The Importance of Partnerships with Parents for All Aspects of the Childcare Service Essay Example for Free

The Importance of Partnerships with Parents for All Aspects of the Childcare Service Essay The partnership with parents is very important as it is the key to making sure that the children in my care get the best care available and are happy and settled in my setting. With the introduction of the Children Act in 1989 parents were given definite rights. This included being able to access information on their children’s progress and achievements in their setting and also a preference to parents as to which school they wanted their child to go to. Since the introduction of the EYFS in 2008, a clear framework has been put in place to foster partnerships between parents and all professionals, including childminders, pre-schools, nurseries and schools. The relationship between parents and childminders can be very close, parents will be coming into my home every day and it is important that I put this on a professional footing by having a Parental Involvement Policy that clearly states how the partnership between the parents and I will work. I will welcome all parents into my setting and encourage their involvement in order to ensure their child is comfortable enough to flourish into confident, happy individuals. The partnership with parents starts with the first initial enquiry / visit. I need to build a rapport with the parents by understanding their requirements both culturally, socially and any routines they have. I will always endeavour to accommodate a child’s routine and discuss with parents how this will be managed taking account of the children already in my care. Sometimes a compromise will need to be made, as long as this is agreed by all parties. Different cultures have different approaches to modesty, clothing, and the use of the toilet and hygiene arrangements. Some cultures have very specific guidelines on the preparation and storage of food and the type of food they eat. All these aspects need to be considered and discussed with the parent at the initial enquiry / visit stage. Once I have established the basic requirements of the parents I will draw up a contract with the parents for the care of their child/(ren). Before a child starts in my care I will want to have some settling in sessions. This is important to ensure that the child, parent and I can have some time to get to know each other and clarify any points regarding routine, specific needs and communication. There are many ways of communicating with parents, keeping a daily diary, telephone calls, email, a chat on collection or drop off and formalised parent meetings. A daily diary is particularly useful when children in my care are young and are still in appies, on formula milk, or being weaned, or just starting to feed themselves and / or not yet talking. Telephone calls or email communication is more likely to be an agreed regular communication in the evening or weekends. I would not envisage this being the preferred method of communication as face to face discussion would be more productive. I would propose to hold parents evenings, at least twice a year. The purpose of this would be to review the child’s progress, discuss any issues and plan for the coming six months.

Public and Private Companies in Malaysia

Public and Private Companies in Malaysia The number of private going to public listed company is the common ways to practice in Malaysia. In contrary, public listed companies going private has increased sharply in recent years like the mushroom after raining release onto the business world. This adjustment is formed by the Stock Exchange of Malaysia, Bursa Malaysia. In the beginning of 2007, there has offer a series of privatisation of public listed companies on our local bourse, Bursa Malaysia. The trend of privatisation of public listed companies in the Bursa Malaysia has raised more than 20 privatisations since 2007 (source: Announcements from Bursa Malaysia). The establishment of the Stock Exchange of Malaysia in 1964 had given a new perspective in the Malaysian economic landscape. This institute will help in quick expansion of its longer term capital growth and enhancing global competitive. Since its formation, the Stock Exchange of Malaysia, Bursa Malaysia, has over 1,000 listed companies provide a wide range opportunity of investment choices to local and foreign investors include retail and institutional level, merchant banks and unit trust companies. Bursa Malaysia (formerly known as Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, KLSE) has currently more than 982 public listed companies (as at 17 September 2008) with a total market capitalization in excess of RM930 billion. It is one of the largest Stock Exchange in South East Asia, No. 1 in terms of listed companies, and No. 2 in terms of market capitalization after Singapore. The privatisation continued through 2008 with 21 privatisation proposals on the Bursa Malaysia. According to OSK Research Head Chris Eng comments that the wind of privatisation was expected to be strong next year in view of the low valuation of stocks, although earnings may contract but price-to-earnings ratio is still low. This demonstrates that the privatization will carried out efficiency in the view of the researcher excluded the global financial crisis. Jupiter Securities head of research Pong Teng Siew said the privatisation trend was unlikely to insist during the global financial crisis. The privatisation issue will outcome in the view of global credit crunch. The global credit crunch can reduce funds available to local and foreign investor. An example for proposed plan to privatise in AirAsia had illustrates core issue to privatisation, which is the funding source. However, this will cause the AirAsia stay at the security position. AirAsias major shareholder Tune Air Sdn Bhd, leadership by the groups chief executive Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, had announce to put on hold its plan to privatise and delist the counter from the local stock exchange due to the difficulties in securing funding. The privatise position will affect their funds and share easily acquirer by outsider owned sufficient capital. Other factors that may fuel privatization include businesses that were fairly stable where there was no need to raise cash via equity, which in turn made the requirements of a listing such as the need to hold AGMs and issue annual reports. Such requirements on listed companies had leave the companies with little breathing space, less liberty and make it difficult for companies to make major the decisions such as expanding overseas, acquiring new businesses or obtaining new shareholders without losing precious time in these pursuits. By going private, the companys major shareholders are able to focus on taking bigger strategic risks in order to enjoy long-term profits without facing intense scrutiny of public shareholders and being constrained by the need to consider how a proposed transaction might influence the quarterly earnings or the volatility of the share price of the company. Kenanga Investment Bank Head of Corporate Finance Debbie Leong agrees. She said other than cheap valuation; other motivating factors included the cost of maintaining the listing status. She said the same goes for companies too that were not bring benefit from having a listing status, such as the inability to tap the capital market for funds due to lack of visibility to investors, low analyst coverage, or the mere fact that the companies were too small to gain attention from institutional shareholders. In the view of point, Analysts from anonymous said privatisation also played a significant role in continuous bringing stock prices closer to their intrinsic values (actual cost of the company). Privatisations are likely to involve small to mid-cap companies going forward, as the quantum involves in completing the privatisation would be smaller (less than RM100 million) and thus more manageable when it comes to funding in view of the current global credit crunch. OSK Research head Chris Eng said it believe that there is an increasing privatisation trend among small, family-owned public-listed companies especially identified where cash per share is higher than the share price. Bursa Malaysiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s Kuala Lumpur Composite Index had tumbled to 876.40 points on December 19, 2008, a 73% drop from its peak of 1,516.22 on January 2008. It is worth noting that the price-to-earnings ratio of the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index had also dipped to 10.10 times as of the week ended December 19, 2008 from a high of 16.84 times as of the week ended January 11, 2008. Its lowest price-earnings-ratio for the year was 9.31 times for the week ended October 24, 2008. There are more than a total 86 new listings for the past 3 years from the year of 2006 until 2008, whereby there were 40 new listings in the year of 2006, 28 new listings in the year of 2007 and 18 new listings in the year of 2008 (as at 17 September 2008) on the Bursa Malaysia. Total money raised from the public listing exercise and other corporate exercise was RM 4.1 billon in 2006 and RM 16.8 billion in the year of 2007 (source: from Bursa Malaysiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s 2007 Annual Report). Some RM46.29 billion has been wiped out from Bursa Malaysiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s market capitalisation in the first half of the year of 2007, as 17 companies were taken private, a stock exchange official said. In contrast, the stock market added RM3.74 billion in market capitalisation from the listing of 16 companies in the same period. Global leveraged buyout volume for the first six months of the year 2007 was estimated at US$450 billion (RM1.56 trillion), more than double the whole of last year of 2006. The privatization of these companies signals a very mature and robust financial market, with a favourable credit market. The cycle of privatisation will turn when interest rate goes up and companies find it more expensive to raise funds from the credit market. Selvarany Rasiah, Chief Regulatory Officer of Bursa Malaysia (Business Times Malaysia 20 June 2007). (Source: Business Times 22 September 2008) Privatisations are common done with reasons; the owner is motivated to do so when the share price does not reflect its fundamental value. Expectations are high that the rate of privatisation may pick up by the third quarter of 2009, once the global credit situation has eased and there is more clarity. Interestingly, PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Sdn Bhd, Senior Executive Director Tan Siow Ming says private equity firms may feature more prominently as an alternative source of financing for the privatisation exercises. Three factors, he says, may whet the appetite of private equity players in the public to private deals. Firstly, they have a considerable amount of investible funds in their coffers; secondly they are able to leverage at reasonable cost given the current credit crunch; and thirdly, it may fit strategically with their overall investment strategy. The economy report made by shahriman johari, rupa damodaran ,chong pooi koon had said Malaysias economy growth is expected to increase between 2 per cent and 3 per cent in 2010 which supported by private investment and consumption. (Source: Business Times Saturday OCT 24, 2009) THE government plans to privatise selected government agencies and give customised incentives to attract fresh investments from the private sector. This forms part of the governments plan to develop a new economic model based on high income, which will be the focus in the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP). It did not select which agencies will be privatised, but this will recognized as the second wave of privatisation. The government has work out their effort to improve the financial sector to facilitate efficient intermediation. Then, it can measure to enhance access, cut transaction costs and promote stock broking and fundraising activities. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) wont be left out. There are incentives to help them modernize and sustain their operations. In addition, the numerous grants and loan schemes will be rationalised to improve access and effectiveness (Source: Business Times Saturday OCT 24, 2009). Obviously, the privatisation exist MA transactions in Malaysia. The main regulations governing MA transactions in Malaysia include the Companies Act 1965, the Capital Market Services Act 2007 (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾CMSAà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸), the Guidelines provided for the Acquisition of Assets, the Malaysian Code on Takeovers and Mergers 1998 (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Take-over Codeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸), Mergers and Takeovers issued by the Foreign Investment Committee (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾FIC Guidelinesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸) and the Listing Requirements of the Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Bursa Malaysiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸) for public listed companies. Section 216 of the CMSA and the Companies Act 1965 govern MA transactions that involve the sale or purchase of substantial assets by a public company while Section 217 of the CMSA and the Take-over Code regulate MA transactions that involves the acquisition of voting shares which results in a change of control in a company. These regulations are put in pla ce to protect the interests of shareholders and to ensure that all take-overs and mergers take place in a competitive, informed and efficient market. Also, the laws and regulations are to ensure all shareholders of a company involved in a take-over and merger situation receive fair and equal treatment. Public listed companies in the Bursa Malaysia are adjustment become private encourage whole acquisition offer to the shareholders of the public listed company. The conduct of the take-over schemes are regulated by the Securities Commission and are subject to the Malaysian Code on Take-Overs and Mergers 1998. The general offer trigger is 33% where: (i) In order to an acquisition of 33% of voting shares by a person in addition with persons acting in concert with them (acquirer), or when (ii) The acquirer had already holds more than 33% but less than 50%, hold 2% within a period of 6 (six) months from the date of acquisition would require that such a mandatory offer be made. Once the level of acceptance has achieved 50% of more, the offer becomes unconditional. Some acquirer exposure in a condition for a takeover of other property such that it must have at least 50% of the shares in a voluntary takeover scheme, failing which the acceptance will be the rate of return to shareholders. Once the acceptance of the takeover breaches the 75% level, the listed company breaches the public shareholding spread requirement under the Listing Requirements of the Bursa Malaysia. The public listed company which drop short of the 25% spread requirement may request for an extension of time from Bursa Malaysia to rectify the situation. The company could be suspended or delisted unless the listed company finds means of increasing the public spread to at least 25% again if no extension of time is granted by Bursa Malaysia (Source: Bursa Malaysia Listing Requirements and Securities Commission Malaysian Code on Take-Overs 1988). The most common methods of privatization observed on our Bursa Malaysia are as follows:- 1. Direct offer A voluntary general offer can be made for the rest of the shares not owned by the owner or related parties acting in concert. 2. Via a new company or special purpose vehicle company The owner can use a new company or incorporate a special purpose vehicle company to acquire all his shares and the rest of shares owned by the other shareholders. 3. Acquire the business In order to avoid rejection by some minority shareholders, more and more owners are using this method, i.e. seeking shareholdersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ approval to sell the entire business and thereafter distribute the cash proceeds back to shareholders. The end effect is the same as cash offer for the shares. 1.2 Objectives of the Study Based on the gains sharing issue highlighted above, this study carries out an analysis on the numbers of publicly traded companies in Malaysia that had participated in going private transactions in 2007. Moreover, there have been myriads studies concerned on the motive and/or reasons for mergers and acquisitions mostly in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe, but very few motives and/or reasons have been addressed for public listed companies going private. The number of public listed companies going private has increased sharply in recent years like the mushroom after raining especially in Malaysia, as part of widespread corporate restructuring. Privatisation is the reverse of a public listing exercise. However, little evidence has been provided to prove for similar applications in the Malaysian capital market. This paper aims to fill the gap and contribute to existing literature. The objective of this study is to determine the following:- 1. What is the motive for a public listed company to go private? 2. How is the price earnings ratio and price to book valuation of a public listed company in relation to companies being taken private? 3. How emphasis is given to the offer price that has been offered by these companies to their public shareholders and with this the study strives to achieve the objectives? The following objectives below are; i) To measure the fairness of the offer price offered to the minority shareholders by comparing the share price derived by the discounted cash flow valuation with the offer price offered by the companies when the transaction took place; and ii) To assess whether the gain sharing proposition established in previous literatures can be generalized in Malaysia financial market as what observed in the in the country such as the U.S., the UK and other European countries. 1.3 Scope of the Study This study will cover all public listed companies listed on the Bursa Malaysia which is being taken private in 2007. It will examine the motives and/or reasons for public listed companies in Malaysia going private. Recognizing the need to protect the minority shareholders interest in Malaysia, especially in the exercises that are undertaken by the publicly held company that have a significant impact on public shareholders, this study aims to contribute to this effort by focusing on going private transactions. 1.4 Purpose and Significance of the Study There have been numerous studies concerned the motive and/or reasons for mergers and acquisitions, but very few motives and/or reasons have been addresses for public listed companies going private. The number of public listed companies going private has increased sharply in recent years especially in Malaysia, as part of widespread corporate restructuring and/or mergers and acquisitions. Furthermore, this study will cover and overview all public listed companies listed on the Bursa Malaysia which is being taken private in 2007 which is recognize as privatisation that reverse from public listing exercise. The objective of this study is to examine why this new trend emerges and what causes it to happen. 1.5 Limitations of the Study The privatisation of Malaysiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s public listed companies was relatively new phenomena that started in 2006 and implement in 2007 throughout 2008, a relatively short period of study as compared to studies of privatisation of public listed companies in UK from 1997 to 2003 by (Renneboog, Simons and Wright 2005). Thus, the scope of the study is limited to Malaysiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s public listed companies in the Bursa Malaysia going private in the year of 2007. There is lack of information for Malaysia due to the new trend or phenomena. 1.6 Organization of the Study The paper is divided into five (5) chapters. The first chapter of this research describes the driving factors that led to this study. It highlights the background, objectives, scope of the study as well as the significance of the study. Chapter two (2) of this study will cover the literature review and to provide evidence which found from the previous studies on various reasons behind public listed companies going private. It will be used to support discussion and findings from the data analysis. Development of hypotheses, selection of measures, sampling design, data collection procedure and analysis are outlined in Chapter three (3). Chapter four (4) draws some research result of this study and conclusion and recommendations will be presented in Chapter five (5). CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Before us deeply into the public listed companies to go private. Understanding that why did the companies decided to become a public listed company is very imperative. Roell (1996) documents five reasons why owners of firms decided to go public.

Should Euthanasia be Legalised?

Should Euthanasia be Legalised? Modern medicine has been beneficial in improving the quality of life, but sometimes it has been accompanied by harmful and dehumanising effects.   Many terminally ill people have been kept alive against their will by advanced medical technologies and have been denied assistance in dying.   Should now be the time for our society to recognise that terminally ill individuals have the right to choose the time, place, and manner of their own death?   Should euthanasia be legalised because our right as human beings allows us to make our own decisions?   If the right to life is to be a genuine right, rather than a duty to remain alive for as long as possible, shouldn’t people be free to choose their right to die if they consider it worthwhile to do so?   Shouldn’t these persons be allowed their human rights, dignity, and self-determination and ultimately the right to die? The European Convention on Human Rights, Article 2, recognises the right to life by implication, providing: Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law.   No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law. Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in contravention of this Article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary: in defence of any person from unlawful violence; in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained; in action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot or insurrection. While the Convention requires national authorities to protect the right of ‘everyone’ to life, it does not define ‘everyone.’ Therefore, although fundamental, the right to life is generally not regarded as absolute.   Indeed, there are circumstances in which it is lawful to take another man’s life, for example by a lawful act of self-defence.   The present author not concerned with cases such as these but rather the controversial nature of the range of entities which have the right and the content of the right in different circumstances: those for which the European Convention makes no provision.   For example, opponents of euthanasia, may recognize the legitimacy of abortion; a process which involves taking some life.   Furthermore, the right of a person to commit suicide is recognised by some people, due to the belief that the right to self determination is the most essential human right. The debate on whether euthanasia and thus the right t o die in some forms might be morally acceptable practice is the subject of this essay.  Ã‚   For the purposes of this essay and the limitations in word count, there will be no dividing line between refusal of treatment, suicide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.   Rather, Lord Donaldson’s remarks about the right to choose how to live, rather than the right to die, will be taken as true. There is no ambiguity in the law of the United Kingdom towards a positive act of euthanasia; it is murder. The motive to ‘kill’ is certainly irrelevant; intention is the deciding factor.   There have been recommendations of a special offence for ‘mercy killing,’ and although there appears to be no intention to translate this into law, the courts seem reluctant to convict a ‘mercy killer’ to mandatory life imprisonment. The sympathetic view of the judges has still, until recently, consisted of predominately unsuccessful attacks on the legality of euthanasia.   However, lawful euthanasia has arrived in some jurisdictions and has added a new aspect to the debate. In the Netherlands, medically practised euthanasia became lawful in November 2000.   The doctor is required to believe that the patient’s request was ‘voluntary and well considered’ and that the patient’s suffering was ‘lasting and unbearable.’   It is also a requirement that the doctor has consulted an independent physician. The legislation also allows for advanced consent, which carries controversies in relation to the patient who does not wish to die but is killed by a doctor due to earlier written authorisation. However, the main argument against the legislation is that once a prohibition against killing is removed, it is far more difficult to control the practice. Indeed, there is evidence that euthanasia has been practised in many cases without the patient’s consent.   Another concern is that eventually, the grounds for the exercise of euthanasia will become more trivial so that the want itself will overpower the grounds.   One example is the physical healthy woman who becomes depressed. And what of the controversial provision on euthanasia for minors? This practice therefore warns of the dangers of an over sensitive right to die. Similar chances for legislation in the United Kingdom are remote: ‘The Government can see no basis for permitting suicide.   Such a change would be open to abuse and put the lives of the vulnerable and weak at risk.’   The uncertainty of the common law has, in the past, been used as a justification for a change in the law but, it is submitted that the decisions in Pretty and Mrs B clarify the boundaries between the right to live and the right to die.   Acts committed with an intention of bringing life to an end are legally impermissible, save where the patient performs them; treatment may be withdrawn from a competent adult, although the legal prohibition for assisted suicide remains.   For the reasons explained in relation to the Netherlands, it is submitted that the right to die is adequately provided for in existing convention and that there is no requirement for legislation. In conclusion, it is true that a profound respect for the sanctity of human life should be embedded in our law and moral philosophy; that is why murder has always been treated as the most grave and heinous of all crimes.   However, the arguments considered above explicate that the law has to take into account a myriad of interests which are problematic and surprisingly conditional. In matters of life and death, we are dealing with what Professor Laurence Tribe called the ‘clash of absolutes.’   Under these conditions, rules cannot dictate answers.   The best that can be hoped for is to provide answers which are not too inconsistent with too many of them.  

People know what they do; they frequently know why they do what they do

People know what they do; they frequently know why they do what they do; but what they don't know is what what they do does. Introduction With technology moving at such a rapid pace, etiquette and ethics have a hard time keeping up. Five years ago few people had even heard of electronic mail or "e-mail" and even today, whether to add a hyphen or not it is of trivial debate. As a society, we hold dear the value of privacy and confidentiality as a basic fundamental right. Access to the new technology of electronic mail can jeopardize both values. What privacy rights should employees enjoy, and how can these be reconciled with the legitimate need of organzations to control and manage their network? People have come to depend on email as a way to communicate, even actually creating less of a divide for families that live far away or even in another country. But there are quite a few ethical concerns that we, as a society, should begin to consider. The hardest part, as with most ethics, is definition of what is right or wrong and ultimately . . . compliance. Does electronic mail present ethical dilemmas in the areas of confidentiality, security, and ownership? And further, will the actual tone of writing create ethical and social implications in the way that we communicate? This is an essential issue for society as a whole. If this newly created "cyber-community" doesn't have some kind of consistency then frequent misunderstandings can and will occur perhaps even causing social turmoil. A Bit of History In 1775, the colonies needed a way to communicate with each other. Statesman Benjamin Franklin, the first Postmaster General, helped develop the postal system we know today. This system helped bind the new natio... ...uman Resource Management. " Workplace Privacy Poll." 1999 Online. Available:http://www.shrm.org/surveys/privacy.htm Soden,A., "Protect Your Corporation From Email Litigation," Corporate Legal Times, May 1995. http://www.stedwards.edu/stubook/comput.htm www.aptosjr.santacruz.k12.ca.us/computers/page9.html USPS History: http://www.usps.gov/history/his1.htm http://www.nua.ie/surveys, Apr. 16,1999. "300 Million Online by 2005 Asia, South America to Lead Way," http://cyberatlas.internet.com/big_picture/demographics/data.html (March 31,1999) University of Massy. http://www.massey.ac.nz/~wwits/emailpol.htm Haisting, Larry J. EDI: A New Way of Doing Business, St. Paul, MN,1993. Moore, Dinty W. The Emperor's Virtual Clothes, Workman Publishing, 1995. Sims, C. (1993 Dec. 6) Reporter discipled for reading his co-workers email. New York Times, P.A3.

Dr. Jeckyll and Mr Hyde :: essays papers

Dr. Jeckyll and Mr Hyde In Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous novel about dual identity, Dr. Henry Jekyll, an affluent surgeon, creates a potion by which he can transform into Edward Hyde, the physical manifestation of his evil side. After many months of thrilling nighttime criminal escapades through the streets of London, his antics under the cloak of Hyde get him in trouble when he slays prominent public figure Danvers Carew. Jekyll is so shocked by this deed of evil that he decides an end will be put to his transformations, a science he calls transcendental medicine. Much to his alarm, Jekyll finds that he now turns into Hyde without his wanting it, undeniably a side effect of the drug. After locking himself into his cabinet, in order to facilitate his use of the drug in case of spontaneous transformations, his concerned butler Poole alerts good friend Gabriel Utterson, a lawyer. Together, they break into the cabinet, only to find they body of Hyde, lifeless on the floor. The pair finds an envelope addressed to Utterson which shall supposedly explain why they cannot find the body of Henry Jekyll. The book finishes with the letter Jekyll wrote for Utterson being presented to us as though he is reading it. Utterson is to rejoin Poole in the house at the stroke of midnight, no later, in order to call the police and inform them of the murder. We will start the chapter three weeks after the discovery of the corps. Note: I have tried to make the style of writing alike to Mr. Stevenson’s as much as possible. The Incident of Mr. Enfield and Mr. Utterson Mr. Utterson, the lawyer, was not a man of weak stomach, but even his strength had restrictions. Although he was an individual of strict self-control, he did approve a known patience for others; an ability he had come by due to a singular resurfacing thread that seemed to wind it’s way through his life: he repeatedly had the luck (or misfortune, as one may see it) to be the last good influence in the lives of moribund men. And so, it seemed, that the thread had reappeared in his life by way of the troubling matter of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and that it was choking the willpower right out of poor Mr.

A brief history of diving Essay

For those who can swim, diving in the sense of scuba diving or deep sea diving is certainly one of the most enjoyable pastimes a person can have. Like anything else, it has its pleasures and its risks, but the allure of the sea is certainly a major part in the life of any avid diver. Still, diving has its risks and perhaps in some sense those risks are greater than in other endeavors. The allure of the sea and the desire to enjoy it as freely as a fish is irresistible to many. Our fascination with the oceans may have made diving popular in the 19th century, but if so, it was certainly made more popular by the introduction of scuba equipment in the middle of the 20th century. Despite the relatively recent development of deep sea diving apparatus and of scuba diving, men and women have been diving for centuries. Often diving is for pleasure, but at other times it is just another basic survival skill to gather food, hunt for sponges (Hong et al. , 1991) or engage in military endeavors or otherwise. Until the invention of diving equipment, man was unable to go underwater and remain submerged for any extended period of time. His stay under water was limited by his ability to hold his breath so the problem was how to extend the amount of time underwater and, of course, the obvious solution was to find a means to provide an air supply to a submerged person. In August of last year (2006) while testing the Navy’s new Atmospheric Diving System (ADS) suit off the coast of La Jolla CA, a village of San Diego, Daniel Jackson, a Naval Reserve Diver, made the deepest free dive in history, a total of 2,000 feet. (Guinness, 2006) Perhaps it is because of the allure of the sea, but long before Jackson, men and women practiced breath-holding. Diving has many useful purposes such as gathering and providing food, military, recreational, research and others so these factors have no doubt added to the allure of diving. Despite the relatively new advent of scuba equipment and deep sea diving equipment, diving has been around for a long time. Of course, it is necessary to hold one’s breath in order to go to any great depth and people have been using breath-holding techniques for diving for centuries. In ancient Greece, divers held their breath to search for sponges as some people do today, and throughout history some had done likewise in the process of military exploits. For those who wanted to stay underwater longer, the obvious question was how to do so? One solution was to breathe through hollow reeds while submerged. While this technique worked, there were limitations that prohibited it from being a valuable solution. Reeds longer than two feet long do not work well. Today we realize that it is difficult to inhale against water pressure below a certain depth. Another idea was to put air into a bag that could be used underwater, but that also presented problems, most significantly the fact that it caused divers to breathe in the carbon dioxide that had been exhaled. Although Aristotle wrote about a diving bell in the 4th century BC, all diving was probably done by holding the breath up until the 16th century. (Brylske, 1994; Somers, 1997) Whatever diving was done probably did not exceed depths of 100 feet if that much. The diving bell was the predominant diving apparatus during the 22 centuries from the 4th century BC until the around 1800. Using this stationary device, divers could get air from the bell and leave to do whatever they were doing underwater returning to the bell periodically for more air. This allowed divers to remain underwater until air in the bell was no longer breathable. By the 16th century, people began experimenting with diving bells. (Somers, 1997) These were actually bell shaped contraptions open at the bottom that were held a few feet from the surface. The diver could enter from the bottom which was open to water and the top part held compressed air, air that had been compressed by the water pressure. Early designs of the diving bell were refined in the late 1600s and became sizable and sophisticated by 1691 when Edmund Halley patented a ventilated diving bell that allowed divers to remain underwater for as much as an hour and a half. (Gilliam and von Maier, 1992) Even though electricity was not available for electric pumps at that time, manual pumps were used that could pump air from the surface down to divers as early as the 16th century in Europe. However, at greater depths, water pressure became a concern, so metal helmets and leather full diving suits were developed and used to protect divers who went below 60 feet. This diving equipment was continuously perfected up to the 19th and 20th centuries. By the 1830s, diving techniques that relied on air pumped to divers from the surface had been sufficiently well developed as to allow divers to work underwater for extended periods of time. Although these early techniques worked, they didn’t entirely compensate for some diving concerns. Eventually, the improved technology of the 19th century resulted in compressed air pumps, regulators, carbon dioxide scrubbers and other improvements that allowed divers to remain underwater for longer and longer periods of time. As diving techniques improved, it became more apparent that there were at least two concerns in diving to depth. One, of course, was the need for an air supply that would eliminate the need to hold one’s breath. The other problem was the need to compensate for depth. (Brylske, 1994; Somers, 1997) In 1905 Scotland’s John Scott Haldane reported the fundamental discovery that breathing is regulated by the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood and in the brain. Haldane developed a method of decompression in stages that allowed deep-sea divers to ascend to the surface safely, information used for today’s decompression charts. His work and that of the French physiologist Paul Bert increased our understanding of the physiological effects of air-pressure sufficiently to improve out knowledge of the hazards of diving to depth and how to overcome those hazards. Our understanding of the effects and safe limits of using compressed air for diving is due largely to the work of Haldane and Bert. (Gilliam and von Maier, 1992) Today, we realize that decompression, recompression, carbon dioxide and oxygen toxicity are important factors to consider in diving. Diving history can essentially be divided into four periods. Initially, there was the period of free diving when humans held their breath. Diving time and diving capacity were limited by the availability of air, the build-up of carbon dioxide and the effects at depth of pressure on the body. (Gilliam and von Maier, 1992) Later advances in diving during the second period of diving history led to the creation of heavy walled diving vessels which could maintain their internal atmosphere to that of sea level (1 atmosphere) so as to prevent the surrounding water pressure from being a hazard to the occupants. Diving bells and bathysphere are two such devices. Bathyspheres are essentially unpowered hollow steel balls that can be lowered from a mother ship by a steel cable. A bathyscaphe is a is bathysphere with a buoyancy control that eliminates the need for a cable. Then there is the submarine, a powered device with its own air supply and which is built so that it can handle all of the problems associated with depth and so it can travel great distances in any direction under its own power. Bathyspheres, bathyscaphes and submarines required a means to maintain the pressure at one atmosphere around the diver and a means to provide fresh oxygen while getting rid of exhaled carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide was eliminated by using soda lime, lithium hydroxide and other compounds that take up the carbon dioxide. Later during this period, one atmosphere diving suits were also developed that were flexible and yet able to withstand pressures at great death so as to allow divers to work at depths up to several hundred meters for hours. (Somers, 1997) Diving entered a period of using compressed air next. The air could be supplied from the surface and delivered to the diver at depth. The hand-operated air compressor was a major advancement in diving history. It had appeared by 1770 and allowed for the development of helmet-hose diving systems that were the predominant diving techniques from 1800 until the mid-1950s. Unlike then final period, during this period of diving the diver is separated from his/her air supply, but has air delivered through a long umbilical cord to a regulator and mouthpiece carried by the diver. At great depth, the diver can be enclosed in a dive suit that can handle the water pressure at depth. These suits can be cumbersome but the buoyancy of the water can relieve some of their burden. Although diving masks with a regulator, mouthpiece and hose may come to mind when one considers these devices, caissons are also included in this category. Caissons are huge spaces that are supplied with compressed air. Diving bells and rigid helmet diving suits are also grouped in this category. The air that the diver breathes is at the same pressure as that of the water surrounding the diver thus leaving him at risk for decompression concerns such as the bends, air embolism, etc. pon their ascent if they ascend too fast. To assist with this concern, special mixtures of gas are used that allow divers to dive deeper than with compressed air. These gas mixtures combine oxygen with another gas or gases such as hydrogen, helium and/or nitrogen. (Somers, 1997; Gilliam and von Maier, 1992) The most recent development in diving is diving with compressed air or gas mixtures that include oxygen carried by the diver. This is referred to by the acronym â€Å"S. C. U. B. A. † which is generally referred to as scuba diving. Scuba stands for self contained underwater breathing apparatus and refers to the fact that the diver carries his or her air supply on their back while diving. Although we may view scuba gear to be a recent development in diving technology, the development of scuba gear can be traced back to 1680 when Borelli, who also experimented with fins and buoyancy compensation, developed a device based on the theory that the hot air a diver exhales could be rejuvenated by cooling and condensing in. (Somers, 1997) Although Borelli’s gear failed, it still represents a step forward in diving theory and technology. By the first third of the nineteenth century, Condert published a scuba design using a helmet and a compressed air reservoir that fit around the diver’s waist. In 1865, Rouquayrol developed a surface-supplied regulator system that did ultimately have an effect on today’s scuba gear. By 1878, Fleuss and Davis developed a closed-circuit oxygen scuba device that used chemical carbon dioxide as absorbent. (Gilliam and von Maier, 1992; Somers, 1997) The scuba equipment commonly used today was developed by Emile Gagnan and Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Somers, 1997; Cousteau, 1986; Marx, 1990) The two principle types of scuba equipment are open circuit and closed circuit equipment. Open circuit equipment vents the expired air into the water while closed circuit systems all the carbon dioxide to be absorbed and add more oxygen so that the air can be re-used. Scuba divers are at risk for decompression problems if they ascend too fast and various gas mixtures allow scuba divers to go d eeper than with compressed air. Scuba diving has a number of advantages over other forms of diving. The tanks allow the diver to remain underwater longer than would be possible by simply holding one’s breath. Even though scuba allows divers to go deeper than with snorkeling and allows them more freedom than would be possible using compressed air from the surface, its major disadvantage is that the time spent underwater is limited by the amount of compressed air in the tanks. Since time is of essence and all muscle activity decreases the amount of time that oxygen will be available, scuba divers can increase the amount of time they will have underwater with scuba gear if they exert less energy while diving. Although most divers swim underwater while diving, they can resort to propulsion devices referred to as Diver Propulsion Vehicles (DPVs) commonly called â€Å"scooters† to move underwater. The term SCUBA originally referred to rebreathers used by the military for underwater warfare but today it generally refers to open-circuit equipment. However, rebreathers are also classified as scuba gear. The history of diving is certainly to complex and exciting to cover in these few pages, but what few comments have been presented do demonstrate how rich that history is and how far it extends back in time. Only by considering how far back into history diving extends and the advances diving has made with the passage of time will we truly realize the fascination diving has held for us through time. Perhaps the next great advance in diving will not be man growing gills, but whatever it will be will only add to the present fascination and allure of diving. We can only build on the future of diving by understanding how we arrived at our present level of knowledge and technology.

Everybody Constructs Their Own Reality Essay

Each person has their own perception of reality, that doesn’t always represent what the world really is. Our reality is a blend of attitudes, perceptions and influences from our environment, which is controlled by ourselves. In Tennessee Williams’s play, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, all characters create their own reality, through their views on their experiences. It is made very clear that each character has a different reality from one another, emphasizing the fact that everyone constructs their own reality. Stanley Kowalski is a very dominating character in the play. In his reality, he is very powerful, which is evident through his passion for fighting, working and sex. Stanley is not one who can be questioned. He gets what he wants, when he wants it, whether it’s from his mates, or his wife Stella. At the beginning of the play, Stanley is very honest with how he feels to the people he is surrounded by, however, when Blanche enters his family home, Stanley’s honesty becomes deceitful. We see him ruin Blanches relationship with Mitch, and Stella, as well as send her away. When Stanley rapes Blanche and lies to Stella about it, it is evident that his reality, is not what we as an audience can see. He is not loyal and honest, he is cruel and shady. At the beginning of the play, Blanche is already seen as a damsel in distress. She has lost her young husband to suicide in earlier years, lost her family fortune and estate, and become a heavy drinker, despite the fact that she attempts to cover that up. It is evident that Blanche is very insecure about her looks, as well as a fragile individual. It is often that Blanche hides herself from an uncovered bulb, in order to hide particular features she is not fond of. Blanche relies on male sexual admiration for a sense of self esteem. When she meets Mitch, Blanche sees an opportunity to escape poverty and her bad reputation. She constructs a new identity for herself, to become more appealing to Mitch. Unfortunately, Mitch is not her prince charming, and Stanley once again, ruins a relationship in Blanches life. He sees through her lies, and makes sure that his mate does not get caught up in them. When Stanley rapes Blanche, she becomes very lost within herself, which the other characters in the play, are unaware of. Stella isn’t feisty like Blanche and Stanley. Her reality is nothing but the one Staley and Blanche have given her. Unfortunately, these two realities are different, tearing her between sister and husband. When Blanche tells Stella that Stanley raped her, Stella choses to believe Stanley, because that is the practical choice out of the two. It is very clear that she is in love with the man Stanley is, when she pleases him. Stella is tolerant of Stanley’s ‘animal-like’ behavior, evident in the scenes where Stanley begins a brawl with his mates and loses his temper quickly. Stella chooses to believe Stanley’s reality over blanches, and therefore sends Blanche, and reality, away to the asylum. From the first time we are introduced to Mitch, we immediately see that he is more sensitive than Stanley and the rest of the men. He is a lot more mature, possibly due to him attending the constant needs of his sick mother. When Mitch meets Blanche, he sees an opportunity to love again. He wants to play prince charming for her, which he does, through kind gestures such as bringing flowers and Bowing like a gentlemen. While he does this however, Stanley brings to attention the fact that Mitch is not being his true self. When Stanley tells Mitch about Blanches false identity, he is heartbroken. In the end, he takes reality over fantasy, and let’s Blanche go. In A Streetcar Names Desire, all characters have a different reality to one another. They build these realities through their views on experiences and influences from their surroundings. The book is an excellent reflection of our world. Everyone constructs their own reality, and choses how they look at the world.