Btec Sport †Health Saftey and Injury Essay

Objective:- * To recognise and understand different types of injuries Types of injuries:- * Muscle strains – tears, pulls and ruptures These are caused by vigorous stretching of a muscle or tendon. In is of regular occurrence in the hamstring and calf muscles when there is failure to warm up correctly before sport. The Achilles tendon of the calf can tear completely this causes sever pain. Tear is where the muscle has been torn, Pull is where the muscle has been stretched and a Rupture is where the muscle completely breaks. We will know when we have pulled torn or strained because there will severe pain and there will be difficulty when trying to use the muscle. There may also be swelling and later on bruising. * Fractured Bones (broken) A fracture is wear the bone cracks or completely snaps. Breaking bones is painful due to the amount of blood vessels and nerves in the bones. Fractures can be categorized in two ways. A Simple Fracture – This is just where the bone cracks. A Compound Fracture – This is where the bone sticks out of the skin. There is often tenderness around the bone making it hard to use and it will most certainly swell causing it to look deformed. * Joint dislocation Dislocation is where the bone is pulled out of its original joint. It is caused by stressing the bone, commonly by violent twisting. It usually happens at all major joints such as – Shoulder, finger, thumb, elbow and ankles. The bone will be surrounded by swelling and covered in bruises and will be tender to touch. * Sprained Ligaments (over stretched ligaments) A sprain happens when a ligament or joint get overstretched and torn. Sprains occur when twisting your foot while running or other similar accidents. The sprain should be treated as a fracture if the ligament is torn because it is a lot more severe. The area of damage while be very sore and will hurt to move it or use it * Tendonitis – Tendonitis is caused by overuse of the tendons, frequently in the lower arm in the lower arm; they then become inflamed and sore/painful. This is common with sports such as tennis and golf where the tendon in the elbow is under constant use. The elbow will be very sore and it becomes almost impossible to use without difficulty. Swelling will be visible surrounding the injured tendon. * Concussion Concussion is the result of injuring your brain from taking a lot of impact to the head such as being head butted or banging your head on a hard surface, these cause the brain to rattle around the skull. Concussion is often related with unconsciousness which often follows a serious head injury. In most cases the patient will become dizzy or drowsy and become confused. In major cases there may even be memory loss. * Graze, Cuts, Burns and Bruises These are caused by falling or scraping in a sporting event. They are usually painful but not very threatening and classed as minor. However some cuts can be very deep and would require urgent attention. Bruises will be painful but will not cause any permanent or long term damage. We will be able to recognise bruises by seeing discolouration of the skin and tenderness in that area. * Spinal Injury This is an injury to the spinal column. The spinal column contains nerves and ligaments and plays a major role in our body so when damaged by impact or strain it can be potentially dangerous to move without causing further permanent damage such as paralysis. This occurs after incidents such as car crashes and falls. You will be able to tell if u have damaged your spinal cord because it will be difficult to move and will cause a lot of pain. Objective:- * To recognise illnesses/conditions that can affect sports performance * To discover the causes of injury Types of Illnesses:- * Viral Infections/Diseases Chest Infections, Colds, Flu, Sickness etc. People suffering from viral infections will often have a high temperature, be suffering from pains in the muscles making them feel weak. If someone has a viral infection such as a cold they will probably suffer with a blocked nose, fever, sore throat and frequent coughing. Viral infections cannot be cured using antibiotics, however there are products available to help relive the symptoms. * Asthma This makes a persons airways constrict making breathing difficult. Constriction is normally triggered by certain events such as allergies and temperature change. People having and ‘asthma attack’ will suffer with symptoms such as a tight chest, also they may start wheezing and be short of breath. This can be relived temporarily by using steroid sprays, one to open the airways when they feel they need it and one that should be taken daily to avoid having attacks later in the day. * Hypothermia This is where the body’s temperature drops below the normal temperature (around 36 degrees Celsius). The symptoms are usually tiredness, slurred speech and loss of coordination. In some extremities the colour and feeling can be lost in the hands and feet as the blood is being diverted away to keep the brain and heart working properly. People will generally feel better when they return to a warm environment as this will encourage the body to return to normal. Hypothermia is common with people such as mountain climber who are often exposed to cold environments for long periods of time. * Hyperthermia This is caused by exposure to high temperatures, such as being in the sun/high temperatures for long periods of time. The results of hyperthermia are that the person will be left exhausted. Headaches, tiredness and thirst are also associated. To relive these symptoms the person should drink lots of fluids, while exercising and when recovering. If the person becomes to hot they could potentially become unconscious then they would require the need of being put on a drip. * Hypoglycaemia Hypoglycaemia is caused by having low levels of glucose in the blood so enough isn’t reaching the vita places e.g. the brain. It is commonly associated with people who have type 1 diabetes. Not enough food, too much exercise, consuming too much alcohol and having too much insulin in the blood all contribute to causing hypoglycaemia. The symptoms of hypoglycaemia are confusion, shaking, paleness, hunger and in some extreme cases, unconsciousness. Eating food rich in carbohydrates can reverse these effects quite quickly The Main Causes of Injury Internally Caused * Overuse Injuries * Sudden Injuries Externally Caused * Impact Injuries * Foul Play Injuries * Equipment Injuries * Accidental Injuries Internally Caused Injuries – Direct result of the performer, no other person or factor is involved Overuse Injuries (Tennis/Golfers Elbow, Shin Splints etc.) These are caused by over training and over competing. Sudden Injuries These tend to be caused instantly because of over stretching, twisting and turning. They are commonly acknowledged with tiredness and fatigue and normally occur late on in a match. Also doing something too difficult can result in a sudden injury. Externally Caused Injuries – Caused by someone or something other than yourself Impact Injury This is and injury from being hit or hitting something. These are often the result of things like:- * An Opponent * Equipment * Playing Surface * Playing Conditions Foul Play Injuries These are normally the result of another player breaking the rules and regulations of the game. They may be unaware of the rules or may be doing it intentionally to harm. Accidental Injuries Different activities have different levels and risk and higher elements of danger. For example Footballers are less likely to gain an injury than someone playing rugby due to it being more physical. Equipment Injuries Old or unchecked/faulty equipment can result in these injuries. Equipment must be frequently maintained to avoid these occurring. These can be as simple as blisters from overuse or in the most extreme cases, even death. Prevention of Injuries * Warm up; loosen muscles for prevention of pulling muscles. * Wear the correct equipment (shin pads), wear them correctly to ensure safeness. * Know and follow the rules of the game to be able to play fair, include using officials to keep the activity under control, this way players are less likely to get injured * Check all equipment is safe and in good condition to ensure faulty equipment can’t injure you. * Don’t over compete (not doing too much exorcise) * Weather conditions- make sure the conditions are safe (not slippery, stormy etc.) 1. Preparation Before playing or participating in any sport it is vital that you train to your age and you personal fitness. Also a good knowledge and understanding of the sport you will be participating in will also reduce the amount of injuries, a good respect for the rules and regulations of the game will reduce the injuries. A warm up and warm down is essential to help reduce the amount of injuries in the game. Consider having long hair, long nails, jewellery and also the types of clothing you wear could also give you an injury. 2. Participation By according to the rules could prevent an injury, by using reckless tackles and reckless play can injure you and the opposing player. Officials have got to be consistent and fair in their decisions for the game to be fair and this could prevent someone from being injured, players must accept these decisions given by the officials. 3. Equipment For the sport which you are participating in you need to be using the specialist equipment for that specific sport and has to be in good condition, such as shin pads for football, these have to be worn. All equipment has to be in top condition because if this equipment isn’t safe and fails you could be seriously injured such as rock climbing etc. 4. Environment The area which the sport is being taken on has to be checked over for litter and unsafe objects. It has to be safe and appropriate. Also you have to check the weather conditions as this could lead the sport being potentially dangerous such as storms and windy weather. Risk Assessment 1. You are about to conduct a badminton coaching session in the sports all. * Make sure that none of the equipment is faulty. E.g. rackets have sufficient grip, nets secured correctly. * Make sure that there is no wet floor * Make sure there is no obstructions in the way of the courts 2. You are taking a year 7 group onto the field for football. * Make sure that everyone is wearing the correct protective equipment. (e.g. shin pads) * Make sure that there are no obstacles on the pitch or area where football will be played * Make sure the weather conditions are suitable for playing * Make sure that the pitch is suitable to play on by making sure its not icy or waterlogged Potential risk of playing- 1. Badminton * Fire * Falls * Foul play * Asthma attack * Hyperthermia * Slips * Lack of communication that could result in injury * Sensible behaviour * Know how to set up safe equipment 2. Football * Falls * Foul play * Asthma attack * Hyperthermia * Spinal Injury * Broken bones * Concussion * Weather conditions * Lack of communication that could result in injury * Sensible behaviour * Potholes * All spare equipment is out of the way * Posts are secured

Why I Love Pakistan

Love is a great passion. It is natural that man loves his native country. The same case in with me. I love Pakistan because it is my dear homeland. It was a dream of Allama Iqbal. And the Quaid-e-Azam struggled hard against the Hindus and the British to turn it into a reality. It appeared on the map of the world on the 14th of August 1947. I love Pakistan because God gave it to us as a gift to fulfill our desire to make it an ideal Muslim State. We got it in the name of Islam.It was the duty of our leaders to honour their pledges, but we are ashamed to say that they did not or perhaps they could not. It ought to have been an Islamic Country like Saudi Arabia, having a purely Islamic constitution an Islamic outlook of life and a strong love for an Islamic way of living. But we are not hopeless yet. I hope a time will come and Pakistan will become a real fort of Islam (Inshallah). I love Pakistan because there are still many people in it who demand crimes to be punished as laid down in the Holy Quran.And when this is done all social and moral evils amongst us will come to an end. We shall then become Muslims in the real sense of the word. And then Allah's promise in the holy Quran that â€Å"you will be most exalted if you become true Muslims† will insha Allah be fulfilled. I love Pakistan because while living in it we are free from the maltreatment of the Hindus. We are not forbidden to sacrifice the cow. Our shops are not looted by them our houses are not burnt by the bad characters amongst them.The doors of all important services are not closed on us. We re thankful to Allah because there are no ill natured Hindus here to fill our hearts with constant fear by their destructive designs and anti Muslim activities to kill us to loot to burn our property simply because we are Muslims. I love Pakistan because it is progressing by leaps and bounds in every field. I love Pakistan because its army its Navy and its Air Force are strong enough by the grace of All ah to guard every inch of his sacred territory.I love Pakistan because its government is our own government and its commerce its industry and its imports and exports are in our own hands. I love Pakistan because the doors of its services are all open to us and we are free to worship Allah as we please. We are free to go to mosques. Rather everybody is free to offer his prayers according to his creed. I love Pakistan because Allah wants it to exist despite our faults and it will Insha Allah exist as long as any other country does.I love Pakistan for the sake of all the saints who lie buried in it. I love it for the sake of all martyrs who fought for it. I love Pakistan because it will sooner or later win for itself a place of great honour and importance amongst the Muslim countries of the world. It will become the fountain head of Islam. It will work for the glory of Islam. Pakistani people will leave no stone unturned to spread Islam all over the world. I love Pakistan because it is the land of peace and its object is world peace. The CivilizationPakistan is not a recent figment but a continuation of 5000 years of history: quite sheepishly, I admit, that I am an adherent of the view held by many historians that the Indus valley and the Indus man were always somewhat distinct from their brethren across the Indus. I do not wish to venture into this debate but I am proud as an inheritor of Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro and Mehrgarh (not strictly in this order) and this makes me feel rooted and connected to my soil as well as ancient human civilizations and cultures.It also makes me happy that no matter how much the present-day media hysteria about Pakistan (and â€Å"natives† in general) diminishes my country and region, nothing can take away this heritage and high points of my ancestral culture. Pakistan is not just Indus civilization – it is a hybrid cultural ethos: the Greek, Gandhara, the central Asian, Persian, Aryan and the Islamic influences merge in to this river and define my soul – how can I not be proud of this? The People I simply love the Pakistani people – they are resilient, diverse and most entrepreneurial.They have survived calamities, famines, upheavals, injustices and exploitation and yet, by and large, retain a sense of humour. I am not naive to say that they are totally free of the various bondages of history but they display remarkable entrepreneurial and creative potential. Most of them are â€Å"real† and rooted and yet not averse to modernity. There is an urban revolution taking place in parts of Punjab and Sindh and the drivers are neither the state nor external donors but the people themselves. The private sector has even contributed to build an airport.There is an ugly side as well: the absence or predatory activities of the state (e. g. Karachi) has also provided a breeding ground for mafias but this is not a unique Pakistani phenomenon. From LA to Jakarata, such groups operate within t he folds of urbanization. I am proud of my people who have proved themselves in all spheres and countries – whether it is Professor Abdus Salam, the Nobel Laureate or Shazia Sikander, the miniaturist of international fame or Mukhtaran Mai who has proved her mettle in giving a tough time to forces of oppression.The Spirituality There is inordinate focus on Pakistani madrassahs, the pro-Taliban groups and the violent jihadis. How representative are these groups? Only Pakistanis know that such groups are marginal to the mainstream attachment to and practice of religion. The rural folk are still steeped in Sufi worldview and many versions of Islam exist within the same neighborhood. Of course there is manipulated curse of sectarian violence but that mercifully is not embedded despite the attempts of big external players and the octopus-like state agencies.Ordinary Pakistanis, such as me, value their Islamic beliefs, are God fearing and follow what is essentially a continuation of the centuries old traditions of spirituality that survives in the folk idiom, in the kaafis of Bulleh Shah, and in the verses of Bhitai and Rahman Baba. Our proverbs, day-to-day beliefs are all mixed and laced with history, oral tradition, Sufi lore and of course Islamic simplicity. It is another matter that there are individuals who want to hijack this thread and impose their nonsense on us – but we as a people have resisted that and shall continue to do so.After all we inherited the confluence of ancient religions and practices. Pakistan is where Buddha taught and Taxila shined, and where Nanak preached and the great saints – Usman Hajweri, Fariduddin Ganj Shakar, Bhitai and Sarmast – brought people into the fold of Islam. Despite the revisionist, constructed history by extremists in India, the sword had little to do with Islam’s rise in this region. The Natural Beauty Well the spirituality of my homeland is not just restricted to the intangible belief systems. It also reflects in the splendors of Mother Nature.From the pristine peaks in the north to the mangroves of the Indus delta, Pakistan blends climates, geographies, terrains in its melting pot. Within hours of leaving an arid zone, one enters into a fertile delta. And again a few more hours put you right in front of otherworldly mountains. The deserts of Cholistan radiate the moonlight and the surreal wildernesses of Balochistan are nothing but metaphors of spiritual beauty. Where else can I experience the aroma of wet earth when the baked earth cracks up to embrace every droplet and where else can one find a Jamun tree with a Koel calling the gods?An everlasting impression on my being shall remain the majestic sunrise at the Fairy Meadows amid the Karakorams and the melting gold of Nanga Parbat peak. I love this country’s rivers, streams and the fields where farmers testify their existence with each stroke, each touch of earth. I cherish trees that are not just tree s but signify Buddha’s seat or the ones in graveyards nourishing the seasonal blossoms. The Cuisine Yes, I love the aromas and myriad scents of Thai cooking, the subtlety of the French and Lebanese or the Turkish dishes but nothing compares to the Pakistani cuisine.Forget the high sounding stuff; ghar ka khana (homemade food) no matter which strata are you from is difficult to find elsewhere (except India of course). Whether it is a simple Tandoor ki Roti with Achaar or Palak (in the Punjab) or the intricate Biryani with ingredients and spices of all hues, the food is out of this world. In my house, we were used to at least ten different rice dishes (steamed white rice/saada/green peas/vegetable/channa/choliya/potato Pilau), three types of Biryanis (Sindhi, Hyderabadi, Dilli or just our cook’s hybridized Punjabi version), and my grandmother’s recipe of Lambi Khichdee.The list continues. In the Northern areas, there are Chinese-Pakistani concoctions, in the North West Frontier there is meat in its most tender and purest form. In Balochistan there is Sajji, meat grilled in earthenware at low heat until all the juices have transformed the steaks into a magic delight. And, the fruits and the sweets – the mangoes that come in dozens of varieties and colours, melons of different sizes, the pomegranates and the wild berries that still grow despite the pollution everywhere! How could I not love this eclectic cuisine? And Finally†¦ the sum-total of all five: I love Pakistan as this is my identity – immutable and irreversible. Simple. The genesis of this post. I am averse to the ratings and rankings that characterize the junk-journalism of our times. Much like the embedded style of reporting such a view remains partial and often ignorant of the nuances and layers of subtext that are almost unachievable in the pop-view of the world. Readers might question this apparent paradox as on the one hand I am participating in this top-five series and on the other I am also being critical.Well, well this is kosher from a South Asian perspective as we remain a mythical-modern bundle of contradictions. The real reason for me to ‘submit’ my top 5 is the inquiring spirit of Mayank Austen Soofi whom I don’t know and have never met. But I am quite empathetic to his efforts at understanding Pakistan. At least he ventures into the ‘other’ territory and unlike the mainstream media and writers, does not view Pakistan as a threatening collage of burqa clad women, terrorism and gun toting radicals.Even as he carries out his current obsession, i. e. Pakistan, there are many in the blogosphere who have questioned his motives and alleged deliberate derision of Pakistan and its inhabitants through his writings. Since I do not suffer from this sort of irrational paranoia, I am happy to let him write more on my country. At least there is one alternative voice, one un-cliched perspective from the other si de of the border. Even if my young friend employs a cliched format in this series, it is better than ‘high writing’ churning more cliches!

Phase change lab

We have worked with hot plates and thermometers in other labs before, so we know how to be safe. I wonder what a graph of the changing temperatures over time between the phases would look like. Hypothesis Based on prior learning, I predict that the graph of the water phase changes will not be one straight slope, but instead will plateau, or be flat, and then slope between the change of ice to water, plateau and slope once more between the change of water to steam, and then plateau once more.If we record the temperature of the H2O at regular Intervals, then we will be able to make the predicted graph. Procedure List of Materials: 1 thermometer (Tot 100 OIC 1 beaker (250 or 400 ml), 1 hot plate, CE (enough to fill the beaker), tap water (about 25 ml 1 graduated cylinder (optional), safety goggles, lab apron, at least 1 rag (to clean up spills), pencil/pen, notebook/paper, graph paper, and access to an electrical outlet. Steps: 1. Prepare a data table to collect measurements from the la b.Make sure to put the dependent and independent variables in the correct place. 2. Fill the beaker with ice and add a small amount of water (about 25 ml) 3. Place the beaker on the hot plate with the hot plate TURNED OFF. 4. Take two temperature measurements of the Ice/ water slurry 30 seconds apart. 5. Do not let go of the thermometer. 6. Do not let the thermometer touch the beaker's sides or bottom. 7. Turn the hot plate on to about 6 (about halfway). 8. Collect temperature measurements every 30 seconds.The plateaus were not completely flat and fluctuated between 2 degrees of temperature. We didn't get to record measurements after reaching 100 co because we ran out of time and our outlet wasn't working. Analysis 2. Phase changes are happening to the water during the â€Å"flat† areas of the graph. 3. The water is heating up during the slanted areas of the graph. 4. More than one phase of water is present in the â€Å"flat† areas of the graph. 5. The heat from the ho t late is converted to energy when the water is changing from ice to liquid. 6.The heat from the hot plate is changing the temperature of the water when it is only liquid. 7. The graph would have a slower change in temperature over time if we had twice the amount of water, so the graph would be longer horizontally. My hypothesis was confirmed because our data that showed minuscule fluctuating temperatures for the plateaus and the rise/Jump in temperature for the slopes. However, I had not initially accounted for the slight drop of temperature in the beginning due to the ice lolling the water because the water was room temperature.I learned that plateau points on the graph do not stay only one temperature but instead fluctuate. We did have a possible margin of error due to possible inaccurate temperature readings, not exact temperature readings, inconsistent time, and not exact time intervals. If we do this experiment again, we can try changing the temperature of the initial water ad ded or the amount of water added to see if we produce any noticeable differences. Watching H2O change phases took longer than I though!

Second Language Acquisition Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Second Language Acquisition - Thesis Example English is regarded as lingua franca and so notwithstanding your educational and cultural background, you have to obtain a minimum level skill in spoken and written English, if you want to be a global person. â€Å"For better or worse, by choice or force, English has ‘traveled’ to many parts of the world.† (Sharifian 2009) It is the circumstances which led me to become a multi lingual person. Learning English thoroughly and being a language teacher had never been my choice of career. English was not a completely new language for me as my parents knew English very well. I acquired the language in a quite easy and unconscious manner, as I had been learning English from the age of 6. I was born in Malaysia and later on my family transferred to Hong Kong, when I was just one year old. My kindergarten education was in Chinese medium. When we shifted to Hong Kong, my parents sent me to an International school. English then became my first language. The entire atmosphere in my school was utterly cosmopolitan. The students in our international school had come from different parts of the world. The teachers were from UK and they spoke to us in pure English. So we had an exposure to what we call a â€Å"Queen’s English.† I did not have to take much effort while learning English. It was a traditional method of teaching which the teachers used. Apart from that, it would not be difficult for me to grasp English. It was because the entire culture in my school was English. The books prescribed in our curriculum were typical language books, which consisted of innumerable pictures. It was really wonderful to read them and to watch the pictures. We would be having different tables, quizzes, games as our exercises. I was learning English very comfortably and naturally like I learnt my mother tongue. The medium of instruction was English, hence every subject was taught in English itself. Though I have never been a language person, I could speak En glish fluently. I could read English very comfortably. My listening skill developed automatically, as I was hearing English constantly in my school, and later, in the places where I travelled. As long as writing is concerned I was a little bit behind. For me, English had been the source of communication with my peers. I had absolutely no problem in speaking English. The atmosphere in the school was global and multicultural. We had no choice but to communicate in English with each other. I was accompanied by the children from different parts of the world. Among them, some children were from India, Philippines, Korea, and Japan. Some of them were also from United States and England. When we were in school, we used to learn lots of nursery rhymes and Christian rhymes as it was a Christian school. When the teachers would sing the rhymes, we would repeat them. We would follow the same accents. Thus we got acquainted with the accents and pronunciation without any effort. Acquisition of En glish as a foreign language was really not a matter of concern for me. In our school, French was another language for study. To be frank, I used to get bored. I was not good in French. Consequently, I know French very little. English and French actually are the language of same family. But like English I could not be fluent in French. It might be firstly because I was not a language person and secondly because we taught French as other language and it was not our medium of instruc

The Bribery Scandal at Siemens AG Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Bribery Scandal at Siemens AG - Case Study Example Basically, the bribery scandal at Siemens critically demonstrates how employees were involved with unethical behaviours, which led to an irrevocable damage to the company’s reputation and the ultimate profitability and success (Marsh, 2007). Founded in 1847, the company made their listing in the New York Stock Exchange in 2001, where they were rated as the most efficient and profitable company. Never the less, the business world fell in 2006 when around 30 Siemens’ offices and private homes were raided based on the notion of bribery, fund embezzlement, and evasion of taxes, a raid that led to the uncover of what is said to be the world’s largest corporate bribery scandals. It was evident that Siemens had involved itself in bribery and other related business malpractices. In essence, three main issues focus on failure of employees to hold fast on the ethical standards in relation to personal communication and cross cultural business relationships. First, the lack of cultural sensitivity, over and above, unfamiliar global practises greatly contributed to an abundant environment in which exploitation and manipulation of other companies was witnessed. Second, short time focus on making the deal through contract negotiation, and special bribes pulled out poor decision process from the managers of the company. In addition, there was lack of accountability, compliance, and transparency by management, a situation that permitted Siemens’ employees to involve themselves in fraudulent behaviour (Sims, 2007). Ethical Contemplation According to utilitarian approach on ethical matters actions are right once they achieve maximum good for maximum number of peo ple. Although not all people will be favoured by the decision made, the overall is that everyone will be in a better position as compared to the previous situation. Needless to mention, that the act of bribery at the time seemed to be a cost effective issue as the company was able to secure some of the important contracts through the use of bribery that acted as the fraction of the monetary funds that the company expected in relation to the whole deal. Of important to note is that, there was dire need to keep the company in business and the use of bribery facilitated it survival, over and above been able to continue with their operations and provide of the society in term of social responsibility, employment opportunities, as well as, paying taxes (Thiel, 2007). Conversely, Siemens AG bribery scandal has a permanent impact on the owners and or shareholders and the company itself which may not be easily realised. In essence, the reputation and credibility of the company would be comp romised a situation that

Leadership Practice in Health and Social Care Essay

Leadership Practice in Health and Social Care - Essay Example From this study it is clear that skills theory is also another leadership theory. This theory highlights the fact that acquired skills are significant elements in securing effective leadership. It is the opposite of traits theory as it argues that more than inherited traits, acquired skills have a greater role in ensuring effective leadership. This type of leadership is favourable as it supports the notion that most anyone can become a leader.   Where the trait theory emphasizes on the fact that leadership is inheritable, the skills theory points out that individuals can work hard towards the establishment of skills needed in order to be good leaders. In health care leadership, skills are often learned in the practice. Practitioners have to undergo significant skills training in order to be good leaders. They are not born knowing the applications in the health practice.  As the report stresses  issues with this leadership theory come from the fact that there is a vague line bet ween trait and skills theory. The establishment of various skills are based on personal traits. For instance, social judgment and human skills are easier to establish for individuals who are naturally extroverts. Moreover, general knowledge and the power to secure skills are based on one’s biological traits.  The skills mode also does not provide explanations on why and how these skills impact on leadership. Instead, this theory highlights more the importance of identifying skills which are essential for leadership.... This theory highlights the fact that acquired skills are significant elements in securing effective leadership. It is the opposite of traits theory as it argues that more than inherited traits, acquired skills have a greater role in ensuring effective leadership (Marquis and Huston, 2008). This type of leadership is favourable as it supports the notion that most anyone can become a leader. Where the trait theory emphasizes on the fact that leadership is inheritable, the skills theory points out that individuals can work hard towards the establishment of skills needed in order to be good leaders (Marquis and Huston, 2008). In health care leadership, skills are often learned in the practice. Practitioners have to undergo significant skills training in order to be good leaders. They are not born knowing the applications in the health practice. Issues with this leadership theory come from the fact that there is a vague line between trait and skills theory. The establishment of various sk ills are based on personal traits (Johnson, 2009). For instance, social judgment and human skills are easier to establish for individuals who are naturally extroverts. Moreover, general knowledge and the power to secure skills are based on one’s biological traits (Johnson, 2009). The skills mode also does not provide explanations on why and how these skills impact on leadership. Instead, this theory highlights more the importance of identifying skills which are essential for leadership (Rowitz, 2009). The situational theory of leadership is yet another form of leadership which can be applied in the health care practice. This type of leadership indicates that various situations call for different styles of leadership

Art and craft Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Art and craft - Coursework Example At later stages, art and craft required more than just painting and drawing, but creativity, planning, design and patience. Introduction of drawing competitions among pupils acted as an extrinsic motivation to pay keen attention to the art of drawing, painting and designing while borrowing heavily from the environment. The most important thing was to communicate through various paintings and molding. A distinction was only attained through the uniqueness and application of basic arts and craft skills to attain originality in all projects of arts (Craft et al., 2007). Art and craft were taught basing on age and grade level. For instance, at lower elementary school level, pupils were tested on the ability to identify different art tools such as colours and use their psychomotor skills to create pictures as well as models according to instructions of the teacher. However, at a higher level, most art and craft lessons required use creativity, planning, accuracy and speed to come up with drawings and models that exhibited maturity and concrete expression of ideas. It was expected of the pupils to apply all the basics of arts and craft in every activity. Grading was done for pupils at the same level basing on their abilities to express their concepts through art in the most comprehensive and original manner using the available resource Art and craft goes beyond decoration of ideas and environment to imparting lifelong skill that a child will always find useful through his or her experience. Although the prime purpose of art and craft is to facilitate learning of various disciplines in school, so many benefits come along. Most of these benefits become part of the life of a child through adulthood (Craft et al., 2007). For instance, art and craft, promote life skills such as; visual-processing abilities such as pattern identification, spatial rotation and discovering of

The concept of entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

The concept of entrepreneurship - Essay Example The intention of this study is the concept of entrepreneurship as the process of searching the environment to identify business opportunities for improvement, to mobilise resources and implement actions to maximise these opportunities. Thus, the kind of business venture normally involves an element of risk for which a profit reward is usually sought. Entrepreneurship also encompasses aspects such as the introduction of new goods or improving the new ones, developing the new methods of production, opening new markets as well as creating new forms of business organisation. As such, it can be observed that this is not an easy feat to achieve given that there are certain characteristics and traits necessary to start, manage and develop an entrepreneurial enterprise. Some of these traits required for staring up business are discussed below. The entrepreneur is always looking for business opportunities because he has the courage to take the risk to start a business. Whilst other people wou ld like to believe that entrepreneurs are born with special characteristics, it would be more accurate to say that entrepreneurship is learnt behaviour. The longer one continues to scout for business opportunities the more one notices profitable business opportunities. Thus, a prospective entrepreneur must always analyse himself and determine weak and strong points that characterise his personality. It can be observed that entrepreneurs possess particular characteristics that set them apart from people are not intent on starting an enterprise of their own. (Burke, 2007). Each entrepreneur has got a unique combination of characteristics and traits at his disposal for achieving success. 2.1.1 Philosophy of life The entrepreneur often tries things where the majority of people will back off (Gundill, 2006). Entrepreneurs are self starting and they are always looking for opportunities to which others have not even dreamed of and one notable aspect about these people is that they are ente rprising and they approach all things positively. Through innovation and creativity, an entrepreneur is able to identify an opportunity in the market and looks at both the positive as well as negative aspects that are related to that opportunity. The key success factor of the entrepreneurs in this particular case is that they always look at positive aspects of a given situation then look at the challenges later. This enables them to be better positioned to take the risk and approach the situation with caution fully knowing the measures that can be implemented in order to overcome the challenges or any other negative aspect that can impact on the business venture. It can be observed that every big business starts off as a small business and a good example can be drawn from the cases of McDonald’s hamburger, Apple computer as well as Ford car (Steinhoff & Burgess 1993:4). McDonald’

Creative Brief Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Creative Brief - Case Study Example The target market is the city of Zurich in Switzerland and the specific target group is the youths and adolescents who form a large part of the city’s entire population. The city has a total of about half a million of which a half is made up of the youthful population. The youths in the city are known to be taking part in several sporting activities which requires a lot of energy boost. The drink which is attributed to increase in performance in sporting events is expected to increase its sales in the city which is full of energy demanding activities. The fact that it exist in large varieties makes it more appealing to the younger generation who are keen on variety and specialized products. The city is attracts large number of tourists who come for leisure and recreation activities hence a huge demand for energy drinks which will be met by Redbull. The city is closely located to the headquarters of the product which is located in Vienna. The proximity will help increase pace at which the product is supplied hence meeting the expected huge demand of the product. The city has a large number of immigrants and tourist who will be in a better position to market the product in their respective countries hence increasing the market base for the product as well as expanding the market globally. The city has a large number of international hotels and other retail outlets that will allow quick distribution of the product thus increasing its accessibility to the larger population. Another key factor that makes the target market the best is the high level of information among the youths in the city. They are very much aware of the role that caffeine which is contained in the drink does for their bodies and the right level of the product that they need to consume. As result they are able to contain all the effects and reactions that take place in their bodies as

An experiential Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

An experiential - Assignment Example Apparently, I perceive my community as an important ‘sum’ to look at or respond to and in return, it also collects to itself from our individual ideas that share similar attributes and become responsible for the identity of our common sphere and necessary law which everyone is drawn to follow in the course of nature despite diversity in lifestyles we possess. In this regard, I can thus envision a future role in contributing to enhance the aspect of communication for the community in order that one’s insights and feelings are conveyed properly in the light of truth from which to recognize the real value of a member according to stable measures. For me, communication is amply indispensable that it makes me consider being designated in a teaching profession whereby I attain to the capacity of educating the youth with knowledge that is not only rich in colorful literature and good vocabulary, but even with values and application of the literary lessons yielded in the process to create inspiration for the rest of humanity to act righteously and joyfully at the same time. I believe that, in this manner, every motivation and learning spread via effective communication of wisdom taught would, with much certainty, improve the status of our community in the hope of advancing to a higher level of economic and social

Hurricane Sandy Essay Example for Free

Hurricane Sandy Essay 1, Background * The outline of hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy was formed on October 22 and dissipated on October 31. Its highest winds throughout all the date was 110mph (175km/h) and the lowest pressure was 940hPa. The number of fatalities was 253 in all, and all costs of damage, at least, have risen to $65.6 billion. Affected areas by this hurricane expanded to wide range. This is Hurricane Sandy when it was near peak intensity on October 25. Firstly what is the hurricane? It is an intense tropical depression with a very strong rainstorm. Hurricane has the other different names, typhoon and cyclone, but these don’t have any of differences in terms of their characters, and the difference is only where it takes place. A hurricane is classified to five levels according to Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale based on the maximum wind speed within one minute. According to the National Hurricane Center, its highest wind speed was 110mph, which mean Hurricane Sandy is classified to category 3. (More than Category 3 is distinguished as a record hurricane) Due to its climate, around the Southern Atlantic, there is likely to have a hurricane between June and November (especially between Aug and Oct), and U.S, as well as the West Indies countries has been suffered from its damage. From such a historical background, these countries have a strong feeling of prevention of damage by hurricanes. Particular in U.S, when hurricane Katrina strikes U.S, the government could not take adequate measure against a hurricane, and there was a great deal of damage. Since then, such a perception has been bigger and bigger among people. After the storm became a tropical cyclone on October 22, in case of Jamaica, the government called upon the all of citizens in the whole island to take precautions against the approaching tropical cyclone. 2, Cause To begin with, how was it formed and how did it progress? At the first time, it began with a low pressure which is classified as a tropical depression on October 22 South of Kingston, Jamaica, and this tropical depression was named Tropical Storm Sandy at the same date. Firstly, it moved slowly because of a peak of the high atmospheric pressure called ridge. However early on October 24, the eye of hurricane started developing, and it headed for northward with steadily speed affected by the atmospheric trough. After that, the NHC (National Hurricane Centre in U.S.A) upgraded it to hurricane status and as of 19; 00 in Greenwich Mean Time that day, Sandy finally arrived at Kingston, Jamaica. Then just after Sandy left from Cuba towards the northern sea, it rapidly intensified to winds of 110mph which is 175km/h although it had been 80mph (130km/h). After Sandy left Cuba, its structure became disorganised, and due to it, Sandy turned to the northwest over the Bahamas. By October 27, because of influence from an approaching trough, Sandy was no longer fully tropical depression. But after that, Sandy re-intensified into a hurricane from a tropical storm. Sandy’s second peak was on October 29, and it recorded 90mph (150km/h) and it had a wind diameter of over 1,000nautical miles (1,150 mi, 1850km). As of 2300 in Greenwich Mean Time on October 29, Sandy was not tropical, and an hour later, it made landfall on the south-west of Atlantic City with 90mph (150km/h) wind. On October 31, Hurricane Sandy finally dissipated over western Pennsylvania This map shows the route of Hurricane Sandy. Hurricane Sandy’s route was not usual as well. Most of tropical depression is likely to path into the sea in this season. However, in the case of hurricane Sandy, other high atmospheric pressure in the southern Greenland pushed it to side of inland. Now, why did it develop to one of the biggest hurricane on record? There has some of hypothesises, but most of experts say that there is a strong relationship between the global warming and its abnormal development. The sea surface temperature from Florida to Canada was 0,6â„Æ' before the global warming had been identified, however since it has come up to the surface, its temperature increased by 2,4 â„Æ'. As the condition when a hurricane is created, at least, it requires three conditions. First, the ocean water must be warm enough to put heat and moisture into the overlying atmosphere to provide the potential fuel for the thermodynamic engine that a hurricane becomes. Second, atmospheric moisture from sea water evaporation must combine with the heat and energy to form the powerful engine needed to propel a hurricane. Third, a wind pattern must be near the ocean surface to spirals air inward. In terms of hurricane’s mechanism, it still has a lot of unsure parts but as of today, it is found that hurricane’s initial energy source is the latent heat released by water vapor in the atmosphere on the tropical sea surface, which mean, as the temperature of surface of sea water increases, amount of vaporized water (primary energy source for a hurricane) also increases, and it is considered as the cause of Sandy’s unusual development. As I mentioned above, hurricane mechanism is still not made clear so it is not sure that whether or not only the global warming is the cause of occurring a massive scale of hurricane. 3, Impacts * Impacts on Jamaica. Jamaica is also one of the region were has suffered from terrible damage by a hurricane Sandy. When hurricane sandy made landfall over south eastern Jamaica, the hurricane was still classified as category 1 with winds of 129km/h, and torrential rain was also hitting the country. In addition, because of its strong winds, a lot of trees were fallen and these blocked several roads, which made many communities inaccessible. Electricity and domestic water supply system was cut too. As a result, any of lifelines were temporary not available. Not only public facilities but also a lot of houses were damaged by a strong wind (for example, the roofs were removed by the wind). In Portland and the area of Mount Pleasant 80% of roofs have been destroyed. Flooding also brought about in Pamphret and Port Maria and it made a lot of people evacuate to collective centers. Number of deaths was relatively less in spite of this scale of hurricane, but such an accident that one man was crushed by stones falling from a hillside and dead in a rural area near Kingston. The total cost of damage becomes $16.5 million throughout the country. * Impacts on Haiti Although Haiti was still recovering from 2010’s earthquake damage, a massive hurricane hit there. As of October 29, estimated 200,000 people became homeless because of heavy raining which went on four days. Port-Salut, where was given one of the worst effects by it, was damaged by over floated rivers, in addition, nation’s capital street, Port-au-Prince were also flooded by the heavy rains. Moreover, ongoing cholera epidemic was also warned due to unsanitary situation brought by flooding. The storm also ruined most of crops and as a United Nation said, as many as 1 million people in Haiti would face to food shortage problem unless enough aids would come. * Impacts on U.S The damage brought about by hurricane Sandy in the whole U.S was one of the most severe throughout all of U.S’s record. Eventually, the hurricane caused about ten billion dollar damage in the U.S. The total number of deaths raised to, at least, 131 in eight states and about 1000 houses were destroyed, so about millions of people left without electric service after the hurricane attacked. However, in comparison with Hurricane Katrina, total damage was considerably smaller. According to statistics, its differences are very clear. For example, in terms of the number of deaths, it was over 1000 in the case of Hurricane Katrina, but in this time, the total number was ten times smaller than before. The number of displaced was also ten times smaller although Sandy’s diameter was bigger than Katrina and its total amount of rainfall was almost no differences. So, U.S’s countermeasure against hurricane has improved a lot compared with past examples. However, the other West Indians Countries are still developing countries regarding countermeasures. Bibliography http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/hurricane/resources/TropicalCyclones11.pdf http://www.ifrc.org/docs/Appeals/12/MDRJM003EA.pdf http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/04/hurricane-sandy-vs-katrina-infographic_n_2072432.html http://www.skepticalscience.com/hurricane-sandy-global-warming.htm http://phillyecocity.com/act-philly/climate-act-philly/how-hurricane-sandy-is-related-to-climate-change/

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Essay Example for Free

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Essay The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is not just the story of a brilliant but flawed man who succumbs to temptation, it is also the story of a man who is a victim of his own society and culture. In The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde it seems that an upstanding gentleman is pressured by his society and own endeavours into ultimately separating the apparent bodies of good and evil. However the cause of the eventual, tragic demise of Dr Jekyll is rather complex and it is not enough to excuse his actions by placing the blame solely upon the restrictive society of late Victorian London. There seem to be other significant factors that can explain Jekylls actions and depict his character more clearly therefore providing a wider spectrum for determining as to what extent he is a victim or not. As one is given a description of what life in London was like for a man of such high status a sense of sympathy is developed towards Jekylls plight and also upon reading his Full Statement of The Case the reader is given a mostly honest insight into Jekylls mind; this again, brings forth some sympathy because he explains the pressures of society and the repression of his pleasures which condemn him to a profound duplicity of life. Also despite the understandable reasoning behind Jekylls actions the reader is confronted with the facts that he brutally murdered Sir Danvers Carew and he had intended to commit such crimes in order to satisfy his pleasures. The contrasting feelings tend not to give a clear view of whether or not Jekyll was indeed a victim of his society but the novel does show that he was flawed in his wish for undignified pleasures. There is a notion that Jekyll is solely to blame for his actions disregarding the circumstances, for it seems that the duality in himself was not normal and quite extreme; therefore he turned towards science and calculated his methods of achieving utmost respectability and satisfying his pleasures which were known to him as undignified and at one point monstrous, but yet he becomes unable to withstand the temptation of what is perceived to be the perfect solution despite its immorality. The society and culture in late Victorian England is conveyed as one that is wholly unsympathetic to anything shameful that is conducted within anyones own private life. For example if a man of such status, like Jekyll, was to be found frequenting brothels and indulging in public drinking a scandal would have certainly been made out of the situation and his reputation would have been ultimately destroyed. The society entirely disregards privacy and so, many upstanding gentlemen satisfy their urges for pleasure very discretely and make certain that no one comes to hear of their ventures. Then when we come to hear of Dr Jekyll having a very prestigious position in society and dignified reputation it seems as though he is held captive by such fortune. For very many years he has repressed his urges and subdued his taste for pleasure and so this portrays an extremely grave life and one of little joy. Jekylls only form of liberation was to have two bodies; one in which to satisfy his pleasures and one in which he could hide from them as the respectable doctor whose reputation would never tarnish. Taking only this into account it does seem as though he is a man imprisoned within his reputation and forced to take this course of action. Society is to blame up to an extent. Upon realising that Jekyll had carried out the senseless, brutal murder of Sir Danvers Carew in which the victim was trampled and bludgeoned to death until the bones were audibly crushed, it is rational to immediately condemn his actions. Society may have driven him to conceal his pleasures within a separate body but by no means does the social restriction excuse Jekylls need for such evil a crime. In Jekylls Full Statement of the Case he also admits that what were his undignified pleasures now turned towards the monstrous; he was now loosing control of his sense of morality. The statement Jekyll is a victim of his own society and culture, I feel, is too strong. There are many reasons for his wish and eventual accomplishment of separating what he believes to be good and evil bodies and therefore one cannot wholly excuse or condemn him. In Dr Jekylls full statement of the case he seems to explain his actions and motives and feelings but also takes a sorrowful tone as if asking for forgiveness and is quite apologetic. As he describes the pressures within his society and how he has repressed his pleasures a degree of sympathy is aroused within the reader. London, for a respectable gentleman, is portrayed as a strict society in which scandals can be easily procured for very little and as a result reputations are destroyed. Jekylls main flaw is that he consistently treats Hyde and himself as two entirely separate beings whereas, in fact, they are coupled within Henry Jekyll. Despite Jekylls honesty in his full statement of the case he remains ignorant to the fact that the two bodies of, quite simply, good and evil are actually one and whereas Hyde is pure evil Jekyll is both good and evil but he still sees Jekyll as his body of good and Hyde as the embodiment of evil. It is proved, I believe, that Jekyll is both good and evil for he himself states that as he drank the tincture his virtue slumbered and if he had approached his discovery in a more noble spirit, he would have come forth an angel instead of a fiend; Jekylls own evil produced Hyde. Henry Jekyll aimed to create a separate body free of social pressure and accomplished this; ironically the thing that was to liberate him led to his own imprisonment and ultimately his death. It is tragic that the society and its pressures led him to his fatal discovery, however many of those pressures were Jekylls own need for utmost respectability and subdued wish for undignified pleasures. The duality within himself forced the suppression of the evil but when it became unbearable his pleasures verged towards more than just the undignified but the monstrous; for example the brutal murder of Sir Danvers Carew which one cannot help but feel disgusted and contempt for Hyde, who it is revealed, is Jekyll. Jekylls subconscious evil intent meant that he procured evil and despite the circumstances I believe that Jekyll was a victim of his own need for two lives both of which were extreme in nature and the society which restricted him was not responsible for the eminently evil that he brought forward.

A Web Based Meeting Scheduler Information Technology Essay

A Web Based Meeting Scheduler Information Technology Essay The web based meeting scheduler (WMS) is a user friendly tool developed to assists humans in office environments to schedule meetings efficiently. The algorithm used in the distributed meeting scheduler paves way for negotiation of various processes on behalf of their users and comes up with an agreement on a common meeting time that is acceptable to all the users and abides by all the constraints set by the hosts and attendees. The motive of the algorithm is to obtain a solution based on the knowledge it acquires during the process. In summary the Web-based Meeting Scheduler follows a decision oriented methodology that depends on knowledge based approach. The purpose of WMS is to support the organization of meetings and to determine for each meeting request, a meeting date and location so that most of the intended participants shall effectively participate. The principal users of this system are the Meeting Initiator and Meeting Attendees/Participants. Each user is going to have their own login IDs and passwords. It is the responsibility of the meeting initiator to schedule the meeting based on the availability of the attendees along with the constraints expressed by the attendees/participants. The meeting scheduler system shall have the ability to handler several meeting requests in parallel and resolve conflicts. The key functionalities of this system are: Schedule or plan meetings, re-planning of meetings to support changing user constraints, support conflict resolution, keep participants informed of the meeting schedules and any changes, and to cancel meetings. Problem Context Despite the advances in technology, scheduling a meeting is not as simple as it looks. There is a lot of judgment involved. Anytime you bring together a group of people, there are many factors to consider. You have to consider pecking order. Some members of the group are more important, so others must change their schedules to accommodate. But with the right system, meeting scheduling can be quick, easy and super efficient. Therefore, a web-based system meeting scheduler system will be developed to allow individuals or organizations to easily, efficiently, and precisely schedule meetings in accordance with practical limitations of virtual and real-world meetings. This project does on how the software system will try to achieve what it is intended to do, by describing requirements such as security, reliability, maintainability, usability and performance. Rationale Now that the problem has been identified, once implemented, the system could bring about significant tangible and intangible benefits. It is anticipated that the system could be the best solution to the existing problems that meeting planners or organizers encounter when running meetings. The following are the tangible and intangible benefits of the system: Meetings are vital for communication and management. Properly run meetings save time, increase motivation, productivity, and solve problems. Plan, run and follow up meetings properly, and they will repay the cost many times over because there is still no substitute for physical face-to-face meetings Description of Problem Area Holding meetings is an increasingly expensive activity, hence the need to run meetings well. Badly run meetings waste time, money, resources and are worse than having no meetings at all. The following are common problems that occur when scheduling a meeting: The meeting is scheduled and after everyone had been invited you discover that some important participants cant attend. Another date has to be found. This can lead to a cycle of invitations and revisions. A meeting is confirmed but then needs to be changed. A meeting location is specified and then later changed in a subsequent meeting notice. Some of the attendees follow the original meeting notice and end up in a wring room. Repeated meeting notices and revisions are sent out, so everyone is confused about the meeting. You use an internet based meeting scheduling system, but outside participants dont have the same software. A meeting is scheduled and confirmed, but the location is already booked. No one sends a meeting reminder, and several attendees forget about the meeting. People are invited to a meeting but the meeting organizer did not say what it is about, so they show up unprepared Nature of Challenge The hardest single part of building a software system is deciding precisely what to build. No other part of the conceptual work is as difficult as establishing the detail technical requirements, including the entire interface to people, to machines, and to other software systems. No part of the work so cripples the resulting system if done wrong. No other part is more difficult to rectify later.[Brooks, 1987] We consider the problem of determining suitable meeting times and locations for a group of participants wishing to schedule a meeting subject to already scheduled meetings possibly held at a number of different locations. Each participant must be able to reach the new meeting location, attend for the entire duration, and reach the next meeting on time. Major problem will be in deriving efficient algorithms for solving general meeting scheduling problems, to find approximate solutions, where appropriate implement the solutions and to integrate them into applications that allow users who are connected over a network to schedule meetings. Currently meeting scheduling systems take into consideration only time and not location or geometry. C. Brief description of project objectives. (i.e. scope of proposal and deliverables) Scope The scope of the project shall include scheduling meetings in an efficient way, gathering the feedback from attendees, cancelling the meeting, changing the schedule and/or location, scheduling concurrent meetings in timely manner, conducting virtual meeting, confirming the location and time of the meeting and last but not the least minimize users effort in coordinating and scheduling meetings. Core Modules This is the main functionality of my project. It has to do the following: Automate the meeting schedule process to enable efficient use of the time and efforts of meeting organizer. Select a date and time according to the availability of the participants. Allocate the location that is convenient to all the participants. Send reminders to the participants about the meeting and any schedule changes. Re-organize and modify the meeting schedule if required. Enhanced Features This are the additional features I plan to include in my project: Adding members of the meeting Administrator has privilege to edit users profile. Search for members of the meeting and see who is free and who is not, and who is coming for the meeting Generation of appropriate reports to show meeting attendees and the meeting agendas Attendees photos for verification incase of same information. Participants option for denying the invitation. User need to register. Special Features Based on my research and if I have the time and ability, these are the features I am going to attempt to implement: Make the system work on diverse platforms (Windows, Blackberry, iPhone and other Smartphone compatibility). Participants choice of getting reminder in pop-up window or mail. Facility to book conference bridge (conference bridge is a phone) and editing reserved bridge. Assumptions and Dependencies The following will be major assumptions of this project: Will ensure that I am available as needed to complete project tasks and objectives. Will abide by the guidelines identified within this plan. Project plan might change on new information revealed or issues encountered. Availability of participants for meetings and training. Constraints The project has the below three constraints: Time: time frame within which the project should be completed. Cost: cost of developing the system within the estimated budget. Quality: level of quality to be met as per the requirements of the users. D. Brief description of the resources needed by the proposal. (i.e. hardware, software, access to information / expertise, user involvement etc.) Hardware requirements A standard PC with minimum 40gig hard disk and 256MB RAM. A Smartphone. Software requirements The system shall be developed using n-tier architecture consisting of the presentation (web layer), business layer and Data Access layer. Integrated Development Environment : Netbeans IDE Development using Java 1.6, J2ee, Ajax, JavaScript Database Management : SQL server 2005 The web-based interface for the WMS shall run in the below internet browsers Internet Explorer 64.x and above Firefox Access to information or Expertise Mostly books are used as a source of information for this project. However websites and research paper also play a major role as a source of reference. User Involvement Knowledge and experience of people who have used the existing Web-based Meeting Schedulers is respected, valued and drawn upon to influence and shape the work of the proposed system. They would help to understand the requirements hence building a better system. These information can be gathered by using some research methods such as interviews, questionnaires or even case studies. E. Academic research being carried out and other information, techniques being learnt. (i.e. what are the names of books you are going to read / data sets you are going to use) The following are some of the books I am going to read in conjuction with the information gathered online as I will be doing this project: Dawson, C.W. (2009) Projects in Computing and Information Systems : A Student Guide Tudor, D.J. and Tudor I.J. (1999)Â  System Analysis and Design: A Comparison of Structured Methods, New Edition. Palgrave Macmillan Software Hughes, B. Cotterell, M. (3rd Ed)(2009) Software Project Management Sommerville, I. (6th Ed) (2000) Software Engineering by Ian Sommerville Philips, J. Project (3rd Ed) Management Professional Study Guide Hall, E. Johnson, J. (2002)Integrated Project Management Prentice Hall F. Brief description of the development plan for the proposed project. (i.e. which software methodology and why, the major areas of functions to be developed and the order in which developed) After reading and making researches, I strong-willed to do this project using Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC). It is a conceptual model used in project management that unlike other methodologies describes the stages involved in an information system development project, from an initial feasibility study through maintenance of the completed application. Although SDLC has different forms and models, it follows certain steps. These steps could have the same meaning in one methodology but they are treated in a different manner or could lead to something different. It is chosen because of its ability to cater for the project as a whole and part of it that involves an application that is going to be developed on the web. These following steps are for the project: Planning- Everything starts with a concept or with a question such as what do you want? being asked to certain people so as to know what they want and decide to create an answer. Design- Once planning is done; one can now design or create a rough plan regarding the software. Will decide on the initial specifics of the software to be created, decide what platform or programming language to use. Implementation- When the design and all the things that I need have been laid out, it is time to work on the plan and present it for approval. Testing- Two types of testing are going to be performed, one which will be the actual testing by users. Once the stage is completed the WMS will be tested by professionals in the field. Acceptance- When the software is released to be used by a certain company, acceptance means the software is implemented. Maintenance- When the software is implemented, it does not mean that the software is good as it is. Maintenance is included since there is absolutely no way that the software will be working perfectly. Disposal- When a software is outmoded, it is not just all deletion of files, affected files should be looked at and determine which file to protect and dispose. And the following are web development stages: Analysis, Initial design, Design approval, Web development, Prototype, Launching, and Maintenance. G. Brief description of the evaluation and test plan for the proposed project. (i.e. what is the success criteria and how will be evaluated implementation will be tested, indicate the estimated size of the demonstration/test database) Testing Testing refers to the process of exercising a product to identify differences between expected and actual behavior. It is the means by which the presence, quality or genuineness of anything is determined; a means of trial. The project will be successful it if manages to perform all the key functionalities. It will be tested by me and as I will be developing the system with both black-box and white-box testing methodologies while my supervisor will use White-box testing which provides a degree of sophistication that is not available with black-box testing as the tester is able to refer to and interact with the objects that comprise an application rather than only having access to the user interface to check if all the functionalities, deliverables and objectives are met. Evaluation Evaluation is a systematic determination of merit, worth and significance of something or someone using criteria against a set of standards. Without an evaluation process a product reaching consumers would be untried. It would reflect the intentions of its designer but there would be no study of the relationship between design and use. The two main types of evaluation, Formative and Summative evaluation are going to be used to evaluate Web based meeting scheduler that is going to be developed in this project. The Web-based Meeting Scheduler will have approximately 20 people in its database. They will be used for testing some of the functionalities of the system. For example if one person is invited to a meeting that clashes with another meeting that he or she has already been invited to, and the person showed that they will be attending it, an error message should be displayed to show that the person will not manage to attend that one. Or if meetings that should have the same attendees clash, an error message should be displayed also.

Solar System Essay -- essays research papers

The Solar System By â€Å"Delete this text and type your name here.† Introduction As far as we know, there are nine planets locked in orbit around the Sun. Only one, our own Earth, supports life. But there are countless other suns throughout countless galaxies scattered across the expanse of the universe. We still don’t know if life exists on another planet in some other galaxy. Mercury Named for the wing-footed messenger of the Roman gods, Mercury races around its orbit at a dizzying speed of 30 miles (48 kilometers) per second, making the Mercurial year only 88 Earth days long. In contrast, one rotation around its axis—or a single day—takes almost 59 Earth days. Geology Mariner 10 gave us a wealth of information about Mercury when it approached the planet in 1974 and 1975. Because Mercury has no water and barely any atmosphere, no erosion has taken place on its surface. We see Mercury much the way it was soon after it formed. Core We learned that Mercury has an extremely weak magnetic field, which could indicate a hot metallic core, such as molten iron. Geologists think Mercury may be the most iron-rich planet in the solar system. Crust Mercury’s crust seems to be silicate, like that of Earth. Craters The planet’s surface, viewed for the first time via Mariner’s cameras, is covered by craters. The battering occurred during the early period of the solar system when clumps of material were ramming into each other to form the planets. Atmosphere Mercury doesn’t have what we think of as an atmosphere—that is, a gaseous envelope that produces clouds and weather or protects the surface of the planet from some of the harmful solar radiation. The weak magnetic field on Mercury captures only the barest perceptible trace of charged particles from the Sun. Venus Shrouded in the cloak of mystery, Venus, our nearest planetary neighbor, takes the name of the Roman goddess of love. For some unknown reason, Venus rotates on its axis in retrograde—that is, in the reverse direction of its revolution around the Sun. Geology Geologically, Venus appears to have some similarities to Earth. Its crust is probably granitic, overlying a basaltic mantle and a iron-nickel core. The geologic activity that we are familiar with on Earth seems not to exist on Venus, except for the presence two volcanoes along a fault line. ... ...p;  17 Uranus  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  19.18  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  84 years  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  16 hours  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  14.54  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4.10  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  15 Neptune  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  god of the deep blue sea  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  30.06  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  165 years  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  18 hours  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  17.23  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.88  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  8 Pluto  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  god of the underworld  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  39.44  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  248 years  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  6.4 days  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  .002?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  0.12-0.30  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1 * AU = Astronomical Unit (Earth = 1) Conclusion We know more and more all the time about our own solar system. During the past 15 years, space probes such as the Mariner and Voyager missions have given us tremendous detail about all the planets in this system. Tiny by comparison to the Milky Way, our solar system is awesome, nevertheless, when considered in human scale.

Its Time to Put and End to Affirmative Action Essay -- essays researc

Affirmative action should be changed or ended altogether In the late Sixties, Martin Luther King Jr. fought hard for equal rights. Before he was assassinated in 1968, he made a speech about his vision of human equality. â€Å"I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.† (King) The Sixties were a turning point for racial equality. Because of leaders like King, many blacks and minority groups began to face/win new opportunities that were never before available. New policies and laws were established to help reverse the detriment to ethnic groups through years of injustice and prejudice. But is it right to limit other races to advance another? Are we using racism to stop racism? Although equal rights policies were established through what became known as â€Å"affirmative action† and have assisted in the advancement of many minority groups, affirmative action today is wrong and should be revised or stopped altog ether. Affirmative action is an instituted list of policies to make up for past discrimination against groups based on race, religion, national origin, and gender. From its beginning, affirmative action has given minority groups opportunities for employment, promotion at work, new business ownership, school admission, scholarships and financial aid. President Lyndon B. Johnson introduced affirmative action during the civil rights era in 1965. It was used â€Å"as a method of redressing discrimination that had persisted in spite of civil rights laws and constitutional guarantees.† (Brunner) The purpose of affirmative action was to end racial inequality and set a level playing field for all races. Affirmative action allowed minorities a fair chance to pursue education and career advancement. It originally was intended for temporary assistance and was supposed to crush existing racially biased ideas in society. What was once a noble and valiant idea in 1965 has taken the very rights awa y it was intended to give. As affirmative action was introduced, many industries found the need to reduce standards in order to accept minorities. In many colleges and universities, a certain number of openings were set aside specifically for minorities because of the necessity to fill the racial quota for college populations. Because of this quota, many educational instit... ...rds of excellence. Reverse discrimination is not an answer for ending discrimination. It is time to consider a change in the policies of affirmative action or to abolish those policies altogether. Bibliography King, Martin Luther, Jr. I have a dream. 28 Aug 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Peaceful Warrior. Pocket Books, NY 1968. Memphis Educational Computer Connectivity Alliance. http://www.mecca.org/crights/dream.html University of California Regents V. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265 (1975). Finlday.com 18 Nov 2002 http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts United States Constitution. Amendment XIV, Section 1 Brunner, Borgna â€Å"Bakke and Beyond: A History and Timeline of Affirmative Action.† Infoplease.com 20 Nov 2002. Family Education Network http://infoplease.com/spot/affirmative1.html McGowan, Miranda Ohsige. â€Å"Diversity of What?† In Robert Post and Michael Rogin. Race and Representation: Affirmative Action (New York: Zone Books, 1998), pp. 237-250 Fish, Stanley â€Å"Reverse Racism, or How the Pot Got to Call the Kettle Black,† The Atlantic, November 1993 Anderson, Elizabeth. â€Å"Integration, Affirmative Action, and Strict Scrutiny,† NYU Law Review, 77 (2002): 1195-1271.

Childhood Conduct Disorder Essay -- Diseases/Disorders

Introduction: A History and Brief Overview of Conduct Disorder Conduct Disorder has been a part of the American Psychological Association’s Diagnostic Statistical Manuel (DSM) since its original release date in 1994. Although, there is new information about the disorder that was previously unknown, Conduct Disorder is distinguished by a â€Å"repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate norms or rules are violated† (American Psychiatric Association, 1994.) This mild, moderate, or severe antisocial behavior begins to appear either in childhood, categorized as early-onset conduct disorder , or in adolescence after ten years of age, classified as adolescent-onset conduct disorder (Passamonti et al., 2010.) The criteria to meet to be diagnosed with this disorder are separated into four subgroups: aggressive conduct, nonaggressive conduct, deceitfulness or theft, and serious violations of the rules. Three or more incidents must be present in the past twelve months with at le ast one of the characteristics being present in the past six months. This disorder causes severe impairment of functioning across a variety of situations so it is important to keep in mind society and individual situations because this diagnosis may be â€Å"misapplied to individuals in settings where patterns of undesirable behavior are sometimes viewed as protective† (American Psychiatric Association, 1994.) For example, a patient that has recently relocated from a war torn country would most likely not be a candidate for Conduct disorder even though he or she may exhibit some of the characteristics. An interesting distinction between the two subcategories is that those diagnosed with early-onset Conduct Dis... ...004). Childhood Adversity, Monoamine Oxidase A Genotype, and Risk for Conduct Disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 738-744. Lahey et al. (2004). Predicting Future Antisocial Personality Disorder in Males from a Clinical Assessment in Childhood. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 389-399. Maughn et al. (2004). Prenatal Smoking and Early Childhood Conduct Problems. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 836-843. Milich, R., Widiger, T. & Landau, S. (1987). Differential Diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder Using Conditional Probabilities. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 726-767. Miller, G. E. & Prinz, R. J. (1990). Enhancement of Social Learning Family Interventions for Childhood Conduct Disorder. Psychological Bulletin. Passamonti et al. (2010). Neural Abnormalities in Early-Onset and Adolescent-Onset Conduct Disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 729-738.

Contrast: Primary School Essay

My primary school was in a small village, just half a kilometer away from my house. I had left my village to study in Ho Chi Minh City for a long time. Last summer, I came back to the village to visit my primary school. It considerably changed. I realized that there are differences and similarities between my primary school in the past and now. I still remembered my first day at school. My father led me to school. In front of me, two green pines rows were very luxuriant. Especially, I was impressed by large and beautiful school’s gate. It was painted in blue  and the large of words â€Å"Vo Thi Sau primary school† in white set off the signs plate of school. Moreover, it was decorated with colorful flags. My school was small, simple and lack of basic facilities. It became difficult to accommodate all students in the ten classrooms. In addition, all of classrooms were made by wood that wasn’t safety. Besides, the narrow space of school was not enough for eating or reading books. For example, because of not having canteen I must eat snack or even junk food at the store around the sidewalks. Furthermore, quality of drinking water and  toilets facilities were not adapt to student’s health. My school yard was an open area next to my school building for playing and outdoor activities. It was narrow because on its surface was a lot of the weeds, and bushes. It was not covered by cements, but there were sand and little rocks. Although it was not large space, children can play together, interact and communicate. I had not visited my primary school for more than 14 years. Now I walk along the street leads to that school, and I am still impressed by school’s gate. There is no considerably change on school gate. It was made by stone, and it is still exactly the same as the past. Moreover, school’s gate still includes white inscription â€Å"Vo Thi Sau primary school† on the blue background. In addition, there are two lines of pine beside two sides of the school’s gate. It is as green as grass and so fresh. After that, I walk into the school and I realize that my school significantly changed. As I remember, my primary school was small and simple. Today, it is a new and modern building with unique design. For instance, there are forty classrooms and two labs. Furthermore, it also has a library and a canteen. Those classrooms are equipped with iron boards, projectors and ceiling fans. Besides, desks and chairs are repainted, so I can’t recognize my old classroom anymore. Additionally, library and lab has more useful books and equipment that serve student’s needs. On the other hand, one thing changed that attracts me is school yard. Instead of stone and gravel, it is covered with concrete. Thanks to that, it looks more beautiful and luxury. In the campus, many plants and flowers are planted. Because of that, the school looks clean, green and the atmosphere is fresher. Around the school yard, it is arranged with a lot of benches. Those benches are useful for students in the break time. In conclusion, for a long time I had left, my primary school has a more changed. If in the past my primary school was old, lack of facilities, small buildings, now it is a modern and spacious school. Although my primary school changed so much, it is always in my mind where I learned everything when I was a little child.

Promote Equality and Inclusion in Health

CU1532 PROMOTE EQUALITY AND INCLUSION IN HEALTH, SOCIAL CARE OR CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG PEOPLE’S SETTINGS Understand the importance of diversity, equality and inclusion Explain what is meant by diversity; equality; inclusion Diversity can be defined in many different ways. What does it mean to us? Diversity is a commitment to recognizing and appreciating the variety of characteristics that make individuals unique in an atmosphere that promotes and celebrates individual and collective achievement.Examples of these characteristics are: age; cognitive style; culture; disability (mental, learning, physical); economic background; education; ethnicity; gender identity; geographic background; language(s) spoken; marital/partnered status; physical appearance; political affiliation; race; religious beliefs; sexual orientation. Equality is ensuring individuals or groups of individuals are treated fairly and equally and no less favourably, specific to their needs, including areas of race, gender, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation and age.Inclusion at its simplest is ‘the state of being included’ but it is a bit more complicated than that†¦ It is used by disability rights activists to promote the idea that all people should be freely and openly accommodated without restrictions or limitations of any kind. Describe the potential effects of discrimination Physical effects: headaches, poor appetite, a change in eating habits, sleeplessness, loss/gain of weight, deterioration of health, bruises, ulcers, lack of personal hygiene and lack of energy.Emotional effects: low self-esteem, lack of confidence, feeling unwanted, insecurity, becoming withdrawn, depression/stress, anxiety, sudden change in behaviour, lack of co-operation and learned helplessness. Social effects: isolation, lack of friends, becoming withdrawn, unrecognized as an individual, feel like a stranger and inability to build relationships. the intellectual effects: res tricted access to education, poor performance in examinations, lack of achievements, poor job prospects, lack of skills, self-fulfilling prophecy, loss of motivation, lack of interest in anything and absence from work.Explain how inclusive practice promotes equality and supports diversity Inclusive practice is about the attitudes, approaches and strategies taken to ensure that people are not excluded or isolated. It means supporting diversity by accepting and welcoming people’s differences, and promoting equality by ensuring equal opportunities for all. Inclusive practice is best practice. Health and social care workers demonstrate inclusive practice by working in ways that recognise, respect, value and make the most of all aspects of diversity.Having a sound awareness of and responding sensitively to an individual’s diverse needs supports them in developing a sense of belonging, well-being and confidence in their identity and abilities. And it helps them to achieve th eir potential and take their rightful place in society. In addition, inclusive practice involves having an understanding of the disastrous impact that discrimination, inequality and social exclusion can have on an individual’s physical and mental health.Having such an understanding ensures appropriate, personalised care and support, thereby enabling an individual to develop self-respect and maintain a valued role in society. Because people who fail to support diversity or promote equality are usually entirely unaware of their attitudes and the impact of their behaviour, inclusive practice involves reflecting on and challenging one’s own prejudices, behaviours and work practices.It also involves challenging those of colleagues and other service providers, with a view to adapting ways of thinking and working and to changing services to build on good practice and to better support diversity and promote equality. Be able to work in an inclusive way Explain how legislation and codes of practice relating to equality, diversity and discrimination apply to own work role The UK has in place numerous pieces of legislation (laws), rules, regulations, guidance documents and statutory codes of practice, all of which are intended to promote diversity, ensure equality and end discrimination.In other words, they are in place to promote everyone’s right to fair and equal treatment, regardless of their differences. The Human Rights Act 1998. This covers many different types of discrimination, including some that are not covered by other discrimination laws. Rights under the Act can be used only against a public authority, for example, the police or a local council, and not a private company. However, court decisions on discrimination usually have to take into account what the Human Rights Act says. The Equal Pay Act 1970 (amended 1984).This says that women must be paid the same as men when they are doing the same (or broadly similar) work, work rated as equ ivalent under a job evaluation scheme, or work of equal value. The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (amended 1986). This makes it unlawful to discriminate against men or women in employment, education, housing or in providing goods and services, and also in advertisements for these things. It’s also against the law, but only in work-related matters, to discriminate against someone because they are married or in a civil partnership.Race Relations Act 1976 (amended 2000). This states that everyone must be treated fairly regardless of their race, nationality, or ethnic or national origins. Disability Discrimination Act 1995. This states that a person with a disability must not be treated less fairly than someone who is able-bodied. Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003. This says it is unlawful to discriminate against people at work because of their religion or belief. The regulations also cover training that is to do with work. Employment Equality (Age) Regulatio ns 2006.This says it is unlawful for an employer or potential employer to discriminate against you at work because of your age. Show interaction with individuals that respects their beliefs, culture, values and preferences I encourage clients to be independent members of the community and to take as much charge for their own self-care as is possible, within their Rights And Responsibilities. In my work, I adhere to the Legal Requirements of the Care Standards Act. I meet the requirements of the Registering Authorities within my role and aim to improve on these requirements.I have a ‘duty of care’ to my clients. I will advise and support clients with any matter they may require assistance with, within my role and capability. I ensure that no personal information regarding a client is disclosed to a third party without prior agreement of the client concerned. Communication with clients should be at the level of their understanding and provide privacy and promote dignity a nd self-respect. Carers via communications with client’s family, previous recording assessment and observation will be aware of any associated difficulties. It may be necessary to remind e. g. onfused elderly clients from time to time and assist where necessary. The Home encourages care workers to take on the role of advocates to promote the awareness of clients’ rights and help them gain access to the services they need. The following set of values is supported for all clients: The freedom of choice on personal matters and preferences. The opportunity to fulfill personal ambitions and develop knowledge and skills. The right to the fullest expression of citizenship. The right to lead an independent a life as possible. The right to privacy and personal space without hindrance.To be treated with respect and dignity in a caring manner at all times. To be recognised as an individual with regard to personal needs irrespective of circumstances. The right of freedom of moveme nt from one place to another without restriction. It is necessary that all records be accurate, legible and complete and current in all circumstances including the promotion of rights and responsibilities. Be able to promote diversity, equality and inclusion Demonstrate actions that model inclusive practice The Equality Act became law in October 2010. It replaces previous legislation such as the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995) and ensures consistency in what you need to do to make your workplace a fair environment and to comply with the law. The Equality Act covers the same groups that were protected by existing equality legislation – age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity – but extends some protections to groups not previously covered, and also strengthens particular aspects of equality law.The Equality Act is a mixture of ri ghts and responsibilities that have:  · Stayed the same – for example, direct discrimination still occurs when â€Å"someone is treated less favourably than another person because of a protected characteristic†  · Changed – for example, employees will now be able to complain of harassment even if it is not directed at them, if they can demonstrate that it creates an offensive environment for them  · Been extended – for example, associative discrimination (direct discrimination against someone because they associate with another person who possesses a protected characteristic) will cover age, disability, gender reassignment and sex as well as race, religion and belief and sexual orientation.  · Been introduced for the first time – for example, the concept of discrimination arising from disability, which occurs if a disabled person is treated unfavourably because of something arising in consequence of their disability. Demonstrate how to supp ort others to promote equality and rightsThe Home is committed to promoting equality of opportunity, tackling discrimination and welcoming and valuing the diversity of the communities we serve. This policy highlights compliance with anti-discriminatory legislation and regulatory requirements and our ongoing commitment to equality and diversity. It also acts as a framework for promoting and adopting best practice and delivering continuous improvement across all our key business areas. We believe that excellent customer service means providing a service that is accessible and desirable to all, that the promotion of equality and diversity is essential to our core business and that a diverse customer and staff base requires us to value those differences.We will drive commitment to equality and diversity in service delivery by providing accessible and customer focused services, improved understanding of the customer journey, build capacity to refer customers to other services and increas e methods of communication to meet our customer needs. The Home will aim to ensure that no person receives less favourable treatment from the organisation including on the grounds of race, colour, gender, transgender, marital status, religion, disability, age HIV status or sexual orientation. We will monitor all applications for housing and employment by ethnic origin, disability, age and gender to ensure we meet our objectives.Describe how to challenge discrimination in a way that promotes change Always challenge discrimination. Do it in a calm and professional way and tell the individual that what they are saying is unacceptable. You can also say that you are upset and offended by discriminatory words and actions. Also, that it is unlawful. In a work setting, discrimination can be a disciplinary matter and procedures should always be in place, in the form of written documentation, shared with the employee and employer. There should be support for you as an individual, if you are d ealing with discrimination. Challenging discriminatory behaviour means not letting this behaviour happen without taking some sort of action against it.There are many ways that people can be discriminated against. They include verbal or physical abuse, exclusion, labelling or stereotyping . It is important to challenge discriminatory behaviour because it can cause distress, ill health, isolation and stress to a service user. Discrimination usually arises from a lack of awareness and experience rather than deliberate intent. Each organisation needs a policy that will reflect its own ways of working, its community and constituency, activities and size. By examining in detail how you operate, you will learn to recognise how and where discrimination is manifesting itself and be able to deal with each instance.

What Makes You What You Are

Personality: What makes you the way you are? – Science News – The Independent At some point in your life, you've probably filled in a personality questionnaire (â€Å"Do you see yourself as†¦.? â€Å"), and wondered as you ticked the boxes if there can really be any validity to such a simplistic way of assessing people. Surely the scores just reflect your mood on the day, or what you want the investigator to think. Surely everyone gives the same answer, which is â€Å"it depends†.Or even if the scores measure something, surely it is how the person sees themselves, rather than how they actually are. In a new book, I examine what the extent of the science underlying personality psychology really is. The answer is: more than you would think. While it has always been popular in business and pop psychology, and within academic psychology, personality research has been a poor relation to the parts of the discipline with experiments and hard objective measures. H owever, this is changing fast.The field of personality is undergoing a renaissance. The reasons for the renaissance are several. Academics now have some really good long-term studies of the same individuals, and it turns out that those brief, simplistic, pencil-and-paper questionnaires have surprisingly useful properties. They produce a wide range of selfdescriptions. The responses are fairly repeatable over intervals of many years. They also correlate quite well with ratings of the person given by their spouse, friends or colleagues.Much more importantly, though, the responses turn out to predict objective events. For example, in a famous cohort of gifted Californian children recruited in the 1920s, and who are elderly or deceased now, personality â€Å"scores† – numerical representations of answers to questions – are significant predictors of life expectancy. In another long-term study, this time of American married couples, the quality and duration of the mar riage is predicted by the personality scores of both parties prior to marriage.There are many other examples, with personality scores predicting substance addiction, problem gambling, and the onset of psychological illnesses. Of course the prediction is a statistical one – you can assign odds, not make oracular pronouncements – but this is how it always is in psychology. Humans are such complex systems that you are happy to explain a portion of the variation in outcomes, and never expect to explain it all. In recent years there has been renewed interest in personality assessment. This has been greatly aided by the fact that there is now a consensus on what the key variables are.Its early development, the field was greatly hampered by every investigator having his or her own scales, often using different names and measures for what turned out to be the same thing, or indeed the same names for what turned out to be different things. But over the last 20 years, many studi es in several different cultures have shown that much of the systematic variation in personality can be reduced to scores along five dimensions (the â€Å"Big Five†): Extraversion, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Openness. It's important to stress that these are all continuous dimensions.That is, there are no discrete important to stress that these are all continuous dimensions. That is, there are no discrete â€Å"types† of person. Personality dimensions are like height or weight, which vary continuously, not like being a left- or a right-hand writer. Your score on one dimension is independent of your scores on all the others, so there is an almost infinite diversity of different overall profiles possible. If developments within psychology have facilitated the renaissance of personality studies, it is at the interface with biology where the exciting developments are beginning to come.Neuroscientists have shown, mainly using the increasingly sophisti cated brain imaging techniques that are now available, that those simple pencil-and-paper personality scores correlate significantly with the size or neurophysiological reactivity of specific regions of the brain. Moreover, these turn out to be the very regions that other types of evidence (evidence from brain damage, for example) would lead us to expect would be involved in that particular area of psychological function. Geneticists, too, are getting involved in personality research.It has recently become apparent that more of the human genome differs from individual to individual, even within our rather genetically homogenous species, than was previously thought. We know this inter alia from the complete sequence of Dr Craig Venter's genome, which was published earlier this month. About 0. 5 per cent of the genetic information in his maternallyinherited genome is different from his paternally-inherited one. Variant sequences affect nearly half his genes, and it is likely that in m any cases those variants will have some functional effect on body, brain or behaviour.In a few cases, we even know which genetic variants have effects on personality. There is a gene that encodes a receptor molecule for the neurotransmitter dopamine, and which contains a repeating sequence whose length varies from person to person. A number of studies have found that the length of this sequence correlates with self-reported extraversion and reward-seeking behaviour. In another gene, the serotonin transporter, individuals with one variant are more likely to develop depressive symptoms in response to stressful life events than bearers of the other version.In a few years, we may be in the position of actually understanding the molecular bases of the differences in nature that we observe between healthy humans. (But note that genetic effects will not turn out to be the whole story; only around half of the variation in personality looks like being heritable, with the rest probably shaped by early environmental exposures and other developmental processes. ) The other group of researchers getting interested in personality is evolutionists. Personalitylike variation has been found in organisms as diverse as fish, mammals and birds.Indeed, Darwin's whole theory of evolution rests on the observation that individuals vary from one another. Without such variation there can be no natural selection and no evolutionary change. The question for evolutionists is why you would find variation persisting in populations, when selection always reduces diversity in favour of the optimal type. In fact, it turns out that there are often multiple optima, even within a single habitat, with individuals of one type doing well under certain conditions, while faring less well than their competitors under others. Thus, nder certain conditions, while faring less well than their competitors under others. Thus, selection rarely narrows the population to uniformity because individuals with diffe rent qualities flourish in different contexts. I rather like this as a guiding framework for thinking about personality in modern humans. Rather than imagining that there is some personality profile that is uniformly good to have, let's assume that all have their strengths and all have their pitfalls. Indeed, the failure of any one profile to dominate the human population attests to their roughly equal fitness in the long run.So, whatever your score on the Big Five, the point is not to try to change it, or fight it. The point is to establish which niche within the complex ecology that is modern society will be a good one for you to ply your trade in, and which of the diverse dangers (social isolation, addiction, depression†¦ ) that lurk in our both beneficent and hazardous habitat are the ones against which you should be most vigilant. This is where self-knowledge comes in, and taking the personality test overleaf can be part of that. Scoring your personality won't tell you any thing you don't know.It's based on how you see yourself, so logically it couldn't. But it can reveal to you how you compare to other people, and can also tap you into a wealth of accumulated psychological knowledge about the strengths and liabilities that other people similar to you have experienced. This is what the questionnaire and the interpretation overleaf are designed to do. Daniel Nettle is the author of Personality: What Makes You the Way You Are (? 12. 99), published by Oxford University Press. To order a copy for the special price of ? 11. 69 (with free P) call Independent Books Direct on 0870 079 8897, or visit www. ndependentbooksdirect. co. uk What kind of personality are you? Take this test to discover the truth Introducing the big five Once you have completed the questionnaire and added up your scores, you should have an indication of whether you score low, medium-low, medium-high, or high on each of the Big Five dimensions of human personality. But what do these sco res mean? Here, I explore the Big Five to examine their effects on our lives. Extraversion This is a familiar concept. High-scorers are fun-seeking and cheerful, but they are not necessarily immediate hedonists; they are often ambitious and hard-working.They are also sexually adventurous and love to be the centre of attention. Low-scorers are not necessarily shy so much as aloof; they can take or leave success, praise and pleasure. The best way to think about this dimension is in terms of response to reward. Society offers certain incentives; money, power, fame, attention, sex, thrills, and so on, and some people certain incentives; money, power, fame, attention, sex, thrills, and so on, and some people pursue them full-out, while others have a more muted response and thus won't work so hard to capture them.The strengths of high-scorers: energy, charisma, drive, the ability to make things happen. The weaknesses: a tendency to get bored, restlessness, infidelity, risky decisions. Str engths of lowscorers: detachment, pursuit of intrinsic goals, prudence, fidelity. The weaknesses: not thrusting themselves forward, not having fun, a flat emotional tone. There is no value-judgement about which of these is better from the point of view of a potential employer or spouse, but is certainly worth being aware of the likely pitfalls and most suitable habitats for your particular level of Extraversion.Conscientiousness Conscientiousness measures how good people are at setting themselves goals and sticking to them. High-scorers are disciplined, efficient and systematic. They can resist temptation and stick to priorities they have set themselves. In most modern occupations, and particularly those where you have to manage your own time and priorities, fairly high Conscientiousness is advantageous. Low-scorers are more likely to get distracted from tasks, renege on plans, and succumb to weaknesses of the will. Indeed, low Conscientiousness is a risk factor for developing addic tions of all kinds.Being high in Conscientiousness is not always an unalloyed benefit, though. Sometimes it is indeed important to stick to plans. But at other times it is important to be able to change them on a sixpence. Very high scorers are perceived as grim, pedantic, unspontaneous, even miserly. There is even a name for excessive Conscientiousness – obsessive-compulsive personality disorder – and this is a very socially disabling condition. There are many human activities, including, crucially, social relationships, where it is essential to be able to respond in the moment to your environment as it changes.Highly conscientious people are rigid, often sticking to tasks and plans even when the point of them has been overtaken by events, or when the needs of others around them require spontaneous reorganising of priorities. Thus, if you are very low in Conscientiousness, for the sake of your career, your health, and your wellbeing, you may need to work effortfully a t seeing your plans through, and being selfdisciplined. If you are a very high scorer, you may need to learn to be more spontaneous and intuitive, again for the benefits that this will bring in terms of flexibility and improved social relationships.Neuroticism I would like to dispel the notion that Neuroticism is always a bad thing, a kind of pathology, and that the best level of Neuroticism to have is a very low one. The evidence for the prosecution: yes, high-scorers live their lives under the Damoclean swords of depression, anxiety, stress, and disappointment. Whatever the world says about them, they are often uncomfortable in their inner lives, and go through life either with bouts of difficult times, or with a constant vague feeling that something is not quite right.However, if we think logically, negative emotions, such as worry, are always going to be there for a reason. One would not want to be entirely without worry. It would be as damaging to life decisions as the inabilit y to feel physical pain is to peripheral physiology. High Neuroticism scorers can bring to bear enormous powers of deep thought, detailed analysis, novel insight. They care about the details that others can't be bothered to follow up. Under some circumstances they do well academically. If you are a high-scorer, you may well be a member of a thinking profession such as an academic or a writer.High Neuroticism scorers, then, have hidden advantages. The challenge for them is to find ways to deal with the negative sequels of their personality. Some people respond well to cognitivebehavioural therapy, some to meditation, many to exercise. Low-scorers, too, have disadvantages. You probably don't suffer much in life, which is good, but maybe you are not thoughtful enough. Maybe you let details go, and don't think deeply enough about future drawbacks or problems. Maybe you are too carefree or rose-spectacled to see every potentiality. Agreeableness Agreeableness is a dimension of empathy to wards others.High-scorers are often found in caring professions such as nursing and counselling.. They have larger-than-average social networks, and their relationships with others are harmonious. They don't get into fights and are generally slow to anger. By contrast, the very lowest-scorers are sociopaths; they callously use others for their own ends. So far so good. It is better to be well-liked than to be a sociopath. However, in many fields, high Agreeableness reduces occupational attainment. Nice guys really do finish last, and moreover, plenty of our leaders have something of the sociopath about them.Successful artists and executives, though, tend to be rather low in Agreeableness. This means that the high Agreeableness scorer may not be prepared to be hard-headed. You may stay in relationships that do you no good out of empathy for the others involved. Agreeableness is the most sexually-patterned of the Big Five, with – no prizes for guessing – women scoring mo re highly on average than men. This adds an interesting new perspective on the paucity of women in positions of power. Many of them find it difficult to be callous enough.Should we be encouraging them to be more callous, or trying to change what we reward? Openness Openness is a dimension of imagination. High-scorers make mental associations that go beyond what is given to the senses, or what is logically deducible. They are keen on poetry and the arts, and often have metaphysical or esoteric ideas. Nobody wants to be called unimaginative, but when you stop and think about it, it is not evident Nobody wants to be called unimaginative, but when you stop and think about it, it is not evident that being imaginative in this sense is necessarily useful in life.Low-scorers can be very intelligent and capable, though they will be oriented towards the practical and the soluble. High-scorers will be more able and willing to venture into the domains of the aesthetic. However, they can also de velop eccentric, paranormal or even delusional beliefs, and fail to solve simply resolvable practical problems. Neither a high nor a low score is inherently desirable; it is simple a matter of harnessing the strengths that you have. www. independent. co. uk ht:/w. needn. ou/essinepro tp/wwidpnetc. knw/cec/es nlt-htmksyutewyyuae426. tl aiywa-ae-o-h-a-o-r-069hm ht:/o. lfg tp/gog/fS