Btec Sport - Health Saftey and Injury Essay Example for Free

Btec Sport Health Saftey and Injury Essay Objective:- * To recognise and understand different types of injuries Types of injuries:- * Muscle strains tears, pulls and ruptures These are caused by vigorous stretching of a muscle or tendon. In is of regular occurrence in the hamstring and calf muscles when there is failure to warm up correctly before sport. The Achilles tendon of the calf can tear completely this causes sever pain. Tear is where the muscle has been torn, Pull is where the muscle has been stretched and a Rupture is where the muscle completely breaks. We will know when we have pulled torn or strained because there will severe pain and there will be difficulty when trying to use the muscle. There may also be swelling and later on bruising. * Fractured Bones (broken) A fracture is wear the bone cracks or completely snaps. Breaking bones is painful due to the amount of blood vessels and nerves in the bones. Fractures can be categorized in two ways. A Simple Fracture This is just where the bone cracks. A Compound Fracture This is where the bone sticks out of the skin. There is often tenderness around the bone making it hard to use and it will most certainly swell causing it to look deformed. * Joint dislocation Dislocation is where the bone is pulled out of its original joint. It is caused by stressing the bone, commonly by violent twisting. It usually happens at all major joints such as Shoulder, finger, thumb, elbow and ankles. The bone will be surrounded by swelling and covered in bruises and will be tender to touch. * Sprained Ligaments (over stretched ligaments) A sprain happens when a ligament or joint get overstretched and torn. Sprains occur when twisting your foot while running or other similar accidents. The sprain should be treated as a fracture if the ligament is torn because it is a lot more severe. The area of damage while be very sore and will hurt to move it or use it * Tendonitis Tendonitis is caused by overuse of the tendons, frequently in the lower arm in the lower arm; they then become inflamed and sore/painful. This is common with sports such as tennis and golf where the tendon in the elbow is under constant use. The elbow will be very sore and it becomes almost impossible to use without difficulty. Swelling will be visible surrounding the injured tendon. * Concussion Concussion is the result of injuring your brain from taking a lot of impact to the head such as being head butted or banging your head on a hard surface, these cause the brain to rattle around the skull. Concussion is often related with unconsciousness which often follows a serious head injury. In most cases the patient will become dizzy or drowsy and become confused. In major cases there may even be memory loss. * Graze, Cuts, Burns and Bruises These are caused by falling or scraping in a sporting event. They are usually painful but not very threatening and classed as minor. However some cuts can be very deep and would require urgent attention. Bruises will be painful but will not cause any permanent or long term damage. We will be able to recognise bruises by seeing discolouration of the skin and tenderness in that area. * Spinal Injury This is an injury to the spinal column. The spinal column contains nerves and ligaments and plays a major role in our body so when damaged by impact or strain it can be potentially dangerous to move without causing further permanent damage such as paralysis. This occurs after incidents such as car crashes and falls. You will be able to tell if u have damaged your spinal cord because it will be difficult to move and will cause a lot of pain. Objective:- * To recognise illnesses/conditions that can affect sports performance * To discover the causes of injury Types of Illnesses:- * Viral Infections/Diseases Chest Infections, Colds, Flu, Sickness etc. People suffering from viral infections will often have a high temperature, be suffering from pains in the muscles making them feel weak. If someone has a viral infection such as a cold they will probably suffer with a blocked nose, fever, sore throat and frequent coughing. Viral infections cannot be cured using antibiotics, however there are products available to help relive the symptoms. * Asthma This makes a persons airways constrict making breathing difficult. Constriction is normally triggered by certain events such as allergies and temperature change. People having and asthma attack will suffer with symptoms such as a tight chest, also they may start wheezing and be short of breath. This can be relived temporarily by using steroid sprays, one to open the airways when they feel they need it and one that should be taken daily to avoid having attacks later in the day. * Hypothermia This is where the bodys temperature drops below the normal temperature (around 36 degrees Celsius). The symptoms are usually tiredness, slurred speech and loss of coordination. In some extremities the colour and feeling can be lost in the hands and feet as the blood is being diverted away to keep the brain and heart working properly. People will generally feel better when they return to a warm environment as this will encourage the body to return to normal. Hypothermia is common with people such as mountain climber who are often exposed to cold environments for long periods of time. * Hyperthermia This is caused by exposure to high temperatures, such as being in the sun/high temperatures for long periods of time. The results of hyperthermia are that the person will be left exhausted. Headaches, tiredness and thirst are also associated. To relive these symptoms the person should drink lots of fluids, while exercising and when recovering. If the person becomes to hot they could potentially become unconscious then they would require the need of being put on a drip. * Hypoglycaemia Hypoglycaemia is caused by having low levels of glucose in the blood so enough isnt reaching the vita places e.g. the brain. It is commonly associated with people who have type 1 diabetes. Not enough food, too much exercise, consuming too much alcohol and having too much insulin in the blood all contribute to causing hypoglycaemia. The symptoms of hypoglycaemia are confusion, shaking, paleness, hunger and in some extreme cases, unconsciousness. Eating food rich in carbohydrates can reverse these effects quite quickly The Main Causes of Injury Internally Caused * Overuse Injuries * Sudden Injuries Externally Caused * Impact Injuries * Foul Play Injuries * Equipment Injuries * Accidental Injuries Internally Caused Injuries Direct result of the performer, no other person or factor is involved Overuse Injuries (Tennis/Golfers Elbow, Shin Splints etc.) These are caused by over training and over competing. Sudden Injuries These tend to be caused instantly because of over stretching, twisting and turning. They are commonly acknowledged with tiredness and fatigue and normally occur late on in a match. Also doing something too difficult can result in a sudden injury. Externally Caused Injuries Caused by someone or something other than yourself Impact Injury This is and injury from being hit or hitting something. These are often the result of things like:- * An Opponent * Equipment * Playing Surface * Playing Conditions Foul Play Injuries These are normally the result of another player breaking the rules and regulations of the game. They may be unaware of the rules or may be doing it intentionally to harm. Accidental Injuries Different activities have different levels and risk and higher elements of danger. For example Footballers are less likely to gain an injury than someone playing rugby due to it being more physical. Equipment Injuries Old or unchecked/faulty equipment can result in these injuries. Equipment must be frequently maintained to avoid these occurring. These can be as simple as blisters from overuse or in the most extreme cases, even death. Prevention of Injuries * Warm up; loosen muscles for prevention of pulling muscles. * Wear the correct equipment (shin pads), wear them correctly to ensure safeness. * Know and follow the rules of the game to be able to play fair, include using officials to keep the activity under control, this way players are less likely to get injured * Check all equipment is safe and in good condition to ensure faulty equipment cant injure you. * Dont over compete (not doing too much exorcise) * Weather conditions- make sure the conditions are safe (not slippery, stormy etc.) 1. Preparation Before playing or participating in any sport it is vital that you train to your age and you personal fitness. Also a good knowledge and understanding of the sport you will be participating in will also reduce the amount of injuries, a good respect for the rules and regulations of the game will reduce the injuries. A warm up and warm down is essential to help reduce the amount of injuries in the game. Consider having long hair, long nails, jewellery and also the types of clothing you wear could also give you an injury. 2. Participation By according to the rules could prevent an injury, by using reckless tackles and reckless play can injure you and the opposing player. Officials have got to be consistent and fair in their decisions for the game to be fair and this could prevent someone from being injured, players must accept these decisions given by the officials. 3. Equipment For the sport which you are participating in you need to be using the specialist equipment for that specific sport and has to be in good condition, such as shin pads for football, these have to be worn. All equipment has to be in top condition because if this equipment isnt safe and fails you could be seriously injured such as rock climbing etc. 4. Environment The area which the sport is being taken on has to be checked over for litter and unsafe objects. It has to be safe and appropriate. Also you have to check the weather conditions as this could lead the sport being potentially dangerous such as storms and windy weather. Risk Assessment 1. You are about to conduct a badminton coaching session in the sports all. * Make sure that none of the equipment is faulty. E.g. rackets have sufficient grip, nets secured correctly. * Make sure that there is no wet floor * Make sure there is no obstructions in the way of the courts 2. You are taking a year 7 group onto the field for football. * Make sure that everyone is wearing the correct protective equipment. (e.g. shin pads) * Make sure that there are no obstacles on the pitch or area where football will be played * Make sure the weather conditions are suitable for playing * Make sure that the pitch is suitable to play on by making sure its not icy or waterlogged Potential risk of playing- 1. Badminton * Fire * Falls * Foul play * Asthma attack * Hyperthermia * Slips * Lack of communication that could result in injury * Sensible behaviour * Know how to set up safe equipment 2. Football * Falls * Foul play * Asthma attack * Hyperthermia * Spinal Injury * Broken bones * Concussion * Weather conditions * Lack of communication that could result in injury * Sensible behaviour * Potholes * All spare equipment is out of the way * Posts are secured

Building Maintenance Management Systems

Building Maintenance Management Systems Building maintenance management just like the Cinderella of construction industry. This is because building maintenance management team has to do various job and bear the function of other parties, namely architects, surveyors, engineers, or facilities managers. Building maintenance management also has never been recognized in its own right (Allen, 1993). There are numerous definitions of building maintenance as it different to different people. According to the Chartered Institute of Building, building maintenance is defined as work conducted to keep, restore or improve every facility, that is every part of a premise, site and its service to an acceptable standard. The accceptable standard is determined by the balance between the need and available resources. While White suggest that maintenace also is similar with controlling the condition of the building so that its feature lies within specific regions (White, 1969). Other definition comes from Bushell and quoting from BS 3811, th at defines maintenance as a combination of any action carry out in order to perpetuate the things in or restore it to an agreed condition (Bushell, 1985). Another more practical definition mentioned by Allen is the combination of all technical and associated administrative actions to pertuate an item or restore it to a condition that it can perform its desired function. Hence, building maintenance is very crucial as it is required since the beginning of the construction period. However, its importance was not recognized (Allen, 1993). Maintenance is needed to ensure the building perform well and the best over its life cycle (Olanrewaju, 2009). A regular and good maintenance of a building may enhance the sustainability of any building either it a heritage or non-heritage building (Arazi, 2010). Lee (1984) has elaborate more that maintenance is also required in order to ensure that buildings are used effectively and economically as possible (Lee, 1984). Meanwhile, according to the inv estopedia, efficiency mean the degree of performance that reflects a process that uses the lowest amount of resources to create the greatest amount of outcomes. Efficiency is an important character as all resources such as time, money and raw materials are scarce. So, it is makes sense to conserve the resources while maintaining an acceptable level of outcomes or a general production level. Efficient also can be simply said as reducing the amount of wasted resources. Therefore, ensuring efficiency in building maintenance practices in this paper means the work undertaken in order to preserve and conserve a building to enhance the value of a building is done with the lowest amount of resources without wasting it. Nevertheless, there are five objectives of building maintenance that are mentioned by Alner and Fellows (1990). The objectives are to ensure that the buildings and their associated services are in a safe condition, to ensure the buildings are suited for use, to ensure that the state of the building fulfill all statutory requirements, to run the maintenance work necessary in order to maintain the value of the building stocks physical asset and also to run the work needed in order to maintain the quality of the building. THE WAYS TO ENSURE EFFICIENCY IN BUILDING MAINTENANCE PRACTICES In order to ensure a building is keep, preserve, restore and improve without wasting all resources, a number of efficient ways can be carried out by the property manager, building maintenance management or any related party. Firstly, the maintenance management team should involve in the design stage of the construction to draw some strategies in order to make sure the efficiency in building maintenance practices over the life cycle of buildings. A number of the design strategies mentioned by Nayanthara (2010) are design for adequate safety, design for maintenance needs, design for the environment, plan for easy maintenance and design for efficient access. Design for adequate safety is the most crucial design strategy for maintainability of buildings. A proper design for the load carrying, joint design and detailing, structures suitability and the piping are able to avoid many failures such as cracking and leaking of the building, therefore can provide the adequate safety againts thos e failures. Design for maintenance needs is also important strategy as it can reduce the maintainability cost in the future. For example in the design stage of the construction, the maintenance team has make the option to use the low-maintenance materials, components and elements in constructing the building. The selection of those materials, components and elements in design stage may lessen the maintenance cost in the future. While, there are two fragments of environment under the design for the environment, that are micro-environment and macro-environment. Micro-environment can be describe through the degree of exposure to the external climate, level and the nature of usage. While macro-environment can be evaluted as location of building and different zones such as industrial, coastal area, urban and rural. The environment aspect should be taken into account while designing the building as Malaysia has tropical climate which is high humidity, uniform temperature and has abundant rainfall throughout the year. Nayanthara also mentioned that in the design stage, the builders team should plan for easy maintenance in the future. This strategy is related to the design for the environment strategy. The builders team should choose the material that is durable in order to less maintenance work and cost, for example, the type of paint for external wall must be weather shield so that it is long last and no need to repaint the building frequently. In addition, design for easy access for maintenance work such as roof and basement can ensure the efficient maintenance work (Nayanthara, 2010). The second way that can be adopted to ensure the efficiency in building maintenance practices is by controlling the quality of construction or workmanship. It is very important to make an assurance of the quality during the construction stage to avoid failures such as cracks, spalling and leakage. Assurance of construction quality could be determined by the consistency of materials in the design stage and construction stage. The builders team must strictly follow the planning during design stage. In addition, the election of good contractors, consultants and efficient workers who have well experience are also essential to assure the quality of the building construction. Quality assurance in the construction stage may help in reducing the failures in the future and hence, the maintenance of buildings will be efficiently done (Nayanthara, 2010). Strategy for maintaining buildings can be split into three strategies namely corrective, preventive and condition-based strategies (R.M.W. Horner, 1997). In ensuring the efficient building maintenance practices, a good strategy for the maintenance work should be properly done by the building maintenance team or else, the cost for maintenance will rise. The most crucial is preventive maintenance schedule. The preventive maintenance schedule must be done after the completion of the building over its life cycles. Preventive maintenance schedule is to preserve the physical of the building and wipe out the corrective maintenance cost. An efficient preventive maintenance schedule includes daily maintenance, weekly maintenance, monthly maintenance, quarterly maintenance, bi-annually maintenance and annually maintenance. Daily maintenance for building such as cleaning the toilets, common areas, ground areas, vacuuming elevators must be done everyday, even more than once a day. Daily or routi ne maintenance is very important among others as it involve major operating expense. Cleaning and housekeeping work must be carefully scheduled and controlled because costs can be easily become excessive (Kyle, 1999). With the existence of preventive maintenance schedules, buildings and equipment in the building will last longer and run more efficiently. Building maintenance team also will be seen as a professional team as they work with the efficient preventive maintenance schedule. The forth way that can be adopted is by using computer-aided system in the building maintenance work. In maintaining buildings, computerized system is very necessary because a lot of information and data such as the completion date of buildings, the contractors and engineer that involved in construction, the financial statement, information of past maintenance work, and etc that need to be recorded, saved and remembered. In addition, property atributes such as basic property information like address, telephone number, person incharge for maintenance , area, number of floor and age; component information like type and model number of boilers and pump; and maintenance information like inspection cycles and painting cycles have to be recorded and saved. Computerized system is much more efficient as it is fast in recording the ample information, retrieving any data needed and capable in analysing the data (Pitt, 1986). If the building maintenance team work manually with the substantial d ata, all the works will be slower and not efficient. Maintenance schedule also can be done by using computerized system, indeed it is more effective and practical for maintenance team. Last but not least, the implemention of Malaysias Building and Common Property Act 2007 is necessary in ensuring the efficiency of building maintenance practices, especially for strata property such as condominium, apartments, gated community developments, flats, commercial buildings like offices, shopping complexes, mixed developments and industrial buildings. Malaysias government provide this act after realizing that there is a lack in Housing Developers Act and the Strata Title Act as well as existence of wide gaps between developers and purchasers, for appropriate maintenance and management of buildings and also common property (Isma, 2011). All this while, there are many problems arise between the developers, purchasers and management corporation (MC) of strata properties. Some of the problems are developers failed to apply for the Strata Title because the management corporation (MC) is unable to be formed. The management corporation (MC) could not be formed due to the committee s of the management corporation (MC) must be solely the owner of the unit and the management of the building is totally managed by them without interfered by the developer, but, the management corporation (MC) can only be formed after one-quarter of the aggregate share unit has been transferred to the owner. The management corporations power to practices their duty is also limited and not effective (Isma, 2011). Other than that, the problem also arise when there are defaulting developers and inefficiency property managers who take advantage and trying to make huge profits by providing lower quality services but charging a high fee to the purchasers (Tiun, 2009). So, to eliminate the problems that are arise before, Joint Management Body (JMB) and Commissioner of Building (COB) is formed under the Malaysias Building and Common Property Act 2007. The Commissioner of Building is created to ensure that all parties play their role effectively. The efficient building maintenance practices coukd be formed by the empowered of Commissioner of Building to issue warrant to those purchaser who does not pay the maintenance charges for six months and it is mandotary to all developers to submit the audited maintenance account yearly to the Commissioner of Building (COB) (Isma, 2011). With the provisions, building maintenance work for strata properties will be more transparent, efficient and no longer developer who take advantage towards purchasers.

The Great Gatsby †Chapter 7 Summary :: Essays Papers

The Great Gatsby – Chapter 7 Summary Chapter 7 was another important chapter in this book, it started off with Gatsby deciding to call off his parties, which he had held primarily to lure Daisy. He has also fired his servants to prevent gossip, and replaced them with connections of Meyer Wolfsheim. On the hottest day of the summer, Nick drives to East Egg for lunch at Tom and Daisy's house. When the nurse brings in Tom and Daisy's baby girl, Gatsby is stunned. During the awkward afternoon, Gatsby and Daisy cannot hide their love for one another, and Tom finally notices their situation. After finally realizing the situation, Tom agrees with Daisy's suggestion that they should all go to New York together. Nick rides with Jordan and Tom in Gatsby's car; Gatsby and Daisy ride together in Tom's car. Stopping for gas at Wilson's garage, Nick, Tom, and Jordan learn that Wilson has discovered his wife's affair and plans to move her to the West. Nick perceives that Tom and Wilson are in the same position. Tom begins his confrontation with Gatsby by mocking his habit and the fact that he claimed he went to Oxford. Tom asks Gatsby about his intentions with Daisy, and Gatsby replies that Daisy loves him, not Tom. Tom claims that he and Daisy have a history that Gatsby could not possibly understand. He then accuses Gatsby of running a bootlegging operation. Daisy, who began the afternoon in love with Gatsby, feels herself moving closer and closer to Tom as she watches the confrontation. Tom realizes he has won, and sends Daisy back to Long Island with Gatsby to prove Gatsby's inability to hurt him. As the confrontation ends, Nick realizes that today is his thirtieth birthday. Back at Tom's house, Nick waits outside, and finds Gatsby hiding in the bushes.

Hemp: The Earths Greatest Plant :: essays research papers

Hemp: The Truth About the Earth's Greatest Plant   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In a perfect world there would be a product that could serve as a fuel source, a food source, a paper source, a textile source, and this product would be easy to produce in any of its forms. Believe it or not such a product does exist; it is the plant known as hemp. No tree or plant species on earth has the commercial, economic, and environmental potential of hemp. Over 30,000 known products can be manufactured from hemp.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hemp was a common crop grown in the U.S. until 1937 when it was unjustly banned. A common misconception about hemp is that it was banned because it was a widely abused, harmful drug. Hemp was banned because it was a competitive threat to the wood industry. Corporations that profited from the demise of hemp spread rumors that marijuana was a major drug problem, which it was not at the time. They also propagated a campaign that it was a drug that induced uncontrollable violence, another complete falsehood.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hemp is the plant scientifically known as cannabis sativa. It is referred to as hemp when it is grown for its fibers, stem, and seeds. Its leaves and flowers produce the drugs marijuana and hashish. However, sterile breeds of the plant are still illegal to grow in the U.S. Literally millions of wild hemp plants grow throughout the entire Midwest today. Wild hemp, like hemp used for industry purposes, is useless as an intoxicant. Yet U.S. drug law states that one acre of this can result in the owner being sentenced to death. The death penalty exists for growing one acre of perfectly harmless, non-intoxicating weeds!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hemp can produce any product that paper can produce. The difference is that one acre of hemp can produce four times as much paper as one acre of trees ( a study done by the U.S. Department of Agriculture). Also, a crop of trees takes twenty to fifty years to be ready for harvest where hemp is ready to harvest four times as much in just a year. In addition, hemp produces twice as much fiber per acre as cotton. Twenty five percent of all pesticides in the world are used on cotton, averaging to four pounds of chemicals per acre of cotton in the U.S. every year. Since hemp is a natural repellent to weeds and insects, it needs almost no insecticides or herbicides. If it were substituted for cotton it could greatly reduce the pesticide usage. Again, hemp can produce anything cotton can and what's more it can produce it better.

Essay --

The numbers of marine mammals present in waters under the jurisdiction of the United States has fluctuated over the past century. Declines have been credited to various causes, which are a mix of anthropogenic and natural processes. One major cause of marine mammal decline is whaling. Even though this practice has been prohibited, the effects of commercial whaling in the United States can still be seen today. The main whale species affected included North Pacific right whales (Eubalaena japonica), bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus), humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus), and gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus). Sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis) and sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) were exploited in an increased fashion after World War II (Springer et al., 2003). Whaling did not only affect whale populations, but it also affects populations of seals, sea lions, and sea otters. This is hypothesized to be the result of top-down forces from whaling, forcing great whales to shift their food sources to these smaller marine mammals. During the Second World War, whaling of great whales was at its peak. These whales were used for oils for lubricants, food, and other needs of the people of the United States. However, this heavy use of great whale stocks forced killer whales (Orcinus orca) to begin feeding on smaller marine mammals, such as seals, sea lions, and sea otters (Trites et al., 2006). It is also thought that declines in these smaller marine mammals is due to a decline in nutritional limits in their habitats, competition with fisheries, as well as changing climates. The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) has had a slow recovery since the cessation of commercial... ...ws and acts such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, Fur Seal Act, Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, and the Coastal Management Act, have all helped to prevent the stocks of these important organisms from declining even further. Even though these have been enacted, the general public still needs to be educated and made aware of the population trends of these animals, as well as their importance to the tropic systems surrounding our coastlines. Many individuals do not realize, for instance, that Sea Otters are a keystone species in kelp bed habitats, and without them, kelp forests would dwindle in numbers and the health of those ecosystems would decline rapidly. Kelp forests provide habitat for over a thousand species of animals, many of which are important for fisheries and without those forests, fish abundance would fall as well.

Edge of the Water

On The Edge Of The Water Teens growing up in modern America face challenges daily that help them grow into a productive member of society. In the book, Edgewater Angels by Sandro Meallet, the story is set in the projects of San Pedro, California, a heavily gang influenced town that is a part of Los Angeles. The book exposes the youthfulness of Sunny Toomer, a mischievous teen always faced with the decision between right and wrong in a neighborhood where you can get jumped for walking on the wrong side of the street.Sunny is just trying to find a way out of this life-style he was born into. Not such an easy task when you grow up with a single mother who works hard to provide for her son, and a father who has met his son only a few times. Sunny and his friends face a lot of challenges throughout the novel and they always manage to find a way to weasel themselves out of it with the help of Sunny’s cleverness and ability to think on his feet. Sunny Toomer’s goal that he wis hes to achieve is to get out of San Pedro and live a good life.Edgewater Angels is both heartwarming and exciting because where the author set the story (San Pedro), the use of the character Tom-Su, and Sunny Toomer’s library that he spends most of his free time. The story takes place in the projects of San Pedro, California. San Pedro is known for gang violence and drug trafficking. The main character Sunny Toomer and his friends all live here. Having the story take place in such a low-income neighborhood really sets the tone for the whole book. It makes the reader really connect emotionally to Toomer because of his dream is to succeed in school and eventually live a better life.I feel bad for him because it’s hard enough to have goals and aspirations as a kid. It’s especially hard for Toomer because of where he lives. Basing the book in San Pedro also makes for a lot of entertainment for the reader. Toomer and his friends face problems and dilemmas throughout Edgewater Angels like when Beefy was about to fight Monet and the Sunny came up with the idea to have a swim off. That showed how even rival gang members in a diverse community can get together for some friendly competition.The way Sunny matures throughout the book intrigued me as a reader because I know that even though this book is fiction, there are situations like this in L. A. Meallet At the very beginning of the book, a character was briefly introduced but was significant. His name is Tom Su. Tom Su was a little weird but liked to hangout with the boys. So the boys let him hang out with them as a nice gesture. One day, they boys saw Tom Su standing outside his apartment with his dad. They were yelling back and forth for a while and then the dad hit Tom Su.This shocked the boys and they didn’t know what to do. They thought their parents were rough until they saw what Tom Su had to go through daily. Meallet included this character into the book because child abuse is a re al problem in America but a lot of people either are not aware or do not do anything about it. Tom Su was a character but also a symbol because he represented all of the kids in America that are abused but do not speak up and get help. Sunny strives to be a good student and get good grades. So he spends a lot of time studying and reading.However, those things aren’t so easy to accomplish when you live where Toomer lives, so he had to find an alternate place to go when he needed to study. The library was that place for him because it was â€Å"a place where workers got happy-faced at the site of a young guy like me (Toomer) walking through the door†. (121) Toomer loved the library so much that he was in the library every chance he could get. The library was like the missing piece to his puzzle because he could get away from his mom’s boyfriend who he hated and get peace and quiet while he works on his studies.I have had ADD almost my whole life and it has really effected my studies and school work. I just couldn’t focus at home and that would result in me not finishing homework and then reflect poorly on my grades. Like Toomer, I also needed to find somewhere I could go to study and do homework. My mom works as an elementary school teacher and she has a huge classroom with an enclosed office space in the back. My mom would let me go in there whenever I wanted because that was the only place I could ever get anything done.After about a month of countless hours in the office space, I saw a huge improvement in my grades and I developed really good study habits. I really connected with this part of the book because I could relate to Toomer and his situation. Edgewater Angels painted a perfect picture of how it is to be a teenager and grow up living in the projects of L. A. This story was important because a lot of people are not aware of living conditions of the families living in the projects. Its not like they chose the gangbanging lif e, many teenagers were born into it and had family members in a gang.There are not a lot of options for them to get out and start a brand new life. So its rare to find a kid like Toomer, that had all the tools to become a delinquent and a so called â€Å"thug†, who strives to become a better student and live a better life. That is the overall message that Meallet is trying to display, If you work hard enough at something your passionate about, you can achieve it. This book has definitely opened my eyes to the world and spreads awareness of the living conditions some Americans live.

Implications of Aging in Contemporary Society Essay

A Census is a study of individuals and families to supply necessary information from national to the neighbourhood level. The United Kingdom first took a census of its population in 1801 and every 10 years thereafter. Census is an important measure to impart a good number of remarkable information about the structure of the country. The results are often used to estimate resource distribution to regional and local service providers, by governments in the United Kingdom and European Union levels. A survey conducted by Kevin Kinsella and Victoria A. Velkoff (2001) showed that global population is aging at an unprecedented rate. This means that there are more elderly citizens across the globe, not just in the United Kingdom. Implications of Aging in Contemporary Society The 2001 UK census revealed that there are now more people in the United Kingdom over the age of 60 than people under the age of 16. This shows that there are more older people in the UK than younger people. Economically, this has implications in today’s contemporary society. The valuable history of a society is sustained, communicated and improved in grand showcase through the participation and contributions of older persons. These elder persons will likely to get low-wage jobs which mean less income from which to put aside for retirement and are less likely to be covered by private pension plans. Low paying employment form the least secure fraction of the labour market, leaving these workers jobs more susceptible to unemployment. The so-called age dependency ratios or the ratio of retirees to workers, will be higher than we look at it today. The implications of this development are simple. The collective effects of less workers, more retirees and longer retirement periods endanger not just the continuity of pension systems but also the larger fiscal prospects of countries such as the United Kingdom. A summary report conducted by Schwab, K and Samans (2004) stated that the most effective solution to this is quite complex. That is to have more workers, longer careers, higher productivity and more global exchange and cooperation. With a diminishing supply of young workers, the older workforce will have to put more years in the labour market. This is one of the many consequences of the growing financial problems of retirement systems. The ageing trend will also have to be attended by a modification of stance towards the older workforce and practical guidelines for boosting training, efficiency and integrity of work for the older workforce. Working longer and retiring later while paying higher pension payments for reduced pensions can be viewed as a venture from a reorganized regime, bringing portions of the fruits of progress to early retirement with occasionally high wage replacement rates. A phenomenon has come up with the aging of our societies through the advent of organized retirement programs. These programs basically owe their subsistence to the rising worker efficiency and principles of living and the idea that these developments or improvements should be shared among workers and older members of society. The older members of the society have become mostly dispensable in the fabrication of economic goods in developed economies. Conclusion Since the survey is aimed at coming up with figures to help in determining the distribution of resources, the United Kingdom governments will have to allocate its revenues to both the young and the old. What the 2001 survey showed is that the government will carry out programs that will help the elderly population of the Kingdom. The aging phenomenon goes past the composition and funding of government programs to bigger concerns about falling productivity and standards of living. Everyone is a consumer and all consumers jointly rely on people to produce the goods and services they consume. Retirement schemes let older people to continue to consume without openly giving to the useful ability of the economy. The survey by Kevin Kinsella and Victoria A. Velkoff (2001) further said that there are now about 420 million elderly citizens worldwide as of 2001. These individuals have actually paved a better way for this generation. Sources Kinsella, K. and Velkoff, V. An Aging International Population Reports International. U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 2001. Living Happily Ever After: Schwab, K and Samans, R. The Economic Implications of Aging Societies. Executive Summary of a Report to the World Economic Forum Pension Readiness Initiative developed in partnership with Watson Wyatt Worldwide 2004