Chinese Corporation Essay

1. What kinds of advantages can Chinese companies obtain if they move production into the United States? There are several advantages Chinese companies obtain by moving their production to the United States. For starters, they would be able to sell to companies that only purchase American made products. Also, the money earn from the U.S. base production generates profit for China; which allows the companies to help its country economy by expanding its business in both countries and providing jobs for the unemployed. Lastly, the companies would receive a huge tax-credit and save significantly on shipping. 2. What are some possible disadvantages and threats of moving production to the United States? Some American is not open to the fact that international companies are moving their production on United States’ soil. In fact, U.S. citizens are willing to boycott and financially hurt the companies if such a move was to happen; especially in an economy where American own businesses are failing. 3. Will more Chinese companies make investments in the United States as opposed to China and the future? Fully explain and justify your choice. I believe that there will be an increase in Chinese companies making investments in the United States. For starters, it will help the companies’ international business relationship. To add, there are several stimulus packages the companies would qualify for (such as the economic tax credit) by doing business in America. Also, their profit would increase. The U.S. dollar is more than Yens. So, they would be making twice as much money in the U.S. on the same product sold in China at a cheaper rate. And, the cost to ship would decrease, because the companies would not have to pay duties on products being shipped within the United States. Therefore, it is beneficial for Chinese companies’ to invest in the U.S.

Essays and Articles

The role of media in today's world| (Muzna Shakeel, Karachi)| | | | | | In the world of today, media has become as necessary as food and clothing. It has played significant role in strengthening the society. Media is considered as â€Å"mirror† of the modern society, infect,it is the media which shapes our lives. The purpose of the media is to inform people about current ,new affairs and to tell about the latest gossip and fashion. It tells about the people who are geographically divided. The role of media has become one way of trading and marketing of products and prejudices.The media claimed to be governed by righteousness and equity, but greed and self-aggrandizement has poisoned its virtues. Media is in charge of : 1 information 2 education 3 entertainment 4 advertising 5 correlation of parts of society Society is influenced by media in so many ways. It is the media for the masses that helps them to get information about a lot of things and also to form opinions and make j udgments regarding various issues! It is the media which keeps the people updated and informed about what is happening around them and the world. Everyone can draw something from it.Media has had a bad effect on a generation, mainly because ,youth is strongly influenced by media. Teenagers and children wish to follow the people ,who get recognized and do what they do to get noticed. Sometimes, they focus on bad part of the media and strive to be a part of it. However, many are not succumbed to a life of crime! These are the things which get into Young civilian minds! The media affects people's perspective. Too much intervention of media in everything is a matter of concern. Media can be considered as â€Å"watch dog† of political democracy.Through the ages,the emphasis of media on news has camouflaged. Media these days, tries to eye the news ,which could help them to sell the information that is gathered worldwide, so that they could pave a way of success and fame of their re spective channels. Fm radios, newspapers, information found on net and television are the mass medias that serve to reduce the communication gap between the audience, viewers and the media world. For the sake of publicity and selling, important figures, their lifestyles are usually targeted.Unimportant and irrelevant news, that usually have no importance are given priority and due to a reason or the other ,they get onto the minds of the viewers and in this ways many a times,important political,economical and sociological news get neglected and gradually,lose their importance! No doubt,media has played significant role in making world a global village and to reduce the communication gaps amongst the people living in the far areas but unfortunately,media these days has become a COMMERCIALIZED SECTOR,eying the news which are hot and good at selling.The goal is to gain the television rating points. I believe,if the media identifies its responsibility and work sincerely and honestly ,the n it can serve as a great force in building the nation It can change opinions because they have access to people and this gives it a lot of strength. This strength can either be used constructively by educating the people or it can be used destructively by misleading the innocent people. Power of the media can transform the whole society especially in the developing countries it can be used as a ‘weapon of mass destruction'.But I think the most important use of media is to educate the people about the basic human rights. The dilemma of the developing countries is that people are not fully aware of their basic rights and if they know, they don't know about what to do and where to go. They don't know their collective strength. Even they don't know how to protest and what is the importance of protests. Media should portray the facts. They should not transform the reality. Education and discipline is key to progress. This is the difference between a nation and a crowd.Media men ha ve access to people and they have an audience. Their programs have an impact and people listen to them. That's why they are more responsible for the betterment of the society. They should work to educate the people, to help the people and to liberate the people and to empower the people Media plays a very important role in the building of a society. Media has changed the societies of world so much that we can't ignore its importance. First of all we should know what the media is. Media is a source of information or communication. Media includes sources like print media and electronic media.Newspapers, magazines and any other form, which is written or printed, is included in print media and in electronic, media radio, television and Internet etc. are included. When there are so many channels and newspapers we cannot ignore its importance in the society. Media has lot of responsibility on its shoulders as today's society is very much influenced by the role of media. We believe in what media projects to us. We change our minds according to the information provided through it. In the past when the media was not so strong we were quite ignorant about what is happening around us.But today we come to know very quickly what is happening around us. We have the access to all the international news channels that provide us the facts and figures. Considering this fact that media has the power to influence society, it should know its responsibility towards society. It should feel its responsibility to educate the society in a positive way. It should be giving us fair analysis and factual information Media plays a vital role in every one's life. In today's modern society media has become a part and parcel of our life. Its duty is to inform, educate and entertain.It is considered as the 4th pillar of our society. They put their lives in danger like in times of terrorist attacks or natural calamity just to inform us about it. Media is a bridge between the governing bodies and general public. It is a powerful and flexible tool that influences the public to a great extent. Media is voice of the voiceless and a great force in building the nation The newspapers can play a very vital role in the reconstruction and regeneration of a nation by highlighting and pin-pointing the social, economic and moral evils in the society. Can be helpful in eradicating these evils from the society.They can also start propaganda against the economic evils like short-weights and measures, smuggling. Black-marketing income tax evasion hoarding corruption and bribery. THUS the newspapers can help greatly in the nation- building activities. Newspapers provide some material for every type of interest. They give us stories, the crossword puzzles, the post page, the expert's comments on certain affairs of national and international importance. Some pages are meant for women and children as well. Newspapers also provide us information about various matters and things through advertis ements.They can help the advertisers to boost up their sale and the consumers to consume the new goods. In other words, newspapers provide a wholesome intellectual food, trade contacts and also job opportunities. It is through the newspapers, many a time that marriages are arranged, and lost things are found. People pay homage to their dead relatives through the obituary notes in the newspapers. In short, newspapers contain all what is needed and desired by every person relating to any field of life. Newspapers play manifold character in almost all fields of life and are becoming more and important day by day.Education plays a vital role in the all round development of the society. Educated masses help in the development of a civilized society wherein they carry on their activities smoothly and hassle-free. People in a educated society communicate with each other, understand each other’s problems and provide solutions. An educated society, city, state, and country lay the fou ndation of a great world. Education plays the biggest role in society because without it, we wouldn't have doctors, lawyers, etc†¦ Plus, some people who don't have education usually end up as delinquents.

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 39

Essay Example That information should be made public so that future generations would not have a misconception of what truly happened. In tours, it has been said that the killings happened non-stop. Then according to Dr. Franciscek Piper, it was the delousing happened day and night while the â€Å"killings† happened 20 to 30 minutes during 24 hours. Exaggerations are being given to facts. For what reason? Just the thought of innocent people being killed is enough to get sympathy from generations. There is no need for false information to gain compassion about what have transpired. All that the public needs is the truth. Figures may not be exact and just estimations, which would be completely fine as long as estimations would not be sensationalized. Based on the video which had been the focus and the main reference of the paper, right and truthful facts are of utmost importance specifically in facing issues such as the Holocaust which had affected the lives of a whole

Pros and Cons of Legalizing Marijuana in the U.S Article

Pros and Cons of Legalizing Marijuana in the U.S - Article Example The legalization of marijuana or otherwise known as cannabis could yield positive effects since it can be used to aid in treating some medical diseases. Marijuana is useful to cancer patients to reduce nausea and vomiting resulting from chemotherapy. It is more reasonable than using conventional drugs to treat these side effects for those patients whose health does not improve even after being subjected to them. In some cases, researchers have found some drugs used during the treatment, for example, promethazine cause dizziness, hallucinations or dysphoria (Harman, 2000). Cannabis has been used since the 19th century to relieve pain. Researchers have published numerous articles recommending the use of cannabis as an alternative medicine for curing disorders and other ailments. This narcotic is useful to patients with nerve damage, spasticity, nausea, and even glaucoma since it is an excellent pain and stress reliever. People suffering from HIV/AIDS and Dementia could also benefit from marijuana since it has proven to be an appetite stimulant (Harman, 2000). These are among the many diseases that the patient’s health could be greatly improved by the use of marijuana. The American Research Society and the American Medical Association support the view that clinics used for research should be granted access to more cannabis for better potential medical health improvement. Marijuana has no proven research to show that it is addictive. The anti-legalization of Marijuana group does not give facts that it is bad for one’s health. It is an assump tion based on the bad image people have about it.  Ã‚  

Afghanistan and the U.S. military mission there Research Paper

Afghanistan and the U.S. military mission there - Research Paper Example Lingering doubts are due to the constant inability of the US forces to maintain peace, control drug production or strengthen the US supported fragile government in Afghanistan. All these problems have been compounded for McChrystal by a crisis of confidence among Afghans (Holmes 2009). When Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union, he inherited a deteriorating war in Afghanistan (Coll 2009). Gradually though, he planned an exit from the country. Somehow, the circumstances are similar under which President Obama assumed the office. To consolidate this thinking he even announced that US military will plan the exit in eighteen months from now. If this happens than the question remains that whether American Army would have achieved by then which it initially claimed before entering into Afghanistan? Or history will once again repeat itself. US interests in Afghanistan is now almost three decades old. After all, the humiliating defeat mighty USSR faced at the hands of Afghan Mujahidin could not have been possible without the military and financial aid from US (Hanks 2007). Yet, Americans could not make much room in the hearts of Afghans as they left them completely on their own, after using them as front line state to defeat communism. But little did they know that they will have to get back there, and this time not only with their finances but also with human resources. 9/11 attacks proved as a reason or rather justification for the American government to enter in to Afghanistan and uproot the Taliban government which had provided a safe harbor to Usama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. October 7 of the year 2001, will be marked as the day which changed the history for Afghans, Americans and consequently for the world. US army started their invasion then and by the November 12th of the same year Kabul had been conquered. Since t hen US has deployed almost 65000 soldiers in Afghanistan (Mann 2009), and the number will further increase to 30,000 as per the latest plans

Summarizing 9 articles about oil in Venezuela (separately) Research Paper

Summarizing 9 articles about oil in Venezuela (separately) - Research Paper Example The makes the U.S. vulnerable to crises that will strike these countries. For example, the U.S. relied heavily on Venezuela for around 15% of their oil supply. This, combined with Venezuela’s proximity to the U.S., made Venezuela appears to be a â€Å"stalwart production hub† (p.3). Venezuela, however, posed to be a problem when it proved to be not as reliable in oil supply as the U.S. expected them to be. The U.S. was not the only one to fail in anticipating the Venezuelan crisis. There should be reforms in oil management strategies in order to minimize the impact of oil crisis. DiJohn, J. (2009). From windfall to curse?: Oil and industrialization in Venezuela, 1920 to the present. University Park, Pa: Pennsylvania State University Press. This book is a very useful resource in terms of understanding the puzzles within the economics and politics of Venezuela in the past century. Venezuela experienced a rise in economy due to the influx of oil revenues from 1920s to 1965 . The years that follow had been witnesses to the country’s economic downfall. From then, Venezuela has never really been able to rise again. The common idea for Venezuela’s economic rise is oil; yet similarly, it is also the most common thing to be blamed when talking about the nation’s collapse. Yet, as the author states, the â€Å"†¦reigning explanations for economic slowdown in Venezuela†¦have proved inadequate† (p.168). The book provides several hard-to-find data that will make rethink the reasons for Venezuela’s economic collapse. This book is a gold mine of information that goes along with the ideas presented in the other articles studied for this topic. It discusses the validity of the resource curse, the importance of the nature of Venezuela’s political framework, and even the issues on importation and exportation. Giusti, L. E. (1999). La apertura: The opening of Venezuela’s oil industry. Journal of International A ffairs, 53(1), 117-128. Transactions regarding oil have tremendously changed over the past decades. Oil business had been controlled by limited suppliers before, but has lately become â€Å"an active market with floating prices and many participants† (p.128). Venezuela has long been a key player in the oil industry, however, the recent changes in the market and the global modernization requires one to look closely on what can be done in response to this changing law of supply and demand. The author emphasizes that changes should be done in terms of oil management framework because the old system is fast becoming obsolete. Many key players in the oil industry, including Venezuela, are still supporting and are under the old OPEC management system, and continuing under this old system could be detrimental to the expansion and growth plans of oil suppliers. Hall, M. R. (2012). TINKER SALAS, MIGUEL. The Enduring Legacy: Oil, Culture. and Society in Venezuela. Journal of Third Worl d Studies, 29( 2), 280-281. The discussion of the more recent events regarding the social and cultural consequences of the Venezuelan oil industry is a good addition to the various information available regarding the history of Venezuela’s economic rise due to the influx of oil revenue particularly beginning 1920. The author mentions that the oil camps are â€Å"social laboratories†

The Difference Between the Total Revenue Earned and Total Cost Research Paper

The Difference Between the Total Revenue Earned and Total Cost - Research Paper Example Profit maximisation can occur only when Marginal Revenue and Marginal Costs of production are equal. The SOC, on the other hand, requires that at the point of equality, the slope of MR must be lower than that of MC or rather the MR curve should be falling while MC must be rising. In case that the marginal revenue is found to be greater than the marginal cost of production, normally, it means that an additional unit’s production will reap a revenue greater than the cost incurred in producing the unit. Thus, a firm aiming at profit maximisation will start producing more units of the commodity until the amount of cost incurred is equated with the additional amount of revenue yielded. On the other hand, in case that the marginal cost is found to be higher than the marginal revenue of production, it implies that the additional cost of producing a unit of a commodity is much higher than the revenue that the commodity is reaping. In other words, the production of each additional unit leads to a loss for the firm. Hence, a firm aiming at profit maximisation will not produce beyond the limit where the marginal cost of production is higher than the marginal revenue earned by each unit’s additional production. As a concluding note, it should be said that the above result is found to hold true irrespective of the type of market that the producer is operating in. The only difference comes in the shapes of the MR and MC curves, though the first order and second order conditions stay the same. The situation being depicted is the scenario in most of the markets of the real world. The only exception is the perfect competition market where the marginal revenue curve is a horizontal straight line.

An evaluation of the law surrounding forced marriages Essay

An evaluation of the law surrounding forced marriages - Essay Example Although, the government through legislation has tried to discourage forced marriages, these policy measures have been ineffective in eradicating the dehumanising practice. This difficult in ending the tradition comes from the fact that the forced marriage is deeply rooted culture in the minority groups. According to the United Nations, Forced marriage consists a violation of individuals’ human rights. Forced marriages also violate the rights of children some of whom are forced into marriages before they even reach the age of 10. Legislative response that really tries to address the problem has only been enacted recently, but they still do not provide enough cover for individuals in forced marriages or under threat of being married forcefully. In 2007, the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act) was passed where victims could obtain protection orders from courts. Recently, the Conservative government has announced plans to make forced marriage a criminal offence. This paper cr itically analyzes legislative attempts by successive UK government to respond to the problem of forced marriages among minority groups. Secondly, it critically analyzes the proposed attempt to make forced marriage a criminal offence. ... a Nobleman could only marry a noblewoman.1 To retain and consolidate power noble families encouraged and coerced their children to intermarry. However, with cultural advancement these practices were disappeared before any legal policy could be articulated to address the issue. Nobody envisioned that hundreds of years later a modern British society would be grappling with the problem of forced marriages. In the present and the last century, UK society made the first legal attempt to discourage forced marriage in 1949. In the Marriage Act 1949 prohibited marriages between parties below the age of 16 in section 2.2 This law was strengthened in the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 in Section 11 (a) (ii) put the age of consent for marriage at 16. The 1973 Act also provided protection for individuals below the age of 18 requiring the consent of a legal representative3. Under the matrimonial causes act an individual aged between 16 and 18 has the right to obtain consent for marriage through a co urt order, if the legal representative unreasonably refuses consent4. In the 1973 Act, all matrimonial relationship must start through the free consent of both parties. In Section 12, the 1973 Act prohibits vitiating of consent by other factors like violence or pregnancy. In the 1960’s UK governments made further legal changes to address the issue as immigrant communities continued to increase their number in the UK. In 1962, the UK signed the United Nations Convention to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration5. The convention came into force two years later in 1964 and was adopted by the UK in 1970. Later in 1969 the UK passed the Family Law Reform Act 1969 defined a person under the age of 18 as a minor. Under this definition a minor

Examples Of Nonverbal Communication Essay Example for Free

Examples Of Nonverbal Communication Essay There are several types of nonverbal communication that may be evaluated on the basis of certain examples, that will help you understand the nuances of this complicated form of communication. Facial Expressions When reading facial expressions, some of these examples may help: While maintaining eye contact is a sign of confidence and positivity, avoiding eye contact is one of the most clear negative nonverbal communication examples. This implies that the person may be lying, or fears confrontation. The smile is another give-away when it comes to facial expressions. While a soft smile is a soft expression that is encouraging, a rigid smile or a smirk may be a sign of contempt. Raised eyebrows are not only a sign of surprise, they can also suggest mockery or sarcasm. It may be a natural physical trait of some people, and they may do it without realizing. However, it is important to know the kind of effect it is having on others. Frowning is another facial expression that we tend to assume when under stress. This gives out the message that we are unapproachable and cold. Posture and other Movements Postures are included in nonverbal communication and may be explained with a few of these examples: Standing erect shows confidence, but if you are slouching it is a sign of low self-esteem and a stance that you have given up. Keeping shoulders rigid again give a sign that you may be unapproachable, and may affect the kind of people you attract towards you. Constant fiddling with everything in sight is a sign of anxiety, frustration, boredom and lack of interest. Standing with your hands crossed behind you, combined with your facial expressions may be a clear sign of anger or frustration that you are trying to hold back. Gestures Gestures animate the conversations we have with others. We point, we wave and use all sorts of body language gestures while we are talking. For instance, you may constantly be rubbing your neck, or your the back of your ear. This is a sign of discomfort and lack of confidence. If you are angry, you may be clenching your fists to control your anger, or in preparation for a physical  attack! Rubbing hands together indicates excitement and indicates readiness to engage in an activity. Shrugging may show a lack of interest. Touch Even touch plays an important role in nonverbal communication. For instance: When your boss is praising you, and pats you on the back, it is a sign of genuine liking for you and your work. A firm handshake is the sign of confidence. We all know the reassuring effect of a warm bear hug. Someone who holds your arms while talking is either trying to make a statement, or to portray that he/she is in control. Space We all have a physical space around us. Sometimes we find people invading that personal space. It may be to portray any of the following: Intimacy Affection Dominance Aggression

Manufacturing Case Study Essay Example for Free

Manufacturing Case Study Essay Introduction Before a manufacturing process can be selected to manufacture a component many things need to be considered. The design of the product, the functionality, the service conditions and the properties of the material all play a big part when considering the manufacturing process. This study looks at Polypropylene Chairs used mainly for education purposes. It provides information that explains the purpose of a chair; the requirements of this particular product and the manufacturing process that produces the final component. To understand why this type of chair is made from polypropylene the reader first needs to understand the basis of any chair. A chair is a raised surface for a single person to be seated. The majority of chairs are produced with the standard four legs but it’s the design of the chair and its intended use that takes most consideration. The use of the chair will determine the design and the material used. For example; is the chair to be used at a desk or for sitting at a dining table to eat? The users’ weight needs to be evenly distributed over the chair to provide comfort whilst seated. If the chair is to be used for long periods of seating then it is beneficial for the chair to be slightly reclined, which will support the persons back more and remove the weight from other parts of the body. If a chair is too high then shorter people will have their feet dangling, causing pressure on the knees; whereas lower seats cause discomfort to the buttocks. Section One Looking at the requirements of this type of chair we can see it is not the most comfortable chair on the market but then these chairs are not used for long periods of sitting. They are mainly used within canteens, hospitals, libraries and schools for short sitting periods; meaning that they are mass produced. Due to the amount of chairs that are manufactured there is a requirement to keep the production cost low. They are tough chairs that can come in a variety of colours, can be used in or outside and have the advantage of being able to stack away; saving space. The chair is required to hold a variety of people with a range of body weight and height so they are required to be stable, strong durable and withstand movement whilst being lightweight. This style of plastic chair is made of a thermoplastic polymer called Polypropylene (PP). It is a thermoplastic that has a two dimensional structure. The plastic can be softened by heat and recycled. The material is produced by the polymerisation of polymer molecules into very long chains. The material is a â€Å"semi-crystalline solid with good physical, mechanical and thermal properties†. The properties of PP in its liquid state are defined by the length and breadth of the polymer chains that form during the process. When PP is in its solid state the properties are based on how much crystalline and amorphous region forms from those chains. [Karian, Ph.D., Harutun G, Handbook of Polypropylene and Polypropylene Composites, 1999, New York, NY, USA, Pg 15] FIG 1. Example of the chain of Isotactic polypropylene PP is semi-crystalline; meaning that it contains small crystals and material that is amorphous and Isotactic. The chains are closely packed together and the amount of van der Walls bonding is at a maximum, making the material strong as a solid object. The polymer chains determine the weight of the material and the crystals within the chains determine how thick the material can be and in turn this will impact on how much heating is required to mould the material. â€Å"The crystallisability of the chains is one factor that determines how thick the crystallites will be and the thickness of the crystallites determines how much heat energy is required to melt them†. [Karian, Ph.D., Harutun G, Handbook of Polypropylene and Polypropylene Composites, 1999, New York, NY, USA, Pg 17] PP is stiff, with a low density. It has good resistance to impact and fatigue, excellent chemical resistance, a high heat resistance and an excellent moisture barrier. Having good structural characteristic s makes PP a useful material for rigid objects. PP has a good balance between its physical and chemical properties. Due to the high mould shrinkage of PP it is difficult to achieve close tolerances but because the material is tough, resilient and has a high resistance to stress cracking it reduces the need for close tolerances. Having a very low density of 0.90g/cm^3; a low cost per volume; a wide flexibility when it comes to design and it also being recyclable makes PP an attractive construction material. PP has the advantage of being able to form high volume, complex shapes at a relatively low cost. When using CES software and comparing the price against the fracture toughness it provides the user with all known materials. Using the limit function and applying a Young’s modulus of 2GPa and a minimum tensile strength of 40MPa Fig 2 Materials based on Price against Tensile Strength The chairs are made of PP because the material is inexpensive, easy to clean, lightweight and durable. The material can be tough and flexible with a high tensile and compressive strength. The main reason that this material works well when manufacturing these chairs is down to the precise control of the impact strength, they do react when exposed to heat meaning that they hold their shape and provide good properties within the human environment, especially when in an outside environment. Section 2 Polypropylene is most commonly manufactured using extrusion, or injection moulding. Extrusion allows extremely large batches of uniform cross sectional shape items to be produced. Hot extrusion is when the polymer is heated first to make it more malleable, and then ‘pushed’ through a die. Pieces made using extrusion have an extremely high quality of surface finish, meaning they do not require finishing after manufacture. [pic] FIG 3. Extrusion Process Injection moulding is achieved by melting the polymer in a barrel, and then forcing or injecting it into a mould. Some injection moulding machines are screw fed. As the piece cools, it shrinks slightly in the mould. This can cause product defects especially if the mould is poorly designed. It allows for the production of very accurately shaped pieces. When the piece is removed from the mould, it will have a contour line called a ‘parting line’ where the mould closes on it, and often will be marked by the ejector pin with a small circle. If the manufacturer does not want these marks on their product, then it will require post-manufacture finishing, but otherwise the finish is of a relatively high standard. FIG 4. Injection Moulding Process Some chairs could be manufactured using extrusion, if they were a flat ‘L’ shape for example. However most chairs are shaped for ergonomic and structural reasons, and would require a more accurate manufacturing process. This would be injection moulding, as thick struts can be included in the design to aid the strength of the chair, and a comfortable dip can be shaped into the back of the seat to make it more appealing to the user. As chairs of this nature are designed for a very wide range of users, and with durability in mind, the material is required to be fairly thick to accommodate this need. This would slow the manufacturing process with injection moulding as it would take each piece longer to cool, and therefore a longer wait is required before the piece can be removed from the mould. The thickness of the piece would have little effect on an extruded product, as the die can be made whatever size is desired. The weight of the chair would have little bearing on manufacture in either of these methods, except for the amount of material needed. For a batch of 1000, extrusion would be an excellent process, as enough material for the whole batch can be melted and pushed through the die, and the pieces cut from the section after extrusion. Large batches can be produced very quickly in this way. Injection moulding would take longer, as each piece must be made individually, unless the mould is designed with several chairs in, each connected by a ‘strut’ of waste product. This increases the amount of waste material, and the initial set up costs due to the mould design, and a larger machine being required. Section 3 There are many factors to consider when forming a component from composite. Failure to consider these factors can drastically change the material properties and this in turn could lead to an unsatisfactory component. A polymer matrix for the composite is an excellent base; their material properties already provide many favorable attributes such as high corrosion resistance and low density. The introduction of a secondary reinforcing agent will provide a synergetic effect to the mechanical properties of the material allowing a better component. One of the factors that are critically important in the production of a composite is the format of the secondary phase; it is a key factor to the materials properties of the component. There are three mostly used forms for the reinforcing of secondary phases; these are long/short fibers, or particles. Long fibers, also known as continuous fibers, are fibers that are layered in strips or woven into a pattern along an axis. The fibers generally consist of a much stronger material than the polymer matrix; as such the fibers take a much greater load compared to the polymer matrix. This allows for a material with much better load bearing properties. The increased ability to take load is based upon the direction of the fibers. When bearing load, the best mechanical properties are obtained in the direction of the fibers. There are many different orientations used by fibers, orienting the fibers in one specific direction is often used when the direction of the force is constant. Planar reinforcement is used when the direction of force is only along one plane of action. Short fibers, also known as continuous fibers, are fibers that have been cut into relatively short strands. The shorter nature of these fibers means that they can be orientated in lots of patterns and directions. As well as being able to be orientated in one specific direction and along one plane like long fibers, they can also be orientated randomly. This random orientation allows for a uniform distribution of the reinforcing ability of the fibers; therfore increasing the load bearing ability in all directions instead of just one, or a single plane. If particles are introduced into a polymer matrix, their effects vary greatly compared to their size. Very small particles act as a barrier to dislocation movements; this hardens the matrix material due to the fact that dislocations cannot propagate as easily through the structure. Smaller particles cannot take loads due to their size, so the load bearing ability of the composite is based upon the matrix material. If larger particles are introduced they can take some of the load, this allows the composite of the two to take a larger load. Due to the nature of particles the matrix is naturally able to take isotropic loads. [Mikell, P. Groover, Principles of Modern Manufacturing Fourth Edition, 2011, New Jersey, NJ, USA, Pg 181-183] Fig 5. A Chart Showing Long/Short fibers as well as Particles. Orientation of reinforcement is another major factor in the production of a composite component. Not taking into account the direction of reinforcement can have unfavorable material properties. Materials are either isotropic or anisotropic in one or more directions. Isotropic orientation is achieved when the fibers are randomly oriented, or particles are introduced into the matrix composite. The effects of this type of orientation are that the load can be taken uniformly in all directions. This is advantageous because it allows for a material that is not constrained by loads in one direction. The downside is that the material properties can never be as strong as if they where aligned to one direction. Anisotropic orientation is when fibers are aligned to a specific direction or plane. When the load is applied in this direction is extremely strong, this means that an anisotropic composite material has extremely beneficial properties in the direction of the fibers. The further the load gets from the direction of the fibers the less beneficial the material properties are until the load is perpendicular to the fiber direction. When the fiber direction is perpendicular to the fibers the maximum strength is the strength of the primary matrix. If the concentration of fibers is high enough the strength in the perpendicular direction can be significantly less than the primary polymer. [Mikell, P. Groover, Principles of Modern Manufacturing Fourth Edition, 2011, New Jersey, NJ, USA, Pg 181-183] Fig 6. A Chart showing Anisotropic and Isotropic Orientations The chair, due to its function, has various limits that need to be applied when taking into account the construction of the composite. The forces inherent in the use of a chair are not in one direction, or even one plane of action. This means that an isotropic composite is best suited for the chair, as a planar or singular direction of fibers wouldnt be beneficial to the mechanical properties of the component. Due to the composite that is being used it must have an isotropic orientation so only discontinuous fibers or particles can be used; continuous fibers cannot be used feasibly in an isotropic orientation. A short fiber based second phase would increase the toughness of the component as well as increasing the stiffness and strength in all directions. These properties seem more favorable than those of particulates which increase fatigue strength. Short fibers in a random orientation would be beneficial for a seat; this would allow it to take impacts during its service as well as remaining in shape and resisting bending. [Mikell, P. Groover, Principles of Modern Manufacturing Fourth Edition, 2011, New Jersey, NJ, USA, Pg 181-183] The length of the short fibers would be above the critical length value; this is based on the diameter of the fiber, the ultimate tensile strength of the fiber and the shear strength of the matrix-fiber interface. The diameter of the fibers should be as small as possible to allow for a higher tensile strength. [Mikell, P. Groover, Principles of Modern Manufacturing Fourth Edition, 2011, New Jersey, NJ, USA, Pg 181 Figure 8.15] The Volume fraction of a composite is the product of: (Volume of Fibers/Volume of Composite). It is a way of expressing the amount of fiber in a composite, it is also very useful in refining the properties of your composite. The volume fraction for our composite should be greater than the critical volume fraction. A volume fraction lower than this means that the matrix would break before the fibers could support the load applied. This can be given by: Vcritical = (ÏÆ'm* ÏÆ'm / ÏÆ'f* ÏÆ'm) ÏÆ'm* = Matrix Ultimate Tensile Strength ÏÆ'm = Matrix Yield Strength ÏÆ'f* = Fiber Ultimate Tensile Strength Once a value for Vcritical is determined, this can be used as a basis for determining the volume fraction you want. Any volume fraction must be above Vcritical so that the matrix is actually strengthened by the addition of the fibers. You can continue adding a higher concentration of fibers until you begin to imbrittle the polymer matrix composite due to the excess fiber content. Without knowing the exact fiber and matrix choices it would be hard to predict the volume fraction this would occur at, as a guideline the value would be any value greater than 0.7. Therefore the volume fraction should lie above Vcritical. To ascertain the best value for the volume fraction you would have to do testing on the composite at various volume fraction values and use the results to determine which would be the best for the chair component. Using a randomly oriented short fiber composite would enhance the material properties. The random orientation would make it able to handle forces from all directions and the short fibers would increase various mechanical properties such as toughness, tensile strength and fatigue strength. This material composite would produce a very light and strong structure which should be able to withstand alot more than the polymer alone. The synergetic effect of this composite allows it to attain a much higher specific strength than the polymeric design. It also attains a much higher stiffness than the original design; allowing it to maintain its shape more consistently during its service time, and it also means it is less likely to fail due to a sudden shock. The increased fatigue strength would mean that the material can maintain its service for a longer period of time due to its ability to withstand crack propagation and its resistance to mechanical defects building up over time. SECTION 4 In section 2, it was decided that the best process chosen for producing the chairs was extrusion molding over injection molding as it was a faster process and allowed for less waste material. This process is not suitable for the addition of short fibers too the polypropylene, instead reinforced reaction injection molding would make a better choice. Reaction injection molding is a low pressure process used to cure thermosets that require a chemical reaction rather than heat. This process requires two reactive ingredients which are mixed and injected into the mold cavity where the curing and solidification processes occur rapidly. This process can be used for large parts as well as complex shapes. When reinforcing fibers are used in the mixture the process is called reinforced injection molding. [pic] FIG 7. IMAGE OF REINFORCED REACTION INJECTION MOLDING PROCESS The capital start up cost for this process is high but due to the low pressures that are used in the process it balances out cost. The initial batch size chosen for the production of the chairs was 1000 units. This figure works with reinforced reaction injection molding as it allows for economic bath sizes between 100 and 10000 units, so even if batch sized was reduced by a tenth of its original size or increased by 10 times the size this process can still be economical to the manufacturer. REFERENCES [27 Mar 2012] [27 Mar 2012] Stephen Pheasant, 2nd Ed; Bodyspace: Anthropometry, Ergonomics and the Design of Work; Taylor Francis Ltd [2011] [20 Feb 2012] FIG 7. (http://composites.owenscorning.com/processes/Reaction_Injection_Molding.aspx) http://staff.bath.ac.uk/msscrb/dent.pdf equation 5, page 1657 FIG 1 [Polypropylene Molecule, Chempolymerproject, [Online] Available: [https://Polypropylene-B-CABA] [28 Mar 2012]] FIG 3 [Extrusion of a Round Blank through a Die [Online] Available: http://en.wikipedia.org (2011)] FIG 4 [Injection Moulding Machine [Online] Available: http://www.engineerstudent.co.uk (2011)]

Practical Application Of Lewins Force Field Analysis Change Model Nursing Essay

Practical Application Of Lewins Force Field Analysis Change Model Nursing Essay The aim of this paper is to to describe practical application of Lewins (1951) force field analysis change model in reducing Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients length of stay (LOS) in a Tertiary Care University Hospital. Introduction: This paper reports on a change from 6.5 days to 4 days reduction in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients length of stay (LOS) in a Tertiary Care University Hospital. The change was embedded with systemic assessment, planning and implementing standardized strategies for all ICU long stay patients and finally evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of ICU bed utilization with multidisciplinary team approach. Change is inevitable for the reason that it ingrained human lives, core processes and system reforms. Day by day many changes have been observed in health care; associated with disease processes explicitly from prevention to rehabilitation, health care norms and nomenclature, infra structures modifications, policy matters, reengineering and system transformation. Different components of health care depends on one another for assembling such changes in order to produce work like from providers to payers, hospitals to suppliers, education to regulatory bodies and research to professional associations; all these are interlinked to perform function. Many of the above stated happening are planned however at times nature takes its own turn to act as a catalyst for change for example natural occurrences like tsunami, some crucial system analysis like break through reports from Institute of Medicine (IOM) on patient safety and the quality of care provided to all the health care customers. Th ese were just simple examples of revolutions in health care taken place on an ongoing basis. Traditionally it is believed that changes are always for the betterment however at times it has been observed that this phenomenon is proven to be cynical and challenging especially when it is not made in a haphazard manner, without pursuing change management principles. Addressing the challenge of change Fetherston et.al (2009) stated that: Managing changing in the health care setting is always challenging, especially when it involves transforming entrenched habits grounded in professional expectations (p.2581). Despite change involves resources like human, material and cost and therefore whatever is proposed for change need to be evaluated for its effectiveness and efficiency, applicability, and consequences. It also depends on the team we are working with and there are times when the team building is so strong and the communication between the team is such that adopting to a new concept is very easy versus if the team members are not on same wavelength and have a lot of differences of opinions failure to reach to a simple consensus. Coch and French (1948) concluded that rate of recovery when learning a new task is directly proportional to the amount of participation. To improve understanding of change dynamics Armenakis and Harris (2011) recommends that readiness for change is distinguished from resistance to change and readiness is described in terms of the organizational members beliefs, attitudes, and intentions. Change agent is a very important contributor to make change happen constru ctively and productively. The personal and professional characteristics, interpersonal competency all these aspects are dependent to an outcome of change. Another factor involved in change process seems to be very crucial is the timeframe require for change. Is it a short term or a long run change which is going to measure and monitor, what about the sustainability of the proposed change etc. In order to have successful change Kotter and Schlesinger (2008) recommends and put idea in practice (Appendix) and suggested that analyze situational factors, determine the optimal speed of change, and consider methods for managing resistance (p1, 2). According to Lippincott-Raven Publishers 1986 Crucial to facilitating change is selecting a strategy that is likely to produce the desired change with minimal time and resistance. Background In todays health care setting, organizational change is essential for growth and development to keep up with the market competition Although health care continues to be enmeshed with ongoing challenges of cost, technologies, access to health care, human resources, quality inconsistent with an arena where error rates are too high there are multiple growing opportunities to improve client care management and service delivery components. Changes have been observed in clinical practice based on evidence based research resulting in application of new technology, diagnostics, drug regimes, treatment profile, care monitoring and finally the patient outcomes. All these are direct provision to a customer and perhaps if we look at the wider base it heavily involves all support functions available for patient care and employees of the organization. How all these are managed with patient flow and activities? Who is accountable? Change has both individual and institutional significance; and addre ssing its importance Watwood et al. (1997) shared that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦changes à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ bring opportunity for personal and institutional growth and development (p 162). When it comes to an institutional change; it has emphasized that it should complement the philosophy, mission and vision of the organization. Therefore Heller Arozullah (2001) identified four key factors for successful program development and achievement and those were: aligning the program with the strategic goals of the organization; obtaining active senior leadership commitment, including allocated resources; securing the appropriate infrastructure to facilitate integration of recommended actions into daily practice; and setting up systematic communications with all involved stakeholders (p551) Several challenges exists in system when it comes to a revolution however factors define by Heller Arozullah (2001) would help in embarking change in a more structured manner. ICU is a consolidated area of a hospital where patients with life-threatening illnesses or injuries receive round the clock specialized medical and nursing care. Intensive care is one of the hospitals most complex and expensive medical systems. As medical care has improved, the type of patients treated in critical care units has changed from those with acute illnesses to those suffering from complications of chronic diseases. While better technology and better ways of taking care of patients has improved longevity and general health, the patients in the intensive care units of hospitals are getting sicker and globally these beds have a high demand based on the critical needs of patients and it doubles the need in an arena where these resources are very scare and inadequate This would augment medical care required, cost of care and excess use of resources when they are not required. Long stays in the intensive care unit are associated with high costs and burdens on patients and patien ts families and in turn affect society at large. Williamss et.al (2010) states that: It has been estimated that between 2% and 11% of critically ill patients require a prolonged stay in ICU, accounting for 25-45% of total ICU days, and a significant proportion of resources(p 459) The cost of caring for patients in ICUs in the United States has been estimated to account for 1% to 2% of the gross national product shared by (Miller et al. 2000, Seeman David 2004) ) whereby Haugh (2003) stated that 15% to 20% of US hospital costs represents 38% of total US healthcare costs. According to Miller et al. (2003) the total number of hospitals, hospital beds, and inpatient days decreased during the years 1985 to 2000, the number of critical care beds and days in critical care increased dramatically during the same period Whereby Stricker et al (20037) found that only 11% of patients admitted to the ICU stayed for more than 7 days, these patients used more than 50% of ICU resources. Furthermore, in several studies (cited in Ryan et al 1997, Wong et al 1999) the mortality of patients with ICU admissions lasting 14 days or longer was estimated to be nearly 50%. Rosenberg et al. (2001) shared that Mortality rates are higher in ICU than in any other area of the hospital due to the complexity of patients medical condition. Fakhry et al (1996) found that 70% of patients with stay longer than 2 weeks reported less than 50% functional recovery. Esserman e t al (1995) found that 32% of ICU resources were spent caring for patients who survived less than 100 days after discharge from the hospital. In a tertiary care university hospital where I am presently working patients were found to be stuck in the ICU and have longer stays and in the month of January 2009 it was found to be 8.4 days and subsequently in the following quarter 1 it was 6.5 days (refer appendix 1). When explored, multiple factors aroused (refer appendix 2) and therefore to address this concern a multidisciplinary team was formed. It was proposed to undertake the work of reducing patients length of stay in ICU and therefore it the goal was to reduce patients length of stay from 6.5 days to 5.5 days in the second quarter for the year 2009. Rogers and Shoemaker (1971) framework was used to appraise the various component of the proposed change in order to identify its strengths and weaknesses.  Team assessed its relative advantages to current situation and felt that it is worth spending the time and effort for the given scenario, change seems to be appropriate and compatible with existing philosophy of the clinical area, easy to be understood and applicable by all bedside staff. Moreover the project was trialable to a pilot    before going the whole way and relevant to organizational goals. Discussion Changes will continue as an adaptation and at times mandatory in order to survive. Lot of literature is available when it comes to the change management in health care setting. There are models available to address organizational change, system revolution, and human transformations which address many other aspects of successful implementation of reforms. Change process follows the same course as of nursing process and problem solving approaches. According to Christensen a Christensen b (2007) Lewins (1951) theory of transitional change is the most used form of change implementation strategies. The change we were supposed to undertake; this theory appeared to address many aspects of it and therefore the mechanism for identifying the social system within organization for selecting, developing and implementing the strategies to serve as a solution was done by application of this model. According to course notes Lewins widely cited, classic model of the change process, the three changes are: Unfreezing, where faced with a dilemma or disconfirmation the individual becomes aware of the need to change; changing where the situation is diagnosed and new models of behaviour are explored and tested and finally, refreezing where the application of new behaviour is evaluated and adopted. (p53) Huber (2006) states that: The basic concept of the change process was outlined by Lewin A successful change involves three elements: unfreezing, moving and refreezing. (p810) Fetherston et.al (2009) emphasized the importance of major change like this and endorsed that: Where a major change is implemented, models such as Lewins (1951) model of unfreezing, changing and refreezing can be a useful guide Baulcomb (2003) states that This theory places emphasis on the driving and resisting forces associated with any change, and to achieve success the importance lies with ensuring that driving forces outweigh resisting forces. Driving forces tend to initiate change or keep it going whereas restraining forces act to restrain or decrease the driving forces. The intention to reach a state of equilibrium (p277). Unfreezing Lewins change approach fall within three steps and this is the first one where the process of thawing out the system to create motivation for change. Its like getting the team warming up to play their cards; getting everybody on the same wavelength and organizing. Huber (2006) shared that the first stage is cognitive exposure to the change idea, diagnosis of the problem, and work to generate alternative solutions. (p811). Though it was a great challenge for the team however the process of systemic assessment and unfreeze stabilizing the team readiness was initiated for the said change. Different strategies were brain stormed in a multidisciplinary team.ICU patients length of stay was gathered prospectively. Potential predictors were analyzed for possible association with prolonged ICU stay. Driving and restraining forces were studied (Appendix ) Moving Then we proceeded with the second stage of Lewins theory i.e., moving and changing. It involves moving a target system to a new level maintaining equilibrium; viewing the problem from a new perspective, situation is diagnosed and new models of behaviour. This stage was determine through formation of ICU long stay committee with terms of reference, notification of long stay patients stayed in ICU for more than 7days or earlier if deemed necessary to all concerned, holding meeting with primary team everyday to discuss next course of action, identification of patients difficult to wean, patient requiring early tracheotomy to maximize discharge process, initiating daily rounds by multidisciplinary team with primary team. Furthermore, introducing expected admission discharge time (EADT) to facilitate bed identification. According to Hoda (2008) length of stay (LOS) may be influenced by the availability of appropriate high dependency units to discharge patients. Review on daily basis the n eed for bed for inpatients and emergency. Admission /discharge policy was reinforced through multidisciplinary approach. Alternate accommodation in other units like CICU and CCU which has same bed accessories and uniform care provision were identified. Early tentative beds are booked in wards before rounds in order to facilitate early bed arrangement and patient transfer. Refreezing The final stage is refreezing. In this stage new developments are incorporated and improvements are made to stabilize the selected strategies to ensure the sustainability of the project. Daily check at unit and divisional level by bed management coordinator and ICU team. Monitoring on shift bases by charge nurses and nursing supervisors. Interventions involving palliative care, ethics consultations, and early decision about patient transfer and orders writing, family willingness and readiness and other methods to increase communication between healthcare personnel, patients, and patients families were helpful in decreasing length of stay in the intensive care unit. Thus, interdisciplinary communication played a vital role in improving ICU patients LOS whereby its importance is being defined by Pronovost et al (2003) and point out that communication failures lead to increased patient harm, length of stay (LOS), and resource use (p71). Hence to a major extent the daily communication st rategy worked out very well and the team was successful to bring about this change. ICU length of stay was 6.5 days in quarter one and it was reduce to 5.6 days in the second quarter for the year 2009 and consequently to 4.8 and 4 day in third and fourth quarter of 2009. Fetherston et.al (2009) stated that: When change is managed in systematic steps with adequate evaluation and communication throughout the process, it is more likely to result in successful outcomes. (p 2582) Evaluating the Change Project s took place and was received very positively. Following are the most important attributes I have experienced for this successful change like it was logical, efficient, and planned not haphazard then it was based on explanation of reason for a change so that individuals understand it. After that it was very informative and staff supported change when they were involved in assessment and planning. Change agent interpersonal competency and expertise (knowledgeable) of the given task was outstanding and hence the monitoring feedback on timely basis -to ensure that all team members is on same wave length wa carried out in a very sposticated manner.

Fodors Functionalism Essays -- Body Mind Psychology Essays Searle

Fodor's Functionalism Fodor begins his article on the mind-body problem with a review of the current theories of dualism and materialism. According to dualism, the mind and body are two separate entities with the body being physical and the mind being nonphysical. If this is the case, though, then there can be no interaction between the two. The mind could not influence anything physical without violating the laws of physics. The materialist theory, on the other hand, states that the mind is not distinct from the physical. In fact, supporters of the materialist theory believe that behavior does not have mental causes. When the materialist theory is split into logical behaviorism and the central-state identity theory, the foundation of functionalism begins to form. Logical behaviorism states that every mental feeling has the same meaning as an if-then statement. For example, instead of saying "Dr. Lux is hungry," one would say "If there was a quart of macadamia brittle nut in the freezer, Dr. Lux would eat it." The central-state identity theory states that a certain mental state equals a certain neurophysiological state. The theory works in a way similar to Berkeley’s representation of objects. Both mental states and objects are a certain collection of perceptions that together identify the particular state or object.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fodor develops the idea of functionalism by combining certain parts of logical behaviorism and the central-state identity theory. From logical behaviorism, Fodor incorporates the idea that mental processes can be represented by physical if-then statements. As such, behavior and mental causation are no longer distinct and unable to interact. Also, logical behaviorism provides a way for mental causes to interact with other mental causes. This, in turn, may result in a behavioral effect. The last point is also a characteristic of the central-state identity theory. One doctrine of the central-state identity theory is called "token physicalism." Token physicalism states that all mental states that currently exist are neurophysiological. Thus, token physicalism does not place physical restrictions on the type of substance capable of having mental properties. When the points of logical behaviorism and the central-state identity theory, as described here, are combined, fu nctionalism is the result. The theory of functionalism supposes that a m... ...whether the simulation of mental processes resulting from a computer program are real mental processes?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the end of chapter two, Searle summarizes his criticism of functionalism in the following way. The mental processes of a mind are caused entirely by processes occurring inside the brain. There is no external cause that determines what a mental process will be. Also, there is a distinction between the identification of symbols and the understanding of what the symbols mean. Computer programs are defined by symbol identification rather than understanding. On the other hand, minds define mental processes by the understanding of what a symbol means. The conclusion leading from this is that computer programs by themselves are not minds and do not have minds. In addition, a mind cannot be the result of running a computer program. Therefore, minds and computer programs are not entities with the same mental state. They are quite different and although they both are capable of input and output interactions, only the mind is capable of truly thinking and understanding. T his quality is what distinguishes the mental state of a mind from the systemic state of a digital computer.

Michael Jackson Essay -- essays research papers fc

Michael Jackson: Man In The Mirror   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Michael Jackson is arguably the most well know celebrity figure in the world today. Michael Joseph Jackson was born in August 1958, in Gary, Indiana. Jackson has spent almost his entire life as a public performer. He was a member of the Jackson Five at the age of four, soon becoming the group's lead vocalist and front man. Onstage, he modeled his dance moves and vocal styling on James Brown, and portrayed an absolute self-confidence on stage that belied his shy, private personality. Throughout his life the media has dissected his personality and projected his image on a worldwide screen. The progression of his image has been a fascinating phenomenon, and his current taboo image is still looked at through the eyes of the media microscope. Jason Cowley says, â€Å"his face is no longer a face but a canvas on which is etched an image of endlessly elusive self-perfection.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the most notable characteristics of Michael Jackson is his appearance. It seems, as his appearance changes, so too does his image. Being one of the most photographed and news worthy celebrities has a great impact on his image and his chameleon-like appearance. After Jackson emerged, in the Seventies, from the largely successful pop group The Jackson Five, he became a talented solo superstar. His first solo album, Off The Wall was a complete success. Then he was a young, handsome fresh-face with an Afro. He was a sex symbol to the ladies and perhaps the best dancer in the world of pop music at that time. The warning signs of a fast changing image and appearance were slowly emerging through the smoke. Jackson began speaking in various interviews about his admiration for the beauty of singing sensation and diva Diana Ross. He reportedly desired to look like her (Brown, 54). When he re-emerged in the Eighties with the smash album Thriller, the most successful i n pop history, his appearance had changed significantly. His nose was more sculpted, his cheekbones were higher and his lips thinner. No one could deny the fact that Michael had plastic surgery after the release of the video for the number one single â€Å"Billy Jean.† He looked more attractive, and there was a new, strutting sexual energy about him. He would never look so good again (Saunders, 3).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Michael Jackson’s ima... ...rtist. Lusted said, â€Å"The sexual and racial ambiguity of his image can be seen as pointing to a range of questions about images of sex and race in popular culture and popular music. If we regard his face, not as the manifestation of personality traits but as a surface of artistic and social inscription, the ambiguities of Jackson’s image call into question received ideas about what black male performers in popular music should look like.† There is one thing we know for certain about the real Michael Jackson, he is an extraordinarily talented man with a gift for creating music that people all over the world. He has a love for helping children, and is involved in many charities. His musical talent, more than anything though, accounts for more than his twenty years of stardom.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Works Cited Goldberg, M. Michael Jackson: The Making of the â€Å"King Of Pop†, Rolling Stone, 1/9/92 Issue 621, p.32. Lusted, D. The Glut of the Personality, Stardom: Industry of Desire. Routledge: New York, 1991 Johnson, R. â€Å"The Michael Jackson Nobody Knows,† Ebony, December 1984 Saunders, F. â€Å"The Man In The Mirror,† New Statesman, 1/29/2001, Volume 130 Issue 4522.

Meeting the Needs

Respectful educators will include all children; not just children who are easy to work with, obliging, endearing, clean, pretty, articulate, capable but every child- respecting them for who they are, respecting their language, their culture, their history, their families, their abilities, their needs, their names, their ways and their very essence (Nutbrown, 1996, p.54).In relation to the quote discuss the following: 1- Illustrate your essay with one specific group for example children with specific medical difficulties, behaviour problems, etc. Consider the personal, social and emotional factors and their impact on self esteem. 2- What constitute appropriate policy and good practice to ensure all children experience a positive learning environment? Consider the community, school and the individual. Within education, our society can be seen to ensure that all children, including those who have medical difficulties or behavioural problems feel a sense of belonging within education and are not ignored, although this could be seen as untrue by others.As quoted above a successful school practice would support all young children not excluding any for its aim of providing a desirable development and successful practice for the children â€Å"This is an†¦ anti-discriminatory practice which is a fundamental requirement in the delivery of services to all children (Thompson, 2001), this can be seen to be the main aim of a practice as it is where all needs are met without any child in a mainstream school can undergo inclusion. A major contribution to this has been the framework, The Index of Inclusion â€Å"Provides materials that support schools by critically examining their policies and practices, and guides them through a process of development towards inclusive education (Richards and Armstrong, pg.8, 2011).It is not legally enforced but a helpful guide to help schools progress in a positive change. The commitment to challenge and promote social justice within school education for children with disabilities had a particular interest challenged by (Oliver, 1990). Also referring to the quote above, practitioners working with children within education tend to work with all children having medical difficulties or not or any reason, supporting these pupils in order for them thrive. Appropriate policy and good practice is important for maintaining a positive learning environment  for all children. It is seen that agencies such as the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) which takes inclusive education seriously, by being responsive to diversity and reducing exclusion in education, will be put into practice.Then in 1999, Department for Education and Skills (DfES), now the Department for Education (DfE), focused on all children having a chance and also supporting schools to ensure that the pupils have been positively supported all this will be discussed within this essay. The Green Paper: 2011 is an official document based on proposals made by the government for children and young children who have special educational needs or a disability in order to improve their outcomes and be provided with support. This official paper is not only about the children but also based on their families, teachers, etc. this document which addresses special educational needs â€Å"removes the bias towards inclusion† (Department of Education and Skills 2012).I will be focusing on the study of young children with Autism, Autism can be called by many different forms, for example Asperger’s Syndrome, it is based on the constant attention which can be seen as challenging behaviour and correction in how they believe and the interactions around them socially, in the sense that they are given more special care and a greater number of help than ‘normal’ students, frequent visits to doctors leave them feeling as though they are constantly being watched or investigated, affecting their sel f-esteem.I will be discussing whether children who are educated are respected and encouraged whatever their medical condition may be and how their self-esteem could be impacted using the quote above. Autism and Asperger syndrome was first identified in the 1930’s and it based on atypical structure and/or neutral transmission processes of the brain. They comprise of Autistic disorder; Asperger’s syndrome; Rett’s disorder; childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive development. A complex syndrome that can be described as having many different brain disorders with similar characteristics.A child can be diagnosed as having autism based from the age of three if they are displaying â€Å"(1) significant delay or inappropriate use of language; (2) failure to develop normal social relationships and interactions; and (3) obsessive or ritualistic, repetitive behaviours† (Wilson, p.101, 2010). Many children are seen to acute sensory abilities, from extreme to m ild in the sense that in the classroom some  children can ignore or block out the noise in the classroom as they may find the noise irritating and/or distracting. Autistic children hypersensitivity may cause them to find it painful and overwhelming when being touched by others.However the most evident characteristic young children with autism is the failure to develop social communication, they may avoid direct eye contact with others which could often be misinterpreted as not paying attention or being interested in other people, this could cause many challenging with educators in ensuring the child is progressing well in class. â€Å"It has been argued that Early Education at its best is inclusive education† (Nutbrown 1985) this statement can be seen as true as inclusive educations provides the child an environment which ensures them to feel accepted and support them and avoids any time of exclusion which could affect the child’s self-esteem.However, â€Å"By defin ition, children with special educational needs have significantly greater difficulty with learning than the majority of children of the sage age† (Wilson, p.29, 2010) children working with other children who do not have special educational needs can be seen to be automatically excluded as the pace in which they learn would be different and the children would be progressing at different paces, as children with autism may display challenging behaviour. Children with medical difficulties such as Autism may feel a sense of dis-belonging and their self-esteem will be affected as they would be marginalised against the schooling system as they are seen to be very vulnerable. The child does not see themselves as a member of a particular group and follows their own interest rather than that of the other children in the playgroup.Young children including those with special educational needs rely on their educators as well as their parents support and encouragement in order for them to f eel happy, confident and secure. Within an educational setting, this is important to establish as it develops their feeling of self-esteem from the reactions and responses by people as they feel accepted by them in order for these children to feel as a participant within the establishment. It is seen that many children with special educational needs, in relation, children with autism suffer from self-esteem and self-identity problems.Children with autism are seen to be expected to have lower levels of basic literacy and numeracy skills compared to their peers. As these children with SEN may already suffer from self-esteem issues it will be essential to  establish affective development during education however this also applies to all children. Their needs may not be met by educators who follow the National Curriculum (Department for Education and Skills, 2005, p.5). Their ability to have difficulty in understanding what they are being taught may lead to low self-esteem, low levels of concentration and underdeveloped social skills (Ibid., p.5).The traditional way of thinking of children with mild autism is that they are the same as their neuro-typical peers but yet they have something missing, a definition like this does not explore the fact that these children also have outstanding achievements and original thought process which may cause them to low self-esteem and are not supported by their peers therefore developing emotional and behavioural problems in order to support these children accessing equal opportunities in the education system, the educators, parents and others will work closely together to ensure the student is supported emotionally and socially.Students with autism are seen to work well with repeated short structured teaching sessions where the focus would be on working on skills such as social interaction with the educators being sensitive to the child’s needs. Intensive interaction can be used in order to develop and encourage the ch ild within the education system. A principle of intensive interaction (Hewett and Nind, 1998) is that it is necessary to develop the child’s ability to enjoy the company of others, and to develop his understanding of how to interact with others and how to communicate. Short sessions for the child is used to develop their communication skills and encourage learning, which is essential for accessing equal opportunities to the education system.Using this approach, the progress of pupils with autism has been assessed and reported (Nind, 1999). Working with children with autism within the education system may require the educators to be very sensitive to the emotional, physical and personal needs of the child. Working with social situations tend to be difficult for these students however with accessing equal opportunities putting the child with a small group of pupils with sensitively can ensure that the child adapts largely to the social aspects of being with group and the activi ties taking place, gradually both the task and the level of social interaction needed can be increased in complexity.Whether or not time is allocated to work on children’s affective functioning too often depends on adventitious encounters with  teachers who have been converted to the need to address such areas. It is time – as a profession – that we all recognised, for example, the need to give adequate time ‘to working on the self’. It is iniquitous for us not to undertake this task. As educators, are we called upon to educate the ‘whole’ child? If not, who looks after the neglected parts? (Charlton and Jones, 1990, p149) It may be impossible to provide a positive learning environment if the child is suffering from affective problems and a range of potential casual factors do not exist.Until the last few years, affective development has not been evident within curriculum documents and guidance but, as suggested, if these documents ar e not addressed, the idea on educators basing the lessons taught of the children’s abilities would pointless as the child’s abilities to access that curriculum may be severely compromised. Practitioners should therefore acknowledge the affective needs of young children and respond to them appropriately, thus enabling successful and confident individuals and learners who can maximise the potential of the learning opportunities presented to them.Practioners within the education system in order to enhance positive self-esteem within the children should have knowledge in the area of the children affective development in the sense that they would use a system which all the children are valued and respected in order for their learning styles to progress. The use of consistent structure and routine for children with autism is essential as stability is needed in order for them to reach their full potential. Difficulties may arise for the child if they left without feeling valu ed and respected, educators would need to treat all children along with those who have Special educational needs and positive experiences of learning with a level of confidence that will enhance their self-esteem, and working with the parents would enhance this.Within Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) which believes that in order for children to succeed Practioners would need to consider areas of affective development. This is reinforced in the EYFS documentation which states that â€Å"children must be provided with experiences and support which will help them to develop a positive sense of themselves and of others; respect others; social skills; and positive disposition to learn. Practioners must ensure support for children’s social emotional well-being to help them to know themselves and what they can do (DCSF, 2008:24).The practitioners can then focus on the guidance given and  practice observing, recording and informing planning certain area such as self-esteem, sel f-confidence and behaviour and social control. It is seen that children with special educational needs find it more difficult to access equal opportunities in the education system. â€Å"The less academically able continue to suffer disproportionately from whatever chronic or acute problems affect the education service (Department of Education and Science 1991, p.2). These young children will find it difficult to develop positively and use education as a learning curve. These young children tend to be brought up from a poor background with families who do not have the requirements to send their children to schools that focus more on individual needs as the society’s values and priorities reflect of the school.It is seen that in order to access equal opportunities individuals will practice working with educators of the education system. For example, families of the children will work with the practitioners in order to provide the relevant and effective early childhood interve ntion. The educators should be able to work with the child with special educational needs and their families, setting challenging but achievable targets. Families modify their lives around multiple professional services and when they are given peace of mind that their child is in a healthy environment they will respond to this positively. It is seen that autistic people have been labelled as ‘too challenged’ or even ‘too difficult’ to work in a classroom, and as a result they are denied access to the very public services which are designed to support them.This could hinder their self-esteem which may cause them to deal their intense feelings in a way which can be seen as ‘inappropriate’. There are higher numbers of autistic people who attempt suicide (Bernard et al, 2000). These autism people are seen to commit suicide more than those without a disorder as they experience exclusion and are denied opportunities which can make life difficult for them in life. Challenging behaviour has come down to many different factors to challenging behaviour to work inclusively with children with specific special education needs as attention hyperactivity deficit disorder (ADHD) or autistic spectrum disorder. Educators would need to explore two main models of disability: the medial and social models.The medical model involved the child being ‘blamed’ or described as ‘ill’. No account is taken of external factors such as environment (Frederickson and Cline 2009; Garner 2009). The social model has  a more inclusive approach blaming society , is seen to create barriers which could prevent children from learning opportunities. The UK government Green Paper ‘Meeting the Childcare Challenge’ (May 1998) established a ‘National Childcare Strategy’ and proposed inclusive provision where possible for children with special needs (Sestini, 2001).Commonly, institutions are giving out the same reso urces into all their branches and it is seen that these services should be made accessible and appropriate for all children, including children with special educational needs. It is seen that the one to one approach regarding children would maximise the equal opportunities for individuals accessing the education system. Though this service, the educator can encourage and support the child with autism in order to increase their social skills, these one-to-one sessions can be blended with other activities and routine within the classroom which can challenge the child from feeling a lack of acceptance and a sense of social inclusion.Lewis (2000) poses questions which can be addressed towards an inclusive education ‘How far is it leniable to assume that the education system as presently constituted provides a healthy environment for all, let alone the most vulnerable? (p.202). He explains the importance of quality should be stressed. Problems in the past are involved within the se tting however it is stressed that they should not deter educators from including special educational needs children in inclusive setting. â€Å"The need for teachers to step beyond the classroom and to work with children and families in the context of the community† (Wilson, 2003), this is goes by working with outside organisations which comes with extra challenges as well as benefits.Professionals need to work from the premise that ‘each family has its own culture and a unique set of strengths, values, skills, expectations, and service needs’ (Bailey, 1994, p.28) White working with children in order to ensure the child undergoes positive development it is essential for the parent involvement to be on the same level of progress as the educators focus of the individualized needs of the parents, these are seen as critical involvement as it is important, to establish family education and involvement options to them. With the requirements placed by the government on teachers in mainstream schools for children with special educational needs, SEN work has now officially been recognised as central to the teaching and learning function of schools.In the past, there were not many  studies undertaken on the guidance requirements of the code of practice. Until recent years throughout the period of 1995-2000 (Evans, Docking, Bentley and Evans 1995, Lewis, Neil and Campbell 1996, OFSED 1996, Demington, Evans and Lee 1996, Davis, Garner and Lee 1998). This work was able to show the tensions in the Code of Practice and although many SENCO’s spoke of not having enough time to follow the procedures of the code, overtime SEN work is now recognised as a respected policy. In reference to the quote above, â€Å"inclusive education† is subject to all learners, members of the school, college and wider community.By this, all learns do not refer to those who â€Å"have special needs† or a vulnerable, but by means every child and their essence in order to develop healthily. To ensure that all students experience a positive learning education, the term ‘inclusive education’ must be put into place within schools. Educators have to ensure that if there is a diversity of students within the classroom; including those with different ethnic and class backgrounds, their rights and interests should be explored. The term ‘inclusive education’ refers to all the learners being successful, being pushed to their full potential.For a vast majority of disabled pupils under the policy of School Action/School Action Plus their ‘needs are met’ through mainstream schools to ensure that all children are successfully included. The quote above refers to inclusion within schools, which over the years but mostly the last decade has significantly developed in terms of the legislation and research. This has seen to begin from Warnock report (DES, 1978) which discussed progressive movements towards an inclusi ve education system for all children. For inclusion to be effective pupils must actively belong to be welcomed by and participate in a school and community that they should be fully included.As young children with autism lack more social skills within society it is seen that the social understanding of these children with special needs in the inclusive classroom is of special concern. As research indicates ‘as a group of children with disabilities are at relatively risk for peer rejection than typically developing children’ (Odom, 2000, p.21) Good practice to ensure an educative system under positive learning would be full participation for all the children in all aspects of the provision. All children would have the opportunity to engage actively within the classroom with the teachers and their classmates being positively welcomed and participating.It is  seen that in order to ensure all children experience a positive learning environment the need of effective policy and practice is needed in order to provide a successful learning experience for them. In terms of young children with special education needs in England, according to the revised Special Educational Needs, Code of Practice, children do have a great difficult in learning than a majority of children so it is important to establish this. Promoting individual talents, interests and ensuring an appropriate learning experience could be seen as one of the primary responsibilities of the early childhood personnel when working with all children of all personalities and development.This requires a close observation of the children to ensure the experiences is a success and if any children overtime is lacking in development the educators find a solution quickly. This includes the children’s interests with others and their environment being alternative to their peers and teachers etc. Most children struggle from anxiety when moving from the transition of home to a learning environment a nd which is normally greater for children with special educational needs. Therefore practitioners and educators need to practice a positive programme that can make the transition easily on both sides â€Å"A programme philosophy should reflect should practice, research and theory related to young children and their characteristics† (Wilson, 2003).This is needed to establish the key educational sources in order to establish on environment where the child understands they are a valued part of a group and where the educators’ are in situations that are appropriate to each child needs and abilities. Overall, pupils within mainstream society are seen to need attention when being educated so they obtain what is needed in order for them to succeed. Working in an education system without induction creates full participation with all pupils in order to achieve a successful mainstream experience. With the educators provide a social and emotional environment without the complex a ctivities.Many services when integrating early childhood services and special educational needs undergo services designed to integrate all aspects of children for an inclusive education â€Å"In the classroom, the early childhood teacher needs to facilitate the interactions children have with toys, materials, activities, peers and adults†, These interactions will lead to the child â€Å"developing understanding about the world and the way it works, and help children gain feelings of  self-worth and competency† (Wilson, 2003, p.23). Children with SEN would not be able to make progressive developing, this includes all children, this is why many policies have been put into place to ensure the various dimensions within a mainstream schools has been explored to ensure initiated learning.

Sports-Cultural Comparison

| | |Sports | |Cultural Comparison | | | |Lisa Bowling Today, as Americans, we are surrounded by an increasing number of very different cultures, and along with that we are surrounded by numerous cultural differences. These differences between our culture and the cultures surrounding us deal with every aspect of life, from clothing to food to music, even our recreational activities, like sports. In our American culture we are flooded by mainstream sports such as basketball, football, and of course baseball, our â€Å"national pastime†. With the huge amount of coverage those main sports receive, Americans are sometimes unaware of what other cultures have to offer. Whether they are being played, watched, read about, or dreamed about, sports are everywhere, as are the cultural differences within them. A brief look at five different sports will reveal just a few of these differences, ranging from variations in rules to sports that are beginning to gain popularity to sports that are almost completely unknown in the United States, as well as show the effects that differences have on our own culture. Korfball First we will introduce you to the sport of Korfball, which was founded in Holland by an Amsterdam teacher, Nico Broekhuijsen in 1903. Nico once attended a physical education workshop in Sweden. He observed a game called ringball with men and women playing together. He liked the coeducational part of the game, so he rewrote the game, refined the rules and changed the ring goal to a basket. This basket is called de korf, which is Dutch, thus the name of the game. He wanted to have all his students be involved in a game, regardless of their gender. It is one of the few sports that involve men and women on the team. As a demonstration sport, it was introduced to the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, and then again in 1928 in Amsterdam. In 1933, the International Korfball Federation was founded in Belgium, but it asn’t until 1985 that the sport was recognized by the International Olympic Committee and also the World Games. Every four years the International Korfball Federation now holds the Korfball World Championships. Out of all the teams competing for the chance to have the championship, only two teams get to compete. Korfball is gaining popularity by many countries like Canada, Australia, England, Germany, Belgium, and South Africa. The object of the game is to shoot the ball with two hands through a cylindrical shaped basket. It is similar to basketball, yet a little harder considering the basket is twelve feet high, attached to a single wooden post, and located in the middle of the attack zone. This differs from basketball, where the baskets are only ten feet high and are located on each end of the court. The court is about 44 yards by 99 yards that is marked by white tape. As stated before the baskets are approximately twelve feet high and are placed eleven yards from the end line. The ball itself resembles a soccer ball and is a tad bit smaller than a basketball (whether it is for men or women). Its circumference is 27 inches, unlike the basketball that is 30 inches for men and 29 inches for women. Since Korfball is a team sport, individual excellence is critical importance, but is only when it is passed through team work. The team consists of four men and four women. Typically the women would defend the women and the men would defend the men. Korfball players catch, throw and run with the ball. It is considered a non-contact, non-collision sport. Each player has their own zone to cover and may not move from it. Each team has four players in each of the three zones. The ball in play is moved only by hand movements. Unlike basketball, there is no dribbling, no backboards, physical contact is not allowed, slam dunks are prohibited (unlikely though since the basket is much higher), and it is a violation of rules to shoot the ball if you are guarded. Height and size of the player is not important since scoring is when the players are constantly moving, running, and perfectly passing the ball to each other. A game lasts about 90 minutes with the object of scoring de korf. Curling Next we will take a look at the up and coming sport of curling. You may have never heard of curling until its recent emergence in the last two Winter Olympics. It is not one of the most traditional sports and there are no monstrosities of men and women participating. It is a sport known more for its grace, skill, and the ability to think through any situation that may be thrown your way. Curling has just begun to gain popularity here in the States, however it originated long ago in Scotland. The first documented games of curling were in Scotland and Holland. The Scots develop the game and formalized rules by 1807. Scottish emigres eventually brought curling to Canada, New Zealand and the United States later in the 1800s (USA Curling), and along with that came many different variations of the game. Canada and Scotland quickly became the two powerhouses of the sport, with Canada revolutionizing the way the game was played, leaving Scotland stuck in the past. Popularity of the sport rose around the world, as the newcomers from Canada took on Scotland in the Scotch Cup matches in 1959. Controversy quickly arose from the â€Å"new style† of curling Canada was playing, as the vanquished the best Scotland had to offer. The old met the new in the first Scotch Cup series of matches in 1959. Controversy there was aplenty in Scotland, as the Canadians of the new game vanquished the best Scotland had to offer. The International Curling Federation is now in place to provide the sport with firm guidelines and internationally accepted rules of play. The federation does leave room for change and improvement, however, as change is sure to arise from technological advances, introduction of new techniques, strategies, rules, and from the improvement of shot-making ability of individual players who strive for perfection in their chosen game (Cowan). Now that you have a slight background on the sport of Curling, we will take a look at curling in the United States. The United States Men’s Curling Association was founded in 1958 and later renamed in United States Curling Association due to gender equality, USCA for short. The sport saw its largest growth in 1998, when curling made its full medal debut at the Nagano Olympics (Karuizawa venue). In the 2002 Olympics held in Salt Lake City, (Ogden venue) curling emerged as a surprise television hit. Later, in 2006 in Torino, U. S. curlers won their first-ever Olympic medal (USA Curling). This sport is obviously on the rise in the American culture and maybe one day will be more widespread in the States. It will probably never be on the same level as basketball, football or baseball. But every sport has to start somewhere. Hockey When it comes to hockey, in order to discuss the cultural differences between the US and other countries, you need not look any further than to our friends up north in Canada. While we as Americans probably view our hockey league as the fourth most important sports league behind baseball, football, and basketball (those being in no particular order), Canadians cherish the sport. It is actually the country’s official winter sport. There is no doubt that hockey has been played in Canada for centuries, still there is no definitive origin of when it was officially established. (Hockey Canada) We do know, however, that â€Å"the first organization actually dealing with the administration and development of the sport was the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC), which was organized on the 8th of December, 1886. † (Hockey Canada) In comparison, the National Hockey League (NHL), which is the American hockey league in existence today, did not form until 1917. Even then, the league struggled to field more than a few teams its first couple of decades. In America over the past couple weeks, hockey has been gaining more coverage because of the Olympics, and the United States’ team’s success. The gold medal game against Canada was the most watched hockey game in history in our country, beating out our own league’s championship series. This statistic still pales in comparison to the fact that the preliminary round game against the US was one of the most viewed sporting events on in Canada’s history. Even better, the gold medal game drew an even bigger audience and, in fact, became the most watched sporting event ever in the country. â€Å"Nearly half the Canadian population watched the entire game on average, while 80 percent of Canadians watched some part of the game (26. 5 million). † (Vancouver Sun) As you can see, there is a huge difference in the way the sport is viewed in our two cultures. Lacrosse Another sport that is just beginning to gain more popularity in our country, and culture, is the sport of lacrosse. Again, we don’t have to look far to find where this sport is a large part of a culture. While hockey is Canada’s official winter sport, lacrosse is the country’s official summer sport. Much like the history of hockey, the date in which the sport was invented is not certain, but it is thought to date back to the 12th century. Lacrosse, which was originally played between Native Americans in the US and Canada, flourished in the 19th century in Canada as, â€Å"the National Lacrosse Association became the first national sport governing body in North America. † (Canadian Lacrosse Association) The sport is played both indoors and out, with leagues consisting of both types existing in Canada as well as the US. The National Lacrosse League (NLL) was started in 1987 and is played indoors, while Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was founded in 1999 and is the outdoor version. Although these leagues have both been in existence for at least a decade, the NLL consists of only 11 teams, while MLL is made up of a meager six teams. While the number of teams in the professional ranks, and the leagues in general, are often overshadowed by the major sports in our country, the sport is the fastest growing sport in our country. â€Å"National lacrosse participation increased 8. percent in 2009, according to research by US Lacrosse for its annual participation report. There were 568,021 lacrosse players that were members of organized teams across the country in 2009, from the youth level all the way on up through the professional ranks. † (US Lacrosse) It is estimated that participation in lacrosse in the US will double in the next ten years, and as it continues to grow in will continue to become a grea ter part of our culture. Football Somewhere in America a man, who is referred to as the quarterback, is standing on a field of fake grass made of astro-turf. He is covered almost head-to-toe in enough protective padding that could possibly protect him from a car running into him. He is hurling a cow hide covered prolate spheroid through the air. He is hoping that his teammate will catch this ball without being tackled by someone from the opposing team. His goal is to run with this ball to the opposite end of the field into the opposing team’s end zone to score points. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. This sport is known as football. The history of American football goes back to the first half of the 19th century and its origins can be traced back to the game of rugby, which is primarily played in the UK. Walter Camp took the game of rugby and converted many of its rules into the American football we know today. Walter Camp is hailed as the â€Å"Father of American Football†. Football can be played at the high school, college, and professional level, and all levels are governed by nationally accredited associations. The Ohio League was the first professional league formed in 1903, and then in 1920 the American Professional Football Association was formed. The first game was played in Dayton, Ohio. Many places around the world also share in playing the sport of football. They include, but are not limited to; Japan, the UK, Germany, England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico. While these countries participate in playing the game, there are many variations in how they play the game. Australia, England, and New Zealand for example play the game of rugby. The ball is slightly larger and heavier than its American counterpart, and requires virtually no physical protective equipment. Consequently, Rugby has been called the toughest and most demanding sport in the world. Canada, the UK, Germany and Japan have very similar football leagues compared to the US, with their rules only varying slightly. Football is one of America’s most played sports and greatest pastimes. It is as much a part of our culture as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. College football in the state of Ohio however has its own culture, and it is huge! ESPN recently ranked Ohio State football #3 in all of the college football programs dating back to 1936. You can walk in almost any grocery store or department store and find Ohio State football accessories. Buckeye necklaces, jerseys, hats and coats are just some of the long list of items you can purchase and wear to support your team. If its game weekend, most work places not only allow but encourage you to wear something to support the team. There is even enough stuff out there to decorate the inside of your entire house. We even have our own candy! The delicious Buckeyes are the official sweet treat at any football party. Every weekend of the football playing season you can find men, women and children of all ages dressed up in their scarlet and grey huddled in front of their televisions cheering for their team. There is nothing that can bring together or separate the tightest of friends and family than an Ohio State game. The line of loyalty to their favorite team runs deep, especially when it comes to the all-so-famous Ohio State-Michigan game. If you are brave enough to declare your loyalty to Michigan, you better get ready for some opposition from someone with scarlet and grey. Ohio State also has the best damn band in the land and Brutus the mascot to add to its long list of signature cultural items. The pay scale for football players even surpasses the salary of the President of the United States. Sources â€Å"2009 Participation Survey. † US Lacrosse. 01 Jan 2010. US Lacrosse, Web. 4 Mar 2010. . A Short History of Lacrosse in Canada. Canadian Lacrosse Association, 13 Jan. 2010. Web. 4 Mar. 2010. . Canada-U. S. Olympic Hockey Final Gold for TV Ratings. Vancouver Sun, 1 Mar. 2010. Web. 4 Mar. 2010. . History of Hockey Canada. Hockey Canada, 2010. Web. 3 Mar. 2010. . International Korfball Federation. International Korfball Federation, 1 Jan. 2010. Web. 2 Mar. 2010. . Korfball. Wikipedia, 26 Feb. 2010. Web. 2 Mar. 2010. .