Ancient maya economics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ancient maya economics - Assignment Example The subsistence economy means the goods used for daily use by all the other classes of the society. Although two systems of economy existed, the economy was based on trade and agriculture. The trade system was extensive with the Mesoamerica that included trading of obsidian, jade, serpentine, ceramic vases, and feathers of Quetzalcoatl birds (Hirst, n.d). The trade network was expanded with the cities of Olmec, Zapotec, and Teotihuacan as well as other Caribbean islands and different groups in gulf coast of Mexico (Demarest, 2004). The trade relations were facilitated with efficient allocation of resources and specialization in different areas of crafts and skills (Demarest, 2004). Scholars have often used the economic laws of demand and supply to assess the ancient Mayan trade because of the vast availability of resources used by the Maya (Hirst, n.d). Given the growing population of the Maya, specialized exploitation of resources began giving the Maya specialization in trade (Hirst, n.d). This specialization combined with the availability of resources that each trade party had to offer was the key in the Maya commerce (Demarest, 2004). Many scholars believe that the long distance trade of the ancient Maya was accompanied by exchange of mathematical and writing knowledge along with other cultural manifestations (Demarest, 2004). This extensive trade network is the prime mechanism for the ancient Maya’s economic growth. The agriculture of Maya consisted of maize, beans, cucurbits, chili peppers, amaranth, palms, cocoa, vanilla, avocado, agave, ramon, and manioc (Hirst, n.d). Irrigation canals and terraces were constructed in the Maya highlands in order to take advantage of the environment there while crops were grown on raised platforms in the Maya lowlands. The household economy of the ancient Maya was related to the subsistence economy. Each household had their farmland where they planted corns, squash, beans and other

Corporate Responsibility for Childhood Obesity Essay - 2

Corporate Responsibility for Childhood Obesity - Essay Example The authors of these two articles are supporting the same cause but in different ways. First and foremost is the length of the material, Zinczenko’s article is rather brief and reads very much like a discussion or a conversational blog posting. However, Linn and Novosat’s article is much more scientific and literary representation of their very similar arguments. Zinczenko takes the most direct route and blames the consumption of fast food directly is the cause of the childhood obesity. He argues that as a child he was a â€Å"latchkey kid,† a term in the 1970s and 1980s to describe children of, usually, single parent households, who are left to care from themselves when their guardian is at work; they used to keep the house keys are a string around their necks, hence the nickname (Zinczenko, 391-392). He offers a number of supporting factors that do benefit his argument. Firstly, he explains that his personal experience as a latchkey child, he understood how fast food becomes the quickest, most convenience, and, often, the cheapest way to feed hungry children. The greater statistics of children in economically depressed environments are even more likely to consume larger portions of the fast foods available. However, the flaw in Mr. Zinczenko argument is that no one is likely to deny that if a child or anyone was to consume fast food for every meal of the day may ultimately develop health problems and obvious weight gain. He, also, makes the correlation between childhood obesity, fast food, and the ever increasing numbers of diabetes cases among children (Zinczenko 391-393). Linn and Novosat’s article is a much more scientific and formal research work. It is considerably longer, detailed, offering statistics, and averages of test and studies performed. They do not blame the fast food items and products directly, the way that Zinczenko’s article did, but rather the specific advertising that is geared specifically towards children regarding fast food

How to Correct Bow Legs Essay Example for Free

How to Correct Bow Legs Essay Virasana Variation Virasana, or hero pose, is effective in treating flat feet and knock knees. This variation will help those with knock knees. Start by standing on your knees, then sitting down on your heels. Place a yoga block between the heels and sit on it. Make sure the knees are pointing straight forward and not touching each other. Hold for 20 to 60 seconds. Block Between the Thighs While standing, place a yoga block between the thighs as close to the pelvis as possible. Bring the feet as close together as possible and relax the inner thighs. Hold the pose for up to three minutes. This pose positions the legs in the opposite position of knock knees, bow-legged, which makes it therapeutic in correcting the original condition. Warrior 2 Pose Against a Wall Warrior 2 pose can help strengthen the knees if performed with proper alignment. Perform this pose against a wall or with the guidance of an experienced teacher to ensure proper alignment. In a standing position, bring the legs 4 feet apart and stretch the arms out to the side. Turn the right toes to the right and deeply bend the right knee. Activate the arches and keep the right knee touching the wall. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side. Downward-Facing Dog Pose with Block To perform this variation of downward facing dog pose, you will need a yoga block. While standing, place the block between the thighs and position the feet hip-width distance apart. Lower the hands to the ground and form the body into a V-shape. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds.

Placement at a mental health rehabilitation centre

Placement at a mental health rehabilitation centre The purpose of this write up is to explore and analyse how learning theories informed knowledge development and competence in promoting health and psycho education in clinical settings. I will examine the principles underpinning the facilitation of learning and assessment. I will demonstrate my knowledge and understanding of the theoretical concepts in an episode in which I facilitated learning to clients while on placement at a Mental Health Rehabilitation Centre. Finally, I will use the reflective model by (Gibbs, 1988) to reflect on the strategies used within the episode and discuss the implications in relation to my future role as a nurse. The NMC (2008) stipulates that as nurses we must maintain our professional knowledge and competence regularly. You must keep knowledge and skills up to date throughout your working life and that you must take part in an appropriate learning and practice activities that will maintain and develop your competence and performance. In view of the aforementioned this essay is aimed at enhancing my knowledge and competence in facilitating learning through understanding of the underpinning concepts. I observed most residents having fast foods such as burgers, kebab, and chocolate as well as fuzzy drinks which are rich in saturated fatty and sugar for lunch regularly and they were also smoking a lot. I was really concerned because of my duty of care as a nurse (NMC, 2004) and due to findings from several researches for example (Bottomley and Mckeown, 2008 and Hallpike, 2008) which shows the risk of malnutrition was commonly associated with people with psychosis which predisposes them to host of physical health problems. I had a chat with my mentor of my intention to use the weekly communal meeting to carry out a teaching session to raise awareness and sensitise the residents on the effects of fatty foods and fuzzy drinks on their body chemistry and the need to improve and develop a healthier eating habits and life styles, considering the fact that most of them were on various antipsychotic medication which predisposes them to becoming obese. Timms (2008) said that a huge majority of people with mental health problems are most likely to have weight issue due to side effects of their antipsychotic medication. My mentor agreed to table it before the resident in the next meeting to gain their consent in compliance with NMC (2008). The residents consented to it and were quite interested because some them were really concerned about their weight and really wanted to do something about it. We agreed on a date for the teaching. The onus was now on me to facilitate the learning process that will empower the residents to take responsibility for their health and make a positive change. A vast majority of physical health problems are caused by people life styles and their failure to see the risk associated with their daily habits. Kiger (1995) defined health as state of balance between different facets of life suggesting that it is a dynamic concept which he termed movable. What this means is that our life styles can alter the balance resulting in an adverse effect on our health. As facilitators it is essential that we have a clear understanding of the different learning styles in order to tailor our teaching to meeting the varied approach of our learners. This is because learners are intrinsically different and preferred different ways of learning. Teaching is an act of imparting knowledge, a purposeful intervention aimed at promoting learning and causing learning to happen. Kemm and Close (1995) defined teaching is an act of assisting others to learn and putting it to use in their life. While Kiger (2004) defined teaching as a process of enabling people to learn through the dissemination of information and advice; it creates room for people to express their feeling, clarify their thought and acquired new skills. Learning is the acquisition of knowledge through education and experience. It is essentially important because it enable people to make informed choice about their own health. Roger (1996) defined learning as a kind of change often in knowledge but also in behaviour. Reece and Walker (2002) stated that learning brings about change and that teaching and learning proceeds pari passu and cannot be considered in isolation. I spent time engaging with the residents so as to build a therapeutic relationship based on trust whilst observing their behaviours as I gather information to facilitate the learning process. This was to enable me identify their preferred style of learning so as to increase ease of transmission of knowledge. There are a host of approaches available in health promotion. Ewles and Simlet (2003) identified five approaches which include medical, client-centred, behaviour, education and societal change. In his word all these approaches must be taken into cognition when undertaking health promotion to clients. Kolb (1984) developed the experimental learning theory (learning by doing) by this he suggested that learning is not fixed but formed from previous experiences. Kolb learning theory which is cyclical affirmed that people have different learning style and he identified four distinct learning styles as shown in figure 1 below includes concrete experience (having an experience ), reflective observation( taking time to reflective on their experience from different perspective), abstract conceptualization ( drawing their conclusions) and active experimentation ( putting theory into practice). For effective learning to happen Kolb said all this four must be taking into context when planning a teaching session. Honey and Mumfords learning cycle is slightly different from Kolb system. http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/styles/honey_mumford.html Figure 1 Honey and Mumfords variation on the Kolb system Honey and Mumford (2000) said that there four different types of learners which must be taken into consideration when planning a teaching session as shown in figure 1 above. These include the activists, like learning situation that presents them with new challenges, problem solving, and role play and uses the first opportunity to experiment; reflector like brainstorming and learning activity that gives room for observation, thinking and reflecting on they have learned; theorist like to research into fact before taking it onboard, they prefer a step by step approach and pragmatist like practical based learning and been given the opportunity to try out techniques and getting feedback in return. In view of fact that people have varied approach to learning considering the fact that its a group teaching. I intend to present my teaching to my mentor first to get feedback on whether I have considered all the four learners identified by both Kolb and Honey and Mumford. As nurses the education of our clients about their health is a vital aspect of our nursing process. It is important that we use an approach that encompasses congruence, empathy and respect in assisting our client (Roger, 1996) instead of coercing them to change their life style. Therefore it is imperative that we aware that teaching the client requires consent and that the client has the right and autonomy to refuse any intervention even when it can result to death provided they have the mental capacity to make informed decision (Mental Capacity Act, 2005 and NMC, 2008). DH (1996) states that the client must be provided with vital information about their health, so that they can make informed choice about the treatment options, life styles changes and behaviour. The subject was brought before the residents for them to make informed decision with regards to the teaching and they consented to because they wanted to do something about their weight. Kemm and Close (1995) wrote that there is high tendency for client to learn if teaching is directed to meeting their needs, interest and within their ability. Effective communication plays a vital role in facilitating learning. As nurses the way we communicate and the kind of rapport we build with our client plays an essential role in empowering or disempowering them (Brown, 1997). Good communication skills act as therapeutic tool in delivery a holistic and person-centred care (Burnard, 1992). Our role as facilitator should be to explore and support our client to build that intrinsic motivation to make a change in their life, strengthen their commitment to change and then develop a plan to fulfill that change (Miller and Rollnick 2002). The responsibility for change lies purely on the client however as facilitator we should use an approach that confront the client with the idea of need for change without been persuasive and argumentative rather we should create an environment that show a sense of genuinity, respect and empathic understanding through collaboration and working in partnership with the client. Based on my assessment of the residents needs and considering the fact that they were adult learners capable of self-directing their learning, I decided to use andragogical instead of the pedagogical teaching style so as to enhance collaboration and for it to have a positive impact in residents lives. Pedagogy is the art and science of teaching children, it is a teacher- centred education and the teacher decided what, how and when it will be learned while andragogy is the art and science of assisting adults to learn and it is learner-centred education. Andragogical approach help learning to take place because of the clients own effort or willingness and it helps learners to learn what they want to learn (Knowles, 1990). Over the years educational psychologist and educationalist have developed models and learning theories (Hincliff, 2004). These include the behaviourist, cognitive or humanistic. Three domain of learning exist; Cognitive, psychomotor and affective (Bloom, 1972). The way we learn is however dependent on some other factors even though these three domains are the dominant. Individuals personal values, beliefs and altitude are motivating factors for self-directed learners. I decided to use the humanistic approach in facilitating the awareness and sensitization of the need for them to improve their diet and life style In order to meet the residents learning needs. The humanist theory as explained by (Maslow, 1943) is concerned with individual fulfillment and self-actualisation. The influence of the environment on the residents and their relationship with others is explained by the socio-cognitive theory. Bandura (1977) stated that learning take place as a result of social interaction throu gh observation and mimicking others whom the learner look up to for example family , peers and health professionals. To facilitate learning; a conducive learning environment, learning material suited to the learners need and their literacy level must be considered (Quinn, 1995).In view of this, I gathered all the necessary resource taking into account the residents individual learning styles and planned the teaching in such a way that it is tailored to meeting their varied learning styles. Based on my engagement with the residents I identified that majority of them belong to the theorist, pragmatist and reflector learning styles from (Honey and Mumford, 1982). Prior to the start of the teaching session I made sure the environment was conducive for leaning, spacious, quite and with the right temperature. I introduced myself to the residents and my mentor and other member of staff present. I explained the rationale for the teaching session. I gave them handout I prepared for the session which contain literature and pictures, which were simple to understand and which they could keep with them and refer to later at their convenience and I also use video from YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp0nc4kY-tc to explain the potential side effects of fatty food and fuzzy drink on their heath and I highlighted the main topic, which is the makeup of the food they eat and its functions in the body and the calories recommended daily. I brought in several fatty foods like ground oil, butters in different make to explain to them the difference between the good product and the bad product. I explain to them that the one that contain high saturated fat and low unsaturated is not good because the body find it difficult to break down the saturated fatty into small unit which is used by body instead they are gradually deposited thereby raising their cholesterol level. The deposition of fat gradually blocks the artery wall which could lead to anterosclerosis, stroke and heart diseases while product rich in unsaturated fats and low saturated fats are better. I encouraged them to always check for this information on the food product whilst shopping. I asked them if they know what cholesterol means and if anyone has check out their cholesterol level. I then brought out some more products for them to point out which one was better to check if the understood the lectures and they did perfectly well in identifying the good and the bad product and I offered them praise f or a job well done. I then showed them they kind of food that is good for the body from you Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAFTcfaA-pcfeature=channel and what constitute a balance diet. The teaching session was an interactive one and as facilitator I suggested and encouraged them to adopt a healthier lifestyle by eating more fruit and vegetable instead of chocolate, drink more water instead of fuzzy drink and to cook their meal which was more nutritious and economical and to exercise by going to gym or taking a light work every day. I suggested that we could contribute one pound to cook for the weekly communal meeting and then see how it goes from there and the feedback was positive. I gave room for question and answer session. I thanked them for their collaboration and for making the teaching successful. Their willingness to learn was quite beneficial. I provided information on what make a balance diet and some activities aim at dealing with weight issues in the communal loung e. As nurses its imperative that we take time to reflect daily on our professional and clinical practice. Gibb et al (2005) stated that constant reflection allows learning to occur at every given opportunity and it improves practice. I felt competent though initially nervous teaching the residents on the need for healthy eating and life style change. Ewles and Simnett (2003) stated that health promotion is the process of empowering people to take proactive action over and improve their health. I was able to facilitated residents learning by building a rapport and through process I observed their learning styles and knowledge base which made it possible for me to tailor the teaching to their varied approach of learning. I believe the teaching session had a positive impact in enlightening the residents on the need for them to improve their diet and lifestyles change from the feedback I got at the end of the teaching. I use the humanistic approach clearly stating the rationale for the sess ion because I wanted them to have the knowledge so that they can take responsibility for their own health. The session was collaborative and interactive with the residents fully involved in the discussion and asking appropriate when seeking clarification. During the evaluation Amos felt that the learning outcome had been achieved and also said that the handouts and leaflets given during the teaching session were very useful and helpful. My mentor suggested that I could have done more and it would have been good, if I had used an overhead projector. But his feedback was encouraging. I had to rush towards the end of the session due to time factors. But I realised that as a student nurse, my professional development is still in progress and as my course develops I will become confident in dealing with this type of situation. My experience of teaching on this occasion will improve my professional practice. During the session I adopted a personal counselling approach based on the Beattie (1991) model, (cited in Ewles and Simnett 2003), which is a combination of the educational and client centred approach. According to Rogers (1983) people experience the world differently and know their own experiences better than anyone else. Amos ability to take responsibility for his actions helped to be more independent. In conclusion, I have been able to facilitate a teaching session by building a therapeutic relationship with Amos and through achieving effective communication. I found out from this experience that empowering clients does not mean that nurses should enforce decisions on clients but rather that; they should encourage and motivate them to achieve a desired result. I feel the experience was an interesting one. Looking back on the teaching skills demonstrated and the assessment of the clients need, I think the aim of the teaching was achieved. The feedback received from the learner and my mentor has given me an insight on how to improve in my teaching in future. I hope to use video clips and overhead projector in future teaching and to continue using the lecture learnt in taught module to enhance my skills and knowledge in my future role as registered mental health nurse.

Culture, Race, and Gender in Sports Essay -- Sociology Essays Research

Culture, Race, and Gender in Sports When a person of a specific gender enters a non-traditional sport for their gender/sex, many social and moral issues will arise challenging that person involved in that particular sport. The intentions of the individual will be questioned as well as their personal interest in the sport. Before any of these questions are asked, there must be a redefinition of gender roles, femininity, and masculinity. In order for a person to enter a non-traditional sport for their gender/sex without being criticize about gender morality, society must set flexible definitions for femininity and masculinity. Society must begin to accept the variety of sports both men and women can compete in regardless of the traditional gender specific sports notions of the past. Women should be allowed to participate in traditional "male" sports like hockey, bodybuilding, and boxing without being stereotyped as lesbians. Men should be allowed to participate in traditional "female" sports like synchronized swimming and field hockey without losing their "masculinity". A perso...

The Test :: Original Writing Personal Narrative

Eyelids drooping, eyes watering from the constant yawns, the birds are not even awake singing their happy songs, but here I am up at four thirty in the morning cracking open my books to study. Why am I doing this? I just went to bed less than seven hours ago after a two hour study session. The reason I put myself through this ordeal is to get promoted. In the Air Force we take test to progress in our careers and get make the next rank or stripe. This time I’m studying to make Master Sergeant, E-7. I usually start out 6 months before the test, this time it’s 8. Last year I missed being promoted by 4 points. I refuse to let that happen again. That is why I’m studying like my life depended on it. My testing date is only a couple of days away and I start to panic. Did I cover all the material? What if I freeze up in the testing room? What if I’m late and they don’t let me test? I was starting to lose my mind. I had studied so much that the things I tho ught I knew started to confuse me. Facts started running together like a race in my mind, useless dates in Air Force history that meant absolutely nothing to me at this point in my exhaustion. â€Å"Why don’t you take a break, honey† my husband said to me as he found me staring into the computer screen. â€Å"It’s still early come back to bed.† I stared at him like he was the devil. Thanks for reminding me, I thought to myself. Only a couple more hours and I’d have to get Lexus out of bed, fix lunches for the day, and get myself together. â€Å"Not yet†, I told him. â€Å"Just let me go over this last section and then I’ll be done†. â€Å"Yeah right†, he said as he left the room. Sleep was something I was not interested in these days. As if I did not have enough to worry about. After I got this test behind me I would be fine. I could get back to being normal and doing some of the things that I had not been able to do. I wanted to get back outside to play with my daughter; the playground was calling my name. I wanted to go to bed at a decent hour.

Education on health promotion Essay

The statement of the problem of this research looks into the relationship that exists between education and the promotion of health. The researcher intends to identify how education can be used to promote health in communities and also how the health of the people can be affected by education. Furthermore, the researcher intends to fill the gaps left by other researchers on how the people relates directly with the education they get in other words what good or poor health does to the education sector. It also aims at looking at the various avenues put forward to solve the problem of health and education. Through this research, data that is important for the promotion of health will be unearthed to be used during policy making. The first sub-problem is to determine the extent of the influence that education has on the health of people. The researcher intends to analyze the changes that people make once they are educated on better health promoting habits. There is also an analysis of which are the best areas for this education to be provided. There is need to see whether schools are the most accessible places to the whole community and if the people value the information they get from there. Furthermore, there is need to look at the impact of health policies in schools which encourage healthy eating and physical exercise among the students. The second sub-problem is to come up with the most efficient strategy that will benefit the whole community. Since the community consists of all manner of people who exhibit different lifestyles and backgrounds, how will the health of all these people be promoted? The research will entail posing questions to the direct beneficiaries of health promotion and compare their suggestions with the policies that have already been advanced and get to establish the impact of those comments. This will then aid the policy makers’ once it comes to making policies that can be implemented and accepted by the people who the policy intends to benefit. How are the people to be educated? It has already been advocated that education is important, but how are the people to be educated and how will the education be implemented? Will the people change their lifestyles and who will make them use the knowledge gained? The research project to be tackled is valid in the sense that it will provide knowledge that other researchers have left. It is important to note that after the researcher conducted the literature review, some gaps were identified that needed to be addressed. Much as these previous researchers touched on all aspects of the topic, they failed to adequately show how the research problem could be solved. They failed to identify the avenues that can be used by the policy makers and the implementers that ensure that they benefit the people. The researcher has consulted with the course instructor who is a research expert and has actually gone further to involve the friends to get peer review of the topics relevance. The project aims at improving ways in which the health of the communities can be enhanced. In doing this they inadvertently aid in the national economy. It will aim at establishing the people’s views on the policies put in place and their feelings towards the information they get regarding their health status. Since the researcher has reviewed the literature available in this field and also done a reconnaissance visit to the areas targeted, there is ample knowledge of what has already been researched and there is little possibility of the research being a repeat of another one. Despite all these, there is need to acknowledge that there might be some problems encountered in the filed especially when dealing with people during data collection not everyone will provide the correct information and the researcher has to be careful to avoid recording inconsistent data that is not useful. After choosing the topic and identifying the problem statement, the researcher will go ahead to look for any literature that is related to the research topic. Once this has been done, the articles will be reviewed and understood getting the data already provided and identifying areas that can be improved on. After the literature review, the researcher needs to identify the data collection methods that will be used. The data collected will be both primary and secondary where the secondary has been found from the literature. The primary data will be gotten through observing using questionnaires both open and close ended, having structured and unstructured interviews and also the use of the Likert scale (http:// jan. ucc. nau. edu/~mezza/nur390/Mod4/collection/lesson. html). All these are useful data collection methods. In conducting such a research, it would be important to use both qualitative and quantitative research tools. The quantitative tools include questionnaires; measurements and statistics while the quantitative tools will include observation (http://www. dobney. com/Research/qualitative_research. htm). This is actually an ethnographic approach. By combining both tools of research, the researcher will get the best of data. The questionnaires will be scrutinized to reject the obviously unreliable ones and correct the answers that are obvious. Inconsistency will also lead to rejection of questionnaires. The taped interviews will be listened to again and also the written statements will be analyzed. After the analysis, there will be the coding of the data. This is the interpretation part of the data. The researcher has realized that regardless of the discipline that one is affiliated with, it is important to use both qualitative and quantitative data for the sake of getting useful information (http:// hej. sagepub. com/cgi/content/abstract/54/3/347). One has to look into how to use the methods available in each method of data collection and choose the most appropriate depending on the research topic and the use of research. The importance of peer review has been revealed to the researcher. An independent party is required in the development of a research project because they provide a fresh view into the research (http://ww. jmir. org/2004/3/e37). They provide opinions regarding the methods proposed to be used and also help the researcher improve on the research topic and the problem statement. By asking questions regarding time frame and the availability of tools to be used they help the researcher become realistic in the writing of the dissertation.