Australian Capitalism And Gst Essays - Tax Reform, Value-added Tax

Australian Capitalism And Gst Essays - Tax Reform, Value-added Tax Australian Capitalism And Gst On the 13th August 1998, the Prime Minister, The Hon John Howard MP held a press conference at Parliament House to launch the Federal Government's tax plan for Australia's future. The plan incorporates significant historic changes to the Australian taxation system, which are to be guided by five key principles. The key principle of the Federal Government's tax reform proposal that is creating speculation and debate is the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax, commonly known as GST. This consumption tax has come under intense public and political scrutiny and questions have been raised as to the economic fairness of this proposal. According to Macionis and Plummer (1997, p.420) capitalist economies produce a higher overall standard of living but also generate greater income disparity. The inequity of Australia's current economy is evident from the media release issued by the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) 4pm Wednesday 17 March 1999 in response to the taxation statistics that were released the same day. Michael Raper, President of ACOSS stated that the taxation statistics revealed the gross inequalities in the distribution of wealth in Australian society today with The top 10% of Australians owning 52% of the nation's wealth, while the bottom half owns a paltry 3%. On balance, does a capitalist economy promote a fair distribution of wealth and social power? I say not. Political support is gained by appealing to members of society with promises to act in their interests, more often directing this appeal to those individuals with wealth, social power and influence. The multi-million dollar advertising campaigns supporting the Federal Government's tax reform package and in particular the proposal of the Goods and Services Tax is funded by big businesses. The same big businesses that will benefit from the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax and that will benefit from the 30% cap on the Capital Gains Tax, an option being considered that can only strengthen the big businesses social power and capitalist ventures within Australian society. This supports the Marxists theory that states Basically, the state always works in the interests of the dominant, ruling, economic class: it favours and supports 'capital'. (Macionis et al 1997, p.452) A media release issued Wednesday 14 October 1998 by the National Tax and Accountants Association in regard to the inequity of the proposed income tax system also supports the Marxist theory. According to Ray Regan, President of the National Tax and Accountants Association, under a GST big businesses will continue to fly first class, travel around in their limousines, go on junket trips overseas and live a lavish lifestyle, but not pay one cent more tax. This is not a fair taxation system; an efficient taxation system should not be beneficial to some and not others. Bennett (1992, p.222) writes, Politicians rarely confront the public face to face to discuss issues and policy yet it is accepted practice in the Australian political arena. Instead of making an effort to understand issues too many people base their decisions on what they are told and accept this at face value, they do not question or seek out the underlying truths. An example of this is the initial media representation of the Goods and Services Tax exemptions. The government believes that to apply GST to education would discriminate against private providers (The Howard Government 1998). The exemptions were accepted and applauded by the public as they were led to believe that all charges, in particular regard to education, were to be exempt. The National Tax and Accountants Association soon alerted the public of this gross misrepresentation. Ray Regan in a media release issued 30 July 1998 states, it is very important for the public to quickly understand that with health, education and childcare the Government is most certainly not talking about a blanket exemption whatsoever. In reality, each of these three essential items will have many componentsthat will be subject to the new GST tax which people will have to pay for the rest of their lives. The GST exemption is applicable to school fees only, not uniforms, texts, transport etc. essential components of the current education system. The equity of GST-free private education that includes boarding school accommodation should also

Philosophes essays

Philosophes essays Rousseaus view of liberty is a simple yet logical one. He views liberty as a right you are born with. No person has the right to take this liberty you are born with away because no person has more power than another. Only you the owner of your liberty can give your right of liberty away. This in turn leads to his ideas on government. He believes that all people can enter a social contract and each person gives his or her liberty to everyone else upon entering the contract. Any person who does not want to enter this contract is simply excluded from the body of people. This body of people becomes the sovereign and every person is a part of this sovereign under the social compact. This mens that every person will act in the best interests of the entire group. When it comes time for this group to make decisions they follow two rules. The first rule is for voting on very important decisions such as laws: the more important the decision the closer to unanimity. The second is f or dealing with quick decision such as practical affairs: a simple majority will prevail in decisions when concerned with speed. Those are Rousseaus main ideas concerning the formation of a new government. Edmund Burkes beliefs were almost opposite those of Rousseau.. Burke was one of the founding fathers of the conservatism today. Burke believed that the only rights and liberties that a person can possess are those delegated by the constitution. The Declaration of Right instated by William and Mary was meant to preserve religion, laws, and liberties. This did not ever mention the right to overthrow a government and create your own new one. This leads to his belief that a country should have a monarchial form of government. He also thought the good was being replaced by the bad and that violence would break out. He was correct violence broke out shortly after. Rousseau could have easily played a role in influencing the Frenc...

Respirtory case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Respirtory case study - Essay Example It can also be due to the allergic rthinitis, as well as the rhinitis that occurs following an environmental irritant. The patient’s condition might be indicating that he or she has influenza infection. Part 2 In order to reach at a conclusion concerning the patient’s condition, certain questions are essential in helping eliminate some of the range of suspected diagnosis (Bass, 2004). Following the initial physical examinations, the patient was said to have a prolonged coughing that is persistent with chest pressure radiating to the back. This implies that in order to be sure that the patient’s case is not as a result of acute cough or common cold, such questions as how often do you sneeze or at what frequency do you sneeze, do you feel any sort of obstruction in your nose do you feel any irritation in your throat, have you been experiencing a postnasal drip lately, shall be of use. The rationale behind these questioning is that, in case, the patient presents sig ns of irritation and lacrimation in her/his throat, nasal obstruction, signs of sneezing, signs of postnasal drip, with a normal chest, and possibly rhinorrhea, then common cold or acute cough shall be responsible for the patient’s conditions. On the contrary, if the patient fails to show this signs, then common acute cough may be ruled out of the possible causes of the patient’s condition. ... The rationale behind asking this question is based upon the idea that the patient is a smoker and thus prone to noxious particles from tobacco smoking that can end up triggering an abnormal inflammation response in the patient’s lungs. In ascertaining if the patient’s condition suggest anything that he/she is influencer affected, the essential questions shall be do you feel feverish or chilly, has your sore throat lasted for more than 3 days, do you experience frontal or retro-orbital headache and how severe is it, do you have any burning sensations, or pain upon motion, do you feel weak or fatigued when performing normal activities, do you experience shortness of breath and pains in your chest. A range of questions set above are meant to help rule out influencer as the possible cause of the patient’s condition. Part 3 lungs shall be the vital system that I would checked by performing lung functioning tests. The rationale behind checking the lungs is that at admi ssion, the patient was said to be a smoker, and had cough accompanied by chest pressure radiating to the back. This implies that smoke particles must be the causal agent for patient P’s condition. Part 4 Diagnostic tests The Recommended treatment plan for each of the Differential Diagnoses Diagnosis of the exacerbation of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease needs lung function tests Diagnosis of acute cold require laboratory tests. b. Therapeutic regimens Acute cold due to common cold can be treated with dexbrompheniramine plus naproxen and pseudoephedrine. Ipratropium for relieving rhinorrhea and sneezing along with zink Lozenges. Antibiotics for treating bacterial infections due to bacterial sinusitis. In treating the exacerbation of the

Nursing as a Profession Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nursing as a Profession - Research Paper Example The question of whether nursing constitutes a profession or merely an occupation has been debated frequently but never conclusively answered, owing to the subjective interpretation of word connotations as well as a lack of consensus as to what profession entails. The Random House dictionary defines a profession as â€Å"a vocation requiring knowledge of some department of learning or science.† L. Harvey (2004) says that â€Å"A profession is a group of people in a learned occupation, the members of which agree to abide by specified rules of conduct when practicing the profession.† Over the years, several researchers have developed specific criteria regarding professions. This paper will focus on the eight criteria established by Dr. Lucie Kelly in 1981, and examine nursing in relation to those criteria. Kelly's Criteria for Professions 1) The services provided are vital to humanity and the welfare of society. 2) There is a special body of knowledge that is continually enlarged through research. 3) The services involve intellectual activities; individual responsibility (accountability) is a strong feature. 4) Practitioners are educated in institutions of higher learning. 5) Practitioners are relatively independent and control their own policies and activities (autonomy). 6) Practitioners are motivated by service (altruism) and consider their work an important component of their lives. 7) There is a code of ethics to guide the decisions and conduct of practitioners 8) There is an organization (association) that encourage and supports high standards of practice. (Chitty citing Kelly, 2005, p. 171) The first four of Kelly's eight criteria are easily addressed, as there can be no doubt of the vital nature of the services provided by nurses, who are frequently referred to in literature as â€Å"the backbone of the healthcare system.† It also cannot be disputed that there exists a large and continually expanding body of knowledge related to nursing. There is a great deal of personal accountability involved in nursing as well. Each day nurses world-wide make decisions within a professional context which have a significant impact on the lives of their patients, as well as colleagues and even administrators. Nurses are required to undergo profession-specific education, as well as to maintain awareness of current research in the field in order to perform their jobs effectively. Likewise, nursing can easily be demonstrated to meet the seventh and eighth of Kelly's criteria. The Code of Ethics for Nurses is well established, and there are several national organizations devoted to maintaining high standards for nurse accreditation, as well as an International Council of Nurses. Autonomy of nurses might be questioned: Do nurses control their own policies and activities? While it is clear that a nurse must make decisions on a daily basis and act on those decisions, nurses are subjected to policies within the confines of their employing institutions. Though nurses frequently execute the orders of doctors, the manner of execution is usually left to individual nurses. Thus, in the opinion of this researcher nursing meets the fifth of Kelly's criteria. The question of motivation is a thornier one. While many individuals choose to enter nursing for altruistic reasons, it seems unreasonable to expect that all nurses share that particular motivation. Ther e is a shortage of nurses world-wide, no doubt leading to many individuals choose this career path because it will provide a secure and reliable source of income. Nurses trained in an accredited program can always find

The shortcomings experienced in the adult learning system syllabi that Dissertation

The shortcomings experienced in the adult learning system syllabi that is implemented by prisons departments - Dissertation Example This essay discusses that the British prison educational system has many challenges to overcome if it desires to address its mandate of rehabilitating prisoners. The British government must deal with the fact that the vast majority of the people it incarcerates have tremendous learning problems, including suffering from high levels of illiteracy and innumeracy than the general population. As a result, education in prisons is filled with many obstacles that the British government, staff, and prisoners must overcome. In order to ascertain the efficacy of its educational programmes in prison, the British government provides tests and diagnoses to seek if it can remedy the problems of prison learning. The issue of evaluating inmates remains a central concern for the prison educational system because of the particular characteristics of inmates that impact their learning, including the fact that some serve shorter sentences versus longer sentences, the lack of funding for classes, the abs ence of a system of transferring school records to the next prison, the lack of a uniform educational system for all, the constraints of prison life, the lack of access to the Internet and library, the lack of high level courses, etc. All of these factors and more militate against inmates learning in the prison educational system. However, in giving these tests, the thesis of this dissertation argues it has uncovered even more problems in terms of making these prisoners take them over and over again, which is called repetitive assessment diagnosis. Finally, it makes recommendations on how to address this problem. The construction of the syllabi design and implementation should not have any items that will cause monotony, such as repetition. Major academic theories of syllabi design and the implementation argue that the learning environment of learners may be definitive of the actual outcome of the learning. Repetition serves as a particular problem of the prison educational system w ith compromising syllabus implementation for inmates. One of the problems that plague the prison educational system is the routine practice of the relocation of prisoners and their subsequent successive subjection to diagnostic assessments. On the other hand, it underscores plausible solutions with respect to the prison educational system in the United Kingdom. With the collaboration of A4E (Action for Employment), adult education system, and prison’s setting training are carried out. The concept of assessment in the learning process and its coordination in successive procedures are important in facilitating education among students. The learning experience of students should to be facilitated with the use of assessment techniques that encourage active participation. Repetition in assessments could result in alienation and loss of interest from students. A well designed assessment should facilitate self-evaluation and progression in personal development rather than be punitiv e and repetitive. This study examines the problems in the prison educational system of the United Kingdom in regards to the assessment failures in its tests, especially in regards to repetitive evaluations of transferred prisoners. In order to understand the impact of successive

US Intervention in Somalia, 1992 Essay Example for Free

US Intervention in Somalia, 1992 Essay The 1992-1993 intervention of the US forces, with UN authorization, in the fractured country of Somalia is a complex issue not just in terms of Somalian domestic politics, but also the constellation of foreign entanglements that were involved in this strategic part of the world. This brief essay will attempt to answer some key questions about the conflict itself, the American role and the diplomatic and power struggles internationally, especially given the strategic location of Somalia on the Indian Ocean trade routes and the controlling interest in the mouth of the Red Sea. The conflict itself is rather straightforward. The dictatorship of Said Barre was an eccentric one, since he attempted to combine the Islamic movement with that of Marxian socialism. But Barre, in this tribally fractured society, found himself at loggerheads with the powerful Hawiye tribe, as well as certain Islamic factions operating within the country, eventually to develop the Somali National Alliance (SNA), which, for reasons to be described below, became the main target of the American wrath. Concerning the basic structure of the conflict using the typology of Kriesberg, his concern for â€Å"interests and values† is very important, since the basic struggle, outside of its tribal basis, was one of independence from the west. If the SNA were to be victorious, than the US might well be shut out of this strategic area, and a hostile power would come into play, just when the US had helped oust the hated Marxist dictator in Ethiopia, Mengistu Hailie Maram. It is the contention of this writer that this specific reason underlies the entire US intervention in 1992-1993. But apart from interests and values, it seems that the Civil War in Somalia was a zero-sum battle, in that the Islamic movement had a very different agenda than the pro-Ethiopian movement. The victory of one meant the automatic loss for the other. The organizations themselves were both tribal and ideological, centering around the destiny of Somalia relative to the Arab-Israeli conflict, where the Muslims rejected the US presence in support of Israeli interests and the pro-western side sought to use Ethiopia to eliminate the Islamic movement of General Farah Adeed. Hence, in Kriesberg’s terms, these organizations were basically bi-focal, with two mutually exclusive agendas that eventually, in 1993, permitted the US government to hold that the Islamic movement is the great threat to Somalia (cf Kreisberg’s typology, 2006, 7-14). Now, the basic issues in the conflict concern, first of all, the actors themselves. After the disastrous war with Ethiopia in the late 1980s, the Barre regime in Somalia tottered, and eventually was overthrown by an military organization, backed largely by the Hawaye tribe, the United Somali Congress (USC). They overthrew Barre, but were incapable of managing the post-war world. Hence, the development of the Civil War and the rise of Addid’s SNA. The CIA maintained a major post in Kenya, and the US maintained a air base in Ethiopia where spy planes can traverse the Middle East (Griswold, 2007). After the overthrow of the communist DERG state in Ethiopia in 1991, the western backed government intervened regularly in the conflict within the US frame of reference. Hence, it seems that the American approach was to either restore Barre in power or create a coalition of anti-Adeed forces (preferably led by militia leader Ali Mahdi (US Army, 10). None of this worked, and Adeed seemed to emerge from the conflict victorious, as he played upon the anti-colonialist struggle against the United States and successfully engendered hatred against the US (Kaemph, 2007). Therefore, in general, the Somali war pitted Adeed’s forces against both the Ethiopians and the United States. In addition, the state of Eritrea was also involved, and received both Israeli and American backing from its independence against he former communist government of Ethiopia. Hence, the Eritreans were used against the Adeed government and the state itself became a base for the anti-Islamic movement. Eritrea was very useful for the United States and Israel (who certainly had an interest in the Red Sea being open to western trade), since they fought with the Islamic government of Sudan, and became a part of the peace-keeping efforts of the US in that country, also with the ultimate purpose to eliminate the influence of the anti-US and anti-Israeli Islamic movement. Hence, the causes of the conflict and the American intervention are woven within the functioning of the actors themselves within an international context. To put it simply: the US, the UN and Israel supported Ethiopia and Eritrea (though these two have fought in the past), as well as what was left of the Barre regime. Barre himself had offered several oil concessions to American oil firms not to long before his overthrow, and hence, the major oil firms and the US government had an interest in his movement, discredited thought it was (Kretzman, 2003). The major purpose was to keep any coalition that could be formed by Adeed and the anti-US forces under both a nationalist and Islamic banner. The US Army holds in its official account of the war that psychological operations (PSYOPS) were the order of the day in the Somali countryside. This ominous methodology is not elaborated upon in the Army’s description of events (US Army, pub 70-81-1, p 10). At the same time, the CIA was providing the basic logistical support for the intervention out of Kenya. Given this background, the major issues that motivated the American intervention might be reduced to four. First, the control of any oil found in Somalia and, more importantly, the massive oil reserves of Sudan. The two conflicts are very similar in that both Omar Bashir and Adeed are anti-US and anti-Israel, and are fighting for a country that has at least some oil reserves that can be exploited. Secondly, both the US and Israel have an interest in keeping Islamic movements out of power in this strategic area, since such movements may well join with Iran and Russia against American oil interest in the area. Third, to maintain a secular and pro-western state in both Ethiopia and Eritrea. Fourth, to keep friendly powers in charge of Somalia in order to keep both the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean free of hostile powers, since major shipping goes though these areas, and importantly, oil shipping. But similarly, this is all based on a certain geography: Somalia is highly strategic for the above reasons–this eastern horn of Africa sits upon oil and major shipping lanes that cannot fall to hostile powers. But the area of the US intervention, it should be noted, only developed in the extreme south and west of the country, not accidentally the area bordering Kenya, where the CIA maintains a large base and listening post (Griswold, 2007). The US, as part of its PSYOP mentality, hit the radio stations belonging to Adeed, as well as attempting–unsuccessfully–to harm his infrastructure. The reality of the situation is, in the chaos of the war, the Islamic movement of Adeed developed his own social services and social infrastructure, not unlike Hamas in Palestine. To destroy this became the main purpose of the 1992-1993 intervention and largely dictated the popular hostility of the masses to American intervention. Adeed successfully created his own anti-PSYOP mentality by holding the Islamic faith and using nationalist ideas to mobilize the country to his cause. Hence, the nonsense about feeding the â€Å"starving masses† should not even be taken seriously, since the only man who successfully rebuilt at least a modicum of social services became the main target of US attacks (Kaemph, 2007). Hence, several things can be said in conclusion. First, oil is an important issue here, both in Sudan and Somalia. This is one of the most important motivating influences behind the intervention in 1992. But this oil is not sitting in the ground, it is being shipped worldwide, and hence, the Indian Ocean routes near Africa and the Red Sea both need to be kept open, and hence, Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia are central actors here. Second, the Eritreans were encouraged in their independence drive under the communist DERG state in Ethiopia by both the US and Israel so as to maintain a pro-western state there. Eritrea hence, sought to support the US in the conflict with the purpose of maintaining its independence and legitimacy. The Islamic forces in Sudan and the SNA wanted an Islamic and nationalist state to fight the west and the Israelis. For the US, this was unacceptable and might be the central issue in the entire American mentality of the time. The reality is that Adeed won–and he won using anti-colonial rhetoric that saw the US as invaders, not interveners. Third, the American PSYOP organization, with CIA backing fizzled. They failed to convince the population that the US was their friend. The very fact that Adeed’s own infrastructure was attacked proved to most that the US was there for the sake of realpolitik, not humanitarian aid, a rather silly â€Å"official† story from Washington, given the strategic nature of the area. Since PSYOPS are little more than brainwashing, Adeed certainly seems to have the moral high ground here–he had the money and the power, as well as the support and military training to make his movement work. Insofar as Kriesberg’s organization typology (cf pg 12), the reason for the American intervention is that it seemed that Adeed’s forces could not be beaten. His main opponent, and a recipient of US money, Mahdi, had no real military training and was no match for Adeed (US Army, 10). The former forces of Barre were also fractured and demoralized, and hence, to keep Adeed out of power, intervention was necessary. But what remains central is that the official reason for the American involvement was not only false, but laughable. Not even an armchair analysis could hold that humanitarianism was the central issue when which globally strategic issues were at stake. An Islamic government in Sudan and Somalia could spell doom for the American interest in the shipping lanes of the area, and might well serve to harm the states of Ethiopia or Eritrea. Israel’s interest were also central, since the US presence in northeastern Africa is substantial and is a major base for operations against he enemies of the Israeli state such as Iraq (formerly) and Iran, not to mention Sudan or even Libya. The US, in short, appeared as an amoral colonial invader against the genuinely popular Adeed forces. Ultimately, the Somalia failure proved the problematic nature of American post-Cold War foreign policy. First, her official rationale made little sense. Second, the simple battle for American interests will not win the US forces respect throughout the world (Allard, 1995). The nations of the world will work out their own problems without CIA meddling, which only rarely provides a lasting solution (though few could doubt that the fall of Mengistu in Ethiopia was not a good thing). But lastly, what seems to come out of the Somalia failure is the simple fact that the US drive for global empire is doomed to fail, and what should come out of the decay of the bi-polar world is not a uni-polar world or even an multi-lateral one, but the simple concept of self determination for all the nations and people’s of the world according to their own lights, not dictates from Brussels, New York or Washington. Bibliography: Allard, K.. (2005) Somalia Operations: Lessons Learned. Washington: National Defense Griswold, Diedre (Jan 7, 2007) â€Å"Why Somalia has no National State. † Workers World. http://www. workers. org/2007/world/somalia-0111/ (This is a communist publication that should be taken with a grain of salt but it does have some interesting observations about the CIA’s role in the area, as well as Israel’s) Kriesberg, L. (2006). Constructive Conflicts. Rowman and Littlefield. Kretzman, Steve (2003). Oil Security, War and the Geopolitics of United States Energy Planning. Multinational Monitor, Jan/Feb. (http://www. thirdworldtraveler. com/Oil_watch/Oil_Security_War. html) United States Army (nd). The US Army in Somalia. CHM Publication 70-81-1

Effect Of Exercise On Arterial Blood Pressure

Effect Of Exercise On Arterial Blood Pressure The aim of this experiment is to investigate the effects of different intensity of exercise on heart rate and arterial blood pressure in young healthy human subjects. Jumping jack exercise is used in this experiment by increasing the frequency of jumping which are 5, 10, 20, 25 and 30 cycles continuously for 5 sessions. The HR and BP were measured before and after the exercise for the study of hypothesis. Data showed that there is an increase in HR and BP among the subjects. Furthermore, with increasing intensity of exercise, the difference between the values before and after exercise also increased. However, diastolic blood pressure did not show any significant difference. The cardiovascular system is made up of the heart and circulatory system. The heart pumps blood to the organs, tissues, and cells of our body. Oxygen and nutrients are delivered by the blood to every cell of the body. On the other hand, carbon dioxide and waste materials are removed by the blood. It is important to understand the cardiovascular system in order to fully comprehend the physiological effects of exercise on the human body.1 The illustration shows the front surface of a heart, including the coronary arteries and major blood vessels. The heart is a myogenic muscular organ which acts like a pump to continuously send blood to our body cells. It has the shape of an upsided pear. The heart is located between the lungs in the middle of our chest. It has a double-layered membrane called a pericardium. The pericardium acts to protect the heart. The outer pericardium layer is attached by ligaments to our diaphragm and other parts of our body. The inner pericardium layer is attached to the heart muscle. There exists a coating of fluid separating the two layers of the membrane. This allows the heart to move as it beats and yet still be attached to our body.3 In this project, we would like to study the effects of exercise on heart rate and blood pressure. The formulated hypothesis is that exercise will cause an increase in heart rate, an increase in systolic blood pressure and a slight decrease or fairly constant diastolic blood pressure. Heart rate Heart rate is defined by the number of heartbeats per unit time, in minutes. The heart rate of a human being may change depending on the need for oxygen. When oxygen dependency increases, the heart rate increases. When oxygen dependency decreases, heart rate decreases. Heart rate is measured by counting the pulse of the body.4 Blood pressure Blood pressure is defined as the force applied on the walls of the arteries as blood is pumped throughout the body. Pressure is determined by the force and amount of blood being pumped and also determined by the size and flexibility of the arteries. Blood pressure is affected by many factors such as the individuals daily routine, diet, emotional state and posture.5 Blood pressure is measured by a device called the sphygmomanometer. It measures the magnitude of pressure required to block blood flow through an artery. Pressure is applied by the sphygmomanometer which cuffs a persons arm.6 The ideal blood pressure is below 120 over 80 (120/80). The systolic pressure is the number above and the diastolic pressure is the number below. Systolic blood pressure is defined as the blood pressure when the heart is contracting. Specifically, it is the highest arterial pressure during contraction of the left heart ventricle. Diastolic pressure on the other hand measures the pressure exerted by the heart when the heart is at rest. The mean arterial pressure is the average blood pressure of an individual. It can be determined by the following formula: MAP = DP + 1/3(SP DP)7 SP = Systolic pressure DP = Diastolic pressure Protocol From the group of 14 individuals, one individual is selected to take measurements of blood pressure and heart rate of the remaining 13 individuals. The 13 subjects consist of 3 males and 10 females, with an average BMI of 19.49. Firstly, the heart rate and blood pressure of the first individual was measured. Then, 5 cycles of the modified jumping jacks were performed. After the 5 cycles of exercise was performed, the subject was required to sit in an upright position, where blood pressure and heart rate was measured. The subject was also given 3 minutes as resting time. After the resting period, the first individual carried on with an increment of 5 cycles of the same exercise up until 20 cycles.(i.e.: 5 cycles, 10 cycles, 15 cycles, 20 cycles) This was done with the remaining 12 subjects. Standardization Anticipatory period All subjects were required to sleep at least 7 hours before the day of the exercise. No caffeine and alcohol diet has to be consumed 3 hours before the exercise. Subjects were required to eat one banana and one energy bar cracker 3 hours before the exercise was conducted. Proper sports attire was worn by all 13 participants. 5 minutes of resting period was given to each subject. Subjects were required to sit in an upright position while resting. Hand phones were switched off to avoid interruptions while doing exercise. Laughing and eating are prohibited during exercise for more accurate readings. Lastly, all subjects were in good health during exercise and are not under influence of any drugs. Exercise period During the exercise, activities such as laughing, talking and vigorous movements are not allowed. All candidates must keep their hands straight while doing jumping jacks, and must squat completely throughout the course of the exercise. The beat of the metronome was set at 84 beats per minute. Resting period All subjects were not allowed to consume any beverages and no other movements were allowed except the exercise mentioned. A resting period of 3 minutes was given to each subject. The same stopwatch was used to measure the resting period. Heart rate and blood pressure measurement Only 1 person was assigned to measure the blood pressure and heart rate of the 13 participants. Initial heart rate and blood pressure was performed 1 minute before the exercise was conducted. After conducting the exercise, heart rate and blood pressure was measured immediately. The heart rate was measured first followed by blood pressure. All subjects were required to sit in an upright position while getting their heart rate measured. The same sphygmomanometer and stethoscope were used to measure the subjects blood pressure. Methods to measure heart rate and blood pressure Heart rate Firstly, the palm side of the subject was turned facing up. The index finger was placed on the wrist of the subject, approximately 1 inch below the base of the subjects hand. The index finger is pressed down in the grove between the middle tendons and outside bone. A throbbing pulse should be felt. The number of beats was counted for 30 seconds, and multiplied by 2. This will give a heart rate of 1 minute.8 Blood pressure The sphygmomanometer was inflated to a little above 180mm Hg. This collapses the major arteries of the arm. Air is released by turning the air valve. The pressure should drop. When the first throbbing sound was heart, the systolic blood pressure was recorded. The sound heard following the first throbbing sound is the sound of blood flowing through the artery of the arm. This means the systolic blood pressure is higher than the pressure in the blood pressure cuff. The air valve continues to be released until no sound is heard. When no more sound is heard, the diastolic blood pressure is recorded.10 Exercise description Firstly, both feet are put together, with hands down on both sides. Candidates are required to jump to move both feet apart while both hands are raised 90 degrees from the body. They are required to jump again to move feet together and bring both hands together over the head by clapping. The exercise subjects then return to the 2nd position, where both feet are apart and both hands are 90 degrees from the body. Next, candidates then return to the initial position. Lastly, the candidate is required to squat once and then return to position one. Only after performing each of these steps is one cycle considered. Preparation Banana, energy bar cracker, metronome and stopwatch were prepared before the experiment. Type of exercise The exercise is a modified version of jumping jack. All subjects were required to complete the exercise based on the speed set by the metronome. Test subjects 3 male and 10 female students were chosen to carry out this experiment. The subjects are healthy individuals who do not smoke and do alcohol. The mean body weight was 57.69kg and the mean height was 165.19cm. Location of exercise IMU, Skills Centre. Apparatus Sphygmomanometer, stethoscope, stopwatch and metronome Interpretation of results Statistical test The one-way ANOVA turkey test was used to determine whether there were any difference in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate and mean arterial pressure between the number of cycles of exercise. Null hypothesis: There is no difference in heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure before and after exercise. Alternate hypothesis: There is a difference in heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure before and after exercise. (Heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and mean arterial pressure increases, diastolic blood pressure remains the same or decreases slightly) Result interpretation From the results for table 2, it can be seen that the rate of heart rate increases when the number of cycles of exercise increases. Statistically, from the one-way ANOVA turkey test, the calculated p-value for heart rate was lesser than 0.05. If the calculated p-value was lesser than 0.05, this implies that there is a significant difference in heart rate between the number of cycles of exercise. From the graph obtained in figure 1, it can be seen that the heart rate increases steadily when the number of cycles of exercise increases. From the results for table 3, the result is similar to the result of table 2. Systolic blood pressure increases when the number of cycles of exercise increases. From the one-way ANOVA turkey test, the calculated p-value for heart rate was also lesser than 0.05. This implies a significant difference in heart rate between the numbers of cycles of exercise. From figure 1, it can be seen that the heart rate increases steadily when the number of cycles of exercise increases. From the results for table 4, the diastolic blood pressure decreases when the number of cycles of exercise increases. From the one-way ANOVA turkey test, the calculated p-value for diastolic blood pressure was also lesser than 0.05. This implies a significant difference in diastolic blood pressure between the numbers of cycles of exercise. From the figure, it can also be deduced that diastolic blood pressure decreases, however only slightly when the number of cycles of exercise increases. From the results for table 5, the mean arterial blood pressure seems equal throughout the cycles of exercise. When calculating the p-value using one-way ANOVA turkey test, the p-value was higher than 0.05. This implies there is no significant difference in the mean arterial blood pressure between the numbers of cycles of exercise. From the figure, it can also be deduced that the mean arterial pressure doesnt undergo any change as the number of cycles of exercise increases. Discussion Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Heart Rate The heart rate for an individual is 60 to 100 beats per minute. Heart rate per minute will increase depending on the frequency of physical activities the individual carry out. During exercise, muscles undergo aerobic respiration which requires constant oxygen supply. This is because the level of carbon dioxide in the blood increases due to the rising cell respiration of the muscles. Thus, the lack of oxygen results in a huge rush of oxygen intake through the lungs. An impulse is then sent to the sinoatrial (SA) node which causes the heart to beat faster. The increased oxygen intake activates the oxidation of lactic acid into carbon dioxide to be carried away. As a result, the muscles will produce the most amount of energy per mole aerobically.10 Oxygen, carbon dioxide and hydrogen ions (H+) are detected by chemoreceptors which are located at the medulla oblongata and parts of the peripheral nervous system. When exercising, H+ increases due to the excess carbon dioxide. A rise in H+ concentration activates the chemoreceptors which in turn send impulses to the inspiratory centre to increase breathing rate. Hence, heart rate increases. On the other hand, the lack of oxygen also causes a rise in breathing rate. The peripheral chemoreceptors are activated when large oxygen is reduced. Signals are then sent to the inspiratory centre to increase the breathing rate, and thus heart rate.11 Besides, lactic acid which dissociates into lactate and H+ during anaerobic respiration when exercising also results in a rise is H+ concentration. This in turn increases the heart rate by the same mechanism discussed above.12 Heart rate can also be altered by autonomic nervous system. Stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system causes an increase in heart rate as well as other factors such as stroke volume and systemic vasoconstriction.13 The stimulated sympathetic nervous system also acts to release glucose from the liver for energy. During exercise, heart rate rises rapidly due to the activation of sympathetic nervous system.14 Apart from that, the stimulated sympathetic nerves also release catecholamines such as epinephrine and norepinephrine. They work to cause the heart to beat faster by increasing the depolarization of sinus node. This increase of heart rate is known as tachycardia.15 Furthermore, the contractility of the heart muscles will also increase through binding of catecholamines with alpha-adrenegic receptors on the smooth muscles.16 The parasympathetic nervous system opposes the sympathetic nervous system which slows the heart rate especially when physical exertion such as exercise is over. This is due to the release of hormone acetylcholine which hyperpolarizes the membrane and inhibits heart rate. The slowing of heart rate is known as bradycardia.17 When resting after strenuous exercise, both autonomic nervous systems still work continuously to send impulses to the SA node. However, inhibitory is dominance over excitatory. As a result, vagal tone is said to be exhibited by the heart. In addition, if the vagal nerves are not innervating the heart, the heart rate will be slower than it would be.16, 18 Other than that, atrial reflex or known as Bainbridge reflex is initiated during exercise. This reflex involves in increasing the venous return and blood congestion in the atria. By stimulating the SA node and baroreceptor in the atria, the atrial walls are stretched which add on to the force as well as heart rate. As a result, the reflex action leads to a rise in sympathetic stimulation of the heart which in turn increases the heart rate.19 Another factor which contributes to an increase in heart rate is the body temperature. Metabolic rate increases during exercise. This causes the body temperature to rise when the metabolism in the body release energy as heat.15Consequently, sympathetic output at the heart will increase due to the impulses sent by the thermoreceptors to the somatosensory cortex and thus heart rate increase.18 Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Systolic Blood Pressure In this experiment, 13 subjects were required to perform a modified version of jumping jacks at different intensity levels. The exercise was performed in cycles where increased cycles of jumping jacks will increase the intensity of the exercise. The mean blood pressure of an individual depends on the amount of blood flow from the heart throughout the body and the net resistance of blood flow in the arteries of the body. Blood pressure is calculated via the following formula: BP = CO x PVR where, BP= blood pressure CO= Cardiac Output PVR=Peripheral vascular resistance During exercise, exercising muscles produces more carbon dioxide, thus this increases the blood partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PCO2) in the human body. As PCO2 increases, the need of oxygen intake into the human body increases. Oxygen consumption increases when PO2 decreases. Since oxygen is carried by the blood in the form of oxyhaemoglobin, therefore, the body would need to pump in more oxygen to accommodate for the lack of oxygen.20 From the equation BP = CO x PVR, increase in cardiac output increases blood pressure. As systolic blood pressure is the pressure when the heart is contracting, therefore the systolic blood pressure should increase with increasing exercise. During exercise, the systolic blood pressure of each experiment subject is seen to be increasing throughout each cycles of the exercise. From the table, it can be seen that the mean systolic blood pressure increased from 106.5 at resting blood pressure up to 135.5 when the exercise was conducted at 20 cycles. Thus, the experiment supports the claim that exercise increases systolic blood pressure. Effect of aerobic exercise on diastolic blood pressure Diastolic blood pressure is the blood pressure when the heart is relaxing. It is the blood pressure of our artery walls between heart beats. Diastolic blood pressure is affected mainly by blood volume, stroke volume and heart rate.21 Stroke volume (SV) is the difference between end-diastolic volume (EDV) and end-systolic volume (ESV). It is related by the following equation: SV = EDV ESV22 EDV is the volume of blood before the heart contracts and ESV is the volume of blood left in the heart after it contracts. Therefore, SV is the net volume of blood pumped out by the heart in 1 heart beat. During exercise, oxygen consumption increases, therefore the amount of blood needed to pump throughout the body also increases, therefore stroke volume increases during exercise. During exercise, the temperature of the human body increases. When this happens, the body undergoes negative feedback by dilating the arteries in the body. Vasodilation happens to increase the blood supply to around the tissues and also to take away heat from the body. Therefore, during exercise, cardiac output increases whereas peripheral vascular resistance decreases due to vasodilation. Thus, this causes the diastolic blood pressure to remain fairly constant throughout, or decrease slightly. From the experiment, the diastolic blood pressure decreases slightly over the course of exercise. As exercise was conducted, vasodilation could explain the lowering of diastolic blood pressure throughout the exercise. Effect of aerobic exercise on Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) MAP is the average pressure of blood exerted on the walls of the arteries during the whole cardiac cycle. MAP is the product of cardiac output and total peripheral resistance. During exercise, cardiac output increases to meet the metabolic needs of skeletal muscles.23Total peripheral resistance on the other hand decreases due to vasodilation of blood vessels. However, total resistance of systemic circulation is kept constant due to constriction of arterioles in visceral organs such as the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, MAP increases in exercise due to the large increase in cardiac output.7 The equation to derive mean arterial pressure is as follow: MAP = DBP + 1/3 (SBP-DBP)7 Throughout the exercise, systolic blood pressure increases dramatically whereas diastolic blood pressure remains fairly constant or decreases slightly. Therefore, this elevates mean arterial pressure. From the experiment, the mean arterial pressure is fairly constant throughout the experiment. This could be due to the inaccuracy of the measured diastolic blood pressure. Besides that, the exercise could also be switched into a stress test, where subjects are required to perform physical exertion to their limits. A stress test could clearly show mean arterial pressure difference because cardiac output would be at its maximum. From the results obtained, it can be seen that the mean arterial pressure is fairly constant throughout the experiment. This could be due to the inaccuracy of the measured diastolic blood pressure. Besides that, the steady decrease in diastolic blood pressure could also override the increase in systolic blood pressure, thus causing the result of mean arterial pressure to remain constant throughout the experiment. Limitations Due to the limitations of the experiment, the obtained results were not that consistent and accurate when compared to the theoretical results. First of all, the sample size is rather too small and insufficient for statistical interpretation as it consists of just 13 members in the experiment. Gender factor affects the obtained results too. This is due to the imbalance number of females and males in the sample which is 2 males and 11 females. As different genders have different metabolism rate, this contributes to unwanted errors in the results. 10 Other than that, the resting period in between each set of experiment was inadequate due to time constrain. The heart rate and blood pressure were not allowed to return to the resting level before the consequent experiment is carried out. In addition, due to two different people in measuring the heart rate and blood pressure, it leads to variations in determination of the final readings of the results. There might also be confusion of auditory and visual cues especially when hearing for the diastolic pressure. Further Studies In order to improve the studies, a larger sample size can be used to increase accuracy of the results. When a larger sample size is used, more comparisons can be made between the differences of genders, age, BMI, as well as the frequency of exercise. Besides, the time of the resting period can be modified to be longer. This is to ensure that the heart rate and blood pressure have returned to the resting level before the next set of experiment starts in order to reduce the inconsistency of the results. Conclusion From the experiment, the results show that there is an increase in heart rate and systolic blood pressure. However, diastolic heart rate showed a decrease. Calculated mean arterial pressure(MAP) remained constant throughout different exercise intensity. However, this could be due to several reasons discussed as of above.