CHILDREN'S HEALTH Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CHILDREN'S HEALTH - Essay Example Generally, children who are uninsured face barriers to obtaining healthcare services.Un-insurance rates were the highest amongst children of ethnic minorities. The percentages of children uninsured were 6% for whites, 21% for Latinos, 15% for Native Americans, 7% for African Americans, and 4% for Asians or Pacific Islanders (Flores and Tomany-Korman, 2008a). There was a greater incidence of health problems with ethnic minorities comparedto the rest of the population including obesity, asthma, emotional difficulties, speech and behavioural problems, poor dental care, no dental or medical visit in the preceding 12 months and no access to prescription medications to name a few (Flores and Tomany-Korman, 2008a). It particular, children from certain ethnic groups had issues specific only to that group both in medical conditions and in gaining access to healthcare (Flores and Tomany-Korman, 2008a). In Latinos, there were problems with overall health and getting speciality treatment. In Afr ican Americans, hearing and vision problems, skin allergies along with dental issues and speech problems seemed prevalent and in Native Americans, hearing and vision problems were widespread.

Entire Course (Managerial Economics) Essay Example for Free

Entire Course (Managerial Economics) Essay Firm Objectives. Why do some business firms pursue a triple-bottom-line outcome while others focus only on profit maximization? Please, use a real company example to illustrate your points Decision Making Under Uncertainty. To save on gasoline expenses, Edith and Mathew agreed to carpool together for traveling to and from work. Edith preferred to travel on I-20 highway as it was usually the fastest, taking 25 minutes in the absence of traffic delays. Mathew pointed out that traffic jams on the highway can lead to long delays making the trip 45 minutes. He preferred to travel along Shea Boulevard, which was longer (35 minutes), but rarely had traffic jams. Edith agreed that in case of traffic jams, Shea Boulevard was a reasonable alternative. Neither of them knows the state of the highway ahead of time. After driving to work on the I-20 highway for 1 month (20 workdays), they found the highway to be jammed 3 times. Assuming that this month is a good representation of all months ahead, should Edith and Mathew continue to use the highway for traveling to work? How would you conclusion change for the winter months, if bad weather makes it likely for traffic jams on the highway to increase to 6 days per month? How would your conclusion change if Mathew purchased a new smart-phone app that could show the status of the highway traffic prior to their drive each morning, thus reducing the probability of them getting into a jam down to only 1day per month (where on this day, the app showed no traffic jam, but a jam developed in the meantime as they were driving along the highway). Economics of Risk and Uncertainty Applied Problems. Please, complete the following 3 applied problems in a Word or Excel document. Show all your calculations and explain your results. Submit your assignment in the drop box by using the Assignment Submission button. 1. A generous university benefactor has agreed to donate a large amount of money  for student scholarships. The money can be provided in one lump-sum of $10mln, or in parts, where $5.5mln can be provided in year 1, and another $5.5mln can be provided in year 2. Assuming the opportunity interest rate is 6%, what is the present value of the second alternative? Which of the two alternatives should be chosen and why? How would your decision change if the opportunity interest rate was 12%? Please, show all your calculations. 2. Volkswagen is considering opening an Assembly Plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the production of its 2012 Passat, tailored for the US market. The CEO of the company is considering two potential options for the size of the plant: one is a large size with a projected annual production of 150,000 cars, and the other one is a smaller size plant, which is cheaper to build, but can only produce up to 80,000 cars per year. Depending on the expected level of demand for these cars in the US, Volkswagen has to decide which option is more profitable. The discount rate is 6% and for simplicity purposes, the CEO is only evaluating a two-year horizon. The initial factory setup cost, the expected demand scenarios, profit, and probabilities are shows in the below table. Calculate the Net Present Value in each of the two options. Which option should the CEO choose and why? Please, show all your calculations. 3. An angel investor is considering investing in one of two start-up businesses and is evaluating the expected returns along with the risk of each option in order to choose the better alternative. Business 1 is an innovative protein energy drink, which has ENPV of $100,000 with a standard deviation of $40,000. Business 2 is a unique chicken wings dipping sauce with an ENPV of $60,000 and a standard deviation of $25,000. a) Apply the coefficient-of-variation decision criterion to these alternatives to find out which is preferred by the angel investor, assuming that he/she is risk-averse. b) Apply the maximin criterion, assuming that the worst outcome in Business 1 is to lose $5,000, whereas the worst outcome in Business 2 is to make only $5,000 in profit. c) If you were the angel investor, what is your certainty equivalent for these two projects? Are you risk-averse, risk-neutral, or risk-lover? Week 2 Marginal Rate of Substitution. What is the marginal rate of substitution (MRS) and why does it diminish as  the consumer substitutes one product for another? Use examples to illustrate Demand Elasticity. Please, read the article Hainer, R. (2010), provided in the required readings section for this week. The tobacco industry is a prime example to consider when talking about price elasticity of demand. While nicotine use can be addictive for many users, it is not addictive for the so-called social smokers. What can we say about the price elasticity of demand for nicotine products (such as cigarettes, pipes, tobacco) in the group of nicotine addicted users, versus the group of social smokers? Can we say whose demand is likely to be more elastic? Why? Consumer Demand Analysis and Estimation Applied Problems. Please, complete the following 3 applied problems in a Word or Excel document. Show all your calculations and explain your results. Submit your assignment in the drop box by using the Assignment Submission button. 1. Roshima is researching universities where she could study for her MBA degree. She is considering 3 major attributes that she considers important in her choice: ranking, price, and location. The value she places on each attribute, however, differs according to whether she remains full-time employed during her studies or quits her job and focuses on her degree. If she continues to work full time and takes all her courses online, then ranking is the most important attribute, twice as important as price and three times as important as location. If she quits her job and attends school full time, then location becomes three times as important as ranking and twice as important as price. She is considering two universities, respectively, the MBA program at Arizona State University (ASU) and the MBA program at University of Phoenix (UOP), both of which are priced at approximately $25,000. She has rated each attribute on a scale of 1 to 100 for each of the two schools. a. Which of the two options should Roshima pursue of she wants to keep her full-time job? (Calculate the total expected utility from each school option and compare. Graph is not required) b. Which of the two options should she pick if she plans to quit her job and dedicate to her studies? c. Which option should she pursue if the probability of being laid off and unable to find a new job is estimated as  0.6? Show your calculations and explain your reasoning. 2. The demand function for Einstein Bagels has been estimated as follows: – 40.73Px + 84.17Py + 0.55Ax  where Qx represents thousands of bagels; Px is the price per bagel; Py is the average price per bagel of other brands of bagels; and Ax represents thousands of dollars spent advertising Einstein Bagels. The current values of the independent variables are , , and a. Calculate the price elasticity of demand for Einstein’s Bagels and explain what it means. b. Derive an expression for the (inverse) demand curve for Einsteins’s Bagels. c. If the cost of producing Einstein’s Bagels is constant at $0.10 per bagel, should they reduce price and thereafter, sell more bagels (assume profit maximization is the company’s goal)? d. Should Einstein Bagels spend more on advertising? 3. The consulting firm that you work for has been hired by the US Government to provide an independent analysis of the demand-side effects of a contemplated increase in the tax on gasoline. They provide you with a data set relating to the period 1962-1987, which they say contains valuable historic lessons relating to the impact of volatile pump prices due to the supply restrictions imposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations that required car manufacturers to increase the fuel efficiency of the cars they sold, while at the same time Real Disposable Income (RDI) per capita was rising, the number of passenger cars (NPC) almost doubled, and inflation was pushing up the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Week 3 Relevant Costs. Two partners own together a small landscaping business in North Carolina, called Summer Lawn Care. They have been specializing in summer grass seeding, installation, and maintenance. Recently, the partners acquired special technology and know-how for winter grass installations and maintenance. They also added a tree cutting service as recent storms in the  area had caused demand for this service to soar. One of the partners insists that the name of the business should change to Lawn and Tree Care, so that it better reflects the range of services and, thus, generates more customer interest, and thus contracts. The second partner wants to keep the old name and argues, â€Å"We have already paid for business cards, vehicle paint, signage, and ads in Yellow Pages†. Evaluate the arguments of the two partners. Explain and illustrate their points by identifying the relevant and irrelevant costs for this decision. Contribution Analysis. Explain what is meant by â€Å"contribution analysis†. Carefully define the term and provide examples to illustrate it. Production Cost Analysis and Estimation Applied Problems. Please, complete the following 3 applied problems in a Word or Excel document. Show all your calculations and explain your results. Submit your assignment in the drop box by using the Assignment Submission button. 1. Jennifer Trucking Company operates a large rig transportation business in Texas that transports locally grown vegetables to San Diego, California. The company owns 5 large rigs and hires local drivers paid fixed salaries monthly, regardless of the number of trips or tons of cargo that each driver transports each month. 2. The Palms Dry Cleaning Shop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, faces a highly seasonal demand for its services, as the snow-birds retirees flock to Florida in mid-fall to enjoy the mild winter weather and then return to their main homes in mid-spring. Given this seasonality, Palms tries to keep the overhead costs as low as possible and therefore, often uses seasonal contracted labor to man its operations. The following table shows the labor costs in each month of operation over the past 12 months as well as the total number of garments that were dry-cleaned in each month. Palms pays fixed wages per hour to each employee, and we can assume that the costs of other variable inputs (such as chemicals, electricity, etc) have remained constant. 3. Over the past 12 months the Four Winds Novelty Company firm has recorded its internet sales (equals monthly output levels) and its monthly total variable costs (TVC) for a particular novelty item as shown in the following table. Sales have grown over this period with  relatively few shocks due to uncontrollable weather, political and sporting events. This online retailer carries no inventories; when it receives a pre-paid on-line order from a customer, it simply buys the product from a supplier and ships it out to the customer. Week 4 Strategic Behavior Oligopolies. An interesting example of strategic behavior comes from a 1997 article about Microsoft’s investment in Apple (New Straits Times, 1997). The article is included in the Required Readings list. Facing tough anti-trust scrutiny from government agencies, Microsoft provided financial support to Apple in order to ensure Apple’s survival and, therefore, to ensure that competitiveness in the industry remains. Moreover, the partnership with Apple provided an additional market for Microsoft’s products – the MS Office and the IE products were to be bundled with the MAC OS as one of the conditions for this financing. Discuss this case in the context of market structure and strategic behavior. What market structure do these firms operate in? Why did Microsoft need to preserve competitiveness in the industry? What was Microsoft afraid of in the event that Apple did not survive? Local Market Power. Bulls Eye department store specializes in the sales of discounted clothing, shoes, household items, etc. similar to the offerings at a regular Walmart or Target. Bulls Eye is the only department store in Show Low and the nearest other discount retailer is Target, located 49 miles away in Eagar. Bulls Eye, therefore, has some market power in its local area. Despite having some market power, Bulls Eye is currently suffering losses. An analyst at Bulls Eye is recommending to the manager to raise prices, so that profitability can be improved. The manager is unsure of this strategy as recent data points to increasing numbers of individuals shopping more and more. What are the pros and cons of raising the prices at Bulls Eye and would that strategy be profitable? Market Structures and Pricing Decisions Applied Problems. A small business which produces plastic vacuum-suction covers for round household dishes has  a monopoly that is protected by a utility patent. The market demand curve for this product is estimated to be: – 25P where Q is the number of plate covers per year and P is in dollars. Cost estimation processes have determined that the firm’s cost function is represented by + 2500Q -0.25*Q2. 2. Greener Grass Company (GGC) competes with its main rival, Better Lawns and Gardens (BLG), in the supply and installation of in-ground lawn watering systems in the wealthy western suburbs of a major east-coast city.Last year, GGC’s price for the typical lawn system was $1,995 compared with BLG’s price of $2,100. GGC installed 9,130 systems, or about 55% of total sales and BLG installed the rest. (No doubt many additional systems were installed by do-it-yourself homeowners since the parts are readily available at har dware stores.) Week 5 Good Will in Price Bidding. Sometimes, a bidder on a work contract may bid lower than what would maximize his/her profit from the contract and the reason for that is to create goodwill (to increase expected future business from the buyer). How would you value the goodwill that is obtained in this way? New Product Introduction. Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany owns the Alka-Seltzer, which was launched in 1931 and was meant for relief of minor aches, pains, inflammation, fever, headache, heartburn, sour stomach, indigestion, and hangovers. The Alka-Seltzer Plus was a spin-off of the original medicine, meant to relieve colds and flu. The company has recently introduced a new and improved Alka-Seltzer Plus, as described in the TV ad: â€Å"The Cold Truth†, (please, watch the ad listed in the Required Readings) Price Quotes and Pricing Decisions Applied Problems. Please, complete the following 3 applied problems in a Word or Excel document. Show all your calculations and explain your results. Submit your assignment in the drop box by using the Assignment Submission button. Maxim Motronics A.G. have been marketing a new product in Europe that has achieved notable market success and it now plans to introduce this product into the United States market. Week 6 Game Theory and Strategic Behavior. Suppose that GE is trying to prevent Maytag from entering the market for high efficiency clothes dryers. Even though high efficiency dryers are more costly to produce, they are also more profitable as they command sufficiently higher prices from consumers. The following payoffs table shows the annual profits for GE and Maytag for the advertising spending and entry decisions that they are facing. Based on this information, can GE successfully prevent Maytag from entering this market by increasing its advertising levels? What is the equilibrium outcome in this game? Sustainable Competitive Advantage. Describe the circumstances under which a firm chooses a low-cost strategy to attain sustainable competitive advantage. What about the situations when a differentiation strategy is chosen? Provide specific real world examples. Focus of the Final Paper Research a specific company of your choice and identify some of the managerial decisions that were made over time and in response to changes in its market or competitive environment. Use the Ashford University Online Library and web-based sources for your research. At least three external scholarly sources must be used. Address all of the following areas: Describe the company and provide a brief history of its operations. Find or use graphs to illustrate its financial performance over the years. Identify any sources of risk or uncertainty in its operations. Do the financial reports indicate risky or uncertain activities or changes to the economic environment that ultimately appear to have affected the company’s financial outcomes? Be specific. Are there any government regulations that have affected this company’s operations domestically or abroad? Explain.

Womens Role In The Economy Essay example -- essays papers

Womens Role In The Economy â€Å"The Transfer of Women’s Work from the Home to the Market† â€Å"The transfer of women’s work from the household to commercial employment is one of the most notable features of economic development† (Lewis, Historical Perspectives on the American Economy P. 550). In colonial America there was a distinct sexual division of labor. Men were property owners and heads of households. A man’s responsibilities included staple crop farming, hunting, and skilled craftsmanship in order to produce commodities for market (An Economic History of Women in America Pp. 30-33). Women were responsible for a variety of different jobs. In the home and the fields women ensured the survival of the family. They were responsible for child rearing, housework, food processing, cloth and clothing manufacture, candle and soap making, household furnishings, and farm chores (EHWA P. 31). A few unmarried women would work outside the home as domestics or farm servants. Women would also handle the sale of handicrafts and household manufacture. In the early nineteenth century only a very small fraction of women in the United States worked in the agricultural, industrial, and service areas of the market sector. Wages of women relative to those of men were exceptionally low within the area of agriculture. With the spread of industry, relative wages for women increased, and their employment appeared to be linked to the technological advances of the factory system. As the country became more industrialized, more women began to work outside the home, in factories and in the clerical sector, and their wages began to increase relative to the wages of men. Late in the nineteenth century there was a rising demand for clerical workers. By 1890, only 18.2% of adult women participated in the labor market. Of that 19%, 40.5% were single women (aged between fifteen and twenty-four). Only 4.6% were married women. (HPAE P. 560) It was not until the twentieth century that married women entered the labor force in any substantial way. They first entered the labor force in the 1920’s when they were young, and later in the 1940’s and 1950’s, in their post-child-rearing years. There have been important gains in the participation of married women in the labor force, with particular age groups, or cohorts, affected during particular decades. I... ...ed women in America’s past frequently came from an economic necessity, but it has also implied economic autonomy. The rise of economic independence for women has resulted in many social and societal changes such as the formation of wider and less family-dependant social networks, a greater chance for marital dissolution, and the possibility of less constrained and structured gender roles (HPAE P. 571). Today, there are almost as many women in the work force as there are men. It is now a rarity for a woman to work exclusively within the home. In our current economy it is almost a necessity for both the man and woman to work outside the home in order for the household to survive. It was interesting to learn about the economic factors affected women’s participation in the work force in the past and relate that to women’s role in the work force today. Bibliography: Matthaei, Julie A. An Economic History of Women in America: Women’s Work, the Sexual Division of Labor, and Development of Capitalism. New York: Schocken Books, 1982. Whaples, Robert and Betts, Dianne C. Historical Perspectives on the American Economy. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

Medical Mechanics of Ultrarunning :: Running Sports Essays

Medical Mechanics of Ultrarunning The medical aspects of ultramarathon running are a enormous part of what makes up the individual ultra runner. Many traumatic injuries can take place when a person gets involved in this specific sport. " It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of injury prevention and treatment to the career of a successful athlete. It has been noted that the champion athlete is very often one who has attained a high level of lay expertise and downright craftiness with regard to injuries, whereas novices seem to keep getting hurt. Very often the difference between the perennial champion and the perennial bridesmaid is just that edge: an ability to avoid and/or recover quickly from physical trauma."(Marty Liquiri) This quote made by Marty is stating the point that preventing injuries is a essential aspect that a runner has to consider. There are a limitless amount of injuries that a runner might have to deal with. Several precautions can be taken to make sure most of these injuries do not tak e place. Proper stretching is a very major part of preventing injuries concerning running. In order to run any distance your muscles as well as body have to be readily prepared. There are four stretching techniques that I have learned about. The first one is ballistic stretching. This stretch activates the stretch reflex, allowing the stretched muscle to contract quickly and the runner to bob up with a lot of speed. This stretch is not a popular one and is not very useful in ultra running. The second stretch is called the passive stretching. This stretch needs a partner to apply extra external pressure to elaborate the stretch. This stretch is safest when applied to more experienced athletes and is not advised for beginners just learning the whole stretching routine. The third way of stretching is referred to as contract-relax stretching. In this stretch the muscle is allowed to contract actively while being stretched and then stretched once more immediately after it relaxes. The fourth and f inal stretch is considered static stretching. This stretch is positioned and held for thirty to sixty seconds. There is a gradual build up of tension in the muscle being stretched so the stretch reflex isn't activated. As the tendons are slowly being stretched the inverse stretch reflex is being activated and the tension in the muscle lessons so the muscle can be stretched even further than before.

It236 Week 2

Web site plan part one. * Tittle: Cocibolca Money Transfer web site. This site will be design for a small money transfer business, in need of a web site to promote their services and to try to enhance their business success. * Site purpose- The purpose of my site is to promote and informed customers about the products and services offered by this small business services. In which customers will be able to see and understand the different products and services in detail; such as pricing on every product and services.By creating and maintaining this site the company, is hoping to gain more customers to use their services. This site will help the company to keep up with today’s business standards. * Key points of this web site- This web site will be focused in providing a customer service and successful customer experience. 1. Detail information- when customers go online, they do not want to make a phone call or email a company to obtain the information that they need about produ cts and services.The goal is to provide ensure that, when a customer goes into this web site easily find answers to any questions. 2. Services- On this site the services offered by this company, will be describe in detail using a good visual design. Having this in mind it is important to have clean and simple design that will stand out from competitors. A great visual design will catch the attention of everyone that logs in; the first impression it is crucial. 3.Contact information- It is essential to provide contact information that a potential customer can use easily. It is ideal to provide more than one contact method, such and email address and also a contact form. 4. Search field- Having a search field will be very beneficial; it can be very frustrating having to go over a few pages of site before obtaining information of a specific service or content. * Target Audience-The target audience will be the Hispanic community that uses the products and services of money transfer busi ness.The local Hispanic community of Miami Dade County especially those from south and Central America that are known to use money transfer services very often. * Pages transition- In this site I am planning to create a uniform look among each page and sections of the site. By reinforcing and identifying elements of the site and create smooth transitions from one page to another by repeating colors and fonts and by using a page layout that allows hierarchical levels. On this site I also think that it is imperative to use all the blank spaces of every pages and section on the site.With the use of every white space on this web site, will guide the readers and it will define each area of the site. * Slogan- Good service is our expertise!!!!! — This slogan will induce the target audience to use the business services, and the slogan drive the site content, because it represent everything that will be presented on the web site. Every service available to help every customer in thei r needs and also to demonstrate the expertise of the business in servicing customers is presented on this slogan. Sources: (Sklar)

Mistrust vs. Distrust

Mistrust vs. Distrust Mistrust vs. Distrust Mistrust vs. Distrust By Maeve Maddox A reader wants to know if there is a difference between the words mistrust and distrust. The short answer is, â€Å"No.† As verbs, both distrust and mistrust mean, â€Å"to be without confidence.† As nouns, both distrust and mistrust mean, â€Å"lack of trust or confidence.† The Google Ngram Viewer graph shows distrust as the more common of the two words since 1800. When I entered various phrases, the ones that began with distrust were more common than the ones with mistrust–with one curious exception: â€Å"mistrust my wife† was more common than â€Å"distrust my wife.† And neither â€Å"mistrust my husband† nor â€Å"distrust my husband† brought up any results at all. I predict that mistrust will eventually drop out of general use. I base my prediction on the fact that a red squiggly line appears under mistrust when I type a phrase with it into the Google search box. Another clue is that the search results come up prefaced with the question, â€Å"Do you mean distrust?† The only possible distinction I can discern between mistrust and distrust is that mistrust is a slightly â€Å"softer† word that may imply some doubt that the lack of trust is justified. Here are some examples of current usage of these synonyms: Marilyns insecurity made  her mistrust  everyone. Gen Halvorson cant resist reaching out to the little boy, despite his fathers obvious mistrust of her talents and her motives.   Politics has become static in America, and Americans  have always distrusted politicians.      I  distrust those  people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires. –Susan B. Anthony   Research has found we  distrust those who  are mean with their money. Cynicism  is an  attitude  or state of mind characterized by a general distrust of others motives believing that humans are selfish by nature. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Direct and Indirect Objects60 Synonyms for â€Å"Trip†Empathic or Empathetic?

Environmental Costs of Hydrofracking

Environmental Costs of Hydrofracking Natural gas drilling with high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing (hereafter referred to as fracking) has exploded onto the energy scene in the last 5 or 6 years, and the promise of vast stores of natural gas under American soil has prompted a true natural gas rush. Once the technology was developed, new drill rigs appeared all over landscapes in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Texas, and Wyoming. Many have worries about the environmental consequences of this new approach to drilling; here are some of those concerns. Drill Cuttings During the drilling process, large amounts of ground up rock, mixed with drilling mud and brine, are pulled out of the well and transported off the site. This waste then gets buried in landfills. Beside the large waste volume that needs to be accommodated, a concern with drill cuttings is the presence of naturally occurring radioactive materials in them. Radium and uranium can be found in drill cuttings (and produced water – see below) from a proportion of wells, and these elements eventually leach out of the landfills into the surrounding ground and surface waters. Water Use Once a well has been drilled, large amounts of water are pumped into the well at very high pressure to fracture the rock in which the natural gas is located. During a single fracking operation on a single well (wells can be fracked multiple times over their lifetime), on average 4 million gallons of water are used. This water is pumped from streams or rivers and trucked to the site, bought from municipal water sources, or is reused from other fracking operation. Many are concerned about these important water withdrawals, and worried that it may lower the water table in some areas, leading to dry wells and degraded fish habitat. Fracking Chemicals A long, varying list of chemical additives is added to the water in the fracking process. The toxicity of these additives is variable, and many new chemical compounds are created during the fracking process as some of the added ingredients break-down. Once the fracking water returns to the surface, it needs to be treated before disposal (see Water Disposal below). The amount of chemicals added represents a very small fraction of the total volume of fracking water (around 1%). However, this very small fraction detracts from the fact that in absolute terms it is rather large volumes that are used. For a well requiring 4 million gallons of water, about 40,000 gallons of additives are pumped in. The greatest risks associated with these chemicals occur during their transportation, as tanker trucks must use the local roads to bring them to the drill pads. An accident involved spilled contents would have significant public safety and environmental consequences.   Water Disposal A large proportion of the prodigious amounts of water pumped down the well flows back up when the well starts producing natural gas. Besides the fracking chemicals, brine that was naturally present in the shale layer comes back up, too. This amounts to a large volume of liquid that is released into a lined pond, then pumped into trucks and transported to either be recycled for other drilling operations, or to be treated. This â€Å"produced water† is toxic, containing fracking chemicals, high concentrations of salt, and sometimes radioactive materials like radium and uranium. Heavy metals from the shale are of concern too: produced water will contain lead, arsenic, barium, and strontium for example. Spills from failed retention ponds or botched transfers to trucks do happen and have an impact on local streams and wetlands. Then, the water disposal process is not trivial. One method is injection wells. Waste water is injected into the ground at great depths under impermeable rock layers. The extremely high pressure used in this process is blamed for earthquake swarms in Texas, Oklahoma, and Ohio. The second way fracking waste water can be disposed of is in industrial wastewater treatment plants. There have been problems with ineffective treatments at Pennsylvania municipal water treatment plants, so that practice has now ended and only approved industrial treatment plants can be used. Casing Leaks The deep wells used in horizontal hydrofracking are lined with steel casings. Sometimes these casings fail, allowing fracking chemicals, brines, or natural gas to escape into the shallower rock layers and severely contaminating ground water that may reach the surface of be used for drinking water. An example of this problem, documented by the Environmental Protection Agency, is the Pavillion (Wyoming) groundwater contamination case.   Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change Methane is a major component of natural gas, and a very powerful greenhouse gas. Methane can leak from damaged casings, well heads, or it may be vented during some phases of a fracking operation. Combined, these leaks have significant negative impacts on the climate. Carbon dioxide emissions from burning natural gas are much lower, per quantity of energy produced, than from burning oil or coal. Natural gas would then seem to be a reasonably good alternative to more CO2 intensive fuels. The problem is that throughout the entire production cycle of natural gas, a great deal of methane is released, negating some or all of the climate change advantages natural gas seemed to have over coal. Ongoing research will hopefully provide answers as to which is least damaging, but there is no doubt that mining and burning natural gas produces great amounts of greenhouse gases and thus contributes to global climate change. Habitat Fragmentation Well pads, access roads, waste water ponds, and pipelines crisscross the landscape in natural gas producing regions. This fragments the landscape, reducing the size of wildlife habitat patches, isolating them from one another, and contributing to detrimental edge habitat. Peripheral Aspects Fracking for natural gas in horizontal wells is an expensive process that can only be done economically at high density, industrializing the landscape. Emissions and noise from diesel trucks and compressor stations have negative impacts on the local air quality and overall quality of life. Fracking requires large amounts of equipment and materials which themselves are mined or produced at high environmental costs, notably steel and frac sand. Environmental Benefits? At the local scale, the land footprint from fracking operations, especially once the well has been established and the drill rig is gone, is smaller than that of coal strip mines, mountain-top removal mines, or tar sands fields. The footprint of thousands of wells and pipeline right-of-ways over an entire region do add up, though.Natural gas from Marcellus, Barnett, or other North American shale deposits allows us to rely on a domestic source of energy.   That means less energy spent transporting fossil fuels from overseas, and more importantly maintaining the ability to have stricter environmental controls over the entire energy production process. Source Duggan-Haas, D., R.M. Ross, and W.D. Allmon. 2013. The Science Beneath the Surface: A Very Short Guide to the Marcellus Shale. Paleontological Research Institute.

Classroom Desk Arrangement Ideas

Classroom Desk Arrangement Ideas Your desk arrangement choices reflect your teaching goals and philosophy. The furniture in your classroom isnt just a bunch of meaningless wood, metal, and plastic. In fact, how you arrange the desks in your room says a lot to students, parents, and visitors about what you want to accomplish and even what you believe about student interactions and learning. So before you start sliding desks and chairs around, consider how various student desk arrangements can make it easier for you to accomplish learning goals and manage student discipline issues. Here are 6 suggestions for arranging student desks in your classroom. 1. Classic Rows Most of us sat in traditional rows during our school years, from elementary school all the way through college. Picture a room with students facing forward to the teacher and whiteboard in either horizontal or vertical rows. The classic row set-up places students in an audience collectively focused on traditional teacher-centric lessons as the day goes along. Its relatively easy for teachers to spot chatty or misbehaving students because every child should be facing forward at all times. One drawback is that rows make it difficult for students to work in small groups. 2. Cooperative Clusters Many elementary school teachers utilize cooperative clusters, generally disappearing as students move into junior high school and beyond. If, for example, you have twenty students, you could organize their desks into four groups of five, or five groups of four. By strategically forming the groups based on student personality and work style, you can have students work together cooperatively throughout the day without having to take time to rearrange desks or form new groups every day. One drawback is that some students will get easily distracted by facing other students and not the front of the class. 3. Horseshoe or U-shape Arranging desks in a wide horseshoe shape or angular u-shape (facing the teacher and whiteboard) facilitates whole group discussions while still forcing students to face forward for teacher-directed instruction. It might be a tight squeeze to fit all of your students desks into a horseshoe shape, but try forming more than one row or tightening the horseshoe, if necessary. 4. Full Circle Its unlikely that you will want elementary-aged students to sit in a full circle all day every day. However, you may want to have your students move their desks into a closed circle on a temporary basis in order to hold a class meeting or hold a writers workshop where students will be sharing their work and offering each other feedback. 5. Remember to Include Aisles No matter how you choose to arrange your students desks, remember to build in aisles for easy movement around the classroom. Not only do you need to allow students space to move, its important to note that effective teachers are always walking around the classroom using proximity to manage behavior and help students as they need assistance. 6. Keep It Fluid It may be tempting to set up your students desks once at the beginning of the school year and keep it that way all year long. But the art of desk arrangement should actually be fluid, functional, and creative. If a certain set-up isnt working for you, make a change. If you notice a recurring behavior problem that could be alleviated by moving desks, give it a try. Remember to move your students around, too - not just their desks. This keeps students on their toes. As you get to know them better, you can judge where each student should sit for maximal learning and minimal distraction. Edited by: Janelle Cox

Theory of Continental Drift Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Theory of Continental Drift - Essay Example Some of the evidence gathered in the last part of the twentieth century to support the theory of continental drift includes the glacial till deposits. With the continents in their current locations, the till deposits tend to point towards an inconsistent glacier kinesis. Fitting the continents together reveals a more reorganized motion of the glaciers from the southern Africa region to northern Australia outward (Bugielski, 1999). Paleontologists discovered fossils of species that bore similarities to other species that are in continents now isolated by enormous distance. Paleoclimate studies, a science dealing with the study of the earth’s climate in the periods past discloses that glaciers stretched over large tracts of the world which are now rendered apart by colossal geographic spans. This evidence appears to point to the fact that the lithosphere had been travelling over geologic time. A Paleomagnetic study, which investigates the Earth,’s past magnetic activities also tend to strongly support the theory of continental drift. Studies show that the magnetic north pole apparently strolled all over the earth, indicating that either the tectonic plates or the North Pole was moving. But because the North Pole is in effect fixed with the exception of cycles of magnetic reversal, this evidence becomes a strong endorsement of the theory of continental drift. More evidence surfaced in the wake of World War II when seismometers were set up to check nuclear testing. These gadgets revealed that volcanoes and earthquakes aligned along apparent belts around the globe and that these belts delineated the boundaries of tectonic plates. Scientists rejected Wegener’s ideas then because he did not explain why and how the continents moved, he just provided observational evidence that they had indeed moved. In the absence of reasonable physical mechanism to support continental drift, many scientists simply found the idea unacceptable. Back in his times, ma ny scientists were of the conviction that the structure of the earth was because of the earth going through successive phases of heating and cooling that resulted in the expansion and contraction of landmasses (Aber, 2007). If they were to believe Wegener’s theory, it would mean that they would have to forget everything that they had learnt and start all over again. As time passed, increasingly more evidence supporting continental drift became available and more practitioners had to align themselves with this new sphere of knowledge. These ideas accentuate the theory of an ocean floor that evolves and repositions. This theory is popularly known as Plate Tectonics. Scientific method relates to techniques for probing events, obtaining new and novel knowledge and re-examining the earlier knowledge and beliefs. The key attribute that differentiates a scientific method from any other method of knowledge acquisition is the fact that knowledge is gained through evidence and proof. S cientific method comprises four main stages: The first is the examination and explanation of phenomena followed by the construction of a theory to account for the same phenomena. The third stage is the use of the theory to, quantitatively, predicts the outcome of new observations. The final stage is the piloting of thoroughly conducted experiments on the predictions by several competent and impartial experimenters and finally a conclusion regarding the outcome of such experiments

Company Review Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Company Review - Case Study Example Change management process content is drawn from sociology, psychology, business administration, systems engineering, economics, industrial engineering and study of human and organisational behaviour. The changing process is called "unfreezing, changing and defreezing" based on http://home.att.net/nickols/change.htm Oticon has employed models like 'Problem solving and problem finding' depending on the principle that change management, always mirrors the managing mindset and in this case, it was the mindset of only one person, Kolind. He has drawn from all skills, including political, analytical, people, business and system skills. There are four basic Change Management strategies (given below) regularly employed in a situation like Oticon, and it shows the capability of Kolind that he could use all of them with complete success: 4. Environmental - adaptive and this reiterates that people are environmentally adaptive to new situations, however distasteful they might look at first glance, people would go to a great extent to adapt themselves to new situations, which brings us to memories of evolution theory, where Darwin said adaptation to new situation is the key of human existence on earth and it all goes to prove the immense adaptation power inherent in humans. Kolind adapted Professor Albert Mehrabian's Communication Model that argues for face-to-face conversation. According to this Model, there is no better way of getting substantial change introduced into a company other than actually talking and discussing, valuing, assessing the situation with the employees and superiors or managers. Kolind has reduced all paper work, introduced stand coffee bars where staff could any time assemble and discuss matters and on the whole, encouraged discussions and more discussions in Oticon. Looking at the results, it is definite that this model has paid off by creating immense profit, 100% turnover and as many as fifteen discoveries and innovations. Another model that has inspired the revolution in Oticon is Ken Blanchard's Gung Ho model. Gung Ho mainly talks about inspiring and motivating employees at all levels and taking them with the fast evolving organisation. Kolind had not left a single employee behind. He has cajoled them, lulled, encouraged and even threatened them to fall into line with him in broadening the horizons of the company and obviously he had been

Critically assess the changes taking place in business approaches to Essay

Critically assess the changes taking place in business approaches to sustainability, including the roles of NGOs and national go - Essay Example However, presently, it has been noticed that the companies are developing policies and goals considering the regional and national goals and also, focus towards sustainability rather than giving importance to piecemeal. There are examples of various individual firms, which are working in collaboration with the NGOs and even government-regulated organisations, in order to achieve corporate goals sustainably (Ekwueme, Egbunike and Onyali, 2013). However, before discussing the change or shift in the business environment towards sustainability, the implication of business sustainability needs to be understood. Business sustainability is also known as the way to manage people through a set procedure by which the financial, environmental and social risks are handled and the opportunities and obligations are met. Business sustainability impacts three most significant aspects namely, planet, people and profits (Zu and Kaynak, 2012). Business health not only signifies the financial health of the company, but also the ability of the business to survive shocks. Business which creates value economically and also, contributes towards a healthy ecosystem and stable communities are considered to be a sustainable business. Further in this study, the discussion would throw light on the changes occurring in the business environment, where organisations are moving towards sustainability (Gadenne, et al., 2002). CHANGES TAKING PLACE IN BUSINESS APPROACHES TO SUSTAINABILITY Sustainability and implication of sustainable development in business The notion behind sustainable development has received increasing acknowledgment, yet it is a new concept for various business executives. A well-accepted principle is protecting the capital base of the organisation. Yet these organisations do not think of extending this practice towards the human resource or nature. Sustainable development signifies achieving those potentials which can be integrated into the measurement system and planning of the organisation. Sustainability development theory has a collaboration of various theories, which assist in bring about transformation. However, in this case, only the modernisation theory would be discussed. Modernisation theory depicts the analysis of contemporary ways to eliminate the obstacles by availing modern ways to progress (Hakala and Zsuzsanna, 2012). The manager at Chevron Corporation dealing with environmental affairs believes that environment is indeed a significant issue which presents with both opportunities as well as challenges for the business (Soderbaum, 2008.). It has been put forward by OECD that the practices and attitudes of sustainable change reveal a realistic prospect towards harmonising the economic and environmental considerations. It has been observed by managers that pursuing sustainable strategies is a sign of superior business sense (Eisenhardt, 2000). The concept of sustainable development has also been integrated into the process and policies of business, which are assisting in re-designing the management methods. Two aspects have come forward in sustainable management methods such as, accountability towards non-traditional stakeholders and continuous improvement in the reporting practices. Governance is becoming an increasingly important factor. The stakeholders’

The Rise of a Successful Turkish National Movement Essay

The Rise of a Successful Turkish National Movement - Essay Example According to Shaw, during that period, the Empire gained first control over one of its conquered land known as the Anatolian peninsula. The Ottoman Empire was recognized as one of the successful and powerful states in the world due to a chain of reasons including military tactic and the collapse of the Byzantium Empire. Nevertheless, during the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire succumbed to war. This strong nation was overpowered and reduced to be the land of Turkey. The Empire signed Armistice of Mudros on October 30, 1918, to call off the war, due to the fear of losing everything. Their decision had repercussions since the empire lost control over its Middle Eastern territories to France and Britain under the Sevres treaty. After the downfall of the empire, the Turks began the Turkish national movement, led by Mustafa Kemal since other countries came up with their new territories. This was a result of the occupations of Izmir and Istanbul along with the invading Greek, French, and British. They declined to acknowledge the government in Istanbul and the invading forces. The movement also came up with a people’s army, defending the empire from intruders like the Greeks, French, and Italian. Atatà ¼rk led the Turkish national movement in the Turkish War of Independence. He tactically defeated the forces sent by the allies since he had established a strong provisional government in Ankara, which was loyal to him. His planned military campaigns liberated his country to emerge as an independent state. As an aficionado of the age of Enlightenment, he transformed the former Ottoman Empire into a democratic, modern, and secular state. The principles of Ataturk’s reforms that led to the establishment of Turkey are known as Kemalism.  

Information System Engineering (Case Study about system requirement) Essay

Information System Engineering (Case Study about system requirement) - Essay Example The purpose of this report is to elaborate the system design features for its better implementation. The Children Support Agency (CSA) has emerged as a national charity based organization for the betterment of the UK’s young people. This organization has aimed to facilitate young people of UK for their career and support them for spending their lives effectively. CSA has developed their setup very effectively and they have their central office in London. Recently they have moved their two main offices, a small one in London and a larger one on the South Coast of England in Brighton. In this situation this organization has running lot of projects on diverse domains, for the management of these projects and better information transfer in the overall organization structure is really essential. There is need of some distributed information management system that is able to handle the overall organizational information and have the capability to tenser the data and information to each client. CSA has initiated the development of the central information management system that will help the head office to monitor projects. The system will offer the effective tools to help regional directors, area managers and lead workers to manage their work. At the heart of the system will be the recording and monitoring of key performance indicators (KPIs) for each of the projects managed by CSA. Each department at head office should be able to see information as it relates to their department. Equally, the Regional Directors will need to see the data for their region, Area Managers for their area and Team Leaders for their project. This section will provide the deep insight into the kind of activities for this project to the developer. The developer first analyzes the project requirement. Then he will sort out the workable requirements. After that the developer will draw out the basic system development

The Rise of a Successful Turkish National Movement Essay

The Rise of a Successful Turkish National Movement - Essay Example According to Shaw, during that period, the Empire gained first control over one of its conquered land known as the Anatolian peninsula. The Ottoman Empire was recognized as one of the successful and powerful states in the world due to a chain of reasons including military tactic and the collapse of the Byzantium Empire. Nevertheless, during the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire succumbed to war. This strong nation was overpowered and reduced to be the land of Turkey. The Empire signed Armistice of Mudros on October 30, 1918, to call off the war, due to the fear of losing everything. Their decision had repercussions since the empire lost control over its Middle Eastern territories to France and Britain under the Sevres treaty. After the downfall of the empire, the Turks began the Turkish national movement, led by Mustafa Kemal since other countries came up with their new territories. This was a result of the occupations of Izmir and Istanbul along with the invading Greek, French, and British. They declined to acknowledge the government in Istanbul and the invading forces. The movement also came up with a people’s army, defending the empire from intruders like the Greeks, French, and Italian. Atatà ¼rk led the Turkish national movement in the Turkish War of Independence. He tactically defeated the forces sent by the allies since he had established a strong provisional government in Ankara, which was loyal to him. His planned military campaigns liberated his country to emerge as an independent state. As an aficionado of the age of Enlightenment, he transformed the former Ottoman Empire into a democratic, modern, and secular state. The principles of Ataturk’s reforms that led to the establishment of Turkey are known as Kemalism.  

Textile Industry of UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Textile Industry of UK - Essay Example These two companies are major UK textile and apparel manufacturers. This report examines the growth prospects for the two companies trends in fashion have been listed at the close of the report. The aim and objective is to analyze the growth of the industry as a whole with the two companies presenting the model for growth behavior. A company with a vision to originate unconventional, vibrant outfits and frills was well established back in 2001 in East London. It initiated its work by printing t-shirts in a different style called "Screen Printed T-Shirts" This innovation got great appreciation and got famous in no time. The brand for its quality and uniqueness became reputable and spread its network in Japan, Paris and Italy. Creative designs and distinct style distinguish it from other brands. The company has mission to en light your day with it diverse product range, catering to all ages (Lazy Oaf Company, 2009). Witnessing the current economic downfall throughout the world the company has done remarkably well to maintain its place in the market by taking timely initiatives and launching campaigns and promotional offers that helped it securing its share in the market (Lazy Oaf Prices, 2009). The prices of products have been kept in accordance with the buying ability of masses, not to deprive them their right to buy quality brand. At this critical juncture the performance in terms of growth is uphill with innovation in Fashion stands as essential standpoint. Bay & Brown Company A UK design studio that promotes exclusive compilation of ideas, print designs and notions fabricate for UK and various international fashion industries. Bay and Brown is playing a key role in boosting the image of the company all over the world in terms of setting a benchmark regarding the fine prints and designs famous for their innovation and cost effectiveness (Bay & Brown Company, 2009). Comparison between Lazy Oaf Company & Bay & Brown Company I. Trend Setter Both the organizations are trend setters of their own particular type. Both have been initiating innovative ideas and setting a benchmark for the others to follow. This is not only limited to the borders of these countries but have certainly crossed other borders with convincing successes. II. Goodwill in the Market These leading organizations enjoy their goodwill in the market by providing and catering to the needs of the masses. The uniqueness of their brands has been one of the major factors contributing in their uphill goodwill. In this critical scenario of recession it is the most difficult work to keep up the brand name in the market but hats off to the companies which have been working for sustaining their brand names. III. Share in the Market Due to increased market goodwill these organizations enjoy a handsome market share as well. In their success the role of the goodwill is of key importance as it increases the

Hospitality Essay Example for Free

Hospitality Essay From a food and beverage manager’s perspective – Why is managing the diversity of an international food and beverage operation so important? Discuss this by using a system, or process, or method and/ or technique In the hospitality industry, managing the diversity of international food and beverage operation which is important from a food and beverage manager’s perspective can improve the quality of the hospitality services, reduce high turnover in hospitality management and make more profit from the food and beverage operation. Hospitality workforce is consisted of diverse population and visible and non-visible differences which are included gender, age, background, culture, religion, race, disability, personality, and work style. According to this, the establishment of processing food and beverage operations is able to effectively manage people who work in hospitality workplace. And also, the hospitality education and training can provide hospitality worker an opportunity that improve themselves and understand the diverse workforce. Jones (as cited in Igram, 1999) indicated that â€Å"operations concern the way that organizations deliver their product/ service to the consumer† (p. 142). This is the key of concerning for the effective practice hospitality. Johnston (as cited in Igram, 1999) indicated that the operations could be divided into three activities; customer processing operations, information processing operations and product processing operations. As manager must understand these three activities which reflect employees how they plan and control the processing operation. Thus, effective hospitality operations must incorporate planning with technology and people management. Furthermore, Mullins (as cited in Igram, 1999) pointed that hospitality operations are heterogeneous group, but they share a number of common characteristics. For example, there are a wide range of skilled staff required, but there are also high numbers unskilled staff needed; most employees are from different countries, they have different background and use English as second language; there is a large proportion of female, part time, casual staff. Due to this situation, the labour mobility and turnover are high. Thus, managing diversity in food and beverage operation must need a perfect system or an improved method as foundation. Systematic in the  design, planning and control of a food and beverage operation must be concerned by international food and beverage manager. And also, management of the operation systems within a food and beverage operation must be considered by international food and beverage manager. What benefits will be brought into international food and beverage operation by understanding the systems? To sum up, there are three benefits. Firstly, control of resources which is implemented the systems inputs aim to reduc e wastage. Secondly, efficient and effective operation can perfect international food and beverage services by using systems processes. Finally, the systems outputs assure what goal the hospitality organization can achieve. The hospitality education and training can provide hospitality worker an opportunity that improve themselves and understand the diverse workforce. The hospitality education and training are the techniques which can complement the international food and beverage management. Lynch (as cited in Robinson, 2005) pointed that† business management foci currently in vogue with hospitality and food and beverage operations education and practice† (p. 70). In other words, in order to provide effective services to consumer, the hospitality organization will implement the food and beverage operations education and practice to guide and develop skilled and high standard staff. Ingram (1999) indicated that â€Å"effective academic abilities (including abstraction, attention to detail, â€Å"hair splitting†) are not always found in conjunction with personal organization skills (such as planning, delegation, prioritizing tasks)† (p. 146). Thus, the academic education impleme nted in hospitality organization can incorporate to the international food and beverage operations with staff. 2 From a food and beverage manager’s perspective – What are the important thing to consider when planning, designing and allocating space for storage, preparation, production and service for a food and beverage operation. From a food and beverage manager’s perspective, the design and plan of a food service facility effect on the attraction from customers and on productivity of employees, and also on making profit from hospitality business. If facilities are poorly designed, customers will be inconvenienced and food  services are inefficient. If a manager wants to perfect a food service, he/she must consider what requirements are needed when planning, designing and allocating space for storage, preparation, production and service for a food and beverage operation. The considerations will be the market and operational needs, the food production areas and equipment, sustainability and hygiene and health issue. As described above, first of all, as the operational needs, food service facility design will be the first consideration in planning space for food and beverage operation. The better food service facilities design will appeal to customers and employees when manager plans space for production and service. Rodgers (2005) indicated that â€Å"food service facility design is based on the principles of space efficiency, flexibility, product flow, food safety (sanitation) and ergonomics† (p. 308). In other words, an effective food service facility design can provide safe workplace for staff and set up an environment for efficient operation flow of people and product. The facility can make employees work efficiently so that the organization can reduce the labour costs. Furthermore, the costs on facility maintenance are low. Finally, the maximum profit is gained from investment. Secondly, manager must consider the food production areas and equipment. An efficient workflow established can create a tight, smooth and productive food service operation. Afterwards, an adequate work space and suitable work sections are required to provide to employees. For example, kitchen space sometimes will be minimized in order to make more room for customers. That lead to the kitchen space is limited. The quantities of food can be supplied, however, the narrow kitchen design cannot provide employees enough room so that the food service will be delayed which dissatisfied the customers. Another thing that manager must consider is the kitchen layouts. Ninemeier (2010) indicated that â€Å"work flow-the traffic patterns employees form as they go about their work-is another factor that muse be considered† (p. 5). Different kitchen activities must be done in individual work stations. For example, as the figure below, it is a bakery kitchen. Different number stands different stations. Employees can follow the work flow step by step to prepare food. As we can see from the figure, the food  preparation space must be divided into specific areas. The station 2-5 are the places which are for food preparation and storage. The station 1 and station 6 are used for washing and waste disposal. Due to this kitchen layout design, the food contamination will decrease and the food storage time can extend. As a food and beverage manager must consider of the food contamination. Figure 1 kitchen layout (Source: Ninemeier, D. J. 2010) References list Ingram, H. (1999). Hospitality: a framework for a millennial review. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 11(4), 140-147. Ninemeier, D. J. (2010) Management of Food and Beverage Operations (2nd ed.). American: American Hotel Lodging Educational Foundation. Robinson, R. S. (2007). Plain Fare to Fusion: Ethnic Impacts on the Process of Maturity in Brisbanes Restaurant Sector. Journal of Hospitality Tourism Management, 14(1), 70-84. Rogers, S. (2005). Applied research and educational needs in food service management. International Journal of contemporary Hospitality Management, 17(4), 302-314.

Defining And Analysing Personhood

Defining And Analysing Personhood Person hood has always been an ill-defined term. The gray area between animal and person being one targeted and argued over since its original conception. It all seemed to begin with a proposition by John Locke, which constitutes that the rules governing personhood are: a thinking intelligent being, that has reason and reflection, and can consider itself as itself, the same thinking thing, in different times and places; which it does only by that consciousness which is inseparable from thinking.(MHR, p. 134) Then many philosophers began to develop, and retake Lockes definition and make it their own. Though, all of these people seemed to follow suite that the gray areas border lays upon the idea of our mind, our thoughts, and our memory. However, one person seems to completely disagree with the tradition Locke notions of personhood. Paul Snowdon is instead a member of the animalist belief. This belief is seemingly more straightforward when compared to Lockes ideas, as rather than putting its focus on the continuity of the mind; instead he believes it is the continuity of the body that defines one person now, as the same person later. Snowdon figured that if one tried to define the separation between the person and then animal in all of us, a grave issue would unfold. This is due to the ideas of one being able to separate the animal from the person, for if this idea is to happen, then one must also define the mental capability of the animal within the person. This is seemingly impossible. Thus the animalist believes that we are all organisms, and rather than create an identity separation between animals and persons, rather we are all animals on a scale of being. This idea has a very small following when compared to Lockes theory; however, there are still a few philosophers that disagree with Lockes rules and have come up with their own definition for personhood. Still many of these theories have disagreements with Snowdons principles, but there are a few I believe Snowdon has many agreements with. The one I think Snowdon would agree with the most is Annette Baier. Her ideas on personhood are against the principles of Locke, moreover statements show her disagreement with not only Locke, but many philosopher representing theories similar in Lockes belief Baier says that person tests too often reflect the narrow values of those who design them. (MHR, p.135). Both philosophers agree in their disagreement with Locke. Snowdon believes that one cannot decompose a person into a person and an animal without deficient results; likewise Baier believes that, due to person tests being set-up to reflect human nature, often philosophers put too much focus on the mental aspect of the creature, in many cases over the social interactions. Snowdons idea that separating a person into two is closely related with Baiers theory in that, they both represent the idea that animals and persons are one and the same, that it is only our human hierarchal needs that seemingly force us into the thought process that there must be a defining barrier between us, and the rest of creature kind. Furthermore, Baier says the emphasis of the tests on the cognitive conditions of personhood seems to imply that people can float free of their own history, dependency, mortality, and biology. (MHR, p. 135) all of these ideas she disagrees with. Snowdon would also surely disagree with all of these ideas, as he spoke of the impossible reasoning behind the transplanting of ones brain, not from a scientific viewpoint but from a theoretical one. Thus both philosophers agree in their own disagreements with the modern system of defining personhood. Finally, Baier decided to create her own naturalist view, of persons as embodied, interpersonally responsive, and dependent creatures. (MHR, p. 135) Though her view does not completely discredit the idea of persons, it does share many of its merits with Snowdons principles, whilst expanding his ideas to encompass a new form of personhood. For instance, with the mention of persons as embodied à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ creatures she is showing a similar opinion to that of Snowdons. The belief in that the continuity of our very bodies is a quite important aspect in the continuity of ourselves. One may also infer from her statements, that she believes it impossible to separate the person from the animal. That shows another level of agreement with Snowdons reasoning. With all this research on other philosophers ideas on personhood, it seems impossible to have not developed a theory of my own. However, my theory is more based upon the underlying structure philosophers should be forced to realise before arguing their ideas of personhood, rather than my own opinion on the matter. It seems that the consistent underlying structure among all these theories is based on separate classes of personhood, and what answers these classes wish to define. It seems though that most philosophers ignore these separate classes, and end up arguing that one theory holds illogical reasoning, even though this reasoning only seems illogical due to the theory attempting to solve an entirely different problem from their own. It seems that all this began due to Lockes overly generalised theory; he covered the classes of identity tests, person continuity, as well as ethical standings. Whereas realistically all these issues should be dealt with separately. The classes of personhood as I see them are answers to the following questions. What separates me now from me then? What separates me from an animal? When does personhood begin? (These are only a few personhood questions, however they seem to make up the common definitions, and would well enough for an example of my theory.) Now the real issue is that these questions are often attempted to be answered with the same solution, even though these questions have very different ethical backgrounds. One attempts to develop a way of making identity checks, whereas another tries to define a hierarchy of the species, finally one is trying to define when life begins. As an example of the confusion this error can often cause I will examine Lockes definition. a thinking intelligent being, that has reason and reflection, and can consider itself as itself, the same thinking thing, in different times and places; which it does only by that consciousness which is inseparable from thinking.(MHR, p. 134) He tries to solve the identity check question with the same thinking thing, in different times and places, or as discussed on Philosophy Bites, the memories of past events in ones life. However, he also tries to produce a solution to the problem of, what separates me from an animal? in saying a thinking intelligent being, that has reason and reflection, and can consider itself as itself. Thus even in Snowdons very own argument, many of his reasons are flawed, do to comparing one question to another. It is my belief that each of the questions should be answered separately, rather than trying to develop a solution that fails in answering all of them at once.

Down Syndrome Essay examples -- Mental Retardation Mentally Retarded

Down syndrome Down syndrome takes its name from Dr. Langdon Down. He was the first person to describe the syndrome in 1866. The earliest recorded incident of someone having Down syndrome dates back to an altar piece painted in a church in Aachen, Germany in 1504. Although the syndrome is named after Dr Langdon Down, he did not understand the condition, as we know it today. The syndrome was referred to as having mongolism. This was because people who have Down syndrome have similar physical characteristics to those people of oriental heritage. The diagnosis of the syndrome can be made shortly after birth. Most parents who find out their child has it have conflicting emotions. These can include shock, feelings of disbelief, feelings of sorrow, guilt and feelings of embarrassment. In the past, most babies who had Down syndrome were put into an institution. Today the trend is to keep the child at home and have the child became a functioning member of society. Having a handicapped child can cause great stress. There is also a problem of explaining the condition to the other siblings. Down syndrome should not be explained to the other siblings as an illness. They should be told the child has a handicap. Parents should also be careful not to spend all their time with the child that has Down syndrome and spend equal time with all their children. Other relatives and friends should be told as soon as possible. It will normally make other people uncomfortable. They may not understand what the parent is feeling and say inappropriate things. Down syndrome is one of the most common chromomal defects. It occurs in about 1 out of 800 births. The probability of having a child with Down syndrome increases with the mother’s age. The rate for women in their twenties is about 1 in 2000 births. This number increases dramatically for a women in her forties to about 1 in 100. The cause of Down syndrome is an extra chromosome. In 95 percent of the cases, the child has three instead of two chromosomes on the 21 chromosome. There is a test called amniocentesis that can tell the mother if her child will have Down syndrome. Amniocentesis involves inserting a needle into the amniotic sac to withdraw a small about of the amniotic fluid. The cells in the fluid are then analyzed to see if the child has Down syndrome. There is small risk of a miscarriage or infection to the uteru... ... to enjoy life in a way that other people cannot. They were so grateful for the attention that you showed them. Just like anyone else, they had their good days and bad days. The clients that had Downs were always the first ones on the dance floor when they had parties and they always had a smile on their face. In the last twenty years, there has been a push to get mental retarded people into the mainstream of society. Most adults with Downs syndrome will need some help daily activties. Independent living centers has replaced large institutions. These living centers usually have about four to twelve clients living there, the center I worked at had two houses and there were ten people in each house. They worked at a company putting wicks in candles and really enjoyed their job. They were responsible for cleaning their rooms and bathrooms. They also had different chores to do around the house such as mopping the floor and helping with dinner. Every night there were activities planned such as watching movies or doing arts and crafts. It was a great experience working with the clients. That is one of the main reason I decided to go back to school and pursue a degree in social work.

Technology and Adult Learning: Current Perspectives :: Education Learn Essays

Technology and Adult Learning: Current Perspectives Throughout the 20th century, changes in technology have had social and economic ramifications. Although each successive wave of technological innovation has created changes to which adults have had to adjust, "what perhaps differentiates earlier technological changes from today’s is the current emphasis on educational applications" (Merriam and Brockett 1997, p. 113). The most pervasive of the technologies with educational applications are the Internet and World Wide Web, but other technologies can also be used to facilitate adult learning. In considering the role of technology in adult learning, adult educators are faced with a number of challenges, including how to respond to technology and how to exploit it without diminishing the learning experience (Field 1997). The purpose of this Digest is to review some current perspectives about technology and adult learning. It begins by describing approaches for integrating technology into adult learning and then considers how techn ology can be used to support and expand adult learning. Integrating Technology into Adult Learning Ginsburg (1998) presents a helpful way to think about integrating technology into adult learning by proposing four basic approaches: technology as curriculum, delivery mechanism, complement to instruction, and instructional tool . Each approach is summarized here, including its benefits and limitations. Technology as Curriculum Not only can adults learn content through technology, they can also learn about technology itself (Merriam ad Brockett 1997) and develop the skills to use it competently. An example of the technology as curriculum approach is the course, "Exploring the Internet." Offered by the Georgia Center for Continuing Education, the 10-hour, noncredit evening course is designed to provide adults with the concepts and skills for using Internet applications such as e-mail and the Web (Cahoon 1998). The benefits of this approach include the opportunity to address each aspect of the technology in a clear, structured manner; little or no distraction from peripheral learning issues or goals beyond those of learning the technology; and efficiency in acquiring a discrete set of technology skills that can be applied in different settings. The major limitation of the approach is the narrow focus on the technology and the skills to use it. When technology skills are acquired in an isolated environment, th ey may not be easily transferred and applied by the learner in meaningful ways. In addition, if the learner lacks an opportunity for practice, the skills may deteriorate (Ginsburg 1998). Technology as a Delivery Mechanism

Middlebrook leisure and Retail Park coursework.

For my first aim I had to collect results to prove that the Middlebrook is located on the outskirts of a main town or city. I found out that the main town the Middlebrook is located to is Bolton. From my map I obtained off the Internet I measured the distance between the Middlebrook and Bolton by using the scale. I found that it was approximately four miles east of Bolton center, proving that it is located on the outskirts of a main town or city. Using my results I have proved that the Middlebrook fits the description of a typical ‘out of town' shopping center. For my second aim I had to prove that the Middlebrook is split into two main areas of leisure and retail. For this I produced a colour coded land use map to see if there was an obvious split. The map shows that to the left of the Middlebrook there is a domination of Household goods shops and a couple of clothes shops showing that this area is the retail area. When I visited the Middlebrook I saw that the household goods shops were mostly furniture shops such as CSL and D.F.S. There were also DIY shops and bed shops. To the right of the map the leisure isn't so dominant. It obviously shows that it is the retail area but there are some clothes shops and sport shops too. The leisure consists of a bowling alley, cinema, arcade and resteraunts and bars etc. The sports shops which are also located here are JJB, JD and Sports Soccer. There are also Fast Food outlets such as MacDonalds, Burger King and KFC. These are dotted around the car parks and I have put them under leisure. To work out the percentage ratio of Leisure and Reatil I found the amount of stores each had and divided them by the total and multiplied them by one hundred. The percentage of retail stores is 78% and leisure 22%. SO this shows that there is a ratio of 1:3.5, one leisure store to every three and a half retail stores. Most importantly I proved that the Middlebrook is split into two areas of leisure and retail. While at the Middlebrook I took pictures of the parking areas (see photographs) to see if it had aspects of safety. As from my photos I could see that safety was respected very well. Pedestrian paths were sign posted, as well as colour coded, very well. Steel bollards were in place around the parking area and there were also pedestrian crossings. The overall parking area was very large. For my third and final aim, ‘does the Middlebrook have a large sphere of influence', I obtained answers for my questionnaire, obtained a map of the internet to show my results and also create graphs to also show my results. The Middlebrook is located right next to the M61 motorway at junction 6. This massively increases the sphere of influence because it allows people from far away to get to the middlebrook more quicker with ease. The middlebrook also has a Railway Station platform which further increases the sphere of influence. One link is between Chorley, which is about 7 miles from the Middlebrook. There is also a bus stop onsite at the park which is a popular form of public transport. Another aspect which could increase the sphere of influence is the Bolton Wanderers football stadium. This could just be an attraction where people come and view the stadium, but more importantly it pulls in thousands of people from different cities on match days who might be tempted to shop at the Middlebrook before or after a match. To complete my other maps I obtained of the internet I used my questionnaire I took to the Middlebrook with me. My first question was * What town do you live in? From my results of this question I was able to produce a graph and a map. For my graph I created a cylinder bar chart to show the number of people from a town. The towns which were on the bottom axis were in the order of distance from the Middlebrook. So the closest was first and farthest away last. This gave me some idea of where most people came from who visited the Middlebrook. From the same map I got off the internet I was able to show the towns where most people come from who visit the Middlebrook. To do this I used a circles, where every 1/2 centimetre radius was one person, to show the amount of people. I coloured each circle different so it wasn't to complicated. On the same map I was also able to show from the results of my first question the sphere of influence on the middlebrook. To do this I marked off each town that was given to me using pencil. The towns which were close to the Middlebrook I connected up to show the Core sphere of influence and the towns which were further away I connected up to show the outer sphere of influence. I filled each of these areas with different colours and added a key to the side. All the results I obtained off this question proved that the Middlebrook did have a large sphere of influence. Close towns were those such as Bolton, Wigan, Hindley and Chorley. These were all about the same distance away, which is 4 miles. My second question was * What transport did you use to here? a) Car b) Bus c) Train d) Other For this question I produced a pie chart of the different modes of transport used. The pie chart shows that nearly everyone uses a car to get to the middlebrook. 27 people traveled by car, 1 by bus, 1 by train and 1 by an ‘other' form of transport. This result shows me that the sphere of influence is large for the Middlebrook because most people use cars. People are more likely to use cars if they live far away because bus routes often don't exist over long distances and walking is just two far. Also the car is more quicker and more convenient. My third question was * How often do you visit the Middlebrook? a) Daily b) Every few days c) Weekly d) Less often e) First time I also produced a bar chart for this question. I labeled the axis from daily-less often. My graph shows a negative correlation which means that people visit less often rather than regularly. I think these results are correct for an ‘out of town' shopping center because it is a place that isn't visited regularly by shoppers like a place such as a small towns prestinct. This is because there are no housing sites around the Middlebrook as there is in a town which most people visit daily. People that might visit the Middlebrook regularly would be employees of shops. My fourth question was * What is the purpose of your visit here? a) Business b) Retail c) Leisure For this question I produced another pie chart. I thought I could also relate this question to my second aim, ‘Is the park split into two sections of retail and leisure', because the ratio of leisure to retail was 1:3.5. So I investigated the ratio of the purpose of visiting the Middlebrook between the leisure and retail. From the results I obtained four people visited in purpose of leisure and 16 visited in purpose of retail. I found the ratio of this was 1:4, which is very similar to my first ratio in my second aim. This means that for every four retail visitor, there was just one leisure visitor. The amount of people who visited in purpose of business was 10. My last question was * Do you use any other retail and leisure parks? For this question I produced another chart of different parks visited. Most people replied â€Å"no† and the most popular park was the Trafford center which is a shopping center in Manchester. This was probably because the Trafford centre is a lot more popular and has more publicity. Also it has a much larger range of stores which are more popular than some of those at the Middlebrook. From all my results I found that the Middlebrook leisure and retail park does have a large sphere of influence.

Rastafarianism Beliefs and Rituals Essay

The incorporation in many modern societies of dread locks amongst youths, the ever increasing efforts to legalize marijuana; what started out as an entirely black oriented religion spread throughout the world, particularly in the 1970s because of the popularity of reggae music, and currently has around one million followers in Japan, New Zealand, and elsewhere (Simpson 96) , along with many other activities that we are accustomed to in the American pluralistic society, represents a form of rituals and beliefs that have been brought to the mainstream by the Rastafarians. I had often been puzzled by the way in which my Rastafarian friends viewed and behaved within each different situation; in particular how happy and settled they usually were even on the most difficult conditions. The Rastafarian religion’s beliefs and rituals are extremely rich and pure; throughout extensive research it was possible to unveil six main beliefs that can be considered truly Rastafarians, one of th em stating that Haile Selassie I is the only God. These beliefs don’t hold true in a theological point of view because the bible teaches us of the Holy Trinity, and clearly proves that Jesus Christ is the son of God, the only living God, and that salvation can only be obtained through Jesus Christ. Before describing exactly what Rastafarianism’s religious beliefs and rituals are, it is important to understand the religious background. Rastafarianism is relatively new religion based on the African traditional religion. The Rastafarian religion falls into the Experiential/Emotional Dimension due to its particular distinctions between that which is profane and that which is sacred, and also to their careful distinction of food that the followers of this sect of religion’s are allowed to eat. Rastafarians don’t build special places for worship because they believe that their own body is the true church or temple of God; Although, some Rastafarians have created temples, as some call spiritual meeting centers i n international communities with large Rastafarian population. As a religion Rastafari is difficult to encapsulate, it might be meaningfully described as a spiritual movement that started in  Jamaica with a goal rooted in returning to, retrieving, or reinventing African heritage and identity. The name Rastafari derives from the title and given name (Ras, translated as â€Å"prince,† and Tafari, â€Å"he who must be feared,† from the Amharic language of Ethiopia) of Haile Selassie (Amharic for â€Å"power of the Trinity†; 1892–1975), the former Ethiopian emperor, whom most Rastafari worship as a God-king or messiah (Morris 217). Rastafari emphasizes the interior location of deity (Haile Selassie I), often referred to as I and I instead of We which represents an overdetermined symbol that includes both a sense of the self as divinity residing internally and the notion that the spirit and power of Haile Selassie I dwell within each individual Rastafari. Because of their cultural background some of their beliefs are sim ilarly shared by those of the Lost/Found Nation of Islam (Corduan, 104) although it differs on the prophetic message. One might wonder about what are the main religious beliefs of Rastafarians. First it’s important to define religious beliefs. Religious belief is a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny. Such a state may relate to the existence, characteristic and worship of the deity or deities, divine intervention in the universe and human life, or values and practices centered on teachings of spiritual leaders (although Rastafarianism doesn’t have spiritual leaders), religious beliefs are usually codified. This power derives not from a body of systematic or logical truth, but rather from the psychological, emotional content of ideology (Barret, 103). The Rastafarians have developed for themselves a body of myth and rituals which can be summarized in a systematic form. Throughout my investigation, only the central ideas will be discussed along with the most basic rituals of the movement. Note also that many beliefs and rituals may vary from one group to the next depending on their demographic location. Information regarding this investigation was obtained from various internet sources, books, and scholarly published journals. There are a few main beliefs that can be described as being truly Rastafarians, They are the following! Haile Selassie is the living God. All true Rastafarians believe that Haile Selassie, the emperor of Ethiopia, is the true and living God, at least for the black race. One member of the Rastafarian Repatriation Association it explained this way: We know before that when a king should be  crowned in the land of David’s throne, that individual would be Shiloh, the anointed one, the Messiah, the Christ returned in the personification of Rastafari. He (Ras Tafari) is the â€Å"Ancient of Days† (The bearded God). The scripture declares that â€Å"the hair of whose head was like wool (matted hair), whose feet were like unto burning b rass† (i.e., black skin). The scripture declares that God hangs in motionless space surrounded with thick darkness (hence a black man). Rastafarians also regard Haile Selassie I as God because of Marcus Garvey’s prophesy â€Å"Look to Africa where a black king shall be crowned, he shall be the redeemer â€Å"was swiftly followed by the ascension of Haile Selassie I as Emperor of Ethiopia. The notion of Haile Selassie being the God of the black race is supported by the Rastafarian idea that God himself is black, a claim backed by the biblical text found in Jeremiah 8:12 â€Å" For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt, I am black; as astonishment hath taken hold of me†. This scripture is true, but one must be careful on how to use scriptures in order to defend our own views based on racial principles. It is necessary to study and understand completely the Holy Bible, and not quote verses that seem favorable for that moment our use at that instance. Rastafarians offer justification for the divinity of Haile Selassie I, by using biblical names such as Lord of the Lords, King of Kings and Conquering Lion of the tribe of Judah for Haile Selassie I. further proof that Haile Selassie I is not God can be said because this term had been used throughout history to describe Ethiopian Emperors and describing him as another God would be taking the Rastafarian religion as a variation of Hinduism in which reincarnation of God’s is common. Many Rastafarians trace Haile Selassie’s lineage back to King Salomon and the Queen of Sheba. They believe that the Queen of Sheba’s visit to King Solomon found in the Book of Kings (1 Kings 10:1-13) provides further proof of the divinity of Haile Selassie I. Rastafarians believe that King Salomon and Queen of Sheba had sexual intercourse during the visit, which led to the conception of a child who was in the same line of descendants as Haile Selassie I; which to many of them this shows the divine nature of Haile Selassie as he is therefore related to Salomon’s father King David and therefore to Jesus. This perception is basically a Rastafarian myth since there are no literature that defends the idea of King Salomon and Queen of Sheba being involved sexually and this idea arose because King Solomon is well known for  being unfaithful and married different woman in order to expand his empire. The Rastafarians also believe that the lord Jesus Christ spoken of in the bible is Haile Selassie I and believe that the early Christians missionaries present him as a Jew in order to hide from the black slaves their true identity. However, the research shows that Haile Selassie I was a devoted Christian and did not want to be perceived as a God, which contradicts one of the main beliefs of the Rastafarians. According to Rastafarian teaching, the black person is the reincarnation of ancient Israel, who at the hand of the white person, has been exiled in Jamaica, because they believe to be Israelites, they have not been able to break away from the world â€Å"Israel†. They believe that Israelites and Ethiopians are basically the same name referring to holy people. The idea of Ethiopia being Israel â€Å"Israelite state founded in 1947† and that Jamaicans Slaves came from Ethiopia is completely false; and African History shows that Jamaican slaves came from different part s of Africa not from Ethiopia; Ethiopia is actually the only country that was not exposed through slavery and that Slavery act According to the Rastafarians, they, the true Israelites have been punished for their sins by God, their father through slavery under whites. This sin has led to their exile in Jamaica. They believed to have been long pardoned by God, and should have returned to Ethiopia long time ago, but because of the slavemasters’ trickery, they have been unable to do so (Barret 112). Another major Rastafarian teaching states that the white person is inferior to the black person. This idea of black supremacy comes largely as an echo from the days of Marcus Garvey and remains a strong point in both the Black Muslins in the (United States) and the Jamaican Rastafarian movements. As example from Garvey’s African Fundamentalism we read: If others laugh at you, return the laughter to them; if they mimic you, return the compliment with equal force. They have no more right to dishonor, disrespect and disregard your feeling and manhood than you have in dealing with them. Honor them when they honor you; disrespect and disregard them when they vilely treat you. Their arrogance is but skin deep and an assumption that has no foundation of morals or in law (Barret, 114). I greatly disagree with the idea of black or white supremacy because God has made us equal in every sense, and that the only perfect man to ever walk in the earth did not see ethnicity but taught  us that the most important thing in the world is to love each other. Rastafarians believe that not all white people are evil. I have previously mentioned that this Rastafarian belief is very similar to the Black Muslin movement as can be seen in the supreme wisdom of Elijah Muhammad that says: The original man is none other than black man, the black man is the first and the last: creator of the universe and the primogenitor of all other races including the white race, for which a black man used a special method of birth control. White man’s history is only six thousand years long, but black man coexistence with the creation of the earth†¦ Everywhere the white man has go ne on our planet they have found the original man or sign that he has been there previously (Morris, 118). The last major Rastafarian belief states that Jamaica is Hell; and Ethiopia is Heaven thus representing their idea of Heaven on earth. Rastafarians regard ‘Ethiopia’ as their homeland and believe they will eventually return. During periods of colonization Africans were divided up and sent to destinations throughout the world, in most cases as slaves to whites. This is why many Africans found themselves in Jamaica and why it is regarded by many Rastafarians as hell. Ethiopia, the homeland, was seen as a place of fond memories of freedom and life prior to oppression. This meant it eventually became regarded as heaven. To develop this belief Rastafarians refer to Psalm 137:1 â€Å"By the Rivers of Babylon we sat down; there we wept when we remembered Zion†. The intent of this belief was to lift up their morale and give them hope of a place where blacks just as much rights as their fellow whites. I completely agree with this idea of Ethiopia representing Zion for Jama ican slaves. One important aspect of the Rastafarian religion is to be found on its rituals. The most important ceremonial occasion is the Nyabinghi, which is held to commemorate events that are sacred to the Rastafari. Nyabinghi was a religious-political cult that resisted colonial domination in Uganda in the last decade of the nineteenth century. It was also a term that came to suggest a secret organization, Nyabinghi, which swore on oath ‘death to whites’ (Chevannes 1995, 15). In contemporary setting, it essentially refers to Rastafari ritual meetings, otherwise known as groundation, a conflation of the words ‘ground’ and ‘foundation’ (Morris, 219). The typical Nyabinghi meetings were held monthly or on specific occasions, such as to mark the coronation or birthday of Haile Selassie. They began in the early evening and would last  for an entire night or extend for several days with prayers, readings from the bible, dancing, smoking of ganja, and feasting. The other kind of ritual is more informal and consists of a small gathering o f brethren who share the smoking of the sacred weed, ganja, and engage in what is described as ‘reasoning’ (Chevannes 1995,17). The weed is to be passed on a clockwise manner; the only time that the weed is passed on a counterclockwise is at the time of war. Yet although there is very little in the way of rituals among the Rastafari and they repudiated baptism and funeral rituals, nevertheless there are crucial rituals focused around the individual person and the body. The other aspect of Rastafari personal rituals is the emphasis on I-tal [natural] food and the ritual avoidance of many foods that aren’t considered natural. The Rastafari, in varying degrees, refrain from drinking alcohol (which is associated with aggression), using salt in their cooking, eating meat (which is associated with sexuality), and even express a revulsion for chickens and goats that, like the pig, are associated with scavenging. Rastafarians express a viewpoint that is essentially naturalistic and ecological, for like the early romantics, they have a positive attitude towards nature and organic life. Yet though affirming that they are vegetarians and non-violent, the key image that they promote of themselves is, ironically, that of a lion aggressive, proud, dominant, dreadful, and they ‘simulate the spirit of the lion in the way they wear they locks and in the way they walk (Morris, 221). Rastafarians reject the use of alcohol, since is a fermented chemical that does not belong in the temple of the body and make a person completely stupid, thereby playing into the hands of the white leaders. This is contrasted with the holy herb of marijuana, which is natural and believed by Rastas to open their mind and assist in reasoning. Throughout this research, it was possible to see that Rastafarians like other non Christian religions often ignore some teachings of the Holy Bible in favor certain scriptures that defend their wrong doing. Nowhere in the Holy Scriptures says that the smoking of Marijuana enhances one’s ability to communicate with God, Paul teaches us that Christ is our only way to God, and despises the use of narcotics! The emphasis is to accept Jesus Christ as our savior and live a life that glorifies him, so the use of marijuana is not the right way to get God’s attention. Some people, most people like me haven’t spent enough time studying and understanding the essence and different types of religions. Rastafarians are very passionate and caring people who by the smoking of ganja believe to have a better understand of the world; they beliefs and rituals are very rich and pure. Although their all religion is based on revolutionary ideas rather than biblical techings; I believe that they have not understood that the New Testament gives us a clear guidance on how to live for God even when on face of persecution, and that the only living God has already walked on the earth two thousand years ago. A careful study is necessary in order to create basis and understand of their background which throughout my research I found it to be very contradictory of what the bible teaches us about God. In conclusion; contradiction is the main word I can find to describe Rastafarianism beliefs and rituals. Works Cited Morris, Brian. Religion and Anthropology: A Critical Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Print. Corduan, Winfried. Neighboring Faiths. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1998. Print. Barret, Leonard. The Rastafarians. Boston: Beacon Press,1997. Google Book Search. Web. 20 November 2012. Chevannes, Barry. â€Å"The continuity creative debate, the case of revival.† Diss. University of the West Indies, 1995. Print. Simpson, George. â€Å"Afro-Caribbean Religions†. The Encyclopedia of Religion. Ed. Mircea Eliade. New York: McMillan, 1995. Print.