of these properties suggest that the compound was ionic because ionic compounds do not have a distinct odor and are solid at room temperature because of their high melting points. The unknown compound was then tested for solubility in water, toluene and acetone. The compound was soluble in water, indicating the compound was either a polar or an ionic compound, and not as soluble in toluene or acetone which points to the compound being more ionic. Once finished observing the unknown, we tested for pH. To do this, we the unknown with water and used litmus paper to determine whether it was an acid, base, or neutral. The litmus paper showed us that the unknown had a pH of 7, so it is a neutral compound. We then tested the conductivity. To do this we test the solution with a voltmeter in order to determine whether or not the compound can withstand water when it is dissolved. If the compound was to be conductive in water, it would dissolve and then produce an electric current. Once the compound was dissolved, it was then tested with a voltmeter that produced a voltage of -0.20 volts. This is important information because it shows that the compound was ionic since only ionic compound dissolve in water and produce and electric current. During the quantitative testing, 20.521 grams of unknown was mixed with 17 mL of water and that was then put into an Erlenmeyer Flask and stirred. It was left for one week to see if it would dissolve or have any change at all. Once checked, there was no precipitate, so we performed the test again. This time we used 19.085 grams of unknown and mixed that with 10 mL of water and we are currently in the process of waiting for the results. Checking the mixture before leaving, it seemed to be showing some type of precipitate, so we are hoping that this test works better than the first. Next to determine one of the elements within the compound we tested for anions and cations. First we tested for cations and in order to do this we performed a flame test and an ammonium test. To start the flame test, the nichrome wire had to be cleaned by heating it over a flame to ensure our results are not contaminated. A solution of water and the element was used to place the nichrome wire in, and then the nichrome wire is placed into the flame. If the flame produces a color it is indicative of a certain metalloid ion or metal. A color is produced in the flame when the heat of the flame changes the metal ions into atoms, which then become excited and produce light that can be seen with the naked eye. Once we tested the unknown in the flame to, it was determined that there was no color change, which lead us to believe that our unknown has to be a compound with Magnesium. 1 mL of the unknown solution was placed into a test tube and 1 mL of NaOH (6 M) was added. A pH paper was placed on a watch glass using water to help it stick. The watch glass was placed on the top of the test tube. If ammonium is present, the water will dissolve resulting in a higher pH. Going into next lab, we will finish up the quantitative testing. To do this, we will use a process called vacuum filtration. This is done by pouring the mixture of the unknown and water through filter paper and letting the water drain into a funnel and hoping that a precipitate is presents and is collected on the filter paper. Conclusion: Although this process takes time and can be confusing at time, it is very simple to do. Figuring out how to determine the unknown with the test preformed here was difficult at one point, but in the end, the test(s) showed that Magnesium Chloride was the unknown solution.

Isolation and Emptiness Illustrated in Shakespeares Macbeth and Berria

Nowadays, many well-known stories have touched the theme of isolation as it becomes the most prevalent problem that can not be easily resolved in people’s lives. As a matter of fact, both â€Å"Macbeth† by Shakespeare and â€Å"The Stone Boy† by Gina Berriault deal to some degree with the theme of isolation and emptiness. In â€Å"Macbeth† and â€Å"The Stone Boy†, Lady Macbeth and Arnold feel isolated because of the situation that does not give them the closeness they want, and they end up being not involved in the relationship they would like with their families even when reaches the very end of the story. In fact, isolation forms many kinds of modalities of people, which means it forms different states of the feelings of Arnold and Lady Macbeth. Being isolated, Lady Macbeth feels empty and lost and has no sense of direction while Arnold feels no emotions and numb. Although both stories touch the theme of isolation, â€Å"Macbeth† does a stronger job with the theme in comparing with â€Å"The Stone Boy† by Gina Berriault. â€Å"The Stone Boy†, in which Arnold accidentally kills his older brother, is all about the disjunction between understanding and compassion. When the accident takes place, Arnold is being isolated by his whole family, which in turn makes him feel numb and becomes stone cold. In fact, the two characters react completely different when facing the isolation. Arnold feels he is pretty innocent at first, and he tries to explain what he thinks about his brother after Eugie’s death. Just as Gina Berriault wrote, â€Å"He had expected her to realize that he wanted to go down on his knees by her bed and tell her that Eugie was dead. She did not know it yet, nobody knew it, and yet she was sitting up in bed, waiting to be t... ...hile Lady Macbeth tends to be over emotional. Their endings are pretty diverse from each other as well as Lady Macbeth chooses to finish her life cowardly while Arnold chooses to live on sturdily. People have different reactions when being isolated by someone that are once so closed to them. The reactions of Lady Macbeth and Arnold are quite different but extremely typical toward the isolation. It is surprised to see that Arnold’s impassibility is directly opposite to Lady Macbeth’s exaggerated emotions. Undoubtedly, Lady Macbeth’s reaction is more attractive to me than Arnold’s emotionless. Thus, â€Å"Macbeth† by Shakespeare is the story that does a stronger job with the theme of isolation and emptiness. Works Cited http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/ http://www.theatrehistory.com/british/macbeth001.html http://litsum.com/stone-boy/