Antecedent A Specific Meaning for Analyzing Difficult Behaviors

In preparing a functional behavior analysis, special educators, behavior specialists and psychologists use an acronym, ABC, to understand a target behavior. The A stands for antecedent, the B for behavior, and the C for consequence. ABC is a fundamental concept for those working with children, particularly students with special needs. Antecedent Definition To understand the definition of ABC, its important to know the meaning of each of its component parts. Antecedents are events or environments that trigger a behavior, and the behavior  is an action that is both observable and measurable that is generally provoked or induced by the antecedent. The consequence, then, is the response to the student’s behavior, generally by the teacher, counselor, or school psychologist. Put in more basic terms, the antecedent involves something that is said to the student, something the student observes, or, often, a situation in which the student is placed. Any of these things can then evoke a behavior by the student, such as acting out, throwing a tantrum, screaming, or just shutting down. The consequence is not necessarily—or even preferably—a punishment. Instead, a consequence is what educators or others impose on the student after the behavior. Education and behavior experts note that the best consequence is one that redirects, rather than punishes. The ABC concept is important because it causes educators, counselors, and others involved to loop back to the antecedent and try to determine what in the environment or situation might have provoked the behavior. Since the behavior must be observable and measurable, using the ABC concept takes emotion out of the equation. Examples of Antecedents Before delving into gathering information about antecedents, its helpful to view some examples of antecedents. These are environmental or even physical situations that can initially spark undesirable behaviors: Invasion of personal space: Students, or really anyone for that matter, can react negatively when someone invades their space. Its important to give students adequate physical space in which to complete their tasks. Excessive visual or auditory stimuli: Students with autism, but other students also, can become overwhelmed when there is too much auditory stimulation, such as loud noises, excessive talking by peers, the teacher, or members of a class, overly loud music, or even environmental noise, such as nearby construction sounds. Visual stimulation can have the same effect; often this might be too many pictures and other items on the walls of a classroom that can easily distract some students. An unpleasant texture from clothing: Autistic students, again, may be prone to this. A wool sweater, for example, might feel fine to most people, but for some student with autism, it can feel like sandpaper, or even nails, scratching against their skin. It would be hard for anyone to learn under such a condition. Not understanding the task presented: If directions are unclear, a student might act out in frustration or even anger when they are unable to comprehend what is being asked of them. Overly demanding tasks: Students with learning disabilities or emotional disorders can also become overwhelmed when the task required seems daunting and unmanageable. To avoid this issue, it can be productive to break up the assignment into smaller tasks. For example, give a student only five or 10 math problems at a time instead of 40. Unexpected changes in routine: Students of all types, but especially those with special needs, require a strict and predictable routine. If there needs to be a change in the daily schedule, you can often avoid creating an antecedent to an outburst by telling students ahead of time what the change will be and why. Bullying or taunting: Any person would react badly to bullying, mocking, or taunting, but particularly those with special needs. If a student does experience bullying or taunting, its best to discuss it openly with the student(s) right away. Lessons on how to stand up to bullying can also be productive. Questions to Gather Information About the Antecedent The ABC principal involves collecting or asking the right questions about what might have provoked the behavior. In other words, you need to try to determine what antecedent(s) led to the behavior. Questions might include: Where does the target behavior occur?  This addresses the impact of the environment on the antecedent or setting event.  Does it only happen at home?  Does it happen in public?  Does it only happen in a specific place and not in the other?  If the antecedent is school and not home, it probably reflects that little or no demand is put on the child in the other environment. Sometimes, if a student has been abused in a school or residential facility, and the environment looks very much like that setting, the students behavior might actually be reactive:  a means of protecting himself.   When does the target behavior occur?  Does it happen mostly at a certain time of days?  Is it perhaps related to the child being tired after working hard to meet demands (near the end of the day)?  Could it be related to hunger (at 11 a.m. before lunch)?  Could it be related to anxiety about bedtime if it happens in the evening? Who is present when the target behavior occurs?  It is possible for certain people or people dressed in a certain way may trigger a behavior.  Perhaps its people in white coats. If the child has been frightened or undergone a painful procedure at a doctors office, she may be anticipating a repeat of the experience.  Often students, especially students with developmental disabilities, are frightened by people in uniforms if their parents have had to call the police to get assistance with a particularly violent meltdown. Does something happen just before the target behavior?  Is there an event that triggers the behavior?  A student may respond in fear to something that happens, or even if a peer moves into his space.  All of these things may contribute to the setting event or antecedent to the event. How to Use Antecedents in an Educational Setting An example of ABC in a real-life classroom setting might be as follows: In the morning upon arrival, when presented with her work folder (antecedent), Sonia throws herself out of her wheelchair (behavior). Clearly, the antecedent is being presented with the work folder, and it happens at the beginning of the day.  Knowing that giving Sonia a work folder in the morning provokes exactly the same response every day, it would make sense to create a different antecedent in the morning for Sonia, instead of enforcing a punitive consequence. Instead of giving her a work folder the minute she comes into the classroom, the teacher, or education team, might ask: What does Sonia enjoy? Suppose Sonia enjoys social interaction, the simple give-and-take of dialogue between a teacher, paraprofessionals, and the student. In that case, to create a better outcome, the educators would present Sonia with different a different activity at the beginning of the day, such as a short, social talk with the teacher and staff. They might ask Sonia what she did last night, what she had for dinner, or what she plans to do over the weekend. Only after this five-minute discussion would the staff offer Sonia her work folder. If she still exhibits the same behavior—throwing herself out of her wheelchair—the staff would again do an ABC analysis. If Sonia simply doesnt react well to an offer of work first thing in the morning, the staff would try another antecedent, such as changing the setting. Perhaps a brief morning excursion outside on the playground might be the best way to start Sonias day. Or, giving Sonia her work folder later in the morning, after a talk, excursion outside, or even a song, might lead to a better outcome. As noted, the key to using ABC is taking emotion out of the equation. Rather than a knee-jerk reaction to Sonias behavior, the staff tries to determine what the antecedent was, what observable behavior occurred, and what consequence was enforced. By manipulating (or changing) the antecedent, the hope is that the student will exhibit a different, more positive behavior, negating the need for a punitive consequence.

The Importance Of Genetic Engineering - 1282 Words

Genetic engineering is defined as the modification of the characteristics of an organism by altering its genetic material. Although the definition makes it seems clear and concise, it is far more complicated. This new advancement has caused a huge debate over the ethics and laws of what it is able to do. Genetic engineering is immensely important because of the potential benefits it contains and the advances it allows for in the future. The ultimate goal of genetic engineering is to prevent, treat, and cure genetic diseases and disorders. Because this new discovery is still in its early stages the possible effects are still not known. This is causing many questions to arise. As with anything when questions are left unanswered concerns,†¦show more content†¦While some people saw this new discovery as a necessary technological advance for the future, others saw it as an endangerment. Unpredictable and challenging to control became a few of the words being used to frame genetic engineering. Russ, and Nadia Rosenthal. â€Å"Genetic Engineering: Manipulating the Mechanisms of Life.† Find in a Library with WorldCat, Facts On File, 2 Sept. 2017 www.worldcat.org/title/genetic-engineering-manipulating-the-mechanisms-of- life/oclc/237402598. Genetic engineering has the ability to discover information about family histories and their genes. This ability has brought up the concern of privacy. The expectation for genetic engineering is to find cures and treatments for genetic diseases. Scientist are learning new ways to confront the impacts these discoveries have on society. After the clone of the first mammal, a sheep, concerns had arisen that humans were going to be next. An abundance of questions regarding the ethics of the situation soon emerged. 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Notebook Analysis Free Essays

Analysis of The Notebook Movie Clip Lindsey Scott ENG225 Allison Sansbury November 18, 2012 Analysis of The Notebook Movie Clip There are many people involved in making a movie possible. When everything is put together it seems as though it was just one simple camera shot. But looking closer and at a short clip of a movie shows a little light on how much was actually done to make it realistic. We will write a custom essay sample on Notebook Analysis or any similar topic only for you Order Now The first thing people notice and pay attention to are the actors. But who tells the actors where to stand, what to say, and what emotions to portray? Who adds that little bit of background music to bring out the anger, sadness, or love in a scene? When going through the â€Å"outtakes† of a movie it shows that there is someone responsible for putting just the right shots in the right place. There is more to a movie than just the actors and someone yelling â€Å"cut†. Watching a clip of the movie trailer for The Notebook brings all of these things to light. In the movie The Notebook the director is Nick Cassavetes. His role is to translate the screenwriter’s story so that the actors and crew can successfully play it out. It’s up to the director to turn the elements into film with words, images, and sound. This brings together an entertaining movie. Nick was able to take Nicholas Sparks book and bring the characters, emotions, and story to life. The way be brought together Nicholas Sparks’ vision and his own created an amazing movie. The production designer Sarah E. Knowles, was responsible for the overall look of a project. â€Å"They direct the art department and set builders to turn their imagination into reality. † (http://filmtvcareers. about. com/od/basics/p/CP_ProdDesigner. htm). In this clip the characters are outside a beautiful house. This setting is simply and an area that everyone can relate to. By not having them in some farfetched place Sarah kept the realistic feel to the couples argument. Art director Scott T. Ritenour over seed the artistic design of advertisements and print materials, as well as the filming of television commercials. He was the decision maker responsible for the finished product. â€Å"The art director chooses a photographer, an illustrator, models, and any props necessary for an ad. If a print ad comes back from the printer with an imperfection, the art director is responsible for retouching it. † (http://careers. stateuniversity. com/pages/115/Art-Director. tml#ixzz2CKahNlDp) This clip in particular is at night. The sky is dark with just the lighting of the porch light and driveway lights. Yet the lighting that the artists used allows us to be able to see the expressions on the characters faces. It sets a serious mood with the added emotion of trying to read each other’s faces in the dark. As the couple bickers back and forth they move along with the other to try and read their facial expressions. The clip ends with Noah driving away in his truck. As he is driving down the driveway the only light is the path lights. This allows him to drive into the dark of the night and sets the thought of him being gone. As this is happening it shows Allie standing alone. The darkness of the night emphases Allie feeling alone and left behind as Noah drives away. Allie is from a wealthy family while Noah is quite poor. Throughout the movie you are constantly reminded about their social class standing by their appearance. In the clip of them breaking up, Allie of course is in a very nice and clean dress and jacket. Her hair is curled and her natural makeup gives her the innocent girl look. She continuously has matching earrings to her outfits. While Noah is in a flannel jacket, messy hair and using his work truck. Having Noah in lower class clothes while standing in front of Allie’s parents house shows the difference and why he would feel misplaced. Her family has already made it very clear that they are not ok with their relationship. Back in the 1940’s (the time setting of the movie), it was not acceptable for a women from a wealthy family to court such a lower class man. We can see the struggle and heartache the two go through just to be together. Allis is always worried about what everyone else will think and what her parents want for her. Yet Noah is such a free spirit and just wants Allie to be happy. Showing Allie dressed so prim and proper whenever she is around anyone yet not caring if she is dirty, messy or dripping wet around Noah is a symbol of her love. It shows that she is so comfortable with him and truly does not care about the money or class statue. Noah tries to look his best when meeting her parents. By changing his appearance for Allie to try and make her feel more comfortable and have her relationship accepted by her family is such a kind gesture. Even though these costume changes are throughout the movie, it is How to cite Notebook Analysis, Essay examples

Knowledge Manegment Systems Essay Example For Students

Knowledge Manegment Systems Essay WEBSTER UNIVERSITY KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS? TIMOTHY W. HYDE COMP 5910 31 Mar 98 TABLE OF CONTENT TABLE OF CONTENT ii INTRODUCTION 1 WHAT IS A KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 1 Technologies 2 WHY USE IT 2 Advantages 2 GOAL 3 SAMPLE PRODUCT 3 WINCITE 5.0 3 INTRASPECT 1.5 4 CHANNELMANAGER 2.0 4 Premise #1 4 Premise #2 4 BACKWEB 4.0 5 CONCLUSION 5 WORK CITED 6 INTRODUCTION In todays information based society, knowledge is power. By knowing theircustomers a business will have the ability to build products coveted by their customers. If a company is to get ahead in business today, they need to have a firm grasp on how toget the best production out of their employees. One way to help employees be all theycan be is to provide them with the tools necessary to do their job. With the explosion ofthe service industry, today more than ever what employees need to do their job isinformation. Information about warehouse and store inventories, hot and cold sellingmerchandise and most importantly inf ormation about the customers they service. Software developers have heeded the call of the corporate leaders and are creatingtechnology to help managers collect the data they need and put it in a useful form. Thispaper will discuss the emerging knowledge management systems being used today, in anattempt to take advantage of the enormous databases which have been created. WHAT IS A KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Knowledge management is at various stages of development in Americanbusinesses. Some companies are just taking their first steps toward identifying andorganizing the components of their information systems. Others have already recruitedknowledge managers and are looking to revamp and improve established system. Thetools a majority of these companies are using in the renovation efforts are knowledgemanagement systems. A knowledge management system is a software tool that is intended to assist,through knowledge processing functions, users who desire to retrieve and manipulateinfor mation for different applications. The various tools of such a framework should helpusers to originate and organize ideas or understand and communicate ideas more easilyand accurately than can be done with most current tools. A knowledge managementsystems is an integrated multifunctional system that can support all main knowledgemanagement and knowledge processing activities. Knowledge management systems are difficult to understand because the businessprocesses it strives to computerize doesnt exist in the real world for most organizations. Unlike replacing a machine such as a typewriter or an office procedure such as documentcontrol, businesses have been trying unsuccessfully throughout the 20th century to makeknowledge management a reality. Excluding those companies whose entire business isknowledge management, theres no obvious, proven model to follow. However,knowledge management can be described by stepping back from technologies andproducts and taking a high-level view of the business issues before jumping intotechnology-based solutions. A Knowledge management system is a program that provides companies the abilityto gather its collective expertise. Valued at $1.5 billion in 1996 and slated to increase to$5 billion annually by 2000, the development of knowledge management systems is bigbusiness. The appeal of knowledge management reaches all types of firms, includingautomakers and consulting firms. With the decentralization of many businesses the focuson knowledge management has increased. Many of todays managers fear that corporateknowledge is being wasted because no one knows what vast knowledge exists. Technologies Involved Knowledge Management software helps support its users in their efforts to collectinformation, to organize it, to collaborate around it, thus allowing a means to search anddiscover knowledge contained in the group memory, so that it can be reapplied orextended, and reused. It does this by using a server to capture information from variouselectronic information sources This allows individuals and groups to capture information,together with its context, into the group memory from which it can be accessed from theusers desktop and across the enterprise. A knowledge management systems are composed of a variety of technologiesincluding; intranets, data warehousing, decision-support tools, and groupware to name afew. About half of the companies recently surveyed by Delphi Consulting are creatingsystems which intranet technology to improve their knowledge management, whileanot her 25 percent plan to do so in the near future. Similarly, one-third of developerssurveyed by Delphi are creating data warehouses, while nearly 25 percent plan inprogress to incorporate data warehouses. Also, one-third are implementingdecision-support tools, while 20 percent plan to. Why Use It The issue of handling the difficulties of managing information is one which anycompany trying to advance in this age of information will have to deal with. Collectingand organizing information just to do your own job can be monumental burden. While theprocess of gathering information can be a great challenge for some organizations. Theenormous growth of information sources makes it even more difficult now for companiesto find the information they need, and once found theres no easy way to capture andorganize it into a business solution and share it among workers. The types of problems knowledge management systems are designed to solveinvolve issues of knowledge acquired through experience wh ich doesnt get reusedbecause it isnt shared in a formal way. Whether its how to avoid duplicating errors, toimprove the distribution of proven best practices, or simply to harness what employeeshave learned about suppliers, customers, or competitors, knowledge managementsystems employ a concept under which information is turned into actionable knowledgeand made available effortlessly in a usable form to the people who can apply it. Sexual Harassment EssayKnowledge management is a way of doing business. The software is used to facilitate thepractice of knowledge management or at least specific facets of it, with the appropriateuse of technology. Advantages Knowledge management systems offer a flexible, user-driven approach toorganizing data in a way that makes it more useful to the company using it. Newmethods for organizing cabinets, folders, discussions, can be easily created and placed inthe information hierarchy, along with the other documents, Web pages, e-mail messages,comments or resources to which the folder is linked. Automatic full-text indexing createsinformation linkages and tracks the who, what, when, where and why, preservinginformation for its users. Knowledge management systems allow users to easily collaborate with each otheracross time and distance, discussing common tasks or interests contained in the groupmemory. Easily created, threaded discussions and comments, together with sharedaccess, allows for users to focus on the tasks at hand. The collaborative interactions andthe information sources of interest are automatically captured and preserved within thecontext of the task. Notifications from subscription agents update users of relevantchanges to information important to themselves and/or the organization. Goal Even though some organizations have successfully developed software that workfor their single vertical market, no one has successfully created a reproducible systemthat others can follow with a reasonable chance of success. The knowledge managementpackages they use have been limited to use in departmental areas such as the help desk. But the ultimate goal management system developers isnt to creating a departmentalisland of success recycling. Its giving the companies the capacity to be more effectivewith the gathering of institutional information and memory the way human beings have thecapacity to become more effective and mature every day with the accumulation ofthoughts and memories. The goal of knowledge management systems is center on gaining the ability to tapinto employee knowledge and to gather data located in numerous databases locatedthroughout the world. The main objective is develop a system that will allow a companyto utilize the vast amounts of data collected in order the company stay ahead ofcompetitors. Knowledge management systems are composed of numeroustechnologies, including decision support tools, data warehousing tools and intranets. SAMPLE PRODUCT WINCITE 5.0 Of the knowledge management systems software in use, Wincite Systems Wincite5.0 is one of the most mature product. Developed over 10 y ears ago Wincites productis designed to manage a shared repository of structured data and deliver it in forms thatsimplify data analysis. The package uses a group model allowing users to add notes withnew updates or other information. Wincite is designed to manage a shared large collection of structured data anddeliver it in forms that easy to analysis and work. Wincite accomplishes this by using agroup model, where putting content into the knowledge base is the work of one or ahandful of managers, but users can suggest additions. Wincite users can add notes withproposed updates or new information. The manager responsible for maintaining theknowledge can easily see these notes and incorporate all or part of them. While thismodel will be sensible for many organizations, the systems two-tier architecture makes itdifficult to break out of the model and create a universal full-client deployment approach. INTRASPECT 1.5 Intraspect Software Inc.s offers one of the best designs forknowledge-management applications. Intraspect Softwares Intraspect 1.5 is designedfor knowledge-management applications. This package develops a group memory bygathering data in maps customized to each end users and communicated throughnetworked files, an intranet or e-mail. The programs design presumes the majority of the people employing the systemare those who will both contribute to the group memory and consume information. It alsoassumes that knowledge is based on the information made actionable by having anappropriate context. The systems peer-to-peer model grants wide authority tocontribute and inform. The benefit of this approach are in its ability to increase thelikelihood that an organization will collect more useful information and the decrease incosts spent on collecting information that doesnt meet the needs of its users. CHANNELMANAGER 2.0 DataChannels ChannelManager 2.0, currently in beta, is a utility suite designed togather content and data from internal and external sources. The product utilizes pushtechnology to get the data to the users. Created with the assumption that the traditionalexecutive information system provided too little, too late for too much money, and thatoverloaded Webmasters couldnt compete with their existing schedule constrains,DataChannel Inc. designed this tool set around two major ideas. Premise #1 DataChannels product presumes that users should not have to be responsible forconverting documents to HTML in order to be shared, thus saving lag time. Premise #2 Secondly it presumes that all files to be shared, internal to the intranet or file system,or external over the Internet, should share a common location description. In this case,each has a URL, even if theyre on the file system. The goal of the ChannelManager 2.0 is not to store information in a centralrepository for record-keeping or historical use, but to turn available sources into uniquec hannels and distribute information in a timely and efficient manner to users who need it. BackWeb 4.0 BackWeb Technologies BackWeb 4.0 main area of strength is its to pushchannels of information to a wide range of desktop users. In its simplest form BackWebis a set of tools designed to gather information from any source, Internet news feeds,internal users, the network file system, or customer surveys and broadcast it to the userswho need it. BackWeb uses push channel technology as the mechanism to deliveremergent information in any file format. The goal of the product is to turn availablesources into channels and disseminate information on a timely basis to users who need it,as opposed to storing information in a central repository for record keeping. BackWeb incorporates a hierarchical delivery system. User access is controlled bya group of managers and administrators. An administrator gathers channels for specificusers or workgroups and creates a prepackaged profile of channels fo r their use. Afterthis has been accomplished the administrator publishes these to the target users, creatinga program users execute on their local machines, although once installed, changes madeto the workgroup by the administrator are automatically reflected in each users clientsoftware. BackWeb comes with over 500 preconfigured channels including Interneton-line journals and news feeds. CONCLUSION In this age of service driven industries, a companies most vital resource, in additionto their employees, is the information they gather in an effort to do their job and in aneffort to make their companies successful. Once a company has located the requiredinformation, they need a way to pull it out of various information repositories. Once theyhave all the information in place, they need to have the ability to figure out how to retrieveall the knowledge and discover relationships among various information they havecollected. To get knowledge and not just data, managers need to employ so me sort ofknowledge management systems technology. This makes a knowledge managementsystem in invaluable tool for companies wishing to be competitive in this information age. WORK CITED ____, Knowledge Equals Power, InfoWorld, Vol 19, Issue 46, 17 Nov 97: 116-9 Jeff Angus, Knowledge Management: Great ConceptBut What is it, Issue 673, 16Mar 98: 58 Justin Hibbard, Knowing What We Know, Information Week, Issue 653, 20 Oct 97:46-9 Computers and Internet Essays

Paintball The Safe Sport Essays - Paintball, Outdoor Recreation

Paintball: The Safe Sport So, your son, daughter, or husband is begging for your okay to buy the latest paintball equipment. It's surprising, but after only one or two trips to the paintball field, folks just get hooked! While you'd like to share their enthusiasm for the sport and give your much needed go ahead, you are concerned with your loved ones shooting paintballs at other players and being shot at. Don't feel like you're alone. These are common and serious concerns that deserve a thoughtful response. The following paragraphs will hopefully explain why our sport is the fastest growing sport in the world and that it doesn't have anything to do with people hurting one another. Paintball has had an astounding safety record. Medical and insurance statistics show that paintball is safer than bowling! This is a strong testimony to the game and they players who play it. Paintball is a safe sport as long as rules are followed. Insurance statistics also show that paintball is much safer than golf, jogging, downhill skiing, snow boarding, tennis, swimming and many other more common sports. Safety is highly stressed at most fields. The majority of fields require goggles be worn at all times unless in designated areas. In addition to this fields also require that barrel plugs (plastic inserts that prevent projectiles from leaving your gun's barrel) be used while players are in certain areas. Ignoring safety is a good way to get yourself ejected from a field. Men and women of all ages and life-styles play paintball in over 30 countries. From schoolteachers or high school students, professionals or technicians, all paintball players share a love for adventure and a strong competitive team spirit. Paintball is similar to the childhood games of tag and hide and seek, but much more challenging and sophisticated. There are various game formats. Usually, a group of players will divide into two teams to play capture the flag. The number of players on a team varies from four or five players, to as many as 100 players on each side, limited only by the size of the playing field. The object of the game is to capture the other team's flag while defending your own flag station. Players compete to eliminate opposing players by tagging them with a paintball expelled from an airgun. Games usually have a time limit of 20 to 45 minutes. Between 10 - 15 games are played during one day. Between games, players may check their equipment, reload paintballs or have a snack and share stories about the thrills of victory and the usually funny agonies of defeat. Win or lose, everyone has a great time! A paintball is a round, dime-sized gelatin capsule with colored liquid inside. Paintballs are similar to large round vitamin capsules or bath oil beads. The liquid is non-toxic, non-caustic, water-soluble, and biodegradable. It rinses out of clothing and off skin with mild soap and water. Paintballs come in a rainbow of colors. When a paintball tags a player, the gelatin ball opens and the liquid leaves a paint mark. A player who is marked is eliminated from the game. Paintball guns come in a variety of styles. Some are small stock pistols, powered by small 12-gram CO2 cartridges that need to be changed after 15 to 25 shots. Other paintball guns are rifle-like, with shoulder stocks and longer barrels. These are powered by larger, refillable CO2 cylinders that supply hundreds of shots. Some paintball guns are pump-actions. Each time you shoot, you must first cock the paintball gun by using a pump. Other paintball guns are semi-automatic, which re-cock automatically. Just squeeze the trigger! Paintballs won't hit hard enough to cause an injury as long as proper safety procedures are followed. Protective covering with multiple layers of clothing is recommended. To protect their eyes, all players must always wear approved-for-paintball goggles in every area where shooting is allowed, even at the target range. Barrel plugs are required anywhere off the playing field. Professional referees on the playing field control the games, enforce the rules of fair play, and monitor safety rules. Most paintball fields have a staff of trained referees that allows them to conduct several games simultaneously. Paintball is a sport where women and

CLK-1 Mutants and Aging essays

CLK-1 Mutants and Aging essays CLK-1 MUTANTS AND THEIR ROLE IN AGING Aging is a fact of life, it can be scary to watch yourself and those around you grow old. The idea of a mythical fountain of youth has enticed adventures from around the world for centuries. The idea has enchanted me since I had a conversation with my grandmother in which she stressed that the only thing that mattered in life at her age was health. So what causes the body to wither with age and is there anything that we can do to prolong the inevitable? There are many different causes of aging, all of which result in a decline in the bodies ability to function properly. Recent research has come up with several different ways to combat some of the major causes of the physical degeneration that is associated with growing old. Studies of long-lived mutant worms, yeast, and mice are useful tools in examining the processes that are involved in limiting/expanding the life span of organisms. Some of the most intriguing gene mutations known to increase life span are the daf-2, clk-1, and isp-1 which deal with the regulation and control of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). ROSs consist of molecules such as superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals, which cause extensive damage to biological macromolecules. This leads not only to many serious diseases, but also plays an important role in aging. The main source of ROS is in the mitochondria, where superoxide is produced during the process of electron transport and can give rise to other reactive species through reactions with detoxifying enzymes (1). More specifically is the production of ROS involved in processes dealing with the reduction and subsequent oxidation of the redox-active lipid Ubiquinone (UQ). Understanding the role that UQ plays in the Electron Transport Chain (ETC) helps to understand the complexity of ROS formation. The ETC consists of fou ...

Analyze and discuss the issues of music and authenticity in relation Essay - 1

Analyze and discuss the issues of music and authenticity in relation to two or three of the films - Essay Example In this movie, the audiovisual uses multiple communication channels including mainly: image, sound, verbal language (written or spoken). The sound acts directly on the senses of viewers, much more than the image and the verb. Its impact is much more subtle:   an image or a word provide immediate intellectual meaning and cause reactions largely conscious. Instead, this movie is largely beyond an intellectual analysis because its benchmarks are not palpable. The viewer receives it and reacts subjectively. The sound in this movie,   more than any other carrier, is handling affective and semantics means of an audiovisual message: images and words. There is a connection between a musical vocabulary, referring to aesthetic and sensory phenomena, and the vocabulary of everyday life, covering an ethical and intellectual reality of this time. Reconciling these two semantic universe can only afford to develop a specific speech and the music gives the tone to the speech in this movie, the m usic is in very tight collaboration with the sentences, with the environment, with the epoch. In the world of entertainment, the design of a musical message partially escapes its own creators: the intuition and experience offset the lack of a grammar of the language of music. The effectiveness of the message comes with a simple observation: "it works" or "it does not work†...

Analyze the statements of each speaker. What does each statement imply Essay

Analyze the statements of each speaker. What does each statement imply regarding their views on the following legal philosophica - Essay Example George Wallace was the 45th Governor of Alabama and he was strongly in favor of segregation laws. He held opposite opinions from Luther King Jr. on human rights and believed that it was right for white and colored men to be treated differently. His opinion on civil movements was also not pleasing for civil rights activist. He called for an end to these movements. King’s views on Legal Philosophical Issues Natural law is the law that is based on human inclination or nature (Rothbard, M. 2011). Positive laws are manmade laws that are based on the fact that human beings are not inherently moral or rational so laws are required to govern them. Martin Luther King considered natural law to be more legitimate than positive laws. King considered the positive laws of segregation to be incoherent with natural law of freedom and justice. He said â€Å"We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: ‘Fo r Whites Only.’† (Luther King Jr.). Segregation was supported by law and King argued against it because he thought it was against the natural laws of freedom. Luther King Jr. was of the opinion of St. Augustine that ‘unjust law is no law’ (MacDonald Jr. 2010). ... Law should be used to promote the common good as argued by King. He believed that it was our duty to follow the just laws. Just laws promote the common good among people by listening to the all groups of the society. He says in his speech â€Å"Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice† (Luther King Jr.). So he argues that laws should be changed. When he argues that laws should be changed he must believe that laws can be used to promote common good of the people. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in the non violent ways of protest. He was inspired by Gandhi and his philosophy of non violence. He believed that violence is not justified even if it is done to achieve a just claim. He said specifically â€Å"In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds† (Luther King Jr.). This clearly explains his non violent ideas. He strongly believed that harm done to people even in the course of protest for a just cause is not justified. The legal philosophy of King was to achieve the aims through peaceful protests and not physical violence. King viewed the role of autonomy to be great in determining aims of law. Autonomy was promised by the ancestors of America but this was not given to the black Americans. In his opinion aims of law were to promote autonomy but later on the society developed its own biases and prejudices. State intervention is argued by Stuart Mill but only in cases where a person inflicts harm or danger to the society (Dogan, A. 2006). King sees paternalism as undesirable as it hinders in achieving the aim of law and that is to promote freedom. Morality plays a role in determining aims of law according to Luther King Jr. The aims

The Contemporary American Dream Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Contemporary American Dream - Essay Example The development of suburbia ‘starts’ with a farewell to Rosie Riveter as transition from World War II to the suburbs of the 1950s. The female factory worker needed to be sucked back into the home to make way in the factories for the returning soldiers. This is brilliantly portrayed through the innovation of the television set, which played a large role in reinforcing to women the concept that their proper roles were those of wife and mother. Rosie is sucked into the screen, losing her wrench while the well-manicured lawns and white orderly house fronts of the suburbs can be seen below her as she is overwhelmed by the messages of TV advertisements and popular shows such as Leave it to Beaver. To be sure this point isn’t lost by the mural viewer, the stereotypical white suburban family can be seen standing behind the television. The rows of suburban houses are divided in the middle by a column of moving trucks, presumably bringing more blonde, blue-eyed suburban per fect families away from the distant city to the white-washed neighborhoods. Finally, a deep ditch separates these perfect neighborhoods from the poor, rural black people that pass by heading in the opposite direction in broken down cars and on bare feet heading into the city. They are allowed to look, but not to stop or stay. While the American Dream is being defined for and realized by the white people, the only hope of achieving it for the black people is to head into the inner city slums in the hopes of finding work.

The issue of global food security in the future

The issue of global food security in the future Introduction Food is a necessity for life, yet millions of people every day go without it, due to a lack of global food security. Food has been used for millenniums to bring people together, yet there are people in poverty every day that don’t know where their next meal is coming from. With the population steadily growing, now is a more important time than ever to eradicate hunger around the world. Description of the issue With the population set to have increased by more than 35% (Foley, 2014) in 2050, we will be faced with the reality of having to feed nine billion people. For this to be achievable, crop production would need to double, as it would have to significantly outpace population growth. With millions currently starving around the world, global food security doesn’t seem achievable. However, if we work together and are guided by the principles of human flourishing, the agriculture industry should be able to grow alongside our population, eventually resulting in food security for all. Reasons why this issue is one associated with social justice The United Nations (un.org, n.d.) defines social justice as â€Å"an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations. We uphold the principles of social justice when we promote gender equality or the rights of indigenous peoples and migrants. We advance social justice when we remove barriers that people face because of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture or disability†. Food stability is an issue associated with social justice due to the millions of people starving around the world every day because of a lack of access to food, or an inability to purchase it. Food is a necessity to live, and therefore should be available to all, regardless of geographic location, economic status, or any other disability. Stakeholders involved in this issue and analysis of their perspectives Scientific research and development bodies play a vital role in the issue of food security going forward. Global partnerships such as CGIAR work towards research for agricultural production in the developing world. Their aim is to â€Å"identify significant global development problems that science can help solve; collect and organize knowledge related to these development problems; develop research programs to fill the knowledge gaps to solve these development problems; catalyze and lead putting research into practice, and policies and institutions into place, to solve these development problems; lead monitoring and evaluation, share the lessons we learn and best practices we discover; conserve, evaluate and share genetic diversity; and strengthen skills and knowledge in agricultural research for development around the world† (CGIAR, n.d.). Through their aims, they hope to achieve four main goals: reduce rural poverty, improve food security, improve nutrition and health, and have sustainably managed natural resources. CGIAR believe that science can make radical changes to the current issue of food security, and it has been cited that â€Å"one dollar invested in CGIAR research results in about nine dollars in increased productivity in developing nations† (CGIAR, n.d.). Partnerships and bodies such as CGIAR want the current situation in regards to food security to change, as they realized that the present condition is neither sustainable, nor fair, and while it may not be easily fixed, scientific breakthroughs make the issue of food security appear to be one that can be solved. Farmers make up for 60% of the worlds population (apcentral.collegeboard.com, n.d.), yet they are constantly under threat from large corporations buying up their land. Many countries also face the issue of how to ensure increased efficiency in farming the land we already have, as Foley (2014) states â€Å"most of the land cleared for agriculture in the tropics does not contribute much to the world’s food security but is instead used to produce cattle, soybeans for livestock, timber, and palm oil. Avoiding further deforestation must be a top priority.† There are currently â€Å"yield gaps† between existing production levels and those possible in areas such as Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. â€Å"Using high-tech, precision farming systems, as well as approaches borrowed from organic farming, we could boost yields in these places several times over† (Foley, 2014), which is important in providing more food to the world, while not increasing the size of the agricultural footprint. If farmers were able to invest in these technologies, such as subsurface drip irrigation, cover crops, and mulches, there may be a high upfront cost, but they would be producing more, which would lead to them increasing their profit once the produce is sold. With a higher profit, these small farmers may be able to better stand their ground against large corporations. These methods of organic farming are also more environmentally friendly, which is important as issues such as climate change have a large impact on agriculture. While it is often believed that small farmers are better, putting more heart and soul into what they do, there is still a role for multinational agribusinesses in the road towards food security. Many of these businesses, such as Monsanto, have been working to develop products, and methods to help farmers grow more on the land they have. Agribusinesses work closely with the scientific research and development bodies, as they are often the largest investors. Companies, like Monsanto, have spent millions on developing agricultural innovations in key areas, such as breeding, where they select the more desirable traits from existing plants; biotechnology, where they add these beneficial traits into the DNA of another plant; integrated farming systems (IFS), which helps farmers utilise the resources they have for maximum yield, while reducing the amount of wasted resources; and chemistry, where studies are done to minimise environmental impact of herbicides, while still protecting crops from pests (Monsanto.com, n.d.). Companies like Monsanto recognise that they need to invest further in agriculture, as the lack of food security means that they are being badly perceived, and largely blamed, due to their for-profit nature, and their use of terminator genes in their seeds, leaving a heavy financial burden on farmers, as they are unable to use the seeds again for next year. Many foods are already genetically modified, but Monsanto’s lack of ethical boundaries in doing so (such as the terminator gene to boost their profits, and crops that will only work in conjunction with their other products to gain and to capture a captive market), has resulted in public outcry against the corporation worldwide. Protest against the company has come from all corners of the globe, not just the United States, and Australia, as it is the farmers in the developing world that are most effected. These sort of issues need to be addressed if we are to produce enough food for the growing population, as all farmland ne eds to be utilised efficiently, not just those farmers who can afford it. Analysis of the issue in relation to the common good and the principles of human flourishing The common good can be defined as benefiting everybody in the world. Human flourishing comes from the Greek word eudemonia, which is a core idea to Aristotelian philosophy. It promotes the idea that by working together, and finding meaning in our lives, we will flourish as a whole. The principles of human flourishing guide us in ways we can work together and find the meaning we need to achieve this. Global food security is an issue affecting the word, where the current injustice of the many people left malnourished needs to be responded to at a global level. The common good urges us to work together in collaboration to take responsibility for those around us, and pursue conditions in which we can achieve a life that is good for all, not just a majority. In order to achieve this, we must fight against injustices, such as Monsanto’s mistreatment of small farmers, at both local and global levels. Charity organizations can only do so much to help, and promoting the common good often challenges many current social values, and social structures that allow these injustices to take place without government interference. The main principles of human flourishing relating to the issue of food security is: the dignity of the human person, preferential option for the poor, stewardship of creation, and solidarity. The dignity of the human person is an important principle in food security, as it promotes the rights of those who may not be able to bring attention to their needs themselves. Avocation is important, as it is often those who need the most help that are unable to ask for it. Many small farmers in Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe are struggling to produce enough food, not just for global consumption, but also for themselves. Due to their nature as small farmers and not multination businesses, their voice isn’t often heard when speaking out against the problems in the agriculture industry worldwide, such as Monsanto’s use of terminator genes in their seeds, which further disadvantages the poor. The poor cannot afford to keep buying new seeds every season, often relying on the seeds gathered from last season to replant. This keeps costs low for small farmers, and allows them to increase their profit margin. Monsanto’s use of the terminator gene means that the seeds can only be used once, and often only used when combined with other Monsanto products. Monsanto has been suffering public backlash over these issues for years as a result. A preferential option for the poor would see governments and not-for-profit organizations providing resources, such as non-genetically modified seed, or fertilizer, to these smaller farmers, allowing them to kick start their production. This would utilize the land already cleared for farming, and reduce environmental impact as well. Stewardship of creation is the principle of looking after the planet. Agriculture has already lead to â€Å"an area roughly the size of South America† (Foley, 2014) being cleared for crops, and even more land â€Å"roughly the size of Africa† (Foley, 2014) has been cleared as pastureland for livestock. This has resulted in the loss of whole ecosystems, and is not sustainable. Particularly with the rise of global warming, deforestation is not an option. In order for us to maintain the planet for future generations, we must use the land we have available more efficiently so we can still produce enough to provide food security. It is our responsibility to care for the planet, so it can care for us in return. Solidarity is the principle that it is our responsibility to care for each other across racial, economic, cultural, national, and ideological differences, while promoting rights for every person. In order to accommodate their needs, we must first recognize that everybody is different; while there are people starving in developing nations around the world, there are also many homeless and hungry people right here in Sydney that require our help. Their needs may differ greatly, despite their common problem of a shortage of food. Solidarity is recognizing those abroad, as well as those at home, and working towards global food security together. A proposed resolution for realising the common good In order to reach global food security by 2050, we must take steps now to be able to achieve the common good. With scientific developments, we are able to better develop the land we already have available, allowing us to produce more without further damaging the environment. By utilising high-tech farming systems, we can work towards reducing the yield gaps we currently have, boosting the output from these areas, as well as providing a much more reliable source of income to these small farmers. With the scientific research and developments that have taken, and are currently taking place, small farmers are able to better understand the best ways to work their land, not only to create a higher yield, but also to save and use resources more efficiently. This helps the environment, as up to 70% of water is used in agriculture, and also saves the small farmers money. A big part of realising the common good is understanding our part in it on an individual scale as well. We may not be scientists or farmers, but by participating in actively changing our diet, we, too, can help global food security be achievable by 2050. As Foley (2014) states, â€Å"for every 100 calories of grain we feed animals, we get only about 40 new calories of milk, 22 calories of eggs, 12 of chicken, 10 of pork, or 3 of beef. Finding more efficient ways to grow meat and shifting to less meat-intensive diets—even just switching from grain-fed beef to meats like chicken, pork, or pasture-raised beef—could free up substantial amounts of food across the world†. Conclusion Global food security is an issue that affects us all. Agriculture is one of the oldest and largest industries in the world, but it still has a long way to go before it is able to cater for the growing population. However, the issue has been recognised, and together, we are working towards eliminating hunger, and providing food security by 2050.

Wind Power Versus Hydroelectric Power: Which is Better for the Environ

The energy produced and created by using the kinetic energy which comes from the wind naturally is known as the wind power. Wind power is the technology to catch the energy gained with movement, kinetic energy, and change this energy into electrical power which is useful in many places, such as households throughout the nation. Wind power can be produced by using a device called wind electric turbine. Several huge blades, about 30 feet long, are placed on each wind turbine. While wind passes through the blades, the wind with kinetic energy makes the blades to turn. The movement of blades makes a shaft inside the turbine to be in motion as well with the same velocity of the blades. This work turns the kinetic energy into rotational energy which will be stored into a generator located at the bottom of the turbine. After the rotational energy is kept in the generator, this energy is changed into electrical energy. Finally, the electrical energy is removed into the electrical plant for s torage by the power lines until the communities are in need of energy. Referring the process, systems, structures, and equipment that help with conversion between kinetic energy and the pressure energy of flowing water into electrical energy is known as hydroelectric power. Hydroelectric skill became a leading force of development in the living standard during the electrical age. During the Industrial Revolution, hydro mechanical technology was developed based on simple water wheels from ancient times. The method, conversion of flowing water to electricity, is known as very environmental process because no waste is created during energy generation. Many hydroelectric power plants depend on the same similar basic rule as a historical water wheel. Howe... ...tion or loss of fish habitat, and inundation of wildlife habitat and land in some cases. There could be changes in stream water quality and reservoir in some cases as well. Although both wind power and hydroelectric power have some disadvantages, I believe wind power is more useful than hydroelectric power because wind power will not produce any pollutants while hydroelectric power produces few minimal pollution. Also, hydroelectric power plant needs high investment costs, so this device cannot be built by the developing countries. On the other hand, the cost of wind power is decreasing because of better generation techniques and technology improvements, so the wind power will become increasingly feasible as a main source of mechanical power and electricity. I believe the device that can be built by everyone is more likely to reduce global warming problems faster.