The Magna Carta and the Constitution Essay Example for Free

The Magna Carta and the Constitution Essay Magna Cartas original version which states that the king should not ignore or violate the traditions, customs or laws and could not take any arbitrary actions against his subjects. l Magna Carta provides for rule of law, ensures fairness tOf3 0T laws, contalns commitment to Oue process 0T law ana gives respect Tor economlc rights. While these rights were the privileges given to barons in England by way of declarations in Magna Carta, the founders of the U. S. drew inspiration from Magna Carta and made these rights applicable to all the citizens of America and became part of the Bill of Rights. Magna Carta is therefore a source for the U. S. Constitution. The Bill of Rights 1791; which representing 10 amendments as part of the 1st amendment to the U. S. Constitutions. Clause 39 of Magna Carta provides that no freeman shall be punished except by lawful Judgment by his peers or by the laws of the land. This was to prevent the King to deliver sentences without the authority of law. The U. S. Constitution provides for rule of law by which no person is above the law. In this context both, Magna Carta and the U. S. Constitution are similar. Whereas the Magna Carta was issued by the Monarch, the U. S. Constitution was given by Americans unto themselves. The 14th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution includes the stipulation of due process, this provides for fair trial before depriving any person of his life, liberty or property. The trial is what is meant by due process. Again it must be a fair trial as part of the due process. In The Magna Carta, the due process of law is known by law of the land and legal Judgment of peers. In order to constitute due process, there should be a right to fair and public trial, right to be present at the trial, presence of an impartial Jury, right to be heard as part of ones own defense. Besides, the laws must be in written form, taxes must be for only public purpose, and property can be taken only for public purpose with due compensation. In this way The Magna Carta pales in comparison due to not being as descriptive as the U. S. Constitution for the meaning of due process. Both Magna Carta and the U. S. Constitution require that laws shall be fair and discriminatory. Thus, Magna Carta and the U. S. Constitution share many things in common. Magna Carta of 121 5 was a bold initiative of the then King, without which the U. S. Constitution would have taken still longer time to be what it is today.

Discussion Acculturation and Assimilation

Discussion Acculturation and Assimilation The purpose of my study was to explore to what extent Greek-Americans hold attitudes and behaviors for the conservation and intergenerational transmission of their ethnic culture through a cross-sectional analysis of survey on 229 self-identified Greek American members of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Jersey. Overall, the respondents included in the current study had achieved upward mobility as indicated by their high education attainment and socio-economic status and they had shown a remarkable high level of preservation of their cultural heritage. They succeeded through their affiliation to the Greek language, the Greek Orthodox Church, the church afternoon schools, their participation to various Greek organizations, their family values, the continuing contact with Greece and their participation in political activities. The results not only provided a quantitative view of the behaviors and attitudes towards culture preservation in the six domains, but also helped us to bet ter understand the acculturation and assimilation process. Our results support that Greek-Americans included in the current study did not fall into the straight line assimilation model as described by Milton Gordon (Gordon 1978). The straight line assimilation theory assumes that the immigrants shed their identifications with their home society and that assimilation into American society is prompted by host society institutions. This model suggests there is essentially but one path through which immigrants can be integrated into the mainstream society. On the contrary our results demonstrated that regardless of the generation, over 90% of the participants identified themselves as either Greek or Greek American and ~90% of the participants felt a sense of pride and a strong bond with other Greeks and Greek Americans when they attend a Greek heritage event. They are actively involved in the Greek Orthodox Church; they participate in Greek/Hellenic Organizations and support Greek National Interests through donations. All these data suggest that Greek Americans did not shed their identity in order to move up in the American society; rather, they have kept a bicultural identity. Second, the assumption that assimilation into the American society is prompted by the host society institutions does not hold either. For example, the majority of the participants (67%) responded that Greeks living in the United States should try to influence American foreign policy towards Greece and 64% of the participants responded that they had supported (through donations, fund raisers, public expressions of opinion, etc.) the Greek National Interests. This finding coincides with a previous study (Karpathakis, 1999b) revealing that Greek Americans were concerned with Greeces territorial sovereignty issues and they attempted to influence host society foreign policy regarding Greece. Clearly the Greek cultural identity had affected their assimilation in the American society, which was ignored by Gordons paradigm. In view of the criticisms of the classical assimilation theory by Gordon, Barkan (1995) developed a six stage assimilation model and argued the there has been no one pattern, no one cycle, no one outcome that uniformly encompasses all ethnic experiences. Alba and Nee (2003) re-conceptualized assimilation as an intergenerational process affected not just by social, financial and human capital of immigrant families but also by the ways individuals use these resources with and apart from the existing structure of ethnic networks and institutions. They argued that assimilation does not preclude retaining elements of ethnic culture. In contrast, Portes and Zhou (1993) proposed the theory of segmented assimilation, which asserts that the United States is a stratified and unequal society, and different segments of society are available to which immigrants may assimilate. They further argued that total assimilation will put immigrant minorities in vulnerable positions while a strategy of pac ed, selective assimilation may prove the best course for these groups (Portes and Zhou 1993). Segmented assimilation theory is based on the notion that the living experience in America is very diverse. No single context can apply to all immigrant families and assimilation has varying consequences for immigrants. Critics of segmented assimilation pointed out that the causal link between assimilation into the underclass and development of oppositional cultures among immigrant children is questionable (Xie and Greenman, 2011). Although these theories have certain limitations, they provide a useful framework for the present study. Our study used a variety of measures of assimilation including spatial concentration, loss of Greek language, socioeconomic status, and intermarriage. According to Waters and Jimenez (2005), these measures are the four primary benchmarks of assimilation and existing literature showing that todays immigrants are largely assimilating into American society along each of these dimensions. Spatial concentration, i.e., dissimilarity in spatial distribution and suburbanization is a measure of cultural assimilation and primary and secondary structural assimilation. Spatial assimilation theory asserts that foreign-born residents will choose suburban residential locations after assimilating culturally and socioeconomically (Massey, 1985). Primary structural assimilation occurs when newcomers begin to engage in intimate, small group social interaction with individuals from the dominant group, such as in clubs, social functions, family gatherings, and so on. Secondary structural assimilation occurs when ethnic group members become integrated into the large, impersonal societal groups in the educational, economic and political institutions of the larger society (Marger, 2012). The present study showed that 77% of the participants reside in a suburban area indicating a high degree of structural assimilation among Greek Americans. It is interesting to observe that the First gene ration (85%) and the Third or beyond generation (80%) had a higher suburbanization rate than the Second generation (71%). Our study also showed that 31% live in a community where many other people of Greek descent live and 56% of the participants live in a community where there are a few people of Greek descent with additional 3% of them reported that there are no people other than their family of Greek descent in their community. The rest 11% of the participants were not sure about their community whether there are any people of Greek descent. Our findings also suggest that living in an area without other people of Greek descent was positively linked to poorer Greek language skills and more negative attitudes and behaviors towards cultural retention in several domains. Thus, community composition played an important role in retention and loss of ethnic culture. Living in a community where there are many people of Greek descent provide the participants more opportunity to network wi th others, speak Greek language, participating heritage events, which in turn contributed to a higher ethnic pride and feel of belonging and they are more likely to maintain their ethnic culture. Loss of Greek language is an indicator of acculturation which is in accord with our study. Here, we observed a clear trend of loss of Greek language in the Third or beyond generation as more than half of the participants indicated that their Greek language ability is poor to non-existent. Our findings coincide with Waters and Jimenezs (2005) three-generation model of language assimilation which stated that the first generation  makes some progress in language assimilation but remains dominant in their  native tongue, the second generation is  bilingual, and the third-generation speaks only English. Religion is also a measure of acculturation because religion is viewed as a culture construct that occurs and develops within specific cultural contexts (Zinnbauer Pargament, 2005). As such, religion is likely to influence acculturation by shaping cultural norms, values, behaviors, and attitudes (Yang Ebaugh, 2001). Similarly, Gà ¼ngà ¶r et al (2012) emphasized that religious reaffirmation is related to cultural values of interdependence, heritage culture maintenance, and ethnic identification. Socioeconomic status (SES), such as education, occupation status and income, is a measure of secondary structural assimilation. As immigrants begin to venture out into the mainstream educational and employment institutions, their level of interaction with non-ethnics increases and so do the possibilities of engaging with the latter in intimate social interaction within primary social groups (Scott, 2009). Our study suggested high education achievements, high income and more professional fields of occupation among all generations of participants, which showed that Greek Americans have achieved secondary structural assimilation as they enjoy relatively equal access to jobs, political authority and other important opportunities. In other words, they have full participation in all institutional areas of American society. The majority of the participants had at least college education (77%) and a household income above $50,000 (66%). It is interesting to see that the Second generation had a higher income than both the First and the Third or beyond generation. 41% reported that they work in a professional field including attorneys, medical doctors, accountants, engineers, IT project managers, nurses, family therapists, pharmaceutical sales representatives, etc. 11% of the respondents were in an academic field. Moreover, we observed that 15% of the First generation and 11% of the Second generation had a Ph.D./M.D. degree while not a single Third or beyond generation respondent was found to hold a Ph.D./M.D. degree. Clearly, Greek America should encourage younger generations to achieve higher academic achievements and dedicate themselves to a more diverse professional field including research and teaching. Intermarriage is an indicator of amalgamation (Waters and Jimà ©nez, 2005). Much of the research has relied on intermarriage as an indicator of assimilation (e.g. Alba, 1981; Alba and Camlin, 1983; Castonguay, 1982; Cohen, 1977). Both interethnic and interfaith marriages were found to be a factor contributing to the process of assimilation. In our study, we not only estimated the intermarriage rate across generations, but we also studied the impact of intermarriage on attitudes and behaviors of preserving Hellenic core values as well as the attitudes towards interethnic and interfaith marriage. The findings are discussed later in further context. Our study also tested acculturation theories. Berry proposed four modes of acculturation: assimilation, integration, separation and marginalization. Assimilation refers to the acceptation of the majoritys culture on the expanse of ones own original minority culture. Separation refers to the opposite stance: loyalty toward ones original minority culture and the rejection of the majoritys culture. Integration refers to the adoption of both cultures with an attempt to integrate between them, while marginalization refers to distancing from ones original heritage culture, but this time without assimilating to the majoritys culture. This, results with the individual remaining with no clear cultural identification (Berry, 1997, 2001). The contribution of the acculturation theory is that it empirically demonstrated the ability to predict desirable or undesirable adjustment outcomes among distinct immigrant groups and members of minority ethnic groups. More specifically, numerous studies found integration to be the most successful adaptation strategy by balancing the host countrys culture with the traditional values of ones own culture origin while marginalization struggled the most to adapt to the dominant society (Berry, 1974, 1980, 1984, 1997, 2003; Berry et al., 2006, Berry, 2010). A number of factors were found to influence the acculturation process, including, length of time living in the host country (Zheng and Berry, 1991), socio-economic status (Aroian et al, 1998) and social support from the host society (Garcia et al, 2002). Given the strong Greek culture preservation shown in the current sample, we believe that the participants did not follow assimilation or marginalization strategies in which they would become more alienated toward their own culture. For example, assimilated individuals do not want to keep their identity from their home culture, but would rather take on all of the characteristics of the new culture. On the contrary marginalized individuals dont want anything to do with either the new culture or the old culture. The results cannot be explained by separation either where the individuals become alienated toward the host culture and totally separate them from the main society. Our results indicated that 76% of the participants identified themselves as Greek American with a socioeconomic status which is above the average in the sampled geographic area (NJ, PA, and VA) based on the 2010 U.S. Census. About half of the participants did not prefer to speak Greek when they were among people who understand Greek (Q15). Third, the majority of the participants did not agree that people of Greek descent should marry people of Greek descent (Q30), and neither did they agree that they would be unhappy if their children married someone who was not a member of the Greek Orthodox Church (Q31), which indicated that they are open to marry non-Greek partners. Our results showed that the participants of this survey had adjusted to the American culture instead of isolating themselves from the host culture. Therefore, the major mode Greek Americans took is integration, by which, the participants embrace both their culture of origin and the society of settlement thus getting the best of both worlds. The results indicate that the participants have strong positive attitudes and behaviors towards preserving the Greek heritage. For example, they thought it is important for their children and people of Greek ancestry to speak Greek, they routinely attended worship services at the Greek Ortho dox Church, they participated in Greek organizations like AHEPA and they attended Greek heritage events with a sense of pride and bond with other Greeks. All these characteristics demonstrated that the Greek-Americans had amply preserved their culture of origin and they gradually integrated themselves into the main society. In addition, the participants showed a more democratic attitude which has been influenced by their integration into the American culture. For example, the majority of the Second and Third or beyond generations disagreed that the father should have the final say in most important decisions. Overall, we identified a shift from Greek culture values to shared Greek-American values through generations. Such shift may reflect the need to utilize the best of both cultures. As Karpathakis (1999b) argued that with economic and cultural globalization, persons with bi-national identity are increasingly seen by the mainstream as assets. Therefore, it is more advantageous for Greek Americans to utilize the best of both worlds by following an integration approach to adaptation. Bicultural identification was also linked to immigrants engagement in their host societies. When immigrants perform bicultural identities they are more likely to be involved in the political life of their country of origin (Simon and Ruhs, 2008) and also have more opportunities to engage in political institutions within the host society (Huo and Molina, 2006). A new version of the straight line model has come into circulation as a construct for explaining the participation of White ethnic group members in cultural heritage activities. First proposed by Gans in 1979, the concept of symbolic ethnicity denotes a new stage in the assimilation of middle-class, suburban Whites into an inclusive, Pan-European or Pan-White identity in which ethnicity is no longer the basis for collective action or the transmission of distinctive ethnic cultures across generations. As Gans (2009) recently stated: Symbolic ethnicity proposes the rejection of or a departure from active ethnicity: from participation in ethnic groups and in ethnic culture. It hypothesizes a passive ethnicity, involving the temporary and periodic expression of feelings about or toward the ethnic group or culture through material and non-material symbols. Symbolic ethnicity can even be a leisure time activity that does not interfere with the economic, social and other imperatives of everyday life (p.123). Rather than functioning as a structural factor that shapes access to social networks or as a social identity entwined with self-conceptions, in this model, ethnicity is recast into the equivalent of an avocation or hobby that middle-class White Americans periodically use as a means of feeling good about them. According to Gans, White ethnic identity may have a transient influence on individual self-esteem, but it no longer serves as a source of values, group cohesion, or as a determinant of behavior. In addition, as Waters (1990, 2000, 2009) has argued in her work on ethnic options, among White Americans of mixed ancestry, individuals can and do choose situational-contingent ethnic identities. The implications of symbolic ethnicity for Greek Americans in general and particularly for those who reside in middle-class suburban communities are substantial. At least, some members of this ethnic group may embrace a superficial Greek identity without the risk of incurring liabilities that w ere once attached to being viewed as a non-White race subordinate to the Anglo-Saxon core culture. In contemporary American society, then, the costs of being identifiably Greek are negligible but the affiliating bonds that join Greek Americans into a distinct group may weaken within and across generations. We observed that 15 participants from our respondents, who are either Second or Third or beyond generations, had identified themselves as American. They have probably assimilated more deeply into the American culture; yet, the majority of them responded that they actively participated in the Greek heritage events. These participants tried to take the positive images of their ethnicity while not having to deal with the real social cost of being ethnic, which is a good indication of symbolic ethnicity. Our study also revealed that Greek Americans involved various symbols of ethnicity in their daily life such as eating ethnic food, listen to Greek music, dance Greek dances, read ethnic newspapers, etc. I am in agreement with the findings of Alexiou (1993), which suggested that ethnic identification of Greek Americans does not weaken as generation becomes more removed from their immigrant ancestors, but rather becomes symbolic without structural commitments to ethnic ties. Patterns of transmission in core values of Hellenic culture Our study examined the attitudes and behaviors of the Greek American retention of six core values of Hellenic culture. These attitudes are often referred as acculturation orientations and viewed as mediators or moderators between acculturation conditions and acculturation outcomes, while acculturation behaviors can be assumed to be associated to short- term acculturation outcomes (Arends-Tà ³th van de Vijver, 2006). As defined by Omi and Winant (1994), ethnicity comprises a culture that includes religion, language, nationality and political identifications. Alba and Nee (2003) viewed ethnicity as a social boundary or distinction that individuals make in their everyday lives that shapes their action and mental orientation toward others. This distinction is embedded in a variety of cultural and social norms, values, and beliefs (p. 11). Similarly, Isajiw (1992) suggested that ethnic identity can be divided into two basic aspects: external and internal. Where external aspects refer to observable behavior patterns, such as language, family, friendship, participation in ethnic/institutional and associational organization and participation in functions sponsored by ethnic organizations, internal aspects refer to images, ideas, attitudes and feelings about their own ethnicity. Through my own experiences as an active member of Greek America and my extensive research from previous studies, I observed that Greek culture values mainly lie in six domains: (a) Greek language, (b) the Greek Orthodox Church, (c) Family cultural orientation and values, (d) Greek cultural activities and organization membership, (e) Continuing contact with Greece and/or Cyprus, and (f) Political activity. Greek language is an important factor reinforcing ethnic identity. The Greek Orthodox Church is a vibrant and indispensable component of Greek ethnicity by providing an extensive range of religious, educational and social activities and the major sponsor of Greek Heritage festivals. Language and religion have been most frequently studied as acculturation measures (Harris Verven, 1996). Family cultural orientation and values are also of great importance as children acquire their sense of belonging through their family. The Greek cultural activities and organization offer opportuniti es to share the experiences and continuing contact with Greece. Finally, ethnic political involvement was viewed as an indicator of assimilation, mobility and acculturation. As Parenti (1967) claimed, the political acculturation of the ethnic proceeds hand in hand with general cultural adaptation to American life and that it is largely completed by the advent of the second generation. These core values can also be used to understand the basis of ethnicity and culture. In this study, I investigated the cultural retention and loss in each domain. In general, ethnic behaviors are strongest or most apparent among the generations closest to the immigrant experience and become weaker or less apparent among those further away (Alba 1990). Later generation Americans are likely to adopt American cultural ways and modify parental ways so that the original values and behaviors characteristic of the immigrant group become altered or nonexistent. Therefore each successive generation that replaces the previous generation will be less ethnic-identified and the group as a whole will also become less ethnic-identified than their predecessors (Alba 1995). All six domains of the Greek ethnic culture examined in this study, to some extent, followed this general trend. However some of the cultural values experienced considerable reduction from one generation to the next, while other values experienced only minor reductions or modifications. Study suggests that it may not be until the third or fourth generations that families fully acculturate to the host culture (Kelley and Tseng, 1992). Moreover, further generations tend to acculturate more readily than their parents due to the fact that the home culture values are less established among them and they have greater exposure to the host culture through education and contact with non immigrant peers (Phinneey, 1990). This suggests that there might be disparity in cultural transmission across generations. In our case, we are making an attempt to be more concise by identifying four major patterns of transmission in core values of Hellenic culture (Figure 15). First, the preservation of Greek language is progressively weakened from one generation to the next. Significant differences were observed across all three generations on self assessed Greek language skills, whether they speak Greek when at home, preference to speak Greek when among people who understand Greek and opinion on whether people of Greek ancestry should be able to speak Greek. Our findings coincide with previous studies (e.g. Costantakos 1982, Demos 1988). Costantakos (1982) analyzed a survey of 211 Greek-Americans living in an unspecified metropolitan area. The study indicated the same pattern of behavioral changes, while attitudes towards retention of the Greek language were positive. In our study, the attitudes towards Greek language preservation were measured by two questions: whether it is important that my children are able to speak Greek and whether it is important for people of Greek ancestry to speak Greek. The attitudes were found to be positive among the First a nd Second generation, but not among the Third or beyond generation. To be more specific, 92% of the First generation and 83% of the Second generation supported that it is important for their children to be able to understand and speak Greek, while only 48% of the Third or beyond generation thought so. 87% of the First generation and 70% of the Second generation supported that People of Greek ancestry who live in the United States should be able to understand and speak Greek, while only 48% of the Third or beyond generation agreed.. Demos (1988) analyzed questionnaires collected from 583 Greek Americans from two Greek Orthodox churches, one in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the other in Baltimore, Maryland. The study showed that the focus of Greek ethnicity was shifting away from mother tongue maintenance through forces of assimilation and ethnic intermarriage. The study also revealed that the Greek language persisted as a characteristic of the Greek Orthodox Americans and that visits t o Greece represent a major way of maintaining the Greek language. In the current study, the self assessed Greek language skills were found to be moderately correlated to the question Whether the participant has traveled to Greece, which coincides with the findings in Demos (1988) that visits to Greece represent a major way of maintaining the Greek language. The current study seems to well fit the model of Anglicization which was initially formulated by the sociolinguists Joshua Fishman (1972, 1980) and Calvin Veltman (1983). The model described that the process occurs in the following ways: some individuals of the immigrant generation learn English, but they generally prefer to speak their native language, especially at home. Thus, their children usually grow up as bilinguals, but many of them prefer English, even in conversing with their immigrant parents (Lopez 1996). The second generation generally speaks English at home when its members establish their own households and rear children. Consequently, by the third generation, the prevalent pattern is English monolingualism and knowledge of the mother tongue for most ethnics is fragmentary at best. Similarly, Portes and Schauffler (1994) argued that regardless of where immigrants live, English will replace the native language within two or three generations unless bilingualism is promo ted. In order for second or beyond generation youth to maintain their parents native language they must be motivated to use it and provided with opportunities to use this language in places beyond the household, such as school and the broader community. The second pattern of intergenerational change observed, was connected to the path of the Greek Orthodox Church and the Greek Cultural Activities with minimal reduction. The Greek Orthodox Church assumed a leading role in the preservation of Greek culture in the United States since it hosts both religious and ethnic social events. Researchers who have studied the Greek Orthodox Church and the cultural activities that it sponsors (Alex, 2007; Charalambous, 2004; Demos, 1989, Tsimpouki, 2002) affirmed that it has served as a bulwark of ethnic cultural identity. In the current study, a significant higher proportion of subjects responded to all attitude and most of the behavior questions positively among all three generations and no significant difference was observed among the three generations for most of the questions. Our findings also supported that regardless of the generation status, the participants in our study had very strong positive attitudes towards the Greek Orthodox Church . The vast majority of the participants agreed that it is important for their children and people of Greek ancestry to participant and belong to the Greek Orthodox Church and at least some part of Sunday worship should be conducted in Greek. Yet, their actual behaviors in terms of their participation of the Greek Orthodox Church showed minor decline across generations. Significant difference was only found between the First and Third generation in terms of whether their children attend or attended an afternoon Greek school and whether part of the Sunday worship should be conducted in Greek. The results demonstrated that Greek Americans continued to rely on the Orthodox Church to reinforce their ethnic identities. Furthermore, our study examined the perception of respondents on their understanding of the Orthodox Faith. Our religious core beliefs help us face the problems of life and prepare us for salvation as well as keep our Hellenic identity. We must have a sufficient knowledge and understanding of orthodoxy and share this faith with others. Our results showed that the vast majority (94%) of the respondents regardless of generation believed that they had good or very good understanding of the Orthodox Faith, the Divine Liturgy and the Holy Sacraments. The Divine Liturgy is the most significant ancient Christian service and the center of the in spiration of the first Christians in their communion with God and with one another (Mastrantonis, 2004). The Divine Liturgy is the central worship service of the Orthodox Church which is celebrated every Sunday morning and on all Holy Days. The Liturgy is also the means by which we achieve union with Jesus Christ and unity with each other through the Sacrament of the Holy Communion. The Holy Sacraments are composed of prayers, hymns, scripture lessons, gestures and processions. Most of the Sacraments use a portion of the material of creation as an outward and visible sign of Gods revelation (Fitzgerald, 2004). In our study, only six respondents admitted that they had poor or non-existent understanding of the Orthodox Faith and the majority of these six respondents also had poor ability to understand and speak Greek. This is an important issue as  both Greek America and its Orthodox population underwent significant generational transformations during1940 to1990. As a result, religious faith and ethnic identity, once seen as inseparable, were increasingly less understood as such by the socially mobile, geographically dispersed, English-speaking second, third or beyond generations of Orthodox faithful in America, not to mention an ever-increasing number of converts (Stokoe and Kishkovsky,  1995). The Greek Archdiocese, for whom the very definition of Greek identity comes from the Greek language, has undergone continuous debate on the issue since 1962 (Stokoe and Kishkovsky,  1995). In 1964, the Clergy-Laity Congress allowed certain readings and prayers in the liturgy to be repeated in English. In the important 20th Clergy-Laity Congress of 1970, following the personal appeal of Archbishop Iakovos, an English liturgy was permitted. Today, most Orthodox churches do some and in many cases most of their services in English. This policy provides an opportunity for the second and third or beyond generations to comprehend more proficiently the Orthodox Faith. Another important issue we should point out is that orthodoxy itself is not static; it is constantly under pressure to be assimilated or integrated especially in an Anglo Saxon Protestant society. According to our findings, the Greek Orthodox Church has undergone substantial integration. As a religion and a cultural heritage , the Orthodox Church can also bring the best of both worlds and to blend and orchestrate into a whole, yet not lose essence or identity (Nicozisin, 1993). Although our results show that the majority of our respondents have a good or very good understanding of the Greek Orthodox Faith there might be a dichotomy of opinion as to the accuracy of these findings being that the personal feelings of the respondents could be quite subjective. My personal experience indicates that the majority of the churchg

The Bio Psychosocial Model In Healthcare

The Bio Psychosocial Model In Healthcare The theory of bio-psychosocial model was introduced in 1977 by Mr. George Engel, a professor of psychiatry and medicine. It is a comprehensive model explicating a strong relationship between health and disease by integrating cultural, social, and psychological considerations (Engel 1977, p. 132). There has been a consistent effort since 1980s to examine the interconnectedness between social, psychological, behavioural factors and the functioning of immune system to explore their contribution in causing human illness (Karren, Hafen, Smith, Frandsen, 2002; Kiecolt-Glasser, McGuire, Robles, Glasser, 2002) followed by a bio-psychosocial model. The bio-psychosocial interventions are conceptualized to target the combination of biological, psychological and sociological factors that contribute in deteriorating human body functions thus producing illness. These interventions are the collaborative efforts with service users by integrating a number of evidence based practices by encompassing the medical, social and psychological paradigm with intent to accomplish swift recovery (Brooker Brabban 2004). The main objective of these interventions is to analyze and identify the underlying causes of the disease by evaluating the causes of biological dysfunction, psychological problems affecting mental and emotional health and assessing the sociological issues including marital status, financial positioning, culture or religion that may serve as the root cause of sickness. The core elements of bio-psychological interventions are the management of medication, symptoms and relapses, the cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for psychosis, collaborative assessments and structured family interventions. The effectiveness and responsiveness of mental health services rely upon the easy access of psychological interventions to the people diagnosed with severe and enduring mental health issues (Layard 2004). The Department of Health has been consistently emphasizing on the need for Ear ly Interventions in Psychosis Services (EIPS) and bio-psychosocial interventions specifically focussing on CBT, to be implemented across diverse clinical settings particularly in acute inpatient units (DoH 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006). The accessibility of such interventions facilitates in optimizing treatment concordance, reducing relapse rate and mental health problems and improves the overall clinical outcome which encourages resurgence of patients wellbeing (Gray et al. 2001). However, it is significant to note that psychosocial interventions can only be effective when implemented with the help and support of adequately trained healthcare workforce. 1.1 Rationale of the Study In accordance with the fundamentals of bio-psychosocial models, it can be constituted that the core forerunner of an ailment belongs to the three vital elements including physical, psychological, and socio-cultural components. Stevens Smith, (2005), in their study examined the bio-psychosocial model and constituted that it helps in comprehending with the interactive and reciprocal effects of environment, genetics, and mental behaviour (Stevens Smith, 2005, p. 25). To support the validity of the bio-psychosocial model, several pragmatic evidences have been put forward advocating the relationship of social, psychological and immunological factors that produce negative impacts on human health conditions (Trilling, 2000). Over the last decade, the need for education and training of healthcare workers in order to develop their PSI skills has been amplified however, the literature suggests that the implementation of PSI in routine service provision is extremely challenging (Kelly Gamble 2005). This paper is designed to examine the role of psychiatric in an acute in-patient ward. Moreover, the study in intended to highlight the policy and research related to bio-psychosocial interventions that help in managing crisis and complexities of an acute ward. The study will also facilitate in identifying the barriers of implementing psychosocial interventions and thereby, propose effectual strategies to prevail over these difficulties. 2. NATIONAL POLICIES FOR MENTAL HEALTH Mental illness along with cancer care and coronary heart disease were identified as the three national priorities in the year 2000 followed by which the UK government increased the funds for NHS up to 9% of GDP (Kings Fund, 2005). The budgetary limits for adult mental health services were also extended from  £983m to  £3,770m in 2001-2002 and up to  £4,679m in 2005-2006 (Mental Health Strategies, 2006) and it was also constituted that maximum financial resources will be utilized to support the inpatient services (Mental Health Strategies, 2006). The evidences suggest that the acute inpatient units have been facing a tremendous amount of dissatisfaction (MIND, 2004) and therefore, numerous healthcare bodies including Department of Health (DoH), the National Institute for Mental Health England (NIMHE) and Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP) collaborated to institute acute inpatient programme (DoH, 2002). The collaborative efforts by these healthcare bodies resulted in th e development of standard policies and guidelines for the betterment of acute inpatient services (Healthcare Commission 2007). Concerned with the conditions of mental health treatment, the national guidelines on acute psychiatric care were published in 2002 as the acute inpatient services were considered to be unsatisfactory (Department of Health, 2002a: 3). The main objective to institute standard policies and guidelines in accordance with Mental Health Act Commission is to ensure that all the inpatient mental health services are consistent in providing their patients with adequate sense of privacy, security and absolute care (MHAC, 2005: 19). ACUTE IN-PATIENT WARDS In accordance with the description proposed by the Department of Health (2002), the main purpose of introducing acute wards is to offer high standards of humane treatment and care facilities readily available to the patients within a safe and therapeutic setting during the most acute and vulnerable stage of their illness (DoH, 2002a: 5). The acute inpatient services have been developed to ensure that the spread of diseases is lessened and maximum treatment and support is made available for the patients that are unable to be treated in an alternative, less restrictive setting (********). The acute in-patients wards are meant to facilitate both health care providers and service users however, a number of studies have illuminated on the difficulties of managing the acute in-patient wards. A series of issues has been outlined by various studies including leadership crisis, deficient clinical skills and poor risk management process (SNMAC, 1999). The robustness of interaction between nurs e and patient and lack of therapeutic activities has also been questioned (Ford, Duncan and Warner, 1998); and a number of studies indicated a frequent state of confusion and chaos that builds up in the in-patient acute wards (SCMH, 1998). The effectiveness of CBT for psychosis is also challenged where there is a lot of complaint about non-therapeutic environment and non-cooperating overworked staff (MIND, 2004). Several studies also point out the dissatisfaction of patients due to surplus admissions in wards causing uneasiness and certain overly restrictive rules ended up in lack of privacy. The issues of in-patient acute wards also involved grievances of patients having less or no formation about treatment and which is considered to be unresponsiveness towards their civil rights (Walton, 2000). The study is therefore, focussed to critically examine the underlying issues and dig in the factors that aggravate them in order to suggest effective management strategies to improve the re ceptiveness of the nurses and open ways for easy accessibility to highly developed in-patient wards. ROLE OF NURSE IN ACUTE IN-PATIENT WARDS A critical care nurse working in acute in-patient ward has comprehensive mix of knowledge, skills and competencies required to fulfil the needs of a critically ill patient without having a direct supervision of a ward manager. The blend of knowledge, skills and competencies are not characterised by the therapeutic setting including intensive care unit or a high dependency ward instead, these blend of knowledge, skills and competencies must compliment the needs of psychotic patients. Psychotic patients need extensive care in order to reduce the chances of ill-fated crisis and complications. The level of therapeutic care can be enhanced by the careful interventions of experienced critical care nurses having advanced observational skills and holistic approach to deal with both the psychotic patients and their families. Following are some basic interventions employed by the critical care nurses in an acute in-patient ward to maximize operational efficiencies. 4.1 Ensure Positive Alignment Acute in-patient wards are critical in nature and therefore, a tactful and positive alignment of nurse-managers and nurse-patients is essential to maintain a functional ward. The role of nurse in an acute patient ward is to effectively respond to patients requests and offer maximum level of help and information. Patients are entirely dependent on nurses as they are the key point of contact in a ward and therefore, it becomes imperative for the nurses to establish a respect element for their clinical ability. Working closely with managers and regular staff meetings are all part of positive alignment that ensures smooth work process of an in-patient acute ward. 4.2 Supporting the Ward Manager A high-quality therapeutic skill of the nurse is to understand the organizational hierarchies and respect the decisions of the ward manager. Ward leader is involved in the positioning and staffing and the most crucial element of ward managers job description is to take prompt decisions. Acute wards are critical in nature so chaos and confusion adversely affects the mental health of patient and therefore, nurses are required to perform their duties by supporting the decisions and following the rules as set by the ward manager. 4.3 Safety and Containment Nurses in the acute in-patient wards are required to safe management system and prompt resolution of acute distress. The motherly relationship between nurse and patient supports the concept of containment by the benefitting the mental health of the patient. Physical restraint is the core element of containment which helps in the therapeutic progression. The role of a nurse in psychiatric wards is fundamental in preserving the safety and containment as the skilful and qualified nurses are specifically trained to reduce anxieties and fears of the patients and supporting them to resume a balance between idealism and realism. 4.4 Effective Communication Nursing in general supports a holistic approach towards the service users and the role of nurses become even more significant in an acute in-patient wards where the patients are extremely vulnerable. Nurses are the immediate point of contact to provide significant information about the patients mental health to the interdisciplinary team and the family members of the patients. Moreover, it has been observed that a nurse-patient relationship maintain effective communication, achieves better results in terms of fast recovery. 4.5 Observation Improving Patient Outcomes Acute in-patient wards require careful observations to reduce sedation and weaning from ventilation and to offer physical rehabilitation, and psychological support in a timely manner. Role of nurses in acute wards are required to be adequately skilful to monitor the dependence of patients on support equipment and to make proactive predictions and prevention of agitation by significant interventions in case of sudden deterioration. Recovery of a psychotic patient can be enhanced by using patient-centred care and vigilant management practices to cope with reckless events (Ball and McElligot, 2002). CBT FOR PSYCHOSIS Cognitive behavioural therapy is designed to evaluate the symptoms of psychosis and at the same time examine the relative impacts of illness on the patients mental health. A psychotic patient experiences a number of difficulties in terms of isolation, societal rejection, feelings of aggression as a result of which there is an increased risk self-harm and substance misuse. The main purpose of adopting CBT for psychotic patient is to gain symptomatic and functional recovery of the patient however, in case of persistent symptoms due to disrupted developmental trajectory; it is advised to continue with the therapy. CBT develops enhanced understanding of psychotic disorders and promotes adaptation to disorder by initiating coping strategies in order to reduce the degree of secondary morbidity and prevent relapse (Trilling 2000). CBT aims to improve the emotional and mental wellbeing of patients by reducing distress and offering helpful strategies to manage the residual symptoms of psychos is in daily life. The treatment therapy for psychosis involves a number of key phases and management strategies to progress speedy recovery. 5.1 Assessment Formulation The psychosocial intervention that involves CBT for psychosis primarily requires a therapeutic alliance between the healthcare provider and the service users. The initial phase of CBT involves engagement of therapist and patient in the assessment of the illness so that the patients mental health can be analyzed and their psychotic experiences can be recorded. The assessment phase of CBT helps in identifying the problem areas, factors sustaining the problem areas and the underlying causes of the psychotic disorder. Therapists strive to understand the nature, complexity and extent of the disorder by probing in the biological, psychological and social background of illness. During the assessment phase a therapist attempts to summarize the aetiology, development and maintenance of psychotic disorder and thereby, outlines the length and frequency of necessary interventions. Engagement of both therapist and the patient facilitates in the formulation phase where a specified course of action is established to undertake the therapy. 5.2 Psycho-education The early phase of psychotic disorder is identified by the onset of certain symptoms after which a the healthcare providers diagnose the ailment by taking into account numerous theories of psychosis and a number of individual explanatory models that helps in understanding of the precise form of psychosis. The patients are required to be informed about the impacts of substance misuse, compulsory medications and the inception of warning signs in order to keep them in the loop of the overall recovery process accompanied by CBT. The psycho-education also involves details about the helpful agencies and the nature of recovery which is usually conducted as part of a group programme. Educating the patients about facts and essential information is always useful however, it is imperative that the psychosis education programs are designed in a way that the patients comprehend the concept of these programs intended to restore their mental health. Depending upon an individuals coping style and wi llingness to absorb the information, the reaction to such educating programs might differ. 5.3 Adaptation to Psychosis The theory of adaptation to psychosis entirely depends upon the patients understanding of the disorder and how he/she addresses the recovery process by reacting to the underlying situation. The process of adaptation involves acknowledging the impact of psychotic disorder on patients life by estimating the damages caused to the patients self-esteem and his/her realisation of personal potential to combat with disorder. CBT helps the psychotic patients to identify their personal strengths and limitations to fight with ailment by expanding their coping skills and formulate realistic plans to facilitate the patient. The main objective of the CBT for psychosis is to enable the patients to learn the concept of overcoming the negative aspects of life and focusing on positive things including healthy activities, friendly relationships and personal accomplishments in order to enhance their self-esteem. The psychotic patients are extremely vulnerable and cannot stand social fears which eventual ly deteriorate their mental health. CBT enables them in adapting to their psychotic conditions by making them realise their strengths and capabilities to prevail over internal fears and hence contribute significantly in the recovery process. 5.4 Treatment of Secondary Morbidity Failure in adaptation to psychosis results in secondary morbidity state in which the patient is unable to cope with internal and external fears and thereby, experiences extreme level of depression, anxiety and substance misuse. It is important that CBT for psychosis is continued and the nature of the secondary condition has to be explained to the patient. Failure in adapting to psychosis leads the psychotic patients to develop irrational beliefs and assumptions which make it even more difficult and challenging for the therapists. However, an approach of cognitive challenging supplemented by group-based interventions for anxiety management or substance misuse is followed by examining the underlying beliefs and assumptions and replacing them with rational beliefs and assumptions. 5.5 Coping Strategies A number of behavioural and cognitive strategies have been formulated to help patients work towards improved functional outcome despite of psychotic symptoms. The functional and emotional problems that arise with the positive and negative symptoms of the psychotic disorder are controlled by coping strategies included in CBT for psychosis. It is however, necessary to identify the target symptoms to manage the recovery process. The most commonly used strategies in CBT include coping strategy enhancement, distraction and focusing techniques for voices after the identification of positive symptoms (Trilling 2000). Self-monitoring of behavioural activities, scheduling of paced activities, assertiveness training and diary recording of mastery and pleasure are some of the interventions used to cope with the negative symptoms. 5.6 Relapse Prevention The relapse prevention phase is amongst the integral phase of CBT in which the therapists are required to prudently monitor and intervene where there are early warning signs for relapse. It has been constituted that after the commencement of treatment approximately 80-95% of the psychotic patients experience the relapse prevention (*******). CBT incorporates several interventions to address the issue of relapse prevention including cognitive restructuring of enduring self-schema in which there is an elevated risk of relapse. BARRIERS TO IMPLEMENT PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTIONS The clinical effectiveness of psychosocial interventions has been emphasized in a number of evidence based studies as the significance of these interventions has exceedingly grown over the last 20 years. The growing awareness and enhanced need and inclination towards the espousal of psychosocial interventions suggest that these interventions should be routinely implemented (NICE 2002). However, there has been a considerable amount of literature indicating the potential difficulties and challenges associated with the integration of psychosocial interventions within the routine mental health service provision (Brooker Brabban 2003, Forrest Masters 2004). The challenges are multifactorial and are primarily concerned with the workforce development and education (Brooker et al. 2002, Brooker Brabban 2004, Forrest et al. 2004); clinical and managerial leadership (Cook 2001, McCann Bowers 2005); and the impact of limited resources on service development in the context of increasing dema nds (McCann Bowers 2005). 6.1 Education Training Mental health services are currently challenged by policy, service user and professional drives. In order to establish the early intervention in psychosis services a range of initiatives are required. The foremost requirement to entrench the bio-psychosocial interventions into all levels of service delivery is to maximise the number of trained practitioners (Brabban Kelly 2006). More importantly the integration of the principles of the recovery approach and evidence-based practice has to be included in the education and training of the healthcare workforce (Repper Perkins 2003, Kelly Gamble 2005, NIMHE 2005, DoH 2006). However, it is unfortunate that despite of consistently mounting awareness and need for the psychosocial interventions within the clinical settings and mental health service provisions, the fraction of PSI trained workforce is still inadequate (Layard 2004). The situation becomes more intricate when a segment of trained healthcare workforce is not practicing their P SI skills due to other contributing factors including excessive workload and lack of time, limiting the scope of implementing psychosocial interventions (Brooker Brabban 2004). 6.2 Managerial Leadership Crisis Management and the senior staff have a better understanding of the complex nature and clinical significance of PSI training and its implementation and therefore, the role of managers become crucial in determining the success and failure of implementing psychosocial interventions in acute wards. It has been observed that regular communication between managers and trainees and careful check and balance maintained by the programme leaders enables successful PSI implementation (McCann Bowers 2005). However, the managers and programme leaders find it difficult to sustain the precision of PSI implementation due to workload pressures across the service (Cook 2001). 6.3 Limited Resources The most frequent complaints and issues regarding the failure of implementing psychosocial interventions in the acute wards have been identified by the literature and the most common issues are the unprecedented gap between theory and practice. Limited resources on service development in context of increased demand also tend to hinder in successful PSI implementation (Repper Brooker 2002). In order to fill in the gaps between theory and practice of PSI implementation the aims and objectives of the interventions has to be illuminated so that the practicability of the interventions can be sustained. It is therefore, essential to improve ward-based information and clarify the ward rules for users (Flood et al, 2006). On the other hand, sufficient resources including caseload size, access to assessment and intervention materials are required to undertake the interventions (McCann Bowers 2005). 6.4 Staffing Issues Excessive workload and staffing issues are the key problems of an acute in-patient wards where there is extreme need of practising psychosocial interventions. It has been observed that even after the completion of training and courses the trainees are compelled to resume the same job description. It is extremely unfortunate that the work overload doesnt allow the trainees to utilize their skills and knowledge at an advanced level (Williams 2008). Managers of the in-patient wards also complain about the workload pressure as being the critical factor for not adjusting the job descriptions of the trainees after the completion of their relevant course. On the other hand, trainees also complain about the excess workload and lack of time to focus on and practice their PSI skills. 6.5 Excessive Workload The most problematic barriers in the implementation of PSI are the emergency excessive and unpredictable admissions of the critical psychotic cases which require immediate attention. The presence of critical care nurse is therefore, extremely significant at any point of time which is one of the major staffing issue. Critical care nurses are already under immense workload pressures and conversely, the reduction in the number of beds has added to the situation (Williams 2008). The rise in demand due to high case loads has made it extremely difficult to effectively employ the structured PSI interventions into routine work. REQUIREMENTS OFACUTE IN-PATIENT WARDS The threshold of admission in acute inpatient wards has considerably increased and the role of critical care nurses has also become more complex. Systematic assessments by highly skilled critical care nurses by involving service users and their carer allows formulating a plan for significant interventions which are targeted to reduce the burden of in-patient wards provided if the necessary care and interventions can be continued at home (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2006b).The complexity of the contemporary acute in-patient ward is enhanced by the reduction in the number of beds however, it is considered to be a small component of the multifaceted care system (Clarke, 2004). The most critical aspect of the decision making process is the comparison of psychotic patients awaiting the admission therefore, critical care nurses are required to carry out vigilant assessments by making careful considerations about the individuals circumstances (Meehan et al, 2006). Patients expect the nu rses to function in a collaborative way and treat them with respect (Baguley et al, 2007) however, a number of studies indicates dissatisfied service users complaining about the services being intimidating, demeaning and often humiliating (NIMHE, 2007). To address the underlying issues and in order to maintain the accreditation standards for the acute in-patient wards a full multidisciplinary ward round, at least once a week has been recommended (Royal College of Psychiatrists 2006b). Moreover, the government has also introduced crisis management and home intervention teams in order to lessen the burden of admissions in acute in-patient wards with intent to focus on recovery by involving community efforts. A combination of psychological and social interventions by reintegrating the service users into the community can be achieved by adopting a holistic approach. STRATEGIES TO OVERCOME THE BARRIERS A number of strategic measures have been identified by the study which is likely to enhance the benefits of implementing psycho social-interventions in the acute in-patient wards. The main objective of the proposed recommended strategies is to address extensive issues encompassing diverse areas and segments related to the acute in-patient wards, to accomplish utmost advantages for both the practitioners and service users. 8.1 Enhanced Flexibility The level of emergency admissions and dependency of patients in the critical care unit cannot be predicted and may considerably vary in between allocated shifts. The complex structure and nature of the acute in-patient units require flexibility in the number of critical care nurses per shift in order to effectively respond to changes in demand (******). Moreover, the critical care nurses are required to consistently examine the trends in elective patient admissions so that the capacity planning and nurse staffing may comply with the change in demand. 8.2 Employment of Healthcare Assistants Critical care nurses are highly skilled and trained to understand the needs of an acute in-patient ward. Therefore, while determining staffing levels, the recruitment of health care assistants must not interfere with the skill mix of critical care nurses. Considering the excessive workload pressure on the critical care nurses, it is beneficial to employ the health care assistants to facilitate in providing quality care services. However, to create a balance between critical care and general care services, it is advisable to specify the registered nursing hours so that the quality of critical care may not be compromised (Needleman et al, 2002). 8.3 Definite Policies Procedures Clearly defined policies and protocols helps in maintaining a healthy work environment and organizational structure. It is imperative to clarify the roles and responsibilities with respect to the specified job title in order to ensure that smooth workflow has been maintained across the entire ward. Moreover, definite policies and protocols also facilitate in successful implementation of PSI and practising of CBT by the trained staff. Depending upon the past experiences as a critical care nurse and knowledge of working in the critical care facility it has been recommended that for at least 30 days nurses should maintain supernumerary position in the intensive care wards (DHSSPS, 2000). To address the staffing needs, managerial support complying with policies and procedures, is required so that the chaos and confusion shall be avoided. 8.4 Professional Development Critical care services can be improved by consistent training and staff development programmes specifically designed to focus on the psychosocial interventions practice. It is highly recommended to incorporate evidence-based interventions in the curriculum of PSI-trained staff and their skills and knowledge must be employed in their respective job descriptions (Brabban and Kelly 2006). Moreover, the professional and developmental needs of the nurses working acute in-patient ward must be considered during staff appraisals to promote professional excellence of the critical care staff. 8.5 Reduce Workload Pressure Support of healthcare assistants shall be obtained to encourage superior care services by disseminating the excessive workload pressure. It has been observed that during PSI training, the staffing is greatly affected and therefore, it is advisable to utilize the replacement funds to relieve workload pressures in the critical care units. Moreover, rational strategies and centralized measures might be helpful in addressing the substitution arrangements in an effective manner. 8.6 Training and Education Development of leadership skills for critical care nurse is highly recommended for improving the PSI implementation, advanced patient care. It is also advisable to provide the critical staff with mandatory training including essential fire training, manual handling and basic life support in addition to the training for psychosocial interventions (Brabban and Kelly 2006). Moreover, a tripartite structure for communication in between ward managers, program leaders and the trainees would help in successful implementation of the psychosocial interventions. 8.7 Dissemination of Knowledge The significance of the psychosocial interventions has to be widely encouraged and therefore, the content and levels of PSI programme shall be kept diversified which may involve modular provision and training specific to certain interventions e.g. family work, medication management or clinical areas including acute inpatient, forensic etc. (*****) To establish the efficacy and implementation of the PSI, it is imperative to disseminate the basics and core PSI knowledge and values to the healthcare staff across the clinical environment. Furthermore, the local training needs for PSI shall be regularly reviewed by the stakeholders to ensure that adequately trained and skilful staff is maintained at all times to provide extensive care in critical wards. 8.8 Evaluating the Impacts of PSI Psychosocial interventions integrate collaborative participation of service users and carers at every stage including planning of services, training programs, formulation and implementation of strategies and diffusion of the recovery approach therefore, the impacts of these interventions can be evaluated by collating feedback from both critical care nurses and service users. 8.9 Regular Audits To estimate the effectiveness of the evidence

Muscle Growth Essay -- Muscle Growth Physiology Health Essays

Muscle Growth With the introduction of such modern conveniences such as the automobile, remote control, and even the electric toothbrush people are relying on technology to do everything for them. With a generation growing up in todays society physical tasks have almost become obsolete. Tasks such as even going shopping and going out to visit a friend can be done from the comfort of your own computer. With this sedentary lifestyle, muscular size will almost be unnecessary, except for the athlete who wants to succeed in sports. To the non-athlete, there will be no reason to leave the house because everything that you need will be at your fingertips, you will not have to get up and do anything. Any type of exercise is good for the body and muscles. Muscle growth is essential if you want to look better, feel better, and perform everyday tasks such as walking to the car, and getting out of bed easier. A person who is in shape will also sleep better then an out of shape person, and feel more revitalized in the morning. Muscles account for approximently 35% of the body weight in women, and about 45% of the body weight in men. With over 600 muscles covering the human skeleton muscles give the body bulk and form. Then human body contains millions of muscle fibres whose coordinated contraction cause the whole muscle to contract. Muscles are the foundation on which our bodies are built. Without muscles our bodies could not perform the simplest tasks such as opening our eyes, talking, breathing and even the pumping of our heart or the most difficult tasks, such as running the hurdles in a track and field event.. Muscles are also important to maintain balance and posture. Description of Muscles In the body there are several types of muscles that control different functions in the body, one of these types being skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle is the most evident in the human body due to it having the most mass the other types of muscles and that it lies directly under the skin attached to the skeleton by tendons and ligaments. Skeletal muscles are divided into three structural units, the entire muscle, the muscle bundle, and the muscle fiber (cell). Each muscle fiber is divided into two types of fiber structure, fusiform and pennate, with the pennate being broken up into three basic structures. These structures being the un... ...ng program you should properly stretch the muscles being worked in order to keep them loose. Stretching should also be done directly after a workout because the muscles are still warm and can be stretched more easily. This will also increase flexibility which can be very advantageous in preventing injuries such as muscle sprains and strains. A Conclusion to Muscle Growth A muscle growth program can be beneficial to everybody, from the young athlete wanting to succeed in sports, to the older man trying to help stay and feel young. The benefits of muscle growth are too high to be passed out by anybody who has any sort of ambition of feeling better about themselves, looking better, and having more energy for everyday tasks. You will find that once you start weight training, and muscle and strength growths are noticed that it will almost become addicting and the desire for bigger and better results will become greater and greater. I would recommend muscle growth to anybody, and anyone who disagrees should give it a try, just for a little while, and after the results of improved strength and muscle size are noticed weight training will become a part of their life.

Florida International University Essay -- Environment, Waste, Green Pr

Florida International University (FIU) is not only a standard in quality education as it is also a innovator in best practices especially those that have to do with the environment. The University’s commitment to ensuring that its community contributes to the preservation and protection of the environment has led it to pioneer innovations in solid waste management, in particular, in recycling; because the University clearly understands that recycling is more beneficial compared to waste disposal, it has established its own reputation in the proper and efficient management of solid waste. Florida International University recognizes its contribution to the accumulation of waste considering that it produces about seven million pounds of waste each year (Figueroa, 2010). Unlike other universities that still remain adamant in investing on green practices, FIU has, â€Å"governed by the State of Florida under Florida Statute 403.714 and The Florida Solid Waste Management Act of 1988† (FIU, 2011), established its own internal ‘green machine’ or solid waste and environmental protection system via the FIU Custodial Services Office. The university’s efforts in ensuring efficient solid waste management even â€Å"far exceeds the minimum standards† (FIU, 2011) required by law. What makes the solid waste management efforts of the university one-of-a kind is the establishment of a â€Å"single stream recycling program which means that all recyclable items can be placed into one bin and do not have to be sorted† (FIU, 2011). Nevertheles s, despite the use of single recycle bins, proper labeling has to accompany each bin to ensure that only materials that are recyclable are placed in the bins. There are also different sized of bins which are placed stra... ...g, however, costs only $35 per ton. The school also makes $10 for every ton of paper it recycles† (Figueroa, 2009). This means that apart from saving the environment, the university also earns and is able to cut down on expenses for certain things because of the use of recycled materials. Of course, the most important aspect of recycling in the university is awareness and with students who are currently seriously considering the way they manage their solid waste, the campaign and program becomes even more successful. To do this, the university has also joined the national FIU Recyclemania for two years now and had placed exceptionally well (FIU, 2011). It is very important in any environmental effort that the stakeholders are made aware of the benefits of the efforts so that the program earns propriety and becomes a culture instead of just an obligation.

Aqua Fish Canada Inc.

BackgrounderThe background information relating to the Case Examination (Backgrounder) is provided to candidates in advance of the examination date. The Backgrounder contains information about both the company and the industry involved in the case. Candidates are expected to familiarize themselves with this information in preparation for the analysis that will be required during the Case Examination.Candidates should note that they will not be allowed to bring any written material, including the advance copy of this Backgrounder, into the examination centre. A new copy of this Backgrounder, together with additional information about the company and a supplement of formulae and tables, will be provided at the writing centre for the Case Examination. Only the following models of calculators are authorized for use during the Case Examination:1. Texas Instruments TI BA II Plus (including the professional model) 2. Hewlett Packard HP 10bII (or HP 10Bii) 3. Sharp EL-738C (or EL-738)Candida tes are reminded that no outside research on the industry related to this case is required. Examination responses will be evaluated on the basis of the industry information provided in the Backgrounder and the question paper (Additional Information).Overview Aqua Fish Canada Inc. (AFC) is a privately owned, Canadian company involved  in aquaculture in the Maritimes. Aquaculture is the cultivation and harvesting of fish in a natural or manufactured environment. Federally incorporated on May 1, 2002, AFC has established a reputation for delivering a quality product – Atlantic salmon – on a timely basis from its profitable fish farms and is a growing, commercial operation. AFC builds and maintains fish farm facilities; hatches, feeds, grows, and harvests Atlantic salmon; and distributes the unprocessed fresh fish mainly to customers in Canada and the northeastern U.S. Company HistoryIn early 2002, three Maritimers with backgrounds in the fishing industry (Joel Palango, Wendy Starky, and Jeanne Poirier) decided to search for potential investment opportunities that would help the local Maritime economy. They observed that, with access to plentiful water and site resources, a large workforce with a background in fishing, and governments eager to create employment, the aquaculture industry was growing along the eastern coast of Canada. Although they knew that there would be no revenue until the first fish grew large enough to sell, they were prepared to wait several years to realize a return and they decided to invest in an aquaculture business. Aqua Fish Canada Inc. was incorporated and the first decision made by the three shareholders was to establish an Atlantic salmon aquaculture farm.Guy Mills, an experienced aquaculture executive, was hired to build the business from the ground up. The first farm site was established within six months and operations began in November 2002 with the first spawning of fish. By October 2004, a sufficient number of f armed fish had reached a marketable weight and AFC harvested its first batch of salmon. Over the next five years, the company established three more salmon farm sites in three provinces as shown in Table 1 below.

Gordon Bennett Essay

The following contemporary artists both represent their works in a post-modern frame. Post-modern can include irony and paradox, appropriation and pastiche and intersexuality. Gordon Bennett and Fiona Hall fit into one of these categories. Bennett’s painting Outsider, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 1988 is a violent painting using appropriation of Vincent Van Gogh’s artwork, and the treatment of aboriginals in today’s society. Fiona Hall’s sculpture of the Nelumbo nucisera, lotus, elum, thamarei, aluminium and steel, 1999 is made up of a sardine tin rolled down revealing a bare stomach, and plant leaves. Bennett’s work can be seen as post-modern as Bennett takes Van Gogh’s famous images and recreates them in his own manner. Bennett’s painting Outsider, is a violent painting using appropriation of Vincent Van Gogh’s artwork Vincent’s Bedroom in Arles, 1888 and Starry Night, 1889, and the treatment of aboriginals in today’s society. He fits into the category of appropriation where he uses another’s work in a new context, with the intention of altering its meaning. He seizes copies and replaces the original imagery of Gough, by interpreting it in his own way. He uses cultural aspects of aboriginal art and is in search for meaning and identity. Bennett identifies with the world through people, events and issues involving the aboriginal people. His work is political about both Aboriginal and European-Australian history. It helps him and his people to redress the disparity between the two cultures. Many of his views about Aboriginal culture have been understandably formulated from a European perspective. His shocking, violent and traumatic work was painted while Bennett was still at art school. The painting raises many issues from Aboriginal deaths in custody to Bennett’s feeling of isolation. Frustration is also evident with the suggestion that it can lead people to suicide or self-mutilation, as in the case of both Van Gogh and the figure in the picture. The Aboriginal figure complete with ceremonial paint is frustrated and confused, that his head explodes, with blood whirling into Van Gogh’s turbulent sky. The classical heads with eyes closed, may relate to Europe, or the famous Greek marbled heads, blind to the consequences of its actions and unwilling to acknowledge the blood on its hands. They are humming or dreaming to block out the exploding head. Bennett figuratively displays his own dilemma of violently contested genealogies. The hands on the figure reach towards or draw away from the closed eyed heads on the bed. The red hands on the wall represent the hands of the ‘white’ people. It may suggest that the ‘white’ people are caught red handed by the way they react to the mutilated figure. The red in the painting is strong and contrasting with the other natural tones; the same red is taken from the bed cover, and used in the handprints on the wall and the blood on the wrists and neck of the figure. The window seems to be a window to the dark swirls of the night, which may represent death. The figure’s head is almost exploding into the dark metaphysical zone, here drawn from Starry Night. For Van Gogh the starry night was a forbidding of death and return to an ultimate peace for which he longed. Bennet seems to deliberately take on this same theme. The dots, dashes and roundels in Bennett’s starry night may suggest Western Desert Aboriginal paintings.