Category: Research

We all have imagination. Let us be reactive and envision life in a new way. There is something called sociological imagination. In sociology to understand one’s own self, we must understand the relationship between self and society. The concept of the sociological imagination was presented in 1959 by C.Wright Mills in his famous book of the same title where he states the sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society. The concept is to understand the distinction between a person’s troubles and public issues at what point does something such as unemployment or trouble finding a job. If one person is unemployed then that is a personal problem but if one million out of 10 million people cannot find employment that is a public issue.

According to Mills, there is an intricate relationship between the individual and society. Whatever a person does is not just because it is of their own choice or personal preference. A behaviour as simple as exercise can be looked at from multiple perspectives. For example, exercise can provide health benefits such as lowering blood pressure and maintaining a healthy weight or send endorphins to help alleviate stress. It can also be social activity as taking a walk with a group of friends or plane on a sports team. It can increase productivity at work and benefit the company. It can also inspire communities to take action by building walking, biking and running’s trails. So, while exercise benefit the individual, it also has a larger purpose in the social world. A person benefits from being surrounded by a community that encourages exercise but there are also some persons that does not emphasize exercise. Therefore, any personal behaviour can be looked at with sociological imagination.

There are multiple dimensions of social issues. A few examples are systemic racism, health and wage disparities among racial, ethnic, and gender minorities, and social power hierarchies, childcare, human trafficking, animals right. We probably experience them in everyday day encounters without even knowing it. But, one of the most neglected social issues is – pollution and reckless consumption of natural resources. Many people would not classify this as a ‘social issue’ but it is probably the most important one for everyone. If we do not have an environment where people can live, then how important are the other issues, really? World population is expected to reach about 9 billion by 2050, 86% of this in other word almost eight billion people will be in the developing world. The actual number of people is not itself an issue expect on some very densely settled countries. In world population terms what really matters is a simple ratio 32:1. It represents consumption, and this is where our problem begins. The average rates in which we consume resources such oil and metals and produce waste like plastic in greenhouse gases are 32 times higher in North America, Western Europe, Japan and Australia than they are in the developing world. 32:1 captures the difference in consumption between the first world and the third world. So, the poor of the world logically want to have our standards of living, but the fact is the planet simply does not have enough resource to support such a dream. And so, we are left with a fundamental problem. Therefore, what we should be trying to do is to make consumption rates and living standards more equal around the world and to do it at a level the planet can sustain. Hence, its very important save our natural resources to living a standards life. But, watching how the current use and management of natural resources is affecting the environment around us by changing ecosystem and impacting biodiversity.

My understanding of the reading is that the sociological imagination is a person’s ability to imagine and allows them to grasp history and biography which he states can be viewed as if two roads were both leading to a roundabout, with the roundabout being the sociological imagination.

The sociological imagination are the connections between a person’s private life and societal life. The private life (or biography) of most people generally involves being a member of a small group such as their family, the people they work will, other students and neighbors yet these small groups are a part of larger networks or social institutions, the societal part or historical part of a person’s life. These social institutions are created through social constructions over time.

These patterns of behavior are normal and routine to people and it is suggested that society are conditioned and accept the conditions under which they for example work. People do not tend to question management why it is they are working longer hours for fear of losing our job or students do not ask why their place of study is structured in such a way they, it is what it is and just get on with it.

What we consider as private aspects of our life are not private and actually stem from society as a whole and it is to see the world as other people see the world. The sociological reality of everyday life. An example of this is when a person loses their job. They may suffer from depression and think that they are the only one suffering however people lose their job every day and it is the sociological reality of everyday life. Food is another example as not only do we need food to survive but it also forms part of one’s identity and has sociological meaning, for example vegetarians.

The quote that I feel exemplifies Mills’ main argument is: “What ordinary people are directly aware of and what they try to do are bounded by the private orbits in which they live; their visions and their powers are limited to the close-up scenes of job, family, neighborhood; in other milieux, they move vicariously and remain spectators. And the more aware they become, however vaguely, of ambitions and of threats which transcend their immediate locales, the more trapped they seem to feel” (Wright-Mills, 1959 p.1).

I feel this this quote does relate to the main argument and refers to the small groups in which people live in and that they feel trapped in a society which may treat them unfairly and which are uncontrollable. However, through the sociological imagination a person may understand that this is just society continuing its cycle and is just a circumstance of life.

References

1. Wright-Mills, C. (1959) Sociological Imagination, UK: Oxford University Press.

The aim of this essay is to critically analyze the impact of sports mega-events on the societies that host them, whether it was positive, negative or beneficial in the short term and long term for their society. It will be focusing on the South Africa 2010 World Cup. It will also concentrate on critical sensitivity and legacy.

It is significant to understand the importance of sociological imagination because it helps us dive deeper into a certain topic and analyze from different points of view. “The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society. That is, its task and its promise” (Wright Mills, 2000, p.6). Within Charles Wright Mills book ‘The Sociological Imagination’ it determines that by arguing several sensibilities or components to the sociological imagination which together provide a mean for proceeding in the sociological quest for understanding. When discussing sociological imagination there are three main elements: critical sensitivity, comparative sensitivity and historical sensitivity. Critical sensitivity is the most important one to note as it is crucial when analyzing topics in a different way than normal while also gaining a greater understanding. Wills (2011, p.72) explains that the “term critical is not being used as negative towards something, but rather the term critical is used in sociology in the sense of being reflexive or sceptical about the social world”. Wills goes onto state that it aims to narrow down as much doubt as possible (p.72). Critical sensitivity is useful when looking at sports mega-events as it evaluates the positives and negatives in society while questioning claims that have been made and digging more specific in studies. Max Weber argued that “sociology can and should be value free, dealing only with what is rather than what should be” (p.74).

Sports mega-events are “large scale cultural (including commercial and sporting) events, which have a dramatic character, mass popular appeal and international significance” (Roche, 2000, p.1). Some examples of sports mega-events are the Olympics and The World Cup as they are global and commercialized around the world. With the Olympics and The World Cup held every four years, this shows their significance as it is a long period of time till the next one. These events are also opportunities to gain greater international recognition and to promote national identity.

In the book ‘Tourism Management’, it defines a sport mega-event as a “significant national or global competitions that produce extensive levels of participation and media coverage and that often require large public investments into both event infrastructure, for example stadiums to hold the events and general infrastructure, such as roadways, housing or mass transit system” (Mills and Rosentraub, 2013, p.239). This is a more in-depth explanation that also provides specifics that are needed to host a mega event which not many people often think of.

An article by Chappelet (2012, p.76) wrote “Legacy is living in the present and building for the future. A legacy of something can be remembered in different ways, such as good, bad, beneficial and many more. The legacy of mega sporting events can be perceived in several ways. Such as, tangible or intangible, territorial or personal, intentional or unintentional, global or local, short- or long-term and can also be seen from the various event stakeholders’ perspectives”. Chappelet goes into detail about how legacy can be remembered in different ways whether good or bad, positive or negative. These details are beneficial as they need to be recollected regarding and analyzing sport mega-events.

In sport mega-events, the term legacy is used a great deal. “The concerns that came to be expressed over the need to provide the host city with a variety of ‘legacies’ from hosting the games can be traced back to the mid-1950s” (Gold and Gold, 2007, p.159). However, there has been continuous debate about the impact, value and legacy of mega events and whether it leaves a positive impact long term. “The Montreal Olympics of 1976 were a sporting success, but the citizens of that city did not pay off the debt until 2006” (Holt and Ruta, 2015, p.2). This shows that the hopeful positive legacy through the event can be discolored by the absence of a long-term plan for financially funding the event. South Africa had won the bid to host the 2010 World Cup. Kgalema Motlanthe, the president of South Africa at the time, said “we are confident that working together, we (South Africa) will host the best FIFA world cup ever” (Ngonyama, 2009, p.168). The south African government has established a campaign uniting public support for the world cup.

Mbembe (2006) asserts that “South Africa will win the 2010 world cup if we organize it in such a way that it powerfully contributes to changing the terms of Africa’s recognition in the world” (Pillay, Tomlinson and Bass, 2009, p.248). Mbembe is sure that with the correct plans and teamwork, they will have a positive long-term legacy after the world cup. Of course, hosting a mega-event includes an incredible amount of support, construction work, and an immense funding towards stadiums, transport and tourism. The National Treasury has committed close to R33 billion towards stadium construction and refurbishment and tournament related infrastructural development (Ngonyama, 2009, p.168). In the journal ‘Development and Dreams’ Pillay, Tomlinson and Bass (2009, p. 115-116) touch on the positives and negatives of infrastructural projects. They also state that “The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions argues that although the staging of mega events can have a range of positive impacts, it can have the opposite impact, especially in relation to infrastructural projects which can result in human violations in the form of evictions”. They explain that it is 50/50 impact with infrastructures and with consequences if it does not go well. Mbembe goes on to say that “if the 2010 world cup succeeds in fundamentally altering the ways in which Africa’s voice is expressed and heard and Africa’s face is seen in the world, then this and this alone will morally justify the colossal amount of public money spent on the very postcolonial and megalomaniac venture” (Pillay, Tomlinson and Bass, 2009 p.248).

South Africa invested heavily in building and renovating state of the art stadiums ahead of the 2010 World Cup. The SA government had plans for infrastructural legacy, these included the modernization of basic services such as, electricity, waste treatment and water (Holt and Ruta, 2015, p.71). Research in the journal ‘Handbook of Sport and Legacy’ states that as well as having a legacy to remember, the SA government plans for practical legacies that will benefit the community well.

One of the most popular stadiums for the 2010 world cup was Cape Town stadium. This new stadium was not only constructed for football but for community assets and multipurpose. This stadium seemed to have a lot of potential and benefits long term. However, Holt and Ruta (2015, p.74) outline that “the stadium costs 4 million (rands) a month to keep it up even though nothing happens there”. With the stadium being multipurpose and for the community, it struggled for investments and events. A total of 5 new stadiums were constructed ahead of the 2010 world cup costing 9 billion (rands) (Pillay, Tomlinson and Bass, 2009, p.231). Costing 7 billion more than the projected 2 billion. 10 stadiums were used for this world cup, whether new or renovated. These stadiums attracted tourists, created jobs and overall were in pristine condition for the footballers and fans, it was a positive outlook. However, funding so much money on infrastructure can impact the communities, in which this case, it did. In the journal of soccer and society, the movement’s president, S’bu Zikode explained that “the soccer World Cup is a threat to our communities, in a sense, because it is putting pressure on the city to get rid of shacks…” (Ngonyama, 2009, p.173). Further research in this journal and the R20 billion budgeted for refurbishments and construction over a period of four years equals the cost to an additional 90,000 low-cost house a year (Ngonyama, 2009, p.173). Breaking the figures down and reading what the funding of the infrastructures could have brought instead is eye opening. Political economist Stephen Gelb believes the people of South Africa need to start debating whether the country’s priority is 90,000 houses a year for four years or the 2010 World Cup (Ngonyama, 2009, p.173). 90,000 house a year for four years is colossal and would’ve been much more beneficial for the people and community as the stadiums in South Africa are turning into ‘white elephants’.

One of the main factors that come with hosting a mega-event is tourism. With tourism, comes attractions, events and legacy. Pillay, Tomlinson and Bass (2009, p.132) explains in ‘Development and Dreams’, that sport tourism focuses on how the foundation of sport development could be provided by the existence of tourism sites or infrastructures and how sport events may stimulate tourism actively. They touch on with the presences of stadiums, buildings and tourism sites, sport can still be built and continued after the event, held with not just the legacy of infrastructures but legacy of the actual sport being put into practice. Further research into ‘Development and Dreams’, visitor numbers had predicted during the 2010 world cup. A total of 860,000 visitors were predicted, these numbers included visitors with and without tickets to matches, visitors from other African countries and South African residents traveling regionally to attend matches (Pillay, Tomlinson and Bass, 2009, p.140).

With so much expected visitors, many things needed to be up to standard and ‘national level’, such as transport and infrastructure. This was the case for the 2010 world cup. FIFA had development on loads of their new stadiums, and some needing specific plans like tourist projects and themes just to accommodate the many tourists that were predicted (Pillay, Tomlinson and Bass, 2009, p.144). more specific research on this showed that one of the host cities, Pretoria, had approximately R245 million spent on just tourism related projects. These projects were building for the future, but it may struggle to find use when the mega event is over and there are significantly less tourists.

In conclusion, sociological imagination helps with analyzing sports mega-events critically as it narrows down the claims made, while gaining a better perspective from different angles. Furthermore, sports mega-events generally have a short-term positive affect, as it can be discolored by the unspoken negative long-term legacy it leaves. The 2010 world cup had 10 states of the art stadiums, some of which were built for multipurpose and for the community. These stadiums had potential to regenerate sports development and host community events, but the lack of investments saw them turn into ‘white elephants’. The legacy of sports mega events is spoken positively, however, so much funding into mega events come to almost nothing years after and leaves a burden. which is worth thinking, are mega events worth it. Chappelet (2012, p.84) talks on how legacies are difficult to secure and that there is bridge between dreams and realities. This is clear because, before hosting events, they are dreams in relation to better facilities, infrastructures, and tourist attractions that will leave a positive legacy in the host city, but when in reality, the dreams end negatively due to the amount of funding and support unable to keep up. Chappelet concludes his journal buy saying that “legacy is essentially is a dream to be pursued rather than a certainty to be achieved”.

“The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society” – C. Wright Mills, ‘The Sociological Imagination’.

C. Wright Mills defined the sociological imagination as “the vivid awareness of the relationship between personal experience and the wider society”. When he published his book in 1959, his attempt was to connect these two seemingly unrelated and abstract concepts of life- the ‘individual’ and the ‘society’. For most people, their ‘universe’ is made up of relatively small groups like their families, friends, colleagues, neighbors and so on. Their understanding of the world is also derived almost entirely from this understanding of their ‘universe’. However, what Mill attempted to illustrate was that our personal experiences, the people we interact with and the way in which we interact, the positions we occupy in life, our goals and ambitions are all related to larger, complex patterns in society that have been historically created and maintained by the people who came into this world before us. To understand this better, he offered insight into the relationship between structure (social institutions) and agency (personal experience) by explaining that often what we consider to be our ‘personal troubles’ – like not having enough money to buy food or pay bills – is actually a ‘public issue’- the result of a larger social problem that affects many, like systematic economic inequality and poverty. Thus, what/who we are and where we come from (our biography) is related to the larger world that exists beyond our existence (historically created social constructs) and sociological imagination enables us to think in terms of this relationship and practicing this thinking is the essence of ‘thinking sociologically’.

This seems pretty simple to grasp and one might assume that everybody thinks in such a manner already. However, that is not really the case. I will further elaborate upon what makes such thinking so distinctly ‘sociological’. And also, what doesn’t.

Understanding sociology in terms of being ‘about’ social life is problematic, since it encourages the tendency to confuse common sensical thinking with sociological thinking. Both Allan Johnson and Andre Beteille have stressed on the gravity of this misconception since it promotes the viewpoint that when anyone comments on something ‘social’, they’re thinking sociologically. When Beteille mentions, “sociology seems by contrast to be grist to everybody’s mill”, he is referring to this general misbelief that there is no distinction between sociological thinking and common sense and then, he proceeds to challenge this misconception.

Common sensical thinking, by its very nature, is localized, personal and informal. It is localized because it is constrained by time and space and the degree of an individual’s integration and interaction with the society. Hence, we can say that ‘common sense is not so common’ since what is common sense for someone from a particular vantage point may turn out to be either not-so-common for another from a different geographical, cultural and historical background. It is personal because it is dependent on the individual and restricted to the individual’s surroundings. It is informal because common sense lacks technical resources-good knowledge in concepts, methods, approach, techniques, schools of thought – that cannot be substituted with even a very well-informed and articulate kind of common sensical thinking.

In contrast, sociological thinking is general, external and disciplined. It is general and external because sociological thinking demands thinking in terms of the whole of human society. The greatest contribution to this approach was done by Emile Durkheim, Max weber and Karl Marx- the builders of modern sociology. Sociological thinking is not restricted to an individual’s belief but it is rather about ‘where’ and ‘how’ the individual participates with the larger world and ‘why’ their participation unfolds in a particular manner and not in another. As Allan Johnson states, “We are always participating in something larger than ourselves, and if we want to understand social life and what happens to people in it, we have to understand what it is that we’re participating in and how we participate in it” when he elaborates upon what he considers to be the ‘one thing’ that sociology could teach everyone, henceforth the ‘one thing’ that is integral to thinking sociologically as well. It is essential to think in terms of not just the individual or just the collective but both the collective and the individual, the relation between them, how they influence and are influenced by each other – it is truly about the ‘forest and the trees. Sociological thinking makes us realize that for all that we think we know about the world, beneath that is all that we don’t know as well.

Furthermore, sociological thinking is disciplined since it is grounded in empirical reasoning, careful observations and extensively requires the systematic use of the comparisons. These aid a sociologist to think in terms of the wider human society and find interconnections between different domains of social life. Meaningful and unsuspected connections are often reached only by sifting through stacks of connections that are ‘trivial and easily accessible to common sense’. As a sociologist, one’s thinking and understanding of the world goes beyond the common-sense point of view which is highly variable. All these factors therefore, make sociological thinking anti-fatalistic and anti-utopian in its approach and differentiates its empirical, generalized, critical knowledge from localized common-sense. Durkheim believed that the disciplined application of the sociological method and thinking would help an individual to understand their society better, and this understanding would be nourished and expanded by the use of systematic comparisons between their own and other societies. To illustrate on this, it would be useful to mention Durkheim’s classic work on ‘Suicide’, which contributed much to expose the ‘illusion of understanding created by common sense’. Durkheim thought beyond the common-sense prevailing at his time which looked at suicide as a highly individual act and instead treated suicide as a ‘social fact’- as ‘general, external and coercive’ – by studying suicide rates. Through his research he was able to show that suicide rates depend more on an individual’s degree of social integration and that the difference in suicide rates across countries, gender, race, and other contexts is not merely just the sum total of individual suicides but actually a reflection of the society they live in.

However, it should be mentioned that the distinction between sociological and common-sense thinking is not to deliberately make the former seem superior and esoteric in nature with the use of sophisticated jargon and ‘technical virtuosity’. According to NK Bose, “there are two kinds of scientists, those who make complex things simple and those who make simple things complex, and that his preference was for the former”. Although, Beteille argues that common sense by itself is insufficient and often unsuccessful in making complex things simple but it shouldn’t be entirely overlooked since common sense is also an element of our social life. Thus, sociological thinking must be alert and reflective in order to identify an individual’s own biases when they’re studying their own society and also be able to identify other knowledge that was created from a common sensical point of view. Thus, sociological thinking must strike a balance in the ‘inter-penetration’ of common sense with the technical virtuosity of the discipline by moderating the fatalistic and utopian elements of the former. In some cases, it has actually been able to contribute to common sensical thinking on topics such as education, politics, class and inequality.

Allan Johnson has stressed upon the distinction between sociological thinking and the individualistic model of thinking. The individualistic way of thinking tends to see everything only in terms of individuals- this reduces the society to only a collection of individuals existing independently of each other, in a given time and place. This not only affects how we choose to participate in society but also how we think about social life and the larger world. The ‘Individualistic model’ has only existed for a few centuries and its roots date back to the 19th century and the United States, where the work of William James- influenced by the age of ‘European Enlightenment’ and ‘modernist thinking’- and later the unconventional insights of Sigmund Freud-discovery of the psyche and levels of consciousness- influenced people to think increasingly in terms of individual experience with greater ‘self-awareness’ than before. Johnson has illustrated upon the problems of this mode of thinking by explaining that when members of privileged groups react negatively – by reacting aggressively or avoid talking about it- to the consequences of their membership resulting in the oppression of the prejudiced group, they’re thinking from an individualistic perspective which shows them as being ‘flawed’ and having a ‘personal need’ to behave in oppressive way. The individualistic solution to social problems such as inequality or natural disasters or terrorism then becomes “a matter not of collective solutions but of an accumulation of individual solutions. If we want to have less poverty in the world, the individualistic answer lies in raising people out of poverty or keeping them from becoming poor by changing what sort of people they are, one person at a time”.

The main issue that arises from the individualistic way of thinking, is that it fails to understand the difference between people and social systems – it misses ‘the forest for the trees’. People and social systems are not one and the same but they’re closely related to one another and influenced by how the individual chooses to participate in them. Social systems are made up of several different elements that exist in a particular relation to one another and form a distinct pattern that makes it function as a whole, for example, the family system is made up of certain roles such as that of mother, father, son, daughter etc. and also of certain ‘ideas’ that are collectively accepted in a society such as ‘being obedient to your parents’ and so on. Understanding what makes up a system, how they function and differ from one another is crucial to understanding the consequences that result when people follow without questioning its legitimacy i.e. the path of least resistance. Social systems are strengthened by attaching positive and negative sanctions that ensure adherence to it. This path of least resistance hence, makes common sensical thinking so utopian and fatalistic in nature as there is a tendency to take everything for granted and attach ‘personal reasons’ to ‘public problems’ for example, blaming your ‘luck’ for being born into a ‘poor’ family.

The sociological imagination is the ability to see how social factors and structures influence our lives socially and individually when we live in a society. It is basically the connection between an individual and society on a whole. Our social relationships are divided between micro and macro level, and sociological imagination helps us to understand the dilemma and connection between the two divisions has between each other. As a social being we are bound to take part in the social positions we hold in a society and fulfil those duties accordingly. Social imagination has played an important role in making individuals participate in their roles and duty in a society.

When we live in a society, we have to mold ourselves with the norms and ideologies of the society we are born and brought up to. Socialization is what connects us with the people and it’s norms of the society. There are many key agents in effective socialization. Such as – family, school, peer groups, mass media, ethnicity and religion. These social elements influence our lives on a border scale if we look closely. For instance, ethnicity and religion of a person can impact their micro and macro level social relations on a larger scale. I myself have faced many stereotypes of the society in the past to till now because of certain sociological standard. When I was on a connecting flight to USA in 2019, I was looked down, humiliated, interrogated and treated differently than other on boarders in the airport only because I was a brown Muslim girl. My ethnicity and religion were considered a threat to the airport security. Therefore, the higher authorities from the airport judged me based on a wrong categorization of the society of today. If we go through many news articles on colorism and islamophobia, we can see that thousands of people are being mistreated in airports every other day or in any social gatherings because of their ethnicity and religion like me. For example, I read in a news article that a young girl and her mother were being treated differently and shouted at than the other fairer skin people in the airport. As a result, the little girl developed a fear of airport security in general. Would a white person be treated the same way as the rest of the minority at a foreign airport? No, they would not, instead they would be treated like royalties and more specifically like humans. However, was it right to do the racist profiling? No, it was not. Nonetheless, the security checking was not the issue, it is the government policies and institutions based on fear and misconception, as well as the history has made the social relations between humans so complicated in present-day. Racial profiling and certain typecast has always been there in terms of various social concepts. Our history of socialization has made social relations and constructions biased based on gender, race, ethnicity, class and religion over the years. Furthermore, the burden of our history has to be carried throughout all generations.

However, we have to clear our minds from every type of stereotypes, expectations, opinions and claims to have a better understanding of what needs to be done for a clean society. We have to put ourselves in other shoes and experience a different life to be more receptive of our decisions and concepts as a member of a society. Basically, we have to think in an alternative point of view to change the social phenomenon. This is when mass media comes into the view, mass media creates a bridge between reality and perceptions of the society. It is because of the media we get to see the reality of sociological relations amid the society we live in currently. If not for the media, the world would not have been able to see the social injustice people face in every other sector around the world.

Social imagination has helped us to make sense of our own lives and responsibilities as a social being. Nevertheless, it is the 21st century now and instead of going backwards, people should adapt to the new changes of society and accept every human as equal. If the society does not evolve through time, unfortunately there would not be any escape from the stereotypes as well.

Every big city has a zoo where all the wild animals are kept in naturally simulated environment. People flock to the place to see the beasts and the heroes of the forest wilderness. It is a wonderful experience for the kids and adult alike nevertheless there are drawbacks too. Therefore, let’s find out the pros and cons of the Zoo.

Advantages of a zoo

Amazing benefits for the animals: Wild animals injured or abandoned in the forest are brought to the zoo where they get proper food and medical treatment. As a result, the chances of survival increase for them which would not have been possible in the jungle. Moreover, they are under the supervision of the Zoo authorities who are responsible for their well being and also respond to emergency situations.

Heavenly abode for the endangered species: One of the most important benefits for the animals is that they can live longer. Zoos also house the wild animals belonging to endangered species. For instance, rare varieties of birds and carnivorous animals are bred in captivity in the Zoo. Majority of animals may not survive in the wild environment either due to pollution or poaching. Therefore, Zoo provides a safer and secured environment for them to grow.

Knowledge to the visitors: Zoo provides a wonderful opportunity for the users to visit and learn new facts about the animals residing in the forest. Information is provided in detail about the Zoo authorities which was not possible in natural environment. Professionals are deployed for taking care of the animals as they learn about the behavior and feeding habits. When people closely interact with the animals they realize the value of environment and the need to preserve the wild habitat.

Great trips to the Zoo: For kids visiting the Zoo can be a fun filled experience as they meet animals they learn about in books and television. Moreover, some Zoos have museums where rich historical information pertaining to ancient and present wildlife is stored. Hollywood has recently churned out different movies based on the cartoon characters of animals. They have become very popular among the audiences.

Disadvantages of a zoo

Lack of space: Majority of Zoos are constrained by space especially when the number of wild animals increases. Lions and tigers need huge area to roam which might be not possible in an enclosure. Elephants in the Zoo sometimes turn violent as they do not find enough room to move around. Aggressive wild animals could create problems for the Zoo authorities and might attack the visitors causing injuries and even death.

Mental issues: Animals that are captured from the wild and brought to the Zoo find it hard to adjust to the new environment as they do not have the freedom to roam across the length and the breadth of the property. On the other hand, animals that are raised in captivity find it extremely hard to survive in the wild environment as they do not have the necessary skill sets.

Zoo has numerous advantages and disadvantages but owing to the fast depleting forest cover in the name of progress, the raising of exotic animals in a captive enclosure signifies that all is not lost and they can coexist with humans without any threat.

Effective teaching of arithmetic

Arithmetic is the study of using numbers and working things out with them. Over the recent decades the meaning of ‘arithmetic’ has changed from being limited to achievement in standard procedures without full understanding to the one that establishes logical structures behind the numbers and their operations. Individuals living in the current century are required to take the initiative in making connections between mathematical representations and real-life problems. They also need to find appropriate ways of solving problems by working flexibly. These expectations have warranted teaching children arithmetic effectively through making connections, investigating number patterns, and identifying numerical relationships (Anghileri, 2006)

The aims of the current national curriculum in mathematics require pupils to become fluent (through frequent and varied practice) and develop conceptual understanding, reason mathematically along with being able to solve problems in a variety of situations. It also recognizes mathematics as an interconnected subject whereby pupils should be able to move fluently amongst different representations of mathematical ideas. The expectations are that the majority of pupils should be moving through the curriculum stages at the same pace. Children who have grasped a concept should be provided with enriching challenges through sophisticated problems (DfE, 2013). These principles have been reflective of teaching for ‘mastery’ approaches in high-scoring education systems of East and south-east Asia (NCETM 2014). Their high performance in the program for international student assessments (PISA) in 2009 and 2012, provided the rationale for introducing teaching for mastery in mathematics and other initiatives to deliver the national curriculum in England (DfE, 2019)

There is no precise definition of ‘mastery’, mention skemp- relational understanding and mike askew making connections there are various initiatives, groups, and organizations who have taken a lead in promoting mastery. Among these, are two high-profile Singapore-inspired initiatives called: Mathematics Mastery and Maths No Problem. These are based on the textbooks in Singapore and also provide professional development activities for educators (Boylan et. al. 2018).

School X (my first placement) was a two-form mixed community school with approximately 440 pupils on the roll between the ages of 3-11. The school has a very low percentage of pupil-premium children as compared to the national average. The majority of the pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and mathematics however, the percentage of pupils achieving higher standards in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics is well below the national average. The school in recent years has not made sufficient progress in Mathematics and therefore under the initiative of the Maths leader, it has recently invested and rolled out the Singapore-based Maths No Problem scheme across the year groups.

Mathematics education in Singapore places importance on high expectations of all learners, covering the curriculum in depth allowing sufficient time, and giving every child the opportunity to develop conceptual understanding and skills. This is usually achieved through the use of mathematical models, high-quality mathematical talk, and thinking (Drury, 2014). However, School X still has a lot of inconsistency in teaching mathematics across the year groups; from some classes having mixed-ability seating to only some use of concrete resources or other forms of manipulatives.

For the purpose of this essay, I am going to look at using manipulatives, representations, and a Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract approach along with mixed-ability seating along with planning carefully crafted lessons as means to achieve effective teaching of arithmetic within the classrooms.

Using manipulatives, representations, and the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract approach

The EEF report (EEF, 2017) identifies manipulative as “a physical object that pupils or teachers can touch and move which is used to support teaching and learning in mathematics.” They provide hands-on experiences in representing abstract mathematical ideas explicitly and concretely (Moyer, 2001) and mental images that pupils can use to contextualize mathematical ideas (Askew and William, 1995). Their usage in promoting mathematical understanding in order to make learning permanent is derived from works of researchers such as Zoltan Dienes (Dienes, 1969) who suggested the use of multiple representations of a concept as means of supporting pupil understanding, and Piaget (Piaget, 1952), who recommended that due to the lack of mental maturity in childhood to grasp abstract symbolic mathematical concepts, children need many hand-on experiences with concrete resources and pictorials for learning to take place. Skemp’s (Skemp, 1987) theory also favors the belief that pupils’ early interactions and experiences with concrete objects laid the foundations of abstract-level learning at later stages.

For instance, in the reception class of my Special Interest Placement school, we used multilink cubes to make staircases for numbers. We then used a puppet to jump one step up and one step down. The use of concrete resources in this scenario helped the children understand the concept of one more and one less from any given number and identify the pattern with regard to cardinal numbers.

Nonetheless, using manipulatives doesn’t often lead to an understanding of a mathematical concept. Sometimes pupils could use them in a rote manner with insufficient comprehension of the concepts underpinning the procedures (Hiebert and Wearne, 1992). Other times there is an inability in establishing the link of actions while using manipulatives to the abstract symbols (Thompson and Thompson, 1990). Manipulatives are merely tools and therefore their use within a lesson need to be purposeful, meaningful, and appropriate to create an impact (Carbonneau, 2013 & Askew, 2016). There are several important pedagogic principles for the effective use of manipulatives within the lessons. These are:

• Both manipulatives and the activities for their usage should be matched carefully to the mathematical focus.
• Pupils should be allowed to get familiarised with the manipulatives through play
• Children should still be encouraged to make their own recordings on a whiteboard or paper, visualize and link the manipulatives to the abstract symbols.
• The teaching around using manipulatives should involve discussions, comparisons, and appropriate usage of vocabulary to engage children with reasoning (Griffiths et. al., 2017)

Pupils of all ages can be supported through manipulatives. They should be used as a ‘scaffold’ to learning which could be removed to avoid pupil reliance on them (EEF, 2017).

By contrast, the usage of manipulatives was restricted to KS1 in school X. Nonetheless, I used colored counters to introduce a formal written (column) method of calculation for addition. I used these as each color could represent the individual column and the children could physically count and move them around to exchange when carrying out regrouping. In the first two lessons, having exposed the pupils to place value counters and charts for the first time, I modeled what I would like the pupils to do by using the counters at the beginning of the lesson. I then involved them in the activity through discussions around what I had done, and why regrouped using key vocabulary related to ones, tens, etc. In the next part of each lesson, a link was then made between what was done with the counters to the column method. This unpicking of the mathematical structure of addition with regrouping using the counters helped them develop a procedural understanding of the column method and they were able to justify how and why regrouping was involved in developing the conceptual understanding of the operation.

Representations

There is considerable evidence that concrete objects don’t become tools for thinking with ease (Askew, 2016). This is mainly because the mental images of numbers are linked with ordinal aspects whereby numbers are placed on a number line in order (Dehaene, 1999). The EEF report identifies number lines as “effective representations for teaching across both Key stages 2 and 3” (EEF, 2017). Although there is no specific guidance regarding the use of representations, as in the case of manipulatives, there is strong evidence that comparing and discussing a variety of representations can help pupils develop conceptual understanding and impact positively attainment (Ainsworth, 2006). The School X calculation policy has considerable emphasis placed on using number lines across the year groups however, was unable to see it being used within the lessons that were observed (School X calculation policy). Bar models, part-whole models, and arrays are some other forms of pictorial representation used widely across schools. The former two particularly in Singapore education and the Maths No Problem scheme. The versatility and flexibility around using a bar model in different areas of arithmetic and problem-solving across different year groups make it a really effective representation (Maths No Problem- Bar Modelling). My use of them to show the division

Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract approach

The bar model also draws on the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract approach which has come to be recognized as an essential mastery concept in teaching arithmetic.

The approach stems from the work of Bruner on the development of children (Bruner, 1966). In his research, he proposed the importance of using concrete based on actions (enactive), pictorial with imagery (iconic), and abstract which is language-based (symbolic) representations for learning. Based on these, Singaporean education promoted the CPA approach whereby a concept is introduced with the help of concrete resources, it is then presented with the help of models or images, and lastly with the abstract notations of symbols (Maths No Problem- Bar Modelling and CPA approach). This approach to learning mathematics is at the heart of the Maths No Problem textbook scheme. The movement across the stages provides an overarching structure to the lessons and detailed attention is given to developing abstract understanding gradually through linking the stages (Hoong et. al. 2015). The aim for teachers is to help pupils become fluent in the symbolic mode which is at the heart of mathematics and students who merely work in the concrete and representational mode over the long term can hardly be doing mathematics (Ma, 1999).

Nonetheless, the fluidity expressed with regard to moving across the stages is something the Maths No Problem scheme of lessons does not make explicit. According to Hoong’s interpretation of Bruner’s theory (Hoong et. al. 2015), students who understand the abstract concept shouldn’t be always required to start their learning from the concrete stages. For instance, I have used concrete objects and pictorial representations as means of deducing reasoning of the abstract understanding among pupils rather than starting the lesson with the stages of the CPA approach. This however was not the practice among the other classes in the school who followed the Maths No Problem textbook lesson structure.

To summarise, incorporating the CPA approach flexibly meeting the needs of the learners in the classroom, and establishing connections between different manipulatives, representations and abstract ideas (Askew, 2010) would form an effective mechanism of teaching arithmetic for understanding.

Mixed-ability grouping

“Teaching in small peer-based groups has been used widely to enhance the active participation of pupils in educational settings for many years” (Ambreen, 2017). The relationship between group work and learning evolves from the theories proposed by Piaget and Vygotsky (Fawcett and Garton, 2005). The importance of peer interaction in the cognitive development of a child was a striking feature of Piaget’s learning theory. He believed that in group work, children can explain and verbalize an activity to each other and therefore get a greater insight into the problem through shared learning experiences (Gray and MacBlain 2015). According to Vygotsky (Vygotsky, 1978), the social and individual processes are interdependent in the construction of knowledge also called the sociocultural approach to learning. This approach of interactive learning enhances pupils’ cognitive development when takes place between more and less competent. This process of interactional change that occurs in cognitive development is termed as “the Zone of Proximal development” in the sociocultural approach (Cole, 1985).

These principles are applied through various forms of collaborative and cooperative learning opportunities in the educational system (Jarvis, 2005). However, until recently, these groups for learning were primarily based on the ability of the pupils. This was mainly due to the notion, that teachers could then offer work to children which was more appropriate for their level (Boaler, 2015). The 2008 review of research on grouping strategies in Primary schools drew unequivocal conclusions that showed the absence of academic benefits and rather negative consequences on child development (Blatchford et al. 2008). This ability grouping indirectly sends out a message that ‘ability’ is permanent and therefore develops a fixed mindset that relies on the belief that either pupils are smart or not (Boaler, 2015). Many other types of research have pointed to similar detrimental effects of ability grouping to both the lower and higher groups whereby the higher groups become fearful to make mistakes. This could also prevent them from attempting more challenging work (Boaler, 1997; Boaler, 2013a; Boaler and William, 2001; Boaler, William, and Brown, 2001).

This practice was still prevalent in School X, where children were either grouped within their class into tables of higher ability and lower ability, or pupils were grouped into top and bottom sets dividing them between two classes of the same year group. The Ofsted report for School X has identified the next steps as promoting pupil progress in mathematics, especially achieving higher standards for the more able pupils (School X Ofsted report). Based on the evidence from the previously mentioned research, it is probable to concur that ability grouping could be playing some part in hindering pupils making progress in mathematics in School X.

Researchers have consistently found that providing ‘Opportunity to learn’ plays a crucial part in school success and student achievement. When all students are provided opportunities to be exposed to advanced maths within classes regularly, the achievement outcomes improved for both the low and high-achieving students (Burris, Heubert, and Levin, 2006). This in turn promotes the idea of a ‘growth mindset’ whereby pupils believe that the harder they work, the smarter they get (Dweck, 1999, 2006)- paper on Singapore approach

With the strong drive in the new national curriculum promoting learning for all, there is now less emphasis on ‘ability’ grouping and greater on teaching the whole class. Whilst teaching for mastery it is vital to accept that with individual differences there will be variety in learning outcomes. These differences in outcomes will be with regard to the depth of learning achieved by pupils rather than the quantity they have learned (Askew, 2016).

One way of effective teaching in a mixed ability class at a whole class level requires providing the children with multi-level open-ended tasks also called ‘Low floor, high ceiling tasks. (For example, while teaching in School X, I would often give a number to children in their table groups, and each group had to show me different ways that they could make that number using the four operations of arithmetic). The teacher’s role within these lessons would be to facilitate high-end discussions by guiding the pupils to extend their thinking through the appropriate usage of key vocabulary. In addition, students should be offered choices of various tasks that address different levels of mathematics and the flexibility that doesn’t require them to always work on the same tasks (Boaler, 2016). In light of this, I introduced the chili challenge within my mathematics lessons. For every question, students were given choices of different tasks based on the heat of the chili. They could choose which tasks they would like to attempt. An example of this would be for the anchor task word problem, the pupils were given options of mild chili (which would be representing the problem in at least one way and then solving it), medium hot chili (which would be showing different ways of representing the problem, and different ways of solving it if any) and red-hot chili (which would be solving the problem and then using manipulatives to explain how they solved it). This provided opportunities for all children regardless of their abilities to be involved with the learning.

‘Complex Instruction’ is another effective strategy recommended for teaching a mixed-ability class (Boaler, 2016 Cohen and Lotan, 2014). This strategy involves assigning roles to each member of the group and encourages pupils the importance of group talks through good questioning, valuing different ideas and approaches, connecting a variety of methods, and calculating and evaluating solutions (Boaler, 2008).

The Singaporean textbook approach, which was used at School X, recommends the whole class moving at broadly the same pace within the lessons. The beginning of the lesson is usually a contextualized open-ended problem that requires whole class engagement and participation. The collaborative work within the groups involves the use of manipulatives, representations, and conversations around possible solutions. This helps develop a classroom whereby there are opportunities for discussions amongst children of all abilities enhancing their understanding of the mathematics on hand. The scheme has some positive impact on developing growth mindsets for effective whole-class teaching. It further gives the basis for teachers to spend more time exploring Maths as every lesson follows the same structure of exploration, reflection, and practice (Boyd, 2017). This scheme approach does not place emphasis on task or content differentiation thereby avoiding in-class grouping through prior attainment (DfE, 2014).

Along with the ones discussed in depth within this essay, there are other aspects that contribute to the effective teaching of arithmetic. Some of those are planning lessons in a sequential manner (planning for progression) in order to cover the smaller steps needed to introduce the big ideas, within each such lesson using carefully selected few examples that extend pupils thinking rather than lots of different ones (variation theory) and the teacher talk within the lesson which facilitates learning through questioning and verbal reasoning. In addition to the teaching practices, creating a classroom environment that promotes challenges, and embraces struggle and mistakes is equally important to ensure good mathematics learning for all.

References

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Clean water is imperative to live. From our drinking water to sanitization, to modern technology such as fracking it is vital. Humans and animals alike require water daily for survival and comfort. Just three days without water and we would all suffer greatly. Clean water should be equally accessible to all humans. Water legislations are personal to humans as it is such an important factor in life. It should be taken on a personal level. From clean drinking water to groundwater and biosolid management. Active involvement in regulating our water quality is essential to our way of life. The fact that we are allowing human beings to drink filthy water is disheartening in our countries priorities. Currently, 323 million people rely on services for clean water in America. However, an estimated 1.6 billion people still do not have adequate access to indoor plumbing and drinking water. Even with our current state of wealth and the (SDWA) safe drinking water act, many are left without necessities.

785 million people globally lack even a basic drinking-water service, including 144 million people who are dependent on surface water. Globally, at least 2 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with feces. Contaminated water can transmit diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and polio. Contaminated drinking water is estimated to cause 485 000 diarrhoeal deaths each year. In 2010, the UN General Assembly explicitly recognized the human right to water and sanitation. Everyone has the right to sufficient, continuous, safe, acceptable, physically accessible, and affordable water for personal and domestic use. An estimated 829 000 people are going to die each year from diarrhea as a result of unsafe drinking-water, sanitation, and hand hygiene. Diarrhea is largely preventable, and the deaths of 297 000 children aged under 5 years could be avoided each year if proper water sanitation and regulations were in place. In places where clean water is not accessible the education of proper handwashing is often not mainstream, therefore increasing the risk of contracting diseases. In America, the CDC and the EPA work diligently to keep us as the top safest water supply in the world. With an estimated one trillion being spent by the time 2025 for expanding and improving infrastructure, they are working day and night to keep Americans safe. Despite this, many Americans still go without access. It took over 200 years from our founding to create water protections. We did not have any protection until 1984, the first attempt. It was called the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA). It was the first major law enacted by Congress to address the problems of water pollution in the US. Totaling over 100 bills legislators had attempted to pass legislation over the previous half-century, to no avail. By 1948 urban growth and industrial production fueled by World War II had led to apparent, and often notable, pollution of the country’s rivers, streams, and lakes, pressuring Congress to finally handle the issue. Unfortunately, the act was very flimsy and accomplished little. It did not generally prohibit pollution, gave only limited authority to the federal government, and provided extremely tedious enforcement.

It took almost 25 years for a law regarding water to be created. The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was created in 1972, in addition to being more specific, it was more stringent than its predecessor. It allows the EPA to set statewide sanders for drinking water across the nation. Any public water system is held to this standard. Clean water is used not only for drinking but also for cleaning, agriculture, bathing, cooking and much more. We only use 4% of our water supply for drinking and shocking 33% for sanitary use comparatively. Water is critical to almost everything in our daily lives, which highlights the importance of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Currently, Trump is restricting the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act (CWA). This decision is cheered by many but heavily ridiculed also. The repeal of the act known as the ‘Waters of America’ act prevented contamination of water from a list of chemicals. The efforts have focused heavily on eliminating restrictions on fossil fuel pollution, including coal-fired power plants, automobile tailpipes, and methane emissions, but have also touched on asbestos and chemical hazards like pesticides.

One significant and quickly damaging side effect of the clean water repeal is that polluters will no longer need a permit to dispose of potentially unregulated substances into many wetlands and streams. The rollback, which is expected to take effect very soon. has far beyond reaching consequences due to the pollution that will now be allowed to harm our environment. This narrowing of policy is worrying to many due to the current state of control being mainly republican. The concern is that reform will not be possible due to the shift in ideological shifts from socialist to corporate interest. A professor of environmental law Patrick Parenteau at the Vermont Law School said that, for conservative states and leaders who believe the Clean Water Act has been restricting and tedious for farmers and industry, “this is an opportunity to drive a stake through the heart of federal water protection.” Trump’s reasoning for the rollback is that restricting farmers leaves them less time to build the instructor. However, environmentalists warn of the long term unrestricted damage to our natural resources. With the importance of a clean environment, this is very concerning due to our already waining supply and growing population.

A city that encountered a difficult legal battle over contaminated water in Flint Michigan, Ohio’s neighboring state. Due to lead in the water, it is now undrinkable and will burn the skin. It has left families with nowhere to go and irreversible health problems. Problems such as damaged DNA, lowered IQ, damaged nerves, lack of physical growth in children, impaired learning abilities, impaired hearing, impaired vision, impaired reading and much more. State health director Nick Lyon is being represented by private attorneys and they have cost taxpayers more than $1.6 million to defend Gov. Rick Snyder’s high-ranking member of the cabinet. His trial isn’t even set yet and they are facing involuntary manslaughter charges stemming from Flint’s water crisis. The majority of Busch’s legal bills stem from dozens of lawsuits filed by residents of Flint over the leaching of lead into Flint’s drinking water system. Alongside the damage from led 90 people have died due to Legionnaires disease. This has been linked to contaminants in the river water. All 90 people became ill within the eighteen months of exposure to the new water source. There has been much criticism of the state’s slow response to warning residents, this has caused suspicion of a higher death toll than the confirmed 90.

Evidence suggests from the preliminary investigation that Busch and other DEQ employees covered up Flint’s water problems; he was also charged criminally and suspended with pay for more than two years ago in April. Involuntary manslaughter charges against Busch last summer were added when a flood occurred at the same time he charged Lyon, the highest-ranking member of the Snyder administration to be charged. This case is extremely relevant to the SDWA because it was entirely preventable. The cause of the contaminated water was due to a switching of resources. The main water supply was moved from the great lakes to the local river without proper corrosion control and regulation. This resulted in the lead pipes being exposed to the drinking water. Nearly 100,000 people have been impacted by this health crisis. Residents can now sue the state and EPA, claiming to slow response to the crisis. It has been determined that state and local officials lead the residents to believe everything was fine, contrary to EPA awareness of erosion in the pipelines. Currently, legal action is still being determined and the EPA refuses to comment. Another example of miss-handled drinking water was in Modesto California. In 1998 the city of Modesto filed a lawsuit that was formed against various dry cleaners, the creators of the equipment and the manufacturer’s distributors of the solvent. The lawsuit claimed the defendants had caused the groundwater, sewer system, soil, and easements to become contaminated with (PCE) perchloroethylene a toxic chlorinated solvent.

For a long time, Modesto has struggled against corporations such as Dow Chemical. Dow and other manufacturers knew that the chemical perchloroethylene — known as perc or PCE — was poisonous but still told cleaners to pour it into the sewer. This is negligence, a failure to do what any other decent person might do. Eventually, this resulted in the plaintiff’s being rewarded with reprimands for three dry cleaning sites including an award for punitive damages against three defendants. In Puerto Rico, in 2015 a large majority of residents gained water from sources that do not meet the Safe Drinking Water Act. Nearly 70% drank from water contaminated with coliform bacteria, disinfection by-products, and more. On top of this hurricane, Maria created a humanitarian crisis alongside the already harsh conditions. This horrific event forced people to drink toxic water. Many ended up in emergency rooms or worse, dead. Even now all residents are advised to boil their water. As climate change continues to change our world, hurricane season seems to be extending. Puerto Rico is likely to experience more and more dire weather. Americans, therefore, must invest in better water and energy access, which currently is negligible at best.

The hurricane flooded many residential areas. With the high water, toxins such as fecal matter and no access to hygiene resources the flooding was extremely dangerous. Contaminated water, lack of food and lack of help resulted in the estimated deaths of 2,975 people. Another aspect of water regulation that must be addressed is groundwater contamination. This goes hand in hand with clean drinking water because many rural cities obtain drinking water via the ground. When our wells and underground water reserves are poisoned we stand to not only limit our water cycle but also damage crops, land, animals and the ecosystem as a whole. A major contributor to polluted groundwater is our agricultural methods of using excess nitrates. We use nitrates in farming to help plants grow, without nitrates we could not produce enough food for our planet. However due to run off and many other factors the nitrates tend to end up in local water supply. An excess of nitrates in water will choke out any oxygen. This will slowly kill local wildlife and even algie. Eventually, all that will remain is green-blue algae. This algae is toxic and can kill animals and make humans sick. Recently there have been warnings about this alga in our local water. Traces have been found in pets and any fur parents do not realize the very real danger. The toxin (cyanobacteria) can cause seizures, panting, excessive drooling, respiratory failure, diarrhea, disorientation, vomiting, liver failure, and ultimately death.

This is found in lakes that you would think nothing of on a hot summer day just trying to cool off and swim. I have seen many posts and videos posted on social media sites are warning pet owners of this dangerous algae. The videos show dogs and people swimming in lakes and then having to rush their pets to the vet. In some sad cases, the pet does not survive. In Wilmington, North Carolina, three dogs died after going for a swim in a local pond. While another also became ill in Lake Allatoona. They became ill due to consuming the water and a lack of awareness about how to respond and spot algae. The EPA is approaching this issue from many fronts. The clean water act to reviewing state standards they are attempting to gain further understanding and communication amongst producers and civilians regarding this issue. They are trying to establish national primary drinking water regulations for nitrate and nitrite. As well as introducing toxic cyanobacteria on the drinking water priority contaminant candidate list and proposing that they are monitored under the unregulated contaminant monitoring rule

In conclusion, the importance of clean water for all cannot be overstated. As regulations are rolled back, climate change limits access to resources and water becomes more scarce the value of this fact becomes more apparent. Even today all who have read this paper have most likely used water. With 90 or more deaths in Flint and irreversible medical damage, 2000 plus in Puerto Rico and current roll back clean water in America seems havoc. To support water legislation and regulation is to support the future. Hopefully with the right choices generations after us can enjoy equal access to water. If not, we could be leaving our children with severe health issues, a lack of biodiversity and even at worst no water at all. We must consider carefully how we want our future to look. We must consider the deep personal importance of protecting our water and supporting the laws that do so.

Smoking is defined by Healthofchildren (2020), as the inhalation of smoke by smoldering tobacco mostly used in three forms such as cigars, pipes, and cigarettes. The most preventable death in the United Kingdom is caused by smoking according to the World Health Organization (WHO 2005). The purpose of this assignment is to discuss statistics, the impact on health of the patients and others caused by passive smoking, interventions, and the effect on NHS, environmental, economic, and social factors at a national level.

In England, roughly two million people quit smoking by 2018 contrasting 2011 and the smoking prevalence in adults is persisting to decrease and reached 14.4% in 2018 in comparison with 14.9% in 2017 which represents a decline of nearly 175,000 people and 19.8% in 2013 (Selbie, 2018).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS 2018), and Public Health England (PHE 2019), indicate that adult smoking behavior in the UK has changed taking the expected smokers figure to an estimated 6 million in England. The greatest decrease in smoking prevalence is among people aged between 18 to 24-year-old, attaining 17.8% in 2017 contrasted with 25.7% in 2011. People of ages 25 to 34-year-old, remain of specific concern as in spite of attempts to reduce differences, the rates persist in the top ratio at 19.7% of existing smokers while people of age 65 and above stay on at the lowest prevalence rate of 8.1% representing almost 914,000 people.

Smoking behaviors are influenced by many factors. The environment of habitation, and neighborhood influence smoking behaviors. Besides, socio-economic factors are important in smoking behaviors. According to Moor et al. (2015; p. 462) and PHE (2019) statistics, people from low-income families were more likely to smoke where one in four are smokers, than those from more affluent backgrounds where one in ten people smoke, out of work people are prone to smoke nearly twice as individuals who work and smoking prevalence in people with a serious psychological disorder is mainly two and a half times higher than the nationwide average. Many social factors affect the tendency towards smoking but family factors such as the relationship between teens and their parents and the satisfaction they have in schools affect their tendency towards smoking (Bjerregaard and Larsen, 2018; p. 5).

Also, there are social impacts of tobacco smoking on both active smokers and their close circle of family and friends, in teenagers, for instance, the onset of cigarette smoking is encouraged or discouraged by the type of neighborhoods surrounding teenagers (Cambron et al., 2018; p. 374).

Allender et al (2009), state that smoking has a health burden on the smoker both in the short-run and in the long run causing severe illnesses and some can be fatal. Smoking causes over fifty diseases such as stroke, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and heart disease, plus nearly every organ of the body is damaged triggering a decrease in quality of life and life expectancy (Ewles, 2005). Smoking has been identified by Cho et al. (2016, p. 112), as a risk factor in the development of dementia and as well as the associated decline in the cognitive function of the victims.

In a study by Cho et al. (2016, p.114), 977 participants were sorted into three categories based on their history of smoking. It was identified that cognitive function declined when the length of smoking was used as a continuous variable. Besides, smoking has particular impacts on coronary heart ailments. In a study that used over 25 cohorts in a Cox regression analysis and over 50,000 participants, over 75% of the participants died from coronary heart diseases caused by prolonged smoking (Mons et al., 2015; p. 1551).

Smoking impacts the recovery of patients after undergoing treatments such as surgery. It was found that smokers had a higher rate of postoperative complications than non-smokers (Schmid et al., 2015; p. 223). Complications such as premature birth, stillbirth, a low birth weight baby, or even miscarriages are caused by smoking during pregnancy and put the mother’s health at risk as well as the health of the unborn baby. To illustrate the impact of smoking on passive smokers, studies on the exposure to tobacco smoke of pregnant women have been conducted with interesting results. In one study, pregnant women were screened using the cotinine test of their saliva coupled with a personal declaration of exposure to tobacco smoke (Salihu et al., 2015; p.205). The research identified that although the expectant mothers were not active smokers, passive exposure to tobacco is lethal to the developing fetus.

Public Health England (PHE, 2019) reveals that on average 10 years of life are lost by smoking people and about 78,000 deaths occur yearly in the UK which symbolizes 16% of mortalities are caused by smoking. NHS and the wider economy and society are also substantially affected by smoking. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS, 2018), around 485,000 hospital admissions due to smoking-related diseases were assessed in England in 2016 and 2017, with the total cost reaching £851.6 million. In 2010/2011 in England were dispensed 2.56 million prescriptions compared to 0.86 million in 2017/2018, with a cost estimate of £144.8 million. In 2015 the cost of NHS to smoking-related care was a total of £2.6 billion, from which £1.1 billion was for primary care according to GOV.UK (2017).

Due to the increased number of smoking people, in England a smoking ban was introduced as the effect of the Health Act 2006, making it illegal to smoke in all sheltered places all over the country, and came into force on 1 July 2007 (GOV.UK, 2015). More rules and regulations regarding smoking, and tobacco end e-cigarettes followed to help decrease the number of smoking people and to protect children and young people from being harmed (GOV.UK, 2015). For example, smoking in a private vehicle that is carrying a person under 18 years of age, but the same rule does not apply to e-cigarettes according to GOV.UK, (2015)

Feasible strategies include Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) where smokers are encouraged to slowly quit smoking by consuming nicotine through other ways (chewing gum and inhalers) other than smoking (NHS, 2019). There are medications such as varenicline, and bupropion that removes the craving withdrawal symptoms related to stopping smoking. E-cigarettes have also been used to help quit smoking with better results posted than patches and gums (NHS, 2019). In recent years, there have emerged behavioral support programs that minimize the desire to smoke. Other methods include education, training, and campaigns NICE, (2018).

Smoking is a public health concern because not only active smokers get affected by tobacco smoke but also non-smokers who are exposed to smoking through a range of risk factors including passive smoking and air pollution. Therefore, the importance of the joint obligation that the smoker has toward society is undeniable. Consequently, advising smokers and supporting them to quit and avert them to exhibit their smoking habits in public is essential.

References:

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Questions regarding pictures in art history and visual culture have been both rhetorical and interpretive. Human beings seem to be highly interested in the meaning of pictures, and what the pictures do, which includes the way they communicate as symbols and signs and the power they possess of impacting the behavior and emotions of human beings. Images normally express the desires of the artist and also act as mechanisms that elicit the beholder’s desires. This is replicated by our extraordinary and powerful responses to the pictures and images that experience in our daily lives. We behave as though pictures are alive, and have the power to demand things from us, influencing, seducing, and persuading us or even leading us astray. In his book, ‘What Do Pictures Want?: The Lives and Loves of Images Mitchell argues that images are not just inert objects that are used to convey meanings, rather, they have demands, needs, appetites, drives, and desires of their own. As a result, images have the potential of exploding signification in our lives. This paper rhetorically analyzes the power of images as depicted by Mitchell in relation to the Starry Night painting by Vincent van Gogh.

Images have human desires, which is demonstrated by their tendency of looking back at the beholder, responding to the beholder, or ‘wanting something’ from the beholder. Mitchell personified images by using an analogy of images with human attributes. They are depicted as having meaning to our lives, wanting things from us, and also having claims upon us. In the Preface, He says, ‘The question to ask of the picture from the standpoint of a poetics is not just what they mean or do but what they want- what claims they make upon us, and how we are to respond. Obviously, this question also requires us to ask what is that we want from the picture’ (Mitchell, Preface, XV). The answers to these questions are clearly evident in The Starry Night, which illustrates the relationship between the picture and the beholder as comprising of mutual desire. In the painting, the artist is viewing a village from the window of his asylum window and is imagining the comfort in the village compared to one in his asylum room. He imagines of a future in that village and the good life it would bring forth. From this painting, we would say that the answer to our many questions is that pictures want to be admired. He imagines of a future in that village and the good life it would bring forth. From this painting, we would say that the answer to our many questions is that pictures want to be admired. It is not clear if it depicts the artist’s wish or fear of living in that comfortable village. In whichever case, the painting has been given human attributes of looking at the artist, responding to him, wanting something from him, and depicting a mutual relationship between it and him.

Also, images and pictures have the power to convince us about what exactly they are. They have the human power of convincing us that they are everything. In Vital Sign, Mitchell asks, ‘… why is it that people have such strange attitudes towards images, objects, and media? Why do they behave as if pictures were alive, as if works of art had minds of their own, as if images had a power to influence human beings, demanding things from us, persuading, seducing, and leading us astray?” (Mitchell 7). Looking at the painting Starry Night, one would say it is convincing us about what it is and what it depicts, and hence it is everything. The painting depicts a cypress tree that sits in the foreground and one that reaches almost the top edge of the canvas and hence acting as a visual link between the sky and the land. Symbolically, the cypress could be viewed as a bridge between death and life. This image, therefore, looks as though it is alive with its own mindset, which it aims at passing to the audience and hence convincing us about what it is.

In addition, pictures are described as having overtones of animism, vitalism, and anthropomorphism that powerfully influences human beings into treating them just like living things. In Cloning Terror, Mitchell presents images as living organisms making the question of what pictures want inevitable. The painting The Starry Night may be looked at as though it has been cloned to enable the artist to treat it as a hybrid class or special species that will be admired by a large audience. Mitchell notes that ‘the clone signifies the potential for the creation of new images in our time- new images that fulfill the ancient dream of creating a ‘living image,’ a replica or copy that is not merely a mechanical duplicate but an organic, biologically viable simulacrum of a living organism’ (Mitchell 12-13). This means that the painting by Gogh has been cloned with the sole aim of fulfilling an ancient dream of the creation of living images that replicate living things. Further, the author says, ‘Harris notes that we often talk about buildings as if they were living things, or as if their intimate proximity to living beings made them take on some of the vitality of their inhabitants’ (Mitchell 14). By this argument, the author brings in an analogy that exists between buildings and the living human body and that these are creations conceived in the mind of the architect, grow up, and are built to become a habitat for living organisms. Gogh’s painting seems cloned to meet the artist’s aim of showing comfort and goodness in the village and what he wished to experience. He includes a luminous sky in the painting to represent the brighter future he so desires and a cypress tree to act as a bridge from his asylum room to the village. He, therefore, appears to have cloned the village he imaged to depict and reflect his current situation and the hope he has for his future. As a result, human beings are able to remark on the link that exists between the very idea of things like buildings and this spectacular image.

Further, images are presented as being vital signs that play a crucial role in human social life to the extent that usually generates surplus values for them. By vital signs, Mitchell notes that images are not just ‘signs for living things but signs as living things’ (Mitchell 6). It is for this reason that images have the power to illuminate our daily lives, inspire and even frighten us. That, therefore, means that images are analogies of living things. In The Starry Night, Gogh clearly uses exaggerated and expressive brushstrokes with the aim of visualizing his emotions and dream and also to reveal the impressions he had of the subject following his dream. The piece of artwork has a night with shining stars, a bright moon, and whirling clouds which enable the viewer to explore the artwork. There is a church that dominates the entire village and acts as a symbol of the village’s unity. Looking at the painting, it is not just a sign for living things, but it is a sign of living things. It is not just symbolic of the village but it is a representation of the desired life at the village and every living attribute of the village. The painting touches on the social life of human beings, and as a result, the image is a very vital sign that is important for the social life of human beings. The images in the painting simply come alive and behave like a living thing.

Moreover, a picture is presented as being very paradoxical and peculiar create both in its abstract and concrete form as well as both as a specific individual and a symbolic form that embraced a totality. Images, therefore, have the power of giving human beings a detailed view of a certain situation and also provide a snapshot of that specific moment. To emphasize this, Mitchell says, ‘To get the whole picture of pictures, then, we cannot remain content with the narrow conception of them, nor can we imagine that our results, no matter how general or comprehensive, will be anything more than a picture of images, objects, and media as they appear to some of us at this moment’ (Mitchell, Preface xvii). The painting by Gogh seems to capture the artist’s imagination and dream of a village adjacent to his asylum room. It captures what exactly he imagined under different weather conditions. The images in the painting look agitated, turbulent, and with very intense swirling patterns that appear to roll across the frame surface like waves. This is an indication of some kind of conflict more so between life in his asylum room and the village. At the moment of his imagination, he imagined such a conflict, and as a result, the painting is a reflection of that particular moment. Therefore, in its totality, the painting is peculiar and paradoxical an indication of the power images have in depicting a specific moment.

In conclusion, the power of images as depicted in ‘What Do Pictures Want?: The Lives and Loves of Images’ by Mitchell is rhetorical. Images are depicted as being very vital in human social lives, being peculiar and paradoxical in nature, having human attributes, having the power of convincing us what they are, and having overtones of animism, vitalism, and anthropomorphism that influence human beings like living things. All these attributes clearly and rhetorically explain the power of images and what they want and hence the reason why human beings should not look at them as just inert objects that pass a given message, but as animated or personified beings that have desires, needs, wants drives, appetites, and demands. Therefore, human beings should not hold images and pictures in contempt or even denigrate them; rather, they should view them as powerful objects that present different aspects of human life.

Works Cited

1. Mitchell, WJ Thomas. What do pictures want?: The lives and loves of images. University of Chicago Press, 2005.