Diversity and Inclusion in Work with Children Essay Example for Free

Diversity and Inclusion in Work with Children Essay Equality, diversity and inclusion in work with children and young people Assignment 1 Within a school, equality, diversity and inclusion is very important. It is their duty to make sure all children have equal access to the curriculum. Whether they are a different race, culture, gender or have a special need or disability, it is important that they are supported and have a right to participate and be treated equal; this is known as inclusion. As part of this it is important that schools and other professionals support and promote cultural diversity in schools and the wider society, breaking down any discriminatory barriers to learning. (1. 2) In a school participation means that everyone has to be involved and this involves the inclusion of the children. The Government is committed to children’s rights and participation. Under Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), children and young people have the right to express their views, and for these to be respected by adults when making decisions on matters that affect them. This means that the schools have to involve the children in the planning, delivery and evaluation of the curriculum on a daily basis, asking children what they think, what works and what they think could be better. Children should be given opportunities to express their opinion in matters that affect their lives. Effective participation gives children and young people the opportunity to make a positive contribution to their learning and to develop the skills, confidence and self-esteem they will need for the future. Every child has the right to access the curriculum, Equality of access. This means that children can work to the best of their ability and be treated equally within their learning. The schools have a duty to support these rights and they must be reflected through their policies and procedures and must comply with current legislations and codes of practice. The Equality Act 2010, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, Children Act 1989/2004, SENDA 2001 and SEN Code of Practice 2002 are the relevant legislations that give guidance on how to understand the childrens rights to participation and equality of access. Promoting participation and equal access makes sure that the school is meeting the 5 outcomes of ECM/HCAM and will therefore provide children with the best possible opportunities to to achieve to the best of their ability within the curriculum and their school life. (1. ) Cultural diversity provides a framework to bringing children together who would otherwise be naturally separated by cultural barriers. Pupils cultural development involves pupils acquiring an understanding of cultural traditions and an ability to appreciate and respond to a variety of aesthetic experiences. They acquire a respect for their own culture and that of others, an interest in others ways of doing things and curiosity about differences. They dev elop the knowledge, skills, understanding, qualities and attitudes they need to understand, appreciate and contribute to culture. Schools have to promote cultural diversity and follow legislations relating to equality and discrimination, it is the law not to discriminate and this is set out in the Equality Act 2010. There are many ways that a school can promote acceptance and respect of different cultures throughout the school, this could be through teaching in the classroom where the pupils can explore varied cultural backgrounds, learning about celebrations that different cultures participate in for example multicultural festivals that take place different times throughout the year. Also many schools now have welcome signs which are written in languages that pupils within the school speak, displays are also used with work of the children these are a brilliant way of showing the pupils understanding of others cultures and provides information for all within the school. All staff must act as role models and promote cultural diversity this helps reduce prejudice and discrimination and if staff are putting this in place then it will influence pupils to be tolerant of other cultures and with this helps the children understand the diverse society to which they belong. Pupils who understand cultural diversity will be more likely to participate and those of different cultures will feel more involved as they can help with the learning of their culture, with this it will help children in schools and outside in the wider society. In conclusion, schools who promote equality and inclusion through participation and a value of cultural diversity are encouraging children to ave respect for others and not to discriminate and promotes independence for the children. Childrens rights to equal access has to be supported by quality teaching, school policies and procedures. Childrens rights are protected by the law but if the schools follow the laws and provide the vital information through learning, children are more likely to respect others and appreciate their responsibilities to others.

Influence of Public Health and Safety Matters in the City

Influence of Public Health and Safety Matters in the City Towns are and were always associated with trade and power[R1]. Although towns as well as humans have to develop. They were formed and shaped by numbers of various factors. This essay would show how have public health and safety matters in the past influenced the invention of the city? One of the very first and obvious that come to mind are strict British fire regulations, clearly and rightly linked by most to the Great Fire of London. In its history London as a city had great amounts of fires in its account.One of first severe recorded fires of London happened in 1135. It put down most of the city between St Pauls and St Clement Danes in Westminster as well as famous London Bridge. â€Å"Little wonder London suffered from fires: housing and commercial premises existed together; a Norman law banned house fires after dark, but was probably ignored; buildings were largely made of wood and thatch; and no organised fire brigade existed.†(The 12th of July 1212 AD, Great Fire of London 1212, n.d.). It took well over 70 years and another huge fire, on 12th July 1212. This fire and figure of 3000 deaths, still appears in the Guinness Book of Records, even though perhaps exaggerated. Those fires caused people to consider about building rules. In effect ‘legisla tions’ as well as methods to abide them were introduced. Primitive and very first form of fire protection was something as simple as banning thatched roofs in entire London. By its first mayor Henry Fitzailwin. He also signed a document saying: â€Å"Complaints about building nuisances could be brought by one neighbour against another. The mayor and aldermen settled such cases in a court called the Assize of Nuisance†. Judgements were advised by appointed masons and carpenters. (History of Building Regulations in the British Isles, 2014) Other British cities started follow London’s lead. The actual turning point in building history was fire of 1666.[R2] Fire known as the Great Fire of London started in the bakery on Pudding Lane and very soon started spreading west reaching beyond Roman city walls. On 4th September wind direction changed, it headed and almost reached the Tower of London. During the firefighting process â€Å"King Charles II personally helped fight the fire. He lifted buckets of water and threw money to reward people who stayed to fight the flames.†(Museum of London Frequently asked questions, n.d.) Quenching the fire is considered to have been successful due two factors: the strong east winds died down, and the Tower of London garrison used gunpowder to create firebreaks, and stop further spread eastward. (Great Fire of London Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, n.d.). It’s believed that as a consequence of this fire 80% of capital was burned to the ground. Inevitably disaster of this scale couldn’t happen again. Therefore London Rebuilding Act of 1667 was introduced.[R3] This document created foundations of city/master planning as well as some other areas of modern building regulations. Was the very first to specify how city planning was to be regulated (i.e. Certain streets need to be wider depending on intensity and purpose of use). It was describing what matters and how they should be resolved by judges. Also specifying thickness and location of walls, including party walls. It introduced the idea of the commission designing cityscape as well as commission to approve location and shape, as well as materials used in new buildings. All buildings from that point onwards were to be built of brick or stone. It also regulated minor issues like precipitation management, maximum overhangs, which previously were making already narrow streets even narrower and tighter. That was introduction to the idea of more pleasant cities, even though done for practical reasons. Some more health and safety rules were issued. [R4] Even though this law was extremely precise for that time. It was written by local government of London and was to be obeyed only during rebuilding of the city. As effect of that British Isles were left without public law. In 1898 Ebenezer Howard initiated â€Å"The Garden City Movement†. Garden cities were designed and intended to be self-contained, self-sufficient communities. Separated and surrounded by tracks of open, green areas. Taking inspiration and trying to make a utopian dream of Sir Thomas More come truth. Howard’s idealise garden city was using clear zoning system. Keeping residential and industrial development areas separate, allowed â€Å"smokeless† idea of the city to develop. They would be populated by 32000 people on around 6000 acres (2400 ha). Planned in concentric circles, when fully populated another garden city would develop nearby. Several of these would be clustered ‘orbiting’ around the central city (populated by 50000 people ). [R5]â€Å"The Garden City Association set itself the ambitious task of developing a first garden city. Work on the chosen site at Letchworth began in 1903 and by 1914 it housed 9,000 inhabitants.†(The birth of town planning UK Parliament, n.d.) Letchworth was very innovative and successful, it populated 33500 people. It was possibly impractical to use concentric plan, although principles were kept. Letchworth introduced roundabout (1909) and was very first example of ‘green belt’. This project didn’t require authorising legislations, although it was inspirational to â€Å"garden suburbs†. These were first introduced in Hampstead. Endorsed by Parliament in 1906, in what has been called â€Å"Hampstead Garden Suburb Act[R6]†. This document legislated that distance between the two houses on opposite sides of the road, were to be not less than 50 feet (15.24m) apart. And that there should be no more than 8 houses per acre (4046.9m2). [R7] ‘Back-to-back’ houses, so popular in industrial Victorian developments. During the industrial revolution â€Å"great influx of workers and their families into the rapidly industrialised towns during the 1800s, this number increased massively and the problems of over-population became disastrous†(Public Health History of medicine, n.d.). This was revealed by the report of Liverpools first medical officer of health (Dr Duncan). It stated that – third of the citys population lived on earth floored cellars of back to back houses. (The birth of town planning UK Parliament, n.d.) Without any ventilation and sanitation with as many as 16 people living in one room, these were surely not what those cellars were designed for and what they could withstand. They were made illegal in 1909 due to Housing and Town Planning Act, as there was concern that it could be the starter of the new chain reaction effect of plague for example similar in effect to London’s Gr eat Fire. [R8] Letchworth and Hampstead was the main inspiration for that 1909 Act. It also took inspiration of garden city movement principles. Not a surprise that the Garden City Association actively lobbied for it. This also encouraged to use ‘Garden City’ principles. Leading the way to the more enjoyable urban environment and more flexibility in terms of design. This act obligated local authorities to use town planning, and control building standards. Specified the job of local governments on what they can and can’t do. The new law formed the guide on how to plan cities and how to build safely. It also specified land law, how and where working class housing should be built. Also, considering health and safety of citizens and future residents, which could be named as a form of sustainable design.[R9] As earlier mentioned planning law has been changing and adapting for past years. Even though fire regulations in the UK are possibly one of the strictest in Europe. As statistics show there is a lot of improvement to be made. World of planning needs people like Ebenezer Howard, idealist and dreamers that design, plan and improve urban and world environment – in effect making world more enjoyable. In modern cities main perplexity are sustainability and public health. It’s not easy to decrease obesity and other so called civilization diseases. The rate of these could be lowered by eliminating factors that do or may cause it. The main ones being: lack of physical activity, unnatural/unhealthy diet, polluted air and some more (Diseases of modern civilisation — Frank Fenner Foundation, n.d.). These may and should be considered at design stage. To improve physical activity. It’s necessary to increase the amount of public transport used, as well as increase amoun t of playgrounds. Enhancing physical activity from early years, followed by footpaths, parks or other green areas. Obviously there is very little designer or architect can do about human diet. Nevertheless, what could be done is to design green markets into town scape. These would make fresh, naturally grown, healthy fruits/vegetables effortlessly accessible. Another in theory inaccessible area for urban planners is air pollution, as we can’t actively decrease pollution. Already Ebenezer Howard has suggested to use town zoning to move industrial expansion out on the peripheries of towns. In the long term this would decrease the amount of polluted air in towns, by distributing it more evenly across open areas, and most likely lower the urban island effect. All of those examples show how past events were effecting town planning. It proves that there is a set of ingredients and stimuli. They all effect planning law and planning methods. Urban environment is always changing and it is hard to design it well. This is why there are groups of urban planners, architects, designers and others working to improve the design of towns. This has been changing for hundreds, or even thousands of years, and they would be. Changes are inevitable, what is now countryside in 10 years, or even less could be new suburbs. This should stimulate designers and visionaries to improve inner urban scape, resolve current and anticipate future issues and address them today. References BBC History British History in depth: London After the Great Fire (n.d.). [Online] [Accessed on 26th December 2014] http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/after_fire_01.shtml. ‘Building Regulations David Watkins.pdf’ (n.d.). Diseases of modern civilisation — Frank Fenner Foundation (n.d.). [Online] [Accessed on 1st January 2015] http://www.natsoc.org.au/our-projects/biosensitivefutures/part-4-facts-and-principles/human-health-issues/diseases-of-modern-civilisation. English Historical Fiction Authors: Changing the Face of London the Great Fire of 1666 (n.d.). [Online] [Accessed on 26th December 2014] http://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/changing-face-of-london-great-fire-of.html. Great Fire of London Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (n.d.). [Online] [Accessed on 27th December 2014] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_London. Handbook to the Housing and Town Planning Act, (n.d.). [Online] [Accessed on 27th December 2014] https://archive.org/stream/handbooktohousin00thom#page/n1/mode/2up. History of Building Regulations in the British Isles (2014). [Online] [Accessed on 14th December 2014] http://www.buildinghistory.org/regulations.shtml. History of Building Regulations in the British Isles (n.d.). [Online] [Accessed on 26th December 2014] http://www.buildinghistory.org/regulations.shtml. Housing, town planning, etc., act, 1909; a prac (n.d.). [Online] [Accessed on 27th December 2014] https://archive.org/stream/housingtownplann00bent#page/n5/mode/2up. London Fire Brigade The Great Fire of London (n.d.). [Online] [Accessed on 26th December 2014] http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/great-fire-of-london.asp. Museum of London Frequently asked questions (n.d.). [Online] [Accessed on 26th December 2014] http://archive.museumoflondon.org.uk/Londons-Burning/FAQ/. Museum of London The 1667 Rebuilding Act (n.d.). [Online] [Accessed on 27th December 2014] http://archive.museumoflondon.org.uk/Londons-Burning/Themes/1405/1408/Page1.htm. Public Health History of medicine (n.d.). [Online] [Accessed on 29th December 2014] http://www.priory.com/history_of_medicine/public_health.htm. Samuel Pepys Diary 1666 Fire of London (n.d.). [Online] [Accessed on 27th December 2014] http://www.pepys.info/fire.html. The 12th of July 1212 AD, Great Fire of London 1212 (n.d.). [Online] [Accessed on 27th December 2014] http://www.information-britain.co.uk/famdates.php?id=1019. The birth of town planning UK Parliament (n.d.). [Online] [Accessed on 28th December 2014] http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/towncountry/towns/overview/townplanning/. The Geneva Association (2014) ‘World Fire Statistics.’ The Hampstead Garden Suburb Act 1906 (n.d.). [Online] [Accessed on 28th December 2014] http://www.hgs.org.uk/history/h00012000.html. [R1]Emersion of towns [R2]Fire of 1135 and predominantly 1212 [R3]Great fire of London [R4]London rebuilding act [R5]The garden city movement [R6]http://www.hgs.org.uk/history/h00012000.html [R7]Letchworth and Hampstead Garden Suburb Act [R8]Back to back houses and their banister [R9]A bit about 1909 act

Effect Of Insecticides On Honey Bees Biology Essay

Effect Of Insecticides On Honey Bees Biology Essay Introduction: Pollinators are very important for the production of any crop as they play very important role for pollination of the flowers and crops. Bees are considered one of the major pollinators of the agricultural crops. The study of this issue is very important as well as difficult due to the complex interaction of bees with their hosts. Many environmental factors are involved in the complexity of this interaction (Schmid, 1975). Honey bees are good pollinators but they are not common for all crops (Batra 1995). Most people are interested in honey and wax production by bees but some honey bees are used in orchard pollination, where they take nectar and pollen for the purpose (Cheung 1973). Honey bees are most vulnerable pollinators of agricultural crops as USDA estimated the financial value of these profitable pollinators that is approximately 15- 20 dollars billion per year (Johnson 2010). On the other hand, they are very sensitive insects as they are disturbed by the common environmental factor like pollution. Pesticides are the chemicals that are most widely used to control pests in crop production. When different chemicals are applied to the crops, they not only affect the pests of the crops but also harm the beneficial insects as pollinators, predators and parasites etc. This harmful effect disturbs the natural balance between the insects and their natural hosts. The table below shows the dependence of agricultural crops on honey bee pollination. Almond, Alfalfa, Apple, peaches, carrots, sunflower, onion, broccoli and citrus with other field crops are given with their dependence. Estimated value of Honey Bee to US crop production, 2000 estimates (Johnson, 2010) Use of chemicals (Pesticides) in agricultural crops is important to get required production on one side while on other side, safety of honey bees and other natural enemies from these chemicals are also required. But if these chemicals are not used against insect pests of the crops, it will also create problems for producers as they can not be able to get such production that can fulfill the food requirements of nation or worldwide. Large number of bee colony developers is present in The United States that provides bees as pollinators, commercially to different crop producers. U.S. Department of Agricultureà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s (USDA) 2007 Census point out that 2.9 million bee colonies are used for 28,000 operations in the United States. Increasing use of chemicals (insecticides and pesticides) to control the other problems of crop production disturbs honey bees populations either natural or reared commercially. Johnson 2010 gave the map that shows the disorder in honey bees colonies in different states in 2009. http://beealert.blackfoot.net/ Johnson (2010) gave the reasons for colonies collapses in his report by the data collected under the information provided by USDA. These colony loses in honey bees disturbs Agricultural economy of the country, so scientists try to explore that chemicals that are less or not harmful for the pollinators and they started performing different experiment by using different chemicals to check their efficacy against honey bees activities and pollination. Complete give up of chemicals is not possible as they effect the production of different agricultural crops (Akca et al. 2009), but these chemicals should be use under certain limits. According to the Pretty 1995, the over usage of these agrochemicals make the soil and environment deteriorated and on the other side genetic diversity of the living organisms is also disturbed. Many scientists focused on all non target insects while some are more specific towards the pollinators, their behavior and activities against insecticides which are commonly used for crop pests (Liong et al. 1998; Qadri et al. 1994). Different chemicals and methodologies are carried by different scientists to explain the effectiveness of certain chemicals against honey bee normal functioning. Some of them are given here. Methodologies by Different scientists and their results: Akca et al. 2009 performed an experiment by using 8 chemicals against worker honey bees. They used residual film method for each chemical. Physical conditions for experiment were 25O C and 75% RH and data was collected after 1, 8, 16 and 24 hours. Honey bees of 20 days or less were used in experiments. Three different doses for each chemical were used (recommended, 1/2 and 1/4 of recommended) at same physical conditions. Above is the table that shows the chemical used, their recommended doses and their groups to which these chemicals belong. Their results revealed that all of the insecticides with all doses are toxic to the honey bees after last three intervals except Azadirechtin. All chemicals are significantly toxic to time and doses while the mortality goes on decreasing when dose was reduced. Among all toxic compounds, they found that Sevin XLR was the most fast acting and toxic to the honey bees. Under the light of this experiment, it was concluded that the chemicals that are botanical in nature have less or no toxic to the honey bees. They are organic in nature and environmentally safe. The scientists concluded that it is needed to find out bio-chemicals that does not effect adversely to the bees but have good control of pests. Needham and Stevenson 1973 performed an experiment by using three chemicals, Malathion EC, Azinphos-methyl EC and Endosulfan WP. They performed experiment under natural conditions in field. They sprayed chemicals while bees were foraging on the oil seed rape crops and notice the mortality after 1 and 28 days. They found that mortality was maximum for Malathion and then Azinphos-methyl while for Endosulfan it was very low. Table for results of these chemicals is given below. For this result, they concluded that the formulations of the chemicals play important role for their toxicity. For this conclusion, they performed another experiment by taking two chemicals, Endosulfan and Azinphos-methyl with both formulations. The method of experiment was same as before. But this time, they found that the wetablepowder (WP) formulations were mote toxic than emulsifiable concentrate (EC). The table for results is given as: It is revealed from the results that again Azinphos-methyl was more toxic than Endosulfan no matter what the concentration was. Though all chemicals had effect on Acetyl cholinesterase of the brain of honey bees. So they concluded that the choice of chemical is more important than the concentrations of the chemicals. In the same way different experiment with different hypothesis are carried out by different scientists to show the effect of chemicals on the activity of honey bees as a pollinator and their role for the crop production. Some of the literature review is given below about the work on honey bees against different chemical and different methodologies by different scientists. Review of Literature: Akca et al. (2009) studied the effect of eight different insecticides on honey bees and check their acute toxicity level on hazelnut pests. They used Karate, Deltanete, Sevin, Oncol, Mesurol and Neem @ of their recommended dose and below (1/2 and 1/4 of recommended dose) against Honeybees. They found that Azadirechtin is most safe and environmental friendly insecticide as compare to all other. They also revealed from their experiment that Sevin is one of the most dangerous insecticides for the honeybee activity. In their experiment they recommend that Azadirechtin should be used to control the Hazelnut pests. Batra (1995) presented a review article about the importance of the honey bees as a pollinator for different crops. He described the situations before and after the application of agricultural practices in a field crop that disturb the population of bees to the hosts. Halm et al. (2005) presented New Risk Assessment Approach for Systemic Insecticides: The Case of Honey Bees and Imidacloprid (Gaucho). This publication explains an approach to estimate the risk of systemic insecticides more precisely. They estimated two levels that were levels of exposure (PEC) and toxicity (PNEC). PECs are determined for different Honey bees categories in order to estimate the amount of contaminated pollen and nectar consumed. PNECs are estimated or calculated for chronic, acute and sublethal toxicities of the test chemical. All of the experiment was done under field conditions. These assessments are used to describe the risks of the systemic insecticides against honey bees. Iwasa et al. (2004) performed an experiment on honey bees by taking different neonicotinoids in topical application in laboratory. They found that nitro-substituted compounds like imadacloprid and dinotefuran were more toxic as compared to Cyano-substituted compounds like acetamaprid and thiacloprid. They also studied the effect of some synergists like piperonyl butoxide, triflumizole and propiconazole. They observed that these synergists increased the effect of cyano-substituted compounds towards more toxic while nitro-substituted compounds were not affected by these synergists. Kevan (1999) gave the name, bioindicators to the honey bees. According to him, pollinators and pollination is important for all ecosystems specially agriculture. They are as sensitive to the changes in environment as they are getting easily harmed by the competitors, diseases, predators and parasites on one side while they are easily defeated by the physical and chemical factors like chemical application and habitat modification. According to Kevan, honeybees are indicators of the atmospheric pollutions as they are functionally disturbed by the abnormalities in the environment. Montana, Department of agriculture (2007) published a report about the role of pesticides and honey bees in the production of agricultural crops. In this report, they described that insecticides application not only control the other pests of the crops but also disturb the honey bee population while on the other hand if insecticides are not applied to control the other pests of the crop, the production by the crops is also disturbed. So in this guideline, they give some general suggestions and ideas for the application of insecticides and chemicals to control the insect pests of the crops. Needham and Stevenson (1973) studied the effect of 3 organophosphates on foraging bees and their pollination ability was testes under the influence of these (Endosulfan WP, Azinphos-methyl EC and Malathion EC) chemicals. According to their results, Endosulfan was safer among all three. According to their observations, they concluded that the other two chemicals except Endosulfan, difference of formulations (wetable powder and Emulsifiable concentrate) is also one of the factors that made these chemicals more toxic than Endosulfan. Surviliene et al. (2009) published an article Insvestigation of Pesticides Effect on Pollination of Bumblebees in Greenhouse Tomatoes. In this article, they checked the effect of different chemicals on the bumblebee hives with different doses. They concluded that with the specific recommended doses of some specific chemicals did not affect the bee activities and lives while some chemicals badly affect the bees and their activities. As they used triazamat with 1 ml/lit concentration, Azadirachtin with 5ml/lit and propamocarb hydrochloride with 1.5 /ha. They did not notice nay bad effect on bumblebees while tolyfluanid with 1.5 mg/lit had negative effect on bee colonies and activities. Akca, I., C. Tuncer, A. Guler and I. Saruhan. 2009. Residual Toxicity of 8 different insecticides on honey bees ( Aps mellifera Hymenoptera: Apidae). J. Anim. Veter. Adv. 8(3): 436-440. Batra, SWT. 1995. Bees and pollination in our changing environment. Apidologie. 26: 361-370. Cheung, S. N. S. 1973. The fable of the bees: an economic investigation. J. Law Econ. 16:11-33. Halm, M. P., A. Rortais, G. Arnold, J. N. Tasei and S. Rault. 2006. New risk assessment approach for systemic insecticides: the case of honey bees and Imidachloprid. Environ. Sci. Technol. 40: 2448-2454. Iwasa, T., N. Motoyama, J. T. Ambrose and R. M. Roe. 2004. Mechanism for the differential toxicity of neonicotinoid insecticides in the honey bee, Apis mellifera. Crop Protection. 23: 371-378. Jhohnson, R. 2010. Honey bee olony Collapse Disorder. Congressional Research Service. pp. 1-20. Kevan, P. G. 1999. Pollinators as bioindicators of the state of environment: species, activity and diversity. 74: 373-393. Liong, P. C. W. P. Hazah and V. Murugan. 1998. Toxocity of some pesticides towards fresh water fishes. Malaysian Agric. J. 54 (3): 147-156. Needham, P. H. and J. H. Stevenson. 1973. The toxicity to foraging honey bees, Apis mellifera, of Endosulfan, melathion and Azinophos-methyl applied to flowering oil seed rape, Brassica napus. Ann. Appl. Biol. 75: 235-240. Pretty, J. N., 1995. Regenerating agriculture: Policies nad Practice for sustainability and self-reliance. Earthscan Publications Limited, London, pp: 320. ISBN: 0309052483. Qadri, Y. H., A. N. Swamy and J. V. Rao. 1994. Species difference in brain acetylcholinerterasse response to monocrotophos in vitro. Ecotoxicol. Environ. 28: 91-98. PMID: 7523071. Schmid, R. 1975. Two hundred years of pollinationbiology: an overview. The Biologist. 57: 26-35. Surviliene, E., L. Raudonis and J. Jankauskiene. 2009. Investigation of pesticides effect on pollination of bumblebees in greenhouse tomatoes. SODININKYSTE IR DARZININKYSTE. 28(3): 235- 241. USDA, 2007. Census of Agriculture, Table 31, http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/ Publications/2007/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_US/st99_1_029_031.pdf.

Software Quality Development Plan for a Hospital :: software industry, risk management

1. Introduction:- The development of good quality software is very important factor in software industry . Medical software of medical devices with embedded software and decision support system can have great affect on the supply of patient care . A good quality software with poor management practices will never give very good quality of services. Hospital industry and telecom industry are facing challenges in terms of managing software . There have lots of reasons behind this activity . Main reasons are size , complexity of practices , management and comply to change. Depending upon the quality of the software systems, the accuracy of data and consequently of information are determined . There are a number of major and minor systems placed in Irish hospitals , where patients clinicians , nursing , it , administration , data entry personnel , researchers , governing bodies , and external auditors have different expectations understanding and requirements . The use of MS Access allows staff with little experience or knowledge of data quality techniques to collect data which is used for crucial decision making process along the patient journey . I will discuss an implementation of a software quality plan for Irish hospitals through the use of recognised healthcare and software quality models and standards in this essay.

Anorexia and Bulimia :: Eating Disorders, Anorexia, Bulimia Nervosa

Why does food become a deadly enemy for some people? Well, society continues to send the message to young women and even to a small number young men (more and more men are becoming victims of eating disorders these days) that to be happy and successful one must be thin, which causes them to starv and/or binge and purge themselves in an attempt to gain what the media considers an ideal figure. The media is full of "toothpick" thin models, in which women desire to be like. Women often need to be in the feel of being in control, it is an ongoing battle they encounter with perfection. Bulimia nervosa is a disorder with psychological, and physiological effects. It is an eating disorder, common especially among young women of normal weight, that is characterized by episodic binge eating. Bingeing is defined as the rapid consumption of a large amount of food, often a bulimic person will eat more in two hours than a normal person would consume in an entire day. Binges are often followed by feelings of guilt, shame, loss of control, anxiety and depression. These negative feelings, especially anxiety and shame lead to bulimic behaviors, such as purging. The most common purging behavior is vomiting, which is a way to dispose of the calories and fat taken in that causes weight gain orally. The other way of diposing calories and fat are the use of laxatives, it is not as common as vomiting. There is more pain caused to the anus when using laxitives, then there is pain to the throat when vomiting, thats why laxatives are a less common way and vomiting is a more common way. Exact causes of bulimia nervousa are unknown even though in studies there is some evidence that an occurring brain chemical may influence eating behaviors, because it is in connection to the regulation of food intake. Growing/constant peer pressure is also a big help of causing bulimia, as well as low self-esteem. Young women with an older sister, mom, or even friend that has an eating disorder is ten times more likely to develop one herself, than any other child on their own. There are psychological factors of body dissatisfaction, self-esteem (as said before), perfectionism and abuse-associated with bulimia nervosa and women. While perfectionism and abuse have been risk factors in the models of bulimia, body dissatisfaction and low self-esteem seem to contribute more to bulimic behavior.

Alexander the Great: Establishing the Supremacy of Western Thought Essa

The conquests of Alexander the Great and the significance of those conquests in establishing the supremacy of western thought. Alexander the Great started his military career on such a stellar note in 340 BC at the young age of 16. His father, Philip II was on a campaign in the east against Byzantium, having left Alexander in charge of Macedonia and during this time, a rebellious tribe attacked but was crushed by the troops led by Alexander. His efforts were lauded, he was rewarded by founding the first town of many to bear a version of his name and with Alexandropoulos, his military adventures began gloriously. During his father’s next campaign, Alexander leads the cavalry charge against a combined threat and strengthens his stance as a military leader. With Philip II’s death in 336 BC, Alexander sought approval of the army generals for the kingship, the generals agreed and Alexander was proclaimed king and ruler of Macedonia. To ensure his initial days as leader were uninterrupted he killed all other competition. 334 BC Alexander has demonstrated his ruthless actions are...

Ethics and Leadership in Nigerian Universities: a Study of Staff-Student Relationship at the University of Lagos

This article examines the problem of ethics and leadership in Nigerian Universities from the perspective of inter-personal relationships between staff and students, and the implications for attaining the goals of the Universities and the wider society. In a broad introduction, it laments the crisis of state and society in Nigeria, while locating and explicating ethics and leadership as crucial elements of a university. The findings from the study at the University of Lagos indicate that it is possible even in the midst of the social vices pervading the institution for principled lecturers to positively influence their students in the course of their interaction. The article argues that this will ultimately have a positive impact on the wider society. It therefore calls for greater emphasis at upholding ethical conduct at all levels of University administration. Nigeria is a society bedevilled by all kinds of social vices in spite of the numerous social institutions put in place by the government to check vices and unethical conduct in the society. The country has been undergoing a monumental crisis of state and society beginning from the 1970s (Agbu, 1995). A worrisome dimension to this development is the rather silent attitude by many at addressing this problem which portends a grave danger not just to individuals and groups, but also the survival of the Nigerian State. In this inquiry, the focus is on the possible interplay between ethics and eadership in Nigerian Universities, with particular emphasis on staff-student interaction. The University of Lagos serves as our case study in order for us to concretely situate our analysis. A key observation made is that within the university system there are different layers of leadership and expected standareds of conduct by both members of staff and students. However, the experience in respect o f this has been most unpalatable and tending towards what may be regarded as a total moral crisis in Nigerian Universities. In the light of the above, there is the need for us to address our minds to certain pertinent questions arising therefrom. For instance, What types of behaviour do we really expect at the level of staff-student relations? To what extent do the manner of ethical dispositions by academic supervisors influence their students? What are those moral and ethical values that we all share which can help build a decent university community and society? And lastly, how can these ethical and moral imperatives be made part and parcel of the goals of the wider society? Indeed, it is unarguable that there is a minimum of ethical and moral standareds that is required of a society if it is to survive. There are laws that guide human relations based on the need to have order, harmony, peace and progress. When these basic laws are neglected, the result is total disruption in the social life of a people (Kukah, 1999:14). Again, it is generally recognized that these take their initial roots from the family as a socialization unit and additionally from the educational institutions as a formal context for acquiring wider knowledge. Though, it has been generally acknowledged that we now live in a knowledge society, it is however lamentable that this same society appears to be totally bankrupt of ethical and moral values. For Nigeria, it has been suggested that one of the missing elements in its over forty years of existence is the absence of leaders with the requisite weapons of knowledge and character (Anya, 2002: 22). On the university system in particular, the crisis of values appears to be the most prominent malaise assaulting the essence of education in the country. It is believed that the situation has degenerated to a point where virtually every cherished principle and ideal of the university system has been violated or eroded (Ujomu, 2002: 58). Indeed, a recent World Bank study carried out in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), and widely reported in the Nigerian press noted the factors responsible for Nigeria's educational crisis as including – inadequate funding, insufficient and irrelevant learning materials such as outdated equipment and anachronistic journals, poorly trained and paid teachers, outmoded managerial structures, arbitrary expansion of enrolment leading to oversupply of graduates and irrelevant curriculum (Obi and Agbu, 2002:46). The point here, is to recognize that the erosion of values in our universities should not be addressed in isolation, but in tandem with the general decline in university development in the country. Therefore, in examining the issue of ethics and leadership in Nigerian universities, there is the need to factor in the political economy of the environment within which the Universities are expected to operate. We need to interrogate and understand the social and security environments which have turned the university into what it is currently. However, this is not to say that all hope is lost. In the example from the University of Lagos, the study sought basically to determine whether ‘ principled ‘ and ‘positive' leadership at a community level could significantly contribute to good leadership in terms of transformatory impact at the national level overtime. Drawing from the findings of this study, this article argues that it is possible for transformatory leadership that is based on proper ethical conduct to positively influence students engaged in official interaction with members of the academic staff. This assumption if proven, has the propensity of being translated to the wider Nigerian society. A conceptual overview of ethics and leadership What do we really mean by ethics on the one hand and leadership on the other as these relate to each other, and as they manifest in a particular social context. Indeed, an examination of a particular social structure can show how certain kinds of behaviour will be expected of individuals, and certain possibilities will be foreclosed because of the features in the social situation. As observed by Sills (1968:160), to study the nature of ethical systems for example, in relation to the social structures in which they are embedded may help us understand why certain actions are thought of as right or wrong in particular societies. Ethics as a concept is basically concerned with standareds of conduct among people in social groups. Hence, ethical values are those norms which are based on sound reason. They refer to the basic human feelings and sense of right and wrong. They lead to the recognition of certain fundamental principles of morality, which are common to all human beings by the very nature that they are humans (Onaiyekan, 1999:15). In effect, these ethical norms of human relationship do not depend on culture, race or creed, but simply because they are rational norms that regulate human relationships. This is why it is a great insult when some people give the impression that general norms of decent behaviour do not apply to them. Whilst the ethical gives an intelligent basis for our actions, the moral and spiritual gives it a divine confirmation and validity. The ethical and spiritual indeed are not contradictory but are mutually reinforcing in protecting and promoting decent norms and values of human existence. Ethics can also be conceived of as the science of morality or the science of examining the nature of moral values, while moral values refer to those things in human character, conduct and social relations which could be judged as good or bad, right or wrong and so on (Uzuegbunam, 1989). On the other hand, values are standards which guide one's behaviour toward the attainment of one's desired goals (Rokeach, 1973). Values make us desire to have or to do something and thus influence our choice of what is worthwhile. Indeed, it is the view of experts that the transmission of values that are desirable to society is the primary objective of education (Peters, 1972). This view highlights the importance that should be given to issues of values and indeed, morals in our educational system. Ethics and morals are therefore two positive social phenomena that should be kept on the front burner, and debated vigorously, failing which a society gradually decays. Suffice it to say that one cannot really understand the basis of ethical practices or moral values in a society like Nigeria, unless one is able to understand the level of social organisation or development of that society. The structure of economic production, distribution and exchange also go a long way in determining the level or types of ethical practices that exist in the society. In otherwords, the mode of production and consumption patterns, in addition to lingering traditional practices all combine in either evolving a morally sound society or the rapid degeneration of existing values. To what extent ethical misconduct and moral decay in the Nigerian society is a function of the economic system, is left to every one's imagination. Closely related to the issue of ethics, is the notion of leadership in our universities. Again, it has been variously recognized that leadership is the most crucial factor in the development of any nation. Lamentably, Nigeria has been identified as facing a leadership crisis. In effect the erosion of ethical values and morals have combined with the attendant leadership crisis to form what may be regarded as a ‘crisis of state and society' in Nigeria. Leadership as a concept has varied perspectives and definitions. On the whole, it is extremely difficult to give a precise and agreed definition to leadership, because it appears to be a multifaceted phenomenon. However, in very simple terms it could be interpreted as ‘getting others to follow', or ‘getting people to do things', or understood more specifically as the ‘use of authority in decision making' (Mullins, 1999:253). While Krech et. al (1962), defined a leader as that individual within a group who outstandingly influences the activities of a group, Mullins (1999), understood it essentially as a relationship through which one person influences the behaviour or actions of other people. However, a more logical conceptualization of leadership is possible when we realize that within a particular context, such as a university community, there exist different levels of leadership all contributing towards the stated goals of the university. Therefore, the nature, success or failure of university governance have very much to do with the personal attributes, leadership qualities and management styles of the various leaders within the different levels of responsibility in the system (Obikeze, 2003). Therefore, leadership should not be understood as a unifocal phenomenon, around which aspirations are aggregated, it is rather, a complex web of people working together within a social context. A crucial point to note is that leadership can be invested in persons, groups, networks and institutions. It is a relational process involving leaders and followers, who though form a continuum, still remain separate entities in their effort at attaining certain defined goals. It is therefore, necessary to be alert to the contradictions inherent in this relationship. Since no leader emerges or endures outside of an institutional framework, it is important to invest in institutions often defined in terms of principles, values and norms that give meaning to and provide the context for leader-follower engagement. Thus within the university environment, leadership should not be construed only in terms of those in certain positions of power or authority such as vice-chancellors, deans, professors, heads of department and heads of functional units such as the registry (Middlehurst, 1995:75). It is rather, to be understood as a function that is more broad-based and extending beyond the formal roles and responsibilities of senior post holders. Observations from the universities in Nigeria indicate that a restrictive view of university leadership may not be acceptable or suitable for the harmony, well being and progress of the institutions (Ujomu, 2002:57). Rather, what is more practicable is a genuine, viable and inclusive approach that offers a more effective and functional university leadership. It is only from this perspective that ethics and values can better be protected and promoted within the universities. The character of the Nigerian state However, we cannot really understand the origin, extent and manifestations of ethical misconduct and moral decadence in the Nigerian society, without first understanding the character of the Nigerian State. This is one political entity that has been assailed by political, social and economic problems of immense magnitude since it became politically independent in 1960. It has experienced military autocracy and generally bad governance, which have had serious negative impact on the entire society. Positive traditional and family values and norms have been eroded with grave implications for all. Since leadership and followership are part and parcel of the system, there is therefore the concomitant decay in expected performance, as evident in the universities. What has been a great cause for concern is the magnitude of the social malaise in the universities. A term that has appropriately depicted this malaise is what has generally been referred to as the ‘Nigerian Factor', which simply put, is the inability of Nigerians to do things properly the way they should be done, and transparently too. This phenomenon appears to be writ large on all aspects of Nigerian life, and basically leaves very little room for matters of ethical considerations and merit. On the whole, a rather false impression is given that the lack of ethics and morals in the Nigerian society is something peculiar to it. Indeed, what we have in our hands is a systemic problem that requires something akin to a social revolution to clean up. Added to this is the fact that the poor state of the economy makes it extremely difficult to preach ethics and morality to a people that not only feel cheated by the system, but also are indeed, hungry. Subsequently, corruption and a lack of accountability constitute two very prominent cankerworms eating away the Nigerian society. Indeed, the rampant corruption is precisely as a result of a lack of accountability in the system. Oftentimes, those who divert public funds to their own use escape the proverbial long arm of justice. This has given others the courage to attempt what has become a rather easy feat. A case therefore, has to be made for a closer attention by all to issues of ethics and values as these relate to leadership at both the political and non-political levels. This is because most key institutions of the Nigerian society have become victims of corruption and moral decay. Examining the problem of ethics and leadership in Nigerian universities is therefore, just an aspect of this systemic failure, and has serious implications for the social health of the country in the near and distant future. The State of the universities The universities like the other segments of the Nigerian society are undergoing immense changes in character and output. Unfortunately, most of these changes tend to be negative. This development is in sharp contrast to the important goal of inculcating the right moral standareds in the students. In fact, it is not that there is no stated policy on the inculcation of values in Nigeria's educational system. It does exist. In brief, these include the respect for the worth and dignity of individuals; faith in man's ability to make rational decisions; moral and spiritual values in inter-personal and human relations; shared responsibility for the common good of the society; respect for the dignity of labour; and the promotion of emotional, physical and psychological health for all (National Policy on Education, 1981). There is therefore, a policy provision for value education in Nigeria, and it is very clear that both education and values are closely related as positive social phenomena (Anameze, 2002:94). However, recent cases of all kinds of social decay within the universities indicate, that there is a missing element in the approach to education in the country. This is the ‘character' element, a very important component as oftentimes, it is the educated cadre, those who had received higher education that go on to form the relevant segment of national leadership (Agbu and Agbu, 2002:3). Generally, the problems identified with Nigerian universities which have some bearing on matters of ethics and leadership are legion, and include the sale of academic handouts by lecturers, and the selling of admissions and marks by staff of the universities (SSAN, 2000:32). Others include, scandals, bribery and graft, victimization, sexual harassment of female students, the proliferation of male and female cult gangs, persistent incidents of rape, female prostitution, obscene dressing and soliciting for favours, homosexuality and extortion, murder, intimidation of lecturers by students, rumour-mongering, examination malpractices and other anti-social activities (Ujomu, 2002:59). These unethical practices cut across all sections of the university community. At the universities in the southern part of the country, in particular the University of Lagos, a gamut of unethical practices abound. Kindly allow my use of colloquial language at this juncture. These unethical practices include the â€Å"inflation of marks† for students by some lecturers for financial gratification. Inflation of marks by lecturers for what is referred to as â€Å"perusing†, which simply means a student agreeing to have sex with the lecturer in exchange for favourable scores. At the Delta State University, the students practice what they refer to as â€Å"blocking†, which means quickly preventing a lecturer from giving you your correct scores which may be unfavourable by offering money or other inducements to the lecturer before the results are made public. Some other lecturers use agents to collect or extort money from students for the inflation of their marks. Others allow students to take the same examination in their offices, which they had earlier taken in the examination hall for unspecified favours. In some of the departments, as was the case at the Accountancy department of the university of Lagos, students engaged in what has been dubbed â€Å"mercenary activities†, by hiring other students to write examinations for them. Indeed, some lecturers go as far as giving blank writing sheets to students to prepare their answers in advance. Some of those supervising examinations look the other way while their friends, relations, and student clients blatantly engage in cheating. In addition, some lecturers unashamedly plead on behalf of students who had failed their courses. However, these litanies of vices are not limited only to the lecturers. Were the students not willing to bribe, cajole, tempt and threaten the lecturers, these vices will not have been possible. Though, difficult to prove, there have also been instances in which the students use â€Å"black magic† not only to confuse supervisors during examinations but also to threaten them. This is in addition to the occasional threats by student members of Secret cult groups against lecturers. Even the non-academic members of staff are not left out of this orgy of ethical misconduct. They also engage in the alteration of marks in the computer or score sheets where the total scores have been computed for either material or sexual gratification. In addition, they also connive with ‘mercenaries' in their clandestine campaigns of cheating during examinations. I have deliberately catalogued these unethical practices in our universities not only to document, but also to graphically bring to our consciousness the magnitude of the problem before us. Whilst these vices did not all manifest in one day, it is very worrisome that very little concrete measures have been devised to checkmate these vices. Let us recall that the pressure on existing universities to take in more students led to the serious problem of population explosion which put pressure both on university governance and existing infrastructure (Wohlgemuth, 1998:125). The situation invariably gave rise to corruption and sharp practices within the university system. Ethical considerations and cherished values of many years standing have now been seriously eroded. However, all hope is not lost in the sense that there are still individuals – non-academic staff members, lecturers and students who have over the years refused to be sucked in by this whirlwind of social decay, as indicated by the report of a study instituted at the university of Lagos in 2002 (Agbu and Agbu, 2002). Supervisor – Student Relations at the University of Lagos In the study carried out at the University of Lagos in 2002, the object was to determine whether ‘principled' and ‘positive' leadership at the community level could significantly translate into good leadership at the national level overtime (Agbu and Agbu, 2002). This was done through a questionnaire survey of final year and post-graduate students at the university. A basic assumption upon which we worked was that in spite of the rot in the university system, it was still possible that certain individuals, in this case, some lecturers, may have succeeded in impacting positive leadership values to the students they had supervised, mainly due to the fact of their being principled persons. By principled, we meant a leadership that is characterized by good conduct capable of positively influencing followers or those engaged in a relationship with the leader within a social context. In this case, the University. By positive, we meant behaviour or actions consisting in or characterized by the presence or possession, and not merely by the absence or want, of features or qualities of an affirmative nature. It is therefore, that leadership that is derived from principled leadership, and which is capable of being extrapolated to the wider society. Two hundred students participated in this survey selected through Stratified Sampling Technique made up of 100 final year and 100 post-graduate students from the faculties of Art, Social sciences, Education and Law. The mean age of the participants was 30 years. The questionnaire was designed to measure the perceptions of students in terms of their lecturers' leadership potentials and ability to influence their worldview. This was in the form of an Academic-Supervisors' evaluation scale, which comprised twenty items to which participants responded on a four-point-likert-type scale. For the Design, a 2x2x2 ANOVA design was employed with independent variables being sex, age and year of study, while the dependent variable are participants' reactions obtained with the instrument. The results from the study showed that while the proposition that supervisors do significantly influence their students over time irrespective of whether they were post-graduate student or final year student was positive, there were subtle differences in responses with respect to the other variables of age and sex. However, the post-graduate students probably because of their longer association with their supervisors and of their being more socially conscious than the final year students, exhibited more awareness of having been influenced by their supervisors. Age and sex were statistically weak as variables determining the kinds of responses, indicating that age and sex had little to do with the possibility of being influenced at a certain age. The implications of this study for the wider Nigerian society was that it is possible to identify individuals, indeed role models, in certain positions of authority who could positively influence those with whom they interact. Since Nigeria is in need of leaders that are not only learned and have character, what better place to groom these leaders than from our institutions of higher learning. Conclusion It is obvious that there are serious ethical issues to be addressed in Nigerian universities. However, it is not as if all hope is completely lost. On the whole, it appears that addressing the problem will have to be done at different levels of the wider society, namely family, institutional and national levels. At the national level for instance, is a recognition of the systemic nature of the crises and how this has a linkage with the state of Nigeria's economy, and the imperative for Nigerian elites to lead by example. At the institutional level, is the necessity for morally accountable university governance that is at the same time effective. Also, at the family and institutional levels is the need to encourage good family values and those individuals who had displayed the virtues of principled and positive leadership from which others could learn. For our universities, the teaching staff who constitute one of the most important inputs towards achieving qualitative education need to be better encouraged. A lecturer-student ratio of 1 to 19 as opposed to UNESCO standard of 1 lecturer to 10 students is unacceptable. With forty-three federal, state, and private universities; forty-five polytechnics and sixty colleges of education, it is logical that there is a need for an informed rationalization of our institutions, especially with respect to curriculum (Opatola, 2002: 201). Though it is recognized that the morale and motivation of academic staff are grossly inadequate, this does not necessarily justify the grave unethical practices perpetrated by some of the lecturers. The sale of handouts, sale of marks, admission racketeering and assorted examination malpractices are vices that need to be urgently addressed. Ideally, lecturers are supposed to act as focal points of reference for those things that are principled, honourable and worthy of imitation. What is required now in our universities is the transforming kind of leadership that embodies the characteristics of a focused innovativeness, high moral standards, and a humane and deep understanding of the environment in which they operate. The cardinal task of the university education should be the transmission of positive values to the young so that they may learn and acquire character necessary for a legitimate engagement with the wider society. This point need never be forgotten. Finally, every university should endeavour to delineate and present to its staff and students a code of conduct with sanctions as part of their induction into the particular institution. The moral dimensions of their jobs as academic or non-academic staff and as students should be clearly spelt out and popularized through frequent sensitization measures. This will go a long way not only in ensuring a modicum of ethical conduct, but also in attaining the goals of the university.