Effective Study Skills are the Sole Foundation of a Sound Education Essay

This essay intends to discuss whether effective study skills are the sole foundation to a sound education. A helpful start is to try to understand what is meant by the term study skills. Wikipedia (2014) defines study skills as â€Å"techniques to assess the individual to be an effective learner† and suggests that â€Å"any skill which boosts a students ability to study and pass exams can be termed as a study skill.† The word, skill, is further explained by Cottrell (2013) as â€Å"†¦a learned activity, something that can be developed through practice.† This suggests that anyone can successfully achieve a sound level of education. If skills such as time management, research skills, written skills and people skills can be learned, then perhaps everyone has the equal chance of success in their chosen topic of study. The C.R.E.A.M. Strategy for learning (Cottrell 2013) allows us to build further on the subject of study skills by looking at the learning process and breaking it down into four areas. It is then easy to see where individual study skills can be applied in the learning process. The acronym C.R.E.A.M. Stands for: C – creative, R – reflective, E – effective, A – active, M- motivation. Looking into each of these areas in more depth may give the student opportunity to examine the factors that may influence the learning process and be able to focus on, develop and apply the skills and strategies that they might find most effective. At the same time, weakness that may hinder the learning process, could be identified and dealt with. It seems to suggest that study skills and strategies can be taught, learned and implemented by any individual, so allowing anyone to gain a sound education by using these learned skills. However, there are many factors that may heavily influence the teaching and learning ofthese study skills in the first place, so affecting the implementation of the skills in order to succeed in education. Taylor (2014) believes that â€Å"in order for a student to learn there, are several factors that must be considered. Most of these factors are external†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Indeed, Mondal (2014) tell us there are seven factors that may influence a student: The intellectual factor ie. (i)the individuals intelligence level; (ii)learning factors such as poor or faulty  teaching or learning methods; (iii)physical factors eg. physical development or defects, sensory defects or general ill health; (iv)mental factors especially attitude; (v)emotional and social factors such as instincts, emotions, cooperation or rivalry;(vi)teachers personality; (vii)environmental factors for example, physical conditions at home or place of study. These factors go some way to identifying what may affect the way in which study skills can be learned and used effectively and of course many more could be mentioned too such as cultural and economic factors. In conclusion, effective study skills are vital for the development and continuing success in the education of an individual. However, the successful learning and implementation of these skills can be so heavily influenced by an abundance of outside factors, that it would be difficult to ultimately say that effective study skills are the sole foundation of a sound education. References Cottrell, S. (2013). The Study Skills Handbook, 4th Edition, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke Mondal, P. (2014). http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/learning 21 March 2014 Taylor, D (January 2014). Factors That influence Student Learning, http://www.educationspace360.com/index.php/factors_that_influence_student_learning, 21 March 2014 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/study_skills 20 March 2014

Descarte’s Causal Argument

Descartes casts everything into doubt in the first meditation, including God Himself. He then comes to this disproval of this theory therefore concluding that God exists. This is brought about through the causal argument. Desartes begins this argument with the causal principle. This principle states that there must be at least as much reality in the effcient and total cause as in the effect of the cause. Therefore a cause is essential for an effect, meaning that a cause must have as much reality as an effect if not more. Descartes then applies this principle to ideas.He establishes 2 realities; formal reality and objective reality. Formal reality refers to that what makes an object, what the object is made of. Formal realities can be any of the hierarchy of being- infinite substance, finite substance and mode. For instance the formal reality of a bag is finite, thus a bag is a finite substance. Objective reality refers to ideas only. It is therefore the formal reality of the thing re presenting the idea. Lets take â€Å" the idea of a bag†. All ideas have the formal reality of a mode therefore its formal reality is that of a mode.On the other hand, the objective reality of â€Å"the idea of a bag† is a finite substance. This is because a bag in itself is a finite substance and because it is an idea, its objective reality is finite. Hence it maybe understood that only ideas of things can have objective realities; a bag (for example) in itself can only have a formal reality while the idea of a bag (for example) can have both formal reality and objective. Descartes henceforth distinguishes between formal and objective realities as previously stated. This then leads Descartes to put the causal principle and ideas together, establishing causal principle ideas.Descartes asks if the cause of the idea of something can be a mode. As stated above, the cause of an effect must have more reality that the effect itself. An idea of something has the formal realit y of a mode yet the objective reality of the â€Å"something†. Thus, if the example of the bag is used, the idea of a bag has the objective reality of a finite substance. So taking the causal principle into perspective, the cause of this idea must be either a finite substance or an infinite substance because the cause must have the same or a higher reality. If we then ask the question â€Å"can the cause of the idea of a bag be a mode?†The answer would be no. The reason being that the idea of a bag has an objective reality of a finite substance so the cause must indeed be finite or infinite. The essence of the Causal Argument is then discussed after all this was established. Descartes brings up the idea of God and questions it. He had put even God into doubt in Meditation 1 and this argument is resurfaced in Meditation 3. â€Å"The idea of God† , as every idea, has the formal reality of a mode yet its objective reality is unique. It has the objective reality of an infinite substance.An infinite substance in itself refers to God. Due to these facts, Descartes himself, or any human for that matter, cannot be the cause of such an idea because they are finite substances which has less reality than an infinite substance. Hence, Descartes concludes that only God Himself can be the cause of the idea of God because an infinite substance is the only possible cause to an idea of the objective reality of an infinite substance. This is Descartes proof of the existence of God. Through further reference to Descartes’ first meditation, this eliminates any doubts of God.Descartes states that whatever is clearly and distinctly perceived is true and God is good. Hence, the evil demon theory in the first meditation is eliminated. If God is good then we cannot be being deceived by an evil demon because God would not let us be deceived like that. Through â€Å"whatever is clearly and distinctly perceived is true†, we understand that we are not dr eaming, we are existing and living. Descartes builds the rest of his meditations on this. Before everything was cast into doubt, now the truths are being revealed through these foundations.

Criminology Coursework †Assessing the riots Essay

Criminology is focused on the attempt to understand the meanings involved in social interaction. Theorists have tried to explain sociological behaviour by looking at the patterns created by individuals that commit crime. The August 2011 riots are pivotal in explaining criminological behaviour since official statistics show that 865 individuals were put in prison by the 9th September 2011 for offences related to the disorder between 6th and 9th August 2011. This is not to say that others were not involved, but that they have simply not been identified to date and may never be identified, however the evidence we do have about the recent riots gives us plenty to talk about. This essay will provide a basis for causes of the 2011 riots by applying the ‘Labelling theory’ and the ‘Anomie theory’ to events that led to such behaviour. Mark Duggan was shot by a police officer from the specialist firearms command team and as life-taking errors were made on behalf of th e police force, such events that led up to the riots suggest that the police service could be to blame. It was on the 6th August that relatives sparked the riots by setting fire to police vehicles as they demanded information about Duggan’s death, however the British Prime Minister David Cameron rejected a causal relationship between the death of Mark Duggan and the subsequent looting. Some say labelling is not a ‘theory’ because it does not give an explanation of law, but questions why we have such rules. For Labelling theorists there is no such thing as crime, as we create the laws and punishments by defining certain acts to be deviant. Deviant means to depart from usual or accepted standards. Leading theorist Kitsuse said â€Å"it is the responses of the conventional and conforming members of society which identify and interpret behaviour as deviant which sociology transforms persons into deviants†. This means that it is not the actions themselves that are crimes but the social response to such actions that the majority of people deem to be unacceptable and so these actions have been made crimes. This is how we label individuals to be criminals as they do not conform to the behaviour of the ideal majority. This can be unfair to minority groups since they may not deem their actions to be criminal but do not have a choice, for example the introduction of the Criminal Justice Act which criminalised previously civil offences such as  section 63 which gives police the powers to remove persons attending or preparing for a rave. The aim of the act was to give greater penalties for anti-social behaviour; however such activities like raves may be anti-social in behaviour from some perspectives but is merely a form of entertainment to others and so this is discriminatory against ravers as their recreational activity has been barred. Commentators have seen the Act as a draconian piece of legislation which was explicitly aimed at suppressing the activities of certain strands of alternative culture. In response to this Bill, the band ‘Dreadzone’ released a single called ‘Fight the Power’ which links into the Anomie theory (see anomie below) as the band were taking action to rebel the change in the law by getting the message across through their music. This also reflects Tannenbaum’s view of labelling; that the process of defining someone as a delinquent is due to conflict over particular activities, which results in tagging in which the person becomes the thing he is described as being and that the only way out is through a refusal to dramatize the evil. This can be applied to the recent riots the people involved were in conflict with the rest of society. Official statistics have shown that 73 per cent of those that appeared before the courts for the disorders involved in the riots had a previous caution or conviction and so this fits in with Tannenbaum’s debate that once a person is labelled to be ‘ bad’ they will continue in that manner. However, this data is only reliable to a certain extent as we do not know what sort of convictions the rioters already had and so they have been labelled as criminals due to deviance. According to Becker deviance is ‘a consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions to an offender’. Becker came to the conclusion that people are criminalised through the process of negotiation, known to be social constructionism for example the Crown Prosecution Service may drop the charge of murder to manslaughter if there is not enough evidence to convict for murder. By doing this the defendant becomes labelled for the crime of manslaughter even though he may truly be guilty of murder. By introducing what could be regarded as ‘petty’ legislation more people will be labelled criminals, which in turn may lead the offender to act further on this basis. Lemert referred to this as secondary deviance as when a person is labelled criminal they change their view of t hemselves and this then becomes their ‘master status’. On the other  hand primary deviance is when someone violates a social code, but does not get labelled. Therefore a person is only labelled a criminal if he is caught and since ethnic minorities are subject to much more scrutiny than the white population this puts black people at an automatic disadvantage. Following the inquiry into the death of Stephen Lawrence it was uncovered that the police are institutionally racist. Institutional racism can be defined as ‘the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to the people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin’. This can be seen where police failed to identify the attack on Stephen Lawrence as being racially aggravated and presumed it was gang related. This is due to the labels attached to black people that they are all associated with black on black gun crime. Official figures show that black people in England and Wales are six times more likely to be stopped and searched by police in comparison with their white counterparts. The power given to police to stop and search is found under the Criminal Justice Act and requires the police to anticipate violence. For the Mark Duggan case although the officer may have reasonably believed the suspect had a gun this was due to the label attached to him because of the colour of his skin and so such an assumption was not as a result of any proper intelligence. This reflects institutional racism as it is hard to believe that a white person would have been treated in the same way. Despite many black deaths in police custody there has been no conviction of a police officer. This is because of assumptions made that the victim must have been at fault because of the stigma that is attached to black people. This suggests an element of class because the lower class would most likely be punished when caught, w hereas many officials manage to escape minor crimes and so the rich and powerful are protected. The Brixton and Toxteth riots were also in response to such discrimination as at this time the police thought they were ‘the law’ and so used brute force against many individuals for mere suspicion when in matter of fact they had done nothing wrong. Goffman referred to stigma as ‘spoiled identities’ which he defined as ‘an attribute that is deeply discrediting within a particular social interaction’. Referring back to the riots this means that certain people, in particular black people cannot rid themselves of such ‘spoiled identities’ and as a result are much more likely to be subject to assumptions that they are deviant. It was Schur that outlined  that a person employs deviant behaviour as a means of defence. This is relevant to the recent riots since one man declared that he only joined in after being stopped and searched several times while trying to make his way home from the disturbances in the city centre. This suggests th at the riot was escalated by anger towards the police as they inherit discrimination in carrying out their duties. Although racism is rooted in widely shared attitudes, values and beliefs, discrimination can occur irrespective of the intent of the individuals who carry out the activities of the institution. This means that the police may not even be aware that they are being racist, but the labels they attach to certain individuals are present regardless of whether it is intentional. This could be because of the small number of ethnic minority police officers and so the force is not representative, which in turn reflects the ignorance to the modern, multi-cultural society that we live in. So is it fair to say that the police are to blame for the break out of the riots or that they did not carry out their duties efficiently enough to prevent them? The telegraph has cited that Mark Duggan was well known to the police. They had assumed that Duggan had a gun and further misleading information leaked to the public that the victim had actually fired bullets at the police first. Both assumptions made by the police turned out to be false and so this created an outburst of anger since it appeared that such assumptions were based on the fact that Duggan was black. Labelling is a problem that cannot be reversed easily and was acknowledged by Sir Paul Condon where he stated â€Å"I acknowledge the danger of institutionalisation of racism. However, labels can cause more problems than they solve.† Deviancy Amplication, as Leslie Wilkins pointed out is the process where the reaction by agents or agencies of social control may lead to an escalation, rather than a diminution of deviancy. The riots reflect this as the deviant behaviour spirals out of control as more acts are defined as crimes which leads to more restraints against deviants which in turn leaves them feeling as outsiders and so pushes them into the surroundings of other criminals which again leads to more deviant acts. The 1981 Brixton riots produced the Scarman report which emphasised the duty of police to apply the law firmly and sensitively without differing standards and although many measures were introduced to improve trust and understanding between the police and ethnic mi nority communities, the  Macpherson inquiry in 2000 said the Metropolitan police still suffered from institutional racism. Although it is evident that labelling causes many problems that cannot be reverted, it would not have been diplomatic to keep the truth behind the institutional racism a secret from the public and so on its emergence it is fair to say that this caused the beginning of the riots. As a result of this the police have now too been labelled and therefore much trust has been lost in the eyes of the public. The Anomie theory was established in the aftermath of the industrial revolution where society had been subject to a social transformation, which saw a drop in the ability to maintain order. Durkheim said crime is normal in any society and is functional in two ways. The first being an adaptive function that ensures change in society by introducing new ideas and practices and the second type is the boundary maintenance function that reinforces social values and norms through collective action against deviance. He then progressed by outlining two typical social formations; organic solidarit y and mechanical solidarity. Organic solidarity is organised around difference, whereas mechanical solidarity displays identical and shared values and so sanctioning is served here to identify and exclude offenders. The two latter formations were used to understand the rates of suicide. Durkheim said that the suicide rates are down to social solidarity; that is the integration into social groups and the regulation of social norms. His findings showed that anomic suicide occurred where the degree of regulation was insufficient because individuals feel a sense of ‘normlessness’. This can be shown through the amount of suicides within prisons, namely Kilmarnock’s private prison, where six suicides have occurred since the prison opened in 1999 until 2005. In the BBC Panorama programme investigating Kilmarnock Prison a riot within the prison was described, where officers recall witnessing inmates setting fires, flooding and smashing televisions. This can be compared to the riots outside the prisons as the time at which they occur is when individuals are subject to economic and social change. In times of rapid social change, such as that from mechanical to organic solidarity system s of regulations may be insufficient to effectively limit individual desires and so what emerges is a state of anomie. This theory is therefore applicable as the Toxteth outburst, that followed the Brixton riot reflects a civil protest against the social change because during this time Toxteth had one of the highest  unemployment rates in the country. The citizens of Toxteth felt let down by the Government as the city hit a decline and they were given little help to be able to survive and so could not fit in with society. This is also the same for the more recent London riots as society struggles through the recession where high unemployment and high crime is also present. Durkheim also related organic solidarity to the sexual difference between men and women. He outlined that men are much more likely to commit crime due to the higher impact social change has upon males. This can be reflected through the 2011 riots as statistics show that out of all offenders brought before the courts10% were female and 90% were male. Whereas Durkheim’s work related crime to insufficient normative regulation , Merton’s Anomie theory was a result of the absence of alignment between socially-desired aspirations, such as wealth, and the means available to people to achieve such objectives. According to Merton every society has cultural goals in which to strive for throughout one’s lifetime and it was the ‘American Dream’ that this theory derived from. Although Martin Luther King, Jr. strived for racial equality, few will deny that American’s are focused on the ‘almighty dollar’. It was the idea that prosperity and success were available to all those that worked hard, however Merton argued that the cultural demands on persons to achieve wealth brought about the use of illegitimate means, where they are denied effective opportunities to do so institutionally. Although this is based on American culture it can be applied to the UK as our society today aims for material success. This is reflected throughout the looting that transpired out of the 2011 riots as much of the disorder was in aid of stealing goods and electrical products. The BBC referred to this in headlines as ‘greed and criminality’, however others argue that the subsequent looting was due to the lack of help from the Government, which has left many people in a state of desperation. Merton recognised that the majority of society will conform even though they suffer the strain of anomie, however those that do not conform can be categorised into four types of deviants. These four human adaptions are known as the Innovator, the Ritualist, the Retreatist and the Rebellion. In the UK the typical ‘drug dealer’ would be an innovator as they accept the cultural goals, but do not use the standard institutionalised means. This could be for reasons such as previous convictions preventing them from achieving a respected job and  therefore other means are used in order to reach the desired material success. Ritualism in contrast refers to those that still have the attachment to the institutional means, however the cultural goals have been lost. Here could fall the single parent working hard at all costs and not actually achieving the goal. Retreatism is where both the objectives and means have been rejected. Merton says that Retreatism concerns people who ‘are in society but not of it’, for example a typical British tramp. The Rebellion refers to the behaviour of many young individuals in Britain as they replace the cultural goals and the institutional means with their own rules to cope with anomic strain. The recession is a prime example of an economic break down in Britain, which would result in some members of society turning to illegitimate means in order to achieve goals where society has made the end goal much harder to achieve. So, for the offenders involved there is a display of Innovation as they have the goals but not the means to achieve them and so have jumped on the opportunity of crisis in order to gain material success. Merton went on to argue that non-conformity resulted from differential access to opportunities, such as education and employment. From this there is a clear link to labelling as it is societies label that holds back the individual and prevents them from being able to achieve the end goals legitimately. This refers to the majority of the rioters since 73% of the offenders involved had previous convictions, and so although the desired goals are still prominent the label restricts the opportunity of getting a decent job which in turn stops them achieving this ideology of material success. Even without a criminal conviction ethnic minority groups struggle to get the same opportunities in terms of employment. Looking at the UK as a whole, ethnic minorities make up about 7% of the population, yet in police forces across England and Wales, just 2% of their officers are non-white. It is also much harder for a police officer from an ethnic minority background to reach the rank of superintendent and so after much rejection they eventually ‘give up’. Following the Brixton riots the Scarman report recommended efforts to recruit more ethnic minorities into the police force, and changes in training and law enforcement. The Macpherson report somewhat 17 years later showed that nothing has changed. The main problem with this theory is that it looks to assess financial crimes and ignores mindless crimes such as vandalism.  However, as the riots are mainly concerned with burglary and theft (statistics show 13% of disorder was due to theft and 44% was assigned to burglary) this theory is applicable. Looking at the overall causes of the riots it is fair to say that the police have discriminated on the way a person looks and although this may have provoked further crime as deviancy amplication suggests, it is the Anomie theory that best explains the reasoning behind the riots. In order to prevent such mass atrocities occurring again, discrimination in any form must be eliminated from the Criminal Justice System. It was George Orwell that explained how society will become a ‘police state’ and although surveillance programmes and more police powers have been enforced to give greater security to citizens much freedom is subsequently lost. Technology has been put in place in order to secure convictions, however in order for this to work the police must also be subject to the same kind of control. This would prevent discrimination on their part and also regain the public’s trust in the police. The lack of opportunity from the Government has led to a proportion of society to ignore the law, which in turn creates disturbance between the law enforcers i.e. the police and the public. As the recent 2011 riots saw a more ‘stand back’ approach by the police, they argued that they did not have the proper resources to respond due to ‘cut backs’ from the Government, however much of the police fund is spent on the wrong resources and so this must also be addressed for society to be controlled effectively. After the Brixton and Toxteth riots the British public managed to regain police trust, however since the UK returned to an economic state like of that time it was evident that some form of protest would also reoccur. As this has happened, equal opportunities must be available to give everybody in society a chance to succeed, which in turn would lose the resentment that is held towards the Government and police. Bibliography Textbooks: Bowling, B., Violent Racism: Victimisation, Policing and Social Context, 1998, Clarendon Press Gilbert, J., Discographies: Dance Music, Culture, and the Politics of Sound, 1999, Routledge Newburn, T., Criminology, 2009, 1st edition, Willian Publishing Orwell, G., 1984, 1949, 1st edition, London: Secker and Warburg Journals: Bowling, B. and Phillips C., (2007) â€Å"Disproportionate and Discriminatory: Reviewing the Evidence on Police Stop and Search†. Modern Law Review. 70(6) Dicristina, B., (2006), â€Å"Durkheims latent theory of gender and homicide†. British Journal of Criminology. 46(2) Reports: Bell, I., 2011, Statistical bulletin on the public disorder of 6th to 9th August 2011 King, M.L., Jr., (1968) â€Å"The American Dream,† Negro History Bulletin 31 (5) Macpherson, W., 1998, The Stephen Lawrence Enquiry, London: Home Office Scarman, Lord J., 1981, ‘The Brixton disorders 10-12 April 1981’, London: HMSO Legislation: Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c.33) Websites: BBC, December 2011, ‘Toxteth riots: Howe proposed managed decline for the city’, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-16355281 BBC, 11th August 2011, ‘riots: David Cameron’s commons statement in full’, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14492789 BBC News London, ‘London riots: looting and violence continues’, 8th August 2011, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14439970 Cached BBC, ‘On this day: 1981 Brixton riots report blames racial tension’, http://www.news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/25 Guardian, T., 6th December 2011, ‘Reading the Riots: Humiliating stop and search a key factor in anger towards police’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/dec/06/stop-and-search Peter Gould, BBC News online home affairs, ‘Changing face of justice’, http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/uk/2002/race/changing_face_of_justice.stm Kerry Townsend, ‘Frank Tannenbau m: Dramatization of evil’, http://www.criminology.fsu.edu/crimtheory/tannenbaum.htm Cached – Similar CachedOxford Dictionary, ‘definition for deviant’, http://www.oxforddictionaries.com Scottish Government, ‘HM Inspectorate of Prisons Report on HM Prison Kilmarnock: January 2005’, http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/04/14103535 Cached Warshauer, M., Liverpool John Moores University, ‘Who wants to be a millionaire: Changing conceptions of the American Dream’ (2002), http://www.americansc.org.uk/Online/American_Dream.htm Wheatle, A., Evening Standard, 9th August 2011, ‘We need answers about the death of Mark Duggan’ http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23976405 Television Programmes: BBC One, 2005, â€Å"Panorama: Kilmarnock Prison Part 1†, LondonCached ——————————————– [ 1 ]. T. Newburn, Criminology, 2009, 1st edition, Willian Publishing, page 212 [ 2 ]. Ministry of Justice, Statistical bulletin on the public disorder of 6th to 9th August 2011, (15th Sept 2011) page 11 [ 3 ]. BBC, 11th August 2011, ‘riots: David Cameron’s commons statement in full’, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14492789 accessed 18/02/2012Cached [ 4 ]. Oxford Dictionary, ‘definition for deviant’, http://www.oxforddictionaries.com accessed 20/02/2012 [ 5 ]. John Itsuro Kitsuse, 1962 [ 6 ]. Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c.33) [ 7 ]. Jeremy Gilbert, Discographies: Dance Music, Culture, and the Politics of Sound, 1999, Routledge, page 150 [ 8 ]. 1994 [ 9 ]. Frank Tannenbaum, 1938 [ 10 ]. Kerry Townsend, ‘Frank Tannenbaum: Dramatization of evil’, http://www.criminology.fsu.edu/crimtheory/tannenbaum.htm accessed 19/02/2012Cached – Similar [ 11 ]. Iain Bell, Ministry of Justice, Statistical bulletin on the public disorder of 6th to 9th August 2011, (15th Sept 2011) page 5 [ 12 ]. Howard Becker, 1963 [ 13 ]. T. Newburn, Criminology, 2009, 1st edition, Willian Publishing, page 212 [ 14 ]. Edwin Lemert, 1967 [ 15 ]. ibid [ 16 ]. William Macpherson, 1998, ‘The Stephen Lawrence Enquiry, London: Home Office, chapter 6.25 [ 17 ]. Ben Bowling and Coretta Phillips, (2007) ‘Disproportionate and Discriminatory: Reviewing the Evidence on Police Stop and Search’. Modern Law Review. 70(6) 944 [ 18 ]. Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c.33) section 60 [ 19 ]. Alex Wheatle, Evening Standard, 9th August 2011, ‘We need answers about the death of Mark Duggan’ http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23976405 accessed 21/02/2012 [ 20 ]. Erving Goffman, 1963 [ 21 ]. T. Newburn, Criminology, 2009, 1st edition, Willian Publishing, page 217 [ 22 ]. Edwin Schur, 1951 [ 23 ]. The Guardian, 6th December 2011, ‘Reading the Riots: Humiliating stop and search a key factor in anger towards police’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/dec/06/stop-and-search accessed 20/02/2012 [ 24 ]. Benjamin Bowling, Violent Racism: Victimisation, Policing and Social Context, 1998, Clarendon Press, page 3 [ 25 ]. William Macpherson, 1998, ‘The Stephen Lawrence Enquiry, London: Home Office, chapter 6.25 [ 26 ]. Leslie Wilkins 1964 [ 27 ]. T. Newburn, Criminology, 2009, 1st edition, Willian Publishing, page 218 [ 28 ]. BBC, ‘On this day: 1981 Brixton riots report blames racial tension’, http://www.news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/25 accessed 21/02/2012 [ 29 ]. Emile Durkheim, 1972 [ 30 ]. T. Newburn, Criminology, 2009, 1st edition, Willian Publishing, page 170 [ 31 ]. ibid [ 32 ]. The Scottish Government, ‘HM Inspectorate of Prisons Report on HM Prison Kilmarnock: January 2005’, http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/04/14103535 accessed 21/02/2012Cached [ 33 ]. â€Å"Panorama: Kilmarnock Prison Part 1†, London: BBC One, 27/02/05, Retrieved 03/02/2012 [ 34 ]. T. Newburn, Criminology, 2009, 1st edition, Willian Publishing, page 173 [ 35 ]. BBC, December 2011, ‘Toxteth riots: Howe proposed managed decline for the city’, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-16355281 accessed 23/02/2012Cached [ 36 ]. London riots, (6 August 2011) [ 37 ]. B. Dicristina, (2006), â€Å"Durkheims latent theory of gender and homicide†. British Journal of Criminology. 46(2), 212-233 [ 38 ]. Ministry of Justice, Statistical bulletin on the public disorder of 6th to 9th August 2011, (15th Sept 2011) page 3 [ 39 ]. Robert Merton, 1949 [ 40 ]. T. Newburn, Criminology, 2009, 1st edition, Willian Publishing, page 175 [ 41 ]. Martin Luther King, Jr., (1968) â€Å"The American Dream,† Negro History Bulletin 31 (5), 10-15 [ 42 ]. Matthew Warshauer, Liverpool John Moores University, ‘Who wants to be a millionaire: Changing conceptions of the American Dream’ (2002), http://www.americansc.org.uk/Online/American_Dream.htm accessed 21/02/2012 [ 43 ]. T. Newburn, Criminology, 2009, 1st edition, Willian Publishing, page 175-176 [ 44 ]. BBC News London, ‘London riots: looting and violence continues’, 8th August 2011, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14439970 Cachedaccessed 22/02/2012 [ 45 ]. T. Newburn, Criminology, 2009, 1st edition, Willian Publishing, page 175-177 [ 46 ]. Iain Bell, Ministry of Justice, Statistical bulletin on the public disorder of 6th to 9th August 2011, (15th Sept 2011) page 5 [ 47 ]. Peter Gould, BBC News online home affairs, ‘Changing face of justiceâ₠¬â„¢, http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/uk/2002/race/changing_face_of_justice.stm accessed 22/02/2012 [ 48 ]. ibid [ 49 ]. 1981 [ 50 ]. Lord Scarman, 25th November 1981, ‘The Brixton Disorders10-12 April 1981’, London: HMSO [ 51 ]. Iain Bell, Ministry of Justice, Statistical bulletin on the public disorder of 6th to 9th August 2011, (15th Sept 2011) page 7 [ 52 ]. George Orwell, 1984, 8th June 1949, 1st edition, London: Secker and Warburg

Please read instructions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Please read instructions - Essay Example Additionally, I learned the way students use the social media as a medium to look for networking for jobs. Most students use the social media by completing their profile for the entire site they join and posting their diverse content online. Here my marketing plan will involve completing my profile for each site that I access. I will also post diverse content on my sire like quotes, recommendation, and things I observed. Another marketing plan is subscribing to follow industry leaders and companies in finance. Subsequently, I will stay posted on the privacy setting and new features on finance (Waldman,  6). Increasingly, I learned the fundamentals and basic of how one needs to use the LinkedIn. LinkedIn site is used in managing the professional identity of a person. The site is a first search result, important to update and use, and quite different from the normal Facebook in terms of their connection and profile management. My marketing plan on this case will involve building my profile and locate internship and entry-level finance jobs on the site. First, I will start networking with my friends and family, and search for common grounds in

Research Paper - Canadian Art - The Group of Seven Essay

Research Paper - Canadian Art - The Group of Seven - Essay Example The original group members comprised of Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, F.H. Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. Macdonald, and F.H. Varley. Interestingly, they started out as magazine illustrators. Their main objective was to adhere to a uniquely Canadian method of painting landscapes (Smith, n.d.). In particular, Harris was an art student in Berlin before he came back to Toronto (Smith, n.d.). He started drawing inspirations from the Laurentians and the Alogonquin Park (Naasgard, 2008). He became specifically fascinated by the northern part of Canada because of its extensiveness and seeming mystique. It was in 1912 that Harris met Macdonald, Jackson, and eventually the rest of the unit members (Naasgard, 2008). The rest of the Group of Seven’s history sprang from there. It was inevitable though that some members would come and go. Johnston for instance, went away after their first art show and was replaced by A.J. Casson (Smith, n.d.). This makes Casson truly a part of the Group of Seven. Moreover, the group opened itself to other members who want to join in their exhibit. They didn’t have to be landscape artists in specific. Even a woman, in the person of Emily Carr, was one of those the group invited. What was important for the Group of Seven was that both members and non-members promote a different way of depicting Canadian art. In general, the Group of Seven art was characterized by a joyful and attractive style. Their works featured an original way of depicting landscapes by producing visuals of the Northern part of Canada that were not explored before. The colors that were often seen in the paintings included browns and burst of oranges (Adamczyk, 2008). But in the case of Harris, he also incorporated his uniqueness by the way he stripped some details off from his painting. To point out a few, he had the tendency to portray trees losing their

Critically analyze the arguments against corporate power in Joel Essay

Critically analyze the arguments against corporate power in Joel Bakans book (The Corporation) - Essay Example akan’s famous book â€Å"The Corporation† vividly visualizes these negative demeanors of the corporations and suggests the ways and means to have tighter control over them, mainly to make them to engage in more corporate social responsibility activities. This research essay reviews the above book and details the Bakan’s important critiques and suggestions to make the corporations around the world to be law-abiding citizens. Joel Bakan’s book â€Å" the Corporation â€Å" is a book about the corporate form of business , it salient features as of today , the manner it functions and the impact it has on people and also deals with the so-called corporate social responsibility, and it brings to the front core about various corporate frauds and malpractices together its insulting demeanor. Joel Bakan argues that corporations are facilitated by law to work for their interests than that for others, thereby exploiting others without least respect for moral turpitude or legal frameworks. The so-called doctrine Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the majority of the cases functions to camouflage its true identity or color thereby discarding public interest and enriching self-interest. Bakan is of the opinion that corporations which function as institution , which have the self-drafted mandate to work for its own self-interest and hence , these corporations are nothing but pathological organization, and they are now regarded as the most dangerous organization toothed with extraordinary powers through laws. In Chapter 1, Bakan is of the view that recent corporate scandals like Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Satyam, etc. is not a new phenomenon, but it existed from the inception of corporate form of business. People now started to concern about the mammoth size of multinational companies, and the authority that these companies veil on the gullible public which has made a concomitant demand of introducing harsher regulations to control and manage these corporations. Bakan

Distinguish Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Distinguish - Essay Example There are various other ways in which performance appraisals and performance management is differentiated from each other. Performance appraisals are conducted once, every particular year and these are conducted on the request of HR department (Koontz 243). On the contrary, performance management is conducted on very frequent basis and is conducted on the request of supervisors and subordinates. Performance appraisal process for an organization is created by the HR department and then it is forwarded to the managers so managers can utilize them while evaluating performance. In case of creating performance management process, both the employees and their managers are involved. Feedback derived through performance appraisals take place only once a year when performance is appraised, while feedback from performance management takes places each time the managers and the supervisors conduct performance management and they hold discussions about performance targets and achievement of those targets. When performance appraisal is conducted for an employee, the appraiser has a duty to reach an agreement with the appraised employee about how well he has performed and in what areas he needs training and development. In case of performance management, the appraiser has to understand the criteria of performance and has to explain employees about how their behaviors are matched to the criteria. In performance management the supervisors and subordinates identify expectations and how these expectations will help achieve organizational goals and objectives. In performance appraisal, the appraisee has to either accept or reject the performance appraisal conducted by managers and have to accept the sectors where improvement is required. In performance management, the appraisee has to understand the fit between expectations and organizations goals and objectives. A comparison of performance

Applying Standardized Terminologies in Practice - Informatics Essay

Applying Standardized Terminologies in Practice - Informatics - Essay Example The defining characteristic in stroke treatment and management is neck-artery blockage which could be either symptomatic or asymptomatic. Individuals without any stroke symptoms are also likely to suffer from the disease. However, those who have shown stroke symptoms face a higher risk. Factors related to stroke management include micro-clots in the carotid arteries’ bloodstream, asymptomatic carotid disease, amarousis fugax (a TIA affecting the eye), cognitive impairment, brain stroke and ischemic stroke (Lovrencic-Huzjan, Rundek, & Katsnelson, 2012). Other related factors are symptomatic carotid stenosis and plaque instability. When a plaque is ulcerated or has irregular morphology, the risk of a clinical event increases. NOC outcomes suggested in the management of stroke using medical intervention include improved muscular and brain functioning. The main indicator showing improved status of a stroke patient with medical intervention is elimination of clots in the carotid blood stream. The elimination of neck artery blockage reduces the likelihood of suffering from stroke. Inherently, the use of standardized language in nursing profession is becoming prevalent in education and practice Suggested NIC interventions for stroke patients include use of surgery such as carotid endarterectomy (CEA) for the prevention of secondary stroke. A more recent and less invasive surgical alternative is carotid stenting. The nurse could also advise patients to stop smoking and limit intake of cholesterol for stroke prevention and management. Emboli monitoring is also recommended in order to minimize the risk of later developing stroke. Between the 1980s to early 2000s, aspirin was the only anti-platelet therapy for treatment of stroke. Since the start of the new millennium, medical interventions have increased to include statins, new

Aristotle's Theory concerning Moral Responsibility Essay

Aristotle's Theory concerning Moral Responsibility - Essay Example Aristotle believes that every human being has a responsibility for his or her actions, something that makes others reasonably praise, blame or even punish him or her; he shows this by pointing out various conditions, which lessen or even cancel this responsibility. He converses force of occurrences, threats, along with coercion, bad character, ignorance and intoxication. Taken together, his version shows the basic concepts involved in being a person who ends up getting reasonably praised or blamed. The primary limitation concerning voluntary action is the force of circumstances. Aristotle gives an example about a ship caught in a storm; in this case, the sailors have to throw goods overboard to avoid the sinking of the ship. Here, the action is not entirely voluntary; therefore the sailors are not to blame for their actions. On the other hand, the storm is not to blame for the undesirable outcome, which is the loss of the goods, since it is a natural event that no one is responsible. Another example is the case whereby my friend accidentally pushes me as a result of getting pushed by a bully; here, she is not to blame considering that it was not here intention to push me, rather, she got pushed, and as a result, ended up pushing me. These cases are extreme instances of the force of necessity whereby we always live and always get forced into our actions by natural facts, though we only notice this when the force happens to be sudden or unexpected (Williams 25). In reality, the interference of other people is what causes us the most grief, which in turn causes problems when it comes to responsibility attributions. This interference tends to take many forms; however, its paradigmatic forms happen to be coercion and manipulation. Concerning coercion, the judgment by Aristotle get balanced since it is dependent on what act my coercer is demanding from me, as well as the threats he is making. On the other hand, there are some actions, which tend to be extremely heino us that we must be blamed for carrying them out, whatever a person gets threatened with, together with whatever blame also tends to be attached to the coercer; hence Aristotle dismisses the thought that a man may be compelled to killing his mother (Williams 45). Apparently, a central issue at stake when it comes to attributions of responsibility happens to be the expectations that people have each other. Although there are some kinds of coercion that we do not normally expect people to oppose, there are also some forms of action that people should never embark on, regardless of such features. In these cases praise, together with blame tends to work on clarifying and to reinforce these expectations through the provision of a form of moral education. What determines appropriate or immoral character happens to be the manner in which a person reacts when he discovers the truth or failing to regret their deeds, then they can be blamed, albeit the original choice being justifiable. Accord ing to Aristotle, our praise and blame is in most cases, not about an individual act; rather, it is about the character of the one who acted. Importantly, not every form of ignorance gets excused since moral knowledge happens to be extremely distinctive from factual knowledge (Echenique 49). However, if a person tends to be morally ignorant, he or she ends up being unable to choose well; here, Aristotle grants that the majority of people of settled villainous character, whether they are morally ignorant or otherwise, are

Humanities-issues in science and societies proposal Essay

Humanities-issues in science and societies proposal - Essay Example Topic One: Wind farms are known to affect birds through collision, displacement, barrier effects and habitat loss (Drewitt and Langston, 2006). There is some debate about how serious the impact on fish might be (Wahlberg and Westerberg, 2005). Human beings complain about certain impact on the beauty of natural landscapes, and there are suggestions that living near wind farms negatively causes an illness called â€Å"Wind Turbine Syndrome† (Pierpoint, 2009). Topic Two: Wind farms are using increasingly larger turbines, and though this may look more cost effective than smaller turbines, there are significant operation and maintenance costs to consider (â€Å"Operation and Maintenance Costs,† n.d.). Conclusion: This paper has shown that wind farms have been represented by proponents of green science and politics as an answer to mankind’s need for energy that does not depend on the burning of fossil fuels or the creation of risky nuclear power stations. The evidence shows that there is indeed a place for wind farms in energy planning. These facilities are, however, not as ecologically friendly as one might think, and the cost of building and managing them makes it unlikely that they will ever contribute more than a small proportion of human energy

Methods Of Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Methods Of Research - Essay Example Horton found out that the treatment was effective in helping the girl to stop her spoon banging behavior (Interpreting, and Draw conclusion) In Project situation 2, Latane & Bidwell used observational method of research. Observational research method was used because Latane & Bidwell observed the number of students who entered the college cafeteria accompanied by student or with out company, and determined the gender differences in need for affiliation. In this project situation Latane & Bidwell determined the gender differences in need for affiliation (Identify the problem, and Gather and observing data). In this situation, Latane & Bidwell decided to prove if females need to have greater affiliation than male students (Formulating Hypothesis and testing the hypothesis). Latane & Bidwell found out that females were significantly more likely than males to be in the presence of another person when entering the cafeteria. (Interpreting, and Draw conclusion) This study basically focused on the number of students who entered in college cafeteria with accompanied student or with out accompanied student by gender. This study was also delimited to one school only. The researcher used correlational research method.

My Favorite Memory Essay Example for Free

My Favorite Memory Essay It all began in the summer of 1988 when my parents packed up our car. We began our countless hour journeys from Youngstown, Ohio to FaHoLo Deaf Family Camp in Grass Lake, Michigan. The excitement and thrill that would rush through my veins when going to FAHOLO sent visions to my head about who I would see first, where I would be staying, what I would be doing, and to what fun places I would go. You are never too old to go to FAHOLO, there is always something to do no matter what age you are. Although the cost of camp was somewhat on the pricey side, every dime we spent getting there was well worth it. You cannot place a cost on memories and the people you meet while you are at camp. My memories of camp began when my parents and I arrived at FAHOLO each year. We would unload the car as fast as we could so we could go to the loud sanctuary. As we walked up to the sanctuary we could hear very loud music coming from it, the vibrations shaking the building and the buildings around it. When you walk into the sanctuary all you see is hearing, hard of hearing, deaf, and special needs, all coming together to learn and worship the Lord. It is such an incredible site to see. After the evening service had ended, we would all go to the dining hall. I can remember hearing the doors creak open and the smell of the oak wood inside the lobby. When you walked into the dining hall you could smell whatever was cooking. The first night of camp was always pizza. The pizza that night was delicious; the crust was thick, the sauce very light, the cheese was extra thick, and the toppings piled on high. I remember sitting down to eat pizza, seeing hands signing, and recognizing faces I hadnt seen in years. I remember eating pizza every year with my best friends Jaclyn, Amanda, Amber, Amy, and BJ. Wed sit and talk about all the fun we had over the past year, sports, the things we were going to do during the week, and how much fun we were going to have. We would then start to plan out wh at activities we wanted to do first. As the night came to an end, we said our goodbyes and headed to our different dorms. Jaclyn, Amanda, Amber, Amy, and I always stayed in the Girls Dorm. I can vividly remember the smell of the old dorm room as I opened the door mold and bleach. I can remember hearing giggling, seeing the deaf girls signing, and my friends Amanda, Amber, Amy, and Jaclyn all unpacking their things into dressers as I walked down the hall to my room.. By the time I got done unpacking I was tired and ready for bed and the next day as well. I was ready to learn whos class I was going to be in for the week and I was excited and ready to learn,but most of all I was looking forward to my free time during the afternoon because we were able to do whatever activities we wanted. After our morning classes and lunch came free time in which we could choose from many activities during the afternoon. We had the choices of going swimming in the pool, swimming at the lake, paddle boating, kayaking, canoeing, jumping off the blob, jumping on the water trampoline, playing softball or volleyball, go-karts, riding horses, climbing the rock wall, or going on group trips. For days on end my best friends and I would swim carefree in the glimmering waters of the pool and lake. The outside pool is where I learned how to swim in the deep end and float on my back. I even saved a little girl from drowning because her parents were not paying attention to her. Grass Lake, is the lake where I learned how to row a canoe, kayake, and how to properly skip rocks. I will never forget the crisp, clean air, seeing the ripples of the water on the lake from skipping rocks, and the sound of oars going in and coming out of the water. As the sun slowly began to set, the lake would slowly grow cold. The night sky filled with bright, twinkling stars. It looked as if someone spilled a container of glitter in the sky. I loved those nights, wouldnt you? My absolute favorite memory of camp was the bonfire and hayrides every year. I loved the smell of bonfires, the sound of the wood as it crackled and popped, and of logs collapsing as they disintegrated into nothing but ash while amber ashes floated into the night sky. The best part about a bonfire was roasting marshmallows. Id sit and watch the marshmallow turn from white to a light amber color and thats how I knew my marshmallow was perfect. I remember making a smore one night and giving it to my friend Amanda. She sat and bragged about how good the smore was and told people to have me make their smores. One by one people started coming up to me and asking me to make a smore for them. It was fun for meto compete with other people to see who could make a better smore, but Id always win. While the bonfire was still going, the grounds keeper came to the campgrounds with his red horse drawn wagon and would take turns loading groups of people into the wagon. I loved getting to ride in the wagon with all my friends, talking, laughing, signing, of course, and just being goofy. I remember looking at the night sky thinking â€Å"could this get any better?† and it usually did by my friends burying me or someone else in the hay. I can remember laying down in the wagon and having hay thrown on top of me, stuffed down my sweatshirt, and even into my socks and shoes. I was so warm buried under all the hay. When the hayride came to an end, I had to get out from under all the hay that was thrown on top of me. It was not fun trying to get all the hay off of me. I had to go take a shower to get it all off. I seriously did not know that hay could hide in the tiniest of places. As the night came to a close, I was reminded of how camp was coming to an end. The end of camp was the best but yet the saddest time. Even though everyone was sad that camp was coming to an end, it was still a time of joy and happiness. We made our last day the best. On the last day of camp there would always be a Talent Show. I was in the talent show one year. Since it was a deaf camp and not many people saw me sign I decided to sign a song. I was so nervous when I got on stage, but my nerves subsided when I saw my parents in the audience cheering me on. As I began to sign I saw the looks on peoples faces and their expressions were priceless. They looked stunned like they couldnt believe that I knew how to sign as well as I did. After the talent show, people came up to me and told me that I was astounding, amazing, and that I needed to pursue a career in interpreting. The people also congratulated me on winning the talent show. After the talent show was finished we had a formal banquet to celebrate. It was incredible to see how men could go from wearing basketball shorts and tank tops to suits, the women from shorts and t shirts to dresses and skirts. Before the banquet we would always take a picture of everyone who came to camp. We then proceeded to the dining hall which was decorated each year with a theme. We would be seated at tables and treated like guests at a fancy fest or a royal ball. We used proper manners, ate very well cooked meals, had dessert, talked, and just had fun. After the banquet was over it was time to leave. At the end of the banquet we said our goodbyes, hugged our friends, packed the car, and started our countless hour journey back to Ohio, keeping the memories of the dazzling lake, the nice cool pool, the crisp Michigan summer air, the twinkling stars, the sweet smells of the bonfire, and the fun memories with friends in our minds. Even though I was sad to leave, I knew Id be back next year seeing the same people and creating more memories.

Motivation And Problem Statement Information Technology Essay

Motivation And Problem Statement Information Technology Essay A corridor indoor navigation system is proposed for any kind of visual impaired persons: blind, partially sighted, and people with progressive loss of vision. This system can help the visually impaired individuals to travel through familiar or unfamiliar corridor by using the Kinect sensor that mounted on the head or holding into hand. This chapter consists of five parts. The five parts can be divided into problem statements, project scopes, project objectives, contributions, and background information. 1.1 Motivation and Problem Statement Visually impaired individuals will face many difficulties and one of the common difficulties is when they involve in self-navigating at an environment which is strange for them. In fact, physical movement is one of the biggest challenges for them. Besides that, while they travel around or walking at a crowded corridor, it may pose great difficulty. One of the existing problems for visually impaired individuals to travel in a corridor is that they cannot detect either they need to turn left or turn right when reached to the end of the corridor by using only the walking stick. According to Saaid M.F [7], to walk at the corridor, the visually impaired individuals must find the border of the sidewalk at the corridor and then use their walking stick to define their current location. The reason why the visually impaired individuals do that is because they cannot forecast the obstacle which is far from them while they only can use the walking stick to detect the area around them. 1.2 Project Scope The scope of this project is to develop a system which can help visually impaired individuals to navigate in the corridor and calculate the distance of obstacles. This system used the sensor of the Kinect to detect the obstacles. Kinect is a low-cost 3D sensor developed by Microsoft for the XBOX 360 console which allows the player to use his own body as the game controller. Besides that, it consists of an RGB camera associated with an infrared transmitter and receiver, which permits to estimate the distance of the elements taken from the environment. This system using sensor of the Kinect to building the depth map, which can provides the distance of the obstacles detected in front of the visually impaired individuals. 1.3 Project Objectives In this project, the main objective is to develop a cheaper in price but will still maintain with a good functional system for the visually impaired individuals. This system able to help visually impaired individuals to avoid the obstacles such as people and animal on the corridor same with them; and it also can provides the distance of the obstacles in front of them. The aim of this project is to improve the visually impaired individuals ability in finding the direction at the corridor while they are walking rather than just rely on the walking stick to detect all the obstacles manually and waste their time in finding the exactly direction that they want to heading to. 1.4 Impact, significance and Contribution This system is designed especially for any kind of visual impaired persons: blind, partially sighted, and people with progressive loss of vision. This system will give a lot of benefits to the visually impaired individuals especially for those who have financial problem. According to the researcher Choo, Malaysia has around 60,000 visually impaired individuals and 28,000 of them had registered as a blind and applied to get the help from the welfare provided in Malaysia. This mean that the number of visually impaired individuals that have financial problem had covered more than half in the total number of impaired visually individuals and this is reason why the system provide is cheaper and affordable by most of the impaired visually individuals. More than that, this system able to provide the distance of the obstacles in front of visually impaired individuals by using sensor of the Kinect. It also able delivers the visually impaired individuals the existing direction to help them headed to the right direction. With the system provided, the visually impaired individual able walk at the corridor safety since the system developed is able to guide them along the corridor by providing the information of the surrounding along the corridor. With the system developed the visually impaired individuals also able to improve their own ability or less dependent to the help of other people while walking along the corridor. The reason why the visually impaired individuals can improve themselves into a more independent individual is because the system able to help them in finding the direction while they are walking at the corridor. Hence, the visually impaired person able to more likes a normal person in their daily lifestyle. 1.5 Background Information Nowadays, the tools to assist the visually impaired individuals are become very important because the tools are used to help them to navigate the surrounding in the corridor. According to Casey Helmick [3], those people who are visually impaired individuals often will rely on different tools to help them in travelling around. Dog guide and walking stick are the most common tools to assist visually impaired individuals in daily life. However, not all of them afford to purchase a guide dog, since the guide dog is at a quite expensive price level and will require consuming their time in training with the guide dog and getting the license and only able travelling around with the guide dog. The training cost and the license cost will also become one of the concern which they cannot afford all the cost plus the guide dog cannot available to enter some places such as hotel, apartment and hospital and this restrict them to walk smoother at indoor environment with just an assist from the walk ing stick. Besides that, some of the visually impaired individuals cant be around dogs. [3] Furthermore, the visually impaired individuals only can use the walking sticks to estimate and determine the obstacle on the floor along the corridor and the obstacle must be close with their current location since the length of their walking stick is limited. A walking stick may be harder to carry, since its longer than the actual walking stick and because the blind people use walking stick while walking, so they only have one hand free [6]. Hence, this cause the visually impaired individuals become inconvenience especially when their hands need carry a lot of items and since one of their hand need carry walking stick, so they may not able to carry all of the items. Besides that, the existing walking stick for visually impaired individuals has the range detection problem. The walking stick cannot detect the distance that much more far away from the individual or the moving objects that moving around the corridor. Unlike normal person they cannot sense the all of the objects and movi ng objects since they cannot see, so, this causes them a problem when they walk at the corridor. The existing walking stick also cannot assist and help the visually impaired individuals to detect the possible way whether to turn either left or right when they reached to the end of the corridor. To improve the limitation that do exist on the current visually impaired individuals walking stick, the corridor indoor navigation system has been proposed. Chapter 2 Literature Review Due to the inconvenience of walking stick in the corridor, there are many researchers that have been researching to discover a new way to solve the problem. In this chapter, there are some systems that are reviewed. Some of them are taken from journal or internet. 2.1 Ultrasonic Ranging System A mobile ultrasonic ranging system is the system that used to expand the environmental detection range for visually impaired individuals by using the Sona SwitchTM 1700 (Electronic Design and packing, Livonia, Michigan). This sensor uses a pulse of ultrasonic waves to determine the distance to obstacles. There are several hardware are used to set up the system such as AD654 Monolithic Voltage-to-Frequency Converter, 2 small headphone speakers, helmet, 15 volt power source, 2 plastic experimenter boxes, breadboard, resistors, capacitors, and minor circuitry. This project contains two modes of detections which is analog and digital mode. The analog mode will give the blind a mental picture about the environment based on the different frequencies and patterns of chirps elicited. The digital mode functions for detection a basically served to alert the blind of nearby obstacles [1]. The Ultrasonic Ranging System has less transmission attenuation, strong reflectivity, insensitive to light and electromagnetic. Especially with the appearance of intelligent ranging machines which take micro controller as the core, the ultrasonic detection device has been greatly improved in its detection accuracy, method and application range, and it has become an important part in the intelligent detection field [1]. Ultrasonic wave angular misalignment is one of the weaknesses of the system. In order for ultrasonic waves to propagate correctly during the echo respond phase, they must have a perpendicular surface to reflect from. Angular misalignment between the normal of the transmitting and receiving surfaces may cause the measured distance to differ from the actual distance [1]. Besides that, the hardware use by the system is expensive because mostly the hardware is manufacture and imported from other foreign countries. Other than that, to reduce the problem of ultrasonic angular misalignment, the suggested solution is by using different transmit and receiving ultrasonic transducer pairs. Reducing the size and weight of the ultrasonic sensor would greatly improve the ergonomic capabilities of the system [1]. 2.2 Point Locus Wearable GPS PathFinder system   Point Locus Wearable GPS PathFinder system  is designed specialized as away finding aid for the visually impaired individuals as they travel outdoor. The system communicates in a language of vibrations to the user, so that will be able to guide them. The vibration comes from two vibrating pager motors located on the users triceps. Whenever they need to turn, whichever vibrator is closest to the turn angle will vibrate. Then, the user stops and rotates in that direction, until they feel the vibration from both vibrators. This indicates the user is facing the right direction and should move forward. This signal is repeated every 20 seconds as a reassurance to the user that they are going in the right direction and should continue forward. When a destination is reached, a sustained vibration from both vibrators of 5 seconds indicates this. Point Locus Wearable GPS PathFinder system  will record GPS location data and use the current location of the user, and the desired destination to form a path from one point to the other. This information will be used by a microcontroller to control the vibrator circuits, so they will vibrate at the proper time. [4] This system will serve as important tools as one of the most important senses for  visually impaired  users that are the sense of touch. The purpose of the system is to design a product that will be able to aid visually impaired people in a meaningful way. It needs to be something practical that compliments their natural adaptations to their disability and extends their limitations. It will be a cost effective solution that improves their way finding ability, making them much more independent when travelling. By using the sense of touching, rather than audio, the system does not overload one vital sense that is needed as an adapted way to orient oneself. It also does not require vision to put on and adjust to the right size, because Velcro allows a person to feel out the proper place to attach the straps. This system is to record the GPS location in order to determine the path. The weakness of GPS is ineffective for accurate positioning in indoor environment such as underground, under water, tunnels and so on, because the walls can significantly interfere with GPS transmissions. The lost of signals will make the users feel unsafe because for a visually impaired person they will panic. Furthermore, the visually impaired has lacked the freedom to walk without friend or family member accompany, especially through the unfamiliar environments. 2.3 Corridor Navigation and Obstacle Avoidance using Visual Potential This system is developing a navigation algorithms that using visual potential for corridor navigation and obstacle avoidance. The visual potential is computed from an image sequence and optical flow computed from successive images captured by the camera mounted on the robot. The robot selects a local pathway using the visual potential observed through its vision system. This algorithm enables mobile robots to avoid obstacles without any knowledge of a robot workspace. Using the visual potential field and optical flow, Naoya Ohnishi defines a control flow for corridor navigation and obstacles avoidance of the mobile robot. The path-planning problem of a mobile robot is to determine the trajectory. The trajectory is determined as the path from the start point to the destination point without collision with obstacles in the configuration space. The potential field method [10] yields a path from a start point to a destination point using the gradient field computed from the potential field derived from the map of the configuration of the robot workspace. On the other hand, the navigation problem of a mobile robot is to determine the robot motion at an arbitrary time [9]. In a real environment, the payload of mobile robots is restricted, for example, power supply, capacity of input devices and computing power. Therefore, mobile robots are required to have simple mechanisms and devices [8]. Chapter 3 Methodology, Implementation Issues and Challenge, Timeline 3.1 Methodology The methodology that we will use in this project is Prototyping methodology. The reasons why we use this methodology are because the method is easier to understand, more user friendly and the steps are better structured. The developer will be able to modify the system continuously until meet the objectives. There are five steps in Prototyping methodology; they are planning, analysis, design, implementation, and final system [15]. Planning is the process of understanding of the reason the system will be built and the requirement. Analysis includes the problem identifying, analysis, predicting potential problems, and how the system will be built. System analysis leads to design decision, determines how the system operates in the term of process, data, hardware and other factor. Implementation includes the time when we want to build, tested and also installed. It includes the training and also system maintenance. sdlc_prototype.gif Figure 3.1 Prototyping Methodology: Source: http://www.slepi.net/blog/system-development/system-development-life-cycle-sdlc-methodologies.html, Wiras Adi( February,2008) 3.1.1 Planning Planning is the first stage of the prototyping methodology. A good project planning will increases the success rate of the project. Project planning is about what activity we needed in this project, and how much time allocate to every single activity. The purpose of this project planning is to show us a big picture how the whole programs flow and the total time needed to complete the project. Grantt chart is one of the tools that we used for schedule the activity. It also helps us track back how much we are delayed. 3.1.2 Analysis In this stage, developer need to analyse the application looks like, how it functions, how much it cost to makes a better system. In order to makes a better system, developer need to analyse other existing system to cover their limitation and weaknesses. Developer also needs to analyse the technology involved to make sure the hardware and software are supported. 3.1.3 Design System requirement specifications need to be studied before go to system design. There are many software that can be used for develop the system. This system is developed by using C++ programming languages and Kinect Xbox. 3.1.4 Implementation This is coding stage. After the design stage, this stage make all feature become functional. First of all, start with preparing all the hardware and software requirement. Install the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 software, and connect with Kinect Xbox. After that start coding and test the result. Several algorithms and software will be used to implements the system. All functions will be tested until it reached the project objectives. There are several way of testing can be conduct such as black-box testing, white-box testing, unit testing, system integration testing, and user acceptance testing. 3.1.5 Final System After all the stage has done, this stage will be the delivery stage and maintenance stage. To ensure the visually impaired individuals know how to use it, lesson training will be provided. Whenever the visually impaired individuals find any error, the maintenance service is provided to ensure the system work perfectly. 3.2 Implementation Issues and Challenges In every project, risks will always exist because of the issues and challenges that arise in the process of the project. Without any exception, this project also arise some issues and challenges such as: Time constrain Time is the main problem. We still need to manage our time with other subjects. To handle this problem, there is the reason to have the project planning. Code and software complexity Code complexity is another main problem due to our limited knowledge on the C++ language. Software that used to apply in this system also is the problem for us due to we dont have any knowledge about this area. To handle this problem, we need to make a research and study to increase my knowledge in this program. We have faced other difficulty when get the image pixel. The Kinect depth sensors convert the color to black, grey, and white. Black color is unknown area which mean too far or too near. White and grey is detected area. The difficulty we faced is we unable to let the laptop know which is object, which is wall, and which pixel we want get for calculate the distance. (Figure 3.3) 3.3 Timeline / Project Planning Project planning is very important to limit the time that we will use. So, it is a kind of time management for our project. Below, we will describe our project planning for Project 1. Project I Timeline Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Topic Assigned Identify problem statement, scope, objective, and background information Literature review Methodology and planning Project finalization and proposal submission Proposal Presentation Figure 3.4 Project I Timeline Explanation: Topic assigned The title is assigned by the faculty. Identify problem statement, scope, objectives, and background information Found the reason why we want to do this project, the scope, and found the information that was useful for us to understand more about this project. Literature Review In this step, we make a research to something that is related to this project and this research more to the journal and other official material. Methodology and planning In this step, we planned how we want to do our project; we determined our steps and followed them. Project finalization and proposal submission Make a hardcopy of the things that we have understand and read. Then, pass it up to the supervisor. Proposal presentation Make a presentation to our supervisor and also moderator. And prepare a Microsoft power point slide to them. Project II Timeline Current Week Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Study the C++ language and software Code edition Testing Thesis documentation Figure 3.5 Project II Timeline Chapter 4 Requirement Specification 4.1 User Requirement 4.1.1 Functional Requirement i) Obstacles Avoidance This system able to help user detect the obstacles position. ii) Distance calculation This system will count the distance from user to object detected. iii) Information This system will tell user the objects distance through the earphone. 4.1.2 Non-Functional Requirement i) Reliability Recover from failure. A testing plan shall be developed for this purpose. ii) Usability This system shall be easy to understand, easy to learn, and easy to use. It shall simplify tasks to set up and run it. iii) Portability This system shall be portable between computers. Additionally, the software shall be easy to install and remove. 4.2 System Performance Definition 4.2.1 Hardware Requirements Microsoft Kinect Xbox Laptop 32-bit(x86) or 64-bit(x64) processor Dual-core 2.66 GHz or faster processor Dedicated USB 2.0 bus 2 GB RAM 4.2.2 Software Requirements Windows 7 Operating System Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 .Net Framework 4.0 Microsoft-speech platform SDO v11 Kinect for Windows SDK v1.6 4.2.3 Programming Languages used: C++ 4.3 Design, Analysis, and Verification Plan 4.3.1 Design of Navigation system This navigation system is using Kinect Xbox for developed. Kinect itself contain of 2 3D depth sensors, RGB camera, multi-array microphone, and motorized tilt. Kinects sensor can measure the objects distances from 0.6cm to 4cm. Figure 4.3.1 is Kinect Xbox 360, Figure 4.3.2 is the overall outlook of the system. Figure 4.3.1 Kinect Xbox 360 Figure 4.3.2 Navigation System Outlook 4.3.2 Analysis If the system able to assist the blind people successfully navigates in the corridor, we can consider that our project is successful. Besides the main objectives, there are some sub-objectives we need to focus are: Move freely without collision with human Able to avoid collision with the object while travelling along the corridor Provide information to blind people such as the distance of the object 4.3.3 Verification Plan To verify whether the navigation system is met the objectives or not, we put it into real environment for testing. First, we put some object in the corridor, and covered the users eyes, and then ask the user walk along the corridor for testing the system. When the object is detected, the system will start counting the distance of the object, and tell user the objects distance. Besides that, we also test for human avoidance. Example: when a human suddenly stand in front of the user, is it the system successful to detect the human and tell the user? 4.4 System Overview Chapter 6 Conclusion 6.1 Project Review 5.0 Conclusion In this paper, we proposed a system which is indoor navigation corridor system to improve the limitation of the walking stick. The majority of chapter one is about the problem of the walking stick and its weaknesses. Chapter one also covers the project scope, project objectives, contribution, and also background information. The chapter 2 consists of review of researches that have been done in order to improve the limitation of the walking stick (to extend the range of detection). The chapter 3 consists of methodology, tools and timeline. The methodology used in the proposed system has main level, which is low level stage, intermediate stage, and high level stage. The functionality of each stage will be discussed in chapter 3. The tools we using has 2 parts, which is hardware and software. The objective we implements this system is to help the visually impaired individuals avoid the obstacles such as people and animal on the corridor same with them. The aim of this project is to improve the visually impaired individuals ability in finding the direction at the corridor while they are walking rather than just rely on the walking stick to detect all the obstacles manually and waste their time in finding the exactly direction that they want to heading to.

Bio-mechanical Differences Between Male and Female Runners

Bio-mechanical Differences Between Male and Female Runners BUILT TO RUN:  BIOMECHANICAL DIFFERENCES  BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE MARATHON RUNNERS Acknowledgements Special thanks are accorded to the following people whose work contributed significantly in developing this essay: Dennis Bramble and Daniel Lieberman whose recent findings established running as an essential factor in the evolution of humans, findings that added an extra measure of interest to, and a context for, the essay; Jolie Holschen for doing such an excellent job of pulling together so much valuable information on the anatomical differences between male and female athletes; and Stephen Seiler for his exploration of gender differences in endurance performance and training. In addition, there were numerous other sources used and for which appreciation is due. Attributions are made to all sources in the References section at the end of the essay. Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 1 Anatomical Differences between Men and Women with Specific Reference to Running 2 Definition of the Term Marathon with Comparison to Other Types of Running 7 Definitions of the Term Biomechanics 8 Application of Biomechanics to Running with Reference to Marathon Runners 10 OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE 12 REVIEW OF EXISTING RESEARCH ON METHODS AND FINDINGS 12 DISCUSSION 19 CONCLUSIONS 22 FURTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESEARCH 22 REFERENCES 24 BUILT TO RUN:  BIOMECHANICAL DIFFERENCES  BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE MARATHON RUNNERS â€Å"More than by brain size or tool-making ability, the human species was set apart from its ancestors by the ability to jog mile after lung-stabbing mile with greater endurance than any other primate.† INTRODUCTION The introductory quotation (Hotz, 2004) simply, yet vividly, expresses the results of a recent study completed by two American scientists, Dennis Bramble and Daniel Lieberman, and released in the journal Nature (2004). Bramble and Lieberman contend that â€Å"the ability to run long distances was the driving force shaping the modern human anatomy.† Hotz’s characterization of early humans as â€Å"marathon men and women from the tips of their distinctively short toes and long Achilles tendons to the tops of their biomechanically balanced heads† (emphasis added) sets the backdrop for this essay—an exploration of the biomechanical differences between male and female marathon runners. After a few additional historical comments, this essay opens with a presentation of anatomical differences between men and women with specific reference to running then continues with definitions and descriptions of the term marathon, as a form of organized running sport, and definitions for the term biomechanics in preparation for a discussion of how the field of biomechanics is applied to running. With this information as a foundation, the objective and scope will be articulated followed by presentation of previous methods and findings revealed from a search of the literature on the topic of biomechanical differences between male and female marathon runners and closely-related topics. These findings will be discussed and conclusions drawn. Finally, recommendations for further research will be presented. To return briefly to the research findings of Bramble, a paleontologist and biomechanics expert, and Lieberman, a physical anthropologist, to continue setting the backdrop for the essay, Bramble states: â€Å"Running made us human, at least in an anatomical sense. We think running is one of the most transforming events in human history† (Chui, 2004). Endurance running is an activity that is reserved for humans in the primate world and not common in other mammals with the exception of dogs, horses and a few others. Bramble and Lieberman contend that running permitted humans to scavenge and hunt for food over significant distances and that the high protein food they secured was instrumental in developing larger brains (Wilford, 2004). To facilitate running, humans developed several traits including large buttocks with strong muscles which connect the femur to the trunk of the body preventing the body from â€Å"over-balancing with each step.† In addition, â€Å"humans have a lengthy arm-swinging stride† and â€Å"[l]ong ligaments and tendons—including the Achilles tendon—[which] serve as springs that store and release mechanical energy during running.† (Hotz, 2004). Bramble’s reference to today’s running in the evolutionary context he and Lieberman established provides an appropriate introduction to the exploration of the biomechanical differences between male and female marathon runners (Wilford, 2004): â€Å"Today, endurance running is primarily a form of exercise and recreation, but its roots may be as ancient as the origin of the human genus.† Anatomical Differences between Men and Women with Specific Reference to Running The description of anatomical differences between men and women, which is focused on anatomical features that are involved in running, begins with a gender-neutral discussion to establish a foundation for the more gender-specific information. Rossi (2003) emphasizes the complexity of walking, a precursor to running. He writes that half of the 650 muscles and tendons in the human body are involved in what most people consider to be the simple act of walking. He suggests that, in the evolution of the human body, there were â€Å"hundreds of adaptations† that had to take place, adaptations that required â€Å"repositioning of everything in the body† over several million years. Rossi writes: â€Å"The arms, no longer needed for branch swinging, became shorter, the legs longer, the pelvis wider, the shoulders narrower, the neck longer and more slender, the spine changed from C-shape to S-shape. Major changes were required in the hip, knee and ankle joints. Hundreds of muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints gradually shifted in position, size and function. And of course, the new posture and gait required important changes in the size and position of all the organs of the chest and abdomen. Rossi suggests that some of these changes were extremely significant from a biomechanical perspective. For instance, he calls attention to the blood pumping requirement of the upright human form: Daily in each individual, approximately 74,000 quarts of blood must travel through 100,000 miles of blood vessels from the brain to the feet and legs in a circular pattern. Rossi emphasizes the human â€Å"engineering† challenge that was required to design a system that would counteract the effects of gravity in moving blood vertically in this manner. Rossi’s comments are particularly important in the context of the current discourse because they provide some insight into the current state of relevant anatomical features of today’s runners and how those features were derived. The anatomy of humans, unlike that of other living creatures, provides for speed and endurance. The unique characteristics related to running include (Science in Africa, 2005, citing University of Utah Public Relations, 2004): Skull features. These features, which include sweating from the scalp and face, cool the blood. A balanced head. This shape of head with a relatively flat face, small teeth, and short snout moves the center of the mass backward which helps to counter the effects of moving upward and downward during running. A ligament running from the rear of the skill and neck downward to the thoracic vertebrae. This feature serves as a shock absorber that aids the arms and shoulders in counterbalancing the head during running activity. Shoulders â€Å"decoupled† from the head and neck. This feature allows rotation of the body while the head faces forward during running. A tall body. This feature, which includes a narrow trunk, waist and pelvis, provides for increased skin surface allowing for enhanced body cooling and permits the upper and lower body segments to move independently. Short forearms. This feature permits the upper body to act as a counterbalance to the lower body during running activity while reducing the muscle power required for maintaining flexed arms. Large vertebrae and disks. This feature permits the human back to accepted heavier loads when runners impact the ground. Large, strong connection between the pelvis and the spine. This feature supports more stability and shock absorbing capacity during running activity. Large buttocks. This feature, and the muscles that form it, stabilize the body during running activity. The connection of these muscles to the femur prevents the body from pitching forward. Long legs. This feature allows humans to take large strides during running activity. The tendons and ligaments permit the legs to be lighter and less muscular thereby requiring a smaller amount of energy to propel them while running. Large hip, knee, and ankle joint surface areas. These features provide enhanced shock absorption by reducing the impact in any one specific area. Arrangement of bones in the foot. This feature provides for a more rigid foot by creating a stable arch, allowing runners to push off in a more efficient manner and to use ligaments located on the bottom of the feet as springs. Large heel bone, short toes, and a big toe. These features provide for enhanced shock absorption and increased capacity to push off during running activity. With the running-related anatomical features applicable to all humans as a foundation, the focus now turns to the differences in anatomical features between men and women, specifically those features that are involved in running activity. Holschen (2004) writes that, until puberty, males and females are equal in terms of strength, aerobic power, heart size, and weight; they also have similar amounts of body fat. Starting at puberty, according to Holschen (2004), male and female sex hormones begin affecting bone and lean body mass, circulation, and metabolism in different ways. A female typically has a wider pelvis, femoral anteversion (inward twisting of the femur), genu valgum (knees touch but ankles are separated), and external tibial torsion (feet do not line up in a straight manner because of out-toeing from outward rotation of the large calf bone). Center of gravity differences between men and women are minimal, correlating more by body type and height than with gender. (Atwater, 1985, cited in Holschen, 2004). When compared with males, females typically have smaller bones accompanied by smaller articular surfaces. They also have proportionately shorter legs with resulting decreased potential force in certain maneuvers. (Holschen, 2004). At puberty, girls gain both fat and lean muscle mass due to the influence of female hormones; boys lose body fat and add muscle mass due to the influence of male hormones (Holschen, 2004). Women in adulthood have about ten percent more body fat than do their male counterparts (Greydanus, D. and Patel, D., 2002, cited in Holschen, 2004). The basal metabolic rate is approximately ten percent lower in women than in men. The presence of female hormones mandates that women rely more on fat metabolism at any given exercise level when compared to men. In addition, glycogen uptake, storage, and use are increased. (Holschen, 2004, citing Bonekat, H. W. et al., 1987; Dombovy, M. L. et al., 1987; Frankovich, R. J. and Lebrun, C. M., 2000; Nicklas, B. J. et al., 1989; Tarnopolsky, L. J., 1990) Cureton and associates (1988, cited in Holschen, 2004) attribute the differences in muscle strength between men and woman to skeletal and cardiac muscular hypertrophy and muscle mass percentage; they conte nd that muscle mass in men is forty percent compared to twenty-three percent in women. Changes in body composition and circulatory capacity beginning at puberty result in approximately twenty percent higher cardio-respiratory capacity in men. Men also have comparatively higher oxygen-carrying capacity, larger heart and lung mass, a higher stroke volume, and higher maximal cardiac output which result in greater effectiveness in aerobic and anaerobic activities, although training can overcome the inherent differences (Williford, H. N. et al., 1993, cited in Holschen, 2004). The results of the current research point to fundamental anatomical differences between men and woman, differences that largely begin to appear during puberty and which have some bearing on running capability. Definition of the Term Marathon with Comparison to Other Types of Running The term running can be defined as â€Å"[moving] swiftly on foot so that both feet leave the ground during each stride† (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2000). The research by Bramble and Lieberman (2004, cited in Nature, 2004), which was presented earlier, seems to indicate that running has been part of human existence since its beginnings and, in fact, contributed significantly to development of human life today. Humans no longer require running for survival, at least in their normal affairs; that is, typically, humans do not have to run from danger or run in pursuit of animals to kill for food. In modern times, running has taken on a new form—competition foot racing. This competition racing can be against oneself to achieve one’s own â€Å"personal best† or with others. Racing against others can take many forms ranging from informal competitions between two young friends racing against one another on a playground to very formal co mpetitions such as those in the quadrennial Olympics. The more formal running competitions are typically classified by the length of the run: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500, 5000, and 10000 meters as well as marathons (Dollman, 2003). There are many terms that refer to specific forms of foot racing: run, dash, sprint, relay, meet, competitive trial of speed, footrace, and marathon (Webster’s New World Thesaurus, 1997). Of these, the terms dash and sprint are typically used interchangeably to describe â€Å"a short, fast run or race† (Webster’s New World Dictionary, 1988) or â€Å"a short, swift movement† (Webster’s New World Thesaurus, 1997). Organized dashes and sprints are commonly of 50 meters, 100 meters, 200 meters, 50 yards, 100 yards, and 200 yards in length (Webster’s New World Thesaurus, 1997). Marathons are a form of long-distance running, which are on- and off-the-track competitions of more than 3000 meters (Hlus, 1997). Specifically, a marathon is â€Å"a footrace of 42 kilometers, 195 meters (26 miles, 385 yards) run over an open course,† or â€Å"any long-distance or endurance contest† People who compete in marathons are called marathoners (Webs ter’s New World Dictionary, 1998). Physiologically, there is a fundamental difference between a sprint or dash and a marathon. According to Pritchard (1994), â€Å"A sprinter can exert maximum force throughout the run, but this is not possible for longer runs, where propulsive force must be reduced to match energy availability.† Historically, marathons are not new events. According to legend, the name marathon is derived from the Greek city, Marathon, to commemorate Pheidippides’s run from that city to Athens to announce Greek victory over the Persians. The marathon was introduced to the Olympics in 1896 and today’s official distance was established in 1908. (Hlus, 1997; The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2005) Today, in addition to marathon races in the Olympics, many cities throughout the world serve as sites for annual or other periodic marathons (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2005). A new form of marathon race has recently taken form—the ultramarathon, which is â€Å"any organized footrace extending beyond the standard marathon running distance of 42 kilometers, 195 meters†¦[they] typically begin at 50 kilometers and extend to enormous distances† (Blaikie, n. d.). Standard distances for ultramarathons are 50 and 100 kilometers and 50 and 100 miles (Meyers, 2002) with the longest certified race being the Sri Chinmoy, a 2092 kilometer race held annually in New York (Blaikie, n. d.). Definition of the Term Biomechanics The research produced numerous and varied definitions for the term biomechanics. The following are representative of the findings: â€Å"The study of the mechanics of a living body, especially of the forces exerted by muscles and gravity on the skeletal structure.† (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2000). [The] application of mechanical engineering principles and techniques in the field of medicine and surgery, studying natural structures to improve those produced by humans† (The Hutchinson Encyclopedia, 2003). â€Å"[A] science examining the forces acting upon and within a biological structure, and the effects produced by those forces† (The University of Calgary, n. d.). â€Å"[T]he science that deals with forces and their effects, applied to biological systems† (Freivalds, 2004). â€Å"[T]he application of the principles and techniques of mechanics to the human body in motion† (Snowden, 2001). â€Å"Biomechanics is a specific field which evaluates the motion of a living organism†¦and the actions of forces on that organism†¦a combination of several different areas of study [including] anatomy and physiology, kinematics (the study of motion without regard to its causes), kinesiology (the study of human movement) and kinetics (the study of forces acting on a system)† (National Endurance Sports Trainers Association, 2005). In furnishing a definition for biomechanics, the Quintic Consultancy Ltd. (2005) provides some additional insight into the origin and details of the term, stating that the name â€Å"is derived from the Greek bios meaning life and mekhaniki meaning mechanics,† adding that these individual terms are combined to mean â€Å"the mechanics of life forms.† The biomechanics discipline includes research into various life forms including plants, insects, reptiles, birds, fish, humans, and others. Within the human specialty, topics include mechanics â€Å"of bone, tooth, muscle, tendon, ligament, cartilage, skin, prostheses, blood flow, air flow, eye movement, joint movement [and] whole body movement† (The Quintic Consultancy Ltd., 2005). Historically, according to Knudson (2003), the study of human biomechanics has alternated between emphasizing each of its two components—the biological and the mechanical. Atwater (1980, cited in Knudson, 2003) claims that, during the first half of the twentieth century, scholars emphasized medicine and anatomy under the term kinesiology. The distinct field of biomechanics was born from the work of biomechanists in the 1960s and 1970s. From that point the field began to emphasize mechanics over biology. Today, the competing forces to move the discipline either toward a biological emphasis or toward a mechanical emphasis continue (Knudson, 2003). Application of Biomechanics to Running with Reference to Marathon Runners The field of biomechanics, already narrowed in a previous section from consideration of all life forms to only humans for the purpose of this essay, can be focused even further to a sub-field called sports biomechanics (The Quintic Consultancy Ltd., 2005): â€Å"Sports biomechanics uses the scientific methods of mechanics to study the effects of various forces on the sports performer. It is concerned, in particular, with the forces that act on the human neuromusculoskeletal system, velocities, accelerations, torque, momentum, and inertia. It also considers aspects of the behavior of sports implements, footwear and surfaces where these affect athletic performance or injury prevention. Sports biomechanics can be divided up into two sections: performance improvement [and] injury prevention.† The Australian Sports Commission (n. d.) furnishes additional descriptive information on the application of biomechanics to sports, using a term the Commission calls applied sports biomechanics which â€Å"incorporates techniques from physics, human anatomy, mathematics, computing and engineering to analyse technique to prevent injury and improve performance.† The Commission’s division of sports biomechanics into two categories—performance improvement and injury prevention—echoes the classifications offered by The Quintic Consultancy Ltd. Williams (2003) describes how biomechanics can help runner performance, specifically that of the marathoner. Leading into his recommendations, he describes how marathon runners use a simple biomechanical strategy known as â€Å"drafting off another runner† when running into the wind to reduce the adverse effects of air resistance and reduce oxygen consumption for the latter part of the race. He writes: â€Å"The goal of the sport biomechanist is to improve movement efficiency, mainly by maximizing propulsive forces and minimizing resistive forces, and thus provide the athlete with a mechanical edge. Using high-speed cinematography, the biomechanist can analyze a runner’s form and detect problems in running form that may be inefficient, such as overstriding, and that may waste energy. Although most elite and experienced marathoners have developed efficient running styles, even a small improvement in running efficiency may make a significant difference over the duration of a marathon.† In addition to the strategy of â€Å"drafting off another runner,† Williams offers several other â€Å"biomechanical strategies† including selecting the proper sportswear (i.e. uniform and shoes) and optimizing body weight and composition. Thus far the topics of anatomical differences between men and women with specific reference to running; definitions and descriptions of the terms marathon (as an organized, competitive form of running) and biomechanics; and the application of biomechanics to running have been presented and discussed. With this as a foundation, the focus of the discourse now turns to the topic of biomechanical differences between male and female marathon runners and closely-related topics. OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE The objective of this portion of the essay will be to explore the biomechanical differences between male and female marathon runners through a review and analysis of selected literature on the topic and related issues. The scope of the literature review will include marathon running with specific reference to available information on the differences between males and females. Although running of shorter distances (e.g. sprints and dashes) and longer distances (e.g. ultramarathons) as well as other sports activities are excluded from the specific scope of this essay, references will be made to these activities when they related to marathon running. Performance improvement and injury prevention were mentioned as the two primary areas addressed by applied sports biomechanics. Gender-specific issues in each of these areas will be explored briefly as well. REVIEW OF EXISTING RESEARCH ON METHODS AND FINDINGS One researcher who has studied gender differences in endurance performance, including marathon running, is Stephen Seiler (1996) of The Institute for Sport, Agder College in Kristianstad, Norway. He writes: â€Å"Some years ago it was proposed by some that women would actually perform better [than men] at ultra-endurance type activities. This theory has been disproved in the laboratory and in practice.† â€Å"As long as women are women, I don’t think they will surpass men,† states Norways perennial marathon winner Grete Waitz (quoted in Holden, 2004). The anatomical differences between females and their male counterparts, specifically those that affect running, were presented in the introduction. Now an attempt will be made to show that the general anatomical differences between men and women extend to biomechanical differences that affect marathon running performance and injury. Holschen (2004) writes that â€Å"[T]he female athlete remains less well understood and less well studied compared with male athletes, especially in the areas of performance factors, repetitive stress, and acute injuries.† She continues: â€Å"Logical reasons for this include: (a) a limited two-generation span of the high-profile elite female; (b) fewer females involved in coaching, research, and sports medicine; and (c) limited areas of female youth sports historically (gymnastics, swimming, dance).† The reality of Holschen’s findings proved to be true in the current research activity. There were remarkably few available sources on the biomechanics involved in women’s marathon running. Most of the research either applied to males or did not identify the gender. Results from a review of selected research literature will be presented in this section beginning with gender-differentiated research results on running performance. Following this, results of rese arch into the two applied sports biomechanics specialties will be presented with a focus on studies concerning footwear and injuries. Holden (2004) writes about performance in running with special attention to female runners. She quotes physiologist Henrik Larsen of the Copenhagen Muscle Research Centre in explaining women’s marathon performance vis-à  -vis men: â€Å"Women had not developed long distance; that’s why the improvement is much greater on the marathon.† Larsen, who seems to attribute the performance improvements of female marathoners to focused training instead of anatomic factors, claims that â€Å"[w]e don’t see any higher oxidative capacity in women.† Holden also offers comments by exercise physiologist Timothy Noakes of the University of Cape Town, South Africa who agrees with Larsen’s assessment: â€Å"A smaller body frame gives women an edge on endurance†¦but men can run 10% faster even when the difference in body size is controlled for.† Stephen Seiler (1996), who was quoted at the start of this section stating that the proposal that women could perform better in ultra-endurance activities has been disproved, confirms that â€Å"there are some physiological differences between the sexes that impact performance in females independent of age.† He notes that there is a ten percent difference in marathon times between men and women, adding that this difference is the same â€Å"across the distance running performance spectrum.† He attributes this difference, not to a difference in training, but to physiological differences. He studied maximal oxygen consumption, the lactate threshold, and efficiency to analyze the differences between men and women as these factors might affect long-distance running performance: Maximal Oxygen Consumption. There is a 43 percent difference between men and women with men possessing a VO2 max (oxygen-delivering capacity measure) of 3.5 liters per minute and women with a capacity of 2.0 liters per minute. Seiler attributes this in part to male size; men are larger. But, even when size is factored in, male oxygen consumption capacity is still fifteen to twenty percent higher. Males have a greater capacity to deliver oxygen to their muscles and organs. The Lactate Threshold. This is the point at which lactic acid begins to accumulate at higher than normal levels in the blood stream indicating an exercise intensity boundary at which the level of intensity can be maintained over a long period and that which will result in quick fatigue. Seiler does not believe that lactate thresholds are different for men and women as a percentage of their VO2 max. Efficiency. After finding conflicting information comparing the efficiency of males and females—revealing that females are less efficient, more efficient, or the same as males in terms of efficiency—Seiler believes that differences in efficiency do not account for the differences in endurance performance. Seiler concludes with his determination that the ten percent performance difference between men and women in endurance running can be attributed to the first of the three physiological factors he studied—maximal oxygen consumption. Another researcher who explored gender differences in athletics, and especially in endurance events, is Dollman (2003). Citing Shepard (2000), Dollman writes that there is consistent evidence, based on observations, that males possess â€Å"larger measures† of the following (quoted): Heart volume, even when corrected for stature. Haematocrit, which gives males a 13 percent greater oxygen-carrying capacity than females. Plasma volume. Total muscle mass, which means that females perform the same absolute task at a higher percentage of maximum voluntary contraction, with concomitant vascular impedance limiting cardiac ejection and peak cardiac output. In addition, male skeletal muscles may have a higher succinate dehydrogenase (an integral membrane protein) concentration (Dollman, 2003, citing Costill, et al., 1987). Males may produce better mechanical efficiency during running (Dollman, 2003, citing Miura, 1997) although this is arguable as it may be rooted in cultural origins (Dollman, 2003, citing Shepard, 2000). Now attention will turn briefly to a review of selected research into the two primary application areas addressed by applied sports biomechanics: running performance and injuries. Regarding performance, footwear will be discussed followed by a presentation of selected findings on research into injuries. Gender issues will be introduced. Lipsky (2001, citing Hennig, 2001) presented research findings on gender-specific requirements for athletic footwear designed for running. The research experiment involved fifteen women and seventeen men of the same body weights, heights, and ages. Each subject wore the same shoe size and each tested five types of shoes which included three styles of men’s shoes and two styles for women. Using â€Å"Kistler† force platforms at a set velocity, ground force reactions, tibial acceleration, angular foot motion, and plantar pressures at eight strategic locations on the foot were measured. Accordin