Social Science Essay Example for Free

Social Science Essay I must admit that before my trip to the California African American Museum I was skeptical that I would learn anything of value to myself from that experience. Being of foreign descent, American History is a bit alien to me and even more so for African American history. Yet as the day went on, I found myself staring in awe at the displays and gaining a profound respect for the African American culture. The first thing which caught my attention was that the California African American Museum was adorned all over by Afrocentric artwork. It was strange the way the paintings attracted by attention. Normally I don’t pay attention to paintings but there was something about these paintings that struck me. The history and beauty of the African American culture was unlike any I had ever seen or experienced previously. On a personal level, the relevance of this to me is that I too am of a different race. I have my own unique culture and I deeply cherish this. Seeing this display made me realize the beauty of my own culture. I began to understand how strong a people can be as long as they appreciate and cherish their own culture. I am not ashamed to admit my roots and my culture. In fact, I can proudly say that because of my experience at this museum I have come to accept more my culture and come to a better understanding of who I am in this world. Another profound feeling I got from my visit was the manner by which this place was designed. The California African American Museum is a fairly large space and has plenty to offer its visitors from painting to sculpture to multimedia installations by African-American artists. Perhaps the most amazing of all the displays is the rotating exhibits of the Rhythms of the Soul, a showcase of the instruments of Africa (Kennedy 2007). One can clearly see how rich the cultural heritage of the African American culture is. In the same line of thinking, one can imagine how cultures and races have evolved from their primitive origins into what they are today. These items are some of the many wonderful pieces that I saw at the California African American Museum. The piece on the left most portion is a head-dress from Nigeria while the one on the right most portion is a face-mask from the Republic of Congo. Being of foreign descent, I had never previously encountered such strange things and so when I first saw these things I had to admit that I was a bit dumbfounded by it and could make neither heads nor tails of them. Along with these ceremonial masks were decorative household implements from across Sub-Saharan Africa. These works show the type of art historical context that African Americans participated in prior to coming to the United States (Kennedy 2007). It was a context that was based on communal well being that encompassed ritual, mythology and cosmology that connected the people with their environment (Gerstle 2002). I dare say that my appreciation for this place has a lot to do with the many races and cultures in the area. The United States is a melting pot of many different cultures. There are so many diverse people in a single location and they all bring their heritage with them. The result is a rich tapestry of culture that is unlike any that can be found in the world (Gerstle 2002). The thing that makes this even more special is the acceptance of the people for the uniqueness of others. This is why I feel that this museum is one of my favorite locations because it is a testament to that spirit of acceptance and mutual respect. As I continue through my favorite place, I see that there are more surprises in store for me as inside the galleries of the California African-American Museum are treasures of African-American art, history and culture. A kaleidoscope of art and history exhibitions is designed to enhance the publics knowledge of the African-Americans contributions, both past and present. Quite a number of these exhibitions also explore little-known African-American contributions to the fields of science, sports, medicine, and technological invention. Upcoming exhibits feature Blacks in golf, science, technology and the California gold rush. As a whole, I think that the California African American Museum is my favorite place because it is very enlightening. While not totally ignorant of the plight of the early African Americans in the United States, I saw another side of this culture. One that is very diverse and full of mysticism and full of talent. The African Americans are a proud people and the California African American Museum has shown that they indeed have every right to be proud. With a background as colorful and magical as theirs, the African Americans and perhaps the rest of the world should all join in to preserve and to develop whatever remains of that proud and beautiful heritage of theirs. Works Cited: Minchin, Timothy. Hiring Black Worker: The Racial Integration of the Southern Textile Industry. North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 1999. Roth, Byron. Prescription for Failure: Race Relations in the Age of Social Science. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1994. Swain, Carol. The New White Nationalism in America: Its Challenge to Integration. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Kennedy, David, Cohen, Lizabeth, and Piehl, Mel (2007) The Brief American Pageant: A History of the Republic Wadsworth Publishing Company 7th Edition ISBN: 0618776125 Hollitz, John (2006) Contending Voices: Biographical Explorations of the American Past, Volume II: Since 1865 (Second Edition) (Paperback) Wadsworth Publishing; 2 edition (June 22, 2006) ISBN-10: 0618660887 Gerstle, Gary (2002) American Crucible: Race and Nation in the Twentieth Century (Paperback) Princeton University Press (August 5, 2002) ISBN-10: 0691102775

New Fitness Trends And Crazes Physical Education Essay

New Fitness Trends And Crazes Physical Education Essay The fitness industry is constantly diversifying with new fitness trends and crazes. The most recent trend is Zumba. Zumba is being marketed as a new exciting way to stay active and healthy. It boasts of its fun aspect and its ability to bring people together to get fit and have fun at the same time. Founder, Alberto Perez a Miami based dancer once forgot his traditional music to a fitness class he was leading and instead used some Latin music tapes. He delivered the session letting the music lead and guide him like in a club. The participants loved it and so Zumba was born. Now, more than 3 million DVDs have been sold in over 30 countries. In a recent poll, Zumba ranked 9th for international fitness trends in the year 2012 (Thompson, 2012). Zumba currently has well over 9,000 instructors worldwide and on October 15, 2007 Zumba was showcased on the Today Show. In October 2008, worldwide Virgin Active sport centres started proposing Zumba classes in their programs (Zumba Fitness, 2012). Today, Virgin Active in Norwich offers an exclusive range of fitness classes including; body pump, body combat and step classes. Zumba features in their aerobic classes, and is fast growing in popularity says the Norwich Virgin Active Fitness Manager in an interview (see appendices). However despite the ever-growing popularity and widespread of Zumba, there is still very little documented research highlighting the potential fitness and health benefits of the dancing phenomenon. The author, a volunteer at Virgin Active agreed with fitness managers that determining the average exercise intensity and energy expenditure during a Zumba class could provide valuable information about the classes Virgin has to offer and a unique selling point. This project set out to determine the average exercise intensity and energy expenditure during a Zumba fitness class at Virgin Active. Literature review Melissa Napier conducted a case study, investigating if and how, Zumba fitness has impacted womens participation in Doon Valley Leisure Centre. The objectives were to source out the reasons and factors that were impacting female participation levels within physical activity. The research found that for a fitness centre in Dalmellington, the majority of Zumba participants were aged between 40-59 years. However these results were obtained from both Zumba and Aqua Zumba participants which supports evidence in the secondary research that Aqua fitness is popular and recommended to the elderly population. Zumba participants said they attend classes because they think Zumba is an enjoyable exercise and allows them to socialize whilst increasing their fitness. Section 2 of the questionnaire asked the Zumba participants what they think makes Zumba different and more appealing than other forms of exercise, 44% answered Fun. Other activities that the Zumba participants said they enjoy include: Aqua Zumba and swimming. For the non Zumba participants they said they preferred gym, swim and fitness classes other than Zumba. This is not surprising as 80% of non Zumba participants are members and all these services are accessible to them as they are included in the membe rship prices. Evidence in Secondary research shows that interest in sport declines with age however the investigators primary research shows that 53% of Zumba/Aqua Zumba participants are 40-59 years old with only 7% aged 16-24 years old. Although Zumba may not appeal to all, it is 16-24yrs with latent demand for more physical activity options according to the Active People Survey carried out by the Womens Sport and Fitness Foundation. The only other literature which examined the exercise intensity of Zumba was conducted at Adelphi University (Otto et al., 2011). It reported caloric expenditure during Zumba to be between 6.6 and 7.4 Kcal ·min-1 depending on the particular dance style being performed. However there appears to be a wide range in the intensity of Zumba and other group fitness classes, depending upon the choreography and enthusiasm of the instructor. The enthusiasm of the instructor, as well as the experience of being in a group setting, often spills over to the participants, who then work harder. This cannot be captured when following video-taped workouts and the growing popularity of Zumba warrants additional research into this growing fitness trend. Methodology Twelve healthy female volunteers (20  ± 1.5 years, 1.57  ± 0.08 m, 61.9  ± 22.6 kg) were selected from the Virgin Active fitness club in Norwich. All participants were regular exercisers and were relatively experienced at participating in Zumba fitness classes. Prior to participating in the research project, all subjects were asked to complete a PAR-Q and provide written informed consent. Participants completed a health history questionnaire to check for any contra-indications which would prevent them from participating, and were informed that they could withdraw from the study at any time, even after giving their written consent. The data produced from the study was kept confidential and the participants were able to access their particular data if requested. Prior to the Zumba class, each participant had to perform an incremental, maximal treadmill test in the Norwich City College sports laboratory. This test measured the participants heart rate (HR) and oxygen consumption (VO2). Test procedures can be found in appendices. From this test, an individual linear regression equation was developed for each subject to predict VO2 from HR. This equation was subsequently used to predict VO2 (ml ·kg-1 ·min-1) during the Zumba session for that subject. Measurements of steady state oxygen uptake by the participants were used as an indirect method to measure energy expenditure (calorimetry). Energy expenditure was calculated from the predicted VO2 data assuming a constant of 5 Kcal ·L-1 of O2 consumed. Similar studies had demonstrated that the HR-VO2 relationship during treadmill exercise accurately reflected the HR-VO2 relationship during Zumba. After treadmill testing, subjects were given a Zumba DVD and told to practice the routine at least three times prior to the class. Following the treadmill test, all participants took part in a Zumba session. The Zumba class was delivered by a fully qualified zumba instructor in a sports hall at Virgin Active. During the class, all participants wore a heart rate monitor which recorded all the data throughout the session. After the session, the data was inserted into the individuals HR-VO2 regression equation to estimate the VO2 and energy expenditure of the participant during the class. Sampling Participants were recruited from Virgin Active. Participants were found using a simple snowball sampling technique because of the social networks that existed between class members. Zumba enthusiasts were asked to recommend other appropriate people for the project. Data collection The research design relied heavily on numerical data, therefore the research project adopted a quantitative approach. Numerical data included heart rates, vO2 max data and Kcal data. The project used regression analysis to identify the relationship between exercise intensity and calorie expenditure. Data were analysed using the statistical package IBM SPSS, PC program, version 7.5 Data Analysis Physiological responses to the Zumba session can be found in Table 1. The average HR was 154  ± 14 bpm, which corresponded to 79  ± 7.0% of HRmax. The average estimated VO2 was 66  ± 10.5% of VO2 max. The average estimated energy expenditure of participating in a Zumba session was 9.5  ± 2.69 Kcal ·min-1, which corresponded to an average of 369  ± 108 Kcal per class. To improve cardiovascular fitness, ACSM recommends that apparently healthy adults should exercise between 64-94% of HRmax and 40-85% of VO2max (ACSM,  2010). In order to control body weight, it is recommended individuals expend an average of 1500 or more kcal per week, which is 300 kcal per exercise session when exercising five times a week (ACSM,2010). Based upon the above recommendations, the Zumba class met ACSM guidelines for both parameters. Exercise intensity averaged 79% of HRmax and 66% of VO2max, respectively, and every subject fell within the recommended guidelines. Conclusions and recommendations Zumba is likely best suited for those who are already comfortable with fitness routines and with dance, as it could offer a pleasant change and participants would already know that they could keep up with dance fitness routine. However Zumba is also suitable for participants of all age and fitness levels. The intensity of the workout is relatively subjective so this means the participants can make the workout however hard or easy they would like depending on their enthusiasm and inhibitions. ACSM recommends that individuals should burn atleast 300 Kcals per workout in order to promote weight loss and maintain a healthy body composition (ACSM, 2010). This study concluded that participating in a Zumba dance class used an average of 369 Kcal for an average length class. It should be pointed out that average class length in the current study was approximately 39 minutes in length. Longer classes would obviously result in greater energy expenditure. Thus, regular participation in Zumba sh ould positively affect body composition. Future studies may want to focus on the physiological benefits following an 8-12 week Zumba training period. 1475 WORDS

Overview Of The Communication Process Information Technology Essay

Overview Of The Communication Process Information Technology Essay Communication is a learned skill. We must learn to speak as well and communication effectively even most of us are born with the physical ability to talk. There are various ways to understanding the verbal and nonverbal meanings thru our speaking, learning and ability skill. We learn the basic communication skill by observing other people and modeling our behaviors based on what we see. We also taught some communication skill through education, by practicing skill and having them evaluated. In simple terms, communication can be defined as an action. Communication not only in written form or oral, even a gentle touch or a knowing look can also communicate a message loud and clear, as can an angry slap or a hard push. Take an example: babies communicate basic wants through crying. It does not include language and dont have to be vocalized. It is just a simple transmit information from one person to another person. It must have a message that being transferred from sender to receiver in every instance of communication. The sender and receiver must have some words, signs o signals in common with each other to make sure for the communication to be success so that message can easy to deliver and understood. Communication is also a two-way interaction between to parties to transmit information and mutual understanding between themselves. The interchange of information from one party to another is best when a discussion available, it can makes the communication easier because the receiver can ask questions and receive answer to clarify the massage. 1.1 Communication Process The communication process is the guide toad realizing effective communication. Effective communication leads to understanding, it is also opportunities to become more productive if that follow the communication process. Sender and the receiver take place in the sharing through the communication process. Communication process is a set of steps that will undertaken in an organization while every time formal communication. It is helps to ensure that your stakeholders are kept regularly informed. The communication process is made by four key of components. Those components include encoding, channel, decoding, and feedback. Sender and the receiver are also the two other factors in the process. The communication process begins by the sender and ends with the receiver. Noise in the communication process is any kind of interruption which can disturb the communication. 1.1.1 Sender (encoder) Sender is the boss who release the message originated. The sender must stat to encoding in order to convey meaning. You also need to be confident in the information that you communicate is useful and accurate. A positive attitude of the communicators and the meaningful symbols select by the communicators are the factor that will determine how effective the communicator will be. 1.1.2 Encoding Encoding is the process that transferring the information you want, and correctly decoded at the other end with the form of communicated. Ability of convey information clearly and simply, eliminate and anticipate sources of confusion will deeply affected whether success or not of your encoding. Knowing your audience is a important key part of encoding, result in delivering messages will be misunderstood if your are failure to understand who you are communicating with. 1.1.3 Channel (medium of transmit) Channel means use to convey the message with non-verbal and verbal interaction. The sender uses some kind of channel to begin transmit their message. The effectiveness of the different types of channels fluctuates depend the characteristic of the communication. Most channels are letters, memos, emails, reports, meeting, telephone and videoconferencing. There are different strengths and weaknesses of different channel. For example, oral communication channel become more effective when immediate feedback is necessary, because it can be cleared up on the spot of an uncertainties. So that select the appropriate channel will greatly assist in the effectiveness of receivers understandings. 1.1.4 Decoding Decoding is performed in receiver side in the communication process. Decoding is once the message is received and examined, the stimulus is sent to the brain for interpreting, in order to assign some type of meaning to it. The receiver will correctly interprets the senders message is the communication takes place successful. 1.1.5 Receiver (decoder) Receiver is the person who simply receiving the message. Communication will only successful when the reaction of the receiver is that which the communicator intended. All the interpretation by the receiver is influenced by their knowledge, perception, attitudes, experiences, skill, and culture. It is actually similar to the senders relationship with recoding. 1.1.5 Feedback Feed back is the reply we receive to the message sent. It may a request for further clarification, a responses oral or written feedback, and undesirable decision or a detailed report. The sender cannot confirm whether the receiver has interpreted the message correctly or not without feedback. It also provides an opportunity for the sender to avoid the wrong action and to clarify a misunderstood message. 1.1.6 Noise Any things will interfere the understanding of communication also called as noise. In this instance, the message was not properly constructed and hence the secretary did not understand it as intended by the sender.  In any way, noise is any stimulus that will be interferes with the communicators ability to achieve the understanding. The ways to ensure the intended audience to receive right message A good communication skill can ensure the intended audience to receive the right message and it can reduce the misunderstood on message receiver. There have some effective ways to ensure the intended to get a right message: Completeness: The message must be complete to bring the desirable result. You must understand what is the reader wants or needs and you must also provide all the necessary information to answer the entire question. You can also give some extra information when desirable. Comprehensive and Conciseness: Eliminate the wordy expression, must avoid needless filter words and phrase. Inside the communication, you must include the only relevant materials, dun want include any un-relevant information to confuse the message receiver. Concreteness: Add the flashed word picture, made facts vivid into the communication. Try to add some specific facts and figure try to attractive the message receiver. Some more can put the action into your verbs. Clarity: when communication to someone, make sure u are clear about your goal or message. Try to minimize the number of ideas in each sentence. Make sure your sentence is easy to understand your meaning. Correct: Make you are fits to your audience when you are in communication. Conclusion You have to apply a communication process if you wish to communicate formally within an organization. The communication process is the perfect guide toward to achieve an effective communication. Certain barriers may present in the communication process and it may bring the negative impact on the process. By the way, you can get the feedback on the communication which have take place and it can be entre that future communication are improve. Successful and effective communication within an organization stems from the implementation of their communication skill if they follow the communication process. All members within the organization will avoid the barriers and can be improved. Communication skill is important because it can avoid the wrong message you send or receive. 2.0 Introduction A good communication between the firms and the customer is quite important. It may direct influence the popularity of the product. So there are important on which kind of advertising will you choose to promo your business. Select a right media for one to send out your message is an important step to developing your sales and marketing plan. The right media for one business may be wrong for another. Dubway is going to launch at Ipoh area. Dubway is an American restaurant, primarily they sells sandwiches, salads, and personal pizza. Target market of Dubway at Ipoh will be the people who wake up early can hope to buy a healthy breakfast quickly. As the product manager of the first Dubway of Ipoh, Im choosing the methods, the mediums and the vehicles that i would use to communicate with our target audience to persuade them to buy our product. 2.1 Advertising medium Advertising medium is the media variable to carries the advertisers message to the consumer. This is the vital connection between the product or services and the customer who willing to buy it. Usually a plural term of media is describing channel of mass communication. A common advertising media will be magazine, radio, television and newspaper. Example of other communication vehicles: direct mail, billboard, transit inflatable, blimps, balloons, interactive, fax and satellite. 2.1.1 Print Media Print media is the most effective way to disseminating the information of advertisement to the masses. Example of print media: newspaper, flyer, brochure and magazine. An advertisement in print media can reach a wide number of people in a given geographic to get the information because it is high reader involvement. In general, print media is a slightly better opportunities to catch the readers attention. But it will be not effective if your advertisement in a not obvious page or design. 2.1.2 Electronic Media Electronic media is the mode of electronic transmission. Its include television, radio, internet, CD-ROMs, DVD, cinema and etc. Electronic media of internet are unlimited distribution at little or no cost. These are also in a lower barrier to entry for content creators compared to traditional media. It can also let the huge number of people to get the information. It also provided the creativeness for the firms who want to make an advertisement. 2.1.3 Transmit Media Transmit media can be defined as a out-door media. Its may include the bus, cab, airplane with the advertisement poster, a balloon with the brand name and color or etc. But this kind of advertisement cant transmit the detail of information to the consumer. 2.2 Dubway advertising thru newspaper Dubway will choose to advertising about their information in newspaper. There are few advantage of advertise on newspaper: A reasonable cost when the firms make an advertisement in newspaper. They can also depend the price or the structure of their firms, their budget to decide the advertisement size and placement within the newspaper. This is the cost effective advertisement, its allows you to reach a huge number of people in a given geographic area. Advertisement through newspaper let the firm enjoy the high effectiveness but lower cost compare with other advertising media for example: television and magazine. Advertisement at newspaper also can unlimited exposure by firms, readers can go back to your message again and again if so desired. Usually take an advertisement at newspaper, they will free help in creating and producing and copy is usually available. Newspaper also a quick turn-around to helps the firm advertisement reflect the changing market conditions. The advertisement of firm will decide to run today can be in the customers hand in one to two days. 2.3 Dubway advertisement Dubways main product will be the sandwich. Dubway uses Eat Fresh as their slogan and there are explain how the every sandwich freshly and baked dough. Each sandwich also made by the fresh ingredients and they are exact specification in front of their customer. Now a days, most people are take care about their healthy, fast food may put into the list of rubbish food in majority people who so care about their health. So that the concept of Dubway is try to change the opinion of the people. Eat fresh be the slogan of Dubway, it try to let the people who can enjoy the healthy, full of nutrient, fast and nice food. They have a lot of choices at Dubway such as steak and cheese sandwich, meatball sandwich, roast beef sandwich, turkey breast and ham sandwich and etc. Coca-cola, Pepsi, Coffee and etc drinks also available at Dubway. Any photo makes customer has their choice to decide what flavor they likes, then, these photo should be colorful and looks freshness. However, these photos supposed to be attractive from customer. Use some of words to advertise such as eat fresh, that compare with McD or KFC will be more attractive. Because of customer prefer the food freshness. some more the name of every flavor let customers have their easier. Eat fresh this slogan is to obviously promo the product with the fresh ingredient. The nine picture of sandwich is the most popular order from customer. 2.4 Conclusion Advertising is one for the important things that present product or services of the firms. Advertising helps to keep the consumer informed about the any new product are available and trying to make a connection to the potential consumer. It helps to spread awareness about product or services that are use to consumer and potential buyers. In a successful business, advertising play an essential and important role. Advertising can increase the sales of product and service. In other way, advertising also increase the popularity of your product or services.

Accounts Settled: A Review :: essays research papers

Accounts Settled: A Review In the book, Accounts Settled, there is only one major character named Gordon. Gordon is seventeen, six feet tall, and has the beginning of a beard. The main setting is in a forest-filled valley that is a mile from Gordon's home. The story does not give a specific date but the most logical time this story takes place is in the winter during the early 1900s. The inciting incident in the story is when Gordon's dad came down with flu-pneumonia and Gordon must take his place in taking care of the trapline that he had set up in the forest. The conflict of the story is internal and external because Gordon had to face himself and nature. The rising action started when Gordon had a sense of fear as he went into the valley. The, the porcupine stole his food and Gordon was going to kill it but remembered an old woodsman tale that it's bad luck to ill a porcupine. Gordon then goes to bed, hungry and it took him awhile to fall asleep. He later wakes up to find a cougar ready to pounce on him. The cougar dose not strike yet because it is waiting for Gordon to move. Gordon knows better and stayed in the same position for what seemed like hours. Suddenly, the porcupine returns to look for more food and this disrupts the cougar. The climax is when Gordon quickly reaches for his gun and shoots the cougar. The resolution is when Gordon "cries the final tears of his boyhood" and he is finally a man. This writer used suspense in his story many times. For instance, "his eyes held the boy unwinkingly as he waited in the fiendish way of cats for the moment when the man must stir, or make an attempt to escape, the moment when his ingrained fear of man would be swallowed up by the rising tide of his blood- lust" and "moments passed, horrible heart-thudding moments, during which neither

Identity in a Color-Conscious Society in Invisible Man Essay -- Invisi

Identity in a Color-Conscious Society in Invisible Man  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Critics generally agree that Ralph Ellison's award winning novel, Invisible Man, is a work of genius, broad in its appeal and universal in its meaning. Its various themes have been stated as: "the geography of hell . . . the real brotherhood of man" (Morris 5), the emergence of Negro personality from the "fixed boundaries of southern life" (Bone 46), and "the search for human and national identity" (Major 17).   Rich in symbolism and cleverly interwoven, Invisible Man's linear plot structure, told from the first-person, limited point of view, and framed by the Everyman protagonist from his subterranean home, follows the narrator in his search for identity in a color-conscious society whose constricting social and cultural bigotry produces an accelerated pattern of violence and oppression which attempts to efface the narrator of his individuality, thus assigning him an "invisible" non-identity within America. The underlying force in Invisible Man is the atmosphere of America that begins in the early 1900's of the segregated deep south, and ends in the North's predominately black neighborhood of Harlem during the 1930's.  Ã‚   As critic Marcus Klein states, "Everything in the novel has clarified this point: that the bizarre accident that has led [the Invisible Man] to take up residence in an abandoned coal cellar is no accident at all, that the underworld is his inevitable home, that given the social facts of America, both invisibility and what he calls his 'hibernation' are his permanent condition" (109). Ellison's protagonist, the effaced narrator, is a young African-American male from the segregated deep south, who b... ...iction: New Studies in the Afro-American Novel since 1945.   Ed. A. Robert Lee.   London: Vision Press, 1980.   54-73. Klein, Marcus.   "Ralph Ellison."   After Alienation: American Novels in Mid-Century.   Cleveland: World Pub., 1964.   71-146. Langman, F.H.   "Reconsidering Invisible Man."   The Critical Review.   18 (1976) 114-27. Lieber, Todd M.   "Ralph Ellison and the Metaphor of Invisibility in Black Literary Tradition."   American Quarterly.   Mar. 1972: 86-100. Major, Clarence.   American Poetry Review.   Nov/Dec. (1973) 17. Margolies, Edward.   "History as Blues: Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man"   Native Sons: A Critical Study of Twentieth-Century Negro American Authors.   Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1968.   127-48.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Morris, Wright. "The World Below."   The New York Times Book Review 13 Apr.1952: 5.   

Identify Two Reports on Serious Failures to Protect Individuals from Abuse Essay

Abuse can happen anywhere anytime, but especially to vulnerable people, ie Children, elderly people, people with disabilities, people with learning difficulties. It can even happen in places people should be safe, ie hospitals, residential/ nursing homes, schools, daycare/ nurseries, centres etc. I researched two cases reported for abuse. The Winterbourne case which was nationally reported, and a local abuse case of Orme house in Lowestoft. The Winterbourne case was more physical and emotional abuse and the Orme house case was more neglect and poor living conditions. The Winterbourne case was reported nationally because it was such a disgusting mistreatment of vulnerable people, 11 members of staff were caught on cctv after visitors and patients complained about mistreatments. The evidence that was captured showed physical abuse such as, slapping, poking eyes, pulling hair, even as unbelievable as trapping them under chairs, and soaking residents in freezing cold water. It also showed emotional and verbal abuse in the form of name calling. This was an inhumane and diabolic mistreatment of vulnerable individuals unable to defend themselves. Winterbourne appears to have made dicisions based on profits and returns, over and above dicisions about the effective and humane delivery of assessments and treatments. Where were the staff who should have been reporting these crimes to management , if management was not listening then they should have been reported to the authorities and organisations, such as social services and cqc that is what they are there for. The staff who didn`t abuse patients but didn`t report the incidents are just as abusive and responsible , as they were employed to help with patients welfcare, in turning a blind eye they failed to put the best interest of the patient first. The Orme house case was locally reported due to neglect, residents were sleeping on dirty, infested mattresses and eating take aways provided due to lack of food on the premises. Poor health and safety, and health and hygiene conditions were due to untrained/poorly trained staff and working under staffed. Residents were taken to other residential homes in the area and Orme house was closed down. In both cases there does not appear to have been a governing staff body taking a stand and putting a stop to these behaviours, and no-one reported anything to the governing body CQC (care quality commision) or social services until sygnificant harm had already come to the residents of both these care homes. If these homes had a governing member of staff to ensure all care standards are met, where was their accountability. CQC are the governing body for all health and social care settings, they set out care standards and legislations and requirements that are to be met in each setting. These requirements and standards are normally brought into place by using company policies and procedures, to protect all parties they may vary slightly, but all have to comply with the standards set out in legislations. There are a number of agencies that work together to ensure staff are vetted. The government commisioned the bichard inquiry (2002) and it looked at the way recruitment was carried out, the inquiry led to the safegaurding vulnerable groups act 2006 and the vetting and barring schemes. Which are run by the independant safegaurding authority (ISA) they work with the criminal records bureau(CRB) and protection of vulnerable adults/children (POVA/POCA) lists 99 to access anyone who wants to work with vulnerable groups. There is also the health and safety act 1974 and a number of health and environmental laws that should of been adhered to under the health and social care act 2008, every employer and employee has a duty of care to ensure a safe working and living environment for all staff and residents to which in these cases staff at both care homes failed.

Discuss the relative importance of physical and human factors in accounting for changes to vegetation over time within ecosystems in the British Isles Essay

There are many factors that account for the changes to the vegetation over time within ecosystems in the British Isles, such as human activity, climate, soil, light availability and intensity and natural disasters. The characteristics of the vegetation that are influenced by these factors are height, distribution, variety of species, adaptations and density of the vegetation. Some of these factors have relatively little influence on the succession development, whereas others have a dramatic influence over a long period of time, such as human activity. These factors, over time, result in the progression of a succession until the climatic climax vegetation is reached. However, sometimes these factors can mean that a plagioclimax is reached, as they prevent the succession from progressing any further and the climatic climax vegetation is never achieved, which in the UK are Oak, Hawthorne and Birch trees. This succession results in the development of an ecosystem. An ecosystem is a dynamic, stable environment which is composed of interacting and functioning biotic and abiotic components and can be of any size. There can be composed of variety of successions, such as lithoseres in grassland and woodland areas for example the Isle of Aaron, psamoseres along the coastline or small scale urban successions in urbanised areas. In an ecosystem, all the component are characterised as biotic, for example animals and plants, or abiotic for example climate, pH, soil characteristics or drainage. These biotic and abiotic factors determine the changes to the vegetation in the ecosystem overtime as they have a great effect on it, such as flooding and animal grazing. Within the ecosystem, there are inputs, outputs, stores and flows which transfer minerals, nutrients, water and light energy. The most important input is light energy from the sun, which is the source of any food chain. Producers start a food chain, but they would not be able to do so without the 2% of energy provided by the sun to allow photosynthesis to occur. 10% of this energy is then transferred through the trophic levels in the food chain, from the autotrophs, through the consumers to the detritivores. Energy is lost at each stage as a result of movement, excretion and heat loss. As long as there is sufficient sunlight, consumers will continue to be able to use the vegetation in an ecosystem is a food source, which will have a dramatic affect on the characteristics of the vegetation. In this case, both human and physical characteristics are equally important for accounting to changes in the vegetation. Nutrients in an ecosystem are transferred through the nutrient cycle, a balanced cycle which ensures that there are enough nutrients for the ecosystem to survive. This cycle is represented in a Gersmehl Diagram. An example of an ecosystem is a temperate deciduous woodland. The main human factor that affects the development of a temperate deciduous woodland is deforestation. Deforestation occurs for a number of reasons; to use the timber for commercial use, to use the land for agriculture or to use the land to build on. Once the land has been deforested, it will never be able to be used for the same environment again as the soil washes away in the rain. Therefore, human activity has an extremely large impact on the development of vegetation as it can result in the environment becoming inhospitable. One of the physical factors that affects the distribution of vegetation is the height and density of the exsisting vegetation. This is because the more dense the canopy layer, te less light will filter through the leaf mosaic to the shrub layer. This means that only plants that require little sunlight will be able to survive, unless they have adaptations that enable them to absorb as much sunlight as possible such as having bread flat leaves so that they have a large surface area, or flowering earlier or later than other plants, such as Dogs Mercury and Bluebells. Another physical factor that affects the distribution of vegetation is the climate. If an area receives too little or too much rainfall, the plants will not be able to survive. On average, the temperate deciduous woodland should receive around 750-1500mm of rain per year. If this number is greatly exceeded, then the soil will become saturated and the area will flood, suffocating the plants as they do not have access to sufficient oxygen and carbon dioxide. On the contrary, if there is not enough rainfall then the plants will also die because they do not have access to a plentiful supply of minerals that the water contains such as nitrogen and magnesium. One type of succession that can form an ecosystem is a lithosere. A lithosere is a plant succession that begins life on a newly exposed rock surface, such as one left bare as a result of glacial retreat, tectonic uplift as in the formation of a raised beach, or volcanic eruption. The lithosere succession is initiated by pioneer plants, such as blue and green algae with colonise the sock as there are into a lot of nutrients available and they have no root systems, so they can survive in the hostile conditions. The succession then progresses due to the pioneer plants dissolving the rock, resulting in a release of nutrients. This then means that mosses, lichens and liverworts are able to thrive on that ground as the moss can absorb nutrients from rain water and they provide their own energy from photosynthesis. These plants chemically decay the rock by releasing acids, and physically decay the rock as a result of their root systems, leading to an amelioration of the plants so that the lithosere can progress to the next seral stage. Herbs grasses and small flowering plants can now colonise in these conditions, which are followed by ferns, brackens and small shrubs as the soil is now thick enough to support their roots and their seeds become lodged in the cracks made by the moss, so colonisation continues. Once these plants die and decay, they leave humus which adds to the richness of the soil and enables more developed plants to grow in their place. At this stage, the soil is developed enough and contains enough nutrients that it can host small tress, such as Alder and Rowan. Once these trees die, the lithosere is able to reach its climatic climax vegetation of Oak, Birch and Pine. There are many physical and human characteristics that affect the development of a lithosere. In the Isle of Aaron, there is no vegetation in areas of high relief. This is because the seeds for the plants slide down the slope, and do not colonise the steepest areas but colonise the top and bottom of the slope. Another physical factor which causes a lack of colonisation is the salt spray from the sea. The salt dehydrates the rocks that it lands on, so the area becomes inhospitable to the hardiest of plants. The prevailing winds from the south west result in a higher wind chill factor, therefore temperatures are lower, resulting in niche conditions. The winds also deliver seeds which can colonise the area, if the niche conditions that have been created are an appropriate for their survival. The southerly facing beaches receive more light and heat energy, therefore decreasing the time in which it takes for the succession to reach its climatic climax vegetation. This is because the increased heat energy results in more photosynthesis taking place, as photosynthesis needs carbon dioxide, water and sunlight to occur. As a result, the plant has more energy and so the root systems develop at a fast rate, weathering the rock. In this particular example, the physical factors have a great effect on the development of the lithosere as its development is regulated by factors such as climate, relief of land and pH of the environment. A plagioclimax is when human activity interferes with the succession of a sere and prevents it from reaching its climatic climax vegetation. Human activity which causes a plagioclimax to occur could be deforestation, animal grazing or fire clearance. Conversely, it is not just human activity that can result in a plagioclimax. Natural disasters such as floods and volcanic eruptions can also result in a plagioclimax being reached. However, if the plagioclimax is reached as a result of physical activity then it is generally not maintained and secondary succession can occur, which is when plants develop on land that has previously been vegetated. An example of a plagioclimax is the heather moorland in the North York Moors. The North York Moors were once covered in woodland, and heather would have featured in very small quantities. However, as a result of sheep grazing and deforestation, the regrowth of the climatic climax vegetation has been prevented and now heather is the dominant species. To control the uplands and encourage new heather shoots, managed burning is employed every 15 years, a technique that eliminates the less fire resistant species, allowing heather to dominate and conserves as many nutrients as possible. To conclude, I think that both physical and human factors play a significant role in accounting for changes in vegetation over time in the British Isles. However, I feel that physical factors have a greater impact in the long term that human factors, as physical factors are such that they generally change the environment or habitat on a permanent basis, such as climate change. Nevertheless, I believe that human factors play a significant role in changes to vegetation over time, but I feel that human intervention is not as long term as a change made as a result of physical factors because humans generally have the control and power to continuously change the environment and possibly restore it back to the way in which it was originally, whereas physical factors are not controlled.