My Own Sona Essay Example

My Own Sona Essay Good Afternoon everyone. Thank you, speaker Dela Cruz, Senate President Macaso, Senators, Representatives, Vice President Emma Santos, President Samson, Chief Justice Legarda, Ambassadors, friends: Before I became president I have notice that millions of people had lost there jobs, products got more expensive, corruption was not stopped, people with crime did not get justice, so I am standing here today in front of all you people to share all of my proposals and promises to make this country a better place. For the past years many politicians or leaders of the government had requested over budgets for there projects of there own towns and cities. After they finish there projects, where does the extra money go? It goes into there pockets. Isn’t this a crime? Stealing money from the money of the people? I promise to you this corruption will stop and everyone will receive justice. I have received many complains about rough and broken roads on there streets, but what did the past leaders do, they spent the country’s budget on unnecessary uses like expensive dinners instead of making cement concrete roads and streets. We will write a custom essay sample on My Own Sona specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on My Own Sona specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on My Own Sona specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer I shall put a stop to this and spend our budget more wisely. Last year when typhoon Daisy hit the Philippines many people were stranded on the tops of the roofs of there houses begging for help, but the government wasn’t prepared to save those people with only 6 motor boats. My fellow country men we should learn from our mistakes or learn from the mistakes of others. We shall not let this happen again. I shall request calamity safety equipment worth 35 million pesos for; if this incident ever happens again we shall be prepared. For there is nothing to fear if you are prepared. For our medical assistance I shall request medical equipment and vaccines of AH2N1, Chicken pox and other medicines against any deadly diseases so whenever a flu or sickness will hit our country there will be nothing to fear. And also I decided to make the senior citizens discount bigger to 25 percent for cheaper medicine and materials, I hope this will be enough help for our elderly love ones From the most recent calamities of typhoon Ding many schools were damaged, so am I am approving 1. billion pesos to build new schools all over the country. I will also provide jobs for new teachers. I shall put a stop to the increasing of prices of electricity, water, and products that are sold at the grocery stores and supermarkets. For I see that there are many Pilipinos who ara having a hard time having money management. We shall put the stop of buying/importing to much/sobra sobra rice from other countries like Vietnam and China for, because buying to much is just a waste for the rice just spoils when it is not consumed at time. I know at my first term as president I have only a few proposals, but I belive this is big step to help improve our country. Our country is facing a big challenge right now, and the future is in our hands. So come and lets help one another. And to the people of our good country, thank you for allowing me to serve as your president. Maraming salamat po. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!!!

Participation in Physical Education

Participation in Physical Education Free Online Research Papers This study will explore factors that may contribute to the level of participation in physical education classes. Previous research has shown that attractiveness to classmates plays a role in the exertion level of students. With exercise becoming an increasingly important component of our daily lives, it is essential individuals get as much as possible out of a class. That is why we must find what circumstances can best benefit the physical education classroom setting. (Remers, Widmeyer, Williams Myers 1995) found that large classes are heavily favored over medium size classes. The study was of college physical education classes. This study showed that there were several reasons that larger classes were preferred over medium classes; attractiveness to classmates and better group cohesion was among the top. Two other reasons that they did not expect to find were noise level and lower expectations. The noise level results were not expected because logic would tell you that the medium size class would have a lower noise level. Lower expectations in a larger class makes sense, but hardly seems like a good reason to prefer a large class to a medium one. In contrast to (Remers, Widmeyer, Williams Myers 1995), which found larger classes to be a benefit, (McKenzie, Marshal, Sallis Conway, 2000) found that among junior high school student’s larger class sizes actually had a negative affect. The larger classes had lower involvement. This study also compared activity levels to national guidelines. In (McKenzie, Marshal, Sallis Conway, 2000) boys were found to be more active than girls in all areas, which include skill drills, game play, and free play. The weekly totals of 25 minutes of vigorous activity and 83 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity were well below national objectives. Similarly to (McKenzie, Marshal, Sallis Conway, 2000), (Sit Linder, 2006) found that males have a higher activity level than females. However, this study looked at both recreational and competitive sports. This study examined situational state balances and motives for sport activity participation. The group was competitive or recreational sports participants 14-20 years of age. The study found seven motivational factors: status, team/friend, excitement/challenge, skill, energy release, fitness, and situational factors. They assessed that male and competitive sport participants were more influenced by these seven motivational factors than females and recreational participants. In another study (Cardon, Verstraete, Clercq, Bourdeaudhuij, 2004) swimming and non-swimming classes were compared for activity level. Children 8-12 years of age were put in two classes, swimming and non-swimming. The student participation level in the swimming class was higher. Their moderate-to-vigorous activity level during swimming was 52% while non-swimming only produced 40%. The author made the point that for this reason swimming should be included in physical education classes. However, both classes were still below the national standards for activity level. Group cohesion and individual adherence to physical activity has also been studied. Two areas were examined separately (Carron, 1988). The first area tried to link cohesiveness to adherence behavior in both organized sports and classrooms (Carron, 1988). The second examined individual perception of group cohesion to tardiness in recreation participants (Carron, 1988). Both studies concluded that group cohesion plays a role in individual adherence behavior. The results were the same for styles including fitness classes, recreational sports teams, and even elite sports teams. In one secondary article by, (*Lottes, 1996), the focus was on how to reduce class size to increase student involvement. It was reported students do not feel comfortable in a normal health class because enrollment is too high. This is an area in which students express anxiety talking in front of the class. Gettysburg College decided to lower class size to around 15 as opposed to the 30-35 averages. They did not have enough faculty members to cover the class, so they had to sign on extra help in the form of volunteers, coaches, and even a foreign language professor. Faculty took sections of the health class that they had the most experience with. This system worked and students became much more relaxed and involved. This supports the idea that smaller classes are a benefit to physical education. (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research 2005) studied third grade classrooms in academic courses, which used whole group activity. Teacher behavior and classroom climate were only slightly correlated with class size or teacher experience. Student engagement was found to be higher when more instructional and emotional support was given. Positive class environment and teacher sensitivity had a significant impact on the children. Participation was minimally affected by class size, but teacher involvement had a large influence. Sticking with the elementary level and influences of participation, (Finn Pannozzo, 2004) looked at kindergarten classes for engagement and learning behaviors for the class and for individual students. The areas of full or half day, class size, and whether teacher aid was present were variables. Class behavior was largely influenced by length of day (half day was better behaved) and class size (small classes were better behaved). Student aids were not a factor in behavior. Individual student behavior was not significantly correlated to class size or length of day. The purpose of this research is to examine internal and external factors that affect participation and attendance in fitness style physical education classes. Exploring this plays a vital role in understanding what is most beneficial for the students. Finding these factors can lead to a better understanding in those areas. I intend to explore the areas of class size and type of class. Since I am manipulating the size and type of class this would be considered the independent variable. The participation level and attendance are the dependent variables. The study will involve three class sizes and three different types of classes. These three classes will be fitness walking, jogging, and mini marathon training. These classes all have a different level of expected participation and exertion because they all require different paces and distances. I expect this to influence the results in our previously mentioned categories. Recent studies have shown that there are several reasons participation level is affected. Those that have already been addressed are age, sex, race, and types of classes. Studies have already shown that large classes are preferred over medium classes. The rationale behind this is better class cohesion, more attractiveness to classmates and lower expectations of both the class and instructor. This has contributed to higher overall satisfaction and higher exertion rates. However, I want to explore the affects of small, medium, and large classes and the differences they present. I suspect that small classes may have a positive affect on participation and exertion. I also want to further explore the theory of larger classes being more desirable than medium classes. Participants and Design My hypothesis is that smaller classes will have a higher participation level and better attendance than medium and large classes. Also, higher intensity classes will have higher participation level and better attendance than medium and low intensity classes. Three class sizes were used: a small class (10-15 people), a medium class (26-40), and large class (60 plus). There also will be three different types of physical education classes. These classes are fitness walking, jogging, and mini marathon training. These classes are open to all students; thus, there is no way to equally distribute the classes based on gender, age, or demographic data. Measures This research will take place during the spring 2007 semester. Participants will not know they are being examined until the last week of the semester. However, they will be given a questionnaire in their first and last week of class. The first questionnaire will ask questions about their expectations in the class. This will include level of exertion, attendance, energy level of instructor, one on one time, and various other questions relating to expectations. The questionnaire handed out on the last week of class will ask a lot of the same questions, but whether their expectations in the class were met. Questions concerning the professor’s preparation, amount of time given in class to be active, activities, and classmates will all be addressed. This form will also involve questions where the students can recommend areas of improvement. These questionnaires will be on a seven point Likert scale ranging from never (1) to always (7). There will be three instructors taking part. Each will teach all three class sizes in their area of expertise. Expertise is based on types of classes the instructor has taught in the past. Participants will be analyzed by the student’s attendance and quantity of participation. Quantity of participation will be based on how long the class is given to exercise that day and how long each participant is involved in the daily activity. For instance if the participant walks for 20 minutes and the instructor has assigned them 30 minutes to be active they have a quantity of participation of 67%. This information will be evaluated and graphed. The different classes and sizes will then be compared to see which size and activity level is best suited for secondary education classes. This information should give us knowledge of what we need to provide students so they are able to get more from the physical education classroom setting. The number of students in each class has already defined class size. Attendance taken by the instructor was averaged out for the entire class. Each class has a mean and a standard deviation. Quantity of participation was a formula figured by dividing the number of minutes active by the number of minutes the instructor gave students to be active. This number would be in decimal form and then would be converted to a percentage. Two researchers were to watch each class. After the class was over the researchers would compare their results. They would have to come to an agreement on 90% of one class before continuing to the next class. Procedures Participants were signed up for fitness walking, jogging, or mini marathon training through a university physical education class. Depending on which class participants enrolled in they could be in a class of 10-15 students, 26-40 students or 60 plus students. During each class students would be given a daily exercise routine. The students would exercise for the remaining time after the instructor explained the routine. On the first day of class instructors told the students that participation is a significant part of the grade. They went over the course syllabus and made them aware of their expectations. The instructors also told the students that they would be observed closely to see how much effort they are putting forth. However, the instructors did not tell the students that they are being observed as part of a research project. The students were not made aware of the experiment until the last day of class when they were asked to fill out their second questionnaire. It was then that I asked each student to sign a consent form for his or her results to be shared. If a student chose not to sign the form his or her information was discarded (30 participants were eliminated from the study). Participants (N=318) that met all guidelines were 55% female. Also, 48.5% were Caucasian, 25.4% African-American, 17.6% Latin American, 6.4% Asian, and 3.1% Muslim. Ages ranged from 18-36 years of a ge (M=25.7 and SD 3.48). Figure 2 on page 17 shows participants that were included or excluded from results. Figure 3 on page 17 shows a more detailed look at the age range of participants. Each class was observed by two of the six researchers. Two researchers were assigned to all sizes of a specific class (fitness walking, jogging, or mini marathon training). Since the areas where the classes took place are not closed during use, the researchers were easily able to sit in. The researchers sat in on random days and had two tasks when sitting in on a class. The first task was to observe whether any outside factors were manipulating their data. Factors could include bad weather, instructors’ participation, or a disruptive student. If it was found a certain class had outside influences that class would be disregarded. The second task was to measure the quantity of participation of each student. Since this category is determined by amount of time spent doing the activity divided by the number of time given to do the activity, it was an easy equation to figure. Each researcher was assigned to watch the whole class. They calculated their results separate ly during the class. The researchers then compared one class at a time and had to agree on 95% of that class before continuing. Grades and attendance were kept by the instructor and were not needed until the end of the semester. Each researcher was a graduate assistant who has taught at the university level. These instructors have all taught these three types of classes before. Since they have taught these classes they know what is expected of the instructor and the students. In addition each of these researchers has taken part in prior research and is familiar with collecting and analyzing data. Data Analysis I have visually inspected my data for outliers and non-linear relationships. There was no data that was outside the normal scores. All students involved in the research were well within the expected area. Probability levels were set at .05. A series of one-way ANOVA was the process used to analyze data. Figures 4-7 located on pages 17 18 are each one-way ANOVA ran. These ANOVA’s include comparing 1. Attendance in small classes to medium and large classes, 2. Participation in small classes to medium and large classes, 3. Attendance in high intensity classes to low and medium intensity classes, and 4. Participation in high intensity classes to low and medium intensity classes. The group means were found in both attendance and quantity of participation. Both categories were based on three class sizes and three class types. The questionnaires will also be scored to see what other factors students felt influenced their participation and attendance. Results I wanted to find possible factors influencing participation in physical education classes. The areas I wanted to study were class size and class type. With the study we have conducted we can break these categories down individually. Participation and attendance were not influenced by either category. Figure 1 on page 16 shows the quantity of participation. Participation was evaluated in the three different class types as well as the three different sizes. The nine totals are grouped by type of class and a color is give to each class size. Results found that class type does have an influence on participation. The mini marathon class had the highest participation followed by jogging and finally walking. The data also showed that class size influenced participation. In all three types of activities small class size (10-15) had the highest level of participation followed by large classes (60+). Medium classes (26-40) finished last. The data that was conducted reached a .83 level Table 1 on page 16 shows the absences for each of the nine classes. The absences are presented by the mean and a standard deviation is provided to show the curve. The results are similar to the finding of the quantity of participation graph. The mini marathon classes on average had fewer absences, followed by jogging, and finally walking. Absences were also the lowest in smaller classes. Larger classes were second and medium classes were third. The data collected for this reached a .91 level. A relationship between class type and class size could impact participation. Results supported higher activity type classes. In the table results attendance was lowest in smaller classes and highest in medium classes. For instance, not only is quantity of participation higher in mini marathon than walking, but in small classes versus medium classes as well. Combining these two factors shows that quantity of participation is even more significant between small mini marathon classes and medium walking classes. The same results are found for attendance. Class size and class type were both factors that contribute to attendance. Class size found students of small classes to be more likely to attend class followed by large and medium classes respectively. Class type found that students in the more active classes were more likely to attend class. Class size and class type were also factors in quantity of participation. Results showed smaller classes had a higher quantity of participation followed by large classes and medium classes respectively. Class type showed that more active classes had a higher quantity of participation. Figure 8 on page 18 (class intensity) and figure 9 on page 19 (class size) show the mean and standard deviation of attendance and participation. The questionnaires revealed some other potential factors that should be included in future research. In the questionnaire given prior to the start of the semester students identified the instructors preparation, instructors expectations, and group cohesion as the three main factors that could influence their participation and attendance in class. However, at the end of the semester a final questionnaire was given and the students revealed attractiveness to classmates, group cohesion, and student’s expectations to be the three factors that contributed to their own participation and attendance. Discussion The purpose of this study is to find potential factors that contribute to participation in physical education classes. Results found that participation and attendance could be affected by class size and class intensity. This study had two purposes. The first was to compare attendance and participation in smaller classes to medium and large classes. In our study smaller classes did have better attendance and higher participation than both medium and large classes. The second was to compare attendance and participation in high intensity classes to medium and low intensity classes. In our study high intensity classes did have better attendance and higher participation. My findings had a different result than (Remers, Widmeyer, Williams Myers 1995) because they concluded that larger classes are the best setting for physical education classes. My results show smaller classes to be the most favorable. However, just like (Remers, Widmeyer, Williams Myers 1995) my research did show that large classes are preferred over medium sized classes. My research found intensity level to be a factor. (Cardon, Verstraete, Clercq, Bourdeaudhuij, 2004) concluded that swimming classes are beneficial to physical education because the high intensity level raises participation. My study also found that high intensity classes have higher participation. A study in physical education classes, (Carron, 1988), found group cohesion to be a factor in participation. In my questionnaires, both before and after the study, students identified group cohesion as one of the top three motivational factor of participation. (Carron, 1988) found adherence to exercise to the other main factor, but this was not listed by any student on either of the two questionnaires. This studied showed that participants in physical education prefer smaller class sizes. In small classes both attendance and participation level were higher than in medium and larger classes. This is important for university physical education departments and instructors because they can go into a class having a better idea of what to expect. If staffed properly universities can focus on smaller classes in order for the experience to be more effective for students. This study also showed participants performed better in high intensity classes. In high intensity classes attendance and participation was higher than low and medium intensity classes. Universities can also use this information to have a better understanding going into a class. They can plan a more vigorous routine in the high intensity classes because the student’s expectations of these classes are higher. The combination of small classes and high intensity classes show even greater attendance and participation. This is key for instructors to plan the semester and to have legitimate expectations for the class. Group cohesion, instructor’s preparation, instructor’s expectations, student’s expectations and attractiveness to classmates have all been identified by participants to be other key factors in attendance and participation. The more factors that an instructor can facilitate can help keep the students involved. The goal of this study was to find factors that could influence participation. Using what we have learned could contribute to a higher student satisfaction. Higher satisfaction can lead to better health. Limitations to my study could include design and selection of participants. The design could be limited because I did not account for participant exertion. I measured the participation level by taking the time spent working out by the time given to work out. However, I did not test to see how hard each participant was working out. It could be possible that most participants were working at a low level of exertion. The selection process could also influence the results. Since this was a physical education class I could not decide for myself who would be involved. It was just a matter of who signed up for what class. If I would have controlled the environment results could be different. Joining a class with a friend, year in school, and major course of study could all be possible influences in participation. Since I did not account for this there is no way of knowing if it was a factor. In my research classes were limited to a walking/running type format. Different types of classes such as weight training or a particular sport might yield different results. If the researcher can find a proper way to calculate the participant’s exertion rate this should be done. Future research should take demographics and schooling into consideration. Age, sex, race, anthropometrics, year in school and major course of study are all factors that could influence participation in physical education classes. Exploring these areas could lead to a better understanding of student engagement. Exploring attendance and participation based on class size and intensity level yielded useful results. Both class size and intensity levels are factors that contribute to attendance and participation. Students could benefit from smaller and higher intensity classes. Using this information is key to benefiting the student. With a more positive environment to work in students are more likely to return. They are also more likely to sign up for future classes. This could improve the health of many people. References Cardon, G., Verstraete, S., De Clercq, D., De Bourdeaudhuij.I. (2004). Physical activity levels in elementary-school physical education: A comparison of swimming and non-swimming classes. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 23, 252-263. Carron, A. (1988). Group cohesion and individual adherence to physical activity. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 10, 127-138. Finn, J., Pannozzo, G.M. (2004). Class organization and student behavior in kindergarten. Journal of Educational Research, 98, 79-92. *Lottes, C.R. (1996). Reducing class size to reduce student involvement. The Pennsylvania Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Dance, 66, 18-19. McKenzie, T.J., Marshall S.J., Sallis, J.F., Conway, T.C. (2000). Student activity levels, lessons context, and teacher behavior during middle school physical education. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 71, 249-260. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network (2005). A day in third grade: A large scale study of classroom quality and teacher and student behavior. The Elementary School Journal, 105, 305-323. Remers, L., Widmeyer, W.N., Williams, J.M., Myers, L. (1995). Possible mediators and moderators of the class size-member adherence relationship in exercise. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 7, 38-49. Sit, C.H.P., Linder K.J. (2006). Situational state balances and participation motivation in youth sport: A Reversal Theory Perspective. The British Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 369-384. Research Papers on Participation in Physical EducationStandardized TestingThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesResearch Process Part OneEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductHip-Hop is ArtPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyPETSTEL analysis of India

Sauropods - The Biggest Dinosaurs

Sauropods - The Biggest Dinosaurs Think of the word dinosaur, and two images are likely to come to mind: a snarling Velociraptor hunting for grub, or a giant, gentle, long-necked Brachiosaurus lazily plucking the leaves off the tops of trees. In many ways, the sauropods (of which Brachiosaurus was a prominent example) are more fascinating than famous predators like Tyrannosaurus Rex or Spinosaurus. By far the largest terrestrial creatures ever to roam the earth, sauropods branched into numerous genera and species over the course of 100 million years, and their remains have been dug up on every continent, including Antarctica. (See a gallery of sauropod pictures and profiles.) So what, exactly, is a sauropod? Some technical details aside, paleontologists use this word to describe large, four-legged, plant-eating dinosaurs possessing bloated trunks, long necks and tails, and tiny heads with comparably small brains (in fact, sauropods may have been the dumbest of all the dinosaurs, with a smaller encephalization quotient than even stegosaurs or ankylosaurs). The name sauropod itself is Greek for lizard foot, which oddly enough counted among these dinosaurs least intuitive traits. As with any broad definition, though, there are some important buts and howevers. Not all sauropods had long necks (witness the oddly truncated Brachytrachelopan), and not all were the size of houses (one recently discovered genus, Europasaurus, seems to have only been about the size of a large ox). On the whole, though, most of the classical sauropodsfamiliar beasts like Diplodocus and Apatosaurus (the dinosaur previously known as Brontosaurus)followed the sauropod body plan to the Mesozoic letter. Sauropod Evolution As far as we know, the first true sauropods (such as Vulcanodon and Barapasaurus) arose about 200 million years ago, during the early to middle Jurassic period. Preceding, but not directly related to, these plus-sized beasts were smaller, occasionally bipedal prosauropods (before the sauropods) like Anchisaurus and Massospondylus, which were themselves related to the earliest dinosaurs. (In 2010, paleontologists unearthed the intact skeleton, complete with skull, of one of the earliest true sauropods, Yizhousaurus, and another candidate from Asia, Isanosaurus, straddles the Triassic/Jurassic boundary.) Sauropods reached the peak of their eminence toward the end of the Jurassic period, 150 million years ago. Fully grown adults had a relatively easy ride, since these 25- or 50-ton behemoths would have been virtually immune to predation (although its possible that packs of Allosaurus might have ganged up on an adult Diplodocus), and the steamy, vegetation-choked jungles covering most of the Jurassic continents provided a steady supply of food. (Newborn and juvenile sauropods, as well as sick or aged individuals, would of course have made prime pickings for hungry theropod dinosaurs.) The Cretaceous period saw a slow slide in sauropod fortunes; by the time the dinosaurs as a whole went extinct 65 million years ago, only lightly armored but equally gigantic titanosaurs (such as Titanosaurus and Rapetosaurus) were left to speak for the sauropod family. Frustratingly, while paleontologists have identified dozens of titanosaur genera from around the world, the lack of fully articulated fossils and the rarity of intact skulls means that much about these beasts is still shrouded in mystery. We do know, however, that many titanosaurs possessed rudimentary armor platingclearly an evolutionary adaptation to predation by large carnivorous dinosaursand that the biggest titanosaurs, like Argentinosaurus, were even bigger than the biggest sauropods. Sauropod Behavior and Physiology As befitting their size, sauropods were eating machines: adults had to scarf down hundreds of pounds of plants and leaves every day in order to fuel their enormous bulk. Depending on their diets, sauropods came equipped with two basic kinds of teeth: either flat and spoon-shaped (as in Camarasaurus and Brachiosaurus), or thin and peglike (as in Diplodocus). Presumably, spoon-toothed sauropods subsisted on tougher vegetation that required more powerful methods of grinding and chewing. Reasoning by analogy with modern giraffes, most paleontologists believe sauropods evolved their ultra-long necks in order to reach the high leaves of trees. However, this raises as many questions as it answers  since pumping blood to a height of 30 or 40 feet would strain even the biggest, most robust heart. One maverick paleontologist has even suggested that the necks of some sauropods contained strings of auxiliary hearts, kind of like a Mesozoic bucket brigade, but lacking solid fossil evidence, few experts are convinced. This brings us to the question of whether sauropods were warm-blooded, or cold-blooded like modern reptiles. Generally, even the most ardent advocates of warm-blooded dinosaurs back off when it comes to sauropods  since simulations show that these oversized animals would have baked themselves from the inside, like potatoes, if they generated too much internal metabolic energy. Today, the prevalence of opinion is that sauropods were cold-blooded homeothermsthat is, they managed to maintain a near-constant body temperature because they warmed up very slowly during the day and cooled off equally slowly at night. Sauropod Paleontology Its one of the paradoxes of modern paleontology that the largest animals that ever lived have left the most incomplete skeletons. While bite-sized dinosaurs like Microraptor tend to fossilize all in one piece, complete sauropod skeletons are rare on the ground. Further complicating matters, sauropod fossils are often found without their heads, because of an anatomical quirk in how these dinosaurs skulls were attached to their necks (their skeletons were also easily disarticulated, that is, trampled to pieces by living dinosaurs or shaken apart by geological activity). The jigsaw-puzzle-like nature of sauropod fossils has tempted paleontologists into a fair number of blind alleys. Often, a gigantic tibia will be advertised as belonging to an entirely new genus of sauropod, until its determined (based on more complete analysis) to belong to a plain old Cetiosaurus. (This is the reason the sauropod once known as Brontosaurus is today called Apatosaurus: Apatosaurus was named first, and the dinosaur subsequently called Brontosaurus turned out to be a, well, you know.) Even today, some sauropods linger under a cloud of suspicion; many experts believe that Seismosaurus was really an unusually large Diplodocus, and proposed genera like Ultrasauros have been pretty much discredited altogether. This confusion about sauropod fossils has also resulted in some famous confusion about sauropod behavior. When the first sauropod bones were discovered, well over one hundred years ago, paleontologists believed they belonged to ancient whalesand for a few decades, it was fashionable to picture Brachiosaurus as a semi-aquatic creature that roved lake bottoms and stuck its head out of the surface of the water to breathe! (an image that has helped fuel pseudo-scientific speculation about the true provenance of the Loch Ness Monster).

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Research Paper

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Research Paper Example During these prolonged incidents of best rest, elderly adults incur an increased risk for pressure ulcers. Other chronic conditions also present a similar risk of prolonged bed rest including osteoarthritis and cancer. This issue is being reviewed because pressure ulcers are preventable conditions, especially if the adequate nursing management remedies are in place. There are, however, factors or issues which impact on the management of pressure ulcers. This review now, therefore, seeks to evaluate the effective management of pressure ulcers among elderly patients with chronic diseases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2011), about 160,000 nursing home residents have had pressure ulcers, with Stage 2 pressure ulcer being the most common affliction. Residents who were more than 64 years of age were also likely to suffer from this issue and those who have had shorter hospital stays (one year or less) were also more likely to suffer from pressure ulcers, as c ompared to those who have stayed in nursing homes for longer durations (CDC, 2011). About one in five of these elderly patients with pressure ulcers have gone through weight loss and about 30% of these residents had to receive special wound care services for their health issue. In general, pressure ulcers are attributed to unrelieved pressure on the skin and often develop over bony protrusions. They are also serious medical issues and a common issue encountered among patients in nursing homes. About 2-28% of nursing home elderly patients are suffering from pressure ulcers and these ulcers are graded from stage 1 to stage 4 depending on the range of skin breakage seen on the ulcers. In about 1.5 million nursing home patients, 160,000 have been diagnosed with pressure ulcers at one point during their residence.

Risk managment and insurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Risk managment and insurance - Essay Example Lencsis (1997) argues that the promotion of insurance solvency is the most vital goal of insurance regulation. It is of great importance to the regulators since it makes the outcome of insurance transactions certain and predictable. This is because, predictable results are the essence of insurance. As a result, the maintenance and promotion of the solvency of the insurer are at the regulators heart. The other explanation in this respect is that individuals insured are not capable of protecting themselves in respect of insurance transactions. This is due to the fact that insurance is more than a contingent promise that is to be provided in the future. As such, the promise is worth a company standing before it. Typically, a consumer cannot monitor or evaluate the solvency of an insurance company. Furthermore, insurance accounting and actuarial procedures are difficult and complicated, thus requiring a regulator to monitor the solvency of the insurance companies on behalf of the public (Lencsis, 1997). The other importance in respect of solvency regulation is that it ensures that the public is protected in case the insurance company becomes insolvent. Lencsis (1997) notes that the state of insolvency of an insurance company may cause a lot of tribulations and massive losses to the insured entities. Insurance solvency regulation is also of importance to the regulator especially with regard to life insurance, and to some extent property insurance, since they are responsible for sizable amounts of insured savings. Therefore, since the insurers’ operations parallel fiduciary operations, solvency regulation must be regulated for public interest (Lencsis, 1997). The solvency of an insurance company is very important to the regulators as it protects the insured from unscrupulous dealers and insurance companies that may become

Transcendentalism Through The Political Thought Of Emerson Thoreau And Fuller Essay Example for Free

Transcendentalism Through The Political Thought Of Emerson Thoreau And Fuller Essay During the early to middle years of the nineteenth century, American transcendentalism was born. The term transcendental came from German philosopher Immanuel Kant. He criticizes John Locke, who claimed that knowledge comes through our sensual impressions of the world. Kant feels as though the mind has intuitions of itself that he called transcendental forms. He said that all intuitive thought is transcendental. (The Transcendentalist, 1842) Transcendentalism has a lot of meanings but over time it has essentially remained the same. A 1913 Webster’s Dictionary described transcendentalism as claiming â€Å"to have a true knowledge of all things, material and immaterial, human and divine, so far as the mind is capable of knowing them. It is also sometimes used for that which is vague and illusive in philosophy. † (Webster Dictionary, 1913) Today transcendentalism has furthered its meaning to â€Å"a philosophy which says that thought and spiritual things are more real than ordinary human experience and material things. † (Merriam-Webster, n. d. ) Cliffnotes describes it as: â€Å"A religious, literary, and philosophical movement in New England between 1836, when Emerson published Nature, and 1844, when The Dial — the publishing entity of the transcendental movement — ceased publication. Influenced by Unitarianism, transcendentalists denied the existence of miracles, preferring a Christianity that rested on the teachings of Christ and not on his deeds. They experimented with communal living and supported educational innovation, the abolitionist and feminist movements, and the reform of the church and society, generally. New England transcendentalists were committed to intuition as a way of knowing, to individualism, and to a belief in the divinity of humans and nature. † (Charles Mignon H. Rose, Glossary, n. d. ) Transcendentalism is so much more than these simple definitions. Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the leaders of the movement, developed a whole essay on explaining the movement and even further discussed it in many of his other writings. In The Transcendentalist, Emerson first describes transcendentalism as idealism, the idealism of 1842. He considers people as either materialists or idealists. â€Å"Materialism is the philosophical belief that all human events and conditions depend upon material objects and their interrelationships; sensory perception is the key to learning. † (Charles Mignon H. Rose, Glossary, n. d. ) Materialists see things as they are and except them for that. Materialist can become Idealists but Idealists can never become materialists. â€Å"Idealism is the philosophical assumption that material objects do not exist independently of human perception. † (Charles Mignon H. Rose, Glossary, n. d. ) Idealists are founded on consciousness. They believe that things go beyond the senses, the senses represent things but they can’t tell you what these things are. They insist on the power of thought, will, inspiration, miracles and individual culture. They believe their way of thinking is in higher nature. They see events as spirits. (The Transcendentalist, 1842) They can see a chair and look beyond it being just a chair. They see the spiritual aspect of it. Once they do recognize the many possibilities of a spiritual life, they continue to seek after this transcending state. â€Å"The Transcendentalist adopts the whole connection of spiritual doctrine. He believes in miracle, in the perpetual openness of the human mind to new influx of light and power; he believes in inspiration, and in ecstasy. He wishes that the spiritual principle should be suffered to demonstrate itself to the end, in all possible applications to the state of man, without the admission of anything unspiritual; that is, anything positive, dogmatic, personal. Thus, the spiritual measure of inspiration is the depth of the thought, and never, who said it? And so he resists all attempts to palm other rules and measures on the spirit than its own. † (The Transcendentalist, 1842) Idealists see the how the mind process our senses as more important than the senses themselves. They see our existence as subjective. They judge only according to their values and measure according to their values. Their main focus is the individual. They feel as though individuals should focus on fixing their moral character rather than focusing on the world as a whole. It makes more sense for everyone to fix themselves because if each individual changes him or herself then the world as a whole will eventually change. Transcendentalism proposes that human nature is good and the individual will seek good but society is to blame for corruption. Therefore the individual should focus on themselves. (Campbell, 1997) Emerson believes the idealists or transcendentalist should be self-dependent. He feels as though â€Å"it is simpler to be self-dependent. The height, the deity of man is, to be self-sustained, to need no gift, no foreign force. † (The Transcendentalist, 1842) The transcendentalists should be self-absorbed. Transcendentalists have an antisocial character. â€Å"They are lonely; the spirit of their writing and conversation is lonely; they repel influences; they shun general society; they incline to shut themselves in their chamber in the house, to live in the country rather than in the town, and to find their tasks and amusements in solitude. † (The Transcendentalist, 1842) They withdraw from society because they have difficulty relating to people who aren’t as spiritual, intelligent and idealistic as themselves. They are perfectionists who believe human life is flawed so they prefer to be in solitary with nature or a book rather than common people. Emerson criticizes this solitary nature. If they don’t use their gifts to benefit society then society won’t be able to reach the idealist mindset and way of life. They also waste their gift when they don’t allow society to learn from them. (The Transcendentalist, 1842) This paper will take into account each definition and characteristic of the Transcendentalist and Transcendentalism through the works of some of the major leaders during the movement. This paper will explore the religious aspect of the movement through the works of the former Unitarian minister, Ralph Waldo Emerson. The political aspect of the movement will be explored through the works of the naturalist, Henry David Thoreau. The paper will conclude with the feminist and social reform aspect of the movement through the works of Margaret Fuller. Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, poet and Unitarian minister who became one of the first American authors to influence European thought. He was born in Boston, MA on May 25, 1803. Seven of his ancestors were ministers and his father was also a minister. By the age of eighteen, Emerson was graduating from Harvard and taught school in Boston for three years. He then went on to Harvard Divinity School and a year later was approbated to preach by the Middlesex Association of Ministers. In a matter of four years he had become the minister of the Second Church of Boston and married Ellen Tucker, who unfortunately died seventeen months later. In 1832, Emerson resigned as a pastor because he felt as though the Lord’s Supper should not be a permanent sacrament. He then went on to England and stayed for some time. He returned to Massachusetts in 1833 and became an active lecturer. (Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2014, 1p. ) By 1836, Emerson had published his most detailed statement of belief in his first published book, Nature. He starts the book discussing the currents of the Universal Being that circulate through him making him part God or a piece of God. This is what transcendentalism is mostly about, the belief in the divinity of the human and nature. Through the universal being everything in nature is linked, including humans. Nature’s spirit expresses itself through us and creates a unity between God, spirit and humanity. Nature rewards the noble and those who perform good deeds. Therefore a person would have to be righteous in order to enjoy the beauty nature beholds. In chapter four he discusses how nature and language relate. Words are signs of natural facts and history that helps us understand supernatural history. The language people use to communicate is supplied by nature. A river represents the passage of time. The change of seasons represents the stages of growth. He then goes on to discuss how nature and human law have merged together, yet we still try to distinguish them. You can even see this today with the separation of church and state. In chapter five he discusses reason. Nature is a moral teacher and reason helps to offer ethical and spiritual insights to nature. Reason is linked to intuition, which as previously stated is transcendental. Though according to idealism, nature is something experienced and distinct from us. (Nature, 124-157, 1836) A couple years later in 1838, Emerson further discusses his views on religion in his Divinity School Address. He first discusses the intimate relationship between God and man; the unity of God, humans, and nature. Religion can only truly be achieved when man recognizes their direct access with God and realize that religion and virtue can only be understood from within. There is no mediator between man and God. Man can go directly to God. Since God is perfect man can also become perfect because of that access they have to him. Many denominations of the Christian religion teach the human to aim to be like Jesus, in doing so the person is just like Jesus and develops that perfection identified with Jesus. The moment you stray from this virtue that God and nature gives you, you’re instantly aware of it. It’s like what modern Christianity would call conviction. You feel convicted and suffer the consequences but you strive to be so much like Jesus that you correct the wrong and get back on track. Jesus was the only example of someone who understood the divine nature of mankind because he was sent being used by God as an example for men. (The Divinity School Address, 230-245, 1836) Throughout the Divinity School Address, Emerson criticizes second hand religion. He believes it makes the church stationary. There’s no room for reform when you offer people a religion with a fixed body of beliefs, principles, scriptures and rites. As many of his writings tell you, he is a strong advocate for the individual. Personal religion, the understanding of religion through the individual and intuitive insight is what he calls for. The individual needs to understand the religion for himself and apply his own intuitive interpretation but be careful not to change the traditions of the old church. (The Divinity School Address, 230-245, 1836) â€Å"I confess, all attempts to project and establish a Cultus with new rites and forms, seem to me vain. Faith makes us, and not we it, and faith makes its own forms. All attempts to contrive a system are as cold as the new worship introduced by the French to the goddess of Reason, — to-day, pasteboard and fillagree, and ending to-morrow in madness and murder. Rather let the breath of new life be breathed by you through the forms already existing. For, if once you are alive, you shall find they shall become plastic and new. The remedy to their deformity is, first, soul, and second, soul, and evermore, soul. † (The Divinity School Address, 244, 1836) Rather use the Sabbath and preaching to keep the religion alive and fresh. The preacher has to have intuitive perception to teach and give life to religion. â€Å"The spirit only can teach†¦only he can give, who has; he only can create, who is. The man on whom the soul descends, through whom the soul speaks, alone can teach. Courage, piety, love, wisdom, can teach. † (The Divinity School Address, 238, 1836) It is the preacher’s job to restore the soul of his congregation by helping them realize that direct access they have to God. He must also be living proof of the word he proclaims. The people should know the life he lives so that they can know how individual spirituality can coexist with experience. â€Å"The true preacher can be known by this, that he deals out to the people his life, — life passed through the fire of thought. † (The Divinity School Address, 239, 1836) For Emerson and all transcendentalists, religion is vastly important. This movement is known for its religious aspects. Quite a few of the followers of this movement were ministers. For them religion should be sacred between the human, God and nature. They should take advantage of their direct relationship with God and use it to keep their Christianity fresh and alive. Through the righteousness one receives from this direct relationship, will come blessings from nature and they will be able to behold the beauty of nature. Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts to a socially conscious Scottish mother and a French pioneer manufacturer father. Thoreau eventually went to Harvard College and graduated in 1837. A year later he set up a school with his brother John where he taught Latin, Greek and science until 1841 when his brother got sick. A year after his brother’s death in 1842, Thoreau moved to Staten Island to be a tutor for Emerson’s brother, William. He would also do handy work around the house. Eventually he met Emerson and lived with him and his wife doing handy work. Emerson used that time to influence him to be a part of the transcendentalist movement. In 1849, Thoreau publishes Civil Disobedience. In this writing he criticizes American politics. He wrote this during the time of slavery and the Mexican-American war. Thoreau â€Å"heartily accepts the motto, ‘That government is best which governs least;’ and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe, ‘That government is best which governs not at all’. † (Civil Disobedience, 357, 1849) He feels as though an unjust government that allows for slavery and aggressive war is useless. He is also critical of democracy. Democracy puts forth a government that is given power from the majority to make laws beneficial to the majority. They don’t necessarily have the most legitimate viewpoint but they do have the most power. Therefore citizens are obligated to not follow the law because it is morally wrong. They must do what is right and distance themselves from government. Thoreau isn’t advocating for government to go away, he just wants a better government. Democracy was brought about to ensure individual freedom but yet it has intervened in the lives of many individuals and taken away the exact freedom it was meant to protect. â€Å"But a government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice, even as far as men understand it. † (Civil Disobedience, 358, 1849) Majority rule isn’t based on justice. He proposes the ruling of individual conscience. Rulers should be moral. Since they are not, he advocates for rebellion. Thoreau in his own action refused to pay taxes and spent a night in jail. He refused to participate in government. He believed that the individual should not comply with unjust laws. They must break the law, if necessary. Expressing your opposition to slavery is not enough you must act on this objection. He calls for a peaceful revolution by nonpayment of taxes and not being afraid to take the prison time. â€Å"Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison. † (Civil Disobedience, 370, 1849) He feels as though prison is the only place a just man can â€Å"abide with honor. † (Civil Disobedience, 370, 1849) Throughout his essay, like many of Emerson’s works, he is an advocate for the individual. The individual has a responsibility to live his own life according to his morals and regard society as secondary. â€Å"There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly. † He feels as though the government should only touch or put a law on what the individual allows it to. He praises the progress of America from an absolute monarchy to a limited monarchy and now a democracy but feels as though it shouldn’t stop there. He feels as though there needs to be a government where the individual is valued more and have a say in what affects them personally. Not a government where the majority rules and the minority is left to fend for themselves. Over time Thoreau becomes fed up with the law. In 1854, he delivers a more radical and violent speech, Slavery in Massachusetts. He is calling for people to fight and murder the state. â€Å"Who can be serene in a country where both the rulers and the ruled are without principle? The remembrance of my country spoils my walk. My thoughts are murder to the State, and involuntarily go plotting against her. † (Slavery in Massachusetts, Line 49, 1854) In a Plea for Captain Brown he speaks on revenge of him and the slave. He is now calling for the individual to not only resist but have its revenge on the state. Thoreau is not a big fan of government. He is appreciative of the government for changing from an absolute monarchy to a limited government and then a democracy but he is waiting for the day where the government that governs least or not at all, unless the individual requests it, will come. A government in which the majority rules is unjust because it only benefits the majority and enslaves the minority. Therefore the individual must resist no fight, no take revenge. As matters got worse, Thoreau became more violent and radical. Emerson was also an abolitionist who criticized the government for not recognizing the divine nature of the individual. He argued for lesser government and a minimization of the power they have. He didn’t approve of the government not allowing equal rights for all individuals, including women. (Politics, 1849) Sarah Margaret Fuller Sarah Margaret Fuller was born on May 23, 1810 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was educated by her American lawyer father. At an early age she displayed noticeably intellectual powers and became a member of the group of distinguished writers and philosophers who believed in transcendentalism. From 1835 to 1837 she taught languages in Boston and later became principal of a school in Rhode Island. In 1840 she founded The Dial, a periodical on transcendentalism, with Emerson and later met Thoreau who became an editor. In 1839, she washeavily involved in a women’s movement for intellectual and s ocial development, where she received her material for Women in the Nineteenth Century/ The Great Lawsuit. Man versus Men. Woman versus Women. (Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2014, 1p) In this work Fuller is advocating for the equal rights of women and abolition of slavery. Both movements were essentially the same they were both looking to have the same rights as the majority. Though Fuller went about it a different way. She didn’t just want the right to vote, equal pay and etc. She wanted the same self-reliance that a man was able to have. For she felt as though her soul was no different from a man’s soul. Everyone has a soul. If men gave women more intellectual and spiritual freedom, both genders could benefit as a whole. She is bringing forth a lawsuit on the behalf of women. Essentially suing the government for not allowing women to have the rights they are due. This piece allowed her room to bring forth a case to prove transcendentalism as an indeterminate sex and spiritually aware democracy. She also wanted to show them that they wrong in not offering women education. A woman can write a lawsuit. She was asserting Emerson’s self-reliance spiritual regeneration, the soul being genderless and a different conception of women. She did this in the form of a lawsuit to prove that she could do anything society deemed as only for men. She didn’t see either sex as greater than the other. She felt that one could not develop without the help of the other. (The Great Lawsuit. Man versus Men. Woman versus Women. , 384-423, 1843) Fuller argued that for a Woman to correct natural law she needs to be educated and have access to employment and politics. Women’s rights were vital to America. She argued that â€Å"all men are created equal. † (Declaration of Independence, 1776) The problem with this argument is that when the founders created the Declaration of Independence it was evident that they didn’t consider all men, women, or minorities as considered equal. They were advocating for the minority. Thus she does say that if it’s a law for the nation then it should be a law for all that inhabits the nation. â€Å"Though the national independence be blurred by the servility of individuals; though freedom and equality have been proclaimed only to leave room for a monstrous display of slave dealing and slave keeping; though the free American so often feels himself free†¦still it is not in vain, that the verbal statement has been made, All men are born free and equal. There it stands, a golden certainty, wherewith to encourage the good, to shame the bad. The new world may be called clearly to perceive that it incurs the utmost penalty, if it rejects the sorrowful brother†¦It is inevitable that an external freedom, such as has been achieved for the nation, should be so also for every member of it It has become a law, irrevocable†¦ Men will privately sin against it, but the law so clearly expressed by a leading mind of the age, All made in the likeness of the One, All children of one ransom, In whatever hour, in whatever part of the soil We draw this vital air, We are brothers, we must be bound by one compact, Accursed he who infringes it, Who raises himself upon the weak who weep, Who saddens an immortal spirit cannot fail of universal recognition. † (The Great Lawsuit. Man versus Men. Woman versus Women. ,389-390, 1843) Fuller calls for a refreshing of the American political culture through the transcendentalists concept of self-reliance. Emerson’s transcendentalist view on self- reliance calls for the individual to apply their own conscience view on everything they see. She also calls the government out for violating natural law by hindering Americans from the liberty and equality they were promised. She says they need a moral law instead. Through transcendentalism they get this moral law when the individual is worried about the individual and does what is best for himself according to his values. (Self-Reliance, 318-339, 1841) Her way of going about getting the revolution that she wanted, was through a peaceful revolution advocating for equality through a spiritually aware, sexless democracy. She hoped it would lead to equality among genders and change the status quo of American Politics. If she could make the government see the wrong in gender discrimination then she could open their eyes to the evil of slavery. This could only be accomplished through divine law. Sarah Margaret Fuller was a woman denied the right of education yet she was surrounded by men that she was able to learn from. Her male counterparts not only taught her but learned from her. She used the ideas of both Emerson and Thoreau to fight against both feminism and slavery. The movements were very much so alike and many of the arguments she made applied to both. The one thing about her is that she not only was an advocate for transcendentalism but also a sexless society. She felt as though no gender, race or being was better than the other. Conclusion Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Sarah Margaret Fuller were the main leaders of the transcendentalist movement. Together and apart they raised issues and were a voice for the unheard. They all advocated for the individual to change themselves and worry about society second. If every individual changed himself then they wouldn’t have to worry about society because eventually society would change as a result of everyone becoming idealists. Ralph Waldo Emerson took a European movement and made it American. Transcendentalism started in Europe but Emerson made it an American response to romanticism. (The Role of Transcendentalism in Shaping American Cultural Ideology, 248, 2013) Emerson is a strong believer in the divinity of human, nature and God. Through God everything is linked. Nature supplies language and reason gives us the knowledge to understand the spirituality and beauty of nature. Humans also have direct access to God and should use it. Even when they stray from the virtue that they are given by God and nature they can come back because they are directly connected to God. Even the modern Bible says, â€Å"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. † (Holy Bible, Romans 3:23) Emerson is also a former minister of the Unitarian church. Unitarians believe in seven basic principles: (1) The inherent worth and dignity of every person; (2) Justice, equity and compassion in human relations; (3)Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations; (4) A free and responsible search for truth and meaning; (5) The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large; (6) The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; (7) Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. (http://www. uua. org/beliefs/what- we-believe/principles) While you can see this evident in many of Emerson’s works, he is a critic of second hand religion that passes down a fixed body of beliefs, principles, scriptures and rites. This makes religion stationary to him. He feels as though the individual should interpret the religion in a righteous way without rewriting the religion. He also advocates for the Sabbath and preaching to remain fresh so the religion does as well. Henry David Thoreau seems to be the most radical of the three. His earlier works suggest a nonviolent man being imprisoned for standing up to what he believes his wrong. Overtime he becomes an advocate for a slave rebellion. Thoreau feels as though as the times change and are getting worse, the slave should strike back. His works have inspired people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Just like Thoreau, MLK Jr went from nonviolent protests to making claims such as: â€Å"I will continue to condemn riots, and continue to say to my brothers and sisters that this is not the way. And continue to affirm that there is another way. But at the same time, it is as necessary for me to be as vigorous in condemning the conditions which cause persons to feel that they must engage in riotous activities as it is for me to condemn riots. I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air. Certain conditions continue to exist in our society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. † (The Other America, 1968) A nonviolent person tends to get more radical when they see that matters are getting worse instead of better. Over time they get fed up and grow weary. It’s hard to accept all that violent people are throwing at you and still remain nonviolent. It’s hard to watch people be treated less than what the law allows because they’re not the skin color of the majority that is making the rules. Thoreau is a harsh critic of the American government. Sarah Margaret Fuller takes on this criticism as well when she criticizes government for oppressing the people who are beneficial to the future of America. One of these transcendentalists even go as far as saying that America will become the laughing stock of nations across the world because it supposedly has a government run by the people yet enslaves its people. If you look at the contributions women and minorities have made to the American society, you can see just how crucial we all are to the American Dream. Fuller is saying that all men can’t be created equal and yet be treated less than the white man. We are all equal. There is no such thing as men being superior to men or white men being superior to all. Women can do just as much as men can do. If the government were to create its laws based on morals then we can have a just society. If they also allow for women to be educated and involved in the political realm they would see just how important women are. Through this research transcendentalism has proved itself to be a religious, literary, philosophical movement advocating for the individual. The individual has all the power it needs through the divine relationship it has with its God. The individual has to change themselves before they can even worry about society. The individual has the intellect and moral obligation to go against the evils of society, not to conform and be self-sufficient. Through transcendentalism Emerson, Thoreau, and Fuller inspired people around the world in the abolition movement, politics, religions, feminist movement and even many of their counterparts in the transcendentalist movement. It also helped to open the eyes of many during the nineteenth century and pave the way for the coming generation. Bibliography Charles Mignon H. Rose. N. d. Summary and Analysis of The Transcendentalist Glossary. (Cliffnotes) http://www. cliffsnotes. com/literature/e/emersons-essays/summary-and-analysis-of- the-transcendentalist/glossary. (Accessed May 4, 2015) Terminology N. d. Defining Transcendentalism. http://www. transcendentalists. com/terminology. html. (Accessed May 4, 2015) Emerson, Ralph Waldo. 1838. â€Å"The Divinity School Address† Transcendentalism: A Reader (Oxford University Press, December 2000): 230-245. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. 1836. â€Å"Nature. † Transcendentalism: A Reader (Oxford University Press, December 2000): 124-157. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. 18. â€Å"Politics. † Ralph Waldo Emerson Texts. http://www. emersoncentral. com/politics. htm. (Accessed May 4, 2015) Emerson, Ralph Waldo. 1841. â€Å"Self-Reliance† Transcendentalism: A Reader (Oxford University Press, December 2000): 318-339. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. 1841. â€Å"The Transcendentalist† Transcendentalism: A Reader (Oxford University Press, December 2000): 366-380. Fuller, Sarah Margaret. 1843. â€Å"The Great Lawsuit. Man versus Men. Woman versus women. † Transcendentalism: A Reader (Oxford University Press, December 2000): 383-422. Fuller, Sarah Margaret. 1845. â€Å"Woman in the Nineteenth Century. † American Transcendentalism Web. http://transcendentalism-legacy. tamu. edu/authors/fuller/woman1. html (Accessed May 4, 2015) Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. 2014. â€Å"Emerson, Ralph Waldo† Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (World Book, Inc. , Chicago): 1. Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. 2014. â€Å"Fuller, (Sarah) Margaret† Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (World Book, Inc., Chicago): 1. Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. 2014. â€Å"Transcendentalism† Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (World Book, Inc. , Chicago): 1. Henry David Thoreau. (2015). The Biography. com website. http://www. biography. com/people/henry-david-thoreau-9506784. (Accessed May 05, 2015) Kellman, Steven G. 2014. â€Å"Henry David Thoreau† Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia. King Jr. , Martin Luther. 1968. â€Å"The Other America. † http://www. crmvet. org/docs/otheram. htm. (Accessed May 6, 2015). Paul. N. d. â€Å"Romans 3:23† The Holy Bible (NIV) Rus, Dana. 2013. The Role of Transcendentalism in Shaping American Cultural Ideology. (Communication Mass Media Complete, EBSCOhost) Thoreau, Henry David. 1849. â€Å"Civil Disobedience. † Transcendentalism: A Reader (Oxford University Press, December 2000): 546-564. Thoreau, Henry David. 1859. â€Å"A Plea for Captain Brown. † Transcendentalism: A Reader (Oxford University Press, December 2000): 628-646. Thoreau, Henry David. 1854. â€Å"Slavery in Massachusetts. † Transcendentalism: A Reader (Oxford University Press, December 2000): 602-614. Unitarian Universalist Association. N. d. â€Å"Our Unitarian Universalist Principles† http://www. uua. org/beliefs/what-we-believe/principles. (Accessed May 6, 2015).

performance enhancing drugs :: essays research papers

I’m pretty sure you all have engaged in some sort of athletic competition that could be classified as a sport. If you can say that you have, most of you could not keep up with some of the more naturally athletically gifted people you were competing with or against.. If you are sitting there remembering that feeling of being inadequate, thinking back when your parents told you all that mattered is that you tried your best, was a huge crock. No matter how hard you tried you failed, you felt like the scum of the earth, and everyone was laughing at you. You let everyone down, if this has ever happened to you. You are not alone you share the same feelings of many amateur and professional athletes who feel that the only way to reach their goals, to be in the limelight, to make the winning score, they need that edge. The edge that puts them ahead of the rest, to be on a level that most can only dream of achieving. The edge some athletes use is steroids. There are many types of stero ids. To many to name, so they are talked about in groups. These groups are as follows: Stimulants, Narcotic Analgesics, Cannabinoids, Anabolic Agents, Peptide Hormones, Beta-2 Agonists, Masking Agents, and Clucocorticosteroids The most commonly used is called Anabolic steroids. A anabolic steroid is a chemical similar to the male hormone testosterone. Steroids are taken by pill, or injection. They enter the bloodstream they are distributed to organs and muscle all over the body. After reaching the organs the steroids surround individual cells in the organ, and then pass through the cell membranes to enter the cytoplasm of the cells Once in the cytoplasm, the steroids bind to specific receptors and then enter the nucleus of the cells. The steroid-receptor complex is then able to alter the functioning of the genetic material and stimulate the production of new proteins. It is these proteins that carry out the effects of the steroids. The types of proteins and the effects vary dependin g on the specific organ involved. Steroids are able to alter the functioning of many organs, including the liver, kidneys, heart, and brain. They can also have a profound effect on reproductive organs and hormones. Steroids were first experimented with in the 1860 by Brown-Sequard, although he did not know what he was using.

Natural Disasters and Their Effect on the Macro Economy Essay

Natural Disasters can have both a positive and negative impact on the local, national and the global economy. However it is rare, but not out of the question, to see the positive impact it may have on an economy. For instance, when disaster struck in Haiti from the 7. 3 magnitude earthquake in 2010, between 200,000-250,000 people were killed. That is 2 percent of the total Haitian population of only 10 million. Comparatively New York City alone totals nearly as much as the entire population of Haiti with about 8. 2 million people (U. S. Census Bureau, 2010). The Inter-American Development Bank estimated that it cost 8.5 billion dollars in damage to Haiti’s economy. The earthquake caused the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to contract 5. 1 percent that year. Considering that Haiti’s economy only produced 12 billion dollars in 2008, 8. 5 billion dollars is a huge deficit to the overall production and functionality of their economic and social growth. That is less than a tenth of a percent of U. S. GDP of 14 trillion dollars, but Haiti’s GDP per capita is only 1,300 dollars compared to over 40,000 dollars per person in the U. S. (CIA. gov). With all of this said, Haiti brought in nearly fifteen billion dollars through donations. So although there was catastrophic and disastrous losses to both the social and economic stimulus, on donations alone, Haiti was able to receive three billion dollars more than even their best year in 2008 with only twelve billion dollars. Proposing a theoretical situation, if an earthquake destroyed capital stock but left the labor force intact, the real rental price of capital would increase. The real rental price equals the marginal product of capital and having less capital stock available raises the marginal product of capital and therefore, raises its real rental price. This situation would also make the labor force larger in relation to available capital. Since this would lead to a declining marginal product of labor as workers have less equipment to use, the real wage would decrease as well. Due to rising world population, climate change, and environmental degradation, natural disasters are increasing in frequency. They are also becoming costlier and deadlier, according to Swiss Re, a reinsurance company; the U. S. suffered a cost of 145 billion dollars in 2004, which was up from 65 billion dollars in 2003. In 2009, natural disasters cost insurers about 110 billion dollars. In 2010, the cost was double that, at 218 billion dollars. So as you can see, in the past 10 years there have been jumps nearly doubling the cost that a country suffers to natural disasters from year to year. According to the World Bank, there are several factors that affect a country’s vulnerability to natural disasters: its geographic size, the type of disaster, the strength and structure of its economy, and prevailing socioeconomic conditions. In a globalized economy, all these factors, as well as others, also play into how the world’s finances will be affected. A common belief is that short-term economic hits after a disaster, even those as large as this year’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan or Hurricane Katrina in the U. S. in 2005 are more than offset by the reconstruction boom that follows. However this is only in countries that are large and rich enough to have short-term stabilization to the immediate economic hit. The nature of the disaster and the size of the victim count in an economy are key when determining whether or not natural disasters have a negative impact on macroeconomic growth. So in a country such as Haiti and their disastrous earthquake, although a lot of money was pumped into the economy in order to help in the rebuilding, that does not do much when they are still in need of the proper man power that can produce new development or ideas for rebuilding the structures that were destroyed. Incidences of natural disasters have increased by 30 percent since the 1960s, and risk-modeling companies have raised the likelihood of a Katrina-like event happening once every 20 years, rather than once every 40 years (SKOUFIAS, 2003). Because of the possibility of large natural disasters happening more often as well as more frequent smaller natural disasters occurring, how will the economy be affected? Especially if before the reconstruction both socially and economically is finished from the original disaster, another strikes in the same area. Another problem that is faced with economic downfalls due to natural disasters is how other countries may view the stability of that country. For example, 75 percent of Haiti’s national income came through the export of retail apparel to the United States. If Haiti were to have any kind of smaller disasters before they can properly rebuild their economic and working communities, then other countries will only see them as a reoccurring high-risk investment and will no longer look to invest in Haiti, only deepening their turmoil from an economic stand point. Droughts cannot be forgotten either. 2010 set records as the hottest year in one of the hottest decades in history. Climate change, exacerbated by the effects of El Nino, sparked off a series of global heat waves. In Pakistan, temperatures rose to 128. 3 degrees Fahrenheit on May 26, the highest temperature seen in Asia. Russia was plagued by a series of wildfires, destroying crops and woodland, and blanketing cities in smog. People across Europe had to be hospitalized for heat strokes and dehydration as air-conditioning failed to bring relief. Asia had one of the most severe droughts across the globe. The drought caused an estimated 3. 5 million dollars in immediate damage, both to agriculture and to the country’s hydroelectric sector. There are also other uncounted losses, but still very real costs from the drought: a drought can lower the overall productivity of land due to erosion and topsoil loss. It can reduce the numbers in livestock herds, which most of Asia relies on for everyday living needs as well as economic income. Before the end of the summer, the death toll would rise into the thousands. 15 million people were evacuated, and over a million homes destroyed. Nearly 34 million acres of crops were affected by floodwaters, with at least two million completely destroyed. By August, direct damage from the floods was estimated at $41 billion. This is something that affected the worldwide agricultural need and demand (PreventionWeb, 2010). Proving the destructive power of natural disasters, even in highly developed nations, Hurricane Katrina crushed the gulf coast. Just east of the Bahamas on August 24, 2005 a small, unlikely tropical depression intensified into a tropical storm which was given the name Katrina. This storm slowly made its way to Florida’s southern coast on the 25th where most experts believed the storm would dissipate. Unfortunately, Katrina’s path took it over the everglades allowing it to maintain its category 1 standing that it had acquired before it first made landfall, then entered the Gulf of Mexico. The warm waters of the Gulf fostered the rapid development of Katrina (Kempler 2010). The above image shows Hurricane Katrina at the height of her power. Estimates had Katrina making landfall as a category 4, but thankfully it weakened a bit and before it rolled in as a strong category 3. Katrina became been responsible for an estimated 1,800 deaths, as well as 100 billion dollars total in damages, of which about 60percent were uninsured losses. Some economists would put the total economic loss at around 250 Billion dollars (Amadeo 2011). That made Katrina the most destructive natural disaster ever to hit the United States. With all of Katrina’s destruction, the short term effects on the economy were very evident. Only one year after the disaster the United States, the economy was back to normal. In the first three quarters of 2006 the United States had GDP growth of 5. 6 percent, some of the most rapid growth in recent years (Herman 2006). Even though the nation as a whole made a quick economic recovery after Katrina, locations that were struck directly, like New Orleans, did not make the turnaround quite as rapidly as hoped. The first few months after Katrina the United States economy went into a downward trend. The GDP growth rate dropped from the 4. 2 percent that it had experienced in the first three quarters to 1. 8 percent in the last quarter of 2005. The reason for this impact goes beyond the destruction of property and the primary economic concern; the loss of goods and production capabilities (Herman 2006). Perhaps the most important resource that the gulf region produces is oil. The gulf makes up about 30 percent of America’s oil production and distribution. The effects of Katrina resulted in the destruction of 113 offshore platforms, and nearly 500 oil and gas pipelines (Amadeo 2011). The loss of this production led to a drastic increase in gas prices soaring to over 4 dollars per gallon. This drastic rise in prices created a panic, and people rushed to the gas stations to fill up before prices rose again, creating massive lines and much talk about the gloomy forecast of economic woes come. The only positive result from the increasing gas prices was when the Federal government opened the strategic petrollium reserves. This increase in gasoline prices surprisingly did not have as much of an impact as speculators feared, other than people’s outlook on the situation. There were some effects.mthough mostly food price centered. The three main goods that saw a notable impact were the prices of bananas, rice and sugar (Leibtag 2006). The primary reason for the increase in the rice and sugar prices is because the Louisiana Mississippi area is responsible for 85 percent of the sugar cane production, and 14 percent of the rice production in the United States (Leibtag 2006). The drastic loss in production from that area was softened by short-run increases in the other producers of those crops. This ability to increase short-run production is a factor that contributes to the resiliancy of free-market economies. Though the nationwide effects were not all that staggering, the effects in New Orleans the months following Katrina were devastating. With 80 percent of the city flooded, hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee the city of New Orleans, many never to return again (Blackburn 2010). This drastic loss in population coupled with the destruction of approximately 200,000 homes and businesses led New Orleans and the surrounding areas into a dire economic situation. In the first few months after Katrina, Louisiana lost 12 percent of the state’s 214,000 jobs (Herman 2006). One result of the loss of jobs was a drastic raise in mortgage delinquancy rates (Herman 2006). This inability to pay is more than likely a contributing factor to the very low rate of return from people who were forced to evacuate their homes by Katrina. Those that did find the resolve to return to stay were in a desperate situation. New Orleans, whose primary industry is tourism, suffered great losses after the storm. They desperately needed to be able to find a way to bring back the American and foreign tourist in order to fuel the creation for more jobs. The drop in tourism is best reflected by the attendance rates in New Orleans famous Mardi-Gras and Jazz Festivals. Both events had roughly a 30 percent drop in attendance from previous years (A year after Katrina, New Orleans desperately seeking tourists 2006). Part of the reason for the delay in the return of the tourism industry is the mass clean-up that had to take place first. Before anyone could return and maintain normal operations, there was still 118 million cubic yards of debris to be cleaned up.(Amadeo 2011) Thanks to efforts by FEMA, the Red Cross and many church ministries across the country, there was much help to be found. However, despite the efforts of all these groups, New Orleans a year after the incident was still working its way very slowly towards full recovery. With the aid that had come into the city, organizations were able to rebuild infrastructure and make great improvements to both education and government. In fact, post Katrina New Orleans has experienced steady growth in almost every way, including education levels, over the last 6 years as shown by the chart below Though it took about a year for it the effects to show and recovery to really make a strong step forward, the relief money that came into New Orleans and the other areas affected by Hurricane Katrina did what the nation was hoping it would; help restore one of Americas cultural and industrial centers. The economic turnaround in New Orleans shows how an initial investment in the form of government aid, insurance claims, and private donations can improve the economy of an area affected by a natural disaster. If this idea can hold to be true with the most costly natural disaster in American history, it should work with other costly natural disasters as well. Though maybe part of New Orleans success lay in the restructuring of their government and school systems in addition to the monetary support. Though the economy of the areas affected improve without bringing down the rest of the nation’s economy, suffering this type of event might not prove to be true in countries with weaker economies. Also, if a disaster like this was to hit a city like Los Angelas or New York, like Irene almost did, it is still speculator to say if there would be similar results. One thing can be said for certain, America’s ability to maintain long term economic growth despite short term impacts, like Katrina shows the resiliency of America as an economic super-power. Other economic super powers, like Japan, are trying to find this same formula for economic recovery. In the case of Japan’s 9.0 magnitude earthquake on March 11, 2011, the loss of clean water, electricity, infrastructure, production lines, financial institutions, and more than 15,000 lives caused what the Prime Minister of Japan called the â€Å"The most difficult crisis for Japan† since World War II. However difficult it has been, people have been recovering from the loss of loved ones, injury, and the general trauma of the disaster. Perhaps the greatest and most uncertain long term effects brewing are the econ omic impacts on the world market. Many large industries and economic functions have been hurt, causing price inflation in those industries throughout the world. Since March 11, 2011, nations around the world have had to adjust their consumption in accordance with the loss of production in Japan. Several car companies, such as Toyota and Honda, had their production of car parts slowed, and electronics producers experienced the same effects (Syed, 2011). This has been felt worldwide. For example, Toshiba, who produces roughly 30 percent of the world’s computer chips that store data in smart phones, cameras, and laptops, closed down several factories due to economic losses and physical damages. Events like this are what caused the average price of a chip with eight gigabytes of memory to rise from 7. 30 dollars to around 10 dollars just three days after the earthquake and tsunami struck (Helft, 2011). Obviously, the price of computer chips is not the only price that has risen. Because computer chips are more expensive, new phones, laptops, televisions, cars, cameras, electronic billboards, and complex machinery will have a rise in price to cover the cost of parts and production. This effect will be felt for months, and maybe even years in an already instable world economy. Many of these products are produced in Japan; the world export market has been greatly affected because of that. Japan’s exports have decreased, causing increased economic uncertainty. The macroeconomic result of this is that investors tend to pull away from the increasing risk of pumping money into Japan and look for safer and smarter industries and nations to try to grow their profits (Kihara, 2011). One of the most fascinating things about today’s economy is that everything is so globally connected. Because of this and the slow in Japanese exports, the United States level of consumption of Japanese goods dove 3.4 percent following the earthquake (Guardian. uk, 2011). If this trend continued throughout the year, then the Japanese economy would have lost 4. 2 billion dollars from 2010 levels of United States consumption alone (State. gov, 2011). The disaster and surrounding effects not only caused a decrease of funds going into Japan, but the economic instability caused by the earthquake was devastating in its timing. Japanese and other Asian stock markets plunged as the news of the disaster spread, and this is coming on the heels of the U. S.stock market falling nearly 2 percent the date before. Not only that, but the earthquake caused struggling European stocks to fall to three month lows (CBSnews. com 2011). This goes to show that natural disasters can cause a myriad of negative factors in an economy, and that a spike in uncertainty can be one of the most demoralizing. That uncertainty does not just surface in the stock markets, but also in global financing. The Japanese currency, the Yen, had a significant surge the day after the massive earthq uake struck (Bloomberg. com, 2011). This is said to be credited to the immediate cleanup, repair, and reconstruction needs that Japan incurred following the damages. The long-term effects of the boost in the value of the Yen are still unknown, but it has made the Yen rise in demand in recent months, despite fluctuations since the initial rise in trading worth (Bernard, 2011). The Yen is currently becoming stable once again, eight months after its spike in March then fall in April. Japan has done well in its recovery considering that the Yen hit recent year record lows in April. This graph shows the trading value of the Yen in the past year (Forexblog.org, 2011). The value of the Yen is not the only financial issue at stake. Japan is one of the major foreign holders of U. S. government and corporation debt. With Japan’s Debt-to-GDP ratio at 200 percent, and massive amounts of government spending looming in the rebuilding of the thousands of buildings and roadways lost, Japan is in great need of more money (CIA. g ov, 2010). Because of this, the current interest rates that U. S. corporations are paying on their international loans could increase in an effort to generate more revenue in Japan (Nanto, 2011). In turn, corporations would not be able to borrow as much money for new capital investment, thus hurting the consumption and job creation in the United States at a time when jobs are greatly needed with unemployment rates near nine percent (BLS. gov, 2011). Jobs are a big issue in Japan too. With many of the more than 15,000 killed and nearly 6,000 injured people being a part of the Japanese work force, and tons of cleanup and construction to be done, companies and the government have had to hire thousands of new workers to satisfy the demand for work (Japanese National Police Agency, 2011). After a brief climb in unemployment because of the direct aftermath of the earthquake, numbers dropped to a recent history record low of 4. 1 percent (Tradingeconomics. com, 2011). Once organization was restored, Japan began to utilize its workforce to combat the challenge of rebuilding cities. It is perhaps a gruesome yet effective means of increasing job demand in a nation when its economy was unsettlingly devastated. Since the record drop in unemployment, Japan has had what could be considered a â€Å"Recovery boom. On November 14, 2011, a news article stated: Gross domestic product grew at an annualized 6 percent in the three months ending Sept. 30, the fastest pace in 1 1/2- years, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo. At 543 trillion yen ($7 trillion), economic output was back to levels seen before the March 11 earthquake, the report showed. Japan’s return to growth after three quarters of contraction was driven by companies including Toyota Motor Corp. making up for lost output from the disaster. A sustained rebound will depend on how much reconstruction demand can offset a slowdown in global growth as Europe’s debt crisis damps global confidence and an appreciating yen erodes profits (Sharp, 2011). The fact the Japan is now back to its pre-earthquake GDP level is remarkable. It initiates again the idea of what is known to economists as â€Å"The Broken Window Fallacy. † The theory is that an economy can create jobs and achieve higher employment levels though the destruction of the current goods that exist. However, the destruction comes at a cost of replacement that, in the end, is not going to create a net gain, but will instead create a loss or â€Å"quick-fix† break even because businesses will be stimulated, but run less efficiently in the long run. Only time will tell if Japan’s growth over the last few months is simply a rebound or if the disaster caused a rethinking of how things should be done and built, therefore creating a more efficient, productive Japanese economy. Economists will be watching closely to spot trends. Another disaster that could have the same categories of effects on a much smaller scale is Hurricane Irene. The northeastern U. S. experienced the worst flooding since the existence of many towns and buildings of the region. Since only three months have passed since Irene made landfall on the New England area on August 28, 2011, the long term impact of the estimated 45 billion dollars in losses are still speculative (Morici, 2011). Given the current status of the American economy, any damages of the storm are probably being felt most nationwide right now, if compared to the time table of Japan’s economic fall and rise with respect to the earthquake in March. The U. S. may see a slight drop in unemployment and a rise in capital investment as part of the restoration of Irene’s damages, but most likely, no real growth will come out of it. However, the increase in consumption in order to rebuild the damaged parts of the northeast may spark a rise in consumer confidence, and that is what America desperately needs. A natural disaster in a third world country might bring in more money in aid than that country’s economy could have ever produced on its own, making a very positive economic impact. But, as far as the number go, in a developed nation like the United States or Japan, natural disasters cause little more than a large scale broken window fallacy case study. A hurricane, earthquake, or other disaster can bring forth events that build intangible benefits such as consumer confidence, improved organization of infrastructure, or more efficient ideas, but most real development and confidence comes from ingenuity, not devastation. However, it is hard to argue against the fact that necessity is the mother of invention, or in this case, restructured success. Works Cited

Dont Actually Use This Crap Essay

I have decided to research and discuss how we can use heritage to build a nation in order to promote our understanding of a common humanity. In order to discuss and debate the abovementioned question we need to understand some key phrases in the question. In my opinion, that would include the following key concepts, namely; * heritage, * nation and * a common humanity. South Africa has come from a turbulent past where terms such as heritage, nation building and a common humanity meant different things to various population groups and realistically these concepts were worlds apart for the majority of South Africans. In order to achieve a common humanity, we need to respect all the cultures and religions within our country. People learn and are influenced by the place and the people around them. In a country like South Africa many people have learned from stories told to them. These stories carry information and ideas about life and living and shared customs, traditions and memories from parents to children. A person’s heritage is made up of the practices, and traditions that are passed on from parents to children. Heritage is also about what has been passed on from the family, community and place where people have been raised. For example a person may have grown up in a family of medical professionals or in a proudly Zulu family where the old customs are still followed. This is part of their heritage. People also have a national heritage. A person who was born in South Africa has a South African heritage. This also means they have an African heritage because they were born on this continent. There are many South Africans who do not know what our Coat of Arms represents or the meaning of our flag and anthem. In order to be a truly successful nation we need to become more aware of these national symbols. If we achieve this it will contribute to a more powerful form of nation-building. In countries with a huge variety of cultural, ethnic, racial, religious and other social identities, nation-building is a big challenge. This challenge has led governments to take numerous steps to create a peaceful and workable country. In Africa the situation is made more difficult by the fact that there are many identities and cultures. Mandaza describes such states as ‘nation-states-in-the-making’, which are characterised by a lack of essence, weakness and dependency. I think that the role of the curriculum in schools plays an essential role in promoting an understanding of a common humanity in all young people. Researchers often make reference to the neglected role of the history curriculum in the debate on nation-building and the process of forging general citizenship in Africa. In this context, the concept ‘curriculum’ is understood from many people to be the point of view of the political party in power. The curriculum emerges directly from society and is an ideological tool as well as a vehicle of social change driven by the dominant social group. As such, it plays a central role in the development and reproduction of society over time and geographical area. Seen from this perspective, it is no wonder that the curriculum is driven by political regimes in an endeavour to promote common values and form a particular type of citizen. We most certainly can, but it takes a lot of hard work. Each of our many cultures must get a little space in the sun. What we must also realise though is that some cultures are very different from others and that some people might find the things we may want to defend offensive. The question we should ask is whether our practices are more likely to cause division and friction, or whether it is going to bring people of different cultures together. What we should perhaps work on is getting our country to a point where there is loyalty to the flag no matter what. We must be able to really be proud of our achievements as a nation, and not vote people into office that will embarrass us. If we can all stand behind the flag, I think it will be one thing that can unite us. Look what the Rugby World Cups and the recent 2010 Soccer World Cup did for our nation. The whole nation standing for a common cause and goal. There was a real sense of nation-building. Culture is not something you are born with. It is learned from family, school, religious teachings, television and media and the government of a country. Advertisements, magazines and movies are also powerful guides. For example American music videos promote a certain style of dress, values, expression and attitude for young people. Many young people like the cool speak of American pop music rather than talking in their home language. Schools and religious organisations also play a big role. Religion has many rituals that symbolise belonging to a particular culture. South Africa has been called the rainbow nation because it has so many cultural practices. Cultural practices are how we talk and behave, the ways in which we pray, the special things we do when we have festivals, births and deaths. We have groups with different languages, religions, race, customs and traditions e. . Zulu, Ndebele, Khoisan, Hindu, Muslim and Afrikaner people. All of these people are united by being South African and all of their ways of life form part of our country’s identity and culture. It is important to promote and be proud of our South African culture and identity. This helps South Africans to understand and respect each other and to learn from each other’s cultural practices. This is part of the healing that demo cracy has brought after culture was used to divide South Africans in the past. For this reason the government has a project called â€Å"Proudly South African† that encourages South Africans to value each other and the country. The past is all around us. We live our lives against a rich backdrop of historic buildings, landscapes and other physical survivals of our past. But the historic environment is more than just a matter of material remains. It is central to how we see ourselves and to our identity as individuals, communities and as a nation. It is a physical record of what our country is and how it came to be. Building materials and styles can define region’s localities and communities. Historic landscapes or iconic buildings can become a focus of community identity and pride. At a more local level a historic church or park can help define a neighbourhood and create a sense of identity and belonging. The importance that we attach to our ‘heritage’ is growing each year, and that is why events such as Heritage Day are important in enabling people to value and appreciate their local, regional and national heritage. I encourage people of all ages to take this opportunity to visit, tour and experience the buildings and streets on your doorstep and learn a little about the rich heritage of the region in which you live. Port Elizabeth and the Eastern Cape is full of heritage. Nation building enables history to be rewritten, and the apartheid legacy of devaluing and erasing the heritage of black South Africans from the consciousness of the nation to be reversed, facilitating healing and further weakening the feelings of â€Å"better† citizenship of one population group over the other. Attempts to reverse this and give back pride to the African, Indian and Coloured South Africans receive support from many people. This includes government efforts to teach children about African heroes and Africa’s contributions to world history and culture. Nation building is necessary to build trust, which is directly linked with stronger economic performance. If all South Africans were passionate and believed in each other and were not divided on many issues as we are, our country would perform better financially and this would improve international investments and job opportunities. We (South Africans) need to develop the same patriotism and passion that the Americans show to their flag and anthem. We can continue to rebuild our nation with our heritage by raising awareness. There are a lot of South Africans who do not know anything about the Heritage of our country, therefore, by having exhibitions, distributing leaflets, organising work groups (community and schools), quarterly newsletters distributed within the community, media exposure or maybe even raising awareness by means of radio shows , talks and shows, we can continue to build our nation. Only when all Africans own and cherish their cultural heritage, when they identify and embrace the majesty of Mapungubwe, when they speak and learn through their languages and can therefore dream, sing and dance in their own languages, shall we see rapid social economic development of the people of Africa. A nation needs a history. History buys you time to get rid of emotional responses and see things rationally. The English civil war, for example, has taught people of Royalist descent that a ruler who leeches the country for his/her personal benefits shouldn’t be tolerated. On the other hand, descendants of Parliamentarians can see that it’s not enough just to chop off a bad king’s head. You need something good to replace him with. England had eleven years of misery after beheading Charles 1, and couldn’t wait to get another king. Nobody could understand that at the time because they were emotionally involved with one side or the other. It took time for both sides to overcome the hurts and prejudices, and to understand what happened, but eventually, they grew as a nation from the lessons learned. Heroes fall into two categories. They can either be people of great achievement (like Newton or Darwin) or they can reflect some aspect of national character (like Robin Hood or Scotland’s William Wallace). Heroes are people that kids can look up to, people who inspire kids to achieve something, and that all helps to form a single national identity. A common identity – the need to preserve it, promote it and keep it alive is a struggle of both individuals and many nations. Your identity is not only a current thing. It is originates from and is dependent upon the sum-total of your cultural heritage. All the things that your ancestors have done on the cultural front, i. e. their language, dances, rituals, dress, food and all that, contribute towards your present identity. As a young South African I feel that the youth of today need to learn and understand the events of the past so we can understand how to move forward in the best interests of all South Africans. I consider it essential for our future that we all stand behind a common identity namely our flag and anthem. Nation building is important and imperative to create a feeling of belonging and with it accountability and responsible behaviour. Efforts must be made to ensure that all cultures are respected and equal citizenship for all guaranteed. This is important because for centuries the dominant people in power aimed to diminish all culture and history of certain cultures and religions. This â€Å"past† obviously did not use heritage to build a nation in order to promote our understanding of a common humanity.