The economics of End Stage Renal Disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The economics of End Stage Renal Disease - Essay Example as enabled the government to control the costs they incur by revision of the delay of treatment services to patients who are not covered by the medical scheme (Kovner, Knickman and Weisfield, 2011). An organization providing ESRD treatment is likely to increase their earnings before deducting the interest they attract on borrowed finances, taxation, depreciations and amortization. With the control of the CMS, it intends to exert on achieving a breakdown of the costs, the organizations will tend to suffer losses. The eventual close down of the service providers will come as a result along with a decline of the quality they dispense. The financial burdens of the disease are also given to commercial and private dispensers to reduce the authorities cost (McKenzie, Pinger and Kotecki, 2011). The major purpose of having the legislation is to ensure that the rates of reimbursement equal the costs incurred in the provision of these services. The patients of the chronic disease are required to join government-sponsored schemes such as Medicare and Medicaid services for them to attain cheaper and subsidized treatment. They can also go for treatment in authorized institutions that dispense the treatment. By joining these schemes, they will be able to acquire the necessary treatment easily, and increase the costs they will incur due to the profits the organization requires. This is because of the governments regulation and subsidies that affect the provision of treatment. Joining of insurance schemes is also another way that patients can be assisted to acquire affordable, high quality and accessible treatment (Milstead, 2004). This is because the companies direct the patients to the best facilities and assist in covering the costs they incur. The provision of the medical facilities by the government ensures that all the patients in their population requiring treatment for the disease get it cheaply and easily. However, patients who are over sixty-five years of age will not

Comparison of Reports Essay Example for Free

Comparison of Reports Essay The ability to read and write reports is an essential skill in today’s world. Therefore we need to acquaint ourselves with the three main types of reports – Informational, Analytical, and Proposals. Informational reports mainly provide facts and figures while analytical reports go one step further and provide an analysis of the facts presented. Proposals are usually prior to writing a full-blown report and contain the methods on how a certain study is to be undertaken. No matter what our occupation is, one thing we will surely deal with is reports whether it be reading and evaluating them or writing them. Therefore it is of importance for a person to be acquainted with three main types of reports – Informational Reports, Analytical Reports, and Proposals. The most basic report is the informational report. As its name implies, an informational report’s main purpose and goal is to provide information in the form of facts, figures, or observations on a certain subject so that the reader will have a better understanding of the subject matter. For informational reports, it is very important to have accurate and significant facts gained from credible sources. An analytical report is similar to an informational report in that it also contains significant and informative facts gained from credible sources but it goes a step further because the author presents an analysis of the information cited in an effort to come up with ways of solving the issue. Usually the author will present facts and figures regarding the subject and then will provide a detailed analysis of these facts and figures in order to shed more light on the subject of the report. (Shurter et al. , 1965) A proposal on the other hand is something that is usually written prior to making a report or a study and states the importance or significance of undertaking that study. (Brown 1955) A proposal is similar to an informational report in that it must include preliminary sources where facts can be gained from. It is similar to an analytical report in the sense that it usually tackles an issue and it proposes to use a certain methodology or framework in which to analyze the data and thereby draw conclusions from. The main purpose for writing a proposal is if you want to undertake a certain study or report and wish to get a professionals’ opinion and advice on your idea for a report or to gain funding from different sponsors. Reference List: Brown, L. (1955). Effective Business Report Writing. Wisconsin: Prentice-Hall. Shurter, R. L. , Williamson J. P. , Broehl, W. G. (1965). Business Research and Report Writing. California: University of California.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt Essay -- Midni

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was written by John Berendt and was 388 pages long. This was a non-fiction story of the beautiful town of Savannah, Georgia. John Berendt was a reporter who lived in New York and one night while dinning out he realized that one plate of food cost him the same amount of money that it would to fly to Savannah. So he did and he found himself in love with the city and stayed. It is a spellbinding story peopled by a gallery of remarkable characters: a fading belle who packs a pistol in her dà ©colletage; a charming, piano-playing con man who moves like a hermit crab from one empty showplace house to the next, accompanied by his high-living entourage and pursued closely by his creditors; a moneyed dowager who conducts business from a cruising Mercedes limousine; a sour alcoholic inventor who claims to own a vial of poison so powerful that it could kill off the entire city; a voodoo priestess in purple shades; and a foul-mouthed black drag queen who passes so convincingly for a woman that she is able to extort abortion money from the parents of her white boyfriend. With these and other people from savannah, Berendt reviles his alliances and enemies in the town where everybody knows everybody else.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The exciting colorful town of Savannah is said to be the main character in this Novel, but the main character was actually John Berendt, he was the narrator and main character . He was a reporter from New York who made savannah and the people in Savannah his interest, his home, and his life. He learned all about this secluded city through observation, meetings, and gossip. He was an intelligent man who always knew where to be at the right time. There was this one scene in the book where he was having an interview with Jim Williams when Danny Hansford walked in, in a tirade, with a shirt on that said F-U on it. Well earlier that day his other friend Joe Oldem had been talking about this strange man who woke up in his bed with that same thing printed on his shirt. John was in the right place at the right time to put two and two together. Jim Williams was the other major character in this book, he was an antique dealer who owned one of the nicest homes in Savannah. He was a major ... ... job at it. The strongest features of the book was the way he described the people and the city as being one, The weakest part of the book was that the actually story of the murder didn’t start until the second part of the book. If I was the author I would probably incorporate more of the murder story line into the first part of the book and introduce the character’s throughout the whole book not just the first part ( the book was separated into a part 1 and part 2).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The ending of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was very satisfactory, Jim was found not guilty of Danny Hansfords’s death. Jim threw his first Christmas party of the year for the first time in 8 years, where he found himself remaking the guest list. Then at the very end he died, I believe that it was ideal for him to die, it was uncanny though that he died in the same place that he would of died 8 years ago if Danny had shot and killed him like he intended too. After Jim’s death Savannah was still the same. It was growing inward away from the real world, living in its own. The book starts with the town and ends with the town and I found that to be very satisfactory.

Dark count or Dark Current is one of the most important CCD specifications, :: Computer Science

Dark count or Dark Current is one of the most important CCD specifications, along with resolution, quantum efficiency and noise figure. Dark count or Dark Current is one of the most important CCD specifications, along with resolution, quantum efficiency and noise figure. Dark current causes an output to occur without the previous introduction of an input. This is caused by the thermal generation and then diffusion of charge. This Dark Current is generated at different locations in the CCD, but the cause of this charge generation is basically the same in all locations. This is because all cases are to do with irregularities in the fundamental crystal structure of the silicon present in CCDs. Examples of these irregularities include metal impurities such as gold, copper or iron, and crystal defects such as dislocations and stacking faults, all of which are known to be thermal generation sites of charge carriers in silicon. THE BEST EXAMPLE OF WHERE THIS DARK Current can be located is at the Silicon Oxide to silicon interface of the MOS capacitor (which is the main building block of a CCD) . This is due to the fact that this is where the largest irregularity in the silicon crystal structure occurs. However, it can also be located in the in the bulk of the silicon both inside and outside the depletion layer, which is defined by the CCD potential wells. To give an example of the amount of Dark Current, which is induced A Kodak KAF-0400 and KAF-1600 sensor is specified to have a Dark Current of 50 electrons being induced per second at 25 degrees c. Taking a one-minute exposure at this temperature would generate 3000 electrons of thermally induced charge, which is calculated by 60secs times 50 electrons. In theory the average Dark Current value can be subtracted from the output value to provide the signal due to photoelectrons. However in reality there are fluctuations in the Dark Current called Dark noise, and this cannot be accounted for in the same way. Noise occurs in different forms such as shot noise and trapping noise which both appear in the CCD channel. It also occurs at the input and output stages as KTC noise, but my main focus shall be on shot noise as it is closely associated with Dark Current. We know that the generation of Dark Current is a totally random process, due to the fact that the generation sites are randomly distributed and perhaps more importantly, the Dark Current generation process is random as a function of time. The number of electrons generated and then collected in a charge packet travelling through the

The Seven Deadly Sins of Mahatma Gandhi

The Seven Deadly Sins mentioned by Mahatma Gandhi are: * Wealth without work Nowadays we can see the evidence of people love to gain money without even have to do some work. Well, we might love to do that. I do want to if I could, haha. However, if we take a deep sight of it, we can see that there will be only two probabilities of people having some wealth without doing any efforts: (1) those people are heading towards laziness and poverty, (2) those people do corruptions. No offense, but money, wealth, is limited, and at one point it will be run out if the people did not do some work to add more money.Another possibility is to do some corruptions. People who corrupt can just manipulate money to add their own budgets. * Pleasure without conscience Conscience. It is the awareness of choosing which one is right or wrong, comes deep beneath the logic. Imagine the world seeking for pleasure without considering their heart. There is no responsibilities for people to share their pleasure w ith other people who are needing. Pleasure without conscience results in an empty world inside people’s hearts, just like spending money without charity. * Knowledge without character Having knowledge without character is like having a gasoline without a car.You might use it for something bad, such as to fire a building. People have the potential (knowledge), thus the character is set to make sure that the knowledge will be used wisely and for an appropriate and good thing. * Commerce (Business) without morality (ethics) Lol as a business management student, I was really taught to have ethics in every move that I make. Business is all about seeking opportunities and gains the highest benefit from others. To decide some plans in a business, environment, society, and even the rival should be considered as the factors to do the business. Will it harm the environment?Hurt the society? Or should we really make the rival bankrupt? Those aspects are little aspects which can bring a bigger problem in the future if we do not pay attention to it. * Science without humanity Have you ever heard of cloning? A-bomb? Deadly mutant virus? There is only a thin layer between humanity and inhumane within science. All those sciences are back to the people themselves; whether they want to develop science with or without humanity. * Religion without sacrifice Nowadays we can see people who are saying with pride, â€Å"I’m a Moslem† or â€Å"I’m a Christian†. But hey, look at their attitudes!If they are Moslem, do they pray? Do they pay zakat? Read Al Quran? I myself cannot say I have done everything Allah asks me to. I still have long to-do lists to do, in a short period of life. Those Christians, do they go to church? See what is actually happening in this world today. I might say praying, and doing every instruction is hard, really hard. Perhaps that is why Mr. Gandhi said that religion without sacrifice is one of the deadly sins. We need to sac rifice some things in order to do the commands of our own religion. * Politics without principle I don’t really understand politics actually.However, we all know that having politics without principle is just like losing directions. Dead Peasant Policy * A corporate-owned life insurance policy that a company may take out on its employees—often without their knowledge—designating the company as beneficiary. If the employee dies young, the company gets tax-free death benefits. If the employee lives long, it has a long-running tax break * Dead Peasant Insurance is sometimes used as a shorthand reference for life insurance policies that insure a company’s rank-and-file employees and name the company as the beneficiary.This means that the company receives the life insurance benefits when the covered employees die. This insurance may also be called â€Å"janitor insurance,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ * The point of â€Å"dead peasant† policies seems to be this: Compa nies contribute money to the policies, which then can be used to pay for a variety of company expenses. In addition, when employees, retirees and former employees die, the company receives tax-free death benefits. Life insurance used to be rather straightforward, known for offering security to loved ones in a tough time. So when Irma Johnson learned that her husband, Daniel, who died of brain cancer, had been insured or $1. 5 million, it should have been at least a small comfort. But she did not receive the money. His employer did. It's one of the strangest free-market perversions that Michael Moore highlights in his latest film, â€Å"Capitalism: A Love Story. † In the corporate practice dubbed â€Å"Dead Peasants† life insurance, companies wager on employees' lives, expecting to make money when they die. And it's pervasive, said Mike Myers, an attorney who has uncovered many of these cases and helped angry relatives sue. â€Å"Life insurance is traditionally used to guard against the death of breadwinners.This is an investment scheme,† he said. Dozens of blue chip companies have these policies, according to Myers. But only banks are forced to reveal them, and several have billions of dollars worth of policies. â€Å"The driving force behind it is the tax deductions,† he said. The life insurance policies were designed to allow companies to insure a few crucial executives. Savvy companies then realized they could also get a tax break by insuring many lower-level employees. The financial scheme doesn't actually cost the employees anything, except, some say, their trust.Betina Tillman felt shocked and deceived when a reporter from The Wall Street Journal told her that her brother, a music store cashier, was insured by his employer for $339,000 when he died, despite the fact that he no longer worked at the store. â€Å"We were just in disbelief they were able to do it, and actually cash the policy and cash in on the policy,† Til lman said. Families Battle in Court She sued, and won. Now, the government mandates that companies obtain the consent of employees. In the case of Daniel Johnson, Amegy Bank told ABC News that Johnson did give his consent, but Irma disputes that, and she's suing.Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, has pushed for even tougher restrictions. â€Å"We hope our laws are based on not only fairness, but morals,† Green told ABC News. â€Å"And to me, it's immoral to benefit from your death if I don't know you. † Meanwhile, for those who feel they have been wronged and were never told about the insurance, it's up to them to brave the court system. â€Å"It was a matter of making sure we did the right thing and something that would honor our brother,† Tillman said. â€Å"We sent a message across to that company, to let them know you may have gotten away with it all these years, but not this time. CURRENT EVENTS ? Region 8 Get P7 New COLA; P6 Wage Hike In Region 3 MB – Fri, Oct 5, 2012 MANILA, Philippines – Minimum wage earners in Region VIII will get a P7. 00 Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) in their daily wage rate which will be effective on October  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Program Boosts Food Security, Income MB – Fri, Oct 5, 2012 ILOILO CITY (PIA) – The implementation of a nationwide rural development program â€Å"Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP),† which will cover 80 provinces in Luzon,  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? 3 Women Man Shar'iah Courts MB – Fri, Oct 5, 2012MANILA, Philippines – Three Muslim women are manning three Shar'iah Circuit Courts in Mindanao. ? Binay Maintains High Trust Rating MB – Thu, Oct 4, 2012 MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos continue to appreciate the work of and maintain trust in the Vice President and Senate President, according the latest Pulse Asia sur  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Centcom Vows More Insurgency-Free Provinces MB – Tue, Oct 2, 2012 CAMP LAPU-LAPU, Cebu City – Newly install ed Central Command (Centcom) commander Rear Admiral Jose Luis Alano during a recent turn-over ceremony here announced that more  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Trainers Program For IT-BPO MB – Tue, Oct 2, 2012MANILA, Philippines – To haul in US$25 billion revenues in four years, the government and the private sector yesterday launched a P25. 2-million trainers' training program  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Road Quality, Safety Improvement Cited MB – Mon, Oct 1, 2012 MANILA, Philippines – The freak vehicular accident in Nueva Ecija that claimed at least nine lives last week should remind national and local authorities of the need  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Visayas Energy Facilities Upgrade Completed MB – Mon, Oct 1, 2012 TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol – The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) announced that it has completed the upgrade of its Energy Management System (EMS) in ?DENR, Foresters Host Subic Summit MB – Mon, Oct 1, 2012 SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – The recent 2012 National Forestry Summit at the Subic Freeport, participated in by some 1,200 foresters, academicians, state workers, and wood industry   ? Philippines' 2013 elections: Same faces but new foes ANN – Mon, Oct 1, 2012 Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) – The electoral matchups in many parts of the Philippines for 2013 show veteran politicians returning to the campaign trail to  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ E2 po link ng mga current events. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/October_2012

Free Essays on San Francisco Earthquake

On April 18, 1906, shortly after 5:00 a.m., a great earthquake struck San Francisco and a long narrow band of towns, villages, and countryside to the north-northwest and south-southeast. Many buildings were wrecked; hundreds of people were killed; electric power lines and gas mains were broken. Fires broke out and burned wildly for days, utterly out of control because of severed water mains. The ground had broken open for more than 270 miles along a great fault - the San Andreas rift. The country on the east side of the rift had moved southward relative to the country on the west side of the rift. The greatest displacement had been 21 feet about 30 miles northwest of San Francisco. Nearly all the scientists in California began immediately to assemble observations on the results of the quake. Professor A.C. Lawson, chairman of the geology department at the University of California, took the first steps that led to Governor George C. Pardee's appointment, three days after the shock, of a State Earthquake Investigation Commission to unify the work of scientific investigations then under way. The members of this Commission were Professor Lawson, Chairman; J.C. Branner, professor of geology at Stanford University; Charles Burckhalter, director of the Chabot Observatory at Oakland; W. W. Campbell, director of Lick Observatory; George Davidson, professor of astronomy at the University of California; G.K. Gilbert, geologist of the U.S. Geological Survey; A. O. Leuschner, professor of astronomy at the University of California; and H.F. Reid, professor of geology at Johns Hopkins University. With the exceptions of Gilbert and Reid, none of the Commission members were the n known as students of earthquakes. Nevertheless, they were a distinguished and highly competent group of men. Two of the geologists and two of the astronomers were then members of the National Academy of Sciences and three others subsequently became members of that body. ... Free Essays on San Francisco Earthquake Free Essays on San Francisco Earthquake On April 18, 1906, shortly after 5:00 a.m., a great earthquake struck San Francisco and a long narrow band of towns, villages, and countryside to the north-northwest and south-southeast. Many buildings were wrecked; hundreds of people were killed; electric power lines and gas mains were broken. Fires broke out and burned wildly for days, utterly out of control because of severed water mains. The ground had broken open for more than 270 miles along a great fault - the San Andreas rift. The country on the east side of the rift had moved southward relative to the country on the west side of the rift. The greatest displacement had been 21 feet about 30 miles northwest of San Francisco. Nearly all the scientists in California began immediately to assemble observations on the results of the quake. Professor A.C. Lawson, chairman of the geology department at the University of California, took the first steps that led to Governor George C. Pardee's appointment, three days after the shock, of a State Earthquake Investigation Commission to unify the work of scientific investigations then under way. The members of this Commission were Professor Lawson, Chairman; J.C. Branner, professor of geology at Stanford University; Charles Burckhalter, director of the Chabot Observatory at Oakland; W. W. Campbell, director of Lick Observatory; George Davidson, professor of astronomy at the University of California; G.K. Gilbert, geologist of the U.S. Geological Survey; A. O. Leuschner, professor of astronomy at the University of California; and H.F. Reid, professor of geology at Johns Hopkins University. With the exceptions of Gilbert and Reid, none of the Commission members were the n known as students of earthquakes. Nevertheless, they were a distinguished and highly competent group of men. Two of the geologists and two of the astronomers were then members of the National Academy of Sciences and three others subsequently became members of that body. ...

Thomas R. Gray essays

Thomas R. Gray essays Thomas R. Gray, during the time of the interview, was a man of thirty-one years of age and was not very successful in his practice as a lawyer and a farmer. Gradually having to sell off his land bit by bit and many of his slaves, Gray tried to find other occupations that might pay higher than his current job. When the Nat Turner rebellion occurred, Gray had to have realized how big this story was. Not only had one of the biggest slave rebellions in American history just occurred, but also the authorities had the main instigator alive in a prison cell. Gray probably realized controversy would erupt over what Turner had to say, and so he left for Jerusalem, Virginia right away to interview Turner before he was arraigned and hung. Gray could not have written the interview verbatim. The technology of the day would not have allowed it, and it is not normal for a person being interviewed to speak slowly enough to remind the interviewer to write down everything as it is said. It is more likely that Gray just jotted down notes, bits and pieces, of what Turner actually said to him. After the interview, when Gray was writing the final article for publishing, he put it in words that Turner did not actually say. For example, As we approached the house we discovered Mr. Richard Whitehead standing in the cotton patch, near the lane fence; we called him over into the lane, and Will, the executioner, was near at hand, with his fatal axe, to send him to an untimely grave. It is unlikely that Turner used those exact words. Turner taught himself how to read and write. He might have had an extensive vocabulary but it is unlikely that he used those exact words. It is more likely that when Gray was filling in the empty spots he did so in his own words, and even sometimes with vocabulary that made Turner into a mad genius. Gray most likely did this so that it would increase the shock value of the story; a better story made for a greater aud...

Julia Laflin on writing The House At Roc Noir

Julia Laflin on writing The House At Roc Noir A Reedsy Success Story - Julia Laflin’s The House At Roc Noir We see so many amazing projects go through our platform that we sometimes feel bad about not bragging more about them. So that’s we’re doing today by letting Julia Laflin share her Reedsy experiences on our blog, and offer some invaluable pieces of advice for other authors out there. Our favourite:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"My working relationship with Lane has been one of the most helpful and productive experiences that I could have wished for, so if you’re about to self-publish, don’t skimp on the editorial process and make sure you find an editor who inspires you to do better.†You can more of our success stories right here!  Otherwise, take it away, Julie.I’m Julia Laflin, writer and author of The House At Roc Noir, an atmospheric novella set in the lonely wilds of Corsica, which has recently been selling very nicely as a self-published ebook. The initial draft of the book was as a long short story, however knowing that traditional publishers have little appetite for publishing single stories, I decided to take the self-publishing route.My first step was to find an editor and cover designer. Having spent some time wondering where to find a professional editor and designer, I eventually met an author at a Byte the Book gathering who told me he’d used Reedsy.   This network of professionals almost rhymes with easy-peasy - and when my turn came, Reedsy really was easy-peasy to use! What I hadn’t anticipated was just how fascinating and enjoyable the editing process would turn out to be.Having scrolled through the CVs and biographies of all the experienced editors vetted by Reedsy, I matched myself with Lane Ashfeldt. I was attracted to Lane because she’s an award-winning author who also teaches creative writing and has experience as an editor of both short fiction and novels. Even better, her published collection of fiction, SaltWater, seemed to have thematic resonances with my project. The target audience for The House At Roc Noir is more likely to be female, so it also seemed sensible to pitch for a female editor (sorry, chaps!). The only thing that was missing was a mention of a cat in her blurb. Never mind, she probably hates them. I’ll have to ask her one day. My Reedsy cover designer, Lizzie Gardiner, mentioned her cat, so that made up for it.I was delighted when Lane and I struck our bargain and started our collaboration. Lane suggested a structural edit and, as it was a short piece at 15,000 words, she offered to do a line by line edit too. She asked for a steer on genre and target audience, as well as a synopsis and some photographs of Corsica from my travels.She read my draft and sent me a detailed editorial assessment with developmental edit suggestions. It was like a school report but in a good way. Overall she called it ‘a very satisfying short read’, praising its ‘psychological suspense’ and ’atmospheric setting’. She then follo wed it with some great practical advice to develop the text even further.The opening of the story introduces Alice and her lawyer husband Nick travelling to a remote bay in the north of the island. Lane suggested strengthening the beginning by turning the holiday location into a birthday surprise for Alice. Her guidance included better ‘ordering and sequencing’ of the journey to keep the reader in the ‘now’ of the narrative. She also made it clear however, that this did not necessitate extensive rewrites. Lane reminded me that it’s important that ‘we get the story and the other characters filtered very much through Alice’s perspective’. I’d slipped on the writer’s equivalent of that bar of soap a couple of times. Also, I needed to allow Nick to do more and develop his character which in turn, after rewrites, led to a more interesting husband and wife dynamic.Then I spotted a margin note: ‘I’ve begun to w onder if there perhaps ought to be more definite indications of a sex life between Alice and Nick†.  Given the genre and the intended readership, this did seem like a missing element. With a big gulp, I went back to the manuscript to insert some subtle steaminess into my couple’s activities! Lane liked Cally, Nick and Alice’s daughter, and the restaurant owner Antoine and she suggested that I expand both of their roles in the story. I threw in a cat too, basically a carbon copy of the tabby that’s lolling on my desk right now. Lane liked the cat but possibly only in her professional capacity as character assessor†¦The end section of my story shifted to reported events, from Nick’s viewpoint. Lane pointed out (spoiler on the horizon) that although this worked it prevented an interpretation ‘that might include Alice and demonstrate her recovery from the events’. So it was back to the keyboard again to reimagine the last section wit h Alice at the heart of the narrative. I liked the changes, which gave the story a much greater sense of resolution.Other points that changed in rewrites were the length and the title of the book. Lane advised that a longer read would hit the KDP pot of gold as an increased royalty rate kicks in at certain price points. The suggested revisions also extended the length significantly. The finished length was 25,000 words – technically a novella rather than a short story. My working title was ‘The Sea House’, however I hadn’t thought to check online. Lane pointed out it had been expended by Esther Freud and others - not necessarily a barrier to usage, but something she wanted to check whether I was aware of, or not. I had a think about this and came up with several possible new titles, which were duly cross-tested on a few potential buyers. Finally I selected the new title, The House At Roc Noir. Fortunately the cover art had not yet been commissioned, so mak ing this change did not incur any additional costs.Lane was really generous with her time and I felt that she was fully involved with the process. She was clear that while she hoped her input and suggestions made it easier for me to finish, she insisted that ‘it is important for you to own and control this story – not me!’I soft-launched ‘The House At Roc Noir’ in mid-May and it made it half-way up the top 100 paid Kindle holiday reads in the first week of publication and the feedback so far has been positive. I’ve plenty more to do to reach out to summer holiday readers, as well as progress my Greek family saga novel. My working relationship with Lane has been one of the most helpful and productive experiences that I could have wished for, so if you’re about to self-publish, don’t skimp on the editorial process and make sure you find an editor who inspires you to do better.Follow Julia, Lane and Reedsy on Twitter:  @Julia_Lafl in,  @Ashfeldt  and @ReedsyHQ.Do you also work with a developmental editor for your stories? What has been your experience with him/her? Leave us your thoughts, or any question for Julia or Lane, in the comments below!

Intellectual Disabilities and its categories Essay

Intellectual Disabilities and its categories - Essay Example The outcome is severe personality disorder followed by lack of communicational skills. Such patients possess attitude problem like speech disorder, mental disorder and are often tended towards what we call as 'roller coaster of thoughts'. However, the dilemma remains that this lifelong disease is responsible for conducting many suicidal behaviors, mood instabilities and frustration causing serious crime and is still not given that much attention as it supposed to be given. Siever et al describes Schizotypal disability as a disorder, which shares common phenomenological, genetic, biologic, outcome, and treatment response characteristics with more severely ill chronic schizophrenic patients. (Siever & Davis) However, at the same time, they are freer from the multiple artifacts that potentially confound research in schizophrenia including the effects of long-term and usually ongoing medication treatment, multiple hospitalizations or institutionalization, and prolonged functional impairment secondary to chronic psychosis and social deterioration. (Siever & Davis) Genetic Factors: Studies have shown that that if one person has schizophrenia, the chance for another person also sharing the disorder depends on the degree of genetic relatedness between them. For example if one twin has schizophrenia, the chance that the co-twin will also have schizophrenia is around 18% if they are non identical twins but 48% if they are identical twins as identical twins share 100% of their genes. (Rapee, 2001:22) Neurotransmitters/ Disconnection Syndrome: The biological models of schizophrenia emphasize neurochemical dysregulation or anatomical changes in the brain. The most widely disseminated and thoroughly developed biological theories include the neurotransmitter model. (Beebe, 2003) The cause of Schizophrenia is followed by one of the most widely accepted theory named "Dopamine Theory". This hypothesis states that schizophrenia can be understood in cognitive terms, as a failure of functional integration within the brain. Functional integration refers to the interactions of functionally specialised systems (i.e., populations of neurons, cortical areas and sub-areas) that are required for adaptive sensorimotor integration, perceptual synthesis and cognition. (Friston, 2002) According to this theory, most of the symptoms of schizophrenia are the result of having excessive levels of dopamine, especially in the mesolimbic pathways of the brain. (Carson & Sanislow, 1993) Several sources support this theory. First many of the drugs that are used to treat schizophrenia seem to work primarily by blocking certain dopamine receptors in the brain. Second certain drugs that have been found to increase levels of dopamine in the brain also produce symptoms that are very similar to those found in schizophrenia. An appropriate example is the

UNIT 6 Discussion Legal & Ethical Isuues Research Paper

UNIT 6 Discussion Legal & Ethical Isuues - Research Paper Example The supervisor has then consults with experts as indication of responsibility to offer high quality care for client. The two methods of supervision are involuntary supervision and consultative supervision. Involuntary supervision involves a situation where the supervisor is powerful enough to evaluate and decide on issues related to appointment, firing, endorsement, and remunerations as well as education and support. Conversely, consultative supervision involves a supervisee hiring a supervisor for guidance in clinical work. Whether involuntary or consultative, the supervisor must offer competent services to their clients through trust and shared meaning. As a consultant for a mental health center, the considerations to determining my ability to serve competently include specialized training, determine knowledge in the mental health field, and evaluate my personal abilities like empathy, honesty, respect, supportive, capability to confront, and promotion of supervisee growth and advancement (Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2011). The consultative supervision would involve professional disclosure statement to promote discussion through informed consent. To promote mutually beneficial and satisfactory consultative relationships, I will devote time and effort to the relationship, grow the relationship through demonstration of integrity, professionalism, and proficiency, identify and approach multifaceted relationships uniquely, take time to know the client and define operational values to operate within and emphasize

Tab M Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tab M - Essay Example The present duty of the Missouri Secretary of State includes overseeing different crucial areas, which are generally election related, business related and other government related operations. In the election related operations, the Secretary of State often play the role of the main election official during the state elections. Secretary of State also regulates the office where registration of candidate takes place. In business duties, the Secretary of State is responsible for the registration of all the profit and non-profit based organizations within the state. Additionally, the Secretary of State does have to keep an eye over the libraries and archives of the state along with handling of other operations such as issuing of automobile registrations among others (sos.mo.gov, â€Å"Publications & Forms†). The ‘Streamlined Sales and the Use of Tax Agreement (SSUTA)’ is generally a kind of agreement implemented by the government of the United States, so as to carry out the sales process and the tax administration system within the member states in a simplified and transparent manner (mobudget.org, â€Å"Streamlined Sales And 2 Use Tax Agreement†). Currently, SSUTA is implemented with the prime intention of making Missouri capable enough to adopt the definition along with the procedures of the sales tax that has been agreed upon by all the 22 member states (Blouin, â€Å"Missouri House Committee Substitute Streamlined Sales Tax Bill Contains Significant Negative Policy Consequences†). The Streamline Sales tax Project (SSTP) is highly effective in simplifying the tax regulations and the sales process. The guidelines of the SSTP have subsequently helped multiple states within US in terms of upgrading their sales and tax systems (Streamlined Sales tax Project, â€Å"Welcome to the Streamlined Sales Tax Registration System†). The archives of the Missouri

On The Semiosphere by Juri Lotman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

On The Semiosphere by Juri Lotman - Essay Example Here, Lotman has successfully put forth an example which could make his complex arguments very clear to even a lay person, through the use of analogy. The allegory is easy to understand for the reader. The overall conclusion that this essay arrives at is that, â€Å"the levels of the semiosphere comprise an inter-connected group of semiospheres, each of them being simultaneously both participant in the dialogue (as part of the semiosphere) and the space of dialogue (the semiosphere as a whole)† (Lotman, 205). Lotman has started his essay by referring to the two major schools of thought in semiotics, one the Saussurian school which focuses on the ‘act of communication’ and the Piercean school which stresses on the ‘sign’, the basic, coded, element of communication (205). Then he moves ahead to point out that both these schools have some thing in common, which is the stress that they give either to a single communication act or a single sign, ie; a sing le, atomic element (Lotman, 206). By describing this background, Lotman starts a logical reasoning process by giving chronological data and putting it as a block in the very beginning of the essay.   He has argued that, in this way, â€Å"the individual act of sign exchange has come to be regarded as a model of natural language [†¦] -as universal semiotic models† (Lotman, 206).In the next step of his rhetoric, Lotman has contested this conventional thought. He has opined that, this kind of reasoning is part of the traditional and flawed scientific thinking., where one is tempted always to move â€Å"from the simple to the complex’, and whereby one gets trapped into attributing a character to the object of study, just because it provided some convenience to make an analysis (Lotman, 206). In this way, Lotman has been applying the method of logos which says that the study of communication, or

Global Warming effects human health Research Paper

Global Warming effects human health - Research Paper Example The research paper â€Å"Global Warming effects human health† describes various deteriorating health threats one is going to experience during his lifespans due to the reduced air quality and dreadful conditions of food and water to growing amounts of allergens and disastrous weather events. At present there is general unanimity that the Earth is warming at a faster level than the previous century’s where hunter-gatherer human existence. The previous decade was the warmest from the time when instrumental archives initiated in the nineteenth century. The reasons of this change are more and more well assumed that there is fresh and sturdier proof that most of the warming witnessed over the last fifty years is possibly ascribed by human actions, primarily the release of greenhouse gases produced from fossil fuels. Anxieties on the typical weather system are already producing effects on Earth’s surface. These comprise not only mounting surface temperatures, however, as well more and more recurrent floods and droughts, and variations in normal ecologies, for example earlier flowering of vegetation, and pole ward movements in the dispersal of numerous species. Such vicissitudes are intimately related to human health. Weather conditions disturb human health, through the bodily effects of weather excesses, and secondarily, through effects on the levels of contamination in the air, on the farming, marine and freshwater schemes that offer food and water, and pathogens that result in communicable ailments. This paper mainly explains health impacts of global warming, climate change, deforestation, global warming, greenhouse effect, and greenhouse gases (McMichael). Global Warming Global warming is well documented by researchers all over the globe as a crucial community health and ecological anxiety. Mainly because of the use of fossil fuels, bigger levels of greenhouse gases in the air are resulting in greater global temperatures that cause adverse eco logical, air quality and human health concerns. The report on climate change by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007, global temperatures have increased by 1.3?F over the previous century and are expected to rise between 2? and 11.5?F by 2100, Global warming has been perceived to reduce air quality, escalating sea levels, melting glaciers, dangerous hurricanes, more strong and extended droughts, more recurrent heat waves, forest fires and other threats to human health. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) stated that greenhouse gases cause air contamination and threaten the civic health and well-being of present and upcoming generations. California’s civic health toll due to air pollution is currently very high, and upshots in billions of dollars in healthcare costs each year as of early deaths and remedial mediations (see table-1for statistics). The California Air Resources Board (CARB) evaluations that revelation to harmful leve ls of Particulate matter and ozone adds to huge number of early deaths, asthma attacks, and admittance to hospitals and lots of lost school and work days from breathing and cardiac diseases each year. Particulate matter estimates for the major early demises linked with air contamination, even though ozone adds to hundreds of early deaths each year in California. Contact to great levels of air contaminants, as well as particle pollution, besides has been made known to lessen lung development and function in children, causing in weak lungs (Children’

On The Semiosphere by Juri Lotman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

On The Semiosphere by Juri Lotman - Essay Example Here, Lotman has successfully put forth an example which could make his complex arguments very clear to even a lay person, through the use of analogy. The allegory is easy to understand for the reader. The overall conclusion that this essay arrives at is that, â€Å"the levels of the semiosphere comprise an inter-connected group of semiospheres, each of them being simultaneously both participant in the dialogue (as part of the semiosphere) and the space of dialogue (the semiosphere as a whole)† (Lotman, 205). Lotman has started his essay by referring to the two major schools of thought in semiotics, one the Saussurian school which focuses on the ‘act of communication’ and the Piercean school which stresses on the ‘sign’, the basic, coded, element of communication (205). Then he moves ahead to point out that both these schools have some thing in common, which is the stress that they give either to a single communication act or a single sign, ie; a sing le, atomic element (Lotman, 206). By describing this background, Lotman starts a logical reasoning process by giving chronological data and putting it as a block in the very beginning of the essay.   He has argued that, in this way, â€Å"the individual act of sign exchange has come to be regarded as a model of natural language [†¦] -as universal semiotic models† (Lotman, 206).In the next step of his rhetoric, Lotman has contested this conventional thought. He has opined that, this kind of reasoning is part of the traditional and flawed scientific thinking., where one is tempted always to move â€Å"from the simple to the complex’, and whereby one gets trapped into attributing a character to the object of study, just because it provided some convenience to make an analysis (Lotman, 206). In this way, Lotman has been applying the method of logos which says that the study of communication, or

Consider all of the elements of control used by the Party in the Coursework

Consider all of the elements of control used by the Party in the selections from Nineteen Eighty Four - Coursework Example Police were feared to the extent that it was thought everywhere any time one was being seen by a police officer. This made the masses as seen in the behavior of prisoners timid and as such they couldn’t even air out their minds. There were arbitrary arrests and convictions without trial with the subjects being forced to confess to false of crimes such as sabotage, espionage and embezzlement. The party employed a lot of propaganda in management of its affairs; there was an underground movement of conspirators (the brotherhood) which was spreading fear and labeling party rebels. it excites to not how power can be used by a party to propagate vested interests, instill fear in masses and hence ensure they submit completely. Separation was ripe with party members being restricted from going just to any shop. This was to force even those with divergent views succumb bow to pressure and dance to the whims of the party. People were totally deprived of their fundamental freedoms such a s free association, freedom of speech and others. In conclusion therefore Nineteen Eighty Four is a perfect narration of how regimes can engage in evil doing, deprive masses of their rights and employ unethical means to seize control. People are forcefully forced to sing party slogans, made to keep silent and not question anything happening around for fear of being punished. The writer is a victim and is in prison for obvious political reasons; they are tortured in prison and forced to confess to charges that are not

Individual Solve a Problem Paper Essay Example for Free

Individual Solve a Problem Paper Essay This document PHL 458 Week 2 Individual Solve a Problem Paper has solutions of the following question: Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper in which you use the creative process to solve a problem with which you have experience. Include the following: †¢ Describe each stage in the creative process using Ch. 5 of your text. †¢ Search for a personal challenge. Explain how you used the techniques to develop curiosity in your search (see Ch. 6). †¢ Express the problem created by this personal challenge (see Ch. 7). Refine your expression of the problem by considering multiple perspectives and deciding which expression is best. Include both the initial and the refined version. Justify your revision. †¢ Investigate the problem by obtaining necessary information (see Ch. 8). List the questions must answer to understand the problem. Identify a source of information to answer each question. †¢ Conclude your investigation with a thorough explanation of the problem, including answers to each of the questions you identified. †¢ Produce ideas toward solution of this problem (see Ch. 9). List all of your ideas—whether they are ridiculous or serious is not important. †¢ Discuss the two ideas that you think are the most imaginative, original, and positive potential solutions to the problem. †¢ Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. General Questions General General Questions Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper in which you use the creative process to solve a problem with which you have experience. Include the following: Describe each stage in the creative process using Ch. 5 of your text. Search for a personal challenge. Explain how you used the techniques to develop curiosity in your search (see Ch. 6). Express the problem created by this personal challenge (see Ch. 7). Refine your expression To get this material Click this link https://bitly.com/12CdUy1 Avoid distractions when you are in class. Sure, it may be tempting to send a text or write a note in class, but by becoming distracted, you are not going to learn. You can prevent distractions by limiting what you bring to class with you; for instance, leave your cell phone in your dorm. General Questions General General Questions Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper in which you use the creative process to solve a problem with which you have experience. Include the following: Describe each stage in the creative process using Ch. 5 of your text. Search for a personal challenge. Explain how you used the techniques to develop curiosity in your search (see Ch. 6). Express the problem created by this personal challenge (see Ch. 7). Refine your expression of the problem by considering multiple perspectives and deciding which expression is best. Include both the initial and the refined version. Justify your revision. Investigate the problem by obtaining necessary information (see Ch. 8). List the questions must answer to understand the problem. Identify a source of information to answer each question. Conclude your investigation with a thorough explanation of the problem,mincluding answers to each of the questions you identified. Produce ideas toward solution of this problem (see Ch. 9). List all of your ideas—whether they are ridiculous or serious is not important. Discuss the two ideas that you think are the most imaginative, original, and positive potential solutions to the problem. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

Effects of Viewpoints on Childcare Health Practice

Effects of Viewpoints on Childcare Health Practice Naela Mahboob How do ideas about childhood and families influence practice? When looking at ideas of childhood and families we bring in various views of how practitioners and professionals can help in supporting their needs in living a good and healthy lifestyle. The main aim is to ensure that development is being promoted and that every child is included within our society. The studies give information for human/childhood behaviour, attitudes, thought patterns, predictions, age range, gender and even cultural data; which in return allow programmes to be developed towards certain age group, gender, culture and ethnicity. The study of childhood behaviour and family is the baseline study from which theorists develop their theory. One of the main theoretical frameworks used to identify childhood and family behaviour is the social constructionism theory. Through social constructionism we are able to analyse our understanding of children and families in order to help, use and create an in depth knowledge in our work with children. It is stated that ‘Social constructionism provides us with a theoretical tool that can help us look at concepts like ‘childhood’ and how these concepts inform thinking, shapes our institutions and inform policy and practice’ (K218, Learning Guide 4, Section 4.3). It is a framework that helps us to understand ideas about childhood and families and in ways in which we can improve practices with them. With frameworks as such a more positive view is taken and the importance of families and children is taken at a high standard, tackling all issues and influe ncing practices deeply. Socially constructed views can have a huge effect on practice as it allows practitioners to be able to identify in depth any arising issues and to be able to find various methods and techniques to resolve them. In order to provide good practice it is necessary to ensure that the child’s needs are put first and are met to the highest ability. In order to put the children’s needs first, practitioners need to provide scaffolding for them ensuring they fully understand the child and are aware in detail of the support that is required. Many emotional strings are attached when working with children as they are vulnerable and unaware of life situations and these ideas give practitioners stronger connections in the way they work with them. It is stated, (K218, Learning Guide 4, Section 4.3) that ‘these social constructions of children are powerful – as many of us feel very strongly when we see images of children and young people in positions of vulnerabilityâ€℠¢. Working in an environment with children creates a raft of new ideas as day to day issues may arise, which in time help in overcoming barriers, developing a better working environment. As well as this due to the lack of resources within families, many of them struggle with stress and poor mental health. Therefore practitioners should prioritise children’s health and wealth being and also guide parents by working with them to access outside support and make use of resources that are accessible to them. The involvement of parents in their child’s education is vital as they have the responsibility to influence there learning by showing support at home and taking part in educational needs. Children with no support from families are vulnerable of becoming a part of the communities’ dangerous socialites. Clearly indicting, ‘A social constructionist argument here is that, the language we use actively constructs and produces the social world in which we live’(K218, Learning Guide 4, Section 4.3). The idea now of bringing agencies to support the home and child in achieving an education has increased. Further guidelines and procedures have been put in place to reach out to parents as well as to influence children in working towards leading a good life and successful future, ensuring now that the child becomes a vital member of society. With this in place, parents are trained to contribute fully, in creating a safe environment for their children, by attending works hops, open days and parent’s evenings. Working alongside families is a crucial aspect when dealing with and taking care of children. Parents, guardians and carers play a vital role in the wellbeing of their children and they must be included within every aspect and decision making any practitioners make, with regards to their children. Practitioners have a duty of providing ongoing support to families when needed in difficult situations. It is specified that, ‘it is important that practitioners are able to assess families where there are difficulties and respond appropriately’ (K218, Learning Guide 5, Section 5.5). Thus, good practice such as observing the interactions between children and parents and also observing they live and work in. must be portrayed by practitioners to influence children’s development, so that, parents are able to take good care of the upbringing of their children. This also helps pupils develop and exceed in their own educational attainments and future wellbeing. However, the main challenges for practitioners are working and dealing with parents who are difficult or unwilling to engage with services. In many situations parents disagree with the support them or their children are being given, leading to conflicting issues. There are many reasons as to why families refuse to participate with the services, which can cause several problems for practitioners in helping them maintain their lifestyles and resolving any issues they may be facing. It is identified (K218, Learning Guide 5, Section 5) ‘working with children, young people and families inevitably involves working with families who are experiencing difficulties, and practitioners need to develop the knowledge and skills to work with these families’. A number of families may feel that they know what is best for their children and therefore are not in need of any help. As well as this many have a lack of trust in the ‘systems’ put in place, which may be due to previ ously bad experiences. To influence practices these issues need to be taken into consideration by practitioners and the knowledge of these situations needs to be a key principle. Over the years, there have been many labels attached to the concepts of childhood and families. The most common label attached to children is disability. The idea of labelling influences practice vastly when working with children and families, as being labelled as disabled often leaves children feeling separated and being looked upon differently within the society, meaning parents needing extra support it taking care of their children. ‘Supporting families where there is an identified need means working with the family as a whole rather than focusing on the needs of one member as opposed to another, although practitioners still have an obligation to assess the needs of the child’ (K218, Learning Guide 5, Section 5.4). In certain circumstances a lot of responsibility comes on the practitioners as they have to work closely alongside the family and a lot of other professionals to ensure the children are developing both mentally and physically. Those with disabilities are in need of extra attention and the need to feel included in order for them to cope. The impact this has on the child’s life can be minimised and improved through resources and professional support from practitioner agencies. The surveillance of children, young people and families has a huge impact on influencing practice. There are many advantages of the use of surveillance, through surveillance we are able to monitor families and children and identify problems they may be facing. One of the main advantages is being able to observe in detail the development of children ensuring that they are protected from any harm. Garret, 2004 ‘links the increased surveillance of children not only to the belief that children need to be protected, but also to the belief that young people need to properly prepared for the world of work, so that they can function in the ‘flexible’ labour market’ (Arai, 2011) As well as this families health and wellbeing can also be closely monitored and with the information given, sufficient amount of support can be provided. With this idea there are also some implications which families go through. One of the main issues is the pressure practitioners, families a nd children face in being looked upon continuously. If a family has been assessed as being in need of monitoring they then have to go through a lot of procedures and regular visits being observed thoroughly. With the use of social constructivist frameworks and through intense studies, programmes are piloted and when deemed successful it is then used in all institutions, via insets/training. Piloted scheme are used quite often base from studies conducted from different childhood experiences and a variety of families situations. Recently, awareness has been raised with the major changes families and children face. ‘These changes in society, family structure, attitudes and practice mean that children and young people have diverse experiences of family life’ (K218, Learning Guide 5, Section 5.2). With this board pictures and feedback from surveys, it is tailor made and created into programmes from life cases studies. Without ideas/cases studies from those areas the programmes are not reliable and success isn’t certain. One of the key challenges is responding to diversity in parenting within practice and assessment. Diversity is sometimes a difficult concept for practitioners to deal with. It is stated ‘Practitioners need to think carefully about the assumptions they make about people to make sure they treat everyone with respect and work to promote equality in the treatment and opportunities offered to all children, young people and families’ (K218, Learning Guide 6, Section 6.1). To influence practice it is necessary that practitioners promote equality and diversity within the working environment. In the Leith example we saw how, due to the social and economic changes, a more diverse community had been created in which children and young people were growing up in. The media as we know plays a huge part in exposing information and opinions on children and young people. The way in which they are seen, often has a huge impact on the way they are treated and taken care of, when working with them. To be able to work effectively with them practitioners need to adapt a positive approach and can influence the decisions taken on their behalf and how the rest of the community see them. ‘Participation involves sharing images and headlines about children and young people as well as discussing discourses of childhood and youth’(K218, Learning Guide 4, Section 4.4). The media can help in reminding people that children deserve to be respected and are permitted to equal rights as well as raising an awareness of their needs. Through the media, we are able to visualise children in depth, showing a clear understanding and seeking out ways to tackle difficult issues in order to influence practice. To be able to work effectively with them practitioner s need to adapt a positive approach by allowing the opportunity for them to be able to speak up for themselves. Our ideas of childhood and families come across a variety of experiences brought forward throughout the centuries. Working alongside families and their children has now become a central focus in ensuring their needs are being fulfilled. Many codes of practice, frameworks and guidelines have been set out to ensure good practice is being influenced conducted across all institutions to send forth a uniformed approach to the people being serviced. The change in perspective and thought about childhood and families, when designing service plans, the need of the individual, educational programme, and policy and funding decisions. In the delivery of a quality service, practitioners have to put them self aside; their crucial thinking, the way of doing things in order to best understand the people they service. With regards to the cultural differences studied, the practitioners now develop an in depth understanding behind their actions. This eliminates stereotypes and al service providers to e mbrace the diversity of young people’s cultures. References Arai, L. (2011) ‘The Surveillance of children, young people and families’ in O’Dell L. and Leverett S. (eds) Working With Children and Young People, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan/ Milton Keynes, The Open University. Kellett, J. and Apps, J. (2011) ‘Assessments of parenting and parenting support need’; in K218 Reading, Working with Children, Young People and Families, Milton Keynes, The Open University. The Open University (2011) K218 Working with Children, Young People and Families, Learning Guide 4 ‘Children, young people, childhood and youth’, The Open University, https://learn2.open.ac.uk/ mod/oucontent/view.php?id=573719 [Accessed 29 December 2014] The Open University (2011) K218 Working with Children, Young People and Families, Learning Guide 5 ‘Children, young people’s and families’ wellbeing’, The Open University, https://learn2.open.ac.uk/ mod/oucontent/view.php?id=604592 [Accessed 29 December 2014] The Open University (2011) K218 Working with Children, Young People and Families, Learning Guide 6 ‘Diversity, inequalities and rights’, The Open University, https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/ oucontent/view.php?id=580650 [Accessed 29 December 2014]

Reducing Symptoms in Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder Through

Reducing Symptoms in Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder Through Drug Treatment Bulimia nervosa is a chronic psychiatric disorder that haunts the lives of many young women. The disorder is characterized by frequent episodes of binge eating followed by some sort of purging. The purging usually involves self-induced vomiting and can cause great damage to the body. Persons diagnosed with bulimia nervosa have a loss of control over these behaviors. Affecting the lives of 3-5% of young women, bulimia is a problem that is spinning out of control and nothing seems to be able to stop it. Binge eating disorder is another psychiatric disease that causes problems for many people. In this disorder, persons binge frequently but do not attempt to compensate for their eating by using purging techniques such as those used by persons suffering from bulimia nervosa. There are many types of treatments that attempt to mitigate the symptoms of bulimia and binge eating disorder. But what causes the binges in binge eating disorder and what causes the binge-purge cycle in bulimics? How can the symptoms of these disorders be reduced or eliminated? If the causes of these behaviors are discovered, the behaviors can be reduced. There are several therapies that have proven to be fairly effective in treating persons diagnosed with bulimia nervosa. Drug therapy has made great advances in recent years and goes straight to the root of the problem. Drug therapy attempts to uncover the biological causes of the symptoms of bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. A discovery made recently found that there is an inverse correlation among women with bulimia between the frequency of binge-eating and cerebrospinal fluid concentration of the major ser... ...very effective. This manual should be researched and developed further because not only can people educate themselves, but therapists can have more time to focus on deeper problems and on patients who do not respond well to such therapies. Works Cited Hartman, Boyd K., Faris, Patricia L. Treatment of Bulimia Nervosa With Odansetron. Archives of General Psychiatry. 1997; 54: 969-970. Hudson, James I., McElroy, Susan L. Fluvoxamine in the Treatment of Binge-Eating Disorder. The American Journal of Psychiatry. 1998; 155: 1756-1762. Rissanen, Aila., Naukkarinen, Hannu. Fluoxetine Normalizes Increased Cardiac Vagal Tone in Bulimia Nervosa. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. 1998; 18: 26-32. Treasure, Janet., Schmidt, Ulrike. Sequential Treatment for Bulimia Nervosa Incorporating a Self-Care Manual. The British Journal of Psychiatry. 1996; 168: 94-98.

Thoughts on Whats It Mean To be Human Essay -- Human Nature Essays

Thoughts on What's It Mean To be Human Last year I had a lot of headaches. Two months passed, and I still did not go to the doctor. However, one morning I woke up, and I just could not open my eyes because the pain that I had in my head would not let me. Also I felt dizzy every time that I tried to stand up. I decided to go to the doctor and present my concerns. The doctor recommeded an MRI test. The test indicated that I have a tumor in my pituitary. Thanks to the great development of technology and good equipment such as the computer system that doctor used to test and figure out my disease, I am being treated successfully with the help of doctors and artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence may be described and evaluated by learning about the Turing test, the Loebners contest and discussing basic human nature contrasted with computers. According to www.encarta.com the definition for Artificial Intelligence is a system that makes it possible for a machine to perform functions similar to these performed by human intelligence such as learning, reasoning, self - correcting and adaptive. In other words, machines are able to do what a human does such as learning, reasoning, etc. Then does it mean that computers are intelligent. The most widely spread definition of Artificial Intelligence is called the Turing test. According to Platts article the Turing test has it origin in 1950, when Alan Turing a British mathematician proposed: If a computer successfully impersonate a human during a free- form exchange of the test messages, then for all practical purposes the computer should be considered intelligent(12). Then the Turing test is quite simple. If a computer is found to give answers to questions that cannot be distin... ...owever, computers are never going to replace human intelligence. Even though an MRI can give you a highly enhanced view of your brain, it will always be necessary for a doctor to look at the results and make a diagnosis that a computer is still unable to do. This is, because humans are spontaneous, they are able to do whatever they want to do without another person telling them what to do. Instead, Computers always have to do what somebody else tells them to do and do not think by their own. Works Cited Artificial Intelligence. 2000 www.encarta.com. ( April 10, 2001.) Laucius, Joanne. Otttawa Citizen. Newsweek magazine. December 2000. Platt, Charles. Whats It Mean ToBe Human, Anyway? Composing Cyberspace Identity, Comunnity, and Knowledge in the Electronic Age. Ed. Richard Holeton. US: MC Grow Hill, 1998. 12-20. News. 2000 www.msn.com. (April 10, 2001. )

Ecosystems: Ecological Succession and Climatic Climax

Ecosystems: Change and Challenge The Structure of Ecosystems Ecosystem: a dynamic, stable system characterised by the interaction of plants and animals with each other and with the non-living components of the environment The components of an ecosystem are categorised as either biotic and abiotic Biotic means the living environment, components include: i). Vegetation (living and decomposing) ii).Mammals, insects, birds and microorganisms Biomass-the mass of material in the bodies of animals and plants (total mass of living matter) Abiotic means the non-living, chemical and physical components of the ecosystem and includes: i). Climate- in particular the seasonal pattern of temperature and precipitation ii). Soil characteristics iii). Underlying parent rock iv). Relief of the land v). Drainage characteristicsEcosystems are open systems because energy and living matter can both enter and leave the system: * Inputs-Energy from the sun, which drives photosynthesis-enabling the plants to grow, water transported into the ecosystem from precipitation and animals that arrive from elsewhere * Outputs-nutrients are transferred out of the system by: animals can physically move out, water can leave through evapotranspiration, groundwater flow and throughflow * Flows-nutrients can be transferred from one store to another e. g. apillary uptake * Stores- stores of nutrients: vegetation, plant litter and soils Energy Flows and nutrient cycling Energy flows- is the flow of energy through a food chain * Energy flows flow through an ecosystem from one stage to another. * Through photosynthesis plants are able to capture light energy from the sun to make carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water to grow and increase their biomass * Within all ecosystems, nutrients are required for plant growth and are recycled from one store to another e. g. leaves fall from tree-> when they decompose nutrients are returned to the soilGersmehl diagram- shows the cycling of nutrients within the m ain stores of biome * Circles of proportionate size represent the stores of nutrients with the biomass, litter and soil * Nutrient transfers, inputs and outputs are represented by arrows of varying thickness Inputs- include nutrients(carbon and nitrogen) and minerals(from weathered parent rock) Outputs-loss of nutrients from the soil by; leaching and surface runoff Flows-leaf fall from biomass to litter, decomposition of litter, flow of nutrients to soil, uptake of nutrients by plants and treesThe movement of energy up the trophic levels shows the food chain as each trophic level occupies a different position. However food chains, in reality, are often more complicated than this. Some species can occupy more than one position in every food web – may be prey to more than one animal etc. Nutrient cycles in an ecosystem take place between the biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem. This can be shown through the Gersmehl diagram. * Nutrients have three stores – the soil, litter and biomass. Nutrients are transferred through the three stores through fall of dead tissue, absorption through plant roots and decomposition etc. Inputs of nutrients include precipitation and the weathering of parent rock Outputs include loss from runoff and leaching Flows include leaf fall (from the biomass to the litter), decomposition of litter(flow of nutrients to the soil) Trophic levels, food chains and webs Energy transfer within an ecosystem, represented by a pyramid diagram * At each trophic level, some energy is available as food for the next level * Each level decreases in size, 90% of energy lost through life rocesses-respiration, movement and excretion * Only 10% available as food, number of living organisms decreases as trophic levels increase Producers/autotrophs- first layer, produce their own food through photosynthesis(green plants) Primary consumers-eat the producers(herbivores) Secondary consumers-consume the herbivores(carnivores) Tertiary consume rs-top predators that eat secondary consumers Detrivores and decomposers operate at each trophic level: i). Detrivore-feeds on dead material or waste products ii).Decomposer-an organism that breaks down dead plants, animals and waste matter e. g. fungi and bacteria * There are normally 4 links in a food chain, each link feeds on and obtains energy from the previous link and is consumed by and provides energy for the proceeding link * There are a large number of food chains that operate in ecosystems, it is also made even more complicated as animals have varied diets, this can be shown in a food web Ecosystems in the British Isles Over Time Succession and Climax Succession-a series of changes that take place in the plant community over timeClimatic climax-the final stage of the plant succession, where the vegetation is in balance with the environmental conditions. Providing the environmental conditions remain unchanged there will be no change in the vegetation once the stage is reach ed * If allowed to continue undisturbed , the succession will reach its climatic climax- where the plant species live in perfect balance with the current environmental conditions * Climate is the major influence of vegetation on a global scale * On a local scale-drainage, geology and relief affect plant growthThere are two basic types of succession: 1. Primary succession-occurs on surfaces that have had no previous vegetation There are two main types of primary succession: * Xeroseres are formed on dry land, this group can be divided into lithoseres on bare rock and psammoseres on sand dunes * Hydroseres are formed in water, haloseres in salt water and hydroseres in fresh water 2. Secondary succession occurs on land that was formerly vegetated but has undergone a loss of vegetation E. g. Deforestation Development of a successionAs the succession develops it passes through a series of stages called seres(individual stages in the plant succession) where the processes of invasion, colo nisation, competition, domination and decline operate to influence the composition of the vegetation i). Plants first invade bare ground through the processes of dispersal and migration ii). Pioneer species are adapted to surviving harsh conditions (e. g. long-rooted salt-tolerant marram grass), they compete for available space, light, water and nutrients, when they die they help modify the environment by adding organic matter iii).The addition of organic matter to the developing soil improves its structure and water retention qualities iv). A period of relative stability is eventually reached where the vegetation has reached its climax, the climax is dominated by the tallest species v). The saturation point has been reached with all potential niches occupied- climatic climax community, where the natural vegetation has reached a stable balance with the climate and soils of the area Polyclimax theory- the theory that local factors (drainage, geology, relief and microclimates) can cre ate variations in the climatic climax communityPlagioclimax- the plant community that exists when human interference prevents the climatic climax being reached Lithosere Is a succession that begins life on newly exposed rock surface e. g. eruption of a volcano i). The bare rock is initially colonised by bacteria and algae ii). The pioneers begin to colonise, starting with lichens, they begin to break down the rock and assist water retention iii). As water retention improves, mosses begin to grow, water retention improves and weathering to produce the beginning of a soil where advanced plants can grow iv).Ferns, herbs and flowering plants appear and die back, bacteria converts their remains into humus, helps to recycle nutrients and improve soil fertility v). Shrubs start to grow vi). Pioneer trees become established, normally fast growing e. g. willow, birch vii). Slower growing tree species begin to develop (e. g. ash and oak), they are the dominants of the climatic climax communit y- termperate deciduous woodland Hydrosere A hydrosere develops as follows: i). In a freshwater environment, submerged aquatics are the first plants to develop, they help to trap sediment which enables other species to move in i). The next seral stage is the growth of reed beds and swamp conditions iii). Colonisation by alder and fern begins, they further modify the environmental conditions, improving drainage and mineral content of the immature soil, allowing the entry of willow and ash iv). The climatic climax vegetation of deciduous oak or beech woodland is reached, throughout the succession there are progressive changes to the soil conditions, ground-level microclimate and animal activity Temperate Deciduous WoodlandA biome is a global-scale ecosystem and is a naturally occurring organic community of plants and animals in the climatic climax stage of succession * Tropical rainforests and temperate deciduous woodland are both examples of high energy biomes * Low energy biomes are the tundra in the high latitudes and the hot deserts in the low latitudes, the vegetation is scarce and net primary productivity is low * Temperate deciduous woodland is a high energy biome which has a relatively high productivity. It is found in id latitudes on the borders of continents where there is adequate moisture. Climate: * Temperature ranges from 5 – 17 in Winter and Summer * 500-2,000mm of rain per year, varies seasonally * Low pressure systems * Westerly winds Vegetation: * Broadleaved deciduous trees are the dominant species, oak are the tallest * Trees develop large crowns and broad but thin leaves * Shed their leaves in the winter, reduces transpiration when less water is available * Net primary production-1,200g dry organic matter per M? er year * Most woodlands show some stratification * Below the canopy is the shrub layer * Just above the forest floor is the herb layer * Epiphytes e. g. lichens and mosses grow on the trunks and branches of trees * A thick la yer of leaf litter is readily broken down by soil microbes and animals Soil: * Brown Earth soil 1. 5m deep * Leaf litter makes the soil more fertile in Autumn * Well mixed with decomposers so it becomes fertile quickly * Leaching occurs when there is snowmelt or intense rain, which is not uncommon Arresting factorsPlant successions can be stopped from reaching climatic climax or deflected to a different climax, by human interference The resulting vegetation is called a plagioclimax, this can be caused by: * deforestation or afforestation * animal grazing or trampling * fire clearance A secondary succession is one that develops on land that has previously been vegetated The stages of secondary succession may be more rapid than those of primary succession because organic matter is already present in the soil, the pioneer stage may be short or absent- climatic climax is reached in a much shorter timePlagioclimax: heather moorland 1. As the soils deteriorated without the deciduous veget ation, hardy plants such as heather come to dominate the uplands. 2. Sheep grazing became the major form of agriculture and the sheep prevented the regeneration of climax woodland by destroying young saplings 3. Many of these uplands have been controlled by managed burning to encourage new heather shoots 4. Burning has eliminated the less fire-resistant species, leading to the dominance of heather 5.One of the aims of burning heather is to ensure as much as possible of the available nutrient is conserved in the ecosystem 6. Burnt on average every 15 years, If the time elapses more then there is too much woody tissue and nutrients are lost in smoke Tropical biomes In a tropical rainforest biome due to the constant high temperature and rainfall, vegetation grows more quickly, large amounts of net primary production Biodiversity- the variety of species within an ecosystem Leaching-soluble bases are removed from a soil by downward-percolating water in environments where precipitation ex ceeds evaporationNet primary production-the amount of energy fixed in photosynthesis minus the energy lost by respiration in plants The tropical equatorial rainforest biome The tropical rainforest biomes are between latitudes 10Â °N and 10Â °S of the equator Climate * The equatorial climate has little variation, temperatures remain high throughout the year * High diurnal temperature range, high during day and low during the night- due to no insulating clouds to keep the heat in * Annual precipitation is high, often in excess of 2000mm, rain falls all ear round at the equator because of the inter-tropical convergence zone dominates the atmospheric conditions Evapotranspiration is rapid, due to sun heats the humid forest * low pressure conditions allow air to be rapidly uplifted * As the air rises it cools and water vapour condenses into clouds, the clouds continue to build into the afternoon- leading to heavy rain and thunder, returning the previously uplifted moisture back to grou nd levelHumidity is high throughout the year, continuous evapotranspiration adds water vapour to the air On the forest floor there is little breeze as the trade winds converge here Soils Underlying soil will have developed naturally over a long period of time and be in balance with its environment, this is known as zonal soil The zonal soil associated with the tropical rainforest is a latosolyh Characteristic features * A latosol can be more than 40m deep The constant hot wet climate provides perfect conditions for chemical weathering of the bedrock * Ferrallitisation is the process where bedrock is broken down by chemical weathering into clay minerals and sesquioxides * Red colour due to the presence of iron and aluminium minerals * As there is a moisture surplus in the equatorial climate(rainfall exceeds evapotranspiration), there is a downward movement of water through the soil * Silica materials are washed out of the A horizon and transported downwards by water by a process call ed leaching * Iron and aluminium compounds are less soluble and are left behind * The latosol is nutrient poor, plant uptake of nutrients is roughly equal to the input from decomposed litter * Soil moisture utilisation occurs throughout this period, as evaporation and transpiration exceed precipitation Vegetation Rainforests are the most diverse and productive biome, also the most fragile The vegetation is in harmony with its environment and is a climatic climax community where the dominant species are the hardwood trees * The net primary production of the rainforest is 2,200g M? yr the figure is high because the growing season lasts all year and the litter is rapidly decomposed, replacing nutrients taken up by the vegetation * There can be up to 300 species of trees in every Km? * The forest has a layered appearance, with the tallest trees(emergent's), standing up to 45m, above the canopy, the canopy absorbs most of the sunlight and intercepts most of the precipitation * When a tre e dies it brings down others as it falls, new trees grow quickly taking advantage of the light, it decomposes quickly assisted by detrivores and the hot and humid conditions * Fungi that grows on trees and has an important role in decomposing litterThe vegetation has developed and adapted to physical conditions of the rainforest: * The trees grow rapidly, the leaves at the tops of the trees absorb light and photosynthesise, the bark is thin as the trees don't need protection from harsh winter conditions * The top layer of soil contains the minerals the trees need, there is also an abundant supply of water, roots do not need to be deep e. g. buttress roots, also help to stabilise the trees * The leaves have adapted to the regular heavy rainfall by developing drip-trips, which allows excess water to be easily shed, the leaves are also thick and leathery to withstand strong sunlight and reduces the loss of water from the plant * Epiphytes grow on the trees, as the forest floor is dark * Rainforests form the habitat for a huge number of species The effects of human activity on plant succession Deforestation is the deliberate clearance of woodland by cutting, burning or the application of a defoliant * Climatic climax vegetation has been destroyed, this has resulted in both secondary succession and plagioclimax * The vegetation that replaces the original rainforest tends to be smaller in height and less diverse, with a reduction in the general biomass Causes of deforestation * Demand for hardwood, e. g. teak, its demand for building and furniture is increasing * Many developing countries rely on export earnings from timber to help pay their debts and finance major development projects * To provide land for rubber plantations, cattle ranches for beef farming, soya plantations, mining, roads and railways * Population pressure has also led to an increase in the clearance of rainforests Impacts of deforestation * As habitats shrink, plant species become endangered and the food chain within the forest is disrupted * Some animal species are threatened by extinction The vegetation protects the latosol soils from the regular heavy tropical downpours * Once the trees are removed the topsoil is open to erosion and to leaching of nutrients and minerals * Runoff causes sediment to block river channels and increases flooding * The microclimate of the forest is disturbed by deforestation-the daily water cycle of rapid evapotranspiration followed by afternoon precipitation cannot occur, there is less cloud cover and a greater temperature range * The use of burning leads to local air pollution and contributes to climate change7 * Economic benefits in terms of income from mining, farming and exports from hardwood * Culture of the indigenous people is destroyed and they may be forced to move from their land People are one of the arresting factors that interfere with plants succession. They can often stop a plant succession from growing and then when this is ma intained it is known as a plagioclimax. Sheep grazing on moorland is an example. A secondary succession is a plant succession that takes place on land that has already been colonised.Secondary succession can follow a natural disaster such as a volcanic eruption or a period of human intervention such as colonising a former quarry site. Much of the British Isles was covered in deciduous woodland with the climax species being either Oak or Ash depending on the soil and the underlying parent rock. This was largely cleared for agriculture and settlement which has started a plagioclimax in most areas of Britain. Tropical Biome – Savannah Grassland Climate: * Wet and dry seasons * 500-1000mm of rain per year * Hot throughout the year * High pressure and strong trade winds in the dry season * Wet season dominated by the ITCZ * Fires may occur caused by heat and lightning Vegetation: Trees dominate over grasses where the wet season is longer – dense rainforest towards the equat or * Grasses may be up to 2m tall – long roots * Deciduous * Adaptations include fire resistant bark, water storage etc. Soil: * Deep red lateric soils * Influenced by climate * Silica is leached downwards in the wet season * Crust formed in the dry season Biodiversity: * Greater towards the equator * Acacia, Baobab, Umbrella Thorn, Elephant Grass * Great animal migrations occur meaning that biodiversity drops at certain times * 40% of the land in Tanzania has been designated as a National Park to help conserve biodiversity * African Elephant, Black Rhino, Zebra and Cheetah are endangered The Savanna grassland biome ClimateThe tropical wet and dry climate of Africa shows seasonal variation in wind direction, precipitation and temperature Variations occur with increasing latitude from the equator Precipitation varies: * Equatorial rainforest margins more than 1,000mm per year, rain season lasts 10-11months * Desert/semi-arid margins are less than 500mm per year, away from the equator the reliability of the rainfall decreases, only 1-2 months rainy season Temperature varies: * The equatorial rainforest margin temperature range is 22Â °C in the wet season and 28Â °C in the dry season * On the desert margins the temperature range from 18Â °C in the wet season to 34Â °C in the dry seasonDuring the dry season, the subtropical anticyclone moves over the desert margins, the subsiding air of the high pressure suppresses convection, giving rise to clear skies and high daytime temperatures The trade winds blow from the high pressure towards the ITCZ, moves towards the coast. The air has a low moisture content, known as harmatten In the wet season, the ITCZ migrates polewards, it brings rainfall because uplift and convection are fed by moist, unstable, tropical maritime air, the poles have a short rainy season so have low annual rainfall Ecological responses soil moisture budgets e. g. Northern Ghana Soil moisture recharge-July to early August precipitation bec omes greater than evapotranspiration, rainwater fills the empty pores in the soil, reaches field capacitySoil moisture surplus- August-September, at field capacity, soil is saturated, rainwater has difficulty infiltrating ground leads to surface runoff, leads to high river levels Soil moisture utilisation-October, evapotranspiration begins to exceed precipitation, more water evaporating and being transpired by plants than falling as rain Soil moisture deficit- December, when soil moisture is used up, water deficit, plants can only survive if drought resistant, period continues until precipitation becomes greater than evapotranspiration Northern Ghana characteristics: * lengthy period of moisture deficit * Short period of moisture surplus * Total annual potential evapotranspiration greater than total potential precipitationAdaptations by vegetation * Vegetation in wetter areas consist of tall coarse grasses, with many deciduous trees- Tree savanna * Shorter tussock grass becomes domi nant in desert margins, accompanied by drought-resistant trees e. g. acacia and baobab, known as grassland and shrub savannas * Trees are deciduous, have hard leathery leaves to reduce transpiration losses, other plants are microphyllous (small leaves) for the same reason * In the tree savanna, isolated trees have low umbrella shaped crowns that shade root areas and reduce soil moisture evaporation Xerophytic characteristics, adaptations to dry surroundings: * dense cell fluids hard waxy leaves Reduce water loss * thorns and protected stomata Two main types of trees: i). Acacia-has a crown structure, often flattened by trade winds, loses leaves in the dry season ii). Baobab-thick spongy trunk, long tap roots, baobab is pyrophytic, withstand fire due to insulating bark Grassland savanna- grasses are tussocky, enables them to retain some moisture shrub or scrub savanna- there are many acacia trees, thorn bushes and short tufted grasses, fewer leaves so retain more water, turn blades a way from sun to reduce water loss Impact of human activity Two main effects on the vegetation: i).Grass is burnt off, better growth of young grass next season for grazing, regular burning makes it difficult for young trees and bushes to become established, dominated by herbaceous plants and indigenous woody plants that can survive fire e. g. acacia and baobab ii). Woody plants, killed by cattle eating their foliage, thorny animal-repellent trees and shrubs such as acacia, therefore become numerous The tropical monsoon forest biome Climate * High temperatures throughout the year, small annual range(19Â °C-30Â °C) because of the location within the tropics * Annual precipitation is high * Winds blow in from the ocean with very moist air and heavy rainfall during May-October, the rest of the year the air is drierEcological responses Soil moisture budgets * Precipitation is much higher than potential evapotranspiration during the wet season * High rainfall totals result in saturation of the soil, some of the moisture can be utilised by vegetation * A soil moisture deficits occurs by January, deciduous trees lose their leaves in response to drought conditions * The period of moisture deficit is shorter then that experienced in the tropical savanna biome * The months of surplus during the wet monsoon season result in the leaching of bases and silica and very little humus is allowed to develop in the top layers Adaptations by vegetation and animals The canopy is not continuous, tallest trees are smaller, provide an incomplete cover * This means there is less competition for light, allowing greater development of vegetation at lower levels * Fewer species of trees, common species are sal, pyinkado and teak all of which are economically valuable * Trees do not possess buttress roots and they develop large round crowns * The bark is often thick, to protect them from the harsh climate of the dry season, leaves are thin * Deciduous trees shed their leaves in response to a lack of moisture, to reduce transpiration during the dry season, this allows the light to reach the forest floor, leads to the development of dense undergrowth Impact of human activity * Tropical monsoon forests are fragile ecosystems, following deforestation almost impossible for existing food webs to continue, all rophic levels are affected, results in massive decrease in natural vegetation * Removal of monsoon forests due to increasing population pressure * Deforestation due to agricultural land and fuel wood due to rapidly increasing population * Teak has been exploited for export to developed countries, many indigenous species are endangered Development issues in the three biomes Brazil has the greatest species diversity, a smaller proportion of its land is protected than in Tanzania, in Tanzania 39. 6% of the land is designated National Parkland Species diversity is of crucial importance because: * Plants photosynthesise * Trees act as a carbon sink * Some species purify wa ter, fixing nitrogen, recycling nutrients and waste * Insects pollinate cropsIn all three biomes the natural environments are threatened by population growth and economic development Ecosystem issues on a local scale Conservation-preservation of the natural environment Ecology-the study of the relationships between living things and their environment Sustainable development-The management of resources in such a way that the ability of the system to replace itself is greater than the level of exploitation In urban areas they contain a wide variety of habitats e. g. industrial sites, derelict land and parks- thus difficult to make generalisations about urban ecology- all these habitats contain different mixes of flora and faunaThis means there are opportunities for secondary succession, particularly where land becomes derelict. Urban niches Many urban habitats are specialised, within one site a number of different niches or microhabitats might be available for plants and animals to co lonise. e. g. bare tarmac, stone walls, Mosses taking root on high buildings Colonisation of wasteland Plant succession-the change on a community of species over time, is brought about by changes in the microenvironment due to e. g. supply of new species, competition between species and changes in habitat The types of plants that can initially colonise are influenced by: i). Slope- horizontal surfaces debris accumulates, eventually develops into soil ii).Moisture availability-gentle slopes, rainwater accumulates and steep slopes-faster runoffs iii). Aspect-south facing slopes are warmer and drier iv). Porosity-(ability to hold water), the greater porosity the quicker the colonisation v). Surface roughness-allowing plants to get a hold vi). Pollution levels-substances that are toxic to plants e. g. lead, contaminates the ground Succession-e. g. Industrial site Stage 1: Pioneers- * Mosses and lichens are the first plants to develop on bare surfaces * Able to exist in areas with little water, obtaining nutrients through photosynthesis * When the plants die they provide a thin mat of organic matter, produces a protosoil that other species can root into Stage 2: Oxford ragwort- Cracks in the surface provide sheltered places for seeds to germinate and retain moisture * Oxford ragwort, wind-blown seeds, has a long flowering season 180-190 days, enables it to produce millions of seeds * At this stage, succession is usually rapid Stage 3: Tall herbs- * As these plants die they produce a thicker and more nutrient-rich soil * Taller plants that are more demanding of good growth conditions can become established e. g. Willowherb Stage 4: Grassland- * As soil enrichment continues, the amount of grass in the vegetation increases * Japanese knotweed, grow up to 3m in height, their dense canopies shade out most species beneath them Stage 5: Scrub woodland- Processes of soil enrichment and competition continues, taller herbaceous plants replaced by shrubs and eventually trees * As herbaceous plants thicken it becomes difficult for these small-seeded plants to establish As plant succession develops, there are changes to the fauna: * Soil fauna-increase in number of earthworms as soil improves and increase in the number and diversity of the insect population * Sub-stratum variations-caused by differences in the nature of the surface being colonised Ecologies along route ways * Routeways are distinctive habitats because exotic species of plants and insects may be brought in by traffic, provide wildlife corridors for e. g. oxes * Railway lines- during days of steam trains there were frequent fires which burnt of tall species (allowing light through) encouraging light-demanding species to establish * Windborne seeds can be sucked along by trains and a lack of human interference encourages wildlife e. g. badgers * The nitrogen-rich exhaust fumes boost the growth of some wild flowers and increase the presence of insects and animals further up the food chain * C anals act like long ponds providing a habitat for a variety of aquatic plants e. g. ducks Introduction of new species Cities are centres for the establishment and spread of foreign species, species: * Europe-e. g. Sycamore * Japan-e. g. Japanese KnotweedSuch species can be introduced by windblown seeds, seeds carriers by animals and forms of transport e. g. trains Urban areas are attractive because of the variety of habitats, the constant creation of new habitats and the reduced level of competition Gardens and parks Are areas where the vegetation is managed: * Species are introduced from overseas and others are removed or controlled by mowing, weeding or the use of pesticides/herbicides * Sports fields reduce the diversity of plant species by maintaining grass pitches * Altruistic motives- to give a dull urban area some colour and improving the aesthetic value of the area * Improving the visual outlook-hiding eyesores (e. g. actories) encourage businesses or residents to move in * Schools produce a diverse environment for study purposes * Local businesses may want a pleasant site to attract customers * Local authorities provide the public with an arboretum * Birdwatchers wish for a diverse environment to attract new species * Act as noise and pollution inhibitors * Provide shade in hot urban environments * Reduce soil erosion on embankments Changes in the rural urban fringe * Although much of the land on the rural/urban fringe is a green belt area meaning that it’s protected from development, there will be increasing pressure to do so as plans for 50,000 houses over the next few years. The rural urban fringe is under pressure from development, In the UK are designated green belt, with regulations that strictly control new development * Farmers face problems from illegal encampments, trespassing and vandalism * Secondary succession may begin on unintended fields with the growth of weeds * Despite a lack of investment, land prices are often high, due to speculation of future development, derelict land has an advantage in gaining planning permission * Recent government policy is in favour of sustainable development of the rural-urban fringe and the recycling of derelict/degraded land e. g. planting of woodland * Country parks are relatively unmanaged and harbour more natural plant communities, providing potential breeding sites for bird species. e. g. skylark Ecological conservation areas Conservation areas are developed for: * Encouraging wildlife back into cities * Making cheap use of an otherwise derelict area Reducing maintenance costs in an area * Maintaining a diverse species base and reintroducing locally extinct species Such work includes: * Planting of trees, planting of native species, dredging of ponds and soil improvements * Group organisations behind such conservation include: The National Trust Different groups have different priorities, local authorities have planning needs and have to balance the desire to make use o f derelict land against the potential cost to local taxpayers E. g. conservation groups want to create environments where traditional species can establish and local people want a safe environment for leisure Dulwich Upper Wood conservation area This was once a wooded area and the site of Crystal Palace however now it has been turned in to an ecological conservation area which is open and attempt to accommodate everyone. * Is open at all times * Has a network of trails, some are suitable for wheelchairs Species in the wood * Trees e. g. Oak and ash, ground in the wood is deeply shaded, only a few shrubs e. g. Laurel and a few plants from the ancient woodland e. g. bluebell * Over 250 types of fungi e. g. mushrooms, they live on dead wood or leaf litter helping to break down these materials and return nutrients to the soil * Many mammals e. g. foxes and over 40 species of birds e. g. woodpeckers Why the site is interesting? Conservation of both abandoned Victorian gardens and ancient woodland * A number of preserved and re-created habitats e. g. wet areas and herb gardens * The site is both managed and allowed to grow wild in some areas, a range of different habitats * Plenty of wildlife, over 40 species of birds * Original habitats preserved, enabling native species of plants and animals to survive * A good example of how habitats can be preserved and created and still allow public access through a network of trails * The site has an educational value with a posted nature trail Ecosystem issues on a global scale Human activity, biodiversity and sustainability * World’s population continues to grow, increasing the stress upon resources and environmental systems e. g. ater, land * Population and growth and economic development resulted in spiralling demand for natural resources and reduction in natural ecosystems and biodiversity * 2005, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment- stated that humans have changed ecosystems extensively, resulting in a substantial los s of the diversity of life on Earth * 1/3 of plant species are threatened globally and that climate change could result in the extinction of up to 1 million of the world’s species by 2050 * United Nations and the World Wide Fund for Nature are working to educate people to protect ecosystems and to support sustainable development * 1997 Kyoto conference on the environment resulted in the most industrialised countries agreeing to cut their carbon dioxide emissions by 30% by 2010 * UK government created the UK biodiversity Action Plan in 1994, setting aims for the next 20 years: * Protecting the best sites for wildlife-10% of the UK designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI’s) * Targeting action on priority species and habitats-2007 UK diversity Partnership published list of 1,149 priority species and 65 habitats * Embedding consideration of biodiversity and ecosystem services in all sections of policy * Encouraging people to change their behaviour, to environm ental issues Management of fragile environments A fragile environment lacks resilience to a change in conditions, many ecosystems are vulnerable to change e. g. introduction of foreign species CASE STUDY: Central Amazon Conservation Complex (tropical rainforests) The destruction of the Amazon rainforest has been particularly harmful to the biodiversity there. To prevent this some places have been protected by law meaning that they are undisturbed.There are three separate reserves which are linked and is known as the Central Amazon Conservation Complex. The total size of these three areas is bigger than Switzerland. 1. Jau National Park 2,272,000 ha 2. Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve 260,000 ha 3. Amana Sustainable Development Reserve 2,230,000 ha This is a UNESCO world heritage site is the second largest protected area of tropical rainforest in the world. The area is sparsely populated and there are no transport links other than boats. There are no major projects such as hy droelectric dams and some incidences of hunting and poaching by outsiders for commercial gain This area has one of the most diverse flora and fauna in the world.These include: * 200+ species of mammals * 500+ species of birds e. g. parrots * 300+ species of fish * Reptiles and amphibians e. g. coral snake Some of these are endangered which means that the area requires extra protection. e. g. spider monkey and puma Management The management has three main functions: * To protect the land and to minimise the impact of human activity * To research, catalogue and protect biodiversity * To manage specific activities, such as tourism They have drawn up a zoning plan which shows how much activity has been going on in each area. 1. Primitive Zone – Minimal human intervention as this is land of great natural beauty 2.Extensive Use Zone – There has been a small amount of activity 3. Intensive Use Zone – Environment has been significantly altered due to human intervention 4. Special Use Zone – where services operate to monitor an protect the rainforest A management strategy was developed by local communities and with other representatives resulted in: * Hunting and logging for commercial gain is prohibited * Inhabitants receive environmental education and improved healthcare * Increased economic production from natural resources, ensure a sustainable future for those in the rainforest * Zoning and protection, resulted in an increase in the productivity of the forest and aquatic resourcesCASE STUDY: Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania (savanna grasslands) * The parkland occupies 2,305,100 ha, known for herds of wildebeest, 1,300,000 * Endangered species, African elephant, perhaps only 2,000 left * More than 500 species of birds e. g. flamingo * Populated by the Masai Mara, who have an extensive system of land management which requires large areas for the grazing of cattle and Mara’s cultural code forbids th e eating of wild animals, so biodiversity is protected History * Today over 52,000 Masai Mara * 1980’s, economic situation improved, tourism increased which allowed the park authorities to rebuild the infrastructure and to re-establish anti-poaching units * 90,000 visitors a year, although tourism is managed sustainably-200,000 animals are still illegally killed by poachers each year Management Buffer zones called community Wildlife Management Areas * Local people are encouraged and have legal rights to make decisions regarding the management of wildlife, hoping to curb illegal poaching * 36% of the population live below the poverty line has resulted in ever increasing pressure on existing resources * A new threat to the natural grasslands is the invasion of the non-native Mexican prickly poppy, rapidly takes over an overgrazed land crowding out native species * Tanzania is committed to protecting 42,000km? of land, UK has 1/10 of the land protected The main aim is to preserv e the country’s rich natural heritage and to provide securing breeding grounds for its flora and fauna , safe from the conflicting interests of a growing human population The Sundarbans Reserved Forest, Bangladesh (tropical monsoon forest) Population pressure in Bangladesh is severe, large areas of the forest have been cleared to provide more space for agriculture and settlement e. g. 1000 inhabit every km? Threats A number of risks threaten the Sundarbans: * Climate change- sea levels are rising at 3mm a year, cause flooding of low lying delta land * Abstraction of water-40% reduction in flow leading to increased salinity of the land and water * Deforestation-e. g. in the Himalayas leading to greater volumes of silt being deposited by rivers * 3 million people live in small villages * Fishing camps are a major disturbance in the area, with some illegal hunting and trapping of species e. g. turtles * Water pollution e. g. Khulna aquatic wildlife badly affected * Natural disas ters e. g. 2007 a cyclone killed 3,000 people and most of the larger trees were uprooted Flora and faunaThe Sundarbans consists of a vast network of rivers, mudflats and islands which are vegetated by mangroves(salt tolerant trees), act as natural buffers against storm surges and protect the land from tropical cyclones which occur during the summer monsoon season Endangered predators in this eco-region e. g. Royal Bengal tiger estimated at 350 Management * There are seven conservation areas, including three wildlife sanctuaries * Under the wildlife act of 1974 it is illegal to cultivate the land within the conservation areas or to introduce domestic animals * There is not enough staff or structures in place to enforce the law * The threats to the area require more cross border cooperation with India as well as financial support * Plans must include a high degree of local community involvement to allow sustainable use of the forest