Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom Essay Example for Free

Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom Essay The Board of Education and Administration of Holland Elementary School have agreed on a decision that will come into effect at the beginning of the Fall 2013 school year. As well as introducing many of our newly acquired teachers to the classrooms, we will also introduce a new artificial intelligence that our students have never experienced before. This will come in the form of robotic instructors who will assist our current teachers with their work and teach other lessons on their own. This may come as a shock to some, but I am extremely confident in this decision. Artificial intelligence coming to the classroom this year will have a positive impact on our school system with increased teaching strategy to achieve a higher level of learning. Robots with artificial intelligence teaching students in the classroom is something that may seem to some like a science fiction fantasy, but the reality of the matter is that robotic helpers, teachers, and playmates are part of a booming technology that has already started flourishing in other countries. Articles from the New York Times have informed us on the hundreds of robots South Korea has already hired to assist teachers, and teach certain subjects on their own (Benedict Carey and John Markoff Students, Meet Your New Teacher, Mr. Robot Para 10). The robots they use are usually computer screened faces with bodies that have arms and legs, allowing them to be entirely mobile on their own. The robots use motion tracking and speech recognition to act human like. This makes them able to engage people in conversation, play games, complete simple tasks, and teach simple skills to others (Carey and Markoff Para 8). Adam Sneed, a researcher for The Future Tense Program explains in his article Coming Soon to a Kindergarten Classroom: Robot Teachers how robots give realistic human-like responses to social cues given by people in their surroundings (Para 6). They also understand the concept of personal space, and when approaching people, they know to stop before anyone’s personal space is invaded (Carey and Markoff, Para 19). The robots are programmed to act as if they have feelings similar to those of children. If the robot is damaged purposely by the students, it will begin to cry. Children react to this by feeling very sorry and backing off right away. If the robot continues to cry, the students offer it peace as they would with another child. Experiments that have shown this in the past are a display of the strong bond students can make with the robots (Carey and Markoff Para 25). Robots with artificial intelligence can engage children through many ways that are subconscious to humans. They hold eye contact with the children and use physical rhythm to stay involved with them. For example, if a child is swaying from side to side, the robot will start to sway as well. The robots mirror the children as a game to connect with them, gain their friendship, and build a sense of trust. If a student lifts his or her arm, the robot will lift their arm as well. The robots will also play vise-versa, letting the children mimic their moves (Carey and Markoff Para 4). Robots also show a large understanding of tasks that are explained to them. In a study done at the Georgia Institute of Technology, a robot was told where certain objects belong in a classroom and then was instructed to put them all away. When the robot came across a toy that it was unsure about, it stared at the toy in hesitation to pick it up. The robot’s instructor asked if it had any questions, and the robot replied by asking where the toy belongs. When it was explained that the green toy belongs in the g reen bin, the robot nodded its head, put the toy in the bin, and said â€Å"makes sense† (Carey and Markoff Para 45-47). This is an example of how the robots that will be incorporated into our classrooms can expand their knowledge and learn from the students to help them improve their teaching. Artificial intelligence is such a large benefit to our students because of all the good teaching qualities the robots have been programmed with that not all human teachers possess. These qualities include encouraging, non-judgmental, infinitely patient, and comforting. Our robots would never get mad at a student for something, and they will never yell at a student or make his or her feel bad for thinking incorrectly. James Marshall Crotty, co-founder/peripatetic publisher of Monk Magazine has recorded in his article Why Kids Prefer Robots to Teachers and Parents that students feel more welcomed and accepted because of this, allowing them to feel more room for guilt-free error. This will eliminate the social boundaries that often keep students from being creative so they will be able to be themselves with much mo re confidence and learn in a more proficient mind set (Forbes Para 7). Robots are able to detect when children are not engaged in the learning, and they are also able to understand signals that children subconsciously put out when they are confused or have a question they are waiting to ask, in which case the robot would offer them the chance to ask their question (Carey and Markoff Para 52). These are all very important skills that are necessary for an instructor to have. The new robots will be an extraordinary help to our special education program which includes mostly students with Attention Deficit Disorder and Autism. Sneed explains how robots will help our students learn social and cognitive skills in a way that is less intimidating to them than through human contact. At times when children with Autism are shy and will not communicate with other people, the robots are able to bring them out of their shell and teach them social skills (Para 5). The robots also provide the students with certain therapies that help their disabilities such as repetitive tasks and imitation. The robots are able to keep any student on task just as efficiently, if not more than human teachers, which is something that will benefit everyone (Carey and Markoff Para 20). Robots are especially good at teaching subjects such as foreign language. In a study performed at the University of Southern California, a robot was used to teach the Finnish language to a group of preschool students. It would pick up objects and say what they were in Finnish, and use productive teaching strategies such as games and repetition to help the children retain the information. When the study was finished, all of the words taught by the robot were significantly imbedded into the children’s memories, while the words they learned from multimedia tapes or other sources were not embedded well at all. This is due to the cognitive engagement, patience, and encouragement the robots provide for the preschoolers. Many different experiments such as this one show that robots’ teaching strategies impact students at about the same level as human teaching strategies (Carey and Markoff Para 21-24). Experiments are performed all over the world by many different specialists who study robotics, and anyone can see, their data concludes that artificial intelligence has a positive influence on the learning levels in a classroom. Specialists have also taken into account the feelings of children who have had the opportunity for artificial intelligence to become a part of their lives. Studies reported by Crotty show that a majority of students are pleased to have a robot to study and play with (Para 2). Robots are able to make games out of children’s homework, and the knowledge they gain from their assignments is portrayed as fun, giving them incentive to get their work done as well as possible. This is very helpful, especially for children who are discouraged in school and have low self-efficacy (Crotty Para 4). The robots are viewed by the children as friends and as very helpful companions. A quote from an article by Rendeiro Fonesca in United Academics Magazine brings us into the life of a boy who had artificial intelligence assisting him at home as well as in school: When I get home, my robot helps me with my homework. My mother and father came in and said no video games now, homework first, but when they saw that I was already finished and had done everything correctly, they were glad that I had made friends with the robot. It could do everything—play soccer, build Legos, read, do math, write, and all the movements a person can make. Since my parents really are always at work a lot, they can’t always help me or play with me or cook something. Now the robot helps them with that.† —Boy, 9, Germany. (Fonseca Robots in the Classroom Para 4) According to this article, children see their robots as reassuring, helpful, encouraging, and as a very big influence to help them with their learning. They often feel more comfortable being their true selves around the robots than they do with a teacher they are unfamiliar with, which helps to be creative in their work when the robots are around (Fonseca Para 10). They also encourage children to be proud of themselves, which gives them incentive to show their parents and human teachers how well they are doing with the instruction given by the robots (Crotty Para 6). While we understand that robots teaching children in the classroom is viewed as unnatural by many, we ask for your cooperation to please understand the significant advancement in technology that has occurred in the past ten years. In Crotty’s article, he also explains how technology is viewed through the eyes of children as something very human. It is a major part of our culture, and young students don’t know of any life deprived of the conveniences technology has given us (Para 4). Robots seem strange and unfamiliar to us, but every new technology appears this way when it is first introduced. The introduction of artificial intelligence to the Frenchtown Elementary School District will lower our budget by decreasing the amount we will be paying in teacher salary. It will bring new learning opportunities to our children, open up a new kind of culture into our lives, and provide excellent assistance to our special education teachers, as well as general classroom lessons. With this addition to our curriculum, the administration hopes to achieve higher state testing scores, and higher overall levels of learning and motivation. Works Cited Carey, Benedict, and John Markoff. Students, Meet Your New Teacher, Mr. Robot. The New York Times. The New York Times, 11 July 2010. Web. 26 Oct. 2012 Crotty, James Marshall. Why Kids Prefer Robots To Teachers And Parents. Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 03 Feb. 2012. Web. 26 Oct. 2012. Fonseca Rendeiro, Mark. Robots in the Classroom. United Academics: Connect Science and Society. UA Magazine, 22 Jan. 2012. Web. 26 Oct. 2012. Sneed, Adam. Coming Soon to a Kindergarten Classroom: Robot Teachers. Slate. The Slate Group, 6 Aug. 2012. Web. 26 Oct. 2012.

Leadership and Management in Nursing Essay Example for Free

Leadership and Management in Nursing Essay Nursing is a very demanding and dedicated profession and the current shortage is a serious problem at all levels of nursing and is the dearth of leaders among nurses. Leadership and management are essential skills for all qualified healthcare professionals and have a pivotal role in ensuring a delivery of high standards of care. Developing future nurse leaders is one of the greatest challenges faced by the nursing profession, (Mahoney, 2001). The author is currently working as a midwife in one of the big hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The average deliveries per month are 500-600. There are 22 midwives in this unit and there are eight vacant posts for midwives . Due to the shortage of midwives, these professional staffs are subjected to personal and work related stress. Preston et, al. (1981) defined stress as an adaptive response, mediated by individual characteristics or psychological processes. The negative effects of stress could be evident in staff absenteeism, hostility, and aggression. This will impair the provision of quality care and the effective functioning of the organization. (Healy amp; McKay, 1999). The adverse effect of workload and stress in the author’s placement has lead to an alarming high staff turnover. Apparently, the increased workload has affected the staff performances and the quality of nursing care. When the staff feel that they are not cared for, then they find it difficult to care for patients ( Atwater amp; Bass 1994, Lancaster 1999). In this assignment, the author will explore the various leadership styles and their theories and also distinguish the functions between leadership and management. The author will also critically explore the manager’s leadership practice in labor and delivery suite, thus creating a culture of reducing stress. The link of leadership style from the aspect of work, environment, communication, empowerment, delegation, implications, conclusion and recommendations will be discussed further. Leaders are not someone who holds top position but also able to give assistance to others, (Mahoney, 2001). Whereas in my placement, the head nurse, who is the leader, never gives a helping hand during the deliveries. She anticipates the midwives to conduct and manage the deliveries, even though there’s shortage of staff. The nurse manager has to prepare the correct number of staff on each shift with the credentials to do the job and must be aware of the policies regarding overtime, floating from one unit to another. She must form a competent team and manage them to carry out the plan for reaching the goal of excellent patient care. Effective leaders are not merely someone who is skillful but they must acquire good attitudes, (Cook, 2001). The nurse manager must understand the factors surrounding the current situation in the unit and have the knowledge of various approaches to leadership that will help to understand and determine the best leadership approach to create a positive work environment to reduce stress. Leadership is defined as the ability to influence, inspire and motivate a group of people towards the achievement of its goal, (Yuki, 2002). Management is a process of getting things done effectively through planning and organization of services which is one of the basic function of management whereas the leader is an intermediary between work group and the top management, (Marquis and Huston, 2006). The manager uses a formal and rational method whilst the leader uses passions and stirs emotions. Without enabling and empowering nursing leadership, efforts to improve the quality and safety of healthcare will be limited and short-lived, as said by Kelly (2008). For a leader to achieve the goal, she must have the three essential things which are power, authority and influence to act in a way that will stimulate a positive respond from the staff (Tomey, 2009). Leaders will emerge when nurses feel valued and inspired to strive for excellence. They aim to improve patient care via a cohesive work force by focusing on interpersonal relationships between leaders and subordinates, (Malby 1997). A nursing leader should have a distinctive set of personal qualities, integrity, courage, initiative, ability to handle stress, think critically, able to resolve problems without conflicts, skillful communication and must be empathetic. They are not those who control others but they act as visionaries who help staff to plan, lead, control and organize their activities, (Jooste,2004). There are many types of leadership. Autocratic type of leaders are those who make all decisions and expect others to follow without questioning and never seek advice from others, (Sullivan amp; Decker 2005). This situation had made some of the midwives to leave for greener pastures. The current health system has advanced in technology and improved in care giving services (Cook, 2001). The author feels that this leadership style is no longer tenable and fits into the contemporary nursing practice and a consumer responsive culture. Democratic leaders encourage the participant of staff and use a consensus for decision making, (Sullivan amp; Decker 2005) whereas bureaucratic leadership occurs when a leader rigidly adheres to rules, regulations and policies of the organization, (Jenkins and Henderson, 1984). Instead of providing sufficient support and consideration, my nurse manager demonstrates these leadership qualities because she uses rules and policies thus expecting strict compliance from the midwives. . By following the organizational hierarchy’s influence, she puts herself in a high position but never use her power constructively (Masquis amp; Huston, 2006). Due to top management instructions, she adheres to the current policies, making no changes in them but gives verbal instruction and changing policies to her likes and dislikes. This swifts away trust and open communications between the manager and the midwives. Due to unvented stress and high expectations from the nurse manager, the midwives burnout level have been exacerbated . Burnout is a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and lack of personal accomplishment, as said by Maslach amp;Jackson (1981). Reports have proved that in this kind of environment, patient’s safety is at risk (Institute of Medicine, 2004). Participative leadership allows staff to participate in decision making and actively seek out the participation of those involved. This type of leadership allows staff to feel more committed to the goals they were involved (Faugier amp; Woolnough, 2002). The author feels that the head nurse should have these qualities so that the unit will run smoothly, and the staff will be appreciated and acknowledged so that good nursing care can be rendered. Transformational leadership is especially well suited for today’s fast changing healthcare environment where adaptation is extremely important (Welford,2002). It starts with the development of a vision that will excite and convert potential followers, (Outhwaite, 2003). To achieve organizational success, this style advocates for strong leadership qualities and these leaders use motivation in their approach than use rewards and punishment as said by Kouzes amp; Posner (2002). In the author’s point of view, this leadership is proposed as empowering leadership style which well suits in my unit and to be recognized by the nurse manager. According to Bowles amp; Bowels (2002), transformational leaders create a leadership culture for all team members nurturing empowerment, increase their autonomy and open communication for inclusive decision making. The nurse manager takes responsibilities for discussing care related matters with the midwives which makes them to be motivated and work more effectively to contribute to the development and provision of the unit, (Murphy. 2005). The ability of the leader to articulate a shared vision is an important aspect of transformational leadership (Faugier amp; Woolnough, 2002). Another leadership style is transactional leadership which focuses on providing day to day care between leaders and their employee. It aims to maintain equilibrium and harmony by using incentives to enhance staff loyalty and performance (Bass and Riggio, 2006). Laissez faire leadership is another style that leaves the staff alone to work with no directions or facilitations and is a highly risky form of leadership, (Sullivan amp; Decker 2005). Since the author’s placement is labor and delivery, it’s not advisable to have this kind of leader in this unit as it will increase the mortality rate. The high level of burnout and increased workload due to shortage of midwives and less rest days has resulted them to leave. This disequilibrium may trigger the risk of physical and mental health of these midwives. The manager has depleted the nurses basic psychological needs which are rest and sleep and at the same time reducing their self- esteem, as said in Maslow’s theory of human motivation. The leader should explore barriers and identify conflicts when they arise and collaborate with the team and be able to understand the employee’s perspective (Outhwaite,2003). A more effective form of leadership maybe situational leadership where the leader switches the style depending upon the situation at hand and upon the competence of the staff, (Faugier amp; Woolnough, 2002). The nurse manager must be good clinician and have judgment skills to handle any problem that cannot be handled by the staff. By doing so, the staff will listen to her as she guides them. Communication also plays a vital role as this can prevent conflict and smoothes the progress of team building in the unit Calpin-Davies, (2000). A good communicator gives the staff detailed instructions to perform tasks that are necessary to reach the goal. The nurse manager uses a communication book to provide important information to all the staff in the unit, as supported by Sullivan amp; Decker (2005). By reading and acknowledging with a signature, she assures the message has been reached effectively. As a leader, the nurse manager has to be a good listener. It provides the opportunity to receive valuable feedback that is used to avert some problems and resolve others and also giving greater understanding of the issues being discussed. When there are incidences in the unit, the nurse manager gives a listening ear to the staff and tries to solve the problems. She puts aside preconceived ideas or prejudices when listening to staff. Being a leader, the nurse manager delegates some of the tasks to the staff to focus on more complex aspects of running the unit. She delegates the right task to the right person, for example sending and collecting of narcotics by the midwife as these drugs used are cautioned in Saudi Arabia. A good leader fosters a congenial work environment by coaching, praising and training the staff to perform an excellent job and also by conducting continuous nursing education. Supervision goes in the observation of staff and to evaluate in the yearly performance appraisal. The author would recommend that the nurse manager in this unit has to change her leadership style to She should resources for proper quality care Conclusion Today, healthcare environment requires leaders to be skillful and knowledgeable and have strong inspirational leadership qualities across the health care organization. In this millennium, nursing must make a dedicated effort to nurture its young nurses to grow into effective and motivating leaders.

Evolutionary Changes to Horses

Evolutionary Changes to Horses Enough horse fossils have been found so that archaeologists are able to trace the evolution of horses. The earliest fossil of a horse found was a dog sized Eohippus (Tyagi, 2009). This four toed Eohippus lived around 55 million years ago (Hall, 2010). The Equus mostly stayed the same with the exception of slight toe and teeth changes. During the Oligocene era about 34-34 million years ago the horse grew in size and 4 toes evolved into 3. Also in this time the horse had vanished from Europe, Africa and Asia and for the following million years the only place which was habitable for the horse was in the western part of North America (Rice, 2007). The Miocene era saw lush vegetation disappear and the land became a grassy plain. The horse was forced to adapt and evolve in order to survive in this new environment, for example its teeth needed to change so it was able to chew the new food, its toes changed into hooves which made it easier to get about the different landscapes. These horses are thought to have had a similar brain and molars to the modern horse of today (Kimball 2006). The only real wild horse, to compare to the domesticated horse is the Przewalskis horse, although this species is extinct in the wild, there are some captive in zoos which have saved the species from total extinction and are now being captive bred (Boyd 1994). The Fell pony originates from the England/Scotland border. They are only a small breed around 14h maximum but are capable of carrying an adult man (Davis, 2008). They are a hard and sturdy breed and also versatile. The Fell pony matures late and will not breed often until as late as 7 years old. Most of the native Fells are left to roam free until the age of 2 or 3 and they arent overfed. Mares shouldnt breed before the age of 3 or permanent damage could be done to the reproductive organs and the mares maturity and growth can be restricted (Fell pony society, 2006). Environmental Factors Survival of the fittest means that only the strongest most resourceful animals live to breed. In the bad winter of 1946-47 most of the pure bred native ponies survived, but cross-breeds died. This winter was so bad that all but one group of Fell ponies that were cut off by deep snow for 6 weeks also perished (Richardson, 2008) The environment influences a horses characters, for example weight and muscle, these all depend on nutrition and exercise. The athletic ability and temperament also changes with different environmental factors. The size of the pony was due to the quality of grazing, ponies that were bigger than 13hh could not have survived on the moorland as their food intake would need to be greater than the smaller ponies (Mills, 2005). Demographic profiling of horse domestication is hard. Mongol herds show the selective slaughter of stallions at 2 and half years old, leaving the mares to survive (Zeder, 2006). A horses breed typical behaviour is reflected on the combination of two forces- physical environment and humans. Temperament differences are often linked with blood temperature (Jensen, 2009) Human intervention In early history of the Fell Pony, their origins were from indigenous ponies of the region, and in the Roman period of Northern England the horses were cross-bred with horses which were introduced by foreign mercenaries. These horses from Friesland region have the pre-potency and characteristics still seen today in the Fell pony (Richardson, 2008) There was also a mixture of Galloway blood, also Welsh cob from the stallion Comet. Small amount of Andalusian blood and finally Yorkshire trotter, which explains the larger 14.2hh ponies when the breed limit is 14hh (Fell pony Society, 2009). During the industrial revolution the Fell pony was used as a pack pony. They carried up to 16 stone of lead, iron ore, slate and coal from the mines. These ponies travelled 240 miles a week. From Kendal 300 Fells left to go over the country carrying cargo such as fish, grain, chickens and dairy products (Hamlets house, n.d.) The Fell pony society was created in 1916 and has the Queen Elizabeth II as the patron (Fell pony society, 2003). During the depression of the 1930s along with mechanisation the Fell pony breed was threatened and in 1932 at a stallion show there was only 3 ponies that were shown. King George V saved the Fell pony breed with a large donation and also Beatrix Potter donated to save this breed (Richardson, 2008) Low breeding numbers can drastically reduce the gene pool in a breed, causing it to bottle neck. This happened to the Fell ponies. In 1914, 5 stallions were the direct descendant of the famous Blooming Heather. Homozygosity is 54% in British rare breed horses. (Richardson, 2008) In todays terms, nature is taking out of the equation; there is no longer survival of the fittest among these horses. We provide them food and shelter, there is no longer natural selection (Richardson, 2008). Humans took horses from their environment in which they had evolved, and managed them under convenient conditions for us (Waran, 2007) These days the Fell pony is used by man for showing, riding and driving. The Fell pony society regularly holds performance trials where the horse tackles different terrains such as boggy paths and water crossing. These horses are smart and need to be kept active (The Fell pony society, 2009). Gene flow and polygenic inheritance of traits Not all Fell ponies are black. There are also brown, bay and grey ponies. Black didnt become the main colour until the end of 20th century, before this time dark bay was just as common as the black ponies (Fell Pony Museum, 2010). The two subspecies of wild horses are the Tarpan and Przewalskis horse. During domestication mares were crossed with stallions that had more desirable characteristics. It is assumed that mares from different regions were varied in morphology because of the adaptation to their environmental conditions. Gene flow (migration) is the main reason for lack of phylogeographic structure. As horses are so active migration levels are high. Two wild horses were found to have identical haplotypes from the Pleistocene era, one from Germany and the other Siberia (Kavar, 2008) The colour of a horse is built on a base of two colours only, black- E and chestnut e. The colour of a horse is controlled by genes at 12 different loci (Thiruvenkadan, 2008). The two genetic loci: Extension and Agouti control the black or chestnut colour of a horse (Sponenberg, 2003). Black is dominant over chestnut, and chestnut is therefore recessive. A horse that carries 2 black genes EE will be homozygous- black, a horse that carries one black gene and one chestnut gene Ee will also be black however it will be heterozygous, and finally a horse that carries two chestnut genes ee will always be homozygous, chestnut. If two heterozygous black horses are bred together Ee+Ee there will be a 1 in 4 chance of producing a black homozygous EE , 2 out of 4 chances of a black heterozygous Ee and a 1 in 4 chance of a chestnut being produced (Wellman, 2009). See table 1. Polygenic inheritance is seen in a variety of colour patterns in horses, such a shade and mane and tail colour. These might be due to influence of multiple genes (Thiruvenkadan, 2008). Gene mapping has been used to assign numerous coat colour traits and disorders that are inherited to the horse chromosome. Molecular genetic studies for coat colour in horses have helped identify the genes and mutations which are responsible for coat colour variation. Microsatellite markers that linked to the trait were also found (Thiruvenkadan, 2008). Microsatellite loci tests across horse population showed that the highest observed heterozygosity of 0.0782 and highest diversity of 0.779 was the Fell pony, the lowest was in the Friesian horse (Luis, 2007). Microsatellites show high allelic diversity and are used to calculate genetic distance between the breeds (Mills, 2005). Any horse breed existing today is an expression of the history of genetic drift and selection. The genotype for a breed will contain genes and combinations which code for specific characteristics, (such as good temperament and intelligence in Fells (Simper, 2003)). Foal Pony Syndrome Mutations that occur in a gene make it defective or somewhat unusual (Guttman et al 2002). This is seen as a deleterious gene in the Fell pony. In the early 80s it became aware that new born foals were dying from an unknown disease which couldnt be cured by traditional medicines. After post-mortem examinations the conclusion came that is was most likely something of genetic origin (Brunt 2000). Fell pony foals get a condition called immunodeficiency disorder (Fell pony syndrome). Plate 1 shows a foal with the syndrome. It affects foals less than 3 years of age. Both sexes get it; the signs are diarrhoea, pneumonia, lymphopenia, ulcers on tongue, a curly coat which is unusually long and death (Higgins, 2006). Blood samples from the foals revealed that there is a low red blood cell count, low lymphocyte count and a high white cell count. A diagnosis can be made from a bone marrow sample taken from the breastbone. The syndrome causes severe anaemia, impaired immunity and is fatal with the foals usually being put down or dying by the age of 3-4 months. As the syndrome is only known in the Fell pony breed it is assumed that its of genetic origin (Thomas, 2000).Foals usually fall ill around 4 weeks of age. This condition is possibly caused by an autosomal recessive deleterious gene which is inherited (Higgins, 2006) Due to the Fells small gene pool this syndrome is increasing at an alarming rate, as it is estimated that only 5000-6000 ponies are left worldwide. Selective breeding is better than the elimination of carriers when breeding to avoid a syndrome foal. If the syndrome is proved to be of genetic cause and the carriers can be found then they shouldnt eliminate the carrier ponies from the breeding stock as narrowing the small gene pool any further would have a devastating effect to the breed (Thomas, 2000). The level of FPS in the Fell pony population may be due to the history of the breed as after the Second World War there was a huge fall in numbers. This resulted in genetic bottleneck (Horse Trust, 2008). It is likely that two- thirds of the Fell pony population is a carrier, and 10-20% of foals a year are syndrome foals. No affected foals have been known to survive (Thomas, 2000). The stem cells in bone marrow are generally missing in the syndrome foals. The bone marrow matrix might be failing to produce the stem cells and be deficient (Millard, 2000).The most likely cause of the syndrome beginning is thought to have been inbreeding/line breeding in the 1960s (Plate 2). The original carrier stallion isnt known but there is one heavily used stallion in the 1950s that is noticed in the pedigree of each known syndrome foal (Thomas, 2000) The only way of getting rid of this genetic problem is with carefully managed breeding. Genetic disorders are common and the management of breeding has been seen in other animal breeds which have worked successfully for them (Brunt, 2000). The Fell pony society is performing constant genetic tests to try and eliminate the syndrome from the breed. The breeders are working with the society to preserve the Fell pony breed. Carries can still be bred to a test clear pony; this will stop the loss of desirable breed traits. The foals can be DNA tested to see whether they are a carrier or not. A veterinarian can collect samples and have them sent to a genetic lab to determine whether they are a carrier of the deleterious gene or not (Animal health trust, N.D)

Flowers and Fairytale :: Free Descriptive Observation Essay

Flowers and Fairytale By the school, there is a little garden with a water fountain and several little trees around it. Each tree is grounded in a two-foot high cement block. The tree is covered with leaves, and the leaves have scattered flowers around them. The fountain contains several little water shooters, shooting out forms of water, which resembles the flower as a dancing fairy. The flowers start at the bottom of the tree. The ring of flowers surround the tree. They are made up of many bright colors of red, pink, violet, blue and white. From a distance there appears to be a swarm of them. The flowers’ petals are soft and sweet smelling. They don’t suffocate my senses, though. The flowers are like a weak perfume. They are gentle and subtle. When I touched one of the flowers in my hand, it was as soft as silk. I realized that they were so fragile, because they sliced apart very easily. The flowers are held captive by the army of leaves. The green leaves are mixed in with the flowers. The shades of the green leaves range from light yellowish green to dark bluish green. Most of them are shaped like tiny bananas and others are wider, like pears or apples. The crashing water near by drowns out the scent of the leaves’ chlorophyll. Some of the leaves are almost as smooth as the flowers, but some are rough, similar to a rug. The leaves are grouped together like many little trees. The trees and leaves cover the soil and the bottom part of the tree—like a drooping green gown. The tree is very much like a queen, wearing its dress of leaves. I would not reach out and touch it—because it would be rude. At the shoulders of the tree—the branches fork off into three directions. The thick branches hold up more green leaves—the delicate kind—shaping the head of the tree like a mushroom. The tree resembles a green Queen Amadalia—young and bright. When I looked up at her, you see the sunlight reflect off her hair—the leaves—creating a peaceful glow. It blurs everything, however, and I had to stop looking. The wind does blow the leaves, but it is so lightly that you can barely tell. The fountain near by spurts out water in this direction. I look over there and see groups of dancing water in the wide square pool. Flowers and Fairytale :: Free Descriptive Observation Essay Flowers and Fairytale By the school, there is a little garden with a water fountain and several little trees around it. Each tree is grounded in a two-foot high cement block. The tree is covered with leaves, and the leaves have scattered flowers around them. The fountain contains several little water shooters, shooting out forms of water, which resembles the flower as a dancing fairy. The flowers start at the bottom of the tree. The ring of flowers surround the tree. They are made up of many bright colors of red, pink, violet, blue and white. From a distance there appears to be a swarm of them. The flowers’ petals are soft and sweet smelling. They don’t suffocate my senses, though. The flowers are like a weak perfume. They are gentle and subtle. When I touched one of the flowers in my hand, it was as soft as silk. I realized that they were so fragile, because they sliced apart very easily. The flowers are held captive by the army of leaves. The green leaves are mixed in with the flowers. The shades of the green leaves range from light yellowish green to dark bluish green. Most of them are shaped like tiny bananas and others are wider, like pears or apples. The crashing water near by drowns out the scent of the leaves’ chlorophyll. Some of the leaves are almost as smooth as the flowers, but some are rough, similar to a rug. The leaves are grouped together like many little trees. The trees and leaves cover the soil and the bottom part of the tree—like a drooping green gown. The tree is very much like a queen, wearing its dress of leaves. I would not reach out and touch it—because it would be rude. At the shoulders of the tree—the branches fork off into three directions. The thick branches hold up more green leaves—the delicate kind—shaping the head of the tree like a mushroom. The tree resembles a green Queen Amadalia—young and bright. When I looked up at her, you see the sunlight reflect off her hair—the leaves—creating a peaceful glow. It blurs everything, however, and I had to stop looking. The wind does blow the leaves, but it is so lightly that you can barely tell. The fountain near by spurts out water in this direction. I look over there and see groups of dancing water in the wide square pool.

Titanic :: essays research papers

Titanic Titanic was the largest ship in the world, built by a workforce of 17,000. The ultimate in turn-of-the-century design and technology. First-class suites ran to more than $ 55,000 in todays dollars, and when she sailed on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England on route to NY , she held among her 2,227 passengers. The cream of industrial society, including colonel John Jacob Astor. Macys founder; U.S. congressman Isidor Straus and Thomas Andrews, the ships builder. The ship was built of easily sealed-off compartments. If, for some unimaginable reason, the hull were punctured, only the compartment actually ruptured would flood. In an worst case example - builders figured that the Titanic would take from one to three days to sink, time for nearby ships to help, because there was only 16 lifeboats. Unfortunately, things didn't work out that way. On April 14th, 1912 at about 7:30, at the first ominous hint of disaster has came. Into the earphones of the wireless operator on duty came amessage from the steamer California: Three large bergs five miles southward from us. But the Titanic continued to rush through the deepening darkness. The temperature was one degree above freezing. When lookouts Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee had come on duty at 10 P.M., the sky was cloudless and the air clear. At around 11:30 P.M., just half an hour before they were to be rewired, a slight haze had appeared, directly ahead. And about two points on either side. Suddenly - his training causing his reflexes to function instinctively. Fleet gave the warning bell and immediately reached across the crowns nest to the bridges telephone. In its compartment on the starboard side. He rang   ms bell urgently. Fleet replaced the telephone and gripped the crowns nest rail. At 11:40 P.M., April 14 , 1912 ; The lookouts spotted the iceberg   a quarter-mile ahead. Had they not alerted the bridge, the ship would not have attempted a turn. At 11:40P.M. ; the ship sideswipes the ice. Because of the steels ductility,it would have absorbed massive amounts of energy. The ice crashed right through the plating as it grinded along the side, Strinking at an angle like s 300-foot zipper. ON midnight, April 14-15; fist six   compartments were filling; water was beginning to slosh over. 12:40.; water filled 2,000 bathtubs 1:20 A.M.; The bow dipped; water flooded through anchor - chain holes. At 2:10 A.M.; The Titanic titled to 45 degrees or more and stress reaches nearby 15 tons per square inch. The keel bends; The bottom plating buckles. At 2:15 A.M.; The stern   grew heavier and until it   reached some 16,000 tons of in - water weight .

The Relationship Between Secure Attachment and Indirect Aggression Essa

Introduction Children, in their early childhood, rely on their attachment relationships for feelings of security. Securely attached children become well adapt at verbalising their needs. For example, a 4-year-old child may say â€Å"Please read me a story before you go†, communicating their fear of been left alone. This increased ability to verbalise their wants and needs continue well on into later childhood and adolescence (Hutchision, 2013). According to Bolby (1973), warm and secure attachment experiences promote beliefs that others have good intentions; however persons who grow with insensitive attachment figures may have bouts of dysfunctional behaviour. Armsden (1986) also believed that secure persons in an intrapersonal domain tend to have more positive, integrated and coherent views of their selves than do insecure persons. There has been a great deal of speculation about how maternal attachment affects all subsequent patters of social behaviour and it is essential that we bring to bear on these speculations all the data we have available (Caldwell, Bettye, Ricciuti, 1973). Although interpersonal attributions and their relationship have been explored extensively (Dodge & Fane, 1982; Gramhan, Hudly & Williams, 1992; Quiggle etal, 1992), the role of such awareness as a link between parent/adolescent attachment and adulterant aggressive behaviour has not been examined systematically (as cited in Simons, Paternite, & Shore, 2001, p. 185). Statistics show (NICHD, 2004) that children following high development trajectories for aggression are more likely to evolve from lower income families, where mothers tend to be less educated and parents are less sensitive and responsive. These parents may often be overwhelmed by a child’... ...l Psychology, 78, 350-365. Graham, S., Hudley, C., & Williams, E. (1992). Attributional and emotional determinants of aggression among African-American and Latino young adolescent. Development Psychology. 28, 731-740. Hutchision, E.D., & Hutchision, E. D. (2013). Essentials of human behaviour: Integrating the life course, person, and environment. Thousand Oaks: CA: SAGE. Kevin J. Simons, Carl E. Paternite, Cecilia Shore. (2001). Quality of Parent/Adolescent Attachment and Aggression in Young Adolescents .Miami University (Ohio). Journal. Patterson, Barbara, and Nancy Meadows. The successful woman: sharpening your skills for personal and professional development. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1982. Print. Quiggle, N. L., Garber, J., Panak, W. F., & Dodge, K. A. (1992). Social information processing in aggressive and depressed children. Child Developm

Problems of New Age Essay

1) Depressed high school student committing suicide due to stress –A final year MBBS student in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bal Mukund Bharti, allegedly committed suicide in his hostel room on 3 Mar 2010 evening. He was apparently depressed over failing in a paper on community medicine. –Asian American women ages 15 to 24 lead in the highest suicide rate amongst all ethnic groups, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The Growing Rate of Depression, Suicide Among Asian American Students) 2) Youth Activist from USA Advocates for Youth champions efforts to help young people make informed and responsible decisions about their reproductive and sexual health 3) Sex Slave Approximately 35,000 individuals live as sex slaves in Thailand today. Sold or lured to big cities, these girls (and sometimes boys) are forced – under the threat of violence and with no freedom to leave the brothel – to provide sex for any and all payin g customers. Sex tourism in Thailand is a growing industry, perpetuating the demand for sex slaves. 4) Child Marriage Forced marriage is a cultural practice in Afghanistan * Marriages are used to settle debts or to strengthen family status through social alliances * Poor families consider a daughter as an economic burden who must be married quickly to reduce the financial strain. Education is critical to achieving equality for girls * Yet, girls continue to have limited access to school due to restricted movement, cultural barriers, shortages of female teachers and poor facilities, especially in rural areas. * In July 2009, UNICEF established Girls’ Resource Forums in 20 schools cross the West of Afghanistan, where 2,000 girls and 100 female teachers come together to play, learn, and discuss issues important to their lives. The aim is to strengthen the girls’ self confidence and inter-personal skills, by making them talk about themselves, listen to each other and help their peers to make decisions or cope with a situation. 5) Addiction to internet gaming * Lee Seung Seop, Korea. * On August 3, 2005, he achieved global notoriety when he visited a nearby Internet cafe and proceeded to play World of Warcraft and StarCraft for almost fifty onsecutive hours. Ultimately exhaustion and dehydration induced heart failure and he went into cardiac arrest. He died shortly thereafter at a local hospital. * the parents of a three-month old daughter were so obsessed with an online role- playing game that they neglected their little one until she starved to death. * The parents, both Jobless, played the game † called Prius online † for 12 hours a day at a PC bang only returning once a day to feed powdered milk to their daughter 6) Family Problems