El Nino Essay -- essays research papers

El Nino Typically, the level of ocean water around the world is higher in the western Pacific and lower in the eastern, near the Western coast of South and North America. This is due primarily to the presence of easterly winds in the Pacific, which drag the surface water westward and raise the thermocline relatively all the way up to the surface in the east and dampen it in the west. During El Nino conditions, however, the easterlies move east, reducing the continuing interaction between wind and sea, allowing the thermocline to become nearly flat and to plunge several feet below the surface of the water, allowing the water to grow warm and expand. With the help of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's weather satellites, tracking shifting patterns of sea-surface temperatures can be made easier. Normally, a "pool" of warm water in the western Pacific waters exists. Under El Nino conditions, this "pool" drifts southeast towards the coast of South America. This is because, in a normal year, there is upwelling on the western South American coastline, and cold waters of the Pacific rise and push westward. However, during an El Nino year, upwelling is suppressed and as a result, the thermocline is lower than normal. Finally, thermocline rises in the west, making upwelling easier and water colder. Air pressures at sea level in the South Pacific seesaw back and forth between two distinct patterns. In the high index phase, also called "Southern Oscillation", pressure is higher near and to the east of Tahiti than farther to the west near Darwin. The east-west pressure difference along the equator causes the surface air to flow westward. When the atmosphere switches into the low index phase, barometers rise in the west and fall in the east, signaling a reduction, or even a reversal the pressure difference between Darwin and Tahiti. The flattening of the seesaw causes the easterly surface winds to weaken and retreat eastward. The "low index" phase is usually accompanied by El Nino conditions. The easterly winds along the equator and the southeasternly winds that blow along the Peru and Ecuador coasts both tend to drag the surface water along with them. The Earth's rotation then deflects the resulting surface currents toward the right (northward) in the... ...rface water. In the presence of sunlight, phytoplankton can produce chlorophyll, a tiny green plant substance. In turn, this substance feeds zooplankton, which in turn feeds higher members of the food chain. During El Nino conditions, the water level rises in the east and lowers in the west, forcing many changes to happen among the plant and animal life. Sea birds in the east must leave their nests, abandoning their young and searching for food which is not there, because the critical upwelling which causes the plankton and other lower members of the food chain to be produced is not there. Water temperature is above normal, and tropical fish are displaced poleward or migrate, along with the anchovy and sardines. On land, the effects produced a great amount of rainfall, making the desert lands into a grassland with lush vegetation and abundant life. Grasshoppers come, fueling toad and bird populations, and the increase in rainfall produces lakes which fish come to inhabit, fish that had migrated upstream during floods produced by the rain and become somehow trapped. In some flooded coastal cities, shrimp production set records. So too did the number of mosquito-borne malaria cases.

Quality Physical Health Education Programme in Nigeria Essay

ABSTRACT The paper focused on the Need for Quality Physical Education (PE) Programme in the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme in Nigeria. It began with an observation on the inadequacy of precious educational systems which gave birth to UBE. Therefore, the paper attempted to answer the question – why there should be quality PE in the school. Furthermore, the paper examined roles of quality PE in the three Education Domains of Motor domain, cognitive domain and affective domain. The challenge of Quality Physical Education in the UBE programme was equally reviewed. The paper concluded that it is only the full implementation of its recommendation that would provide a lasting solution to the challenges of ensuring quality physical education programme in the UBE in Nigeria. INTRODUCTION The previous systems of education that were operated in Nigeria were inadequate to meet the needs for self reliance and rapid economic growth. It was this inadequacy that gave birth to a new one. The Universal Basic Education, Basic education is foundation for sustainable lifelong learning. it provides reading, writing and numeracy skills. The programme provides a wide variety of formal/non-formal educational, activities designed to enable the learner to acquire functional literacy. Basic education in Nigeria context, according to Awosika (2005), includes primary, junior secondary, nomadic and adult literacy education, which focuses on enabling the recipients to live meaningful and fulfilling lives, contribute to the development of the society, and derive maximum social, economic and cultural benefits from the society and discharge their civic obligations competently. WHY QUALITY PHYSICAL EDUCATION? The need for quality Physical Educational Programme offered in the Universal Basic Education (UBE) cannot be over-emphasized. Physical education programme which aims at developing a sound body in readiness for a sound moin has been described by many authors (Adedeji 1998, Ajisafe 1980, Anyanwu 1981, Awosika 1986 and Oyewusi 1992) as education through movement with the body as a vehicle. For several years, one of the goals of all concerned with the physical activity of children has been quality physical education offered daily in our nation’s schools. It is the right of the Nigerian child to be offered quality physical education. According to UNESCO 1978 in Awosika (2005), the International Charter of Physical Education and Sports declares that physical education and sports are fundamental rights for all, and specifically, that: i.Every human has a fundamental right to access physical education and sports which are essential for the full development of personality. The freedom to develop physical, intellectual and moral powers through physical education and sport must be guaranteed both within the education system and in other aspects of social life. ii.Everyone must have full opportunities, in which national traditions of sports, for practicing physical education and sports developing physical fitness and attaining a level of achievement in sport which corresponds to inherent gifts. iii.Special opportunities must be made available for young people, including children of pre-school age, for the aged and for the handicapped to develop their personalities to the full through physical education and sports programmes suited tot their requirements. For these reasons, the physical education curriculum must facilitate achieving National content standards for physical education. To accomplish this, Gallahue and Donnelly (2003) opined that the curriculum should include the following elements: 1.Fitness education and assessment to help children understand, improve, and/or maintain their physical well-being; 2.Instruction in a variety of motor skills that are designed to enhance the physical, mental, social and emotional development of every child; 3.Development of cognitive concepts about motor skills and health enhancing levels of fitness; 4.Opportunities to develop social and cooperative skills and gain a multicultural perspective. 5.Involvement of all children activities that provide maximum amounts of appropriate physical activity. QUALITY PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND THE EDUCATIONAL DOMAINS Any educational programme that does not contribute meaningfully to the educational domains is considered deficient and needs to be restructured. Physical education is sensitive to the motor, cognitive and affective domains and should be viewed as a subject, like any other that makes meaningful and measurable contributions to all three domains. Each of the domains will be looked at briefly in the following paragraphs: MOTOR DOMAIN The motor domain is the basis for the motor skill themes of the physical education programme. Motor development, according to Ayodele (2005), is a progressive change in one’s movement bahaviour brought about by interaction of the movement task with the biology of the individual and the conditions of the learning environment. In other words, one’s unique hereditary make up, along with specific environmental conditions combined with the requirements of the task itself to determine the rate and extents of the movement skill acquisition and fitness enhancement. Quality physical education programme, therefore, will help all children make adaptive change toward increased motor control and movement competence. This is achieved by involving the children in movement activities that are both appropriate to their age and development. COGNITIVE DOMAIN Physical education does not only make unique contribution to the acquisition of movement skills and physical fitness enhancement; it also makes meaningful contributions to the cognitive aspect of children’s development. Cognitive learning is a progressive change in the ability to act Bredenkamp, 1992 in Ayodele, 2005). Cognitive concept of learning can be effectively taught through movement, that is, active participation in activities. Usually, participation in most, if not all physical activities, begins in mind. The participants must first have a concept of the action, think and reason it out before the action. Considering the swiftness with which most physical education activities are performed, one can only imagine the beneficial tasking effect on the cognitive development. It is interesting to note too, that, movement often meets the needs and interest of children more than classroom activities that are less active. When a child is actively participating in a game that is teaching academic concepts, her attention is not easily diverted by extraneous stimuli (Ayodele, 2005). Also, many of today’s children under value academic achievement but have high regard for physical performance. AFFECTIVE DOMAINS An important outcome of any quality physical education programme is enhancement in the affective domain. Affective growth is learning that increased the ability of children to act, interact and react effectively with other people as well as with themselves. Affective growth is often referred to as â€Å"social – emotional development†. Physical education programme provide ample opportunity for interaction and the development of feelings (emotion) for others. CHALLENGES OF QUALITY PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN THE UBE PROGRAMME Quality physical education uses the gymnasium, playing fields as learning laboratory and numerous consumable equipment and supplies that calls for adequate funding. These are lacking in most of the schools. Quality physical education calls for teachers who are dedicated to children’s learning. it is not a â€Å"throw out the ball† programme or some form of glorified recess period. Gallaheu and Donnelly (2003) opined that if children are to realize the full potential of physical education, then, the physical education must continue to strive for quality physical education programmes offered daily. It has been also observed that Nigerian children are frequently unable to take advantage of the many benefits of vigorous physical activities because of poor or non existence of physical education programmes, sedentary life style and erroneous assumption that children by the very nature of being children get plenty of physical activity. As a result, low levels of physical fitne ss and movement skill attainment are all common. Pate (1995) opined that schools should offer physical education programmes, which provide and promote physical activity at every opportunity. Physical education and the school curriculum is another area of challenge. Though physical education has been formally entrenched into the UBE curriculum, effective teaching still leaves much to be desired. Findings have shown that many schools do not teach physical education as it should be taught, while some do not even teach it at all. Ajisafe (1991) attested to this claim that the periods of physical education are often used by children to work outside the class room either to clean the school premises or school farm. Lack of qualified physical education teachers is another challenge. Qualified Physical Education teachers have a lot of role to play in the school PE programme. They teach physical education, organize and administer intramural and extramural sports and they form the cream of the administrators of school sports. If physical education teachers are not adequate, non specialists in physical education cannot properly carry out these functions. Lack of motivation of physical education teachers and athletes; irregular intra-mural and extra-mural sports at school levels and many other challenges need to be urgently addressed to ensure quality PE programme in the school. RECOMMENDATION The following recommendations are put forward towards ensuring quality physical education programme in the Universal Basic Education in Nigeria. More so, school sports (intra-mural and extra-murals) is a forum to practicalize what has been learnt during physical education lessons, it is then imperative that the UBE programme should ensure that PE is properly taught in every school by: (i)Adequate funding of PE and sports programmes; (ii)Employment of adequate and qualified Physical Education teachers for the schools; (iii)Provision of sports and PE facilities, equipment and other supplies; (iv)Resuscitation of the annual intra-mural sports and the extra-mural sports; (v)The PE specialists should be abreast of the latest research, issues and trends in the field through ongoing professional development; (vi)Physical education classes should contain about 25 students per class in order to enhance effective teaching. CONCLUSION Every human being has a fundamental right to participate in sport and physical activity of their choice (UNESCO, 1978). For the children and youth, physical education should be taught in the schools by qualified teachers (Eoulon, 1994). It is only the full implementation of these and lasting solution to the challenges that would ensure quality physical education programmed in the Universal Basic Education in Nigeria. REFERENCES Adedeji, J.A. (1998). Physical Education in Educational Institutions in Nigeria. International Journal of Physical Education. (15) 4 Ajisafe, M.O. (1980). Teaching Physical and Health Education, Macmillan Nigeria Publishers Ltd. Yaba, Lagos. Ajisafe, M.O. (1991). Physical Education in the Service of Mankind (unpublished manuscript). Anyanwu, S.U. (1981). Secondary School Physical Education: Implications for the Development of Sports In Nigeria. The JONA PHER, (2), 2. Awosika, Yomi (1986). It pays to play: With Recreation During Economic Recession. In Afisafe (Ed) Recreation and National Awareness. 73-77 Awosika, Yomi (2005). Collaborative Roles of Physical Health Education and Sports in the Effective Implementation of Universal Basic Education Programmmme. In Omolawan, K.O (Ed) Journal Of Sports Management and Education Research (1), 2:1-20. Ayodele, I.R. (2005). Need for Quality Developmental Physical Education Offered Daily in the Programme. In Omolawam, K.O. (Ed); Journal of Sport s Management and Educational Research (1), 2 121-127. Coulon, S.C. (1994). Elementary Physical Education: A Rural School Districts Perspective Rural Educator, (3) 15: 13-17. Gallahue, D.L. & Donnelly, F.C. (2003). Developmental Physical Education for all Children (3rd), China: Human Kinetics Oyewusi, J.A. (1992). Using Physical Education as a Therapeutic Weapon. Sports Science and Medicine, (2), 1; 307-328. Pate, R.R. (1995). Recent Statements and Initiatives on Physical Activity and Health Question 47:304-310. UNESCO (1993). International Charter of Physical Education and Sports. UNESCO, Paris, France: Eric Document: 370-901.

Movie Analysis Zero Dark Thirty By Kathryn Bigelow

In 2015 an American Values survey administered by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) revealed startling data concerning American s view of Muslims. According to the survey, A majority (56 percent) of Americans agree that the values of Islam are at odds with American values and way of life, while roughly four in ten (41 percent) disagree... In 2011, Americans were divided in their views of Islam (47 percent agreed, 48 percent disagreed) (Jones). This survey demonstrates that in the last couple of years, Americans perception of Muslims has declined. Several factors could be contributing to this decline, including Islamophobic rhetoric and images found in American film and journalistic media. These negative images further†¦show more content†¦Later on, several other attacks are shown such as the May 29, 2004, attack on Westerners and non-Muslims in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, the July 7, 2005, London bus bombing, and the May 1, 2010, New York Times Square attempted car bombing. Several attacks affect Maya, who is shot at by Al Qaida terrorists while trying to leave her home and her CIA co-workers. One of such was the September 20, 2008, car bomb attack at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan where Maya and Jessica a fellow CIA analyst were socializing after work. Later, Jessica dies in the December 30, 2009, Camp Chapman car bomb explosion where she was supposed to meet with an informant who had classified information on the whereabouts of Bin Laden s trusted courier. The portrayal of these terrorist attacks serves as a reminder to the audience of how bad they were consequently causing the film to appear more realistic. One of the central and most controversial aspects of Zero Dark Thirty is the usage and depiction of enhanced interrogation to gather information on the whereabouts of Al Qaida members. At the beginning of the film the first visual viewers have is a beaten Middle Eastern prisoner named Ammar surrounded by people in black masks in a dark building. Jack walks into the room and says, I own you, Ammar, you belong to me. Throughout the film, various methods of torture are used, including prolonged periodsShow MoreRelatedMovie Analysis : Hollywood 3558 Words   |  15 Pageslandscape spread had at least fifteen independent studios move to Hollywood. By 1915, America was officially film crazed, and Hollywood was shaping into the glamorous, sometimes surreal landscape we have come to know and love today. From the first movie projections at the end of the nineteenth century, cinema was hailed as a mode of preservation, a hedge against death itself, preserving for future generations not only the images but also the actions of people now long dead. The twentieth century is