Cicero and liberty in modern era Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cicero and liberty in modern era - Term Paper Example Back in the times, a person’s worth was determined based on his family. Marcus Cicero was therefore a lucky man and a worthier Roman citizen. He was born to senior Roman citizen, one serving in the equestrian order and had good connection within Rome. The roman society attached very little worth on its women, therefore no much is written about Cicero’s mother. However, it is understood that she was a humble housewife who effectively took care of his two sons. Cicero was born in 106 BC in a small hill town southeast of Rome called Arpinum. It was here that his father owned a fortune. Cicero was bright from childhood, he took much pride in studying works of previous iconic personalities, and most of his readings were political and philosophical manuscripts. He therefore became knowledgeable on the history and the structures of the Roman government (Tempest 47). Cicero derived his greatest motivation to read from his surname which he never liked and therefore never used, C ognomen. Loosely translated, this name meant that Cicero was named after one of his ancestors who had a cleft on his left nose. This became a joke and an origin of ridicule among his family and peers. He therefore resented the name and from the public ridicule and humiliation, he denied himself a social life as a child and took to books. His childhood dream was to become a politician, he read all the manuscripts and books he could find on politics, through his father’s connections, he gained access to the best literature material within Rome and in the process of learning politics, he redeveloped his other abilities. He studied philosophy and was a fosterer of rational thought on public management, through his oratory ability; he became a charming leader one capable of championing for an idea and through rationalization make it come through. He had an effective and an informed way of arguing his issues thereby winning the love of the common Roman citizen while gaining respect among his accolades (Stockton 44). The first half of the first century was characterized by chaos in the Roman Empire, Gaius Julius Caesar, rose to the helm of leadership amidst several oppositions and counter accusations. He therefore out rightly turned into a dictator in a bid to retain his rule. Cicero opposed his leadership and kept championing for the return to the previous republican type of governance. Through his hawk eyed analysis of the Roman constitution and other laws and statutes, he developed philosophies illegitimating Julio Caesar’s dictatorial rule. He soon began becoming a darling to the public. His fame with the citizen climaxed at about the same time that Julio Caesar was murdered. Mark Antony took over the governance of the emperor in unclear circumstances and introduced systems similar to those of his predecessor. Once again, Cicero became a critic of the governance and would always attack Mark Antony in most of his public speeches. Mark Antony labeled him an enemy of the state which back them was synonymous to being charged with treason in the modern day society. he had two options which included either surrendering to the state

How the theory of Strategic Human Resource Management can assist Essay

How the theory of Strategic Human Resource Management can assist organisations in achieving and sustaining competitive advantage - Essay Example The paper tells that the increasing complexities and difficulties of management gave rise to the concept of managing at the strategic level. Managing at the strategic level is concerned with the long-term positioning of the organization. With the changes in the work environment, the private sector started recognizing that apart from financial and technological capital, human capital can also provide the competitive advantage. This led to innovation in HR practices or strategic human resources management. Delery and Doty defined strategic HRM practices as those that are â€Å"theoretically or empirically related to overall organizational performance†. Strategic Human Resources Management (SHRM) is about linking people with the organization – integrating HRM strategies into corporate strategies. In other words, SHRM aims to align or integrate decisions about people with the results that the organization aims to achieve. This is done because it is believed that integrating business strategy with HRM can lead to effective management of human resources and thereby enhanced organizational performance. The primary role of HR in the past has been compliance with laws, rules, and regulation. If the HR departments have a future-orientation and if the HR strategies operate as an integral part of the overall business plan, firms can achieve competitive advantage, according to Budhwar and Aryee. SHRM strategies can be used for knowledge creation, storage, and dissemination in organizations. HR practices influence an organization’s social climate which in turn leads to knowledge exchange and better organizational performance. Many researchers and scholars have contributed to strategic HRM with their own models and processes. For instance, Storey developed a model that demonstrates a shift from traditional personnel management to HRM. This model comprises of four key aspects – a constellation of beliefs and assumptions, strategic thrust informing d ecisions about people management, the involvement of line managers and shaping of employment relationship through commitment rather than forceful compliance. According to Storey, since the model has the linkage between employment policies and corporate plan, it can lead to competitive advantage. This model also identifies that strategic approach to HRM can be developed by bringing about changes in various elements of HRM functions such as recruitment and selection, training and development, and the conditions of employment. He suggested changes such as nurturing the workforce rather than monitoring them and management action should be based on the business need rather than following set procedures. Devolution to line managers has been proposed by many scholars as a core aspect of SHRM. SHRM has led to redefining the roles of the top management. Certain functions and issues are too complex for the top management to handle and devolvement of HRM to the line managers can lead to the fa ster response.

Accountability in the UK Public Sector

Accountability in the UK Public Sector To what extent has the public sector become more or less accountable as a  result of the changes since 1980s in the way in which the public sector is  organised and managed? The following will discuss whether the public sector has become more or less accountable as a result of changes in its organisation and management since the 1980s. There have been at face value some profound changes to the public sector since the 1980s yet whether those changes have had a great impact on the public sectors accountability, or have been merely cosmetic changes will be examined below. As will be outlined below, the public sector was greatly affected by privatisation, de-regularisation, or greater central government scrutiny, as well as changes in the ways in which it was organised and managed. The differences and similarities in the methods in which both Conservative and Labour governments have wanted to change the way the public sector is organised and managed has been critical for the levels of accountability within the various parts of the public sector. The public sector accounts for a major share of the economy, the majority of government spending, alongside the bulk of the provision of public goods and services to the majority of the British population. The public sector had a tradition of not being readily accountable to the people it supposedly served, even though it could be held to account by government ministers and Parliament (Comfort, 1993 p. 491). The public sector was widely seen as being provider-centred rather than citizen-centred, an attitude, that still persists even if the emphasis of public sector organisation and management has changed (Watmore, 2005 p. 32). Since the 1980s, the aim of successive governments was to make the civil service as efficient as it is politically impartial. Central government would also focus its attention on local councils, which were responsible for a quarter of public sector spending and service provision. Councils were also accountable to the electorate, facing local elections every yea r besides being accountable to central government their performance and reliant on central funding. However, local councils have the ability to raise their own revenue from local taxation which is crucial for their organisation and management, whilst causing conflict or debates with central government. Ultimately, local councils would believe that their accountability to central government takes precedence to their accountability to the local electorate. After all, central government can abolish any council it wants, as Margaret Thatcher did (Savage and Atkinson, 2001 p.17). In 1979, the public sector was larger in size and scope than at present. The public sector did not just comprise of government departments, the civil service, or the services provided by central and local government. The public sector also included nationalised industries such as the railways, coal and steel, as well as ailing private sector firms such as British Leyland that were nationalised to keep people employed and factories open. Margaret Thatcher came to power with the intention of radically altering Britain’s economy and society, alterations that reshaped the public sector. Thus, changing the organisation and management of those parts of the public sector that unlike British Telecommunications that could not be quickly privatised, or those parts that unlike the coal industry were not left to go into extinction. The Thatcher government’s adoption of neo-liberal monetarist economic policies was intended to change the ethos and management of the public sector almo st as much it was intended to change the private sector (Fisher, Denver Benyon, 2003 pp 7 –8). Thatcherism could not dismantle the public sector, nor could it reverse the welfare state. However, the parts of the public that could not be privatised were opened to internal markets to make their organisation and management more efficient, if not more accountable (Jenkins, Independent, 2 April 1987). The enterprises that left the public sector became less accountable to the general public through Parliament, although their organisation and management became more accountable to their new shareholders. By the time the Conservatives left office in 1997, public owned enterprises produced only 2 % of gross domestic product. That compares to 12% in 1979 (Bannock, Baxter Davis, 2003 p. 309). The remnants of the public sector would become more accountable by spending budgets more effectively, reducing waste and error whilst cutting unnecessary expenditure. Government departments were set more stringent budgets, whilst both Conservative and New Labour governments have set performance stan dards for the public sector to achieve to improve efficiency if not directly increasing or decreasing accountability. The Conservatives wished to make high spending councils more submissive to central government and were rate capped if they refused to curtail their spending. Organisation and management had to be changed to avert the punishment from Westminster rather than being more accountable to the public (Coxall, Robbins Leach, 2003, p. 43). Local government was probably the segment of the public sector that has had its accountability increase the most since the 1980s. Higher unemployment and the perceived unpopularity of cutting spending on the NHS meant that welfare spending could not be cut as much as Thatcher had intended. On the other hand, the Conservatives were able to maintain tight control of local government. Funding was reduced or made conditional on working â€Å"with other public and private agencies† (Stoker, 1999 p. 1). Conversely, whilst elected local authorities were made more accountable to central government, more functions were being transferred to unelected bodies known as quangos. These quangos were spending  £ 40 billion of public money annually by 1996 with little or no accountability compared to local government or central government departments (Fisher, Denver Benyon, 2003 p. 263). Councils lost some of their greatest capital assets with the increased sales of councils during the 1980s . Thatcher had promoted these sales to increase the number of homeowners and reduce the size of the public sector without much concern about the dwindling supply of affordable housing for the poorest members of society. Conservative success in promoting home ownership through selling off council houses was shown by the 15 % increase between 1979 and 1997 (Coxall, Robbins Leach, 2003 p. 42). Councils were made more accountable for the way the remaining council houses were organised and managed, even though they had far less control of budgets, sales of council housing, and the proceeds of those sales than ever before. The Conservatives were also keen in promoting the transfer of council housing to social landlords and housing associations. Since 1997, New Labour has not tried to reverse any of those transfers of housing stock back into the public sector. In fact, New Labour has tried to expand joint public and private schemes in its efforts to increase service provision and efficiency rather than accountability (Fisher, Denver Benyon, 2003 p. 272). Accountability within the public sector for the way it is organised and managed has increased since the 1980s due to the increase in inspection and intervention from central government. The Conservatives were as enthusiastic about inspecting schools, councils and hospitals as they about greater consumer or citizen choice, market approaches and selling off what public sector assets they could. Whilst individual schools and hospitals were given greater opportunities for self-management, they were also faced with meeting performance targets, and more frequent inspections. Not only did the government want greater accountability; Parliament increased its ability to scrutinise government departments and the public sector through the expansion of the select committee system. These committees have been able to uncover much that both Conservative and New Labour government ministers would have liked to have left unknown, whilst gaining greater information from the public sector. Ministers have wanted more information from public sector management when going before select committees, increasing the pressure for public sector organisation and management to be fully accountable to the minister (Coxall, Robbins Leach, 2003 p. 245). New Labour has extended the roles and remits of inspectorates such as Ofsted, the Audit Commission and the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate. All these inspectorates have increased the accountability of public sector organisation and management, often in its attempts to meet or exceed government targets (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005 p. 77). New Labour put most of its inspectorates together under the auspices of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Department of Work and Pensions to assess local councils under the Comprehensive Performance Assessment scheme, to make them accountable for their failings or to praise them for their successes. Poor performing councils can face greater levels of inspection whilst the best performing councils can have the ir inspections reduced. The Benefit Fraud Inspectorate has had considerable success in making Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit more effective and councils more accountable (DWP, 2003 pp. 38-9). The 1980s not only witnessed the growth of inspection and scrutiny, it also witnessed the emergence of New Public Management to make public sector administrators more efficient by forcing them to work along private sector lines rather than more traditional public sector ones. Operating along the principles of the market economy did not make public sector organisation and management more accountable, hence the increasing use of inspectorates and nation wide performance standards (Davis, 2005 p. 11). Advances in IT have provided the basis for the public sector to improve its organisation and management, and allow for the collection of greater levels of management information for its various scrutinisers. Of course, more advanced IT allows the public sector to become citizen focused and offers the possibility of decentralised decision-making and even online benefit claims or queries from the general public. Improved IT and technology can raise the public expectation of better services. The NHS for instance has to ration new treatments that everybody wants as it has a limited budget. Accountability has to be amended to adapt to changing circumstances and technologies. New Labour has attempted to make both private and public sector companies and organisations more accountable for the electronic data they hold through the Freedom of Information Act and Data Protection Act (Watmore, 2005 p.33). The government has another motivation for developing better IT within the public sector, it can reduce the infrastructure, resources, and staff needed to provide public services. Better management of resources has allowed the Treasury to gain  £6 billion a year between 1999 and 2004 from the disposal of public sector assets. Gordon Brown also believes that greater efficiency means that 84,000 civil servants were no longer needed, a decision that provoked anger from public sector trade unions (Davies, 2005 p.11; Simpson, 2005 p. 14). Therefore, it can be successfully argued that public sector organisation and management has become increasingly accountable since the 1980s. The Thatcher and Major governments made the public sector more accountable, or at least the parts of it that could not be privatised. Thatcher’s changes were not primarily concerned with promoting accountability, that was just a consequence of her aim of reducing the public sector, curtailing trade union power and increasing control over local councils. The Major government did introduce the Citizens Charter to make public service providers more accountable to the public. New Labour has continued the trend of increasing the accountability of public sector organisation and management, although more for reasons of efficiency than any ideological attack on the public sector. The public sector has become increasingly accountable to central government, although its accountability to the general public is less obvious despite legislation such a s the Data Protection Act, which gives the public greater rights to information and making complaints. The culture within the public sector has also changed to some extent from being provider-centred to being citizen-centred. Bibliography Bannock G, Baxter R E Davis E, (2003) The Penguin Dictionary of Economics 7th edition, Penguin, London Comfort N (1993) Brewer’s Politics, a phrase and fable dictionary, Cassell, London Coxall B, Robbins L Leach R, (2003) Contemporary British Politics 4th edition, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke Davies W, Is efficient government necessarily good government? Public Service Director, January 2005, A GovNet Communication, London Department for Work and Pensions (2003) – Departmental Report 2003, The Stationary Office, London Fisher J, Denver D Benyon J, (2003) Central Debates in British Politics, Pearson Education Limited, Harlow Jenkins P, â€Å"Waking Up From the Long Communist Nightmare†, Independent, 2 April 1987 Savage S P and Atkinson R, (2001) Public Policy under Blair, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke Seldon A Kavanagh D, (2005) The Blair Effect 2001-5, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Simpson J, ‘Selling Britain by the pound’, Public Service Director, January 2005, A GovNet Communication, London Stoker G, (1999) The New Management of British Local Governance, Macmillan, Basingstoke Watmore I, ‘Using IT to transform Government’, Public Service Director, January 2005, A GovNet Communication, London

Factors Contributing to Poverty Essay -- Essays on Poverty

Factors Contributing to Poverty There are many factors that aid the prevalence of poverty. Firstly, it is difficult to assess these causes because the word ‘poverty’ can be very subjective and difficult to define. In attempting to define what poverty is, one would suggest having a lack of income and resources not consistent with the requirements of the poverty line. Three factors that play major roles as causes of poverty would be having a lack of education, systemic discrimination, and inequities based on a capitalist system. This paper will look at ways in which these causes can be combated and at the same time evaluated in regards to it’s positive and negative aspects. Education has long been a problem in society, because the lack of this essential tool of survival doesn’t allow for growth of any sort. It is a known fact that the risk of poverty usually decreases as people get more schooling. Poor education can be either a cause of poverty or an effect. Young people who drop out of school may be poor because they lack the required skills needed to get good jobs, therefore adding to a system that forces them to only be able to live in low-income, economically starving areas. Moreover, education is a basic requirement in order to climb a hierarchy of income in our society, so uneducated people are forced to become content with their surroundings. Systemic discrimination can be said to be a form of institutional injustice that depends on this quiet oppression in order to maintain a history of past dominance. There are many types of barriers that are not openly blatant and are in place so that minorities don’t get the opportunity to overcome these obstacles. As a result, many minorities including women cannot overcome ranks in the workforce and are left with the lower paying jobs. Furthermore, legislation in the Canadian government helps provide a structure for these proceedings, for example laws that were passed as a result of affirmative action programs might be said to be unjust and unconstitutional. Canada operates under a capitalist system so it should really be no wonder as to why poverty really exists in this country. It is necessary to have poverty in order to support capitalism. Failure in our system would result in poverty and therefore this sadly, becomes an incentive to become exceedingly wealthy and rich... ...es. Poverty is a term that can be viewed from many different aspects when attempting to define this opinionated word. This is a major problem in Canada, and it is evident everytime you travel down-town and actually see poverty within just feet of the premier’s office. Even though the actual word may be difficult to define, there are endless causes of it. It doesn’t make sense that we condemn other forms of government that are base on equality and fair opportunity when our own system is based on ‘survival of the fittest’. In essence, it is really based on survival of who can control the most amount of resources first and maintain it. Regardless of our ineptitude to define this word, we do know that lack of education, systemic discrimination, and inequities based on a capitalist system will cause it. I personally believe that absolute poverty can never be solved regardless of what system one might live in. It is because of our form of government that politicians are afraid to implement policies that might not be fully developed when it’s time to call another election. We should battle poverty regardless of how it may effect the deficit in the short-term.

Book Critique on ‘Suicide’ Essay

Book Critique on ‘Suicide’ by Emile Durkheim Nearly a century ago, the French sociologist Emile Durkheim became interested in the phenomenon of suicide. Why, he asked, do people kill themselves? In his day, the common answer to such a question is: the suicidal person is depressed or mentally ill or has suffered an unbearable loss. An alternative philosophical answer is also presented: an individual commits suicide because it is part of his nature. But Durkheim was not satisfied with these explanations. He thought it likely that forces within society influenced people’s decision to kill oneself was never simply personal. Durkheim wanted to provide a sociological answer to the phenomenon of suicide. To find out whether his ideas were correct, Durkheim considered the explanations for suicide that were common in his day and systematically assembled the evidence for each. As his sources, Durkheim used government records that listed numbers of suicides and gave information about the people involved – their age, sex, race, religion, marital status. Upon analyzing this material, Durkheim saw that the usual explanations for suicide were contradicted by the evidence. There was a general variance of suicide rates across countries and time. Durkheim argued, â€Å"If suicide is considered a personal issue, why is there so much variation? † (Durkheim, 1897/1951:17). If suicide were related to mental illness, Durkheim would have found relatively stable proportions of suicide and mental illness within social groups. Durkheim found the opposite: some groups shared high rates of mental illness but little suicide; other groups shared high rates of both. Durkheim found that women were more likely to be diagnosed a mentally ill, but had less chances of committing suicide. Other contradictory information surfaced: Durkheim discovered that most people committed suicide during warmer periods of the year, not, as might be expected, during the cold days of winter. These initial findings forced Durkheim to conclude that suicide is determined by social forces; that is, forces external to the individual. Durkheim said, â€Å"suicide is based on social causes and is itself a collective phenomenon† (Durkheim, 1897/1951:145). Characteristics of the social group in which people find themselves make suicide more or less likely; self-destruction is not simply a private act. In analyzing his information, Durkheim looked for specific social conditions under which suicide occurred the most and least often. Here were some of his findings: 1) Protestants committed suicide three times more than Catholics and Catholics more than Jews; 2) Single people committed suicide more often than married people, and married people with children least often of all; 3) And, suicide rates are higher when people feel few or weak ties to a social group or community. The Jewish community was more tightly knit than the Catholic, the Catholic more tightly knit than the Protestant. Married individuals, especially those with children, had stronger social bonds than single people. After identifying the general cause of high suicide rates, Durkheim classified suicide into three types: 1) egoistic suicide, 2) altruistic suicide, and 3) anomic suicide. Individuals with few or weak ties to a community are likely to commit egoistic suicide, or suicide related to social isolation and individualism. The opposite of egoistic suicide is called altruistic suicide. Here individuals whose ties to their particular groups are so strong that their commit suicide for the good of the group. Durkheim also saw that suicide rates increased when there were sharp economic upturns, and decrease when there was economic stability. When times are stable, people feel better integrated into the social fabric and committed to social norms. When times are stressful, the resulting state of anomie leads people to commit anomic suicide. At the end of his research, Durkheim argued that ‘sociology is a legitimate field of study’ (Durkheim, 1897/1951). This statement is founded on two striking facts. First, he showed that suicide tendencies can be explained by social facts; that is, empirical statements with no psychological or philosophical implications. In essence, sociology is a field of study independent from psychology and philosophy. And second, social explanations about specific phenomenon are never inferior from other types of explanations. In essence, social explanations are sufficient to explain contradictory social facts, since the latter depends on the former for empirical validity. General Critique There are several criticisms on Durkheim’s research on suicide. Here are some of the criticisms: 1) Durkheim defined suicide as referring to ‘all cases of death resulting directly or indirectly from a positive or negative act of the victim himself, which he knows will produce this result’ (Durkheim, 1897/1951:44). By positive act, Durkheim meant such things as jumping off a bridge or shooting oneself. By negative act, he meant such things such as not taking necessary medicine or not getting out of the way of a moving vehicle. When Durkheim developed the concept of altruistic suicide, he himself committed a violation of his own operational definition. This violation constituted a flaw in his research. Given his data, it is almost impossible or difficult to find instances of altruistic suicide. One can infer that the inclusion of this type of suicide was the result of ‘overzealous inference’ from data; 2) Some sociologists argued that Durkheim was able to delineate the difference between personal issues and public problems. This is not entirely true. Durkheim never gave operational definitions to both personal issue and public problem. Durkheim only assumed that personal issues are issues peculiar to personal events; public issues are issues salient to the interests of a given social group. In a sense, it was Mills, not Durkheim, who formalized the distinction between personal issues and public problems; 3) Durkheim also ignored one important factor in his analysis of suicide: the political context of the late1890s. Durkheim argued that economic upheavals increased suicide rates, economic stability decreased suicide rate. If one closely analyzed the context of the late 1890s, one can perceive that it was not economic crisis (ups and downs of the economy) that determined suicide rates; rather it was the stability of political structures. The more stable the political structure, the more stable is the market. Hence, there are fewer tendencies for individuals to commit suicide. Conclusion Although these criticisms were significant in many respects, they are insufficient to demolish Durkheim’s theory of social facts. For one, Durkheim successfully defended the integrity of sociology as a field of study. And second, his analysis of suicide rates cannot be proved to be incomplete or faulty. His definition of suicide may be shaky, but the implication of such is of no theoretical importance. Hence, Durkheim’s study on suicide rates is sociologically acceptable. Reference Durkheim, Emile. 1897/1951. Suicide: A Study of Sociology. J. A. Spaulding and G. Simpson. New York: Free Press.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

COPD which is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is known as a condition that progressively makes it harder to breathe because the airflow into and out of the lungs is reduced. This usually occurs because the airways and air sacs lose their elastic quality, the walls between the air sacs are destroyed, the walls of the airways become swollen, or if the airways are clogged because they made more mucus than usual. Three main conditions of this disease are emphysema, chronic obstructive bronchitis, and asthma. Most patients who suffer from COPD also suffer from emphysema and chronic bronchitis as to why they are commonly just defined as COPD. The patients who experience one or more of these conditions usually find it even more difficult to breathe. It is known to be a major cause of disability, and the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. It is said that approximately 12 million people have been diagnosed with COPD while another 12 million may have it and don’t even know it. COPD is mostly caused by cigarette smoke; however, pipe, cigar, and other types of tobacco smoke, as well as, second-hand smoke can contribute to this disease. This disease can also be caused by inhalation of air pollution, chemical fumes or dust either in the workplace or from the environment. COPD is usually found in patients of at least 40 years of age; however, it may affect a patient younger if they happen to have the genetic condition, which is alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. Alpha-1 antitrypsin is a protein made in the liver. This is an inherited deficiency that puts patients at a high-risk for lung disease. This deficiency occurs when the AAT proteins are not the right shape, which means they get trapped in the liver cells and cannot get into the bloodstream to travel to the lungs in order to protect them. Signs and symptoms of COPD are chest tightness, wheezing, shortness of breath, and also the â€Å"smoker’s cough. † The â€Å"smoker’s cough† is defined as an ongoing cough in which the patient produces large amounts of mucus. Severe COPD can cause symptoms such as weight loss and lower muscle endurance. If a patient is having a hard time catching their breath or talking, their not mentally alert, their heartbeat is very fast, their lips or fingernails turn gray, or blue or their recommended treatment which usually works isn’t work emergency treatment should be sought. If a doctor is attempting to diagnose COPD, he will first determine whether or not the patient is a smoker, then look into the patient’s family and medical history as well as their signs and symptoms. The doctor will also perform an auscultation using a stethoscope to listen for any wheezing or abnormal chest sounds. If the diagnosis process isn’t completed at that point, the doctor may then perform lung function tests. There are many different lung function tests; those are a spirometry, a peak flow meter, a lung volume measurement, a lung diffusion capacity, pulse oximetry, or an arterial blood gas test. A spirometry is a test to measure how much air you breathe in and out and how fast you blow it out. A peak flow meter is a small, hand-held device that shows how well air moves out of your lungs. A lung volume measurement like a spirometry measures how much air you can breathe in and out, however, it also measures the size of your lungs. A lung diffusion capacity determines how well oxygen passes through your lungs to your bloodstream. Last, are a pulse oximetry and an arterial blood gas test, both of these tests are used to see how much oxygen is in your blood. The arterial blood gas test is usually what is used to determine how severe your COPD condition is. After COPD is diagnosed, different treatments may be advised. There is no cure for this condition, but certain treatments may help a patient to feel better, remain more active and also keep their condition from progressing so fast. First, the doctor will tell you if you are a smoker the best thing to do is to quit. And, depending on the severity of your COPD your doctor may advise you to see a pulminologist, who is a doctor who treats patients with lung problems. Then, different medications may be prescribed such as bronchodilators, short-acting or long-acting again depending on the severity of the disease. Both are used to relax the muscles around your airways to help make breathing easier; however, short-acting is said to only last four to six hours, whereas, long-acting is said to last twelve hours or more. Most bronchodilators are used through metered-dose inhalers. Also, inhaled steroids may be prescribed to reduce the airways from swelling. Doctors will usually prescribe the steroid for a trial period of six weeks to three months. Other treatments to help this disease from progressing may be pulmonary rehabilitation, oxygen therapy, and vaccines to prevent the patient from the pneumonia or the flu. Rarely, a patient may be advised to have surgery such as a bullectomy, which is a removal of one or more very large bullae of the lungs, a lung volume reduction surgery, which is used to removed damaged tissue from the lungs, or a lung transplant may also benefit patients who suffer from COPD. Although emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and asthma are all conditions of this disease COPD, each condition affects the lungs slightly different. Emphysema is the condition that affects the lungs almost the same way because just like COPD it involves damage to the air sacs within the lungs; however, chronic bronchitis and asthma are different. Chronic bronchitis is known as a long-term inflammation of the bronchi, which causes increased mucus and other changes. Asthma occurs when the muscles in the bronchial tubes tighten and the airways become blocked by the extra mucus the airways are producing. Emphysema just like COPD is more progressive than chronic bronchitis or asthma. Patients with emphysema usually have shortness of breath and within later stages of the illness develop a chronic cough or sputum, whereas, patients with chronic bronchitis usually have a cough and develop sputum for many years before suffering from shortness of breath. And, for patients with asthma if proper treatments are followed then symptoms can be controlled. Causes of these conditions are also very similar. The most common cause for all of these conditions is smoking. The AAt deficiency can also play a role on patients who suffer from emphysema like COPD. Other causes for emphysema are known to be the HIV infection, as well as, connective tissue disorders. Other causes for chronic bronchitis can be from bacterial or viral infections. And, many different causes for asthma are airborne allergens, like pollen, mold, animal dander, dust mites, etc. , exercise-induced asthma, cold air, and certain medications, like beta-blockers, aspirin and other NSAID’s. It is said that the menstrual cycle in some women, as well as, the gastroesophageal reflux disease, which causes stomach acids to back up into the throat can lead to an asthma attack. And, allergic reactions to foods, like peanuts or shellfish can also cause an asthma attack. Symptoms of emphysema are known as a mild or chronic cough, loss of appetite and weight loss, and muscle fatigue. Symptoms for chronic bronchitis are known as a cough, spitting out of excess mucus, lips and skin may appear blue, abnormal lung signs, swelling of the feet, and heart failure. And, symptoms of asthma are chest tightness or pain, shortness of breath, a whistling or wheezing sound when exhaling, and trouble sleeping because of the shortness of breath, coughing, or wheezing. The diagnosis and treatments for both emphysema and chronic bronchitis are very similar as COPD, where pulmonary function tests, x-rays, and/or CAT scans may be performed to diagnose the condition. And different treatments may include bronchodilators, oxygen therapy, steroidal medications, and even possible lung surgery. Different procedures that may be used to diagnose the condition known as asthma are a methacholine bronchial challenge, where the patient inhales an asthma trigger called methacholine to mildly constrict the airways and a positive methacholine test will support the diagnosis. Another test is known as the nitric oxide test, which is used to measure the amount of nitric oxide you have in your breath. If your airways are inflamed, that is a sign of asthma. Medications that may be prescribed to treat asthma symptoms are inhaled corticosteroids, like Flovent Diskus, Pulmicort, Azmacort, Aerobid; Long-acting beta-2 agonists, which are long-acting bronchodilators; Leukotrine modifiers, theophylline. Also, short-acting bronchodilators may also be prescribed such as albuterol, atrovent, and oral and intravenous corticosteroids.