Haitian Culture Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Haitian Culture - Article Example Gays state that they have to hide their feeling and be isolated from the society. Their life is in danger. â€Å"Human rights campaigners in the Caribbean nation say they know of 47 assaults in just one week, though attacks have slowed in recent days following government intervention. Some have had their lives threatened or had their houses have been burned down or looted†. Thus, Ronald’s parents would judge him severely if they get to know about his orientation and diagnosis. They would ask him to leave their house. Haitians consider homosexuality to be the main reason of HIV, however, it is not proved scientifically. Haitian society is far from being democratic and this is the main problem. In order to build the right strategy to fight with HIV, Haitians should, first of all, get rid of their prejudices, the main task is to stop discrimination. The main task of sociologists is to work with people, organize different conferences, especially lessons for children. Second ly, they should base their conclusions on the real facts and statistics instead of on religion, thus the second step is to make real statistics available for people, for example, at the conferences, at work, in the higher level institutions, in schools. Thirdly, all the efforts should be directed at revealing the main reasons of so many cases of HIV in the country and decide on how to struggle with this. Patients with HIV should be examined thoroughly to find similarities in their way of life, genetics, and the propensity of the organism.

Conflict Resolution (Team Dynamics for Managers) Essay Example for Free

Conflict Resolution (Team Dynamics for Managers) Essay A major conflict that appears in many, if not most, groups appears to be miscommunication or lack of communication. There are several solutions available to resolve miscommunication. Each member of a team has certain strengths and skills that help resolve occurring issues. When a team is confronted with miscommunication or lack of communication, having a plan is a necessity. Lack of communication can easily lead to miscommunication in a group and cause many reoccurring issues. Certain confliction techniques can be used to not only eliminate the issue, but also understand the underlying issue at hand. Conflict and Solution Personal Strengths to Resolve Issue Creating a detailed learning team charter that involves all members allows each individual to contribute their strengths in problem solving. Generally, charters are mainly used as a tool to contact other members outside of the team environment. The other members offer their information and would be responsible to check into the team in a reasonable amount of time. This is the beginning opportunity to highlight each members strengths and especially how willing they are to participate. Participation is one of the main behaviors that help a team strive or fail. How little or how much a person chooses to participate confides solely within them. This is especially true since individuals learn and retain information in different ways; the application of strengths can be applied in separate and unique formats in a team. The most appropriate conflict management would be Jerry Wisinski’s A-E-I-O-U Model, which focuses on collaboration and what he calls positive intentionality, the assumption that other people are not trying to cause conflict (Engleberg Wynn, 2010). After completing the charter and knowing what is expected of each member, the most appropriate method of communication would be speaking with and checking in with members outside of the group. Conflict Management Techniques Each conflict is special in its nature and requires customized care depending on the situation or context with which the problem resides. â€Å"†¦all managers—whether they be supervisors, middle managers or chief executive officers—must learn to manage conflict if they are to be effective in leading their particular organizational units† (DuBose Pringle, 1989, p. 1). The idea that a problem should be â€Å"managed† crops up because conflict is a known and necessary part of organizational development. Conflicts shape organizations; but why must an organization go through a difficulty or hardship in order to understand conflict management? â€Å"The term ‘managing’ implies that conflict is not inevitably destructive† (DuBose Pringle, 1989, p. 1). Conflicts are not unchangingly damaging because it is necessary for growth to come across a few growing pains. Organizations with good management almost always succeed and dreams of growth come into fruition when conflicts are appropriately managed and managers understand the integrality of their interpretation of conflict management and its many different techniques. The team was very natural in its ability to choose a proper technique and utilize it in order to overcome the conflict at hand. The collaboration technique was used successfully as the team was forced to put their heads together and come to a decision with regard to the conflict. The collaboration was effective due to the participants’ unwavering objectivity and understanding of the conflict and how to manage it. Each party had their responsibilities laid out neatly in order to quickly and professionally get the job done. The team was highly prepared for any conflicts and managed them upon manifestation due to the highly comprehensive group. Accommodation is another technique the team productively used. Accommodation is used when the conflict is more important to the other party involved in the conflict and is treated with thoughtfulness by the other members; this technique was also successful because the team was able to â€Å"pick their battles† and strive to meet all the expectations of the team leader, and their teammates (DuBose Pringle, 1989). Additional Conflict Management Techniques Team communication generally appears to be a conflict that exists within the members of the group. This can only be solved within the members and the willingness to strive, learn, and accomplish together as a group. It takes personal inactive and being open to others suggestions to make communication strong and effective. Strong communication would prove to eliminate miscommunication and therefore lack of communication. Setting goals can always be a productive approach to ensuring success and keeping members focused on what needs to be accomplished, and the most effective route to complete tasks. The important balance of goal setting in groups is making sure that personal and team goals do not outweigh one another. Goals are more productive when they are shared and known with other individuals. Making, keeping, and sharing goals in the team environment are essential to success and eliminating miscommunication. In some cases where conflict is stronger than problem solving, it is necessary to seek help outside of the group. Third-party intervention occurs when a group seeks the services of an impartial outsider who has no direct connections to the group, but has the skills needed to analyze the conflict and helps resolve it (Engleberg Wynn, 2010). In learning team environments, the instructor is the third-party intervention and has authority to make decisions as deemed necessary to help keep the team productive and functioning as a whole. Arrival of Decision The group’s natural understanding of conflict management, and the team leader’s fantastic ability to choose proper techniques, strengthened the team’s ability to get the job done. When conflicts arose, the team effortlessly went through a decision process and effectively outlined the techniques that worked the best. The team was able to utilize all participating members’ strengths to move on with the project after nipping all problems in the bud. While some issues call for more drastic measures, accommodation and collaboration was the team’s two most valuable assets when managing conflict internally. Some issues require an entire modification of the organizational structure which could set back the team, and even the organization, for a very long time. Good management within the organization knows the proper way to take care of problems that arise from conflicts. Good management understands that the symptoms and the disease are two completely different things and should be handled as such. When managers â€Å"settle† problems for lower-level managers, it implies that they do not fully understand the real problem and how to fix it. Symptoms are stopped once the root of the problem is remedied. Conclusion When lack of communication occurs in a group, miscommunication is often followed. Certain personal strengths, such as a willingness to strive and learn from others are important in a group setting. Creating a team charter helps eliminate the issue of miscommunication. Setting goals, being open to other’s thoughts and opinions, and seeking help from outside of the group are all techniques to resolve a conflict in a group setting. The arrival of decisions are done by working as a team, using proper problem solving techniques, communicating, and having a good leader. References DuBose, P. B. Pringle, C. D. (1989). Choosing A conflict management technique. SuperVision,50(6), 10-10. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/195581288?accountid=35812 Engleberg, I. N. Wynn, D. R. (2010). Working in groups (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn Bacon.

Differentiating the Renaissance Period and Middle Ages Era in Europe Es

The Renaissance was a time of change and prosperity. The decision was made depending on the difference of two eras. Unlike the Renaissance, the Middle Ages were a thousand years of ignorance and superstition. The Renaissance men were leaders in an era of rebirth and learning looked to the Ancient Greeks and Romans for models of advance. Many historians felt that the Middle Ages and the Renaissance were one era. The debate centers around whether the Renaissance was a unique age or a continuation of the Middle Ages. â€Å"Was the Renaissance a period distinct from the Middle Ages, or was it a continuation?† Par my opinion I feel that the Renaissance was a distinct period of change and prosperity. â€Å"The world is waking out of a long deep sleep†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Doc. 5) A.J. Froude finds specific examples that lead him to the understanding that their was distinction between both periods. The Life and Letters of Erasmus say that the church was a corrupt place and there was no religious teaching. Erasmus is trying to say in his book, directed tot the Prince, that he should bring back the respect of the Church and religious aspect to give the Church power again. These statements written by Erasmus show the want by townspeople for change. In the Middle Ages many people disregarded the advancement in society and only thought about the world and they were not humane. Erasmus shows how humanist actions begin. â€Å"In the Middle Ages both sides of human consciousness lay dreaming or half awake†¦the Renaissance we find artists who in every branch created new and perfect works†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Doc. 2) From The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy by Jacob Burchardt he identifi es that medieval man was childish, half-awake controlled by faith and defined by his group of membe... ... life in the early modern period. â€Å"Thus, from the beginning, the double conception of medieval darkness and subsequent cultural rebirth was colored by the acceptance of classical standards†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Doc.1) Writers and thinkers were inspired by the classical culture of the Greeks and Romans. They found their society much more â€Å"fascinating† than feudal and religious literature. They re-identified architecture, astronomy, medicine, and math. They corrected the order of the Church and began to believe again in karma, reincarnation and moksha. Renaissance men advanced the knowledge of human body, scientific calculations, and changed building attributes. As the change of these amenities came a change in the social structure. More men and women became literate, resulting in the increase and need for universities. Education. The Renaissance has a long and complex historiography.

Cry The Beloved Country :: Cry the Beloved Country Essays

Cry The Beloved Country      Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of it all. Let him not love the earth to deeply. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing, nor give to much of his heart to a mountain or a valley. For fear will rob him of all if he lives too much. Yes cry, cry, the beloved country      Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Paton was a magnificent work of art and my words alone would do it an injustice. Its pages echo with the dirge of a battered country that has suffered far too much for far to long. The book takes you to South Africa, where the land itself is the essence of a man. It as if the mountains, soaring high above the clouds, are the high moments in life, and the valleys are those low and suffering times. Next, you will take a journey to a place called Johannesburg. While reading the pages, begin to envision Johannesburg being a polluted, very unkind, and rushed city. The setting is more of a emotional setting than a physical setting. As I stated it takes place in South Africa, 1946. This is a time where racial discrimination is at an all time high. The black community of this land is trying to break free from the white people, but having little success. It is this so called racism that is essential to the setting of the story. Without it, the book would no t have as much of an impact as it does. The story begins, as many great stories have begun, with a solitary man taking a long and dangerous journey to a distant land. The man is an Anglican Zulu priest, Rev. Stephen Kumalo, and the journey is to the white-ran Johannesburg in 1946. Like a weary prophet taking a biblical sojourn to Sodom, Kumalo is seeking out lost members of his family who have left the townships for the lights of the big city. He is looking for his sister Gertrude, who has become a prostitute: and mostly, his son Absalom, who has disappeared into the darkness as surely as the original Absalom of the Old Testament was lost to King David. Once he arrives, the nave Kumalo is immediately robbed, and it isnt until he finds the enigmatic but helpful Father Msimangu that he is able to begin his search, a search that will change his life forever.

Ap English Certainty vs/ Belief

Certainty Certainty is the belief in yourself that you can empower anything. Doubt is the fear of failure and is what the mass majority are overcome with. Certainty is the inner strength that everyone has, just not many want to express, that is why there are leaders and followers, strong and the weak, living and the dead. With inner strength your capabilities are limitless but when there is doubt, there is nothing. Doubt is one obstacle in a world filled with a plethora of them.Doubts are what control you from succeeding, they hold you back, tie you down , and strangle you from what you want , and just in the final seconds when your pulse lowers, your blood circulation is stopping , and you feel your hand trembling out of the fear, you grasp onto the only thing you have left , certainty. Certainty is your life support, it’s all you have left to live for, you cling onto and your ride through the storm on certainties back. It’s in that moment when you realize your life is ahead of you, and you’re certain of that. Doubt is your glutinous sin, and Satan is its master.You have to break free from its reins all that you’ve ever known and cling to certainty. With certainty you’re either in or you’re out. There is no equilibrium that you can find. Certainty is having 100% faith in something. It is the same as life, if you are certain with your life you are successful and can move mountains; doubt makes you weak and you are succumbed by the mountains. Leaders like this were Aristotle, a philosopher in physics, Benjamin Franklin, the inventor of electricity, and more modern leaders such as FDR, and JFK, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs. They saw the world through eyes of certainty.Certainty gave them the power to discover a new world. They took what others saw as impossible and made it possible. There was never a doubt in their mind that they wouldn’t conquer. Doubt overcomes many in the world today and it really is like an epidemic. Many doubt themselves before they try. This creates the 80% of the world and the 20%. The 80% are those consumed in doubts about their lives, but the 20% will conquer the world if they had the means. Certainty is the only inoculation for doubt. Take a little bit of certainty since there is much to go around and achieve what you never thought possible.

Euthanasia summary report essays

Euthanasia summary report essays The main focus on the following two summarized articles is the euthanasia issue. Two terminally ill men have been looked at with the focus on euthanasia, whether they should be allowed to die with dignity or suffer pain to a natural end. Mark Foster was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 1994. Motor Neurone Disease is a fatal degenerative condition that attacks the nervous system. Sufferers rarely survive more than five years after diagnosis. Mark who is a garden designer is a father of three and is married to Nathalie. His quality of life is poor. He cannot eat, he cannot move, he cannot talk. His lungs need regular suctioning to help him breathe. He is not in pain; he is alert and aware but is trapped in a body that barely functions. Mark Foster wants to live. His biggest battle has been with the medical profession who have, in his opinion, urged him to let his precious life slip away, to die with what they consider dignity. They have never suggested withholding treatment but have implied that it may be the best way for him and his family. At times, he has faltered. His terminal illness has terrified him, it has sapped his will to survive but he is determined that no one will take from him the lif e he has left. He states even if I only do the littlest thing with the children and teach them something each day, it was worth me being here. His story is one of inspiration but one that also frighteningly illustrates the subtle pressure that exists for the terminally ill to embrace euthanasia. In his darkest moments, it has not been his appalling illness that has made him contemplate letting his life go, it has been the medical professionals. Mark states that there was a time when he was going to give in to his doctors but now he says how dare they. Mark has a happy family home. Nathalie says people think that, even if they were half as ill as he is, they wo...

Essay Sample on Satire and Its Usage in Literary Works

Essay Sample on Satire and Its Usage in Literary Works The power of literature in determining and affecting behaviors and attitudes of the people behind historically significant change is quite significant. Enlightened philosophe Voltaires Candide in addition to Johnathan Swifts A Modest Proposal and Gullivers Travels were works of fiction that had such an effect. Through the use of the literary device of satire, Voltaire and Swift criticized certain aspects of their European society. Furthermore, they did so to a high degree of effectiveness. While Voltaire was one of the most influential philosophes, his Candide in fact satirized some of the very ideas discussed by his fellow philosophes. To begin, Voltaire’s use of capital letters to suggest the importance of the word he has capitalized is used in a satirical manner, criticizing its importance beneath the surface of the word. For instance, he refers to Candide as being â€Å"endowed by Nature with the most gentle character.† This possibly suggests Voltaire mocking the idea of a person being born with some â€Å"natural† superiority, a common belief amongst the aristocracy at the time. He continues this satirical attack with his suggestion that the baron’s sister would not marry Candide’s father as a result of his inability to prove more than â€Å"seventy-one quarterings,† a method of measuring nobility. In his manner of casually presenting the issue as if it were totally true and exaggerating it, Voltaire underlines the ridicul ous nature of such beliefs. In doing so without outright saying it, Voltaire again criticizes the aristocracies attitudes and allows the reader to see how outlandish they are simply through the use of his words. Voltaire’s next subjects of criticism are philosophes, through the introduction of the character Pangloss. Such criticism can be seen in Pangloss’ study of â€Å"metaphysico-theologo-cosmolo-nigology†, an obvious attempt to exaggerate the methods of philosophes who use great terminology and complexity in order to suggest their own importance and give weight to issues that should perhaps not be afforded such weight. Voltaire attacks such philosophes’ ideas about God and his role in the universe that the world is perfect because a perfect being created it. Satirizing this aspect of European belief suggests that Voltaire thought such philosophes to be blinded by their optimism and thus unable to see things as they truly are. for instance, Pangloss la ter admits that he has suffered, but must maintain that everything was for the best whether he believed that in actuality or not. Voltaire’s satire extends beyond the philosophes and onto the church, state and other such institutions. Candide’s encounter with the Dervish underlines Voltaire’s belief of religious one-sidedness. Instead of listening to Candide and Pangloss’ questions of good and evil in the world and thinking and concluding on his own terms, the Dervish curtly tells them not to consider such things. Voltaire consequently criticizes those in his society that continue to follow such close-minded religious figures by having Pangloss, just rebuked for thinking freely, still be amazed by the very idea that he was able to â€Å"discuss† such issues with him. Voltaire’s apparent solution to such problems with humanity – for it is difficult to detect a note of satire in the author’s tone during Candide’s final words – is to live a practical life, working in the figurative garden. Johnathan Swift similarly uses satire in both A Modest Proposal and Gulliver’s Travels to criticize European beliefs and institutions of the day. A Modest Proposal is a great example of a particularly effective satire as it not only criticizes an idea (in this case, longstanding beliefs in Europe, and especially Ireland, about poverty) but does so in a manner that draws the reader in and allows him to think through the use of satire. The opening passage establishes the poor conditions those in poverty live in, in a sympathetic and reasonable way. By then segueing into the outright grotesque and exaggerated solution for how to deal with such a problem – feed the poor children to the wealthy Swift immediately causes one to take notice of the severity of such uncaring empires and their attitudes. Thus, exaggeration is again an important device. The notion of who is speaking is also important. While the children in question are Irish, the speaker of the piece is an English man. This leads to the object of satire being the tyranny of England and their less than humane approach to dealing with problems such as poverty. The satire is of those such Englishmen being unaware of the cruelty and coldness in their own behavior, thinking only on behalf of how they can efficiently get logistical problems solved. The narrator in this piece this argues that the cure for Ireland’s economic troubles is to just to have the wealthy eat the poor children. The use of the term â€Å"breeders† with regards to the mothers also shows a dark undertone of satire and irony, as the initially sympathetic sounding narrator now equates the mothers with statistics, making him sound rather serious and thus ridiculous due to the eccentric and inhumane idea he has proposed. Such radical ideas, one can conclude, are exaggerations of the types of European attitudes at the time that Swift wished to criticize. In A Modest Proposal, Swift is generally satirizing a great deal of European problems, from the rigidity of government, to injustice to the cold logic of empires without a realistic view of humanity. Gulliver’s Travels takes a different route in the use of satire of European beliefs. Instead of allowing the reader to interpret the degree of ridiculousness in what a particular character is saying, Swift takes a more straightforward – yet equally effective – approach. This time, it is another character pointing out to the narrator, Gulliver, how absurd the ideals of England are when looked at from a critical perspective. The satire is, in this instance, achieved through Gulliver’s oblivious content to be an Englishman in an ironic contrast with the king’s critical questioning of the same institutions and systems that Gulliver seems proud of followed through to a negative conclusion. Thus, the ultimate object of this work’s satire is the people of England. Swift suggests that they, like Gulliver, for the most part foolishly accept the institutions of England passively and self-satisfied. If Gulliver is indeed to represent the typical English man, his naivety in understanding the faults of his own country are to be compared with the benign nature of the people of England, as Swift saw it. Also, Swift aims his criticism at the English government in the king’s questioning of how one is elected to power. He goes on to conclude that the English are quarrelsome people and meddle too far into the affairs of other nations, in a manner suggesting that the king’s thoughts are Swift’s own. The king’s culminating criticism of the English can in effect be credited to the very things Swift is ultimately satirizing: that the entire English system was formed and existed on the worst that cruelty, rage, madness and ambition could create. Both Voltaire and Swift effectively used the tool of satire as a means of exploiting problems in European society, and forcing them to be noticed as the flaws that they were. You can also order a custom written research paper, term paper, thesis, dissertation or essay on satire from our professional custom essay writing service which provides high-quality custom papers. Heres a list of possible essay topics on satire: 1. Satire in Huckleberry Finn 2. Gulliver’s Travels: The British Satire of Society Gulliver’s Travels 3. Satire in Candide 4. Satire Comparison betweeen The Rape of the lock and Gullivers Travels 5. Satire in Connecticut Yankee 6. Satire on Popes The Rape of the Lock 7. Satire in The Emperor’s New Clothes and Inflexible Logic 8. The Satire in Animal Farm 9. Wilmot’s Satire Against Reason and Mankind 10. Targets of Satire in Dr. Strangelove 11. Satire on College Admittance 12. Environmental Satire 13. The Relevence of Satires during the Cold War era A study comparing Dr. Strangelove and Thirteen Days

How To Make a Ketchup Packet Cartesian Diver

How To Make a Ketchup Packet Cartesian Diver Place a ketchup packet in a bottle of water and make it rise and fall at your command, as if by magic. Of course, the magic involves some basic science. Heres how to do the diving ketchup trick and how it works. Diving Ketchup Magic Trick Materials Plastic bottleKetchup packet from a fast food restaurantWater Perform the Diving Ketchup Magic Trick Drop the ketchup packet into the bottle.Seal the lid of the bottle.Fill the bottle with water. The ketchup packet should float somewhere in the middle of the bottle. If it sinks, either try using a different packet (the size of the air bubble inside the ketchup packet varies slightly) or else dump out the water and ketchup, bend the packet slightly so that it can hold an air bubble when you fill the bottle again, and refill the bottle. My packet was heavy, so I trapped an air bubble on the packet and tapped the bottle with a fingernail until I knocked off just enough air bubbles to get the packet to sit in the middle of the bottle.Squeeze the bottle to cause the ketchup packet to sink.Relax your grip on the bottle to cause the packet to float. With a little practice, you can make it appear that you arent squeezing the bottle. If you are performing this demonstration as a magic trick you can say you are using the power of your mind to move the ketchup. Pretend to be concentrating very hard, using your incredible powers of telekinesis. How the Diving Ketchup Magic Trick Works An air bubble is trapped inside a ketchup packet when it is sealed at the factory. If the bubble is big enough, it makes the packet float in water. When you squeeze the bottle, the water wont compress but the air bubble inside the ketchup packet is squeezed and becomes smaller. The size of the packet is reduced, but its mass remains unchanged. Density is mass per volume, so squeezing the bottle increases the density of the ketchup packet. When the density of the packet is more than the density of the water the packet will sink. When you release the pressure on the bottle the air bubble expands and the ketchup packet rises.

Improvement Interpersonal Communication Research Proposal

Improvement Interpersonal Communication - Research Proposal Example In recent years, some researches have been done to know the importance of bedside nursing handovers on the health of patients but there exists the need to examine the benefits and challenges of bedside nursing handovers. This study proposes to (1) identify the benefits and challenges associated with bedside nursing handovers and finding ways to overcome the challenges (2) determine the impact of patients’ involvement in preparing handover for nurses. Previous researches have been unable to get an insight into the factors that affect the preparation of handovers. Moreover, there is also less emphasis on the importance of patients’ input in the provision of best medical care to patients. The goal will be to come up with some suggestions to make improvements in the bedside nursing handovers. Moreover, the study is also aimed to encourage people to join bedside nursing profession because of its influence on the well-being of whole society. Research Question The research que stion for this research will be: ‘what are the benefits and challenges in the right implementation of bedside nursing handovers and what can be done to overcome the associated challenges’. Significance of the Problem/Issue to Nursing and Midwifery The issue of bedside nursing handover is of considerable importance in the field of nursing and midwifery. Without handover, nurses cannot guarantee flawless and safe provision of medical care to patients because oncoming nurses require pertinent information to start doing their job properly. Similarly, bedside handover also ensures the ongoing confidentiality of the medical records of patients. In midwifery, the issue of handover becomes even more critical because pregnant women need... The results of the study will determine the impact of bedside nursing handovers on the treatment process of patients. The results will also help the researcher in knowing the challenges that new nursing professionals usually face in the presentation of nursing handovers. Moreover, the use of social websites will not only promote voluntary participation but also it will save time and money of the researcher. This report makes a conclusion that the reason for why bedside nursing handovers have been an issue of concern for a long time is related directly with the associated benefits if implemented properly and perceived negative outcomes if not presented with due care. The importance of studying the challenges that nurses usually face in bedside nursing handovers cannot be neglected in any case because they play the role of hurdles in the provision of best available care to patients. This is the reason why this research will mainly be focused on the difficulties that nurses face when they communicate with other healthcare professionals for handovers, as well as when they prepare the recommendations in accordance with the information available to them from treatment charts and plan of care. Prior researches have not been able to identify such challenges, as well as the programs that need to be implemented to overcome these challenges. The results of this research will be helpful in getting a detailed insight into the challenges which will help nursing professionals and medical institutes in dealing with the issue effectively.

Research Proposal Outline Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Research Proposal - Outline Example This will further help in reducing such activities since the core of the issue lies in the activities conducted while engaging in truant. The Wisconsin Statutes in its Section 188.16(1) (c) defines truancy as ‘any absence of part or all of a school day for which a pupil’s parent or guardian has not provided a valid excuse’ (Wisconsin, 2000). The reason for choosing this particular topic is that education has somewhere lost its importance in today’s world. There has been a remarkable increase in dropout and truancy rates which means that the education sector is failing somewhere. Students no longer consider education as their basic right. They believe in this world where retail giants and fast food franchises would hire them at good pay, they do not need education to survive. As the concept of single working parent is slowly disintegrating and parents no longer have the time to concentrate on their child’s educational development, children find it easier to play truant and get away with it. A recent study conducted on the subject of truant reveal that more than 50 percent of the parents are aware that their children are playing truant and yet they do not seem to care (Abrams, 2011). The report further revealed that the reasons for committing truant are not properly understood by the authorities. The authorities though impose punishments on the students, fail to realize the core reason behind the act. Most students said that the actions taken against truancy do not bother them and they still continue to commit truant because they have lost interest in school. Since education is the main pillar the supports the economy of every nation, the increasing number of truant activities should raise a red flag and it is time that the education sector focused on this issue also. Right now, authorities are not concerned with increasing dropout rates and they fail to acknowledge the fact that truancy subsequently leads to dropping off from school and if

Prepare a SOSE unit of work with rationale Essay

Prepare a SOSE unit of work with rationale - Essay Example In this case, they build up their capacity for participating in the community and provide meaningful rejoinder to environmental and social matters. Through this curriculum, learners get to understand global ideas of Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal people with their connectivity to other groups and places. They are able to apply their understanding to their connections to places and people in the world. Students are able to use essential ways of working to create and demonstrate their understanding of knowledge. Inquiry in this process is very important. It offers an opportunity to students to investigate a range issues locally and globally. They converse by use of different kinds of texts for precise purposes and audiences. This makes them participate actively in groups or individually in their villages in making enterprises while responding to issues creatively. Students have the ability to select precise tools and technologies to use which involves ICTs to carry out inquirie s and communicate within environmental and social context (Stage & Quiroz, 2008). There are different methods used in teaching. They are categorized into two groups. Teacher-centred and learner-cantered. Teacher-centred methods take the teacher to be the creator of all learning practices and procedures. An example is the lecture method. On the other hand, learner-centred methods identify the learner as the core creator of the learning process while the instructor or the teacher becomes controller of the learning procedure according to piagates theory of learning (Suai & Homer, 2006). It is the view of this paper that the lessons prepared will guide learners to acquire the desired skills, attitudes and knowledge to exist in the current globe. The methods also provide the chance for the society to learn new ideas from one another. The paper substantiates learner-centred methods through broad examination of environment as a topic in teaching of science. The method applied in this paper is Constructionism. It enables the learners to participate fully in the lessons investigating new ideas while the teacher guides through the process. The paper has singled out environment as a topic to examine different aspects of teaching and learning process. It is an interesting topic in a school setting. This will enable learners to participate fully in their classrooms during the lesson (Siebert, 2005). Some of the skills needed in a science lesson are supposed to help the learner with literally skills for writing reading and communicating orally about science principles and concepts. All these skills are incorporated into the topic â€Å"environment† Reasons for choosing the topic Environment is what surrounds an organism. There are two types of organisms, living and non-living organisms. Learners being one of the organisms in the environment require understanding how to live in it. This is important to help them acquire knowledge and skills to deal with different situ ations in life. Learning about environment is quite interesting and maintains learners’ interest to desire to know more about their surroundings. In this unit, learners undergo different real life experiences. This is important since they can easily relate what they are learning in class to what is happening out of their classrooms. For instance recycling of plastic is carried out by several industries (Siebert, 2005). It is possible for the

Pre-hospital pharmacological management of narrow complex tachycardias Essay

Pre-hospital pharmacological management of narrow complex tachycardias - Essay Example There will be a general overview of the arrhythmias followed by more specific with treatment guidelines. Supporting research will be investigated in an effort to determine credible practice guidelines. The narrow complex tachycardias include sinus tachycardia (ST), atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT), atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia (AVRT), atrial tachycardia (AT), inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST), sinoatrial nodal reentrant tachycardia (SNRT), junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET), nonparoxysmal junctional tachycardia (NPJT), atrial fibrillation (AF), atrial flutter (AFI), and multifocal atrial tachycardia (MAT). Symptomology that may occur with these tachyarrhythmia’s are hypotension, heart failure, or pulmonary congestion, shortness of breath, renal failure, shock, decreased consciousness, angina or acute MI (Podrid, 2008). If these symptoms are occurring cardioversion is recommended. The state of stability of the patient who is pre-hospital is of course the focus of care. Determining the nature of narrow QRS tachyarrhythmia is necessary and an EKG is of great importance at this point. When we consider pathogenesis, reentry is the most common cause of QRS complex tachycardia. The mechanism of reentry requires two distinct pathways or tissues in the heart that have different electrophysiological properties that are linked proximally and distally, forming a circuit that is anatomic or functional (Ansdorf & Ganz, 2009). You will note the following diagrams. AVNRT as shown above is characterized by two pathways within the AV node. AVRT also shown above is characterized by an extranodal accessory pathway connecting the atrium and ventricle. Wolf-Parkinson White syndrome would fall into this category. SNRT and reentrant tachycardia do not involve the AV node (Arnsdorf, 2009). There are also other mechanisms that lead to narrow QRS complex tachycardia. Those include automaticity

GDP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

GDP - Essay Example Firstly, it fails to include harmful side effects in its calculations. For instance, economic â€Å"bads† like pollution are excluded in GDP statistics. This, therefore, implies that GDP fails to take into account the social well-being of individuals as it ignores activities that affect people’s living standards. Secondly, GDP fails to take into account leisure or human costs as well as the revenue that is generated during such times. Additionally, no consideration is given to how hard individual work to produce output (Mankiw, 2012). The GDP measure also fails to take into accounts things such as love, volunteering, vibrant and supportive community and friendships even though they contribute to social well-being of individuals. Finally, GDP statistics does not take into account underground economy. These are cash transactions that occur outside of recorded marketplaces, and they can be both legal and illegal. Legal ones are undertaken to avoid taxes while illegal ones include trafficking in illegal drugs (Baumol & Blinder, 2011).   Yes, economic growth and productivity can align to Saint Leos Core Values. For instance, a country needs to put in place some policies in order to achieve high economic growth. First, the citizens need to be responsible stewards. They need to use the resources they are endowed with efficiently, effectively and economically. By putting the little resources they may be endowed with to maximum use, they will ensure that there are little or no wastages at all. Secondly, the country’s leadership should be of high integrity. This will ensure that the country excels economically and lives its goals by being consistent in economic performance. Finally, an increase in GDP indicates an economic growth that in turn results in a collective growth in well-being. Leaders should strive to create a socially responsible environment that is able to challenge every

Pre-hospital pharmacological management of narrow complex tachycardias Essay

Pre-hospital pharmacological management of narrow complex tachycardias - Essay Example There will be a general overview of the arrhythmias followed by more specific with treatment guidelines. Supporting research will be investigated in an effort to determine credible practice guidelines. The narrow complex tachycardias include sinus tachycardia (ST), atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT), atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia (AVRT), atrial tachycardia (AT), inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST), sinoatrial nodal reentrant tachycardia (SNRT), junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET), nonparoxysmal junctional tachycardia (NPJT), atrial fibrillation (AF), atrial flutter (AFI), and multifocal atrial tachycardia (MAT). Symptomology that may occur with these tachyarrhythmia’s are hypotension, heart failure, or pulmonary congestion, shortness of breath, renal failure, shock, decreased consciousness, angina or acute MI (Podrid, 2008). If these symptoms are occurring cardioversion is recommended. The state of stability of the patient who is pre-hospital is of course the focus of care. Determining the nature of narrow QRS tachyarrhythmia is necessary and an EKG is of great importance at this point. When we consider pathogenesis, reentry is the most common cause of QRS complex tachycardia. The mechanism of reentry requires two distinct pathways or tissues in the heart that have different electrophysiological properties that are linked proximally and distally, forming a circuit that is anatomic or functional (Ansdorf & Ganz, 2009). You will note the following diagrams. AVNRT as shown above is characterized by two pathways within the AV node. AVRT also shown above is characterized by an extranodal accessory pathway connecting the atrium and ventricle. Wolf-Parkinson White syndrome would fall into this category. SNRT and reentrant tachycardia do not involve the AV node (Arnsdorf, 2009). There are also other mechanisms that lead to narrow QRS complex tachycardia. Those include automaticity

Consider the product level models of New Product Development Essay

Consider the product level models of New Product Development - Essay Example These factors make the approach to new product development a critical one (Ribbens, 2000, p. 1). The process thus requires management support; it must also benefit from the experience of new product development teams composed of people from all affected activities; it has to follow distinct phases with extremely well defined activities in order to enhance understanding, greater accuracy and reduce risks and failures that are eminent in new product development. Key elements in new product development The process of new product development takes into consideration seven distinct elements, stages or phases. The first element is idea generation. This is the most critical aspect of all the elements in new product development because without idea generation it is difficult to come up with new products. Here ideas are gathered which present possible product options. Many companies conduct idea generation as a continuous process with contributions from within the organization and outside the organization. A number of methods are used and these may include focus group discussions with consumers, comments suggestions and feedback from customers and research from secondary sources. Creative problem solving technique such as brainstorming is used in this case that enables creative minds to come up with new ideas about an existing problem or a gap in the market. In the brainstorming session, first individuals are told about the problem as a creative challenge. This is important in order to come up with ideas that are viable for a new product. After this, people are given a time limit to think and come up with ideas. When the session begins, the people voice out their ideas and the facilitator lists them down with no criticism made. The best ideas are selected by the facilitator and which all group members agree with. The ideas are then evaluated on a scoring criteria and the idea with the highest score becomes the solution to the problem. Another model, the creative problem solving process model advanced by Osborn-Parnes can also be used here if a feasibility analysis has been carried out to identify problems upon which ideas are generated and solutions sought (Blythe, 2006, p. 50). The model is composed of six stages that can be compressed into three with distinct activities at each of these stages. They include: exploring the challenge which involves identifying the goal, gathering relevant data and clarifying the problem at hand; generating ideas involves coming up with options to solve the problem; and preparing for action which involves solution finding and preparing a plan for action. The process is lauded for its involvement of convergent and divergent thinking that can be used at each of these three stages. The second element is screening and this involves the careful and critical evaluations of the options presented by the new product development team to isolate the best idea or attractive options. This could be done in rounds depending on th e number of ideas and may also involve a number of techniques. As the ideas are being evaluated, other considerations are also made in terms of potential sales, the costs of production, profitability, competition. Only the accepted ideas

Through dramatic methods In The Crucible Essay Example for Free

Through dramatic methods In The Crucible Essay Is truth reliable? Everybody has different perceptions of truth and what is represented by it. Truth is different where ever you go. Peoples version of truth is never fully correct. Miller uses The Crucible to express his own views on what was happening in America at the time-McCarthyism he uses John Proctor, as he is interested in the person who doesnt allow him to be caught up in hysteria but thinks for himself and stands up for his values against all odds. Miller uses the Salem witch-hunt to put forward his views on McCarthyism-the hunting down and prosecuting of any Americans who were thought to have taken part in anti-capitalism. Miller himself was brought before the committee led by Joseph McCarthy. Miller saw the public confessions required by the committee, as parallels with the naming of names at Salem in 1692. History is evidence from people views on past events; again this cannot be taken for pure truth. Does this mean the truth can never be found or be totally correct? Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible from evidence in history that he collected; elements of the truth have been changed. Arthur Miller uses five main methods to represent truth; these are Imagery, Dialogue, Dramatic Irony, Staging or Setting and Character profile. Dialogue is a main method that can be used to show how truth is represented as the play is written with very little in the way of movements and directors have the dialogue to base their plays around. Dialogue has many different ways of showing who has the highest status and most control of a conversation. When acted out these can include, accent, age, tone of voice and pitch for example. But in a play methods such as topic shift, conversation control, adjacency pairs, turn taking, silence or hesitation are used. In The Crucible Abagail controls a conversation between her and Betty about what happened. Abagail shouts Shut it! Now shut it! Abagail takes control of the conversation to stop Betty from saying what she is to change the topic of conversation, this is called topic shifts. This represents truth as Abagail and Betty are talking about the truth but Abagail wants to move away from it. This method give the audience a clear view of who is in the wrong and more information on the characters on stage. Betty represents the truth as she is trying to let it out and tell everyone what actually happened and Abagail is opposing the truth; this is how Abagail is portrayed throughout most of the play. Her control of conversation is a great method of dialogue that gives her power and is what eventually allows her to escape death. When the character is speaking the audience know if he or she is telling the truth as they may have seen previous scenes that told them more information. This way the dialogue used can be used to cover up the truth using the dialogue techniques. Another method used to convey truth via dialogue is adjacency pairs. Adjacency means next to A question suggests the next turn will be an answer, a greeting suggests the next turn will be a greeting. Many things people say could have several meanings; the next turn shows what the people take it to mean, for now. So if someone insults you, and you respond Thank you, you are taking the insult as a compliment. This is used a lot to dismiss an idea or statement given to a character. For instance Proctor says, We never touched, Abby Abagail follows with Aye, but we did. Proctor follows with Aye, but we did not. Proctors immediate dismissal is a shock for Abagail as it was not the expected response. The word Aye is a positive response that substitutes yes. At the end of the response the word not is used this is negative and quickly changes the conversation from agreeing ang positive to negative and dissagreening. This is used to shock the audience and Abagail on stage. It conveys truth as it does not agree with Abagail and so the audience know one of them is not telling the truth, they either did or they did not touch. From the previous scenes they realise Proc Imagery is used a lot in the play. It is used on natural and items with symbols like the church. Imagery is good as it allows the audience to get a view of the truth and more of an understanding of what is going on. The imagery used in The Crucible is mostly natural objects such as stone, light and fire, this could be because og the purtinsm and they belived in living naturaly. Hard as rock and Where I stone give images of a stone. Stone is linked to the truth because it is a natural strong material. It is tough on the outside and hard to break into. Truth can be hard to reach or get the exact truth and so is linked to rock. Another way rock is linked to truth is that they are made in a cycle. Truth is changed in a cycle or a ring of people as people give others their opinion of the truth and rocks are made in a cycle and are changed during it. Another image related to truth is a book once a book has been written and finished it cannot be tampered with. It can be written over like the lies made up by people hiding the truth. The book as it was meant to be written can never be changed just like the truth. The cover of a book is strong and holds the book together along with its spine. Again this is like the truth it is held together and made by what has happened. The light of God is in him, this shows he is pure not evil and the audience can imagine it. If God is in you, you cannot be evil. Wheel inside Wheel this is meant as an image of Salem, the people of Salem influence or move others inside Salem to do things they wouldnt normally do. This shows truth, as it is Salem as a whole pushing people on. Dramatic Irony is used in The Crucible. The audience see what is going on and then they see the characters lie about what the audience know is true. The audience see Paris praying next to Betty and the audience realise something is wrong, later on Paris denies any thing has happened and the audience know this is not true. Dramatic Irony represents truth and is used when the audience know some of the characters are lying to others. This makes the audience feel more powerful and raises the level of excitement and suspense. The audiences learn more about a character and their personality. They gain a personal view on whether to believe what they say later or not to. This shows truth very well as the audience know exactly who knows what information and who is truthful and who is not. Dramatic irony shows the truth on which characters trust which and who they are willing to tell the truth. When characters have information that others dont, they feel they have more power and so decide to different things with the power. Titubas lies reveal the truth, Tituba pretended to be possessed in a way to get back at Paris. Tituba says He says Mr Parris must be kill! Mr Parris no goodly man, Mr Parris mean man and no gentle man,Parris is the victim of dramatic irony. The audience are against Parris because of the character summary, it was heavily biased against Parris.

Step by step design of a lock

Step by step design of a lock Introduction This paper outlines the step by step design of a lock in amplifier based micro-ohmmeter. This is very useful in measuring small resistances without applying large currents. And find its usefulness in tracing short circuits on printed boards containing sensitive components. The Audio Micro Ohm Meter uses synchronous detection to measure low value resistances. The circuit provides a variable frequency audio tone to indicate the resistance under test. Such a tone is invaluable when troubleshooting shorted tracks on multi-layer circuit boards because it is easier and quicker to observe 1. The source generates a 1KHz, 250mV peak square wave carrier signal that is injected into the unknown resistance, the resulting voltage across the resistor is amplified by the instrumentation amplifier. The phase reversing switch then rectifies the complementary square wave input, the rectified output is not all smooth so a low pass filter is needed. A Voltage controlled is then used to measure and indicate low value resistances such as track resistances on printed circuit boards. To provide a convenient indication, we want a ‘display that has high resolution (like a digital display) but is easy to read (like analogue meter) and that preferably doesnt even need to be looked at, so we can concentrate on the probes. To trace short circuits, the one thing we dont really need is high accuracy, since we are generally moving the probes 1. A muting detector then comes in to compare the control voltage with reference voltage. The Proteus ISIS software is used for the simulation of the circuit while a printed circuit board was used for the verification of the circuit. Resistor selection, analysis of waveforms , sensitivity and linearity of the device to supply voltage and possible improvements of the device were discussed. Excitation Oscillator One of the most useful ICs ever made is the 8-pin 555 timer and it is used in many projects. It can be used to build many circuits by just adding a few external components. NE555 is a popular version and it is suitable in most cases where a 555 timer is specified. Some low power types of the 555 are made, for instance the ICM7555, but can only be used when specified (to increase battery life) because their maximum output current of about 20mA (with a 9V supply) is too low for many standard 555 circuits. The ICM7555 has the same pin arrangement as a standard 555. The circuit symbol for a 555 is a box with the pins arranged to suit the circuit diagram: for example 555 pin 8 at the top for the +Vs supply, 555 pin 3 output on the right. Usually just the pin numbers are used and they are not labeled with their function. Standard 555 ICs create a significant glitch on the supply when their output changes state. This is not a problem in small circuits with no other ICs, but in a complex circuit a smoothing capacitor can be connected across the +Vs and 0V supply near the 555 . The 555 timer operates in different modes. The astable mode suits our design criteria. An astable circuit produces a square wave, this is a digital waveform with sharp transitions between low (0V) and high (+5Vs). It is possible that the durations of the low and high states may be different. The circuit is called an astable because it is not stable in any state: the output is continually changing between low and high. Our circuit needs a square waveform output of 4KHz, for this to be obtained an appropriate resistor value can be estimated by calculation to obtain the needed signal to drive the circuit Duty cycle The duty cycle of an astable circuit is the proportion of the complete cycle for which the output is high (the mark time). It is usually given as a percentage. The duty cycle of our circuit can be determined using Time period. The timeperiod (T) of the square wave is the time for one complete cycle, but it is usually better to consider frequency (f) which is the number of cycles per second 2. The time period can be split into two parts: T = Tm + Ts 5 Mark time (output high): Tm = 0.7 Ãâ€" (R1 + R2) Ãâ€" C1 Space time (output low): Ts = 0.7 Ãâ€" R2 Ãâ€" C1 we can determine our R2 using C3= 10nF, R1=1k and f= 4kHz we calculate our R2 as Tm = 0.7 X (1K + 33K) X 10 X 10^-9 = 238 ÃŽ ¼s While Space-time represents low output, Ts= 0.7 Ãâ€" R2 Ãâ€" C1 Ts = 0.7 X (1K) X 10 X 10^-9 = 0.7 ÃŽ ¼s T = Tm + Ts = 238 + 0.7 = 238.7 ÃŽ ¼s Duty cycle = = 99.7% The Quadrature Divider A quadrature divider, comprises a plurality of flip-flops, it includes at least two flip-flop, the flip-flops are interoperably coupled in series to produce a set dividing ratio 7. Each of the flip-flops includes two differential inputs I, two differential outputs O, and two differential clock inputs C, the outputs O, of one flip-flop is connected to the inputs I, of the next flip-flop, the outputs O, of the last flip-flop is connected inversely to the inputs I, of the first flip-flop, the flip-flops are clocked at their clock inputs C with differential clock signals in a consecutive manner which, for each flip-flop, are individually selected from quadrature clock input signals, 0, 90, 180, and 270, the quadrature divider is an even number divide-by-n circuit comprising a number of 2n flip-flops and providing a number of 4n output signals having 4n equidistant phases. 9 In our case the quadrature divider receives the square waveform signal from excitation oscillator as its clock signal . Figure 4 and 5 of the appendix show the pictorial representation of the quadrature divider as obtained from the circuit simulation and the oscilloscope graphic display. There are four output signals from the quadrature divider and they each have amplitude of about 5V but frequency of 1 KHz. This shows that the quadrature divider effectively divides the clock frequency into four amongst the equidistant phases. Attenuator An attenuator is a circuit that allows a known source of power to be reduced by a known factor usually expressed in decibels. The main advantage of an attenuator is that it is made from non-inductive resistors and therefore able to change a source or load, which might be reactive, into a resistive one that is know. The power reduction is achieved by the attenuator without introducing distortion. The attenuator used in our circuit is a pi type It is used to attenuate the 0 and 180 degrees antiphase 5V signal form the quadrature divider to 250mV at 1KHz. In order to get this value we need to select R5 in this attenuator circuit. Using Thevenins theorem. RTH = R5// (R3 + R4) where RTH = 100 ohms, R3 = 1K1ohms and R4 = 1K1 ohms. R5 = = 104.76 ohms. The best resistor to this to this value is a110 ohms resistor. So R5 = 110 ohms. figure 6 of the Appendix shows the graphical output of the attenuator with amplitude of about 250mV and frequency of 1 KHz. The attenuators gain in decibels is obtained by finding the ratio of the voltage corresponding to a known factor. Using the formula: , where R1 = 1100 ohms and the Z = 100, K = = 1.2 The value of attenuation, A in dB is obtained using K = 10 (A / 20) 1.2 = 10 (A / 20) A = 20 log 1.2 = 1.584 dB Instrumentation Amplifier An instrumentation amplifier is a variation of differential amplifier with input buffers that eliminates the need for input impedance matching making the amplifier suitable for use in measurement 5. It is a differential op-amp circuit providing high input impedances with the pleasure of gain adjustment through the adjustment of a single resistor. Instrumentation amplifier has very low DC offset, low drift, low noise, very high open-loop gain, very high common-mode rejection ratio, and very high input impedances. The instrumentation amplifier used in this circuit affected its accuracy and stability. The attenuated signal is applied across a resistor with very small resistance. The voltage drop across the resistor is small and needs to be amplified. The instrumentation amplifier does this, it composes of three op-amps arranged so that there is one op-amp to buffer each input signal and one to produce the desired output with adequate impedance matching for the function.3 The gain of the instrumentation amplifier circuit used for this micro-ohmmeter design is known to be 60 dB. Using the formula below then, Av =where AV = 60 dB, R = 10 k, 60 =, R9 = = 338.98 ÃŽ © The best resistor to this value is 340 ÃŽ © and it controls the gain of the instrumentation amplifier. The negative feedback of U3:A makes the voltage at pin 2 of U3:A to be equal to Voltage across R8. while, the voltage at pin 6 of U3:B is held to a value equal to Voltage across R14. This establishes a voltage drop across R9 equivalent to the voltage difference between V1 and V2 and subsequently a current through R9 and since no current is drawn by the feedback loops of the two input op-amps , the same amount of current through R9 must be going through R10 and R12 resistors above and below it. This produces a voltage drop between points A and B equal to V The ordinary differential amplifier part of the circuit then amplifies this voltage drop by a gain of 1. The post- differential amplifier circuit, with gain = R19 / R15 and differential input resistance = 2*R15. The two amplifiers on the left are the buffers. With R9 = Rgain removed (open circuited), they are simple unity gain buffers; the circuit will work in that state, with gain simply equal to R19 / R15 and high input impedance because of the buffers. The buffer gain is increased by putting resistors between the buffer inverting inputs and ground to shunt away some of the negative feedback; however, the single resistor Rgain between the two inverting inputs is a much more elegant method: it increases the differential-mode gain of the buffer pair while leaving the common-mode gain equal to 1. This increases the common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR) of the circuit and enables the buffers to handle much larger common-mode signals without clipping than would be the case if they were sep arate and had the same gain. Another benefit of the method is that it boosts the gain using a single resistor rather than a pair, thus avoiding a resistor-matching problem. The ideal common-mode gain of an instrumentation amplifier is zero. The common-mode gain of the instrumentation amplifier used in this design is near zero because of the equally numbered resistors and by the matched common-mode gains of the two buffer op-amps of the instrumentation amplifier. To obtain a closely matched resistors is difficult, as is optimizing the common mode performance of the input op-amps. All resistors are of equal value for this instrumentation amplifier except for R9. This method has the advantage of possessing extremely high input impedances on the input voltage across R=39 because they connect straight into the non-inverting inputs of their respective op-amps and adjustable gain that can be set by a single resistor. The lowest gain possible is obtained from the above circuit with R9 completely open (infinite resistance), and that gain value is 1. The output of the instrumentation amplifier is an anti-phase square wave signal from the that connects to the phase shift detector for further modification. Lock-In Amplifier A lock-inamplifier otherwise known as a phase-sensitive detector is a type of amplifier that can extract a signal with a known carrier wave from extremely noisy environment. It is a homodyne with a very low pass filter making it very narrow band. Lock-in amplifiers utilizes mixing, via a frequency mixer, to convert the signals amplitude and phase to a DC—in fact a time-varying low-frequency—voltage signal. It is often used to measure phase shift, even when the signals are of a high value and of high signal-to-noise ratio, and do not need any other improvement.To obtain signal at low signal-to-noise ratios, it is necessary that a strong, undiluted reference signal is made available at the same frequency as the signal to be measured. Phase Difference Two oscillators that have the same frequency and different phases that is, a phase difference, the oscillators are said to be out of phase with each other. The amount by which such oscillators are out of step with each other can be expressed in radians from 0 to 2Ï€ or in degrees from 0 ° to 360 °, If the phase difference is 180 degrees (Ï€ radians), then the two oscillators are said to be in antiphase. If two interacting waves meet at a point where they are in antiphase, then destructive interference will occur. It is common for waves of electromagnetic (light, RF), acoustic (sound) or other energy to become superposed in their transmission medium. When that happens, the phase difference determines whether they reinforce or weaken each other. Complete cancellation is possible for waves with equal amplitudes. Phase compensation This is the correction of phase error (i.e., the difference between the actually needed phase and the obtained phase). To obtain stability in an operational amplifier a phase compensation is required. To keep a phase margin in the phase compensation a capacitor/RC network is usually used . A phase compensator works by subtracting out an amount of phase shift from a signal which is equal to the amount of phase shift added by switching some additional amplifier stages into the amplification signal path. Low-Pass Filter A low-pass filter is a filter that passes low-frequency signals but attenuates (reduces the amplitude of) signals with frequencies higher than the cutoff frequency. An ideal low-pass filter completely eliminates all frequencies above the cutoff frequency while passing those below unchanged: its frequency response is a rectangular function, and is a brick-wall filter 8. If we need to get rid of an interfering signal in order to get a lot of attenuation, several RC filters can be cascaded. Unfortunately, the impedance of one RC section affects the next. What this means is that the transition between the pass and stop bands will not be sharp. A sharp transition helps reduce the interfering signal without causing degradation to the desired signals. In this case, the Sallen-Key active filter can do the job well. This circuit uses a 2-pole filter. Cascading a number of stages can give a steep attenuation transition with a very sharp knee. This cut-off frequency aids in selecting the R20 an d R22 resistor values to be used in the low pass filter design to average noise in the DC signal 6. The required Q for the butterworth filter = 1.414. The op-amp stage is a unity gain follower when R20 = R22. if C9 and C10 are equal, then the Q = 1.5858 for Butterworth response. Using convenient near values gain of 1.56 in the formula, R20 = R22 = Q / (4 ·Ãâ‚¬Ã‚ ·fo ·C9) where, fo = cut-off frequency = 4Hz, C9 = C10 = 0.1ÃŽ ¼F R20 = R20 = 310.31kÃŽ © The nearest standard resistor value to this calcualted resistor value is 330k Voltage Controlled Oscillator A voltage-controlled oscillator is an oscillator whose frequency is determined by a control voltage. As the control voltage causes the frequency to rise slowly until it hits a maximum and then falls back to the starting frequency. The first op-amp is an integrator(U7:A). A voltage divider puts the + input at half the control voltage. The op-amp attempts to keep its input at the same voltage, which requires a current flow across the 100k to ensure that its voltage drop is half the control voltage. When the MOSFET at the bottom is on, the current from the 200k goes through the MOSFET. Since the 100k resistor has the same voltage drop as the 100k but half the resistance, it must have twice as much current flowing through it. The additional current comes from the capacitor, charging it, so the first op-amp must provide a steadily rising output voltage to source this current. When the MOSFET at the bottom is off, the current from the 200k goes through the capacitor, discharging it, so a steadily falling output voltage is needed from the first op-amp. The result of the operation of this integrator circuit is a triangular waveform confirmed by figure 13 of the appendix. The capacitance of the capacitor in our circuit is determined thus: The second op-amp is a Schmitt trigger. It takes the triangle wave as input. When the input voltage rises above the threshold of 3.33 V, it outputs 5 V and the threshold voltage falls to 1.67 V. When the input voltage falls below that, the output goes to 0 V and the threshold moves back up. The output is a square wave. Its connected to the MOSFET, causing the integrator to raise or lower its output voltage as needed 4. Figure 14 shows the graphical representation of this circuit . The variation of the supply voltage from 3V to 9V while observing the output signal frequency obtains the sensitivity of the overall voltage- controlled oscillator circuit to supply voltage. From the test observation, the VCO produced no output signal at 3Vand beyond 6.2V. The below table shows the values obtained for the during the sensitivity test of the voltage-controlled oscillator. Using the power supply sensitivity formula Sensitivity Percentage change in frequency = Percentage change in power supply voltage = Between 5V to 6V, the percentage change in power supply voltage = = 20% While the percentage change in frequency is = 3.575% VCO sensitivity to this supply voltage variation = = 17.875 % Between 4V to 5V, the percentage change in power supply voltage = = 25% While the percentage change in frequency is = 12.21% VCO sensitivity to this supply voltage variation = = 48.84% The inference from the above calculation shows that the sensitivity of this lock-in amplifier based micro-ohmmeter to power supply voltage increases with reducing supply voltage. The tuning range of the VCO refers to the range of oscillation frequencies Two important parameters in VCO design are linearity and sweep range. Linearity correlates the change in frequency or the VCO output to the change in the control voltage. The sweep range is the range of possible frequencies produced by VCO control voltage. The linearity Muting Detector Circuit The filtered output from the phase sensitive detector is a control voltage which, with Zero input ( short circuited probes) is about Vg volts . It goes more positive with increasing signal level. With maximum input(open circuited probes) the voltage will saturate near the positive supply rail. This would result in a loud high pitched tone from the oscillator, which is not what we want. We want the it to be mute when the probes are disconnected and to do this another operational amplifier is brought in to compare the control voltage with a reference voltage. Whenever the control voltage goes higher than the reference, the output will go negative. This allows a small current to be drawn through D1 and R25, which will keep the oscillator transistor switched off, stopping oscillation. The output voltage of an AM synchronous detector is compared with a reference potential level by a voltage comparator. A muting device connected with the output of the detector is controlled by a control circuit connected with the comparator. Through this control circuit, the detector output is immediately muted when the detector output level falls below the reference potential level, and the muting of the detector output is removed after a predetermined retardation when the detector output level exceeds the reference potential level. References 1 Bateson, S. January 2010, Electronic Signal Conditioning Labs, Teesside University, Middlesbrough 2 Hewes, J, (17.02.2010), 555 Timer, http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/555timer.htm#astable 3 Instrumentation amplifier, (14.02.2010) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrumentation_amplifier 4 Java, (19.01.2001), Voltage controlled oscillator, http://www.falstad.com/circuit/e-vco.html 13022010 5 Kuphaldt, T, (12.02.2010), Differentiator and Integrator Circuits, http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_3/chpt_8/10.html 6 Low pass filter, (14.02.2010) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-pass_filter 7 Quadrature Divider, (17.02.2010), http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/7425850/claims.html 8 Sallen-key low-pass filter (13.02.2010), http://www.ecircuitcentezr.com/Circuits/opsalkey1/opsalkey1.htm 9 Widerin, P, (13.02.2010), Quadrature Divider, http://www.freshpatents.com/Quadrature-divider-dt20070111ptan20070009077.php

Cochlear Implants :: Hearing Deafness Auditory Essays

Cochlear Implants As the life expectancy of the general population continues to increase, so has the number of people experiencing varying types of perceptual loss. One area of perceptual loss that is gaining more and more recognition is auditory functioning. The number of individuals experiencing a post-lingual hearing loss, or hearing loss after the acquisition of language, is increasing among the older adults in our society. This increase has facilitated a need for a means of managing such a loss of functioning. The group of people affected by hearing loss is by no means strictly limited to older adults. Pre-lingually deaf children and adults, as well as, postlingually deafened individuals can benefit from the technology that is currently being developed and refined for the management of hearing loss. The conventional hearing aid is probably the most common device pictured when thinking in terms of managing hearing loss. However, another option that may not be as well known is the cochlear implant. The cochlear implant is a relatively new option in the management of hearing loss. Cochlear implants amplify sound, code sound into an electrical signal, and send those signals into the auditory nerve. The signal then travels to the auditory brainstem and onward to the temporal lobe of the brain for interpretation. The cochlear implant system consists of internal and external components. The internal components include a receiver, an internal magnet, and an electrode array. During a surgical procedure, a space is made in the mastoid bone behind the ear. This space holds the internal magnet and receiver. The electrode array is then placed in contact with the nerve endings in the cochlea. After implantation surgery, the skin and hair around the incision are allowed to heal for about five weeks. Then the patient is fitted with the external components of the implant. These components include a microphone, an external transmitter coil, cords, and a speech processor. The microphone is attached to the ear by means of an earhook. The microphone picks up sound waves and sends them to the transmitter for convertion into an electrical signal. The transmitter coil is held in place against the patient's head by means of an external magnet that is attracted to the internal magnet. A cord connects the microphone to the transmitter coil. Another cord then connects the microphone to the speech processor. The speech processor contains a software program that determines how sound waves will be coded and transformed into electrical impulses.

Double Cross

The smoke rising like steam from the open manhole, gave a curtain to a dark figure dressed in black, long cloak floating at the back .His presence scared away the crowding street cats lurking and prowling in the dark alley dustbins. The fall of the dustbin lid echoed through the street like a symbol in an orchestra. Cars seldom passed this area of town, notorious for crime. His destination, a small entrance bordered by neon lights which echoed through out the mist. As he neared the door a small spy hole slid open. The man spoke his words, muffled through his black scarf. After several seconds the doors locks slid open and the door followed. The glowing mist sucked into the open door. A man tower approached the light, built as wide as he was tall. Final checks were made on the man and he was allowed to enter. The radio was on. The time read quarter to ten. A man confessing his hard life working in an office for a boss he hates to the number one radio station in the area. These one-to-one chats with the air host keep the lonely people entertained at night. Detective Ventura turned it off and sighed. He sat peering into the dark alley where our mysterious character had disappeared moments before. The car door opened. A small man with mousy brown hair round chubby cheeks entered the car. His appearance mimicked his attitude. It was his first day. An uneasy silence surrounded the car, rain started to fall slowly and steadily onto the windscreen. It got heavier with time and the silence grew. The repetitive motion of the wipers swishing back and forth was causing Malcolm to sweat. Ventura noticed Malcolm's agitated motion. He decided he had to break the ice. â€Å"So how'd u feel first day out on the job. It's a hell of a lot different from the training aint it?† Ventura said breaking the silence. â€Å"Oh yeah, It's really exciting for me†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦what you think our next move is sir?† stuttered Malcolm. â€Å"Well son we gotta sit tight for a while. We don't want go bustin in there when we aint got no leads† he said proudly feeling wise and experienced. Their conversation was interrupted by a gunshot. The room was small but had many doors. He offered to take his coat, but he refused sternly. A look of suspicion was exchanged between the two unlikely gentlemen, when the moment was torn by a voice so strong and deep that it demanded respect. â€Å"Who the hell is it Mike? Are you gonna show um through or do I have to get off my death bed to meet him.† This voice came from a small silver haired man with definite Italian roots. His skin slightly faded from tan to grey. The man lay upon his bed propped up by a mountain of pillows. How a voice of such power and strength could come from this man was hard to believe. As he entered the room the old man glanced across. Mike announced, â€Å"Mr Leony, the man you requested is here with a proposition for you.† His stern voice was irritating â€Å"Ah great I have been expecting you. I feel that your skills may be of some use. Before I give you any details I want you to answer me a few questions. Firstly what's your name?† â€Å"My name†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..Andreas† hesitating slightly. Mr Leony looks him up and down, then smiles, â€Å"Good can I call you Andy?† â€Å"I'd prefer if we used no names during any of our meetings.† He removed his long black coat. The thud as it hit the ground raised eyebrows. â€Å"Mike I thought you checked him?† â€Å"I did boss, he was clean†¦..at least I think he was!† â€Å"That's another thing you need to improve security around here!† said Andreas, as he pulled from his coat a revolver. Eyes widen. The room is silenced. A shot fired. Mike hit the floor. â€Å"What are you doing!? Stop I beg of you there's no need for this. Who sent you!?† pleaded Antonio Leony. Andreas was considering whether or not to tell Mr Leony who sent him. He looked at his watch. It read five minutes to ten. Ventura bounced from his seat. The coffee flew onto the windscreen. They both looked at each other and simultaneously opened their doors. Time stood still at six minutes to ten as both officers rushed to the neon glare. They both backed up against the wall, guns at the ready. The gel from Malcolm's hair was running into his eyes. He became agitated again, â€Å"Sir what shall†¦.† â€Å"Shhhh!† Ventura interrupted. They both stood silent waiting for a sound inside or movement. Something to give them an insight. Andreas spoke. â€Å"I'm very sorry old man† he said reluctantly. â€Å"At least do me the honour of knowing which back stabbing bastard set me up? Who was it?† he said bravely. â€Å"What good is it going to do you?†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦but I suppose it's not going to make much difference whether or not I tell you. Ok it was John Maverick.† â€Å"What that Bastard!† he was raging like a bull. â€Å"I find it hard to end such a man but, you win some, you lose some.† He spoke respectfully, the gun fired. The second gunshot went off piercing Ventura's ears. They had to make a move; they burst in. The warm air hit them. They came to the door. It opened with a slight creak. Ventura made sure the surroundings were clear and checked the body for life signs. There were none. The curtains flailed in the wind. Our mysterious character had disappeared. Venture heard the fire escape ladder slide. His eyes met Malcolm's and they synchronically edged toward the window. Unveiling the curtain they watched as the dark figure entered a black saloon car and drove away leaving the spray from the wet road in its wake. He had escaped. Ventura and Malcolm got back to the station. Their captain shouted to them. They went to his office. The room was small with thin walls. Ventura had often been battered verbally by the captain. There was a name plate, which read Captain John Maverick. Expecting a good telling off, the two officer's eyes were firmly fixed on the ground. â€Å"Ah hell guys, what happened out there?†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Look more to the point we got an anonymous phone call tipping us off about our mystery man that I have had you boys tail for the last 2 weeks† the captain spoke casually which came as a shock to the officers, Ventura spoke anxiously â€Å"What did it say sir?† â€Å"Well it gave us a meeting point and a time. It's six tomorrow morning at Swallow Lake. You feeling up to it Ventura?† â€Å"Hell yeah sir!† Ventura pounced. â€Å"And take the rookie with you. This is good experience for him.† Captain said smiling. A bird flew by. Its frozen frame glided across the lake. It dipped slowly out of sight. A moment later it burst into view fluttering its wings. It soared into the sky and began to circle the lake like a vulture would its prey†¦.As Ventura followed the bird he noticed the sky; it was red. He remembered the old saying his grandfather used â€Å"Red sky at night Shepherd's delight, Red sky in the morning Shepherd's warning†, he whispered. The moment was broken by a black saloon pulling up. A man dressed in black got of out the car and slammed the door. More birds burst into the sky and began to circle. Ventura saw a tall black man approach the pier. He reached for his binoculars. â€Å"Wait! It can't be.† His eyes widened as he confirmed his fears. â€Å"Who is it sir? Who is it?† Malcolm inquired. A knock came at the car window. Both heads swivelled. A tall man held a gun pointed at Malcolm. â€Å"Get out the car, and no funny stuff. I got a loaded gun here!† he said having the upper hand. They were taken to a lodge. Inside their fears were confirmed. Their captain had set them up. â€Å"Hi guys†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.well what can I say, Ventura if you had just messed up like you did every other time you would be sitting here right now. You got to close damn it!† he said as if to give them some sort of consolation. The Captain called to the man, â€Å"Andreas have you collected the money?† he said anxiously â€Å"Yes but I'm afraid I can't let you have it. You see I'm a solo man I work for me and me only† he said smugly. Meanwhile Ventura had slipped his penknife from his pocket and was cutting away at the ropes which bound him and Malcolm to the chair, â€Å"What the hell you talking bout? We had a deal. If you go back. I'll kill you† he said furiously, before he could reach for his gun Andreas shot him in the chest. The captain fell to the ground. Andreas turned to the two men tied to the chairs back to back. â€Å"Sorry fellas, honestly I was real impressed with you two being able to track me down. That aint an easy job, but you have got to die!† Andreas poured petrol in a circle around the men and doused the walls and floor. The room spun faster, and faster, and faster, but Ventura kept his cool. Time was running out, Andreas lit his cigar, â€Å"It's been a pleasure gentleman.† He went to drop his match. Ventura rose, Andreas flinched and stumbles back. Ventura reached for his second gun in his sock. Andreas pulls back his coat and grasped his gun. Ventura fired. Andreas fired. Time stopped. The exchange of fire made Malcolm faint. Both men lay motionless on the floor. Ventura lay still as ice. Blood mixed in with the petrol and ran down the cracks in the floor. Malcolm came around and saw the two men lying on the floor beside him. He calls to Ventura, â€Å"Sir!, come on get up. Sir?† he shouted. Ventura lay†¦dead? Malcolm's attention was turned to a rising Andreas. The man rose, grasping his side where he had been shot. He leant against the door frame, his back to Malcolm. Andreas turned and reaching for his gun aims it at Malcolm. Malcolm closes his eyes and prays to god. Three gun shots are fired, but Malcolm felt nothing. When he finally opens his eyes he's back in the same room with Andreas lying dead on the floor in front of him. He hears the faint cough of Ventura and turned quickly to find him nursing a shot wound to his stomach and still pointing a smoking gun in Andreas's direction. Ventura got back to his feet and ventured over to his Captain. he looked down at a man for whom he now felt nothing but sorrow for him. The captain's eyes, as if mesmerised, gazed at the roof. They drifted on to Ventura's eyes. Ventura drops and holds the captain by his back. The captain spoke with a groan. â€Å"Ah, hell. Things just didn't turn out well. I'm sorry Ventura. This wasn't anything personal. He coughed and he died. Ventura eyes glazed like ice. The moment was broken by the sound of a dozen police cars racing to the scene. The birds broke from their circle and descended. The sky was turned from red to blue by the rising sun.

Exploring Equality and Diversity Essay

You should use this file to complete your Assessment. †¢The first thing you need to do is save a copy of this document, either onto your computer or a disk †¢Then work through your Assessment, remembering to save your work regularly †¢When you’ve finished, print out a copy to keep for reference †¢Then, go to www.vision2learn.com and send your completed Assessment to your tutor via your My Study area – make sure it is clearly marked with your name, the course title and the Unit and Assessment number. Name: Nichola Craven 1. What is meant by diversity? Diversity is the way that everything and everybody is different. We all have various qualities that make us who we are. We all have our own individual set of qualities and we may share some of these with others we meet or have nothing in common at all. Diversity may be visible as in age or colour of skin or not immediately noticed until we have spent time with someone, this could include their religious beliefs or sexual orientation. 2. Describe the community you live in. Highlight some of the variations you may observe in terms of: †¢Interests †¢Beliefs †¢Ages †¢Lifestyles †¢Personal, social and cultural identities. I live in an inner city council estate. Many people on the estate are interested in watching the local teams play football and rugby. There is a community centre nearby and pensioners get together to do light exercise classes and children take karate or cheerleading classes. Groups of teenagers take turns to use the basketball court. It is very rare to see children or anyone over twenty using the courts. Some parents let their young children go to the local park alone but others will only let their children play in the back yard. At the back of the estate are the Wash lands where many people will walk their dogs but some people who live here have never walked that way. There are many different beliefs, in terms of religion and family values. The largest religious group are Christians, and the second largest is Muslims. Most of the Muslims in the community do not drink alcohol. Most of the houses are homes to young families on low incomes. There are very few elderly people in the council houses. Most people are White British or Asian British in terms of ethnicity, although lately there are a large number of Eastern European families on my street. I have noticed that over the last two years that their English has improved greatly and we are now able to communicate better. Many people on the estate have full time or part time jobs although there is a high number of unemployed and many single parents who stay at home to take care of very young children. 3. Explain how the variations in question 2 contribute to the diversity of the community. Where people have different interests such as playing or watching rugby, they are contributing to the entertainment in the community for those who like to watch the matches. Also, the children and men who are in the rugby teams are keeping fit and learning how to be team players. The people who watch rugby also hold fund raising events to keep up with the maintenance of the clubhouse as well has regular charity fundraisers to help local charities. Neighbours who celebrate different religious festivals will share their experiences by inviting others to parties and this helps everyone gain knowledge of how different people live. My neighbour often brings various Asian cuisines for my family to try and shares recipes. 4. Give some examples to explain how diversity: †¢Enhances your life †¢Enhances the local community †¢Enhances this country. Diversity enhances my life the most when I spend time with my brother. He is engaged to a Hungarian lady who has a large family living in my city. We often have parties in the summer where we eat from a big pot of goulash which is cooked outside in a cauldron over a fire. The drink of choice is palinka, a kind of fruit brandy although I can’t say I like the taste much. We sing and dance to modern and traditional Hungarian music and it is overall a fun time that I can’t experience with my English family. I see how diversity enriches the local community the most at the primary school where I work. The majority of the children do not have English as a first language and are all from different backgrounds and countries. Despite there being so much diversity and language barriers, there is a sense of camaraderie where the children help each other and are learning to live with and accept people who are different. The ethos of the school is that every child is valued and should be given the same opportunities as each other. The introduction of a Pride event in the city a few years ago has created a once a year festival where people celebrate their differences in sexuality and way of life. There is always a big crowd and everyone has fun. I think it helps people to learn about and accept those who lead different lifestyles to themselves when they are given the chance to integrate at a large event such as this. Diversity enhances this country because there is always something new we can learn from each other. The integration of various nationalities, interests and personalities mean we can better understand others and join in with their celebrations and appreciate different cultures. Our experiences in food and dining are enriched by the opening of different eateries and by supermarkets offering a wide range of international ingredients to cater for an increasingly diverse country. 5. Describe what it means to respect people’s differences and why it is important to respect differences. Respecting people’s differences means that we appreciate that others are different to us and just because we may not have anything in common or share their beliefs, we should accept them for who they are. When people do not accept others, it can lead to bullying, lack of communication and a general feeling of distrust. This can lead to unrest within communities. To be able to live in peace and harmony, everyone should realise that others have a right to be different. 6. For a person you know, describe the individual factors that make him / her who they are. Name: Defining factorsBrief description Physical characteristics A tall, well presented man in his early thirties. Emotions Very laid back, likes to help other people. Likes and dislikes Likes action films and playing computer games. Dislikes soaps and dancing. Values and beliefs Believes in God, doesn’t attend church on a regular basis. Family is very important to him. 7. Describe yourself in terms of: †¢Personal interests †¢Religion / culture †¢Geography. I enjoy reading, whether it is browsing the web or a book on my kindle e-reader. I enjoy socialising with my friends but my main interest lies within my family life. I love spending time with my three daughters, taking them shopping, to the park or the movies. When my husband isn’t working, we like to take the children and our dog for long walks. I am not very religious. I only go to church when occasion demands i.e. in the case of weddings, funerals or christenings. I attended a Church of England primary school and I still carry my beliefs and values from my time there and pass these beliefs on to my children. I live in Yorkshire on a medium sized social housing estate next to the city centre. The shopping centre, hospital and schools are all within walking distance from my house. 8. What is meant by having multiple identities? Give three examples in relation to people you know. Multiple identities are the way one person acts in different situations or with different people. Example 1: Sasha is a college student who likes to socialise with her friends and loves dressing in the latest fashions. When she comes home she changes into her jogging bottoms and old t-shirt and spends time with her little sisters helping them with their homework. Example 2: I take my children to visit my mum and we drink coffee and watch children’s TV and she does jigsaws with her grandchildren. When I visit my mum without my children, we drink wine and talk about adult things and listen to the music channel. Example 3: Claire is a single mum with two young children. Monday to Friday, she comes home from work, does the cleaning, cooking and looks after her children. At the weekend, the children stay with their father and Claire spends time with her friends going to the pub and having a good time in adult company. 9. What is meant by shared identity? Shared identity is where two or more people have one or more of a common characteristic. This could be that they enjoy watching football or that they come from the same town or city. They could be the same age or share the same taste in music. 10. Explain and give examples of how an individual can identify themselves as belonging to a number of different groups. An individual can belong to different groups by the fact that they have something in common with those people. An example is that of where a group of men are from the same area and they all go to watch a football match. If they were from Yorkshire and supported Leeds, they would be in that group of Yorkshire Leeds supporters. However, if they were not at the football match and were on holiday with their family, they would prioritise their identities differently. They would be from Yorkshire, and be fathers on holiday with their families. The football team they support may not even enter the equation in terms of how they perceive themselves or how others see them. 11. Describe yourself in terms of your multiple identities. I am mum to three children. Earlier this year I was a full time housewife with my youngest child in part time nursery. Now all of my children are in school and college, my role is less focused on being a housewife and I work in a school office. I find that now I work, my husband takes a more active role in the housework and care of the children, taking on some of my previous responsibilities. When the children are in bed, I take on administrative tasks for my husband’s plumbing business and become his book-keeper. At work, I am usually based in the office although I have to walk around school passing on messages and I have to look after sick children while we wait for their parents to take them home. When I get chance to see my friends, they see a different side of me as I like to make the most of my time away from work and other responsibilities and have a good time. They would say I enjoy a good time and I am a shoulder to cry on. 12. What is meant by stereotyping and labelling? When we first meet others, we can’t help judging them from our first impressions. If someone is wearing glasses, we may think wrongly or rightly that they are intelligent and studious. We may see two women together holding hands and we would think that they are gay. This is called labelling, when we pick out a characteristic and focus on it, drawing our own conclusions. Another example is when we see a woman pushing a pushchair. We label her as being a mother although she is also many other things. Stereotyping is where we make assumptions about people belonging to a certain group. An Asian friend of mine was shopping in the supermarket, and looking at cat food. A lady who was trying to be helpful tried to explain to her that cat food was not for human consumption and was shocked when my friend replied in broad Yorkshire that it was for her cat and she wasn’t thinking of eating it herself. This is an example of stereotyping – people assuming that people who are f rom ethnic minorities cannot read or speak English. 13. Explain why some people stereotype others. Stereotyping continues to be part of our society through the way families and social groups instil their beliefs on one another and the way that the media portray certain groups. When we see rioting on the news, we tend to see young people wearing hoodies to cover their faces. This leads to us thinking that all people who wear hoodies are dangerous when it is in fact not true. My daughter wears a hoodie and sometimes puts the hood up to keep her ears warm yet even though I know this, I still get scared if I see a group of teenagers in hoodies because of all the media stories. This is the case of the isolated behaviours within a small group that has lead to a stereotype. People will stereotype because they want to fit in with a particular group and will share their views on others. 14. Provide two examples of the damaging effects that stereotyping and labelling can have on people. Stereotyping can lead to fear within communities. Old people may fear young people because of they see on the news that a teenager committed a series of muggings. Travelling communities may be made unwelcome in pubs because of a few isolated incidents of trouble. People may avoid those who suffer from mental illness as many murderers claim to suffer from mental illness. This leads us to stereotype all people with mental illness as being violent which is untrue. This could have a damaging effect on them and lead them to withdraw from society. People continue to be ageist in society. They label elderly people as just being old and not as able as they once were and don’t consider other qualities that they have such as being kind and caring. Many non physical jobs do not rely on age such as being a good teacher yet sometimes; recruiters will choose a young person because they assume that youth will make them better at a job. Ageism damages society because we are taking away the diversity and personal qualities that older people can offer and also, when we treat elderly people as being useless, they start to feel useless and may become depressed. 15. Provide at least two examples of the way stereotyping is perpetuated in society. Stereotyping is perpetuated within families, the way your parents and other relatives perceive things can be passed on to you and so a cycle begins where people carry on stereotyping. I remember growing up in a family where we stereotyped all gay men as being flamboyant and effeminate. This was also due to the way that they were stereotyped on television programmes in the seventies and eighties. The views of peer groups can also carry on stereotypes. Some people see jobless people as being lazy benefit scroungers. This may be true of some of them but a discussion with your friends where they provide an example of such lazy scrounger and shows such as The Jeremy Kyle show where people are often presented in a negative way will make sure the stereotype prevails. 16. Define prejudice and discrimination. Prejudice occurs when a characteristic of an individual or group is reacted to in a negative way. It is an incorrect and unfair assumption that is based on little or no proof. People can be prejudiced against many characteristics such as race, gender or sexuality and have negative views about or act negatively towards those groups. Discrimination occurs when prejudice means that someone is treated unfairly because they possess one or more characteristic. 17. Explain how people may develop prejudices. People can develop prejudices from a bad experience with an individual. If someone sat next to an unhygienic overweight person at school, they may think that every overweight person is unhygienic. Someone may be influenced by the views of relatives or friends who they respect enough to accept their views whether they are good or bad prejudices. If someone is around people who believe that their prejudices are just, they are likely to take them on board themselves and transfer those views to other people that they come into contact with. 18. Describe the following types of discrimination. Type of discriminationDescription Dual discrimination Dual discrimination occurs when prejudice is aimed at two characteristics of someone or a group. If someone is a single parent and is out of work, they could be negatively thought of by someone who has bad views on single parents and of unemployed people. Multiple discriminationThis is where someone is discriminated against for having several characteristics. An overweight lady in a wheelchair could obviously be discriminated against on three points, being overweight, being disabled and being a woman. Positive discriminationPositive discrimination occurs when people are favoured because they possess certain characteristics. An example is where a housing association prioritises ethnic minority families against others in the same situation. Discrimination arising out of disabilityDiscriminating against a disability can mean that disabled [people are not given the opportunities in life that more able people are such as access to employment or education opportunities. Discrimination by associationThis is where someone is discriminated against for associating with a person or group whom the prejudice is aimed at. An example is a mixed race marriage here prejudice is held against one partners race but both partners suffer harassment. 19. What is meant by the term protected characteristics? Protected characteristics are legally recognised areas where discrimination is likely to occur. They are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and beliefs, gender and sexual orientation. This are characteristics that everyone posses and the law is there to protect individuals from unfair discrimination. 20. What is the difference between direct and indirect discrimination? Give two examples to illustrate your point. Direct discrimination occurs when someone is treated differently due to a personal characteristic that they possess. This could be an older person being denied the right of promotion despite being more qualified or equally qualified than someone younger than them. It could be that a woman mentions at a job interview that she has four children and the interviewer immediately says they would be unsuitable for the job because they would require a lot of time off. These examples are direct discrimination against older people and working mothers. Indirect discrimination occurs where certain groups of people are put at a disadvantage because their needs are ignored. This could be a lack of disabled access in a public building that means wheelchair users cannot make their way around. Another example is a workplace health and safety document being printed only in English when there are many workers who speak and read English as a second language or some who cannot read English at all. 21. Describe the effects that discrimination and prejudice can have on people. A main danger that arises from prejudice and discrimination is the kind of extreme hatred that causes people to be attacked and killed and in extreme cases, wars due to race, religion or sexual preferences. If there is prejudice within certain groups, it will lead to social conflicts and a less harmonious atmosphere. People who are discriminated against typically lose their sense of worth as they become more mistreated by other people and develope a negative view of themselves. If people are treated as second class citizens, they may begin to believe that they are. They will also distrust those who discriminate against them and this will lead to hostile environments. They will have a lower quality of life as they are denied promotions and training opportunities. Innocent people will suffer unnecessary anguish due to unfair discrimination. 22. Describe what equal opportunities means in relation to: †¢Education †¢Housing †¢Healthcare †¢Employment. Equal opportunities in education mean that everyone should be given the same chance to succeed no matter what their characteristics. In relation to schools, there may be single sex schools or schools that focus on a particular religion e.g. Church of England but this is not considered discrimination since there are plenty of other schools that cater for everybody. If someone is denied access to education, they are denied a better quality of life with better job prospects. It is important that everyone is given the opportunity to learn and achieve according to their abilities. It is against the law for landlords to specify that certain ethnic groups are not eligible to live in their properties. Equal opportunities in housing means that everyone should have the chance to live in homes suited to their needs and family size. If this law isn’t met, certain groups will lead a low quality of life and may well live in overcrowded conditions. Everyone is entitled to receive healthcare. Healthcare professionals should not prioritise treatment or refuse to treat someone on grounds such as skin colour or sexual orientation. Everyone should have an equal opportunity to receive healthcare and particular groups have a right to sensitivity. Equal opportunities in employment means that people should be recruited and promoted in relation to how well they can do a job, not be discriminated against positively or negatively in relation to their race or gender for example. Everyone should be treated fairly at work; equal pay should be given to those who do exactly the same job. 23. Outline the inequality problems that persist in terms of pay for men and women. A job should pay in terms of ability and attainment regardless of gender yet men are still on higher wages than women in many organisations. This happens when a woman is doing exactly the same job as a man or of a similar skill yet the man receives a higher wage. Inequality also occurs when men tend to get the highest paid jobs within organisations. 24. Identify and briefly describe two other signs of inequality. Inequality due to sexual orientation is common. Gay and lesbian couples have long been discriminated against in their quest to adopt or foster children or to get married. There are laws to prevent such inequality and in place of marriage, civil partnerships exist. Inequality can also exist in sport, where gender or disability can often cause restrictions to be placed. Less abled people should be given the chance to partake in and enjoy their chosen sport and sports played typically by men such as football and rugby made available for women to enjoy equally. Once you have completed this Assessment, go to www.vision2learn.com and send your work to your tutor for marking.