Defeat of the Red Army Essay

By looking at what the areas where the Soviets failed during their in Afghanistan, we can further develop our counterinsurgency tactics and doctrine and shape our forces. Mujahideen Defeats of the Red Army An important and remarkable event in history was the Soviet-Afghan War. The Afghans, like their ancestors, battled a hostile, invading force that wanted to dominate their homeland. â€Å"For the first time, Afghanistan would become the center of a modern pan-Arab Jihad (Holy War)† (Hill, 2008). The Afghans were fighting a war of attrition just as their ancestors did during the Anglo-Afghan Wars. The Afghans would find themselves using modern weapons that had the potential of causing a high number casualties and emigration of greater proportions. The difference between the Afghans in the Soviet-Afghan War and the Afghans who fought in the Anglo-Afghan war would be the help and support from outside superpowers. By the end of the Soviet-Afghan War, the Soviet Union was at the point of falling; the Afghans and those who were assisting them were looking at a victory. How could such a powerful country like the Soviet Union be defeated by the Afghans? The Soviet Union lost the Soviet-Afghan War as a result of mistakes and failures that they made. The Soviets failure to seal the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, failure to stand up and effective Afghan Army and failure to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people contributed to the defeat of the Red Army. Failure to Disrupt Supply Lines During the initial five years of occupation, the Soviets never mounted a sustained effort to cut off the Mujahideen supply lines that ran from Pakistan’s tribal areas, across the Hindu Kush Mountains, and into Afghanistan (Roy, 1991). Instead, the focus of the Soviets from 1980 to 1982 was to conduct large-scale armored operations in locations that were considered hotbeds of rebel activity. After 1982, the Soviets used aerial assaults to assist in their combat operations to eliminate the support base of the Mujahideen. It was not until 1985 that the Red Army starting making an effort to disrupt the Mujahideen supply lines. The Red Army began using Spetsnaz units, which were the Red army Special Forces units, behind Mujahideen frontlines, to organized surprise attacks against the rebel supply caravans. Once the Spetsnaz had the location of the Mujahideen, they would load into Mi-24 helicopter gunships, sneak behind the Mujahideen positions, and launch attacks. The effectiveness of the raids the Spetsnaz used became apparent in 1986 where there was a decrease in the number of Mujahideen attacks against the Soviets. The attacks against the Soviets decreased because the Mujahideen was not able to get men and equipment that they needed to mount an effective guerrilla campaign. The Soviets leadership was aware of the amount of men and a large amount of equipment that the Mujahideen was moving from Pakistan across into Afghanistan on regular bases, so it’s interesting why they did not make an effort earlier in the war to disrupt the supply lines. The Soviet leadership feared that if they conducted operations that might extend into Pakistan they would draw the United States into a large-scale war that the Soviets did not want. So, conducting operations on the Afghan side of the border against the rebels was an activity that the Soviets could justify without drawing the United States into the war. According to Oliver Roy, the Soviet failure to seal the border with Pakistan was the most significant military mistake in the war against the Mujahideen (Roy, 1991). With an unsealed border, the United States with the help of the help of the Inter-Service Intelligence, ISI, began funneling in weapons to the Mujahideen in the 1980. At the start of 1980, the Central Intelligence Agency began to purchase weapons from several countries to include China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab nations. Once these weapons had been purchased they were shipped to the ISI headquarters located in Peshawar Pakistan. The United States funded some $30 million dollars in 1982, but in 1984, the CIA spent some $250 million purchasing pistols, AK-47s, ammunition, surface to air missiles, and other supplies for the Mujahideen. By 1985, the CIA was spending $500 million dollars on the resistance in Afghanistan. 1985 was the same year the President Ronald Reagan signed the National Security Decision Directive 166. This directive stated that the CIA was to drive out the Soviets from Afghanistan †by all means available† (Crile, 2003, p 363). In 1986, the CIA approved the purchase of heat-seeking missiles and almost 1000 per purchased. The heat-seeking missiles were very effective in downing the Soviets helicopters, but the Mujahideen did not put these missions into use until 1987. Pakistan who was driven by Islamic identity had a vested interest in the outcome of the Soviet-Afghan War and made a great effort to ensure that the Mujahideen was victorious. To ensure victory for the Mujahideen, Pakistan established a network that would transport all of the weapons that had been purchased to the Mujahideen. Once all of the weapons that had been purchased and arrived to the ISI headquarters the ISI would distribute the weapons to the Mujahideen, who would get the weapons and supplies to the soldier in the field. The Mujahideen would use tractors, trucks, camel, mules, and horses that could blend in with the rest of the cross border traffic or they would move on dirt roads that were only accessible by foot over the border into Afghanistan. It is evident that without the help of the Pakistanis, the Mujahideen would not have been able to fight because they could have not been able to supply their soldiers. Throughout the war, the Soviets and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, DRA attempted to pressure Pakistan’s President Zia to seal the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan with troops, but this came to no avail. President Zia responds to the request to seal the border was that Pakistan would not do it but that the Red Army and the DRA were more than welcome to do it. Regardless of who would attempt to seal the border it would be an impossible task when you consider the length and mountainous terrain that would have to be covered. In 1985, the Red Army started to disrupt the Mujahideen supply lines by putting thousands of troops on the border with Pakistan. At the same time, The Red Army began a bombing campaign hitting border towns that were sympathetic to the rebels and placing Spetsnaz units along the borders to conduct search and destroy missions from behind Mujahideen front lines. The Red Army began using their gunships to move up and down the border looking for destroying Mujahideen supply caravans. The bombardment used by the Red Army turned a large portion of the border etween Afghanistan and Pakistan to land that no longer could be inhabited. This depopulation effort started to become effective as it made it almost impossible for the Mujahideen supply caravans to move freely. In 1986, the Mujahideen countered the Red Army by using the Stringer missiles to bring down the Red Army Helicopters. To avoid being hit by a Stringer missile the Red Army Pilots had to fly at a higher altitude but the higher alt itude made it difficult for the Red Army to effectively attack the Mujahideen supply lines. Although the terrain along the Afghan and Pakistan border made it difficult to totally seal the border, it would have been possible to disrupt the flow of men and supplies coming into Afghanistan. This was evident by the Red Army between 1985 and 1986. Had the Red Army been willing to take a higher loss of life before 1985, it would have been possible to slow down the Mujahideen’s ability to get weapons into Afghanistan. The inability by the Red Army to establish an effective way to disrupt the Mujahideen supply lines was not the only reason that the PDPA could not survive without the support of the Red Army. The Red Army also failed to build an Afghan National Army that could protect the PDPA against the Mujahideen. Part of the reason why the Red Army could not stand up the Afghan Army was because there were Mujahideen sympathizers in the ranks. This is also part of the reason why the Soviets could not win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. When the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, they left the country without the means to protect its self. Failure to build an Afghan Army As early as 1980, Soviet leadership knew that it was going to be difficult to build up the Afghan Army. This was partially due to the fact that the PDPA regime was unpopular with many Afghan people, and there was also a deep hatred for the Red Army troops. The unwillingness to fight for the Soviet Union and the DRA was reflected by the decrease in the Afghan Army’s ranks. The Afghan Army decreased from 90,000 to 30,000 men from 1980 to 1983 (Schofield, 2003). During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, it was common for Afghan soldiers to leave their units with their weapons and ammunition and join the Mujahideen. There is an account in July 1987 where an entire 2,000-man unit defected to the Mujahideen in Kandahar (McMichael, 1991). In addition to the defecting that was happening there were reports of Afghan officers frequently sabotaging Soviet equipment and vehicles. For the Afghans who remained many only fought because of the Soviet troops presences on the frontlines who would not allow them to runaway. As a result of the Afghans people unwillingness to fight for the Soviets and the DRA, the PDPA could only build a small military force, the total that numbers 120,000 to 150,000 fighting men. With its small size and the challenges they had recruiting the Afghans to fight for the PDPA regime, the Afghan Army was ineffective. The Afghan government was also only able to draft sixty-five percent of the personnel it needed to fight the insurgency they faced. Although the Afghan Army did have their share of success, these successes were limited. Mostly because the Mujahideen had sympathizers in the ranks that would provide the rebels with intelligence about upcoming operations that were planned. Since Mujahideen supporters had infiltrated the Afghan Army, Red Army soldier do not care to work closely on operations or share the intelligence they had because of fear that the details on upcoming operations would be shared with the rebels. To make matter worse for both sides, commanding officers of Afghan units would only be informed of upcoming operations one day in advance. On 9 January 1981, a conscription law designed to increase the strength of the DRA Army, was adopted by the Supreme Military Council of Afghanistan. The Afghan Army was given tanks, aircraft, armored personnel carriers, and small arms by the Soviets. Regardless of what had been given to the Afghan Army they were not going to be able to defend the PDPA regime from the rebels by the time the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan. This is based on the fact that it was going to be hard to recruit soldiers to fight for a socialist an also because many of the soldiers that had been recruited were informant for the Mujahideen. â€Å"The ineffectiveness of the DRA Army was illustrated by two Soviet deserters when they said, â€Å"The Kabul army was not an army, just a mess, with half of the soldiers running away and the other half joining the rebels† (Amstutz, 1986, p. 80). The inability of the Soviets to win over the Afghan population showed to be a tremendous obstacle as the attempt was being made to stand up an effective Afghan military. Had the Soviets convince the Afghan population that the PDPA was worth fighting for; the Soviet’s counterinsurgency plan could have been more effective in getting rid of the Mujahideen. The Soviets inability to win over the hearts and minds of the Afghan people ended up being a big obstacle that led to the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan. Failure to win the Hearts and Minds â€Å"The Soviets needed to convince the Afghan population that it had a stake in the survival of the socialist regime if they were to have a chance of preserving the PDPA government† (Delgado, 2006, p. 27). This would show to be impossible since the Afghan mullahs had declared jihad against the occupying Red Army. Knowing the jihad had been declared against the Red Army, they still launched a program with the intent on winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. The Soviets attempt to Sovietize the Afghan people used measures that included revamping the education system and teaching the population a pro-Soviet ideology. Adults and children were taught Marxist terms by Soviet institutions that had been imported into Afghanistan. The Soviets reformed the education system, reinterpreting Afghan history, taking control of the media in order to reeducate adults, and sending children to the Soviet Union in order to be educated. The Soviets goal in all of this was to create a version of Islam that the new Afghanistan would be based off. Building a strong Communist party was part of the Sovietization program. A strong Communist party would be the center of all legitimate political activity for the country. In order to monitor social organizations in Afghanistan, Soviet style government institution were established. A diligent effort had been made by the PDPA to indoctrinate its member, a majority of which joined the party so that they could obtain a job in the state. The task of trying to indoctrinate the member was difficult and many felt that it was irresponsible and corrupt. The DRA was unpopular throughout a large portion of Afghanistan. With this unpopular view of the DRA, there was a need to rewrite history in order to paint the Soviet Union in a more favorable light. This change to history was going to be done in two parts, first was to depict Russia as the essential supporters of Afghan independence, and the second was to minimize the cultural ties the Afghan people had with India, Pakistan, and Iran while emphasizing the ties with the citizens of the Soviet Union. The Soviets strategy in winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people was not to turn all Afghan into Marxist, but to teach the Afghans that they identified more with the Soviet way of life than with traditional Afghan society and customs (Roy, 1989). The Soviets took total control of the Afghan media and bombarded it with pro-Soviet propaganda. The Soviets desired in all of this was to have the Afghans forget what their history was and replace it with the identity that the Soviets were giving them. The Soviets not only rewrote the history books and took over the media; the Soviets took control of the education system with the goal of molding a new generation of Afghans that would support the PDPA. To accomplish this, teachers who refused to do what was asked were arrested or exiled. â€Å"Fatherland Training Centers† were created around Afghanistan, where Afghan orphans were trained to be Soviet special agents, political organizations for children and teenagers in order to teach them to become faithful Soviet citizens. The Soviets made Russian the official language of all students attending middle school up to college. The Russians were committed to indoctrinating Afghan children. Statics reflects that by 1989, 000 Afghan students were being educated in the Soviets, and another 15,000 students annual would travel to the Soviet Union see the Russian way of life and to take part in short courses and training programs (Roy, 1989). The Soviets used psychological operation to undermine not only the Mujahideen but also the civilian population to resist the Soviet occupation and the PDPA regime. Some of the bigger programs used included massive leaflet drops, propagandistic radio programs, starting conflict between rival tribes that would undermine Mujahideen unity and bribing teachers to use their classroom in order to spread Soviet propaganda. KHAD Intelligence would insert special agents into Mujahideen units and prisons where Mujahideen members were held with the goal of getting information on operations that were being planned and to find out whom the leaders in the resistance were. Regardless of what the Soviets attempted to do in order to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people they failed. The Afghans remained true to their Islamic identity, culture, and family traditions so it made it impossible for the Soviet Union to convince the Afghans that they were acting in the best interest of the country of Afghanistan by occupying and supporting the PDPA. With a call of jihad being declared against the occupying Red Army, it was going to be impossible for the Soviets to win the hearts and minds. The Afghans viewed the Soviets as an occupying force that were hostile to Islam so no program introduced by the Soviets to win the hearts and minds would be successful. The Soviets made an admirable effort to win over the Afghan people but due to the fact that they were viewed as a foreign occupier took away any possibility that they could convince the Afghan people to support the PDPA government. Winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people were impossible from the beginning since the Afghan people had such a strong Islamic heritage and tribal culture and that the Soviets were viewed as a foreign occupier, but the Soviets also did not help themselves with their brutal campaign to drive Mujahideen supporters out of Afghanistan as refugees. The effort to rid Afghanistan of Mujahideen supporters left one million Afghan civilians dead and five million displaced (Roy, 1989). The strategy used by the Red Army to rid Afghanistan of Mujahideen supported included artillery strike against Pashtun villages, bombing raids and, the burning of agricultural fields, the killing of livestock through the use mines and artillery, and the contamination of water and food supplies through the use of chemical weapons (McMichael, 1991). The efforts made by the Red Army to deprive the Mujahideen from a portion of its civilian support network was successful, but with the brutal methods that the Soviets used in order to get the objectives done did very little for the chances of winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. Conclusion The Soviets lost the Soviet-Afghan War to the Mujahideen do to their own failures and any country could stand to earn a few lessons from the Soviets after their experience in Afghanistan. The first lesson would be the importance of disrupting the Mujahideen supply lines. Although totally securing the border may have been impossible, the Red Army could have focus more of an effort prior to 1985 to slow down the amount of men and supplies that were moving into Afghanistan from Pakistan. Had the Soviets been willing to take more of rest with their Soldiers, the Mujahideen would have never been able to get the supplies they needed into Afghanistan. The second lesson that could be taken from this is that before the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan they needed to ensure that the Afghan Army was ready to defeat the Mujahideen on their own. Since the Afghan Army was not able to defeat the Mujahideen on their own, everything that the Soviets attempted to achieve in Afghanistan was lost once the Red Army withdrew. The weak Army allowed Afghanistan to fall into a civil war where the Taliban came out victorious. The Soviets should have taken into consideration what they thought the status Afghan Army would be once they withdrew before invading Afghanistan. The third and final lesson is that it was going to be impossible for the Soviets to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. Many Afghans viewed the Soviets as invaders, and a jihad had been declared against them. Along with the hatred that the Afghans had for the Soviets the Soviets also countered themselves with brutal military operations against Afghans that were thought to be loyal to the Mujahideen. The Afghan population will refuse to support a regime that is viewed as a foreign occupier, regardless of the sophistication of the occupying country’s effort to win the native hearts and minds†(Delgado, 2006, p. 35). References Crile, G. (2003). Charlie Wilson’s War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History. New York, NY: Delgado, J. A. (2006). Troubling Parallels: An analysis of America ’s Inability to overcome the obstacles that led to the defeat of the Red Army in the Soviet-Afghan War. Athens, OH: The University of Ohio. Hills, C. R. (2006). Beyond Charlie Wilson: The Soviet Afghan War. Atlanta, GA: Atlanta International School. McMichael, S. (1991). Stumbling Bear: Soviet Military Performance in Afghanistan. London, England: Brassey’s. Roy, O. (1989). â€Å"The Sovietization of Afghanistan. † Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. Roy, O. (1991). The Lessons of the Soviet-Afghan War. London, England: Brassey’s. Schofield, V. (2003). Afghan Frontier. New York, NY: Tauris Parke Paperback.

4 steps to writing about a poem Essay

1.About the poet, his concerns 2.The story of the poem 3.Theme: idealises bush life 4.Techiques (how) Paterson constrasts this beauty of the bush with the harsh, dirty life in the city and the effect this has on people. †¢List a series of visual images, using adjectives and adverbs with negative connotations: ‘my dingy little office’ and a ‘stingy/Ray of sunlight struggle feebly down’ †¢Also uses sound images to create an unpleasant mood and ‘the ceaseless tramp of feet.’ Description of people in the city suggests they are greedy and uncaring of others. Conveyed by negative adjectives and internal rhyme: ‘with their eager eyes and greedy, and their stunted forms and weedy.’ See more: Analysis of Starbucks coffee company employees essay †¢The poem concludes with the persona wishing he could exchange his city life in an ‘office’ for ‘a turn at droving’ but he relises Clancy would not ‘suit’ his city life. 4 steps to writing about a poem

Black Widow Spiders Essay Research Paper Adult

Black Widow Spiders Essay, Research Paper Adult black widow spiders have a glistening, black, rounded, round venters and are about 1/3 inch long ( about 1-1/2 inches when their legs are spread ) . Adult spiders have two ruddy or xanthous trigons on their underside which expressions like an hourglass marker, and their organic structure colour is dark colored normally black or sometimes dark brown. They are normally recognized because of their ruddy or reddish-orange hourglass design on the underside of their venters. This form is mutable and may look like two detached musca volitanss. In some spiders there is no form on the venters. The immature phases of both sexes of the widow spiders have red or red-orange or xanthous musca volitanss and strips on the top of their venters. Females are coloured grey or pale brown. Their colour gets darker as they get older. The hourglass form on the bottom of the venters signifiers throughout their development. Male widow spiders are smaller about 1/4 inch long, and they # 8217 ; re normally non black in overall colour, alternatively it looks like a light brown or grey. Male widows have an hourglass form excessively. When they are adult they have big knob-like forms called pedipalps, which start from the caput. But to females they still look the same. Newly hatched spiderlings are white or a yellow-white, finally turning blackish when they get older. Adolescents of both sexes look like the male. Black Widow spiders build loose and uneven mesh-type webs of unsmooth silk in dark topographic points normally out-of-doorss. And construct their webs near the land ( sometimes inside of houses ) but chiefly they build them outside. Blacken Widows can be found near the land in dark undisturbed countries. Nest sites are close holes made by little animate beings, or around building gaps and woodpiles. Besides they can be found around low bushs which are usual sites for widow spiders. Black widows are besides found indoors in dark undisturbed countries like behind furniture or under desks and in undisturbed cellar countries and crawl infinites of places are countries where black widow nests are. They don # 8217 ; T bring forth a web like the weaving spiders do or the funnel form webs that the funnel weaver spider # 8217 ; s make. The female ballads eggs in satiny cocoon pouch about 1/2-inch in breadth. The poke is a pear shaped, and is a creamy yellow, light grey, or light brown in colour. They normally lay about 300 to 400 eggs per pouch and have 4 to 9 egg pouch made during a summer. But merely 1 to 12 immature survive after the egg incubation period of approximately 14 to 30 yearss because of cannibalism. Growth requires 2 to 4 months depending on handiness of quarry during which the females shed 6 to 8 times and the males 3 to 6 times. Females mature 92 yearss after the egg pouch outburst and populate for approximately 179 yearss, while males mature 71 yearss after outburst and unrecorded for 30 yearss. Because normally the female chows the male after they mate. But sometimes if females are good fed, the males acquire off to copulate for another twenty-four hours. The females hang belly upward and really seldom leave the web. In cold conditions and drouths it can do these spiders to travel into edifices. Prey caught in the web include a many different insects ( cockroaches, flys, and beetles ) and other arthropods. The female black widow is diffident and normally merely goes out at dark. But when she leaves her web she normally goes far off from her the web. Outbreaks of black widows occur away and on. Some old ages an country may hold 1000s of widows and the following twelvemonth they may be gone. Certain sorts of home grounds such as sand dune countries may hold black widows every twelvemonth. Alternating warm and cold conditions during the winter and spring months are harmful to their endurance. The venom of the black widow spider is 15 times every bit toxic as the venom of the prairie rattlesnake. However, merely a little sum of the toxin is injected with a individual bite by the spider, while the comparatively big sum of injected rattler venom consequences in approximately 15 to 25 per centum mortality among those bitten. The badness of a individual # 8217 ; s reaction to the bite depends on where you were bitten, sum of venom injected and the deepness of bite. When a black widow spider spots you it injects a toxin that affects the nervous system. At foremost, there may be merely little swelling and two swoon ruddy musca volitanss surrounded by inflammation at the bite. Pain may be intense in one to three hours and could stay for up to 48 hours. Pain normally starts from the bitten limb up or down the arm or leg and so curtail in the venters and back. Besides musculus and thorax hurting or stringency in those countries are some common reactions to a black widows toxin. The hurting can besides distribute to the venters which causes cramping and sickness. The abdominal musculuss may go stiff and board-like with terrible spasms. There can be trouble your musculuss and colloidal suspensions of the pess and your palpebras may go swollen. Other symptoms include restlessness, anxiousness, external respiration and address trouble, shudders, purging and sudating. Swelling can be noticed in appendages and palpebras but seldom at the topographic point where you are spot. Besides there is a sense of uncomfortableness after you are bitten, and some symptoms addition in badness during the first twenty-four hours after you are bit. But symptoms normally get better after two to three yearss but some mild symptoms can go on for several hebdomads after you have recovered. The bite that is normally the most unsafe a female bite. Although it is really painful, human deaths from untreated black widow bites are uncommon. During 1926 to 1943, decease ranged from 4 to 5 per centum, but current medical interventions have reduced this to a smaller per centum. Death normally consequences from respiratory palsy. Peoples with a history of high blood force per unit area are at the greatest hazard. But immediate medical intervention can cut down the danger from widow bites and has reduced human deaths to really low rates in recent old ages. However, this spider is considered the most deadly spider in North America. If you are bitten stay composures, acquire the spider, if you can for positive designation and because of the possible badness of black widow bites you should acquire immediate medical attending is of import. If you apply an antiseptic such as I or H peroxide prevents infection. Doctors can shoot Ca gluconate to assist the effects of the toxin so it is less harmful. This helps support degrees of Ca salts that are low by the effects of a bite. You can besides acquire black widow antiserum. Since the toxin moves rapidly through the organic structure seeking to suck out the toxicant doesn # 8217 ; T work. Peoples younger than 16 and older than 60, particularly those with a bosom status might hold to remain at a infirmary. The black widow spider is diffident and normally non aggressive and bites can be rare even when there are tonss of them. The grownup female spiders normally stay in their webs unless they have to because of the temperature or if their web gets destroyed. They do non seek for nutrient and they eat the insects they acquire in their webs and are eaten when they get to them. Human bites go on when the spider is supporting their web if it is brushed against or by chance pinched. Occasionally, bites occur from hungry widow spiders when a manus or pes is flopped in forepart of the nest. Before there was indoor plumbing bites were usual in privies, normally on the males genitalias. To command the job of black widows check countries in and around your place where black widows may be found. If you find one it can be killed by oppressing or hoovering the Wednesday and spider, utilizing protective manner. Increasing the sum of visible radiation in dark countries besides can deter spiders. Besides insect powders can work for spider control but it doesn # 8217 ; t command all spiders. If you do set down insecticide put it in the dark undisturbed countries where spiders are normally found. Insecticides besides can be used to halt spider migrations into houses by spraying around the exterior of the foundation and lower narrative Windowss. Do it before cold conditions because that forces spiders into places to happen protection. The insecticide chlorpyrifos is the most widely used merchandise to command spiders around the house. Chlorpyrifos remain effectual for several hebdomads if is non exposed to visible radiation and wet. But pyrethrin is used specifically for black widow spiders. To assist forestall anyone from acquiring harmed by black widows, you should state everyone in your household to larn about black widows so they can place and avoid them. It is besides a good thought to have on baseball mitts and a long-sleeved shirt when working in spider infested countries. Remove rubbish, old boxes, hemorrhoids of timber, old rubble hemorrhoids and other unwanted things from under or around houses and outbuildings. Make non travel barefoot or manage firewood without baseball mitts. Put up screens on doors and Windowss to forestall them from acquiring in. Sealing wax or caulk clefts and crannies where spiders can acquire in the house. And wash off the exterior of the house or edifice particularly around window Wellss and other undisturbed topographic points where they build webs. There are besides several other sorts of widow spiders. I listed them below and briefly gave you some information. Although there are three distinct species, they portion similar physical and life-history features. The grownup female # 8217 ; s organic structure is normally 0.5 inch long, with a bright ruddy marker resembling an hourglass on its bottom. The male is much smaller, with a length of.25 inch and about four bright ruddy point markers on its sides. The male is diffident and seldom seen by worlds. The females are by and large non aggressive unless they see a menace or are guarding an egg pouch. All three species of black widow live in close propinquity to worlds, and each species shows a distinguishable penchant for non merely a specific home ground, but besides its peculiar nesting country. The eastern black widow, which builds its web near to the land, is found chiefly in woodsheds and woodpiles, but it has besides been found in Parkss, particularly around the legs of picnic tabular arraies. The western black widow builds its nests higher up and is normally found in gardens, particularly on shrubs, every bit good as in picnic countries, where it colonizes the bottoms of picnic tabular arraies. Although the western black widow is more normally found in these slightly natural countries, the species has besides been discovered in extremely urbanised locations. The northern black widow, while keeping some propinquity to worlds, lives by and large in undisturbed wooded countries, every bit good as around rock walls, trees, and tree stumps, and is about neer found associated with a house. The western black widow, Latrodectus evening star ranges from extreme southwesterly Canada, south into Mexico, and east to west Texas. Hesperus is the common black widow of the western United States, and it is abundant in countries of Arizona, California, and other western locations. One of the most normally places where it is found is in natural home grounds for illustration is in abandoned gnawer holes, but it can besides be found around peoples houses, even in the downtown territories of many western U.S. metropoliss. The western widows general visual aspect is really similar to the southern widow it has the hourglass marker and is normally shaped like a perfect hourglass, but it is divided into two seperate musca volitanss. Like its southern cousin, the western widow it causes a big figure of bites, largely in the southern locations. The Northern Widow, Latrodectus variolus, is the 3rd black widow found in the United States. It is found from utmost southeasterly Canada, throughout the New England provinces, and south to northern Florida. It prefers undisturbed wooded countries, rock walls, stumps, and similar home grounds. The hourglass of the northern widow is normally divided into two separate, linear markers. This species is most common in the northern portion of its scope. While its venom is really similar to that of the southern and western widows, and bites make occur, it does non look to seize with teeth worlds every bit frequently as those species. The Red Widow, Latrodectus bishopi, is a U.S. species with a restricted scope, being found merely in palmetto fronds of sandy, scrub-pine parts of cardinal and southern Florida. This spider is instead brilliantly colored, with ruddy legs and cephalothorax ( fore-part of the organic structure ) , and a black venter with orange and white markers down the dorsum and sides. The hourglass normally consists a individual ruddy elongate marker. Small is known of the bite of the ruddy widow, but its venom is likely rather toxic to mammals. The Brown Widow, Latrodectus geometricus, is a cosmotropical species, found in most tropical havens around the universe ; it is an introduced species in Florida. Color may change, but is normally brown to gray, with white and black markers on the dorsum and sides of the dorsal venters: The hourglass is normally complete. This species is frequently found on or around human habitations and other edifices. While decidedly deadly to worlds, bites be given to be less terrible than those of most other widow spiders. The Malmignatte or European Black Widow, Latrodectus mactans tredecimguttatus, is the common widow spider of southern Europe ( northern Mediterranean ) . It is black, with a series of ruddy markers on the dorsal venters. The malmignatte is a important medical job in assorted parts of its scope. In Herzegovina ( the former Yugoslavia ) this spider reportedly causes a big figure of bites each fall in field workers reaping grain by manus. The redback spider, Latrodectus mactans hasselti, is found throughout Australia, and in some Southeast Asiatic states. It is black, with a distinguishable ruddy ( sometimes pink or light Greies ) taging on its dorsal venters. Like most widow spiders, it harbors a extremely toxic venom, and is considered a species of clinical significance. Similar species are found in South Africa. As for if it is presently confronting any jobs in its environment, no 1 knows their exact Numberss but they are far from extinction, even if every spider was killed that was found by a individual. And that is my study on the black widow spider

McDonalds Foreign Direct Investment and Distribution strategy Essay

McDonalds Foreign Direct Investment and Distribution strategy - Essay Example McDonald’s foreign direct investment focuses primarily on investment in restaurants and the food industry. The company made its foreign direct investment for the long term, with the distinct purpose of making a profit. As a multinational firm, McDonald’s has significant foreign investment assets that comprise of the parent company in the US and foreign affiliates domiciled in host countries. The company has the capacity to derive and transfer its capital resources globally and operate restaurants and penetrated markets in other countries worldwide. McDonald’s foreign direct investment not only focuses on controlling affiliate restaurants in developed countries but developing countries, as well. Investing overseeing has generated immense benefits to McDonald’s and its investors. Inward investors continue to gain easy access to markets in foreign countries, particularly since the company’s products can be made using local ingredients.It makes apparent commercial sense for McDonald’s to set up local restaurants, which make use of local ingredients instead of exporting ingredients directly from the US.McDonald’s establishment of affiliate firms in other nations allows the company to gain access to a vast array of resources, which include among others cheap and skilled labour, as well as local expertise and knowledge inherent in the foreign nation. McDonald’s builds restaurants in other countries thereby exploiting the economies of scope.

The PPP (Presentation,Practice and Production) approach to language Essay

The PPP (Presentation,Practice and Production) approach to language teaching - Essay Example Semantically, language acquisition is a process through which children, or adults in cases of delayed learning or secondary language acquisition, learn to understand, speak and use words in order to communicate (Behrens, 245, 2008). This skill is an amalgamation of various other capabilities including the understanding of a vast vocabulary, phonetics, and syntax (Goodluck, 87, 1991). The use of language can either be in a form of speech i.e. vocal or in the form of sign i.e. manual. Although other animals also use language to communicate, theirs are fragments of vocabulary, which does not hold syntax and stay uniform amongst all varieties of the group. What has always been the primary focus of the studies conducted on psychology of linguistics is the process through which an infant learns to speak. ... both student and teacher learn collaboratively drawing experiences form each other and using tools like conversations, interviews and other interactive tools. Second is the cooperative learning in which interaction amongst students fosters and language instills itself through the socializing experience. Discovery-based learning lies on constructivist notions and derives its essence from the theories of Piaget and others. In this type of learning, students ask questions and inquire about several aspects of language. Then comes engaged learning in which, as the name predicts, learners engage in the language through using several tools and resources. In problem-based learning method, students learn language in chunks and in a question answer format. Examples of this would be providing scenarios and questions to students and ask them to solve the questions using the target language. Finally, the whole language approach deals with the bigger picture, the pragmatics, and semantics of knowl edge rather than the spellings and grammar. This approach ensures the understanding of the meaning of language rather than the construction of language. The technique of language acquisition under discussion is PPP. The three Ps denote Presentation, Practice, and Presentation and is a common method used for teaching language all across the world. The first P stands for Presentation. Presentation, in this context entails the introduction of the language and the context created for the acquisition to the same. At this stage, the approach is very teacher-centered and learners learn from their flaws through the feedback by their teachers. Tools like pictures, conversation and scenarios are important in assisting the learners and ease them into the language.

Benchmarking Research Paper for Streamlining the Budgeting and

Benchmarking for Streamlining the Budgeting and Purchasing process of Public Safety Departments - Research Paper Example This aids public sector departments to challenge the way they do things and utilize their finite resources better, which may have significant impacts on public sector outcomes. The paper explores key institutional drivers that may contribute to enhancing public sector efficiency on aspects such as benchmarking (performance information) and its role in the budget process. Benchmarking Research Paper Introduction Benchmarking infers the process of gauging one’s business processes and performance metrics to other industry bests or best practices. The term refers to the incessant process for monitoring and learning from the work processes, products, or services of other organizations appreciated as representing the best practices, in the effort of process improvement. Benchmarking is a tool that aids to enhance the efficiency of business processes or to minimize the output costs. The benchmarking of processes, such as budgeting and purchasing, avails organizations with the necessa ry information regarding how competently the services are provided to the community. Benchmarking avails a prospect to discover the best practices for service delivery within the public sector departments (Zairi, 2001). ... This facilitates learning on how well the targets perform and the business processes that explain why the target firms are successful. Public administration literature prominently cites three general approaches to benchmarking applicable to the public sector. These approaches include process-improvement benchmarking, strategic benchmarking, and target benchmarking. Benchmarking avails a tool for public sector managers to cope with the changing needs of their constituents. Process improvement benchmarking (corporate-style benchmarking) equates to looking at industry best practices and replicating or adapting them to fit one’s own organization (Curristine, Lonti & Journard, 2007). Targeting infers the process of the setting of goals and objectives to be attained via strategic planning actions. In this form of benchmarking, the present conditions are analyzed and then compared to a certain target (vision) or condition in the future that is desired. The Benchmarking Process The be nchmarking process can be conceived as a four-phase process; plan, collect, analyze, and adapt. Benchmarking involves a number of activities, which include discovering the problem, establishing criteria for solutions, searching for promising practices, implementing promising practices and monitoring progress. Prior to engaging in benchmarking, it is crucial for managers to highlight the problem or activities that need to be benchmarked. The core activities identified may be essential to giving the organization a competitive edge (Stapenhurst, 2009). Establishing the criteria for solutions aid the organization to minimize omissions and errors and obtain a boost on its strategic goals, its primary business processes, and critical success

Describing the Formal Elements of Line, Light, Form, and Space Before Essay

Describing the Formal Elements of Line, Light, Form, and Space Before you begin - Essay Example Hasegawa Tohaku dominantly used lines in his painting particularly vertical, contour and diagonal lines. Although lines are dominant in this painting, the artist produced a three-dimensional illusion in his painting. The lines are more of the romantic or expressive than analytic because the lines are not precisely straight but are soft and more of an impression. The use of vertical lines in the painting can visibly be seen as tree trunks and the expressive nature of the lines used helped in giving an impression of the texture and form of the trunk of pine trees which are not actually precise straight lines. The diagonal lines in the painting are perceptible in some of the tree trunks and the branches of the trees. These lines give an impression of movement among the branches and helps in providing a spatial illusion between the trees and the branches. In producing the three-dimensional effect in Hasegawa Tohaku’s painting, aside from lines the artist also employed the element of light. Since the medium used on the painting Pine Trees is ink, the artist skilfully produced a feeling of space, distance and the scene that depicts the trees as though under the moonlight or probably at dawn because of the impression of fog among the trees.

Black Images In Film Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Black Images In Film - Movie Review Example The film deconstructs the image of the black man and the idea of the slave that is the added burden of his image (that Griffith actually justifies using Woodrow Wilson's writings in "A History of the American People". La ltima cena reveals the Calibn theme (the Hegelian master-slave ideology), colonizer and colonized binary, which is mainly influenced by the Cuban poet Roberto Fernndez Retamar's 1971 essay on Cuban revolutionary aesthetics, entitled 'Caliban'. Apart from that Caliban is an important symbol for postcolonial Cuba, since it gives a voice to the slave and allows an inversion of gaze where the "Other" finally speaks in his own language, desperately usurped by the master. Caliban was the name of the half-man half-fish in Shakespeare's "Tempest", a direct metaphor of the anthropological 'cannibals', that served as a landmark discourse for justifying the colonial rule which aimed at civilizing the savages, mainly the African Americans or the blacks. Thus the Calibn theme is of particular historical interest within the Latin America cinema of the seventies, where it was seen as symbolic of colonialism and enslavement.3 However, unlike 'The Seventh Seal', which looks Christian on the surfa ce but is actually existential, 'The Last Supper' has an existential approach for grappling at Christian salvation through an anatomy of slavery. Thus, when an enlightened and pious aristocrat (a White) attempts to celebrate the Last Supper with his slaves, the hideous relationship between the class system and the religious establishment is made to question. The film explore and adopt an experimental approach to the problem of historical truth. Alea's black comedy, La ultima cena achieve an allegorical quality which becomes a distinctive trait of the entire movement: the ability to speak of subjects on more than one level at the same time, of the present while talking of the past, for example, or of politics while talking of religion. At the same time, the exploration of these themes quickly left the aesthetic of neorealism behind, as directors and cinematographers sought to create a visual style, which matched the legendary qualities of the subject matter. The Last Supper is a caus tic, anti-religious social satire and role-playing gets drunkenly out of hand, the result is a slave rebellion -- and it is time for property ownership to reassert its place of precedence in the scheme of things. During Holy Week at the end of the eighteenth century, a count visits his Havana sugar mill on a day a slave has run away. The count tells his cruel overseer, Don Manuel, to pick 12 slaves who will be guests at the count's table. Don Manuel objects, but to no avail. The twelfth guest is the recaptured runaway. During the dinner, using religious analogies, the count lectures his guests on the perfect happiness possible in slavery. They in turn tell stories and make requests. He promises no work on Good Friday, but he leaves early that morning and Don Manuel rousts the slaves for a long day cutting cane. They rebel. Which side will the count take D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915) has been defined as a domestic melodrama; a landmark epic that originally was originally called The Clansman.. What makes the

Weathering in Empty Quarter in Saudi Arabia Essay

Weathering in Empty Quarter in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example Chemical weathering usually takes place in wet and moist climates, because of rain and interaction of chemicals in their soluble states. On the other hand physical weathering is common in deserts and arid regions, and main source of weathering in these areas is abrasion. Abrasion is defined as the process by which rocks or particles are reduced to smaller size and shape. Some basic types of physical weathering include thermal stress, frost weathering, salt crystal growth, pressure release, and ocean waves. The process of weathering is associated with erosion, which is simply defined as transfer of free particles from one place to another. Deserts exhibit both the phenomena, at one point there is abrasion, and the other point the weathered sand or rocks are carried away with wind, and then they are deposited. The process of deposition in sand results in the formation of sand dunes. There are four different types of sand dunes. They are Barchan, Star Dunes, Domal Dunes, Longitudinal Du nes, and Sand Sheets. The variation in dunes is due to their shape, size, location, and the direction of

Critical Introduction- Documentary Video Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Critical Introduction- Documentary Video - Essay Example The music was played by the use of classic genre in order to create the new sounds. Karl Waugh and Chloe Wallace are the subjects behind the documentary and had a rhythmic relationship of the played music, of which they created. It is a passion for the Waugh to play his music. This is especially at the times he speaks, making the audience to have the personal feelings of the music after they view it. This is a norm, especially for the filmmakers in using a style of keeping the people who create the music in the limelight. In this case, they see no importance for any other alternative of this style since it is an understandable style to the audience and the artists. Furthermore, the team producing the documentary wanted to make the audience to distinguish the style of music used in this artwork and classifying it as the real music. In the introduction to the documentary, Bill Nichols explains that the filmmakers structured their film according to the interview of the Waugh since his words were forming the framework of the argument discussed in the documentary. The producers have the tasks of marketing the new music in Brighton as well as avoiding the critical debate of whether the type of the music can be classified as the real music. This aims at giving the audience the chance to have their own opinions on the documentary or their own feelings. The documentary also supports the spoken words and is supported by the images, which are shown in the film as discussed by Bill Nichols. This is because the visuals are traditionally important in the films and they are shown as shots in supporting the discussions of Waugh. The sounds, which were heard as being experimental were produced by the Zero Map and are used to encourage the artists in using shots that corresponds with their ideas. The team also believes that, showing the shots will make the audience to have better understandings of the

Social Media and Innovation Essay Example for Free

Social Media and Innovation Essay Methodology The purpose of this literature review is to explore recorded literature and evidence relating to social media and innovation. The research method for the review consisted of by surveying a total of 20 articles; 15 journal and conference-proceeding works, and five practitioner articles centered on the topic in different contexts. A selection of trusted databases were accessed through MSU Libraries Electronic Resources in the search to find articles, include the ACM Digital Library, the IEEE IET Electronic library, Proquest and Google. All of the studied literature exists between the years of 2010 and 2012. Table 2 (p. 10) reflects the articles that were used in this review, listing the author and title of the work, the implication of the study, and any limitations of the study noted. Different combinations of keywords were used to extract literature related to the topic, for example: social media and innovation, social product innovation, and web 2.0 and innovation, and many other configurations. The executive summaries and abstracts of the articles included were briefed to ensure relevancy, and later the articles themselves were reviewed in entirety. To make the task of reviewing the bulk of literature streamlined, and manageable key points were recorded for each article. The notes contain the main takeaways for the articles: the authors’ purpose of the research or studies conducted, the main points, and claims most relevant to the general subject, the key findings, or results of the studies conducted, the challenges faced (regarding the specific research/studies themselves, and those relating to the broader topic) and lastly, the recommendations offered, if any, including those applying to future research in the area of the study, or those involving the companies and entities covered in the research. A table compiling all of this important information will be provided for quick comparison of the different contexts that social media and innovation were applied to. The research yielded a variety of perspectives regarding established literature and research in the area of social media and innovation, in addition to the real-world application of various social media and innovation models and evaluation of their performance. This literature review will explore the perspectives, claims and findings of the articles included highlighting similarities and contrasts to discuss gaps and overlaps. Recommendations for future research in the area will be provided in the conclusion. Introduction The term social media most commonly falls under the guise of the some of the most popular social networking websites to date, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Linked In. Truthfully, the phenomenon that is social media involves more than just photo sharing and status updates. Social media networks are powerful tools when used for knowledge creation and shared creativity. A more contemporary field of study, social media and innovation tends to branch off into other areas like crowdsourcing, and open innovation. These platforms enable virtual communities, or groups of people using social technologies for collaboration efforts, of all kinds to execute tasks, solve problems, express ideas, and function in a group environment. To date, collaborative thinking has been proven to aid in the innovation process. The central idea is that groups of users possess crowd-wisdom (sometimes referred to as â€Å"the wisdom of the crowd†). It is a term describing the relative expertise or p otential of knowledge available from a crowd of people as opposed to restricted internal â€Å"experts.† In, â€Å"Rising Creativity and Participation in Innovation and Knowledge Management Activities,† Gourova Toteva describe the effect that involving the â€Å"crowd† has had on product development specifically in the business sector. â€Å"The shift from vertical to a horizontal production model has brought changes in the innovation process, whereas end users and external stakeholders provide additional benefits to organizations, which are increasingly using the wisdom of the crowd.† (Gourova Toteva, 2011) With the evolution of the Internet’s landscape brought on by social networks and social technologies, comes the shift in methods of productivity. Crowd collaboration is at the heart of social media and innovation models, and according to the articles has began to cause somewhat of a stir in organizations’ creative and development areas. Holtzblatt Tierney (2011) warn that â€Å"iterating and developing ideas in isolation or with limited awareness of similar research in other parts of the organization can present missed opportunities and duplication of effort. â€Å" Collaborative innovation processes via social media networks have potential to manifest effective results when utilizing u ser-driven innovation activities. â€Å"Socially-enabling innovation processes can have positive effects on outcomes when participation is broadened, and greater dialogue around ideas is fostered. (Holtzblatt Tierney, 2011) The article â€Å"Six Key Takeaways on Social Media and Innovation from Digital Marketing Pioneer Porter Gale,† stressed the importance of the shift of one-way dialogue into real conversations, and urged firms to get to know their channels and customers, and to look beyond a numbers-only approach to measuring success. â€Å"Results are not always return-on-investment; returns may also be made by added fans/followers or with enhanced customer engagement.† (Arthur, 2012) Firms and organizations, realizing the advantageous properties of social media networks have began to use them, attempting to reap the benefits of them. Research and Development, product and software innovations, and internal employee communications to help garner virtual communities are just a few of the areas in which social technologies have been applied to help innovation. Social media and innovation is an area in which the common practices and functions of social networks are manipulated, exposing the greater potential of productivity that they withhold, and so often, not credited for. The studies included in this review feature real-world applications of social media networks in business and in development, and theoretical evidence that the models merging social technologies and the innovation process have the potential to be successful. Summary of Literature The articles chosen for this review were extracted from the different databases mentioned previously. The literature explores social media and innovation from different perspectives, and how both the internal and external innovation process can be enhanced using social media. The variance of perspectives and focuses from different authors fostered a host of different terms and models relating to social media and innovation. Below, table 2 illustrates the different keywords and key terms used in the literature, their definitions and the title and author of the work that contains those terms. Table (1) Social Media + Innovation keywords Term| Definition| Author Work| Open innovation; open innovation model| A method for capturing value form technology innovation- whether that innovation occurs within or outside the organization.| Defining Open.(Gobble, 2012)| Crowdsourcing| The act of accessing the â€Å"wise crowd† for ideas and solutions (term coined by Jeff Howe).| The Revolution Will be Shared: Social Media and Innovation(Anonymous, 2011)| Web 2.0| Technologies that enable users to communicate create content and share it with each other via communities, social networks and virtual worlds.| Social Media Use and Potential in Business-to- Business Companies’ Innovation.(Jussila et al, 2010| Social product innovation| The practice of leveraging social media technologies in the innovation process.| Kalypso: Social Media and Product Innovation Research Findings.(Anonymous, 2011)| Innovation-related collaboration| Collaboration activities utilized in the innovation process.| Social Media Use and Potential in Business-to-Business Companies’ Innovation. (Jussila, 2010)| Communities of creation| Groups of people who engage in generation of ideas for future products and services, actively discuss, further elaborate and test them.| Virtual Worlds as Collaborative Innovation and Knowledge Platform.(Fuller et al, 2012)| User-driven innovation| An approach in which users are the sources of ideas, drivers of the design, and decision makers throughout the design process.| Practical Model for User-Driven Innovation in Agile Software Development.(Koskela et. al, 2011)| Co-creation| Describes the active role of users.| Platform Model for User-Driven Innovation in Agile Software Development. (Koskela et. al, 2011)| Customer Communities| Communities of a company’s end-users. | Benefits of Social Media in Business-to-Business Customer Interface.(Jussila et al, 2011)| User-driven innovation| Describes users contributions to challenges launched by companies. | Practical Model for User-Driven Innovation Agile Software Development.(Koskela, 2011)| Lead user| Active in idea development over an extended period of time.| Getting Customers’ Ideas to Work for You: Learning from Dell How to Succeed With Online User Innovation Communities(Gangi et al, 2010)| Crowd Futurology| Refers to the â€Å"forum of the future.† Social media crowdsouced environment.| | Enterprise 2.0| Describes social networking software to support and enhance the continuously changing and emergent collaborative structures across enterprise| Governing Web 2.0(Dedene et al, 2011)| Wisdom of crowds| The characteristic of crowds to create content, solve problems and even do corporate research.| Raising Creativity and Participation in Innovation and Knowledge Management Activities. (Gourova Toteva, 2011)| Enterprise social innovation| Method that allows companies to take advantage of extensive networks, by providing open channels of communication and stimulating innovation.| Enterprise 2.0 and Semantic Technologies for Open Innovation Support(Carbone et al, 2010)| User Innovation Communities| Virtual community of customers that participate with organizations in RD.| The Next Digital Wave Using Social Media (Accenture, 2012)| Social media and innovation begins with one concept: social media technologies. Each article that was studied for this literature review, emphasized in one way or another, the revolutionary power that these technologies possess. Though different terms were used to describe the technologies, such as web 2.0, enterprise 2.0, and social technologies, the consensus between the authors is that they hold much potential (and often times untapped) to foster successful creative and productive environments. Real World Application/ Challenges The literature reflects a variance in knowledge, and evidence available in the social media and innovation area, directly affecting the rate of adoption of companies and organizations. The articles studied for this review were published in the past two years. The general trend is that the older pieces (2010-2011) reflect a lack of knowledge, resources, and statistics regarding social media and innovation. Jussila et al (2010) identified four major challenges responsible absence of innovation processes using social media technologies in business to business companies: lack of understanding possibilities of social media in innovation, difficulties of assessing financial gains from social media, difficulties in adopting new mental models and practices needed for adoption, and lack of evidence of similar using social media in innovation. (Jussila et al, 2010) The authors identify one cause being a â€Å"relatively scarce† amount of information in the area, and â€Å"fragmentedâ⠂¬  theoretical and empirical research. (Jussila et al, 2010) Similarly, Bettina Mikko (2010) agreed that â€Å"the literature is relatively scarce concerning open innovation in the specific channel on online communities. (Bettina Mikko, 2010) Despite the lack of knowledge, they acknowledge efforts to incorporate these type of â€Å"open† collaboration activities.â€Å" Although some firms have adopted these principles, the way for users to communicate their ideas to the firms remain underutilized with a few exceptions.† (Bettina Mikko, 2010) A general lack of knowledge in the area of social media and innovation is not the only cited issue relating to real-world applications of models and policies. In the article, â€Å"Social Media and Product Innovation Research Findings,† (2011) a survey of more than 90 manufacturing and service companies revealed that 70 percent of the participating companies â€Å"are using or were planning to use social media for product innovation,† but of those respondents, less than half had an implementation and/or management strategy in place. Forty-six percent of respondents revealed a lack of knowledge regarding effective approaches. (Anonymous, 2011) The article notes one of the causes of this trend as the lack of knowledge among companies’ uncertainty of benefits (of social media innovation strategies) and leading practices. (Anonymous, 2011) Gangi et al (2010) acknowledges the potential of business models using social technologies to engage users as a competitive advantage, but also lists challenges companies face in implementation: 1) understanding users ideas posted, 2) identifying the best ideas, 3) balancing needs for transparency against disclosure (protecting user-submitted ideas for competitors, 4) sustaining the community (developing strategies for interacting with the community to sustain user participation. Koskela et al (2011) confirms the claim that â€Å"companies do not have enough knowledge of utilizing user’s input and social media-based interaction in innovation and software activities,† in the article† Practical Model for User-Driven Innovation in Agile Software Development.† A changing of perspectives occurs in the articles written between 2011-2012. Gourova Toteva (2011) argue that the rate of adoption of creative activities involving customers in the process is increasing in companies. The authors concluded the article â€Å"Rising Creativity and Participation in Innovation and Knowledge Management Activities,† by stating â€Å"Nowadays social media is increasingly supporting innovation and is behind most open innovation processes and user’s co-creation activities.† Following in line with this claim, Figge et al. (2012) reveals that â€Å"most big corporations chose to tap into the growing portion of participative consumers to refine their marketing strategy practices,† and that social media, being major sales and marketing channels, have allowed for increasing collective trends in consumption. (Figge et al., 2012) Pena (2012) concluded after a study of multi-national corporations’ use of social innovation sites and application of content found on those sites that â€Å"while multi-national firms did not formally embrace social platforms for innovation, passive or informal use of these sources were endorsed by 100% of the interviewees. (Pena, 2012) The two main barriers to use of the sources included 1) a lack of clarity around the owner of the finished idea and the potential for litigation and 2) the fact that competition becomes informed of firms’ intentions as they pursue innovation from social formats. (Pena, 2012) Business Contexts Several articles applied to or studied social media technologies and the innovation in the creation processes of firms. There were several articles analyzing and comparing the use of social media innovation processes, specifically business-to-business and business-to-consumer firms. The differences between the two in terms of categories of clientele and business practices reveal similarities and differences in innovation and collaboration methods. In Social Media Use and Potential in Business-to-Business Companies’ Innovation, Jussila et al, makes the point that the use of social media in innovation processes can reveal great potential for success in b2b companies, like in b2c companies, and was used with innovation partners (outside audience) more often than with b2c companies. (Jussila et al, 2010) Jussila et. al (2011) acknowledged the assumption that â€Å"it is much more difficult to utilize social media in business innovation and customer interface for business-to-business innovation and customer interface for business-to-business products, markets and product development.† Research exploring social media and benefits from the business-to-business customer interface perspective found potential causes for variance of social media use in different phases of innovation processes: patterns of interaction between firm and customers vary with roles, knowledge creation activities vary depending on nature of knowledge to be created and lastly, customers motivation to participate or be involved in innovation process activity rather than product support. Other articles focused on business in a broader context in order to make implications or recommendations in the field of study Fuller et al (2012) studied IBM’s use of social media use in innovation and collaboration pr ocesses using virtual worlds (second life) in the article â€Å"Virtual Worlds as Collaborative Innovation and Knowledge Platform.† During the course of the study, IBM gathered experience by using 3D environments as communication and interaction platform within the organization. The study findings indicated potential for virtual worlds to foster creative ideas both within, and beyond the company. (Fuller et al, 2012) Similarly, Gangi et al (2010) analyzed and assessed challenges present in the first 18 months of Dell’s IdeaStorm program implementation and offered recommendations for successful management of online user innovation communities. The recommendations are relevant to any application of a user-driven innovation platform; create a user toolkit, strategically position key personnel to ensure clear, logical flow of ideas to proper internal resources, engage the lead users of the platform, promote self-governance in users to enable community to carry more of workload, respond quickly and ask questions, make user-submitted votes count and present progress clearly and openly to the community. (Gangi, e t al, 2010) Software Development The use of social media for innovation purposes is applied to the development of software in both internal and external (employees of organizations vs. user activities) contexts. In â€Å"Using Web 2.0 to Improve Software Quality.† Black Jacobs (2010) assert that the development process has been altered due to social media, now including interaction design where feedback from users is encouraged, and used as part of the ongoing development process. The study examined social media use in collaborative group work using distant teams. Organizations are encouraged to focus implementing social technologies for purposes of group work. â€Å"The use of social media presents an opportunity for an organization to build a distributed knowledge base and increase employees’ sense of connection to companies initiatives and to each other. (Black Jacobs, 2010) Koskela et, al (2011) claims that online co-creation among users and developers needs continuous facilitation; thus allowing direct user interaction to enhance the perspectives of each group and placing more importance on the use’s goals. According to â€Å"Practical Model for User-Driven Innovation in Agile Software Development,† by implementing user-driven innovation integrating users, even in a quick, agile software development process is not only possible and can be potentially beneficial to the organization. (Koskela et. al, 2011) Technological Applications Innovation and social media have technological implications, especially in the areas of enterprise 2.0 and open-innovation processes. Structuring Web 2.0 collaborative platforms and strategies is discussed in two of the articles used for this review. In the article â€Å"Enterprise 2.0 and Semantic Technologies for Open Innovation Support,† Carbone et al (2010) emphasizes the potential of enterprise 2.0 technologies by asserting that they â€Å"have the power to usher in a new era by making both the practices of knowledge work and its’ output more visible. The article proposes a new model â€Å"Semantic web† to transform human-readable content into machine-readable content. This new model controls and structures the heavy flow of user-submitted information, an aspect brought on by the â€Å"collaborative paradigm.† (Carbone et al, 2010) Dedene et al (2011) proposes four grounding principles to help organizations get the most out of their Enterprise 2.0 investments. In the many-to-many, decentralized environment present in Web 2.0 collaborative activities, structuration is emphasized as a key process and is made possible by these four principles: 1) â€Å"empowerment principle- empowers users to discover desirable uses of technology rather than draw up barriers to unwanted use, 2) processes principle- enables process workers and managers to capture value from experimenting and progressively synthesizing new ways for processing, 3) collaboration principle- lets virtual communities and teamwork emerge from a free-flow of collaboration engagements, rather than pre-assign bulk of roles, activities and access rules and finally 4) people and culture principle- invites people to participate, rather than coercing them to work in a particular way.† (Dedene et al, 2011) Findings/ Pitfalls All of the articles studied for this review acknowledged the potential of the use of social media for purposes of innovation to be successful avenues reaching end consumers and sparking creative thinking within a firm or organization. The articles, both theoretically focused, and case studies of real-world application conveyed the benefits of implementation and recognized the area as revolutionary, and the inevitable direction of the innovation process for firms and organizations. It goes without saying, that there is another side to the coin when it comes to model and strategy implementation. Gangi et. al (2010) identified one potentially damaging characteristic of social media that could negatively effect innovation efforts. â€Å"The viral aspect of all web 2.0 technologies means that an org could quickly lose control of negative content.† (Gangi, et al, 2010) The pervasiveness and instantaneous aspects of social media can be damning to an organization based on self-published material, or user-published. (Carbone et al, 2010) Managing the overwhelming amounts of information that exists, as an end-result of the decentralization of ideas may be difficult to achieve. Ideas contributed via social media networks present an issue with idea ownership due to blurred line between what is idea adoption and what could be conceived as theft of intellectual property. As mentioned by Pena (2012) this is one cause of avoidance regarding companies’ implementation of social technology strategies. Recommendations Dedene et al (2011) notes that managing the technologies for effective use requires strategy and knowledge, and that organizations have not fully mastered these concepts. â€Å"The promise of Enterprise 2.0 is enticing to many orgs; however experience and research into managing such investments to effective benefits realization has not yet reached full maturity; making people mindful about the capabilities of the technology is an absolute precondition to benefits generation from the technology.† (Dedene et al, 2011) The lack of knowledge available in the application of social media for innovation purposes, though lessening over time, is still a viable issue of concern for companies attempting to implement models. It is important for there to be an accessible collection of literature to foster field knowledge, and to increase in real-world applications. The lack of understanding due to little to no knowledge base has attributed to the skepticism among businesses and IT professi onals. (Dedene et. al, 2011) More research should be executed in this area and more literature developed. Organizations will not invest in ideas that are not fully understood. The reach of evidence of benefits of the use of social media for purposes of innovation needs to be increased. Not only should literature about implementation be increased and shared, but also firmer guidelines for successful use of social media for innovation should as well. Many of the major and minor firms and organizations venturing into this somewhat â€Å"unchartered territory† are doing so without a definitive strategy. A set of published principles, assisting first-time implementation, corrective implementation, and for use throughout operation, (management of platforms) should become accessible. This set of principles would provide some protection against simple mistakes and allow for smoother, more streamlined implementation for firms and organizations. Table (2) Table of Literature Author/ Work| Implication/ Findings| Limitation(s)/ Pitfalls| Benefits of Social Media in B2B Customer Interface in Innovation(Jussila, et. al, 2011)| Social media can be useful in all stages of B2B companies’ innovation processes. | Companies don’t understand how to be active with social media effectively.| Measuring the Effectiveness of Social Media on an Innovation Process(Holtzblatt Tierney, 2011)| Using social media, it is possible to â€Å"accelerate the transition of new technology and knowledge to customers by expanding staff and end-users direct communications.| Limitations of data: restricted to interactions that occur on-line inside the IdeaMarket (platform used in research).| Is Open Innovation Open?(Bettina Mikko, 2010)| Social media and open innovation principles remain underutilized by companies. | Most innovative firms that were studied were multinational with multiple websites, all using different content. | Platform Model for User-Driven Innovation in Agile Software Development(Koskela et al, 2011)| The model using co-creation tools and direct user-interaction can be applied to the innovation processes of other consumer-targeted products and services..| Companies do not have enough knowledge of utilizing user’s input and social media based interaction in innovation and software activities. | Raising Creativity and Participation in Innovation and Knowledge Management Activities(Gourova Toteva, 2011)| Nowadays social media is increasingly supporting innovation and is behind most open innovation processes and user’s co-creation activities.| N/a| Social Media and Product Innovation(Anonymous, 2011)| When it comes to applying social technologies to product developments and innovation, most organizations are still in the early adoption phase.| N/a| Social Media Use and Potential in B2B Companies’ Innovation(Jussila et al, 2010)| Both B2B and B2C companies’ were taking advantage of social media use in innovation processes| The gap of perceived use between t wo different business types is significant. Research should be carried out to facilitate adoptions and fill gap. | The Revolution Will Be Shared: Social Media and Innovation(Anonymous, 2011)| Social technologies used for innovation purposes are revolutionary| N/a| Using Web 2.0 to improve Software Quality(Black Jacobs)| Social media among other benefits, has changed the development process to include interaction design, where feedback from users is used.| N/a| Virtual Worlds as Collaborative Innovation and Knowledge Platforms(Fuller, et. al, 2012)| Virtual worlds can offer new ways of having access to knowledge and creative ideas within and beyond companies. | Virtual community lacked total security and some complained about poor graphics| Getting Customer’s Ideas to Work for You: Learning from Dell How to Succeed With Online User Innovation Communities.(Gangi et al, 2010)| A poorly managed user innovation community could have devastating consequences for an organization.| Challenges for companies included: Understanding users ideas posted, Identifying the best ideas,Balancing needs for transparency against disclosure (protecting user-submitted ideas from competitors) and Sustaining the community (developing strategies for interacting with the community to sustain user participation. | Governing Web 2.0(Dedene, 2011)| Enterprises can use principles and lessons to avoid the fallacy of going into social media for innovation endeavor with too much of a command/control view on tech adoption| Many organizations have not effectively mastered management of social media and innovation platforms| Investigating the Increasing Role of Public Social Networks Within the Innovation Process of Large, Multi-National Corporations(Pena, 2012)| Use of strong social networking within an organization propels innovation| Firms did not embrace platforms, but all endorsed informal use.Two main barriers to use of sources by companies: lack of clarity around owner of ideas, 2) competition may become informed of intentions| Enterprise 2.0 and Semantic Technologies for Open Innovation Support(Carbone et al, 2010)| The web 2.0 environment helped in establishing an innovation culture in the firms, while the sematic technologies helped not just in fostering interaction for the creation of new ideas, but also in supporting the decision process.| N/a| Defining Open(Gobble, 2012)| Open innovation is among the new resources available for conceptualizing, creating and managing open innovations efforts at every scale.| N/a| Six Key Takeaways On Social Media And Innovation From Digital Marketing Pioneer Porter Gale(Arthur, 2012)| One-way dialogue has evolved into 24/7 real-time conversations.| N/a| Social Media for Innovation Efforts (Lindegaard, 2013)| The use of social media for innovation efforts is still new and full of opportunity.| N/a| Social Product Innovation2013 Kalypso| Social media technologies are rapidly changing the way we communicate and collaborate. A comprehensive and sustainable strategy must be developed to deliver results.| N/a| Five Emerging Innovation and Social Media Trends and Why They Matter Now(Ben-Yehuda, 2012)| Social media and a renewed emphasis on innovation and DIY is transforming how government agencies operate and how they interact with citizens.| N/a| The Next Digital Wave: Enterprise Social Innovation. 2012 Accenture| Through enterprise social innovation, companies can benefit from a greater pool of ideas, ones that are aligned more closely with the wants and needs of end-consumers.| N/a| Works Cited Jussila, J., Karkkainen, H., Meino, M. (2011). Benefits of social media in business-to-business customer inerface in innovation. 2011vACM, Holtzblatt, J., Tierney, M. L. (2011). Measuring the effectiveness of social media on an innovation process. 2011 ACM, Bettina, M., Mikko, L. (2010, Sep). Is innovation open? evidence from the most innovative firms and the most valuable brands. European conference on innovation and entrepreneurship, United kingdom. Koskela, K., Nakki, P., Pikkarainen, M. (2011). 17th international conference of concurrent enterprising, Finland. Gourova, E., Toteva, K. (2011). Raising creativity and participation in innovation and knowledge managment activities. 17th internation conference on concurrent enterprising. Anonymous. (2011). Social media and product innvoation research findings. Professional services close-up, Jussila, J., Karkkainen, H., Vaisanen, J. (2010). Social media use and potential in business-to-business companies innovation. 2010 ACM, Anonymous. (201). The revolution will be shared: social media and innovation. Research technology management, 54(1), 64-66. Black, S., Jacobs, J. (2010). Using web 2.0 to improve software quality. 2010 ACM, Fuller, J., Hautz, J., Hutter, K., Matzler, K., Muller, J. (2012). Virtual worlds as collaborative innovation and knowledge platform. 2012 IEEE, Gangi, P., Hooker, R., Wasko, M. (2010). Getting customers ideas to work for you: learning from dell how to succeed with online user innovation communities. MIS quarterly executive, 9(4), Dedene, A. G., Hertogh, S., Viaene, S. (2011). Governing web 2.0. Communications of the acm, 54(3), Pena, V. (2012). Investigating the increasing role of public social networkd within the innovation process of large, multi-national corporations. Business studies journal, 3, Carbone, F., Contreras, J., Hernandez, J. (2010). Enterprise 2.0 and semantic technologies for open innovation support. IEA/AIE 2010, part II, 18-27. Gobble, M. (2012). Defining open. Research technology management, Arthur , L. (2012, 3 6). Six key takeaways on social media and innovation from digital marketing pioneer porter gale. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/lisaarthur/2012/03/06/six-key-take-aways-on-social-media-and-innovation-from-porter-gale-former-virgin-america-marketing-vp/ Lindegaard, S. (2013, 01 31). Free webinar: social media for innovation efforts. Retrieved from http://www.15inno.com/2013/01/31/smwebinar/ Kalypso. (2013). Social product innovation, capabilites, kalypso. Retrieved from http://kalypso.com/capabilities/services/social-product-innovation/ Ben-Yehuda, G. (2012, 11 1). Five emerging innovation and social media trends and why they matter now. Retrieved from http://www.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2012/11/five-emerging-innovation-and-social-media-trends-and-why-they-matter-now/59179/ Accenture. (2012). The net digital wave: enterprise social innovation. Retrieved from http://www.accenture.com/us-en/Pages/insight-next-digital-wave-social-media-harness-innovation-summary.aspx

The Columbia Encyclopedia Essay Example for Free

The Columbia Encyclopedia Essay Camera inventions multiplied speeds pictures can become available. Someone explored the possibilities of different ways to use many pictures at one time. The amazing invention was moving photography, motion pictures, short for pictures in motion. The first motion pictures made with a single camera were by E. J. Marey, a French physician, in the 1880s, in the course of his study of motion. (The Columbia Encyclopedia) Art historians document the camera obscura was invented dating as far back as 200-300 B. C. but it is Aristotle who popularized the item, finding many useful purposes for it. Film, television and movie programs use light shinning through a miniature circle narrowing the focus of the object, reflected on a huge screen. This technical invention allowing high quality moving pictures to be possible began when Aristotle used the invention to study science, specifically the sun. To explain the camera obscura in simple terms, it is a box, with a pinhole, and light reflects through the tiny pinhole. The amount of light allowed to shine through the pinhole is controlled, giving the objects more detailed precise pictures, more focus. The next step camera technology was the Kinetoscope. In 1889 Thomas Edison and his staff developed the Kinetograph, a camera using rolls of coated celluloid film, and the Kinetoscope, a device for peep-show viewing using photographs that flipped in sequence. (The Columbia Encyclopedia) The Kinetoscope was to the camera obscura what the digital camera is to the Polaroid camera. It allowed a series of pictures to be produced and flipped through faster, giving illusion of continuous smoothly flowing pictures. Moving pictures, studying of motion, were making rapid advancements. The camera obscura allowed one person to view through the pinhole, the Kinetoscope showed moving pictures to groups of people, further encouraging exploring different ways of connecting pictures. The admission for shows cost one penny. In France the LumiA? re brothers created the first projection device, the CinAÂ ©matographe (1895). (The Columbia Encyclopedia) It was not long before moving pictures were in great demand. People loved the entertainment, and movie houses were being built at an alarming rate. Today, movies and movie technology shows no signs of slowing down. The camera served as a link between art paintings and audio recordings. It is the middle point that transformed paintings into multiple copies of still photographs and added sound to it, eventually named film and television movies. Recordings Paintings existed from the beginning of time. The camera was used by artists to view possibilities of looking at their paintings. During the time the camera was continuously being experimented with, musicians were fine tuning audio recordings. Someone found a way to put a combination of photographs into an aesthetic flowing sequence, in a pattern that tells a complete story. After the photographs became a series of one long continuous moving picture, someone added sound. Paintings, cameras, scriptwriting and recordings are the historical events that created film and television entertainment. All films, videos, and most television programs are, before they become anything else, recordings. (Watson 1990, 14) Film and television are photographs that move adding singing or talking audible voices. Sound quality used in film and television are equally important to putting together a show that is visually pleasing, holding audience as much as the lighting, designing, blocking, wardrobe, makeup and sequence of films. In the early 1900s, recordings were external devices played along with the film or television. Technologys ability putting motion into a series of photographs, showing the pictures in motion were not yet capable of recording the actors voices. Some television companies were using this technique as late as the seventies. If the actor’s prerecorded audio voices were offset from the video only fractions of a second, the inaccurate timing was visible to the audience. The actor was speaking and the words the actor was saying were heard before or after the audience could see him or her saying it. The popular Broadway musical, Singing in the Rain, released in the 1950’s shows audible One of the main points of the play tells how recordings were first incorporated into making complete films and television, how movies went from silent films to speaking films. One of the main characters was a very attractive dumb blonde lacking vocal skills. The studio gave her only nonspeaking roles, later attempted to work with her on her voice, experimenting with frustrating recording techniques. The point was to show how nonvisible audio determines visuality of the movie. External prerecorded devices are used, of course exaggerated into entertaining comedy, resulting in the woman’s voice getting mixed up with the acting parts of the male actors voice. The importance of sound quality to film and television comes together at the end of the movie, when a voice double is discovered. The first lesson one learns almost immediately after undertaking to write a comprehensive and critically weighed history of the American sound film is that one can never finish; one can only stop. (Sarris 1998, 3) Audible recordings were the last additions to completing the making of the films. Once added, limitations of film were lifted, allowing more options for visual enhancement for moving pictures. Voice projections, embellishments, sound effects give characters in the moving photographs personality, bringing the person shown in the picture or written in the book to life. Today, making silent full-length movies are not even considered. Art Consciously and unconsciously, artists borrow plots, characters, symbols, themes, interests, generic forms, ways of seeing, feeling and thinking. (Watson 1990, 98) Artist of today borrow from other artists, but the ones who invented art history are the masterminds and the reasons for the existence of film and television. Everything started with artists pictures, their drawings and probably the earliest story books. When someone decided to add movement to these pictures, it was determined music would give these pictures a stronger identity. The most popular films, television programs used borrowed themes from art legends. The most advanced filming techniques used today, originally began when there were no such thing as electricity, such as the camera obscura. The addition of sound to film originated with Pythagoras numbering system when studying the octaves of the universe. Impressions are not dependent on mathematical accuracy however, but intermittent imagery. (Watson 1990, 82) Images are indeed the visual effects carrying story lines from the beginning to the end in films, movies and television. When nonspeaking films were first invented in the 1920s, the audience had no idea of the visual affects produced by the background technology used to make the film. It was to the advantage to the technicians to study such techniques because it was cost effective. Today, the general public paying audiences may not understand the techniques behind movie making, but they can certainly see the lack of use of techniques. The first film and television developers were well aware of the importance of images to successful films and television programs. The whole idea behind films and television was moving images. Many of these moving images were borrowed from the artists from the past, or the theme of the movie implied a famous painting. Abstract art was considered to be a meaningless combination of colors. Use of coloring combinations makes images stand out and get noticed. Art paintings are the beginnings of the study of film and television productions. Finding a way to produce multiple pictures and putting these multiple pictures into motion pictures are the backbone of films and movies. Historical points sell. They give the audience a familiarity or a connection to the past. Perhaps, subconsciously historical images repeated in current films bring them back to a time in their life when they first studied these artists. Whatever the reason for the success, it works. Works Cited Camera. 2007. In The Columbia Encyclopedia 6th ed. , edited by Lagasse, Paul. New York: Columbia University Press. http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=112849953 (accessed March 16, 2008). Motion Pictures. 2007. In The Columbia Encyclopedia 6th ed. , edited by Lagasse, Paul. New York: Columbia University Press. http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=112874771 (accessed March 16, 2008). Sarris, Andrew. 1998. You Aint Heard Nothin Yet: The American Talking Film: History Memory, 1927-1949. New York: Oxford University Press. http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=24355309. Watson, Robert. 1990. Film and Television in Education: An Aesthetic Approach to the Moving Image. London: Falmer Press. http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=103505179.

Risk Management in Childrens Play

Risk Management in Childrens Play Balanced Approach to Risk Management A risk is part of everyday life and it almost affects everyone in some form or the other. A risk is taken every day in order to sustain a better, healthy future. Therefore risk cannot be completely eliminated in any aspect of our society and so accepting that the possibility of even serious or life threatening injuries cannot be eliminated, however, it should be legally and lawfully managed. Risk should be acknowledged and controlled at a manageable level to benefit the potential opportunities we get in return. A balanced approach to managing risk is essential to structure our society. The concept of risk/benefit assessment should be a guide to achieve satisfaction. Playtime is essential and vital part of a childs life. Playtime directly affects a childs well-being and development. The Health Safety Executive (UK) acknowledges that No child will learn if they are wrapped in cotton wool (http://www.hse.gov.uk/entertainment/childrens-play-july-2012.pdf) Through playtime children develop different skills such as self-confidence, team building, and social skills in school. One of the key benefits of risk is; children of various age groups learn about risk themselves, mostly through outdoor play activities. A balanced approach to managing risk for providing childrens play opportunities and activities as well as the benefits they gain out of it should be carefully measured. Recognising the introduction of risk may form part of play opportunities. This enhances their experience to take responsibility for their own safety and well-being as they grow up. The National Travel Survey 2014 has confirmed that the most common mode of transport to school by children between the ages of 5-10 is by walking or car. 88% of children between the ages of 7-10 were accompanied by an adult and more than half of them agreed that road safety was their biggest concern; among other concerns. Whilst, a risk is part of life but accidents do not have to be; in most cases accidents can be easily avoided. A 2010 study by, The English Outdoor Council admits that On a typical school visit, the children who take part are at no greater risk of death than their schoolmates who have stayed behind. http://www.englishoutdoorcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Nothing-Ventured.pdf In order to keep children safe, children must be taught systematically; pedestrian skills; road crossing, safe cycling and scooting from a very early age and should be linked predominantly between the ages of 7-10. Most primary schools have directly linked these activities to their curriculum. These skills will play a vital role in managing risk for the yr 6 Residential Visits, Outdoor School Activities, The benefits gained from these activities should be balanced against the hazard or risk it may have. In my school, we have an Adventure playground which is used by all pupils. However, KS1 is only allowed to use the Adventure playground occasionally as Marble treats for 15mins. KS2 uses the Adventure playground on rota basis every play time. The maximum children allowed to access the Adventure playground is approximately 30. Pupils are not allowed to access the playground on wet days, indoor play activities are organised. When pupils use the Adventure playground, the class teacher personally monitors the play area. A comprehensive site survey is carried out every term to manage risk. All children learn to use the adventure facilities in a different way. They all want to enjoy and play and reach specific targets. KS1 use the facilities and try out each activity at their own pace, whilst KS2 especially the 10/11 year old are stronger and reach their specific targets and goals at a faster pace. The experience they gain in the Adventure playground, without any adults interfering gain th em resilience and abilities as they learn to manage their own risk. Children with a specific disability would be monitored by a supervisor on a 1:1. Another activity in our school is Climb the Wall available only to yr 5/6. The activity itself is challenging and it builds pupils confidence; benefitting them with climbing movement, agility, balance and coordination, awareness of bodys centre gravity. A risk is assessed and managed by appropriate use of helmets, footwear, clothing, long hairs tied back, no jewellery, and pockets all emptied. The activity is strictly supervised by 1:1 ratio; 3 children allowed at a single time. Children with a specific disability would not be allowed to participate in this activity. One of the activity our school organises is a Residential trip only to year 6. Children experience various benefits, some of them are building personal confidence, team building activity, and developing social skills and exploring their strengths and weakness. The objectives and the outcome of this activity are well managed and measured in the trip. The risk is managed by the ratio of students to the teacher. This activity is not available to any other pupils in the school as the objectives and benefits are slim. Our school is aware of the health and safety risk to children. The school has tailored an exclusive Road Safety Education into their curriculum. Year 5 children are offered cycle training. This programme is facilitated by the East Riding Council and a group of 4/5 children are taken outside the school with their cycles and helmets and trained to use a cycle safely. The risk is assessed and managed by the school as well as the ERC. Children who pass this training are allowed to cycle to school independently. A pedestrian skill programme is arranged for yr 4, personally organised by the ERC and Scoot the Route is offered to year 3. Children in Yr 6 experience a Bus Aware programme which will benefit them before they go to the secondary school. Reference NA. (2012). CHILDRENS PLAY AND LEISURE PROMOTING A BALANCED APPROACH . Available: http:// http://www.hse.gov.uk/entertainment/childrens-play-july-2012.pdf . Last accessed 12/02/14. Jill T. (NA). Nothing Ventured. Available:http://www.englishoutdoorcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Nothing-Ventured.pdf Last accessed 14/2/17.