Economic growth Math Problem Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economic growth - Math Problem Example This is important for an organization gets to understand the weakest links in the organization and deals with them appropriately. Provided I have all information, regarding the average output per worker and the physical capital per worker for each of the countries, it is possible to calculate the relative productivity of the country. Considering: It is thus appropriate to state dividing the quarter root of the stated output per worker and dividing by physical capital per worker offers the relative productivity per worker for a each of the countries. The differences in the levels of production in a particular country mainly depend on output per-worker in the various organizations in the country. There are different organizations that let their workers operate without following up on the attitudes expressed by employees while working. Employees that perform poorly under supervision are the main reason why the output per worker is usually low (Weil, 2013). The consequent of this is the entire country having a low Gross Domestic Product and thus low productivity levels in some countries. However, there are some countries that are strict with regard to the performance of the organizations and as expected the result of this is having hard working people, this raises the Gross Domestic Product. With a high GDP, the productivity levels are normally high. Government policies can lead to high productivity if for example they focus on the rights of workers and ensure that they receive fair treatment. This leads to workers with increased m orale and consequently high productivity levels. Another example is having policies that seek to ensure that politicians do not interrupt economic processes and let the actual experts, economics, focus on these

Research on alcoholic beverages Essay Example for Free

Research on alcoholic beverages Essay In this research document I am going to discuss a couple of things concerning the packaging and marketing of alcoholic beverages, then I am going to discuss the target audience of the alcohol industry. there are many rules concerning the packaging and marketing of alcohol in South-Africa, this is due to the fact that we have a lot of car accidents and acts of violence connected to the consumption as evident in the Gauteng liquor policy. According to euromonitor.com the biggest trend at this stage in South Africa is Sustainability not only among manufactures but also among consumers more and more people are becoming more environmentally aware, and this leads to innovation of packaging solutions for the future. Another notable thing that is mentioned on euromonitor. com is that there is more detailed segmentation of international and locally produced products are being applied , stimulating our economic growth in the local alcohol industry. According to ttb. gov the only requirements for the packaging of alcohol in south africa is that it should include the name of the product where it was made and special instructions and warnings and as far as the rest of my research shows it is also a requirement to state on the product that it is not for sale to persons under the age of 18 accept for that there seems to be little constraints concerning the packaging of alcohol. Packaging of products that we produce in south africa sometimes has to relate to international standards due to the fact that we want to export our products but when it comes to advertising alcoholic drinks in south africa there is a couple of things I have to mention. According to the Gauteng liquor policy advertising alcohol increases the amount of alcohol consumed this is a hot debate at this current moment as there are people contesting against the current laws (Gauteng liquor policy, (2011) [pdf]. This shows that the rules regarding advertisement of alcoholic beverages will increase with time, keeping that in mind can be useful in the future regarding the marketing plans that companies that produce alcoholic beverages set up for the future. According to an article the cost of harmful alcohol abuse in South-Africa; harmful alcohol use is very high in south africa and its stated that it is one of the main risk factors for poor health in South-Africa (http://www. ara. co. za) The target audience for alcoholic beverages is all people that are older than 18 due to law restrictions, the majority of adult do consume alcohol and thus the target audience is quite big the income level of the consumers of alcohol is very diverse but when it comes to specialized products like craft beer for instance the market is much more directed at the upper class, where there is cheaper alternatives for lower income classes. The target audience of alcohol is dependent on the personality of the brand due to the fact that consumers relate to brands and make their choices according to how they would like to portray themselves amongst other individuals. According to Craig Berman the people that drink the most are young men and he also states that men tend to drink more than woman, this is why so manny of the existing companies directly target younger men. (C. Berman 2012 chron . com) Sports fans are also a great target for the alcohol industry due to the fact that men and woman enjoy drinking whilst being entertained by sporting events. The alcohol industry is known for advertising by sponsoring sporting events sport teams and so forth, and in some cases the fans of sponsored teams are just as big fans of the alcohol brand that sponsors their team. So in conclusion the Target audience for alcohol is quite a wide group of individuals but mostly consists out of younger men aged between 18 and 49 and sports fans are also a big hit , the regulations in south africa concerning he packaging is not too strict but one still has to comply to some rules concerning warnings and so forth, the market is very specific and very segmented into various target audiences and lastly the biggest trend in South-Africas alcohol industry is focusing on sustainability . Reference list Craig Berman http://smallbusiness. chron. com/largest-target-markets-alcohol-advertising-66914. html http://www. ttb. gov/itd/southafrica. shtml http://www. euromonitor. com/alcoholic-drinks-packaging-in-south-africa/report http://www. ara. co. za/industry-tips/code-of-conduct http://www. ara. co. za/uploads/ban-on-alcohol-advertising/economic-impact-of-an-adban_econometrix_ara_chapter3. pdf.

Factors Affecting Healing Capabilities of the Body

Factors Affecting Healing Capabilities of the Body Analyse Health Information James Rowe 1.3) Intracellular fluid makes up approximately 60-67% of total body fluid. With Intracellular fluid making up approximately 33-40% in both these compartments it is water making up a majority of the solvent in the different body compartments. The total body weight that the fluid makes up is about 60% in Men and about 55% in Women. This is lower due to the higher fat content. Fluid Physiology: 2.1 Fluid Compartments. 2014. Fluid Physiology: 2.1 Fluid Compartments. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.anaesthesiamcq.com/FluidBook/fl2_1.php. [Accessed 13 February 2014]. An electrolyte is an electrically charged ion that can affect the amount of water in the body. It is also responsible for determining the acidity of the blood (alters PH). And is responsible for a change in muscle function. Sodium maintains the osmotic pressure and volume of the extracellular fluid within the body. Whereas the intracellular fluid is controlled by potassium. By effecting these the body can effect the amount of fluid being drawn into the ECF and ICF. 2.1) Dehydration is a danger because the body requires water to maintain homeostasis. Water is also a key ingredient in blood volume. The less water in the blood the thicker it becomes. The function of the skin have been impaired because the skin integrity itself is compromised. Depending on wound depth many problems can occur. 1st degree burns à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   Superficial skin 2nd degree burns à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   Some underlying skin damage 3rd degree burns à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   All skin layers damage After an area of the body has been burnt many things will happen. Including an increase in the amount of WBC that migrate to the area to help fight off infection and start repairing the body. Also the capillaries of the damaged area will be blocked off to prevent and blood loss. And to stop a possible entrance route for any blood infection. Factors affecting the healing capabilities of the body can be categorised into 2 category’s Internal and External. Internal à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   Health status (any other illness that may prevent healing) Age Lifestyle Nutritional status External à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   Mechanical damage Stress Temperature Debridement of a wound can happen through many different methods. Including surgically, chemically or even by the body’ defence itself. Debridement is where unhealthy tissue is removed from the wound to aid healing. The top 2 layers of the skin are used in a full thickness graft. These are the Dermus and EpiDermus. 3.1) OBS chart Neurovascular OBS Fluid balance chart Referral/Appointment 4.2) Hypertension is high blood pressure. This is where the blood in the artery is being forced around the body under a higher pressure than normal. Arteriosclerosis is the thickening and hardening of the artery walls. Meaning that there is a loss in the elasticity of the artery wall. Hypertension and Arteriosclerosis are often related. Due to the pressure hypertension puts on the arterial wall they lose their elasticity and become hard and thick (Arteriosclerosis) Hypertension is referred to as ‘the silent killer’ due to the fact so many people are unaware that they have the disease. The signs and symptoms of hypertension are very discreet and can go un-diagnosed for a lifetime. Cardiovascular disease and old age are often associated. This is because the development of the disease over time and the disease becoming worse with age. Some changes that can be to reduce the risk of developing the disease are improving diet, don’t live under stress for prolonged periods of time, tests for and hereditary factors. If there is an increased amount of platelets in the blood and therefore you have a very high clotting factor then you may be at risk of a blockage in a blood vessel. 5.2) A blue or purple colouration of the skin is referred to as cyanosis. Hypoxia is where an area of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply. Hypoxia can be generalized or local. Ischemia is the insufficient blood flow to a tissue Hypoxemic hypoxia is where the arterial content of O ² insufficient. This can be caused by a pulmonary embolus or a sudden change in the environment pressure (Diving) 5.3) A tracheostomy is a surgical incision into the next. Opening the airway straight through a hole in the trachea. Endotracheal is a type of tracheal tube inserted through the mouth or nose. Both are a type of tracheal tube that’s purpose is to act as a catheter to establish and maintain a airway. And to ensure enough oxygen gets into the body to allow adequate gas exchange. 5.4) Anaemia is a decrease in the number of RBC or less than normal amount of haemoglobin. This will cause the patient to complain of SOB due to lack of oxygen being supplied to the body due to the lack of haemoglobin. 5.5) The problems that Paul is experiencing with breathing can be due to the muscle spasm down the airway. And the swelling narrows the airway makes it difficult for Paul to breathe. An increase in the production of mucus also explains the wheeze in Pauls breathing. This is because the air being exhaled is being forced through mucus. 6.1) If left untreated then the appendix will rupture causing toxicity in the body. In some extreme cases this poisoning of the body can cause death. 6.2) Because without fibre in the diet stools become difficult to pass. Causing a higher pressure and stronger muscle contraction to be needed. Over a prolonged period this causes damage to the intestine. 6.3) Bile is required to breakdown and aid digestion. If the bile duct is blocked then this would hinder the digestion of some protein and fats. The is because of the bile not reaching the areas that it is meant to. This would mean the body would not be able to absorb essential nutrients during the digestive process meaning there would be a deficiency in the body. 6.4) Jaundice (Yellow skin) Pale colour stool. Dark Urine 8.2) BP increase amount of oxygen to muscles. Vasodilation aids this. Heart beat increase rate of blood pumps around the body and increases the amount of gas exchange occurring in the lungs to help the muscle fuel. Resp Rate increases to allow as much oxygen as possible into the body and to get rid of the CO2. This all allows muscles adequate energy for a fight or flight response. 9.1) When blood enters the kidney (Site of urine formation) it passes through juxtaglomerular that detect blood pressure and blood volume before entering the nephron. When in the Nephron blood needs to be under pressure to force out fluid and solutes (smaller than protein) After reabsorption occurs the remaining waste is urine. Without a suitable BP or BV this wouldn’t occur. 10.1) Concave lenses. This is because the positive diopetes of myopic eye. This will help her see things further away (Refrence Marieb) 10.2) Sensorineural deafness – Degeneration or damage to the nerve, neuron and receptor cell. The MP3 caused damage to the nerves in the ear and the neurons of the auditory cortex. This is more serious than conductive deafness as it effects the ability to hear both conduction routes (Air conduction and Bone conduction) Conduction deafness – Something interferes with sound vibration waves. This means that waves do not reach the inner ear fluid (Ear wax and Blockage)

Meddling Media :: essays research papers fc

I used to watch a really nice TV program every weekend. It is a youth-oriented show if my memory serves me right. Athough I cannot remember the whole story any more, something we may call â€Å"a mere make believe† left an indelible mark in my memory. This is how it goes. Two of the many characters in the show were best of friends. They shared their secrets to one another, fought for each other, and cared for one another. Well of course that’s within the idea of the scriptwriter and the instructions of the director. Some people would think that those two artists are really best friends in real life because they portrayed their roles effectively. It so happened that I was able to watch a showbiz news the following day, and what I heard somehow caught my attention; those two artists that I mentioned earlier were actually enemies in real life! . At this point in time it is really hard to distinguish fallacy from reality. This is due to the very creative minds of the ones that created the media. Technology is now at its peak and it steadily and rapidly advances that most of the times, although only a few notices, authenticity is gradually being covered up by clouds of erroneous beliefs. â€Å"We are bombarded today by such a quantity of images that we can no longer distinguish direct experience from what we have seen for a few seconds on television. The memory is littered with bits and pieces of images, like a rubbish dump.† This was said by Italo Calvino, a Cuban-born Italian novelist and short-story writer. Though he died almost 20 years ago, what he said is slowly but surely taking its place in this world. Definitely, these media effects are now changing the mindset of our present generation; furthermore these also alter their lifestyle. And these will certainly continue shifting lives in the near future. Media may come in different forms: broadcasting, communication, journalism, multimedia, newspapers, periodicals and telecommunication. All of these play major roles in sometimes improving, but also destroying societies. But the one that has the most enormous upshot in our society is broadcasting, which includes in itself televisions and radios. Statistics shows estimation that almost 1.8 billion of radios and 800 million televisions are in use world wide. Just imagine how many people it could reach in every single tick of a clock.

Interpretation Alternatives of Shakespeares The Tempest Essay

Interpretation Alternatives of The Tempest      Ã‚   A production of The Tempest should emphasize the idealized methods in which Prospero uses magic to solve the problem of revenge which is so prevalent throughout his tragedies, perhaps the production might be a direct allegory for the magic of the theatre itself.     In this conception of the play, the scattering and bringing together of the characters in the script is significant in that theatre also could be said to bring people together and allow them to share in an experience of emotion, magic, and finally, of resolution. In this way the production could be used as a vehicle for conveying the idealistic virtues of forgiveness, compassion, and of course knowledge. In his book, A Buddhist's Shakespeare, James Howe draws attention to Prospero's epilogue saying, "In his epilogue this master, Shakespeare, has the character Prospero ask us, the audience, to confirm our collusion with both the master and his creature. Indeed the two relationships are reciprocal. We are asked to release Prospero from our "spell" by "prayer." Becoming white magicians, offering a supplication to God, we reenact the righteousness of Prospero's power, and thus confirm it. This confirmation, in turn, acknowledge's the power of Shakespeare's play to transform us into Prospero's image. We are not only to be consciously complicit in Prospero's character and action, but also to be fully aware of their author." (191) It seems to me that this final transformation in the audience is a very worthy goal to strive for in a production of this play. While being entertained by the magic and splendor of the production itself, I think it is possible for an audience to also be aware of the inherent ideals in the s... ...d truth in the story. While this would clearly be the most problematic interpretation of the script, perhaps it would also be the most effective by far for a modern audience which does not enjoy being preached at or having their truth force-fed to them in a boring, easily-understood, linear manner. Works Cited Cahn, Victor L. Shakespeare, The Playwright Praeger Publishers. Westport CT. 1996 Charney, Maurice. "Bad" Shakespeare Associated Univeristy Press. London, England. 1996 Howe, James. A Buddhist's Shakespeare Associated University Press. Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. 1994 Hylton, Jeremy. Complete Works of WilliamShakespeare, Oct 4, 1999. Massachusetts Institute of Technology <http://tech-two.mit.edu/Shakespeare/works.html> Kathman, Dave. Dating The Tempest Personal site <http://www.clark.net/pub/tross/ws/tempest.html>    Interpretation Alternatives of Shakespeare's The Tempest Essay Interpretation Alternatives of The Tempest      Ã‚   A production of The Tempest should emphasize the idealized methods in which Prospero uses magic to solve the problem of revenge which is so prevalent throughout his tragedies, perhaps the production might be a direct allegory for the magic of the theatre itself.     In this conception of the play, the scattering and bringing together of the characters in the script is significant in that theatre also could be said to bring people together and allow them to share in an experience of emotion, magic, and finally, of resolution. In this way the production could be used as a vehicle for conveying the idealistic virtues of forgiveness, compassion, and of course knowledge. In his book, A Buddhist's Shakespeare, James Howe draws attention to Prospero's epilogue saying, "In his epilogue this master, Shakespeare, has the character Prospero ask us, the audience, to confirm our collusion with both the master and his creature. Indeed the two relationships are reciprocal. We are asked to release Prospero from our "spell" by "prayer." Becoming white magicians, offering a supplication to God, we reenact the righteousness of Prospero's power, and thus confirm it. This confirmation, in turn, acknowledge's the power of Shakespeare's play to transform us into Prospero's image. We are not only to be consciously complicit in Prospero's character and action, but also to be fully aware of their author." (191) It seems to me that this final transformation in the audience is a very worthy goal to strive for in a production of this play. While being entertained by the magic and splendor of the production itself, I think it is possible for an audience to also be aware of the inherent ideals in the s... ...d truth in the story. While this would clearly be the most problematic interpretation of the script, perhaps it would also be the most effective by far for a modern audience which does not enjoy being preached at or having their truth force-fed to them in a boring, easily-understood, linear manner. Works Cited Cahn, Victor L. Shakespeare, The Playwright Praeger Publishers. Westport CT. 1996 Charney, Maurice. "Bad" Shakespeare Associated Univeristy Press. London, England. 1996 Howe, James. A Buddhist's Shakespeare Associated University Press. Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. 1994 Hylton, Jeremy. Complete Works of WilliamShakespeare, Oct 4, 1999. Massachusetts Institute of Technology <http://tech-two.mit.edu/Shakespeare/works.html> Kathman, Dave. Dating The Tempest Personal site <http://www.clark.net/pub/tross/ws/tempest.html>   

Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) for Backbones Essay -- Technology,

Abstract : Internet Protocol version 6(Pv6) is the advanced version of the IPv4 protocol and both of these protocols are part of TCP/IP suite.TCP/IP is the only protocol for transmission of data over the internet As the internet is not secure place for transmission of secure and confidential information (packets) So to protect this information over the non secure channels(internet ) the IPSec was introduced .IPSec is the worldly know standard for the secure transmission over the internet . IPSec is mandatory for IPv6 and optional for IPv4 deployments .But as the IPsec provides authentication, confidentiality and integrity of the internet protocol (IP) packets but it slows down the transmission devices and where there is huge transmission of data like in Gbps at the backbone networks, the performance of the transmission devices is highly effected . So to improve the transmission rate on high performance networks number of techniques have been used till now and these techniques are the valuable addition in the current technologies .Purpose of this paper is to high light , what types of techniques are available in the current time for improving the performance of the transmission devices both at the H/W and S/W level while applying the IPSec and what drawbacks in the already existing techniques . Keywords: Internet Protocol Security (IPsec), IPv6 , Internet Security, Virtual Private Network(VPN) security ,IPsec for high performance networks. Introduction :As in the current era the internet is widely used for sending and receiving information in a very fast way. As internet is not only used by the single user but huge companies (enterprises) use them for their business use . An enterprises may have their offices at different l... ...yer of TCP/IP working like SSL and these all security protocols need security parameter for establishing a secure connection over the network and each security protocol is doing this by negotiation their own security parameter with the other party. That’s why each security protocol is negotiating its security parameter independently which is the wastage of network resources.[3] The author proposes his solution that each security protocol will maintain its set of negotiating parameters which is called DoI (Domain of interpretation ).ISAKMP will store these agreed security parameters into a file which is called SA file and group of SA are stored in a database and other security protocol will use these security parameter instead of negotiating their own and thus avoiding the duplicity. [3]. Figure 6 :Relation of Security Protocol through ISAKMP negotiation[3]

Physical Exercise and GPA Essay

Physical education connotes many different things to people. To some it is a subject area which focuses on physical training. Conventionally, this has meant promoting activities which lead to anatomical and physiological development (Sansone, 2000). The notion of â€Å"PT† and calls to improve the physical condition of our nation’s youth in order to provide a strong base for the military have also been consistent with this idea (Ennis, 2001). Others have had a more expansive view of physical education and portrayed the area as â€Å"education through the physical,† rather than of the physical (Pringle, 2000). Such a notion suggests that involvement in a variety of sports and games provides participants not only with opportunities to develop physical prowess, but to learn important social values while developing desirable personal traits. A third major thrust that has affected the meaning attributed to the concept is associated with its recreational function (Ruth, 2006). The basis of this theme is that people perform optimally when they have periodic diversions from their normal â€Å"work† world, and that involvement in physical activity can provide necessary relief and renewal. Closely affiliated with this idea is that physical recreation provides a â€Å"wholesome† and constructive use of one’s free time (Lee2002). Despite such grandiose themes, Duda (2001) has argued that within the larger context of higher education classes focusing on the acquisition of skilled movements and play are viewed as â€Å"†¦ nonintellectual, nonacademic, nonessential, and nonartistic† (p. 433). As a result of such perceptions he believes that physical education is relegated to a peripheral role in the academy, and its practitioners pay a price for its marginal status in their daily lives. Furthermore, Duda suggests that a large part of physical education failing to gain acceptance in higher education is a consequence of the static criteria used to assess academic value in general. According to his analysis value of a curricular offering is typically based on such things as the intellectual challenge of material, the extent to which subject matter is categorized as academic rather than motoric, the usefulness of learning various skills, and the cultural significance of an area of study. His recommendation for redressing physical education’s plight is to convince those using such criteria to assess worth in broader, and less dualistic ways. Hence the types of challenges presented in physical skill acquisition situations might be understood as important stimuli for developing human capacities that complement those capacities acquired from more conventional intellectual pursuits. While the idea of rethinking criteria that should be used for judging academic value may be laudable, how this might come about is difficult to conceive. An alternative and, yet, much simpler approach for improving the viability of physical education classes in higher education is to improve the quality of student outcomes. In essence, it may be that the inclusion of physical education in higher education is not contested on philosophical grounds, but on operational ones. As Duda (2001) conveys â€Å"†¦ performance classes are elective, not required. Skill instructors are rarely hired as tenure track faculty. Credit toward graduation may not be given for such classes, and grading is often pass/fail. Passing marks are virtually assured with a good attendance record† (p. 437). If such a profile is accurate, it is difficult to understand how student achievement can be significant or the entire enterprise viewed as essential to the general curriculum. Indeed, such a profile connotes that the physical education curriculum is soft, and that whether or not students acquire certain information and/or master specific skills is ambiguous. Considering physical education’s past philosophical themes and its current trends of providing opportunities for students to: (a) recreate, (b) build and maintain health through exercise, (c) learn how to compete and cooperate, and (d) develop specific sport skills and levels of fitness, instructors often have difficulty in identifying and utilizing meaningful grading criteria. This has been attributed to both philosophical (Midgley, 2001) and managerial (Pringle, 2000) concerns. Indeed, as observed by Church (2001) many physical educators compute grades based on student behaviours which are unrelated to performance or knowledge objectives, such as dress, participation, and discipline. Interestingly, Ennis (2001) found that in colleges and universities virtually all grading in physical education is left to the discretion of the instructor, including selection of criteria and instruments to be used to assess student achievement. They also reported a trend toward less testing of all types. Consequently, it is not surprising that with so many ideas about what is to be accomplished, and so little control over how this should be done, it is difficult, if not impossible to determine the value of physical activity courses in the general curriculum. Indeed, it is one thing to provide sound philosophical arguments for why a particular discipline belongs in the curriculum, and quite another to operationalize the philosophy so that its essence is actualized. Recent studies suggest the importance of objective assessment not only as a device to promote the legitimacy of physical education in an academic setting, but as a tool to promote learning. For example, Pringle (2000) showed that student achievement in table tennis classes reflected the focus of evaluation. Students graded totally on physical skills performed most skilfully at the end of a class performed most skilfully, while those graded on attendance and participation had lower performance scores but the highest attendance rates. As well, Lee (2002), demonstrated how the proper use of evaluation and grading tools promotes on task behaviour and superior skill development in volleyball. Chen (2001), using a riflery task, also demonstrated that grading based on task competence was superior to grading based merely on participation when skill development was examined. Hidi (2000) further argues that the appropriate use of grading can promote positive attitudes towards a course, develop a student’s sense of confidence, and lead to substantial achievement. The reason why a rift exists between using grading as an integral part of the learning process, and using it only to fulfil administrative requirements seemingly is a complex problem that involves philosophical, technical, and practical issues (Duda, 2001). Yet, in a time when accountability is expected, and when cost cutting is widespread, empirical evidence for the integrity of a program is imperative. What and how we grade conveys a great deal about who we are, what we do, what we can accomplish, how we are viewed by others outside of our field, and whether physical education is considered as essential to the mission of education. Hence, the purpose of the present investigation was to acquire empirical descriptive data about grading of physical education in higher education. In light of our field’s history of divergent philosophical views, ambitious, and often ambiguous goals, and its defensive position in higher education (Duda, 2001), an examination of what and how we grade would seemingly shed light on where we are as a discipline. Furthermore, such an investigation might help identify important issues that need to be addressed and resolved if we are to gain the degree of acceptance the field has so desperately sought over the years. Method Instrument To acquire information about college physical education programs a questionnaire was developed which, in addition to requesting information about an institution’s profile (e. g. , public-private, size, approximate percentage of students enrolled in physical education, etc. , asked a series of questions about its physical education activity program. These included: (a) whether students received academic credit which counted in a student’s GPA, (b) the number and duration of class meetings, (c) how important various factors such as skill development, effort, and attendance were in computing a grade, (d) whether the department had a policy on grading, (e) the approximate percentage breakdown of grades awarded (e. g. , As, Bs, Cs, etc. ), and (f) whether the issue of grading had been considered by the department in the past five years. Prior to mailing the survey, questions were pilot tested on a group of five senior collegiate faculty members in a department of exercise and sport studies. These individuals each had taught undergraduate and graduate theory courses as well as a variety of undergraduate physical activity classes at a number of colleges and universities. They were quite knowledgeable about different types of service programs (e. g. , credit, required, no credit non-required) and how they typically operated. Furthermore, they were apprised of the questionnaire’s intent, and were asked to provide feedback on the clarity of questions as well as the instrument’s overall format. Based on feedback from this group, questions were reworded, added and deleted. In addition, the sequence of questions was revised for the purpose of providing a more coherent structure. The final version of the survey contained eight questions, some of which had subparts. As well, pilot testing demonstrated that a respondent could complete the questionnaire in approximately ten minutes. Coding of Data As surveys were returned data were coded into an Excel Spreadsheet by two trained assistants, and then analyzed using Exel’s statistical functions. It is noteworthy to report that during the data reduction process it became evident, as conveyed by a number of respondents, that quantitative data which were requested from a number of questions did not exist Consequently, many respondents either did not answer such items or acknowledged that they merely volunteered their own perceived best guess, or a numerical range within which they believed the actual value requested would occur. Hence, a decision was made to code and analyze all data acknowledging that, for the most part, they only reflect respondent’s best estimates, rather than â€Å"hard† numbers. Furthermore, where a range was given, the midpoint was used in further analyses. In passing, the observation that certain types of data were not acquired or readily available may in itself be an important finding since a department’s viability may depend on such information. Items falling into this category included such things as: (a) the number of students taking physical education classes in a semester, (b) the typical grade distribution (e. g. , % As, % Bs, etc. ), (c) the factors utilized to compute course grades, and (d) whether an institutional limit existed for the number of physical education courses that could be taken by a student for academic credit. Results Sample Within a thirty day period of mailing surveys 556 (44%) responses were received. Table 1 shows a break down of respondents by institution type and size. Because of financial limitations, further attempts to obtain data from nonrespondents were not attempted. Of the 556 respondents, 78 (14%) indicated that they did not have, or no longer had a physical education activity program. This was somewhat of a surprising finding, especially so because many conveyed that their institution’s program had been recently eliminated. Whether a trend toward program elimination actually existed is of significant import to our profession and deserves immediate attention. Schools which indicated that they did not offer physical education classes were removed from further analysis, leaving 478 institutions in the database. Is Academic Credit Given for Physical Education Activity Courses? An important question posed by this investigator was whether institutions grant academic credit which counts in a student’s GPA for taking physical education activity courses. Presumably, this would indicate whether classes were viewed as a meaningful part of the institution’s general curriculum. It was found that 335 (72. %) of respondents reported that academic credit which is computed in a student’s GPA was awarded for physical education activity courses. Table 2 reveals that Public State Universities and Colleges were somewhat more likely to award academic credit than Private Universities and Colleges. Furthermore, while a few institutions had a unique formula for computing the amount of credit earned in a class, nearly all institutions granted one credit per course. A follow-up question probed how much of such credit may be counted in a student’s total academic program. Although there seemed to be a great deal of uncertainty regarding the answer to this question, many respondents indicated that their institution had not set a limit or did not have a policy (only 65% of respondents who count physical education credit in the GPA responded). Those that were clear on this issue indicated that a limit did exist, and that the median value across institutions and within school categories was four credits. A subsequent question probed what the course time commitment was for earning credit. Across institutional types classes typically met for the length of a semester (14-15weeks), and for two contact hours a week. How are Grades Computed? A number of questions regarding how grades were computed ‘followed. An initial issue was whether or not the department had a policy on grading. The idea here was to get a sense of whether faculty members agreed on how such things as skill, knowledge, and class participation should be weighed in determining a student’s performance. In regard to this question, 80% of respondents indicated that their departments did not have a formal grading policy. Nonetheless, many individuals conveyed that students were administered tests of skill and knowledge, but that course instructors ultimately determined assessment tools, how various components were weighed, and the course grade computed. Because most departments did not have a formal grading policy, the next set of questions should be interpreted as only giving a general sense of how grades are computed from a respondent’s general perceptions. This question probed whether grades were competency based (i. e. students are assessed on the absolute level of performance attained), or norm based (i. e. , students are graded in relation to other students in the class). Results showed that most respondents (60. 6%) thought that grading at their institution was competency based, although a fair number reported that they thought their grading system was more norm based (23. 3%). The remaining 16. 1% either were unsure or did not respond to this item. Another question related to this issu e was whether the amount learned was considered to be as important as the level of performance attained. Interestingly, 72% of respondents believed that instructors at their institutions weighed the amount learned as being equivalent to the proficiency attained, while 21% did not see these of equal importance. The remaining 7% were missing or undecided. In light of the previous data indicating a bias toward competency based grading, the response to this question is surprising since the amount learned would only be of importance if it correlated highly with proficiency attained. This may or may not be the case, but needs further investigation. Another way of probing the importance of factors employed in computing a grade was to ask respondents about how important they believed a subset of factors were in arriving at a grade. They rated the factors of (a) effort, (b) attendance, (c) attitude, (d) amount learned and (e) level of performance on a five-point scale anchored by the terms very important(5). Overall, attendance (1. 3) and amount learned (1. 4) had the lowest median values (i. e. , highest perceived weighting). The level of performance attained (1. ), and effort expended (1. 8) followed closely, while attitude (2. 3) appeared lowest in importance. It should be noted that all of these criteria tended to fall between the very important and uncertain end of the continuum. With the exception of performance attainment, it is not clear why the other factors identified were viewed as important in grading, if grading is competency based. For that matter, these criteria would also be somewhat problematic for a norm referenc ed standard which focuses on relative competency attainments. Respondents were also asked to estimate the percentage distribution of grades in physical education at their institution. Overall, as were perceived to be the most prevalent grade and were awarded to 51% of students. Bs were the next most prevalent grade awarded to 31% of students with Cs following at 14%. Ds and Fs were infrequently given with a combined percentage of 7%. Has the Issue of Grading been Considered in the Past Five Years? A final question asked whether the issue of grading had been considered by a department in the past five years. Although 51% had not discussed this issue, 47% had done so. The questionnaire requested respondents who answered this question in the affirmative to comment on what issues were discussed by their departments. Clearly, the topic of whether to change from a letter grade system to a pass-fail system was the most widely discussed issue. Related to this was the subject of grade inflation and the idea that moving to a pass-fail system may reduce pressure from various constituencies (e. g. , administrators, faculty, regents) to reduce the number of high grades awarded. There were also numerous comments about criteria to be used in grading, consistency in grading across sections of a course, and among different courses. Several respondents also commented on the conflict between trying to encourage lifelong participation m activities and the negative connotations of having to grade based on an individual’s proficiency. From the nature and number of comments collated, it was evident that departments have grappled with this issue, but remain in a quandary about an ideal solution.