Nuclear Energy Essays (5013 words) - Nuclear Technology, Actinides

Nuclear Energy Nuclear Energy You are watching the control panels and gages for rector two. Sitting comely you think about how easy your job is. It is a joke! All day you sit around and watch the gages for reactor number two just to make sure they maintain their settings. You don't even need to look at the gages either because a computer automatically regulates them without you. Life is so good. Suddenly all the sirens go of and the gages and displays spin wildly in every direction. The ground shakes and you can hear the sound of a deep rumble. Unknown to you, the reactor's cooling pumps have failed to cool the reactor's core and in 3 seconds the temperature went from 280 degrees centigrade to 4,000 degrees centigrade. The water that was in the reactor is instantly turned to steam which creates tremendous amount of pressure in the reactor core. Above the reactor core there is a 5 foot thick lead plate and above that there is a meter thick floor composed of iron, barium, serpentine, concrete, and stone. The explod ing steam fires the floor up like shrapnel. The metal plate goes through the four foot thick concrete roof like butter and reaches and altitude of sixty meters. You can hear ripping, rending, wrenching, screeching, scraping, tearing sounds of a vast machine breaking apart. L. Ray Silver, a leading author who covered the disaster at Chernobyl, said that within the core, steam reacts with zirconium to produce that first explosive in nature's arsenal, hydrogen. Near-molten fuel fragments shatter nearly incandescent graphite, torching chunks of it, exploding the hydrogen. The explosion breaks every pipe in the building rocking it with such power that the building is split into sections (11-13). You look down at your body and notice that it feels hot and your hands look different. Unknown to you a tremendous amount of neutrons are hitting your cells and taking chucks out of your skin. Suddenly everything goes black. The paragraph above describes the scene of what happened at Chernobyl nuclear plant a few years ago. From that time until the present many other smaller accidents have happened. From these accidents many people have died and millions have been indirectly affected. Nuclear energy has far to many negative problems than advantages. From the mining of uranium to disposal of nuclear waist there are problems of such magnitude that no scientist on this earth has an answer for. Nuclear energy has so many problems associated to it that it should be banned from the earth. To understand the threat of nuclear energy we must first understand what happens in a nuclear reaction. Ann E. Weiss, who has written several books on the subject of nuclear energy, described what happens inside a nuclear power plant. In a nuclear reaction the nuclei of its atoms split, producing energy in the form of heat. The heat makes steam which powers a turbine. Fission takes place in a nuclear reactor. The fuel used is pellets of uranium. In a modern reactor, half-inch long pellets of uranium are packed into 12 or 14 foot tubes made of an alloy of the metal zirconium. About 50,000 zircalloy fuel rods make up the reaction core. To control a nuclear reaction control rods made of cadmium is used which absorbs neutrons. With the control rods in place in the core, a chain reaction cannot begin. When the plant operators want to start the chain reaction they activate machinery that pulls the control rods away from the core. Once this is done a single free neutron is enough to set off the reaction. As the reaction continues, a moderator slows the neutrons down enough to ensure that they will continually split more uranium atoms. At the same time, the moderator acts as a coolant. It keep the overall temperature about 300 degrees Celsius. Since the temperature at spots inside the fuel rods may be as high as 1,100 degrees Celsius, enormous amounts of coolant are continually needed to keep the core temperature at the proper level. When the plant must be must be shut down the control rods are lowered all the way back into the core. That brings the chain reaction to

Yerma by Federico Lorca Essays

Yerma by Federico Lorca Essays Yerma by Federico Lorca Essay Yerma by Federico Lorca Essay Essay Topic: Play Yerma by Federico Lorca has been described by critics as One of the modern pinnacles of modern poetic drama that realises unknown aspirations and yearnings. To create these definitive themes truly anchored in the depths of the play the dreams desires and more importantly cravings have to be accentuated through lighting, set design, props, and most importantly the creation by the actors on stage. This essay discusses the approaches I intend to take to create the relevant atmospheres and themes to draw out the crucial themes and imagery. The opening scene is very specific to the stage directions but there are certain changes I would adopt. In exchange for a strange dreamlike light I would have a bright accusing light, and in particularly a spotlight of a different colour on Yerma to symbolise her difference from everyone else, in her inability to conform to the Spanish familiar lifestyle, making her an indirect and an unwilling revolutionary. The bright light would shine on Yerma whilst the rest of the stage would be lit gentler, again, highlighting her individual difference and her break away from normality. The lights should be dusky shades of reds and oranges (dry, barren and earth tones) in the background, symbolising a long landscape of barrenness, the idea of eternal dryness and nothing. The spotlight on Yerma would be a bright white light, symbolising her own fertility and her own desires, but the spotlight acting as a barrier and preventing her from escaping the eternal prison of her own cravings, and the taunt of the life outside still a continual dry existence. Though the spotlight would dim, I would like to hold a spotlight on her throughout the whole of the first scene to symbolise her mental prison, and her enclosed thoughts that yearn for children, which would occasionally get brighter in moment of womanly desires or direct relation to her fertility. I would keep the shepherds entrance with the child, as a symbolism of the theme of children, and the Shepard to present the era of the play. The stage itself would be set in the country side. There would be a stunted and under grown tree stretching up towards the sun, as if to reach for nutrients, a true reflection of Yermas pleas to witchcraft and her God to impregnate her. A dusty track would lead out into the distance of the set to show the eternal and monotonous lifestyle of the Spanish culture, the idea you follow one particular path and one particular routine till you die. It can also be used to express the strength of the barrenness, the lack of anything that could aid Yerma or women in Spanish society. Marius Romero staged a successful performance of Yerma in London and insisted that two necessary parts of the set was a pool of water to reinforce the contrast between purification and regeneration. The water is a symbol of a truly natural and earthy source, which would be positioned away from Yerma, as a taunt and a trick to show her unnatural inability to produce children. The other key area was a popular building in previous centuries called stark buildings. These are exceedingly inaccessible buildings, with little chance for entrance of escape and can be spotted in some of Dalis work. This would symbolise the oppression of woman in Spanish society, and the idea that everyday life could not touch them, in these cold dark prisons which usually took the form of their homes. The general colours of the set would be oranges and yellows, dry colours posing as warm and comforting, but really a true symbolism of Yermas eternal despair. Apart from the tree and the pool of water and Yermas sewing basket which she would keep as a symbol of her position in society, the rest of the stage would be bare as yet another accentuation of the theme of barren that constantly runs significantly throughout the play. At the very opening instead of just having the clock strike, I would have a slow monotonous continual ticking throughout the Shepards and childs time on stage. Coinciding with that I would have the sounds of a group of children playing, shouting and running quietly in the background. As the child touched Yerma that clock would begin to tick louder and quicker, and the childrens voices would rise in a steep crescendo. The clock is used as an important symbol of a womans bodily clock, menstrual cycle and Yermas personal lack of time. The pace would quicken to symbolise that her time was running out, then the whole noise would reach a peak and stop extremely suddenly and abruptly to emphasise Yermas swift drop back from her subconscious being splayed through her dream, to her desperate reality. I would adapt the song being sung offstage to having a child singing it standing directly in front of her, that she just sees through, as a symbolism of her greatest craving being directly in front of her, perhaps if she was not so faithful to Juan. The mood starts unsteadily and eerily, the expression of Yermas desire is at one of its peak moments, as her subconscious interferes into her dreams, crossing over from reality. On stage I would have the actress having a reaction to more of a nightmare, sharp, quick tortured movements that disturb her, and display the idea of her craving being so much to the extreme that it is physical pain. The dialogue and mood drops into a domesticated routine between what at first appearances could be misconceived as a happy and considerate partnership between man and wife. As Yerma broaches the subject of children, I would have the lights slightly dimmed and tinted with red as a symbolism of a dangerous subject. I would have Juan turning away, occupying himself with a pointless activity with a mixed expression of misery and anger. The mood would rise into high tension as these two stubborn characters face a head on collision, the looks that pass between them of irritation and Yermas over exaggerated affection towards Juan would appear false and forced, symbolising a marriage in crisis. When Yerma meets Maria the mood changes into a whole new sheet of emotions. Admiration and fierce stabs of jealousy swamp Yerma at the news Maria is expecting a baby. Her fascination manages to override her bitterness, and this would be shown by a lot of physical contact with Maria in an attempt to closen herself to the baby she craves as her own. She is directed to act queasy and faintly, to emphasise the growth of her cravings, as they extend out of her control. On stage, the actress would turn away from Maria, appearing physically ill. For this sector I would have the lights tinted with green as the stereotypical colour of jealousy, and the children noises of play repeated softly in the background as a taunt to Yerma. The mood then changes drastically again into a high level of unspoken sexual tension between Yerma and Victor as Yerma recognises a companion and a soul mate in Victor, at his agreement of the need of a child. The air takes on a dangerous and forbidden sense that I would have the actors edging uncomfortably away from each other, avoiding standing too close, looks being held longer than necessary and Juans nervous conversation may hold a stutter as if to hold back what he truly wants to say. The lights would be pink to accentuate the unspoken passion and the continual spotlight on Yerma would brighten significantly, to symbolise her womanliness and desperate fertility. In 1936 Lorca is quoted in saying Theatre is poetry that rises from the book and becomes human enough to talk and shout, weep and despair. Poetry and song are main focuses in the opening scene and Lorca got his inspiration from traditional Spanish songs and narrative Ballads. The scenes first dialogue takes the form of a song, which gives the impression of a nursery rhyme. The use of Nana gives the idea of a child speaking it, and the song should be sung using a child like voice and developed into a chant so it holds an edge of mocking to taunt Yerma. Yermas first song holds a large amount of imagery that relates directly to childbirth and fertility. For example Let the fountains leap, and the river run. This is another reference to water and its neutrality and the expected and natural flow of a river. Before she sings she is directed to stroke her stomach, this is an accurate stage direction as it allows the audience to visibly see the strength of her cravings and the stretch of her imagination that allows her to fall just before the brink of insanity. I would direct Yerma to sing the song directly to the unborn child she is stroking and perhaps hug herself as if she is in on her own private secret. I would wish her to display the characteristics of a truly pregnant woman, to emphasise the fact that her subconscious could force Yerma into the idea that she is really pregnant. The song gives an air of fantasy and hysteria to the play, and provides an insight into Yermas capabilities in her imagination. At the closing of the scene Yerma repeats a verse from the original song, as Victor has just refreshed her desire for a real family, as her subconscious reacts to Victors presence. We see Yerma being physically affected by her dazed movements and appearance at the end of the scene, her fixation into space may be her visualising her dream of children and subconsciously, Victor. Throughout the songs the spotlight would brighten, due to the direct links to fertility. The moods are much defined throughout the opening scenes and changes smoothly, with the songs acting as mood shifter so any atmosphere can be created between dialogues. In conclusion the main moods that I would aim to direct across significantly are desperation, unwilling, insanity and jealousy. The clearly defined sectors of the scene allow the use of colour in lighting as a symbol of the particular message being portrayed. The scene has themes firmly indented which need to be portrayed through acting skills in particular, other wise the whole objective and meaning of the play is lost. Lorca was quoted to say A poet must be a professor of the five bodily senses and as Yerma has been described as A tragic poem in three acts and six scenes I believe Lorca wanted the audience to have to use all their senses too, and for the creation on stage to enable the audience to do that.

Autonomy in Death Essay Example for Free

Autonomy in Death Essay Physician-assisted suicide is a controversial topic with only a few states having legalized it; however, many groups are advocating for its approval. Physician-assisted suicide has ethical limitations that only allow a doctor to prescribe, not administer, a lethal dose of medication for a patient who has been deemed terminally ill with less than six months to live by two physicians. The prescription allows the patient to choose both the timing and setting of death and the physician’s only role is provision of medication. This gifts patients with autonomy in their death and relieves the doctor of any moral burden in participation with death keeping this action an ethical practice. Oregon was the first of few states to have legalized physician-assisted suicide but I would like to argue its potential advantages to the entire United States. Ball (2010) said, â€Å"In Oregon — the one state in the U.S. where assisted suicide is legal – doctors are allowed to help only state residents who are expected to die within six months† (p.1). Giving terminally ill patients the power to choose a peaceful death demonstrates empathy toward the ill patients and their families. Terminally ill patients without this empowerment face the difficult choice of using limited resources to end their lives if not given the legal freedom to choose how and when they die. The Code of Ethics for Nurses provision 1.4 is the right to self-determination and it states that Respect for human dignity requires the recognition of specific patient rights, particularly, the right to self-determination. Self-determination, also known as autonomy, is the philosophical basis for informed consent in health care. Patients have the moral and legal right to determine what will be done with their own person; to be given accurate, complete, and understandable information in a manner that facilitates an informed judgment; to be assisted with weighing the benefits, burdens, and available options in their treatment; to accept, refuse, or terminate treatment without deceit, undue influence, duress, coercion, or penalty; and to be given necessary support throughout the decision-making and treat ment process. Such support would include the opportunity to make decisions with family and significant others and the provision of advice and support from knowledgeable nurses and other health professionals. Patient should be involved in planning their own health care to the extent they are able to choose to participate (American nurses association, 2001, p.148). Giving this added right to chose physician assisted suicide allows patients the autonomy described in the Nursing Code of Ethics. The purpose of this paper is to argue that physician-assisted suicide is ethical and beneficial because it allows for patient autonomy. â€Å"I would argue that by denying terminally ill people recourse to death with dignity via physician prescribed medication, they are inflicting their own brand of coercion and abuse. The concept of a â€Å"merciful death† needs to be part of this discussion. It is a sad commentary that our society responds to our pets’ terminal suffering more humanely than to our fellow human beings’ end-of-life struggles†(â€Å"Death is best approached†, 2012, p. 1). Many feel that denying patients the right to choose is not advocating for their b est interest and is a form of abuse. We wouldn’t leave our ill family pet alive to suffer so why wouldn’t we consider letting our loved ones put themselves out of their misery in a peaceful way? The entire point is to give the public a choice. It would still be up to each individual to decide whether or not to exercise that right if their physician deemed their situation appropriate. The Code of Ethics for Nurses says that â€Å"Respect for human dignity requires the recognition of specific patient rights, particularly, the right of self-determination† (American nurses association, 2001, p.148). This statement implies that the patient should have the right to make end of life decisions on their own. When terminal patients are in pain and suffering, they may not have the strength or will to fight any longer. It is cruel to prolong a patient’s pain and suffering and deny their autonomy to make the decision of having a peaceful death. Also, it can be argued that when patients have their mind set on ending their lives, they tend to follow through on their own even if their physician cannot assist them. This may lead to a more traumatic death and a scene that can be quite traumatizing for the family member or friend who finds their loved one’s remains. The alternative is a prescribed medicine that the patient may take home, choosing the preferred place to die, to allow the patient to die peacefully without sustaining disfiguring injuries thus allowing them a more dignified burial if the family chooses to view the body one last time. However, in most of the United States, physician-assisted suicide is still illegal so very few Americans are afforded the right to choose to end their life when they are terminally ill. Because physician assisted suicide was brought to the public’s attention as an option by the unconventional tactics of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the idea of legalizing this was tainted from the beginning, making many states hesitant to allow assisted suicide. Miller (2011) notes that â€Å"Jack Kevorkian rose to national prominence as â€Å"Dr. Death,† a physician who insisted that sometimes a doctor’s first duty to his patient was to help him die. The retired pathologist, who became an assisted suicide advocate claiming to have had a hand in 130 deaths in the 1990s, helped spark a national debate over euthanasia† (p. A5). Jack Kevorkian’s tactics were questionable because he publicized the deaths of elderly, disabled, and terminally-ill patients using inhaled carbon dioxi de or using his self-made suicide machine. Although the patients had asked for Dr. Kevorkian’s assistance to end their suffering by assisting in their suicide, he received a lot of negative attention because he publicized his assistance in this process by encouraging CBS to broadcast a video of himself injecting a cocktail of lethal drugs into a patient suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease (Miller, 2011). After much backlash from the public over the fact that he actually injected patients with lethal drugs, he developed a suicide machine which allowed the patient to press a button that caused the machine to administer a mixture of sodium pentothal and potassium chloride which was first used on Janet Adkins, a 54 year old sufferer of Alzheimer’s disease (Miller, 2011). â€Å"The last thing Janet Adkins said was, ‘You just make my case known,'† Dr. Kevorkian told the Associated Press† (Miller, 2011, p. A5). Although his tactics were extreme and caused a lot of public controversy, his patie nts wanted to end their suffering and his actions caused others to advocate for ethical standards to be put into place for legal physician assisted suicide while at the same time completely turning others away from the concept of legalizing euthanasia. Dr. Goodwin, a general practitioner, said he began advocating for the right to help terminally ill people die after listening to his patients (Miller, 2012). â€Å"They want autonomy at this time, to be allowed to die at home with the comfort and support of their families,† Dr. Goodwin said in a 2001 interview (Miller, 2012, p. 1). Because of the extreme tactics used by Jack Kevorkian, who initiated the debate on legalizing euthanasia, many people view those who advocate for the client’s right of physician assisted suicide as cruel or lacking in empathy for patient and families. However, â€Å"Peter Goodwin, a family physician who wrote and campaigned for Oregon’s right-to-die law in the 1990s, died after taking a cocktail of lethal drugs prescribed by his doctor, as allowed under the legislation he championed. Dr. Goodwin, 83 years old, had been diagnosed with a degenerative brain disorder similar to Parkinson’s disease and had been given less than six m onths to live.†(Miller, 2012, p. 1). Dr. Goodwin believed in a patient’s autonomy in death so much that he chose to exercise his own rights in the same fashion in order to end his own suffering. In an interview with the Oregonian, the local newspaper in Oregon, Dr. Goodwin said that his health was deteriorating and he would soon end his life. â€Å"His family gathered to bid him farewell. ‘The situation needs thought, it doesn’t need hope,’ he said. ‘Hope is too ephemeral at that time’†(Miller, 2012, p. 1). This clearly articulates the feelings of a terminally ill man towards the importance of autonomy in concern of his own death. â€Å"End-of-life decisions are not arbitrary or impulsive. Why shouldn’t a person choose to end his or her life with dignity if it is obvious that all options for leading any kind of meaningful life are non-existent? I would think any modicum of compassion would respect such a momentous, personal decision. Suffering, physical and mental, and the anguish it causes should produce empathy for the patient’s wishes and desires, even if they run counter to our own sense of rectitude. It is not about us. It’s about the patient’s right of autonomy. We need to understand that it is ultimately his or her decision to make, not ours†(Death is best approached, 2012, p. 1). In this statement, an unknown author expressed the utmost sympathy for those suffering from terminal illness. Physician assisted suicide is ethical as it demonstrates compassion and empathy towards someone else’s pain, suffering, and rights. There is nothing cruel about autonomy over the decision to die. These kinds of laws need to be considered using a deep emotional understanding of the terminally ill’s feelings and problems. Other countries have legalized euthanasia and have less restrictive laws which allow them to provide services for foreigners. Because of this, if all United States citizens aren’t granted the autonomy they desire in their own country they will still be able to get the results they so desperately want but the outcome may be more painful to family members whose loved ones would end up dying in other countries and in less desirable conditions. Mr. Minelli, who is head of Dignitas, a Swiss company that provides euthanasia services only to foreigners, said that â€Å"a memory of his seriously ill grandmother’s pleading in vain with her doctor to help her die left him with a particular interest in Switzerland’s growing right-to-die movement, and he joined one of the main groups. In 1998, he quit to found Dignitas†(Ball, 2010, p. 2). In 2008, his neighbors’ complaints forced Dignitas out of his rented apartment that he had been using to conduct the assisted suicides and Zurich city officials refused permission for a new venue. In response to this Mr. Minelli organized suicides in cars, a hotel room, industrial sites, and his own home which drew the attention of local officials. â€Å"Someone who is used to a five-star hotel can’t come to Dignitas and expect the same,† says Mr. Minelli†(Ball, 2010, p. 2). Is it really beneficial to force terminally ill patients into a foreign country to a harsh environment to grant them the freedom to end their own lives? If terminally ill patients really want a physician assisted suicide, they will find another setting in which they can achieve one but allowing patients to have one in their own country optimizes the setting and allows for more family support near the time of death. It also saves the family the trouble of getting the body of a loved one from a foreign country after the time of death and allows the family to begin funeral arrangements sooner so that they can go through the stages of grieving that they need to in order to move forward with their own lives. This act of ending the life sooner also spares the family the pain of watching their loved one suffer longer than they want to. Another benefit to approving physician assisted suicide is that just know that the option is available can be therapeutic for terminal patients. â€Å"Mr. Minelli argues that making assisted suicide available removes a taboo around suicide, helping people who want to kill themselves open a dialogue and seek help. About 70% of people who get the green light from Dignitas for an assisted suicide never contact the group again, proving the palliative effect of knowing help is available, he says†(Ball, 2010, p. 2). This clearly proves that just knowing that euthanasia is an option is enough to help patients carry on with terminal illness. Even if a patient chooses never to exercise the right to a physician assisted suicide, the knowledge that they have an option for a way out of their suffering is comforting in itself. Craig Ewert was a retired university professor who suffered from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease. He decided to end his life because he wanted to make this decision before he lost the ability to decide his own fate, overcoming the resistance of his doctors (Ball, 2010). â€Å"When you’re completely paralyzed and can’t talk, how do you let someone know you are suffering?† he told a television interviewer before his death in September 2006. â€Å"This could be a complete and utter hell† (Ball, 2010, p. 3). Mr and Mrs. Ewerts were from the U.K. but they traveled to Switzerland and chose Mr. Minelli’s group, Dignitas, because it accepts foreigners. Mrs. Ewert said that had she not been able to travel to get her husband the assisted suicide services that he desired she may have been forced to help her husband die and she worried that she wouldn’t have known exactly what to do (Ball, 2010). She defended Mr. Minelli saying â€Å"Sure, there have to be some protections for people, but I think we’re going way beyond what there needs to be, I admire Minelli for being willing to take the heat† (Ball, 2010, p. 3). Because Craig Ewert was allowed to make his own decision to die, his wife was spared the pressure that he may have put on her to help him end his life. Furthermore, had he been denied the right to make his own decision and his wife Mary had been coerced to help him commit suicide, there would have been extreme emotional and possibly even legal consequences to her action despite the fact that it was her husband’s wish. This is a situation that may Americans are also threatened with because physician assisted suicide is illegal in most of the country. All United States citizens should be afforded the right to choose a physician assisted suicide if they have been deemed terminally ill because this freedom shows compassion and empathy towards the patient’s suffering. If patients aren’t allowed to legally choose death here, they may travel to another country to receive services or chose to carry out suicide on their own. If patients chose to take matters into their own hands this would be harder on the patient as the death would probably not be as peaceful as the lethal injection that the physician would prescribe and if would also be harder on the patient’s loved ones. If patients decide to go to another country to achieve the death they desire they would lose the privilege of dying in their own comfort zone and the distance would make the death harder on the family to make funeral arrangements and move on with their own lives. The Code of Ethics for Nurses stated that â€Å"Respect not just for the specific decision but also for the patient’s method of decision-making is consistent with the principle of autonomy† (American nurses association, 2001, p.149). Regardless of whether or not we understand an individuals motivation for seeking a physician assisted suicide, nurses should support the autonomy that patients needs to make this choice on their own. Giving terminally ill patients autonomy in their death, by making physician assisted legal for every United States citizen, is only giving patients additional rights that they may or may not chose to exercise and is the most compassionate way to show empathy for those who are dying. Autonomy in Death. (2017, Feb 13).

Discussion #3 STAT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion #3 STAT - Essay Example All one needs to find a course or topic is either visit the site overview, or browse the courses by departments. Advanced search is another option that can be used to find a particular topic. â€Å"Probability and Statistics in Engineering† is one of the courses offered by MIT which makes part of the curriculum of the Civil and Environmental Engineering. Topics discussed in depth in this course include but are not limited to fundamentals of probability, conditional distributions, hypothesis testing and Bayesian analysis. â€Å"Introduction to Probability and Statistics† is one such course offered by this website that is most closely related to what we have studied in the course as it gives an insight into the basics of probability and statistics. Topics in this course include basic models of probability, confidence intervals and linear regression. The best feature of this website is that the course content is supported with exams as well as their solutions. In this sense, this website is a complete online source of

Personal Development Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Development - Personal Statement Example My goals for next week are to continue writing. 3 Understanding Information and Data It sure was a lot of specific information. I learned about writing and research styles and referencing techniques. My goal for next week is to understand first hand how to conduct library research. 4 Presentations I love presentations. I learned the appropriate way to design slides. My goal for next week is to keep up with the matrix. 5 How Information Is Used This was a really cool lecture. I learned about the different methods of systemic thinking. My goals for next week are to continue with my matrix and try to implement systemic analytic thinking. 6 Information in Global Business Communications I never thought of communication like this before. I learned about the history and methods of business communications. My goals for next week include keeping up with assignments and lectures. 7 Information in Business This was the most interesting lecture to me so far. I learned about how information technology augments business. My goals are to complete this module strongly. Summary Personal Learning and Skills Matrix Semester General reflection Subject specific reflections New goals, new behaviors Challenge It was a real challenge to keep the matrices. Although I know it will probably help me in the future, I wish there was an easier way to use reference styles. I aim to implement more structured time management and find an easier way to do formal citations. Expectations I learned nearly everything I expected from this module. I like the parts about report writing, web communications, and systems thinking most. I hope to apply the principles wherever I can. Responsibilities I feel I have a responsibility to apply this information effectively in the...Although I am proud of my academic achievements, I wish I could apply what I learned more specifically in the workplace. In the appropriate business setting, much of this is quite applicable, but in others they were not so much. I suppose it takes the right type of environment to express scholarly skill and be appreciated for it. I am more used to people being intolerant to academic achievement. I am not sure why. I do not see the harm in bringing knowledge to bear on one's life. I am not overbearing about it, and I do not use it intrusively. I can only gather that among certain circles learning is seen as a threat. It is a threat to some people because of low self-esteem I guess. It seems they are not willing to sacrifice for knowledge so they do not wish anyone else to either. It is a threat to some because of sheer jealousy. They are unwilling to let others grow professionally who will serve them directl y. I do not really know. It is all speculation if I am to be perfectly honest. Human psychology presents the most challenging systems analysis task in the known universe. One thing is certain. Some people are intolerant toward learning for whatever reason. Despite the intolerance of those around me, I am proud that I have accomplished so much in the face of such unnecessary odds.

A Day When Everything Went Worng Essay Example for Free

A Day When Everything Went Worng Essay I just cannot think myself lucky when a day of my life goes totally wrong. Recently after starting university a day made me totally upset and frustrated. It was a normal day but my mobile did not give any alarm in the morning so I woke up late. While I was in hurry for university my mother told me that our driver did not come today so I had to go alone. I lived in Dhanmondi and the university was in Bashundhara so I had to take a CNG for university. As soon as I reached Nabisco the CNG had stopped. I asked what happened to the CNG driver. He answered me that the gas was finished and he had to refill it now. As I was late before I just came out from the CNG and hired another one. Finally I reached to the university but it was 10 minutes late. I saw that everyone was writing in the class. When I asked what was going on, they replied me that miss was taking a surprise test. My heart was biting fast but when I heard about the test it started biting faster. After the class I went to the cafe for a cold drink but I found that I had only 50 taka with me. See more: Defining research problem and setting objectives Essay Then I remembered that in harry I forget to take money from mother for CNG rent and I already paid 180 taka to the CNG when I came here. So, I had no money for food at the same time no money for further CNG rent. I had to take bus for home but I never had a bus ride alone before. After asking some of my friends I got an idea about the bus counter here. Then I went there and took a bus. When I heard the bus conductor was screaming ‘New Market’, I found that I was in the wrong bus. This bus was in new market but I should take a bus which had a stoppage in Kolabagan. Since I had nothing to do, I had to get off in new market and took a rickshaw. When finally I was in home it was 6 pm. As long as I met with my mom I saw she was getting ready for going out and she was looking tensed. I asked her what happened. She answered me that one of my aunts was in hospital and maybe she had cancer. I just suddenly became blank. What should I do now? After a while I decided to go with my mom. We were there in the hospital till late night. When I reached home I thought about the whole day and marked it as a totally wrong day of my life.

Romeo and Juliet - Act III, Scene V :: Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet - Act III, Scene V Act III, Scene V of Romeo and Juliet is significant for it is the most pivotal scene of this tragic play. Although prior scenes present extreme circumstances, this scene reveals the results of past activities and begins a series of tragic misunderstandings and fatal reactions. Transformations occuring amongst characters and their relationships with one another and the tone of the play are revealed in this scene. Through language, Shakespeare presents these changes as well as foreshadowing the eventual tragedy Romeo and Juliet's death. From this point on in the play there are no more comedic or romantic scenes. The following scenes are of extreme actions, mishap and tragedy. The "star-crossed lovers" cannot escape their fate. One of the many transformations presented in this scene is that of Romeo and Juliet's love for one another. Romeo and Juliet's love makes the transition from infatuation to a deep and sincere love. In earlier scenes they used overly romantic language and metaphor, whereas, now they speak to one another of their love in a mature and tender way. They will do anything to be with one another, for their love surpasses any emotion for their familial or community ties. They are willing to make any sacrifice in order to have their desire for one another fulfilled. Both Romeo and Juliet enjoy each other's company on their first morning together following their marriage and they do not want to part. Juliet's first visible transformation to adulthood is revealed here. In Romeo's desire to be with Juliet, he is willing to risk capture, and most probably death, in being found within the Capulet walls. Romeo, although maturing in his feelings of love and intimacy is still young and reckless in his behavior. In contrast, upon rationalizing the circumstance of daylight and their being found, Juliet eventually pleads for Romeo to leave "O, now be gone! More light and light it grows." (III, v, 35) To which Romeo responds, "More light and light- more dark and dark our woes." (III, v, 36) The metaphors associated with light (i.e. the sun, the moon, the day) which previously protected their affair is now their enemy. Nature itself has turned upon them

Indiana High School Math Teaching

â€Å"The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called â€Å"truth. â€Å"† ~Dan Rather This research paper was written to educate you and myself on various topics on becoming a high school math teacher. I enrolled at Ashford University to complete my Bachelor’s Degree in order to enter the transition to teaching program. This paper has allowed me to acquire pertinent and vital information about my future career choice. My research was done on the status of high school math teachers, as well as students, in Indiana. This paper will educate you on Indiana’s High School mathematics graduation requirements, percentage of math students passing these requirements, teachers’ salaries, and the effect that a minority teacher should have on minority students. To graduate High school in Indiana a student must complete the Core 40 requirements set by the state. These requirements were implemented in 2006. There are four different diplomas that a high school student in the state of Indiana could receive upon completing the Core 40 requirements: General, Core 40, Core 40 with Academic Honors, and Core 40 with Technical Honors (Indiana Core 40, 2006). Even after completing the courses required for the Core 40 High School students in the state of Indiana must pass an exam to â€Å"qualify† for graduation. This exam is referred to as the GQE (Indiana Core 40, 2006 ). Indiana has added a few nice provisions to this legislation to help out students who may simply not be good test takers, or for those who are ready to work and do not need the required math skills for their work. These provisions, which are found on the Indiana Department of Education website, are referred to as the â€Å"Evidence-based waiver† and the â€Å"Work readiness waiver. The evidence-based waiver is for those students who excel in the classroom, but have a hard time with tests. This provision, among other things, allows teachers to confirm that the student knows what has been taught in class and that they have kept up their attendance as well. The work readiness waiver is for those students who have completed the Core 40 coursework as well as a completed a Career Exploration Internship. This simply means that the student has done the work that was required of them and that they are, in fact, ready to enter the workforce even though they may not have passed the GQE. Both provisions have provided students additional opportunities to complete their Indiana High School Math requirements. After learning about the requirements to pass math in the state of Indiana I wanted to take a look at the percentage of passing students to see if the percentage had improved since the Core 40 and GQE was put in place. Since there had been a curriculum change put into place, I wanted to see if the students were being positively affected by this change. Although I could not find the passing percentage for 12th graders, which is what I wanted to evaluate, I was able to find the percentage of 10th graders that passed from 2006-2009. I found that there was a quite a jump in the percentage of passing students from the year ’06-’07 to the year ’07-’08; it went from 66% to 72% (Annual Performance Report , 2009). However, the following year the same increased percentage did not occur. Instead the Indiana 10th grade percentage of students passing their GQE went down two percentage points. The numbers for the ’09-’10 year in Indiana have not yet been released, but I hope to find that these percentages were on the rise and did not follow suit from the previous year. Based on these statistics I am unable to see the impact that the Core 40 was designed to have on Indiana’s High School math students. The new legislation has only been in place for a few years, so there is still time for this to have a positive effect on the students and their graduation rates. Looking at these statistics raised a question for me, â€Å"How do you measure a teacher’s worth? Well, based on some research I can tell you that the average high school teacher’s salary has been on a steady incline. Within the last 35 years the average public school teacher’s salary has went from $11,165 for the school year of 1974-1975 to $50,488 for the school year of 2009-2010(Teacher Salary, 2007). The increases in wages have been well over the national inflation rate also. As a future teacher this research shows me that the state is recognizing the hard work that its teachers are putting nto their students and the government is trying to retain quality teachers. The monetary compensation is one valuable form of measuring a teacher worth, but there’s still the intangibles of the career and that is community worth. I have found through conversations with family and friends who are educators, no one teaches for the money. However, it is reassuring to see that I will be able to have a career that I am happy with and be able to support my family at the same time. I was drawn to this research topic because of my background and love for coaching. As a coach you are a teacher, counselor, and father. As a minority I believe I will be able to relate to my Afro-American students better. In my experiences I have found it easier to relate to students of the same ethnicity or socioeconomic backgrounds. Bandura states that learning may occur as a result of watching someone else perform some action and experience reinforcement or punishment (Boyd and Bee, 2006). I served as a role model for my student athletes by showing them various life decisions and how to make the correct choices when they arouse. As a male I have been a father figure to a lot of young males. My advice has been used as education for life situations and life skills. I saw the self efficacy as a huge challenge in many young and economically challenged Afro-American males and females. Bandura defines self efficacy as the belief in one’s ability to perform some action or to control one’s behavior or environment, to reach some goal or to make something happen ( Boyd and Bee, 2006). Many students had the attitude that they couldn’t overcome the obstacles that life had placed in front of them. Many social problems that the students faced were looked at as obstacles that were to hard overcome. I was able to help one particular student with a life altering experience and persuade him to not give up on his dreams. This young man had the opportunity to obtain a full athletic scholarship to a division one school for football, however numerous obstacles surrounded this young athlete, but none were greater than his lack of mathematical aptitude. I realized with working with this student that all of my social and ethical skills teaching wouldn’t benefit him if he couldn’t not pass his mathematical requirements to graduate high school and also pass college entrance exams. I hope that someday I will be in this situation again and I will be able to help other student’s overcome what many people see as an adversity. The adversity I am speaking of is being able to complete their math requirements so that they may receive their high school diploma. One of the main reasons I have decided to become an educator is to help young students’ poor outlook on their futures. As a teacher I will receive tremendous gratification watching a student reach his or her full potential. Watching students that never believed in themselves enough to graduate walk across the stage during graduation and listen to the speaker announce their future plans to attend a university or college is something that cannot be matched. The social impact of this job is immeasurable and the joy that I will receive from the profession will last a life time. In conclusion, as a minority high school teacher I should be able to model correct life skills and teach proficient math skills to my students that will create a greater sense of self efficacy in them. After researching Indiana’s High School mathematic graduation requirements, the percentage of students passing math requirements, and teachers’ salaries, I have found that I will be teaching in a state that has transformed its educational curriculum and requirements to produce more societal ready students, whether they join the workforce or the campus. I will also be working for a state that has a proven track record of monetarily backing its educators and keeping them out of poverty. With any luck the salaries will continue to rise with the educational requirements of the students that we must prepare for the future. Lastly, I will have a career that will keep this great nation strong and also provide me with a great sense of community pride.

The Acquisition of Snapple by Quaker Oats

In an effort to raise the company’s growth rate and avoid a takeover. Quaker Oats, acquired Snapple beverage corporation for $1,7 billion,a price considered by many to be valued a billion too much. Snapple captured a significant loyal following by being an innovator in the ready-to-drink tea. The RTD tea segment of the beverage market was a quick developing area with promising returns ,that’s why it attracted giants like coca cola and Pepsico, who entered the market through joint ventures with popular tea brands.Quaker Oats has known success in the past in the beverage market with the widely popular Gatorade drink and thought it could do the same with Snapple. So in order to repeat the Gatorade success story Quaker officially acquired Snapple on December 6 of 1994. The c. e. o of quaker ,William Smithburg overcome with hubris resulting from his previous success overpaid for the company an estimate of a billion dollar premium despite warnings from Wall Street. By the tim e Quacker aquired Snapple the RTD tea industry was maturing and the competition was rising because of the new independent brands that entered the market.Quacker believed that with its financial resources and experience, it could expand the Snapple brand and through the acquisition establish itself as a leading beverage producer competing with the likes of coca cola and pepsico. Quaker acquired the company by divesting profitable but slow growing pet food and candy businesses. Quaker thought it could create a Snapple/Gatorade combination and planned to exploit the synergies resulting from such combination while improving the efficiency of operations.They wanted to achieve economies of scale by unifying the manufacturing and distribution of Snapple and Gatorade. What quacker failed to realize is what realy made the success of Snapple. The company ,didn’t operate like most beverage producers. Instead of having a company owned plant that handled the manufacturing,Snapple awarded co-pack contracts to independent manufactures and handled the distribution using independent distributors who were allowed to carry different brands of beverages, but had direct access to the stores, restaurants and vending machines in their region.Due to distribution,structure problems and unrealistic optimism about the future of Snapple, quacker had a hard time integrating its new division and had yet to beneficiate from the synergies and economies of scale projected. During the first year as a part of quacker oats ,the Snapple division did not break even and lost an estimated $75 million in1995 sparking the resignation of the president and c. o. o who was in charge of the Snapple unit.The loss in revenue was mainly driven by weaker-than-expected sales and an estimated $40 million dollars to buy back the contracts from the co-packers and other suppliers. During 1996, Snapple slipped to the second place in the ice tea market and despite positive projections by quacker. The unit fai led to achieve any sales gain and sow it sales decline by 20%, resulting in operating losses exceeding the $120 million for that year. By 1997 snapple’s market share slipped to the 3rd place behind lipton and nestea.The company was behind even in production methods and processes. On March 28, 1997 Quacker decided to take a $1. 4 billion write-off and sold the company it purchased 29 months before for $300 million. All this led to a loss in performance for Quacker oatas a company resulting in a takeover by Pepsico in December 2000 in a $13. 7 billion all stock bid. The mismatch of big corporate culture with the one of small entrepreneurial firms didn’t work and what quacker was trying to avoid by purchasing Snapple happened .

After the First Death essays

After the First Death essays After the first death is a psychological thriller. Patriotism plays a big role in it. The behaviour of some principal figures entirely arises from patriotism. And innocents become victims of it. The story begins with a boy, who kept saying he has a tunnel in his chest. The boy named Ben is the son of a general and thats why he eventually ends up on the bridge and there a bullet caused that tunnel in his chest. It all happened on an old railway bridge. Four hijackers, terrorists, captured a bus full of children under the age six. The hijackers were Artkin, who took charge on this operation, he found Miro and his brother Aniel in a refugeecamp, Miro a sixteen-year-old boy (was he?), who had never known his parents and later also lost his brother, who died before doing his duty and two other men called Antibbe and Stroll. Artkin and Miro reviewed the plan for the last time. They had watched the bus route for weeks. Miros assignment was to kill the driver, his first kill. But when the bus arrived the driver wasnt a man as supposed to be but a girl. The girl was Kate, the niece of the busdriver. When Artkin decides to let the girl live for a while, because she could be useful, Miro was disappointed because he wanted his first death to be perfect, so as they planned it to be and now the first thing went wrong already. Artkin drugged the children with drugged chocolate so they would be asleep. But one child was probably allergic to the drug and died. Of course this wasnt planned but Artkin used it as a warning to the world. Then he went to the van where Antibbe and Stroll were also. He had Miro given the order to watch over the children and Kate and win her confidence. In the conversations that Kate and Miro have, Miro tells about himself to win her confidence and Kate tries to be nice and kind to persuade him not to kill her. Kate also have conversations with herself, Am I acti ...

Readings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Readings - Essay Example However, time is limited and progressive even as the individual undergoes the cycles. Many of the creatures that appear around or live in the river are significantly associated with the Egyptian gods and goddess. Moreover, the striking fertility of the Nile as compared to the barren condition of the barren land in Egypt made the Egyptians believe that their deities were dwelling around this fertile place. the Nun, Ogdoad, and the primordial Egyptian gods are believed to have lived around the Nile. The river acted as physical evidence that augmented Egyptian mythologies as many people could see the river. Geographically, Egypts Nile River valley was comparatively secluded from other hubs of civilization and the Egyptian religion remained unscathed by the views of foreign philosophies. The diverse pantheon of deities that existed fueled civilization and evolution of the myth that was meant to explain the world. The geographical, especially the apt weather in the Nile region, conditions also presented an inordinate opportunity for the Egyptians to explore their world a factor that significantly contributed to the rise of civilization. Various challenges confronted the Egyptians and had to devise elucidations and/or solutions. The availability of the Nile was an inordinate opportunity for the Egyptians to invent technologies that will enable them harness and reap maximally from the natural water source that was believed to be of utter significance in their existence. The legends and religious beliefs of the ancient Quichà © Maya who inhabited Guatemala are expertly described in the Popol Vuh. It starts with an exploration of the anthropomorphic lineages and clinches with a regnal pedigree, to assert that the Maya people rule the land by divine right. The Popol Vuh shows the various attempts that the maya deity did in an effort to create and transform the Maya people. The indigenous

Barriers to Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Barriers to Communication - Essay Example Recent research has shown that many recruiters now rate communication skills as the most important characteristic sought for in job applicants during selection (Yate, 2009). In this paper, I will be illuminating on the most important barriers that must be understood in order for organizations improve on the communication skills of their people and ultimately efficiency. I will begin by defining what communication is before discussing the process through which occurs with the intention of helping all readers of the report to better utilize the communication function for better personal and organizational performance. Communication can be well defined as a method of exchanging information and common understating between individuals. Unless a mutual understanding is generated from exchange of information, communication will not take place smoothly. The most important necessities in every communication process are the sender and the recipient. The sender will usually start the communication. The recipient is that particular person for which a message is intended. Message refers to the outcome and it may take any form from verbal to nonverbal or written or Language. The flow of information between senders may be hindered by noise, which includes perceptions, barriers in form of language, emotional issues, physical interruptions and attitudes held by the different parties. Feedback occurs at the point when the receiver provides a response to the initial message by a sender. Feedback is crucial to the process of communication as it tells Communication as well as methods that can be used to better improves the daily communication. The common types of barriers that I will be addressing include language barrier- Language is a very important aspect of communication as it plays the role of mediation allowing humans to effectively understand