Sustainability Of The Salton Sea Environmental Sciences Essay

An iconic characteristic in the California desert, the Salton Sea stands as a testament to the human component. What started as a manmade catastrophe has become an built-in portion of the local and planetary ecosystems prolonging marine life and supplying a much needed halt along the Pacific Flyway. During the 1950 ‘s and 60 ‘s the Salton Sea was considered the California Riviera as its shores were filled with diversion departers and famous persons. However, the Salton Sea is no longer the desert Eden it one time was. In fact in many ways it is going a liability. The increasing salt, along with the unsustainable influxs of H2O has forced hard inquiries be answered. The Southern Cross of the treatment is what should be done with the Salton Sea? While some believe the Sea should be left to nature, other believe the Sea needs to be sustained and restored. In 2003 California passed SB 277 The Salton Sea Restoration Act, which is average to reconstruct the Salton Sea utilizing the best option. While this sounds ideal, there are many complex issues confronting the Sea, many of which have significant economic branchings. However, a Restoration program is afoot which will turn to the major issues, offering a gleam of hope for an ecosystem seesawing on the border of prostration. Introduction Sparkling in the California desert the Salton Sea stands as a testament to the human component. What started as a manmade catastrophe has become an built-in portion of the local ecosystem, prolonging marine life and supplying a much needed halt along the Pacific migration route. However, since its creative activity this resource has developed into a challenge, one that concerns many yet is thought of by few. Proposals have run the spectrum from making nil to making an inland sea portion via canal to the Gulf of California. Recently statute law was passed to officially reply the inquiries environing the Sea. This policy analysis will concentrate on one peculiar piece of statute law, SB 277, the Salton Sea Restoration Act of 2003, and will consistently analyze SB 277 ‘s successes, failures, and interactions. Like all issues, the fortunes environing the Salton Sea are really complex, and rely to a great extent on understanding the challenges, history and significance. History Surface H2O, in the Imperial Valley is non a recent happening. During prehistoric times, the Gulf of California extended up to the present Coachella Valley. It is believed that over clip silt sedimentations from the Colorado River easy formed a fen insulating a northern inland sea. Finally this sea evaporated go forthing behind a huge salt sedimentation and uncovering the Salton Sink. It is farther believed that since so, the Colorado River has changed class many times make fulling the Salton Sink with H2O and deposit. This rhythm of deluging resulted in the lift of the vale floor along with the deposition of fertile dirt. While there is important grounds of river oscillation and prehistoric seas and lakes, western history has little documented firsthand histories about an inland sea ( MacDougal, 1917, p. 458 ) . Alternatively, most records report an inhospitable desert ; one that holds the psyche of adult male and animal ( Kennan, 1917, p. 13 ) seeking for an alternate path to the California gold Fieldss. And while many of these travellers saw the Imperial Valley as a barren, some saw great agricultural potency. At the bend of century a great irrigation undertaking was planned and implemented amusing H2O from the Colorado River for usage in the Imperial Valley. It was an ambitious program that looked to payout large for the parties involved. There was nevertheless one issue that was non accounted for, silt. Once in the canal system the suspended silt settled, doing obstructors and cut downing volume. Many thoughts were tried to take the silt, nevertheless none proved deserving while. It was determined that the lone manner more H2O could be delivered was by making another recreation point on the Colorado River. After analyzing the river ‘s way, rainfall and flows a new headgate was installed and completed in 1905. However, this would turn out to be an exceeding twelvemonth as rainfall reached 26.6 inches, as apposed to the historic norm of 8-10 inches ( Henry, 1907, p. 245 ) . Soon the river had breached the new headgate deviating the full Colorado River into the Salton Sink for a period of about two old ages. After incorporating the Colorado River the largest lake in California had been crated stretching over 35 stat mis in length. This catastrophe displaced occupants and destroyed harvests, but one time the dust settled a hoarded wealth was revealed. As the Imperial Valley grew the Salton Sea became an built-in portion of the vale and Southern California. In 1924 President Coolidge designated the Salton Sea as a lasting drainage reservoir, which was followed in 1930 by the appellation of wildlife safety ( â€Å" Awash in History † , 2002 ) . During World War II the Sea was used as a bombing country every bit good as an alternate commercial fishing country for coastal fishermen who were worried about German pigboats ( â€Å" Salton Sea Authority † , n.d. ) . After WWII the Salton Sea became a recreational Eden in the desert offering changeless sunlight, warm H2O, unfastened infinite, and exceeding athletics fishing. During the 1950 ‘s the Salton Sea contained Covina, Sargo, and Croaker which provided diversion for people and nutrient for wildlife. The Salton Sea was genuinely a gem in the desert ; and times were good as developers built commercial and residential constructions ( Pearce, 2003, p. 48 ) . However, this aureate age would be short lived as inundations and environmental concerns damaged belongings and drove visitants off. Eventually building stopped, towns were abandoned, and wildlife started to decease. Problem It is understood that the Salton Sea is in problem. Salinity is steadily lifting, wildlife emphasis has increased, alimentary tonss are exceptionally high, desire to deviate inflow H2O to other countries is turning, and in 2018 influx will significantly diminish under the Quantification Settlement Agreement ( QSA ) ( which will chiefly be funded through fees on the transportation of H2O between the parties involved in the QSA. The cost to the province has yet to be determined, pending the study to be prepared by the Department of Food and Agriculture ) . While these facts are unchallenged, a solution has yet to be implemented. And with the deadline nearing the urgency for action has increased, coercing replies to hard and alone inquiries environing the Salton Sea. Yet even with extended surveies, consensus remains hard. The graph below illustrates the salt of the Salton Sea. In 2017 with the recreation of H2O salt is expected to quickly increase, which will ensue in the disappearing of fish, and drastically change the Salton Sea ‘s ecosystem. Geography The properties that created the Salton Sea are the same 1s that have caused its debasement. The Salton Sea sits on a big salt sedimentation in a basin with a surface degree of about 230 pess below sea degree ( â€Å" Journal of Geography † , 2009 ) . This means that unlike most lakes which have an escape, the Salton Sea merely has influx. As a consequence all of the compounds come ining the lake remain after vaporization, which is about 5 pess a twelvemonth. Besides unlike the lakes which had antecedently been in the Salton Sink, the present Salton Sea is fed by manmade beginnings the bulk being agricultural overflow, which has unnaturally prolonged the life of the Sea. The Salton Sea besides sits atop the San Andreas Fault, and is surrounded by geothermic activity. Significance to Southern California Beyond the geology and geographics, the Salton Sea plays a important function in the planetary ecosystem. Before the development of Southern California there were many wetlands which provided halting countries for migrating birds going the Pacific Flyway. As the human population grew the natural balance shifted. The Colorado River which used to hold a exuberant delta country was siphoned off turning the one time resource rich country into a desert. Along with this, many of the Southern California wetlands have been developed. While this development has affected the Southern California part of the migration route, it is non entirely, many of the historic halting countries have been developed coercing the birds to either cohabitate or happen less suited adjustments. For the migrating birds the Salton Sea is a true oasis in the desert with over 400 species of birds holding been spotted, which is about half of the known North American species ( â€Å" Salton Sea Authority † , n.d. ) . Many of which are listed as protected or endangered. The Sea offers birds a privy resting topographic point with an abundant nutrient supply.Protected Speciess Found in or Around the Salton SeaaAFederally Listed SpeciessCalifornia Listed SpeciessFishDesert Pupfish Desert PupfishAARazorback ChumpBirdsBald Eagle Bald EagleACalifornia Brown Pelican California Brown PelicanACalifornia Least Tern California Least TernALeast Bell ‘s Vireo Least Bell ‘s VireoASouthwestern Willow Flycatcher Willow FlycatcherAYuma Clapper Rail Yuma Clapper RailAAAAAArizona Bell ‘s VireoAABank SwallowAACalifornia Black RailAAElf OwlAAGila WoodpeckerAAGilded Northern FlickerAAGolden EagleAAGreater Sandhill CraneAAPeregrine FalconAASwainson ‘s HawkAAWestern Yellow-billed FatheadAAWhite-tailed KiteABeginning: Program Environmental Impact Report ( PEIR ) At onetime some believed the Salton Sea was the most productive piscaries in the universe, while this is hard to quantify it is evident the sea holds tonss of marine life. In the late 1960 ‘s a California Fish and Game ( CFG ) survey conducted at the Salton Sea predicted fish reproduction would discontinue when salt reached 45 parts per 1000 ( ppt ) with current salt at 44 ppt ( I. Haydock, Ph.D, personal communicating, November 19, 2010 ) . This anticipation has proven true, as many fish species have disappeared from the Salton Sea, go forthing Tilapia and the desert pupfish. Along with a rich mix of wildlife, the Salton Sea represents the human environmental impact. The Sea which is maintained by agricultural overflow can be seen as a testing land for new environmental direction thoughts. Social and Economic Factors Like most issues, one of the most urgent factors confronting the Salton Sea is economic based. The Imperial Valley which uses the Salton Sea as a overflow depository has an estimated agricultural production of over $ 1.6 billion ( â€Å" California Farm Bureau Federation † , 2010 ) . What makes the Sea an built-in portion of this is that the Colorado River H2O used for irrigation has a high salt content. Harmonizing to the Imperial County Farm Bureau the sum of salt flushed into the Salton Sea is equal to 52,000 truck tonss yearly ( â€Å" Imperial County Farm Bureau † , n.d. ) . If the salt were to be left in the dirt it would be merely a few old ages before harvests would get down to neglect. Aquaculture has besides become dependent on the Sea. Aquaculture started during WWII and developed into a big market bring forthing over 10 million lbs of fish a twelvemonth ( Rafferty, 1999, p. 1 ) . More late the focal point of aquaculture has been on algae which non merely cleans the H2O but can besides be used to make biofuel. The Sea is besides host to ten geothermic power workss that produce a net end product of about 327 megawatts of energy that is sold to Southern California Edison ( â€Å" CalEnergy † , n.d. ) . While each of these industries are separate, they depend upon each other for endurance. The husbandmans need to leach the salt of the dirt, and in making so maintains the Sea ‘s degree. The geothermic power workss rely on the Sea ‘s H2O to power the steam generators for energy production. And the aquaculture industry relies on the het H2O from the geothermic workss to advance growing among the fish and algae. Socially the Salton Sea has an every bit of import axial rotation. While the shoreline towns have non seen a noticeable revival the Sea remains to be a big attractive force. On any given twenty-four hours there are people bivouacing, fishing, and loosen uping along its shores. Beyond diversion, the current Sea is commanding what could be an ecologic catastrophe. If the Sea is allowed to dry up, contaminations could go airborne, adversely affect the lives of 1000000s ( Schwabe et al. , 2008, p. 183 ) . A similar affect was seen in Owens Valley when the Los Angels Department of Water and Power ( LADWP ) dried the vale, damaging the ecosystem and harming the dwellers. While there are differences between the Owens Valley and the Salton Sea, the dangers are existent and would potentially impact the full sou'-west. Economically if the Sea is allowed to dry ; it means all of the industries which rely on the Sea have now changed. For the Imperial and Coachella Valleys this could be black. Human Health and Quality of Life During 50 ‘s, 60s, and 70s the Salton Sea was a finish for people who love H2O athleticss and diversion and with a population of about 15,000 ( today 400 ) it was a turning community. However, since so fish putting to deaths ( due to algae blooms ) , bird deceases ( due to Botulism ) , pollution panics, and implosion therapy has pushed people to travel and stopped utilizing sea recreationally. It should be noted the issues environing the Salton Sea are non merely environmental. They are besides economic and wellness issues, which affect the quality of life of the people still populating on the Sea ‘s fringe. For these occupants and the visitants the Sea country is a bare topographic point ( â€Å" Salton Sea Authority † , n.d. ) . Rehabilitation Ideas Many solutions have been proposed as to how best manage the Salton Sea. These thoughts run the spectrum from allowing the Sea evaporate and return to abandon, to delving a channel to the Gulf of California. While all of the programs have some virtue, many have liabilities that outweigh benefits. Of the solutions to have consideration there are two base outs, a full Sea and a partial Sea programs. The partial Sea program is presently the proposed best alternate and will be discussed in following pages. For a full Sea Restoration there are many challenges, one being the QSA which regulates the sum of Colorado River H2O California is able to pull. While a California allocation has been in topographic point since the Colorado River Compact of 1922, California has been able to pull above the 4.4 million acre pess because it was entitled to a per centum of the surplus. However, California is now being required to remain within its 4.4 million acre pess allotment, with an increased part traveling to urban usage as apposed to agricultural. This means that less H2O will be used to water which equal less overflow. So in order to keep the Sea, H2O from the Gulf of California will necessitate to be pumped into the lake, and H2O from the lake will necessitate to be pumped back to the Gulf, making an unfastened system with the ocean. This would stabilise the salt while keeping the bing Sea. While this thought sounds good, it comes with many variables and a high projected cost. In a study by the Pacific Institute such a program would be about $ 70 billion dollars ( Cohen, 2008, p. 132 ) and require cooperation of landholders and the Mexican authorities. Accountability Soon the Sea receives H2O from multiple beginnings: Whitewater River, Alamo River, New River, agricultural overflow, groundwater, and a fraction from rainfall. While these beginnings have been discussed, the Alamo and New river which originate in Mexico contribute to the Sea ‘s pollution. However, while these rivers cross the U.S. Mexico boarder the Salton Sea is clearly a province and federal issue. Many federal bureaus have besides passed statute law in relation to the Salton Sea including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior which passed the Salton Sea Reclamation Act of 1998 authorising financess to analyze salt direction ( â€Å" U.S. Bureau of Reclamation † , n.d. ) . While we know more about the Salton Sea now, California is taking a proactive function in protecting and developing the Sea, with the California Salton Sea Authority in the lead. What is an environmental policy? The present Salton Sea status is a apogee of many factors, from hapless sewerage intervention fouling the H2O, to the deficiency of media attending. Yet the authorities is devoted to developing a program which addresses environmental sustainability, preservation, population wellness, and economic growing. Over the last decennary environmental policy development and execution ( entirely or in concurrence with undertakings ) has shifted its focal point on digesting additions in sustainable usage, effectual direction, improved quality of life, and preservation of natural resources. Like other types of public policies, environmental policies set up the regulations that guide environmental determinations of houses and families in rural, agricultural, and urban countries. Environmental constabularies are designed and implemented for the express intent protecting and/or bettering environmental quality or natural resource usage ; by pull offing pollution and other human activity. Environmental policy should reform or alter the â€Å" regulations of the game † that guides behaviour of houses, farms, and families related to pollution and natural resource usage. Policy shapers in deferent degrees of authorities employ a assortment of inducements and deterrences to promote determinations that promote environmental ends and protect natural resources. A well-designed environmental policy should be cost-efficient, based on sound economic rules, achieve environmental aims, set up local ownership through engagement, and create institutional functions and duties which are consensual during the execution procedure. Environmental policies are non without their challenges. While the benefits of good conceived environmental policy are significant and easy recognized, policy alterations frequently require institutional reforms. A successful environmental policy should convey together taking scientific research workers, policy shapers, minds, and experts on the environment and wellness every bit good as proficient and legal experts, including national statute law, federal and province regulators, to portion their cognition and penetrations into the complex environmental and human wellness issues. It should be noted that, in the environmental policy doing procedure the usage of modern scientific discipline, engineering, and economic feasibleness tools are indispensable ( Stenberg et al, 2007, p. 265 ) . History of the Bill Up until his premature decease US Congressman Sonny Bono was a strong voice for the Salton Sea. As a local occupant, Mayor of Palm Springs, and subsequently a US Congressman, Sonny Bono understood the significance of the Salton Sea and was in the procedure of subjecting statute law when he died. Fortunately Newt Gingrich carried the measure which would be named â€Å" Sonny Bono Salton Sea Restoration Act. † ( Orange County Register, February 1998 ) . In 1998, Congress enacted the Salton Sea Reclamation Act of 1998 directing the US Bureau of Reclamation to develop options that would stabilise salt and lake degree while keeping the Sea ‘s usage as an irrigation drainage reservoir. Today, the Salton Sea Ecosystem Restoration Program is a combined attempt fall ining Federal bureaus, State bureaus, local bureaus, stakeholders, and the general populace all working together to reconstruct the Sea ‘s ecosystem. In 2003, 40th District Senator Denise Ducheny presented the California Legislature with SB 277 the Salton Sea Restoration Act, Which directs the Natural Resources Agency, Department of Fish and Game and the Department of Water Resources, to analyze and develop the best option for reconstructing the Salton Sea, one which would turn to the Sea ‘s ecosystem and human involvement. For Senator Ducheny the Salton Sea and the QSA have significance because her territory includes the Sea and many of the H2O bureaus involved. And while there is no grounds of parts from involvement groups, A Sea Restoration would pump 1000000s if non one million millions into the local economic system, while reconstructing a strong attractive force. The aims are to: 1 ) Make a sensible and sustainable home ground and ecosystem for the wildlife dependent on the Sea. 2 ) Minimize air quality impact. 3 ) Manage H2O quality ( SB 277, 2003 ) . The passage of SB 277 was dependent on the transition of both SB 654 and SB 317 which focused severally on H2O preservation mechanisms and the Sea ‘s ecology. Combined these three measures focus on issues straight impacting the Salton Sea, and supply support of up to $ 300 million dollars from the sale of Colorado River H2O ( Salton Sea Authority, 2004, p. 1 ) . The purpose of Senate Bill 277 ( SB 277 ) The purpose of the Legislature is summarized below: Restore and stabilise the Salton Sea, while making a strong ecosystem advancing wildlife wellness. The Restoration shall be based on the preferable alternate program developed from the Restoration survey and alternate choice procedure described in Section 2081.7. The Use of these financess should be made available in conformity with the old mentioned subdivision to be deposited in the Salton Sea Restoration Fund, and other financess made available by the Legislature and the US federal authorities. The preferable alternate shall supply the maximal executable agencies to reconstruct the sea. Salton Sea Restoration Fund ( SSRF ) SB 277 is intended to reconstruct the Sea which includes stabilising the ecosystem. Specifically, the measure establishes the Sea Restoration Fund which is to be administered by the Director of the Department of Fish and Game ( DFG ) . In 2003, the QSA which among other things addressed the long standing Colorado River apportionment difference between the Imperial Irrigation District, San Diego County Water Authority, and the Coachella Valley Water District. The QSA besides implemented Fish and Game Code Section 2931, which established the Salton Sea Restoration Fund ( â€Å" Bond Accountability.. † n.d. ) . The Legislature will pull off the financess which are intended to be used for: Salton Sea Restoration surveies, with a focal point on continuing wildlife. Create preservation techniques which will supply a balance between wildlife and Sea direction. Implement the agreed upon Restoration program. Manage Restoration activities. Major issues with SB 277 A ) SB 277 SB 277 is an amendment to the old measures which hold the State of California responsible for reconstructing the sea and establishes a mechanism for funding the Restoration. However, the measure fails to turn to these challenges: Economic primacy: The Salton Sea is non an environmental issue. It is an economic issue and one of the largest regional menaces. Atomization of American Political System: US atomization of Political system on this issue is an obstruction to efficiency and effectivity in moving toward work outing the job. Interest group instability: There are many involvement groups that are interested in the Restoration for different grounds, including conservationists, life scientists, folks, abodes, developers, applied scientists, and politicians. The most of import overarching value in public policy is the public involvement ( Pal, 2010, p. 3 ) . The policy rhythm: The policy rhythm includes job acknowledgment ( it should be noted that, the sea Restoration policy rhythm has given a long clip to the survey period in order to specify the job ) , policy development, execution and rating. However, policies seldom tackle individual jobs ; instead, they deal with bunchs of embroiled jobs that may hold contradictory solutions. To farther complicate this, complexness is besides increased with the size and breath of the job which is frequently comprised of sets of other possibly smaller jobs whose really interconnectedness makes them hard to grok and whose boundaries are hard to specify across and over clip ( Pal, 2010, p. 4 ) . The Salton Sea is a perfect illustration of a complex and interconnected job. Economically the Sea is a major driver for industry. Yet financially the Sea is a liability for the State of California which could be upwards of $ 14 billion in Restoration. It should be noted that, if the Sea is allowed to dries up, it would go an air quality catastrophe which would impact the economic system of the Coachella Valley. Furthermore, the Sea remains to be a delicate ecosystem, seesawing between â€Å" haven and hazard † as it softly evolves ( Cohen, et al. , 2009, p. 1 ) . The Sonny Bono Memorial Salton Sea Reclamation Act of 1998, the QSA and ordaining statute law, and the proposed Salton Sea Local Control Act flux one into the other, irrigating down the following piece of statute law. B ) The Many Parties Involved Multiple federal, province, and regional bureaus are presently tuning the best Restoration option for the Salton Sea. In add-on, the Salton Sea Authority Board of Directors includes: California Regional Water Quality Control Board Colorado River Basin Region 7, Coachella Valley Water District ( CVWD ) , Imperial Irrigation District ( IID ) , Riverside County Board of Supervisors 4th District, Riverside County Board of Supervisors 3rd District, Imperial County Board of Supervisors 5th District, Imperial County Board of Supervisors 4th District, Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, Coachella Valley association of Governments ( CVAG ) , California Department of Fish and Game, Southern California Association of Government ( SCAG ) , State Resource Agency, and Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control. In add-on, a Technical Advisory Committee including life scientists, applied scientists, and environmental experts has been formed ( â€Å" Salton Sea Authority † , n.d. ) .Me mbers of the Salton Sea Advisory CommitteeAFederal AgenciesBureau of Indian Affairs Bureau of Reclamation Fish and Wildlife Service Geological Survey Environmental Protection AgencyTribal GovernmentsTorres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians Cabazon Band of Mission IndiansState AgenciesState Water Resources Control Board Colorado River Basin Regional Water Quality Control Board California Air Resources BoardLocal AgenciesMetropolitan Water District of Southern California San Diego County Water Authority Coachella Valley Water District Imperial Irrigation District Imperial County Riverside County Imperial County Air Pollution Control District South Coast Air Quality Management District Coachella Valley Association of Governments Imperial Valley Association of GovernmentsNongovernmental OrganizationsCalifornia Farm Bureau Federation Riverside County Farm Bureau Imperial County Farm Bureau Defenders of Wildlife California Waterfowl Association Pacific Institute United Anglers of Southern California Audubon California Sierra Club CalEnergy Operating Corporation New River Citizens Congressional Task Force Beginning: Program Environmental Impact Report ( PEIR ) With all of these bureaus keeping involvement in the Salton Sea, many have presented contradictory information, which has made developing a consensus hard. To assist with this a Technical Advisory Committee ( TAC ) which is comprised of bureau representatives each have a strong cognition of the Sea, and are supposed to supply counsel to the Board of Director ‘s. C ) A sea of contradictions: It is frequently written that the Salton Sea is a â€Å" sea of contradictions † ; it is both a oasis for wildlife every bit good as jeopardy for resident fish, birds, and other animals. Since the Sea terminal lake sustained by agricultural overflow, the influxs are both a approval and a expletive ( Cohen, 1999, p. 15 ) . The argument over how best to reconstruct this delicate ecosystem is non new. The treatment of dividing the lake into a northern salt managed lake and a southern seawater pool, which is today the Salton Sea Authority ‘s preferable option, received serious attending every bit early every bit 1974 as the sulphide odor from the fecund algal bloom rhythm and the subsequent fish die-offs began driving tourers off from the Sea. D ) Policy Issue The bing issues environing the Salton Sea are about to make a tipping point forcing determinations be made. If nil gets done in the close hereafter, the sea is predicted to slowly evaporate, and a new set of issues will be presented. A major obstruction is funding. In add-on, the concluding cost is hard to gauge because of the complexness of this issue. Presently there has been small way provided by the legislative assembly with respects to implementation plan including timeline. While a preferable Restoration program was scheduled to be delivered by the terminal of 2006, inquiries remain, and action has non been taken. The legislative assembly merely authorized the State to travel frontward with what has been proposed as the Salton Sea Species Conservation Habitat ( SCH ) Project. The legislative assembly needs to give authorization to the State to travel frontward with a Restoration plan. The State has proposed a Restoration program which is similar to the Salton Sea Authority ‘s initial proposal. The federal authorities has besides come up with similar consequences. Because influx will be reduced all of the programs are partial lake Restorations. In December of 2007 the US Bureau of Reclamation issued the Restoration of the salton sea concluding study December 2007 in which the costs for the different programs was laid out. For the partial lake Restoration plans the estimated costs ranged from $ 9.2 billion to $ 14 billion in building costs ( US Bureau of Reclamation, 2007, p. 7-2 ) . In this program the Sea is divided into two chief subdivisions, each incorporating multiple zones. The north half of the Sea would be for diversion with the south half being for rehabilitation and home ground. By diminishing the organic structure of H2O by half, merely a part of the present influx will be needed to prolong changeless degrees. Water would so be circulated in a cloc kwise way and filtered through the marsh/habitat where it will be filtered. Throughout the Waterss path there will be intervention workss every bit good as pumping Stationss which will keep circulation ( â€Å" Salton Sea Authority † , n.d. ) . This program besides takes into consideration the many different industries that rely on the Sea. The geothermic workss will still hold entree to H2O, and wildlife will still hold plentifulness of topographic points to rest while migrating. However, there are many challenges that need to be overcome, one being the projected costs. While this program offers a contained solution to the job, the effectivity and costs are non certain. Below is a map of the partial sea program from the Salton Sea Authority. The Department of Fish and Game is traveling frontward with this program as a halt spread step before a concluding program is approved. Salton Sean Species Conservation Habitat ( SCH ) Undertaking SB 277 has strengthened the foundation, nevertheless, it does non see the size and clip for the sea Restoration undertaking. Presently the proposed Salton Sea Species Conservation Habitat ( SCH ) Project size one time wholly build-out is expected to be about 2,400 estates, nevertheless, building clip and costs are dependent on the acquisition of land ( Salton Sea Update, September 2010 ) . In conformity with CEQA the California Natural Resources Agency is in the procedure of carry oning an EIR for the SCH Project. Besides because the SCH Project involves both State and Federal actions, a joint EIS/EIR will be prepared by DFG, under the way of the Natural Resources Agency, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ( Corps ) pursuant to CEQA and the National Environmental Policy Act ( NEPA ) . This joint papers is being prepared to optimise efficiency and avoid duplicate and is intended to be sufficient in range to turn to both the Federal and State demands. For the intents of the EIS/EIR, the State is to develop preservation patterns that will protect the Sea ‘s wildlife in conformity with Section 2932 of the fish and game codification, pull off the issue potency of incidental take mandate under the California Endangered Species Act ( CESA ) California, Section 2081, and oversee the Streambed Alteration Agreement under California Fish and Game Code, Section 1602. The U S Federal Government may publish licenses to modulate discharge into organic structures of H2O, which include watercourses, lakes, fens, and rivers [ State of California, Natural Resources Agency, June 21, 2010, Notice of Preparation ( NOP ) of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report ( EIS/EIR ) ] . Role of Bureaucracy Bureaucracy has an of import function in the sea Restoration procedure. It implements the written Torahs and regulations while supplying processs on how to implement the Restoration. However, the engagement of the many shareholders, bureaucratic ruddy tape and deficiency of consensus has hampered advancement. Size: Due to the high figure of organisations and entities involve within the procedure, it is about impossible to supervise everyone and every group. Ability of administrative officials: The people who administer the policy have huge measures of information to procedure with limited staff. In 1998 Congress enacted the Salton Sea Reclamation Act. However, policy execution inside informations were non established. So in 2003 California passed SB 277 which assumed authorization by California to work out the particulars. Presently California is working with the Federal authorities and other bureaus in a Joint Powers Authority. Ethical Issues SB 277 is hard because no affair what is decided there will be inauspicious affects. If after the surveies have been conducted it is determined that Fieldss will necessitate to be fallowed, so the local economic system potentially suffers. However, if current flows are maintained SDCWA, CVWD, and MWD will non hold adequate H2O to run into turning demand. Conversely if influx is allowed to diminish there is the possible that wildlife could be adversely affected. The Salton Sea besides represents an ethical quandary, is reconstructing the Sea the best usage of public financess? This inquiry becomes peculiarly outstanding as the state is confronting economic troubles. After looking at the options, it becomes evident that in the instance of the Salton Sea Restoration is in fact in the best involvements of the province and state. International Relationss SB 277 does no straight mention any foreign states ; nevertheless, the consequences of SB 277 will hold a direct effect to both Mexico and Canada. As discussed earlier two of the major influx beginnings originate in Mexico. And although California can non necessitate Mexico ‘s conformity, it would be sensible to bespeak Mexico ‘s support in cleaning up the New and Alamo rivers. Presently the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) is working with the Mexican authorities to better the H2O quality of the New River by put ining waste H2O interventions workss, using over $ 40 million dollars in Mexicali effluent undertakings ( â€Å" Environmental Protection Agency † , 2010 ) . This non merely cleans the H2O fluxing into the Sea, but it besides provides Mexicali with a new beginning of drinkable H2O. Less straight the Salton Sea plays a planetary axial rotation in supplying a resting country for migrating birds. With most of the historic wetlands destroyed, the Salton Sea is the lone resting country in the part. The exact affect of fring the Sea is non known, nevertheless, it is agreed such a loss would damage bird populations. The ripple affect of this could be lay waste toing as full industries and ecosystems are based on the migration of birds. As we have witnessed in other instances, the remotion of one or multiple species from an ecosystem can compromise the full system. Successs and Failures Seven old ages after the passage of SB 277 the Salton Sea has seen small alteration. At a recent Salton Sea symposium many thoughts were presented on how to mange the Sea nevertheless no action had been taken. There was nevertheless, one point of consensus, which was that action needed to be taken instantly ( Gottberg, 2010 ) . So has SB 277 succeeded or failed? On many counts SB 277 has succeeded, it provided funding for surveies which have developed solid solutions, and it has provided a manner to fund these plans through the sale of H2O. While SB 277 has succeeded on many counts it has besides failed. In Section 1 Chapter 13 of the Fish and Game Code it states â€Å" Implementation of the preferable Salton Sea Restoration option † ( SB 277, 2003 ) . SB 277 transportations the load of the Salton Sea from the Federal authorities to the province. While this transportation might hold made action easier, a recent Superior Court opinion found the QSA JPA violated the California Constitution ( Imperial Irrigation District FAQ, 2010 ) . A cardinal point being the province committed to taking on an unacceptable sum of debt. The QSA officially acknowledged the State of California ‘s purpose to set about the Restoration of the Salton Sea. Necessitating the California Natural Resources Agency develop an ecosystem Restoration plan for the Salton Sea. After a really long and publically crystalline procedure, the Salton Sea Ecosystem Restoration Program Preferred Alternative Report and Funding Plan were presented to the California State Legislature by the California Secretary of Natural Resources on May 2007. To day of the month, the Legislature has non acted on the preferable option for the Salton Sea Restoration ; nevertheless, it has appropriated support to get down work on the Species Conservation Habitat ( SCH ) Undertaking. The State has begun the environmental analysis and technology design of the SCH undertaking, consistent with the â€Å" early start † habitat recommendations of the Salton Sea Ecosystem Restoration Programmatic ( PEIR ) . In which the California Natural Resources Agency is functioning as the lead bureau for California Environmental Quality Act ( CEQA ) conformity. The demand for California to implement the SCH undertaking is driven by the environmental jobs that exist within the watershed. Problems that are rapidly making crisis degrees and will be exacerbated by decreased influxs after 2017, the Salton Sea ‘s salt degrees continue to increase and are expected to transcend the tolerance of most fish species in the sea by 2018. These fish are critical to back up many fish-eating birds that are dependent on the Salton Sea. Suggestion In seeking to decode SB 277 it is necessary to see the many interactions. The thought of SB 277 is to reconstruct the Salton Sea, by: support surveies, implement preservation steps, administer the Restoration and direction, develop support, assess IID fallowing plans, and work with federal, province, and local bureaus, while working within the QSA understanding. On paper this Act is brief, but in content it is potentially monolithic. It is our belief that because SB 277 is so across-the-board, it fails to to the full accomplish its ends. After analyzing SB 277 we recommend the followers. The first suggestion would be to put in dated mileposts. Soon under the QSA 2018 is the tipping point for the Salton Sea. SB 277 lineations aims yet offers small way as to how and when programs and undertakings should be implemented. By making deadlines parties will be forced to make a consensus. The Second suggestion is to hold SB 277 create a high degree bureau to pull off the Salton Sea. By making a separate bureau to carry on research and implement programs there would be greater answerability with greater coordination. This bureau would necessitate the support of the province, local, and federal authorities, because of the complexness and engagement of many organisations. Third, the land below and around the Salton Sea needs to be unified. Presently the Sea remainders on private, province, federal, and tribal lands. This fractured ownership has created excessively many parties which need to hold. In the instance of the Salton Sea it would be sensible to hold the province authorities unify ownership making a individual voice. Most significantly SB 277 demands to make a sense of urgency in happening and implementing a solution. For many old ages at that place have been study after survey done, nevertheless, small to no action has been taken. In the interim the deadline for action is nearing while the treatment remains on what to make. Urgency and cooperation demands to be taken up by the involved parties so a to the full supported program can travel frontward. Decision The Salton Sea is soon at hamlets. Some believe the Sea should be allowed to dry up, yet others believe the full lake should be maintained via circulation with the Gulf of California, but everyone believes a determination needs to be made. This paper has examined SB 277 the Salton Sea Restoration Act, which was intended to supply sustainable solutions to the many challenges. However, as shown, small action has been taken. If the Salton Sea is to be rehabilitated, it will necessitate a conjunct attempt by all interested parties. To farther perplex the Restoration attempt, in September of 2010 Governor Schwarzenegger singed SB 51 a measure proposed by Senator Ducheny making the Salton Sea Restoration Council, which will be the State ‘s new lead bureau in the Restoration procedure, and is in with the Salton Sea Authority. This development has created new uncertainnesss, and will be interesting to follow.

American Heart Association

According to American Heart Association website aha. org, lack of information about heart disease led to the thinking that a heart patient was doomed and ought to take complete bed rest.In 1915 a pioneering group of physicians and social workers formed an Association for â€Å"Prevention and Relief of Heart Disease in New York City† and investigate the possibility of their return to work. In 1920s these groups evolved into heart associations in Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago. In 1924 six cardiologists namely Dr. Lewis A. Conner and Dr. Robert H.  Halsey of New York; Dr. Paul D.White of Boston; Dr. Joseph Sailer of Philadelphia; Dr. Robert B. Preble of Chicago; and Dr. Hugh D. McCulloch of St. Louis affiliated to different groups founded a national organization – American Heart Association to â€Å"share research findings and promote further study. † In addition Dr. James B. Herrick of Chicago and Dr. William S. Thayer of Baltimore were instrumental in early p lanning. In 1946 AHA received $50,000 donation from American Legion for conducting research and â€Å"develop a community rheumatic fever program.† In 1948 AHA reorganized by recruiting non-medical volunteers with skills in business management, communication, public education, community organization and fund raising to broaden its scope and operations. Later this year AHA made public debut through network radio contest programs â€Å"The Walking Man,† on the â€Å"Truth or Consequences† hosted by Ralph Edwards receiving contributions and guesses from millions of Americans earning $1. 75 million and identifying Jack Benny as the â€Å"Walking Man. † American Heart Association divisions were organized all over the country by a small national staff in New York City.A first national fund-raising campaign was launched in February 1949 and an amount of $2. 7 million was raised. Since then the organization has developed in leaps and bounds in all respects such a s financial resources, involving medical and non-medical volunteers, size and influence. The National Center of AHA was shifted to Dallas in 1975 from New York City for serving the affiliates and local divisions in a better way. These affiliates are led by volunteers and form a national network of local AHA organizations involved in various activities such as research, education, community programs and fund raising for the organization.The organization laid emphasis on cardiovascular science, cardiovascular education, community programs and fund raising efforts. AHA could achieve better research standards, newer healthcare site modules and also developed various new cookbooks. Inclusion of women and minorities in the leadership ranks paid off by providing a chance to understand impact of heart disease and stroke on women and minorities. The organization created new divisions for dealing with stroke and emergency cardiac care.In order to economize and provide wider publicity the asso ciation decided to outsource the scientific journals and publish them online. In March 1995 the AHA adopted a strategic driving force which describes the usage resources to support its mission. The driving force can be described in five parts as follows: †¢ Credible information services and products on heart disease and stroke †¢ Multiple distribution channels to meet customers’ needs †¢ Consumer markets restricted to the United States †¢ Prioritization relative to risk †¢ Science and community mobilization as foundation.The strategic driving force of the organization can be described as â€Å"Effecting change by providing information and solutions for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and stroke in people of all ages, with special emphasis on those at high risk. † Impact goal of the organization is to reduce coronary heart disease, stroke and risk to 25 per cent by the year 2010. Indicators of the impact goal being the fo llowing: ? Reduced death rate from coronary heart disease and stroke by 25 percent ? Reduced prevalence of smoking, high blood cholesterol and physical inactivity by 25 percent? Reduced rate of uncontrolled high blood pressure by 25 percent ? Elimination of the growth of overweight and diabetes. The AHA has its National Center at Dallas, Texas and 12 affiliate offices covering the US and Puerto Rico with the operations being divided into seven main areas as stated below (a rough outline of each area are mentioned below): 1. Office of the CEO: Administration, Communications, Legal, Food Certification and Consumer publications. 2. Advocacy: Public Advocacy (Washington, D. C. ), Health Initiatives and Field Advocacy (State/Local Public Policy) and Minority initiatives.3. Corporate Operations: Finance, Human Resources, Production and Distribution and Audit and Consulting Services. 4. Field Operations and Development: Development, Major Donor Development, Corporate Relations, Strategic A ccounts, Emergency Cardiovascular Care Programs and American Stroke Association. 5. Healthcare Markets: American Stroke Association, Strategic Alliances, and Patient Education. 6. Science Operations: Research Administration and Scientific Publishing, Science and Medicine, Professional Education, Scientific Meetings and Marketing and Patient Education.7. Technology and Customer Strategies: Customer Relations, Digital Strategies and Information Technology. Three stake holders affected due to agency’s action include American Stroke Association, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the organizations publishing the scientific journals for AHA. In concluding remarks I would like to state that American Heart Association as discussed above has risen from a small association to a major one with well planned set of activities and functions.The organizational structure depicts stability with excellent services to mankind and is bound to gain recognition internationally in times to come. References History of the American Heart Association. American Heart Association (2007). Retrieved on February 09, 2007 from: http://www. americanheart. org/presenter. jhtml? identifier=10860 Organizational Structure. American Heart Association (2007). Retrieved on February 09, 2007 from: http://www. americanheart. org/presenter. jhtml? identifier=11282

About informal sector

About informal sector CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT The informal sector makes a considerable contribution to production, consumption and income generation, particularly in developing countries. For example, it contributed about 8 percent and 68 percent to the GDP of the United States and Bolivia respectively in the years 2002 – 2003 (Schneider 2005). The sector is also a source of sustenance for the majority of the poor, unskilled and socially marginalized population, especially women. Moreover, it is a vital way of survival in an economy that suffers from deficient social safety programmers and unemployment insurance. In developing countries the informal sector not only contributes significantly to the national output but it also serves as a source of employment for most of the unskilled population (Becker 2004). According to the estimations of the World Bank (2003) in the period from 1980 to 1990, the informal sector contributed on average 40 percent of the GNP and 50 percent of the employment in developing countries. In India, the informal sector accounts for 62 percent of the GNP, 50 percent of the gross national savings and 40 percent of the national exports and absorbs 83 percent of workforce (ILO 2002). The contribution of the informal sector also tends to increase in many countries. On average, the informal sector contributed about 41 percent of the official GDP in 1999 – 2000, and increased to 43 percent in 2002 – 2003. For example in Colombia it increased from 39.1 percent in 1999 – 2000 to 43.4 percent in 2002 – 2003; in Moldova from about 45 percent to 49 percent; in Botswana from 33.4 percent to 34.6 percent and in South Africa from 28.4 percent to 29.5 percent (Schneider 2005). However, different methods of measurement were applied depending on the specific definition of the informal sector. This complicates any comparison. In Africa the informal sector is mostly composed of street vendors, retailers and in rare cas es wholesalers who trade in products such as food, clothes and electronic appliances. The manufacturing and services only account for a small share of the sector (UN 1996). For instance in countries like, Angola, Botswana and Uganda, the informal sector is dominated by the retail sector. ILO (2002) demonstrates that in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) the majority of informal workers are self-employed and it makes up 70 percent of the total informal labor force and the remainder are hired employees. However, street vendors are much more common on the continent and according to Charmes (1998) they account for about 80 percent of the entire sector in Benin. In recent decades there has been greater interest in getting consensus on the definition of the informal sector as well as on the measurement. It is important to have a clear understanding of its impact and contribution to the economic growth and the welfare of the society of low income countries. Therefore, most governments in developing countries took positive steps to measure the size of the sector to ensure that it is integrated as an engine of growth and development. This is important to make policies in order to support the informal sector in a sustainable manner (Tokman 2001). The informal sector in Mozambique involves wholesalers and retailers, selling a broad range of food and non food products that are consumed not only by low income, but also medium income households (Dana & Galbraith 2006). The sector employs the majority of the labor force due to a lack of financial incentives to participate in formal activities, labor laws and complexities in the implementations of regulations. Approximately 77 percent of the labor force was involved in the informal activities in 2005 (INE 2006). Additionally, this sector accounts for 20 to 50 percent of the country’s GDP. The above mentioned factors clearly demonstrate that this sector requires legal empowerment as support for its stakeholders and enterprises (Weber, Michael & David 1992). Although the government of Mozambique designed a strategy to attract foreign investment to support and develop the linkages between the informal and formal sectors of the economy, this is not sufficient.

International Economics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

International Economics - Assignment Example The expansion of businesses in the country will lead to growth of the economy through building of industries and infrastructure. Creation of industries and construction of infrastructure will result in the creation of job opportunities to the citizens of that country.Therefore, improving their living standards and the economy (BalinÃŒÆ'o, TomaÃŒ s and Cottarelli, pp. 45-50). The yen, on the other hand, is weaker compared to U.S dollar. The situation may pose different effects on the economy of Japan. The funding cost of government will be high in the country. Since flows from outside the country often go into local government bonds, the flow will higher yield, therefore, raising money at a higher rate in the market. The little currency will trigger an increase in taxes, which might cause inflation hence lowering value of the economy. The import rates will be high, therefore, discouraging growth of local industries. On the other hand, a weaker currency enables a country to increase its competitive advantage internationally. Since the currency is weak, goods from the country will be in high demand hence increase sales of local industries thereby improving the economy (Nelson, E, and Buckland, pp. 71-75). According to the report, U.S job growth has increased from 214,000 to 230,000. The increase in employment in the U.S is because of currency growth. The currency increases in value, employment increase in the country. The increase in employment opportunities leads to growth of the economy due to increasing in income of employees. In addition, the increase in employment may be attributable to the expansion of businesses in the country. Since the industries are expanding, it translates to an improvement in the country’s economy and development of people living standards. The currency improves as economy of the state improves, as investors are attracted to investing in the country. More investors in the country will mean more

Professional Resources Essay Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Professional Development of Teacher - Literature review Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that Lefrancois’ book has detailed information on how to improve the behavior of the children within and outside of the classroom. His description of behaviorism, as well as the social learning theory, is rather explicit. Thus, these elements of reward and punishment and the effect of learning on the child’s self-esteem will greatly enhance my teaching technique and strategies.   In terms of my decision making, Lefrancois highlighted a number of key elements within the classroom environment which would warrant the need to make decisions on a timely basis. One such incident is the idea of multiculturalism within the classroom. The author highlights the fact that different cultures require different approaches in teaching and the understanding of the central concepts of the various cultures within my classroom would allow me to make better decisions for the overall improvement of each individual within the class. Lefrancois in t he organization of the text constantly points to vignettes of teachers within the field. In addition, he supplies Internet activities which may be used not only to improve pedagogical techniques but professional development as well. The second resource represents the work done by a professional in the field, a professor of a University, Stephen Davis. Davis (2007) highlights the â€Å"gap† between the work produced by researchers and its authentic impact within the walls of the classroom and the education system. He suggests a number of concerns he held with regard to teachers’ wholesale adoption of these research-based programs within their classroom context. He insists that â€Å"Good research is a road map and rarely a destination† (14). In terms of my professional development as well as my day to day teaching Davis suggestions of becoming skillful in the understanding and use of research, rudiments is a major consideration. He insists that as teachers one sh ould not wholly trust the research material because the producers of these materials may have â€Å"lost touch† (3) with the day to day functioning of a classroom. Thus, in making a decision about which research-based content to use the teacher must be thorough in investigating the source and publication of the content as well as the background of the researchers. Davis’ article contains relevant advice which would affect my teaching, decision making, and professional development, he states â€Å"one size rarely fits all† (9) thus, as a teacher I must thoroughly assess the research before attempting to utilize it within the classroom.  

Individual and Organizational Knowledge Interface Term Paper

Individual and Organizational Knowledge Interface - Term Paper Example †¢Ã‚  The Development of Organizations’ personnel in monetary terms and in terms of time spent upon their grooming with respect to the organization’s environment is one of the foremost IT management requirements of present day. The ongoing advancements in the field of Information and Communications technology make it essential for businesses to remain equipped with the latest technologies and trends related to IT Management.   It is required that in order to do the best possible job, the business should budget for training and developing their staff and encouraging it to participate in the training lessons whenever possible. †¢Ã‚  Staff Familiarization is another essential phenomenon. The routines of the staff should be made familiar to the management. This way, better cordial relation is possible which in turn enhances the knowledge sharing paradigm within the organization. †¢Ã‚  Communication Flow is essential. The better the flow of communication wit hin an organization, the better is the adaptation to ever growing technical trends and scenarios. It should be ensured that communication should flow freely and easily between management and workers. Information should not be hoarded at different levels of an organization. Embedding of better technical features is more likely to easy flow of information.†¢Ã‚  Adapting to Best IT Practices. The best IT practices suitable to the environment of the organization should be assessed, applied and understood.... Information should not be hoarded at different levels of an organization. Embedding of better technical features is more likely to easy flow of information. Adapting to Best IT Practices. The best IT practices suitable to the environment of the organization should be assessed, applied and understood. The current stature of the company should be assessed against them from time to time and the required IT related improvements should be incorporated in order to keep up with growing business and consumer needs and requirements. SIGNIFICANCE OF DATA MODELING IN DATABASE ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENTS Data Modeling is the arena that is responsible for handling the management of data within an organization. In the simplest of terminologies, data modeling refers to the way in which data is maintained within a database. Data, as mentioned by Teorey and Lightstone in their book ‘Database Modeling & Design: Logical Design’ (2005) â€Å"is the smallest named unit of  data  that has meaning in the real world†. With respect to each corporate arena all data that has meaning for it is integral to it. The better managed the data of an organization is, the better is its overall performance and operation. Since, â€Å"A  data model  describes how the data in an information system is represented and accessed.† (Oppel, 2009) the information systems within an organization are mainly base on how well the data models incorporate the data used by them. The better the modeling of data is, the better is the running of information systems and thus targeted and efficient the output. Since data and its modeling transcend the systems within a business environment, the entire roots of the tasks of a manager and database administrator are directly

The Effect of PeerTutoring and Computer Assisted Tutoring on Thesis

The Effect of PeerTutoring and Computer Assisted Tutoring on Standardized Math Scores - Thesis Example The purpose of this action research study is to determine the value of tutoring strategies in augmenting mathematical studies for junior high school students. My purpose is to study the results of two types of tutoring programs used with adolescent groups. The two tutorial groups are computer assisted instruction and peer-tutoring. Raul Yzaguirre School for Success (RYSS) is an urban charter school with a majority-minority Hispanic student population. RYSS is a Title I school with 100% of the students receiving free and reduced lunch. I am currently teaching Language Arts for the eighth grade while obtaining my administration internship. The purpose of the study is to discover the best available strategy to aid RYSS students in the improvement of their standardized test scores for mathematics. The administrative team at RYSS has approved a tutoring program for summer school students. Tutoring fits into the larger context of education because (a) tutoring helps students who are struggling while allowing them to engage in a challenging, rigorous learning experience; (b) tutoring assists students in moving toward grade level achievement, and (c) tutoring builds successful students so that they move from success to succes

Introduction to Microeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Introduction to Microeconomics - Essay Example This replaces Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) that was in force earlier. Tier II: Under this, skilled workers get entry in the UK, who have a ready job offer. This essentially replaces Work Permit rules granted to workers in UK. Tier III: This fulfills the need of lower skilled requirement of workers to meet temporary shortages in the labour market. This has now been tilted in favour of EU migrants only. Tier IV: This specifies the needs of students who want to study in UK and get enriched with skill and knowledge. Tier V: This is a general category as per the agreement with other countries to allow youth mobility and purely as a temporary work permit. Skilled migration has played a pivotal role to keep economy of UK buoyant and competitive. Doctors, engineers, scientists, MBAs, fall under the category of highly skilled individuals who were encouraged to immigrate and remain in UK since 2002. The problem arose because government imposed a cap which affects migration in this c ategory. From April 2011, the Government has decided to impose a permanent restriction on skilled immigration replacing Tier 1 (General) category with a new 'exceptional talent' visa. Currently the Government has stopped accepting new applications from the people outside of the UK. (Highly Skilled†¦) There have been serious concerns on levels of immigration after the worldwide economic downturn in 2008. The UK imposed no cap on immigration from the previous Eastern Bloc Countries that joined the EU in 2004. There has been a significant growth in Eastern European migration at the expense of non EU migration. Total immigration between the year 2004 and 2010 can be observed in below mentioned illustration. Surprisingly, it was highest in the year 2005. The year 2009 and 2010 do not show any drastic increase in immigration population so as to make any serious concern and any unemployment issue for locals cannot be seen having any linkages to any increase in immigrant population. To tal long-term international migration estimates, UK, 2000–2010 Source: ONS, Long-Term International Migration Statistical Bulletin–Migration Statistics, Page 5 In fact, non EU migrants have got the biggest hit owing to Government efforts to quell public concerns over immigration. Because of the EU Law, government is not in a position to restrict immigration from EU Countries and what UK needs is the migration of highly skilled workers from non EU countries. The UK Government has declared a permanent ceiling of 21,700 on skilled immigration to be applicable in April 2011. Further, investors, entrepreneurs, and 'exceptionally talented' individuals will get entry under Tier 1 and Tier 2 will be restricted to graduate level occupations. Entrepreneurs and investors will have no restriction whatsoever that can come to the UK with certain net worth. It will be pertinent to note that in 2009, UK issued 50,000 visas to non-EU citizens under Tier 1 category. Present cap of 21,70 0 visas in the highly skilled category is a substantial cut if seen from the perspective of visas issued in the year 2009. Shortage of Skilled Workers It will be interesting to see what business leaders say about the shortage of skilled workers. Ignacio Galan, the owner of Scottish Power Ltd has shown apprehension that UK’s plan to improve power-generation and to embark on renewable energy projects will be seriously hampered by the shortage of engineers.

Proposal writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Proposal writing - Essay Example It is very important not to omit the mission statement in the writing. It should demonstrate the company’s goals and expectations. Each proposal is based on a particular budget. The latter consists of the following elements: 1) management, 2) labor, 3) facilities and equipment, 4) materials, 5) travel and 6) communication. It is necessary to mention that there are several types of budget. They are: itemized budgets, nonitemized budgets, fixed budgets, flexible budgets, fixed costs, variable costs and semivariable costs. Despite all costs, there are many benefits of proposal. They are hard and soft benefits. Hard benefits stand for the guantifiable outcomes of the project that are easy to see, measure or read. Soft benefits mean abstract things you will get in the process of working with the company. It may be trust, satisfaction, confidence, efficiency, etc. The success of the proposal is begun with its introductory part. To prepare a perfect introduction it is necessary to do the following things: 1) identify the subject of the paper, 2) introduce the purpose of the writing, 3) suggest some main point to prove in the paper, 4) persuade the readers that this subject is very significant, 5) give some background information, 6) foresee the organization of the writing. Conclusion is as important as introduction; here the main point of the proposal should be

Future Trends of Human Resource Essay Example for Free

Future Trends of Human Resource Essay 1. Introduction What does the human resource information system look like in the future? It is hard to find an accurate answer for me. Every year, thousands of HRIS specialists trying to predict the future trends of HRIS and, of course, their prediction differ. However, despite of what prediction they had made, I think social media will play an important role in next few years. In this paper, I will try to discuss what social media means to human resource and discuss three major players in the fieldFacebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. 2. Social Network Site vs. HR According to the 2011 Kelly Services Global employees Index research, published by the famous human resource service organization Kelly Services, social network site is becoming the â€Å"edge tool† in the future workplace. According to the research, social network site (SNS) is changing the way of life and work. It expanded its function from only entertaining to boosting working efficiency and enhancing the success rate of job applying. The research shows that over 80% of workforce is using SNS every day, while over 60% of workforce considers it as a work booster. According to the research, a lot of employees think they can develop an instant synchronized â€Å"expert tank†, from which they can acquire relative knowledge, skill and experience, so that they will be support by experts wherever, whenever. They also regard SNS as a pipe cleaner of the networking. By using SNS, they can manage their networking just within few clicks. It is a cost efficiency and personalized way. In addition, they also use SNS to relieve work pressure. According to the research, SNS is now penetrating to the area of traditional recruiting. The advantage of it includes no limits of time and space, cost efficiency and high reliability. The research indicated that over 90% active job seekers are now using SNS at least once per week. It also indicated that job seekers who age below 25 are more willing to use SNS as a tool to find job, while who age over 35 are more possible to find a job by using it. The research suggests that company should pay attention to what SNS may change the future workplace. According to the research, the most common worries toward SNS are affecting productivity, occupying internet and threating the information security. It also report that there are a lot of companies are now start using SNS to recruit, manage market, promote public relation and guide career development by setting new policies and using latest antivirus technics. 3. Facebook Facebook is a SNS launched in February 2004, owned and operated by Facebook, Inc. By the time of October 2012, Facebook has over one billion active users, more than half of them using Facebook on a mobile device. According to the research, 23% of Facebook users check their account 5 times or more per day. By the time of May 2012, Facebook received more than 1.6 billion visits per week. There are over 1,000,000 links shared on Facebook every 20 minutes. If you regard Facebook merely as an entertaining SNS, you will be absolutely wrong. In the era of internet, Facebook is now developing different social platforms. It transforms its function from just connecting and entertaining people to job bank and social synergy. By Facebook recently launched job applying app â€Å"Jobvite†, people can find, refer, and match jobs to friends with Jobvite’s proprietary matching technology, providing better access to opportunities for job seekers and more quality hires for employers. Users can connect and apply to jobs completely within Facebook; and they can see their status in the hiring process at any time, creating a positive, transparent relationship for companies and candidates. By using another job applying app â€Å"jobandtalent†, users can discover and leverage their existing Facebook network to find job opportunities and stand out to top companies. Jobandtalent claimed that they are working with world top companies like Goldman Sachs, Deloitte and Google. The fact is that the data stored on Facebook not only including job relate area, but also including other areas, such as daily life. Employer can acquire 360-degree background information of candidates via Facebook. â€Å"It is easy to track record of candidates on Facebook. These records may imply personal interests, personality and other attributes† Said an HR specialist, â€Å"Traditional resumes are monotonous, like masks, but these records are alive and we can totally tell a difference.† It is not surprisingly true. Tell me if I wrong, if the records of a candidate show that he use the â€Å"f† word all the time, dare you or dare you not hire him? Job applicants like him will lose his opportunity from the beginning. Facebook is now challenging LinkedIn by this advantage. According to the survey conducted by Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost half of companies are now using Facebook in their recruitment process, such as Boeing and Dell. They use Facebook not only for job posting, but also for background investigation. However, research shows that there are different between social media behavior and real life behavior. It is to be studied whether it is reliable to investigate candidates via SNS. 4. LinkedIn LinkedIn is a SNS for professional people. Launched on May 5th, 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking. By the time of June 2012, LinkedIn reports more than 175,000,000 users in more than 200 countries. Monster is one of three largest job posting web site, however, its financial report showed a significant decline in business revenue. According to the market analyst, because of the blooming of LinkedIn, companies like Monster are losing market share in a large scale. Just like Facebook, LinkedIn founded upon the theory of Six Degrees of Separation. Also it was not designed for recruiting; LinkedIn became the major way to recruit in the U.S. by the time of 2006 and achieve profitability. LinkedIn is known as its high accurate matching rate. It can even â€Å"push† eligible candidates to employers by preset standard. According to the co-founder Reid Hoffman, it is more and more important for people to utilize their networking in the future. If you want to change you r job every two or three years, you have to maintain your networking to find new opportunities. SNS is the easiest way to do it. You don’t have to make call after call and desperate to find topic to cottoning up, you don’t have to visit people with gifts door after door. The only thing you have to do is just within few clicks, and you can make connection with people you want to. In his opinion, the value of LinkedIn is â€Å"concentrate in the value moment†. Also Facebook has more user base and more stickiness; it is not safe to say that LinkedIn is losing the game. The orientation of these two web-sites is different. The business scope of Facebook is wide and the â€Å"killer app† of it is social game and â€Å"Share†, while LinkedIn concentrate in professional occupations. In a way, the overlap of these two web-sites is small. People regard Facebook as â€Å"individual† and LinkedIn as â€Å"professional†. Compare to strong interaction of Facebook, LinkedIn is not that strong. However, this weak interaction as â€Å"professional community† is where it value lies. For the user of LinkedIn, log in every day and post threats is meaningless and way far from the identity of professional, it will only imply that you are not in the working status. In other word, user stickiness makes little sense for LinkedIn. In addition, compared to Facebook, LinkedIn is a real-name, high quality user concentrated SNS. In other word, the user group is rich and high-educated middle-aged professions. This user group is known as high business value. According to the statistics from Quantcast, in the United States, the proportion of user over 35 is over 70%, the proportion of user with bachelor or above education is over 75% and the proportion of user with over $100,000 incomes is over 39%, compared to Facebook with only 32%, 53% and 32% (Chart 1). Chart1 Demographic Analysis of Facebook and LinkedIn What’s more, in business related area, LinkedIn is highly recognized than Facebook. According to a research conducted by Jobvite, in job applicants who are now using or will use SNS to find jobs, more than 95% indicate that they will choose LinkedIn. Only 59% chose Facebook and 42% chose Twitter. In people who already find a job by using SNS, 89% of them used LinkedIn, 28% used Facebook. To sum up, although Facebook is now challenging LinkedIn in professional SNS area, LinkedIn is still No.1 in the field. 5. Twitter Twitter is an online social networking service and micro blogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based messages of up to 140 characters, known as tweets. Launched in July, 2006, the service rapidly gained worldwide popularity. By the time of 2012, over 500,000,000 active users generating over 340,000,000 tweets per day and handling over 1,600,000,000 search queries per day. Twitter has been described as â€Å"the SMS of the Internet† Unlike Facebook and LinkedIn, Twitter has its own characteristics. Firstly, there is a limit of characters for each tweet. You can only send up to 140 characters in one tweet. This limit made information fragmented. This kind of fragmented information eliminated the time of reading, and by this elimination user can spread their thought more accurately and more efficiency. Secondly, you don’t have to get â€Å"approval† to follow somebody. This character makes Twitter more like a broadcasting station. Users could follow the Twitter of their favorite celebrity, brand and company to acquire latest trend. Likewise, the later will use Twitter to improve public relation to the target user group. Thirdly, most of user write and read tweets by using mobile devices. That means you will get first hand news via Twitter. An interesting statistic shows that within Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, Twitter has second largest influence of commercial both in B2B and B2C. Facebook has the largest influence of B2C commercial while LinkedIn has the largest influence of B2B commercial (Chart 2). Chart 2 Influences in Commercial For human resource, Twitter has two major functions. The first function is to use Twitter to improve company image. More and more companies now hiring Twitter specialist to manage company Twitter. The other is to recruit. Compare to Facebook and LinkedIn, Twitter is more cost saving, speedy and simple. According to William Fisher, the founder of job searching web site TwitJobSearch, there are more than 340,000 jobs posting in Twitter per month. TwitJobSearch release two appsJob-Deck and TweetDeck. Users can sort and find job posting related tweets by using these two apps. 6. Cites http://recruiting.jobvite.com/company/press-releases/2011/jobvite-launches-social-job-app-on-facebook-to-power-referral-hiring/ http://callcenterinfo.tmcnet.com/news/2011/10/03/5822750.htm

Hispanic Discrimination In The US

Hispanic Discrimination In The US Introduction Hispanics are considered a single minority group arising in the United States which certainly as the name suggests being a product of the Spanish. It is evident that Spanish environment is dominated in such territories hence the high level of discrimination against them the American people are afraid of such small tribes to being very strong communities not only in politics but also power and economic development which directly poses a threat towards their growth as a nation. There are those intense factors that have facilitated discrimination of this community in the US, for instance Media presentations, Linguistic point of view and residence legality. As a result of this, the type of discrimination being embraced by this small community includes lack of proper health care, victims of hatred and oppression, lack of proper rental-housing and lack of health insurance. Catalyzing factors in racial discrimination Media and Hispanic oppression In every issue arising facing the human kind, the media is always there as a facility of creating awareness to the general public. Media can therefore be a very sensitive channel of communication and public awareness. With media broadcasting all the live events occurring in the general public, politicians and prominent people, there are very high chances of transmitting cases of hater speeches from different speakers which can bring forth tension among different people as a reaction, either positively or negatively(Cummins and Gordon, 2006). News broadcasting is considered to be a rapid-fire technique of delivering the real world in terms of cultural, economical and political issues. Some media stations tend to employ animation technology to portray sarcasm regarding a certain community hence creating the same expression in many of the viewers who later practice such actions but now in the real world and ends up hurting one another socially. With the media being interested mostly in transmitting the bad news for instance cases of illegal immigration being emphasized more upon as compared to the legal migration of the small communities particularly the Hispanic community as asserted by Lee (1998). This therefore reveals the role of media and the kind of information the media people transmitting the general public, which counts for negativity in most of the cases. News paper articles with very eye catching headlines such as illegal migrants, foreign drug dealers and such information is usually taken seriously and the initial blame befalls the small communities, with Hispanic being among the suspected group due to lack of proper understanding and like of love for one another. According to Lester(1996), the media is always very effective in framing issues since the initial intent is to give the public what they would like to hear, all about hate for the one not related with, for example the small community being blamed for each and every form of negative issues ari sing. Residency Illegality assumption In the United States, approximately more than 42 million legally migrated residents are believed to have Latin origin as noted in a statistical abstract (2007). About 16 million of these residents, an approximate of 39 percent, are born as foreigners. According to US immigration statistics, certain fraction, about 11 million people, of this population are estimated to have illegally migrated with 8.7 million migrants being believed to be of Hispanic origin as supported by Therrien and Ramirez (2001). This therefore asserts that more than 85 percent of Hispanic migrants have legally obtained their US residency with majority of them having been born in the United States. This therefore justifies the Hispanic community living in the United States from being discriminated against and they should hold their grounds while fighting for their residency rights, since by balancing the legal versus illegal migrants it clearly points the great difference favoring the legal migrants and the mere fraction that represents the illegal migrants should not earn such level of discrimination against the whole community. According to Jorgensen (1996), the US politicians are the leading people passing such complaints against what they term to be illegal aliens. Reports have proven that Hispanic employees have really experienced very unfair job mistreatment from their employers both in public and private sectors. Despite their hard work in jobs, no credit or appreciation is accorded to them for instance wages raise, no chances for ideas sharing since their ideas are considered unworthy towards bringing forth development. (Jennifer, 2007) Language barrier In the United States, there is a very strong bond connecting language and racism. The main group tends to discriminate the minority groups which certainly reflect on the hatred towards the Hispanics by the United States majority group (or rather the whites) residents. For instance the use of mal mot wetback is a clear example of sarcasm characterization used to classify the Hispanics who cross the Rio Grande boundary to the United States illegally. Now, the problem comes in where all the Hispanics suffer this oppression having legally or illegally migrated to the United States, hence being considered a high level of misunderstanding where even the innocent have to suffer on the account of the illegal migrants. The minority groups that cannot speak the dominant language are restricted from participating in the dominant culture and this has brought forth a two-side culture of living with those speaking native language (English) oppressing the alien language speakers for instance the Hi spanic community. The English language community has realized the linguistic threat posed by the Spanish language speakers in the United States since they seem to multiply as time passes on. As a reaction to this linguistic threat, native language heritage has started a campaign towards supporting English as the immediate language that should be embraced by each and every resident in the united states, being an American, Asian, Spanish or black American. With respect to this, a form of US bilingual education has been highly documented and debated about as asserted by Rothstein (1998). To many people, this form of education was more of a confusion situation than a solution, since each and every ethnic group concentrated in learning in their own language, but the English language conquering the rest, hence the alien natives being forced to embrace the English learning since they could not meet the standards to bring forth the level of education needed to code with the American way of learning. Effect of this discrimination Victims of hatred In the united states, majority of federal hate crimes target crime victims with respect to ethnicity or basic race initiated programs, according to the UCR (Uniform Crime Reporting)program, there is a huge number of hate speech white victims as compared to the other groups. According to research carried by New Century Foundation organization, it is worthy to claim that hate crimes towards the minority groups are committed mostly by the black Americans as compared to the white Americans. Among the minority groups, the Hispanics are more prone to being victims of hate speech. Referring to practical examples, quoting a previous case of racial hatred that took place back in the year 1992 whereby an Asian American and being of Chinese descent was beaten to death by an angry mob believed to be white assailants as a result of unemployment level hence blaming Japanese and Chinese US invasion. Women discrimination Hispanic Women in the United States are more exposed to discriminations compared to their male counterparts particularly when it comes to the job and labor sector. Female Hispanics wages do lag behind as compared to their fellow men colleagues it is evident that in the united states of America, the wages to Hispanic women are much less as compared to the white men, women and Hispanic men of the same level. According to a research carried out on the month of March back in the year 1998, it was known that males embracing Hispanic ethnicity earned an average of $ 11.75 in an hour whereas women earned an average of $ 9.40 for the same work type. White Non- Hispanic males and females earned on average $ 15.75 and $ 11.29 respectively. This difference in wages was claimed to have been as a result of education level, work experience, occupation type, language and lastly discrimination against women. According to Oaxaca (1973), Hispanic women wages discrimination is as a result of difference s from each individuals characteristics subtracted from the total wage required to be paid hence coming up with a new calculation factor which is more of corruption and somehow reflects to discrimination also. Health care inequality The government had failed to provide better health facilities plus other requirements towards ones good health for instance poor services, in adequate insurance, complete lack of health insurance and reluctance towards health seek and care (Woolf, 2004). Systematic bias is also reflected much in the way inequality is handled in health care while delivering health services to the Americans where personally I feel that these people are yet to be treated like rest of the Americans else such discrimination will bring a bad reputation towards the Americans in the near future. Though there are developments of anti-racism organizations for instance the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Anti-Defamation League, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, American-Arab anti-Discrimination committee, the National Italian American Foundation and the National congress of American Indians among others. Sabotaged health conditions and deaths rate In the US, there is a wide range of racial differences in delivering health services appropriately. The migrants are treated in a negative way as compared to the US white residents. With reference to an article published by the public health sector in the US, it is worthy to assert that more than 880,000 deaths could have been avoided back in the year 1991 to 2000, if proper health care had been given to the foreign residents, inclusive of Hispanics. These deaths occurred as a result of much sabotaged health facilities given to the non-natives, if these people had received the same level of health services as the white Americans, such loss could not have occurred. It is worthy to claim that currently in the United States of America, racial bias has also infected the health sector with the minority communities facing very harsh condition due to low level of response from the health officers, particularly the public health sector. Referring to a previous study carried by Hope and Eliza beth (1996) it is evident that lifetime effects of fascinating conditions like being psych comes as a result of lack of attendance from the medic al officers to the patients who end up suffering some brain and mental conditions that could have been prevented in one way or the other given the issue of community discrimination support was avoided at all cost. It is believed that the minority communities cannot receive some donations for instance blood, and other body organs transplant from the American people which shows the level of discrimination being faced by these people and the importance of immediate reforms being embraced pertaining the same. Majority of Americans from these minority communities face inadequate insurance, poor medical services, and very low level of medical centers. Patients are forced to queue in some specific medical institutions that they can afford to pay rather than trying to scramble in a health facility where they are not welcome. Housing discrimination Despite of earning low income, the living standards of the Hispanics cannot be justified by such income. The poor housing conditions have left this community to face housing discrimination where high charges are given but with very minimal maintenances being employed whereby tenants suffer roofs leakages and rats become part and parcel of the house living. Some landlords go to the level of refusing to refund security deposit in the case where a Hispanic tenant wants to move in into another house. Such landlords also violate the US landlord-tenant laws that protects both the tenant and the landlord, for instance the 1998 Congress- passed Fair Housing Act which was meant to eradicate housing discrimination, but the landlords seem to be very mean with the lust for money but less worried with the housing conditions and its influence on the tenants. Most of the landlords practiced the following unlawful housing discrimination: Employing other forms of lease or contract provisions when dealing with Hispanics as compared to non-Hispanics. Having minimum maintenance and repair practices to the houses rented by the Hispanics which was not the case for the natives. Having minimal laundry and exercise facilities to the Hispanics which was not the case for the rest of tenants. Forcing Hispanics to provide very high security deposits as compared to non-Hispanics. Having the Hispanics evicted from the houses due to late payment of rent. Religion discrimination Today in the United States, when interviewed on how they feel about the status of their religious belief, 19 percent of Americans claim to consider being minority whereas 78 percent do not consider themselves being minority. This explains that 19 percent of the Americans are being discriminated against with respect to their religious beliefs. This has enhanced the prejudice by the Native Americans against other races as supported by Lincoln (2006). With US having the white evangelicals representing the highest percentage in terms of religion, about 24% of them refer themselves as constituent of the minority religious group whereas an equivalent of 11% of protestants and 13 % of Catholics claiming the same. Conclusion From this research, it is evident that Hispanics are being ill treated by the white in United States of America, courtesy of various published reports and scenes as discussed in the body of this research paper. The level of discrimination against Hispanic community living in the US is very serious with immediate measures worthy to be employed to counter it. From job discrimination, housing, freedom of expression, educational rights, and other rights have been denied to the Spanish residents living in the United States. Studies have found that nearly three in every ten Hispanic workers feel they have been discriminated against in their employment. Some reports being referred to with racial slurs at work while one in four feel they are paid less and have reduced career advancement prospects than their Caucasian counterparts( Sebastian, 1995). It is therefore the high time that Civil right Act, under the federal law that covers discrimination towards a particular race, color or sex comes into real action and performance. It is worthy to claim that the Hispanics have been deprived from their human rights to enjoying their freedom of expression, speech and movement. The non-governmental organizations enhancing campaigns against racial discrimination should also continue without fear or threat from authority or other people whatsoever. The Hispanic community should recognize their rights and carry a strict campaign against being discriminated. The local government should protect these minority communities from racial discrimination as a posed method towards enhancing well-being of each and every citizen.

Identifying the Main Character in The Use of Force :: Personal Narrative

Identifying the Main Character in The Use of Force Since Olson narrates the story, I was tempted to focus on his opinions and motives in accessing and handling the intense situation of diagnosing a sick child. Though tempted to focus on Olson, after meticulous analysis of the passage, I noted Matilda as the character that force is being applied to-clearly a manifestation of the title of this story. All attention and focus is on Matilda employing care to her appearance as well as her fluster. Matilda just would not allow Olson to take cultures from the back of her throat. Olson’s blunt remarks to Matilda’s naà ¯ve parents â€Å"for heavens sake...she might have diphtheria and possibly die from it,† doesn’t affect the child in the least. Nothing changes. Diphtheria is an infectious disease in which a membrane forms over the air passage. Olson orders one parent, whom he subconsciously had not disclosed, to place the child on his lap and hold her wrist. Matilda shrieked terrifyingly, desperately, â€Å"Stop it! You’re killing me!† Matilda’s mother is even more naà ¯ve than her father because obviously Olson told the child she would die of a sore throat to startle her and prompt gravity to the urgency of acquiring the cultures. Yet, Matilda’s mother still questioned the doctor contemptibly till her husband had to suggest that she take leave of absence from the room, inferring that diphtheria is deadly. Olson’s ego is ruffled, for he states that he could have torn the child apart in his own fury and enjoyed it. It was a pleasure to attack her. Force is implied from the statements ‘Then the battle begins’ and ‘Oh yeah’ in Olson’s objection to the alternative to go to the hospital. This is embodied by the descriptions: abject, crushed, exhausted, magnificent heights of insane fury, and terror for the doctor. The doctor wrestles with Matilda and her parents. Operative determination in the final unreasoning assault, to overpower her neck and jaws to insert the tongue depressor, succeeded. Focus shifted from each character back to the child. Olsen speaks about the other characters at length, at all times referring their effect or concerns on the child. The only mention of defensiveness is in Matilda. She had fought valiantly, hiding the secret of her sore throat and cried blinding tears. Olson becomes impatient calling Matilda â€Å"a damn little brat,† emphasizing her ignorance when he says she has to be protected from her idiocy.

Circadian Rhythms Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tomas Izquierdo has not slept since 1945. Due to an attack of encephalitis, an inner brain inflammation, his ability to fall asleep was lost at the age of 13. Although he rests with his eyes closed, his brain patterns are those of someone who is fully awake and aware. He has memory problems and very sensitive eyes, but is otherwise completely normal. To relax, he usually uses transcendental meditation from about three or four AM until the morning (Coleman 94).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tomas Izquierdo is what one might call someone without circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms are the daily sleep patterns of humans. Circadian rhythms tell people when they are most alert, when they feel tired, and when they should wake up. These circadian rhythms, while difficult to research, are important to many industries, as well as a multitude of sleep disorder patients. For several years, scientists and doctors have been seeking a greater understanding of these patterns through constant, difficult, and fast paced research. The applications of such knowledge would be quite beneficial in shift based industries as well as some special circumstances. As of yet, doctors have been able to determine a few important correlations between internal time cues and sleep, activities or events that give cues to the brain about what time it is or should be. However, the research is very difficult.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Researching sleep is difficult for a variety of reasons. The first reason for difficulty is the nature of experimentation. To truly isolate the sleep patterns, all time-giving cues, or zietgebers, have to be eliminated. Light, electromagnetic waves, the schedules of researchers, and even the growth of a facial hair on outsiders may lead the subject to guess the time of day. The body can detect even the faintest cues of time, so it is incredibly important that the subject be completely shut off from time giving cues. If the subject of the research knows the time of day, he or she may adjust accordingly, skewing results and making it all but impossible to collect the data needed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another reason for the difficulty of sleep research is the pace of discovery. The field moves too fast for its own good. As a result, no comprehensive beginner’s text is available in the field of circadian rhythms. By the time... ... a part of their brain known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN, gets smaller. The SCN is the primary pacemaker for most circadian functions in the brain. It is responsible for the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. As the SCN decreases in size, less melatonin is produced, causing a shift in sleep patterns. The drop in melatonin, just as in SAD patients, can cause restlessness. In order to counteract this melatonin loss, many of the elderly sit in front of light boxes, just like the SAD patients, at the end of the day for a few hours (Center for Biological).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Circadian rhythms are part of the daily lives of humans. They cue our levels of alertness, our need for sleep, and our time of waking. To better understand these rhythms, scientists from around the globe have participated in difficult research for years. As of yet, the research shows that light, hormones, exercise, age, and a variety of other factors are important in determining circadian rhythms. Perhaps in the future, scientists will be able to manipulate circadian rhythms so that people no longer feel fatigue. By then, maybe Tomas Izquierdo could finally get some long overdue sleep.