Minskys Economic volatility theory as an evaluation of Financial Crisis

Occupational Safety and Health Administration Essays

Occupational Safety and Health Administration Essays Occupational Safety and Health Administration Essay Occupational Safety and Health Administration Essay On December 29. 1970 Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The intent of this act as quoted from the act itself is: To assure safe and healthful on the job conditions for working work forces and adult females ; by authorising enforcement of the criterions developed under the Act ; by helping and promoting the States in their attempts to guarantee safe and healthful on the job conditions ; by supplying for research. information. instruction. and preparation in the field of occupational safety and wellness ; and for other intents. This act requires employers to supply workplaces that are free from serious recognized jeopardies and to follow with occupational safety and wellness criterions. The mission of OSHA is to salvage lives. prevent hurts. and protect the wellness of America’s workers. Since 1970 OSHA has grown to over 1. 130 inspectors in provinces under federal OSHA legal power. Personnel besides includes research workers. applied scientists. doctors. p edagogues. criterions authors and other support forces spread over more than 200 offices throughout the state ( OSHA FAQ ) . Since 1970 workplace human deaths have been reduced by half. Even with this diminution 14 Americans are killed on the occupation every individual twenty-four hours of the twelvemonth. In add-on. 10s of 1000s die every twelvemonth from workplace disease and over 4. 6 million workers are earnestly injured on the occupation ( OSHA FAQ ) . The Department of Labor which conducts the OSHA reviews wants workers to experience safe on the occupation. Workers have rights that include the right to bespeak an review. hold a representative nowadays at the review. have unsafe substances identified. be informed about exposure to jeopardies. and have employer misdemeanors posted at the worksite ( OSH Act ) . In subdivision 5 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 there is a set of responsibilities that employers and employees are supposed to follow in order to be best assisted by OSHA. This General Duty Clause provinces: ( a ) Each employer – ( 1 ) shall supply to each of his employees employment and a topographic point of employment which are free from recognized jeopardies that are doing or are likely to do decease or serious physical injury to his employees ; ( 2 ) shall follow with occupational safety and wellness criterions promulgated under this Act. ( B ) Each employee shall follow with occupational safety and wellness criterions and all regulations. ordinances. and orders issued pursuant to this Act which are applicable to his ain actions and behavior. In subdivision 8 of the OSH Act sing Inspections and Probes it states: ( a ) In order to transport out the intents of this Act. the Secretary. upon appropriate certificates to the proprietor. operator or agent in charge is authorized- ( 1 ) to come in without hold and at sensible times any mill. works constitution. building site or other country. workplace or environment where work is performed by an employee of an employer ; and ( 2 ) to inspect and look into during regular on the job hours and at other sensible times. and within sensible bounds and in a sensible mode. any such topographic point of employment and all pertinent conditions. constructions. machines. setup. devices. equipment. and stuffs therein. and to oppugn in private any such employer. proprietor operator. agent or employee. In Marshall v. Barlow’s Inc. . 436 U. S. 307 ( 1978 ) . this instance involved the constitutionality of a proviso in the Occupational Safety and Health Act that permitted inspectors to come in premises without a warrant to inspect for safety jeopardies and misdemeanor of OSHA ordinances. The Court held that this proviso violated the Fourth Amendment. In The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. commentary is given on this instance. One issue in the instance was whether a warrant was required. The Court had antecedently held that no warrant was required to inspect either the premises of a spirits licensee or a accredited gun dealer’s storage room. Distinguishing these earlier instances because each concerned a closely regulated industry. the Court in Barlow’s concluded that necessitating warrants in the OSHA context would non impose serious loads on the review system or the courts ( p. 316 ) . As for the evidences to obtain an review warrant. Barlow’s follows the regulation in Camara v. Municipal Court ( 1967 ) that traditional likely cause is unneeded if the governments can demo that the review conforms to reasonable legislative or administrative standards ( p. 538 ) . So. the Court in Barlow’s concluded that a warrant showing that a particular concern has been chosen for an OSHA hunt on the footing of a general administrative program for the enforcement of the Act derived from impersonal sources ( p. 321 ) would be sufficient. because it would guarantee against arbitrary choice of employers. Marshall v. Barlow did small to alter the frequence and effectivity of OSHA reviews. First. OSHA ordinances apply to 1000000s of concerns and are enforced by merely 1. 130 inspectors. Obvious rules of good direction would direct these inspectors to concerns that justified to hold an review based on accident history and the figure of employee ailments. OSHA’s directors had already been utilizing this type of program prior to the Barlow review since Barlow’s Inc. was selected for an review based on its accident history. In the AEI Journal on Government and Society . we are given insight on how the Barlow determination protected concern. yet still allowed OSHA inspectors to obtain Ex Parte warrants. Barlow left open the inquiry whether judicial orders for reviews routinely sought under the secretary’s bing ordinances when employers refuse entry are the functional equivalent of warrants and therefore fulfill the Fourth Amendment ( 6 ) . When OSHA’s inspectors conduct condemnable probes with the aid of a U. S. lawyer. they may obtain warrants by telephone pursuant to Govern 41 ( degree Celsius ) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure ( 7 ) . The Barlow determination made the point of stating that if the intent of an OSHA hunt is to obtain grounds of offense instead than civil misdemeanors ; likely cause that condemnable behavior has occurred must be shown to warrant a warrant. OSHA Instruction STP 2. 18 reiterates that the Supreme Court held that the Fourth Amendment requires a warrant for a nonconsensual OSHA review. However. the Court recognized the importance of surprise in the behavior of reviews ( as reflected in the Act’s general prohibition against progress notice of an review ) . in forestalling the rapid change or camouflage of misdemeanors so that they escape the inspector’s notice . The direction goes on to state that: The Court explicitly noted the Secretary of Labor’s authorization to proclaim a ordinance under which warrants could be sought antique parte ; i. e. . without the cognition or engagement of the employer. Such warrants might be sought after refusal of an employer to allow entry for an review or. in some instances. prior to any effort to derive entry. This process has helped maximise the effectivity of condemnable enforcement bureaus since Barlow did non restrict surprise reviews. The lone of import precaution that the Barlow determination offered employers was the protection against reviews conducted in bad religion or for intents of torment. There are some cases when an review requires no warrant. An article titled Warrantless OSHA Inspections by Mark E. Farrell gives an illustration of how this state of affairs can happen. Farrell summarizes the inside informations in Lakeland Enterprises of Rhinelander. Inc. v. Chao. 402 F. 3d 739 ( 7th Cir. 2005 ) . A cloaca and H2O contractor ( Lakeland ) in northern Wisconsin was executing digging work at an industrial park when an OSHA inspector. drive by on the public street. decided to halt and execute an ad-lib review. After walking past traffic cones that were barricading street traffic from the undertaking site. the inspector observed a Lakeland employee unearthing a trench with a backhoe while another employee worked at the underside of the trench. The trench was about 18 pess deep and six pess broad at the underside and did non incorporate a ladder or trench box . When the contractor’s undertaking overseer began discoursing with the OSHA inspector. the worker in the trench climbed up one of the walls to issue. which resulted in loose soil falling back into the trench. The employee executing the digging work admitted that he knew that the other worker was non supposed to be working in the trench and that he failed to take him ( Farrell ) . Occupational safety and health administration ended up issuing three commendations and assessed a $ 49. 000 civil punishment against the contractor. including a willful misdemeanor for allowing an employee to work in an unprotected trench ( in misdemeanor of 29 CFR Â § 1926. 652 ( a ) . During the hearing. the contractor moved to suppress the grounds obtained from the inspection on the footing that the OSHA inspector’s warrantless hunt of the digging site violated the Fourth Amendment . The administrative jurisprudence justice denied the gesture. happening that the contractor had no right of privateness at the digging site because the land was located on a public route. The administrative jurisprudence justice besides concluded that any Fourth Amendment claim was waived because the contractor failed to object to the review or inquire for a warrant at the site ( Farrell ) . It is of import to understand that no beforehand notice of a worksite review demands to be given. Unannounced reviews are an of import tool in OSHA’s mission to advance safe and healthful on the job conditions at all times. OSHA has come a long manner since 1970 to assist American go a safe topographic point to work particularly when compared to some parts of the universe. With a good budget and better Torahs there are fewer hurts every twelvemonth. OSHA genuinely is one of the administrative bureaus that exist for the bettering of the quality of life for the workers of our state. Plants Cited Farrell. Mark E. Warrantless OSHA Inspections Newsletter Article. Lorman Education Services – Continuing Education Seminars. Web. 1 Mar. 2011. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. lorman. com/newsletters/article. php? article_id=346 A ; newsletter_id=73 A ; category_id=3 gt ; . Hall. Kermit L. Marshall v. Barlow’s Inc. The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. 2005. OSH Act. OSHA Standards. Inspections. Citations and Penalties. Occupational Safety and Health Administration – Home. OSHA Office of Training and Education. May 1996. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. gov/doc/outreachtraining/htmlfiles/introsha. hypertext markup language gt ; . OSHA and the Fourth Amendment. AEI JOURNAL ON GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY ( 1978 ) : 6-7. AEI JOURNAL ON GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY. Web. United States of America. Department of Labor. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Print United States of America. Department of Labor. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Inspections and Probes: Obtaining Warrants on an Ex Parte Basis and Prior to Attempting Entry. Bruce Hillenbrand Acting Director. Federal Compliance and State Programs. 26 Feb. 1981. Web. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp. show_document? p_table=DIRECTIVES A ; p_id=1863 gt ; . United States of America. Department of Labor. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA Frequently Asked Questions. Web. 1 Mar. 2011. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. gov/OSHA_FAQs. hypertext markup language gt ; .

Philosophy of education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Philosophy of education - Essay Example I benefits from this form of study as it gives me answers to various programs. I hold the opinion that all fields of study are linked with research as the field forms firm grounds towards understanding a particular field. I also acquire education through apprentice, where I benefit from an expert via studying a particular field in two ways; that is, observation and practices. I find this form of education as the best way of transferring knowledge; for example, artisans are among groups that practice this form of education, whereby the experts transfer their knowledge to the learners directly without much hustles. Although this form of knowledge transfer is one of the oldest, I find it very usually as it has greatly enhanced my knowledge level. While I understand that there are two forms of literacy that are widely analysed, including the liberal tutoring and the vocational tutoring programs, I usully find a link bettween them, and most importantly they collectively work out to bring about a wholesome me – who is educated. The moderate form of learning entails the culture, which gives me a preparation for a professional job in the future. My program of study entails practical courses that hone my interests in my profession. One of the key issues in this form of education is that liberal concepts offer me a room to focus on the wider picture of the study. The curriculum in the liberal education ensures that I become open-minded and, therefore, I can respond to any challenge I encounter in my discipline. For example, in the event that I will take a course in sociology in college, I will be able to associate various social happenings to what I have learnt. What is more, I will have various answers which I can apply in solving the social issues. Liberal education is mostly associated with curriculums in secondary schools, as well as colleges. The reason for the in-depth study of this education at these levels is

In no more than 2500 words, critically evaluate the role of branding Essay

In no more than 2500 words, critically evaluate the role of branding and its importance to an organisations marketing communications - Essay Example Creating a brand image and name for a company ensures that customers are able to differentiate the products and recognise the product that satisfies their needs the most and thus improving the customer loyalty. In simple word branding is the process of creating a different image from that of the competitors (Jobber, 2004). This paper aims at discussing the basic concept of branding and furthermore the importance of branding to an organisations’ communication. The paper will first start with a brief discussion of the term branding, following which the role of branding in companies will be discussed. This will provide for a basic understanding and will lead to a more important aspect of every business, i.e. importance of branding on the marketing communications of a business. Modern branding is gradually focusing its interest on preserving and putting together a combination of values either tangible or intangible. These values significantly and properly make a distinction of a company from the others and are pertinent to consumers (Jobber, 2004, Kotler et al., 2002). Kotler (2002) discussed that only Coca-Cola can manufacture ‘Coke’ although many manufacturers can produce cola drinks. Levitt stated that the competition does not presently thrive on what the manufacturers can produce. Rather, these factories focus on the improvement of their product. This is a new kind of knowledge for the customers in terms of services, advertising, packaging and many other aspects that aim to meet the necessities of the customer and the value of the people. A strong customer franchise is a requirement for a company to be shielded from competition. (Kotler, et.al., 2002). Prior to a discussion regarding research techniques for assessing the effects of advertising on branding, the word or concept brand itself need to be defined. A brand is a unique name or symbol intended to 1) distinguish to sources of a good

Date Rape Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Date Rape - Essay Example Sometimes called 'contact rape' or 'sleep rape', the act is performed with the help of drugs like ketamine, Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and benzodiazepines such as Flunitrazepam ('roofies')1. Keith Burgess-Jackson in a recent book on rape called A Most Detestable Crime: New philosophical Essays on Rape (OUP, 1999) states that rape is such a confounding idea that it is tough to restrain it within a definition. There are too many kinds of it and hence the comprehensiveness of one definition can be measured only by the exclusions it suggests. should it be conceived as forced sex, violent sex, coerced sex, compelled sex, nonconsensual sex, pressured sex, exploited sex, involuntary sex, expropriated sex, objectified sex, unwanted sex, nonmutual sex, or bad sex. Here the philosopher must do more than provide a definition. He or she must formulate a theory a theory of the concept. It may be that no single theory accommodates all of the data, in which case the most we can hope for is a theory that illuminates more than any other2.(4) The idea of date rape adds one more bizarre dimension to this array of human bestiality. In fact, the process of classifying rapes has itself come under scrutiny. Feminists have argued that there has always been a salacious element in the naming and description of this private female trauma. Both men and women were callous enough to excuse such 'aberrations' within the sphere of life. But, of late, things have changed. In an interesting book called Representing Rape: Language and Sexual Consent (Routledge, 2001), Susan Ehrlich argues that continued resistance to male linguistic appropriation have resulted in a new glossary of the female psyche. She says that "when one group holds a monopoly on naming, its bias is embedded in the names it supplies and the names it does not supply. Thus, innovative terms such as sexism, sexual harassment and date rape are said to be significant in that they give a name to the experiences of women. a few years ago they were just called life." (12) Rape is much more prevalent than believed. Social, cultural and even educational factors prevent women from reporting acquaintance rape. Quite often, the victimizer is shrewd enough to convince the victimized that the act was not rape, that it happened because of circumstances, that it was an uncontrollable expression of emotion and so on. Since a majority of the women involved in such cases are credulous or nave, such verbal excuses assume significance too. The result is that date rapes are not as systematically reported as are 'rapes.' This mystifies it; more so because it is common knowledge that any act of forceful sex is not subsumed under the definition of rape. The prevalence rate of acquaintance rapes are often found to be erratic simply because the victims are either ignorant of the crime perpetrated on them or they do not want to add on to the unedifying aftermath (including legal formalities) of an acquaintance rape. In an inspired study called Violence in Dating Relationships: Emerging Social Issues, editors Maureen A Pirog-Good and Jan E.Stets contend that when the victimizer is an acquaintance, women are often reluctant to identify the person let alone label the event as rape3. This is the reason why we do not have authentic statistical data on this social

Evaluating A Health Promotion Website Information Technology Essay

Evaluating A Health Promotion Website Information Technology Essay The aim of this evaluation is to critique a health promotion website relating to a current health promotion topic. As the internet offers a vast quantity of information from a variety of sources it is commonly used to aid evidence based practice. It is important to have an awareness of how to use information from an internet based resource as it is unregulated, therefore inaccurate or falsified information can be presented on websites to look true. It is necessary to have an understanding of how to evaluate internet based resources to check for data quality and accuracy. (Dobler and Eagleton, 2006) The website selected for the evaluation is from the National Health Service (NHS) website: Immunisation the safest way to protect your child: The HPV vaccination can help protect you from cervical cancer for years to come. (NHS, 2008) It will be evaluated using a critique in the form of a series of questions designed by Jim Kapoun (Kapoun, 1998) with the aim to determine the accuracy of the information within the site. The critique achieves this by asking five key questions relating to the accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency and the coverage of the information. During its introduction over the last year the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has been publicised in the media. The vaccine is free under the NHS for girls aged between 12 and 18. The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that there are over 100 types of HPV, 13 of which it is reasonable to assume are responsible for 100% of the cases of cervical cancer (WHO, 2007). The website was written as detailed in the site by, a team which consisted of a consultant pediatrician, senior medical officers, immunisation experts, principal and senior scientists with input from the health promotion agency (NHS, 2008). It is not possible to contact the members of this team on an individual basis as their names are not listed, however there are contact details for general enquires including, an address, fax number and email address. The purpose of the site is to provide information to the public about cervical cancer and its vaccine with information relating to cost, eligibility and where to access it. It also provides information for people who are outside of England on how they can access information in their own health setting. Due to the authors names and qualifications not being disclosed it is not possible to know if they are qualified to write the information and if they have conducted any other forms of research related to this field of study. It is important to note the difference between the authors of the information within the site and a webmaster. An author of a website writes the information within the site that is used by the public. A webmaster is a: Person responsible for creating and maintaining a worldwide website (Czar and Hebda, 2009, p. 539) they may also be termed as a website designer. The website was published by the NHS which is part of the Department of Health (D.O.H). This can be confirmed by checking the domain of the website which is .nhs.uk showing it is part of the NHS and a United Kingdom website. As the information within the site can be validated back to a reputable organisation such as the D.O.H this increases the authority of the information within the site (Czar and Hebda, 2009). There are contact names for the head of publishing and for the head of immunisation information, which are different from the website designer, showing that the website designer is not supplying the information about the vaccine. Despite the authors and publishers qualification not being displayed, the information itself must not be dismissed due to lack of knowledge of where it was sourced from. It requires the nurse or client to evaluate the publisher of the information to establish if the organisation is credible or not, hence whether to utilise the information or not. The goal of this website is to promote immunisation to help prevent cervical cancer (NHS 2008). The site achieves this by providing the public and healthcare professionals with information in order that the public will make an informed decision in favour of immunisation. The information within the site can be split into two parts, each of a different standard. The standards are different as they are intended for two different target audiences and there is a need to use different terminology for each section (Czar and Hebda, 2009). One section is targeted at the public, the other is aimed at health care professionals. The information targeted at the public is presented in a manner that is easy to read and understand. There is very little use of jargon and where medical terminology is used it is explained. There are links to other resources which may be more appropriate for parents such as a link to the information library where parents can obtain more information. The links for teenagers consist of, a link to a social networking site called Bebo which is popular with young teenagers. Here girls can comment on their experience with the vaccine and to talk to others about their experience. There would be an issue as to how the information on this site was regulated, to ensure that the site is not being abused. An alternative link is to a site called HABBO, which is an online chat forum where girls can talk online, to other girls and to NHS advisers asking questions in relation to the vaccine. The information targeted at healthcare professionals differs in its content. It offers more information relating to training of staff through online power points and links to upcoming conferences. The information also details about the distribution of the vaccination, protocols associated with it and printable resources. Often a problem associated with information on the internet is that it is cheaper to produce information of a poor standard that looks good, not good quality information of the same presentable standard (Coiera, 2003). However this site does not fit this statement and the information within it is of a good standard and well presented. The site has clearly stated that it aims to promote immunisation: Immunisation the safest way to protect your child (NHS, 2008) this could present issues of bias. The site presents the information in a way that shows both side of the debate. The information does have a lean towards the positives of the vaccination, however this is not great enough to have extended to a marketing strategy which would show clear bias (McCormick and Saba, 2006). The site is sponsored by the D.O.H, which would be in favour of immunisation to prevent the development of cancer, as it would be more cost effective overall to vaccinate than to treat cancer. The sponsorship by the D.O.H would indicate bias, though considering it is a health promotion website, to have a reputable organisation fund the site rather than an alternative organisation without a reputation for quality information instils confidence. The website does not state when it was written, revised or reviewed (Czar and Hebda, 2009, p.124) however it was copyrighted in 2008, so it is reasonable to assume that the information within the site is relatively up to date. According to information on the website it is updated every week although, it lacks dates to confirm this so the currency of the information is questionable. The site contains links to other sources of information however these pages do not contain dates making it is impossible to know how current the information within them is. The links do not state if they have been updated, yet the information for healthcare professionals contains a link to a monthly newsletter published by the D.O.H. and to recent letters relating to the vaccine, all of which imply that the site is regularly updated. None of the information on the site relating to the HPV vaccination appears to be out of date irrelevant. Searching through the site, all the links take the user to their designated page and there do not appear to be any links that no longer function. There is nothing to state that the links on the site have been evaluated, though the information within the links does complement the theme of the website. The site contains a mixture of text and images. The images are mainly promotional and do not distract the client from the text. The text itself is simplistic and easy to understand and is not overly complicated with scientific terminology. This is so that people of different levels of intellect and understanding will be able to use the information (Coiera, 2003). The information within the site and the documents which are available online do not contain references to other authors or sources of work. The use of references allows the work from which the information was taken to be checked, (Czar and Hebda, 2009) nevertheless because there are no references it is not possible to know the quality of the original information, who the authors were and when the work was written. The lack of references reduces the credibility of the information within the site, though taking in to consideration that the site is published by the D.O.H, the information would have been checked before being placed into the public domain. The site it is compatible with many different forms of software which are used on a variety of computers. There are links on the site, which connect to pages where it is possible to download the necessary browser software required to view the site. All the information is free and where required the client is able to print off hard copies of the information. The site is enabled to be viewed in different sizes depending on what is required. It is possible to obtain the information within it in one of nineteen other languages, however this will have to be originally sourced by someone who understands English, as it needs to be located from the site and printed. It can be argued that due to the sites lack of information relating to the authors or publishers qualifications and credentials, the information within the site has the potential to be inaccurate. Similarly the lack of references to other sources of work and with no dates being provided for the work could in addition strengthen this argument. Nevertheless, the site does contain information within it that is useful and appropriate for the different target audiences that the site is aimed at. More over the site is published by the D.O.H, despite there being the potential for bias from this organisation it has a duty of care to the public to provide current and accurate information. The public has access to a large source of information through the internet which can be of high or poor quality. As the number of high quality resources on the internet continue to rise, in turn will the number of poor quality sources. In the future the number of clients who have access to this information will increase as the population ages (Coiera, 2003). Nurses need to be aware of the need to critique the information found either by themselves or by the client and in turn help them to understand what they have found (McCormick and Saba, 2006) whilst encouraging them to evaluate the information for themselves. This is to ensure that clients do not put their health at risk through trusting inaccurate or unsafe information. Teaching clients how to evaluate information and where to find high quality information will ensure that poor quality sources are not mistaken for high quality and used by the client. On the whole the internet is: A wonderful information delivery tool. However, it is just that a tool. Our ability to think, to ask the right questions, to interpret, integrate, and synthesize what we find is what leads to value and makes all the difference. (McCormick and Saba, 2006, p. 147)

Sleep :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Sleep Sleep has plagued the existence of complex organisms since their evolution early on in the formation of Earth. Although there are various stages to the sleep cycle, essentially one falls into a temporary coma for a few hours each day. It seems totally irrational that evolution would dictate a system where one lets down their guard for hours every day, leaving one prone to a deadly attack. It seems a fairly logical assumption that sleep is exceedingly important to life if, in order to get some rest, animals in the wild irrationally risk their lives. Our bodies are telling us that they have run at full capacity for long enough, and therefore need to replenish valuable resources. In researching sleep, I found "replenish" to be a key word. During the day, one's body is constantly metabolizing ingested food and water, turning them into useful forms of energy. The body depletes a great deal of its energy stores (glycogen, mostly) and also experiences a large buildup of toxic byproducts (lactic acid, for example) during the day.1 Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to replenish these lost stores and get rid of the toxic chemicals coursing through your blood. Four hours seems to be the minimum amount of time one can sleep per night in order to coherently function during the day. A lack of sleep can have grave consequences, greatly caused by the inability of your immune system to work without rest. Sleep is a multistage cyclic process, involving five steps. Fast waves, called "Beta" waves are those which result from being awake. Once you become sleepy and close your eyes, your body relaxes and your brain waves greatly slow down, becoming "alpha" waves. After approximately five minutes in this relaxed state, your brain waves further slow down to become "theta" waves, transporting you into Stage I sleep. Stage one sleep generally does not last very long, and is accompanied by a lowered pulse rate and slower breathing. After a few minutes in Stage I sleep, Stage II sleep begins, marked by a further slowing of brain waves as well as bursts of electrical activity, called "spindles." These bursts manifest themselves as a sort of twitching. Sleep :: Biology Essays Research Papers Sleep Sleep has plagued the existence of complex organisms since their evolution early on in the formation of Earth. Although there are various stages to the sleep cycle, essentially one falls into a temporary coma for a few hours each day. It seems totally irrational that evolution would dictate a system where one lets down their guard for hours every day, leaving one prone to a deadly attack. It seems a fairly logical assumption that sleep is exceedingly important to life if, in order to get some rest, animals in the wild irrationally risk their lives. Our bodies are telling us that they have run at full capacity for long enough, and therefore need to replenish valuable resources. In researching sleep, I found "replenish" to be a key word. During the day, one's body is constantly metabolizing ingested food and water, turning them into useful forms of energy. The body depletes a great deal of its energy stores (glycogen, mostly) and also experiences a large buildup of toxic byproducts (lactic acid, for example) during the day.1 Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to replenish these lost stores and get rid of the toxic chemicals coursing through your blood. Four hours seems to be the minimum amount of time one can sleep per night in order to coherently function during the day. A lack of sleep can have grave consequences, greatly caused by the inability of your immune system to work without rest. Sleep is a multistage cyclic process, involving five steps. Fast waves, called "Beta" waves are those which result from being awake. Once you become sleepy and close your eyes, your body relaxes and your brain waves greatly slow down, becoming "alpha" waves. After approximately five minutes in this relaxed state, your brain waves further slow down to become "theta" waves, transporting you into Stage I sleep. Stage one sleep generally does not last very long, and is accompanied by a lowered pulse rate and slower breathing. After a few minutes in Stage I sleep, Stage II sleep begins, marked by a further slowing of brain waves as well as bursts of electrical activity, called "spindles." These bursts manifest themselves as a sort of twitching.