Reviving Ophelia Essays - Adolescence, Childhood, Youth,

Reviving Ophelia Reviving Ophelia Adolescent girls growing up in todays society endure many more hardships than in previous years. Adolescence is no longer a time of endless sunny days spent on the back porch with a glass of country time lemonade and a smile extending ear to ear. Adolescence for girls is now generalized as a dark and depressing period of life that often seems hopeless and never ending. Mary Pipher PH.D tries to illustrate just how drastically life has changed over the years for teenage girls through her best selling book Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls. Although Mary Pipher was once a clinical psychologist, she articulates very well for everyone to clearly understand her ideas and perspectives. One way she is able to transfer her ideas to her readers without losing any of the emotion and feeling is by using actual quotes by her adolescent girl clients. I feel this is a very effective way to keep the readers attention and to convey the reality of the problems many teenagers are trapped in. I agree with Pipher that our society has changed for the worse even though we are persuaded to think that we are moving in the right direction. Yes, equal right movements have been placed in the law, but the respect that people once had for women has been eliminated. Comparing girls true selves to the Bermuda Triangle, Mary Pipher goes to great depth to explain what a mysterious trend this has become. No one can reason why these girls can no longer appreciate anything in life when just a few years before a spittle bug could have kept them mesmerized for an hour. Pipher recalls early in the book the image of Shakespeares Ophelia drowning herself due to failed attempts to please both her father and hamlet. She states that adolescent girls are similarly drowning in confusion as they try to sort out details in their life, and decide whom they really want to please. I really liked how Pipher points out that during the most stressful time during girls lives, our society stres ses the importance of cutting the emotional ties with moms and dads although this is the time when parental guidance and support would most likely be needed, but maybe not appreciated at the time. However, some parents can actually impact the girls choices negatively by insisting that they grow up too fast or to confine to the norm. This is a frightening crisis that Pipher demands we meet head on; indeed, among American girls there is more depression, eating disorders, addictions, self-mutilation, and suicides than ever before! I really related well with this book because I grew up being a tomboy. I still sometimes wish that I were a guy because life would seem so simple. I, too, miss the days when I could go to a social gathering without a mask, and I could actually be myself without worrying if I was acting proper or if I wore the right thing. I really feel that Pipher mainly emphasizes the major problems adolescent girls are now facing, the causes of these problems, and how as a society and individually we can deal and change this reoccurring depressing pattern our teenage girls are following. First, Pipher blames the low self respect of adolescent girls everything from parents to peers, but mainly faults our society as a whole. We are all guilty of getting caught up in the media, television, and magazines. Have you seen Rosie? She has lost so much weight! Oprah gained all of her weight back and more! These are just a few of the comments that are made after watching two of the most watched talk shows. I know these comments sound harmless, but to a young girl who is struggling with the perfect body image these comments reinforce the importance of appearance. Pipher also points out that intelligent girls are more prone to depression because they are more aware of their surroundings and therefore more aware of the new constraints they face as they leave childhood. Our society idealizes tall, dark and very skinny women. Thin is one thing, but we like skinny enough that it kills. I really like when

Axolotl Facts (Ambystoma mexicanum)

Axolotl Facts (Ambystoma mexicanum) According to Aztec legend, the first axolotl (pronounced axo-LO-tuhl)  was a god who changed his form in order to escape being sacrificed. The sneaky transformation from terrestrial salamander to a fully aquatic form did not save later generations from death. The Aztecs ate axolotls. Back when the animals  were common, you could buy them as food in Mexican markets. While the axolotl may not be a god, its an amazing animal. Learn how to recognize an axolotl, why scientists are fascinated by them, and how to care for one as a pet. Fast Facts: Axolotl Scientific Name: Ambystoma mexicanumCommon Names: Axolotl, Mexican salamander, Mexican walking fishBasic Animal Group: AmphibianSize: 6-18 inchesWeight: 2.1-8.0 ouncesLifespan: 10 to 15 yearsDiet: CarnivoreHabitat: Xochimilco Lake near Mexico CityPopulation: Less than a hundredConservation Status: Critically Endangered Description Axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum. andrewburgess / Getty Images An axolotl is a type of salamander, which is an amphibian. Frogs, newts, and most salamanders undergo a metamorphosis to transition from life in the water to life on land. The axolotl is unusual in that it doesnt undergo a metamorphosis and develop lungs. Instead, axolotls hatch from eggs into a juvenile form that grows to become its adult form. Axolotls keep their gills and permanently reside in the water. A mature axolotl (18 to 24 months in the wild) ranges in length from 15 to 45 centimeters (6 to 18 inches). An adult specimen weighs anywhere between 2 and 8 ounces. An axolotl  resembles other salamander larvae, with lidless eyes, a wide head, frilled gills, long digits, and a long tail. A male has a swollen, papillae-lined cloaca, while a female has a wider body that is full of eggs. The salamanders have vestigial teeth. Gills are used for respiration, although the animals sometimes gulp surface air for supplemental oxygen. Axolotls have four pigmentation genes, giving rise to a wide range of colors. The wild-type coloration is olive brown with gold speckles. Mutant colors include pale pink with black eyes, gold with gold eyes, gray with black eyes, and black. Axolotls can alter their melanophores to camouflage themselves, but only to a limited extent. Scientists believe axolotls descended from salamanders that could live on land, but reverted to water because it offered a survival advantage. Animals Confused With Axolotls This is not an axolotl: Necturus maculosus (common mudpuppy). Paul Starosta / Getty Images People confuse axolotls with other animals partly because the same common names may be applied to different species and partly because axolotls do resemble other animals. Animals confused with axolotls include: Waterdog: A waterdog is the name of the larval stage of the tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum and A. mavotium). The tiger salamander and axolotl are related, but the axolotl never metamorphosizes into a terrestrial salamander. However, its possible to force an axolotl to undergo metamorphosis. This animal looks like a tiger salamander, but the metamorphosis is unnatural and shortens the animals lifespan. Mudpuppy: Like the axolotl, the mudpuppy (Necturus spp.) is a fully aquatic salamander. However, the two species are not closely related. Unlike the axolotl, the common mudpuppy (N. maculosus) is not endangered. Habitat and Distribution The lake Lago Acitlalin in the Ecological Park (Parque Ecologico de Xochimilco) is a vast nature reserve in the wetlands of Xochimilco in the south of Mexico City, Mexico. stockcam / Getty Images In the wild, axolotls only live in the Xochimilco lake complex, which is located near Mexico City. The salamanders may be found on the bottom of the lake and its canals. Neoteny The axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) exhibits neoteny, meaning it remains in its larval form throughout life. Quentin Martinez / Getty Images The axolotl is a neotenic salamander, which means it doesnt mature into an air-breathing adult form. Neoteny is favored in cool, high-altitude environments because metamorphosis requires a huge energy expenditure. Axolotls can be induced to metamorphose by injection of iodine or thyroxine or by ingesting iodine-rich food. Diet This captive axolotl is eating a piece of meat. Argument / Getty Images Axolotls are carnivores. In the wild, they eat worms, insect larvae, crustaceans, small fish, and mollusks. The salamanders hunt by smell, snapping at prey and sucking it in like a vacuum cleaner. Within the lake, axolotls  had no real predators. Predatory birds were the biggest threat. Large fish were introduced into Lake Xochimilco, which ate the young salamanders. Reproduction and Offspring This is a newt in its egg sac. Like newts, salamander larvae are recognizable within their eggs. Dorling Kindersley / Getty Images Much of what we know about axolotl reproduction comes from observing them in captivity. Captive axolotls become mature in their larval stage between 6 and 12 months of age. Females typically mature later than males. The increasing temperature and light of spring signal  the start of the axolotl breeding season. Males expel spermatophores into the water and try to lure a female over them. The female picks up the sperm packet with her cloaca, leading to internal fertilization. Females release between 400 and 1000 eggs during spawning. She lays each egg individually, attaching it to a plant or rock. A female may breed several times during a season. The tail and gills of the larvae are visible within the egg. Hatching occurs after 2 to 3 weeks. Larger, earlier-hatching larvae eat smaller, younger ones. Regeneration Starfish regenerate lost arms, but they are invertebrates. Salamanders regenerate, plus they are vertebrates (like humans). Jeff Rotman / Getty Images The axolotl is a model genetic organism for regeneration. Salamanders and newts have the highest regenerative ability of any tetrapod (4-legged) vertebrates. The incredible healing ability extends well beyond replacing a lost tail or limbs. Axolotls can even replace some parts of their brains. In addition, they freely accept transplants (including eyes and brain portions) from other axolotls. Conservation Status Tilapia added to the lake near Mexico City are one of the main threats to axolotl survival. darkside26 / Getty Images Wild axolotls are headed to extinction. They are listed as critically endangered by IUCN. In 2013, no surviving axolotls were found in the Lake Xochimilco habitat, but then two individuals were found in the canals leading from the lake. The decline of axolotls is due to multiple factors. Water pollution, urbanization (loss of habitat), and introduction of invasive species (tilapia and perch) may be more than the species can withstand. Keeping an Axolotl in Captivity An axolotl will eat anything small enough to fit into its mouth. Argument / Getty Images However, the axolotl wont vanish! Axolotls are important research animals and fairly common exotic pets. They are uncommon at pet stores because they require a cool temperature, but may be obtained from hobbyists and scientific supply houses. A single axolotl needs at least a 10-gallon aquarium, filled (no exposed land, like for a frog), and supplied with a lid (because axolotls jump). Axolotls cannot tolerate chlorine or chloramine, so tap water must be treated prior to use. A water filter is a necessity, but the salamanders cannot tolerate flowing water. They do not require light, so in an aquarium with plants, its important to have large rocks or other hiding places. Pebbles, sand, or gravel (anything smaller than the axolotls head) pose a risk because axolotls will ingest them and may die from gastrointestinal blockage. Axolotls need a year-round temperature in the low to mid-60s (Fahrenheit) and will die if exposed to prolonged temperature about 74  °F. They need an aquarium chiller to maintain the proper temperature range. Feeding is the easy part of axolotl care. They will eat bloodworm cubes, earthworms, shrimp, and lean chicken or beef. While they will eat feeder fish, experts recommend avoiding them because salamanders are susceptible to parasites and diseases carried by fish. Sources   Luis Zambrano; Paola Mosig Reidl; Jeanne McKay; Richard Griffiths; Brad Shaffer; Oscar Flores-Villela; Gabriela Parra-Olea; David Wake. Ambystoma mexicanum. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 2010. IUCN. 2010: e.T1095A3229615. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-2.RLTS.T1095A3229615.enMalacinski, George M. The Mexican Axolotl,  Ambystoma mexicanum: Its Biology and Developmental Genetics, and Its Autonomous Cell-Lethal Genes.  American Zoologist. Oxford University Press.  18: 195–206, Spring 1978.Pough, F. H. Recommendations for the Care of Amphibians and Reptiles in Academic Institutions. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1992.

Easy Instructions for Holding a Class Debate

Easy Instructions for Holding a Class Debate Teachers look to debates as a fun way to study relevant topics and dig deeper into a subject than with a lecture. Participating in a classroom debate teaches students skills they cant get from a textbook, such as critical thinking, organizational, research, presentation and  teamwork skills. You can debate any topic in your classroom using this debate framework. They make an obvious fit in history and social studies classes, but nearly any curriculum can incorporate a classroom debate. Educational Debate: Class Preparation Introduce the debates to your students by explaining the rubric  you will use to grade them. You can check out a sample rubric  or design your own. A few weeks before you plan to hold debates in class, distribute a list of possible topics worded as statements in favor of specific ideas. For example, you might posit that peaceful political demonstrations  such as marches influence lawmakers. You would then assign one team to represent the affirmative argument for this statement and one team to present the opposing point of view. Ask each student to write down the topics they like in order of preference. From these lists, partner students in debate groups with two for each side of the topic: pro and con. Before you hand out the debate assignments, warn students that some might end up  debating  in favor of positions they dont actually agree with, but explain that doing this effectively reinforces the learning objectives of the project. Ask them to research their topics and with their partners, establish factually supported arguments in favor of or against the debate statement, depending on their assignment. Educational Debate: Class Presentation On the day of debate, give students in the audience a blank rubric. Ask them to judge the debate objectively. Appoint one student to moderate the debate if you dont want to fill this role yourself. Make sure all of the students but especially the moderator understand the protocol for the debate. Begin the debate with the pro side speaking first. Allow them five to seven minutes of uninterrupted time to explain their position. Both members of the team must participate equally. Repeat the process for the con side. Give both sides about three minutes to confer and prepare for their rebuttal. Begin the rebuttals with the con side and give them three minutes to speak. Both members must participate equally. Repeat this for the pro side. You can expand this basic framework to include time for cross-examination between the presentation of positions or add a second round of speeches to each segment of the debate. Ask your student audience to fill out the grading rubric, then use the feedback to award a winning team. Tips Consider giving  extra credit to audience members for well-thought-out questions following the debate.Prepare a list of simple rules for the debate and distribute it to all students prior to the debate. Include a reminder that students participating in the debate and in the audience should not interrupt the speakers.

Joan Alexandra Molinsky Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Joan Alexandra Molinsky - Essay Example In 1987, however, Rivers life began to spiral downward when her husband, Edgar Rosenberg, committed suicide. This event, combined with a declining career, was the onset of a deep depression for Rivers, as well as the beginnings of bulimia. Rivers states how a devastating loss affects hunger in two ways - erasing it or launch it to new heights. "For me the suicide inspired a gastronomic space program." she claims (Rivers, 1997, p.98). She describes the beginnings of a binge - overeating rich foods until she felt bloated and her clothes became too small - at which point she reached the solution of self-induced vomiting. Occasional purges soon evolved into weekly then twice a day rituals. Rivers timed her purges to happen roughly a half hour after a meal; she realized she must admit the problem to her therapist when she pulled over to vomit in a rest area bathroom. When she finally admitted her bulimia to her therapist Dr. Michael Greenstein, his observation reflects the general state of her life: out of control. Because of this, one of the few things she has been able to control is her bodily intake and output, which has manifested itself in the form of bulimia. Eating disorders are actually psychological disorders and can frequently be triggered by traumatizing events. The proper name of bulimia is Bulimia Nervosa (BN), which translates as "ox hunger", and refers specifically to a binge and purge cycle happening at least twice a week for at least six months. Purging methods include self-induced vomiting, or the abuse of laxatives, diuretics or enemas. Bulimics may also resort to fasting or exhibit obsessive compulsions to exercise. Sufferers often share similar personality traits: they tend towards perfectionism, while retaining a sense of low self-esteem despite their accomplishments. Depression is a frequent contributor to the disorder's development as well. Unfortunately, since the psychology of bulimia is often related to larger emotional issues, both the condition and the original problems complement and augment each other, resulting in a worsening of all symptoms (Eating Disorders, 2005). There are several Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment (CB) methods for BN: such as various behavior, psychodynamic, family, or experiential therapies, or a Twelve-Step program using the disorder as an addiction. CBT is a process by which the patient comes to recognizes the true psychological issues, learn more constructive coping mechanisms in relation to these, and then modify their behavior to return to more acceptable eating patterns while preventing relapses. Anti-depressants frequently help, as they curb the appetite while inhibiting the root depression; different anti-depressants seem to work equally well (Wilson and Pike, 2001). With Dr. Greenstein, Joan Rivers learned to identify her grief of her husband's suicide and was able to return to host a daytime talk show through the years 1989-1993 (Wikkipedia, 2006), the ending of which coincided with the death of her therapist and her returning to live in New York. Her depression was growing worse. The combination of her husband's los s, her talk show ending, a brief Broadway show collapsing and the failure of her jewelry venture

Making Communication Count Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Making Communication Count - Assignment Example Therefore, while she was attempting to illustrate the proposed changes to me, I kept on nudging my head as if I was agreeing to her. At one point, she asked me if we have enough funds assigned to use ICT in our coming classes and I answered, â€Å"I think that would help students†. The statement was self-explanatory about span of my attention at that particular point in time. Once she clarified what she meant I responded by saying, â€Å"I don’t know if students from ethnic minorities are up for this kind of advancement.† A visible expression of dismal was visible on her face as she was actually an Asian American herself. The statement was based on the workshop that I had attended a week earlier about discrepancies in our educational system about which she did not knew anything. Analyzing my non-verbal and verbal communication during this meeting, there are few changes that would be required to make this conversation better. Firstly, there should have a complete display of focus and undivided attention. If not possible, the meeting should have rescheduled as it is unethical not to exercise self-discipline during a dialogue. Furthermore, there was also a lack of responsibility and consideration for values of the respondent in this situation. Perhaps, use of culturally sensitive language and explanation for my statement would have made the overall conversation more effective. Part 2 Description of the Scenario Leaders in educational settings need to be aware of the responsibility that is inherent to their organizational status. Being a head of department makes faculty members responsible for their statement as their views and inputs are being examined by school’s management whereas the same piece of information can have a significant impact on the behavior and strategies used by junior faculty members. In a meeting with school principal, Mr. James and a junior teacher named Ms. Rachel (Pseudonym) who had recently joined and was suppose d to be supervised by me, there were some mixed responses and directions given by Mr. James that later on created difficulty for me and Ms. Rachel. The meeting began with principal being over occupied with domestic telephone calls which made us question if the meeting bears any importance to him. Once done with that, Mr. James kept on leaning back and forth on the chair which further projected an impression that he is not even considering it to be an important conversation despite the fact that it was Ms. Rachel’s first official encounter with him. While addressing the new teacher, Mr. James kept on addressing her as â€Å"Newbie† and mentioned that we have many students from you people i.e. the teacher was Iranian. I believe that instead of showing racism, he was just attempting to make her feel that her presence in the faculty will further help students. While continuing discussion about the curriculum and division of classes, he just mentioned that all the instructi ons are available on your portal and I will be providing directions to Ms. Rachel in day to day proceedings. However, instead of using the word ‘direction’, he said ‘helping’ which projected an impression that I will not be responsible for new teacher’s performance evaluation which was against organizational policies. When

Housing Need Supply And Demand Economics Essay

Housing Need Supply And Demand Economics Essay West Somerset is one of the smallest local authorities within England with a population of 34,675 Office for National Statistics 2012. It is largely rural in nature with two thirds of the area being within Exmoor National Park. The coastal town of Minehead is the largest settlement with a population of 12,084 (Office for National Statistics 2012). 1.3 By far the largest age group within West Somerset are those aged 60 and over making 38% of the total population (Office for National Statistics 2011). This group is well provided for within housing with a large number of sheltered and supported housing schemes and nursing homes both within the private sector and social housing sector. 1.4 Young people aged 20 to 29 make up approximately 9.5% of the total population of West Somerset (Office for National Statistics 2012) however they are one of the largest age groups registered for Social Housing within West Somerset with 23.3% of active applicants (Homefinder Somerset 2012). 1.5 The economy of West Somerset relies heavily on tourism, agriculture and the care industry with the majority of work being found within one of these areas. The largest employer is Butlins in Minehead (West Somerset Council 2011). The majority of work within tourism and agriculture are seasonal resulting in fluctuating benefit claims and relatively low wage levels within the area making affordability of housing a problem. 2 A Profile of West Somerset 2.1 The total population of West Somerset has decreased from 2001 census data to the 2011 data however the proportion of this population that is in the age range 20 to 29 has increased during this time from 7.7% to 9.5%. In England as a whole the percentage population of people aged 20 to 29 in 2011 is 13.7%, higher than in West Somerset. The largest age group within West Somerset is those over age of 60 making a total of 38% of the population in 2011 in contrast to a percentage population of 22.3% for this age group in England as a whole (Office for National Statistics 2012). Table 1 Population of West Somerset Age Range 2011 Population 2011 Percentage 2001 Population 2001 Percentage 19 and under 6 264 18.1% 7 225 20.6% 20 29 3 293 9.5% 2 687 7.7% 30 59 11 925 34.4% 13 442 38.3% 60 and over 13 193 38.0% 11 715 33.4% Total Population 34 675 35 069 Source: Office for National Statistics Table 2 Population of England Age Range 2011 Population 2011 Percentage 2001 Population 2001 Percentage 19 and under 12 712 275 24.0% 12 327 688 24.9% 20 29 7 246 202 13.7% 6 307 052 12.8% 30 59 21 221 173 40.0% 20 584 021 41.6% 60 and over 11 832 806 22.3% 10 230 985 20.7% Total Population 53 012 456 49 449 746 Source: Office for National Statistics 2.2 A large proportion of homes in West Somerset are owner occupied approximately 67% compared to a national average of 63% (Office National Statistics 2012) and the average price of a house in Somerset as of October 2012 is  £160,349 very close to the national average for England and Wales of  £161,605 (Land Registry 2012). The migration into the area by people wishing to purchase retirement homes or second homes has pushed the prices up to very close to the national average. Private rented housing makes up 16% of accommodation with social housing approximately 15% (Office National Statistics 2012). 2.3 Average earnings in West Somerset are  £523.00 per week which is below the average for England of  £609.50 per week (Somerset County Council 2011). The majority of work is within the tourism and agricultural industries and is seasonal in nature and hence low paid. This below average earnings coupled with high cost of housing makes home ownership very difficult for local people and especially for young people. 2.4 In West Somerset social housing is supplied by Housing Associations of which Magna West Somerset holds the largest stock. Of the 1921 properties owned by Magna West Somerset, 1439 of these are general needs properties with the rest being sheltered or supported accommodation. Of the 1439 general needs properties only 161 (11.2%) are 1 bedroom properties. 3 Housing Need, Supply and Demand 3.1 Everyone has a need for housing of some sort, the type and availability varies around the globe. In the UK the need for housing is measured by the local authority using various facts and figures available to them such as number of homeless applications or numbers registered for housing as well as the demographic profile of the area (Lazarus 2012). 3.2 Housing demand can be described as the desire for housing along with the ability to pay for that desire. Housing supply would be described as the amount of housing produced at a price. The demand and supply of housing can fluctuate with various factors influencing both but in the long term, the supply of housing should equal its demand, because price will provide the equilibrating mechanism linking the two (Harriott Matthews1998 p23) 3.3 The demographic profile of an area along with the economic factors will have an effect on the supply and need of housing. Within the West Somerset area the population as a whole has reduced since 2001 however a larger percentage are over 60 requiring specialist housing and also young people who are looking to get onto the property ladder for the first time as homeowners or by renting in either the private or social housing sectors. The need for starter housing by young people has increased however financial pressures often mean that they are unable to own their own home or rent within the private sector. 3.4 Homefinder Somerset is a choice based lettings allocation scheme for affordable housing in Somerset. Within West Somerset in 2012 there were 1363 active applications for housing registered a total of 3.9% of the population. Of these registrations 318 are applicants aged 20-29 which is 23.3% of total number registered, a much higher proportion than those aged 20-29 of the population as a whole (Homefinder Somerset 2012). 3.5 Of the 318 registrations from applicants aged 20 to 29, 109 (33.3%) of these state that they are not living in their own property at the moment and are living with family or friends (Homefinder Somerset 2012). Increasingly young people are finding it more difficult to move out of the family home for the first time due to financial pressures so are still living with parents up to a much older age. 3.6 The Rural Housing Project in Exmoor National Park is an independent project which seeks to help local people to remain living and working in the area (Exmoor National Park 2012). They identify the level of housing need through conducting surveys and also holding consultation events. They then work in partnership with developers and housing associations to deliver affordable housing for local people. 3.7 After a consultation by The Rural Housing Project a need for rural housing in Exmoor National Park was identified for young people. A scheme was developed in the village of Wheddon Cross in June 2011 and consisted of a mix of affordable private housing and social housing. This scheme of 10 properties for social housing included 2 one bedroom properties. Of the 10 properties 9 of these were let to young people and of these 9, six were to young people with no children with 3 of these being let to siblings (Rural Housing Project 2012). 3.8 Funding for building of new properties by housing associations needs to be raised by either loans or from rents. Magna West Somerset, the largest housing association in the area has made a decision to not develop any new properties once those currently being built are finished. This is due to interest rates for loans being unfavourable coupled with the uncertainty of rental income with the introduction of Universal Credit in 2013 when the housing element of benefit will be paid direct to the tenant and no longer straight to the landlord. This means that very few new properties will be developed in the area in the foreseeable future. 4 Economic Factors 4.1 In 2007 the economy in the UK suffered what is known as the credit crunch where the availability of credit and mortgages was severely cut causing a crisis in the housing market and recession and an increase in the demand for social housing (Lazarus 2012). The economy still has not recovered from this completely and although this caused a fall in house prices, the demand for housing within the private sector is also not there as buyers are unable to access finance. Building firms faced financial difficulties and some went into receivership so the supply of housing has also been drastically cut. 4.2 Unemployment levels are high especially amongst young people. Job Seekers Allowance for a single young person under age of 25 is  £56.25 per week and for those 25 and over it is  £71 per week (gov.uk 2012). Although they can also claim housing benefit many young people struggle to finance a home on their own with the rising cost of utilities and food. 4.3 An important part of economic success for an area is the ability to retain young working people. There is a very short supply of affordable housing in rural areas for young people so they either remain at home for longer or leave to seek affordable accommodation in more urban areas (West Somerset Council 2009). 4.4 West Somerset is a predominantly rural area which adds extra expense to living costs. There is very little public transport except along the coastal corridor from Minehead to Taunton with a bus route. The nearest railway station is Taunton and the only railway running within West Somerset is a steam heritage railway. Most people therefore have the added expense of having to run a car. 4.5 A large section of West Somerset is also not served by mains gas, including a great number of social housing properties in Minehead. This means that heating costs are higher due to using either electric or oil heating. According to figures published in 2010 by the Department of Energy and Climate Change 21.5% of households in West Somerset are in fuel poverty (Department of Energy and Climate Change 2010). A household is said to be in fuel poverty if it needs to spend more than 10% of its income on fuel to maintain a satisfactory heating regime (Department of Energy and Climate Change 2012). 4.6 These increased expenses of travel and utilities experienced within rural locations mean that affording housing in these areas is almost impossible for young single people on a low wage or not working. 5 Legislation 5.1 The Welfare Reform Act 2012 will bring in many changes to benefits. One of the main things that will affect young people is from April 2013 any person of working age under occupying a property and claiming housing benefit will have their benefit cut by 14% for one spare bedroom or 25% for two spare bedrooms commonly known as the bedroom tax (national Housing Federation 2012). This is already causing a strain on the demand for one bedroom properties by people who will be affected by this cut wanting to downsize which is causing more competition for these properties with young people wanting to get their first home. 5.2 The Local Government Finance Act 2012 removes council tax benefit and instead puts the responsibility on councils to develop their own scheme called Council Tax Support (Turn2Us 2012). The new scheme will be different in every council area however the government funding for each scheme has been cut which means that each council will have to find savings. Elderly and vulnerable people will be protected so working age people will probably have to pay council tax whether they are in work or not. 5.3 In West Somerset proposals have been put forward which include all working age people who are not working and so claiming Council Tax Support to pay 20% of their council tax bill and also for higher rates of non depended deductions. This will probably preclude young single people who are out of work from being able to afford to have their own home. Those that stay at home or with friends and family if the household is claiming council tax benefit will also find that there is a larger non dependent deduction charged to the household they are staying with (West Somerset Council 2012). 5.4 The government in the Chancellors Autumn Statement announced that benefits will only rise by 1%, a below inflation rise (Brown 2012). This means that benefits for unemployed young people will stay at a low level and with the cost of housing and living increasing the chance of obtaining and sustaining a tenancy is getting harder for them. 5.5 The Localism Act 2011 gives new rights and powers to local authorities with regard to a variety of issues including housing. Before the act almost anyone could apply to live in social housing, whether they need it or not (Department Communities and Local Government 2011 p15). Social housing however is now more than ever in greater demand due to the economic climate within the country. This act gives local councils the ability to agree on policy that can restrict who can qualify for social housing in the area. At this time, Homefinder Somerset the choice based lettings system used by West Somerset has not made any changes to its letting policy with regard to the Localism Act to restrict applications for housing. 5.6 Young people who wish to rent privately within West Somerset if they are on a low wage would be entitled to claim assistance with their rent through Local Housing Allowance. Since January 2012 any single person up to the age of 35 can only claim local housing allowance for a room in shared accommodation rather than a self contained 1 bedroom property. At present this rate is  £66.50 per week in West Somerset. From April 2013 the Local Housing Allowance will only be increased by the Consumer Price Index rather than market rent as previously (South Somerset District Council 2012) so a lower increase will happen each year so making it harder for young people on a low wage to rent privately. In his Autumn Statement the Chancellor then announced that after next April the Local Housing Allowance will only rise by 1% for the next two years (Brown 2012). This will make many private rental properties out of the price range of people on benefits and also those on low wages. 6 Conclusion 6.1 The issues surrounding housing of young people in West Somerset are mainly of affordability and availability. 6.2 The availability of 1 bedroom properties for young people without children is not good especially as these properties are now also in demand from other people wishing to downsize due to welfare reform changes and very little new building taking place. 6.3 Affordability due to low wages or unemployment and of high costs of living due to rising utility costs and food. 6.4 West Somerset Housing Strategy recognises the need to keep young people within the area for a sustainable community however more needs to be done to assist with the low wage base and affordability of housing. 6.5 More affordable housing needs to be provided for young people that is near to employment so that travel costs are kept to a minimum and also that is low cost to run with regard to utilities by using new technology. 6.6 Strategies to assist with training for work and also attracting new business into the area to help increase the number of people in work and the average wage for the area should also be looked at.

Advances in Data Storage Technology

Advances in Data Storage Technology Contents I. Introduction3 II. Purpose of storage4 III. Hierarchy of storage6 A. Primary storage6 B. Secondary storage7 C. Tertiary storage7 D. Off-line storage8 IV. Characteristics of storage9 A. Volatility9 B. Mutability9 C. Accessibility10 D. Addressability10 E. Capacity11 F. Performance11 G. Energy use11 V. Fundamental storage technologies12 A. Semiconductor12 B. Magnetic12 C. Optical13 D. Paper14 E. Uncommon14 VI. Related technologies17 A. Network connectivity17 B. Robotic storage17 References19 I. INTRODUCTIONComputer data storage, often called storage or memory, refers to computer components and recording media that retain digital data used for computing for some interval of time. Computer data storage provides one of the core functions of the modern computer, that of information retention. It is one of the fundamental components of all modern computers, and coupled with a central processing unit (CPU, a processor), implements the basic compu ter model used since the 1940s. In contemporary usage, memory usually refers to a form of semiconductor storage known as random-access memory (RAM) and sometimes other forms of fast but temporary storage.Similarly, storage today more commonly refers to mass storage — optical discs, forms of magnetic storage like hard disk drives, and other types slower than RAM, but of a more permanent nature. Historically, memory and storage were respectively called main memory and secondary storage (or auxiliary storage). Auxiliary storage (or auxiliary memory units) was also used to represent memory which was not directly accessible by the CPU (secondary or tertiary storage). The terms internal memory and external memory are also used. II. Purpose of storageMany different forms of storage, based on various natural phenomena, have been invented. So far, no practical universal storage medium exists, and all forms of storage have some drawbacks. Therefore a computer system usually contains se veral kinds of storage, each with an individual purpose. A digital computer represents data using the binary numeral system. Text, numbers, pictures, audio, and nearly any other form of information can be converted into a string of bits, or binary digits, each of which has a value of 1 or 0. The most common unit of storage is the byte, equal to 8 bits.A piece of information can be handled by any computer whose storage space is large enough to accommodate the binary representation of the piece of information, or simply data. For example, using eight million bits, or about one megabyte, a typical computer could store a short novel. Traditionally the most important part of every computer is the central processing unit (CPU, or simply a processor), because it actually operates on data, performs any calculations, and controls all the other components. Without a significant amount of memory, a computer would merely be able to perform fixed operations and immediately output the result.It w ould have to be reconfigured to change its behavior. This is acceptable for devices such as desk calculators or simple digital signal processors. Von Neumann machines differ in that they have a memory in which they store their operating instructions and data. Such computers are more versatile in that they do not need to have their hardware reconfigured for each new program, but can simply be reprogrammed with new in-memory instructions; they also tend to be simpler to design, in that a relatively simple processor may keep state between successive computations to build up complex procedural results.Most modern computers are von Neumann machines. In practice, almost all computers use a variety of memory types, organized in a storage hierarchy around the CPU, as a trade-off between performance and cost. Generally, the lower a storage is in the hierarchy, the lesser its bandwidth and the greater its access latency is from the CPU. This traditional division of storage to primary, seconda ry, tertiary and off-line storage is also guided by cost per bit. III. Hierarchy of storage A. Primary storage: Primary storage (or main memory or internal memory), often referred to simply as memory, is the only one directly accessible to the CPU.The CPU continuously reads instructions stored there and executes them as required. Any data actively operated on is also stored there in uniform manner. Historically, early computers used delay lines, Williams’s tubes, or rotating magnetic drums as primary storage. By 1954, those unreliable methods were mostly replaced by magnetic core memory. Core memory remained dominant until the 1970s, when advances in integrated circuit technology allowed semiconductor memory to become economically competitive. This led to modern random-access memory (RAM).It is small-sized, light, but quite expensive at the same time. (The particular types of RAM used for primary storage are also volatile, i. e. they lose the information when not powered). As the RAM types used for primary storage are volatile (cleared at start up), a computer containing only such storage would not have a source to read instructions from, in order to start the computer. Hence, non-volatile primary storage containing a small startup program (BIOS) is used to bootstrap the computer, that is, to read a larger program from non-volatile secondary storage to RAM and start to execute it.A non-volatile technology used for this purpose is called ROM (Read-only memory). Recently, primary storage and secondary storage in some uses refer to what was historically called, respectively, secondary storage and tertiary storage. B. Secondary storage: Secondary storage (or external memory) differs from primary storage in that it is not directly accessible by the CPU. The computer usually uses its input/output channels to access secondary storage and transfers the desired data using intermediate area in primary storage. Secondary storage does not lose the data when the dev ice is powered down—it is non-volatile.Consequently, modern computer systems typically have two orders of magnitude more secondary storage than primary storage and data is kept for a longer time there. In modern computers, hard disk drives are usually used as secondary storage. Rotating optical storage devices, such as CD and DVD drives, have longer access times. Some other examples of secondary storage technologies are: flash memory (e. g. USB flash drives or keys), floppy disks, magnetic tape, paper tape, punched cards, standalone RAM disks, and Iomega Zip drives. C. Tertiary storage: Tertiary storage or tertiary memory provides a third level of storage.Typically it involves a robotic mechanism which will mount (insert) and dismount removable mass storage media into storage device according to the system's demands; this data is often copied to secondary storage before use. It is primarily used for archival of rarely accessed information since it is much slower than secondar y storage (e. g. 5–60 seconds vs. 1-10 milliseconds). This is primarily useful for extraordinarily large data stores, accessed without human operators. Typical examples include tape libraries and optical jukeboxes. D. Off-line storage:Off-line storage is computer data storage on a medium or a device that is not under the control of a processing unit. The medium is recorded, usually in a secondary or tertiary storage device, and then physically removed or disconnected. It must be inserted or connected by a human operator before a computer can access it again. Unlike tertiary storage, it cannot be accessed without human interaction. In modern personal computers, most secondary and tertiary storage media are also used for off-line storage. Optical discs and flash memory devices are most popular, and to much lesser extent removable hard disk drives.In enterprise uses, magnetic tape is predominant. Older examples are floppy disks, Zip disks, or punched cards. IV. Characteristics o f storage Storage technologies at all levels of the storage hierarchy can be differentiated by evaluating certain core characteristics as well as measuring characteristics specific to a particular implementation. These core characteristics are volatility, mutability, accessibility, and addressability. For any particular implementation of any storage technology, the characteristics worth measuring are capacity and performance. A. Volatility:Non-volatile memory will retain the stored information even if it is not constantly supplied with electric power. It is suitable for long-term storage of information. Nowadays used for most of secondary, tertiary, and off-line storage. In 1950s and 1960s, it was also used for primary storage, in the form of magnetic core memory. Volatile memory requires constant power to maintain the stored information. The fastest memory technologies of today are volatile ones (not a universal rule). Since primary storage is required to be very fast, it predomina ntly uses volatile memory.B. Mutability: Read/write storage or mutable storage allows information to be overwritten at any time. A computer without some amount of read/write storage for primary storage purposes would be useless for many tasks. Modern computers typically use read/write storage also for secondary storage. Read only storage retains the information stored at the time of manufacture, and write once storage (Write Once Read Many) allows the information to be written only once at some point after manufacture. These are called immutable storage.Immutable storage is used for tertiary and off-line storage. Examples include CD-ROM and CD-R. C. Accessibility: Random access any location in storage can be accessed at any moment in approximately the same amount of time. Such characteristic is well suited for primary and secondary storage. Sequential access the accessing of pieces of information will be in a serial order, one after the other; therefore the time to access a particul ar piece of information depends upon which piece of information was last accessed. Such characteristic is typical of off-line storage. D. Addressability:Location-addressable each individually accessible unit of information in storage is selected with its numerical memory address. In modern computers, location-addressable storage usually limits to primary storage, accessed internally by computer programs, since location-addressability is very efficient, but burdensome for humans. The underlying device is still location-addressable, but the operating system of a computer provides the file system abstraction to make the operation more understandable. In modern computers, secondary, tertiary and off-line storage use file systems. E.Capacity: Raw capacity the total amount of stored information that a storage device or medium can hold. It is expressed as a quantity of bits or bytes (e. g. 10. 4 megabytes). Memory storage density the compactness of stored information. It is the storage cap acity of a medium divided with a unit of length, area or volume (e. g. 1. 2 megabytes per square inch). F. Performance: Latency the time it takes to access a particular location in storage. The relevant unit of measurement is typically nanosecond for primary storage, millisecond for secondary storage, and second for tertiary storage.It may make sense to separate read latency and write latency, and in case of sequential access storage, minimum, maximum and average latency. G. Energy use: Storage devices that reduce fan usage, automatically shut-down during inactivity, and low power hard drives can reduce energy consumption 90 percent. 2. 5 inch hard disk drives often consume less power than larger ones. Low capacity solid-state drives have no moving parts and consume less power than hard disks. Also, memory may use more power than hard disks. V. Fundamental storage technologiesAs of 2008, the most commonly used data storage technologies are semiconductor, magnetic, and optical, while paper still sees some limited usage. Some other fundamental storage technologies have also been used in the past or are proposed for development. A. Semiconductor: Semiconductor memory uses semiconductor-based integrated circuits to store information. A semiconductor memory chip may contain millions of tiny transistors or capacitors. Volatile and non-volatile forms of semiconductor memory exist. In modern computers, primary storage almost exclusively consists of dynamic volatile semiconductor memory or dynamic random access memory.Since the turn of the century, a type of non-volatile semiconductor memory known as flash memory has steadily gained share as off-line storage for home computers. Non-volatile semiconductor memory is also used for secondary storage in various advanced electronic devices and specialized computers. B. Magnetic: Magnetic storage uses different patterns of magnetization on a magnetically coated surface to store information. Magnetic storage is non-volatile. T he information is accessed using one or more read/write heads which may contain one or more recording transducers.A read/write head only covers a part of the surface so that the head or medium or both must be moved relative to another in order to access data. In modern computers, magnetic storage will take these forms:  ¦ Magnetic disk  ¦ Floppy disk, used for off-line storage  ¦ Hard disk drive, used for secondary storage  ¦ Magnetic tape data storage, used for tertiary and off-line storage In early computers, magnetic storage was also used for primary storage in a form of magnetic drum, or core memory, core rope memory, thin-film memory, twister memory or bubble memory.Also unlike today, magnetic tape was often used for secondary storage. C. Optical: Optical storage, the typical optical disc, stores information in deformities on the surface of a circular disc and reads this information by illuminating the surface with a laser diode and observing the reflection. Optical dis c storage is non-volatile. The deformities may be permanent (read only media), formed once (write once media) or reversible (recordable or read/write media). The following forms are currently in common use. CD, CD-ROM, DVD, BD-ROM: Read only storage, used for mass distribution of digital information (music, video, computer programs)  ¦ CD-R, DVD-R, DVD+R, BD-R: Write once storage, used for tertiary and off-line storage  ¦ CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, BD-RE: Slow write, fast read storage, used for tertiary and off-line storage  ¦ Ultra Density Optical or UDO is similar in capacity to BD-R or BD-RE and is slow write, fast read storage used for tertiary and off-line storage Magneto-optical disc storage is optical disc storage where the magnetic state on a ferromagnetic surface stores information.The information is read optically and written by combining magnetic and optical methods. Magneto-optical disc storage is non-volatile, sequential access, slow write, fast read storage used for tertiary and off-line storage. D. Paper: Paper data storage, typically in the form of paper tape or punched cards, has long been used to store information for automatic processing, particularly before general-purpose computers existed. Information was recorded by punching holes into the paper or cardboard medium and was read mechanically (or later optically) to determine whether a particular location on the medium was solid or contained a hole.A few technologies allow people to make marks on paper that are easily read by machine—these are widely used for tabulating votes and grading standardized tests. Barcodes made it possible for any object that was to be sold or transported to have some computer readable information securely attached to it. E. Uncommon: Vacuum tube memory, a William’s tube used a cathode ray tube, and a Selectron tube used a large vacuum tube to store information. These primary storage devices were short-lived in the market, since Williams tube was unreliable and Selectron tube was expensive.Electro-acoustic memory also known as delay line memory used sound waves in a substance such as mercury to store information. Delay line memory was dynamic volatile, cycle sequential read/write storage, and was used for primary storage. Optical tape is a medium for optical storage generally consisting of a long and narrow strip of plastic onto which patterns can be written and from which the patterns can be read back. It shares some technologies with cinema film stock and optical discs, but is compatible with neither.The motivation behind developing this technology was the possibility of far greater storage capacities than either magnetic tape or optical discs. Phase-change memory uses different mechanical phases of Phase Change Material to store information in an X-Y addressable matrix, and reads the information by observing the varying electrical resistance of the material. Phase-change memory would be non-volatile, random acces s read/write storage, and might be used for primary, secondary and off-line storage. Most rewritable and many write once optical disks already use phase change material to store information.Holographic data storage stores information optically inside crystals or photopolymers. Holographic storage can utilize the whole volume of the storage medium, unlike optical disc storage which is limited to a small number of surface layers. Holographic storage would be non-volatile, sequential access, and either write once or read/write storage. It might be used for secondary and off-line storage. See Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD). Molecular memory stores information in polymer that can store electric charge. Molecular memory might be especially suited for primary storage.The theoretical storage capacity of molecular memory is 10 terabits per square inch. Data storage tag (DST), also sometimes known as an archival tag is a data logger that uses sensors to record data at predetermined interval s. Data storage tags usually have a large memory size and a long lifetime. Most archival tags are supported by batteries that allow the tag to record positions for several years. Alternatively some tags are solar powered and allow the scientist to set their own interval; this then allows data to be recorded for significantly longer than battery-only powered tags.Information repository is an easy way to deploy secondary tier of data storage that can comprise multiple, networked data storage technologies running on diverse operating systems, where data that no longer needs to be in primary storage is protected, classified according to captured metadata, processed, de-duplicated, and then purged, automatically, based on data service level objectives and requirements. In information repositories, data storage resources are virtualized as composite storage sets and operate as a federated environment.Information repositories were developed to mitigate problems arising from data proliferat ion and eliminate the need for separately deployed data storage solutions because of the concurrent deployment of diverse storage technologies running diverse operating systems. They feature centralized management for all deployed data storage resources. They are self-contained, support heterogeneous storage resources, support resource management to add, maintain, recycle, and terminate media, track of off-line media, and operate autonomously. VI. Related technologies A. Network connectivity:A secondary or tertiary storage may connect to a computer utilizing computer networks. This concept does not pertain to the primary storage, which is shared between multiple processors in a much lesser degree. Direct-attached storage (DAS) is a traditional mass storage that does not use any network. This is still a most popular approach. This term was coined lately, together with NAS and SAN. Network-attached storage (NAS) is mass storage attached to a computer which another computer can access at file level over a local area network, a private wide area network, or in the case of online file storage, over the Internet.NAS is commonly associated with the NFS and CIFS/SMB protocols. Storage area network (SAN) is a specialized network that provides other computers with storage capacity. The crucial difference between NAS and SAN is the former presents and manages file systems to client computers, whilst the latter provides access at block-addressing (raw) level, leaving it to attaching systems to manage data or file systems within the provided capacity. SAN is commonly associated with Fiber Channel networks. B. Robotic storage:Large quantities of individual magnetic tapes and optical or magneto-optical discs may be stored in robotic tertiary storage devices. In tape storage field they are known as tape libraries, and in optical storage field optical jukeboxes, or optical disk libraries per analogy. Smallest forms of either technology containing just one drive device are refe rred to as autoloaders or auto changers. Robotic-access storage devices may have a number of slots, each holding individual media, and usually one or more picking robots that traverse the slots and load media to built-in drives. The arrangement of the slots and picking devices affects erformance.Important characteristics of such storage are possible expansion options: adding slots, modules, drives, robots. Tape libraries may have from 10 to more than 100,000 slots, and provide terabytes or petabytes of near-line information. Optical jukeboxes are somewhat smaller solutions, up to 1,000 slots. Robotic storage is used for backups, and for high-capacity archives in imaging, medical, and video industries. Hierarchical storage management is a most known archiving strategy of automatically migrating long-unused files from fast hard disk storage to libraries or jukeboxes. If the files are needed, they are retrieved back to disk.References J. S. Vitter, Algorithms and Data Structures for Ex ternal Memory. Series on Foundations and Trends in Theoretical Computer Science, now Publishers, Hanover, MA, 2008, ISBN 978-1-60198-106-6. National Communications System (1996). Federal Standard 1037C – Telecommunications: Glossary of Telecommunication Terms. Super Talent's 2. 5†³ IDE Flash hard drive – The Tech Report – Page 13. (http://techreport. com/articles. x/10334/13)