Free Space Optical Communication Essay

Free space optical communication is the most growing communication because it is easy to install and has a high speed because the signal is transmitted in the air. So that will introduce the atmospheric affect in the optical wave propagation. Atmospheric turbulence causes fluctuations in both the intensity and the phase of the received signal. So we need to study the effect and the limitation if we introduce a free space optical communication system with dual wavelength (980 nm, 1550 nm). Also studying the effect of turbulence when using two different wavelengths. Introduction Free space optical communication is a kind of communication that use light propagation to send data between two points. Free Space Optics are capable of up to 2.5 Gbps of data, voice and video communications through the air, allowing optical connectivity without requiring fiber-optic cable or securing spectrum licenses. So we can use LED’s or Laser for transmission data. Free Space Optics (FSO) technology is relatively simple. It’s built on a laser transmitter and a receiver to provide full duplex capability. Each FSO unit uses a high-power optical source, a lens that transmits light through the atmosphere to another lens receiving the information. The receiving lens connects to a high-sensitivity receiver via optical fiber. Because the transmission in occurred in air it is easily upgradable. FSO send a light beam from one point to another using low power lasers in the teraHertz spectrum. This beam is transmitted by laser light focused on photon detector receivers. These receivers collect the photon stream and transmit digital data. If there is a clear line between the two point FSO can operate on a distance of several kilometers as long we have a powerful transmitter. Features of the laser communications system Information usually in the form of digital data, data is entered to be regulated by the laser source transmitting electronics. Coding techniques can be used directly or indirectly depending on the type of laser used. Output source passes through the optical system in the channel. The visual system usually involves the transfer, beam shaping, and the telescope optics. Beam receiver comes in through the optical system and passed to the detection and signal processing electronics. There is also a terminal control electronics that must manage gimbals guidelines and other mechanisms, and machinery, to maintain and track the acquisition of the operating system designed in the mass of the process. In order to communicate, you must have received enough energy by the detector to distinguish signal from noise. Laser power, optical transmission system losses, pointing out shortcomings of the system, transmitter and receiver antenna gains and losses, receiver, receiver and loss tracking, are all factors that force in the establishment of the receiver power. The required optical power is determined by data rate, detector sensitivity, configuration modes, noise, and detection methods. When the receiver is to detect the signals, it is in fact the decision-making regarding the nature of the signal (digital signal is sent when the distinction between the ones and zeros). There are two types of distributions: one when the signal present (including the amount of photocurrent due to the background and the current detector in the dark), and one when there is no signal present (including sources of no signal current only). A threshold must be developed to increase the success rate and reduces the error rate. Even when there is no signal present, the fluctuation sources of no signal lead periodically to the threshold to be exceeded. This is an error stating that the signal exists when there is no signal present. Distribution of signal may also fall on the other side of the threshold, so any errors stating that the signal is going to happen even when the signal is present. Security FSO systems work in the near infrared wavelength range slightly above the visible spectrum. So, the human eye cannot clearly see the transmission beam. The wavelength range is around 1 micrometer that is used in FSO transmission. The interception of FSO operating systems with narrow beam in the infrared spectral wavelength is by far the more difficult. Small diameter of the beam is usually only a few meters in diameter in the target site are one of the reasons that make it extremely difficult to intercept the communications of the FSO. Intruder must know the exact origin or target of the infrared beam and intercept only within a very narrow angle of beam propagation. Intercept packets directly from the FSO networks between remote locations is impossible mainly because the beam passes through the air usually at a higher altitude than at ground level. Due to the fact that the transmission beam is not visible, and that any attempts to block the beam can occur near the FSO point of acces s and the process of transition poses another obstacle. Capture the signal from the location that does not fall directly within the path of light with photons of light scattered from aerosols, fog, rain, or molecules that may be present in the atmosphere is almost impossible because of the energy levels are very low use infrared through FSO process transmission. The main reason for the exclusion of this possibility of intrusion is the fact that light is an ally and statistically isotropic in different directions from the path of the original propagation. This specific mechanism keeps the total number of photons or the amount of radiation that can potentially be collected on the detector that is not placed directly in the beam path beyond the detection level of noise. Atmospheric turbulence Atmospheric turbulence can destroy the performance of FSO systems. The changes in temperature and pressure in the atmosphere lead to changes of the refractive index along the transmission path. These changes can make the quality of received signal fade and causes fluctuations in the intensity and the phase of the received signal. These fluctuations can limit the performance of the system. The atmosphere is a viscous fluid and it has two state motions: 1) laminar (there is no mixing in the air molecules) 2) turbulent: (there is mixing that creates eddies). Atmospheric turbulence can be physically described by Kolmogorov theory. The energy of large eddies is redistributed without loss to eddies of decreasing size until finally dissipated by viscosity. The size of turbulence eddies normally ranges from a few millimeters to a few meters, denoted as the inner scale and the outer scale, respectively. So the index of refraction n is very sensitive to small scale temperature fluctuations (te mperature fluctuations are combined with turbulent mixing). So, the index of refraction is the most important in optical wave propagation. Because it behaves like a passive additive. So the spectrum of index of refraction can be described by Kolmogorove spectrum ÃŽ ¦n (ÃŽ º) = 0.033 Cn 2 ÃŽ º-11/3 , 1/L0

World War Z: Movie vs Novel

Movies based on books usually sway away from the unique story the book tells and focuses on the target audiences that easily fall prey to horrible movie adaptations and World War Z is no exception. Hollywood movies are all about action and captivating visual effects in order to catch the simple minded viewer. There are many similarities and differences between the book and the movie. However, there are more differences than similarities because the movie is drastically different from the book.It is so different that some individuals would say the only similarity between the book written by Max Brooks and the movie directed by Marc Foster is the title, World War Z. Some key similarities and differences is how the US is portrayed, how society changes, and how the story is told. Paramount Pictures, a film distribution and producing studio, is an American business. How is this relevant? An American company wouldn’t go out of their way to make a movie degrading their country and in the book, they do just that.In the book, America is first portrayed as an overconfident country that could take care of the zombie apocalypse. Eventually, when the infected started over running cities, America decided to put a stop to it by taking defense. The US had state of the art military technology set up to fight off the horde however; the infected still was able to overrun the military. This event was called the Battle of Yonkers because it took place in Yonkers, New York (Brooks 92). After this, America is in shambles and public confidence in the government was completely eliminated.This resulted in the Great Panic, which was when the world realized the real threat of the infected. However, in the movie, America is the hero and the savior of the world. Gerry Lane, the UN interviewer in the book, who happens to be American, finds out how to save them-selves from the zombies. He analyzes that people with terminal illnesses are ignored by the infected and determines that injec ting himself with a deadly pathogen would be the best â€Å"vaccine† they had. The movie then shows how the American â€Å"hero† finds a â€Å"vaccine† and how the humans now can fight back.That is a truly stupid idea and was never even mentioned in the book. The only thing the book got close to mentioning a vaccine was when Breckenridge â€Å"Breck† Scott created the drug called Phalanx which was nicknamed â€Å"the African Rabies Vaccine†(Brooks 54). However, it turned out to be nothing but a hoax that was used to scare people into buying the drug in order to make quick and easy money. Despite the many greedy and arrogant things America did in the book, they still contributed to the world.They were able to create the Redeker plan which told people to go north (Brooks 121). Going north caused the infected to freeze and become immobile until the spring. They also eventually bounced back in the book but only to have a harsher environment such as mor e primitive punishments, a much more powerful president, and refugee camps. The United States in the book is powerless and broken but in the movie they are heroes of the zombie apocalypse. The infected changed so many aspects of society, some good ways and some bad.Zombie apocalypse or not, people will always take advantage of chaos and do greedy things. People looted, stole, and even killed in a greedy manner to ensure their own survival, ignoring others around them. However, there are people in the story determined to rebuild society that have good hearts. Roy Elliot is a good example of this. He was a very successful movie director before the war and people thought his skills were useless during the war.However, he was determined to find a way to help out humanity. A. D.  S, or Asymptomatic Demise Syndrome, was a syndrome that caused people to lose their will to live on because they thought it was hopeless to fight and Roy Elliot wanted to help people that had or was developing A. D. S by filming humanity fighting against the infected and winning (Brooks 159). He distributed those films around camps and the A. D. S cases were dropping fast. He was successful in helping society even though he had skills that no one thought would be useful. However, in the film, neither Roy Elliot nor A. D. S was mentioned.The only people that put effort into rebuilding are Gerry Lane, the UN, and all the conveniently placed characters that happened to cross Gerry Lane’s path. However, the film only took place within the Great Panic where the people had no information except that the dead rise and kill the living and Gerry Lane and his family are actually portrayed as people who have no idea what is going on and have to survive, just like others shown in the movie. In the film, there is a scene where Gerry Lane and his family go to the super market because his kid has asthma and they needed medicine.This scene really did show how society can break down in a matter of hours. A police officer is shown in the scene but was there for selfish reasons and the men that tried to take advantage of Gerry Lane’s wife through the chaos. However, through the chaos, Gerry Lane meets an armed teenager that looks he is hoarding the drugs but he actually is protecting the pharmacy from others that would use it for recreational purposes. By the end of the scene, Gerry Lane is able to get his medicine but the vehicle they took to the store had been stolen so they had to get to a highpoint in order to get rescued by the UN.He is then greeted by a Latino family that takes them in and gives them aid.. Even though all the selfishness shown in the movie the viewer gets to see news reports that show people cooperating and working together to get past the zombie apocalypse. Even though the movie showed it in a cliche way, both the book and the movie showed the good and the bad people of society. A huge thing the movie completely overlooked was how the book presen ted the story. The book is a series of interviews. Each chapter is an interview and is told in a first person perspective of the person being interviewed with some interjections by the interviewer (Brooks 1).The people that are interviewed are people from all around the world from different ethnicities to show the whole spectrum of the zombie apocalypse. On the other hand, the movie is all about one man and his journey to find the vaccine to fight against the infected. The movie watcher has a narrower perspective of the apocalypse because it shows the event through one man’s eyes rather than a range of people. The book shows how devastating the apocalypse really is and how all the different people reacted and dealt with the problems.The movie might’ve not been able to incorporate every single interview from the book but they could’ve easily included the significant interviews. Instead, the movie decided to use just one man to tell the story of the apocalypse. Th e movie kind of stretched it a little too far when they sent one man all over the world to show the state of the Great Panic in other countries because they could have easily done what the book did which was using different people from different areas and see how they experienced the apocalypse in their homes rather than a foreigner.Many people on web forums say the movie is a good movie if you don’t think of it as the book because Gerry Lane’s adventures provide the viewers with plenty of action. However, if the movie were to have most of even just some of the significant interviews the movie could have been more explosive and action packed than the movie could have ever been. People that go to see the movies expecting a great adaption of the book may leave the movie angry and betrayed.The movie completely butchered a book that had so much potential. The movie was trying to appeal to both readers and non-readers of the book but only appealed to the non-readers. The mo vie adaptation is a decent summer movie if you watch it either keeping the book out of your mind or you haven’t read the book. If one wanted to enjoy the experience of World War Z they should read the book and forget a movie ever existed.

Unit VII Assessment MC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unit VII Assessment MC - Essay Example The maintenance supervisor assigned all of them to clean the morgue and the basement. These employees were not allowed to work on any other floors or come into contact with patients. (8) Omar Khaleel applied for a job as a bus driver with the Overland Omnibus Corporation. His employer was worried that it might be dangerous to allow someone of Middle Eastern descent to drive a large bus, loaded with 160 gallons of fuel, into the heart of the downtown areas in the cities served by the company. Therefore, he asked Omar to submit a more stringent background check than was used for other bus drivers. Eight months later, the background check was completed and Omar was hired as a driver. (9) Margaret comes to work in clothes highly reflective of the national origin of her ancestors, and which also happen to violate the dress code of the White City Dairy. She is told to return home, and change into clothing that comports with the dress code. (10) Virtually all of the non-U.S. citizens in the labor pool available to an employer are of Mexican descent, many of whom are legal aliens having the right to work in the U.S. The employer implements a policy against hiring any non-U.S. citizens. This

Abraham linkon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Abraham linkon - Essay Example As a result, he took an approach of preventing the spread of silvery into other territories and expected it to die a natural death without attacking it directly. On the contrary, Douglas believed that slavery as morally wrong, though he believed the people reserved the right to either observe it or not. For instance, Douglas believed that despite the Dread Scott Supreme Court ruling, municipalities had a duty not support legislations that supported slavery if they chose to. Settlers according to Douglas could also prevent slavery by not adopting the local legislations in such localities, which would have led to slavery being combated from a moral point of view despite the legislation permitting it. The controversial Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 was responsible for alienating the northerners, resulting in political turmoil and violence that largely ate into the democrat’s political power. Douglas advocated for a popular sovereignty approach in abolishing slavery in this region. To Douglas this was a deeply rooted in democracy and in the republic principles as envisaged by declaration of independence (Etcheson, 2008). On the contrary, to Lincoln, this was a subversion of the spirit of republicanism; he blamed Douglas for the chaos that led to a bleeding Kansas. Lincoln directly attacked the legitimacy of the sovereignty meaning as stated in the act. Lincoln took it as his lawful and constitutional obligation to uphold the law, prohibit slavery, and encourage the return of fugitives. On the contrary, Douglas opted to use the â€Å"let the people decide† approach to prevent angering the whites in including the free states into senate voting blocs (Etcheson, 2008). Tho ugh Douglas was trying to organize the northern territories, the southern politicians who were not interested to add more voters to the Free State block in the senate

Examine how the development of the religion in Canada was benefited Essay

Examine how the development of the religion in Canada was benefited from the Act of Multiculturalism - Essay Example (Ember et al, 2005 p 445) Hinduism as a form of religion is comprised of the history of the Indians and thus there is no any belief or practice of the Indians that can be rejected or negated. The Hindu subscribe to the idea no old ideas or practices can be eliminated or transcended .The old ideas are practiced together with the more recent ones. Among the Hindu, divinity is respected and worshipped in its manifestation without any prejudice. The act of doctrine tolerance is ranked high among the Hindu when compared to other major religion. Therefore, a Hindu may worship non-Hindu gods and still remain a Hindu. The dispute between the Hindus who are monotheism and those that are polytheism do not divide the worshippers because they are seen as not being important in Hinduism. (Ember et al, 2005 p 445) Hinduism unlike other main historical religions, its emergency is not attributed to specific founder or a specific year of origin. Hindus usually trace their traditions back to the Veda which is a spiritual revelation that has no specific year of beginning and which governs everything that was spoken by seers at the beginning of the cycle of the universe. The Hindu for centuries never attempted to define the essentials of Hinduism not until they were challenged by Buddhists, Muslims or Christians. Traditional Hinduism sees no difference between the secular and the sacred, no significant variations between culture and religion and the separations of religious rituals from the normal daily activities. The Hindu also, lacks a common creed which must be believed in. Initially, subscription to Hinduism was limited to Hindu people who had been born within the Hindu family and the religion ideologies stated one could not cease to be a Hindu especially if one was born a Hindu. This initially held principle has only changed of recently .Membership to Hinduism

Spaghetti Challenge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Spaghetti Challenge - Essay Example Every project must have a budget; there is an estimated budget for any project that the client is willing and ready to spend. This budget is worked upon by the client together with the project manager. The budget must contain an additional just in case money that is thoroughly monitored. A project manager must account for all the money that is spent on the construction this is done by availing all the receipts and stock taking to the client all through the project. Equipment’s that are rented must be kept in good condition to reduce fines and damages that can be incurred. Time is an essential factor in any project. A client will expect a working timeline when contracting. Time constraint is the limited time the constructor has to work to work with under growing pressure top finish the project without any defects or additional costs. The timeline will include the designing of the project blueprint as seen in the spaghetti challenge as well as the construction time. The objectives outlined that need to be achieved in order to meet the client’s needs must be completed in time within cost and quality as expected. Most contracts will have a penalty section in case of any breach of terms and conditions, a real-world big scale construction projectwill include a contract with the terms and condition that must include the timeline and various fines if there is a breach of these terms. These penalties impose an obligation on the construction company to fulfil its duties and objectives in a given time to avoid breaching the contract hence paying damages. A real-world big scale construction project must also consider conducting various test factors that may affect the strength and stability of a structure. These factors must be put in the blueprint before the start of the project and properly reinforced to avoid disaster and casualties. Bonuses can be added as incentives to

Pumps Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Pumps - Essay Example Identify typical applications stating the advantages and disadvantages for each of the following pump types: i. Single stage horizontal vertical split centrifugal This is a horizontal, single-stage, double volute axially split case centrifugal pump. The suction nozzle and the discharge nozzle which are cast intergrally and the nozzle is configured side by side. APPLICATIONS The single stage horizontal split centrifugal pump is used for different purpoases in different fileds, some of which are: i. The single stage horizontal split centrifugal pumps are broadly used in the fire systems. ii. They are used to a greater extent in oil refining. iii. Petrochemical. iv. Sugar Industry water supply system. v. Paper Industry water supply system. vi. They are used in pipelines for long distance pumping of fluids. vii. Power Generation. viii. They can be used in cycling use of water in air-conditioning ix. They are used in mining industry. x. They are also used in pressurized water transportati on in the waterworks. ADVANTAGES The single stage horizontal split centrifugal pumps have the following distinct advantages: i. Horizontally split casing, double volute minimizes thrust loads and therefore allow for operation over a wide range of capacities. ii. It is a high efficiency design compared to the other designs. iii. It has enclosed impellers and double suction which provides the hydraulic balance and therefore eliminating the axial thrust. iv. It is capable of a clockwise or counter clockwise rotation. v. It has a compact structure which therefore makes it to be space efficient. vi. The pump has an axial which is small in size with little vibration and therefore low noise. vii. They are normally easy to service viii. Horizontal Split Case, can be mounted vertically which also contributes to the efficient use of space and allows flexibility while fitting the pump. DISADVANTAGES i. These pumps are non-self-priming and therefore they are prone to cavitation which therefore necessitates manual priming making its use tedious. ii. There is a high tendency of corrosion inside this pump which is caused by the fluid properties of the fluid pumped. iii. There is a risk of impeller wear which is worsened by presence of suspended solids in the fluid being pumped. iv. There may occur overheating as a resukt of low flow of the fluid in the pump and this usually affects its efficiency v. There is a tendency for leakage to occur along the rotating shaft. b) Horizontal split double suction centrifugal These are pumps that usually have a horizontal pump shaft and with the impeller usually located at the center of the shaft and with a self-contained combination bearing housing with a seal chamber on both impeller sides. Without causing disturbance to the motor or the pipe-work, the split case construction ensures the pump can be set apart in a horizontal plane along the drive shaft.   APPLICATIONS The horizontal split double suction pumps are typically designed for liquid transfer and for circulation of the cold clean or for slightly polluted water. The most common applications include; i. They are used for general purpose pumping ii. The horizontal split double suction centrifugal pumps can be used for air conditioning. iii. They can also be used in cooling towers. iv. The double suction pumps can be used in irrigation and drainage pumping stations.

Historty argumentativ paper -see details in intruc Essay - 1

Historty argumentativ paper -see details in intruc - Essay Example The feminist movement had the greatest impact on American history because it fully brought to light the importance and fairness of gender equality in all aspects of the human life. Prior to the early 1900s, women were regarded as property of their husbands than as individual human beings. Anything that needed to be tended to in the social community or in the political community would be a task for the husband. If a woman were not married, she simply would not play a role in the goings-on, such as voting. Being considered below men, it was believed that women had no reason to vote. While most people were happy with this arrangement, or at least used to it, there were many women who could not wrap their minds around the blatant inequality, so protests began that fought for suffrage. The protests were not centered so much around the fact that women wanted to do what the men were able to do. Rather, these women were more concerned by the idea that they were being thought of as lesser human beings than men, and it was all because of their gender. America, a country that prided itself on the freedoms and opportunities that it offered, was holding back an entire gender and insisting that women were inferior to men and did not deserve the same privileges. The primary reason that women were ever given as to why they could not vote was because politics was considered to be a predominantly masculine business. As such, women had no place in voting, running for office, or having any say in politics. The feminist movement consisted of women who did not believe that the rights and privileges of citizens should be gender-oriented, and they used that belief to fight for something that they felt they honestly deserved. The feminist movement gave women the right to vote, a privilege of being American citizens that they deserved. This success was not simply just changing the minds of those in charge, but it was a success that included making it an amendment of the United States

Cloud Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cloud - Assignment Example Users will use this to interact with the cloud services. For instance, users need a browser that will enable them to access a wide variety of applications at the same time (Collins, 2014). They can access word applications, sophisticated programs, and electronic mail services. An example is the email services where the user requires a browser to access storage and software that is on the cloud host. Essentially, a cloud computing architecture comprises of a front-end and a back-end. The back-end consists of the storage and the servers. On the other end, the front end is made up fat and thin clients. In addition, there is a delivery system based on the cloud and the network. The choice to either rent a cloud computing facility or to purchase hardware is dependent on a number of constraints. First, is the population of the company against the monthly charges per terminal. The larger the organization, the individual cost will be lower but the overall cost, when projected on a long term basis, is very costly. In such a case, it is advisable to purchase hardware for the organization. When running significant database systems, it is cheaper if the organization avoided renting the facility. Making the most out of a cloud facility may be hard because they have fixed instance sizes. With your installation, it gives you the flexibility of creating dimensions of your choices (Jamsa, 2013). The experience with cloud providers is the significant acceleration of CPU speed and the memory. However, the world outside demands you have one flanking the other. Challenges coming with colocation include availability of in-house expertise. It ranges from establishing your network, acquiring equipments that may be expensive. Also, your data centers have to be up twenty-four hours seven days. The additional cost here is to have staff on call and ready to move. Otherwise, you incur extra costs hiring somebody to fix these problems. There is no option other than purchasing

Metabical case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Metabical - Case Study Example Pricing decisions on Metabical has an impact on the profitability of the drug as well as on the entire company. Depending on the type of the target customers and the geographical location, setting prices for the drug will impact its profitability. As far as pricing is concerned, people are not worried about the price and prefer to take prescribed drugs rather then non-prescribed drugs irrespective of the price of the drug. Thus to set up a higher price for Metabical would not be a problem, instead it will increase on profitability since customer numbers will not be affected (Quelch & Beckham, 2010).The Estimated Retail price will be $3 to $5 per pill, dosage is 1 pill per day, and treatment will be 12 weeks. The Return on investment (ROI) for the first five years for the pricing decisions is as follows:Â   or year 1, the sales turnover is 347.4 giving a ROI of (19%), year 2, sales turnover is 383.88 giving a ROI of 77%, year 3, sales turnover is, 424.18, ROI is 183%, year 4, sales t urnover is 468.72, ROI is 300% while year 5, sales turnover is 517.94, giving a ROI of 429 percent. From the figure, the ROI has been increasing year by year meaning the price strategies is one of the best (Quelch & Beckham, 2010). Question 3The positioning strategy chosen mean that Metabical has already a good image thanks to the communication and marketing strategy applied and the fact that Metabical is a prescribed drug. The existing marketing communications strategy will continually create a strong demand for Metabical.

The relationship between theoretical perspectives and early years curriculum models Essay Example for Free

The relationship between theoretical perspectives and early years curriculum models Essay Piaget believed that children are mini scientists and that they create their own understanding in response to their experiences. He also believed that children can self-motivate themselves without the need for rewards. Children are also able to adapt their knowledge to their experiences. Piaget believed that if a child has a comfortable and safe environment that it will allow a child to explore and interact more efficiently. Encouraging recreational sessions will allow a child to recreate real life circumstances. Piaget assessed and monitored children independently and specified that education and free play would educate independent learning rather than being fed knowledge. Piaget believed that a child learns in different stages; Sensorimotor – 0-2 a child understands the world through senses and actions Preoperational – 2-7 a child understands through language and mental images Concrete operational – 7-12 a child understands the world through logical thinking and categories Formal operational – 12 years + a child understands the world through hypothetical thinking and scientific reasoning Each stage is broken down further and being able to assess which stage a child is at enables the educator to provide the suitable resources required. Children learn from first hand experiences and educators are only required to offer suitable resources. Although Piaget assessed and monitored children independently this would have had no benefit on teamwork assessments with peers and group activities. Montessori’s theories Montessori theories have supported work in schools for over 100 years. It is a child focused approach of teaching and learning. It is built on specific observations on children between 0-19 years. Independence is a major factor in this theory and environments that are sensibly planned assures that a child will develop physically, psychologically and will advance in independent learning successfully. While being treated equally and justly individuals are taught on their own personal needs which promotes curiosity and passion. As all children are different, Montessori’s main aims for this theory are; †¢ Respect the individual – personal hand-on approach – unforced knowledge †¢ Absorbent mind – exploring freely – ensuring independent learning experiences †¢ Sensitive periods – identify certain growth stages allowing full potential to be met †¢ A prepared environment – readily obtainable resources for specific needs and interests †¢ Auto education – independent learners progress and learn life skills necessary for their future B.F. Skinners theoretical perspective on learning Skinner believed that all behaviour is learnt meaning it can be unlearnt. By replacing the negative behaviour with positive behaviour and response gives a base for learning. By emphasising and modelling good behaviour imitates what is expected. Skinner believed that behaviours happen in school when a child doesn’t understand. Teaching a child to listen teaches them to change their behaviour and reflect. Skinner alleged that children are capable of learning in 2 different ways; 1. Children learn to avoid the negative in the attempt to receive the positive Receiving a reward for positive things increases the likelihood of the child receiving positive reactions 2. Giving a punishment for a negative behaviour also gives a child reason to avoid negative and concentrate on positive Skinner believed that making education enjoyable would be effective in controlling behaviours. He did not believe in punishments but positive reinforcement to adapt and influence students. It is believed that if you want to apply Skinner’s theories into your school you must have; †¢ Positive incentives for behaviour †¢ Reward positive before reprimanding negative †¢ Ensure immediate reward to allow an association †¢ Provide on task feedback †¢ Adapt instructional material and approaches suitably †¢ Children must understand preconditioned skills before moving on †¢ Reinforce positive behaviours J.H Pestalozzi’s theory The Swiss education reformer, influenced by Rousseau, born in Zurich, is known as the most dedicated philosopher to fight for inclusion in schools and reforming the education system. A whole child approach to his methods, Pestalozzi believed that all children should learn through playing and exploring and should be able to peruse their own fun from what interests them personally. Understanding the needs of a child and knowing their background will enhance their performance. 3 main important aspects of Pestalozzi’s methods are; †¢ Head – intelligence and knowledge †¢ Heart – emotions and understanding †¢ Hands – strength and dexterity Pestalozzi’s methods still have huge influences on the modern education system. It is claimed that, in Pestalozzi’s methods, a child learns independently, what happens to special educational needs pupils? These pupils need structure and routine, so arguably his methods were not intended for SEN children and the growing population. 1 in 7 children are recognised as having special needs or a disability, meaning 13.6% would not be educated effectively. Considering most of the national curriculum was formed in 2014, it is questionable, is it up to date enough to meet the demands of the ever-growing change in society? Skinner is the only main figure in history to advise on a combination of social and political interpretations on behaviourism. He formed a theory of what a model society would be like designed around behaviourism. He’s a great promoter of free will and believes that our behaviour is modelled around our setting. Hans Khon believed that Skinners theory of rewards was not a motivation for behaviour but merely a preventive measure for the natural and deliberate behaviours. He also believes that Children should have morals and make their own conscious decisions. Skinner argues the fact that all language is purely learnt but, philosopher Chomsky disagrees and believes that language is inborn and is developed over time. Evidence has recognized that rewards in fact are a great triumph in education. Epraise.com have many success stories and have helped pupils achieve their milestones. It is thought that Skinners discoveries were unreliable as his experiments were performed on animals and not humans. Although this may be the case, engagement on learning is successful through incentives and rewards as this is evident in modern classrooms and has been used in many studies including ‘incredible years’, which is practiced and taught at the school I am currently working in. Rewards are a great incentive, but It is argued that motivation is not found in the absence of rewards. So, is the reward system just disguising natural undesired behaviours? It is argued that if this theory wasn’t working why is it still used today? Do children conform through forced motivation or are they naturally motivated? Skinners theory is actively used in many up-to-date schools around the world and is used successfully. At Heronsbridge school, many of Skinner’s methods are used daily. There is a weekly ‘special mention’ assembly for achievements, a weekly ‘pupil of the week’ award, assemblies play a PowerPoint of great accomplishments caught on camera for the whole school to see, but also instant rewards such as merits and free time are given out for instant recognition of their successes. ‘Incredible years’ is a method of positive reinforcement used at Heronsbridge, where negative behaviour is not acknowledged and rewards for positive behaviours are given as an incentive to encourage and inspire pupils as in Skinner’s philosophy. As this theory works well in Heronsbridge school, it may not work as well in other settings. As Heronsbridge is a SEN school, careful attention is given to the specific requirements to pupil’s individual needs. With regards to Jean Piaget’s theories and Montessori’s, Heronsbridge also pays close attention to the specific need of the child, being educational or medical, and encourages total independence on the pupils who are able. It is argued that, if a child is left to learn independently, then what would happen to children with special educational needs? Being able to plan what is taught will have a huge impact on SEN children. Surely the curriculum should ‘fit’ the child not the child ‘fit’ the curriculum? Heronsbridge implements the Jean Piaget theory of individual assessments. Pupils are frequently monitored and assessed individually through instep testing, LNF testing and annual reviews to ensure pupils are placed in the correct setting the following year, and then targets are set accordingly. No two children have the same targets and as the students are all at different levels of education, Montessori’s theory of mixed aged classes is reinforced throughout the leavers department.

New Digital Technologies: Creativity and Innovation

New Digital Technologies: Creativity and Innovation How true is the debate that New Digital Technologies has enhanced our ability to be more creative and innovative? Since the dawn of time, man has continuously been inventing things which will ensure the survival of his kind. His desire to settle and to make life easier has necessitated him be innovative and creative. The necessity to keep warm made him invent new ways to make fire. For making hunting easier, he invented tools made out of stone. Thus man’s journey through time to his current state wouldn’t have been possible without the use of technology which made up for his weaknesses. New Digital technologies are allowing us spread our wings and explore specific areas which were previously possible. It has been shown that creativity depends mainly on communication and personal initiative. Innovative ideas come about when people from all walks of life come together and share task-related ideas. This gives them the opportunity to share their knowledge and expertise with the rest of the world. Every digital product we have today has passed through the creative process whereby it allows for continuous development in the technological industry. The creative process is something which takes months and even years to implement. The mobile phone is a typical innovative example which took a long time to be implemented by the public due to fear of social acceptance and lack of resources to fund the project. Certain innovative products depend heavily on social acceptance. The mobile phone was accepted because it made peoples life easier and therefore they started making use of it. This in turn facilitated more innovation because it offered faster communication between people. Another exampl e is the interactive whiteboard which was not that successful as people opted to use the normal whiteboard instead of the new high tech boards. This was because teachers deemed it as less complicated and easy to use. Even though the interactive whiteboard encourages creativity with all of its functions, people did not adopt it due to its complexity. Advancement in technology has led to faster ways of communication however certain digital technologies such as social networking and emails are hindering creativity and people are becoming lazier as it is creating a world where there is less face to face communication and people are adopting more the use of digital technology to communicate with other people. Even though technology is allowing humans to concentrate more on idea generation and less about unnecessary things, we are now facing a problem that is polluting our environments. It is having a bad effect on the younger generation because it is reducing their ability to think since they are depending more and more on technology to do the thinking for them. Creativity and innovation is something every human is born with and it can only flourish if it is nurtured. Technology in certain people’s hands can increase quality of work and idea generation while on the other hand it can also make people lazy and depend heavily on it. In the past an artist wasn’t able to make 3-D art and he could neither manipulate images with ease as he could have done with a computer application. In today’s modern era an artist is only limited by his imagination because computer applications such Photoshop and Illustrator allow him explore and create amazing things with a lot of detail and accuracy. Costs also play an important factor in innovation and creation because you need money to invest in technology in order to support your research, further your ideas and eventually sell it to the public. Another example is Microsoft word which allows for easy data transfer and in turns speeds up the innovation process as ideas are shared faster. I n order to stimulate creativity, more work should be done on personalization in technology as it provides a holistic approach for developing technology in conjunction with the outstanding creativity in action. New Digital Technology has had a great impact on manufacturing organizations because they are continuously seeking to lower their costs by introducing technology to replace physical labour. At first thought one might think that it is bad, however upon closer inspection one may see that it is allowing humans to work hand in hand with technology itself. Instead of doing physical labour, machines are allowing us to focus on using our brains to become more skilled at innovating and generating ideas. Advanced Manufacturing technology changed the definition of the job as a worker at a factory. Previously employees use to do all the work necessary to get the product finished and now all that has changed. Today employees supervise machines and make use of reprogrammable software in order to control them. The implication of this implementation is that the productivity chain produces better quality products and allows for faster output levels .Furthermore all the expenses spent that use to be spent on labour and training can now be spent on innovating new ways to further enhance productivity. Innovation plays an important role in the long term and it is necessary for the survival of organizations. A company exists in a dynamic and continuously changing environment. It is essential for a company to keep up with the pace of technology in order to survive in its own business environment. However, a company must also be aware of the needs for changes in its own organizational structure and functioning, in order to adapt itself to such a changing environment. Management of innovation is difficult because individuals adapt to their environment. It was found that innovation is affected a lot by leadership, group working, climate and problem solving style. Therefore it is of utmost importance that we include them in a model that facilitates humans to be more innovative. Technology facilitates the process of innovation with the use of prototypes. Prototypes give us a physical model of an idea which can be touched and then be refined into a better product for the consumer. Ideas ma y be innovative in theory however when they are applied to real life situations, they might end up not being as popular as expected. Therefore experiments are made in order to test their theories and see if it can be applied to enhance its current situation. Experiments on large scale projects cost a lot of money and therefore digital technology can be used cut down on costs and provide at the same time provide more detailed feedback. These experiments are done through simulation software which predicts all the possible outcomes using mathematical theories. In sum, too much addiction to the latest technological inventions seems to be a detriment to the psychological and physical health of our humans. It should be noted that a variety of technological temptations alienate person from person, even giving rise to a state of hopelessness and loneliness within us. Indulging in technology may trigger serious crises, such as academic plagiarism and moral deterioration. But on the other hand, the application of technology to all fields opens another door for us and allows us to be more creative and innovative.

Definitions And Theories of Teamwork

Definitions And Theories of Teamwork Definition: group cohesion is a dynamic process which is reflected in the tendency for a group to stick together and remain united in the pursuit of its goals. Stages of development There are four stages of development a group will go through but the time it takes to go through each stage is variable. These stages are: Forming Storming Norming Performing Forming This is when everybody meets for the first time and starts to get to know each other. This stage can be used to test whether or not the team can gel together properly or not. In a team situation the coach may use small games or strategies to break the ice between the new group members. This can also be explained as the stage where new team mates get together for the first time in search of a common goal or cause. Storming In this stage each individual is fighting for there place in the team therefore it can be a stage of very intense intergroup competition. This intense competition may include rebellion against the leader, conflict between individuals or resistance to the way the team is being developed or managed and the tactics that are being adopted. Norming The players now begin to realise that they are all there aiming for the same goals and therefore either agree on a way of getting on in order to achieve these goals or they leave the group. Now the group starts to cooperate and work together to reach their common goals. The group now pulls together and the roles are established and become more stable. Performing This is the stage where the relationship between the players is well established and they all pull together with the aim to achieve their common goals. Issues of leadership and strategies are well established and agreed upon. When a new player joins the group a new stage of storming and norming will occur and the new players will either be accepted or rejected. This refreshing of the team can be a good shake up as it prevents the team from going stale. Successful teams seem to be settled and take in two or three new players a year to keep the team fresh but the introduction of too many players can disrupt the team and change the nature of the group completely. A good example of this is Manchester united in the 1990s where an influx of youngsters came up through the youth teams and the reserves to the first team. They had already been through the norming stage therefore they knew what norms were expected of them, this is why they achieved so much so quickly. They brought in two or three players each year to keep the team fresh and to help develop the team. The team started to decline in 2001/02 when they signed Juan Sebastian Veron as he was seen to disrupt the group dynamics and reduce the teams effectiveness. Social/task cohesion In sport different teams may have different skill levels therefore team cohesiveness may be the difference between two teams that might mak the difference between winning and losing. There are two types of cohesiveness. Social cohesion Task cohesion Social cohesion can be defined as a general orientation towards developing and maintaining social relationships within a group. (Carron, Widmeyer, Brawley, 1985) Task cohesion can be defined as a general orientation towards achieving a groups goals and objectives. (Carron, Widmeyer, Brawley, 1985) In sports coaches and players, coaches especially, should be more concerned with task cohesion than with social cohesion. An increase in task cohesion can help lead to success. This can be achieved by setting goals. This goal setting can play a major role in the development of the teams task cohesion and it will lead to the development of the players skills. Success is also important in the accomplishment of team cohesion. This success doesnt have to be winning it can also come in the form of achieving goals that have been set by the team. Goals can help significantly in the development of task cohesion. A good example of a team that has good task cohesion but no social cohesion is the New York Yankees team of the 1970s when they were constantly bickering but they still went on to win the world series several times. The more success a team experiences, the higher the cohesion. (Bird, 1977; Carron, 1982).http://www.fcbarcelona.com/imagenes/jugadores/futbol/Partidos/Liga-2005-06/Betis-FCB/240905_CronikaAlegria.jpg Carron (1982, 1988) model of cohesion Albert Carron came up with a system for studying cohesion within sport. This system looks at four areas: Environmental Personal Leadership Team factors Environmental This refers to the normal factors which hold a team together eg contracts and scholarships. Other factors include age and geographic closeness. Having team members of the same age living in the same area increases the opportunities for interaction and communication between the group. The size of the group will also affect cohesion because of the manufacturing of cliques. Smaller groups always tend to be more cohesive than larger groups. Personal This is in relation to each person within the group; there are major differences between each individual in the group. Carron has split personal factors into 3 separate groups: Demographic attributes eg gender Cognitions and motives eg anxiety Behaviour eg ability to follow rules Leadership This refers to the leadership and behaviour. The role of leaders is important in team cohesion in offering communication towards team goals. Another factor is the relationship between the team and the coach as a good relationship will ensure a more cohesive group. Team This includes desire for group success, group roles, group position and team stability. Carron believed that the longer a team have together and also have a desire for success show higher levels of cohesion. Shared experiences of success or failure are also essential in developing cohesion within the group, as it brings the team closer together. Model of Cohesion Cohesion and performance, what comes first? There have been numerous studies showing that there is a relationship between team cohesiveness and success. The better the team the more cohesive the team. What research has not shown whether or not these successful teams performed well because of the cohesiveness of the team or is the team cohesive because they have shared the experiences of winning. Both of these explanations may be correct. Slater and Sewell (1994) measured team cohesion in sixty university level hockey players representing three male and three female teams, early, midway and at the end of the season. This research has shown that early success resulted in late cohesion and early success resulted in late success. Slater and Sewell (1994) concluded that while early success related to later cohesiveness, the stronger relationship was between early cohesiveness and later success. They proposed that cohesiveness and success were mutually dependant. High cohesiveness Greater success Higher cohesiveness Low cohesiveness Less success Lower cohesiveness As you can see from the above model, the cohesiveness of a team early on in the season affects the success of the team which in turn affects the cohesiveness of the team later in the season. This study shows why one of the main priorities of a coach is to develop a highly cohesive team. Team cohesion is shown to be related to a teams success on the field. Although many studies have found that a teams cohesion was related to is subsequent performance, many other studies found that team cohesion had very little to do with how successful the team became. Success is related to the type of cohesion that exists within the team. More specifically, if your team has a high level of task cohesion, meaning that they play well together and remain united in the pursuit of the teams goals, then they are more likely to enjoy success. On the other hand, having a high amount of social cohesion, meaning that the team members are good friends and that they enjoy each others company, means very little in the way of predicting your teams performance. It has even been found that teams who are high in social cohesion play worse as a team. The key is not necessarily that your team members like each other, but that they are united in their efforts to achieve the team goals set forth at the beginning of the season. Higher levels of team (task) cohesion appear to be related to team success as the season progresses, and as the team becomes more successful, the degree of team cohesion appears to increase as well. Some might say the relationship between team cohesion and team success is a circular system. As team cohesion improves, so does the teams performance, and as the teams performance improves, it becomes more and more cohesive.It also appears that the link between a teams performance and its subsequent cohesion is stronger than the link between the teams initial cohesion and their performance early on in the season. The answer, according to previous studies in sport psychology, to the question whether performance or cohesion comes first, is both. http://www.baseballnews.com/features/teamchemistry.htm Building an effective team and developing cohesiveness Team cohesion is shown to be one of the most important factors in a successful team therefore is of vital importance that the coach encourages team cohesion, especially in societies such as Britain and the USA where people can be very self centred and dont care about the team. Coaches therefore figure out strategies to bring the team together, this is known as team building. Carron et al. (1997) came up with the following steps for team building. Each player should be acquainted with the responsibilities of the other team members. As coach, learn something personal about each team member and use it to gain cooperation. Gain pride in the sub teams within larger teams e.g. the defence Involve players in decision making to make them feel the team belongs to them. Set the team goals and celebrate when they are attained. Teach each team member their responsibilities and convince them of their individual importance. Allow team members to have disagreements. Prevent the formation of cliques within the team, by giving every member opportunities to perform and avoiding scapegoating. Use routines in practice designed to teach team members how dependant they are on each other. Highlight the positive aspects of play, even when the team is on a losing streak. Leadership in sport Definition: leadership can be defined as the behavioural process of influencing individuals and groups towards set goals. (Barrow, 1997) Trait theory of leadership Early research on leadership was based on the psychological focus of the day, which was of people having inherited characteristics or traits. Attention was thus put on discovering these traits, often by studying successful leaders, but with the underlying assumption that if other people could also be found with these traits, then they, too, could also become great leaders. In the 1920s researchers tried to show that characteristics were common to all leaders therefore to be a good leader you had to have these qualities inbuilt when you are born. This means that a person who is a good leader in one situation is a good leader in any situation. McCall and Lombardo (1983) researched both success and failure identified four primary traits by which leaders could succeed or derail: Emotional stability and composure: Calm, confident and predictable, particularly when under stress. Admitting error: Owning up to mistakes, rather than putting energy into covering up. Good interpersonal skills: Sble to communicate and persuade others without resort to negative or coercive tactics. Intellectual breadth: Able to understand a wide range of areas, rather than having a narrow (and narrow-minded) area of expertise. McCall and Lombardo (1983) Stogdill (1974) identified the following traits and skills as critical to leaders. Skills Adaptable to situations Alert to social environment Ambitious and achievement-orientated Assertive Cooperative Decisive Dependable Dominant (desire to influence others) Energetic (high activity level) Persistent Self-confident Tolerant of stress Willing to assume responsibility Clever (intelligent) Conceptually skilled Creative Diplomatic and tactful Fluent in speaking Knowledgeable about group task Organised (administrative ability) Persuasive Socially skilled Kirkpatrick and Locke (1991) identified eight characteristics which are associated with successful leadership. They are: drive, honesty, motivation to lead, self-confidence, intelligence, expertise in the purpose of the group, creativity and flexibility. Kirkpatrick and Locke then concluded that inspirational leaders do not need to be great men or women by being intellectual geniuses or omniscient prophets but they do need to have the right stuff and this stuff isnt equally present in all people Kirkpatrick and Locke (1991) Behavioural theory This theory states that anybody can be a good leader by learning the behaviour of an effective leader therefore this theory says that the qualities of a good leader can be learned and developed through training and experience, contradictory to the trait theory this one is saying that good leaders are made and not born. As early researchers ran out of information in their research in personal traits of leaders, they turned to what leaders did, how they behaved and especially towards their followers. They moved from leaders to leadership and this became the dominant way of approaching leadership in the 1950s and early 1960s. Different patterns of behaviour were grouped together and labelled as styles. A variety of schemes appeared, designed to identify and develop peoples style of working. Despite different names for these schemes, the basic ideas were very similar. The four main styles that appear are: Â · Concern for task. Here leaders put emphasis on the achievement of concrete objectives (achievement of goals). They look for high levels of productivity, and ways to organize people and activities in order to meet those objectives. Â · Concern for people. In this style, leaders look upon their followers as people and can identify their needs, interests, problems, development and so on and be able to work around these to get the best out of them. They are not simply units of production or means to an end. Â · Directive leadership. This style is characterized by leaders making decisions for others and expecting followers to follow instructions, such as a team captain on the pitch giving instructions to the rest of the players on the field. Â · Participative leadership. Here leaders try to share decision-making with the rest of the players but when the need arises that a decision has to be made quickly then his attention turns back to directive leadership. Many of the early researchers that looked to participative and people-centred leadership argued that it brought about greater satisfaction amongst followers. However, as Sadler (1997) reports, when researchers really got to work on this it didnt seem to stand up. There were lots of differences and inconsistencies between studies. It was difficult to say style of leadership was significant in enabling one group to work better than another. The main problem may have been one shared with those who looked for traits. The researchers did not look properly at the context or setting which the style was used in. Is it possible that the same style would work as well in a group of friends? The styles that leaders can adopt are far more affected by those they are working with, and the environment they are working within, than had been originally thought. Interactional approach The interactional approach looks at the interaction between the person and the situation rather than the personality of the leader. This approach stresses the following points: Effective leaders cant be predicted solely on personality. Effective leadership fits specific situations, as some leaders function better in certain circumstances than others. Leadership style needs to change to suit the situation A good example of the way this theory works is; relationship orientated leaders develop interpersonal relationships, provide god communication and ensure everyone is feeling good within the group. However, task orientated leaders are concerned with getting the work done and meeting objectives. Stafford Browne et el. (2003) Critics argued that the continued focus on the leader, rather than the situation where leadership takes place, provided a limited view of leadership. This is why an interactional approach to leadership was developed. This took into account the leader, the situation at the time, the type of people who are being led and the interaction between them. This interactional approach is examined in the work of both Fiedler and Chelladurai. Fred E. Fiedlers contingency theory says that there is no best way for managers to lead. Situations will create different leadership style requirements for a manager. The solution to a managerial situation is reliant on the factors that are imposed on the situation. E.g. a coach may have to act on a situation such as player getting injured. He/she must get the suitable replacement. This is not planned it is an unexpected situation that has arisen and must be dealt with. (Woods 2001) Fiedlers Contingency model Fiedlers model assumes that group performance depends on: Leadership style, described in terms of task motivation and relationship motivation. Situational favourableness, determined by three factors: 1. Leader-member relations Degree to which a leader is accepted and supported by the group members. 2. Task structure Extent to which the task is structured and defined, with clear goals and procedures. 3. Position power The ability of a leader to control subordinates through reward and punishment. High levels of these three factors give the most favourable situation, low levels, the least favourable. Relationship-motivated leaders are most effective in moderately favourable situations. Task-motivated leaders are most effective at either end of the scale. Fiedler suggests that it may be easier for leaders to change their situation to achieve effectiveness, rather than change their leadership style. A good example of this approach was with Brian Mc Eniff when he won the 1992 All Ireland final with Donegal but has failed to do so since with rows in the camp between mentors and players. The leader was powerful but the relationship wasnt warm therefore pressure took its toll and he had to resign. Multidimensional model of sport leadership In 1978 Chelladurai proposed a multidimensional model of leadership developed on the basis of leadership theories and their effectiveness. Performance outcomes and satisfaction could be achieved by effective leader behaviours. This means that if things arent going particularly well the leader must stand and be counted and motivate his players to succeed. In this case the coach has to be able to change his leadership style to suit the situation. This model says that if a leader behaves appropriately for the particular situation and these behaviours match the preferences of the group then they will achieve their goals. The model Antecedents Leader behaviour Consequences 4. required behaviour 1. situational characteristics 7. performance satisfaction 5. actual behaviour 2. leader characteristics 6. preferred behaviour 3. member characteristics Situational characteristics The characteristics of the situation the group is in such as; size, type of sport or winning or losing, Leader characteristics The personal qualities of the leader such as; confidence, intelligence, assertiveness and self-motivation. Member characteristics The different personalities of different types of athletes such as; age, gender, ability and experience. Required behaviour The type of characteristics required from a leader in a particular situation. For example if a team is losing with 5mins to go, is it better for the leader to make the decision himself or discuss it with the group? Actual behaviour This is the behaviour the leader actually displays Preferred behaviour The preferred leadership of the team depending on the situation. Performance satisfaction This is the extent to which the team is satisfied with the performance of the group under this leader. A good example of this approach was with Brian Kerr when he was in charge of the Irish soccer team. He had a mix of different approaches between autocratic and democratic. Normally he was democratic with his more senior players making decisions and enforcing leadership. When things werent going to plan though he stepped in as the autocratic leader to set things right again. Leadership styles There are a number of different leadership styles that I will look at, some more successful than others. The different types of leader are; Autocratic authoritarian Democratic leadership Laissez faire Autocratic authoritarian This type of leader dictates to the group, he doesnt ask for advice, comments or ideas from the group. He is the one who makes all of the decisions. This leadership style has advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that the members of the group can be directed towards purposeful actions even when stressed and exhausted. The disadvantage is that wise group members do not have the chance to input useful information into the group and thus they may find it difficult to motivate themselves. Democratic leadership This type of leadership encourages the involvement of the whole group as individuals and as a group. Participants are encouraged to give feedback, ideas and to help make decisions. If the group leader were to be absent then the group would be efficient enough to continue what they were doing on their own. The bad side of this style is that it can cause trouble when decisions need to be made quickly in an emergency. This type of leadership is usually the most successful. Laissez faire This style of leadership encourages group independence in the sense that the group makes their own decisions, the leader only gets involved when the group gets into difficulties or in cases of emergency. Lewin (1939) found that this type of group tended to become more aggressive with each other when things went wrong. Leaders in this type of group often fail to motivate the members of the group and fail to deal with a crisis.

Dylan Thomas :: Biography Biographies Essays

Dylan Thomas      Ã‚  Ã‚   "There is in the Welsh bardic tradition much that is absolutely fundamental to Thomas' writing: its highly lyrical qualities; its strict formal control and an essentially romantic conception of the poet's function in society." (Selby 98) These traits parallel the three themes that will be belaboured in this essay: the aural/oral appeal of Dylan Thomas' work; his meticulous obscurity; and the role of the poet in society.    I:  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of Thomas' more controversial and distinctive characteristics is his musicality. It is surprising that anyone would bring this up as a complaint; music is considered by many to be the purest art, and the highest poetry that which approaches nearest to music. Perhaps it is understandable that those critics who would limit meaning and contextualise art would also be aesthetically oriented such that they would find it offensive that a form for the eyes and mind should be so solicitous of the lips and ears.    It is also suggested that Thomas may be sacrificing meaning to sound, but this is hard to swallow when one considers the amount of effort he puts into codification (showing attention to meaning) and the fact that his poems simply aren't nonsense.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While attention to sound is considered a minor matter in many modern critical streams, it has always played a privileged part in Romantic aesthetics:    Sounds as well as thoughts have relation both between each other and towards that which they represent, and a perception of the order of those relations has always been found connected with a perception of the order of the relations of thoughts. Hence the language of poets have ever affected a certain uniform and harmonious recurrence of sound, without which it were not poetry, and which is scarcely less indispensable to the communication of its influence, than the words themselves, without reference to that peculiar order. (Shelley 92)    Even if it is true that the sound in some way detracts from the meaning, it is only in a temporary fashion, and is calculated. Stewart Crehan suggests: "Thomas' obscurity is calculated to foreground sound and its pleasures before the meaning sinks in." (Crehan 42) The sound has a hypnotic quality which opens up the mind and makes it more susceptible to the subtle suggestions of murky metaphysical musings.

Characteristics and Types of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) :: ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

The Characteristics and Types of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Missing Works Cited According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about one-half of 1.6 million elementary school-aged children diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have also been diagnosed with a learning disability (LD) (Brown University Child and Adolescence Behavior Letter, 2001). The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (1997) stated that ADHD affects 3 to 5 percent of all children, and boys are three times more likely to be affected by the disorder than girls. The cause of ADHD is unknown, and the disorder and its symptoms are chronic and pervasive (www.asha.org). In the Fourth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual ADHD is categorized into three subtypes which are ADHD Predominantly Inattention Type, ADHD Predominantly Hyperactivity-Impulsive Type, and ADHD Combined Type. The criteria for the ADHD predominantly inattention type include at least six of the following: Makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, often has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities, often does not seem to listen when spoke to directly, often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, often has difficulty organizing tasks and activities, often avoids, dislikes, or engages in tasks that require sustained mental effort, is often easily distracted by external stimuli, and is often forgetful in daily activities. The criteria for ADHD predominantly hyperactivity-impulsive type includes a minimum of six or more of the following: Often fidgets with hands or feet and squirms in seat, often leaves seat in classroom, often runs about or climbs excessively in situations in which it is inappropriate, often has difficulty playing or engaging in leisure activities quietly, is often on the go, often talks excessively, often blurts out answers before the question have been completed, often has difficulty awaiting turn,and often interrupts others. The ADHD combined type demonstrates characterisitics from both subtypes (Camarata & Gibson, 1999). Inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity have their effects on speech and language. McGee, Share, Moffitt, Williams, and Silva (1998) research suggested that the presence of a disruptive behavioral disorder is the most common long-term association with reading difficulties (Pisecco, Baker, Silva, & Brooke, 2001). The research examined by Ricco and Jemison (1998) stated that children with both reading disabilities and ADHD may have phonological processing deficits and linguistic deficiencies that are predictive of reading disabilities (Maynard, Tyler, & Arnold, 1999). The same study (1998) by Ricco and Jemison concluded that acquisition and the development of reading skills are affected by language and verbal abilities rather than the presence of an attention deficit.

The History of the Computer :: Computers Technology Technological Essays

The History of the Computer "This reminds me of a revelation I had a few years ago, after getting my first CD-ROM drive. I'd manage to misplace a CD containing a multimedia encyclopedia and eventually found it sitting on the floor under my desk. I realised then that never before in human history had it been possible to lose an entire 28 volume encyclopedia by dropping it behind a piece of furniture. Now that's what I call progress!" (Computer Quotes) The information age is marked by the widespread use of the personal computer. Beginning with Ed Roberts’ first computer through to the development of the world’s fastest computer in Japan, the use of the personal computer has revolutionized our country, and in fact, our world. Although Roberts created the first computer, there were many stepping stones that led up to its conception. For instance, he negotiated with Intel to use their silicon chips. These chips were an uprising in their own creation. Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore created them. This in turn was modified to become a single-chip microprocessor. This was very important because it could be programmed, and memory could be added onto it. Thus, using Intel’s chip as a foundation, Roberts created the first computer, the Altair 8800. His company, Model Instrumentation Telemetry Systems (MITS), marketed these machines as a last hope strategy to decrease debt within the company. Little did they know that the demand for the Altair 8800 would never die down, nor that it was a great rise in modern technology. Because of the rise in interest in computers, there formed a group, Homebrew Computer Club, which discussed how to build computers. One of its members, Steve Wozniak, soon created another version of a computer, the Apple I. Other computers also built around 1977 were the IMSAI 8080, built by IMSAI, Radio Shack’s TRS-80, and the most advanced thus far that year, the Commodore PET. This machine, contrived by Commodore, had a monitor, keyboard, and cassette player, as opposed to antecedent devices, which had switchboards and lights to indicate signals. Apple soon was influenced by this computer, and decided to make their next computer, the Apple II, a more consumer-friendly machine, in 1979. Thus, it was enclosed in a plastic casing and came with a video monitor, keyboard, cassette interface (which stored data), and game paddles. It was also capable of having stored programs, or installing programs onto it.

Avila Auto Parts

a. The two methods of reporting in the parent company’s currency are different due to usage of different rates of exchange. Under the first method, the spot rates are to be used. Spot rates are the rates at which the transaction is carried out. This is normally a difficult approach and companies use the date on which the balance sheet and income statement is prepared. The spot is taken to be the rate of the balance sheet and other financial statements. The other method uses average rate of exchange of the period of reporting. In our case, using the two methods, we will have significant differences in the reported profits and losses. If we use the spot rate of balance sheet publication, the currency conversion factor will be 12000 pesos per dollar, whereas if we use average rate, the conversion will be done at 10,000 pesos per dollar. There will be a difference of 20 percent in the reporting. On the other hand, if the rate today has been less than the exchange rate at the beginning, the current reported figures would have been lower than those reported under first method. We should ideally use the method of spot rate at which payments are made. If it is not possible, the average rate would be better and consistent. Average can be taken for monthly figures or weekly rates to make it more accurate and representative of the realistic picture. As the income statement shows, the profits for the year were 25,000 million pesos in the local country. If it is translated to the parent company’s reporting currency using the spot rate of income statement, that is 12,000 pesos = $1, we will have net profits of $2,083,333. If we use the average rate of the period, that is (8,000+12,000)/2 = 10,000 pesos per $1, we will have net profits of $2,500,000 or $2. 5 million. Under both the methods of reporting the same profits/income of the company to its parent company, the profits are quite different simply due to the currency difference and exchange rate variation over the period. The difference in profits reported is more than $0. 4 million or roughly 20 percent which may change the decisions taken at headquarters. Taking into consideration the differences in the exchange rates and conversion risk, the company should decide on a measure to select the rate of exchange to use for its reporting during the entire life of the organization. They should consistently use whatever they have decided to use over their entire life. b. Functional currency is the one in which the operational cash is generated and is normally the currency of the country where the operations are going on. If the currency of the operating country is not stable, it can not be considered as functional currency. The stability of currency means that the rate of inflation over three year period should be less than 100 percent. As in the given case, the rate of inflation is 50 percent, (from 8,000 ps per dollar to 12,000 ps per dollar), the functional currency will be peso as the operational cash flows are generated in pesos and the inflation is within the limits. If the inflation over the past two years reaches 150 %, the functional currency will be changed to the reporting currency of the parent company, which in our case is dollar. . Economic exposure for Avila can be seen by the given conversion rates and their variability over such a short period of time. Economic exposure is the effect of foreign currency rate changes to the cash flows and other measures of operational performance. The exposure for any company is affected by the industry it is operating in and the stability of the currency of its operating country and the parent company. If there is excess demand of pesos, it will push th e rates of pesos higher and vice versa. If the rate gets higher, that is there will be less pesos in a dollar, the performance in the parent company’s report will be better than the situation when the exchange rate gets low. The two reporting methods will lead to significant differences in reported profits and losses to the parent company, from the operations in some other country. 3. Hedging can be a good option to protect the company against any unforeseen changes in the exchange rates. The company can make hedging I a number of ways to make itself protected against foreign exchange risk. Four positions are possible to provide such a protection using simple forward contracts and options. a. Long forward Under long forward position, the company at the operating country can take a long forward position to fix exchange rate (today) for a future date of transaction. Taking a long position means that the investor is agreeing to buy the underlying asset, at a specified price, agreed by both parties, on some future date. The contract has to be executed irrespective of what the conversion rate will be. Unlike options, none of the parties has the option to execute the contract or revoke it, but it is mandatory for both of them to carry it out. b. Short forward Short forward position can act equally well at the parent company’s location. The parent company at the parent country can go to short forward position so that it can sell dollars to pesos at a rate specified today. Using both the positions they can hedge the overall loss and can be certain about the expected gains. Options provide a type of insurance against any unforeseen changes in exchange rate. The buyer of call option and the seller of put option, both have the right to exercise the option or to waste it. The maximum loss in wasting the option is restricted to the price of the option. In this way, the company can set a floor to its loss and can gain as much as it can. c. Long Call Long call allows the parent company to buy a right to buy at a specified rate at some future point in time. If the rate increases, the company will have the option to buy at a lower rate than the market going rate, if it goes down, the loss will be restricted to the price of the option and the gains can be as much as the rate goes down. . Short Put Short Put will allow the company at the operating country to enter into a position to sell a right to sell at a set rate. The working for this will be exactly in the opposite manner as the long call position. 4. Financial architecture affects the overall cost for the company. If the inflation is high and the interest rates are high for a high risk firm , the cost of obtaining financing from banks and other Financial Institutions (FIs) will be high. Equity financing or market financing will require a higher rate of return, but the firm may shift the payments to some future period. As for bank financing or debt financing, it will have to make payments to the lending institution within the given timeframe. The firms may choose to go for a certain debt to equity ratio to gain advantage of optimal capital structure to optimize their costs of capital or WACC (Weighted Average Cost of Capital). 5. Euro currency is the use of currency in some other country. This in our case refers to storage, saving of pesos in the parent country where the currency in use is dollars. This will provide the company benefits in terms of advantage in domestic interest rate regulations and other barriers to free flow of cash. Firms participate in the euro currency markets to gain the benefits from exchange rate inefficiencies and under or over valuation of some currencies. If the investments are in the parent company’s currency and the operations are in the local currency of country where operations are being carried out, the exchange rate plays a vital role when calculating returns on investments for the company’s investments and funding by the parent company. If the domestic currency rises in operating country, the rate of return required should be higher than normal to overcome the exchange differences and vice versa. To overcome this difference and the problems due to fluctuating exchange rates, companies enter euro-currency markets where they can keep their money in parent company’s currency and convert it to functional currency as and when needed. This provides them the opportunity to maintain the required base in terms of parent company’s currency. 6. Other alternatives to run a firm’s fund-flow mechanism are to use various swaps in the form of interest rate swaps or foreign currency swaps. MNCs can go for unbundling of their costs at headquarters to affiliate companies of subsidiaries. In this way they can divide their costs to subsidiaries. Multinationals can go for transfer pricing mechanisms to avoid taxes on their overall operations. This can be done by pricing their internally traded goods for the purpose of moving profits to low tax nations. This will provide them an overall higher profitability. Companies can also create re-invoicing centers to avoid exchange rate fluctuations. The invoice currency will be the one used rather than the operating currency. This will reduce their exposure to currency and exchange rate risk. This will increase communication costs and to some extent create an overhead whereby the overall time delays and costs will be increased. MNCs can also transfer funds to their parent companies as dividends if the local conditions and regulatory framework is favorable. The major benefits of using different mechanisms can be obtained because of differences in the tax mechanisms and tax systems in different countries. Firms, by simply moving their profits from high tax region to a low tax region can save on their overall taxes provided the costs of moving are not high enough to make it unprofitable.

Electric Discharge Machining

ELECTRIC DISCHARGE MACHINING INTRODUCTION * Sometimes it is referred to as spark machining, * Its a manufacturing process whereby a desired shape is obtained using electrical discharges (sparks). * Material is removed from the workpiece by a series of rapidly recurring current discharges between two electrodes, separated by a dielectric liquid and subject to an electric voltage. * One of the electrodes – ‘tool-electrode’ or ‘tool’ or ‘electrode’. * Other electrode – workpiece-electrode or ‘workpiece’. As distance between the two electrodes is reduced, the current intensity becomes greater than the strength of the dielectric (at least in some points) causing it to break. * EDM is a machining method primarily used for hard metals or those that would be very difficult to machine with traditional techniques. * EDM typically works with materials that are electrically conductive, although methods for machining insulating cer amics with EDM have been proposed. * EDM can cut intricate contours or cavities in hardened steel without the need for heat treatment to soften and re-harden them. This method can be used with any other metal or metal alloy such as titanium, hastelloy, kovar, and inconel. EDM – Working Principle * It is a process of metal removal based on the principle of material removal by an interrupted electric spark discharge between the electrode tool and the work piece. * In EDM, a potential difference is applied between the tool and workpiece. * Essential – Both tool and work material are to be conductors. * The tool and work material are immersed in a dielectric medium. * Generally kerosene or deionised water is used as the dielectric medium. A gap is maintained between the tool and the workpiece. * Depending upon the applied potential difference (50 to 450 V) and the gap between the tool and workpiece, an electric field would be established. * Generally the tool is connected to the negative terminal (cathode) of the generator and the workpiece is connected to positive terminal (anode). * The high speed electrons then impinge on the job and ions on the tool. * The kinetic energy of the electrons and ions on impact with the surface of the job and tool respectively would be converted into thermal energy or heat flux. Such intense localized heat flux leads to extreme instantaneous confined rise in temperature which would be in excess of 10,000oC. * Such localized extreme rise in temperature leads to material removal. * Material removal occurs due to instant vaporization of the material as well as due to melting. * The molten metal is not removed completely but only partially. EDM – Dielectric * In EDM, material removal mainly occurs due to thermal evaporation and melting. * As thermal processing is required to be carried out in absence of oxygen so that the process can be controlled and oxidation avoided. Oxidation often leads to poor surface conduct ivity (electrical) of the workpiece hindering further machining. * Hence, dielectric fluid should provide an oxygen free machining environment. * Further it should have enough strong dielectric resistance so that it does not breakdown electrically too easily. * But at the same time, it should ionize when electrons collide with its molecule. * Moreover, during sparking it should be thermally resistant as well. * Generally kerosene and deionised water is used as dielectric fluid in EDM. Electric Discharge Machining ELECTRIC DISCHARGE MACHINING INTRODUCTION * Sometimes it is referred to as spark machining, * Its a manufacturing process whereby a desired shape is obtained using electrical discharges (sparks). * Material is removed from the workpiece by a series of rapidly recurring current discharges between two electrodes, separated by a dielectric liquid and subject to an electric voltage. * One of the electrodes – ‘tool-electrode’ or ‘tool’ or ‘electrode’. * Other electrode – workpiece-electrode or ‘workpiece’. As distance between the two electrodes is reduced, the current intensity becomes greater than the strength of the dielectric (at least in some points) causing it to break. * EDM is a machining method primarily used for hard metals or those that would be very difficult to machine with traditional techniques. * EDM typically works with materials that are electrically conductive, although methods for machining insulating cer amics with EDM have been proposed. * EDM can cut intricate contours or cavities in hardened steel without the need for heat treatment to soften and re-harden them. This method can be used with any other metal or metal alloy such as titanium, hastelloy, kovar, and inconel. EDM – Working Principle * It is a process of metal removal based on the principle of material removal by an interrupted electric spark discharge between the electrode tool and the work piece. * In EDM, a potential difference is applied between the tool and workpiece. * Essential – Both tool and work material are to be conductors. * The tool and work material are immersed in a dielectric medium. * Generally kerosene or deionised water is used as the dielectric medium. A gap is maintained between the tool and the workpiece. * Depending upon the applied potential difference (50 to 450 V) and the gap between the tool and workpiece, an electric field would be established. * Generally the tool is connected to the negative terminal (cathode) of the generator and the workpiece is connected to positive terminal (anode). * The high speed electrons then impinge on the job and ions on the tool. * The kinetic energy of the electrons and ions on impact with the surface of the job and tool respectively would be converted into thermal energy or heat flux. Such intense localized heat flux leads to extreme instantaneous confined rise in temperature which would be in excess of 10,000oC. * Such localized extreme rise in temperature leads to material removal. * Material removal occurs due to instant vaporization of the material as well as due to melting. * The molten metal is not removed completely but only partially. EDM – Dielectric * In EDM, material removal mainly occurs due to thermal evaporation and melting. * As thermal processing is required to be carried out in absence of oxygen so that the process can be controlled and oxidation avoided. Oxidation often leads to poor surface conduct ivity (electrical) of the workpiece hindering further machining. * Hence, dielectric fluid should provide an oxygen free machining environment. * Further it should have enough strong dielectric resistance so that it does not breakdown electrically too easily. * But at the same time, it should ionize when electrons collide with its molecule. * Moreover, during sparking it should be thermally resistant as well. * Generally kerosene and deionised water is used as dielectric fluid in EDM.

The Affects of the Media on Society

The term media can be defined as a wide variety of things. For the purpose of this paper, it will be defined as the American Heritage Dictionary defines it; as â€Å"†¦an agency, by which something is accomplished, conveyed, or transferred† (2000). The co.uk/todd-gitlin-summary-on-media/">media’s role in society is an extremely prevalent topic especially in today’s day and age. The media has continuously been used as a scapegoat for the lack of other excuses for abnormal behaviors in America’s teenagers. This was obvious with the April 1999 shooting at Columbine High School near Denver, CO. The media is the easiest and most common thing to blame for teen’s behavior. Their video games, their music, everything that they listen to or watch on their own time is to blame for their behaviors, rather than poor parenting, lack of support at school or lack of noticing on anybody’s behalf that something was wrong with these two boys. Columbine is the number one instance that pops into our minds from recent memory when we contemplate the notion of media affecting our society and our societal behaviors. It was taken to the point that Marilyn Manson was being interrogated in regards to how he felt about the massacre. Parents, teachers and community members alike all believed that his music had a major influence on Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the two gunmen, and their actions that day in April. To this day, it is still a widely debated subject as to what caused these two teenagers to kill twelve of their classmates and one of their teachers before killing themselves. As far as teen behavior in general goes, it is common that society blames the media for the actions of the youth even when they as a society are the ones that create the media and the guidelines for it to be presented to the youths. Video games are the main thing that society is blaming, but television shows such as â€Å"Jackass† and â€Å"Viva La Bam† are holding their own in the lineup of things to blame. Teenagers are in a moldable, mutable state in the first place without being influenced by images of idiocy and lack of respect for everything. Thus, the reason behind why parents are putting their foot down in regards to video games such as â€Å"Vice City† and the recent â€Å"Super Columbine Massacre RPG!† The creators of the video game â€Å"Super Columbine Massacre RPG!† are not just sitting back listening to the criticism of their game. They have something to say about the reason it exists in the first place. They say â€Å"†¦This game is intended to deepen the understanding of the shooting and its possible causes. What the player takes out of it is ultimately dependant upon what the player puts into it† (Ledonne, 2005). It is easy to blame video games for abnormal behaviors, but in reality, people are just indirectly blaming themselves. Society demands a certain type of media, and so, that is what they get. They get a game full of violence, killing, stealing cars, etc. All because that is what society is begging the video game industry to produce whether they know it or not. This is not to say that there are teenagers out there that are indeed being influenced by this craze that has swept the nation in recent times. According to an article on the SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) website, in Sarasota, Florida apparently â€Å"†¦Influenced by the movie Jackass, three trespassing teens leap[t] from atop a condominium building aiming for the pool. Two ma[d]e it. One hit[] the side, fracturing both legs and an arm and cracking his pelvis†¦.† (Wallace, 2003). Although it is easy to claim that the media, such as video games and television, has a minor affect on teens in today’s society this is not always true. There are always going to be those few kids that think it would be fun to do what they see on TV or on their videogames. Overall, when all media, including video games are taken to account, it is fairly clear that although we cannot completely blame the media for the actions of teenagers in America, we can blame it for a lot of what they do. A teenager’s main goal in life is to be cool. Simple, clear cut. They just want to be part of the cool crowd. So what do they do? They look to things that the cool crowd watches, wears and how they act. They then try to mimic these things in a futile attempt to become cool. Sometimes, teens get out of hand, and things such as the kids in Sarasota, FL happen. It is only then that we realize how much of an influence the media does indeed have on us, and not just us but our posterity as well. Citations (2000). Medium. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition Web site: http://www.bartleby.com/61/51/M0195100.html Ledonne, Danny (2005). Super columbine massacre RPG!. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from Super Columbine Massacre RPG! Web site: http://www.columbinegame.com/ Wallace, Stephen G (2003). Short Circuit. Retrieved February 13, 2007, from SADD:Students Against Destructive Decisions Web site: http://sadd.org/oped/short.htm