Improve end-of-life care Essay

Advocacy to improve end-of-life care and decision-making for patients over the past twenty-five years has frequently turned to the law as a source of protection and procedural innovation. There has been a deliberate strategy to use the legal system to improve the outcome for patients at the end of life by means of courts of law and congressional hearings. Such efforts have resulted in the formation of legislation and regulation but have produced varying measures of gain as well as some serious limitations. As a result of these efforts a wide array of patients’ rights respecting end-of- life care have been established. These include the right to self-determination and to refuse unwanted life-prolonging interventions. Additionally there are regulations which have established decision-making processes and protocols should patients lose the ability to make decisions for themselves. The right to die is understood as the freedom to make a decision to end one’s life, on one’s own terms, as a result of the desire to allay painful effects of an incurable illness (Angus, 2004). The act of ending one’s life can take various forms, depending on the role the patient, their family and the physician plays in this process (Rosen, 1998). Euthanasia refers to the family member or physician intentionally ending the patient’s life by direct request from the patient. Euthanasia can be active or passive, voluntary or involuntary. In active euthanasia either a physician, a family member or another prescribed person, at the directive of the patient or an authorized representative, administers or withholds some form of procedure that leads to the eventual or immediate death of the patient. Passive euthanasia involves these agents withholding a procedure necessary for the patient’s continued survival. Active euthanasia involves administering either drugs or another treatment that will directly lead to death. Voluntary euthanasia is where the patient makes a direct request for either an active or passive procedure and involuntary euthanasia is when this decision is made by someone besides the patient because the patient is probably incapable of making such a decision. Assisted suicide refers to helping the patient end his or her life. There are numerous advocates and agencies throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and other countries, that either promote or oppose the right to die concept. One group advocates the establishment of clear limitations on the ability of healthcare providers or the state to impose undesired life-prolonging interventions against the wishes of the patient or the patient’s authorized surrogate decision-maker. The strength of this effort lies primarily in the articulation by these advocates of procedures for decision-making that respect patients’ autonomy and anticipate the range of circumstances in which patients would lack decision-making capacity and thus would require tough decisions about end-of-life care to be made for them (Johnson, 1998). In contrast to such articulation of ‘negative rights’, more recent advocates for dying patients have focused on using legal mechanisms such as courts of law and legislative processes to try to establish and articulate rights and responsibilities governing the role of the physician in a patient’s suicide. Instead of asking for patients to be free of unwanted interventions, these efforts have lobbied for legal support for positive assistance at the end-of-life. This assistance involves purposefully bringing an end to life through the use of medical interventions. To date, these efforts have met with mixed success. While physician-assisted suicide has been legalized in the Netherlands, achieving the same results in the United States has been challenging. Thus far only the state of Oregon has managed to make any headway in this regard. They managed to pass the ‘Death with Dignity Act’ which came into effect in 1997 (Public Agenda, 2006). This act gives patients a limited amount of legal right to physician-assisted suicide. Furthermore, the Supreme Court has determined that at this time, there is no constitutional violation if a state’s criminal laws prohibit assisted suicide. At a minimum, however, these efforts have succeeded in arousing public interest and inquiry into the suffering endured by patients and their families when serious or terminal illness becomes unbearably burdensome. This outcome may be more valuable than any articulation of a theoretical legal right. Another category of advocates targets the issue at the level of the health centers that provide care for these patients. They argue that the presence of so many discussions on the provision of suicide assistance is a reflection of the U. S. ’ failure to make proper palliative care readily accessible to those who are suffering. They believe that little has been done to ensure that all dying patients and their families receive competent, compassionate care at the end of life, regardless of the care setting or disease process. Such care does not simply involve being left alone or freedom from the use of machines. Efforts and successes in the legal arena have had more to do with decision protocols and processes, documents and directives, than with the substantive clinical aspects of quality care at the end of life. It is not sufficient to simple have a document that articulates a patient’s wish to refuse life-prolonging interventions. What this group advocates is ensuring that doctors effectively communicate with the patient and compassionately provide each with quality palliative care appropriate to their condition (Waters, 1999). There is a limit to the extent to which the law is turned to as a strategy for improving end-of-life care. While considerable time and effort has been spent over the past few decades ensuring, through the law, that certain things should not be done to patients at the end of life, there has been little focus on what should be done for such patients. In this regard the law has limited utility. The earliest and most enduring efforts involving the law in end-of-life care have focused on defining the limits of government intervention and interference, articulating individual freedoms, and creating processes and protocols to address areas of contention. There are precedents from judicial cases, including the cases of Karen Ann Quinlan in 1976 and Nancy Cruzan in 1990, that clearly establish the right of individual patients to refuse all undesired life-prolonging interventions as well as the clear establishment that the interests of third parties or governments cannot supersede individual rights to limit care at the end of life. Also there are legal guidelines and procedures that enable the treatment wishes of patients to be preserved and respected, even when the patients are no longer capable of articulating them. Finally there has been the creation of legal obligations and responsibilities on the part of care providers and care systems to inform patients of their options in this difficult decision-making process. In many ways, the law has been effectively employed to ensure patients’ liberty and privacy against the encroachments of modern medical technology as they approach the end of their lives. However, it is difficult to determine how successful the law has been in impacting positively the quality of care and decision-making provided to patients at the clinical level (Angus, 2004). Through legal principles and legislation, courts at both the state and federal levels have extensively considered the issue of end-of-life care and decision-making. They have consistently emphasized the right of patients to refuse any and all life-prolonging medical interventions, including ventilators, dialysis, surgery, and artificial nutrition and hydration. This protection is extended where patients are able to personally articulate their wishes or do so through authorized surrogate decision-making mechanisms. With respect to the cases that have thus far been examined through the courts, they have extended the fundamental legal right of patients to generally refuse treatment, providing clarity and creating decision paths in situations of uncertainty. The cases have not, however, completely eliminated debate and apprehension in the clinical arena, where moral ambivalence, medical uncertainty, religious convictions, emotional distress, and outright misunderstanding of the law still obscure the decision-making process in individual circumstances. The issue of ending a patient’s life is complex, no two cases being the same. There are significant implications for the patient involved, their family, physician and the facility providing care at this crucial time in their lives. For many clinicians, patients and their families, decisions about whether to withdraw a feeding tube or turn off a ventilator are still difficult. Such dilemmas cannot be addressed by the law, which can provide a process for decision-making but cannot necessarily guide the involved parties to the ‘right’ decision in a particular circumstance. The difficulty of end-of-life decisions are further compounded by evolving standards of care, continuing debate over what constitutes ‘futile’ care and confusion among clinicians, particularly about ‘what is legal’ (Angus, 2004). Evidently there are limits to what the law can clarify and make concrete when the issues are so complex and confounding. Another challenge has been the limited use of the many advance care-planning mechanisms that have been developed through both judicial and legislative processes. Additionally there has been limited advocacy by healthcare professionals for the use of these mechanisms. Mechanisms such as living wills and healthcare proxies or powers of attorney are intended to empower patients and their surrogates. Through the use of these, patients and their caregivers can consider the complex and problematic area of end-of-life care in a thoughtful and deliberate way, long before the chaos that often accompanies an acute, life-threatening event or the onset of serious illness ensue. While none of these mechanisms is perfect, if used properly and as prescribed in the law, such documents and advance planning could help avoid some of the crises that frequently accompany end-of-life care and decision-making (McDonald, 1999). A growing body of studies documents the myriad of problems and challenges that have surfaced in trying to implement advance care planning in the clinical setting. Some studies reveal physicians’ erroneous beliefs about advance directives and their lack of knowledge about how to employ them in clinical care routines. Other studies highlight the inadequacy of understanding between patients and their care providers about treatment preferences at the end of life, even when patients have previously executed an advance directive. Still other studies reflect that there is uncertainty in the clinical arena concerning who is responsible for initiating and helping to formulate advance care-planning decisions. Of course the variety of issues examined by studies are not exhausted as there still needs to be studies on strategies to increase the number of patients who execute advance directives prior to incapacity given that only a small percentage do so now. Also it remains unclear whether more directives will ultimately lead to better care that is more responsive to patient and family needs.

Native American Medicine Essay

The medical cures and healing traditions used by the Native Americans are rather interesting and different compared to modern day Anglo Saxon cures. Native Americans, using their basis of ideas and beliefs, have developed a general idea of naturalistic cures and healing processes. Although the cures and healing processes are much different than Anglo Saxon ideas of curing and healing, the Native American processes tend to work well and even better than many Anglo Saxon cures. Native American medical and healing beliefs and processes are generally based on a more natural curing or purification process than the processes of modern day Anglo Saxons. Many Native American healing processes have been practiced for around 40,000 years. Different Native American healing traditions have appeared to share roots with different cultures, such as ancient Chinese traditions. Although many of the Native American healing traditions appear to share roots with ancient Chinese traditions, the greatest influence on Native American healing is the environment in which they have lived. The different plants and animals around them influenced their healing practices to be all natural. Another influence on their healing practices was other tribes. The migration of tribes around them allowed the tribes to share their knowledge of natural cures. Trade was also very helpful in Native American healing practices because many of the natural remedies required herbs from surrounding environments or long distances, and being able to trade with traveling tribes saved much travel time and risk. Although Native American healing practices have proven to be successful, a lot of their traditions have been lost. Many of the practices were driven underground and lost because they became banned or illegal in many parts of the United States. After 1978, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act was passed, and the Native Americans were once again allowed to practice their healing traditions. The long gap without practicing certain healing processes resulted in the loss of many of their practices, however. Even today, there are still difficulties with Native Americans being allowed to perform different ceremonies and rituals because the land serves other purposes. (www. cancer. org). Native Americans have successfully lived for many years by using their own idea of natural cures and purification. Native American healing is a broad term that includes different healing beliefs and practices of hundreds of indigenous tribes or North America. It combines religion, spirituality, herbal medicine uses, and purification rituals that are used to treat the indigenous people either medically, emotionally, or behaviorally. According to Lakota Sioux, the basis of natural beliefs and connections comes from the story of the white buffalo. The story begins with a woman appearing during the time of famine. She was wearing a white buffalo skin and carrying a sacred pipe. After appearing to the tribe, she explained to them that the wooden stem was for the trees and everything growing on earth. Her red bowl was to symbolize the flesh and blood of all people and the smoke was the breath of their prayers going to Wakan Tanka, the creator. The woman then presented the pipe ceremony to the tribe, which included offerings made to the four directions while drums were played and sacred songs were sung. The people then began to understand the connection between sky and earth and the unity of all life. Before leaving, the woman said she would return when the time was right and turned into a buffalo, changing colors several times. Finally, she became a white buffalo calf and disappeared. The people followed her teachings and were no longer hungry. Years later, a white buffalo calf, very rare, appeared and changed colors throughout its life. The calf is believed to be the woman. (www. native-americans-online. com). Through this story, many indigenous tribes have believed nature to be the cures and purifications needed for the soul to become whole. There are many types of Native American healing practices, and they are promoted to help with a variety of ills. Some of the most common aspects of Native American healing include the use of herbal remedies, purifying rituals, shamanism, and symbolic healing rituals to treat illnesses of both the body and spirit. Herbal remedies are used to treat many physical conditions. Practitioners use purifying rituals to cleanse the body and prepare the person for healing. Shamanism is based on the idea that spirits cause illness, and a Native American healer called a shaman focuses on using spiritual healing powers to treat people. Symbolic healing rituals, which can involve family and friends of the sick person, are used to invoke the spirits to help heal the sick person. (www. cancer. org). The Native American belief in spirituality caused the Native Americans to believe that diseases are caused by an object piercing the soul through sorcery. A disease can also be believed to be the complete absence of a free soul. Their naturalistic beliefs allowed them to believe that even diseases are considered natural occurrences, and because they occur naturally, they can be cured naturally as well. By using natural remedies, â€Å"medicine men† attempted to cure diseases that have invaded tribal villages. Natural remedies used by the medicine men included different concoctions of plants, fungi, or animals that could be eaten or rubbed on a certain area of the body to cure the illness. Before Europeans invaded Native American land, Native Americans had not had an extreme amount of experience in the treatment of disease. However, after the Europeans invaded their land, they (the Europeans) brought many diseases with them. Some of the deadly diseases included smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, typhoid, influenza, and pertussis or whooping cough. At the first sign of the diseases, the indigenous people continued trying their natural remedies, but after many failed attempts at curing the diseases, the people would often avoid the sick and leave them to die because they believed that evil spirits had taken over their soul. With the Europeans bringing many diseases to the indigenous land, the indigenous people believed the Europeans to be evil spirited and deadly. The many diseases brought by the Europeans caused a major Native American depopulation. In order to try to cure these diseases or other illnesses, Native Americans relied on the use of what they referred to as the â€Å"medicine man† or â€Å"healer†. The medicine man was very well educated on the surrounding nature and knew what natural remedy would cure the illness. Often times, the medicine man would have to travel to other lands in order to find a certain plant or a fungus that was needed in the remedy. Medicine men were very effective at curing illnesses because of the knowledge they had of nature. Not only did the Native Americans use natural remedies to cure illness, but they also used natural purification processes in order to purify or cleanse their soul in an emotional healing process. The purifying ritual is a ceremony known as a sweat lodge, where the indigenous people would sit in extreme temperatures and sweat out the evil in them which allowed them to be cleansed. To begin the sweat lodge process, one must offer a pouch of tobacco to the medicine man. The tobacco is used to represent the spirit of the person presenting it. By offering the tobacco to the medicine man, one is asking him to work on their behalf in the spiritual world. When presenting the tobacco, one would also bring forth their specific desire such as an alcohol or drug problem. The sweat lodge process begins with the passing of what are known as tobacco ties. Many tobacco ties are hung around inside the sweat lodge and each tobacco tie represents a prayer. The four sacred herbs, sage, sweet grass, cedar, and tobacco, are used in order to help purify the room and allow the spirits to work. Then rocks, primarily lava stones from volcanoes, are heated using a fire until they are white hot. Once the rocks are white hot, they are brought into the lodge in order to begin the sweating process. To keep the rocks hot, water is poured onto them making an immense amount of steam and heating the lodge. Now that the purification process has finally begun, everyone sits in a circle and goes around, one person at a time, offering prayers. After all prayers have been given, the medicine man blends them all together in a mystical process altering the state of mind to something beyond the physical form. This is where the real healing takes place. As the purification process comes to a conclusion, a new ceremony known as wopela begins. Wopela is simply giving thanks. All participants bring in gifts for the medicine man in order to thank him for leading them through the purification process. The medicine man begins a prayerful state and takes the prayer ties and sets them up in the north end of the center. This allows the prayers to be carried to the Great Spirit in a good way. The medicine man then blows out the candles the lodge becomes pitch dark. Another emotional healing strategy is the use of the medicine wheel. The medicine wheel was an important transformation in the process of Native American tribes realizing that they are much different from each other. Basically, the medicine wheel was a sheet decorated in special symbols, colors, or stones that allowed others know about the inhabitants of the tribe. One was placed in front of every tepee or hut to notify others of that individual’s strengths and weaknesses. By doing so, each individual had their own guidelines to follow for personal growth by realizing what one needed to learn and what one needed to teach. After many generations, the people began to lose the concept of blame and anger upon others. One tribe member from Arizona states â€Å"If I said to you, ‘Does anyone ever make you angry? ’ you would say yes. But in reality, this is totally impossible. You choose to be angry by the way you process the event. This is something you were taught to do as a child. If you could imagine not one person in all of New York City having the concept of anger, that’s what it was like during that time period of no wars before the white man came. †(www. native-americans-online. com). By placing a simple wheel outside their homes, the Native Americans began to learn to cope with their anger and not place blame upon others. This shows a strong cultural emotional healing process because it rid the tribes of anger and blame on others. Indigenous people also believed in psychiatric healing beliefs by altering their state of mind. They were able to alter their state of mind through events such as drumming and chanting rituals, Salish spirit dancing, and visual stimuli. All processes were used in order to calm down an individual. The drumming or chanting of rituals acted as a concentration device to its listeners. A constant beat or pattern would reduce the tendency of the mind to wander. It would also enter the brain wave patterns and sometimes the subjects’ brainwaves would change to match the frequency of the drumming or beating. As for the altered states produced in the Salish Spirit Dance, the sensory stimulation would release neuro-endocrine opiod agents that would produce a peak experience during that dance performance. It is quite obvious that the healing processes of the indigenous people vary greatly from the healing processes of modern day Anglo Saxons. For example, in seeking a cure, Anglo Saxons search for a man made discovery to lead to a cure where as the indigenous people rely on nature for their cures. Although the Anglo Saxon solutions are very effective, the natural remedies also work and are less harmful. All Anglo Saxon cures provide quick solutions but at the risk of side effects which are not present in natural remedies. One belief of the indigenous people was that the illness was caused by nature, so nature can cure the illness. Another difference in Anglo Saxon healing processes is emotional or psychiatric healing. Anglo Saxon traditions in emotional healing include the use of a therapist or other person to talk to in order to solve the problem. The indigenous people use a similar cure, except they seek a higher cure such as the sweat lodge in order to be in contact with the spirit world. Anglo Saxons also place blame and problems on others in an attempt to relieve themselves of the pressure or danger of events. The indigenous people however, do not like to place blame on others, but on themselves. The indigenous people begin looking for a cure inside oneself in order to fix the problem. Although many rituals and healing processes of the indigenous people are much different than the processes of the modern day Anglo Saxons, the processes of the indigenous people have proven to work effectively in curing the illness. Their belief in having a pure soul contributes to the rituals they perform in order to heal. Both Anglo Saxon and Native American healing processes have been proven effective, with the difference being the focus of the solution. Native American medical and healing beliefs and processes are generally based on a more natural curing or purification process than the processes of modern day Anglo Saxons. Sources Used http://muwww-new. marshall. edu/jrcp/VE13%20N1/jrcp%2013%201%20thomason. pdf http://www. native-americans-online. com/index. html http://www. cancer. org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/mindbodyandspirit/native-american-healing.

New Labour claims to be ‘tackling domestic violence on every front’ (Home Office 2000)

In 1999, the Government published ‘Living Without Fear: An Integrated Approach to reducing domestic violence', outlining their commitment to reducing the incidence of violence against women and the strategy for accomplishing this. Safe housing is a basic human need. As many women are dependent upon a man for this necessity, the choice between unsafe housing or homelessness is often unrealisable. The majority of safe accommodation for women escaping violent relationships is provided by the voluntary sector with little support from the state. Safe housing is a crucial element for women leaving violent partners. ‘The need for both temporary and permanent secure accommodation for women and children who have left home because of violence must be paramount' (Harwin and Brown 2000 p219) In this essay, I plan to review the history of safe housing provision for women in the UK and look at the influence of the Women's Aid movement, the role of local authorities and the influence of the Conservative governments. Then I will assess the welfare needs of vulnerable women and children – what housing support do women escaping violent relationships need? Do different ethnic groups have different needs? Following that, Labour's focus upon domestic violence will be analysed and I will assess whether this emphasis has produced any real changes for women in terms of housing and homelessness. In term of housing, Dobash and Dobash (2000) developed four conditions under which an abused woman is able to be safe: 1. Her male partner ceases his violence and lives peacefully; 2. The woman escapes to refuge where she can live free of violence, albeit only temporarily; 3. The man is successfully evicted from the matrimonial home, remains away and does not harass her, or; 4. The woman is safely rehoused in another home and is not pursued or harassed in her new location. (Dobash and Dobash 2000 p200) The Government's pledge represents significant statutory commitment to this issue for the first time – do Labour's promises reflect real change? Firstly, to look at the history of safe housing provision for women in the UK. Traditionally, it has been thought that the state ought not to interfere in family life; domestic violence therefore raises questions about the position of the state in the private sphere of the family (Wasoff and Day 2000). Even relatively recently, the prevalence of this attitude can be identified. During the thirteen years of Conservative government during the 1980s and 90s, an emphasis was placed upon the important role played by the nuclear family unit and policy encouraged ‘traditional family values' and stigmatised groups such as single parents. Policy objectives of the time were directed at ‘tackling the problem' which tended to express a ‘problem family' orientation towards reducing recurrences of abuse of violence. Consequently, this approach underplayed policies aimed towards prevention or the enforcement of victim's rights. The feminist refuge movement was established in the 1970s, previous to this there was no provision and women leaving a violent partner had to rely on the informal sector for support from family or friends. Domestic violence was not regarded as a sufficient reason for homelessness and any input from statutory agencies such as the police or social service departments was geared towards reconciliation (Morley 2000). The women's refuge movement began with a few houses offering sanctuary to women organised on ‘self-help' principles. Somerville (2000) notes the influence of the movement upon public perceptions of domestic violence that led to major changes in public policy. Consequently, there has been a huge amount of legislative change. This began with the Domestic Violence Act (1976) which allowed a woman to obtain a court order to excluded her violent partner from the home and the Housing (Homelessness) Act (1977) made it a duty for local authorities to house women made homeless as a result of domestic violence. However, whilst this was an enormous step forward, in reality women had a difficult time ‘proving' violence. Due to the nature of domestic violence, there are rarely witnesses. The wording of the1977 Act was ambivalent and open to misinterpretation, less than half of refuge groups felt that it had improved women's housing prospects (Morley 2000 p233), this was largely due to inconsistencies in legislative interpretation. Surveys such as Jayne Mooney's study into domestic violence in North London (1994) revealed high levels of domestic violence, this put pressure on the government to make more legislative changes. Changes in policing emphasised the importance of protecting the victim and taking strong positive action against the perpetrator. Similarly, social service departments made an ‘about face', recognising the importance of empowering mothers, rather than threatening them with the removal of their children. However, whilst the 1990s have been regarded as a period of significant development in terms of public awareness of domestic violence (Hague 1999), The Housing Act (1996) has been seen by some as a step backwards. This legislation removed the right of those defined as ‘statutorily homeless' to be housed permanently. Local authorities can only offer permanent accommodation to those registered on the council housing list; those escaping domestic violence are now merely entitled to temporary accommodation. The legislation gave local authorities the power to refuse housing to any person believed to have suitable accommodation elsewhere, this especially affects women from ethnic minority groups who could be assessed as having access to housing in another country (Harwin and Brown 2000). Obviously, this had consequences for many made homeless as a result of violence. Section 180 of the 1996 Act made local authority funding for refuges a duty. As a result, an average 37% of refuge income is received from this source but has brought with it its own disadvantages. Women's Aid (2000a) note that some local authorities fail to comply or set conditions which ‘undermine strategies for ensuring the safety of abused women and children' as well as putting pressure upon refuges to only take local women. That aside, as mentioned earlier, the trend towards appropriate intervention and support for those escaping violent relationships has been upwards. A 1992 Home Office Enquiry resulted in a co-ordinated national response and emphasised multi-agency co-operation. There are now over 300 refuges throughout the country offering a wide range of services with specialist provision for women and children from differing ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Before I move on to examining the role New Labour have played in terms of safe housing provision it is important to look at exactly what it is that is needed by women and children escaping violence from men. The Conservative government's introduction of the ‘right to buy' programme has resulted in depleted council housing stock and social renting has developed into a residual sector (Conway 2000). Local authority housing has increasingly catered for a smaller range of people marginalized from mainstream society. Combined with the fact that households headed by women are at a disadvantage as a whole in the UK this results in further social inequality for those escaping domestic violence. Women need good quality housing in a safe environment with a responsive housing management. Access to suitable housing would include: ? A sensitive response to all applicants ? Day-to-day management support ? Specialist support staff ? Liaison with other services and agencies ? Benefits advice/debt counselling (Adapted from Conway 2000 p102) McGee (2000 p91) identified three main areas of support wanted by women escaping domestic violence: 1. Easily accessible information regarding sources of support. 2. Counselling. 3. Help for mothers in supporting the children to deal with their experiences. This final point is a particularly important one. Refuge financing does not take into account the numbers of children using refuges. There is no recognition of the existence of children, and the cost of providing for children, when there may be up to 18 children in a six-bedroom project (Women's Aid 2000a). Additionally to this, children are often extremely disturbed by the violence they have witnessed and the disruption in their lives, yet a quarter of all refuges have no funding for a specialist children's worker. Women from minority groups can face increased difficulty when escaping a violent partner. Racism especially plays a large part in dissuading black women from taking action to address violence from a partner. The reputation of the police is a significant factor in this. Mama (2000) notes that the police appear more ready to investigate cases of illegal immigration than to respond to cases of domestic violence. Despite attempts to challenge racism within the police force, officers on the ground have still been found to perpetrate the abuse via racism. The belief that violence against women is part of the black culture is one that appears especially resistant (Mama 2000). In terms of housing it is imperative for black women to be housed in an area which not only places her in an area away from the perpetrator but also ensures her safety from racism. Women, especially those with children, are more likely than men to be dependant upon social housing; for women from ethnic minority backgrounds this is even more so. The most crucial need of women, overwhelmingly in evidence, is that of safe permanent housing. The refuge movement has improved service provision for women considerably, but is limited by their ability to solely provide temporary housing for women and children. Only by statutory provision can this need be met. This would necessitate significant statutory change. Women who continue to live with a violent partner often give their fear of being homeless as their reason for remaining (Mama 2000), a valid one as evidence suggests. If New Labour is ‘committed to tackling domestic violence on every front'; this is the key area they need to be addressing. So, to evaluate the progress being made. Since coming to power, Labour have been keen to adopt a more progressive stance towards domestic violence than the Conservative rhetoric for supporting traditional families that arguably promoted male control over women. Publications such as ‘Living Without Fear' (1999) and the ‘Break the Chain' (1999) campaign were some of the platforms used by the Government to address this issue and encourage people to access help and support. Early evaluations of Labour's policy response to domestic violence have been cautious in supporting the Government's proposals. Hague (1999) acknowledges that both before and after election, Labour have been clear in their commitment to improving services for victims of domestic violence. However, she notes that there have been contradictions and lack of consistency in policy. Both Hague (1999) and Harwin and Barron (2000) draw attention to the fact that there are discrepancies between local authorities in terms of practice guidelines. There is no national policy to govern their practice and whilst many local authorities have recognised the serious nature of domestic violence, some less liberal authorities adopt a harsh view of the law, leaving many women and children in insecure and vulnerable positions in terms of housing. There is no single government office directly responsible for policy in this area; it falls between the Home Office, the Department of Environment and the Department of Health. A clear example of this is the research discussed later in this essay. This reiterates the findings published by the Government in ‘Tackling Domestic Violence' (1998) which considered how local authorities dealt with domestic violence and partnerships with other agencies. Based on evidence from local authorities it discovered evidence of inadequate funding and incomprehensive coverage (Wasoff and Dey 2000). In the publication ‘Government Policy Around Domestic Violence', little attention is paid to housing and accommodation despite the actuality it is recognised as a key issue. The key point states the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions has worked with other Government agencies to commission research into accommodation and support services available to those suffering domestic violence. Harwin and Barron (2000) assessed the research in terms of accommodation provision; their key findings, published by the Home Office, include: ? Leaving the family home is a last resort and some would have stayed if security was improved ? Good practice by local authorities needs to be examined and assessed ? Problems with service provision still exists ? Official figures on homelessness due to violence are inaccurate and underestimate the extent of the problem ? In term of temporary accommodation, much is not appropriate for women with children and the length of stay in temporary accommodation is unacceptable The paper concludes that monitoring of domestic violence need to be improved in terms of how many applicants for housing as a result of violence are rejected and support services need to be improved, particularly resettlement services. A key area only to be addressed this year has been that of the Housing Act 1996 in relation to homelessness. Hague stated ‘If it [the Housing Act 1996] remains on the statute book under Labour, [it] is a license for less liberally-minded authorities to adopt harsh measures.' (Hague 1999 p144) With the Homelessness Act 2002, Labour has brought major changes to the statutory program of help for women who are homeless as a result of domestic violence (Delahay 2002). Whilst it makes no new environment for homelessness or housing allocation, the Act does contain some tangible revisions to the terms of the Housing Act 1996. Introduced is a new category of priority need for housing for ‘a person who is vulnerable as a result of ceasing to occupy accommodation by reason of violence from another person or threats of violence from another person which are likely to be carried out' Homelessness Act 2002 s10 Additionally, the proposed Code of Good Practice emphasises the safety of the applicant and maintaining confidentiality. The need to ‘prove' violence has been repealed and it has been accepted that the impact of violence or threatened violence can be cumulative. The impact of this legislative change is impossible to evaluate at present but it does represent a significant shift towards supportive measures for those experiencing violence. The Government has placed a great deal of focus upon developing a co-ordinated response towards domestic violence in terms of multi-agency partnerships. ‘Our overall goals are†¦to see effective multi-ageny partnerships operating throughout England and Wales' Living Without Fear (1999) Local authorities have been particularly responsive to these initiatives (Hague 1999) Examining the wider picture, increasing women's eligibility for housing will not have a real impact if this is not backed up by addressing the problem of residualisation. Labour is doing little to address this (Morley 2000) and could even be seen as exacerbating the issue by announcing in Autumn 2002 their intention to grant housing association tenants the right to buy which will further deplete social housing stock. In conclusion, there have been huge improvements in terms of support for women experience violence in the home, much of this directly attributable to the work of Women's Aid and other feminist groups. The Government's commitment to addressing this issue can only be positive but the overall picture remains one of ambivalence and lack of consistency in policy implementation. Continued lack of funding appears to remain the key issue in terms of housing and is holding back comprehensive intervention. Domestic violence is about control over women, a sentiment that thrives within the larger system of patriarchy within our society Our social order is antagonistic to the female gender. If domestic violence is about control, then our society enables men's control over women. As a whole, Labour's policy has a tendency towards liberalism (with a small ‘l'!), thereby neglecting policies that might encourage equality. It is important to acknowledge the increased prominence of domestic violence, however, fundamentally the Government falls short on its claim to be ‘tackling domestic violence on every front'. When a woman makes the important step of leaving an abusive relationship she faces a society that opposes her at every turn – lower pay, little accessible childcare, and significantly inadequate housing – no wonder the relationship begins to look attractive again.

Writing assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Writing - Assignment Example However, numerous counter arguments have been presented to prove that these austerity packages actually take the economy many steps behind rather than forward. The purpose of austerity packages is to reduce the budget deficit that is fiscal budget deficit to be specific. However, it can be seen that these packages have actually worsened the situation in Greece and budget deficits have increased. The first major aspect of this argument is that when an austerity package is implemented, the government expenditure decreases. When this happens, the investment in the economy decreases. This investment is a key factor in the calculation of the gross domestic product (GDP) and such a measure will indirectly decrease the GDP of the economy with the aid of a decrease in investments. When the government expenditure goes down along with the investments, people go out of employment. This is what has happened in Greece where the investments have either been drawn out of the economy or the government is not spending enough money to help the employment rate. This rise in unemployment leaves less number of people with the disposable income and the living standards of the people go down. Although this living standard cannot be measured with the assistance of budgets but this surely increases the anxiety and frustration in the society leading to poor law and order and eventually lower injection of funds due to poor confidence in the economy. (Tyson, 2012) One thing that can negatively influence the budget deficit directly is the fact that when unemployment rises, people have less money to spend and the consumption in the economy goes down. This lowers the GDP of the economy and this causes the budget deficits to increase even further. Another factor related to unemployment is that the unemployed people cannot pay taxes and this negatively influences a key source of revenue for the government. This results in even a greater fiscal budget deficit and

The Personal Application Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Personal Application Assignment - Essay Example It is basically a web development and software house which serves individuals as well as business organizations to get their software and web development issues resolved. The thing I noticed at the very first day was workforce diversity at the workplace. The culture of the organization is soft and innovative. Physical premises of the software house is situated in comparatively less rush and calm area where race differences and ethnicity were noticed and hindered in many of the matters. I was a bit surprised about the issue. I was not getting how they were surviving at that place. Being a business graduation student, it attracted me to dig out the ground fact. I talked to some of the organizational employees as an informal interview (just general questioning and answering). They seemed to be fully satisfied. I was taking it as a dilemma because last vacations, my cousin brother told me about his experience of working in the same area but different organization where employee absenteei sm and turnover was so high. The reason was the same as I outlined above; race differences. I thought to get it as an adventure and I thanked to my luck that I was here. I had now decided to gather a lot from that place in order to cater my learning desires and objectives. It was a competitive work place as I could judge the work environment. A highly diverse culture was handled in very well manner. Team orientation in order to accomplish the tasks was most attractive trait of the organization. Reflective Observations While working as an assistant HR manager for partial duties, I was also attending an employee class room training session. It had not entered in to the confidential level that is why I was permitted to attend the lessons. Here I was able to interact with employees more informally. However I have not studied psychology formally in any class room, but I really feel interest in psyche of peers and numerous levels in an organization. I did not know what they perceived abou t me. But I was getting impressed their way of working and bringing the things in a flow upstream. Mr. John Fernandez, a senior training officer, is a retired employee of the same organization. He is basically from Germany and moved to USA for joining the organization on the basis of his extraordinary human resource management skills. He was now serving as a trainer for new or promoted employees in the class room session. I personally talked to him and he got my point easily that about what I wanted to know. He told me that software and web developing needs a competitive edge in order to separately place your services in the market. By diverse work force, they had competitive edge to put diverse innovations in to their offerings. They were following a wide range of personalization and customization from web design to personalized EDP software development. They had served almost every small, medium and large organization in different extents of services. Relating the matters of daily life with workplace seems to be a merely impossible task but planning and proper implementation is the key to competitive advantage. Intended information system integrity was not a big deal as they were specialized in controlling the flow of information to the right direction as well as to the accurate pace. Information technology experts who belonged to Asian regions like India or

Case Study 1 (Stage 1) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

1 (Stage 1) - Case Study Example Enterprise Resource Planning systems entail packages which use interpersonal technological database in integrating numerous units of information in an organization. (Hachani,n.d.). ERP systems are recognized as software’s that deliver modules which are isolated but integrated. This is easily connected and mounted through packages for various organizations. It is evident that majority of companies use separate and different information systems since they merge with different companies which have acquired varied systems. The main reason as to why the BP Company can develop ERP systems is because they are fond of integrating distinct information systems hence resulting to enhanced data reliability and processing productivity. In the past ERP systems were only associated with big companies which wanted to integrate their businesses but currently even the micro companies have emerged to use the systems. The popularity of ERP systems and its outstanding success owes to its ability to advance customer service, simplification of business transactions and elimination of work that has little value. Research indicates that other information systems have been rendered obsolete and outdated since the introduction of ERP systems. The main challenge to having an ERP system installed in our company is the cost which is roughly $100,000,000 so as to implement a larger ERP system to contain the organization’s needs. Nevertheless, the system is significant and capable of providing benefits that would improve the quality of information thus creating way for good management decisions at the BP Company for ideal business operations. Grid computing is a collection of computers put together to form a particular task so as to achieve a common goal. Alternatively, grid computing is a system that applies the use of several computers to form a network to solve a problem which may

Internship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Internship - Essay Example A spouse in a junior position, for instance, may expect leniency and favors from the partner in a senior position. I feel that workplace romance may be an unfortunate thing since it is highly likely to compromise on my career growth. Problems that we experience in a relationship may extend to the workplace. In addition, issues of promotion and demotion may severely affect our relationship since it initiates competition in the relationship. Besides, I may easily feel jealous if I watch a workmate becoming close to my spouse. Managing workplace romance as an employer is a difficult task because a love relationship is an intensely emotional issue. To begin with, I would not make any policy of stopping workplace romance since such a subject resides within individual liberties. This suggests that employees would be unrestricted to either date or not date at the workplace. I would make a policy, which informs romantic partners that the organization would not participate in one’s private affairs. A couple, therefore, has to ensure that relationship issues do not infiltrate into the work

Lens essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Lens - Essay Example Using Kant’s deontology, an analysis of the actions of Mackenzie and Elena reveals that Mackenzie merely concerned about consequences that are not recommended while Elena made her decision correct from a sense of duty. There exists a dilemma on whether this issue should be forwarded to the council or the matter should just be ignored. When people are making decision, stakeholders must be considered. In the case, all sororities are stakeholders because fairness is not existed when one small group break the rules. Furthermore, those recruits are also stakeholders given that they have additional interaction with people in sororities. In the view of Mackenzie, she might just care about her own advantage, but from the perspective of Elena, she considered most of stakeholders’ benefits include herself. Kant explains: â€Å"One ought only to act such that the principle of one’s act could become a universal law of human action in a world in which one would hope to liveà ¢â‚¬  (13). Ethical dilemmas exist at workplace especially because most of them happen to our dear friends. Mackenzie is in a dilemma on whether to reject the whole recruitment process just because a few of the interviewee’s ignored the basic rule. Although it seems like a tedious and troublesome process it is the right channel that must be followed. The rules said that in order to have a fair process for everyone, sorority members had to stay indoors to avoid mixing with the rest. This is the rule and for Mackenzie to be fair and just to the rest of the sorority members she has abandon the recruitment process and report the matter to the recruiting council although it is not her fault and she has not broken any rule. By doing this she will also be showing her loyalty to the company. Elena on the other hand is right and she had made the right decision by advising Mackenzie to abandon the recruitment

Health Promotion Module , NAPIER UNIVERSITY , Coursework

Health Promotion Module , NAPIER UNIVERSITY , - Coursework Example One has to describe the whole situation openly so the situation is cleared to everyone. Then it has to be analyzed that what happened was done in correct manner and finally it is evaluated that whether it could have been done in a better manner. All three critical thought processes of reflection ensure better learning from an individual’s past experience (Larrivee, 2000, pp. 293--307). Difference between reflection  in  action and  reflection  on  action Reflection in action is the process of thinking before the task has been done. All the consequences are kept in mind before taking first step of task. Reflection on action is opposite to reflection in action because here a person thinks about the act that has been done and he learns from his experience. In this kind of reflection people feel the situation more realistically and can express feeling more effectively (Keyte and Harris et al., 2012, pp. 155--160). Gibbs model of reflection compare with the Atkins and Mur phy model Gibbs model of reflection is very clear and includes description of situation, feelings of the person facing situation, analysis of whole situation and then evaluates the whole situation leading to new strategies if the particular situation encounters again. While in Atkins and Murphy model awareness to situation is necessary to continue the effective process for description, analysis and evaluation and then a person make further action plans. For the same reason I would prefer to use Atkins and Murphy model because prior knowledge is always better to know the new situation. One must know their comfort level of their feelings and thought [4]. TASK 2 - Evidence-based approach to global health promotion Summary Poverty is biggest evil and for many years humankind is working to eradicate it completely but there comes hurdles that haven’t made it successful like in the case of Africa where much aid has been given but have not shown a significant change (Van Der Berg, 20 08). The speaker Esther Duflo highlighted three problems and there solutions in the discussion, according to her three are three main problems which are as follows: Effective immunization When the speaker started her work in Udaipur Rajistan only one percent children were immunized. She observed that not only providing centers to people is enough but there must be some incentives that encourage them to immunize their kids on time. The strategy was implemented and showed a 6 times increase in the rate of immunization (Drewnowski and Specter, 2004, pp. 6--16). Effective use of net beds During the same case study they found that people were offered bed nets for free and after a year they purchased them because they were used to it unlikely those who did not get for free. Send children to school According to the speaker, only by curing intestinal worm problems a 30% increase in the population can be seen in children going to school (Nodhj?lp, 2013). The speaker carries all statistics an d shows very effectively by telling that education is the cheapest mode to eradicate poverty. As we all know poverty is root of evil. It creates unavoidable circumstances, when someone doesn’t have food to eat or someone’s children are dying he acts violently and here comes need of education

A study of the superstitions of college students Speech or Presentation

A study of the superstitions of college students - Speech or Presentation Example As a measure of precaution against errors in the research, some additional ten questions were added into the thirty questions. It was noted earlier before the research that some students who were bright enough could end up answering the questions not using the truth in them but their intellectual capabilities. Such clever students were bound to offer correct responses as indicating that a statement is ‘false’ for the purpose of the test yet in them, the superstition could be very much true. The ten factual questions therefore proved to be a source of huge hindrance or cover up for a larger source of errors in the research study. Sample The sample that was used in conducting the research consisted of students from two main categories or backgrounds. One group of the students involved a class of 103 students who had enrolled in taking studies in a general psychology class in the College of Liberal arts in Northwest University. In this category of students, the researchers indicate that the majority of them were freshmen and attended the program as full time students. This creates a picture in the mind that these students in the first group were mainly youths beginning their adult life. On the other hand, the second category of students was 46 students who were studying general psychology in a School of Commerce. ... ll, it can be concluded that the first and the second category of students in the research were a typical representation of typical academic students and intelligent non-academic students respectively. In both classes, the test that had been previously mentioned as consisting of 30 superstitions and prejudices together with 10 factual questions was presented to the students at the beginning of their respective courses. No any discussion was done by the instructors who offered the test in regard to the test and any reasons as to why the students had been assigned the test. At the end of the semester, the same test was offered to the two sets of students still without any explanation being offered as to why they were being offered the test. In both tests the scoring method that was used was the same. The scoring was based on the questions among the superstitions that had been marked as ‘true’. By this, a student who had ten questions marked as ‘true’ had a sco re of ten. This basically meant that the other ten factual questions that had been included in the ten had no consequence when it came to scoring as they were only control questions. The ten questions were not given any considerations when determining the scoring of the student. Results and interpretation As is indicated in the table recorded in the PowerPoint, it is very clear that in both classes, the trend that was set by the students in terms of scoring in the second and the first test happens to be relatively on the same wavelength. The score in both classes can be noted to be far much les after the completion of the psychology course that it was recorded in the first test that was conducted at the beginning of the course. This is the result that the research is aimed at coming up with and offering an

Human Resource Management, Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Resource Management, Questions - Essay Example It is important to ensure that all employees remain customer oriented and demonstrate high level of service. Therefore, as a manager, I would propose to include the following strategies to help employees cope with stress. Firstly, employees will be recommended to attend communication skills courses to ease and improve their relationship with customers and even co-workers. Such courses will also teach the employees useful tactics in handling difficult clients. Secondly, the organization will introduce a 'buddy system', where an employee is attached to another individual to act as support for one another. The system will encourage individuals to openly discuss difficulties that they face at work and share tips for improving the situation. In addition, the system will also encourage employees to keep a lookout for alarming stress symptoms that their colleagues may be having so that these can be addressed immediately. Stress, if applied continuously and excessively, is a negative physical reaction to situations that upsets an individual's balance. On the contrary, small doses of it can actually have a positive effect on an individual by spurring him or her to perform better at something. In this case, the manager's statement is directed at Janine, who constantly experiences the symptoms of stress. Indeed, symptoms of stress can be seen in a person's behaviour, emotion, and physical conditions. Chronic stress is harmful to one's health because it disrupts the body's system, causing high blood pressure and poor immune system, increasing the risk of heart attack and speeding up the aging process. Therefore, the manager's statement about the unfavourable effect of stress on one's performance rings true. Answer to Question 4 Sammie is de-motivated because he is unsure of his skills in dealing with different kinds of people that he meets at work. As such, he feels he is incompetent to perform well at work. Using Social Cognitive Theory, Sammie's manager can motivate him by planning, anticipating likely outcomes and setting goals. Planning a course of action will help to anticipate the likely outcomes of these actions, while setting clear and attainable goals will ensure that Sammie remains challenged and motivated. For instance, the manager can discuss with Sammie the difficulties that he is facing with his job; draw up a plan to help Sammie overcome his fears, and keep a log book with daily targets, that Sammie can use to keep track of his daily experiences with the customers he has dealt with. Next, Sammie's manager can put him on a training session for a period where he will observe his co-workers on the job. This is known as vicarious learning and by such observations, Sammie will be able to retain positive points and use them in actual situations. This will also better prepare Sammie in the future. This is ideal instead of immediately putting Sammie to deal with customers because the observations will prepare him for what to expect. Self-regulating mechanisms increase self-worth and personal satisfaction by regular monitoring of one's actions. Sammie's manager

Discuss the causes of desertification Essay Example for Free

Discuss the causes of desertification Essay Desertification, term applied to land degradation in dry lands resulting mainly from adverse human impact. Land in these terms includes soil and local water resources, the land surface and vegetation or crops, while degradation implies a reduction of resource potential. Desertification has subsequently been recognized as one of a series of processes that affect dry lands all over the world. These processes include water erosion and wind erosion, as well as sedimentation by those agents, long-term reduction in the amount or diversity of natural vegetation, and salinization and sodication. Desertification was arguably the first environmental issue to be recognized as taking place on a global scale, a recognition that was formalized at the United Nations (UN) Conference on Desertification, held in Nairobi in 1977. CAUSES OVER GRAZING So-called overgrazing is a result of too much livestock being kept on a given area of pasture resulting in the loss of edible species and the consequent encouragement of inedible species. If excessive grazing pressure continues, the loss of vegetation cover can result in soil erosion. OVER CULTIVATION Other commonly quoted ways in which human mismanagement causes desertification include over cultivation, in which soil is exhausted by nutrient loss and erosion, the excessive clearance of vegetation, often for fuel wood, and poor management of irrigation schemes which results in salinization of soils. Over cultivation occurs due to the shortening of periods when the land is left free from cultivation (fallow), or from the use of mechanical techniques, which cause widespread loss of soil. A classic case of over cultivation leading to large-scale wind erosion of soils occurred in the infamous Dust Bowl of the Great Plains of the United States in the 1930s. DEFORESTATION Forest and woodland is cleared for a variety of motives, to create agricultural and pasture land for example, but the most serious cause of desertification in this respect is the so-called fuel wood crisis which is characteristic of many dry lands in the developing world. The collection of fuel wood from urban hinterlands in the Sahel, the most severely affected region, has resulted in the almost total loss of trees around major cities. Examples include Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) and Dakar (Senegal), while the radius of the treeless zone around Khartoum in Sudan is 90 km (56 mi). SALINIZATION Salinization is one of the clearest examples of human-induced desertification, affecting about one-fifth of all irrigated cropland in Australia and the United States, and one-third in countries such as Egypt, Pakistan, and Syria. The proportion is one-half in Iraq. Excessive concentrations of salts in irrigated soils adversely affect crop yields and can ultimately kill plants. SAHEL Sahel a region in western Africa, forming a transition zone between the arid Sahara on the north and the wetter tropical areas to the south. The Sahel runs from Senegal in the west to Sudan in the east. A relatively sparse savannah vegetation of grasses and shrubs predominates. Rainfall averages between 102 and 203 mm (4 and 8 in) a year and falls mostly from June to September; periods of low rainfall and drought are common, however. An extended drought in the Sahel, lasting from the late 1960s until the early 1980s, the worst in 150 years, suggested an increasingly arid regional climate and increased desertification, bringing the Sahara further south. EFFECTS Desertification reduces the ability of land to support life, affecting wild species, domestic animals, agricultural crops and people. The reduction in plant cover that accompanies desertification leads to accelerated soil erosion by wind and water. South Africa losing approximately 300-400 million tonnes of topsoil every year. As vegetation cover and soil layer are reduced, rain drop impact and run-off increases. Water is lost off the land instead of soaking into the soil to provide moisture for plants. Even long-lived plants that would normally survive droughts die. A reduction in plant cover also results in a reduction in the quantity of humus and plant nutrients in the soil, and plant production drops further. As protective plant cover disappears, floods become more frequent and more severe. Desertification is self-reinforcing, i. e. once the process has started, conditions are set for continual deterioration. STEPS TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION Many organizations have been formed to try and combat desertification. One project is the Eden Project, by the Eden Foundation. The Eden Foundation has a field station loca ted in Niger (North Western Africa), which is researching different ways of revegetating land. Two ways The Eden Foundation has found of revegetating land are direct seeding and natural revegetation. Desertification is becoming a problem that is drawing a lot of attention. One of the larger responses to it seems to be the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD), which has been joined by many countries. Although it is extremely lengthy in description, it is very vague and general.

Testing of Aggregates Analysis

Testing of Aggregates Analysis Numerous test has been developed that test toughness and abrasion resistance and durability and soundness of aggregates. This report analyses the testing of Aggregates using three Main tests to analyse the degradation of aggregates so best performance is observed in construction, asphalt, concrete or any other field. The aggregates must be abrasion resistant and weather durable to provide good base in pavements for roads. Detailed description of these tests is provided with their respective results. The results are then examined to see which of the following three test are more accurate to check the durability and abrasion of the rocks. Based on the Laboratory results and the Literature reviews, Los Angeles Abrasion test results are used more than others. Although most of the DOTs and construction companies use all three test prior to use of the materials. Soundness test has poor repeatability so it is often not considered as primary test. This research was conducted at Englobe Corp laboratory located in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It was performed under the direction of Mr. Mark Downie. The laboratory supervision was provided by Mr. Daniel McMorran. The quality of the aggregates in the construction materials, asphalt concrete is determined by various tests out of which Los Angeles, Micro Deval and Soundness are most widely used in construction industry. Los Angles Abrasion test and Micro Deval test involve the spinning of aggregates in a close vessel where there are spun in a medium of water or air. The vessel is filled with contact charges (Iron sphere) for a specific amount of time. The analysis of particle degradation using mechanical test can be classified in two class, fragmentation and wearing. The sample that has more wide range of grain size ( e.g. 1250 gm of ) indicates fragmentation and has a well graded distribution curve whereas the sample that has poor range of grain size( 5000gm ofà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) indicates wearing with a bad graded distribution curve. Soundness test involves testing the durability of the aggregates using sodium sulphate or magnesium sulphate solution. Samples of different grain sizes are washed and dried and kept in salt solution for 16 hours and then kept in oven to dry. This cycle is repeated for seven days and then the sample is weighed to see the loss of sample. This test usually received poor rating for its inconsistent repeatability and correlations. Standard Testing methods Los Angeles Abrasion Test AASHTO T96 ( ASTM C131) Micro Deval Test AASHTO T327 (ASTM D6928) Sodium and Magnesium Sulfate Soundness AASHTO T 104 (ASTM C88) As Per American Standard of Testing Materials following pass-fail criteria were used: LA abrasion: Passed if loss à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 40% Micro Deval: Passed if loss à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 18% Sodium Sulphate Soundness: Passed if à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤12% If the aggregates passed the above criteria, then they are durable.   Los Angeles Abrasion test involves the test to measure the degradation of the aggregates by creating actions like impact, abrasion, grinding and constant wear and tear inside a rotating steel drum. The steel drum spins for a specific time with a specific number of steel balls of specific weight to create an abrasion of aggregates. The number of steel balls and the amount of aggregates put in the steel drum depend upon the grading of the test sample. The steel sphere carries the aggregates and the steel balls creating a grinding effect and then drops it to the other side making a crushing effect. This cycle is repeated again and after certain number of revolution the sample is sieved too see the amount retained from the degradation and too see the percentage loss. Apparatus Los Angeles Machine with wall thickness of at least 12mm. The inside diameter should be 711 ±5mm and the length of 508 ±5mm. The rotating drum should be closed from all ends and should be set at a rotating speed of 30 ±3 rpm. ( ASTM C131) Sieve with 1.7mm (No.12) passing. An accurate scale with no more than 0.1% error of the test load. The charges or the steel balls. The number of steel balls used in the test depend on the gradation of the sample to be tested. The steel balls should have diameter between 46.038mm and 47.625, with mass between 400g and 440g each. A constant weight check should always be performed on the charges because this test is very aggressive and could lead in loss of weight of the charges. Table 1: Mass of Steel balls for LA Abrasion Test Grading Number of Spheres Mass of the charges, gm A 12 5000 ±25 B 11 4580 ±25 C 8 3330 ±20 D 6 2500 ±15 Table 2: Grading of the Test Sample for LA Abrasion Test Sieve Sizes (Square Opening) Mass of the aggregates, g Passing Through Screen Retained on Screen Grading A B C D 37.5 mm (11/2 in.) 25.0 mm (1 in.) 1250 ±25 25.0 mm (1 in.) 19.0 mm (3/4 in.) 1250 ±25 19.0 mm (3/4 in.) 12.5 mm (1/2 in.) 1250 ±25 2500 ±10 12.5 mm (1/2 in.) 9.5 mm (3/8 in.) 1250 ±25 2500 ±10 9.5 mm (3/8 in.) 6.3 mm (1/4 in.) 2500 ±10 6.3 mm (1/4 in.) 4.75 mm (No.4) 2500 ±10 4.75 mm (No.4) 2.36 mm (No.8) 5000 ±10 Total, g 5000 ±10 5000 ±10 5000 ±10 5000 ±10 Select the appropriate Grading according to the amount of aggregate available for test. It is recommended to go from higher to lower grade to gain accurate results. Wash and oven dry the sample at 110 ±5 °C (230 °F) to constant mass and then separate into individual sizes per their respective weights. Put the aggregates and the sample in the rotating drum. Close the Los Angeles Abrasion machine tightly and let it run for 500 revolutions at 30 to 33 rpm. After the drum stops take all the sample out and remove the steel balls from it. Now take the crushed aggregates and sieve it on 1.7 mm (No.12) sieve. Weigh the sample retained on the sieve and calculate the percentage loss. Micro Deval Micro-Deval is a test that involves measure of resistance of aggregates towards abrasion and test durability of the sample towards grinding of steel balls (ASTM D7428). The medium that is used here is water of room temperature. The sample and charges (steel balls) are kept in the Micro-Deval tank and then the apparatus is filled with water. The apparatus is rotated so that the aggregates undergo grinding and abrasion. The use of this test is mainly towards the aggregates that degrade more in presence of water than air. This test also gives a measure of how soft or shaley the sample is. The materials that give a high percentage loss degrade more during mixing or handling in industries. (ASTM D7428) Apparatus Micro-Deval Abrasion Tank with volume of 5.03 L and external diameter of 202mm and the internal height shall be from 170 mm to 177 mm. The stainless-steel tank comes with a rubber sealing to make it water-tight. The inner and outer surface of the tank should be smooth and ridge free. (ASTM D6928) Micro-Deval Abrasion machine is a rolling machine with an adjustable speed which rolls the tank at 100 ±5 rpm. Steel charges of diameter 9.5 ±.5mm are requires. The total mass of steel balls needed is 5000 ±5g. Sieves with 5mm and 1.25mm sizes are also required. An accurate scale with no more than 0.1% error of the test load. Table 3: Mass of Aggregates for Micro-Deval Test. Passing Retained Mass 20 mm 16 mm 375 g 16 mm 14 mm 375 g 14 mm 10 mm 750 g Take washed and oven dried sample so it loses the dust on it. Prepare a representative sample of 1500 ±5g put it in the Micro-Deval tank. Add 5000 ±5g of steel charges in it and 2.0 ±.05L of tap water in the Micro-Deval tank. Let this sit for 1 hour. After the sample, has been soaked tighten it up and put it on the Micro-Deval rolling machine to roll for 2 hours ±1 minute. After the machine stops rolling pour the sample on a stack of 5 mm and 1.25 mm sieve. Wash the remains of the sample in the tank on the sieve. Oven dry the sample at 110 ±5 °C and weigh it later. Calculate the percentage loss using the calculation sheet. Soundness Soundness test is a very crucial test in paving industries especially when making massive highways, bridges and dams. This test measure the amount of degradation caused by weathering freeze-thaw cycles. The aggregates that pass this test are more durable to be used and dont cause premature distress in pavements (http://www.pavementinteractive.org/article/durability-and-soundness/). The aggregates are kept in a sodium sulphate or a magnesium sulphate bath. The solutions is at a saturated state and causes salt crystals to be formed on the aggregates. This test is usually carried out for seven days which involves simultaneous wet-dry cycles. When the sample is submerged in the salt solution bath, salt crystals are formed in minute pores of the aggregates and causes internal forces that eventually lead crack in the aggregates. This gives us a replicated demonstration of how the substance will behave in natural habitat. This test has very poor repeatability so it is never considered as pr imary test to measure the degradation of the aggregates. Apparatus Sieves of different sizes- 5à ¢Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾16 in., 3à ¢Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾8 in., No. 50, 1à ¢Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾2 in., 5à ¢Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾8 in., No. 30, 3à ¢Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾4 in., 1 in., No. 16, No. 8, No. 4. Metal baskets made of wire mesh or stainless steel that allows the aggregates to freely contact the solution and permit free drainage of the loss of sample. Temperature regulator to ensure that the temperature of the sulphate bath is constant at specified one. Balances with the accuracy of 0.1% are must for this test. Hydrometers are also needed for this test to measure the specific gravity within  ±0.001. Procedure Prepare the sodium sulphate solution that has specific gravity between 1.154 and 1.171. COARSE AGFREGATES Mass of the Sample Sieve Size Mass 2 in. (50 mm) 3000g 1.5 in. (37.5 mm) 2000g 1.0 in. 1000g 0.75 in. 500g 0.5 in. 670g 0.375 in. 330g No.4 300g Prepare Sample as per the table displayed above. The sample should be washed and dried at 110 ±5 °C. Mix the 2 inch and 1.5 inch retained material and place the 5000g sample in a container. Mix the 1 inch and 0.75 inch retained and place the 1500g sample in a separate container and mark the container by making a groove on it with a particular symbol so it does not get mixed up with the other containers. This way it is also more efficient to identify them when changing the cycles. Mix the 0.5 inch and the 0.375 inch retained samples and put the 1000g sample together in a container. After the test samples are ready place them in the solution prepared for 16 to 18 hours and then let them drain for 15 minutes. Let the sample oven dry at 110 ±5 °C for 4 hours and then let them cool down until they reach 20  °C to 25 °C. Again, immerse it in the solution and repeat this cycle 5 times. After the 5 cycles are done the aggregates are to be washed thoroughly so that all the salt on the surface is removed and then oven dried at 110 ±5  °C. Table 4: Sieve Sizes to be used to Measure Loss Aggregate Size Sieve Used >1.5 inch 1.25 inch 1.5 to 0.75 inch 5/8 inch 0.75 inch to 0.375 inch 5/16 inch 0.375 inch to No.4 No.5 Use the above given table to respective sieve the aggregates used in the test. Utmost care must be taken to sieve samples from each container separately. Take the sample that is retained on the sieve and weigh it to note it. The difference in the mass of the aggregates before and after the experiment gives us the amount lost due to the disintegration of the sample. To compare the results of the following three, test a study was examined in which 20 Lab results were considered. These tests were performed by Montana Department of Transportation either in the Montana State University soil laboratory or Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) Helena materials laboratory. The samples were obtained from various random pits and quarries across Montana by MDT personnel. (Western Transport Institute) To get a very good relation and a study between these test, 5 repeats were done on the Micro-Deval test and at least 3 repeats were done for L.A Abrasion test. This also provided a good study of the repeatability of the tests. There was no repeat test done on the soundness test since it has a very poor repeatability. Repeatability To analyse the repeatability of the tests, repeated Micro-Deval and Los Angeles Abrasion test were done on the same sample. The Coefficient of Variation was calculated to examine the variation in the test results for the same sample. There was no COV calculated for the Sodium Sulphate Soundness test because only one test result was provided by MDT. The Coefficient of variation is standardized measurement calculate by diving the standard deviation of a set of results by the average mean and then multiplying it by hundred to get a percentage value. By analyzing and comparing this value we can predict the repeatability of the test. If the COV is a lower number, then the test is less variable and hence it has a good repeatability. The COV calculated for L.A abrasion test came out to be 6.5% with standard deviation of 1.5 loss percentage. Similarly, the COV for Micro-Deval test came out to be 6.5% for a standard deviation of 0.7 percentage loss. Since both the Coefficient of variations are less than 10%, both the tests are considered to have good repeatability. Another evidence to support the repeatability of the test is that there is no significant difference in the COV of Micro-Deval and L.A abrasion which are 6.6% and 6.5% respectively. As per the comparative bar graph plotted below, majority of the coefficient of the variation fall between 5% to 15%. The COV of Lab number 861553 rocketed to 26.9% because the result was very small accounting to be 2.1% average loss. So, a small change in small result make a large COV. Figure 1: Graphical Representation of Coefficient of Variation for L.A Abrasion and Micro-Deval Tests. COMPARTITIVE RESULTS As per the specifications provided by American Standard for Testing Materials the aggregates are classified as durable if the loss percentage is less than the cut-off percentage and they are non-durable if the loss percentage of the aggregates is more than the cut-off percentage. The cut-off percentage that we have used for L.A Abrasion, Micro-Deval and Sodium Sulphate Soundness Tests are as follows: LA abrasion: Passed if loss à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 40% Micro Deval: Passed if loss à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 18% Sodium Sulphate Soundness: Passed if à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤12% To create a direct comparison in between these tests normalized value for each test is calculated. Normalized value is used for a direct comparison between Micro-Deval, L.A Abrasion and Sodium Sulphate Soundness test. Normalized value is average loss percentage divided by the cut-off for that test. (MDT paper) The ideal Normalized value is 1.0. If the calculated normalized value is greater than 1.0 it means that the test did not pass and the aggregate tested are not durable and if the value is less than 1.0 it means that the aggregates are durable and the test passed. To draw a direct comparison in between two, test a two-dimensional scattered graph is plotted with four quadrants. The top right (North-East) quadrant depicts the are where both the test failed and the aggregates are not durable. The top left (North-West) quadrant depicts the area where the test plotted on the X-axis passed but the one on Y-axis failed. The bottom right (South-East) quadrant indicates the area where the test plotted on the Y-axis passed but the test that was plotted on X-axis failed. The bottom left (South-West) quadrant depicts the region where both the tests passed and the aggregates are durable. The data points plotted in the top-right (NE) and bottom-left (SW) quadrants indicate that the tests are consistent as the aggregates were either durable for pass/pass or not durable for fail/fail. On the other hand, the data points plotted in the top-left (NW) and bottom-right (SE) quadrant indicate discontinuity and lack of coherence since one of the test would indicate that the aggregates passed the cut-off and are durable while the other would indicate that they didnt pass are not durable for use. L.A abrasion vs Micro-Deval. Figure 2. Graphical Representation of Comparison between Normalized Loss of L.A Abrasion and Micro-Deval Tests. The above shown graphical representation is the plot of comparison between the Micro-Deval and the L.A Abrasion test on 20 different samples that were tested by Montana Department of Transportation. The blue dotted line that runs at 45 ° along the centre of the graph indicates symmetry and a perfect correlation. The data points close to the line indicate a good co-relation between the test. There was only one result that had failed both the test and was considered to be non-durable which accounted 5% of the materials tested. There were five results (25% of the samples tested) that fall in the awkward category and had lack of coherence since, according to L.A abrasion test it passed as was considered durable but according to the Micro-Deval test it was considered to be non-durable. The relations between these two test is quite strong as 70% of the samples tested i.e. 15 out of 20 passed the test and fall in the bottom-left quadrant which indicates that the samples were durable accor ding to both the test. Sodium Sulphate Soundness Test Vs L.A Abrasion Test. Figure 3. Graphical Representation of Comparison between Normalized Loss of Sodium Sulphate Soundness and Micro-Deval Tests. Sodium Sulphate Soundness Test Vs Micro-Deval Test. Figure 4. Graphical Representation of Comparison between Normalized Loss of Sodium Sulphate Soundness and L.A Abrasion Tests. The co-op report guidelines suggest separating the Results and Discussion sections. I think that it is usually easier to present a discussion immediately after the results. But, you may choose to use the structure that makes the most sense for your report. Gregates typically encountered on Montana highway projects, and to determine if the MicroDeval test provides better, timelier, and more repeatable information about the quality of an aggregate than the Sodium Sulfate test. The laboratory testing program was structured to examine how well three aggregate durability test methods correlate for a sampling of Montana soils. Aggregate durability tests were conducted on 32 different soils using the Micro-Deval, L.A. Abrasion, and Sodium Sulfate tests. Multiple Micro-Deval and L.A. Abrasion tests were conducted on some of the soil samples to investigate the same-lab repeatability of the test methods. The methods differ in their treatment of the aggregate during testing; and consequently, each method produces a unique value of percent loss, which is used to distinguish between durable aggregate and non-durable aggregate. For the purposes of this study, the following percent loss pass-fail standards were used for each test: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Mic ro-Deval: passing (durable), if % loss à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 18%; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ L.A. Abrasion: passing (durable), if % loss à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 40%; and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Sodium Sulfate: passing (durable), if % loss à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 12%. Because of the differences in percent loss criteria for each method, results from the suite of laboratory tests were normalized to facilitate direct comparisons between the three methods. Normalized results were obtained by taking the average percent loss for a particular soil and dividing it by the cutoff for that test. Table 16 summarizes the comparisons between each test using data collected during this study. Based on the metrics identified in the table, the MicroDeval and Sodium Sulfate tests had the best correlation, while the Micro-Deval/L.A. Abrasion and the L.A. Abrasion/Sodium Sulfate correlations were significant, but not as strong. Table 16. Summary Comparison of Test Methods Test Methods R2 Pass/Fail Agreement (%) Inconsistent Durability Determina tion* (%) M-D versus NaSO4 0.72 92.9 7.1 M-D versus L.A. 0.46 85.2 14.8 L.A. versus NaSO4 0.28 84.0 16.0 Perfect Correlation 1.0 100.0 0.0 *Note: Column 4 refers to the percentage of samples that passed one of the tests but failed the other test. This inconsistency is identified as a data point that plots in one of the cross-hatched zones identified in Figures 3, 4, and 5. Conclusions and Recommendations Western Transportation Institute 35 The percentages of inconsistent durability determinations (pass or fail inconsistencies) listed in column 4 of Table 16 are indicative of a discontinuity between tests and are probably the most important metric for the comparison study. In this case, one test characterized the material as durable aggregate, while the other test characterized the same material as non-durable aggregate. Qualitatively, the authors believe that an excellent correlation between two test methods is obtained when the percentage of inconsistent results is less than about 5%, values between 5 to 10% signify a good correlation, values between 10 to 20% signify a fair to poor correlation, and values above 20% signify a poor or unreliable correlation between tests. Multiple tests conducted on samples obtained from the same sources indicate similar values of same-lab repeatability for both the Micro-Deval and L.A. Abrasion tests. The coefficients of variation for the multiple tests were less than 10% for both methods. Considering the natural variability that occurs within an aggregate source, the measured variations were low, indicating good repeatability of the test methods. This conclusion has also been supported by others (Jayawickrama et al., 2006; Tarefder et al., 2003; and Hunt, 2001). Repeatability of the Sodium Sulfate test was not examined in this study. The relationship between Micro-Deval test results and field performance was not examined in this study; however, evaluations by Fowler et al. (2006), Rangaraju et al. (2005), Tarefder et al. (20 03) and Wu et al. (1998) indicate that Micro-Deval test results relate well with field performance. An excellent correlation between rutting performance and Micro-Deval test results were observed by White et al. (2006). They sug There are many reference styles available to choose from. It is not very critical which one you use, as long as you are consistent throughout the report. The APA reference style is an appropriate choice. You can quickly generation citations for your reference list using the online citation generator from RefME (RefME, 2016). Always review the text the generator has populated in the form for you as it is not always accurate. Entries in the reference list are sorted alphabetically. Some examples of common references for the reference list and in-text citations are shown below. Websites Robertson, J. (2016, August 8). Man solves Rubiks cube while free-falling. Retrieved August 9, 2016, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/learning-to-solve-a-rubik-s-cube-while-free-falling-1.3712116 RefME. (2016). FREE APA citation generator format. Retrieved July 30, 2016, from https://www.refme.com/ca/citation-generator/apa/ In-text Citation: (Robertson, 2016) In-text Citation: (RefME, 2016) Books Felder, R. M., Brent, R. (2016). Teaching and learning stem: A practical guide. United States: John Wiley Sons. In-line Citation: (Felder Brent, 2016) Journal Articles Lombardo, S. J. (2010). Teaching technical writing in a lab course in chemical engineering. Chemical Engineering Education, 44(1), 58-62. In-line Citation: (Lombardo, 2010)

Reaction Time And Energy Drinks

Reaction Time And Energy Drinks This extended essay is an investigation into reaction times in males and females and how they were affected by Red Bull. The research question was How significant is the reduction in reaction time due to drinking Red Bull, in males as compared to females between the ages of 16-17. To answer this, a simple experiment was carried out to obtain the necessary data. The ruler drop test was conducted using a group of 20 subjects (10 male and 10 female). The reaction times of the subjects before and after drinking Red Bull were then calculated using the results from the ruler drop test and the formula t = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡(2d /a). The mean data was then analysed using the T-Test to see how significant the difference in reaction time was before and after drinking Red Bull. This revealed that even though reaction times in males reduced after consumption of Red Bull, the reduction was not significant. Female subjects showed greater decreases in reaction time after drinking Red Bull even though on average their reaction times were slower than male reaction time. The T-Test showed that in females there was a significant difference in reaction time before and after drinking Red Bull. Finally the mean reductions in reaction time for both males and females were compared using the T-test, which revealed that there was a significant difference in male and female reductions in reaction time. This leads to the conclusion that between the ages of 16- 17, Red Bull only significantly reduces reaction time in females and not in males. Introduction Research Question How significant is the reduction in reaction time due to intake of Red Bull, in males as compared to females between the ages of 16-17. It gives you wings this is the slogan for Red Bull, a popular energy drink. The slogan suggests that Red Bull improves ones overall performance. Reaction time is one of the physical attributes affected by Red Bull. I wanted to investigate Red Bulls effect on reaction time and evaluate whether Red Bull really does give you wings. Reaction time is the time taken to respond to any given stimulus. The better the reaction time, the less it is. Fast reactions are useful in many situations, for instance avoiding another car whilst driving, catching a falling glass and even in sport. Previous research into reaction time has found that Males and females generally have different reaction times with females unfortunately having slower average times. (Der and Deary, 2006). Energy Drinks are beverages that have a boosting or stimulating effect. They are often advertised as performance enhancing, with improvements in alertness and reaction time. Red Bull is probably the most prominent energy drink. The active ingredients in Red Bull include: Glucose, Taurine, Glucuronolacton, Inosital, Niacin, D-Pantothenol (Vitamin B5), Pyridoxine HCL (Vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 and Caffeine. (Further details in appendix ii.). These chemicals affect the bodys metabolic functions so that overall performance is enhanced. My approach was experimental in which the Ruler Drop Test (Coach, 1997) was used. Hypothesis I hypothesise that Red Bull will cause a decrease in reaction time in all subjects. This is due to the ingredients contained in the drink. Taurine and caffeine are the two ingredients that affect the speed of reaction most. Taurine improves nerve transmission; this means that movements made will be faster. Caffeine boosts adrenaline levels which makes one more alert and therefore more likely to respond faster. Thus, I expect reaction time to decrease in all subjects. I also hypothesise that the improvements in reaction time will be more significant in females as they generally have a smaller body mass meaning that the active ingredients in Red Bull will have more of an effect. Experiment Test Subject Selection It was important to make sure that the results from the experiment were as reliable as possible. To do this I had to choose test subjects (participants in the experiment) who were similar in age, athleticism and how frequently they take energy drinks. I decided to use subjects within the age range of 16-17 as this is the age range with the most people in my school and therefore there was a larger test subject range. I had to keep the ages similar because age was found to have an effect on reaction time. (Gorus et al., 2008) Generally reaction time decreases with age until a certain point where it begins to increase again. I wanted subjects who were similar in athleticism because people who are more athletic are more likely to have quicker reaction times than non-athletic people. (Levitt and Gutin., 1971) I also needed subjects who didnt take Red Bull as frequently. It was assumed that people who take energy drinks frequently may develop resistance to its effects. A questionnaire was used to identify the subjects that fit in with these criteria. It was given to 40 people out of whom 10 males and 10 females were selected using random sampling. Preparation of Subjects The test subjects had to be prepared before the experiment to ascertain that it was in fact the Red Bull that was affecting the subjects reaction time and not any other food. The Red Bull was administered an hour after break time. It was assumed that by this time all food (if any) would have been digested. This was important because the Red Bull has to be the only substance ingested prior to the experiment to make sure that the results obtained are from the effects of Red Bull and not any other food substance. Testing took place 10 minutes after consumption to give the active ingredients in the Red Bull enough time to be assimilated. Procedure The Ruler Drop Test was carried out using the following method. A ruler was held so that it was between the index finger and thumb of the subjects stronger hand. The top of the subjects thumb was kept in line with the zero centimetre line on the ruler. The subject then tried to catch the ruler after it was let go. The distance from the bottom of the ruler to the top of the subjects thumb was recorded. To improve reliability of the results the experiment was repeated again. It would be nearly impossible to manually record the time taken for someone to catch a dropped ruler because this happens very quickly. So to calculate the time taken (and thus reaction time) the following formula was used. t = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡(2d /a) This was derived from: d = vt +  ½at ² [11] d is Distance measured in (cm) v is Initial velocity which is zero a is Acceleration due to gravity this a constant value of 981cm/s ² t is Time measured in seconds (s) Data Collection The tables below show the results from the ruler drop test conducted on 9.7.2010. It shows the distances that the ruler travelled before it was caught by the subjects. The results before and after drinking Red Bull were recorded. The experiment was repeated twice to improve the reliability of the results. Trial 1 Trial 2 Males Females Males Females Subject number Distance Before Drinking Red Bull +/-0.05 (cm) Distance After Drinking Red Bull +/-0.05 (cm) Distance Before Drinking Red Bull +/-0.05 (cm) Distance After Drinking Red Bull +/-0.05 (cm) Distance Before Drinking Red Bull +/-0.05 (cm) Distance After Drinking Red Bull +/-0.05 (cm) Distance Before Drinking Red Bull +/-0.05 (cm) 1 16 13 16 9 9 6 12 2 15 14 15 17 12 8 9 3 5 9 30 17 7 5 17 4 8 9 22 11 8 5 13 5 15 11 18 12 6 7 15 6 12 7 19 19 10 7 11 7 6 7 15 11 9 8 16 8 14 8 17 10 11 6 10 9 7 6 14 12 5 8 12 10 14 17 14 10 13 15 15 Data Processing The raw data was processed to give the tables below. The values in red show anomalies, that is data that is erroneous and/or unexpected, in this case distances increasing after taking Red Bull and Reaction Time increasing after taking Red Bull. These values could be generated by an error in the data collection or an error in the experiment. They are therefore ignored when considering the significance. The tables below show the calculated reaction time before and after drinking Red Bull. Reaction times were calculated using the distances obtained from the experiments which were then substituted into the formula. t = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡(2d /a). The tables also show the difference in reaction time which is the reaction time after drinking Red Bull, subtracted by the reaction time before drinking Red Bull. This was done so that that the improvement in reaction time can be seen. Table (1.a) shows the data from the 1st repeat and table (1.b) shows data from the 2nd repeat and Table (2) shows the mean of both repeats. In this table, most of the errors disappear as the mean uses the data from both sets of repeats to show an average or trend. Examples: Calculating Reaction Time A subject catches the ruler at 16.0 cm without drinking Red Bull. The subject then catches the ruler at 13.0 cm after drinking Red Bull. The time taken for the subject to catch the ruler is worked out like this. Distance before taking Red Bull= 16.0 cm Formula: t = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡(2d /a) So 216.0= 32 32/981= 0.03262 à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ 0.03262= 0.18061 Therefore it took the subject 0.18061 seconds to catch the ruler before drinking Red Bull. Distance after taking Red Bull=13.0 cm 213.0= 26 26/981= 0.02650 à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡0.02650= 0.16280 Therefore it took the subject 0.16280 seconds to catch the ruler after drinking Red Bull. Calculating Difference The subjects Reaction time before drinking Red Bull is 0.18061 seconds and the subjects reaction time after drinking Red Bull is 0.16280 seconds. To find the difference the subjects reaction time after drinking Red Bull is subtracted by the Reaction time before drinking Red Bull to give: -0.01781. In this example, the calculated difference in reaction time is negative. This shows that after drinking Red Bull, the subjects reaction time improved by -0.01781 seconds. Calculating the Mean In the second repeat of the experiment the subject catches the ruler at 9 cm before drinking Red Bull and then catches the ruler at 6cm after drinking Red Bull. The subject therefore gets these reaction times: Before drinking Red Bull: 0.13546 sseconds. After drinking Red Bull: 0.11060 seconds. The mean for reaction time before and after drinking Red Bull can be calculated, using the values from the 1st and 2nd repeats of the experiment. Mean reaction time before drinking Red Bull: 0.18061 + 0.13546= 0.31607 0.31607 / 2= 0.158035 seconds Mean reaction time after drinking Red Bull: 0.13546 + 0.11060= 0.24606 0.24606 / 2= 0.12303 seconds The mean shows a more reliable value from both repeats. Table (1.a): Table of results from the first trial of the experiment Trial 1 Males Females Subject number Reaction Time Before Drinking Red Bull (s) Reaction Time After Drinking Red Bull (s) Difference In Reaction Time +/- (s) Reaction Time Before Drinking Red Bull (s) Reaction Time After Drinking Red Bull (s) Difference In Reaction Time (s) 1 0.0058 0.0052 -0.00057 0.18061 0.13546 -0.04515 2 0.0056 0.0054 -0.00019 0.17487 0.18617 0.01129 3 0.0032 0.0043 0.0011 0.24731 0.18617 -0.06114 4 0.0041 0.0043 0.00025 0.21178 0.14975 -0.06203 5 0.0056 0.0048 -0.0008 0.19157 0.15641 -0.03515 6 0.005 0.0038 -0.00118 0.19681 0.19681 0 7 0.0035 0.0038 0.00028 0.17487 0.14975 -0.02512 8 0.0054 0.0041 -0.00132 0.18617 0.14278 -0.04338 9 0.0038 0.0035 -0.00028 0.16894 0.15641 -0.01253 10 0.0054 0.0059 0.00055 0.16894 0.14278 -0.02616 Table (1.b): Table of results from the first trial of the experiment Trial 2 Males Female Subject number Reaction Time Before Drinking Red Bull (s) Reaction Time After Drinking Red Bull (s) Difference In Reaction Time (s) Reaction Time Before Drinking Red Bull (s) Reaction Time After Drinking Red Bull (s) Difference In Reaction Time (s) 1 0.13546 0.1106 -0.02486 0.15641 0.17487 0.01846 2 0.15641 0.12771 -0.0287 0.13546 0.11946 -0.016 3 0.11946 0.10096 -0.0185 0.18617 0.16894 -0.01722 4 0.12771 0.10096 -0.02675 0.1628 0.13546 -0.02734 5 0.1106 0.11946 0.00886 0.17487 0.1628 -0.01208 6 0.14278 0.11946 -0.02332 0.14975 0.11946 -0.03029 7 0.13546 0.12771 -0.00775 0.18061 0.17487 -0.00574 8 0.14975 0.1106 -0.03915 0.14278 0.13546 -0.00733 9 0.10096 0.12771 0.02675 0.15641 0.14975 -0.00666 10 0.1628 0.17487 0.01208 0.17487 0.1628 -0.01208 Table (2): Table of mean values from trial 1 and trial 2 Trial 1 + Trial 2 2 Males Females Subject number Reaction Time Before Drinking Red Bull (s) Reaction Time After Drinking Red Bull (s) Difference In Reaction Time (s) Reaction Time Before Drinking Red Bull (s) Reaction Time After Drinking Red Bull (s) 1 0.0051 0.0044 -0.00065 0.16894 0.15641 2 0.0053 0.0048 -0.00052 0.15641 0.15641 3 0.0035 0.0038 0.00028 0.21888 0.17777 4 0.0041 0.0038 -0.00026 0.18889 0.14278 5 0.0047 0.0043 -0.00035 0.18341 0.15964 6 0.0048 0.0038 -0.00097 0.17487 0.1628 7 0.0039 0.0039 0 0.17777 0.1628 8 0.0051 0.0038 -0.00128 0.1659 0.13917 9 0.0035 0.0038 0.00028 0.1628 0.15312 10 0.0053 0.0058 0.00047 0.17194 0.15312 Data Analysis The first step in analysing the data is to compare the reaction times of males and females before and after drinking Red Bull separately using the mean values from table 2. This is done below: Graph (1.a): The graph (1.a) shows the comparison of the mean male reaction time before and after drinking Red Bull. The graph shows that generally the blue bar (Male Reaction Time before Drinking Red Bull) is higher than the red bar (Male Reaction Time After Drinking Red Bull) This suggests that Red Bull generally had the effect of reducing reaction time in males. Red Bull contains Taurine (see appendix ii) Taurine speeds up neural transmission, so nerve impulses are passed along through the nervous system much faster. This means that the time taken for the subjects hand to react to the stimulus (in this case the dropped ruler) is less. Another ingredient that probably affects reaction time most is caffeine. Caffeine blocks adenosine and boosts adrenaline levels. Adrenaline causes the heart rate to increase, the respiratory rate in the lungs to increase and muscle contraction all around the body. These are just some of the effects known as the fight or flight response. The overall effect is that you respond better to stimuli as the body is more alert. T Test The T-Test shows how significant the statistical difference between two values is. The T-Test determines the P-Value. In Biology the difference between the two values is considered statistically significant if the P value is below 0.05 If it is The Null hypothesis is therefore rejected and the alternative hypothesis is accepted. Null Hypothesis: There is no significant difference in reaction time before and after drinking Red Bull in Males. Alternative Hypothesis: There is a significant difference in reaction time before and after drinking Red Bull in males. For this T-Test I compared the mean values of reaction time before and after drinking Red Bull for males. I got a P-Value of 0.06626028. This is greater than 0.05 therefore the Null hypothesis has to be accepted. The T-Test suggests that with males, the difference in reaction time after drinking Red Bull is not significant because the P value (0.06626028) is greater than the standard critical value (0.05). Graph (1.b) The graph (1.b) shows the comparison of the mean female reaction time before and after drinking Red Bull. Again, the graph shows that generally the blue bar (Female Reaction Time after Drinking Red Bull) is higher than the red bar (Female Reaction Time Before Drinking Red Bull) This suggests that Red Bull generally had the effect of decreasing reaction time in females. This decrease is again due to the ingredients contained in Red Bull. Both taurine and caffeine affect the subjects system so that the speed of movement and response in increased. T-Test Another T-Test is carried out to find out how significant the difference in reaction time before and after drinking Red Bull in females is. Null Hypothesis: There is no significant difference in reaction time before and after drinking Red Bull in Males. Alternative Hypothesis: There is a significant difference in reaction time before and after drinking Red Bull in males. For this T-Test I compared the mean values of reaction time before and after drinking Red Bull for females. I got a P-Value of 0.00068587. This is less than 0.05 therefore the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis is accepted. The T-Test suggests that the differences in the female reaction time before and after drinking Red Bull are very significant as the P value (0.00068587) is far below the standard critical value of 0.05. The final step in analyzing the data is to compare male and female change in reaction times. Graph (2) Graph (2) shows the Comparison of Male and Female reduction in reaction time. The pink plot points show the mean female difference in reaction time; whilst the blue plot points show the mean male difference in reaction time. The graph shows that generally mean male reduction in reaction times were much lower than the mean female reduction in reaction time. This suggests that females are affected more by Red Bull. Another observation that can be made from the graph also shows that the female data is more varied than the male data. However the data that was collected was too small to make any definite conclusions. T-Test A T-Test was carried out to find out how significant the difference in mean male and female difference in reaction time. Null Hypothesis: There is no significant difference between mean male and female difference in reaction time. Alternative Hypothesis: There is a significant difference between mean male and female difference in reaction time. In this T-Test I compared the mean values of difference in reaction time for both males and females. I got a P-Value of 0.001571698. This is less than 0.05 therefore the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis is accepted. The T-Test suggests that there is a big significance in the difference between mean male and mean female difference in reaction times because the P value is much lower than the critical value of 0.05. Conclusion In general, reaction times decreased after drinking Red Bull in both males and females. Males generally had faster times females. However the T-Test shows that in males this difference is not significant whilst in females, it is quite significant. Further calculations showed that there was a significant difference between the reduction of reaction time in males and females. Females generally had greater reductions in reaction time. The data does not support the first hypothesis, which states that reaction time would decrease in all subjects after the consumption of Red Bull, as there were some instances where the reaction times worsened. These anomalies may have been due to error in the method however, and had no overall significance to the experiment as they were ignored. The data supports the final hypothesis, which states that Red Bull would improve reaction time more significantly in females. The results from the investigation show that females had a more significant reduction in reaction time after drinking Red Bull as compared to males. The reason for females being affected more by Red Bull is, Pound for pound females have less water in their bodies than men, so their body parts are more exposed to the active ingredients in Red Bull. This leads to the conclusion that between the ages of 16-17, Red Bull only significantly reduces reaction time in females and not in males. Evaluation There were some aspects of the experimental method that may have reduced the reliability of the data. When the ruler drop test was performed for the second time the subjects instead of improving reaction time as a result of drinking Red Bull may have naturally improved their reaction time through practice. Also the subjects knew that they were drinking Red Bull and that Red Bull is said to improve physical performance including reaction time. This again may have caused them to improve their times naturally through the psychological stimulation. There is no actual proof however that improvement in reaction time was due to practice. It is only a speculation. However if the subjects reaction times were improving as a result of practice then this would affect the data as Red Bull would not be the only factor improving reaction time. The best way to reduce the effect of this factor would be to carry out the experiment only once. This would reduce the reliability of the data as a mean of both experiments not would be possible to calculate but at the same time it would improve the reliability of the data as subjects would not be getting better with practice and it would be only the Red Bull affecting the subjects reaction time. I also could have set up another Ruler Drop Test experiment using a different set of subjects but replacing the Red Bull energy drink with a non energetic drink. The subjects however, would be told that they are having another brand of energy drink. This would test the thought of having an energy drink makes the subject expect to perform better and therefore actually improving their reaction time naturally. A second experiment using the same subjects could then be carried out using but using Red Bull. The results of the second experiment could then be compared with the results from the first experiment to further asses the significance improvement in reaction time due to Red Bull. Error Analysis 30 cm Ruler (cm) Absolute uncertainty +/- 0.05 Percentage Uncertainty % 0.25 Overall Uncertainty % 0.25 Appendix (i) Questionnaire How old are you: ____ 2. How Much Sport do you do? None Wednesday Clubs Only Barely Active Participation 3. Do You Take Energy Drinks Regularly: ______ 4. Are You Willing To Participate in this Experiment_____? Appendix (ii) Active ingredients in Red Bull: Glucose Glucose is a sugar. The body uses glucose in respiration to make energy. C6H12O6 + 6O2 = 6H2O + 6CO2 + 36ATP Glucose + Oxygen = Water + Carbon Dioxide + Energy. Redbull contains 5.25 g of glucose. Taurine Taurine is an amino acid that is usually made in the body. Each can of Red Bull contains 1000mg of Taurine. Taurine helps move minerals like potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium through the cells. This helps to generate nerve impulses therefore making neural transmission faster. Glucuronolacton Glucuronolacton is a chemical similar to taurine. It affects memory and concentration in the brain. It is known to have effects similar to anti-depressants and stimulants. Inosital Inosital is a chemical that has a mood boosting effect and it maximises the brains uses of a serotonin a chemical that is found in most anti-depressants. Niacin Niacin is a B vitamin that helps in energy formation. It metabolizes energy from fat and carbohydrates. Niacin can help the body use energy by releasing it from food. D-Pantothenol D-Pantothenol is also known as vitamin B5, or Pantothenic acid. It is known to improve mood and boost energy. D-Pantothenol help turn fat into energy and increases metabolism. Pyridoxine HCL Also known as Vitamin B6, Pyridoxine HCL helps red blood cells to form and provides better oxygen utilization. It also help to break down sugar that you have stored in your body to use for energy. Vitamin B12 B12 helps in the formation of red blood cells, for better oxygen utilization. It also help with energy production by breaking down fat and protein. Caffeine Red Bull contains 80.0 milligrams of caffeine which is almost double the amount of all other soft drinks. The caffeine in Red Bull gives you energy by blocking a chemical in your brain called adenosine. Adenosine promotes sleepiness and without it you would not be able to fall asleep. When adenosine is blocked you body releases a boost of adrenaline which wakes you up.