Recontructionism Essay

The role of the student in a Reconstructionist learning environment. The role of the student in the reconstructionist learning environment is to be an active participant. Students are encouraged to think critically about the world in which they live in and how it can be changed for the better. Students learn how to be problem solvers and decision makers. It is common for students to be challenged on their thoughts and feelings regarding topics. Acquisition of strong moral values are also encouraged through teaching. Reconstructionist encourages social activism among its students. It is not uncommon for students to learn while doing, such as organizing a food drive for the local homeless shelter. Progressivism With the Laboratory School set the stage for the progressive education movement. Based on the view that educators, like scientists, need a place to test their ideas, Dewey’s Laboratory School eventually became the most famous experimental school in the history of U. S. education, a place where thousands observed Dewey’s innovations in school design, methods, and curriculum. Although the school remained under Dewey’s control for only eight years and never enrolled more than 140 students (ages 3 to 13) in a single year, its influence was enormous. Dewey designed the Lab School with only one classroom but with several facilities for experiential learning: a science laboratory, an . Progressivism organizes schools around the concerns, curiosity, and real-world experiences of students. The progressive teacher facilitates learning by helping students formulate meaningful questions and devise strategies to answer those questions. Answers are not drawn from lists or even Great Books; they are discovered through real world experience. Progressivism is the educational application of a philosophy called pragmatism. According to pragmatism, the way to determine if an idea has merit is simple: test it. If the idea works in the real world, then it has merit. Both pragmatism and progressivism originated in America, the home of a very practical and pragmatic people. John Dewey refined and applied pragmatism to education, establishing what became known as progressivism. John Dewey was a reformer with a background in philosophy and psychology who taught that people learn best through social interaction in the real world. Dewey believed that because social learning had meaning, it endured. Book learning, on the other hand, was no substitute for actually doing things. Progressivisms do not believe that the mind can be disciplined through reading Great Books, rather that the mind should be trained to analyse experience thoughtfully and draw conclusions objectively. Dewey saw education as an opportunity to learn how to apply previous experiences in new ways. Dewey believed that students, facing an ever-changing world, should master the scientific method: (1) Become aware of a problem; (2) define it; (3) propose various hypotheses to solve it; (4) examine the consequences of each hypothesis in the light of previous experience; and (5) test the most likely solution. (For a biography of John Dewey, see the Hall of Fame: Profiles in Education in Chapter 4. ) Dewey regarded democracy and freedom as far superior to the political ideas of earlier times. Dewey saw traditional, autocratic, teacher-cantered schools as the antithesis of democratic ideals. He viewed progressive schools as a working model of democracy. Dewey wrote: To imposition from above is opposed expression and cultivation of individuality; to external discipline is opposed free activity; to learning from texts and teachers, learning through experience; to acquisition of isolated skills and techniques by drill is opposed acquisition of them as means of attaining ends which make direct vital appeal; to preparation for a more or less remote future is op-posed making the most of the opportunities of present life; to statistics and materials is opposed acquaintance with a changing world. The Progressive Classroom Walk into a progressivism classroom, and you will not find a teacher standing at the front of the room talking to rows of seated students. Rather, you will likely see children working in small groups, moving about and talking freely. Some children might be discussing a science experiment, while another group works on a model volcano, and a third pre-pares for a presentation. Interest centres would be located throughout the room, filled with books, materials, software, and projects designed to attract student interest on a wide array of topics. Finally you notice the teacher, walking around the room, bending over to talk with individual students and small groups, asking questions and making suggestions. You sense that the last thing on her mind is the standardized state test scheduled for next week. Progressivisms build the curriculum around the experiences, interests, and abilities of students, and encourage students to work together cooperatively. Teachers feel no compulsion to focus their students’ attention on one discrete discipline at a time, and students integrate several subjects in their studies. Thought-provoking activities augment reading, and a game like Monopoly might be used to illustrate the principles of capitalism versus socialism. Computer simulations, field trips, and interactive websites on the Internet offer realistic learning challenges for students, and build on students’ multiple intelligences. Progressivism in Action: The Laboratory School In 1896, while a professor at the University of Chicago, Dewey founded the Laboratory School as a testing ground for his educational ideas. Dewey’s writings and his work art room, a wood-working shop, and a kitchen. Children were likely to make their own weights and measures in the laboratory, illustrate their own stories in the art room, build a boat in the shop, and learn chemistry in the kitchen. They were unlikely to learn through isolated exercises or drills, which, according to Dewey, students consider irrelevant. Since Dewey believed that students learn from social interaction, the school used many group methods such as cooperative model-making, field trips, role playing, and dramatizations. Dewey maintained that group techniques make the students better citizens, developing, for example, their willingness to share responsibilities. Children in the Laboratory School were not promoted from one grade to another after mastering certain material. Rather, they were grouped according to their individual interests and abilities. For all its child-cantered orientation, however, the Laboratory School remained hierarchical in the sense that the students were never given a role comparable to that of the staff in determining the school’s educational practices. Social Reconstructionism Social reconstructionism encourages schools, teachers, and students to focus their studies and energies on alleviating pervasive social inequities, and as the name implies, reconstruct society into a new and more just social order. Al-though social reconstructionist agree with progressivists that schools should concentrate on the needs of students, they split from progressivism in the 1920s after growing impatient with the slow pace of change in schools and in society. George Counts, a student of Dewey, published his classic book, Dare the Schools Build a New Social Order? in which he outlined a more ambitious, and clearly more radical, approach to education. Counts’s book, written in 1932, was no doubt influenced by the human cost of the Great Depression. He proposed that schools focus on reforming society, an idea that caught the imagination and sparked the ideals of educators both in this country and abroad. Social challenges and problems provide a natural (and moral) direc tion for curricular and instructional activities. Racism, sexism, environmental pollution, homelessness, poverty, substance abuse, homophobia, AIDS and violence are rooted in misinformation and thrive in ignorance. Therefore, social reconstructionists believe that school is the ideal place to begin ameliorating social problems. The teacher’s role is to explore social problems, suggest alternate perspectives, and facilitate student analysis of these problems. While convincing, cajoling, or moralizing about the importance of addressing human tragedy would be a natural teacher response, such adult-led decision-making flies in the face of reconstructionist philosophy. A social reconstructionist teacher must model democratic principles. Students and teachers are expected to live and learn in a democratic culture; the students themselves must select educational objectives and social priorities. The Social Reconstructionist Classroom A social reconstructionist teacher creates lessons that both intellectually inform and emotionally stir students about the inequities that surround them. A class might read a book and visit a photojournalist’s exhibit portraying violent acts of racism. If the book, exhibit and the class discussion that follows move the students, the class might choose to pursue a long-term project to investigate the problem. One group of students might analyse news coverage of racial and ethnic groups in the community. Another student group might conduct a survey analysing community perceptions of racial groups and race relations. Students might visit city hall and examine arrest and trial records in order to determine the role race plays in differential application of the law. Students might examine government records for information about housing patterns, income levels, graduation rates and other relevant statistics. The teacher’s role would be as facilitator: assisting students in focusing their questions, developing a strategy, helping to organize visits, and ensuring that the data collected and analysed meet standards of objectivity. Throughout, the teacher would be instructing students on research techniques, statistical evaluation, writing skills, and public communications. In a social reconstructionist class, a research project is more than an academic exercise; the class is engaged in a genuine effort to improve society. In this case, the class might arrange to meet with political leaders, encouraging them to create programs or legislation to respond to issues the students uncovered. The students might seek a pro bono attorney to initiate legal action to remedy a social injustice they unmasked. Or perhaps the students might take their findings directly to the media by holding a press conference. They might also create a Web page to share their findings and research methods with students in other parts of the country, or other parts of the world. How would the teacher decide if the students have met the educational goals? In this example, an objective, well-prepared report would be one criterion, and reducing or eliminating a racist community practice would he a second measure of success. Social Reconstructionism in Action: Paulo Freire Paulo Freire believed that schools were just another institution perpetuating social inequities while serving the interests of the dominant group. Like social reconstructionism itself, Freire’s beliefs grew during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when he experienced hunger and poverty first-hand. Influenced by Marxist and neo-Marxist ideas, Freire accused schools of perpetuating the status quo views of the rich and powerful â€Å"for the purpose of keeping the masses submerged and content in a culture of silence. † Schools were endorsing social Darwinism, the idea that society is an ingenious â€Å"sorting† system, one in which the more talented rise to the top, while those less deserving find themselves at the bottom of the social and economic pecking order. The conclusion: Those with money de-serve it, those without money deserve their lot in life, and poverty is a normal, preordained part of reality. Freire rejected this conclusion. He did not believe that schools should be viewed as â€Å"banks,† where the privileged deposit ideas like social Darwinism to he spoon fed into the limited minds of the dispossessed. He envisioned schools as a place where the poor can acquire the skills to regain control of their lives and influence the social and economic forces that locked them in poverty in the first place. Freire engaged the poor as equal partners in dialogues that explored their economic and social problems and possible solutions. Freire believed in praxis, the doctrine that when actions are based on sound theory and values, they can make a real difference in the world. (It is no accident that the term praxis is also the name given to the teacher competency tests required by many states. ) Freire’s ideas took hold not only in his native Brazil, but in poor areas around the globe. As poor farm workers became literate and aware, they organized for their self-improvement, and began to work for change. It is not surprising that the autocratic leaders of his country eventually forced him into exile, for he had turned schooling into a liberating force. For a biography of Paulo Freire, see the Hall of Fame: Profiles in Education in Chapter 4. ) How Can Education Reduce Crime? A major proposition for solving the crime epidemic has always been a call for more education: however does a more educated society mean a lawful society? Schools as institutions are merely a microcosm of society and as such must inherently reflect the attitudes and behavior of the public, including stealing from each other beating up on each other, dealing in contraband and sexually violating each other. Students flout school regulations and/or national laws. One can now ponder which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Does the deviant student become the criminal? Or does the criminal modeling within society create the deviant student? Students however are not the only perpetrators of crime in schools. Teachers represent authority figures in the system, and like in wider society, they may abuse their power and break school rules as well. These unfortunate events again raise questions. What causes a teacher to give unfair advantages to his favorite students? What causes the politician/policeman to pardon his criminal friend or allow him unfair advantages? What causes authority figures to victimize members of a certain groups? In the end, we need to view the issues of crime in school and crime in society as interlinked. Viewed in this context, the solution of increased education on its own to mitigate crime, seems less feasible. A favorable learning environment, coupled with specialized teaching techniques can lower deviance and increase the rule of law. Students are more likely to succeed when they feel connected to the school and the learning process. This connection reflects students’ belief that school administrations care about them as individuals. Teachers are central to creating a clear classroom structure. They must build connectedness in the classroom and encourage team-learning exercises to break down social isolation by integrating student teams across gender, academic ability, and ethnicity. A supportive school administration must not allow a young person to ‘fail’, or students will inadvertently believe in’ winners and losers’. This assumption sets up a dysfunctional dichotomy: the ‘winners’ or the academically proficient become ‘nerds’ and ‘losers’. A positive, nurturing school culture with students experiencing connectedness to their school will create a positive, nurturing society with citizens experiencing connectedness to their communities and by extension, their country. Studies show a high proportion of students positively connected to their school are likely to increase academic performance and school competition rates and decrease incidents of fighting, bullying, vandalism and absenteeism. There is strong evidence, applicable across racial, ethnic and income groups that students who feel connect to school are less likely to exhibit disruptive behavior. Implementing civic education, particularly education about the rule of law into school curricula is used in Latin America and Asia as a predominant technique to foster knowledge and attitudes that prevent crime and corruption, protect human rights and enrich and enhance formal democracy. In Trinidad and Tobago, the education system has consistently separated schools and students into vocation and university tracks and as such, avoided providing all students with the same core curriculum and setting inclusive academic standards. This form of ‘informed prejudice’ has created, over the past decades, a society of confident and ‘inferior’ citizens, professionals and dropouts, favored ‘old-boy’ graduates and ‘neglected strugglers. ’ Without a significant paradigm shift in the education system, the levels of crime in schools and society will increase or remain constant, students will always steal and teachers will always create as many or more problems than they solve. Higher levels of education do not guarantee less crime in society, but indeed a more effective education system that caters to both the students and teacher’s mental and psychological health, while fostering a greater understanding and appreciation for civic duty and the rule of law, is key for crime reduction. Advocates: Early education key to reducing crime The key to eradicating crime and violent behaviour, say organizers with the non-profit Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Pennsylvania, is to invest more resources in early care and child education. That was the theme earlier this week as Fight Crime visited the Penn Alexander School to unveil its findings in the multi-point plan, â€Å"High-Quality Early Care and Education: a Key To Reducing Crime in Pennsylvania. † The plan points to numerous nationwide studies which found that in Michigan, at-risk children not enrolled in high-quality programs were five times more likely to be chronic offenders by the age of 27; another report, this one based on Chicago, found that at-risk kids not participating in the city’s child-parent centre programs are 70 per cent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime by the age of 19. And since the School District of Philadelphia’s enrolment of at-risk/economically disadvantaged children currently sits at 80. 6 per cent – or 117,749 students – it only made sense for Philadelphia to be the first stop in a state-wide mission, said Fight Crime Pennsylvania State Director Bruce Clash. â€Å"Philadelphia is obviously important because it’s a big city, and important because so many kids here have unmet needs,† Clash said. â€Å"And that’s a travesty for them, their families and the community at large. Clashed praised the efforts of District Attorney Seth Williams in embracing the findings and for attending the unveiling, along with district superintendent Dr. William Hite Sr. and other elected and appointed officials. Williams and Hite were both unavailable for comment as of Tribune press time. The report illustrates in great detail the correlation between the lack of education and criminality and the positive effects reaped wh en limited resources are properly utilized, vital when only 17. 6 per cent of eligible 3- and 4-year-olds have access to high-quality publicly funded pre-K programs throughout the commonwealth. The report also shows that Pennsylvania spends more than $2. 3 billion on incarceration, but only $340 million on early childhood education. â€Å"Law enforcement leaders across Pennsylvania want to make sure more Pennsylvania children receive high-quality care and education in their early years – the help they need to succeed in life and avoid later crime and violence,† read a portion of the findings. â€Å"Despite strong evidence that high-quality early education can reduce future corrections costs in Pennsylvania and nationally, spending on corrections far surpasses spending on early education. The report further shows that, of criminals labelled chronic offenders by the age of 2, 35 per cent of them did not attend or participate in preschool programs; conversely, only 7 per cent of those that did attend such a program went on to be considered chronic offenders. The report suggests several ways to cut off young criminal pipeline, including increasing the number of quality teachers, better funding for federal early care, Pre-K and head start programs, better implementation of the Child Care and Development Block grant and more school districts taking part in the federal â€Å"Race To The Top† program. The thing most criminals have in common is the lack of a high school education. Not everyone who doesn’t get a diploma commits a crime, but there are more likely to commit a crime and be incarcerated,† Clash said. â€Å"So we targeted early childhood, with 40 years of research showing us that if you reach at-risk and economically disadvantaged children, 44 per cent more were likely to graduate because they have a foundation to build on, develop, grow from and attain the skills they need in life. Clash said inroads are being made, citing the recent, multi-million dollar funding of the state’s â€Å"Pre-K Counts† program and the various Head start initiatives. Those two programs are funded through a series of line items in the state budget. â€Å"Both of these funding streams are used by the School District of Philadelphia and by hundreds of school districts throughout the state, and many other districts use their own money for these programs,† Clash said. Momentum continues to grow, but the problem is that only 17 per cent of all Pennsylvanian three- and four-year-olds receive publicly-funded, high-quality Pre-K programming. â€Å"And in Philadelphia, it’s a huge, unmet need, since 3,100 kids are at the poverty line do not have access to pre-K programs because they are on a wait list,† Clash continued. â€Å"So this report makes the case of why law enforcement is so concerned about getting access to pre-K young kids. Long-term arrests come down, and behaviourally, the data shows a reduction in early aggressive behaviour. †

Factors Affecting Essay

In this assignment is an explanation of genetic, biological, environmental and socio-economic and lifestyle that effect the development of an individual. Also using the case study of Emily there is explanation on 2 predictable and 2 unpredictable life events that could be affecting her now and the in the future. I will then be discussing the 2 sides to the nature –nurture debate, and then I will be evaluating how nature and nurture have affected the development of Albert and Alan as children and as adults. INTRODUCTION: Growth and development are different from one another, growth means increase in size or a mass of tissue and development involves the changes in some ability as well as some measured quantity of height, weight. Some of the emotional, social and intellectual changes in a lifespan could be described in terms of development. Maturation is different from growth and development; it is used when development is assumed to be genetically programmed sequences of change. Some of the facts that affect growth and development of a child are Children inherit some characteristic from parents i.e. parents who have intelligence are more likely to have with higher level intelligence. Daughters often reach menarche at roughly the same age as mother and will have a similar length of the menstrual cycle as their mother. Boys are generally longer and heavier than girls when born, Genetic disorders can affect both child growth and development. LIFE FACTORS THAT AFFECT DEVELOPMENT Development and growth are mainly dependent on many factors, which some will affect children and individuals more than others. Some of the factors can have a positive or negative impact on development and growth of individuals  in society. The factors that affect the development of an individual in society: BIOLOGICAL: foetal alcohol syndrome infections during pregnancy GENETIC: Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, rheumatic disease, brittle bone disease. SOCIO-ECONOMIC: income, employment and education ENVIRONMENT: pollution family dysfunction culture LIFESTYLE: nutrition and dietary choices, misuse of substances. All of which affect an individual’s physical, intellectual, emotional and social aspects of development and growth. GENETIC FACTORS The human body has a nucleus with 23 pairs of chromosomes inside it; one chromosome comes from the mother and another from the father. Each chromosome carriers units of inheritance known has genes it these genes that create the instructions for making a new individual. Genetic diseases are a large proportion of the total diseases that individuals have to burden, around 50% of deafness is due to genetics and around 40-50% of miscarriages are connected to genetic factors. RHEUMATIC DISEASE Individuals are more at risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis if they have relatives with the disease, but in some cases individuals can develop the condition without any one in the family having the condition. Rheumatic disease is a disorder that affects the inflammation of the joints and ligaments, bones and the muscles. Rheumatoid arthritis is associated with rheumatic disease the cause is not fully understood but the environment and genetic influences play a major part in the condition. It is an extremely painful condition for individuals who suffer with it; it causes swelling, damage to the cartilages and bones, joints. It mainly affects the smaller bones individuals’ feet, hands and wrists, the autoimmune process that contributes to the distress on the joints can also affect the eyes, lungs and skin, heart and blood vessels plus some other organs. It can affect the physical development of an individual who suffers with the disease, it can limit their day to day physica l movement due to the amount of pain they will experience; individuals who have restricted activities are more likely to suffer with depression as well. An adult could struggle to hold a job down  due to the time there would have to miss work. Rheumatoid arthritis can affect a child’s intellectual development due to the amount of time they will be absent from school due to the pain or hospital appointments. It will limit the time that they can use computers or game consoles due to the stiffness in their hands and wrists and have very poor academic attendance due to a flare up of the condition. Emotional development of an individual with the condition may be affected they may feel different from other individuals and children could be made to feel excluded because of the condition. Some could become depressed as they believe the disease is taking over their life completely and feel that they cannot cope anymore. Rheumatoid arthritis could also affect individuals social life as a flare up could cause them to miss out on certain social events with friends or work colleagues and the fact that they could have being admitted to hospital. At the moment there is no cure for condition but there is a number of treatments that could slow the condition down and keep joint damage to minimum, the earlier the treatment is started the more effective it could be for the individual. The cause of rheumatoid arthritis is not completely understood but it is believed that genetic and the environmental issues influence the condition. CYSTIC FIBROSIS Cystic fibrosis is generally caused by genetic disorder, it is caused by a defective gene it is thought that about 4% of the population carry this gene in the UK alone. Has the gene is recessive children born to parents who carry the gene will not develop cystic fibrosis unless both parents are carriers. If both parents have the defective gene than there is a chance that they child will be born with the condition. Cystic fibrosis is a disorder that results in the production of a defective protein that can cause a buildup of sticky mucus forming in the lungs and digestive system of individuals. Other symptoms are a troublesome cough, repeated chest infections and poor weight gain these are not unique to individuals who suffer with cystic fibrosis. It is a complex disease that affects many different organs in the body. It’s quite common for individuals to experience some issues with lung function although not every sufferer will be affected. With physiotherapy and some medication can help to control lung infections and prevent the buildup of mucus that damages the lungs. Besides  affecting the lungs it can affect the pancreas due to the buildup of thick sticky mucus that blocks the ducts, which can reduce the amount of insulin that is produced and stopping the digestive enzymes getting to the intestines to aid digestion. This can lead to poor malnutrition, poor growth and some physical weakness and delayed puberty. Babies born with cystic fibrosis develop a bowel obstruction called meconium ileus that is present at birth or within the first few days, it’s a thick black material present in the bowel and it’s so thick that it blocks the bowel. Some individuals are prone to develop bone disease due to lack of nutrition, it can cause fertility problems but does not cause sexual impotency. Men with cystic fibrosis the tubes that carry the sperm are sometimes blocked causing infertility, cystic fibrosis in women can affect fertility due to being underweight and having irregular menstrual cycles and a thicker vaginal mucus. It can cause some blockage of the small ducts in the liver which can lead to liver disease; although this only affects 8% of individuals it is a serious health risk that could require a liver transplant. Social development of a child with cystic fibrosis they will find it hard to interact with other children due to a long period of absence from school, and in any other setting. The emotional development of a child with the condition is that they might become emotional distressed, suffer with mild depression and feel embarrassed because of the effects. Physical development of a child with cystic fibrosis is they are capable of taking part in physical activity such as play and some regular exercise, but with a persistent cough and difficulty in breathing they could become tired quickly need to rest more. Some children’s current health status might not allow them to take part in any activities, when they do will need to take frequent breaks to cough and have a drink. The intellectual development of a child with cystic fibrosis is due to a long absence from school extra help will be needed for them to catch up and some children might have special educational needs, but most of them are academically able to succeed like their peers. All sufferers with the condition should receive appropriate health care to enable them to live longer and healthier lives. BIOLOGICAL FACTORS Biological influences before birth have a dramatic influence on the development of a child, factors that could affect the development are if the  mother smokes, takes drugs or drinks a large amount of alcohol. One factor is if the mother drinks heavily during her pregnancy this will have a negative effect on the development of the baby and could cause foetal alcohol syndrome. FOETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME Foetal alcohol syndrome is more severe of the birth defects that are known as foetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Foetal alcohol effects is known as alcohol related birth defects which is the milder end of the condition, some of the conditions that are related is alcohol related neuro- alcohol during pregnancy. Foetal alcohol syndrome disorder is caused through pregnant women drinking alcohol during their pregnancy. Alcohol can affect the development of the fetus at any stage during the pregnancy including the earliest stages of pregnancy; the effects of alcohol during pregnancy may include physical deformity, some behavioral issues, damage to the central nervous system. According to National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (2001-2004), â€Å"FASD is the leading known preventable cause of mental retardation and birth defects, and a leading known cause of learning disabilities.† http://www.nofas-uk.org/. Accessed 23/6/14. Drinking during pregnancy is damaging for the unborn child and cause major social, emotional effects for the child’s life which cannot be out grown or treated. Alcohol during pregnancy can cause brain damage which can lead to a range of developmental, cognitive issues that will appear at any time during childhood. Individuals who have FASD quite often of issues with coordination, emotional control, school work and socialisation and struggle to hold a job. Often make the wrong decisions, trust the wrong people and difficulty understanding any consequences of their own actions. Babies born with FAS are normally a low birth weight are unable to suck effectively, some will be over sensitive to light any noise or touch will become irritable easily and are very slow to develop through the different stages of infancy. They are very vulnerable to other infections and have poor sleeping cycles or waking cycles some will be too stiff or floppy when being held. The physical features of babies born with FAS are their faces will be flattened; have a small upturned nose may have flattened philtrum and some have a thin upper lip. The physical development of a child with FAS are, will have problems with weight and height will tend to smaller than children  of an similarly age, will have a weak immune system leading them to prone to catch infections easily. Depending on the damage there could have a heart defect which cause them to take part in any kind of physical activity. Intellectual development of a child with FAS is there could have lower IQ or in some cases it could be higher than normal. Some children will have a degree of language disability or delayed language development will often have problems with communicating whether their development is delayed. Have Issues Memory which can lead to their educational achievements being extremely limited and are more likely to be in trouble during their education. Will develop poor relationships during their childhood and adulthood, will constantly be in trouble with the law due to mixing with wrong crowd. Could have immature behaviour due to the lack of social skills and because of the lack of control over their behaviour can affect any kind of social connect. All of which will affect their social development. Children can be very affectionate when around others but at more or less at the time be very hyperactive which can cause problems for teachers or other individuals in any situation. Due to them being hyperactivity their will need any kind of special attention from individuals during their lifespan. TOXOPLASMOSIS Toxoplasmosis is infection that is caused by a common parasite known as Toxoplasma gondii, which is found in different warm blooded animals such as sheep, dogs and humans which can be infected with tiny single cell of parasite. The parasite can only be passed on through the environment or food chain or if pregnant women infect her unborn child. It is very rarely that it is passed from human to human through any organ transplantation. In some cases toxoplasmosis doesn’t show any systems and an individual could be unaware that they are infected. In most healthy individuals the immune system is normally strong enough to prevent the parasite to cause serious illness. Individuals who have being affected with toxoplasmosis are most likely to be immune to further infections in their lifespan. So if a woman who has being previously infected becomes pregnant there should be no risk to the baby, a blood test would be needed to find out to see is she immune. Toxoplasmosis can cause lymph nodes to swell particularly in the throat and armpits, which can be like flu systems such as high temperature, muscles  aching, extreme tiredness and sore throat. During pregnancy the risk of developing toxoplasmosis is very low, â€Å"a 2008 study showed that in non-immune women (those who haven’t had the infection before), about 5 in 1,000 may get a toxoplasmosis infection.† http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Toxoplasmosis.(accessed 24/6/14). If a women does develop toxoplasmosis when she is pregnant or shortly after conceiving the risk is that she will pass it on to the baby, however if it is passed from mother to baby it is known as congenital toxoplasmosis. The risk of passing it on is greater in the third trimester with 70% of babies becoming infected, but in the early stages of pregnancy only about 15% of babies will become infected. Although the woman might not experience any systems herself, an infection that develops during the early stages can increase the likely hood of miscarriage during the first 23 weeks, it can also cause a stillbirth later on in the pregnancy. Babies born with congenital toxoplasmosis the systems vary depending when the mother became infected some systems are more severe if she was infected around time she became infected or during the first or second trimester. The baby could have hydrocephalus water on the brain, brain damage, epilepsy which is a condition that affects the brain and causes repeated seizures, some deafness growth problems and eye infections or reduced vision. They could also have yellowing of the skin known as jaundice and the white of the eyes, an enlarged liver or spleen and cerebral palsy that affects the brain or nervous system condition that affects the movement or co-ordination of a child. In some cases if the mother is infected during the last trimester and the infection is passed on the baby may not have any symptoms at birth, but complications could develop later on in life with the child developing reduced vision or some hearing loss even some learning difficulties. â€Å"New research is looking at other ways of diagnosing toxoplasmosis – for example, by identifying the DNA of the T. gondii parasite in samples of cerebrospinal fluid (the fluid that surrounds your brain and spinal cord). It’s hoped that this may be a quicker and more reliable method of diagnosis, and will help confirm whether the damage to the brain has been caused by toxoplasmosis rather than by another condition.† http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Toxoplasmosis/ (accessed 24/6/14). SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS Socio-economic factors that influence the development and growth of individuals in society, are income and expenditure the economic resources that a family has can make a major difference to the quality of life an individual has. INCOME Income can affect the development and growth of individual in society and can have a major difference in their quality of life. Income is the amount of money that the household receives weekly or monthly, it enables them to pay for their accommodation, buy food and clothes for the family. The main sources of income mainly come from wages for employment, benefits paid by the government or money that is raised from a sale of a property. Individuals who receive a low income may experience poverty and are the ones most likely to suffer with ill health and have opportunities restricted. A lack of income could mean to individuals that there will have a lack of resources and not being able to live in acceptable way in society. For some individuals it means that they are living absolute poverty. Many will find it hard to take part in the community which could lead to social exclusion. Most children that are born to families who experience some kind poverty may find it hard to escape and become trapped in the same situation has they develop into adulthood. A child living in a low income home will have low self-confidence and low self-esteem some will experience a poor diet due to the lack of funds to buy nutritional food. Will live in poor housing conditions and are more likely to sufferer with related health issues, caused through damp or mould. Will have parents who are extremely stressed over money issues have little chance of having the latest hi tech phones, computers games and expensive clothes. Will have limited access to books to help them with school work and because of the low income might not be able to do homework due to the family home being overcrowded so no place for them to study. http://www.poverty.org.uk/02/index.shtml?2 The graph shows the amount of individuals across the country who are living in low income households. EDUCATION Education factors that influence the development and growth of individuals in  society, is that individuals with little qualifications are more likely to be unemployed or in low paid work than others at the same age who have qualifications. Families have a major impact on children’s learning and educational development, a child’s academic progress and level of engagement at school could be affected by certain environments, the parents attitude towards education and how much involvement the parent has with child’s education i.e. helping with school work, volunteering in school and involvement in any school activities. The families’ ability to provide the appropriate learning environment at home could be limited due to lack of financial situation, the parent having attained low grades or mental health issues. Negative impact on education is that individuals will be put under pressure to leave school and earn money to ease the situation within the family. Schools in the neighbourhood could be disadvantaged from other schools they might lack valuable resources in the learning environment and have restricted space for children to play and the school could have a limited access to new technology and updated information. Peer groups can influence individuals during their education, attitudes and beliefs could be copied from who we mix with or at least from people we believe are the same as ourselves. Besides the family peer groups are seen as second source of social learning. Attitudes and values are influenced by the experiences people have had and the culture that they are exposed to will influence their educational experience. ENVIRONMENT FACTORS Environment factors that influence the development and growth of individuals in society, the environment that where individuals are brought up in or live in and the amount of pollution in the area. POLLUTION Pollution can influence the development and a source of ill health among every individual in society, decades ago with a lack of sanitation and poor sewage across the country resulted in many life threatening diseases such as cholera. Cholera is a bacterial infection caused by drinking contaminated water or food that has been in contact with contaminated water. Not all individuals who get infected will develop symptoms but those who do will experience severe diarrhea, a feeling of being sick and stomach cramps, which usually develop in a few days after infection. If left untreated an  individual can quickly become dehydrated and could go into shock due to a sudden drop in their blood pressure and in some cases could be fatal. The condition is mostly common now in the regions of the world that as poor satiation with no cases reported in England for years travelers who go abroad occasionally bring the infection back with them, from countries like Asia, Africa and the Middle East. â⠂¬Å"The World Health Organization estimates that there are between 3 and 5 million cases of cholera worldwide every year.† www.who.org.uk. (Accessed 23/6/14). Until quite recently before lead was removed from petrol or paint the concern was that lead pollution in the air could affect the brain development of a child, they are still issues today about air and water pollution. Lead is a naturally occurring basic element and a metal, lead pollution occurs because of the lead that’s in the atmosphere that effects the environment. Lead pollution primarily came from cars in the past and in the past the dangers were unknown. Lead poisoning could cause birth defects in unborn children and could kill a person if enough was in the body and some deposits of lead in soil can harm both humans and animals by absorbing into the Lead in the body cam damage internal organs individuals also can have damage to brain and the nervous system; it can also cause reproductive disorders or osteoporosis and in some cases can be fatal. With pollution still being affected now individuals in the cities are still at risk of developing lung diseases, it can affect a child’s physical development and cause respiratory problems in all individuals, and babies and children growth can be restricted and in some cases cause asthma. An individual’s physical and intellectual development could be restricted due to the pollution being so high, with being unable access social activities or attend education facilities due to ill health. HOUSING Poor housing conditions can delay development and growth in individuals in society and cause poor health conditions. Poor quality housing with damp and mould can increase the risk of individuals developing inflammatory diseases and asthma. Other problems such as poor lightening, lack of facilities over crowded areas and the pollution from traffic or industrial sites. The older generation on low income will worry over the cost of heating bills and are more likely to leave the heating off during snaps of cold weather. Children  in poor housing conditions are more likely to have increased risk of ill health and some disabilities through to early adulthood. Bad housing conditions are linked to debilitating and even fatal illnesses and accidents. Children in overcrowded conditions are more likely to suffer with meningitis; it is life threatening and leave long term effects as deafness, blindness and in some cases behavioral problems. Another illness that is linked to overcrowding is tuberculosis and it can lead to serious medical issues and some cases can be fatal. Their physical development will be affected due to the unfit conditions and are more likely to have respiratory problems such as coughing, wheezing and asthmatic. This will restrict their physical activities as they need to stop taking part because of medical conditions. For many children with the conditions mean they will lose sleep and miss school regularly. The intellectually development and growth of individuals especially children could be affected by overcrowding in a property, by having disturbed sleep from the noise either in the house or surrounding area, which could lead to them having little concentration in school. Social development could be affected due to high risk crime rate in the neighbourhood, individuals will be scared to leave their properties in case their attacked or broken into. With little social connect and communication people will be isolated and feel that they are not part of a community that they live in. which could lead to their emotional developmental being affected by becoming depressed, and unapproachable by other individuals in community. LIFESTYLE FACTORS Lifestyle factors that can have influence on the development and growth of an individual in society, is how an individual spends their time and money to create a better living. Some lifestyle choices will be influenced by their culture and individuals in their life. Many individuals develop habits that are connected to diet, exercise or alcohol whilst some will never choose a lifestyle but just seem to fall into one. SUBSTANCE MISUSE Substance is either illicit or prescribed drugs, alcohol or solvents misuse is the consumption of the substances which could be for dependent use or associated to having harmful effect on any individual in society. The department of health states that men should only have 4 units of alcohol a  day and women should have no more than 3 units. It is well documented that the younger generation of men and women lifestyle involves more than the recommended units with them drinking heavily on a daily basis. A national reported stated that men and women had stated that they had taken illicit drugs, roughly one out of three young men and one in five young women stated that they had used cannabis. All kinds of substance misuse is harmfully and can cause a number of health risks, the use of drugs, alcohol and solvents can cause individuals to have accident, unsociable behaviour crime and health issues including poisoning, or overdose. The use of more potential harmful drugs can cause individuals to have higher risks with their health and greater social risks in the community. Physical dependency is when the substance is used in order to feel good, or avoid feeling bad, this is done to avoid any physical discomfort and when it is used to avoid anxiety or mental stress it is known as psychological dependence. It is stated that children whose parents are misusing substances are at a increased risk of neglect, emotional and physical and sexual abuse either by the parent or because the child is vulnerable to others who misuse. Children’s physical emotional, intellectual and social developmental needs can be serious affected their parent’s misuse of substances. The physical harm could be if children have access to drug paraphernalia within the home, substance misuse in pregnancy can result in chemical dependency when born. Parents are putting children at risk by neglecting their needs concerning factors are children receiving inadequate supervision health appointments being used or advice not being sought. Children’s education disrupted and poor attendance at school due to them not attending regularly, because the parent is high on a substance. Children having no clear boundaries in the family home with the child sometimes assuming the role of the parent. They emotional and social needs will also be neglected as the parent will ignore them and not show them any kind affection. The only social development they will have is around other individuals who use substances in they life. PREDICTABLE AND UNPREDICTABLE EVENTS Predictable and unpredictable life events are influenced by a number of life factors and individuals are also influenced by the different events that happen. A number of changes in an individuals life can be predicted whilst  many others are unpredicted. An unpredictable event that could be affecting Emily now is moving to a new school after the recent divorce of her parents, she is finding the transition very difficult to cope with Physically she is finding it hard to adjust to the new surroundings of the school, since the move she has started suffering with panic attacks and eating less at meals times leaving her feeling weak and exhausted and unable to function in simply tasks. Intellectually since she missed quite a few weeks of schooling she has fallen behind the rest of the class adding to the stress. Her class work is starting to suffer in some areas and she is finding it hard to concentrate because of all of the upheaval and sadness leading to her working at a slower rate f rom the rest of the class. Although she has these issues she is spending time practicing on her sing and playing guitar by spending as much time as possible on her own. Emotionally Emily is becoming moody and angry very quickly with her mother as she blames her not having her father around anymore and she is becoming jealous of her twin brothers. As she believes that they are taking all the attention of her mother away from her. She feels that no one understands how she feels and this is affecting her confidence and feels unloved. She unhappy about the current situation she finds herself in and as started to be disruptive at home. Socially Emily is finding it difficult informing new friendships at school or near her home, she is becoming very isolated from her family by spending time in her room. She is wants to be with the friends she had at her previous school and home, and finding it hard to stay in touch with them. As a result of not forming new friendships easily it has knocked her confidence further and refusing to attend school or any other social situation. A predictable life event that could affect Emily in the future is leaving home, which could influence her development in adulthood. The physical development which will have a major impact on her as individual will be that she will have a change in her diet due to lack of cooking experience, learning to cook and have food that is high in nutrition will be positive experience and could influence her development in adulthood by trying other new experiences. Her intellectual development will be influenced through her having to take control of her own finances, paying all the bills and learning how to much her money till next pay day. Her emotional development could be influenced by her becoming more independent  and feeling that she as achieved something in her life. The negative side to emotional development is that she will feel she has lost the support of her family and become lonely. Developing new relationships will influences her social development as individual in society, and attending a community social group will boost her social contact and allow her to achieve her own independence as individual and have control over her environment. Another unpredictable life event could be the death of her grandmother that will affect her emotional wellbeing and social wellbeing. Emily will need to learn to cope with her loss of the person she thought the world off; she will have to come to terms that she will never see the person again and never be able to talk to her again. Her physical development will be affected as she will not have the energy to get up and do any physical activity during her grief. She will feel angry and unable to eat so will have less energy to do daily tasks, she will be weak and exhausted due to the lack of sleep and finding it hard to cope because of the loss with her practical help with her living activities. Her emotional development will be affected because she as lost the person who provided her with the emotional support she needed and that she was emotionally attached to. She will be struggling to keep her emotions under control and will become angrier at grandmother for leaving to cope on her own. Her intellectual development will be affected because she will be too tired to attend work or if still studying to attend any of her lessons due to lack of concentration and confidence due to her grandmother no longer reassuring her that she can achieve anything that she tries. Emily’s social development will be affected because of the lack of support in leisure and social activities since her grandmother supported her during these Emily would easily give them up and become isolated for the time been. Another predictable life event that could affect Emily in the future is marriage, she will need to learn how to look after someone else and cope with the loss of her dependence in society. Her physical development could be changed due to the demands on her life; she will need to learn to adjust her cooking ability, she might need to change her diet to more a nutrition and take apart in more physical exercise. Her intellectual development will change as she could lose control over her over her finances, she will need to learn how to share the bills and budget for things that are needed in the future. Emily will need to  learn to put money away for her retirement or for when they start a family. Emily’s emotional needs will change as well she will need to safe in making emotional attachments and to feel safe in experiencing any kind of intimacy for the first time, by not being embarrassed about her body or looks. She will need to confident and trust the person she has chosen to spend her life with. Emily social development will have changed now instead of doing things by herself she will have someone to share her personal experiences with. With having extended family her social life could be busy at times and more social connect will be demanded from them. the days that she felt isolated will no longer be present but occasionally she might wish for them days again. NATURE/NURTURE The nature verse nurture debate argues that individuals in society are to be the way we are whilst others argue that it is about the way we are brought up and what influences us that makes the way we are. Nature is biological genetic influences nurture is social, economic and the environmental influences. Nature refers to the traits that individuals inherit or genetic, its well documented that most of the human aspects of development are driven directly or indirectly by the persons genetic makeup. This is what determines eye, hair colour, skin type and some other characteristics that are derived directly from our genetic makeup. Heredity determines the physiological differences between females and males with many differences present at birth whilst over differences don’t present themselves till a child reaches puberty. It causes girls to reach puberty earlier than boys and causes boys to have more muscles and be taller than girls in general. Heredity accounts for all gender differences in boys and girls, boys are more likely to be physically aggressive a gene that is linked to them having increased levels of testosterone. Researchers have stated that hormones play a role in the differences in visual and verbal abilities among children. It states that boys are more likely to have higher visual abilities and girls will have higher verbal abilities. Nurture refers to all the environmental influences that occur after conception, meaning how individual is raised that drives their development. Including the level of attachment, their beliefs and values and how much attention is given to the environmental  influences, i.e. some cultures practice and promote gender specific behaviour. The environment and specific cultures state that some behaviours are more appropriate for males whilst others are more appropriate for females. Environmental influences on gender differences involve parents treating their sons and daughters diffe rently from each other, there are more likely to respond more daughters who have requested help whist their sons are encouraged to solve issues independently. Most parents encourage gender behaviour by offering specific toys such trucks and toy guns for boys, dolls and prams for girls. Example: any musical talent is affected by nature; all musical skills are normally in heredity from parents. So parents who have a musical talent have children who have a musical talent too and have the same characteristics. Elvis Presley was a very talented musician that sang and played the piano he was loved and respected by nearly everyone. He composed loads of songs that individuals still like to listen to today. He had a daughter named Lisa Marie who is famous in her own right, both had the same taste for music, but her father is more famous for his talent in rock and roll than she is. Her father might have influenced her a lot in this which involves nurture but the musical talent that she possesses comes from her father. Example: drug addiction. In the case of Lisa Marie Presley the environment had a massive influence on her life, as she was known to be the daughter of Elvis, due to the circumstances surrounding her upbringing and life style. The environment had an influence on her taking drugs due to her having a lack of privacy. ALBERT AND ALAN The strengths and weaknesses in the nature and nurture debate concerning Albert and Alan; The strengths of Albert and Alan are they both have the same colour eye and hair, and both are extremely tall. Both had a caring nature and were successfully in their chosen careers. Both were successfully at school and enjoyed playing physical sport. Albert achieved the grades that he was predicted in subjects where Alan achieved higher grades and stayed on to achieve more. Albert had many friends and associates had lived his life to the full extent where, and socialized more frequently compared to Alan who only had friends in the school environment didn’t socialize much outside the school environment. They different upbringings influenced them both in different ways Alan loved to have expensive things where as Albert  enjoyed the simple things in life. The weaknesses that the environment had on Albert and Alan are they both attend different types of schools, because of the environment influences Alan was able to attend university where as Albert had to leave school and work to help with supporting his family. The environment influenced them both to smoke during their life, but due to marriage Albert had given up and relatively good health until recently. Alan had continued to smoke all his life and his health suffered dramatically until his recent death. Both nature and nurture played a part in the influences of Albert and Alan life either in a good way or bad way. CONCLUSION With all the different aspects that can affect growth and development of individuals’ society, individuals need to be aware of the dangers that could affect them to develop during their lifespan. Even though nature and nurture play a vital role in the influences of individuals it is actually the individual who makes the choice of what route they take. BIBLIOGRAPHY http://www.cysticfibrosis.org.uk/about-cf/cystic-fibrosis-care/standards-of-care. http://www.nofas-uk.org/. www.who.org.uk http://www.poverty.org.uk/02/index.shtml?2 http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Toxoplasmosis/ http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/gender-differences-the-nature-versus-nurture- http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Cystic-Fibrosis

Hansen's Disease (leprosy) Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hansen's Disease (leprosy) - Term Paper Example The oldest civilizations of China, Egypt and India were among the first to have documentation of a disease quite similar to leprosy, forcing scholars, doctors and scientists alike to assume that that was what the disease actually was. However, leprosy today is not what people had to deal with thousands of years ago. Due to the lack of medical attention, leprosy was more common and severe, causing infected people to be forced into separate leprosy colonies. Before our common era, leprosy was feared due to people believing that it was a curse or a punishment from God. Many infected people saw death sooner than they should have because they were killed for having the infection, as people did not want them spreading the curse or punishment around. â€Å"In Europe during the Middle Ages, leprosy sufferers had to wear special clothing, ring bells to warn others that they were close, and even walk on a particular side of the road, depending on the direction of the wind (Mallac, 2001).† However, due to how contagious the disease is, patients were treated similarly in more modern times, though this was out of concern for others developing the disease. Special hospitals were created solely for patients suffering from leprosy. It was in 1873 that Henrik Armeuer Hansen, a doctor from Norway, first identified under a microscope the germ that causes leprosy, which is how leprosy received its formal name. This germ is mycobacterium leprae, and was the first bit of proof that leprosy was indeed caused by a germ, and not by a curse or from sinning. After this discovery, doctors and scientists set to work to discover cures and treatments for leprosy. Before the 1940s, leprosy patients were treated with oil from the chaulmoogra nut. Some patients benefited from the painful treatment, but very little was known about the long term effects. Between the 1920s and the 1970s, numerous medical breakthroughs took place in regard to discovering medication for leprosy

Analysis of Article about Renewable Energy and Climate Change Annotated Bibliography

Analysis of Article about Renewable Energy and Climate Change - Annotated Bibliography Example The temperature of the earth is increasing due to entrapment of sun’s heat and light by the greenhouse gases such as methane, carbon dioxide, and water vapor among others. As a result, global warming affects the life of living beings on land and water as well. Thus, many species of aquatic plants and animals have become extinct from the global history. In addition, many human beings also lost their lives due to loss of shelter, food and water. Apart from this, rise of temperature also resulted in melting of ice deposits which hampered the growth of human life. Apart from this, increase in the level of ocean water also destroyed many agricultural lands thereby hampering cultivation as well as lives of many plants, animals and human beings. In addition, due to loss of agriculture, drought raised resulting in the demise of many human individuals, animals and plants as well. Moreover, due to discharge of harmful greenhouse gases namely carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide from automobiles and heavy industries also created a high impact on the atmospheric situation of the world. Apart from these, cutting of trees in order to develop elevated constructions is also considered as an important aspect responsible for global warming in this era. Moreover, the article also provides a detailed overview about the total cost incurrence while implementing Renewable Energy (RE) technologies rather than fossil fuels. Hence, in order to condense global warming, many organizations are attempting to innovate and to develop modern technologies and tactics such as renewable energy sources. Among them, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climatic Change (IPCC), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) are certain noteworthy names responsible for altering the climatic variations and its impact on world.

Space shuttle columbia failure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Space shuttle columbia failure - Essay Example The velocity of the shuttle was 17,321 mph, while its actual weight depended on the payload and the other consumables on board. The thermo protection system of the space shuttle comprised of service coverage with high and low temperature reusable surface insulation tiles (Perkins, 86). The other areas such as the bay doors, fuselage and wings were covered with white silicone-rubber painted Nomex, which served as the insulation system (Christensen, 377). However, during the subsequent upgrade of the orbiter, the initial insulation tile and the silicone-rubber were replaced with Fibrous Insulation Blankets, which were found to be more flexible and appropriate for the orbiter surface insulation (Christensen, 377). The space shuttle was the first of its kind in many aspects. The space shuttle Columbia was the first spacecraft that was a reusable spacecraft and it was the first spacecraft that could carry large satellites both to and from the orbit (NASA, n.p.). The space shuttle Columbia comprised of three major components; the orbiter where the crew on board were housed, two solid rocket boosters which provided the shuttle with lift during the first two minutes, and a large external tank that fueled the main engines (NASA, n.p.). The Shuttle was 184 feet long, while its orbiter was 122 feet long, with a wing span of 78 feet and a height of the 57 feet, measured while standing on the runway (NASA, n.p.). On the day of the actual landing of the space shuttle Columbia, within the last few minutes of its landing, the shuttle entered the Earth’s atmosphere from the orbit. The incidence occurred when the spacecraft was approaching its Kennedy Space Center which was its targeted landing destination (Howell, n.p.). However, at 9.00 a.m. EST, an abnormal reading showed up on the NASA mission control center, starting with the loss of the

The individual in western liberal theories of law is vacuous, circular Essay

The individual in western liberal theories of law is vacuous, circular and inconsistent. It could not be anything else because humans only ever exist in specif - Essay Example And, it seems apparent that women and children are the principal victims of such processes and lack equal bargaining power. However, in such an unequal balance of power relations and structures of authority, a universal system of just standards and values seems most urgent in order to have a systematic way to regulate and judge moral and political processes. In other word, define systematically, a rigorous definition and perception of right. Basically, individual rights is a legal term referring to what one is allowed to do and what can be done to an Individual. Police states are generally considered to be oppressive because they offer their citizens few Individual rights. In the following, we will discus the claim that â€Å"The individual in western liberal theories of law is vacuous, circular and inconsistent. It could not be anything else because humans only ever exist in specific sociohistorical, linguistic and ideological contexts† through Feminist and Marxist legal theories. Indeed, it seems important to give in first a short overview on the context in which those theories are involved regarding the general concept of liberalism and individual and/or human right. Liberalism can be understood as (i) a political tradition (ii) a political philosophy and (iii) a general philosophical theory, encompassing a theory of value, a conception of the person and a moral theory as well as a political philosophy. Liberalism is generally viewed as a tradition that has been born out of many ideas of several thinkers and of several social situations, but it is mostly characterized as part of the western tradition. It can be seen also as a reaction to and attempt to reverse oppression which restricts people’s freedoms. Regarding the liberalism, Humans are basically unencumbered selves with the ability to think rationally and make choices about their â€Å"own† beliefs about the good life. Within this tradition, the self is viewed as a predominantly atomistic and

Best Practices Position Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Best Practices Position Paper - Essay Example The way organizational culture changes in the wake of the adoption of the best practices is one significant aspect that comes under serious reckoning. It raises eyebrows since the company has an automatic shift within its work methodologies and it wants to emulate the best amongst the business. This imitation is not for the sake of copying workflow by workflow but to attain higher levels within the management regimes when the talk goes out loud regarding the organizational cultural domains. This means that the way employees dress up, do their chores and interact with the clients and customers is in direct proportion with the ways the best practices have been doing for a considerable period of time. (Taylor & Labarre, 2006) Also there is a great deal of check and balance mechanism being conducted so that the mistakes could be avoided and if the same are committed in essence, efforts are made to re-do them in the correct way. The best practices lead to the benchmarks that already exist within the related industries and are indeed deemed as the very best amongst their concerned areas of service. It is necessary for the best practice human resource management to have performance management systems in place before any advancement could be envisaged at some point in time within the future. Once these performance management systems are installed and in place, we can have a proper check and balance mechanism as concerns to the people who are working in the company. Performance management systems make use of the fact that performance is increased on the part of all concerned and there is no shortfall as concerns to commitment, dedication and devotion when at work. What this performance management system does is to ensure that the right people get the bonuses, incentives and so on as well as point out the ones who have fallen short on the company’s expectations over a period of time. This would help in giving them rewards and incentives which will

Hazard and vulnerability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hazard and vulnerability - Essay Example The assumption that 'natural' disasters are inherently and predominantly natural phenomena has tended to exclude the social sciences from consideration in much of the spending that is done in disaster preparedness. This is despite the fact that over the last twenty years a considerable literature on disasters has emerged from human geography, sociology, anthropology and (to a lesser extent) economics. For many years, social science has contributed to policy formation for disasters (especially in the Third World) through the activities of many Non-Government Organisations (NGOs). The initial development of vulnerability analysis is then rooted in social science, and in a sense has constituted a political economy of disasters to the analysis of devastating events that are normally associated with natural hazards. At its most simplistic, vulnerability analysis asserts that for there to be a disaster there has to be not only a natural hazard, but also a vulnerable population. Much of the conventional work on disasters has been dominated by 'hard science', and has been a product of the prominence that natural phenomena have acquired in the disaster causation process. But this 'physicalist' approach is also a result of the social construction of disasters as events that demonstrate the human condition as subordinate to Nature.

Victor Frankenstein Essay Example for Free

Victor Frankenstein Essay He uses imagery to give examples for how he felt, like when he says I crept from my kennel as though he was a disgraced dog, and treated like an animal. At this point, the reader may have changed their views about the creation, but Frankenstein certainly hasnt. He knows about how well spoken the monster is and thinks of it as a trick, to lure people into keeping him company. He says to Robert Walton that the creature is eloquent and persuasive, and once his words had a power over my heart; but trust him not. Frankenstein still believes the creature is to blame. When Walton sees the creature for the first time, he believes what Frankenstein told him on his deathbed. He says I beheld a vision so horrible as his face, of such loathsome yet appalling hideousness. It shows the reader how the monsters appearance somehow overshadows the beauty of its speech. Finally, Shelley uses some archaic language to show the historical context of the book. She uses the word deamon when Frankenstein refers to the monster and this spelling of the word is no longer used. Shelley chose this word to describe the creature because it has connotations of the devil and evil ways. This links in with Shelleys society and religion because everyone was religious and using the word deamon would show just how much hate Frankenstein had for his monster. Frankenstein, by using this particular word for the creature, shows how he feels that he is the innocent one. When the monster speaks, his language is very fluent, smooth and flowing which links in well with the Romantic Movement, which was very much around at the time, the book was written. The structure of the book is very interesting as it starts at the end, then goes back in time to explain the story. This gives the reader a chance to hear Frankensteins side of the story as he tells it to Robert Walton. The first part of the book is written as epistolary. This means it is written as a form of letters put together into a story. First, there are letters from Robert Walton to his sister Margaret. These letters make it clear that he has an obsession, much like Frankensteins, about reaching the North Pole. He then mentions that he has met a stranger, and goes on to inform Margaret of Frankensteins story. We hear Frankensteins story, right up to where he reaches Waltons ship, and then it continues in the form of epistolary. The structure is very interesting, because Walton writes about his own story to Margaret and his story includes Frankensteins story which also includes the creatures story. So Walton who is writing to his sister (and the audience) communicates all three stories in his letters. The narrative structure is very clever, because I think the same end would have happened to Walton if Frankenstein hadnt have come along and informed him of the dangers of obsessions, it would have ruined his life, as the creation of the monster ruined Frankensteins. It was obviously morally wrong of Frankenstein to devote his life to his obsession, where his life was perfect before this fixation with natural philosophy. He shunned his friends, and if he had not done this to create the monster, they would not have all been killed. There are many points where the reader does not know whether he was morally wrong or not, and the best example of this is when he decides to make the creature. It would have been morally wrong to unnaturally create life in the 19th century, but there is more leeway today as there are so many different views on genetic engineering. Taken as a whole, I think that Victor Frankenstein was morally reprehensible. Even in the 21st century, where the creation of life is more frequent, I think it was morally wrong to take body parts from dead people. I think he should have realised the terrible consequences of his actions before he went ahead with the creation. He did so much research into natural philosophy and he should have realised from his study that he needed to learn from other peoples experiences. His obsession with being the first got in the way of him thinking straight. I think Frankenstein leaving the monster to fend for himself was also morally wrong. All human beings are cared for once they are born, so leaving the monster alone is suggesting that he isnt human and doesnt deserve to be treated as one. As the creature was often out in the open, this gave him a chance to be shunned and discriminated against by society which introduced the feelings of hatred and aggression which were used later on to destroy Frankensteins happiness. Frankenstein is really responsible, because if he were not so obsessed with natural philosophy and the death of his mother, he would never have developed a passion for saving life and would never have discovered that creating life was possible. He only had himself to blame for the destruction caused by the creature; not only to himself but to those he loved. Frankenstein never really admitted the responsibility, he said that God gave him the power, I found such astonishing power placed upon my hands, I hesitated a long time concerning the manner in which I should employ it and though he did take a long time to think about what to do, he reached never realised the full outcome of his decision. Although he realised his mistake at the end, and tried to put someone off making the same one, he never admitted the responsibility out loud. So, in conclusion to the title, Id say that Victor Frankenstein is a very morally reprehensible character. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.

The Piano History Essay Example for Free

The Piano History Essay In the 1700’s the piano was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori in Florence, Italy first introduced to the world as the pianoforte meaning â€Å"Soft loud†. â€Å"In the last quarter of the 18th century the piano had become the leading instrument of the western art of music that still lives on till today as an exotic instrument played by talented people in the world.† (Wendy Powers, 2003) Music has lived on from the beginning of time by all cultures and races for decades. Music is known to make the heart, soul, and brain one. Without this invention Beethoven would have not made the music that lives on till today and many other talented famous throughout the world. The piano reaches out to the most inner deepest soul all the way to keys that charge up chakras for well-being. A piano has 8 white keys c,d,e,f,g,a,b,c and 5 black known as the Chromatic scale which is 13 including next count which correlates with the 8, 11, 13 chakras. Bartolomeo Cristofori was born on May 4 on 1655 and passed away in 1731. Bartolomeo Cristofori’s occupation was a harpsichord maker and a designer. By 1688, Prince Ferdinando de Medici of Florence, son of the Grand Duke of Tuscany got Bartolomeo Cristofori because of his talent and reputation. The princes owned forty harpsichords and spinets, and hired Cristofori at the age of 33 to both curate the collection, and build new ones. Cristofori became the custodian of the instruments in the court in starting from 1690. Around 1700, he began to work on an instrument on which the player could achieve changes in loudness just by changing the force with which the keys were struck. Instead of the quill jacks used to pluck the string on the harpsichord, Cristofori’s innovation was to devise a way in which the strings were struck from below by individual hammers covered in deer leather. He had created the first two harpsichords with the first real escapement mechanism. When Italian Renaissance spread throughout Europe, the upsurge of innovation in art, culture and science was developing todays known as culturally rich. The 17th and the 18th centuries, decades from when the piano was invented the history of Italy is considered part of the early modern period. However this period, at least the first half, is often closely associated with the dominant artistic and architectural movement known as Baroque. The era of Italian Baroque was the birth of opera as a major form of entertainment. Unlike the plays popular up to this time, opera combined music and theatre into a spectacle that was designed to be a feast for the senses (Chakras). The origins of opera are credited to a Late Renaissance group of poets, musicians and humanist known as the Florentine Camerata, thanks to Bartolomeo Cristofori invention. This time also was marked the beginning of long foreign domination of Italy in the aftermath of the Italian Wars of the 16th century. After these wars were over, the Italian landscape was peaceful for a long time, expression with art talks during these time periods. The Renaissance in Italy was over by 1600 but Italy still made up a large portion of the European economy. However, the economic power of the country as a whole declined and none of the various Italian states did anything concrete to take advantage of the Industrial Revolution but they did however make other history in humanities. From the 14th century until the late 17th century, Italy grieved a very high death rate from many outbreaks of the plague. They are known as the Black Death and associated with medieval times; this plague did not come even come to a near end in the 13th century. The largest death toll had been in the early 1600s when an estimated 1,730,000 people died due to plague in Italy. Perhaps the pianos were some kind of good thing in the survivor’s lives’ to expression and create music. This was almost 14% of the population of the country at that time and also the time the piano had come around. There was an Economic decline; the powerful Habsburgs of Spain had dominated most of Italy in one form or another starting 1559 to 1713, and music and art continued to speak freely. In developing the piano Bartolomeo Cristofori had been working on getting a feel for the harpsichord to respond to touch. He developed a mechanical action that made it possible to sound simultaneously as many notes as one had fingers and do to this to be able to produce any work in the entire literature of Western music with variations of loud and soft according to the players touch at the keyboard. It included a complex mechanical action with a hammer that rose towards a string four times as fast as the finger, an escapement to allow the hammer to rebound from the freely vibrating string, a check for the hammer to prevent bouncing, and a shift so the hammer would play only one of the two strings to reduce volume. Cristofori’s hammer mechanism was so well designed, that no other of comparable sensitivity and reliability was developed as known for another seventy-five years. The highly compound accomplishment of the modern piano may be sketched directly to his original concepti on. Todays the piano sustains pitches in a lyrical fashion, creating all musical styles and moods and is universal all because of Bartolomeo Cristofori’s invention of the great musical instrument. This popular instrument has changed over the years (except for its hammers), and how its flexibility and expressiveness have inspired composers such as Beethoven, Schumann, Liszt, and Bartà ³k. It’s been pasted down for decades and artist today become best friends with the piano as they have the talent to sing and play with the piano. People have talents and a musical part in their life because of the invention that was lead down for decades starting from Beethoven. Pianos have improved from the 1700s of course from sound, shape and functionality since Bartolomeo Cristofori’s invention but he was the Italian that brought a different sound of music into our world. We went from having 88 keys on the piano 36 black and 52 white to high performance grand pianos with 92 keys as of today. From 1790 to the mid-1800s, piano technology and sound was greatly improved due to the inventions of the Industrial Revolution, such as the new high quality steel called piano wire, and the ability to precisely cast iron frames. The tonal range of the piano increased from the five octaves of the pianoforte to the seven and more octaves found on modern pianos. Around 1780, the upright piano was created by Johann Schmidt of Salzburg, Austria and later improved in 1802 by Thomas Loud of London whose upright piano had strings that ran diagonally. In 1881, an early patent for a piano player was issued to John McTammany of Cambridge, Mass. John McTammany described h is invention as a mechanical musical instrument. It worked using narrow sheets of perforated flexible paper which triggered the notes. A later automatic piano player was the Angelus patented by Edward H. Leveaux of England on 27 February 1879, and described as an apparatus for storing and transmitting motive power. John McTammanys invention was actually the earlier one invented (1876), however, the patents dates are in the opposite order due to filing procedures. On March 28, 1889, William Fleming received a patent for a player piano using electricity. Although before all these important beings and Bartolomeo Cristofori a man named Johannes Spinctus made the Spinet when later followed Bartolomeo Cristofori and his invention of the Spinettone which means â€Å"Big Spinet†. Not all of the piano elements where invented by Bartolomeo, but he did built the first piano and made great improvements in his time. Musicians that we still listen to their creations to including Bach and Beethoven first played on Bartolomeo Cristoforiâ₠¬â„¢s Harpsichord and liked to do so because of the higher pitch! Bartolomeo Cristofori put the pieces of the puzzle together for the invention of the piano. â€Å"The modern piano keyboard was first established during the 13th century of Medieval Europe with black and white wooden keys as it was later invented by Cristofori.† N/A (Unknown) Title Of Source: Piano History: The Complete Story. For decades the piano has become part of a business and career, and great talent of musical art. My boyfriend is a producer and he plays the piano and it is also a proven fact that music is the best medicine, specially hearing a piano play, and it was all because of the invention of the original piano back in time that lead to improved ones as of today. People evolved and became smarter and had the sources to build improved pianos. The piano is something that can be passed down for decades to come, just as Bartolomeo’s pieces have and changed the universe. Looking deeper into the Piano, it was created as corresponding to the flower of life. The flower of life is the original perfect geometric cemetry that created the universe. It is not only the root of mathematical proportions but also the source of shape, light of photonic solids and the source to every musical system in the world both known and unknown to humans, yes the dearest piano too. Isn’t it just phenomenal to know that music notes are separated by 90 degrees so are our chakras. So we can thank the flower of life that gave us the piano. The piano is a beautiful instrument that makes harmonic music and good for the soul. Now, what I came to conclusion is the piano might has not been able to change the world because wars, starvation and injustice continued. In the world of musicians and music lovers the piano was an improvement over the harpsichord which was only able to play loud of soft when levers where pushed. Many people try to push their dreams, because of their piano perfection and that opens doors to the talented! It’s nice to have a piano around; it’s a different feel every time, a great field of sound. Today 3 creations of Bartolomeo Cristofori from the years 1720, 1722, and 1726 remain in Museum’s around the world, but are too old and not playable. References Arkenberg, Rebecca. (October, 2002) Title of Source: Music in the Renaissance† Retrieved From: 2000http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/renm/hd_renm.htm Bellis, Mary. (Unknown) Title of Source: The History of the Piano Bartolomeo Cristofori Retrieved From: http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/piano.htm Cipolla, Carlo M. (1981) Title of Source: Fighting the Plague in Seventeenth Century Italy. Retrieved From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_plague_of_1629%E2%80%931631 Duchnycz, Jordan. (May, 2012) Title Of Source: Spirit Of Science 1-15 full movie series Retrieved From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaDOkMEK4ukfeature=related Powers, Wendy. (October, 2003) Title Of Source: The Piano: The Pianofortes of Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655–1731) Retrieved From: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cris/hd_cris.htm N/A. (Unknown). Title of Source: Who Invented the Piano? Retrieved From: http://www.piano-play-it.com/who-invented-the-piano.html N/A (Unknown) Title Of Source: Piano History: The Complete Story Retrieved From: http://www.get-piano-lessons.com/piano-history.html

Classification of Phylum Porifera

Classification of Phylum Porifera The porifera or sponges are marine animals and they consist of loosely organized cells.While all animals have unspecialized cells that can transform into specialized cells, sponges are unique in having some specialized cells that can transform into other types, often migrating between the main cell layers and the mesohyl in the process. Sponges do not have nervous, digestive or circulatory systems. Instead most rely on maintaining a constant water flow through their bodies to obtain food and oxygen and to remove wastes, and the shapes of their bodies are adapted to maximize the efficiency of the water flow. All are sessile aquatic animals and, although there are freshwater species, the great majority are marine (salt water) species. The outer surface of a sponge is lined with thin flat cells called the pinacocytes. these cells are mildly contractlie and due to this the shapes of some sponges changes.In many sponges pinacocytes are specialised into tubelike contractile porocytes. Openings in the porocytes act as pathways for water through the body wall and in this way they can regulate water circulation. Just below the pinacocyte layer of a sponge is a jelly like layer called the mesophyl. The mesenchyme cells also known as amoebiod cells move about the mesophyl and are specialised for reproduction, secreting skeletal elements, transporting and storing food and forming contractile rings around the openings in the sponge wall. Choanocytes also called the collar cells which are below the mesophyl line the inner chamber (s), these cells are flagelatted cells that have a collar like ring of microvilli, surrounding a flagellum.a net like mesh is formed in the collar when the microfilaments connect the microvilli the flagelum creates water currents through the sponge, and the collar filter microscopic food paqrticals from the water. Sponges are supported by a skeleton that may consist of microscopic needlelike spikes called spicules.amoebiod cells form spicules.these spicules are made of calcium carbonate or silica and may take on a variety of shapes.Alternatively, the skeleton may be made of spongin (a fibrous protien made of collagen). The nature of the skeleton is an important characteristic in the sponge taxonomy. Water Flow and Body Types A spongs life is dependent on the water currents the choanocytes create. The flow of the water brings food and oxygen to a sponge and carries away the metabolic and digestive wastes. The way the food is filtered and how the water circulates causes the phylum to have a certain body type. Three types of bodies have been described by the zoologists. Ascon: these are vase like sponges. Ostia are the outer openings of porocytes and lead directly to a chamber called spongocoel. Choanocytes line the spongocoel and water is drawn into it by the flagellar movement of choanocytes through the ostia. Water exits through a single large opening at the top of the sponge called the Osculum. Sycon: in this body form, the sponge wall appears to be folded. Water enters a Sycon sponge through openings called dermal pores. Dermal pores are the openings of invaginations of the body wall, called incurrent canals. Pores in the body wall connect incurrent canals to radial canals and the radial canals lead to spongocoeal. Radial canals are lined by the choanocytes, and the beating of the choanocyte flagella moves water from the ostia, through incurrent and radial canals, to the spongocoel, and out the Osculum. Leucon: sponges have an extensively branched canal system. Water enters the sponge through ostia and moves through branched incurrent canals. Canals leading away from the chambers are called the excurrent canals. Proliferation of chambers and canals has resulted in the absence of a spongocoeal, and often, multiple exits (oscula) for water leaving the sponge. Maintenance and Vital Functions Sponges consume particles that range in size from 0.1 to 50um. Their food consists of bacteria, microscopic algae, protest, and other suspended organic manner. The pray is slowly drawn into the sponge and consumed. Sponges help in reducing the turbidity of coastal waters. A single Leucon sponge, 1 cm in diameter and 10 cm in height can filter in excess of 20 litres of water everyday. Small suspended food particles are filtered by the choanocytes. Water passes through their collar near the base of the cell and moves into a sponge chamber at the opening end of the collar. Suspended food is trapped on the collar and moved along the microvilli to the base of the collar, where it is incorporated into a food vacuole. With pH changes and lysosomal enzyme activity the food is digested. Partially digested food is passed to amoeboid cells, which distribute it to other cells. Sponges are not limited to feed by the filtration method. Pinococytes lining the incurrent canals may phagocytize larger food particles up to 50um. Nutrients dissolved in the sea water can be actively transported by the sponge. Sponges dont have nerve cells to coordinate body functions. Most reactions occur due to individuals responding to a stimulus e.g. water circulation in some sponges is minimum at sunrise and at a maximum just before sunset because light inhibits the constriction of porocytes and other cells surrounding ostia keeping incurrent canals open. Other reactions however suggest some communication among cells. For example the rate of water circulation through the sponge can drop suddenly without and apparent external cause. This reaction can be due only choanocytes ceasing activities more or less simultaneously, and this implies some form of internal communication. The nature of this communication is unknown. Amoeboid cells transmitting chemicals messages and ion movement over cell surfaces are possible control mechanisms. Due to the presence of an extensive canal system and circulation of large volumes of water through sponges, all sponge cells are in close contact with water and so the nitrogenous waste removal and gaseous exchange occurs by diffusion Some sponges host photosynthesizing micro-organisms as endosymbionts and this coalation often results in the production of more food and oxygen than can be consumed. Freshwater sponges often host green algae as endosymbionts within archaeocytes and other cells, and benefit from nutrients produced by the algae. Many marine species host other photosynthesizing organisms.The spicules made of silica conduct light into the mesohyl, where the photosynthesizing endosymbionts live. Sponges that host photosynthesizing organisms are commonest in waters with relatively poor supplies of food particles, and often have leafy shapes that maximize the amount of sunlight they collect. Few sponges are carnivorous. They can capture small crustaceans using spicule-covered filaments. In most cases little is known about how they actually capture prey. Most known carnivorous sponges have completely lost the water flow system and choanocytes. Sponges do not have the complex immune systems of most other animals. However they reject grafts from other species but accept them from other members of their own species. In a few marine species, grey cells act as the guards for the sponges. When invaded, they produce a chemical that stops movement of other cells in the affected area, thus preventing the intruder from using the sponges internal transport systems. If the intrusion persists, the grey cells accumulate in the area and release toxins that kill all cells in the area. The immune systems stay activated for up to 3 weeks or so. Reproduction Most sponges are monoecious but do not usually self fertilise because individual produce eggs and sperms at different times. Certain choanocytes lose their collar and their flagella undergo meiosis and form flagellated sperms. Other choanocytes and amoeboid cells in some sponges probably undergo meiosis to form eggs. Sperm and eggs are released from sponge oscula. Fertilisation occurs in the ocean water resulting in planktonic larvae development. In some sponges the eggs are retained inside the mesophyl of the parent. Sperm cells exit one sponge through the Osculum and enter another sponge with the incurrent water. Choanocytes trap the sperms and incorporate them into vacuole. The choanocytes lose their collar and flagellum; they become amoeboids, and transport the sperm to the eggs. In some sponges, early development occurs in the mesophyl. Cleavage of a zygote results in the formation of a flagellated larval stage. The breaks free and is carried the water carries it away from the parent sponge. After about two days the larva settles in a suited environment and starts to mature into and adult. Asexual reproduction also occurs in some sponges. This involves the formation of resistant capsules, called gemmules which contain masses of amoeboid cells. At the death of the parent sponge in winter, gemmules are released from them which can survive adverse conditions. When favourable condition are observed in spring time the amoeboid cells stream out of a tiny opening, called the micropyle, and organise into a sponge. Some sponges have the remarkable power of regeneration. Though this is possible if the right cells are present in the sponge. A few species reproduce by budding Ecology Sponges are very competitive for living space .Many sponges shed spicules, forming a dense carpet several meters deep that keeps away organism which would otherwise prey on the sponges. They also produce toxins that prevent other sessile organisms such as bryozoans or sea squirts from growing on or near them. Sponges are important ecological constituents of reef communities, but they do not commonly contribute to the construction of reef frameworks. Habitats Sponges are worldwide in their distribution, from the Polar Regions to the tropics. Most are found to be in quiet and clear waters because sediment stirred up by waves or currents block their pores, making it difficult for them to feed and breathe. The greatest numbers of sponges are usually found on firm surfaces such as rocks, but some sponges are found on soft sediment they attach themselves by means of a root-like base. Sponges are more abundant but less diverse in temperate waters than in tropical waters, possibly because organisms that prey on sponges are more abundant in tropical waters. Uses The calcium carbonate or silica spicules are too rough for most uses, but two genera, Hippospongia and Spongia, have soft, entirely fibrous skeletons. Early Europeans used soft sponges for many purposes including padding for helmets, portable drinking utensils and municipal water filters. Sponges were used as cleaning tools, applicators for paints and ceramic glazes and discreet contraceptives. The luffa sponge, which is commonly sold for use in the kitchen or the shower, is not derived from an animal but from the fibrous skeleton of a gourd. Sponges have medicinal potential due to the presence in sponges themselves or their microbial symbionts of chemicals that may be used to control viruses, bacteria, tumours and fungi.