The Health Benefits of Exercise :: Physical Exercise Fitness Health

You know that famous saying, "You are what you eat"? Have you as the young generation of today forgotten this important rule? It is a proven fact that we are seeing more and more overweight people at younger ages. Eating too much fat not only increases the risk for developing heart disease, diabetes, or cancer, it is also the major contributor to those extra pounds of fat you may have added to your figure. Engaging in an exercise program can have dramatic effects on your weight and overall well-being. Everyone knows the many benefits exercise has for the body, both mentally and physically. And research has revealed what a great impact exercising at an early age can have as you grow older. Just as an example, exercise makes your bones denser, preparing you for a fuller, more active life when you’re older. Think of it as an investment. Invest wisely in your health when young. It is never too late to start. It is always hard to save money and refrain from spending the extra dollars, yet the outcome is very rewarding. You have to go the extra mile, do what others aren’t strong enough to do. Even if you eat well, as this is a very important part of a healthy lifestyle, is not good enough, you must exercise, exercise, exercise. And don’t look to pills and potions for a quick fix. No scientific data, to date, supports any of the intriguing claims of boosting performance or melting away fat. You aren’t going to obtain the look of an athlete without pouring out the sweat of an athlete. No one ever says its easy, because if it wasn’t hard then everyone would do it. You can think of the process of maintaining a healthy body to the making of wine. You first must put time and effort into growing a luscious arbor of grapes, pruning them just right. The benefits of this hard work is only seen after many years when you can finally enjoy a glass of the finest wine your sweet lips have ever tasted.

Essay --

ARTICLE ANALYSIS Both of the articles â€Å"Dancing with Professors† by Patricia Limerick and â€Å"Shitty First Drafts† by Anne Lamott resolve the issues faced by college students when writing papers. The first article, â€Å"Dancing with Professors,† explains why college professors expect more elaborate papers even though they assign dull and un-motivational reading to their students. On the other end of the writing spectrum, â€Å"Shitty First Drafts† explains how valuable the first draft is to students, and why students should not feel weary about writing them. In Patricia Limerick’s article â€Å"Dancing with Professors†, she argues the problems that college students must face in the present regarding writing. Essays are daunting to most college students, and given the typical lengths of college papers, students are not motivated to write the assigned essays. One of the major arguments in Limerick’s article is how â€Å"It is, in truth, difficult to persuade students to write well when they find so few good examples in their assigned reading.† To college students, this argument is true with most of their ...

Our Time Machine :: essays research papers

Our Time Machine H.G. Wells once wrote a novel called The Time Machine, it was published in 1895. This exciting little adventure featured a device that had power over time. Who knew that in 2001 we too would have such a device? One invention that has made it evident that we have reached the twenty first century is named Tivo. With this, one has the ability to pause, fast forward, and essentially tamper with live television. This gadget is, in a sense an actual time machine. We’re living in an age where the word digital seems to come into play with every new invention. Digital technology includes all types of electronic applications that use information in the form of numeric code. This information is usually in something called a binary code—that is, code that can be represented by strings of only two numeric characters. These characters are usually 0 and 1. Devices that process and use digital information include personal computers, calculators, automobiles, traffic light controllers, compact disc players, cellular telephones, communications satellites, and now Tivo. Most of the information we sense is analog in nature—that is, it varies constantly, and an infinite number of values can be assigned to the information. For example, the brightness of a light bulb dimmed gradually from on to off could be considered analog information. This infinite number of brightnesses can be broken up into ranges. If the possible brightnesses are broken into two ranges, then the values 0 and 1 can hold digital information relating to the brightness of the bulb. However, each of the two digits still represents a countless number of analog values. The ranges of brightnesses can be divided again and again, until there are thousands of ranges of values, each of which can be represented by a numerical value. Once analog information has been broken up into digital information, it is impossible to perfectly reverse the process and re-create all of the possible analog signals from the corresponding digital signals. This is why most analog signals are represented by a great number of digital information levels. For example, the sound stored as digital information on a CD is broken down into 65,536 levels. A CD player translates the digital information into analog information so that a speaker can convert it into sound waves. Some devices process digital information using a tiny computer called a microprocessor. It performs calculations on digital information and then makes decisions based on the results.

What is Drug?

A drug is any animal, vegetable, or mineral substance used in the composition of medicines. It also refers to any stuff used in dyeing or in chemical operations. It is a substance that is used as a medicine or narcotic. A drug is capable of altering natural biological processes, with their manipulating nature used in medicine as a corrective measure against deviances from these normal biological processes. As described in the Webster Dictionary (1992), a drug, is a substance, other than food intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man or other animals.It is any narcotic; also any substance or chemical agent, exclusive of food, employed for other than medical reasons to obtain a given physiological effect or to satisfy a craving. The drug affects the mind or body. The effect depends on the type of drug, the amount taken, when and how it is used, and the person who takes it (Webster, 1992). Drugs may be classified as uppers, downers, narcotics, mind-affecting (hallucinogens), or volatile chemicals. Uppers are stimulants that affect the nervous system to excite the user.Downers are depressants that affect the central nervous system to relax the user. Narcotics affect the nervous system, and change many of the normal activities of the body, and often produce an intense state of excitement or distortion of the user’s senses. Volatile chemicals are depressants acting upon the central nervous system. It is important for the first aider to be able to detect possible drug abuse at the overdose level and to relate certain signs to certain types of drugs (Webster, 1992 p. FA-28). There are four levels of drug use.Abstinence means not taking any drugs or any particular drug. Experimentation means trying a drug for the first time. It could be a doctor prescribing medicine, or a young person sniffing glue. If a user likes the effects of a drug, he or she may move to casual, recreational or regular use. Casual use is taking a drug only when a person feels like it or when a it is offered. Recreational use is a drug use for enjoyment in social situations. Regular use means taking drugs almost everyday. Habitual or problem drug becomes dependent (needs to have some of the drug everyday).The user may have very little control over his or her problem drug use. The effects of this dependence can be serious, and sometimes fatal. With certain drugs, the user can develop a tolerance, or get used to the drug. He or she has to take very large amounts to feel the same effects. These drugs include alcohol, opiates, LSD, caffeine, amphetamines and tranquilisers. Psychological dependence can develop with any type of drug. The user believes that he or she will not be able to lead a normal life without taking the drug and becomes very upset if it is not available.Physical dependence, when the body cannot work without a regular supply of the drug may happen with long term use. This is common with depressants and a nalgesics. Depressants slow the nervous system and relax the body. Alcohol is the most common, but other legal depressants are abused for these effects. These include barbiturates (sleeping pills), tranquilisers and solvents (glue and gases). Analgesics reduce the user’s reaction to pain, discomfort and anxiety. Opium, heroin and codeine are obtained from opium poppies.Methadone and pethidine are synthetic (chemical rather than natural) analgesics. Many analgesics have medical uses. Withdrawal symptoms, which make the user feel unwell, can happen when a regular user stops taking a drug. When a person has an overdose, he or she takes more of the drug than the body can cope with, becomes very ill and may even die (Brown and King 1990). Mechanisms of Drug Action To describe the mechanism of drug action in the brain, whenever a person uses a drug and the effect it produces is somehow pleasant, this effect gets a rewarding quality for that person.As experimental research by behavi oural psychologists has demonstrated, all behaviours that are reinforced by a reward have a tendency to be repeated and learned. Successive repetitions, besides fixing the reward-producing behaviours, also fix all previously indifferent stimuli, sensations, and situations, eventually associated with those behaviours. Seeing particular places or persons, hearing specific music, etc, for instance, triggers in drug users the craving for their preferred drug. Using Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Dr.Edythe D. London and her colleagues at the Addiction Research Centre, in Baltimore, obtained images showing that in cocaine-users, cues associated with the use of the drug sparked an increase in the metabolism of glucose in brain areas that are associated with memory and learning (lateral pre-frontal cortex, amygdala, and cerebellum). Up to now, is far from complete our knowledge about the cerebral, chemical and structural changes that underlie reward and act as reinforcers for different behaviours, including that of drug use.Nevertheless, recent researches point to a chain of reactions, involving several neurotransmitters, leading to the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in a brain region. Compare and contrast the Physical Dependence and Positive Incentive theories of drug addiction. Drug addiction has two components: physical dependency, and psychological dependency. Physical dependency occurs when a drug has been used habitually and the body has become accustomed to its effects. The person must then continue to use the drug in order to feel normal, or its absence will trigger the symptoms of withdrawal.Psychological dependency occurs when a drug has been used habitually and the mind has become emotionally reliant of its effects, either to elicit pleasure or relieve pain, and does not feel capable of functioning without it. Its absence produces intense cravings, which are often brought on or magnified by stress. A dependent person may have either aspects o f dependency, but often has both. â€Å"Chipping† is also a term used to describe a pattern of drug use in which the user is not physically dependent and sustains ‘controlled use' of a drug.This is done by avoiding influences that reinforce dependence, such that the drug is used for relaxation and not for escape. Physical Dependency Model After repeated exposure to certain drugs, withdrawal symptoms appear if the drug is discontinued. Withdrawal symptoms are compensatory reactions that oppose the primary effects of the drug. Therefore they are the opposite of the effects of the drug. Withdrawal effects are unpleasant and reduction in these effects would therefore constitute negative reinforcement.[Negative reinforcement is the reinforcement of behaviour that terminates an aversive stimulus] Negative reinforcement could explain why addicts continue to take the drug. However some addicts will endure withdrawal symptoms (go ‘cold-turkey') in order to reduce their tol erance so that they can recommence drug intake at a lower dose which costs less to purchase. Concentrating on the role of physical withdrawal effects at the expense of other psychological factors led to the failure to recognize the addictive properties of cocaine.Cocaine does not produce physical dependency (tolerance and withdrawal symptoms) but it is more addictive than heroin. This diagram (redrawn from Julien, 1995), shows the changing pattern in the major drug used by patients admitted to drug treatment programs in New York City during the 1980s. It is also important to emphasize that reduction in withdrawal symptoms does not explain why people take drugs in the first place. Negative reinforcement may account for initial drug taking in some situations. For example, someone who is suffering from unpleasant emotions may experience a reduction in these feelings (i.e. negative reinforcement) following drug administration. However the most likely reason for drug taking involves posi tive reinforcement. Positive Reinforcement Model The reinforcing properties of a drug are thought to be reason why most people become addicted to drugs. Addictive drugs are positive reinforcers (Carlson, 2001). As you know positive reinforcement can lead to learning a new response, and the maintenance of existing behaviours. It follows that the behaviours associated with taking an addictive drug (i. e. injecting or smoking it) will increase in probability.One way of testing this claim is to examine the reinforcing properties of drugs in animals. We already know that conventional reinforcers support bar-pressing in animals, therefore if a drug maintains a response such as bar-pressing in an animal, it is a reinforcing stimulus. At one time it was believed that animals could not be made addicted to drugs, but that view is now rejected because technical developments have shown that animals will learn new behaviours that cause injection of drugs into their body. Explain how the study of reward circuits has provided a potential explanation of drug addiction.The study of reward circuits has provided a potential explanation of drug addiction. The reinforcing effects of drugs during intoxication create an environment that, if perpetuated, triggers the neuronal adaptations that result in addiction. Imaging studies in drug abusers as well as non–drug abusers have shown that drugs of abuse increase the extra-cellular concentration of drug addiction in the striatum and that these increases were associated with their reinforcing effects. The subjects who had the greatest increases in drug addiction were the ones who experienced drug effects such as â€Å"high,† â€Å"rush,† or â€Å"euphoria† most intensely.These studies also showed that the reinforcing effects appeared to be associated not only with the magnitude but also with the abruptness of the drug addiction increase. Thus, for an equivalent increase in drug addiction, the drug was experie nced as reinforcing when it was injected intravenously, which leads to fast drug uptake in the brain and presumably very fast changes in drug addiction concentration, but not when it was given orally, which leads to a slow rate of brain uptake and presumably slow increases in drug addiction concentration.The dependency of the reinforcing effects of drugs on fast and large increases in drug addiction concentration is reminiscent of the changes in drug addiction concentration induced by phasic drug addiction cell firing (fast-burst firing > 30 Hz), which also leads to fast changes in drug addiction concentration and whose function is to highlight the saliency of stimuli. This contrasts with tonic drug addiction cell firing (slow firing at frequencies around 5 Hz), which maintains base-line steady-state drug addiction levels and whose function is to set the overall responsiveness of the drug addiction system.This led us to speculate that the ability of drugs of abuse to induce changes in drug addiction concentration that mimic but exceed those produced by phasic drug addiction cell firing results in over-activation of the neuronal processes that highlight saliency, and that this is one of the relevant variables underlying their high reinforcing value. However, studies show that increases in drug addiction concentration during intoxication occur in both addicted and non-addicted subjects, so this by itself cannot explain the process of addiction.Since drug addiction requires chronic drug administration, we suggest that addiction results from the repeated perturbation of reward circuits (marked drug addiction increases followed by drug addiction decreases) and the consequent disruption of the circuits that it regulates (motivation/drive, memory/learning, and control). Indeed, imaging studies in drug-addicted subjects have consistently shown long-lasting decreases in the numbers of drug addiction D2 receptors in drug abusers compared with controls.In addition, studi es have shown that cocaine abusers also have decreased drug addiction cell activity, as evidenced by reduced drug addiction release in response to a pharmacological challenge with a stimulant drug. We postulate that the decrease in the number of drug addiction D2 receptors, coupled with the decrease in drug addiction cell activity, in the drug abusers would result in a decreased sensitivity of reward circuits to stimulation by natural reinforcers.This decreased sensitivity would lead to decreased interest in ordinary (day-to-day) environmental stimuli, possibly predisposing subjects for seeking drug stimulation as a means to temporarily activate these reward circuits. Imaging studies provide evidence of disrupted sensitivity to natural reinforcers in addiction. For example, in a study by Martin-Solch and colleagues, the meso-striatal and meso-corticolimbic circuits of opiate addicts were not activated in response to natural reinforcers, whereas they were in controls subjects.Similar ly, in a second study by the same group, DA-regulated reward centres in tobacco smokers failed to activate in response to monetary reward. Interestingly, decreased sensitivity of reward circuits to acute alcohol administration has also been documented in cocaine abusers compared with control subjects. These findings suggest an overall reduction in the sensitivity of reward circuits in drug-addicted individuals to natural reinforcers, but also possibly to drugs besides the one to which they are addicted (extracted from the Journal of Clinical Investment May 15, 2003).

Reflective Practicee Essay

It is important to receive feedback on my practice as much as possible to ensure I am improving and developing within the role. I feel it is important to get feedback from the following people: Teacher: I try my up most to talk to the teacher after the lesson to discuss the progress of pupils whom I’ve been working with. There are times when I have expressed a concern on the seating arrangement within the classroom and other behavioural matters that I have felt need to be addressed, the teacher has often given further direction in where they want me to support in the room. I’m always really keen to receive feedback from the teacher about how they felt I worked with the pupils, how I could improve my role within the lesson, sometimes I have been encouraged to work with groups of pupils, therefore I have gone away and looked into different ways of delivering certain tasks and how certain pupils work better together. I’m not always given the learning objective ahead, which I feel is really important to receive so I am prepared and feeling confident to discuss the topic amongst the pupils, therefore I often try to discuss the next lesson with the teacher in advance to ensure I have an overview. Line Manager: I have been lucky to have been observed within lessons by my line manager to receive direct feedback on how I can improve my practice within my role. I have received some constructive feedback and some very encouraging positive praise. I have asked about several training courses to develop my understanding in certain areas and started some of my own independent reading in behaviour. My line manager is always very open and approachable; she has given me ideas for specific year groups which have really helped within lessons. I am always asking to be involved in any extracurricular clubs and keen to learn from others whilst at work. What is meant be reflective practice? Reflective practice means when we think about what we are doing, how we are doing it and whether we could change or improve it. A time to reflect on our own development, evaluate our strengths and weaknesses and look into opportunities, ideas to encourage further development and gain confidence in our profession. What is meant by National Occupational standards? These are National standards that are based on the roles and responsibilities of support staff in schools. Together with the guidance, they enable staff to manage the different stages of support staff recruitment, development and progression more effectively. Functions and requirements of your role Give one example for each of the following areas of the job role, of how personal reflection has impacted on your own practice. Supporting learning: I have worked with a small group within year 8, the lesson has a mixed of abilities, I aim to get round each pupil to ensure there is an understanding on the task set. On reflection I felt their wasn’t enough time given to each child throughout the lesson, it was with this feeling I spoke to the teacher and suggested groups of four at a table, so they would be able to discuss the exercise as a group and then work independently. This would allow both the teacher and I to talk to the groups at one time and encourage involvement from all throughout the lesson rather than going round individually. This has worked really well, each table works really well together and in reflection to the previous set up it has also developed the pupils social and communication skills. Promoting positive behaviour In a year 9 lesson I have been supporting a student with his numeracy; the student is often distracted by other things going on in the classroom and struggles to focus. I felt I was continuously calling him to sit down or to stop talking. In reflection to this reoccurring I decided to challenge him in completing the task under a time limit, I bought in a stop watch and also did the task beside him to see who could complete it first. His reaction was incredible; he completed all the work and expressed a really positive reaction to these small challenges. In response to this I asked the teacher if I could make a note in his planner to record how well he had done, in addition to this note I made sure I gave the pupil lots of positive praise, he responded to these comments really well and have since continued the small timed challenges. Developing Positive relationships Recently a year 7 pupil had left their previous school due to bullying; this was one of the first things she said to me on working with her in a lesson. I noticed she had a lack of confidence in talking to people, firstly being new to the school and secondly probably anxious from her previous school experience. In reflection to this at the end of the lesson I ensured the teacher was aware and suggested pairing her up with another pupil. In response to this each week we did ‘turning tables’ so the person sat on the right would move one space back each week, so the pupils would always be sat with someone different. I also encouraged this pupil alongside others to attend a new after school sports club I have started running. The new student showed up for the club and has been attending since, she has made some great new friends and familiar with other year groups which has in turn increased her confidence and enjoyment at school. Contribute to planning assessment and feedback Every morning I spend 15mins with a year 9 pupil who has cerebral palsy. I have worked with his phyiso and parents to assess his needs and put together an exercise plan that I assist him with each day. I have a record sheet of what we do each day and how he did with each exercise, I regularly liaise with the physio on how he is getting on, sometimes the physio will give me additional exercises to include. There have been occasions where the pupil hasn’t felt like doing it. In response to it I sometimes give him the opportunity to challenge himself to walking to different areas within the school, he reacts really well to praise and involvements which is something I include in the feedback I give to his family and physio. I also keep my line manager up to date with the pupils development to ensure other assistants are aware of his level of independence in movement so it can be encouraged within lesson too. Communication Communication is a major asset in my role at school, I am continuously talking to teachers, IT support, external companies and parents. I have recently been reflecting a lot on my communication around the children out of lesson. I have a lunchtime duty on our playing fields. I have often found myself standing there with another member of staff, listening to one another’s ideas on what works with certain year groups, however in reflection this should be happening in a dedicated time not whilst I have a responsibility as lunchtime. Therefore I have started to make a bigger effort in communicating with the children, encouraging positive behaviour and social skills. Key skills There are various key skills that I feel I could improve in, sometimes in a lesson I am lacking equipment due to handing it out regularly. Therefor I feel I need to encourage organisation for the pupils to ensure they bring their own equipment. I often reflect on my time keeping, I feel there is a big rush between and end of a lesson and getting to my lunchtime duty before the students. Therefore this may be something I discuss with my line manager about leaving a couple of minutes earlier before lunchtime. I am always reflecting on my job role description to ensure I am fulfing all my responsibilities. 4. Identify possible development opportunities available to you. Remember to consider formal and informal opportunities. Give evidence from your own practice. I am often reflecting on my own development and always keen to progress in my own learning. I made the decision to take this course (Level 2 Supporting teaching and learning in Schools) to increase my knowledge in the position of a Teaching Assistant. I feel I have really benefited from this and it has inspired me to continue on to level 3. I have a strong interest in working with families therefore I may look into a course more directed to this. I have hired out books from our local library to read into behaviour and social skills, this is an area which I have been allocated to at school, which I am really pleased about but I would like to get a bigger understanding so I can plan activities and feel confident in delivering. I have recently been assisting a music intervention group with specific SEND students. This has been a great 6 week project; I have taken the time to write up a report each week of the activities set and the reactions of each pupil. I received some outstanding feedback from the company and have recently been asked to represent the project in an open evening for them. I would like to look into these small projects more to help the development of children’s learning through creative subjects In school, I feel that it is a great opportunity to be able to talk to other members of staff about techniques/ styles of delivery for specific year groups. Sometimes there are groups of students that I feel unfamiliar with, but since speaking to other members of staff, I feel prepared to enter the lesson with their experience in my mind. 5. Why is CPD important? It is important to keep up to date with professional development to ensure to u are confident and familiar with the constant changes within education. There are often developments within schools and it is our role to be ready to adapt to these changes and encourage pupils with these variations. Some courses that are available to assist our role open up areas of discussion that you may not get the time for within school. There are areas of my job description that I have strengths and weaknesses in, therefore CPD is important to develop my own skills, knowledge and experience in all fields. Starting a self-review 6. What aspects of your job/role satisfy you the most? The biggest satisfaction for me is the rewarding feeling you get from assisting the development of a student’s progress within a subject or to help improve their behaviour etc. I find my role very satisfying by promoting a positive amount of encouragement for the pupils to believe in themselves as individuals, to prepare them with life skills and gradually develop their self-esteem. I feel this is a huge stepping stone to building a successful future. I enjoy having a variety of responsibility within my role; I like working with different year groups and understanding the range of learning styles. I like to learn from others, I feel within the classroom environment there is so much to observe and learn. I love being part of a team but also to work independently and put forward my own ideas to develop the children’s learning. 7. What aspects of your job/role have not been successful as you anticipated? I sometimes feel there isn’t enough time to discuss things with teachers before or after a lesson. I feel this is an important link to feedback on the pupils learning. I would like to focus on this area and seeing if I can build a stronger relationship with the teachers to ensure I get the chance to evaluate after the lesson I am supporting in and to gain a stronger understanding beforehand to ensure I am ready to assist pupils with confidence in the subject. I’ve also been a little disappointed that I haven’t received an official appraisal since I started my role. I have had opportunities to talk to my line manager about various things, but there has never been an allocated time to give me the change to discuss my development which is equally as important to me. 8. Are there any areas of you work you would like to improve? (2.3b) In reflection of my work so far I am really pleased with my development but always feel I could improve. Firstly I feel that I would benefit from a deeper knowledge in some subjects. For example I am frequently in a Spanish lesson, however I never had the option at school to study this language therefore my Spanish skills are minimal! I would like to look into learning Spanish to help my involvement within lessons. I am keen to re take my core subjects or study at a basic level to refresh my understanding of these subjects; it’s been surprising how much I’ve forgotten. I would also like to dedicate more time into talking to the subject teacher before the lesson to feel confident with the learning objective. At the end of the lesson I would also like to feedback on the pupils participation and understanding of the lesson and discuss how to go forward with any areas of concern. Sometimes I feel it is difficult to keep up with each lesson as my timetable frequently changes and therefore I have limited time to gather information of lessons that I am going to last minute. As a result of the above I would like to improve in planning and organisation to help me progress with other staff and add to the success of the school at every angle. 9. Describe the main aspects of appraisal (2.5/2.6) – An appraisal includes a self-assessment before the meeting with your line manager, this is normally a questionnaire that you rate it on a scale of 1- 10 to analyse how strong you think you are in each section, then as a result these point are discussed in a face to face setting with the line manager. It is allocated time to discuss the progress of you work within the school and personal strengths and weaknesses. This is also an opportunity to discuss the prospect of professional development, short and long term goals. An appraisal is professional organised meeting to agree on actions for going forward in areas that could be improved. 10. What should a school consider when agreeing development plans? In agreeing a development plan, a school needs to consider the amount of funding available for their staff development. The school need to consider the cost of equipment, training and resources, which will support staff to develop and carry out their role to their full potential. As a result of development plans moving forward with staff, there may need to be an agreement in that the staff will need to have their job role updated to reflect their responsibilities. If it was agreed that I was going to attend an external training programme during school hours, this would need to be considered in how the school can cover this absence. In turn the agreement would be looking at how my development could benefit the school in helping in other areas and using the skills learnt within school going forward. 11. When setting and agreeing targets, what is meant by SMART? S – Specific – Making sure that your target states exactly what is needed. M- Measurable – To make sure that you can measure whether the target has been reached A – Achievable – The target needs to be accessible and not too hard to achieve. R- Realistic – It is important to make sure the relevant resources and equipment are available to reach the target set T- Time Bound – There should always be a time set for reaching the target. This is to prevent putting it off to a later date 12. Identify ways in which your own knowledge, understanding and skills in literacy, numeracy and ICT impact on practice. There are times within a lesson where students will ask me to read out a question or to explain a question they don’t understand, it is important that I have the confidence to read it out and deliver an answer accurately. A lot of lessons involve using computers to write up work on or to use specific programmes linked to the subject. I am often asked by the pupils for help in saving their work, spellings and understanding of certain programmes. Fortunately I have worked with computers in previous work therefore I am at a level where I can encourage their ICT knowledge which will be helpful for them in the future. During maths lessons, students are not always allowed to use a calculator and therefore they need to practice other methods. I have learnt several teaching methods from being in these maths lessons to pass on to other year groups, but I am still refreshing my own mind with numeracy. Sometimes it’s a positive that I don’t know the answer as I get the teacher to go through it with me and the pupil to highlight that they are not alone in not knowing it and it makes the teacher aware that pupils require further information on certain tasks. What opportunities are available to you to improve own knowledge, understanding and skills in literacy, numeracy and ICT (unit 210-6.2) Sometimes during inset days our department runs workshops that cover the core subjects to update us with the syllabus of work that the children will be aiming for. The levels are constantly changing and each student is aiming for specific target grades. Therefore we receive a copy of the levels to understand what level the students are at. I have recently asked for a username to the maths programme the pupils use within school and for set homework – this cover all areas of numeracy and is a great resource to keep on top of the work. 14. – Table = To be completed? Understand the work of the team 15. Why is team work important in schools? It is important to support others within school because as a result of developing good working relationships it makes our role more effective. Team work allows us to share and discuss your own ideas and listen to others. It’s an opportunity to develop in all areas listening to others strengths and suggestions that could strengthen the team as a whole not just individually. Team work is also important in that within school it is important that the staffs are using the same guidelines and rules to ensure that the children are receiving the same response from all staff. Offering advice to the pupils should be the same as the next member of staff asked. Team work in schools is so important to keep the pupils feeling safe and confident in their learning environment. Positive working relationships will be witnessed by the pupils and therefore encourage them to mirror this within their lessons. What is the purpose and objective of the team in which you work? Our objective is to identify the needs of students and works to the best of our ability to support them. Our team is in place to support individual students, groups of pupils and general support within class groups. Our team is in place to offer social, emotional, intellectual, physical support to every pupil. Some pupils have individual programmes and difficulties that require one to one support, however everyone is treated equally. Our purpose is to encourage the development of each pupil throughout this stage of their life within secondary school and to motivate them for a positive future. What is your role and responsibilities and those of others in the team? My role and for others in my team includes a variety of duties and responsibilities within the school. On a daily basis we are to ensure we are aware of the needs of the children we are directly supporting and other pupils within a lesson, break and lunchtimes within school. During a lesson we need to be confident in supporting the teacher with each task set and encourage good behaviour and positive learning within the room. It is my responsibility to keep the students on track with their work and not to complete it for them. It is important at the beginning of the lesson to ensure the children have their equipment, books and planners out on the desk and bags under the table to be ready for the teacher to deliver the lesson. It our responsibility as a team to support the teacher in each exercise set for the pupils, liaising throughout the lesson with the progress or concernswithin the class. I also ensure I speak with the teacher about rewarding the students if they have responded well in completing the task or improved a skill that they have been struggling with. During break and lunch times each person within our team has an allocated area to supervise. We are responsible for ensuring that the pupils are behaving and engaging positively with others. If there is a problem within a break time we are linked up to the rest of our team and a support team to have immediate support in a situation. I am responsible for supporting individual programmes of physical stretching exercises which are in place by the statutory statement of Educational Need and consultation with parents and the physiotherapy team. I have a responsibility to complete an evaluation form each day which is a written up overview to record the support given in each lesson. I continuously liaise with the team and my management to ensure I am moving forward and progressing with the school in the right directio n. Why is it important to respect the skills and expertise of other practitioners? It is important to respect the skills and expertise of other staff as different staff bring different skills to the team. I would always seek advice from others when needed in order that the students are getting the best that the school can offer them. This can also help me develop in my role. Other people may have different skills, training and experience thatmay be able to help me on matters I am unsure about

Gang Developement

Axia College Material Appendix E Gang Development and Control Tables Gang Development Below are descriptions of gang development theories. Copy and paste the correct description into the table below next to the appropriate theory. There are five descriptions and four theories. One description is not valid. †¢ Gang members are violent and rarely show remorse or feelings regarding their violent and criminal actions. Members may join a gang because it provides them a release for their personal problems, which may include drug abuse, low self-esteem, and family problems. Gang members typically come from low income areas and may even be considered to have been â€Å"forced† into gang life in order to survive.The gang provides a sense of belonging in a world where members may lack positive role models and the ability to attain status in a way considered acceptable by society. †¢ Joining a gang is a way to obtain money and protection. It is often seen as a personal decision to gain success. Members who join for this reason feel pride when they get away with a crime and were most likely committing illegal acts long before joining a gang. Members join a gang to have a safe social circle and to learn techniques to communicate through graffiti. Gang members use those techniques to display their gang’s strength and power in their neighborhood. Members who join a gang for this reason are typically involved in drug use and truancy but rarely violent acts of delinquency. †¢ Individuals who join gangs for this reason may have an older family member who is a gang member. They may go through distinct hazing rituals before they can join.The hazing rituals offer assurance that the individual is capable and ready to start his or her new life as a gang member. |Theory |Description | |Anthropological |Individuals who join gangs for this reason may have an older family member who is a gang member. They | | |may go through distinct hazing rituals before the y can join.The hazing rituals offer assurance that | | |the individual is capable and ready to start his or her new life as a gang member. | |Sociocultural |Gang members typically come from low income areas and may even be considered to have been â€Å"forced† into| | |gang life in order to survive. The gang provides a sense of belonging in a world where members may lack| | |positive role models and the ability to attain status in a way considered acceptable by society. |Psychological |Gang members are violent and rarely show remorse or feelings regarding their violent and criminal | | |actions. Members may join a gang because it provides them a release for their personal problems, which | | |may include drug abuse, low self-esteem, and family problems. | | |Joining a gang is a way to obtain money and protection.It is often seen as a personal decision to gain| |Rational Choice |success. Members who join for this reason feel pride when they get away with a crime and were most | | |likely committing illegal acts long before joining a gang. | Gang Control In the table below, describe the gang control methods in your own words and use the Internet to provide an example of a program based on each type of gang control method. Include the name of the Web site and the working URL address in the table. Gang Control Methods |Descriptions |Examples | |Law Enforcement |Law enforcement efforts |From Aug. 23 through Sept. 1, teams of officers working 10-hour shifts, fanned out| |Efforts |refers to the actual |through the city in search of gang members with open warrants, according to a | | |execution of law |Corpus Christi Police Department news release.The warrants ranged from public | | |enforcement. intoxication to murder. | | | | | | | | | | | |Caller. (2010). www. caller. com. Retrieved from | | | |http://www. caller. om/news/2008/sep/03/EARLY-law-enforcement-effort-focuses-gang-| | | |members/ | |Community Control |This term refers to |Probation Division: The P robation Division is charged with the duty of overseeing| |Efforts |community treatment of |those defendants sentenced to misdemeanor probation for criminal offenses by the | | |criminals such as therapy,|17th Judicial Court in compliance with Florida Statues and the Rules of Criminal | | |community service and |Procedure. Following sentencing by the Judge, the defendant is assigned a BSO | | |probation. |probation specialist, who establishes a case management plan. | | | | | | | |Department of Community Control. (2010). www. sheriff. com. Retrieved from | | | |http://sheriff. org/about_bso/dodcc/court/index. cfm |

Though Melville’s Moby Dick

Though Melville’s â€Å"Moby Dick† has been amply explicated as an allegorical novel engaged in metaphysical and philosophical themes, the richness and density of Melville’s narrative scope in Moby Dick demands close scrutiny, not only for its forthright allegorical connotations, but also for its arcane and esoteric connotations, which provide a variety of meta-fictional comments and divulgences regarding the novel’s radically experimental narrative form.  Ã‚   â€Å"As almost anyone who has ever looked closely into Melville's novel knows, Moby-Dick is an incredibly rich and complex work with as intricate a set of symbols, image patterns, and motifs as is to be found in a work of literature anywhere in the world.† (Sten 5) Particularly peculiar to many readers of â€Å"Moby Dick† are the generous discourses on cetology and whaling included in the novel. â€Å"An abrupt change of direction in Moby-Dick takes place at the thirty-second chapter. From the sharp, swift description of New Bedford and Nantucket and from the narrative speed of the adventures of the seaport, we move suddenly into bibliographical considerations of a pseudo-scholarly nature.† (Vincent 121) Though the cetological references in â€Å"Moby Dick† may, at first appear to be naggingly incongruous with the hitherto established adventure-tragedy, as we will see in the following discussion, the narrative form and structure of â€Å"Moby Dick† is, in fact, can be shown to comprise a literary facsimile of the cetological science as Melville understood it in his time-period. While it would be misleadingly simple to describe the narrative form of â€Å"Moby Dick† as â€Å"a whale,† this description, with slight modification, can be justified by a close reading of the novel and by an inquiry into the compositional ideas and influences that inspired Melville during the novel’s composition.   The aforementioned modification is this: that the narrative form of â€Å"Moby Dick† is constructed to evoke the anatomical composition of cetaceans insofar as the Moby Dick â€Å"Great White Whale† comprises the central allegorical symbol in the novel, and, therefore, also symbolizes the creative urge of the artist from initial inspiration to final completion: â€Å"the extracts are the epic material–â€Å"fragmentary, scattered, loosely related, sometimes contradictory†Ã¢â‚¬â€œout of which Melville's epic poetry was made.   (Sten 4) It is essential that â€Å"Moby Dick† be regarded as possessing a solid, harmonious structure, despite the initial oddness and experimentalism of its surface level appearance. Nowhere is there â€Å"waste in Moby-Dick; every concrete detail serves a double and triple purpose[†¦] No detail is unleavened[†¦]   even such a chapter as â€Å"The Specksynder,† at first seemingly irrelevant, contributes to the designed effect of the whole novel. (Vincent 125) To understand the utter necessity of Melville’s inclusion of detailed cetological material in â€Å"Moby Dick† it is useful to appraise some of the immediate influences on his thought and artistic philosophy during the time of the novel’s initial composition and extensive revisions. As is well known, two of the most profound influences on Melville during the composition of â€Å"Moby Dick† were William Shakespeare and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Despite the gulf of centuries between these two writers, both were recent discoveries for Melville at the time of his writing â€Å"Moby Dick.† Foremost among Melville’s appreciations for each of these writers was his conviction that each of them had accomplished a confrontation with endemic evil in their works. â€Å"To understand the power of blackness at work in Melville's imagination, we need to note that even while he was composing Moby-Dick, this omnivorous reader, the novelist, was discovering the plays of Shakespeare, especially King Lear, {†¦} and the allegorical fiction of Nathaniel Hawthorne. (Tuttleton) Shakespeare’s influence on Melville exerts itself in the inclusion of actual playscript in the course of the novel, frequent asides and soliloquies, and most profoundly, on the tragic scope and figure of Captain Ahab. Hawthorne’s influence claims a much stronger relationship to the novel’s symbolic and allegorical structures. In fact, Hawthorne’s own pioneering allegorical techniques may have provided the single most influential power on Melville’s conception of â€Å"Moby Dick.† If Hawthorne had shown Melville that â€Å"one American was expressively aware of the evil at the core of life,: he had also provided a narrative strategy suitable for Melville’s own literary confrontation with evil, â€Å"a perception toward which Melville had been groping for seven years of authorship and of self-scrutiny, but which he had not completely realized nor dared to disclose.† (Vincent 37) This narrative strategy relied most heavily on Hawthorne’s allegorical techniques. By investing traditional elements of storytelling with deeper, more symbolically complex meanings, Hawthorne achieved an idiom which is both moralistic and confessional in nature. An example of Hawthorne’s allegorical technique is his novel â€Å"The Scarlet Letter.† In this novel, a struggle between spiritual faith and evil temptation comprises a central theme.† This struggle is represented allegorically in the story by a careful employment of symbolism, character development, and plotting. Lacking an established literary idiom which was wide enough to directly confront the duality of his own ambiguous feelings toward Puritanism and human morality, Hawthorne developed an intricate set of symbols and allegorical references   simultaneously conceal and explicate the confessional elements of the story. Individual objects, characters, and elements of the story thus function in â€Å"dual† roles, providing, so to speak, overt and covert information. In constructing a self-sustaining iconography within the confines of a short story, Hawthorne was obliged to lean somewhat on the commonly accepted symbolism of certain objects, places, and characteristics. The allegorical method, by articulating thematic ideas which challenge â€Å"cut and dried† explanations of such profound realities as faith, morality, innocence, and the nature of good and evil, allowed Hawthorne to delve into issues of the utmost personal profundity, but to express them within a language and symbolic structure that anyone could understand. By reaching through his own personal doubt, guilt, and religious ambivalence to find expression for the irony and injustice of Puritanical dogma, Hawthorne was able to embrace ambiguity, rather than stolid religious fervor, as a moral and spiritual reality. By using the symbolic resonances of everyday objects, places, and people in his fiction, Hawthorne was able to show the duality – the good and evil – in a ll things, and in all people, thus reconciling the sheer division of good and evil as represented by the edicts of his (and America’s) Puritanical heritage. Melville’s admiration for Hawthorne’s successful development of a narrative form capable of expressing profound spiritual and philosophical themes of inspired him to elevate the first draft of his whaling adventure story, which hitherto had closely resembled his popular â€Å"travelogue† writings, such as â€Å"Typee.†Ã‚   Moby-Dick took six years to complete. â€Å" It was not until a signally successful reputation had been established that Melville was ready, as he put it, to â€Å"turn blubber into poetry.† (Vincent 15) What Melville intended was to craft his erstwhile adventure story, along with his comprehensive notes and observations and researches into cetology and whaling into an allegorical novel on par with what he esteemed Hawthorne to have done in his own novels and short stories. Upon completion of â€Å"Moby Dick† Melville made his artistic debt to Hawthorne quite clear. â€Å"The godfather of Moby-Dick was guaranteed additional fame when Melville gratefully dedicated his whaling epic to Hawthorne â€Å"In Token of my Admiration for his Genius.†Ã¢â‚¬  (Vincent 39) Melville’s most obvious gesture toward Hawthorne-inspired allegory is, of course, the development of Moby Dick himself: the whale as the pervading, all-important and central symbol of the novel. This central symbol connects deeply with the archetypal symbolism of the ocean, representing form emerging from watery chaos or the primeval unconscious: â€Å"In Moby-Dick this inner realm is of course represented by the sea, a universal image of the unconscious, where all the monsters and helping figures of childhood are to be found, along with the many talents and other powers that lie dormant within every adult. Chief among these, in Ishmael's case, is the complicated image of the Whale itself, which is all these things and more and also serves as the â€Å"herald† that calls him to his adventure. (Sten 7) Regarded in this light, the cetological details of â€Å"Moby Dick† acquire an additional power and connotative dimensions, as the initial â€Å"call to adventure† and the primary form which rises from the sea of the unconscious, the whale symbol stands not only for the complex physical universe (form) but also as the explicative symbol for the narrative construction of the novel itself. â€Å" The cetological center recognizes the truth of Thoreau's dictum: â€Å"we are enabled to apprehend at all what is sublime and noble only by the perpetual instilling and drenching of the reality that surrounds us.† [†¦] The cetological center of Moby-Dick is the keel to Melville's  artistic craft.† (Vincent 122)  Ã‚   Even as technical descriptions of the whale’s anatomies are given in the novel, the non-scientific, anecdotal experiences of whales at sea as narrated by Ishmael, forward the marriage of whale-symbolism to the novel’s narrative form. Upon his discourse of the â€Å"spirit-spout,† Ishmael remarks: â€Å"advancing still further and further in our van, this solitary jet seemed forever alluring us on.† This relates to the lure of inspiration, of the need for self-expression, for the first intimations of the ensuing artistic expression. The signal-spout of inspiration leads the artist (writer) toward his form. But it is first, formless: simply a haze of imaginative impulse and intuition: a signal on the horizon.   Ishmael further notes that â€Å"that unnearable spout was cast by one self-same whale, and that whale, Moby Dick.† This latter connotation indicates that inspiration flows form the eventual harmonious conclusion; that is urge and objective are one, but that the objective form is also merged tightly with theme. As Ishmael gains a closer, more intimate apprehension of whales, the development of his character and spiritual insight are correspondingly elevated. The more detailed are the cetological experiences and catalogues, the more wholly expressive and self-possessed and sure becomes Ishmael. â€Å"Moby-Dick is, among other things, an encyclopedia of cetological lore having to do with every aspect of the whale–the scientific, zoological, oceanographic, mythic, and philological. And it recounts Ishmael's slow recovery from melancholia{†¦} These thematic elements are interspersed with chapters detailing Captain Ahab's pursuit of the white whale† (Tuttleton). Still deeper correspondences between the cetological material and Melville’s narrative form are established in Ishmael’s descriptions of the whales â€Å"blubber† and â€Å"skin† which he posits as being indistinguishable. This is reflected in the narrative structure of â€Å"Moby Dick† where it is equally as difficult to apprehend where the â€Å"skin† (overt theme and storyline) of the novel ends and the â€Å"blubber† (cetological and whaling discourses and catalogues) begin. Melville makes it perfectly clear that the â€Å"blubber† is an as indispensable part of his novel as it is for the whale’s body. â€Å"For the whale is indeed wrapt up in his blubber as in a real blanket or counterpane; or, still better, an Indian poncho slipt over his head;†therefore, too, is the expository material, the â€Å"blubber† of the novel wrapped around its central, allegorical aspects. The realism of the cetological details in â€Å"Moby Dick† is impressive. Many critics account it as a reliable source as any known from Melville’s time-period on cetology or whaling. This realism provides a concrete grounding for the novel’s adventure and theatrical demonstrations, as well as for the highly concentrated symbolism that forwards Melville’s powerful themes. Again, like a whale, Melville’s narrative form is massive and sprawling, but capable of dynamic flow and incredible speed. Seen in this regard, the cetological materials are not only deeply necessary to give the novel â€Å"ballast;† they also provide for its eventual â€Å"sounding† or ability to probe great depth of theme and profundity. The detailed cetological aspects of â€Å"Moby Dick† may, indeed, prevent the reader from an easy, and immediate grasp of the novel’s â€Å"meaning† or even its astounding climax. Just as the whale’s hump is believed by Ishmael to conceal the whale’s â€Å"true brain† while the more easily accessed â€Å"brain† know to whalers is merely a know of nerves, the secret â€Å"core† of â€Å"Moby Dick† can only be pursued with patience and close, deep â€Å"cutting†due to the organic and harmonious nature of its narrative form. By keeping in mind the previously discussed aspects of the relationship between â€Å"Moby Dick’s† comprehensive cetological materials and their symbolic relationship to the novel itself, its form and themes, Ishmael, while discoursing on the  desirability of whale meat as fit food for humans, offers an ironic gesture toward the novel’s probable audiences. â€Å"But what further depreciates the whale as a civilized dish, is his exceeding richness. He is the great prize ox of the sea, too fat to be delicately good.† The radically experimental form of â€Å"Moby Dick† is a successful form which owes a debt to its conception to the allegorical techniques of Nathaniel Hawthorne. By building on Hawthorne’s idiom, Melville achieved a rigorously complex, but exactly realized idiom, one which still challenges the sensibilities and sensitivities of readers and critics to this day. Works Cited Sten, Christopher. Sounding the Whale: Moby-Dick as Epic Novel. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1996. Tuttleton, James W. â€Å"The Character of Captain Ahab in Melville's ‘Moby Dick.'.† World and I Feb. 1998: 290+. Vincent, Howard P. The Trying-Out of Moby-Dick. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1949.