Thursday, October 31, 2019

Q1. Google. What makes Google a great company to work for In Essay

Q1. Google. What makes Google a great company to work for In particular, explore the nature and impact that the company's HR - Essay Example To make the ‘different’ employees coordinate and cooperate, a common and effective organizational culture has to be actualized by the organization in line with effective HR policies. When such a culture is implemented, the employees’ mind will become more focused on the targets and tasks, and their motivational levels will get elevated. With highly motivated mind, the employees could contribute maximally to organization’s functioning, resulting in success. When success is achieved, the employees will be aptly rewarded, and these rewards and the success, will make the employees build a psychological contract with their employers. So, this paper will discuss how Google with its effective HR policies is able to positively impact its organizational culture, leading to better motivation and psychological contract, thereby making Google a great company to work for. Background In today’s internet savvy world, Google has become one of the best known brands, making its ‘presence’ or virtual presence in maximal parts of the world. Established by Larry Paige and Sergey Brin in 1998, Google, apart from having physical infrastructures of over one million servers, also has offices world over employing around 25,000 employees. The way, Google provides an optimal working environment for these employees or Googlers (as the Google employees call themselves) only makes them a dream company to work for. Google tops the list of various yearly surveys conducted by prestigious agencies to find the companies that are great places to work for employees. Right from the early days, its founders Larry and Sergey were clear cut that the working environment that will be visible in Google will not be the conventional one. This can be clearly seen in the way, they advertise to prospective employees, â€Å"Google is not a conventional company, and we don’t intend to become one. True, we share attributes with the world’s most success ful organizations – a focus on innovation and smart business practices comes to mind – but even as we continue to grow, we’re committed to retaining a small-company feel.† (google.com). This wish to maintain a non-conventional and small company feel has made Google to implement an organizational culture and its related HR practices, which not only motivates the current employees, but also evokes the interest of maximum number of prospective employees. â€Å"Google is attractive to prospective workers. Worldwide, 760,000 individuals applied for just 3,000 positions in 2006. The firm receives approximately 1,300 resumes per day.† (Griffin and Moorhead 2009, p.218). As mentioned above, Google tops the list of various surveys for the best employers including Fortune magazine's list of great companies to work for, having ranked in the top five for the past four years. Importantly, revenue wise, Google has been showing tremendous growth garnering revenues close to 30 billion dollars, with profits itself is in the range of 8 billion. (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 2010). Its’ share price has always been on the upswing. All this financial growth has been achieved within 12 years of its inception, with employees being one of the main beneficiaries in the form of sizable financial rewards and other incentives. This raises the question, whether Google is a great place to

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

UNit 8 Written Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

UNit 8 Written Assignment - Essay Example The clients rights include: to be diligently served in the management of his business; to be informed of its progress, and; that his counsel shall not disclose what has been professionally confided to him. (Garner, 2007) The term witness is defined as one who can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard, or experienced. (Garner, 2007) An example is â€Å"a witness to the accident†. For legal purposes, a witness is :One who is called on to testify before a court; One who is called on to be present at a transaction in order to attest to what takes place; One who signs ones name to a document for the purpose of attesting to its authenticity and an attestation to a fact, statement, or event. (Garner, 2007) The initial interview is, of course, the one unit of service that is constant across all forms of legal service delivery. It is also one of the most critical units of service. The initial interview: (1) shapes client perception of the lawyer; (2) defines the service to be provided in terms of both problem and goal; and (3) is an important opportunity for client education, e.g. confidentiality, substantive legal rights, what the client can do for himself or herself, and the need to preserve evidence. (Alfieri 1991) In many cases the initial interview may in fact be the most significant communication before outcome determinative events such as hearing or settlement. The duty of confidentiality exists to inspire client trust and prompt candor. To achieve these purposes, clients should be informed about confidentiality at the very outset of the relationship. The most important the time to bring up attorney-client confidentiality is when you start asking questions, and offer the followin g sample statement: The witness is not interviewed in the same way as the client. The witness does not have confidentiality protections, thus they are

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Crisis of Low Morale in Nursing Staff

Crisis of Low Morale in Nursing Staff Introduction of Firm This case study describes Los Rayos a medical center that is in a nurse crisis not only for their high turn over rate but for their low morale among its nursing staff. Although the hospital works diligently to provide quality care to its patients it is failing in many areas due to understaffed and overworked nursing staff. Mandated to keep up government regulations, the hospital understands the importance of not compromising quality even though it has had to minimize quantity in staff. The hospital requires nurses to come up with strategies to be implemented to help improve not only working conditions and quality control but patient care and ideas to help increase personal job performance. Over the last eight years the hospital has enforced some of the changes suggested but it finds itself still with the issue of nurses who feel that they are overextending themselves. Nursing staff is still in the position of trying to keep up with the demand of continuous educational conditioning an d development while performing on the job tasks in addition to extra curricular activities. Overview of Firm Competitive Advantage In order to have a firm competitive advantage an organization has to possess something unique that its competition does not have. What makes one different from another? This question is what separates groups and classes and makes one stand out among the rest. At Los Rayos they have qualified staff just not enough of it. Partnering with another major medical facility was a good business move as it can serve the purpose of showing Los Rayos ways it can improve on its functions within the facility. A normal turnover rate for hospitals is at 14% while Los Rayos is at 21%. Changes in an industry can affect bases and balance among it (Porter, 1985). Job satisfaction will make the difference on the advantage another medical facility will gain when nurses are looking upon where they would like to settle for a career. Some nurses will take a salary cut or drive further in order to work within a medical facility that offers them more than an opportunity to use their credentials. As the medical environment is forever changing one thing that may give a hospital a firm competitive advantage would be their values. Having an expectation of learning within the organization lets nursing staff know that they will be encouraged and required to continue to advance in their field and stay current on all resources and advancements in medicine. Having a competitive advantage means that you make it more difficult for competition and shake up the level playing field. According to Michael Porter (1985), if an organization can achieve and maintain differentiation they will be an above average performer in their industry and exceed competition. In order to be successful in this strategy Los Rayos will have to identify attributes and qualities among their nursing staff that are different from their rivals who are the organizations who benefit from their high turnover rate. They need to identify the factors that contribute the turnovers and come up solutions to keep nursing staff from leavi ng and also keep staff happy on the job. Problem statement The problem with Los Rayos medical facility is management does not resourcefully use staff, which leads to a high number in turnovers. The facility is understaffed and overworked and they promoted housekeepers to health techs and provided no skill training leaving nurses to double work as they would need to perform the patient care tasks that the health techs: were promoted to do. The hospital also dropped moral amongst staff as they took away appreciation events such as the employee picnic and Christmas party that gives staff something to look forward to every year. It is highly noted that when employees feel they are appreciated on the job it reflects in their job performance. The hospital reduced its nursing staff to double patients per nurse and increased shifts from 8 hour to 12 hour. This tedious and exhausting work schedule not only creates a hostile work environment as staff are reluctant to go the extra mile or over achieve for patients and colleagues. The hospital requires a lot from its nursing staff and where a raise or an on the job leisure activity would have compensated for the tedious job detail, management has taken those tokens away. Alternative Solutions/Opportunities a.) Create a rewards system to retain staff -there should be a work environment where staff have materials and training to properly perform tasks and should be awarded for productive performance. Evaluations should be done quarterly on staff to review job performance and adhere to what can be done better but also praise what has been done successfully. During this process not only is staff being rewarded for their accomplishments but also they acquire new knowledge and education that helps expand their skill and personal development. i) Build moral in the workplace ii) Cause discord among staff b.) Regular Shifts- Staff has become overwhelmed by the hours they spend on the job. If they had shorter shifts they would have time to reprogram and detox and come back refreshed eliminating turnover and burnouts i.) Gives staff a chance to unwind from a days work and not have to report right back for duty ii) Staff may call out or take more time off with shorter shifts Decision and Support In order to create a work environment that constantly develops nurses skills so that they can efficiently perform job tasks management needs to create a rewards system to help retain staff. Management has to recognize the nurses core commitment is to provide quality care to their patients and they need to help reduce job related stress by ensuring that supporting staff such as health techs are properly trained and skilled in work related duties. Nurses need to feel important, valued, and appreciated by their organization, as they love their job and they just want working conditions to improve. Action Plan Moving to implement the rewards system and shorter shifts for staff should take place immediately to ensure that staff understands management understands their concerns and have worked to rectify their issues. To implement successful changes, management must play an active role in the entire change process. It is the managers responsibility to understand how to address and put the change into action along with properly overseeing resistance from the staff. It is the managers responsibility to understand how to address and put the change into action along with properly overseeing resistance from the staff. Identifying potential risks, anticipating risks, estimating impact of risks, and managing risks successfully are all accomplishments and work towards building moral and retention. Scundra (2016) explained the importance of leaders understanding how to deal with different people and personalities hence the importance of the quarterly evaluations so management can provide feedback to each nurse and staff member personally. Once nursing staff feels compensated for their diligent work they will be eager to preform on the job and happy to work at Los Rayos now and in the future. REFERENCES Drucker,P. (2009). Management Cases.New York, NY. Harper Collins Publisher Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive Advantage . Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance , 1-30. Retrieved January 22, 2017. Sacndura, T. A. (2016). Essentials of Organizational Behavior. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Murder Rationale in Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment Essay -- Crime P

Murder Rationale in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment Feodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment is a murder mystery unlike most murder mysteries. In this novel the reader knows "who done it"; the mystery lies in why the murder is committed. Throughout the story, Raskolnikov gives three main reasons why he kills Alena Ivanovna. Although these reasons seem unrelated on a superficial level, there is truth in all of them. What's more, each one builds on its predecessor. Raskolnikov's first two reasons are scrutinized by Sonya one at a time as his solitary motive for murder. These reasons are then disproved on their own, leaving one ultimate motive that essentially encompasses the other two. As readers, we sometimes tend to want a direct explanation for events that have occurred. Dostoevsky gives us explanations, but they are not direct and can be confusing if we are looking for an obvious cause and effect relationship. Crime and Punishment imitates life in that the happenings do not always fit in nice neat categories. Perhaps this is one of the elements that make it such an intriguing and acclaimed novel. Raskolnikov's first reason for murdering the pawn broker is to help himself. He claims he wanted the money. He states in his confession to Sonya, "It was to rob her" (348). It is obvious that he needed money for school. Also, if he had the money to put himself through school, his mother would not have to scrimp and borrow from others to help her son. Since the death of his father, Raskolnikov's mother and sister are greatly dependent upon him to make something of himself. His mother says in a letter to him, "You are all we have, Dunya and I, you are everything to us, our only hope and trust" (25). In this same letter, his mo... ... commoners. His last reason was accepted as his ultimate motive; "Sonya understood that this gloomy creed had become his faith and his law" (353). Raskolnikov himself does not really know why he is committing murder when the murder is taking place. It is a discovery of self and of a theory that was not yet developed. He uses excuses for his reasoning in the beginning, saying that he needs the money, and, later, that he is performing a service for the greater good. These excuses are necessary and fundamental steps of Raskolnikov's journey into self-discovery. It is human nature to rationalize, which is what he is doing. Ironically, this very need for rationalization and excuse is what fails him in his quest for proof of his superiority. Work Cited Dostoevsky, Feodor. Crime and Punishment. Trans. Jessie Coulson. Ed. Goerge Gibian. New York: Norton, 1989.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s as Anti-Transcendentalist Essay

Nathaniel Hawthorne an American romantic writer, whose literature is known for its Anti-Transcendentalism, wrote Young Goodman Brown and The Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne is a writer during the American Romantics, where the majority of writing is focused on nature, supernatural elements; one’s psychology and the criticism of society’s â€Å"norm†. Nathaniel is Hawthorne known for his notorious Anti-Transcendentalist literature. Anti-Transcendentalism ideals are about one’s evil and inner and sinful nature, where everyone is born evil and no matter what, and that humanity is evil and destructive. Hawthorne is not able to accept the optimism of the Transcendentalists and through his writing he tries to look for truths in one’s heart and mind. Hawthorne’s use of symbols, characters, and themes in his literature classify his writings as Anti-Transcendentalist.Through the use of character development Hawthorne’s literature can be clas sified as Anti-Transcendentalist. In both pieces of literature Hawthorne uses characters who act as the epitome of Anti-Transcendentalism. The Scarlet Letter has two imperative characters that exemplify Anti-Transcendentalist. First we have Dimmesdale; he is a minister in the town and is one of the most highly respected men in Boston. In reality Dimmesdale is a sinner and an adulterer as he slept with Hester, another man’s wife and got her pregnant. Hester’s punishment for her actions are; public humiliation, and the Scarlet Letter. Though Dimmesdale is not revealed as her accomplice over time he himself grows a Scarlet Letter of his own. â€Å"Most of the spectators testified to having seen, on the breast of the unhappy minister, a Scarlet Letter†¦Mr. Dimmesdale, on the very day when Hester Prynne first wore her ignominious badge, had begun a course of penance†(SL 211). When Hawthorne reveals Dimmesdale having a Scarlet Letter it expresses the ideals of Anti-Transcendentalism where his own Scarlet Letter is the example of one’s inner darkness and evil that is inside of him. In Young Goodman Brown after Goodman Brown witnesses all of the townspeople participating in a witchcraft ceremony and comes back to his home he sees the world in a new perspective. â€Å"The next morning Goodman Brown came slowly into the streets of Salem staring around him like a bewildered man†(YGB 7). He is never the same and trusts no one, including his wife. It says that he snatched away the children that Goody Cloyse was talking to and when his wife embraced him he just walked away.(YGB 7 )Hawthorne uses Goodman Brown to show that everyone is evil inside and that he human spirit is destructive. Character development acknowledges a role in how Hawthorne’s literature should be classified as Anti-Transcendentalist.Character Development is not the only factor that classifies Hawthorne’s literature as Anti-Transcendentalist; symbols take on an enormous role as well. In the Scarlet Letter two symbols are Pearl, and the actual Scarlet Letter. Pearl is not only a peculiar child for her age she has a much deeper meaning. Pearl is Hester’s living example of her sin. Pearl’s purpose in the Scarlet Letter is to represent sin, but not only to Hester but in the world as well. The Actual Scarlet Letter is also a symbol which represents not only sin, but the Anti-Transcendentalist idea that your sins will never go away, sin will remain evident inside you and around you. These two examples could not exemplify Anti-Transcendentalist beliefs any more as its primary focus is about sinfulness and how people view sin. In Young Goodman Brown a few symbols that embody Anti-Transcendentalism are the forest and the old man who is meant to be the devil. The forest in both of Hawthorne’s literature has a dark meaning towards it and also is a place where no good can happen Goodman Brown believes that the devil could be present in the forest, and when he sees a woman from his town he hides as he is ashamed to be walking in the forest. The forest is characterized as devilish, frightening, and dark. The old man is also a symbol which is portrayed as the devil. He is used to represent the destructiveness of the human spirit and to show the evil within humanity. All of these characteristics contribute to classify Hawthorne’s writing as Anti-Transcendentalist. Aside from characters and symbols Hawthorne uses themes in his literature which contribute to classifying his writings as Anti-Transcendentalist. The most prominent theme in both pieces of his literature is the, nature of evil in humanity. The Scarlet Letter uses the â€Å"Black Man† as an alter ego to Chillingworth who is a representation for the Devil. On the outside Chillingworth is a doctor who is supposed to help people when they are sick but inside he is evil. Instead of giving Dimmesdale life he is making him sick, as he is taking life and making it miserable. â€Å"‘Come away, or yonder old black man will catch you! He hath got hold of the minister already. Come away, mother or he will catch you!’†(SL 61) The quote is from Pearl who understands Chillingworth is the devil and has already captured and made Dimmesdale’s life horrible. Another instance of the evil in humanity partakes in the Story of Young Goodman Brown where it contains a greate r depth of evil in humanity. The Scarlet Letter is only one man consumed by the devil but in Young Goodman Brown the whole town appears to be taking part in a witchcraft ceremony. When he is taken into the forest he sees the minister, a deacon and many more respected men of his town are evil. â€Å"He recognized a score of church members of Salem†¦Good old Deacon Gookin had arrived, his reserved pastor†(YGB 6) These men and women who are highly respected are taking part in English witchcraft. Hawthorne is expressing that humans are capable of inner darkness and evil, which enable his literature to be classified as Anti-Transcendentalist. Symbols, characters, and themes are the elements that Hawthorne uses to show how his literature can be classified as Anti-Transcendentalist. The symbols in both pieces of Hawthorne’s literature represent sin, and evil, both which are qualities of Anti-Transcendentalism. All the characters in Hawthorne’s literature contain evidence of sinful nature, inner darkness and the destructiveness of the human spirit. These qualities are most prominent in Chillingworth and Dimmesdale and especially with Goodman Brown. Lastly Hawthorne’s primary theme in all his literature is the nature of evil in humanity. Chillingworth exemplifies this theme greatly as well as the towns’ people in Young Goodman Brown. The way Hawthorne writes and his use of symbols, themes, and characters classify his writing as Anti-Transcendentalist.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Jane Goodall Research Paper

Jane Goodall Jane Goodall once said, â€Å"I wanted to talk to the animals like Dr. Doolittle. † Obviously you can tell from this quote that Jane Goodall was very passionate about animals. She was an ethologist, which is a person who studies the behavior of animals, and more specifically a primatologist. She studied chimpanzees in Africa and made ground breaking discoveries about the similarities between primates and humans. So in a nutshell, the research of Jane Goodall was revolutionary and it changed the way that we view ourselves.Before she was conducting powerful research in Africa, she started out as a normal child. She was born on April 3, 1934, in London, England. She had always loved animals and this was easily seen when at the age of 4 she slept with earthworms in her bed and stayed in a hen house for 5 hours to see her hen lay an egg. See loved all animals but her infatuation with primates stemmed from receiving a stuffed chimpanzee which she named Jubilee, at the a ge of 2. This was from Current Biography. Jane had always dreamed of going to Africa to be among nature but it took her several years to make it there.Finally, one of her friends invited her to her family’s farm in Kenya. She finally got to Africa in 1957 at the age of 23. Jane greatly enjoyed being in Africa and once there she was determined to find the paleontologist, Louis Leakey. She was able to meet him and when she did she found out he was doing a study on apes. He ended up letting her be the main field worker. The scientific community thought that it was crazy to let a woman with no science education run a study. Leakey was aware of these conceptions but didn’t pay them any mind.So in the year 1960, Jane set off for Gombe, Africa to begin researching. Just before Goodall was getting ready to start the study, many researchers discouraged her, telling her that she would never get close to the chimps and it would be a waste of time. Jane didn’t head any of t his advice. She knew that she was going to this study her way and that she would be successful. The first two months were a little disappointing for Jane. She would walk through the underbrush and only be able to hear the chimps screeching from high above and rarely, even catch a glimpse of a chimp.When she thought that everything was going terribly, she found a place she called, the â€Å"peak. † The peak was a clearing about 100 ft. above the jungle floor. Jane could sit there and observe the chimps’ natural behavior. It was here where Jane started gathering her first observations. She saw the chimps greet one another with hugs and kisses and walk hand in hand. Once she even witnessed a male take a female’s hand and gently kiss it. Jane was able to conclude from these first few observations that chimps are very social creatures like us.In no time at all, Jane had made a discovery that shocked the science world. She had observed chimps on several occasions stra tegically, hunt down and kill other animals. Until then it was believed that chimpanzees were herbivores. Another ground breaking discovery that Goodall made around that same time was that chimps made tools to help them do things. According to PBS, she saw a chimp pick out a grass stem, whittle it with his teeth, and use it as a sort of fishing pole to scrape insects out of the ground.No one had ever recorded seeing any creature other than a human create a tool. This made people rethink the definition of a human. Even though Goodall was making discoveries, she still wasn’t pleased with the fact that she wasn’t able to get close to any chimps yet. Her new focus was to do just that. She would sit on the forest floor and watch as the chimps walked by. Eventually they warmed up to her and came closer. Suddenly the chimps were aggressive toward her but after a few weeks it stopped and the chimps let her follow them while hunting for food.Soon she was even able to start inte racting with them a little. She had a special connection with a chimp she named David Grey Beard. He was the first chimp she actually made physical contact with. Many of Jane’s peers didn’t like her because she named her subjects, and told stories about them instead of recording data. A lot of them didn’t trust the authenticity of her discoveries. Jane disregarded all of this negativity. She called herself an â€Å"old fashioned naturalist. † In fact she said she would have stopped if she had had to things the official way.In the end, Goodall’s discoveries were validated and some of her research techniques have been adopted by the scientific community. So in conclusion, the research of Jane Goodall was revolutionary and it changed the way that we view ourselves. She discovered that chimps were omnivores ancd used tools; are social creatures just like humans; and was able to have contact with a wild chimp which no one else had done. So after hearing about Jane Goodall can you say that you are that much different than a chimp?

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Pelican Facts

Pelican Facts There are eight living species of pelicans (Pelecanus species) on our planet, all of which are water birds and water carnivores that feed on live fish in coastal regions and/or interior lakes and rivers. The most common in the United States are the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) and the Great White (P. anocratalus). Pelicans are members of Pelecaniformes, a group of birds that also includes the blue-footed booby, tropicbirds, cormorants, gannets, and the great frigate bird. Pelicans and their relatives have webbed feet and are well adapted to catching fish, their primary food source. Many species dive or swim underwater to capture their prey. Fast Facts: Pelicans Scientific Name: Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, P. occidentalis, P. thagus, P. onocrotalu, P. conspicullatus, P. rufescens, P. crispus, and P.philippensisCommon Names: American white pelican, brown pelican, Peruvian pelican, great white pelican, Australian pelican, pink-backed pelican, Dalmatian pelican and spot-billed pelicanBasic Animal Group: BirdSize: Length: 4.3–6.2 feet; wingspan: 6.6-11.2 feetWeight: 8–26 poundsLifespan: 15–25 years in the wildDiet: CarnivoreHabitat: Found on all continents except Antarctica, near coastlines or large inland waterwaysPopulation: Estimates only available for two near-threatened species: Spot-billed, (8700–12,000) and Dalmation (11,400–13,400)Conservation Status: Dalmatian, spot-billed, and Peruvian pelicans are classed as Near-Threatened; all other species are Least Concern Description All pelicans have two webbed feet with four toes, all of which are connected by the web (known as the totipalmate foot). All of them have large bills with an obvious gular pouch (throat pouch) which they use for catching fish and draining water. Gular sacs are also used for mating displays and regulating body temperature. Pelicans have large wingspans- some over 11 feet- and are masters in the air and on the water.   A great white pelican uses its gular pouch to capture a fish. Michael Allen Siebold / Getty Images Habitat and Distribution   Pelicans are found on all of the continents of the world except Antarctica. DNA studies have shown that pelicans can be grouped into three branches: Old World (spot-billed, pink-backed, and Australian pelicans), New World (brown, American White, and Peruvian); and the Great White. The American white is restricted to interior parts of Canada; the brown pelican is found along the western coast and Florida coasts of the United States and northern South America. The Peruvian pelican clings to the Pacific coastlines of Peru and Chile. They are fish eaters that thrive near rivers, lakes, deltas, and estuaries; some are confined to coastal regions while others range near large interior lakes.   Diet and Behavior   All pelicans eat fish, and they hunt for them singly or in groups. They scoop up fish in their beaks and then drain the water from their pouches before swallowing their prey- which is when gulls and terns attempt to steal the fish from their beaks. They can also dive into the water at great speed to capture their prey. Some of the pelicans migrate large distances, others are mostly sedentary.   Pelicans are social creatures who nest in colonies, sometimes as many as thousands of pairs. The largest of the species- the largest ones, Great White, American White, Australian, and Dalmation- build nests on the ground while the smaller ones nest in trees or shrubs or on cliff ledges. The nests vary in size and complexity.   Pelicans Diving for fish. Jean-Yves Bruel / Getty Images Reproduction and Offspring   Pelican breeding schedules vary with the species. Breeding may occur annually or every two years; some occur in specific seasons or occur year round. The eggs vary in coloration by species from chalky white to reddish to pale green or blue. Mother pelicans lay eggs in clutches that vary with the species, from one to six at once; and the eggs incubate for a period between 24 and 57 days.   Both parents take a role in feeding and tending the chicks, feeding them regurgitated fish. Many of the species have post-fledgling care that can last as long as 18 months. Pelicans take between three and five years to reach sexual maturity.   Pink-backed Pelican (Pelecanus rufescens) can be found in Okavango Delta, Botswana. Dave Hamman / Getty Images Conservation Status   The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers most pelican species of least concern. Population estimates are available for two near-threatened species: In 2018, the spot-billed pelican was estimated by the IUCN as between 8700 and 12,000 individuals), and the Dalmatian pelican at between 11,400 and13,400. Currently, the American white and Peruvian are known to be increasing in population while the spot-billed and Dalmatian are decreasing, and the Australian and pink-backed are stable. The Great White Pelican has not been counted recently. Although brown pelicans were listed as endangered during the 1970s and 1980s because of pesticides that had entered their food chains, the populations have recovered and they are no longer considered endangered. Evolutionary History The eight living pelicans belong to the order Pelecaniformes. Members of the Order Pelecaniformes include pelicans, tropicbirds, boobies, darters, gannets, cormorants, and frigate birds. There are six families and about 65 species in the Order Pelecaniformes. Early Pelecaniformes appeared during the end of the Cretaceous period. There is some controversy whether or not Pelecaniformes all share common descent. Recent studies suggest that some shared characteristics among the various pelecaniform subgroups are the result of convergent evolution. Sources Brown pelican. National Wildlife Federation, Wildlife Guide, Birds.Pelicans. IUCN Red List.  Kennedy, Martyn, Hamish G. Spencer, and Russell D. Gray. Hop, Step and Gape: Do the Social Displays of the Pelecaniformes Reflect Phylogeny? Animal Behaviour 51.2 (1996): 273-91. Print.Kennedy, Martyn, et al. The Phylogenetic Relationships of the Extant Pelicans Inferred from DNA Sequence Data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 66.1 (2013): 215-22. Print.Patterson, S.A., J.A. Morris-Pocock, and V. L. Friesen. A Multilocus Phylogeny of the Sulidae (Aves: Pelecaniformes). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 58.2 (2011): 181-91. Print.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Core and Periphery, Two Types That Make the World

Core and Periphery, Two Types That Make the World The countries of the world can be divided into two major world regions: the core and the periphery. The core includes major world powers and the countries that contain much of the wealth of the planet. The periphery has those countries that are not reaping the benefits of global wealth and globalization. The Theory of Core and Periphery Many reasons exist as to why this global structure has formed, but generally speaking, there are many barriers, physical and political, that prevent the poorer citizens of the world from participating in global relations. The disparity of wealth between core and periphery countries is staggering. Oxfam noted that 82 percent of the worlds 2017 income went to the richest one percent of people. The Core The top 20 countries ranked by the United Nations Human Development Index are all in the core. However, of note is the slowing, stagnant, and occasionally declining population growth of these countries. The opportunities created by these advantages perpetuate a world driven by individuals in the core. People in positions of power and influence around the world are often brought up or educated in the core (nearly 90 percent of world leaders have a degree from a Western university). The Periphery The population is skyrocketing in the periphery because of a number of contributing factors, including a limited ability to move and the use of children as a means to support a family, among others. Many people living in rural areas perceive opportunities in cities and take action to migrate there, even though there are not enough jobs or housing to support them. About one billion people now live in slum conditions, the UN estimates, and the majority of population growth around the world is occurring in the periphery. The rural-to-urban migration and high birth rates of the periphery are creating both megacities, urban areas with more than eight million people, and hyper cities, urban areas with more than 20 million people. These cities, such as Mexico City or Manila, have slum areas that can contain up to two million people with little infrastructure, rampant crime, no health care, and massive unemployment. Core-Periphery Roots in Colonialism Industrialized nations played a key role in establishing political regimes during postwar reconstruction. English and the Romance languages remain the state languages for many non-European countries long after their foreign colonists have packed up and gone home. This makes it difficult for anyone brought up speaking a local language to assert him or herself in a Eurocentric world. Also, public policy formed by Western ideas may not provide the best solutions for non-Western countries and their problems. Core-Periphery in Conflict Here are some examples of border clashes between nations of the core and the periphery: The growing fence between the U.S. (core) and Mexico (periphery) to prevent the entrance of unauthorized immigrants.The Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea.Air and naval patrols on the waters between Australia and Southeast Asia and between the EU and North Africa to keep out unwanted immigrants.The UN-enforced border separating the Turkish north and Greek south of Cyprus, known as the Green Line. The core-periphery model is not limited to a global scale, either. Stark contrasts in wages, opportunities, access to health care, and so on among a local or national population are commonplace. The United States, the quintessential beacon for equality, exhibits some of the most obvious examples. U.S. Census Bureau data estimated that the top 20 percent of wage earners made up roughly 51 percent of all U.S. income in 2016, and the top five percent of earners made 22 percent of all U.S. income. For a local perspective, witness the slums of Anacostia, whose impoverished citizens live a stones throw from the grand marble monuments that represent the power and affluence of Washington, D.C.s central downtown. Although the world may be metaphorically shrinking for the minority in the core, the world maintains a rough and limiting geography for the majority in the periphery.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Isochoric Process Definition and Use

Isochoric Process Definition and Use An isochoric process is a thermodynamic process in which the volume remains constant. Since the volume is constant, the system does no work and W 0. (W is the abbreviation for work.) This is perhaps the easiest of the thermodynamic variables to control since it can be obtained by placing the system in a sealed container which neither expands nor contracts. First Law of Thermodynamics To understand the isochoric process, you need to understand the first law of thermodynamics, which states: The change in a systems internal energy is equal to the difference between heat added to the system from its surroundings and work done by the system on its surroundings. Applying the first law of thermodynamics to this situation, you find that: delta-Since delta-U is the change in internal energy and Q is the heat transfer into or out of the system, you see that all of the heat either comes from internal energy or goes into increasing the internal energy. Constant Volume It is possible to do work on a system without changing the volume, as in the case of stirring a liquid. Some sources use isochoric in these cases to mean zero-work regardless of whether there is a change in volume or not. In most straightforward applications, however, this nuance will not need to be considered- if the volume remains constant throughout the process, it is an isochoric process. Example Calculation The website  Nuclear Power, a free, nonprofit online site built and maintained by engineers, gives an example of a calculation involving the isochoric process. Assume an  isochoric heat addition  in an ideal gas. In an  ideal gas, molecules have no volume and do not interact. According to the  ideal gas law,  pressure  varies linearly with  temperature  and quantity, and inversely with  volume. The basic formula would be: pV nRT where: p  is the absolute pressure of the gasn  is the amount of substanceT  is the absolute temperatureV  is the volumeR  Ã‚  is the ideal, or universal, gas constant equal to the product of the Boltzmann constant  and the Avogadro constantK is the scientific abbreviation for  Kelvin In this equation the symbol R is a constant called the  universal  gas constant  that has the same value for all gases- namely, R   8.31  Joule/mole  K. The isochoric process can be expressed with the ideal gas law as: p/T constant Since the process is  isochoric,  dV   0, the  pressure-volume work is equal to zero. According to the  ideal gas model, the internal energy can be calculated by: ∆U m cv  Ã¢Ë†â€ T where the property  cv  (J/mole K)  is referred to as  specific heat  (or  heat capacity) at a constant volume because under certain special conditions (constant volume) it relates the temperature change of a system to the amount of energy added by heat transfer. Since there is no work done by or on the system, the  first law of thermodynamics  dictates  Ã¢Ë†â€ U ∆Q.  Therefore: Q   m cv  Ã¢Ë†â€ T

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Field outing report on High Park Lab Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Field outing on High Park - Lab Report Example Introduction For the past decades, there has been a massive increase of the numbers of visitors visiting High Park. I must admit that my experience in High Park created a strong platform for me to appreciate nature and its wide range of species. This park is found in a hilly landscape and it is well-known for its natural park, sporting facilities, the zoo, playgrounds, education facilities, and cultural facilities. Since its establishment, the park has ranked the largest within Toronto city. While in the park, I found out that the park is the home to various wildlife species that to date attracts millions of visitors across the globe. This report provides a detailed description of the habitat I explored, the plants I saw, and the supplementary information I researched about the plants’ features. I had an amazing opportunity to watch the rare Black Oak Savannah habitat. About a third of the park environment consists of rare oak savannah with an open landscape. Most experts beli eve that the Oak savannah at this park is continentally significant because of its nature, size, and features of the remnant ecosystem (High Park Toronto, 2013). This research shows that, the black oak savannah of the High Park is considered significant because of its virtue of location and different plants that are unique and rare to find. For over 150 years, the Black Oak Savannah habitat has been an outstanding environment for different types of wildlife. This is because Oak trees have nesting sites for insects and birds and its acorns are the excellent food for wild turkey, deer, rodents, and other species. The parks department has implemented programs of acorn collection to attract a wide number of visitors who have a passion for such collection. The species I found in High Park are rare and unique to find in a park such as cup-plant and wild lupine. The low-nutrient and dry conditions of the Black Oak savannah of High Park supports the growing conditions of various plants such as Indian grass, little bluestem, and big bluestem whose binominal name is Prairie grasses. Additionally, it attracts prairie flowers such like wild lupine, showy tick-trefoil, and cylindrical blazing star. After a thorough investigation, I found out that there are various species that bloom well between the month of June and July such as rockrose, wild lupine, and New Jersey tea. There are other species that blossom well in the mid and late summer such as sunflower and bean family. At the High Park, there are notable wetland plant species such as sweet flag categorized as Acorus Calamus, blue-flag iris categorized as Iris Versicolor, and common arrowhead classified as Sagittaria latifolia. I must admit that High Park is the ideal place for visitors who love nature and ecology system. In essence, the park has different plants, trees, and flowers that capture many people’s attention. The place is so appealing in that one can pick a new favourite tree or flower each time he vi sits the park. The following section discusses some plants I found in the park plus their characteristics. Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberose) Butterfly weed also known as Pleurisy root is a native plant categorized in the class of tall grass prairies. This plant is the most attracting plant around that attracts many butterflies. The plant grows well in well and strong drained type of soil. In the park, the plant tolerates clay to sand soil and grows well in full sun and

Friday, October 18, 2019

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 136

Case Study Example Despite dominating the largest market share, the company has ensured that it continues to provide its customers with high quality services. Consistency of this company is detrimental to the competitors, i.e. Etisalat and Vodafone. This is because the companies have to invest heavily in advertising in order to increase their market base. Mobinil is selling quality services to the customers. The clients are buying the quality of the services being offered by the firm. Over time, the clients have become loyal to the services of the company. The core product purchased by the customers is convenience. The actual product includes airtime while augmented product includes effective customer services. The reasons for the success of Mobinil will continue to work as long as the company will manipulate them in order to meet the tastes and preferences of the target market. However, the entry of these multinational such as Etisalat and Vodafone will have a major impact on the company’s market share. This is because the companies have diversified their operation in different markets, an aspect that will enable them to offer customers with high quality products and services. In order to remain competitive, the managers need to turn to social media marketing. This will enable the company to cut the advertising budget. In addition, social media will enable the firm to conduct research on different aspects that affects the consumption behavior of the target market. In addition, the managers need to diversify its markets. This is through penetrating less competitive markets in Africa. This is to expand its revenue

American Beauty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

American Beauty - Essay Example The flow of this film exhibits the various needs of different characters. Lester’s wife feels that her needs are not met by the husband while the daughter on the other end also observed the inadequacies in her father prompting her to develop negative relationship with him. The boss of lesser is a player in the scenario with high expectations from Lester. However, Lester himself is seeking social freedom and this presents a scenario where every character is in need of something. The major characters in this film include Lester Burnham who acts as the central point where all the actions of the other characters rotate. His wife and daughter Jane are equally significant in making the film. The boss and Jane’s friend also contribute to the development of the film. The central conflict here is Lester’s desire to achieve freedom from the chains of social depression that he has accumulated over time. This he tries out in the form of dating a friend to her daughter a twist that infuriate the wife more and disgusts the daughter.

HUMAN RESOURCE PAPER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

HUMAN RESOURCE PAPER - Essay Example This is because studies in organisational theories put emphasis on a number of interrelated fields of study such as communication, management and sociology, out of which the idea of behaviour can be studied. But because organisational theories are focused on organisations, the kind of behaviour that is studied as part of these fields is generalised and termed as organisational behaviour (Gumusluoglu and Ilsev, 2009). In principle therefore, organisational be said to be the study of how the behaviour of individuals, groups and corporate structures influence an organisation. Organisational behaviour is often undertaken as a study, in which case involves a number of qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis and data collection to take decisions on ways of improving organisational effectiveness (Bollen, 2009). It is therefore a very valid argument to make that organisational behaviour is directly related to organisational effectiveness. But for there to be organisational effective ness, there are key components of organisational behaviour that must come to play, two of which are critically analysed below. Adaptive leadership theory and its influence on organisational effectiveness Adaptive Leadership and its role on Organisational Behaviour An organization without a leader may best be likened to a snake without a head. In such a situation, the organization becomes as powerless and the snake with its head cut off (Coad and Berry, 1998). This is because just as the head of a snake does for the snake, the leader is there to determine the direction that the organization will take in all its endeavours and corporate dealings (Bessant and Buckingham, 2003). It would however be noted that just as there are several forms of snakes, there are also several types of leaders, using different styles and forms of leadership. In recent times, one of the commonest forms of leaderships that are used in both the academia and in practice is the adaptive leadership. Adaptive lea dership is very influential as a component of organizational behaviour, just as leadership in general is (Homburg, Krohmer and Workman, 1999). This is because from the definition of organizational behaviour, it is realized that organizational behaviour generally makes reference to how the organization reacts in intra-personal and inter-personal manner (Guns, 1996). Meanwhile, this sense of response is triggered by the leader, who determines how the organisation must behave. There are several ways in which leadership influences or determines organisational behaviour. In the first place, the leadership style and leadership phenomenon used at the workplace determines the kind of interactions and relationships that will exist among employees, between employees and employers, and between employees and customers (Bueno et al, 2010). Meanwhile, the nature of interactions and relationships that are in place within an organisation is a very instrumental part of organisational behaviour (Kant er, 2003). A typical example of this can be cited with Toyota Motor Corporation where the type of leadership practiced, which is adaptive leadership makes it possible for all employees to be freely part of organisational level decision making. Because of this, there is constant interaction and exchanges between employees, making it easier for employees to understand each other and thus create a more friendly and hospitable organisational behaviour among themselves and among other clients of the organisation. Another role of leadership on organisational behaviour is that leadership is very instrumental in the setting of organisational goals (Podsakoff and Organ, 1986). Meanwhile, Garcia (2008) stated that the goals, aims and visions of an organisation determines the response of the organisatio

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Narcotics in the 3rd World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Narcotics in the 3rd World - Essay Example It is a well known fact that Colombia is the only country in the world where the three main plant based illegal drugs are produced in significant amounts and it is involved in illegal drug production, international smuggling and marketing. In the 1980s Colombia became the largest cocaine producer in the world and in the 90s it also became the largest coca grower nation. Additionally, it is also said to produce and supply the major share of heroin consumed in the USA and exports illegal marijuana. In the past few decades illegal drug production and trafficking in Colombia has signed the country’s history. In fact it can be said that in no other country in the history of the world in this illegal market of drugs has had so dramatic social, political and economic effects. The lack of proper policy system to control this market has been a major drawback in Colombia and has contributed greatly to changes in institutions and values. This market has been used to generate funds for left and right wing armed actors of the indefinite war experienced in the country (Thoumi, 2002). These are some of the major reasons that Colombia drug system is so unstable compared to the other countries. Drug-trafficking capital continues to exercise substantial power and influence in Colombia and internationally. This is mainly because Colombia is able to meet its need for raw materials to be processed into psychoactive substances for which there is a demand in world markets (Vargas, 2000). Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan form the Golden Cescent countries. Golden Triangle countries include Laos, Thailand and Myanmar and these are the regions responsible for the majority of opium, heroin and cocaine production. In fact though these groups financed their needs through drug production and trafficking, they cannot be compared to the Colombia market. Colombia is in the middle of an institutional crisis characterized by

Classical and Modern Rhetoric Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Classical and Modern Rhetoric - Essay Example Classical rhetoric can be traced back to the ancient times beginning with Homer who is thought to be the father of oratory having inspired many in the art. Athens in 510BC consisted of democratic institutions that forced citizens to engage in public service and making oratory skills necessary. This decree gave rise to the formation of an assembly of scholars called Sophists who strove to educate people in the art of speaking and make them better speakers. Protagoras one of the first sophists taught his students the method in making the weaker part of speech or discussion the stronger argument. In 5th century BC, Corax of Syracuse described rhetoric as the art of persuasion. He wrote the first book on rhetoric and is thought to be the actual originator of rhetoric as a science. Pupils of Corax such as Tisias also mastered the art of rhetoric. Others included Gorgias, Thrasymachus and Antiphon who was the first to unify the theoretical and practical aspects of rhetoric. The 4th century great orator Isocrates developed the art of rhetoric into a cultural academic work, a doctrine having practical objectives. He lectured on public speaking as a way of self improvement. He aimed to distance himself from the Sophists whom he viewed as pretending to know more than they did. He accepted oratory as an art to be learned and excelled in, but also that it relied on ones own personal inclinations and interest to progress in the field and this included persistence, practice and following role models. He opined that public speaking was of more value when the speaker talked on noble ideas and posed critical questions that made people think. This had the effect of improving the character of the speaker and audience as well as providing them food for thought. His written speeches were models for his students to emulate. He wrote no handbooks on the subject of oratory but his speeches 'Antidosis' and 'Against the Sophists' are considered to be models of oratory, influencing later orators such as Cicero and Quintilian (Corbett p.496.) Greek philosopher Plato highlighted a technical approach to rhetoric. His work titled Gorgias debated the Sophistic view that persuasion could be independent from the art of dialectic. Plato emphasised truth over persuasion and noted that audiences will not improve simply by listening to flattering and coercive statements. In Phaedrus, he explained the underlying conventions that comprised the substance of rhetorical art. He indicated the differences between true and false forms of rhetoric. He suggested that dialectic produced true form of rhetoric where logic and rational arguments with persuasive power seemed much more effective and genuine way to get the message across and sway audiences. Plato's coinage of the word 'rhetoric' was his way of criticizing the Sophists assertions about teaching virtue through persuasive oratory. Plato's student was Aristotle (384-322 BC) whose work on rhetoric continues to be a subject of study. Aristotle described the purpose of rhetoric as being rather than persuasion. It was a process of uncovering all possible means of persuasion. Greater emphasis was placed on a persuasive gathering of truth to win an argument rather than swaying audiences by rousing their emotions. Aristotle considered rhetoric as the opposite of logic or as he describes it, the antistrophe of dialectic.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Narcotics in the 3rd World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Narcotics in the 3rd World - Essay Example It is a well known fact that Colombia is the only country in the world where the three main plant based illegal drugs are produced in significant amounts and it is involved in illegal drug production, international smuggling and marketing. In the 1980s Colombia became the largest cocaine producer in the world and in the 90s it also became the largest coca grower nation. Additionally, it is also said to produce and supply the major share of heroin consumed in the USA and exports illegal marijuana. In the past few decades illegal drug production and trafficking in Colombia has signed the country’s history. In fact it can be said that in no other country in the history of the world in this illegal market of drugs has had so dramatic social, political and economic effects. The lack of proper policy system to control this market has been a major drawback in Colombia and has contributed greatly to changes in institutions and values. This market has been used to generate funds for left and right wing armed actors of the indefinite war experienced in the country (Thoumi, 2002). These are some of the major reasons that Colombia drug system is so unstable compared to the other countries. Drug-trafficking capital continues to exercise substantial power and influence in Colombia and internationally. This is mainly because Colombia is able to meet its need for raw materials to be processed into psychoactive substances for which there is a demand in world markets (Vargas, 2000). Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan form the Golden Cescent countries. Golden Triangle countries include Laos, Thailand and Myanmar and these are the regions responsible for the majority of opium, heroin and cocaine production. In fact though these groups financed their needs through drug production and trafficking, they cannot be compared to the Colombia market. Colombia is in the middle of an institutional crisis characterized by

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Why Was The Weimar Republic Unpopular Essay Example for Free

Why Was The Weimar Republic Unpopular Essay Why was the Weimar Republic unpopular in the years 1919-1923? Josef Wines The Weimer Republic was unpopular between the years 1919 + 1923 because of their democratic approach to government. They were not liked by the Germans because they were thought to have been ‘stabbed in the back ´ after they agreed to sign the Treaty of Versailles. Some of the reasons why the Weimer Republic was disliked were that Germans believed that by signing the Treaty, Ebert’s government had betrayed Germany. The Treaty of Versailles stated that Germany was not allowed an air force, the army had to be reduced to 100,000 men only and Germany was forced to pay reparations of  £23 billon. Also Germany had to give up 10 per cent of its land; all of its overseas colonies and 16 per cent of its coal and 48 per cent of its iron industry. Signing the Treaty meant that Germany had to accept its defeat. The loss of overseas territory meant the dismantling of the German empire and the loss of Germany’s status as a superpower. The loss of colonies took away the German pride and hurt both emotionally as well as financially.Due to all these loses, the Germans got very angry and rebelled against its government. There were many groups who rebelled against the Weimer Republic but the mainones were the Spartacus League and the Kapp Putsch. The Spartacus League was a communist party which was inspired by the Russian revolution in 1917. They wanted a communist state in which everyone is equal. They were led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg. The Spartacists main purpose was that they wanted Germany to be ruled by the workers council or the soviets.Early in the 1919 some anti-communist ex-soldiers formed themselves into a vigilante group called the Freikrops. Soon the Sparticists and the Freikorps fought bitterly and the Sparticists leaders were murdered. Ebert’s government faced yet another problem. In March 1920 a right wing opponent had challenged Ebert. These opponents were mainly people who had grown fond of Kaiser’s dictation and wanted Germany to have a stronger and bigger empire but this was destroyed by Ebert signing the Treaty and  changing Germany into a capitalist country. Dr Wolfgang Kapp led 5000 Freikorps into Berlin known as the Kapp Putsch. Germany’s army had refused to fire at the Freikorps but soon the Weimer Republicwas saved by industrial workers of Berlin who declared a strike which meant no transport, power or water into the capital. Within a few days, Dr Wolfgang Kapp realized his defeat and left the country. In January 1923, Germany failed to make a reparations payment on time causing France to invade Ruhr. This humiliated the government, which ordered a general strike, and paid the strikers by printing more money causing hyperinflation. Also between the evening of 8th November and early afternoon on 9th November, the National Socialists German Workers Party unsuccessfully tried to seize power in Munich and Bavaria. In conclusion, I think that the Weimer Republic were unpopular between the years 1919 + 1923 mainly because of the government agreeing to sign the Treaty which instigated rebellion and caused a chain of events.

Monday, October 14, 2019

The Effect Of Wind Direction On Wind Turbines

The Effect Of Wind Direction On Wind Turbines I expected to learn from this project what the effect wind source direction had on a horizontal wind turbine. I found out that going from one side to the other, depending on how the pinwheel was shaped, that the power generated would increase or decrease. The homemade pinwheel generated power that peaked at the 180 degree mark and gradually went down with a slight spike upwards at the 0 degree mark. The store bought pinwheel had an average power that peaked at 180 degrees and went down gradually and spiked all the way almost to the 180 degree mark at 0 degrees. These results are important because currently, there are wind farms and they have windmills to produce energy, it is important to imply these facts when constructing the windmill to know how to make the windmill most efficient to produce the most energy it can with the given situations. Background Research Introduction My project researches wind turbines and how changes in wind direction affect the amount of work the windmill can do. I will use two types of turbines a store-bought pinwheel and a homemade pinwheel. The two turbines will be exposed to the same amount of wind force and wind source direction. As I change the angle that the wind blows, I will calculate the amount of energy it takes to do the same task haul five paperclips vertically. My project question is: What effect does wind source direction have on a horizontal wind turbine? My hypothesis is: The more indirect the wind source is, the slower the turbine will spin, thereby working harder and using more energy. For many years my family and I have been going to Lake Tahoe. Every time we travel there, we pass a field of windmills. I used to always ask my dad what they were for and how they worked. I always loved to watch them spinning. When I was looking for a science fair topic, I saw an experiment involving wind turbines. I remembered the windmills on the way to Tahoe and thought it would be interesting to find out how they really work. I thought the mechanics of this project would be fun to make and to watch work. I hope to learn how wind turbines generate electricity, the mechanics of windmills, and under what conditions windmills spin the fastest. Scientific Background When it comes to windmills or wind turbines, there are two major types. The more well known type is the Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT). These wind turbines are the ones you typically see; they are your stereotypical type of windmill. The other type is known as the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT). These wind turbines are not as common but still have the same capability of the HAWTs. The VAWTs are not used as much because they puts more strain on the support pole, making them more likely to collapse. They also need a small generator to start spinning because most of the time the wind is not strong enough to push it alone. These windmills have generators inside of them that generate electricity when the gears spin. Discovery The first windmill was invented by none other than the Heron of Alexandria, in Greece, in the first century AD. He invented this windwheel to power a musical organ; however, this idea of wind power was not well embraced. At the time, slave labor was cheaper, faster, and more reliable. The first modern designed windmills were invented by the Persians in the 9th century AD. There is no one inventor to which to give the credit, but Persian geographer Estakhri noted the invention. The discovery of wind power is important because it introduced a new, free source of energy other than slave labor. Today our environment is at risk of being destroyed. Due to the increase in population and technological advances, the resources in our world are quickly being depleted and we are damaging our environment. We are using an increased amount of energy, specifically fossil fuels, to power almost everything we use. Instead of using fossil fuels we could and should be using more wind energy to create energy. Despite these masterminds of history, there is still more to be discovered in this area. Scientists could discover a new, more reliable, and more efficient model of wind turbine to replace the HAWTs. They need to discover more in this field in order to replace fossil fuels and stop global warming. Application Today, we use windmills as a renewable source of energy and electricity. If scientists in the future can have a breakthrough with windmills, it could permanently replace fossil fuels, therefore stopping global warming. Residential wind power is becoming more available, but not as accessible as we need them to be. Conclusion From this project, I hope to learn how wind turbines generate energy. I hope to learn some of the mechanics behind windmills, under what conditions windmills spin the fastest, and how they can create energy. Experiment Details Experiment Question What effect does wind source direction have on a horizontal wind turbine? Experiment Hypothesis The more I move the wind source to one side of the turbine, the wind turbine will spin more slowly. Experiment Variables Independent Variable The angle in degrees that the wind source will blow at the rotor. Dependent Variable How much time, in seconds, it will take the wind turbine to pull up 5 paperclips. Controlled Variables The amount of weight the wind turbine will pull up The amount of wind being blown at the wind turbine (hairdryer on high speed) The temperature of the air being blown (hairdryer on cool setting) The height the turbine will have to life the paperclips The wind turbine itself Materials and Procedures Materials Used Pinwheel, store-bought or homemade Scissors 8.5-inch x 8.5-inch sheet of paper Ruler Pen Nail Wooden skewer, available at grocery stores Tape, any kind Empty oatmeal canister with plastic lid Handful of rocks (or heavy objects to keep the oatmeal canister weighted down) Small compression spring (approximately  ½ inch long and able to fit over skewer) Clear tape Spool of thread (1) Paper clips, #1 size (5) Measuring tape Room in your home that is free from drafts Hair dryer Table or chair Sticky notes, small size A helper Stopwatch Lab notebook Graph paper Procedures Building My Rotor For a store-bought pinwheel: STEP 1: I have to remove the rotor blades from the shaft by cutting off the plastic nozzle tip of the shaft. This rotor is now on the skewer and is ready for testing. For a home-made pinwheel: STEP 2: Fold a square piece of paper diagonal then back then diagonal the other direction then back. When I am finished I should have an X crossing the middle of my paper. STEP 3: Measure about 2 inches from the center on each crease and draw a line with my pen. STEP 4: Make four holes in the paper with the nail near the corner. STEP 5: Make a fifth hole in the center of the paper STEP 6: Cut along the creases with the scissors and stop where the lines were drawn 2 inches out from the center. Building my Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbine STEP 7: Use the nail to poke two small holes on corresponding sides of the Oatmeal container about one inch down from the top. STEP 8: Place rocks inside the container and close the lid. STEP 9: Put the skewer between the two holes. STEP 10: Thread the spring on one side of the skewer. STEP 11: Put on one of the rotors (homemade or store bought) next to the spring on the skewer. STEP 12: If I were using the homemade rotor I must first fold the four corner holes onto the middle hole so they are all on top of each other and form one hole. Then thread the skewer through the hole and the rotor is ready. STEP 13: Tape the rotor to the skewer so it will not slip off the skewer. STEP 14: Cut about 2 feet of thread. STEP 15: Tie one end of the thread to the end of the skewer that does not have the rotor taped to it. STEP 16: Tie the other end to one paper clip. Then attach the remaining four paper clips to each other then attach the four to the first one that is tied to the thread. This is the load that the wind turbine will be pulling. STEP 17: Measure the threads full length with the measuring tape from the skewer to the first paper clip. Record measurement in lab notebook. Now I am ready to start testing. Testing My Wind Turbine STEP 18: Place Wind turbine on the edge of a table or chair in a room without drafts. STEP 19: I will be testing my wind turbine at five different points around the rotor, 0 degrees, 45 degrees, 90 degrees, 135 degrees, and 180 degrees. To mark these points on the table, extend and lock the measuring tape so that it is approximately 6 inches longer than the radius of the rotor. Hold one end of the measuring tape directly below the point where the rotor meets the skewer, and the other end of the measuring tape at the approximate points around the pinwheel. Mark the points on the table with small sticky notes. When I begin the test, I will hold the handle of the hair dryer on the sticky notes and the blower end will point at the rotor. The goal is to have 1-2 inches between the rotor and the blower. If I dont have enough room, or have too much space, then I would have to adjust my sticky notes outward or inward. STEP 20: Have the helper manage the stop watch while you hold the hair dryer in position. As a test run, start the hair dryer on low and move it from sticky note to sticky note and record what happens in the notebook. STEP 21: Extend thread to full length STEP 22: Place the handle of the hair dryer on the first sticky note and turn the hair dryer on low and face it away from the rotor. STEP 23: When the helper says go, point the hair dryer at the rotor and leave it there. Keep the hair dryer at the same level for every test. STEP 24: Observe the motion of the paper clips. When the top of the first paperclip reaches the skewer, the helper should stop the stopwatch. If the paper clips do not to rise all the way to the skewer, then stop the stopwatch when the paper clips stop moving. STEP 25: Turn off the hair dryer when the clips reach the top or when they stop moving and record the time in the table drawn in the notebook. STEP 26: Repeat steps 21-25 until all testing is done. Challenges and Technical Issues I experienced several technical challenges relating to timing and angle as I performed this experiment. First, it was difficult to keep the direction of the air source constant. While I held the hairdryer, I found it difficult to keep it still. It was also difficult to ensure that the angle was kept constant throughout the experiment. I did my best to make several markings on the table to align the hairdryer. I also found that while using the homemade pinwheel, the pinwheel would sometimes push the skewer forward, causing the string to make contact with the canister, therefore slowing it down. To resolve this, I moved the pinwheel to the front end of the skewer and secured it there. Similarly, I found that while using either pinwheel, the string would sometimes wrap part of the way on the skewer but run out of skewer and fall off the edge before it was fully wound. To resolve this, I moved the string closer to the canister so there was more room for it to wind onto. Timing was also one of the human errors. Coordinating the actual start and stop of the stopwatch with the actual wind source (hairdryer) was tricky. My assistant and I counted down 3-2-1 and got as close as possible. There were times that we needed to restart the trial due to timing issues. Experiment Results With my tests results from the store bought pinwheel, the averages in ascending order staring at zero degrees going up are: 27.18 seconds, 36.94 seconds, 47.84 seconds, and 26.53 seconds. In these tests, there was only one outlier. That outlier was in the 90 degree testing when the outlier was below every other time with a time of 28.36 seconds. This was due probably to movement of the wind angle. In the homemade pinwheel, the averages of the times are in ascending order from zero degrees going up are: 57.86 seconds, 1 minute 2.20 seconds, 1 minute 21.66 seconds, 41.67 seconds, and 35.11 seconds. There were four outliers within these tests. One was with the 0 degrees test; it had a time of 1 minute 7.97 seconds. There were two outliers in the 45 degree angle testing. The first had a time of 40 seconds and the next had a time of 1 minute 12.17 seconds. Both of these did not get all the way to the top of the canister. The fourth outlier was in the 135 degree tests with a time of 1 minute 4.91 seconds. All of these faulty times were most likely due to movement of the hairdryer. With all of the outliers in my experiment, I included them into the average and did not change or discard them. Time Data Table Store-Bought Pinwheel Position of Wind Source (degrees) Time to Raise Load (seconds) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Average Uncertainty 0 29.78 31.81 23.85 26.90 23.54 27.18 Range: 8.27 sec. Human error possibility: movement 45 38.62 38.87 43.38 33.56 29.78 36.84 Range: 13.6 sec. Human error possibility: movement 90 38.75 36.61 42.22 38.74 28.36 36.94 Range: 13.86 sec. Human error possibility: movement 135 45.41 54.28 49.75 47.82 41.93 47.84 Range: 12.35 sec. Human error possibility: movement 180 28.10 25.98 28.88 27.31 22.38 26.53 Range: 6.5 sec. Human error possibility: movement Time Data Table Home-Made Pinwheel Position of Wind Source (degrees) Time to Raise Load (seconds) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Average Uncertainty 0 53.91 54.34 1:07.97 54.66 58.44 57.86 Range: 14.06 sec. Human error possibility: movement 45 40.0 1:12.17 56.06 1:07.59 1:15.18 1:02.20 Range: 35.18 sec. Human error possibility: movement 90 1:30.43 1:29.16 1:04.91 1:23.35 1:20.43 1:21.66 Range: 25.52 sec. Human error possibility: movement 135 45.78 41.59 44.94 39.53 36.50 41.67 Range: 9.28 sec. Human error possibility: movement 180 35.22 37.56 37.31 32.38 33.09 35.11 Range: 5.18 sec. Human error possibility: movement Distance-Work Data Table Store-Bought Pinwheel Average Work Done = Force . Average Distance (N . m ) Mass of load (5 paperclips) = 0.00215 kg Force = Mass x 9.81(m/sec2) = 0.0210915 Newtons Position of Wind Source (degrees) Distance Paper Clips Were Raised (cm) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Average Distance (meters) Average Work Done (N . m ) 0 61 61 61 61 61 0.61 0.013 45 61 61 61 61 61 0.61 0.013 90 61 61 61 61 61 0.61 0.013 135 61 61 61 61 61 0.61 0.013 180 61 61 61 61 61 0.61 0.013 Position vs. Power Data Table Store-Bought Pinwheel Position of Wind Source (degrees) Power=Average Work Done Divided By Average Time (W) 0 .0004782 45 .0003528 90 .0003519 135 .0002717 180 .00049 Distance-Work Data Table Home-Made Pinwheel Average Work Done = Force . Average Distance (N . m ) Mass of load (5 paperclips) = 0.00215 kg Force = Mass x 9.81(m/sec2) = 0.0210915 Newtons Position of Wind Source (degrees) Distance Paper Clips Were Raised (cm) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Average Distance (meters) Average Work Done (N . m ) 0 61 61 61 61 61 0.61 0.013 45 16.5 38 61 61 61 0.475 0.010 90 61 61 61 61 61 0.61 0.013 135 61 61 61 61 61 0.61 0.013 180 61 61 61 61 61 0.61 0.013 Position vs. Power Data Table Store-Bought Pinwheel Position of Wind Source (degrees) Power=Average Work Done Divided By Average Time (W) 0 .0002246 45 .0001607 90 .0001591 135 .0003119 180 .0003702 Data Analysis and Discussion There is one main reason why I got the results I did from my experiments. I got these results because of the way the pinwheel is shaped to spin. For example, the home made pinwheel I shaped, not intentionally, to spin to the right and it had fewer blades than the store bought pinwheel, but the store bought pinwheel was manufactured to spin to the left. In addition, the store bought pinwheel had twice as many blades as the homemade pinwheel; therefore it was able to catch more wind from the hairdryer, making the averages of the store bought much higher than most of the home made pinwheel averages. Windmills, when they spin, produce energy via a generator. The windmills I constructed are the same way but without a generator. I was able to calculate the power the windmills generated by pulling up the five paperclips and by using the time they needed to pull the paperclips all the way to the top. My graph shows the power that was generated using the load pulled (2g) and the time needed to pull the load on a scatter plot graph. The line that is drawn between the points is the trend in increase or decrease of the data. On the x axis, the position of the wind source in degrees is shown. On the y axis, the power in watts that is being generated by the windmill pulling the paper clips. This graph is useful to me because it is an easy way to show which position and windmill produced more power. My results answer my original question with proof from the experiments; it shows that my hypothesis was incorrect. Regarding the store bought pinwheel, the power in watts goes down starting from 0 degrees but then spikes up at 180 degrees. The home made pinwheel goes down all the starting from 180 degrees to 0 degrees. I never stated in my hypothesis that it mattered which direction, whether left or right, it decreased from. / Conclusion My hypothesis was incorrect. I thought the more I moved the wind source from the center to one side of the turbine, the wind turbine would spin more slowly and produce less power. I expected the graph to show an upside down V. This was disproved with my trials. The trend line essentially formed a V, showing an increase in power produced with both pinwheels. Recommendations If someone does want to retry this project or study more in this field, I would give them the following advice. If someone wanted to retry this experiment, I would recommend that they try to eliminate all possible human and mechanical errors such as movement. They could try to make a stand for the hair dryer to ensure that it stays straight and at the same height for each test. Slight movements can make a difference in how the wind catches the blades of the pinwheel. For someone wanting to study in this field, I would recommend that they perform this experiment comparing pinwheels that were equally matched. That is, use pinwheels that have the same number of blades in the same direction. They could also test pinwheels made of different materials and compare them that way. If someone just wanted to know which pinwheel to buy to be most efficient, I would tell them to get one that is made out of sturdy material, has a lot of blades, and one that has blades that are perfectly shaped to catch the wind. Acknowledgements For this experiment, there are a few people that I would like to mention who helped me perform this experiment. First, this project took me about three hours in all to perform and many after that to organize the board and all of the data. Throughout those hours, my mother helped motivate me to get my project done, helped me perform my experiment. She gave me the knowledge of how to make a computerized graph and helped me when I struggled. I would also like to mention Mrs. Roy, my 8th grade science teacher, for giving me initial tips on what to do differently with my experiment to make it the best it could be.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Why Do Emotions Exist? :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pervading us with an array of highs and lows, ranging from anger and sadness, to love, joy, and contentment, emotions vividly affect our daily lives. So, unequivocally it could be asked, â€Å"Why do emotions exist?† It is possible that the sole, underlying principle of emotions is to create a reaction in people and things in our environment; or perhaps they exist to be our governing channel of communication; or maybe they precisely exist to regulate individual self-confidence and disparage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The theory that emotions have a sole principle to generate reactions amongst people, things, and their environment, is very conceivable. Every emotion has a cause and effect, and frequently, both are a reaction in others around us. Perhaps the emotions that are expressed by the opening individual have no direct affect on that individual, but on others, and the reaction emotions of others are what cause the effects on the individual. It could be a repetitive chain of events that begins and ends alike.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since emotions are typically needed to communicate successfully, this gives way to the possibility that emotions exist to be our governing channel of communication. The level of understandability and intensity of communication is exceedingly dependant on the amount of emotion used. Emotionless verbal communication is complex to understand, uninteresting and monotonous. Emotionless nonverbal communication is generally next to impossible to comprehend, and is the borderline of understanding and bewilderment. Communication could be straightforwardly thought of as expressed emotion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Maybe, instead of, or in addition to, having a principle to create reactions and to be a major channel of communication, emotions precisely exist to regulate individual self-confidence and disparage. External, as well as internal, emotions are often used to compliment and criticize a person’s own character. Emotions control a person’s level of confidence, or lack there of, in their success and individuality. Perhaps this self-determining strength and weakness alike could be the rationale.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Why do emotions exist?† is a question that could be answered with numerous possibilities; each of those possibilities being parallel to other.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Self-Concept Essay -- Self Concept

The Self-Concept is a complicated process of gaining self-awareness. It consists of mental images an individual has of oneself: physical appearance, health, accomplishments, skills, social talents, roles, intellectual traits, and emotional states and more –all make up our self-concept.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The development process begins at about six or seven months of age. The child begins to recognize â€Å"self† as distinct from surroundings. They stare at anything they see, including their own body parts; hands, feet, toes, and fingers. As they grow, their sense of identity expands through interactions with others –creating self-esteem levels that become the â€Å"booster† for the ability to interact. There are two theories that describe how interactions shape our self-views. One defines perceptions of the judgments of others called Reflected Appraisal. It is the notion of receiving supportive and nonsupportive messages. It states that positive appreciation and a high level of self-value is gain when supportive messages are received. In contrast, receiving nonsupportive messages leads to feeling less valuable, lovable, and capable. Everyone that you and I interact with influences these self-evaluations. Either from your past or from present –all shapes how you view yourself, especially from our significant others. The strength of messages from significant others become stronger and eventually affect the health, when they are nonsupportive; depression, for instance, leads to less physical activities that are necessary for a healthy body. However, the foremost important influences are our parents. Supportive parents raise children with healthy self-concepts. While nonsupporti ve parents raise an unhappy child who view his/her self in negative ways.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The other theory defines evaluation of ourselves in terms of how we compare with others, called Social Comparison. There are two types, superior or inferior comparison and same as or different from others. We compare by attractiveness, success or failures, intelligence, and it all depends on whom we are comparing ourselves with. For instance, an individual might feel inferior when compared with an inappropriate reference group. Therefore, he or she might feel inferior because she feels less of everything from the reference. Similarly, the opposite occurs when compared with an appropriate reference group.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In addition, we a... ... behavior. This means that self-awareness must also come into play. I will have to be concerned about the way I present my ideas, as well as my behavior; otherwise, it will be perceived negatively.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  So far, my self-concept has changed positively and in time, it will improve (optimists). The only difficulty that I have been facing is the ability to defend myself against negative comments from others. Because of my thinking process speed, it takes time for me to acquire comments and how to say them immediately. In addition, I found that it is not necessary to give a response back to negative comments in order to defend yourself, except in courtrooms. Nonverbal expressions are also as powerful. For example, ignoring critical comments create a serious climate between you and the speaker –sending a message that the comment was unnecessary and offensive. But in some cases, verbal messages are necessary, such as that in debates over issues. In conclusion, I would have to say that what has been written are only a scratch on a big surface of interpersonal communication skills that I have learned from this class. This concept just happened to be the most important for improvement.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Mandating School Uniforms Essay

The controversy on school uniforms has continued from the early 1990’s and its worth was reiterated by President Bill Clinton in his State of the Union Address in 1996. In attending a school which incorporates the school uniforms parents need to know what school uniforms represent, the goal of the schools for their children, and what should be taught to their children. School uniforms create unity and pride. School uniforms are also encouraged as a means to help ensure students safety and assist them in achieving academic success. Although it is argued that  school uniforms is a breach of a student’s freewill for self- expression, all public schools should incorporate uniforms because it creates and symbolizes unity and pride, heightens discipline, but most importantly it is believed that the reinforcement of school uniforms decrease bullying, disciplinary actions ,and violence. School uniforms create unity with uniforms being the same across the whole campus. Teachers are able to identify students and separate them from outsiders or those who are on campus without permission. Parents also play a big role in educating students with what uniforms represent for them and the schools they attend. Students will become more confident in engaging with their peers and teachers because they will not feel any different but rather have a sense of belonging. Huss’s (2007) article â€Å"Do uniforms influence teacher expectations† reports that teachers perceived an elevation in the overall morale at the school after the implementation of the school uniform policy. School uniforms boost confidence in students and makes it easier to interact with one another without being self-conscious about the attire he and/or she has on. It is an acknowledgement of the schools they attend but most importantly who they represent as  individuals. Students with low socioeconomic statuses are unable to express themselves if they are unable to afford the new and latest trends which may cause them to feel out of place. Should Public Schools Reinforce Uniforms? 3 Would a parent ever want his and/or her child singled out because of clothing? Parents need to think about all students who are currently affected and not only for their own child’s sake or unnecessary want. Other students who wish for brand name clothing and cannot have them tend to shy away from others and eventually shy away from school. With school uniforms  implemented students will learn to appreciate themselves as students, and without distractions from clothes they will be able to see one another for who and what they represent which is the act of unity and the start of discipline. Anderson (2002) states that when students dress alike, a â€Å"team-like† culture develops, and this promotes school spirit and positive self-images. Uniform is in fact a representation of one, and students will grow to understand the value of wearing a uniform. Because all students look alike, differences are pushed aside thus allowing more time to focus on academics. School uniforms decrease disciplinary actions because students have more self-respect, respect for their peers and for their teachers. Some school personnel believe students and teachers tend to behave the way they are allowed to dress (Stephens, 1996). When school uniforms are present in schools the goal is to make a distinction between teachers and students. Teachers are given the authority to teach and students are given an undivided attention from teachers which will allow them to learn. An observation of a United Kingdom school conducted by Amy Walmsley (2011) stated with school uniforms implemented students are more likely to  respect peers and teachers because they are reminded that their job is to be a student. Students will attend school in uniforms and cannot differentiate with one another as they are able to identify themselves and their peers as students are all in school for one common goal which is to learn and exceed in academics. Teachers can lead by example and support the integration of school uniforms by wearing similar colors to school consequently reminding the students that Should Public Schools Reinforce Uniforms? 4 they are all on the same page. Parents and guardians can lend a hand in educating their children  as well to ensure students understand the importance of school uniforms in creating discipline overall school campus. With discipline comes more control in the schools and school uniforms can definitely be one influential cause. Studies conducted with regards to student discipline has shown that schools which have incorporated school uniforms have noted that students behaved better, paid more attention in class, and interacted in a respectful manner than before the implementation took place (Huss, 2007). As Angela Walmsley (2011) reiterates in her article, â€Å"teachers appreciate the fact that the  presence of school uniforms brings a sense of duty to the students and respect for the school and teachers. Uniforms should be used to create a positive school climate in which students focus on learning and bring back a little bit more respect for teachers and students in the classroom†. Teachers perceived improvement in academic and achievement motivation, an increased sense of responsibility by students acknowledging a more effective use of instructional time, and greater participation in classroom activities (Huss,2007). Why else would parents not want to implement  school uniforms in public schools? Students are being bullied, violated, and threatened for their designer or brand name clothing. Others with low socioeconomic statuses are constantly being harassed and ridiculed because they do not fit in a social group due to what they wear. The implementation of school uniforms can minimize the act of bullying in schools. Nowadays fashion trends and designer clothes are aimed to a younger generation, and students are going out of their way to flaunt (show off new clothes with attitude) them. While some students are fortunate enough to receive  these with parents who are able to afford them, others are not able to because their parents have much more important things to worry about with regards to how money is being spent in their Should Public Schools Reinforce Uniforms? 5 households. Students cannot learn to appreciate the effort of the school for the integration of school uniforms if parents continue to condone this type of behavior. Parents need to be mindful of all other reasons that may affect students while they are in school and their cry for freedom of expression. In an attempt to help stop bullying The Federal Government has created a Stop  Bullying website and brings to light a certain group of students who may be at risk of being bullied. Some of the children who may be at risk of being bullied if it has not occurred yet are perceived as different from their peers because of different clothing or not wearing what other students consider cool (â€Å"Stop Bullying, † n. d) . Students especially those who are females are known to degrade one another if the clothes worn are not of the latest style. An editor, Vanessa O’Connell of The Wall Street Journal writes and reports on fashion bullies from a public school which has yet to incorporate a school uniform. Students without the latest cool brands have become a target for bullying because they are wearing the wrong brands. It is stated that the number of fashion bullies (or those related to clothing) and incidents have increased over the years, therefore calling for assistance in reduction of these types of incidents. Susan M. Swearer, associate professor of school psychology at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, surveyed a total of more than 1,000 students at five Midwestern middle schools from 1999 to 2004, with about 56% of the sample female, and more than one-third of the students admits to being bullied  because of their clothing (O’Connell, 2007). Students should not have to worry about clothing but it is happening and it needs to stop with the reinforcement of school uniforms. Furthermore, the Bullying Statistics from 2013 has stated that 77% of students are being bullied on a regular basis, and half of the percentage is made up of students who are harassed and fear returning to school. The effects of bullying are low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and some suicidal thoughts. Bullying due to clothing occurs when students are being teased or Should Public Schools Reinforce Uniforms? 6 humiliated constantly for not having the latest designer clothes, or for having a different type of style in attire such as Goth wear or those of a low socioeconomic status. Name-calling, dirty stares, elimination from social groups are some of the actions defined as bullying which students are involved in at school. With the integration of school uniforms there should be no bullying in school with respect to the types of clothing the students should wear. Students will not be intimidated by one another because they choose to express themselves differently, therefore  permitting them to the freedom they need to learn and exceed in academics. The most important reason school uniforms should be incorporated is to help decrease violence. Violence in schools has been marked by health professionals as a threat to overall health and academic success of students (Stephens, 1996). In addition, programs which were implemented in schools to assist with violence have noted a possible connection between school violence and the type of clothing students wear (King, 1998). Most cases are due to the fashion trends which is most attractive by students such as brand name clothing or urban wear which are  over-sized and can be mistakenly identified as gang-related clothing. This type of wear is the made popular by famous hip hop artists and rappers whom students look to imitate and idolize. Students have had violent encounters in school because some individuals envy them because they cannot afford to purchase these types of clothing. Furthermore, gang members are usually differentiated from one another through the colors they wear and there have been instances where students from local schools are unintentionally harmed or gunned down due to the colors they choose to wear to express themselves in school. Other students who become victim to these occurrences are able to hide weapons in their large clothing which is potentially placing all students in harm’s way. Should Public Schools Reinforce Uniforms? 7 Violence in schools has been an ongoing issue over the last decades and King notes in his article Should School Uniforms be Mandated in Elementary School how violence has negatively influenced students and have caused one of every 10 to 12 youths to stay away from school does so because of fear (Stephens, 1997; Everett & Price,1995). Students fear for their lives because of the common occurrence of violence. They are no longer motivated to attend nor learn from school as they do not feel safe in school. These feelings eventually cause isolation and causes students to drop out of school. With the implementation of school uniforms, fights over looks and styles will discontinue hence giving faculty, staff, teachers, and parents more time to focus on academic success of students. In support of decreasing violence through incorporating school uniforms research studies have shown that there has been an intense decrease of violence and disciplinary problems for Kindergarten through Grade Eight in schools which have incorporated  uniforms (King, 1998). Requiring school uniforms is one of the simplest ways to start teaching students about unity and pride as they start school and grow into learning individuals. It is important for parents and teachers to support the decision to implement school uniforms and allow the students to adapt to the changes which are designed to provide them a safe and secure learning environment. The reinforcement of school uniforms will lead to changes that are not only beneficial to students but the teachers and the school as a whole. It will help the students understand the importance of  school uniforms and how they symbolize unity and pride. In addition it encourages students to learn to appreciate and respect themselves, their peers, and teachers and remove distractions from which eventually lead to bullying, fighting, or some form of disciplinary or violent behavior. With full support from parents, the students will be on their way to academic success. Should Public Schools Reinforce Uniforms? 8 Students can lead themselves to a fit and well-disciplined environment where they will be able to learn at their full capacity, and their teachers can teach at their maximum potential (King, 1998). References Everett SA, Price JH. Students’ perceptions of violence in the public schools: the MetLife survey. J Adol Health. 1995; 17:345-352. Huss, J. A. (2007) The role of school uniforms in creating an academically motivating climate: Do uniforms influence teacher expectations. Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative Research, 1, 31-39. Retrieved from: http://eds. b. ebscohost. com. proxy-library. ashford. edu/ Should Public Schools Reinforce Uniforms? 9 Kling, K. A. (1997) Should School Uniforms be Mandated in Elementary Schools? Journal of School Health, 68 (1), 32-37. Retrieved from: http://eds. b. ebscohost. com. proxy-library. ashford. edu/ O’Connell, V. (2007, October) Fashion Bullies Attack – In Middle School The Wall Street Journal Retrieved from: http://online. wsj. com/news/articles/SB119326834963770540 Portner J. Department to issue guidelines on school uniforms. Educ Week. 1996;15(24):27 (as cited in King, 1998, p. 32) Stephens RD. The art of safe school planning. Sch Admin. 1996;53(2): 14-21. (as cited in King, 1998, p. 32) The US Dept of Education. Manual on School Uniforms, online. Retrieved from: http://inet. ed. gov/updates/uniforms. html. Feb 29, 1996. The U. S Department of Health & Human Services Manual on Bullying, online Retrieved from: http://www. stopbullying. gov/at-risk/factors/#atrisk The White House Office of the Press Secretary. Memorandum for the Secretary of Education. Subject: Manual on School Uniforms, online. http://inet. ed. gov/PressReleases/02- 1996/whpr. 26. html. Feb 23, 1996. Walmsley, A. (2011) What the United Kingdom can teach the United States about school uniforms. Kappanmagazine. org. 92 (6), 63-66. Retrieved from: http://eds. b. ebscohost. com. proxy-library. ashford. edu/