Learn to Count by 10 with These Free Printables

The Evolution Of Vampire Literature - 2831 Words

Venice Franco Horror Literature Rutgers University Professor Rosetti August 12, 2014 The Evolution of Vampire Literature There are several genres of fiction at the reader’s disposal. Horror fiction certainly has a vast scope. Many of the stories can be classified into different sub-genres. Vampire literature is a particular sub-genre that has caught interest for centuries. According to online dictionary, Dictionary.com, the formal definition of a vampire is, â€Å"a preternatural being, commonly believed to be a reanimated corpse, that is said to suck the blood of sleeping persons at night.† Sightings of vampires have been documented as early as the 1000’s. Therefore, the archetype of vampires have started well before the vampires we know of today. Although one could agree there is a prejudice towards a vampire being an â€Å"evil† or antagonist character. Each century has significant piece of works that contribute to the sub-genre of vampire literature. From the 18th century vampire literature by Bram Stoker and John Polidori’s depiction of what exactly is a vampire. Then there was a wave of authors delving into the sub-genre. When thinking of modern vampire fiction, Anne Rice comes to mind as someone who helped it become more mainstream and inspire other modern authors to write their own vampire literature. The image of the vampire has changed over the years but in the end they are all out to suck blood. Some vampires may feel more remorseful than others. Vampires have beenShow MoreRelatedMonsters Are The Stars Of Entertainment For The Horror Industry1553 Words   |  7 Pagesproduce fear or panic. However; can this still apply to present day? Monsters have completely revolutionized. For example, Vampires have traditionally been categorized as evil, seductive and alluring creatures of the night. They moved through the night, hiding in shadows, and sleeping in coffins throughout the day. Yet, the modern vampire is far from this. Just like Vampires, Zombies have also have steadily gone through a complete shift of social compliance. In early m onster narratives, zombiesRead MoreThe Vampire in Folklore vs the Vampire in Literature1139 Words   |  5 PagesThe vampire, from folklore to literature is described as a â€Å"dead person that awakens in the night to suck the blood out of the living†. (Bartlett, pg 1) The evolution of the vampire itself has seen drastic changes from the time of the vampire in folklore; where he was seen as a scapegoat, being the cause of the plagues and had to be killed to restore a healthy civilization to, Bram Stocker’s literary vampire; where the vampire had become the heroic figure and had to be blamed for all the victimsRead MoreThe Myth Of Vampires And Frankenstein s Monster2077 Words   |  9 PagesVampires, mummies, werewolves, and Frankenstein’s monster have been a part of literature for seemingly eternity, but these creatures have not laid dormant in the world of literature. The classic monsters are constantly evolving, relying on misconceptions or pop culture†™s new ideas to push them along in the way they behave and are perceived. The perception of vampires has evolved from being hellish creatures to the icon of love stories in modern literature. The powers vampires contain has been steadilyRead MoreDracula, By Bram Stoker1291 Words   |  6 Pages ​Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, not only creates the early depiction of vampire stories; but writes more to contradict the age old beliefs of women and their role in society. Dracula is more that just a vampire story. There is a deeper level to this. A level in which it can incite change in the way one percieves women. There is a noition that all women were to be the same but Dracula refutes that. Vampire sexuality, as represented in Bram Stoker s Dracula, reveals itself as both a phenomenon thatRead MoreAnalysis Of The Monk 849 Words   |  4 Pagesof Gothic fiction, was a pioneer in more ways than one. Although no evidence indicates that she recognized her status as a New Woman author, her terrifying novels rivaled those of other Gothic, male writers, thus paving the way for more women in literature. But while Radcliffe’s tales terrorized her readers, Matthew Lewis instilled pure horror into those who dared venture into his grotesque novel, The Monk. In 1796, The M onk is edited, abstracting the same sensitivity of Radcliffe’s texts and evokingRead MoreThe History of Vampires1397 Words   |  6 Pagesseems obsessed with vampires. From gothic vampire novels, to endless movies, television and art, the vampire archetype continues to grow in popularity and sophistication. What is behind this seeming obsession with vampires, in our western culture? Why does this archeype endure? What does the vampire have, or do, that makes him/her so attractive and compelling? When did the transformation occur, from foul miscreant to suave tragic hero? Who is the vampire - really? Vampire culture seems in starkRead MoreAnne Brontes Literary Success as a Visionary Writer1908 Words   |  8 PagesSimilarly, Anne Bronte was able to visualize in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall the characteristics of the twenty-first generation. Anne Bronte (1820-1849) was the contemporary of Karl Marx (1818-1883) but her lifespan was just 29 years. If her literature is read today in front of the grave of Karl Marx it would make him shift in the grave. At such a young age, her thinking was revolutionary, even without being exposed to the secular world in a big way. It is so obvious that her work was inspiredRead MoreAnalysis Of From Simple Beast And The Bride Of The Isles 1380 Words   |  6 Pagespraise on June 1897 with his popular literary work Dracula. Although many literary works about the vampire originated far before Stoker’s time, such as Polidori’s The Vampyre (1819), James Planchà ©s The Vampire; or, the Bride of the Isles (1820), Alexandre Dumas’ play Le Vampire (1851), James Malcolm Rymer’s Varney the Vampyre (1847) or Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (1872), much of the contemporary vampire works are based off the foundation Stoker set. One could even argue that Dracula di d not reach itsRead MoreAnalysis Of Interview With The Vampire And Bram Stokers Dracula2110 Words   |  9 Pagesform is usually present in sexual activity and penetration is an overall theme throughout both films. The penetration that takes place in Interview With The Vampire and Bram Stokers Dracula does not take place from sex, instead, penetration comes from fangs, and yet the tone is extremely sexual in nature. The scene in Interview With The Vampire where Le Stat brings two women back to their home is a great example. In the scene, Le Stat bites one woman on the breast and she squeals and moans in ecstasyRead MoreThe Monsters And Their Origin1412 Words   |  6 PagesMonster Stephen T. Asma has given an analysis of the monsters and their origin. Besides, he gives a definition on the fears of human beings regarding the monsters. The prejudices and fears date back to prehistory and the developments in evolution that have occurred throughout in humanity. The prehistory gives an account of the concerns that people have in today s world. The author uses the term monster to describe myths and physical deformities. Stephen Asma uses the term to describe that there

Multi-state E.coli Outbreak Free Essays

A person having diarrhea with loose stools greater than 3 bowel movements in a day with or without abdominal cramps, who is a resident of Michigan, having onset of symptoms between the 15th of June and 15th of July and the   stool cultures yielding E.coli 157:H7. (Lautenbach, E. We will write a custom essay sample on Multi-state E.coli Outbreak or any similar topic only for you Order Now , 2008).   (Multistate Outbreak of E.coli O157:H7 Infection, 2008) It is an infection leading to severe abdominal cramps and bloody diarrhea. Non bloody diarrhea can also occur, or it may also be that the patient will have no symptomatic complaints. The causative organism is E.coli O157:H7 which has an incubation period of 3 to 8 days with a median of 3-4 days. (Lautenbach, E. 2008).   . In people in extremes of age groups I.e. elderly and children under 5 years of age, the infection can also lead to complications like Hemolytic uremic syndrome. Advantages By including a lab test as criteria for case confirmation, the specificity of the case definition increases hence the power of the test increases and so do the chances to detect the source. Disadvantages Investigation: by making lab investigations like stool cultures and PFGE a criterion, people who had the symptoms but were not able to visit the doctor were not counted as having the disease, hence the sensitivity of the definition decreased. By only taking residents of Michigan into consideration, people who were visitors and might have got infected were excluded from the count. Slight alterations could be made to the case definition. Proposed Case Definition A person having diarrhea with loose stools greater than 3 bowel movements in a day with or without abdominal cramps. The person may be a resident or may have visited Michigan a week prior to having onset of symptoms between the 15th of June and 15th of July. A person with clinically compatible picture who is epidemiologically linked with a confirmed case of E.coli infection. The stool cultures yielding E.coli 157:H7. The lab testing requirement still has to remains, to ensure specificity and power of the definition. Comparison between age groups: In the Michigan outbreak, it was noted that more than twice as many females were infected as were males. People in age groups of 20-39 and 40-59 were reported most frequent cases in the Michigan outbreak. Food net on the other hand reported nation wide distribution of cases almost equally in males and females, i.e. 162 to 178 respectively. They also documented that largest segmented of population infected in 1997 was in the age group of 1-9 years. This pattern shows that in the Michigan outbreak, the source most probably started with some sort of interaction between source and the adult females of age between 20-59years.   Inquiry about disease E.coli infection is mainly an oral-fecal transmission pathway. Hence poorly chlorinated water, unpasteurized milk are common fluid sources. Uncooked or improperly cooked beef another forms of meat are another likely source of transmission. Vegetables directly from farms or stores, which are not properly washed, like lettuce, spinach alfalfa etc are another source of infection. (Escherichia coli O157:H7, 2005).   E xposure to farm animals, or contact with infected people are also risk factors. In the United States infected children in daycare centers also a major source of spread. So questions pertaining to contact and handling of the above stated risk factors should be asked. Source of the outbreak according to the currently present evidence is alfalfa sprouts. Contaminated alfalfa seeds initially caused the outbreak and then the infection easily spread through person to person transfer. The leading hypothesis is that contaminated alfalfa sprouts or seeds of alfalfa sprouts were the initial cause of the outbreak. People who consumed these foods in the area of Michigan got infected with E.coli O157:H7 and then the infection were further transferred to other people with whom they came into contact. REFFERENCES: Escherichia coli O157:H7 (2005). Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved March 6, 2008, from http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/escherichiacoli_t.htm Lautenbach, E. (2008).   Outbreak Investigation: Discussion Group. Pennsylvania department of health. Retrieved March 6, 2008, from http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/lib/health/Outbreak_Investigation.ppt. Multistate Outbreak of E.coli O157:H7 Infection, (2008). Foodsafety.net  Retrieved March 6, 2008, from http://www.foodsafetynet.info/NEHA/EpiSlides/Ecoli_122803.ppt.    How to cite Multi-state E.coli Outbreak, Papers

Car Evaluation Using Neural Network Essay Sample free essay sample

1. Introduction Handwriting acknowledgment is done in two different ways. The first is online acknowledgment which examines the characters as the user is pulling them. This method is the simpler of the two. since the system lone trades with one character at a clip. An illustration of this method is character acknowledgment on a personal digital helper ( PDA ) . The 2nd type is off-line acknowledgment. In off-line acknowledgment the system must look at an full group of characters alternatively of merely one at a clip. An illustration of this is optical character acknowledgment ( OCR ) package for scanners. This system will utilize off-line character acknowledgment. Once the system has broken a image into its single characters. a nervous web will be used to find each single character. Following these characters. every bit good as information sing their locations. are sent to the scanner. The scanner so rebuilds the single characters into Numberss and besides determines which symbol goe s to the parser following. In some instances. the scanner must besides infix extra characters. The parser so requests one character at a clip from the scanner and calculates the look. Finally. a pop-up is displayed with the deliberate reply. Figure 1: Example 2. Images In this system. images are able to be input in two different ways. In either instance. images are required to be grey graduated table. Support may finally be added for non-gray graduated table images. but this was non considered of import for the initial version of the system. The first method of image input is with a electronic image file. The functionality for lading electronic image files was included for several grounds. First. since electronic image files do non compact the image data no external libraries were required. Therefore. change overing the file into a information construction used by this system was much simpler. Second. for proving the system. it is much easier to direct it a list of electronic image images to cipher instead than utilizing the graphical user interface ( GUI ) of the system to pull trial equations repeatedly. Finally. a future end of the system is to let users to lade images in from a scanner. so being able to manage image files will let thi s to work much more easy. The system presently does non back up lading images from a scanner because scanned images typically have a batch of noise ; in trials performed. this noise caused jobs when interrupting up the image into single characters. Figure 2: Noise in a scanned image This functionality will be implemented at a ulterior clip. However. the system will hold to filtrate these images and clean up the noise ( most probably by utilizing a Gaussian filter ) . and this was merely non executable given the limited clip restraints. It is besides a hereafter program to include support for other file formats of images ( JPEG. GIF. PNG. etc. ) . The 2nd method involved â€Å"drawing† the images on the screen through the program’s GUI. This method is used in the current execution. since it was considered the easiest and fastest for a user. Images are drawn by snaping and dragging the pointer around the draw panel of the GUI. Erasing is besides allowed utilizing the same method. The user may besides unclutter the full panel. When the user is finished composing an look he or she merely clicks on the â€Å"Calculate† button. The system so draws an lineation around each character it finds and displays a pop-up incorporating the deliberate reply Figure 3: Fictional character interrupt up For the undermentioned account. refer to Figure 3 for a graphical illustration of each measure of the procedure. Once an image has been loaded in the system ( Step 1 ) . it must be broken up into single characters. Presently. the system checks pels from left to right until it finds a pixel value below some threshold ( a black pel has a value of 0. and a white pel has a value of 255 ) . The system so creates a little bounding box around this pel ( Step 2 ) . Each of the four sides of this bounding box is checked to see if it crosses any pel below this threshold value. If it does. the box is extended in that way. This procedure is repeated for each side of the box until the borders of the bounding box cross no pels below the threshold ( Step 3 ) . This method works in merely some instances. since it is common that this bounded box will incorporate multiple characters. Some illustrations of this state of affairs include characters underneath a square root and bounds of an built-in. To take these excess characters. the delimited group of characters is scanned in the same manner from different waies. After a character is removed from the bounded group of characters. the group is scanned once more until no more characters are removed ( Step 4 ) . Finally. the jumping box of the original character is recreated since remotion of characters may hold affected its size ( Step 5 ) . This method has many defects. It is really successful in interrupting up characters that are non connected. but it is unable to interrupt up characters that are connected ( for illustration cursive authorship ) . Fortunately in mathematical looks connected characters are uncommon. particularly when composing on a computing machine screen. Hence. for the current undertaking this method was considered acceptable. Once the image is broken up into its single characters. each character’s location information is stored along with the pel values inside its bounding box. These pixel values are converted into a 10 pel by 10 pixel representation of the character. since the nervous web must be given a fixed figure of input pels for all characters. One job that arose with this method was that some characters. when converted to a 10 pel by 10 pels representation all look the same. For illustration. a really consecutive 1 or subtraction ( ) will turn into a block of all dark pels. and the system will be unable to separate these from a generation mark or denary point (  · ) . Besides. a somewhat slanted 1 will look a batch like a division mark ( / ) . To cover with this job. images that are really tall and narrow are padded on the sides with white pels. and images that are really broad and short are padded on the top and bottom with white pels. Figure 4: 10?10 jobs 3. Nervous Network The nervous web used for the acknowledgment of single characters is a feed-forward nervous web with four beds. The first bed contains 100 inputs. that is. one for each input pel. The end product bed contains an end product for each character that is to be recognizable by the system. Valuess for each input pel are sent into a corresponding node in the first ( input ) bed. For each node in the first bed. its input value is sent to an activation map. in this instance the logistic sigmoid function1. The end product of this map is sent to each node in the following bed. However. the end product it is non sent straight ; each end product is multiplied by some weight before traveling to the nodes in the following bed. Each node in the following bed amounts all of the signals it receives and sends this value to its activation map. This procedure repeats until the concluding end product vector to the web is found. x?= 1 1?e?t 7 For illustration. for the nervous web in Figure 5. to cipher the end product of node n+2. each end product for the old bed ( nodes 2 through n+1 ) must be calculated and multiplied by the corresponding connexion weight. This computation can be represented by the undermentioned equation: o n?2=? n?2 n?1 k=2 tungsten n?2. k o K ? O K is the end product of node K. ? K is the activation map of node K. and w K. J is the weight traveling from node J to node K. Figure 5: Sample unreal nervous web To develop the nervous web to acknowledge an individual’s script. a preparation set is created that contains a 10 images of each character the system is to acknowledge. The system can execute rather good when trained with fewer than 10 illustrations of each character ; nevertheless. 10 was chosen to guarantee a high degree of truth. The user has the ability to develop with more or less than 10 of each. but 10 is the default and the recommended sum of each. Each point in this preparation set is paired with a desired end product vector. This is basically a 0 vector except for the n-th component. which corresponds with this character. contains a 1. Next. the gradient descent larning method is used to develop the nervous web. Training is done by seting the weights of the web until the entire mistake for the preparation set is below. 005 a 2 B. where a is the figure of characters being recognized by the system ( figure of end products for the nervous web ) and B is the figure of each character in the preparation set. This can besides be thought of as the entire figure of end products when all inputs from the preparation set are sent into the nervous web multiplied by. 005. The entire mistake is calculated by directing each member of the preparation set through the web and ciphering the amount of the absolute values of the differences of the single constituents of the end product vector and desired end product vector. Weight accommodations are calculated with the undermentioned equation: w J. i=w J. one J oik ? is the larning rate ( in this plan this is merely 1 ) . and ? J is calculated as follows: K ‘ K ? J =e J ? ?net J ? if J is in the end product bed ? J =?’ ? net kj ? ? wm. J ? N if J is in a concealed bed m k net J is the amount of the inputs to node J for the K th component of the preparation set. Once the preparation is complete the weights are stored to a file which can sobe loaded in by the user instead than holding to retrain the system each clip it is used. 4. Scanner The scanner for this undertaking works rather otherwise than a scanner for a programming linguistic communication compiler. Normally. the following character in the sequence is the following character in the file ; nevertheless. in this execution the following character is non needfully known. When a user draws an equation. the system breaks the image into single characters and has the nervous web acknowledge these single characters. Once each single character is recognized and its location information is stored. this information is sent to the scanner. The scanner turns this information into items which are so sent to the parser. Numbers ( 0-9 ) and decimals ( . ) must be put together to organize the figure they constitute. For illustration. if the user writes the figure 10. 4. the system will see each character individually and must find that these four person characters make up the existent figure 10. 4. Besides. when two next footings are multiplied. for illustration 3x. the scanner must set a generation symbol between the footings. Similarly when the system encounters a power. it must infix the ^ symbol. so that the parser knows it has reached a power. When series or integrals are found. the system must look for bounds alternatively of merely catching the following character. The system must besides find which character or group of characters is the following to be sent to the parser. 5. Parser The parser takes the items given by the scanner and calculates the consequence. The parser must guarantee that operations are calculated in the right order and that operations that require numerical methods are calculated accurately. To cipher integrals. the trapezoidal method is used. The figure of trapezoids used additions until the estimated mistake is below. 00001 or until 100 trapezoids are used. Since computation of multiple integrals requires intense calculation. the fillet standards are relaxed in order to give a timely consequence. Figure 6: Example of trapezoidal method ciphering an built-in from 1 to 5 with four trapezoids 6. GUI The graphical user interface has a canvas for the user to pull on and allows the user to pull. erase. and clear the full canvas. The system has an option for making a new user. which allows the user to take which groups of characters he or she wants the system to be able to acknowledge. The system so asks the user to pull 10 illustrations of each character he or she asked the system to be able to acknowledge. Once all of these illustrations have been drawn. the preparation set is created and used to develop the new user’s nervous web. Once the new user’s nervous web has been trained. the nervous web weights are saved so that the user can lade his or her profile at any clip. 7. Future Work In add-on to the hereafter ends mentioned antecedently in the paper. one future end for the system is to include more mistake handling. Currently no message is displayed when an look is written or recognized falsely. Finally the system will explicate why it could non cipher the look and will propose alterations to the user. Similarly. the answer pop-up will finally include a TeX representation of the user’s input look. This representation will let the user to guarantee that the system recognized each character right. Another characteristic that will be implemented is the ability to add extra character sets to be recognizable by the user’s nervous web. That manner. if the user all of a sudden decides he or she would wish acknowledgment for integrals but he or she has non trained the system for this. instead than holding to travel through the full preparation procedure once more. the user can merely pull the new characters. The system will retrain itself utilizing this new informations and the preparation set the user antecedently created. This retraining will necessitate restructuring of the save file. since the original preparation set will necessitate to be saved. Similarly. a invitee user will finally be added that will be trained with all of the other users’ developing sets. This will let a user to utilize the system without preparation ; nevertheless. it will non acknowledge his or her authorship every bit good as it would if he or she were to travel through the preparation proc edure. Support is besides planned for ciphering derived functions. basic matrix operations. merchandise series. and roots of equations. 8. Decision For this undertaking I created a package system that allows users to handwrite mathematical looks which are so recognized and calculated by the system. This system is non yet complete. A working version has been created. but there are many characteristics that have non been implemented yet. Additionally. as with most pieces of package there are many bugs that need to be found and corrected. I plan to go on to work on this undertaking until all desired characteristics are implemented. Mentions 1. Stevenson. Charles F. . 1966. Neurophysiology: A Primer. John Wiley A ; Sons. Inc. 2. Gerald. Curtis F. and Wheatley. Patrick O. . 1999. Applied Numeric Analysis. 6th Ed. . Addison-Wesley 3. Russel. Stuart J. and Norvig. Peter. 2003. Articial Intelligence: A Modern Approach. 2nd Ed. . Prentice Hall 4. Schalko. Robert J. . 1997. Articial Neural Networks. McGraw-Hill 5. Li. Hongzing. Chen. Philip C. L. and Huang. Han-Pang. 2001. Fuzzy Neural Intelligent Systems. CRC Press LLC 6. Jang. J. -S. R. . Sun. C. -T. and Mizutani. E. . 1997. Neuro-Fuzzy and Soft Computing: A Computational Approach to Learning and Machine Intelligence. Prentice Hall 7. Kosko. Bart. 1992. Nervous Networks and Fuzzy Systems: A Dynamic Systems Approach to Machine Intelligence. Prentice Hall 8. Mammone. Richard J. and Zeevi. Yehoshua. 1991. Nervous Networks: Theory and Applications. Academic Press. Inc. 9. Principe. Jose C. . Euliano. Neil R. . and Lefebvre. W. Curt. 2000. Neural and Adaptive Systems: Fundamenta lss Through Simulations. John Wiley A ; Sons. Inc. 10. Foley. James D. . new wave Dam. Andries. Feiner. Steven K. . Hughes. John F. . 1996. Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice: Second Edition in C. Addison Wesley

Atomic Structure essays

Atomic Structure essays The nucleus has more than 100 protons and more than 150 neutons, the nucleus is a very small part of an atom. Both the atom and the necleus can be thought of as spheres. Then both volumes of the atom can be compared with the volume of the nucleus alone, because the volume of a sphere is proportional to the cube of its radius. The space outside the nucleus is occupied only by electrons. The observation has led to the empty space concept of matter. Ernest Rutherford , a British physicist, performed an experiment that strongly suggested that the positive charge of an atom located in a very small nucleus. Rutherforth's experiment made use of polonium, a radioactive element that gives of positvely charged particles. These particles are called alpha particles. A steam of these particles was allowed to strike a thin sheet gold or copper. Behind the metal foil was a fluorescent screen. This diagram showes what Ernest Ruthefold and his colleges observed. Most of the alpha particles passed through the metal foil with very little interference. Each time one of the alpha particles hit the flourescent screen, a flash of light was given off.Few particles did not pass though the foil. Rutherford found that a very few alpha particles was deflected by more than 90Â °. Because of these experiments , he made a nuclear model of the atom, which described the atom with its nucleus, and an atoms lack of energy charge. An atom is electrically neutal because it has negatively charged particles,or electrons,that balance the positive charge of the nucleus. The electrons are present in the empty space surrounding the nucleus. The atomis number is the number of positive charges in the nucleus of an atom. Each proton carries one positve charge. The atomic number represents the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom. The atomic number never changes. The mass of an element is given units called atomic mass uni ...

Free Essays on Miracle Or Mirage

Miracle or Mirage Could the Miracle of Helena really be the Mirage of Helena? A prominent editor for the New York Times has hailed the original article as The Miracle of Helena, while urging readers to give the article way more credit than it deservers. According to an article written by Steven Milloy, on Friday October 17, 2003; (The known publisher of Junk Science.Com and known scholar and published author) The Second Hand Smoke Scam. Milloy claims there is not enough factual evidence to support the theory that the ban on smoking in Helena was associated with the drop in heart attack patient admissions at the local hospital. In 2002 the citizens of Helena opted to ban smoking in all public buildings. After a six-month period the ban was rescinded. During the six-month period doctors at a local hospital reported that heart attack patient admissions had dropped. Then after the ban was rescinded the admissions of heart attack patients rebounded to the pre-ban levels. Milloy states there was simply no study to account for heart attack rates dropping due to the smoking ban. Since there had been a similar drop four years prior in 1998. This drop was unrelated to a smoking ban. This study was not easy to evaluate because there was no study. The results were a slide show presentation at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology and six months later no study has been released to the public. So how did the editor at the New York Times get his facts? Given the fact there were no medical test done on any of the heart attack patients admitted prior to, during, or after the smoking ban it would be impossible to determine whether or not the attacks were caused by second hand smoke, genetics, life style, or environmental factors. Therefore to say that the drop in heart attack patients during the ban was due to second hand smoke would be outrageous. This seems to be more of a mirage of Helena than a miracle of Helena. Dr. Stan ... Free Essays on Miracle Or Mirage Free Essays on Miracle Or Mirage Miracle or Mirage Could the Miracle of Helena really be the Mirage of Helena? A prominent editor for the New York Times has hailed the original article as The Miracle of Helena, while urging readers to give the article way more credit than it deservers. According to an article written by Steven Milloy, on Friday October 17, 2003; (The known publisher of Junk Science.Com and known scholar and published author) The Second Hand Smoke Scam. Milloy claims there is not enough factual evidence to support the theory that the ban on smoking in Helena was associated with the drop in heart attack patient admissions at the local hospital. In 2002 the citizens of Helena opted to ban smoking in all public buildings. After a six-month period the ban was rescinded. During the six-month period doctors at a local hospital reported that heart attack patient admissions had dropped. Then after the ban was rescinded the admissions of heart attack patients rebounded to the pre-ban levels. Milloy states there was simply no study to account for heart attack rates dropping due to the smoking ban. Since there had been a similar drop four years prior in 1998. This drop was unrelated to a smoking ban. This study was not easy to evaluate because there was no study. The results were a slide show presentation at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology and six months later no study has been released to the public. So how did the editor at the New York Times get his facts? Given the fact there were no medical test done on any of the heart attack patients admitted prior to, during, or after the smoking ban it would be impossible to determine whether or not the attacks were caused by second hand smoke, genetics, life style, or environmental factors. Therefore to say that the drop in heart attack patients during the ban was due to second hand smoke would be outrageous. This seems to be more of a mirage of Helena than a miracle of Helena. Dr. Stan ...

Six Months plan for Turkish and Armenian Students Essay

Six Months plan for Turkish and Armenian Students - Essay Example The evaluation time for the steps that I will introduce to the university will be six months (Saxena, 2009). Step One: I will advise the two student organizations to concentrate on their activities and not to meddle in each othersactivity as their two different organizations representing students with different interest and coming from different background. I will ensure that the two organizations exist in cohesion and that the different speakers appointed by each organization respect the identity, religion and culture of the organizations present within the University (Lederach, 1999). Step Two: I will advise the two student organizations within the university to know their purpose within the institution and that they share a common interest which is education and not ethnicity or religion. I will make them to understand that no organization is superior to the other and that the resources available within the institution are meant for their use, therefore they should strive to avoid rivalry due to the use of resources or space within the university(Lederach, 1999). Step Three: I will advise the two student organizations to have positive thoughts about each other and ignore their religious interest since the Turks are Muslims and Armenians are Christians. They put human rights values into action and treat each other like a brother for cohesion and peace to exist within the university. ... I will recommend and interfaith dialogue to be used by the Turkish and Armenian student organization within the university. Step One: I will involve both the student organization in an interfaith dialogue to help them realize that in both religions, God is the source of peace and justice. This will bring them to an understanding that they should exercise the concept of peace as both their religion advocates for the existence of peace and they will be able to coexist peacefully with one another while conducting their different activities for the students they represent. Step Two: Interfaith dialogue will be inspiring to the students’ organizations as they will realize that their teachings and traditions are a source of inspiration to all. By communicating, they will learn that it is of great significance to work together for the purpose of peace and justice as times have changed and their living in world that upholds peace with esteem. Step Three: the interfaith will enlighten the two students’ organization to know that it is only God who forgives and both Muslims and Christians were called by God to offer forgiveness. The students’ organizations will immensely benefit by learning the importance of forgiveness as they will forgive each other for their past differences and effect justice in throughout their studies and stay within the university (Smock, 2002). Step Four: The two students’ organization will learn through interfaith dialogue that despite disagreeing on certain points in the doctrines, they should only offer their critics to one another when they feel that either of the organizations has violated the integrity of God. This will work towards helping them to respect

) What is fundamentally different AND the same about fiction, poetry, Essay

) What is fundamentally different AND the same about fiction, poetry, and drama, as three genres - Essay Example sually written to be acted out by people in front of an audience and thus must include a number of dialogues as well as the setting for each conversation that takes place during the course of the plot. Writing fiction, as compared to writing poetry or drama may be considered easier because fiction involves the writer to simply flood their thoughts across the pages while creating characters and a plot. The similarities among the three genres however include having a plot around which the story centres, may it be a piece of fiction, poetry or a theatrical drama. All three may also centre on specific characters and are narrated to the audience. They contain various metaphors and images as these are not restricted to poetry itself, taking the example of Shakespeare’s dramas and absolutely any fiction writer’s stories. That is what makes them an exciting read at the end and separates as well as connects the three genres

To Identify the Main Challenges Facing Human Resources Managers in Research Proposal

To Identify the Main Challenges Facing Human Resources Managers in Non-Profit Organizations - Research Proposal Example The research aims at identifying the major challenges the human resource managers face in dealing with their employees. Some of the specific objectives are; to find out the number of workers in each organization, their remuneration and the number of personnel in human resource departments, to find out the academic qualifications of the workers and to establish the kind of management tool used in the organization. A sample size of 150 employees will be used which acquire from fifteen organizations. Random sampling method is used to get the sample size that is free of biasness. An online questionnaire will be used which will be hosted on www.qualtrics.com and www.surveymonkey.com as well as send to the participants as email attachments. The results will be analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). Introduction Background information Human resources consist of individuals in an organization whose mandate focuses on employees’ activities and their welfare. The law requires that all organizations whether governmental or non-governmental must have a human resources department to take care of the needs of the employees who are the workforce of the organization. Improper handling of employees results to poor performance of the organization especially if the organization or company is after profit maximization as research indicates that the about 80 percent of the organizational functions are contributed by the human feature of resource. A human resources department constitutes professionals and experts in the field of human resource. It is the main role of the human resource department to recruit and manage the employees. It is essential that the team conducts a proper evaluation of the abilities and competencies of the applicants to the positions advertised as this greatly influences the operations of the orga nization. The team is tasked to apply several measurements so that they can select the best candidates. Psychometric assessment helps a recruiting team to pick applicants with the required attitude to conform to the organization’s values and principles. Interviews are necessary which written tests, phone interviews or one-on-one interviews aimed at evaluating the ability of the candidates to make informed decisions if presented with such situations while they undertake their duties. Kiessling and Harvey (2005, p.28) explain that the human resource team has a role to play in reviewing employee reimbursement packages which include salaries, allowances, awards, bonuses, vacations and promotions. Recognizing the work of the employees boosts their morale hence increasing their determination to deliver their duties and responsibilities to their best. Planning is another role which the human resource department is responsible in. developing organizational calendar days is their work . They develop the strategic plan which guides the organization for a given period of time. Outsourcing of resources and information, partnership and market is also the responsibility of human resources. Policies, rules and regulations within the organization are developed by the human resource department. Non-profits organization, due to its unique way of operating, it is faced with challenges for example failure to pick the best candidates for a given job position may impact negatively of the performance of the organizati

Mental Health And Community Care Social Work Essay

Mental Health And Community Care Social Work Essay In this report I will discuss Mental health and community care, I will look at the historical context of community care taking into consideration policies and that stemmed it and competing ideological perspectives that that has impacted on it. I will further look at its benefits and shortfalls since its implementation taking into accounts the impact of the 1990 NHS Community Care Act and current reforms. Finally I will discuss the process of poverty and social exclusion which affects some of these people who have been discharged home as a result. History of Community Care and Objectives Dobson (1998) stated that Care in the community represented the major political change in mental healthcare in the history of the National Health Service (NHS) It was the result both of social changes and political expediency and a movement away from the isolation of the mentally ill in old Victorian asylums towards their integration into the community (Goffman 1961). The aim was to normalise the mentally ill and to remove the stigma of a condition that is said to afflict one in four of the British population at some time in their lives. The main push towards community care as we know it today came in the 1950s and 1960s, an era which saw a sea change in attitude towards the treatment of the mentally ill and a rise in the patients rights movement, tied to civil rights campaigns. The 1959 Mental Health Act abolished the distinction between psychiatric and other hospitals and encouraged the development of community care. According to Goffman, (1961) historically, people who were designated as having a mental illness lived in confined institutional environments for years and had limited expectations for returning to the community. Community care is used to describe the various services available to help individuals manage their physical and mental health problems in the community which is the British policy for deinstitutionalisation. Duane (2003) defined deinstitutionalisation as process of replacing long-stay psychiatric hospitals with less isolated community mental health services for those diagnosed with mental disorder or developmental disability. These services include, for example, nursing or social work support, home help, day centres, counselling and supported accommodation. The Department of Health expresses the need to promote the development of a personal health plan of individuals, based on who they are, what they want and what their circumstances are. According to DoH, Health is linked to the way people live their lives and the opportunities available to choose health in the communities where they live. There have been major improvements in health and life expectancy over the last century and on the most basic measures, people are living longer than ever before (DoH report, 2005). Rogers A and Pilgrim D (2001) stated that the ideological commitment to community care was associated with vague idea of achieving an ideal society, prior to it being effected as a practical reality. Similarly Titmuss in the 1960s suggested that the notion of community care invented a sense of warmth and human kindness, essentially personal and comforting Titmuss (1968). This early positive view emphasised the idea of leaving the disabling environment of the institution behind and ushering in the enabling possibilities of ordinary living. According to Bulmer (1989), the first use of community care was in the part of mental health, as understanding developed of the negative consequences of institutionalizing mental patients in hospitals, and to discharge the ex-patients and mental handicap hospitals, and to discharge the ex-patients into the community, where they would live in hostel-type accommodation or in their own homes and be cared for by a mixture of professional and personal carers, particularly in day centres and by nursing staff on the one hand and by members of their own families on the other. Community care in the past has always been a mixed economy, financed by both the state and by user charges and provided by voluntary sector organization, commercial, for-profit organization, the state and the family. Alan Walker (1982, 1989) and Roy Parker (1990) have specifically addressed the problem of defining community care and have pointed out that it has been very easy for one persons community care to be anothers institutional care. Community care has been a mixture of policies. To the health service any provision outside the NHS equals community care, therefore institution run by local authorities constitute community care. The mixed economy of community care during the 1960s left wing academics, notably Peter Townsend (1962), made moving request for the deinstitutionalization of elderly and mentally ill people, whereas Titmuss (1968) has already sounded a note of caution when he referred to the way in which the term community care conjured up a sense of warmth and human kindness. All this assumed the main provider of community care to be the state. In some ways, the idea of community care in mental health ran counter to the dominate trend within the NHS after 1948, which until recently, was centralised and hospital-dominated. Bulmer (1989) similarly emphasised that in recent years community care has broad meaning including the goal of providing comprehensive outreach, day and residential services and support for ordinary facilities within the locality. In principal at least community care now extends to social inclusion and the promotion of assess to facilities used by other people living in the community and the right and responsibility of participation in local community acitivties. According to Pilgrim (2001) when the Labour government came to power in 1997, it announced the need for rapid reform of mental health services based on the impression or evidence that care in the community has failed. In 1998, the Health Secretary, Frank Dobson, stated that discharging people from institutions has brought benefits to some. But it has left many vulnerable patients to try and cope on their own. Others have been left to become a danger to themselves and a nuisance to others. A small but significant minority have become a danger to the public as well as themselves. Mind, along with many others, disagreed with the statement that community care had failed. These were based on concerns about control of risky behaviour which led to the spokes enquiry following the killing of a social worker (Isablel Shwartz) in 1984 by patient Sharon Campbell in Bexley Hospital. These were some of the limitations of care discovered and led to recommendation about post-discharge case management DHSS (1998). The report similarly noted the lack of any requirement on the part of services to identify vulnerable patients or provide individualised care plans, and for agencies with responsibilities for mental health to work together. The inquiry into the care of Christopher Clunis was also another reason why the community care needed a reform. Rogers and Pilgrim (2001) explained that inquiry examined the manner in which services failed to respond adequately to Christopher Clunis, a young black man With a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia who stabbed a stranger (Jonathan Zito) at Finsbury Park underground station. This highlighted a number of problems why the Labour government called for the reform of the community care policy because of the inadequate support for in the community with severe mental health problems. In 1999 The Government published the  National Service Framework [NSF] for mental health modern standards and service models for England. The NSF spelled out national standards for mental health services, what they aimed to achieve, how they should be developed and delivered, and how performance would be measured in every part of the country.(DoH Community care is the support by informal and formal carers of the elderly, the disabled and the mentally disordered groups in the community who are usually in their own homes rather than in institutions. According to Bulmer(1989)the ideas with which community care came about is due to the mixture of sociological propositions about the nature of modern community life, including personal ties between relative, friends, and neighbours. The Griffiths Report: Community Care: Agenda for Action Margaret Thatcher invited Sir Roy Griffiths to produce a report on the problems of the NHS. This report was influenced by the ideology of managerialism. That is it was influenced by the idea that problems could be solved by management. According to the report, Griffiths firmly believed that many of the problems facing the Welfare State were caused by the lack of strong effective leadership and management. Because of this previous work, which was greatly admired by the Prime Minister, Griffiths was asked to examine the whole system of community care. In 1988 he produced a report or a Green Paper called Community Care: Agenda for Action, also known as The Griffiths Report. Griffiths intended this plan to sort out the mess in no-mans land. That is the grey area between health and social services. This area included the long term or continuing care of dependent groups such as older people, disabled and the mentally ill. Basically he was saying that community care was not working because no one wanted to accept the responsibility for community care. Community Care: Agenda for Action made six key recommendations for action: Minister of State for Community Care to ensure implementation of the policy it required ministerial authority. Local Authorities should have key role in community care. i.e. Social Work / Services departments rather than Health have responsibility for long term and continuing care. Health Boards to have responsibility for primary and acute care. Specific grant from central government to fund development of community care. Specified what Social Service Departments should do: assess care needs of locality, set up mechanisms to assess care needs of individuals, on basis of needs design flexible packages of care to meet these needs Promote the use of the Independent sector: this was to be achieved by social work departments collaborating with and making maximum use of the voluntary and private sector of welfare. Social Services should be responsible for registration and inspection of all residential homes whether run by private organisations or the local authority. The majority of long term care was already being provided by Social Services, but Griffiths idea was to put community nursing staff under the control of local authority rather than Health Boards. This never actually happened. The Griffiths Report on Community Care seemed to back local government whereas, the health board reforms in the same period, actually strengthened central government control. rewor According to the Mind, In 1989 the government published its response to the Griffiths Report in the White Paper Caring for People. It set out a framework for changes to community care, which included a new funding structure for social care. This would mark the beginning of the purchaser/provider split whereby social services departments were encouraged to purchase services provided by the independent sector. The report promoted the development of domiciliary, day care and respite services to enable people to live as independently as possible in their own homes. Other objectives included quality initiatives around assessment of need and case management. Carers needs were addressed by prioritising practical support initiatives for them. The next decade saw a dramatic increase in the number of voluntary and private sector service providers. The impact of the community care reforms The community care reforms outlined in the 1990 Act have been in operation since April 1993 Glennester, (1996).They have been evaluated but no clear conclusions have been reached. A number of authors have been highly critical of the reforms. Hadley and Clough (1996) claim the reforms have created care in chaos (Hadley and Clough 1996) They claim the reforms have been inefficient, unresponsive, offering no choice or equity. Other authors however, are not quite so pessimistic. Means and Smith (1998) claim that the reforms: introduced a system that is no better than the previous more bureaucratic systems of resource allocation were an excellent idea, but received little understanding or commitment from social services as the lead agency in community care the enthusiasm of local authorities was undermined by vested professional interests, or the service legacy of the last forty years health services and social services workers have not worked well together and there have been few multidisciplinary assessments carried out in reality little collaboration took place except at senior management level the reforms have been undermined by chronic underfunding by central government the voluntary sector was the main beneficiary of this attempt to develop a mixed economy of care The Care Programme Approach (CPA ) According to Rogers and Pilgrim (2001) there was a light with the introduction of the Care Programme Approach in 2001. It introduced an attempt to improve and standardise the delivery of community care services. The CPA set out a practice framework for health authorities in England, giving guidance on how they should fulfil their duties as laid out in the National Health Service (NHS) and Community Care Act 1990. The programme contained four key elements namely, Arrangement for assessing the health and social needs of recipients of specialist mental health services, The regular use of care plan that identified which provider was responsible for different aspects of a persons care Key worker who would monitor and co-ordinate care for the individual Regular review and if appropriate changes to the care plan. Through the introduction of the CPA, patients identified at risk have been required to be kept on supervision register (DH, 1995). The idea was that all patients in contact with services would be subject to CPA but that some require greater scrutiny and service input. Pilgrim et al stated that the Labour government inherited this method in 1997 and continued to endorse it as the mainstay of good quality community-based management for people with mental health disorder, despite the concept of community care being problematic by health ministers and controversial cases such as that of Christopher Clunis. Social inclusion Social exclusion occurs when,  marginalised by society, people are not able  play a full and  equal part in their community.  Many people who experience mental distress experience stigma and discrimination, and live in poverty. They may find it hard to find adequate housing or access employment. The net result is that people can become seriously isolated and excluded from social and working life. Following the publication of the Social Exclusion Units (SEU) report into mental health and social exclusion, the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) have been charged with implementing the 27 action points listed in the SEU report. NIMHE are working on a number of policy areas including employment, education, social networks, housing and homelessness, direct payments, income and benefits. (DoH 1998)

strenght of relational model :: essays research papers

Introduction The first database systems were based on the network and hierarchical models. A database can be defined as a collection of non-redundant data which can be shared by different application systems. A database implies separation of physical storage from use of the data by an application program to achieve program/data independence. Using a database system, the user or programmer or application specialist need not know the details of how the data are stored and such details are usually "transparent" to the user. . These are covered briefly in appendices in the text. The relational model was first proposed by E.F. Codd in 1970 and the first such systems were developed in 1970s. The relational model is now the dominant model for commercial data processing applications. The relational model can be used in both conceptual and logical database design. The basic structure in the model is a table .Tables consists of rows and columns. Relationships in the relational model are represented implicitly through common attributes between different relations. The relational model consist of a relational structure, a set of integrity rules, and data manipulation operations. The relational structure is based on the representation of data in the form of tables. A table contains rows and columns, with each row representing an individual record, and each column representing a field for each record. Tables are related via indirect indexes of primary and foreign keys. The operations that are performed on these tables in order to store, manipulate and access this data include union, intersection, join, division, restriction, projection, assignment, difference, and product. How do you know if the relational model best fits your intended application? An application that requires on-line transaction processing (OLTP) where multiple files are updated simultaneously could benefit from the table structure of the relational model. The relational model provides the ability to quickly insert data into tables. However, when it comes to querying--getting data out of the database--the relational model can be slower because it doesn’t support direct access in multiple joins that are possible with the network model. An RDBMS-based application requires the traversal of indexes to get at related data in other files and this requires additional disk accesses and CPU cycles. The more tables involved and the greater the volume of records in these tables the more time is spent in accessing disk storage to get a result set. But while the relational model has the power to meet heavy-duty OLTP needs--get data into the database--it is also an excellent choice for simpl e databases and for an inexperienced database designer.

Romanticism in El Matadero

Esteban Echeverria, who spent five years in Paris before returning to Buenos Aires in 1830 when he became a political agitator against the tyrant Juan Manuel de Rosas, is credited with bringing romanticism to Spanish America. As a poet, he is remember for his narrative ballad La cautiva, the story of a white girl’s escape from enslavemente by nomadic Indians. Echeverria inaugurated the theme of the pampas as an archetypal landscape – a place of barbarism; but also the crucible of national identity for Argentina. He also wrote El matadero (‘The Slaughterhouse’, 1838), a short satirical prose piece in which a slaughterhouse becomes a powerful symbol of Rosas’s oppression of liberals in Buenos Aires. In 1839, Echeverria helped to found the Asociacion de Mayo, a group of young anti-Rosas activists, many of whom were to become important writers and future liberal leaders of Argentina. The gauchesque genre had its origins during the wars of independence in the River Plate area. It was influenced by the Spanish tradition of the cuadro de costumbres. Gaucho costumbrismo appealed to the romantics because it seemed to reflect a truly American way of life. By transforming the gaucho into an ambivalent national symbol, Echeverria crystallized the problem of national identity which all the Latin American republics would experience. Echeverria's renown as a writer rests largely on his powerful short story El matadero (â€Å"The Slaughterhouse,† written in 1839 but not published until 1871), a landmark in the history of Latin American literature. It is mostly significant because it displays the perceived clash between â€Å"civilization and barbarism†, that is, between the European and the â€Å"primitive and violent† American ways. Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, another great Argentine writer and thinker, saw this clash as the core of Latin American culture. Read in this light, â€Å"The Slaughterhouse† is a political allegory. Its more specific intention was to accuse Rosas of protecting the kind of thugs who murder the cultivated young protagonist at the Buenos Aires slaughterhouse. Rosas and his henchmen stand for barbarism, the slain young man for civilization.

5 Examples of Repetition and Redundancy

5 Examples of Repetition and Redundancy 5 Examples of Repetition and Redundancy 5 Examples of Repetition and Redundancy By Mark Nichol In each of the following sentences, repetition of words or phrases or redundant use of similar terms is easily eliminated, as described in the explanations and shown in the revisions that follow each example. 1. This procedure is called an assay. An assay determines the purity of a precious metal. The repetition in this sentence is suitable for aiding beginning readers in comprehension but is stilted and unsuitable for normal usage. Whenever a word or phrase ending a brief sentence is immediately or almost immediately repeated at the beginning of the next sentence, convert the two sentences to a single statement such as the one shown here: â€Å"This procedure, called an assay, determines the purity of a precious metal.† (If the first sentence is more extensive, revise otherwise to omit repetition of the term.) 2. We often refer to this type of test as purple-team testing. Organizations should utilize testing such as purple-team testing or similar activity to regularly test and refine their defensive posture. In similar constructions in which a repeated word or phrase is not in proximity to the first instance, it is still often a simple matter to omit the repetition: â€Å"We often refer to this type of test as purple team testing. Organizations should utilize such testing or similar activity to regularly evaluate and refine their defensive posture.† 3. Pairing these two departments together creates critical mass to justify infrastructure investments. If the definition of a word implicitly includes a key word or phrase that also appears in the pertinent passage, omit the repetition. In this case, pairing means â€Å"bringing together,† so the inclusion of together creates a redundancy: â€Å"Pairing these two departments creates critical mass to justify infrastructure investments.† 4. Implement steps to measure the success of your data analytics efforts, and also consider the most effective ways to report success and value to management and other key stakeholders. Also is redundant when it immediately follows and: â€Å"Implement steps to measure the success of your data analytics efforts, and consider the most effective ways to report success and value to management and other key stakeholders.† 5. The personal information available in medical records can be used to perform any number of identity-theft tactics for some form of financial gain (e.g., obtaining credit, filing tax returns, etc.). The Latin-derived abbreviations for â€Å"for example† and â€Å"and so on† are redundant; delete one or the other: â€Å"The personal information available in medical records can be used to perform any number of identity-theft tactics for some form of financial gain (e.g., obtaining credit or filing tax returns)† or â€Å"The personal information available in medical records can be used to perform any number of identity-theft tactics for some form of financial gain (obtaining credit, filing tax returns, etc.).† (Note, however, that i.e. means â€Å"that is† and, unlike e.g., is not redundant to etc.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Types of Narrative Conflict55 Boxing Idioms20 Tips to Improve your Writing Productivity

Academic Achievement and Physical Fitness

Academic Achievement and Physical Fitness Introduction Increased levels of obesity and poor health standards among students across the United States (US) has brought a lot of focus to student health and more so, the effects of bad health on academic performance (Chomitz, 2009, p. 30).Advertising We will write a custom thesis sample on Academic Achievement and Physical Fitness specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the debate on the correlation between health and academic performance has long been done and concluded. On the other hand, the debate on the correlation between physical activities (as a major health facet for students) and academic performance is only emerging. The benefits of regular physical exercise have been widely acknowledged throughout health and medical circles. For instance, research studies done on animals have come to a conclusion that physical exercising increases neural development while other closely related similar studies have affirmed that physi cal exercising leads to a greater development of neuronal synapses (Grissom, 2005, p. 1). Increased physical activity has also been affirmed to reduce stress levels and equally reduce anxiety, not only among students but also in the general human population as well. These factors have been associated with increased academic performance. In fact, there has been evidence of upcoming research studies suggesting that the lack of physical exercise or inactivity may in the near future overtake the detrimental effects tobacco is known to have on human beings (Grissom, 2005, p. 1). Some sections of the media have also identified that survivors of cancer have a higher likelihood of preventing the occurrence of the disease if they regularly exercise and observe a healthy diet. These findings are likely to develop a new relationship between the learning environment and student cognitive development but more questions still linger on whether the relationship between physical exercises and acade mic achievement can be linked to academic performance when standardized tests are applicable (Kirk, 2006, p. 203).Advertising Looking for thesis on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This point of view is shared by Grissom (2005) who notes that â€Å"Few studies have used standardized fitness measures and standardized test scores in large urban populations or examined the relationship of academic achievement and fitness among elementary and middle school students† (p. 3). However, the same level of optimism about physical exercising in the media and health circles is not evidenced in the educational field as it is in other disciplines as well. In fact, in educational circles, physical education is seen as an extracurricular activity and if there is increased pressure on teachers to improve academic results, often, physical education is the first to be cut-back so that more time is created for ot her academic activities. Many researchers are against this sort of trend because they explain that if physical education exposes a positive correlation with academic excellence, then it would no longer be perceived as an extra curricular activity (Grissom, 2005, p. 1). This study essentially relies on this point of view because apart from the obvious health benefits associated with physical education, there is still a direct link it has to academic excellence. There have been very minimal research done to establish the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement and those that exist have significant methodology problems that eventually result in the occurrence of significant doubts about their findings. Those that have had a conclusive finding have however suffered the problem of obtaining credible data to support their arguments and therefore their conclusions are not as strong as they should be.Advertising We will write a custom thesis sample on Academic Achievement and Physical Fitness specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Nonetheless, one of the main factors why many researchers have hit a dead-end in establishing the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement is because of the fact that it is difficult to obtain valid and reliable measures for both physical fitness and academic excellence. Because of this challenge, this study will make use of the state testing criteria for both variables (academic achievement and physical fitness). From the understanding of the relationship between academic excellence and physical exercise, educationists can therefore be directed on the best channels to direct their resources. Considering the importance of this study in the establishment of positive academic outcomes in schools, this study establishes that there is a positive correlation between physical exercising and academic achievement. Importance of Understanding the Study Understand ing the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement is very important for educationists and parents alike because it ensures they are aware of the dynamics that relate to the two variables and how it may affect students and children respectively. Teachers and educationists may find the information quite useful in drawing up an effective program that basically integrates both variables for optimum results (Science Daily, 2010, p. 4). In other words, they can be able to easily strike a balance between physical and academic activities for optimum results. This also entails facilitating the development of the right program mixes and policy balances which are overly sensitive to the upheaval of education standards. Also considering most educators are normally under immense pressure to improve academic performance in light of scarce educational resources, this study’s findings are likely to point such people in the right direction by identifying possible areas of effective resource allocation that will consequently lead to the proper utilization of academic resources (Science Daily, 2010, p. 4). Time is one such resource and many schools are often faced with the dilemma of allocating time to the most productive functional areas of education.Advertising Looking for thesis on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More From the understanding of the contribution physical education brings to academic performance, time can therefore be allocated to physical education if it is established that it has a significant contribution to academic performance, or on the contrary, time can be cut back if it is established that it does not have a significant contribution to academic performance. Since most educators have often been criticized for not providing holistic education and only focused on academic performance, the findings of this study will be useful to educators and policy makers in establishing the extent through which physical education will affect academic performance because physical fitness is an element of learning that encompasses a holistic education demanded by most people (Science Daily, 2010, p. 4). Moreover, its impact on academic performance will be accurately quantified because academic performance is normally perceived to be the pinnacle of education and most learning institutions woul d not compromise it if they do not have a correct assessment of the impact physical education has on it (academic success). Moreover, in today’s current era of increased competition, many learning institutions have been observed to cut back on the time allocated to physical education in order to have a competitive advantage over others institutions and so the information derived from this study will be useful to learning institutions which do not intend to take this strategy while still uphold good academic performance (Science Daily, 2010, p. 4). Literature Review The concern about children health has been a new issue of concern not only in educational circles but also in social circles. More so, there have been increased concerns about the increased rate of obesity among children and new research studies presented at the American’s Heart Association forum suggest that physical health concerns among students is correlated to the level of academic achievement (Cottrell , 2010). There have been closely related research studies done by Cottrell, an educational researcher at Wood County in America who was trying to establish the relationship between body mass index and academic performance. He suggested that students who had better grades (above average) in Mathematics, science and social studies were in an overall good physical state of fitness while those who were not in good physical fitness (in a period of two years) performed poorly in academics for the two years studied (Chomitz, 2009, p. 30). In affirmation of his findings, he explained that The take-home message from this study is that we want our kids to be fit as long as possible and it will show in their academic performance (Cottrell, 2010, p. 31). He further reiterated that But if we can intervene on those children who are not necessarily fit and get them to physically fit levels, we may also see their academic performance increase (Cottrell, 2010, p. 32). In complementing these findings , auxiliary studies (still done by Cottrell) suggested that students who regularly took part in physical exercises were bound to have a very vibrant adulthood (Cottrell, 2010). In response to these findings, it was established by the American heart association that students should do at least an hour of physical exercising a day so that they are in fit position to enhance their youth and improve their academic performance altogether (Science Daily, 2010). In summing their findings, Medical News (2011) concluded that â€Å"The study suggests that focusing more on physical fitness and physical education in school would result in healthier, happier and smarter children† (p. 11). However, studies done by Grissom (2005) expose an interesting underlying premise behind this positive correlation. In detail, he exposes the fact that the positive correlation between physical fitness and academic success is strongest among female students than males (Grissom, 2005). In the same manner, he observes that the positive correlation between physical fitness and academic achievement is also more evident among higher socioeconomic status than lower strata. Grissom was also involved in another co relational research study presented in the year 2005 and aimed at investigating the relationship between academic achievement and physical fitness. The research study affirmed that, there was a strong relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement (California Department of Education, 2005, p. 1). This conclusion sought to validate previous research findings which also established the positive correlation between physical fitness and academic achievement. The study was done with the knowledge that, previous studies established a positive relationship between academic achievement and physical fitness but it was nevertheless done because previous research evidence acknowledged a missing causal relationship between the two variables. To support the research’s fi ndings, data relating to a previous physical fitness test undertaken in the state of California during the year 2004 were used. The data used was obtained from the Fitnessgram test which is the standard California test used to evaluate students’ fitness levels. The test was administered from February to May of the year 2004 and it was administered to a large sample size of students sought from fifth, seventh and ninth grades. The students were sought from selected public schools in the state of California. With regards to the subject areas studied and the administration time-frame, California Department of Education (2005) explains that, â€Å"The CST scores were measures of academic achievement in English–language arts, mathematics, history–social science, and science. The CSTs were administered in spring 2004 to students in the second grade through the eleventh grade in California public schools† (p. 6). Before the test was undertaken, the demographical information of the respondents was collected according to the requirements of two testing programs used in the study (PFT and CST). The demographic data was used to create matching files to be equated to the various testing criteria of the PFT and CST. The files which posed a matching score had to have data relating to a respondent’s fitnessgram test and the CST test. In this regard, it was easier to compare data relating to PFT and CST. However, the PFT score determined six aspects of a respondent’s fitness including â€Å"the aerobic capacity, body composition, abdominal strength, trunk strength, upper body strength and flexibility† (California Department of Education, 2005, p. 7). These parameters abound, the performance of the respondents was determined in two levels, â€Å"(1) in the healthy fitness zone, which means students met or exceeded the fitness target, or (2) needs improvement, which means students failed to meet the fitness target† (Califo rnia Department of Education, 2005, p. 10). The PFT scores therefore ranged from zero to six, meaning that, if a respondent scored one on the fitness score, he or she would only have satisfied one of the fitness criteria. In the same regard, if a respondent scored six on the fitness score, he or she should have satisfied all the fitness criteria guidelines. In finalizing the methodological application of the research, California Department of Education (2005) establishes that: â€Å"Analyses first calculated the mean scale scores for the CST in English–language arts and the CST in mathematics for each overall PFT score. Second, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and linear regression was used to test the statistical significance of the relationship between the overall PFT and achievement scores† (p. 10). From the above methodology, it was established that, when the PFT scores improved, there was a resultant improvement in the scores of English language test. It was further e stablished that, for students who did not meet the average scale score of the English language, a score of 311 was recorded on the fitness scale (for fifth graders), while students from the seventh and ninth graders who also satisfied the above requirements scored and average of 300 and 304 ( for seventh and ninth graders respectively). Moreover, the California Department of Education (2005) establishes that: â€Å"The average scale score on the CST in English–language arts for fifth-grade students who achieved all six fitness standards was 355. The same scale score for seventh and ninth graders was 350 and 352, respectively. The change in average scale scores on the CST in English–language arts from those who achieved none of the fitness standards to those who achieved all six was around 50 points† (p. 12). These test results showed that, there was a positive relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement because as one variable increased, so di d the other. The mathematics scale scores showed nothing different with the English studies because as the PFT studies improved, the CST scale scores improved as well. This result shows that, there was a strong consistency in the results evidenced from mathematics and English test scores. However, in determining this outcome, it is important to acknowledge that, the analysis of variance and linear regression was important in establishing the statistical validity of the findings. In undertaking the research study, there was concern among the researchers to investigate if there were any significant variations in the character of the respondents (which would ultimately affect the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement) (California Department of Education, 2005, p. 16). In this regard, the population sample was later broken down into subgroups of girls and boys. It was later established that, there was a consistency of outcome in determining the relationship betw een physical fitness and academic achievement because the relationship between fitness and academic achievement was consistent across the genders. However, though this relationship was considered solid up to this point, it was evidenced that, the change in achievement scores was greater for girls than for boys. Socioeconomic status was also used as a parameter for establishing the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement and the National school lunch program acted as a proxy for the parameter. Through this proxy, it was established that, students who received free lunch came from a lower socioeconomic status and those who did not, came from a higher socioeconomic status. The same positive relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement was still observed under this parameter but it was established that the rate of scores in academic achievement was greater for students who were under the National school lunch program as compared to those who were not (California Department of Education, 2005, p. 14). The outcome of the study was predictably similar for mathematics and English test scores and in the same manner, the results of seventh and fifth graders were consistent with the results of the fifth graders. Collectively, the results showed that, the positive relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement was stronger for girls than for boys and in the same manner, it was stronger for students from a higher socioeconomic status than for students from a lower socioeconomic status. The biggest strength for the conclusions derived from this study emanates from the fact that, the researchers used the analysis of variance and linear regression as a test of the statistical variance of the conclusions derived. Both linear regression and the analysis of variance helped validate the data derived from the findings because linear regression in isolation implements a statistical model that when relationships between indepe ndent and dependent relationships almost develop a linear relationship, optimal results will be achieved, but in the same manner, linear relationships can be inappropriatekly used to model nonlinear relationships if caution is not taken. Grissom was also involved in another co relational research study (cited in Grissom, 2005) aimed at investigating the relationship between academic achievement and physical fitness. The objective of this research study was the same as the previous research study cited in this article because it was aimed at evaluating the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement although different parameters were used. For instance, although the study used the Fitnessgram test, scores derived from this measure was compared to the standard achievement test which is an independent from of standardized test used to evaluate student performance. The respondents were also fifth, seventh and ninth graders, just like the previous study, but they amoun ted to 884,174 students, which was a large sample size for the study. The students were selected from California public schools through the state requirements for the Fitnessgram test. The large population sampled is a great strength of the study because it is affirmed that, large samples of study add to the credibility of the conclusion to be derived from a study because they expose a lot of variations in the conclusions derived. Moreover, there are less chances of error occurrence when large samples are used. Another strength evidenced from this study is the fact that, it relied on the Fitnessgram test which is guaranteed by the California law as credible and accurate. In fact, Grissom (2005) explains that: â€Å"†¦During the month of February, March, April, or May, the governing board of each School district maintaining any of grades five, seven and nine shall administer to each pupil in those grades the physical performance test designated by the state board of educationâ €  (p. 19). These regulations expose the fact that, the Fitnessgram scores were consistent and standardized. Moreover, the Fitnessgram test has several options which ensure that performance tasks are effectively completed with ease. For example, it offered unique features to ensure even disabled students are able to complete the task; the same way, other students do. This feature ensured that, the conclusion derived from the study was holistic. In this study, the Fitnessgram test was used to measure five fitness aspects: â€Å"aerobic capacity, body composition, flexibility, trunk strength, and upper body strength† (Grissom, 2005, p. 19). In obtaining accurate data for the above parameters, the Fitnessgram test was designed to collect data by requiring students to complete â€Å"one option from aerobic capacity, one option from body composition, the curl-up test, the trunk lift test, one option from upper body strength and one option from flexibility† (Grissom, 2005 , p. 19). To add to the strengths of the findings obtained from this research study, it is important to acknowledge that, the standards envisioned in the Fitnessgram test were validated by the Cooper institute of Aerobics research with the performance classified into two divisions: where students met the healthy division target and where the students failed to meet the fitness target (Grissom, 2005, p. 20). The score ranged from zero to six; whereby zero meant no target was reached and six meant all targets were attained. In collecting data regarding the Fitnessgram test, PFT and STAR programs were used. As a result, matched files were created; whereby data regardiong the matched files were used to account for the PFT scores and standardized achievement scores. The standardized test came in handy during the collection of demographical information regarding the respondents because information such as the birth date and gender were clearly documented. However, in the collection of suc h demographical data, there was a slight possibility of the occurrence of errors as is explained by Grissom (2005) that: â€Å"As such, these data were used to evaluate the relationship between overall scores on the PFT and the standardized achievement tests. There could be errors in the matching process but there was no reason to believe matching errors biased the results† (p. 20). The study also established that, the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement was consistently positive; meaning that, as the scores in the fitness scale improved, the scores in the academic scale also improved. The researchers also did a subgroup study on the different demographical parameters of the sample population and consequently came up with socioeconomic status and gender as the defining parameters. The criteria to segregate the population along socioeconomic lines was the same as the previous 2005 study mentioned in this article because it was established that, stude nts who enrolled in the school lunch feeding program was from a lower socioeconomic status and those who did not, were from a higher socioeconomic status. In this regard, the study established that, the intensity of the relationship between academic achievement and physical fitness was stronger for female respondents than male respondents and therefore, in the same manner; the relationship was stronger in higher socioeconomic groups as opposed to lower socioeconomic groups. Nonetheless, the researchers identified that: â€Å"there may be other mental aspects attributed to the improvement in academic performance than just physical fitness. The average test score by way of PFT was an average of the indicator relationship between fitness and achievement but to validate the statistical significance of the findings, the analysis of variance was used to validate the relationship between overall PFT score and the achievement scores† (Grissom, 2005, p. 21). Only students who had comp lete sores on the PFT tests had their results tabulated because there would have been some inconsistencies observed in the conclusions if there were test results below six included in the findings. If this was done, it would mean that, there would be incomplete test scores included in the study and this would have dented the validity of the study because the minimal competency for the study would not have been attained. ANOVA tests affirmed that there was a statistically significant relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement. However, it was acknowledged that, this positive correlation was also subject to other variables not mentioned in the study. For example, it was established that the positive correlation between physical fitness and academic achievement in students from higher socioeconomic groups could have been brought about by the fact that, children from a higher socioeconomic status have better health, hail from a background of higher academic achieveme nt and generally live in better human conditions which probably contribute to their better physical fitness levels (Grissom, 2005). On the other hand, students who hail from a lower socioeconomic status are more likely to suffer family turmoil, and their households are bound to be more unstable when compared to students hailing from a higher socioeconomic status. Such students are also likely to live in deplorable conditions which ultimately affect their health and have less social supportive networks. Generally, they are also likely to have less cognitive enriching environments because of a collection of the above factors or a combination of two or more factors (Grissom, 2005, p. 22). In the same regard, it was established that, despite the positive correlation between physical fitness and academic achievement, causality cannot be established from this relationship. Grissom (2005) explains that: â€Å"There was no time or logical ordering that automatically leads from one event to the other. It is just as logical to believe that mental capacity affects physical ability. For example, there is evidence that mental stress can lower the effectiveness of the immune system† (p. 21). From this analysis, it was affirmed that, the study only represented a preliminary analysis into the relationship existing between academic achievement and physical fitness but it was also affirmed that the study’s findings presented a good ground for the development of future models and theories defining the relationship between academic achievement and physical fitness. Experimental designs were also identified to fail to expose the causality underlying various co relational relationships because they were assumed to be premature and bound to fail to expose the underlying factors affecting the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement. This fact was supported by the assumption that, it was extremely difficult to increase academic achievement in subse quent time-frames (Grissom, 2005). Nonetheless, these insights were not an argument against experimental designs because conclusively, the study established that, there was a positive relationship between academic achievement and physical fitness. Other research studies done to dig deeper into the specific areas of academic achievement showed that academic achievement was noted to improve most in mathematics and science subjects. In the same studies it was established that there was no significant improvement in performance of subjects other than the two. For instance, in Canada it was established that an increase of physical exercises of one hour each day resulted in a significant improvement in mathematics scores for second, third, fourth, fifths and sixth graders (Chomitz, 2009, p. 35). It was also established that there was no significant changes of academic performance in other subject areas. However, for some reason, the studies caution users from making direct conclusions abo ut the positive correlation between physical exercising and mathematics. New York City’s health department has also reiterated the fact that physically fit students are bound to outperform their colleagues who are sedentary when it comes to academic performance. These findings had been derived from research studies evaluating the relationship among high school students using the state’s test measurement criterion the NYC Fitnessgram (Harutyunyan, 2009, p. 1). The study was necessitated by the rising obesity levels among children in New York. The statistics exposed that about 21% of students at kindergarten level (all through to the 8th grade) were obese and comprehensively, it was estimated that the city’s total student population had an obesity prevalence rate of approximately 18% (Harutyunyan, 2009, p. 1). It was estimated that children who highly performed on both variables in the NYC fitness score tremendously outperformed those who got a poor score in the fitness program scale. The difference was characterized by 36 percentile points (Harutyunyan, 2009, p. 1). After it was established that there was a positive correlation between physical activities and academic excellence, the city’s educational administrators decided to sensitize parents on the benefits of eating healthy foods and allocating at least 60 minutes a day of their children’s time to exercising. A number of activities were identified as appropriate exercises parents could encourage their children to engage in (they included, cycling, dancing skipping the rope, playing basketball or even taking a simple walk). Among these factors, a host of other recommendations were identified to be helpful in improving the students’ activity levels. They included limiting the time students spent on the computers (and more so the internet). This also included television and video game use. The second recommendation advanced to parents was to prepare healthy foods for their children such as vegetables, and fruits, at least two times a day. It was also recommended that the children should not drink beverages that have a lot of calories like sodas or juice; instead they should consume low-fat milk and water. Parents were also advised to encourage their children to avoid unhealthy foods and consider the healthy foods and diets provided at school The above findings can be explained by Scheuer (2003, p. 3) who identifies the fact that physical exercises significantly boost students’ brain nourishment, and revitalizes the students’ brain function to eventually increase the student’s ability to perform well in cognitive learning exercises. Complimentary findings have also established that physical exercising among students increases students’ self-esteem, concentration and encourages better behavior, thereby leading to an increased positive attitude among students who fall within this category (Bailey, 2000, p. 75). However, there has not been a strong relationship established to link the above mentioned factors with excellent academic performance, although it is presumed that students with a high self-esteem, better behavior and high concentration levels are likely to perform better than those who do not share the same attributes. However, it has been affirmed that physical exercising is bound to increase academic achievement more effectively in the short run rather than the long run. Interesting studies done on older adults note that physical activity is likely to increase cognitive function among this group of students in the same way it does younger students (Scheuer, 2003, p. 3). This observation therefore explains the findings observed by Cottrell because it was further established that physical exercising was bound to increase brain attributes which facilitated increased cerebral blood flow in the brain (which obviously complimented cognitive learning) (Corbin, 2010, p. 64). In addition, it was also established that increased physical exercising was bound to improve hormonal imbalance and therefore instances of better nutritional intake among students was bound to be boosted. This observation was seconded by research studies cited in (Medical News, 2011) which suggested that a trio of studies presented at the 2001 Society for Neuroscience Conference suggest that regular exercise can improve cognitive function and increase levels of substances in the brain responsible for maintaining the health of neurons (p. 2). These findings are also supported by other similar findings by Darla Castelli, an American professor in Illinois (cited in Medical News, 2011) who establishes that â€Å"students’ total fitness, as measured by passing all 5 components of the Fitnessgram, positively correlated with academic achievement, measured by the standardized Illinois State Achievement Test, particularly Mathematics and Science† (p. 5). Brain functions were further identified to significantly improve due to increased physical exercises because there were increased instances of energy generation brought about by physical exercises because physical exercises provided a break from the boring classroom environment, therefore resulting in higher attention levels among students. In conclusion to these findings, Medical News (2011) recommends that: â€Å"Enhanced brain function, energy levels, body builds/perceptions, self-esteem, and behavior have been attributed to physical activity and to improved academic performance. One cannot make direct correlations from the information offered. However it is obvious that many positive relationships have been suggested. Perhaps instead of decreasing physical activity, school officials should consider developing enhanced physical activity programs† (p. 3). Studies done by John Gardner centre (cited in Gardner, 2009, p. 1) also show a positive correlation between physical fitness and academic performance based on demo graphical factors. Comprehensively, they identify that students who managed to pass the California Physical fitness test also showed a similar higher performance in the state’s standardized test (Rahl, 2010, p. 81). It was further established that the positive relationship exhibited between physical exercising and positive academic outcomes did not start at the time the studies were done, but at a year before the studies were undertaken. Moreover, upon close follow-up of the research, it was established that the same observations were evidenced throughout the academic life of the studied students (Gardner, 2009, p. 1). Since the study was undertaken within two years, it was affirmed that students who showed increased physical activity between their fifth and seventh grades showed a significant increase in academic achievement as well, but the opposite was observed with students whose physical fitness declined within the two year period. However, it was established that the ac ademic achievement observed among highly fit students was only evident when general fitness was studied and not a specific fitness measure (Gardner, 2009, p. 1). Regardless of the conclusions derived from the above findings, it should not be assumed that physical fitness is the magical solution to students who do not enjoy high academic performance (Biddle, 2008, p. 186). For instance, students who take part in academic programs hampered by limited facilities cannot enjoy high academic excellence even if they are physically fit. To reiterate this sentiment, Biddle (2008) notes that â€Å"We’re not suggesting that if we run more laps it will make us smarter†¦but there does appear to be a correlation† (p. 4). This fact therefore implies that academic achievement is just one segment of the academic achievement puzzle. Because of the interesting intrigues about physical fitness and academic achievement, it is affirmed that a number of strategies can be adopted to impr ove students’ fitness even though a learning institution may be faced with other educational problems such as a lack of resources. For starters, learning institutions should endeavor to maximize existing opportunities in the school curriculum to improve the physical fitness of the students. This can be achieved by making use of the instructional time available for teachers in effecting physical education through the integration of physical fitness activities with other subject activities (Gardner, 2009, p. 1). This recommendation has been touted by many educationists after it was established that students find the above strategy quite beneficial if the instructional time is used to undertake a given rigorous activity. Another alternative could be revamping the conventional school menu to give room for healthier diets (especially if there is very limited time to allocate for traditional physical exercising). Expanding partnerships between communities and learning institutions has also been advanced as one way through which institutions of learning can provide fitness related programming which is out of the boundaries of normal instructional time (Gardner, 2009, p. 1). The partnerships can be forged with community foundations, organization and even the state, through existing sport programs that may be beneficial to the students. Lastly, learning institutions can pursue a strategy of engaging the community to increase physical activity among the students. The community also includes parental involvement which is very important in the exercise because parents normally wield a lot of control on their children and most of them are also mentors to their children in their own light. Conclusion This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge which identifies that there is a positive correlation between physical fitness and academic achievement. It is also important to note that most of the empirical evidence gathered in this study is derived from a numb er of socioeconomic parameters across the globe, meaning that the same conclusions have been evidenced in a number of places around the world and across a number of demographical strata. There is a stronger evidence of a positive relation between physical fitness and academic achievement when analyzed in a number of subjects but more especially mathematics and sciences. The reason this observation is stronger in this group of subjects is not yet established and perhaps this should be the new frontier for future research studies. Although not many studies bother to touch on the real factors behind the positive relationship between physical exercising and academic performance, there is already speculation among educational circles that personal motivation may be a factor to watch considering physical exercising may actually portray a sense of personal achievement which may be mirrored through academic achievement (Chomitz, 2009, p. 35). This means that students who are highly motivate d at a personal level may as well strive to expose the same in physical exercising as well as academic excellence. Secondly, there has been speculation that physical activity may actually be a mirror of overall fitness of health where factors like nutrition, physical and weight status may actually portray a healthy student and such parameters are likely to lead to high academic achievement. This would essentially mean that academic achievement is probably evidenced because of overall good health as opposed to physical activity per se. In fact, there are already existing research studies exposing the link between good health and high academic achievement where factors like weight status, food sufficiency and such like general health status have been studied. This should be analyzed as its own distinct area of study and therefore its conclusions should not be augmented when analyzing physical fitness as a distinct independent variable. However, it should also be acknowledged that vari ous socioeconomic parameters play a big role in the increase of academic standards. This analysis is important because numerous studies have consistently mentioned the input of a student’s background because it extensively determines students’ academic performance. This also poses as a new area of research considering the relationship between physical fitness and academic performance could be done based on various socioeconomic statuses. Conclusively, this study points out that there is a positive correlation between physical exercising and academic achievement. Expressly, it also identifies how learning institutions can be able to maximize this benefit through partnerships, effective utilization of institutional time and such like factors. Allocating at least an hour a day to physical exercises is a commendable move according to medical experts because it improves brain activity and this consequently leads to an improvement of academic standards. Thus, in light of the positive influences physical activities has on academic progression it is in order to recommend that learning institutions should allocate more time to physical activities to improve educational performance because there is an obvious positive correlation between physical exercising and academic achievement. References Bailey, R. (2000). Teaching Physical Education 5-11. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group. Biddle, S. (2008). Psychology of Physical Activity: Determinants, Well-Being, and  Interventions. London: Routledge. California Department of Education. (2005) A Study of the Relationship Between  Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement in California Using 2004 Test Results. Retrieved from: www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/pf/documents/2004pftresults.doc Chomitz, V. (2009). Is There a Relationship between Physical Fitness And Academic Achievement? Positive Results from Public School Children in the Northeastern United States. Journal of School Health, 79(1), 30-36. Corb in, C. (2010). Fitness for Life: Elementary School Guide for Wellness Coordinators. New York: Human Kinetics. Cottrell. (2010). Students Physical Fitness Associated With Academic Achievement;  Organized Physical Activity. Retrieved from: physorg.com/news186776754.html Gardner, J. (2009). Exploring the Link between Physical Fitness and  Academic Achievement. Retrieved from: http://gardnercenter.stanford.edu/current_initiatives/youth_archive.html Grissom, J. (2005). Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement.  Journal of Exercise Physiology, 8(1), 11-24. Harutyunyan, R. (2009). Physical Fitness Associated With Higher Academic  Achievement. Retrieved from: emaxhealth.com/2/81/32246/physical-fitness-associated-higher-academic-achievement.html Kirk, D. (2006). The Handbook of Physical Education. London: SAGE. Medical News. (2011). Strong Relationship between Kids Academic Achievement And  Fitness. Retrieved from: news-medical.net/news/2004/10/19/5684.aspx Rahl, R. (2010). Physic al Activity and Health Guidelines: Recommendations for Various  Ages, Fitness Levels, and Conditions from 57 Authoritative Sources. New York: Human Kinetics. Scheuer, L. J. (2003). Does Physical Activity Influence Academic Performance?  Retrieved from: sports-media.org/sportapolisnewsletter19.htm Science Daily. (2010). Students Physical Fitness Associated With Academic  Achievement; Organized Physical Activity. Retrieved from: sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100302185522.htm