Is Psychology a Science? Theories and Research Methods

Is Psychology a Science? Theories and Research Methods Is psychology a science? Discuss with reference to scientific method and bias in psychological research. Psychology can be viewed in a variety of ways as accords to the many schools of thought that pertain to psychology. From its origins in philosophy, psychology has undergone a variety of classifications. The major scientific paradigms born from philosophical enquiry were the school of empiricism and the school of rationality. Essentially, these two approaches dictated the direction that psychology must take if it was to be regarded as scientific. One of the first schools of thought in psychology was heavily concerned with its reputation as a scientifically validity enquiry. This was to be known as the behavioural approach to psychology or the behavioural perspective. The behavioural perspective was devised by Watson who used observation to determine evidence. As a consequence of according to the governing principles of objective scientific research, Watson rejected the notion of any internal psychological mechanisms as he believed that this could not be quantifiably measured (Miell et al, 2002). All Watson was interested in was the observable external phenomena, which meant the analysis of behaviour. Consequently, Watson placed an emphasis on psychology as primarily a learning phenomenon. A fundamental distinction that occurs within behaviourism is within this role of learning. Essentially, two approaches formed called classical and operant conditioning. Research into classical conditioning was defined by physiologist Pavlov who was also concerned with scientific analysis. Pavlov observed that in relation to certain stimuli dog’s behaviour could be conditioned through association (Miell et al, 2002). Using a dogs’ biological respons e to hunger, Pavlov was ble to scientifically demonstrate that there was a basic relationship between an observable stimulus and the animals learned response. Whilst in operant conditioning, Skinner was able to ascertain that there was a pre-conceived notion in the environment that led the animal to learn through a process of trial and error, which led to observable schedules of behaviour (Skinner, 1946/1990). In both classical and operant conditioning we can see that learning is defined as a scientifically observable and so provable modification of behaviour caused by association and manipulation of the environment. However, this approach clearly lacks greater insight into the role of the mind, its cognitive processes and also suffers from being based upon animal and not human studies. The cognitive approach addresses the human capacity to categorise, generalise and conceptualise certain phenomena. Primarily concerned with the functioning of the mind itself it engaged in the scientific analysis notions such as memory, perception and categorisation (Miell et al, 2002). Unhappy at the flaws in behavioural psychology, cognitive psychologist Bruner, devised a test to see how we mentally constructed categories. Unlike the objective approach of conditioning, Bruner suggested that this was an engaging intelligent procedure that was performed by way of hypothesis testing stages of acceptance and rejection based upon trial (Bruner et al, 1956). To be valued as scientific, a test involving a variety of shapes were used in a variety of conditions. Some of these conditions shared the same number of shapes, some the same colour of shape, whilst others shared the same number of borders. No two varieties were identical. From the results of this experiment, Bruner was able to sur mise that there were tw forms of cognition that had been present. Successive scanning, which tested one hypothesis at a time and conservative scanning, which sought to eliminate classes of hypotheses (Bruner et al, 1956). Unlike the behavioural approach, we can see from the findings and classifications of these studies that an attempt is being made to understand the intelligent human mind with regards to categorisation. However, categorisation is not accepted by everyone in the field of science and its objective validity does suffer from critical enquiry. For instance, addressing the empiricism versus rationalism argument, many have argued that the categories in the study are innate rather than learned (Chomsky Fodor, 1980). This strengthens the behavioural notion that the conceptual structure of the mind is open to interpretation, and so cannot be considered an entirely scientific approach to psychology. Another school of thought within psychology is that concerned with the social aspect. This is primarily interested in the role that social influence has on our behaviour. For instance, in the findings of a test put forward by Sherif, we can see the extent to which people will use the word of others and the resource of group norms to ascertain a truth about something. This is an important concept with regards to the influence of social norms as we can observe that our psychology is influenced by our conformity to social norms (Sherif, 1936). Similarly, a test devised by Asch revealed that conformity of an individual to a norm was indicative of individual identity (Asch, 1956). Similarly, research by Baron indicated that through a lack of responsibility that an individual felt to correct and deviate from a social norm an account could be made to configure their potential to conformity (Baron et al, 1956). Essentially, these tests revealed that the role of responsibility was based upon conscriptions o social norms, attitudes, beliefs and ideologies. However, these findings suffer from being based upon social norms and cultural constructs such as identities and beliefs and so cannot be considered universal, objective principles that would accord to the main scientific schools such as physics and chemistry. Another key school of thought is psycho-analysis and developmental psychology. Stemmed from Freudian theory, psycho-analysis and developmental psychology is concerned with the development of the subject’s personality in relation to underlying motives and mainly sexually based desires and conflicts (Freud, 1917/1973). Using a notion of base primordial drives, Freud put forward various schemas of development that dictated our personality and variations in our behaviours, such as conforming to social norms. The agents at work within these drives and the accompanying stages of development were commonly referred to as defence mechanisms. Defence mechanisms were put forward as being ways in which the subject could cope with the real and disturbing psychological issues that they had to face throughout life, such as anxiety and confusion. These mechanisms consisted of such concepts as denial, projection and regression and are commonly established psychological phenomena that infor the core rationale of developmental and psycho-dynamic paradigms (Freud, 1917/1973). Although these factors are well established concepts within mainstream psychology, they still depend upon a structural paradigm to be understood. Much criticism has come in the form of humanistic approaches who have suggested that these models of development are dependent upon the objectifying of the subject and that this approach is a convenient theoretical model rather than being scientifically accurate. Another school of thought is one that actually rejects objective science at its core. The phenomenological approach to psychological study is primarily based upon perception and subjectivity. Formed as a way of countering the empirical approach to psychology that had led to the field of cognitive psychology, phenomenological psychology suggested that knowledge was learned entirely from the external environment via lessons that were encapsulated in our experience (Merleau-Ponty, 1964). Detaching from the scientific notion of tabula rasa, which had dominated the opposing stance to the rationality of science, Merleau-Ponty looked at the notion of perception and in particular how it was informed by phenomena, rather than through observation of objects taken from their natural environment. Fundamental to this approach is the notion that everything we experience accords to the phenomena in which it is presented, and so objective science cannot tell us about our psychological experience. Th is approach most ertainly rejects psychology, as well as many other enquiries, as a scientific pursuit. We can see from these schools of thought that to call psychology a pursuit of objective scientific fact is flawed. However, we can also see that there is a strong emphasis in each case placed upon validity. Even the rejection of objectively defined scientific principles shown by the phenomenological approach gives indication that validity and limitation of enquiry are paramount, which is surely the premise of scientific analysis. Bibliography Asch, S, E., (1956) Studies of independence and conformity. Psychology Monologues, 70. Baron, R, S., Vandello, J, A., Brunsman, B. (1996) The Forgotten Variable in Conformity Research. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 70. Bruner, J, S., Goodnow, J, J., and Austin, G, A., (1956) A Study of Thinking New York: John Wiley and Sons. Chomsky, N., and Fodor, J, A., (1980) Statement of the Paradox, in Piatelli Palmarini, M. (ed.). Freud, S., (1917/1973) Introductory lecture on Psychoanalysis. Harmondsworth; Penguin. Merleau-Ponty (1964) The Primacy of Perception London: Routledge Miell, D., Phoenix, A. and Thomas, K. (2002) Mapping Psychology 1. Milton Keynes, Open University. Sherif, M., (1936) The Psychology of Social Norms. New Yoprk: Harper. Skinner, B, F., (1946/1990) Walden Two London: Collier Macmillan. Cell membrane: Structure and purpose Cell membrane: Structure and purpose BIOPHYSICAL CHEMISTRY ESSAY: CELL MEMBRANE STRUCTURE AND PURPOSE Introduction Cell membrane is a biological barrier that separates the interior part of the cell (i.e. the Cytoplasm, nuclei and the other cell organelle) from the outer environment, thus permits cellular individuality and also gives shape to the cell. This membrane is a mixture of lipids, protein and carbohydrates, therefore is a complex structure. The membrane is semi-permeable and thus only allows selective ions and molecules to go through it into the cell or leave the cell. This is achieved by formation of concentration gradient across the membrane, which many biological processes depend upon. The movement of the biological molecules across the membrane is either passive, which happens without the input of cellular energy or active transport that requires the cell to use energy. The cell membrane also helps in maintaining cell potential. Proteins of the cell membrane form the essential component of the biological membrane since they function as pores, channels or transporters. Proteins thus have the capability of selective passage across the lipid bilayer. Some proteins that are embedded in the cell membrane act as molecular signals and therefore carry out communication. They act as receptors and receive signals from other cells or from the external environment and elicit a response in the cell. Some proteins function as markers which aid in identification of unknown cells. The membrane also aids in intercellular interactions. The lipid bilayer of the cell membrane is only a few nanometres thick and is not permeable to most molecules that are soluble in water, and hence acts as a barrier to regulate the transport of ions, proteins and other molecules through the membrane. Since the phospholipid bilayer is not permeable to many ions, it helps in the regulation of salt concentration and pH by regulating the pumping of ions in and out of the cell via proteins called ion channel pumps. The Fluid mosaic model is the most widely accepted biological membrane model that was proposed in the year 1972 by Singer and Nicolson. Floating in the phospholipid bilayer are molecules of protein, which is analogous to icebergs floating in a sea. The model is referred to as fluid because of the lateral motion of the bilayer macromolecules, and is referred to as mosaic because of the different molecular components [1][2][3][4]. Purpose of cell membrane Cell membrane performs the following functions: Membrane Transport of Small Molecules: Transport proteins present in the bilayer can transport polar molecules through the membrane. There are various types of membrane transport proteins: Uniport This simply moves the solute from one side to the other side of the membrane. Cotransport This system moves two solutes simultaneously across the lipid bilayer. They are two types of this transport-symport (solutes are sent in the same direction) and antiport (solutes are passed in opposite directions). These transports are come under the category of passive transport where no energy expenditure is involved. Here the solute moves from a higher concentration to a lower concentration gradient. Examples of this include channel proteins, which allow the solute to pass if they are of a specific charge or size. Carrier proteins bind to the solute and help in its movement through the bilayer.[5] There are two main categories of transport of molecules are there in cells: Active transport Passive transport Small molecules like oxygen, ethanol and carbon dioxide pass through the membrane by simple diffusion (passive transport) down a concentration gradient. Transport of macromolecules like proteins, polynucleotides and polysaccharides is done by active transport using ATP, against the concentration gradient. There are two types of active transport : 1) Exocytosis Process by which waste substances are removed from the cell by vesicle formation and expulsion [6]. 2) Endocytosis- The molecule causes the cell membrane to bulge inward, thus forming a vesicle. Phagocytosis is a type of endocytosis where the whole cell is engulfed. Pinocytosis is another type when the external fluid is engulfed. Receptor-mediated endocytosis occurs when the material to be transported binds to specific molecules in the membrane. Example: transport of insulin and cholesterol into animal cells [6]. Cell signalling across the membrane Transmembrane signalling occurs through the generation of a number of signals like cyclic nucleotides, calcium, phosphoinositides and diacylglycerol. Specific signals of neurotransmitters hormones and immunoglobulins bind to the specific receptors on the membrane, which are mostly integral membrane proteins. This is the Ca2+-phosphatidylinositol signalling pathway which plays a major role in transmembrane signalling in a large number of different cell types. This pathway leads to the activation of G-proteins. This initiates activation of phospholipase C and the subsequent formation of DAG and IP3 which triggers the generation of repetitive [Ca2+] spikes [7]. Intercellular intractions Gap junctions are structures that allow the small molecules that are up to ~ 1200 Da to be transported from one cells cytoplasm to the other. These structures contain proteins called connexins. Six connexins form a hemiconnexin and two hemiconnexins form a connexon. These connexions in the gap junction form cylindrical bridges through which substances are transported between cells [1][8]. The Fluid mosaic Model: This model is the widely accepted membrane model. The membrane has a biomolecular lipid bilayer layer. There are proteins that are inserted in it or bound to the surface. Integral membrane protein is the proteins that are embedded in the membrane they play a key role as transporters for various molecules that cannot enter through the cell membrane. The integral proteins have an extra-cellular domain and cytoplasmic domain and are separated by a non-polar region that holds it tightly in the membrane. Proteins that are loosely bound to the to the outer membrane are called the peripheral proteins. Many of the proteins that are present and almost all the glycolipids have an externally oligosaccharides chains that are exposed outside the membrane [1][9]. The membrane fluidity very much depends on the lipids concentration in the membrane. The hydrophobic chains of the fatty acids are much aligned therefore giving it a stiff structure. The transition(Tm) is the temperature at which the transition takes place from ordered to disordered state, this is the change that happens in the hydrophobic side chain. Cholesterol affects the fluidity of the membrane. It increases fluidity below Tm and decreases fluidity above Tm. Modifications to the fluid mosaic model state that the lipids and proteins in the membrane are not randomly distributed. Randomness occurs when interaction energy of these molecules are close to their thermal energies. Since interaction energies cannot be in a narrow range due to large number of interactions, there is very less chance for randomness to occur. Hence the model was found to be more mosaic than fluid [10]. The modified view of membrane model is shown in figure 7[10]. Specialised structures in the membrane: There are some special features in the membrane like lipid rafts, caveolae, tight junction, desmososmes, adherens junctions and microvilli. These are found in the recent years of research. Lipids Raft is the area in the membrane that has relatively higher concentration of cholesterol, sphingo-lipids and some proteins, than the other parts of the membrane. It plays a major role in cell signal transduction. This is under research that if we increase the amount of this and clustering them closely may increase the overall efficiency of the cell. Caveolae are special types of lipid rafts. Many of them have protein called caveolin-1 that is involved in the process. They were observed under electron microscope and were found to be flask-shaped. Proteins that are detected in this also play a role in signal transduction, example is insulin. Proteins found in this also play in role in folate receptor. This field is a growing interest for research. Tight Junctions are present on the surface of the membrane and their major function is to prevent diffusion of macromolecules between cells. They are present below the apical surface of the epithelial cells. They are made up of various proteins including occludin, various claudins and junctional adhesion molecules [1]. Desmosomes also called macula adherens are the specialised cell structures for cell to cell adhesion. Their function is to resist shearing force. They are mostly found in simple and stratified squamous epithelium [11]. Adherens junctions are the proteins that usually occur at cell- cell junction .They are made up of proteins like cadherins, ÃŽÂ ²-catenin, ÃŽÂ ±-catenin and sometimes delta catenin. Their function is to provide strong adhesion between adjacent cells. They hold the cardiac muscle cells firmly together as the heart beats and do not allow it to collapse [12]. Microvilli are very small finger like structures found on the cell membrane. They are mainly found on the epithelial cells, they increase the surface area of the cells therefore increasing the absorptive capacity of the cells. Actin filament extends from the end of these microvilli [13]. Components of cell membrane Cell membrane is a complex structure and is composed of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. Different cell membranes have different compositions. Lipids Phospholipids: There are two major class of phospholipids out of which in the cell membrane the phosphoglycerides are the most commonly found ones. Phospholglycerides are esters that are made up of two fatty acids, phosphoric acid and a trifunctional alcohol. Phosphoglycerides with sphingomyelin have Sphingosine backbone instead of glycerol. They play a role in signal transduction. They are prominent in myelin sheaths [1]. Glycosphingolipids: These are sugar containing lipids that are present in the membrane. They have a backbone made of ceramides. These are amphipathic molecules consisting of a ceramide lipid anchor linked to an oligosaccharide chain of variable length and composition [1]. They are required for proper functioning of nervous system. Determining their function will help to understand neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, immune function and diseases of metabolism [14]. STEROLS The most import sterol in the membrane is cholesterol. Proteins in cell membrane Integral membrane proteins: also called intrinsic proteins t has its some part of the protein embedded in the phospholipid bilayer. Most of these proteins have hydrophobic side chains that interact with membrane phospholipids fatty acyl groups. They are called transmembrane proteins if they one or more membrane spanning domains. The transmembrane proteins of the membrane spanning domains are made up of ÃŽÂ ± helices or multiple ÃŽÂ ² strands [8]. These proteins are made up of two hydrophilic and one hydrobhobic region. The hydrophobic region traverses through the bilayer. They are asymmetric in nature. The transmembrane region of many integral membrane proteins is made up of a bundle of hydrophobic ÃŽÂ ±-helices [7]. Their major role is as transporters, and are also structural membrane-anchoring domains. They function by transporting hydrophilic molecules through the membrane. Many Integral Proteins Contain Multiple Transmembrane ÃŽÂ ± lpha Helices [8]. Examples: Insulin receptor, Glycophorin, Rhodopsin, CD36 and GPR30. Peripheral membrane proteins: They are also called as extrinsic proteins; they do not interact with hydrophobic core of the membrane phospholipid bilayer. They are bound to the membrane by interaction with the intergral proteins or are bound to the bilayer outer lipids polar heads groups. They are only present in the cytosolic region of the cell membrane. They play an important role in signal transduction. Some peripheral proteins are localized to the surface of the plasma membrane, these are called exoplasmic proteins. Peripheral enzymes are involved in the synthesis of different membrane components like lipids , cell wall oligosaccharides , or proteins. Membrane peripheral proteins are of five types: Structural proteins, channel proteins, transport or carrier proteins, enzymes and receptor proteins. Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are attached to membrane lipids and proteins as short oligosaccharide chains. Proteins attached with sugar molecules are called glycoproteins and lipids attached with sugar molecules are called glycolipids. The carbohydrates form a protective coat called glycocalyx around the cell, which helps in cell recognition. Glycoprotein Glycoproteins are formed by glycosylation of proteins. There are two types: N-glycosylation (sugar links to nitrogen atom of asparagines residue) and O-glycosylation (sugar attaches to hydroxyl group of serine or threonine rsidues). Examples of glycoproteins found in the body are mucins, collagens, transferrins, immunogloulins, etc. Glycolipids Glycolipids are lipids linked to oligosaccharide chains. Examples include glycosphingolipids which contain a hydrophobic ceramide, N-acylsphingosine and saccharides. They are generally located on the outer membrane surface. The composition of the carbohydrate chain depends on the type of the cell and development of the organism.[9] Refrences: [1] Harper [2] http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/C/CellMembranes.html [3] http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/biobk/BioBookCELL2.html [4] http://www2.estrellamountain.edu/faculty/farabee/biobk/biobooktransp.html [5] http://library.thinkquest.org/C004535/cell_membranes.html [6] http://library.thinkquest.org/C004535/molecule_transport.html [7] Chay, Lee, Fan, 1995 Appearance of Phase-locked Wenchbach-like Rhythms, Devils Staircase and Universality in Intracellular Calcium Spikes in Non-excitable Cell Models [9] The Fluid Mosaic Model of the Structure of Cell Membranes Cell membranes are viewed as two-dimensional solutions of oriented globular proteins and lipids. S. J. Singer and Garth L. Nicolson [10] http://www.cytochemistry.net/cell-biology/membrane3.htm [11] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmosome [12] http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/J/Junctions.html [13] Krause J. William (July 2005). KrauseHYPERLINK http://books.google.com/books?id=cRayoldYrcUCpg=PA37HYPERLINK http://books.google.com/books?id=cRayoldYrcUCpg=PA37s Essential Human Histology for Medical Students. Universal-Publishers. pp. 37-. ISBN 9781581124682. Retrieved 25 November 2010. [14] ] Glycosphingolipid functions: insights from engineered mouse models, doi: 10.1098/rstb.2003.1268 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 2003 358, 879-883 [15] [16] Endosytosis image: http://php.med.unsw.edu.au/cellbiology/index.php?title=2009_Lecture_6 excoystoisis http://cellbiology.med.unsw.edu.au/units/science/lecture0805.htm figure 1 Gap junction pic: http://www.cytochemistry.net/cell-biology/membrane3.htm cell membrane pic http://www.microscopy.fsu.edu/cells/plasmamembrane/plasmamembrane.html

Essay on Voltaire’s Candide: A Freudian Interpretation -- Candide Essa

A Freudian Interpretation of Candide  Ã‚   Voltaire’s Candide is a humorous work depicting the misadventures of a German man who has fallen from pseudo-nobility and is forced to roam the world in search for his love and his identity. In his adventures, he encounters massive fits of violence, both inflicted by himself onto others, and by those around him. This huge amount of violent behavior brings about startling questions about morality and justice in Voltaire’s time. It becomes apparent that Candide, among other things, is a satire which focuses on justice. Sigmund Freud, the noted psychologist, came up with the idea three states of consciousness: the id, which is the instinctive quality of humans; the ego, which is human rationale; and the superego, which is a person’s morality, or conscience. The characters and actions of Candide can easily be classified into these three states of consciousness to determine much of what Voltaire satirized in his work.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The middle group of the conscious states, the ego, is the medium of the brain. It is the bridge from the outside world to the inner workings of the mind. It is also the rational portion of the psyche, relying on reason. From the narrative, which is notably biased toward Candide’s point of view, the obvious symbol of the ego is Pangloss, the philosopher. He is Candide’s idol, and the model of right-thinking among the main characters, despite appearing as an utter buffoon to both the audience and the other characters with his hypotheses that all things are â€Å"for the best.† Also distorted views of the ego are apparent in most of the major characters, including Candide and Cunegonde, most notably. Although they are hardly the pictures of rationale, the... ...p in their own personal El Dorado, the microcosmic garden. An Edenic farm becomes their new home. On the other hand, the rest of society is forced to live with the monstrosity that it has created of itself. Candide and his friends can live in peace for the rest of their existence while the rest of humanity, including perhaps even the real El Dorado, must suffer its own set of consequences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Voltaire is obviously satirizing the period’s view of justice. He makes his points through biting sarcasm using the reversed roles of what he feels should be. These points are unstated, but painstakingly simple and clear. He was obviously hoping to reform the systems of the time. These ideas of reform are made even clearer by Freud’s ideas. Voltaire tries to refocus society’s efforts on morality and thinking, rather than tradition and blind submissions.    Essay on Voltaire’s Candide: A Freudian Interpretation -- Candide Essa A Freudian Interpretation of Candide  Ã‚   Voltaire’s Candide is a humorous work depicting the misadventures of a German man who has fallen from pseudo-nobility and is forced to roam the world in search for his love and his identity. In his adventures, he encounters massive fits of violence, both inflicted by himself onto others, and by those around him. This huge amount of violent behavior brings about startling questions about morality and justice in Voltaire’s time. It becomes apparent that Candide, among other things, is a satire which focuses on justice. Sigmund Freud, the noted psychologist, came up with the idea three states of consciousness: the id, which is the instinctive quality of humans; the ego, which is human rationale; and the superego, which is a person’s morality, or conscience. The characters and actions of Candide can easily be classified into these three states of consciousness to determine much of what Voltaire satirized in his work.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The middle group of the conscious states, the ego, is the medium of the brain. It is the bridge from the outside world to the inner workings of the mind. It is also the rational portion of the psyche, relying on reason. From the narrative, which is notably biased toward Candide’s point of view, the obvious symbol of the ego is Pangloss, the philosopher. He is Candide’s idol, and the model of right-thinking among the main characters, despite appearing as an utter buffoon to both the audience and the other characters with his hypotheses that all things are â€Å"for the best.† Also distorted views of the ego are apparent in most of the major characters, including Candide and Cunegonde, most notably. Although they are hardly the pictures of rationale, the... ...p in their own personal El Dorado, the microcosmic garden. An Edenic farm becomes their new home. On the other hand, the rest of society is forced to live with the monstrosity that it has created of itself. Candide and his friends can live in peace for the rest of their existence while the rest of humanity, including perhaps even the real El Dorado, must suffer its own set of consequences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Voltaire is obviously satirizing the period’s view of justice. He makes his points through biting sarcasm using the reversed roles of what he feels should be. These points are unstated, but painstakingly simple and clear. He was obviously hoping to reform the systems of the time. These ideas of reform are made even clearer by Freud’s ideas. Voltaire tries to refocus society’s efforts on morality and thinking, rather than tradition and blind submissions.   

Poicies and Procedures That Are in Place to Protect Children and Young People

Explain policies and procedures that are in place to protect children and young people and adults who work with them Policies and procedures in place at Northfield primary to protect the children and those that work with them are the child protection policy, equalities policy, PSHE and citizenship policy safeguarding policy and anti-bullying policy. Strategies from all of these policies are combined in all areas of the school day to protect all who work and learn in school.Northfield believes that promoting positive behaviour is the way forward as children learn best and behave best when they know what is expected of them and when they are positively encouraged to behave well. They need to have opportunities to experience success and also need to be aware that if they do not behave appropriately they will be consistently but fairly treated. Each child knows the code of conduct which is displayed around the school, included in the home/school agreement and is reiterated during assembl y/PHSE times.Children that are bullied are not singled out or treated differently, they are comforted and encouraged to talk openly about what has happened and reassured that everything will be done to resolve the situation with the best possible outcome. Buddy systems are in place so that no one has to be alone at playtimes and older children look out for children on their own and help them to join in with others.As well as the children the policies and procedures are there to also protect the adults that work with children. It is essential that all professionals follow safe working practices too, as this protects everyone. For example if a disclosure is made by a child it must always be taken seriously and the correct procedure followed as in the safeguarding policy even if this turns out to be a mistake or untrue.An example of this happened to a friend of mine a few years back who is a nurse, her daughter had gone back to nursery school after the weekend having been absent for a few days beforehand, when asked what the children had been doing over the weekend the child had replied â€Å"Daddy been putting smarties up me bum†. Child services were called in and in the end it turned out that my friend had been doing the weekend shift at the hospital and her husband had been left the job of administering the suppository when required.This turned out to be a misunderstanding but was taken seriously as it could quite easily have been sexual abuse and was quickly sorted out. The child should be listened to in a calm, supportive manner and they should be allowed to speak openly. They should be reassured and the designated safeguarding officer should be told as soon as possible. When adults working within the school adhere to the policies and procedures while working they are not putting themselves into a position where allegations can be made true or false.For example if a child needs a nappy change there should always be two members of staff present, or if a child has an injury the adult should query it if it has not happened at school and inform the class teacher or safeguarding officer as necessary. If the injury has occurred at school then an accident form should be filled in and the appropriate first aid carried out by the designated first aider. All injuries should be timed and dated and an explanation or drawing of the injury should be documented for future reference.

The Origin of Our Solar System

One of the most-asked questions of astronomers is: how did our Sun and planets get here? Its a good question and one that researchers are answering as they explore the solar system. There has been no shortage of theories about the birth of the planets over the years. This is not surprising considering that for centuries the Earth was believed to be the center of the entire universe, not to mention our solar system. Naturally, this led to a misevaluation of our origins. Some early theories suggested that the planets were spat out of the Sun and solidified. Others, less scientific, suggested that some deity simply created the solar system out of nothing in just a few days.  The truth, however, is far more exciting and is still a story being filled out with observational data.   As our understanding of our place in the galaxy has grown, we have re-evaluated the question of our beginnings. But in order to identify the true origin of the solar system, we must first identify the conditions that such a theory would have to meet. Properties of Our Solar System Any convincing theory of the origins of our solar system should be able to adequately explain the various properties therein. The primary conditions that must be explained include: The placement of the Sun at the center of the solar system.The procession of the planets around the Sun in a counterclockwise direction (as viewed from above the north pole of Earth).The placement of the small rocky worlds (the terrestrial planets) nearest to the Sun, with the large gas giants (the Jovian planets) further out.The fact that all the planets appear to have formed around the same time as the Sun.The chemical composition of the Sun and planets.The existence of comets and asteroids. Identifying a Theory The only theory to date that meets all of the requirements stated above is known as the solar nebula theory. This suggests that the solar system arrived at its current form after collapsing from a molecular gas cloud some 4.568 billion years ago. In essence, a large molecular gas cloud, several light-years in diameter, was disturbed by a nearby event: either a supernova explosion or a passing star creating a gravitational disturbance. This event caused regions of the cloud to begin clumping together, with the center part of the nebula, being the densest, collapsing into a singular object. Containing more than 99.9% of the mass, this object began its journey to star-hood by first becoming a protostar. Specifically, it is believed that it belonged to a class of stars known as T Tauri stars. These pre-stars are characterized by surrounding gas clouds containing pre-planetary matter with most of the mass contained in the star itself. The rest of the matter out in the surrounding disk supplied the fundamental building blocks for the planets, asteroids, and comets that would eventually form. About 50 million years after the initial shock wave instigated the collapse, the core of the central star became hot enough to ignite nuclear fusion. The fusion supplied enough heat and pressure that it balanced out the mass and gravity of the outer layers. At that point, the infant star was in  hydrostatic equilibrium, and the object was officially a star, our Sun. In the region surrounding the newborn star, small, hot globs of material collided together to form larger and larger worldlets called planetesimals. Eventually, they became large enough and had enough self-gravity to assume spherical shapes.   As they grew larger and larger, these planetesimals formed planets. The inner worlds remained rocky as the strong solar wind from the new star swept much of the nebular gas out to colder regions, where it was captured by the emerging Jovian planets. Today, some remnants of those planetesimals remain, some as Trojan asteroids that orbit along the same path of a planet or moon. Eventually, this accretion of matter through collisions slowed down. The newly formed collection of planets assumed stable orbits, and some of them migrated out toward the outer solar system.   Does the Solar Nebula Theory Apply to Other Systems? Planetary scientists have spent years developing a theory that matched the observational data for our solar system. The balance of temperature and mass in the inner solar system explains the arrangement of worlds that we see. The action of planet formation also affects how planets settle into their final orbits, and how worlds are built and then modified by ongoing collisions and bombardment. However, as we observe other solar systems, we find that their structures vary wildly. The presence of large gas giants near their central star doesnt agree with the solar nebula theory. It probably means that there are some more dynamical actions scientists havent accounted for in the theory.   Some think that the structure of our solar system is the one that is unique, containing a much more rigid structure than others. Ultimately this means that perhaps the evolution of solar systems is not as strictly defined as we once believed.