Human Movement Essay Example for Free

Human Movement Essay Kinesiology, plainly put is the study of human movement and all aspects to it. It is the science of human movement. It is comprehensive in its outlook in that it looks at being part of the physical activity (the experience), class room study of the theories and concepts that make an activity qualify as physical (scholarly) and the professional practice connected with physical practice (Hoffman, 2009). It looks at the muscles-their make up and how they contribute to human movement, the skeleton-make up and contribution to human movement, and the brain in the same context as the previous two. It makes a practitioner of Kinesiology understand human movement from all angles – the why, what, when and which. Method: Since this study entails all aspects of the human movement, so to does its learning. The use of a high school football team was to allow sight of human movement in real time from a passive position. It brought in play the subjectivity of the human mind in the observational data collection aspect of the research. By its very nature football is a contact sport. It thus presented the research with the best tool to observe the different components that constitute human movement. The preconceived notions of the human mind would be make for interesting reading when tested against the scientific results. Since not all the three different components could be scientifically measured at the same time, the research was focused on the head. This is from the realization that head impacts result in concussions. This is an injury that has the very real possibility of ending ones career but also could end up in death. To best investigate the impact to head injuries, the research used the Head Impact Telemetry System (HITS). This is a wireless monitoring system capable to rapidly identify athletes who have sustained an impact to the helmet that has the potential of being injurious. It is made to produce real-time post impact data and transmit the results to a computer not more than 150 yd (137m) from the helmet via radio waves. When out of range, an onboard storage unit would record up to 100 hits and transmit when back on range. HITS allows for objectivity in the research. For Kinesiology, to qualify as a science, measurement must be precise and consistent. Head impact data was captured when a single accelerometer exceeded the preset 15g threshold. Data from 8 milliseconds pre to 32 milliseconds post impact was transmitted and stored. The dependent variables set were linear acceleration, rotational acceleration, jerk force, impulse and duration of impact. Results: From the data collected in the course of the season (68 sessions-55 practice days, 13 games), it became clear that, there were more impacts during games than during practice. The greatest number of knocks was experienced by defensive line players, offensive linemen, offensive skill players and defensive skill players in descending order. In ascending order, the location of helmet with most frequently hits was the top, side, back and front. Game situations resulted in higher linear acceleration than practice impacts. Top of the helmet hits had the greatest linear acceleration followed by front, back and side. Again, game time impacts caused more rotational acceleration than practice. The line players experienced harder hits than skill players in this category. It was also clear that most forceful hits were as a result of front then back then side and lowest top hit. Looking at head jerk, impact force, impact pulse and duration of the impact, the figures were higher during game times than practice. The offensive line and defensive skill players had an equal occurrence of head jerk but higher than the others. The line players had longer duration of impact, more impact impulse and force of impact than the skill players. Maximum head jerk and impact force was experienced as result of hits at the top followed by the front, back and side. For the duration of impact, the order was the same but in reverse role. Also noted, the harder a player was hit the higher the linear acceleration, maximum jerk, force and impulse. The same was true for a soft hit. Conclusion: From the research, this paper has been able to come to some conclusions as a result of the available data. Some of the conclusions justified the subjective view in the researcher at the beginning of the undertaking while some have resulted in the researchers’ change of perception. It was clear from the data that there were higher linear acceleration collisions in high schools than from statistics available about research done on colleges. This could be as a result of the kids wanting to impress. They clearly may not have and full knowledge of the consequences of their actions. In high schools the chance of a college scholarship, means one could have a greater chance of success in life as a result of the extra academic qualifications one acquired. The higher linear acceleration collisions have a higher concussive chance. This makes the high school football player more at risk as very few have compressive medical covers that would give them the kind of specialized treatment necessary should the worst happen. Schools by the nature of their medical cover can not to provide this. In high school, there were more top helmet impacts than in college. It meant a higher linear acceleration and also impact force magnitude. This was a very dangerous location. It exposed the boys to a higher risk of concussion and severe cervical injury. This could easily mean career ending injury, paralysis or even death. There was need for more effort to be put into coaching. They could help teach the boys proper tackling techniques and make them understand the advantage of keeping the head high and thus avoiding helmet contact. It could be that since the college players are more mature, they do not let blood to run into their heads. They are committed in their tackles and at the same time aware of what the consequences of their actions are if not watched properly. Since the boys in high school were still maturing, they were generally smaller in mass and height as compared to their college equivalent. The more reason why they needed to be taught well. In high school, the most dangerous positions were the Quarterback, running backs and wide receiver in decreasing severity. They had the highest linear acceleration impacts. These could be as a result of them been always in full flight (speed) and in open field. These is unlike their counterparts the offensive line and defensive skill players. These may have the highest number of hits on them but the impact is low. The reason could be because they were always near each other and they do not achieve full acceleration before getting hit. The guys who get hit all the time were line men. These guys were involved in every play in the field. Finally, in high school because of the small pool of players, some ended up playing more than one position. This increased the risk of injury. This research did raise some very pertinent issues. They need to have proper coaching in high schools should go along way in reducing the chances of serious injury in the field. Also, the better knowledge of head injury risks should make for better understanding of how to tackle and care for them should and when they occur. This research has given birth to invaluable knowledge for Kinesiologists.

History of R. Buckminister Fuller Essay -- Geodesic Domes R. Buckminis

History of R. Buckminister Fuller Fuller was most famous for his geodesic domes, which can be seen as part of military radar stations, civic buildings, and exhibition attractions. Their construction is based on extending some basic principles to build simple tensegrity structures (tetrahedron, octahedron, and the closest packing of spheres). Built in this way they are extremely lightweight and stable. The patent for geodesic domes was awarded in 1954, part of Fuller's decades-long efforts to explore nature's constructing principles to find design solutions. Previously, Fuller had designed and built prototypes of what he hoped would be a safer, aerodynamic Dymaxion Car ("Dymaxion" is contracted from DYnamic MAXimum tensION). To this end he experimented with a radical new approach. He worked with professional colleagues over a period of three years, beginning in 1932. Based on a design idea Fuller had derived from that of aircraft, the three prototype cars were all quite different from anything on the market. For one thing, each of these vehicles had three, not four, wheels - with two (the drive wheels) in front, and the third, rear wheel being the one that was steered. The engine was located in the rear. Both the chassis and the body were original designs. The aerodynamic, somewhat tear-shaped body (which in one of the prototypes was about 18 feet long), was large enough to seat 11 people. It somehow resembled a melding of a light aircraft (albeit without wings) and a Volkswagen van of 1950s vintage. The car was essentially a mini-bus in each of its three trial incarnations, and its concept long predated the Volkswagen Transporter mini-bus that was conceived by Ben Pon in 1947 and first built in 1950. Despite its length, and due to its three-wheel design, the Dymaxion Car turned on a small radius and parked in a tight space quite easily. The prototypes were efficient in fuel consumption for their day. Fuller poured a great deal of his own money (inherited from his mother) into the project, in addition to the funds put in by one of his professional collaborators. An industrial investor was also keenly interested in the unprecedented concept. Fuller anticipated the car could travel on an open highway safely at up to about 100 miles per hour (160 km/h); however, due to some concept oversights, the prototypes proved to be unruly over the speed of 50 mph... ...s friends with Boston artist Pietro Pezzati. He experimented with polyphasic sleep. A new allotrope of carbon (fullerene) and a particular molecule of that allotrope (buckminsterfullerene or buckyballs) have been named after him. On July 12, 2004 the United States Post Office released a new commemorative stamp honoring Buckminster Fuller on the 50th anniversary of his patent for the geodesic dome and on the occasion of his 109th birthday. [edit] Neologisms World-around is a term coined by Fuller to replace worldwide. The general belief in a flat Earth died out in the Middle Ages, so using wide is an anachronism when referring to the surface of the Earth — a spheroidal surface has area and encloses a volume, but has no width. Fuller held that unthinking use of obsolete scientific ideas detracts from and misleads intuition. The terms sunsight and sunclipse are other neologisms, according to Allegra Fuller Snyder collectively coined by the Fuller family, replacing sunrise and sunset in order to overturn the geocentric bias of most pre-Copernican celestial mechanics. Fuller also coined the phrase Spaceship Earth, and coined the term (but did not invent) tensegrity. History of R. Buckminister Fuller Essay -- Geodesic Domes R. Buckminis History of R. Buckminister Fuller Fuller was most famous for his geodesic domes, which can be seen as part of military radar stations, civic buildings, and exhibition attractions. Their construction is based on extending some basic principles to build simple tensegrity structures (tetrahedron, octahedron, and the closest packing of spheres). Built in this way they are extremely lightweight and stable. The patent for geodesic domes was awarded in 1954, part of Fuller's decades-long efforts to explore nature's constructing principles to find design solutions. Previously, Fuller had designed and built prototypes of what he hoped would be a safer, aerodynamic Dymaxion Car ("Dymaxion" is contracted from DYnamic MAXimum tensION). To this end he experimented with a radical new approach. He worked with professional colleagues over a period of three years, beginning in 1932. Based on a design idea Fuller had derived from that of aircraft, the three prototype cars were all quite different from anything on the market. For one thing, each of these vehicles had three, not four, wheels - with two (the drive wheels) in front, and the third, rear wheel being the one that was steered. The engine was located in the rear. Both the chassis and the body were original designs. The aerodynamic, somewhat tear-shaped body (which in one of the prototypes was about 18 feet long), was large enough to seat 11 people. It somehow resembled a melding of a light aircraft (albeit without wings) and a Volkswagen van of 1950s vintage. The car was essentially a mini-bus in each of its three trial incarnations, and its concept long predated the Volkswagen Transporter mini-bus that was conceived by Ben Pon in 1947 and first built in 1950. Despite its length, and due to its three-wheel design, the Dymaxion Car turned on a small radius and parked in a tight space quite easily. The prototypes were efficient in fuel consumption for their day. Fuller poured a great deal of his own money (inherited from his mother) into the project, in addition to the funds put in by one of his professional collaborators. An industrial investor was also keenly interested in the unprecedented concept. Fuller anticipated the car could travel on an open highway safely at up to about 100 miles per hour (160 km/h); however, due to some concept oversights, the prototypes proved to be unruly over the speed of 50 mph... ...s friends with Boston artist Pietro Pezzati. He experimented with polyphasic sleep. A new allotrope of carbon (fullerene) and a particular molecule of that allotrope (buckminsterfullerene or buckyballs) have been named after him. On July 12, 2004 the United States Post Office released a new commemorative stamp honoring Buckminster Fuller on the 50th anniversary of his patent for the geodesic dome and on the occasion of his 109th birthday. [edit] Neologisms World-around is a term coined by Fuller to replace worldwide. The general belief in a flat Earth died out in the Middle Ages, so using wide is an anachronism when referring to the surface of the Earth — a spheroidal surface has area and encloses a volume, but has no width. Fuller held that unthinking use of obsolete scientific ideas detracts from and misleads intuition. The terms sunsight and sunclipse are other neologisms, according to Allegra Fuller Snyder collectively coined by the Fuller family, replacing sunrise and sunset in order to overturn the geocentric bias of most pre-Copernican celestial mechanics. Fuller also coined the phrase Spaceship Earth, and coined the term (but did not invent) tensegrity.

Discrimination Against South Africa Essay

South Africa is one of the African countries, which is rich in history and culture. Different racial and cultural groups ranging from Afrikaners to the Indians are staying together in South Africa. This paper analyzes the prejudices and discrimination against South Africa: the Coloured’s and the Black AfricansIntroduction†At least 77% of South Africans are Black Africans.†South Africa has a very diverse and rich cultural nature and therefore has no National Culture. There are several different ethnic groups out of them the most popular being: Zulus (South African Culture: How Prejudice and Discrimination Have Colored Culture) The South African governments were controlled by the white people till Nelson Mandela successfully led the agitations against them and dethroned their ruling and became the first elected president of South Africa in 1994. Till then the black South African people were victims of discrimination and prejudices even thought they were the largest c ommunity in South Africa. Coloured’s and the Black AfricansColoured’s are a mix of Black Africans and (British) Whites. They are so named because of the apartheid regime, as a way a labeling them; however, since then they have developed their own distinct culture. They reside mostly in the Northern and Western Cape. About 80% speak Afrikaans and 20% speak English. (South African Culture: How Prejudice and Discrimination Have Colored Culture) The colored people are a mixed race with its ancestors belongs to Europe, Indonesia, India, Madagascar, Malaya, Mozambique, and Mauritius like countries. The South African society were divided four main racial groups during the apartheid era; Blacks, Whites, Coloured’s and Indians. Based on the color of the people the political rights were also varied among these groups. The whites enjoyed supremacy in every field of life like political cultural and religious things. Even the people from the same religion experienced discrimination because of their skin color. Earlier the political rights of the coloreds were similar to that of the whites though their rights to earn income and property were limited by the law. Prejudices and DiscriminationPrejudice is the positive or negative evaluation of a social group and its members. It differs from stereotyping in that the emphasis with prejudice focuses more on emotional than cognitive factors.  Prejudice is largely an attitude. (Prejudice and discrimination) Historical, cultural, and socio-economic factors all contribute to prejudice. In South Africa, the minority white people controlled the entire process of ruling of the country. They have taken this right as granted to them till leader of African national Congress (ANC), Nelson Mandela successfully led the struggle which resulted in transition towards multi-racial democracy in South Africa. â€Å"The Khoi San were the true original indigenous people of South Africa. They were stripped of their right to call themselves Africans and were labeled colored. They were robbed of their land, culture, language, and identity. (Prejudice and Discrimination in South Africa) The local African community was excited when they heard the ending of apartheid. But as the time passes, they realized that nothing has changed for them. The white people were still kept a distance from them and they were failed to enjoy the human rights which the white people enjoys. Although many people are still working to end this discrimination, Black Africans don’t have their own history and identity even now. â€Å"Education and awareness are the only ways to end the struggles of the black Africans of South Africa. Although they have progressed much as a people, they still have a long way to go. As time passes their plight is sure to become better, just as African Americans lives have become better in this country since segregation ended. The Black Africans are a strong people and they will accomplish their goals in time as they unite and become stronger as a people.† (Prejudice and Discrimination in South Africa) Although apartheid has ended, conditions for Black Africans have not changed much. Many black Africans live way below the poverty line and many Afrikaners live above it, creating a division among them. Most of the wealth is accumulated among the white people. The black people are still weak economically, politically and culturally. It is easy for the white people to dominate in every aspects of human life in South Africa even now because of the above factors. In South Africa the infection and deaths from HIV/AIDS exceeds that in most  other countries. More over the HIV/AIDS problems found mostly among the black community which opened another door for discrimination. The white people were eagerly waiting for a genuine reason to keep the black people at a distance since in the present century; it is a shame for a civilized society to follow the racial discrimination. The HIV/AIDS problem provided them another opportunity to sustain the discrimination which was supposed to be ended once. Government inaction and certain dangerously mistaken beliefs and abusive practices concerning the protection from the disease are largely responsible for this line of discrimination. The illusions about the spreading of AIDS are deliberately spreaded by the white population to keep the black people away from them. ApartheidApartheid is a social policy or racial segregation involving political and economic and legal discrimination against people who are not Whites. (Definitions of apartheid on the Web) Apartheid separated all Europeans and other races living in South Africa. The African community has divided over the color of their skin during this period. â€Å"The system of racial segregation first promulgated by the largely Afrikaner National Party of South Africa in 1948. On a much larger scale was the allocation of 12% of the land area into ‘independent republics’, or ‘homelands’, for the African population, which comprised 69% of the population when the policy began, in 1954.† (Apartheid) The main aim of this apartheid policy was to tie up the Africans to their ‘homelands’ alone which will be governed and developed separately by the white’s government. The black people were allowed to enter the white premises only when the black labor was required. Public places or facilities such as lavatories, transport, parks, and theatres were divided into two groups: white and non-white. In 1990 South Africa’s last non-indigenous president lifted the ban on the ANC and released all political prisoners including Nelson Mandela. The Homelands system was abolished with the end of Apartheid and independent elections were held with equal voting right to all irrespective of the color which resulted in the making of Mandela as the first president of South Africa after the apartheid ended. ConclusionSouth Africa can be considered as the latest country which escaped  from the social evil of different class system based on the color (apartheid). The South African society consists of people from different parts of the world. But all of them treated differently by white led government. The white people in South Africa considered themselves as â€Å"privileged people†. Nelson Mandela is supposed to be the leader who led the struggle against the racial dominance of the white people. Even now, though the apartheid is ended, the white people still keeping the black people away citing different reasons like HIV/AIDS. References1. South African Culture: How Prejudice and Discrimination Have Colored Culture,Retrieved on March 21, 2009 from http://allpoetry.com/column/show/21910702. Prejudice and Discrimination in South Africa, Retrieved on March 21, 2009 fromhttp://www.freeonlineresearchpapers.com/prejudice-south-africa3. Prejudice and Discrimination, Retrieved on March 21, 2009 fromhttp://www.psypress.com/pip/resources/slp/topic.asp?chapter=ch21&topic=ch21-sc-034. Definitions of apartheid on the Web Retrieved on March 21, 2009 fromhttp://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:apartheid&ei=ZRnFSZbqKYKHkQXKpZXEDA&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title5. Apartheid, Retrieved on March 21, 2009 from http://www.answers.com/topic/apartheid

College Application Essays are in the Past

The percentage of college students who are accepted and actually enroll is extremely low. College applications have become easier and easier allowing more students to successfully complete them and be accepted much easier. Why not fill out more applications if it is such a simple process? Students are filling out applications because it is not such a complex process anymore and then not accepting the offer to attend when the colleges accept them. Applications Made Easy In an effort to have more students attend, colleges have limited and some have even done away with essay questions. Requirements have been made less rigorous even though some test scores are coming up. Most colleges still require a standardized test such as the SAT or ACT. The massive amount of students applying and not attending can partially be accredited to the new ways to apply online. There are many websites that will allow students to apply to more than one college with one application. While this is less work for the student it is can also be a waste of time for the colleges. Writing on these applications is relatively simple and only asks for some personal reflection, which has no right or wrong answers. Common Applications The Common Application is a website that promotes equality and integrity in the college application process. This website allows students to submit college applications to as many as 500 colleges with one application process. It began with only 15 colleges a person could apply to in 1975 and has expanded greatly to cover many more schools. Colleges That Require Essays Colleges that still require essays have created less generalized options such as going from a prompt that asks prospective students to write on an essay of their choice to offering specific prompts that help them choose a focus and provide opportunity for personal reflection. This has made it easier for some students while making it a bit more difficult for others. Some students are well organized and want to choose a topic that would tell exactly who they are while other students need the specific prompts that will give them guidelines to write about. Some students welcome the opportunity to write about themselves but others find it a grueling task to try to figure out what colleges are looking for in the essay remarks. Bonus: Application Tips When filling out college applications they should reflect the student and not sound like a dictionary. Professors and admissions officers know the difference in a thesaurus and a high school students’ language. Keep it professional but do not sound like a dictionary. After all dictionaries can be boring and they want to know about the prospective student and their interests. While slang is not appropriate do not be too concise or wordy. The writing should get the students’ ideas or prospective across without having to bluntly state them. The writing should make a point that is easy to understand. Make sure all aspects of the question have been addressed and revise until it is satisfactory.