Thursday, October 31, 2019

PHY100 Writing Assignment 1 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

PHY100 Writing 1 - Assignment Example Changes in energy occur to the rubber band when it is stretched (application of force) and when it is in unscratched state. Hooke’s Low can be used to demonstrate the changes that take place in a rubber band when it is stretched. Hooke’s law states that â€Å"the amount of force applied to an elastic object is proportional to the amount of deformation (stretch or compression) that the object undergoes† (Breithaupt, 77). This is why when more force is applied on a rubber band, the stretch increases and when a little force is applied, there is little stretch. This principle can be presented in the following equation where F represents the applied force, k represent the force constant of the rubber band and x is the length of the stretch recorded. In the equation below, the force applied is proportional to the amount of deformation on the rubber. Despite the fact that a rubber band is elastic and can stretch when more force is applied, the rubber band only stretches up to a certain limit. Robert Hooke also noted that elastic objects stretches until they reach elastic limit also referred to as yield limit. Beyond this point, the rubber band exhibit plastic deformation and can no longer return to their original shape when the stretch force is removed. Plastic deformation occurs on the rubber band because beyond maximum stretch force, application of extra force results into breaking of limited number of atomic bonds holding together rubber band molecules (Fan & Zhu, 28). This explains why certain parts of the rubber band stretched more than the other parts. These parts that stretched more the other parts must have underwent plastic

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Strategic Human Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Strategic Human Resources - Essay Example It is a statement, which shows the company’s ideology and direction. Many things depend upon this. Employees get a clear picture of what is going to happen in the near and far future. On the other hand, there is confusion in many organizations that the HR is only limited to bring new faces in the company. S/he is hardly aware of what the company has as its target. The HR strategy clears this confusion proving the fact that the HR is an essential person in the organization who is very much aware of everything happening there and thus help in attaining an important goal of retaining the employees. (Messmer, 2001) The HR of a company clearly states what the company has done so far. All the ups and downs are openly discussed before people and therefore, the employees become aware of the results that have come out of the business strategy that has been obtained by the company so far. Periodic briefings regarding the goals and objectives of a particular project and sharing of information also help. Therefore, the management also thinks about new changes that can be brought into service for pacing up the company furthermore. (Messmer, 2001) Basically, HR strategy and HR theories meet at two points – requirements of the firm and requirements of the employee. An HR manager always tries to explain the reality with a theoretical perception. This helps him/her to compare the reality with the ideal. S/he tries to improve the company’s standard by deciphering its basic requirements comparing with the theory. On the other hand, requirements of the individuals are also the important matters to him/her. S/he tries to bring the equilibrium between the theory and reality. In his book ‘The Human Side of Enterprise† McGregor shows how Theory Y influences the effectiveness of managers and salaries and promotions. The two theories highlight two different orientation of behavior or disposition. Theory X

Sunday, October 27, 2019

A Report On Nuclear Weapons Engineering Essay

A Report On Nuclear Weapons Engineering Essay A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter; a modern thermonuclear weapon weighing little more than a thousand kilograms can produce an explosion comparable to the detonation of more than a billion kilograms of conventional high explosive. Thus, even single small nuclear devices no larger than traditional bombs can devastate an entire city by blast, fire and radiation. Nuclear weapons are considered weapons of mass destruction, and their use and control has been a major focus of international relations policy since their debut. In the history of warfare, only two nuclear weapons have been detonated offensively, both near the end of World War II. The first was detonated on the morning of 6 August 1945, when the United States dropped a uranium gun-type device code-named Little Boy on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The second was detonated three days later when the United States dropped a plutonium implosion-type device code-named Fat Man on the city of Nagasaki, Japan. These bombings resulted in the immediate deaths of an estimated 80,000 people (mostly civilians) from injuries sustained from the explosion. When factoring in deaths from long-term effects of ionizing radiation and acute radiation sickness, the total death toll is estimated at 120,000. The use of these weapons remains controversial. Since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, nuclear weapons have been detonated on over two thousand occasions for testing purposes and demonstration purposes. A few states have possessed such weapons or are suspected of seeking them. The only countries known to have detonated nuclear weapons—and that acknowledge possessing such weapons—are (chronologically) the United States, the Soviet Union (succeeded as a nuclear power by Russia), the United Kingdom, France, the Peoples Republic of China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea. Israel is also widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, though it does not acknowledge having them. There are two basic types of nuclear weapon. The first type produces its explosive energy through nuclear fission reactions alone. Such fission weapons are commonly referred to as atomic bombs or atom bombs (abbreviated as A-bombs), though their energy comes specifically from the nucleus of the atom. In fission weapons, a mass of fissile material (enriched uranium or plutonium) is assembled into a supercritical mass—the amount of material needed to start an exponentially growing nuclear chain reaction—either by shooting one piece of sub-critical material into another (the gun method) or by compressing a sub-critical sphere of material using chemical explosives to many times its original density (the implosion method). The latter approach is considered more sophisticated than the former and only the latter approach can be used if the fissile material is plutonium. A major challenge in all nuclear weapon designs is to ensure that a significant fraction of the fuel is consumed before the weapon destroys itself. The amount of energy released by fission bombs can range from the equivalent of less than a ton of TNT upwards of 500,000 tons (500 kilotons) of TNT. The second basic type of nuclear weapon produces a large amount of its energy through nuclear fusion reactions. Such fusion weapons are generally referred to as thermonuclear weapons or more colloquially as hydrogen bombs (abbreviated as H-bombs), as they rely on fusion reactions between isotopes of hydrogen (deuterium and tritium). However, all such weapons derive a significant portion, and sometimes a majority, of their energy from fission (including fission induced by neutrons from fusion reactions). Unlike fission weapons, there are no inherent limits on the energy released by thermonuclear weapons. Only six countries—United States, Russia, United Kingdom, Peoples Republic of China, France and India—have conducted thermonuclear weapon tests. (Whether India has detonated a true, multi-staged thermonuclear weapon is controversial.) The basics of the Teller–Ulam design for a hydrogen bomb: a fission bomb uses radiation to compress and heat a separate section of fusion fuel. Thermonuclear bombs work by using the energy of a fission bomb to compress and heat fusion fuel. In the Teller-Ulam design, which accounts for all multi-megaton yield hydrogen bombs, this is accomplished by placing a fission bomb and fusion fuel (tritium, deuterium, or lithium deuteride) in proximity within a special, radiation-reflecting container. When the fission bomb is detonated, gamma and X-rays emitted first compress the fusion fuel, then heat it to thermonuclear temperatures. The ensuing fusion reaction creates enormous numbers of high-speed neutrons, which can then induce fission in materials not normally prone to it, such as depleted uranium. Each of these components is known as a stage, with the fission bomb as the primary and the fusion capsule as the secondary. In large hydrogen bombs, about half of the yield, and much of the resulting nuclear fallout, comes from the final fissioning of depleted uranium. By chaining together numerous stages with increasing amounts of fusion fuel, thermonuclear weapons can be made to an almost arbitrary yield; the largest ever detonated (the Tsar Bomba of the USSR) released an energy equivalent of over 50 million tons (50 megatons) of TNT. Most thermonuclear weapons are considerably smaller than this, due to practical constraints arising from the space and weight requirements of missile warheads. There are other types of nuclear weapons as well. For example, a boosted fission weapon is a fission bomb which increases its explosive yield through a small amount of fusion reactions, but it is not a fusion bomb. In the boosted bomb, the neutrons produced by the fusion reactions serve primarily to increase the efficiency of the fission bomb. Some weapons are designed for special purposes; a neutron bomb is a thermonuclear weapon that yields a relatively small explosion but a relatively large amount of neutron radiation; such a device could theoretically be used to cause massive casualties while leaving infrastructure mostly intact and creating a minimal amount of fallout. The detonation of any nuclear weapon is accompanied by a blast of neutron radiation. Surrounding a nuclear weapon with suitable materials (such as cobalt or gold) creates a weapon known as a salted bomb. This device can produce exceptionally large quantities of radioactive contamination. Most variation in nuclear weapon design is for the purpose of achieving different yields for different situations, and in manipulating design elements to attempt to minimize weapon size. Nuclear weapons delivery—the technology and systems used to bring a nuclear weapon to its target—is an important aspect of nuclear weapons relating both to nuclear weapon design and nuclear strategy. Additionally, development and maintenance of delivery options is among the most resource-intensive aspects of a nuclear weapons program: according to one estimate, deployment costs accounted for 57% of the total financial resources spent by the United States in relation to nuclear weapons since 1940. Historically the first method of delivery, and the method used in the two nuclear weapons actually used in warfare, was as a gravity bomb, dropped from bomber aircraft. This method is usually the first developed by countries as it does not place many restrictions on the size of the weapon and weapon miniaturization is something which requires considerable weapons design knowledge. It does, however, limit the range of attack, the response time to an impending attack, and the number of weapons which can be fielded at any given time. With the advent of miniaturization, nuclear bombs can be delivered by both strategic bombers and tactical fighter-bombers, allowing an air force to use its current fleet with little or no modification. This method may still be considered the primary means of nuclear weapons delivery; the majority of U.S. nuclear warheads, for example, are free-fall gravity bombs, namely the B61. More preferable from a strategic point of view is a nuclear weapon mounted onto a missile, which can use a ballistic trajectory to deliver the warhead over the horizon. While even short range missiles allow for a faster and less vulnerable attack, the development of long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) has given some nations the ability to plausibly deliver missiles anywhere on the globe with a high likelihood of success. More advanced systems, such as multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs) allow multiple warheads to be launched at different targets from one missile, reducing the chance of a successful missile defense. Today, missiles are most common among systems designed for delivery of nuclear weapons. Making a warhead small enough to fit onto a missile, though, can be a difficult task. Tactical weapons (see above) have involved the most variety of delivery types, including not only gravity bombs and missiles but also artillery shells, land mines, and nuclear depth charges and torpedoes for anti-submarine warfare. An atomic mortar was also tested at one time by the United States. Small, two-man portable tactical weapons (somewhat misleadingly referred to as suitcase bombs), such as the Special Atomic Demolition Munition, have been developed, although the difficulty of combining sufficient yield with portability limits their military utility. Nuclear strategy The United States Peacekeeper missile was a MIRVed delivery system. Each missile could contain up to ten nuclear warheads (shown in red), each of which could be aimed at a different target. These were developed to make missile defense very difficult for an enemy country. Nuclear warfare Nuclear warfare strategy is a set of policies that deal with preventing or fighting a nuclear war. The policy of trying to prevent an attack by a nuclear weapon from another country by threatening nuclear retaliation is known as the strategy of nuclear deterrence. The goal in deterrence is to always maintain a second strike capability (the ability of a country to respond to a nuclear attack with one of its own) and potentially to strive for first strike status (the ability to completely destroy an enemys nuclear forces before they could retaliate). During the Cold War, policy and military theorists in nuclear-enabled countries worked out models of what sorts of policies could prevent one from ever being attacked by a nuclear weapon. Different forms of nuclear weapons delivery (see above) allow for different types of nuclear strategies. The goals of any strategy are generally to make it difficult for an enemy to launch a pre-emptive strike against the weapon system and difficult to defend against the delivery of the weapon during a potential conflict. Sometimes this has meant keeping the weapon locations hidden, such as deploying them on submarines or rail cars whose locations are very hard for an enemy to track and other times this means protecting them by burying them in hardened bunkers. Other components of nuclear strategies have included using missile defense (to destroy the missiles before they land) or implementation of civil defense measures (using early-warning systems to evacuate citizens to safe areas before an attack). Note that weapons which are designed to threaten large populations or to generally deter attacks are known as strategic weapons. Weapons which are designed to actually be used on a battlefield in military situations are known as tactical weapons. There are critics of the very idea of nuclear strategy for waging nuclear war who have suggested that a nuclear war between two nuclear powers would result in mutual annihilation. From this point of view, the significance of nuclear weapons is purely to deter war because any nuclear war would immediately escalate. out of mutual distrust and fear, resulting in mutually assured destruction. This threat of national, if not global, destruction has been a strong motivation for anti-nuclear weapons activism. Critics from the peace movement and within the military establishment have questioned the usefulness of such weapons in the current military climate. The use of (or threat of use of) such weapons would generally be contrary to the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, according to an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in 1996. Perhaps the most controversial idea in nuclear strategy is that nuclear proliferation would be desirable. This view argues that, unlike conventional weapons, nuclear weapons successfully deter all-out war between states, and they are said to have done this during the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Political scientist Kenneth Waltz is the most prominent advocate of this argument. The threat of potentially suicidal terrorists possessing nuclear weapons (a form of nuclear terrorism) complicates the decision process. Mutually assured destruction may not be effective against an enemy who expects to die in a confrontation and would not therefore be deterred by a sense of self-preservation. Further, if the initial act is from a rogue group instead of a sovereign nation, there is no fixed nation or fixed military targets to retaliate against. It has been argued, especially after the September 11, 2001 attacks, that this complication is the sign of the next age of nuclear strategy, distinct from the relative stability of the Cold War. Disarmament Beginning with the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty and continuing through the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, there have been many treaties to limit or reduce nuclear weapons testing and stockpiles. The 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has as one of its explicit conditions that all signatories must pursue negotiations in good faith towards the long-term goal of complete disarmament. However, no nuclear state has treated that aspect of the agreement as having binding force Only one country—South Africa—has ever fully renounced nuclear weapons they had independently developed. A number of former Soviet republics—Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine—returned Soviet nuclear arms stationed in their countries to Russia after the collapse of the USSR. Uses The Sedan test from 1962 formed a crater 100 m (330 ft) deep with a diameter of about 390 m (1,300 ft), as a means of investigating the possibilities of using peaceful nuclear explosions for large-scale earth moving. Apart from their use as weapons, nuclear explosives have been tested and used for various non-military uses, and proposed, but not used for large-scale earth moving. When long term health and clean-up costs were included, there was no economic advantage over conventional explosives. Synthetic elements, such as einsteinium and fermium, created by neutron bombardment of uranium and plutonium during thermonuclear explosions, were discovered in the aftermath of the first thermonuclear bomb test. In 2008 the worldwide presence of new isotopes from atmospheric testing beginning in the 1950s was developed into a reliable way of detecting art forgeries, as all paintings created after that period may contain traces of cesium-137 and strontium-90, isotopes that did not exist in nature before 1945. Nuclear explosives have also been seriously studied as potential propulsion mechanisms for space travel (see Project Orion). Nuclear reactions Nuclear fission splits heavier atoms to form lighter atoms. Nuclear fusion bonds together lighter atoms to form heavier atoms. Both reactions generate roughly a million times more energy than comparable chemical reactions, making nuclear bombs a million times more powerful than non-nuclear bombs, which a French patent claimed in May 1939. In some ways, fission and fusion are opposite and complementary reactions, but the particulars are unique for each. To understand how nuclear weapons are designed, it is useful to know the important similarities and differences between fission and fusion. The following explanation uses rounded numbers and approximations. Fission When a free neutron hits the nucleus of a fissionable atom like uranium-235 ( 235U), the uranium splits into two smaller atoms called fission fragments, plus more neutrons. Fission can be self-sustaining because it produces more neutrons of the speed required to cause new fissions. The uranium atom can split any one of dozens of different ways, as long as the atomic weights add up to 236 (uranium plus the extra neutron). The following equation shows one possible split, namely into strontium-95 ( 95Sr), xenon-139 (139Xe), and two neutrons (n), plus energy: The immediate energy release per atom is 180 million electron volts (MeV), i.e. 74 TJ/kg, of which 90% is kinetic energy (or motion) of the fission fragments, flying away from each other mutually repelled by the positive charge of their protons (38 for strontium, 54 for xenon). Thus their initial kinetic energy is 67 TJ/kg, hence their initial speed is 12,000 kilometers per second, but their high electric charge causes many inelastic collisions with nearby nuclei. The fragments remain trapped inside the bombs uranium pit until their motion is converted into x-ray heat, a process which takes about a millionth of a second (a microsecond). This x-ray energy produces the blast and fire which are normally the purpose of a nuclear explosion. After the fission products slow down, they remain radioactive. Being new elements with too many neutrons, they eventually become stable by means of beta decay, converting neutrons into protons by throwing off electrons and gamma rays. Each fission product nucleus decays between one and six times, average three times, producing a variety of isotopes of different elements, some stable, some highly radioactive, and others radioactive with half-lives up to 200,000 years In reactors, the radioactive products are the nuclear waste in spent fuel. In bombs, they become radioactive fallout, both local and global. Meanwhile, inside the exploding bomb, the free neutrons released by fission strike nearby U-235 nuclei causing them to fission in an exponentially growing chain reaction (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc.). Starting from one, the number of fissions can theoretically double a hundred times in a microsecond, which could consume all uranium up to hundreds of tons by the hundredth link in the chain. In practice, bombs do not contain that much uranium, and, anyway, just a few kilograms undergo fission before the uranium blows itself apart. Holding an exploding bomb together is the greatest challenge of fission weapon design. The heat of fission rapidly expands the uranium pit, spreading apart the target nuclei and making space for the neutrons to escape without being captured. The chain reaction stops. Materials which can sustain a chain reaction are called fissile. The two fissile materials used in nuclear weapons are: U-235, also known as highly enriched uranium (HEU), oralloy (Oy) meaning Oak Ridge Alloy, or 25 (the last digits of the atomic number, which is 92 for uranium, and the atomic weight, here 235, respectively); and Pu-239, also known as plutonium, or 49 (from 94 and 239). Uraniums most common isotope, U-238, is fissionable but not fissile (meaning that it cannot sustain a chain reaction by itself but can be made to fission, specifically by neutrons from a fusion reaction). Its aliases include natural or unenriched uranium, depleted uranium (DU), tubealloy (Tu), and 28. It cannot sustain a chain reaction, because its own fission neutrons are not powerful enough to cause more U-238 fission. However, the neutrons released by fusion will fission U-238. This U-238 fission reaction produces most of the destructive energy in a typical two-stage thermonuclear weapon. Fusion Fusion is unlikely to be self-sustaining because it does not produce the heat and pressure necessary for more fusion. It produces neutrons which run away with the energy In weapons, the most important fusion reaction is called the D-T reaction. Using the heat and pressure of fission, hydrogen-2, or deuterium ( 2D), fuses with hydrogen-3, or tritium ( 3T), to form helium-4 ( 4He) plus one neutron (n) and energy Notice that the total energy output, 17.6 MeV, is one tenth of that with fission, but the ingredients are only one-fiftieth as massive, so the energy output per unit mass is greater. However, in this fusion reaction 80% of the energy, or 14 MeV, is in the motion of the neutron which, having no electric charge and being almost as massive as the hydrogen nuclei that created it, can escape the scene without leaving its energy behind to help sustain the reaction – or to generate x-rays for blast and fire. The only practical way to capture most of the fusion energy is to trap the neutrons inside a massive bottle of heavy material such as lead, uranium, or plutonium. If the 14 MeV neutron is captured by uranium (either type: 235 or 238) or plutonium, the result is fission and the release of 180 MeV of fission energy, multiplying the energy output tenfold. Fission is thus necessary to start fusion, helps to sustain fusion, and captures and multiplies the energy released in fusion neutrons. In the case of a neutron bomb (see below) the last-mentioned does not apply since the escape of neutrons is the objective. Tritium production A third important nuclear reaction is the one that creates tritium, essential to the type of fusion used in weapons and, incidentally, the most expensive ingredient in any nuclear weapon. Tritium, or hydrogen-3, is made by bombarding lithium-6 ( 6Li) with a neutron (n) to produce helium-4 ( 4He) plus tritium ( 3T) and energy: A nuclear reactor is necessary to provide the neutrons. The industrial-scale conversion of lithium-6 to tritium is very similar to the conversion of uranium-238 into plutonium-239. In both cases the feed material is placed inside a nuclear reactor and removed for processing after a period of time. In the 1950s, when reactor capacity was limited, the production of tritium and plutonium were in direct competition. Every atom of tritium in a weapon replaced an atom of plutonium that could have been produced instead. The fission of one plutonium atom releases ten times more total energy than the fusion of one tritium atom, and it generates fifty times more blast and fire. For this reason, tritium is included in nuclear weapon components only when it causes more fission than its production sacrifices, namely in the case of fusion-boosted fission. However, an exploding nuclear bomb is a nuclear reactor. The above reaction can take place simultaneously throughout the secondary of a two-stage thermonuclear weapon, producing tritium in place as the device explodes. Of the three basic types of nuclear weapon, the first, pure fission, uses the first of the three nuclear reactions above. The second, fusion-boosted fission, uses the first two. The third, two-stage thermonuclear, uses all three. Pure fission weapons The first task of a nuclear weapon design is to rapidly assemble a supercritical mass of fissile uranium or plutonium. A supercritical mass is one in which the percentage of fission-produced neutrons captured by another fissile nucleus is large enough that each fission event, on average, causes more than one additional fission event. Once the critical mass is assembled, at maximum density, a burst of neutrons is supplied to start as many chain reactions as possible. Early weapons used an urchin inside the pit containing polonium-210 and beryllium separated by a thin barrier. Implosion of the pit crushed the urchin, mixing the two metals, thereby allowing alpha particles from the polonium to interact with beryllium to produce free neutrons. In modern weapons, the neutron generator is a high-voltage vacuum tube containing a particle accelerator which bombards a deuterium/tritium-metal hydride target with deuterium and tritium ions. The resulting small-scale fusion produces neutrons at a protected location outside the physics package, from which they penetrate the pit. This method allows better control of the timing of chain reaction initiation. The critical mass of an uncompressed sphere of bare metal is 110lb (50kg) for uranium-235 and 35lb (16kg) for delta-phase plutonium-239. In practical applications, the amount of material required for criticallity is modified by shape, purity, density, and the proximity to neutron-reflecting material, all of which affect the escape or capture of neutrons. To avoid a chain reaction during handling, the fissile material in the weapon must be sub-critical before detonation. It may consist of one or more components containing less than one uncompressed critical mass each. A thin hollow shell can have more than the bare-sphere critical mass, as can a cylinder, which can be arbitrarily long without ever reaching criticallity. A tamper is an optional layer of dense material surrounding the fissile material. Due to its inertia it delays the expansion of the reacting material, increasing the efficiency of the weapon. Often the same layer serves both as tamper and as neutron reflector. Gun-type assembly weapon Diagram of a gun-type fission weapon Little Boy, the Hiroshima bomb, used 141lb (64kg) of uranium with an average enrichment of around 80%, or 112lb (51kg) of U-235, just about the bare-metal critical mass. (See Little Boy article for a detailed drawing.) When assembled inside its tamper/reflector of tungsten carbide, the 141lb (64kg) was more than twice critical mass. Before the detonation, the uranium-235 was formed into two sub-critical pieces, one of which was later fired down a gun barrel to join the other, starting the atomic explosion. About 1% of the uranium underwent fission; the remainder, representing most of the entire wartime output of the giant factories at Oak Ridge, scattered uselessly. The inefficiency was caused by the speed with which the uncompressed fissioning uranium expanded and became sub-critical by virtue of decreased density. Despite its inefficiency, this design, because of its shape, was adapted for use in small-diameter, cylindrical artillery shells (a gun-type warhead fired from the barrel of a much larger gun). Such warheads were deployed by the United States until 1992, accounting for a significant fraction of the U-235 in the arsenal, and were some of the first weapons dismantled to comply with treaties limiting warhead numbers. The rationale for this decision was undoubtedly a combination of the lower yield and grave safety issues associated with the gun-type design. Implosion type weapon Fat Man, the Nagasaki bomb, used 13.6lb (6.2kg, about 12 fluid ounces or 350 ml in volume) of Pu-239, which is only 39% of bare-sphere critical mass. (See Fat Man article for a detailed drawing.) Surrounded by a U-238 reflector/tamper, the pit was brought close to critical mass by the neutron-reflecting properties of the U-238. During detonation, criticality was achieved by implosion. The plutonium pit was squeezed to increase its density by simultaneous detonation of the conventional explosives placed uniformly around the pit. The explosives were detonated by multiple exploding-bridgewire detonators. It is estimated that only about 20% of the plutonium underwent fission, the rest, about 11lb (5.0kg), was scattered. An implosion shock wave might be of such short duration that only a fraction of the pit is compressed at any instant as the wave passes through it.A pusher shell made out of low density metal—such as aluminum, beryllium, or an alloy of the two metals (aluminum being easier and safer to shape and beryllium for its high-neutron-reflective capability) —may be needed. The pusher is located between the explosive lens and the tamper. It works by reflecting some of the shock wave backwards, thereby having the effect of lengthening its duration. Fat Man used an aluminum pusher.The key to Fat Mans greater efficiency was the inward momentum of the massive U-238 tamper (which did not undergo fission). Once the chain reaction started in the plutonium, the momentum of the implosion had to be reversed before expansion could stop the fission. By holding everything together for a few hundred nanoseconds more, the efficiency was increased. Two-point linear implosion A very inefficient implosion design is one that simply reshapes an ovoid into a sphere, with minimal compression. In linear implosion, an untamped, solid, elongated mass of Pu-239, larger than critical mass in a sphere, is embedded inside a cylinder of high explosive with a detonator at each end Detonation makes the pit critical by driving the ends inward, creating a spherical shape. The shock may also change plutonium from delta to alpha phase, increasing its density by 23%, but without the inward momentum of a true implosion. The lack of compression makes it inefficient, but the simplicity and small diameter make it suitable for use in artillery shells and atomic demolition munitions – ADMs – also known as backpack or suitcase nukes. All such low-yield battlefield weapons, whether gun-type U-235 designs or linear implosion Pu-239 designs, pay a high price in fissile material in order to achieve diameters between six and ten inches (254mm). Fusion-boosted fission weapons The next step in miniaturization was to speed up the fissioning of the pit to reduce the minimum inertial confinement time. The hollow pit provided an ideal location to introduce fusion for the boosting of fission. A 50-50 mixture of tritium and deuterium gas, pumped into the pit during arming, will fuse into helium and release free neutrons soon after fission begins. The neutrons will start a large number of new chain reactions while the pit is still critical or nearly critical.Once the hollow pit is perfected, there is little reason not to boost.The concept of fusion-boosted fission was first tested on May 25, 1951, in the Item shot of Operation Greenhouse, Eniwetok, yield 45.5 kilotons.Boosting reduces diameter in three ways, all the result of faster fission: Since the compressed pit does not need to be held together as long, the massive U-238 tamper can be replaced by a light-weight beryllium shell (to reflect escaping neutrons back into the pit). The diameter is reduced. The mass of the pit can be reduced by half, without reducing yield. Diameter is reduced again. Since the mass of the metal being imploded (tamper plus pit) is reduced, a smaller charge of high explosive is needed, reducing diameter even further. Since boosting is required to attain full design yield, any reduction in boosting reduces yield. Boosted weapons are thus variable-yield weapons. Yield can be reduced any time before detonation, simply by putting less than the full amount of tritium into the pit during the arming procedure. The first device whose dimensions suggest employment of all these features (two-point, hollow-pit, fusion-boosted implosion) was the Swan device, tested June 22, 1956, as the Inca shot of Operation Redwing, a

Friday, October 25, 2019

Re-entry Student :: essays research papers

Motivation to Return to School I decided at that moment that I would return to school and graduate with my bachelor?s degree. I made a promise to myself that I would finish my education. If I complete my education, I would make my parents proud of me. Plus, I want to be the first person on either side of my family to attend graduate school. Adults return to college primarily because they desire a higher paying career or a professional job. This could be a registered nurse, an elementary school teacher, a policeman or an attorney. It could also be an accountant, a journalist, a librarian, an interior decorator or a beautician (Smith, 2001). After being on the road for three years, I decided to check into returning to college at the University of Delaware and the University of Pennsylvania. Both universities informed me that I would have to retake my first two years that I had completed at Chattanooga State. I would have to commit for another four to six years of college. I did not have the time to do this. I wanted to be finished with my bachelor?s degree within two years if possible. So, later, when they realize that their choices are limited, their futures sealed or semi-gelled, they decide that school is where they need to be (Smith, 2001). I had made arrangements for an apartment before I had moved, so all I had to do was wait for the moving van to bring my furniture in. I went looking for a job and found a position with the Veterans Affairs. While I was unpacking and settling in, I filled out and submitted my paper work for UTC.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After a few weeks, I received a response from UTC stating that I was accepted and could start fall semester. I was so excited about finishing my education. My major was Healthcare Administration. Older women -- those in their mid-20s and older -- returning to college make up better than half of the evening enrollments in area colleges. Nontraditional students are usually in their mid-20s to mid-40s, enrolling part time vs. full time. They generally attend evening classes and have jobs and family obligations to balance with their studies (Richards, 1999).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the meeting with my advisor, I was advised that I would take an extra ten to fifteen classes before I could graduate. I was looking at the catalog at the course I could take and the advisor told me to take my freshman classes first before getting into major classes.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Six Dimensions of Health Worksheet

For each of the following six dimensions of health, list at least one characteristic, activity, belief, or attitude that reflects that dimension in your life. Provide a brief explanation with each example. Refer to Ch. 1 in the text for explanations of these dimensions. Physical health: As of right now eating healthy is part of my physical health. Since I am currently over eight months pregnant I am focusing on eating healthy and once the baby is born I will focus on exercise to better my physical health. Social health: Being open and honest with my family and friends is a way I work with my social health. This is a healthy way to keep and form relationships with them and new people I come into contact with. Intellectual health: During my scheduled class time I have made for myself I am working my brain to use my intellectual health. I sometimes have to critically think and dig deep into my thoughts to bring out information to help educate others as they do the same for me. Environmental health: Living in the state of New York recycling is the law so by doing so I am keeping my environmental health stable as well as helping the Earth to stay healthy. Emotional health: Sometimes my pregnancy hormones try to get the best of me, so I must learn to stay calm and convey them in a more appropriate way. Talking about things is a way to get things off my chest and relieve stress in a healthy way. Spiritual health: Being true to what I believe is a way I stay spiritually healthy. It allows me to stay at peace with myself throughout the day. Part 2 In approximately 125 to 200 words, describe health and wellness in your own words using the ideas and concepts for each of the six dimensions of health. Being healthy and having overall wellness is more than just a physical aspect in our lives as human beings. In order to have health and wellness is a combination of the six dimensions of health: physical, social, intellectual, environmental, emotional, and spiritual. Keeping these aspects healthy and equal can sometimes be a challenge. To me wellness is being able to keep all of these dimensions at a healthy level. They are all linked in some way. Each of us may link them differently, but to achieve good overall wellness we have to work at each dimension. Physical health is more than just eating right and exercising, but is making good choices for our body. Social health is more than just dealing with the way we communicate with others but how we deal with certain social situations. Intellectual is more than just how we think but how we act upon our thoughts. Environmental does not just affect what we do to the environment but how we can better it using our intellectual and social health. Our emotional and spiritual health affects more than just ourselves, but others also and we must work towards all of these to attain health and wellness.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Marketing Segmentation of Adidas

Adidas is a major German sports apparel manufacturer, which was founded in 1948. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and the second biggest sportswear manufacturer in the world, after Nike. The company's clothing and shoe designs typically feature three parallel bars. The company revenue for 2009 was listed at â‚ ¬10. 38 billion. The market segmentation; targeting and position play an important role in this company. This essay will use the three factors to analyze this company. Market segmentation Market segmentation was to dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers with different needs, charactistics or behaviour who might require separate products or marketing mixes, the company will first identifies different way to segment the market and then develops profiles of the resulting market segments. As market consist of many buyers, they may differ in their wants, buying attitudes and buying practices, so a seller might design a separate market program for each buyer. Adidas mainly focus on demographic and psychographic segmentation. So Adidas develops their brand in 3 different styles according to the segmentation. Demographic segmentation refers to dividing the market into groups based on demographic variables, such as sex and age, which this method has long been used in clothing market. They branded products into range of male, female and kids, according to age and life cycle segmentation and gender segmentation, after all they can have products that can fit to almost every demographic possible. Adidas has a branded range of male and female clothing, shoes or body-care and eyewear, which all three brands of Adidas; Performance, Originals and Style also provide products for this segment. Ppsychographic segmentation was to dividing the market into groups based on social class, life style or personality characteristics. Adidas focus on social class because people within a given social class tend to have similar buying behavior. People interest in many goods is affected by their life style and many goods they buy are expressions of their lifestyle, people who loves outdoor activities and sporty style will tends to buy Adidas products. By using personality variables to segment markets, giving their products personalities that correspond to consumer personalities. From the fundamental marketing concepts, it is important to satisfy customers need and meet their expectations, in orders to keep royal consumer. Adidas has did a successful job in this area, because many people who are experiencers and image drivers believes that Adidas provides products which are fashionable, good looking and can be functional too. So Adidas Originals was designed to focus on fashion and life-style. Adidas segment customers like athletes, gym regulars, sports enthusiasts, brand freaks and image seekers. Adidas often have work with different athletes, which produce products that enhance performances. Adidas Performance currently manufactures several running shoes, football kit and associated equipment, being official outfitter of NBA, golf equipments, training and more other sports. Adidas also featured with Y-3 and Adidas NEO Label provided crossover products with different brands that customers who loves either brands would also attracted to buy their products. Market targeting Market targeting is evaluating different market segments, a company must look at three factors: segment size and growth, segment structural attractiveness, and company objectives and resources. (Kotler et al 2010, p277) After evaluating different segments, Adidas adopts market coverage strategy which is differentiated marketing. For using this, Adidas decides to target several market segments, and separate offers for each. (Kotler et al 2010, p278) Thus, the company of Adidas has three different types of product for ustomers, which are Performance, Originals and Style. Here is the table shows three sub-brands of Adidas. Brand of Adidas | Target market| Performance| the customers who like sports. it’s everywhere around the global where sports are simply played, watched, enjoyed and celebrated. | Originals| focuses on streetwear and lifestyle fasions. | Style| Y-3 targets a forward-thinking fashion consumer. SLVR is the smart fashion sportswear label within adidas Sport Style. NEO label is targeted to appeal to the fashionable teen (12- to 16-year-old) who is fully engaged in life, be it through social networking, family, friends, outdoor or sporting activities. | (Adidas group 2009) Those brands allow Adidas to address multiple consumer needs, exploit market opportunities from various angles as well as be less affected by one-dimensional market risks. Considering each sub brand, it uses market coverage strategy which identifies as a market coverage strategy in which a company goes after a large share of one or a few submarket. Kotler et al 2010, p279) For example, Adidas Orginal promotes classic style. It comprise the side collection of numbers of items such as sneakers, clothes, eyewear an watches. In addition, it promotes for different gender, also it targets on customers refer to their lifestyle, which are interest, hobbies and personality , for example, the people like skateboarding would like Adidas Original. adidas Originals with its Trefoil logo has become a relevant part of many people’s lives, whether they are skaters, rockers, artists, musicians, sneakerheads, sports fans and so on. In 2011, Adidas Originals promotes a new line which is denim collection. Market positioning After the market segmentation and market targeting, the next step is market positioning, positioning played an important role for a company to get success and the definition of positioning is designing the company’s offering and image to the mind of buyer (Kotler et al, 2010 p. 280). From the definition of positioning we can easily understand positioning is not what company do to the product, it’s what company do to the mind of consumer elative to competing products, therefore, company can through a valuable proposition, positioning provide the reasons for purchase in the mind of the customers. Firstly, Adidas is a company focus on producing and selling sports goods, which include footwear, clothes and some sports equipment. Therefore, Adidas invested a lot of money to major sport events and major sports clubs around the world to promote and positioning the impression of the Adidas’s sports products as the world leading high quality and most popular sports producer. In addition to using celebrity and well-known club to endorse products, Adidas also constantly using innovation of technique to improve the quality of product, and employ world’s best designers to make their products more popular. As a result, Adidas positioning their products more popular and high quality in consumers mind. Secondly, Adidas is now positioning their new products to be â€Å"faster†. For example, the new basketball boots â€Å"Dwight Howard Superbeast† which was represented by NBA basketball star Dwight Howard is the lightest professional basketball boots in basketball history. This boots make the basketball players run much faster and make stronger move than wearing other shoes. (No author, July 2010) As well as football boots, the â€Å"F50† football boots that represented by the best footballer in this decade Leonardo Messi is one of the lightest football boots in the world. (No author, March 2010) Thirdly, relative to competitors such as Nike, Adidas is more focusing on basketball such as NBA, Adidas is the main provider of all home kits and away kits of 20 teams in NBA, this make Adidas the best producer of basketball wearing products in consumers’ mind. In conclusion, Adidas has become a world leading producer of sports wear by positioning themselves as high quality, popular, and faster. Conclusion In conclusion, market segmentation, targeting and positioning, which are the three important factors in Adidas Company’s marketing. Market segmentation, you should focus on demographic and psychographic segmentation, Adidas can develop brand in 3 different styles, and it can result in get more profit from different style customer. Adidas target on the customers who like sports, such as FIFA World Cup or the NBA All-Star Gam. It can be seen that Adidas have more chance in big money events; it can help the company improve brand equity and enhance the company target. Adidas positioning on sports goods is high quality and popular, it is very suitable for the younger. If Adidas Company fully to use market segmentation, targeting and positioning three steps, I believe that Adidas becomes the first brand in the world in the future. ReferenceKotler, P, Brown, L, Burton, S, Deans, K ; Armstrong, G, 2010, Marketing, 8th Edn, Person Australia, Frenchs Forest NSW.Adidas group 2009, Adidas strategy, viewed in 12 May, http://adidas-group.corporate-publications.com/2009/gb/en/structure-and-strategy/global-brands-strategy/adidas-strategy.htmlAdidas March 2011, viewed in 12 May,Adidas July 2011, viewed in 12 May, ; http://www.adidas.com/au/basketball/;

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The impact of 50% of American workers not taking vacation time

The impact of 50% of American workers not taking vacation time Have you heard what happens when you lead a life of â€Å"all work and no play?† Beyond becoming dull, a life without a healthy work-life balance can lead to a wide array of negative outcomes- both mental and physical. It’s true, the most effective employees aren’t the ones who work nonstop like robots; individuals who work hard but also make time for vacations away from their jobs are the ones who are able to maintain high levels of work efficiency and healthy well-being over the long haul. According to a recent report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 73 percent of civilian workers have access to paid vacations. However, a concerning trend is being witnessed across industries in the American workforce- many employees are simply not taking vacations, believe it or not. Approximately 50% of American workers- half of the entire labor force- don’t take vacations for one reason or another, and its having a big impact, both on employees and the companies they work for.Why don’t people take vacation?Let’s take a closer look at why this is happening, and its impact.No paid vacation benefitsAlthough the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 73 percent of civilian workers have access to paid vacations, all industries are not created equal and some employers don’t offer their employees a full suite of benefits that include paid vacations. For example, only 55 percent of workers employed in service occupations have access to paid vacations. Workers who don’t receive paid vacation benefits are typically at the lower end of the wage spectrum, or have part-time, freelance, or contract-based employment arrangements, and often they either can’t afford to take time off of work or their work schedules aren’t flexible enough to take vacation time.Juggling multiple jobsA growing number of people have resorted to non-traditional work situations, either by choice or by circumstance, which can include having mu ltiple part-time jobs- which often don’t include vacation benefits. It can be tricky enough to take time off from one full-time job; when you’re juggling multiple jobs with varying scheduling needs and demands, carving out time for a vacation can be a real challenge, one in which many workers can’t seem to make happen.The funds just aren’t thereThe sad truth is that many people simply can’t afford to go on a proper vacation; they either don’t receive paid vacation benefits or live paycheck to paycheck and can’t afford to go anywhere even if they can take time off, and would rather just go to work than take time off and have nothing to do.Other life obligationsSome people who work in inflexible work environments have to use their vacation time for non-vacation obligations. Life happens, and everything that comes up that needs to be taken care of- from dental appointments to a sick child or taking the dog to the vet and everything in be tween- may mean having to use vacation time, leaving no time to take an actual vacation. Although some of us are lucky enough to have understanding employers who are willing to work with us to handle life’s unexpected responsibilities, some of us don’t have that luxury.People are afraid to go on vacationYes, this is a sad but true fact- some folks are simply too afraid to take a vacation from work. They may either be worried that if they take time away from work there’d be no one there to cover their responsibilities or afraid that taking time off could make them appear replaceable and put their jobs in jeopardy. In a world where job security is elusive and positions dangle precariously, some workers may not feel like a vacation is worth the risk.The impact of not taking vacationsAlthough there are many reasons why individuals may not want to take time off from work for vacation, the impact of their decisions not to do so is clear. Research has shown that not ta king a healthy break from work can lead to a wide range of unwelcome mental and physical effects on the average worker.Job burnout and decreased efficiency on the job are not uncommon phenomenon for folks who push themselves too hard without taking some time off for themselves; as a result, their perceived dedication to work may actually be working against them, resulting in their becoming less productive and valuable employees. Not taking vacation can also negatively affect employee’s moods at work; this includes increased irritability and decreased patience, which can really place a strain on relationships and communication with colleagues. Job focus and energy are also typically depleted at a more rapid rate without a â€Å"vacation recharge,† which ultimately benefits neither the exhausted employees or their frustrated employers.Not taking vacations has a measurable spillover effect outside of work as well. Think of all the detrimental on-the-job effects we just co vered- you don’t think they just magically evaporate when workers go home, do you? Folks who work hard and don’t take vacations are much more likely to be unhappy overall, which follows them around whether they’re at work or at home. They typically dread going into work more than workers who take vacations, which likely means weekends full of unease or anxiety over the coming work week. As if negatively effecting coworker relationships wasn’t enough, carrying around all of this unwanted â€Å"no-vacation baggage† nonstop is sure to have an impact on personal relationships as well. Furthermore, it isn’t hard to imagine a cyclical effect coming into play: unhappiness at work leads to unhappiness outside of work, which feeds back into itself in a circular, downward-spiraling loop of disastrous negativity.All of these negative feelings and emotions tied up with working too hard and not taking vacations can really take a physical toll as well. Th e mind and body are interconnected, and job burnout and unhappiness due to not taking vacations can lead to lethargy, increased aches and pains, lower resistance to illness, and a host of other unwelcome symptoms. So, if your reasons for not taking a vacation are tied to financial frugality, consider the fact that what you’re saving on vacations might wind up costing you in sick days and medical bills.Looking aheadThe bottom line is that most people need a healthy mix of productive activity and relaxing downtime to function at optimum levels, which makes intuitive sense- most people function at their best when they lead balanced lives.So, now that you’re aware of the impact of not taking a vacation from work, what can you do if you’re finding it tough to strike a balance? If you can’t seem to make time for a vacation, either because of your current work situation or because of everything in your life that you’re currently juggling, take a closer lo ok at your routine and see if you can make some adjustments. If it’s a financial concern, consider creating a savings plan that will help you fund a vacation- even modest savings over time can really add up!Again, this is not a frivolous thing- taking a vacation is a responsible way to ensure that all the elements of your life are operating properly over the long haul. This might entail getting some help from friends, family members, or colleagues to help you carve out some quality â€Å"you† time, but it’s a worthwhile investment in your long-term functioning. And if you have a boss or work for a company that frowns on vacations from work, or doesn’t offer vacation benefits, then show them this article- hopefully they’ll quickly see that employee vacations benefit them as much as it does you.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Dhurakijpundit University †Proposed Program Plan Scholarship Essay

Dhurakijpundit University – Proposed Program Plan Scholarship Essay Free Online Research Papers Dhurakijpundit University Proposed Program Plan Scholarship Essay Proposed Program Plan: Write a clear and detailed statement concerning your proposed major field of study, the specific area of your field, your study and professional objectives, and the reasons for undertaking this doctoral program. Explain the kind of program you wish to attend and how your proposed plan relates to your previous experience and your future goals. The statement should be completed in the space provided below. I decided to pursue a PhD because I believe that, for a scholar, it plays a significant role in achieving an excellence in his/her career in academia. In particular, I am confident that a PhD will equip me with essential knowledge and skills in doing research and teaching, thereby enhancing me to effectively switch my career path from banking to academic. Having stated as such, I commenced implementing my professional plan by attending the doctoral programme at Warwick Business School (WBS) two months ago. As a student of the strategic/general management group, I am particularly interested in the competitive advantage, its dynamic and strategies sub-areas. My doctoral thesis will be an empirical study of ‘corporate reputation’ as an intangible source of competitive advantage for firms in Thailand. This study will help Thai companies to understand how ‘corporate reputation’ can help them to compete with their rivals and how it can be built and maintained over time. I have chosen to do the aforementioned research topic at the WBS because of two main reasons. First, before I resigned from my previous employer, IFCT, I had heavily been involved in the strategy formulation function through the 5-year business planning and internal restructuring project. Those jobs were, indeed, intellectually exciting and have inspired me to come across from the finance to general/strategic management field. In my view, good overall strategies can render more sustainable competitive edge to any firms than a mere strength in their financial management. The recent Asian crisis is a clear example of my assertion about the importance of good strategies. The situation spoke for itself! Second, as the strategic/general management field has become of my supreme interest, I have decided to pursue my PhD at only schools which have world-class reputation in such area. Warwick Business School has obviously qualified as one of my first choices because it has several widely-known scholars, such as Professor Andrew Pettigrew, in its strategic management group. Additionally, it has excellent research facilities which can help me to achieve my doctoral research within an intended time frame. In conclusion, without undertaking a PhD, I am certain that I shall not be able to accomplish my professional goal to become a successful academic. Besides, several universities in Thailand have shown strong need for experienced lecturers with good research skill in strategic/general management. I am confident that my PhD education in such area will be considered useful to our country’s academic community as it will help me to fill the existing gap in the educational market. Research Papers on Dhurakijpundit University - Proposed Program Plan Scholarship EssayAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaThe Project Managment Office SystemBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfResearch Process Part OneEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesOpen Architechture a white paperStandardized TestingTwilight of the UAWMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever Product

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Learn How to Use the Present Continuous Tense

Learn How to Use the Present Continuous Tense The present continuous tense, also known as the present progressive, is one of the most commonly used verb tenses in English. It is one that English learners  frequently confuse with a similar tense, the present simple. Present Continuous vs. Present Simple The present continuous tense expresses something that is happening at the moment of speaking. It is frequently used in conjunction with time expressions  such as right now or  today to indicate that an action is occurring at that moment. For instance: What are you doing at the moment?Shes reading in the garden now.Theyre not standing in the rain. Theyre waiting in the garage.   In contrast, everyday habits and routines are expressed using the present simple tense. Its common to use the present simple with adverbs of frequency such as usually or sometimes. For example:   I usually drive to work.Alice doesnt have to get up early on Saturdays.The boys play soccer on Friday evenings. The present continuous is used only with action verbs. Actions verbs express things that we do. The present continuous is not used with  stative verbs  that express a feeling, belief, or state of being, such as hope or want.   Correct: I hope to see him today.  Incorrect:  I am hoping to be  seeing him today.Correct: I want some ice cream right now.Incorrect: I am wanting some ice cream right now. Using the Present Continuous In addition to expressing actions that are currently taking place, the present continuous can also express actions that are happening at or around the present moment in time. For example: What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?She isnt coming on Friday.Were working on the Smith account at the moment. This tense is also  used for future plans  and arrangements, especially in business. Where are you staying in New York?She isnt coming to the presentation on Friday.Im flying to Tokyo next week. Sentence Structure The present continuous tense can be used with positive, negative, and question sentences. For positive sentences, conjugate the helping verb be and add ing to the verbs end. For example: Im (I am) working today.Youre (You are) studying English at the moment.Hes (He is) working on the report today.Shes (She is) planning a vacation in Hawaii.Its (It is) raining right now.Were (We are) playing golf this afternoon.Youre (You are) not paying attention, are you?Theyre (They are) waiting for the train. For negative sentences, conjugate the helping verb be, then add not plus ing to the verbs end. Im not (I am not) thinking about my vacation right now.You arent (You are not) sleeping at the moment.He isnt (He is not) watching the TV.She isnt (She is not) doing her homework today.It isnt (It is not) snowing today.We arent (We are not) staying in New York.You arent (You are not) playing chess at the moment.They arent (They are not) working this week. For sentences that ask a question, conjugate be, followed by subject and a verb ending in ing. What am I thinking?What are you doing?Where is he sitting?When is she coming?How is it doing?When are we leaving?What are you eating for lunch?What are they doing this afternoon? Present Continuous Passive The present continuous can also be used in the passive voice. Remember that the passive voice conjugates the verb to be.  To construct, a passive sentence, use the passive subject plus the verb be plus ing and the  past participle. For instance: Cars are being made in this factory at the moment.English is being taught by the teacher now.Steak is being eaten by the people at table 12. Additional Resources Want to learn more about the present continuous tense? Check out this teachers guide for additional exercises and tips.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Deciphering Communication Styles between Men and Women Essay

Deciphering Communication Styles between Men and Women - Essay Example For example the communicative style of a child is different from that of teenager or adult. It is the study about communication which has led me understanding the way I interacting with people is more complex than I assume. After studying about communication I have become more observant in communicating with people at home, work and online classrooms. I acknowledge that speaking itself does not constitute communication but equal importance must be given to listening aspect too. It is a two way phenomenon in which, both the speaker and listener have position to comply with. For example, communication between genders has different perspective when closely monitored. When I communicate with my mother and sister I perceive that I am more emotional, but when I talk with my father it is more of action – oriented and practical. As per (Sherwood,2013) â€Å"Women communicate through dialogue, discussing emotions, choices and problems. Males remain action-oriented -- the goal of commu nication is to achieve something†. Communication at Home and Gender concept The communication held at home is different from that of workplace or online classrooms. The communication process at home is informal whereas work place and online class rooms are formal. Communication is a two way process and people involved in it largely makes the nature of it. Communication is an art and interacting with women and men in this as a process largely differ. When I perceive the way in which I communicate with my mother and sister, I can understand I am using a different tone and style. I can understand that inequality does exist while communicating with females and males. My talking style is different with my mother and sister and it takes different direction when communicating with my Father. When communicating with men and women we can understand the functionalism concept in them as both the gender convey inequality. When I talk to my mother I find that she wants to connect to me emo tionally and wants to know about my wellbeing and physical status. My mother talks about choices, problems I encounter and think a lot before giving her decisions. Even my sister wants to achieve emotional satisfaction by communicating with me and be playful with me all time. She likes to argue with me without reason to engage more emotionally with me. However, my father is more serious while communicating and is direct in his speech. He gives practical solution to the problems I encounter in life and is guides me for a better living. According to (Lieberman,2009)â€Å"Men like to tell and give information rather than ask questions. They share experiences as a way of being one-up†. Communication at work place and gender concept Communication at workplace is different from home as the former is a formal environment. In my workplace my main communication is with my manager. My manager is a male and I can identify his communicative style to mostly resemble with my Father. I can find that he is very authoritative in his talking style. He is very reserved person and unlike female colleague is less problem sharing and expressive. When I talk with my female colleague, I find her as a talkative person, who enquires more about my life outside the office. I find her very pacifying compare to my other male colleague. As per (Tannen,2010) â€Å"I have spent more than three decades collecting and analyzing thousands of examples of how women and men interact and have found that men’

Friday, October 18, 2019

Compare and contrast positivism and classicism and outline thier role Essay

Compare and contrast positivism and classicism and outline thier role as an explanation for criminal behaviour in Ireland - Essay Example Finally, role of both theories in determining criminal behavior in Ireland is studied. Classical and positivist school of thought are basic part of early criminological development. Cesare Beccaria proposed Classical perspective which was inspired by â€Å"On Crimes and Punishment† in 1764. He was concerned about reforming the brutal ways of punishment for bad deeds prevailed throughout Europe. He was a man of law who believed in philosophical and procedure based punishment that can provide moral support for criminal justice. According to Classical school of thought, man is a rational being who is blessed with free will. This knowledge and sense of choice enables man to judge the good or bad and its consequences for everyone including himself. Man is fully capable to understand and avoid crime considering the logical consequence of crime as punishment (O’Mahony, 2002, p.221). O’Mahony(2002) states the principles as: people should be treated equally before the law and punished only in accordance with the law; that punishment should be based on the act rather than the class of person who commits the act; the punishment should be based on a pleasure/pain reckoning so that the pain of punishment will always outweigh the pleasure to be gained from crime; and, perhaps most importantly ,that punishment should be commensurate with the seriousness of the offence and, though a prompt and effective deterrent, should be kept to the minimum†¦Most importantly, since man acts on the basis of his rational, self-regarding, cost/benefit analysis of the situation, he can be swayed to avoid crime, if he sees that it carries a high risk of appropriately severe punishment.(p.221) According to Joyce (2006), this school of thought developed from the enlightenment movements in Europe and expressed through liberalism, they believed in having society as a contract

Are we getting overly dependant on technology Essay

Are we getting overly dependant on technology - Essay Example For this reason, people have become lazy to do go their work thus becoming obese. For an instant, a CEO who does not want to attend a meeting in the office, one can just conduct the meeting in their house by use of a webcam. According to Shenk (1997), people have been so dependent on technology such that they cannot solve a simple calculation without the help of a calculator. The today’s children cannot write in good handwriting because they are used to just using a computer to write whatever they need. They do not have time even to learn to write cursive. Computer and internet are not as perfect as people may think. There are some things these technological devices and media cannot teach (Shenk 1997). If the whole world were to lose power, some people would not be able to do some things. The world would stand still as individuals would have been used to technology doing their everyday activities. Because of the continuous advancement of technology, the ultimate fear is that people will completely rely on technology to run their lives. However, people need to resist this temptation and try to learn some things

Illustrated Great Decisions of the Supreme Court Essay

Illustrated Great Decisions of the Supreme Court - Essay Example It has been a very critical issue to decide what should be taught in schools and what should not be. While selecting the course content, according to the American constitution, it must be kept in view that the school kids must not effect because of the course content. The religious context is critical in a sense that it must need to take in the view as secularism. A very famous legal case which was heard at US Supreme Court against the propaganda of teaching the creation science in public schools; the both of the issues are close enough because the critique is based upon religion and needs a back from constitution and needs logical pro constitution arguments in order to support or dis-support the teaching of intelligent design theory (Mauro, 2006). Before coming to any of the concrete or solid point of logic, let us get an idea about a brief introduction of intelligent design theory. It is defined by the discovery institute and it is the answer to some creationism (creation sciences). By the institute it was defined as the causal effect of intelligence while the universe was being assembled; for instance, it describes that the certain factors and aspects of the universe were not emerged due to naturalism (Shanks, 2004). It is a question (in other words) on the presence of God, it supports to the intelligence and logic. It is because the institute and supporters of the theory reveal it as evidence-based theory rather than a religious critique (or religious based) (Idea center). In the legal hearing which was heard in 1987 and well known as Edwards v. Aguillard (1987) which barred the teaching of creation science in public schools. It was a decision which was taken by the Supreme Courts of the United States.  

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Analyze the implications of the 1st and 2nd Amendments to the U.S Essay

Analyze the implications of the 1st and 2nd Amendments to the U.S. Constitution - Essay Example The Bill of Rights is arguably the most crucial portion of the Constitution because it ensures that our system of majority rule will not degenerate into a system of mob rule. It is designed to protect the rights of the minority from an unfettered majority that might otherwise trample those rights. The protection of minority rights that is enshrined within the Bill of Rights facilitates an open political system in which dissent is tolerated under the law and informs the political process. In essence, protection of minority rights such as freedom to criticize the government and freedom of the press to openly report on government activities is the reason why the United States is able to have a legitimate political system marked by free and fair elections. If minority rights were squashed, it would lead to a governmental system more akin to communism, in which the majority party becomes the only legal party because they essentially outlaw the opposition. The First and Second Amendments t o the Constitution are critically important components of the scheme to protect minority rights in America. The First Amendment to the ... It is no accident that these three basic freedoms are outlined within the first of ten Amendments. It is likely that the Framers of the Constitution considered these to be the most important of all the rights that need to be protected from the will of the majority, in order to establish a truly open and free democratic republic. Among the many current issues that have arisen out of the First Amendment is the question of the extent to which the press has the right to protect its sources. The jailing us New York Times reporter Judith Miller for failing to reveal her source in the matter of the leak of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame raises the specter of the government's ability to chill press freedom to investigate and report on sensitive government matters. Ultimately, it was found that the interest of the state in prosecuting criminals and providing for national security trumps the right of reporters to refuse to disclose their sources. The implications of this finding are grave; and it remains to be seen whether investigative reporting in America will be severely weakened in the future as potential sources of information refuse to come forward for fear that the government might force disclosure of their identities. That result could end up depriving the public of important information they need to develop informed opinions about public matters. Another First Amendment issue that continues to be relevant is the doctrine of Separation of Church and State. The First Amendment guarantees that "Congress shall make no law respecting the Establishment of a religion," nor shall the government be allowed to prohibit free exercise of religion. In essence, the First Amendment guarantees that the government, in all its

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Assess the assertion that an increase in Eucharistic devotion Essay

Assess the assertion that an increase in Eucharistic devotion contributed to a narrowing of medieval society - Essay Example As a result of such circumstances, where individuals in the society were content with their lot, most of the population of medieval Europe could neither read nor does write, leaving these to the higher rank of the priesthood. In addition, this period saw the growth of the power of the Church, where almost all of the activities of the Christians in the whole of Western Europe was dictated from Rome, thus solidifying the authority of the Church hierarchy.1 Therefore, the Church established the doctrine, which was followed by medieval Europe, and this more often than not was developed in the Church’s favour, since it worked towards the promotion of its power. While these situations often worked in favour of the church, they had the negative impact of ensuring that there was little development of independent thought within the populace, meaning that the society became narrowed. Among the major causes of the narrowing of medieval society was the practice, instituted by the Church, of Eucharistic devotion, which was a requirement for all of those people who professed the Christian faith during this period. The practice of Eucharistic devotion was a church tradition, which was based in the exhibition of the Blessed Sacrament by a priest so that it could be adored by the faithful. The adoration of the sacrament was considered a sign of the devotion that individuals felt towards Jesus Christ as their saviour. The faithful believed that Christ was present in the form of the consecrated altar bread and their adoration of it meant that they were opening their hearts to receive him. Furthermore, the faithful in medieval Europe, through their devotion to the sacrament, were able to meditate by looking directly at it, adding to the belief that they were participating in the continuation of the Eucharist. The Eucharistic devotion was considered to be a form of the worship of Christ as the saviour, which involved his being present in

Analyze the implications of the 1st and 2nd Amendments to the U.S Essay

Analyze the implications of the 1st and 2nd Amendments to the U.S. Constitution - Essay Example The Bill of Rights is arguably the most crucial portion of the Constitution because it ensures that our system of majority rule will not degenerate into a system of mob rule. It is designed to protect the rights of the minority from an unfettered majority that might otherwise trample those rights. The protection of minority rights that is enshrined within the Bill of Rights facilitates an open political system in which dissent is tolerated under the law and informs the political process. In essence, protection of minority rights such as freedom to criticize the government and freedom of the press to openly report on government activities is the reason why the United States is able to have a legitimate political system marked by free and fair elections. If minority rights were squashed, it would lead to a governmental system more akin to communism, in which the majority party becomes the only legal party because they essentially outlaw the opposition. The First and Second Amendments t o the Constitution are critically important components of the scheme to protect minority rights in America. The First Amendment to the ... It is no accident that these three basic freedoms are outlined within the first of ten Amendments. It is likely that the Framers of the Constitution considered these to be the most important of all the rights that need to be protected from the will of the majority, in order to establish a truly open and free democratic republic. Among the many current issues that have arisen out of the First Amendment is the question of the extent to which the press has the right to protect its sources. The jailing us New York Times reporter Judith Miller for failing to reveal her source in the matter of the leak of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame raises the specter of the government's ability to chill press freedom to investigate and report on sensitive government matters. Ultimately, it was found that the interest of the state in prosecuting criminals and providing for national security trumps the right of reporters to refuse to disclose their sources. The implications of this finding are grave; and it remains to be seen whether investigative reporting in America will be severely weakened in the future as potential sources of information refuse to come forward for fear that the government might force disclosure of their identities. That result could end up depriving the public of important information they need to develop informed opinions about public matters. Another First Amendment issue that continues to be relevant is the doctrine of Separation of Church and State. The First Amendment guarantees that "Congress shall make no law respecting the Establishment of a religion," nor shall the government be allowed to prohibit free exercise of religion. In essence, the First Amendment guarantees that the government, in all its

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

The James Bond Phenomenon Essay Example for Free

The James Bond Phenomenon Essay The James Bond series of movies is unarguably the most successful film franchise of all time. This is so due to countless of reasons. The spy in the black tuxedo who prefers his Martini shaken and not stirred and possesses a genuine taste for extremely beautiful women is the embodiment of a lot of elements. The book has thoroughly explored what needs to be explored in the mystique surrounding the world’s most famous British super spy. The book in general was not only convincing, but it was of utmost believability. There were times in my own reading that I found myself having a smirk on my face because of the way Mr. Lindner stroked the obvious facts that everyday people like us can see and yet totally ignore or be unaware of. The book wanders on the realism of James Bond and its counterpart on the superficial side, and that was in my opinion, the most sensible asset the book has to offer. The phenomenon which James Bond brought about to the world, according to the book, could never be discounted, for it defined the contemporary and yet timeless tale of a spy against the bad folks. For Mr. Lindner, James Bond changed the mindsets of people in varying ways and how the world in general was perceived by mankind. On the other hand, stated Lindner, â€Å"how the people viewed crime totally changed when the phenomenon of James Bond occurred. † Christopher Lindner not only focused on how James Bond literally changed the world, but focused equally and emphasized on the ways he did it. Not only in the way it penetrated culture but on how the Bond franchise became a sort of a tradition among moviegoers and aficionados. From the perspective of the book, James Bond thrives in the world of popular art, and yet embedded in a world of his own. Not only was the James Bond the motion picture franchise touched by the book, but on how it became so enduringly successful and how it managed to hold its own against time, the generations, and the changing of the tastes and preferences of the merciless critics, moviegoers and the viewing public in general. The evolution of the James Bond as portrayed by actors and Bond’s hard road to finality and success were stunningly described in Mr. Lindner’s fabulous work. Concurrently, he had managed to be the voice of the ordinary moviegoer in how he had stated the differences of the impact that Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan had inflicted upon the tradition and at the same time being an avid showbiz insider in the way he elaborated all the negotiations and the processes in which the mere novel underwent en route to become a phenomenon. And moreover, not only the difference among the actors were thoroughly touched by Lindner, and their fortes, on how they captured the audience and most significantly, the figurative sense in which they wore the black tuxedo and their general appeal in the eyes of the world. Even though Lindner had tackled the personas of James Bond throughout the spy’s existence for almost half a century, he still managed to dig much, much deeper into the persona, the man with the most gentlemanly of manners, with the most cunning of ways, and those three sheer convincing eternal words that virtually every civilized individual on earth could recite. â€Å"Bond, James Bond. † No stone was left unturned in the book, no apparent detail about the world’s most famous spy was overlooked, and there no exaggerations, just plain and simple obviousness, a more elaborate and keen obviousness regarding the mystique, the thrill, the ways and the wave that James Bond infectiously swayed upon the world, yes, the whole world. Works Cited: Lindner, Christoph. The James Bond Phenomenon: A Critical Reader. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2003.

Monday, October 14, 2019

The Story Of The Flivver King History Essay

The Story Of The Flivver King History Essay In the story of the Flivver King, Upton Sinclair wrote this book from the period in the early 20th century about of one of Americans most famous self-made business leaders of the 20th century, Henry Ford. The author explains the story through the eyes of a fictional character that idolizes Ford from a young age, that character is Abner Shutt. Abner is the main character in the book and from his viewpoint Sinclair shows the reader how Ford started off as a man who was thought to be a lunatic for his ideas of making a carriage that can move without the help of a horse, to becoming one of the most influential people of his time. The story follows the ideas and growth of what would become the Ford Motor Company through the eyes of the Shutt family, primarily Abner since he eventually works for Ford and advances himself in the company slowly. The story also shows how Abner grows into a family man who works for Ford for many years and how Henry Ford starts off with great intentions, brilli ant ideals, and hopes for his company and the workers in it. As shown in the book, one of Fords hopes at the beginning of the story is that he would be able to have his workers earn enough money so they may also have the means to buy a car. Upton Sinclair shows how Ford changes during the story and how at the end of the story, Ford and his ideals are changed by power and a few billion of dollars. The idolized leader of Ford had become a prisoner of his own wealth and power. In this story, Upton Sinclair wants the worker who is Abner Shutt to gather with other workers and form a strong labor union. During the story Abner is not waiting to organize anything like a Union at Ford due to his beliefs of what Henry Ford is about as a person and how much trouble it can potentially get him in. Sinclair originally wrote this book for the United Automobile Workers of America in the late 1930s so that people during this time period would understand that workers should have some basic rights to work in a safe environment with fair hours and pay. At this time at the turn of the century, many of the workers who would immigrate to America for work would often be exploited at many levels. This happened in all types of factories other than the automotive factories; Sinclair had seen factory worker abuse first hand in meat packing factories. Upton Sinclair was not just trying to be just another author but a revolutionary activist for the workers, who attempted to show peo ple firsthand what workers had to deal with when they were in the factories. By creating books like the Flivver King, Sinclair was attempting to show how much power the leaders of a major company can have and how it is unethical. Sinclair also shows how the power hungry leaders can start with good intentions and then just crave for more and more power. During this time Upton Sinclair realized that during this time when America was in the middle of another major industrial revolution after Ford and the birth of the major car industry. People who had ideals like Sinclair wanted to see more federal regulations in the American auto industry and he was showing how company leaders like Henry Ford would be against regulation and power to the workers since he feels that he would want to have the most possible control over his company and workers as a whole. Upton Sinclair felt that our nation at this time needed to establish a strong union where the workers can actually get help from a stronger organization when going against the corporations. Sinclair wanted a strong Union to help workers get what he feels they deserve, instead of becoming just another cog in the machine known as the abused industrial workforce at the time. After reading this book one would think that the reason why there is no strong presence of a labor union in this country is because of the risk that it presented for workers at the time. In the Flivver King, Henry Ford used thugs and goons to intimidate people from not causing a ruckus and not bringing the any kind of union into his company. Upton Sinclair said this in the book, as a beleaguered American socialist in a society that is generally unsympathetic to the plight of the less fortunate, Sinclair pondered the question of why Socialism did not gain a foothold in the minds of the American workers. (Sinclair, Pr eface viii, xi) Reading this from Sinclair makes the reader believe that since socialism did not gain a solid ground in the mindsets of the factory workers at the time prevented a chance and at a strong labor union, and it shows the reader that Americans can show little sympathetic to those who do not have a lifestyle as well as their own. After reading this, it is clear that Sinclair pities the American worker of this time period and he feels that if they could have embraced a more socialist mindset, there could have been some kind of organization to protect them from being exploited and possibly fired just by mentioning the very idea of trying to start or join anything like a union. Other issues in the work place were workers being killed by various factors like poor or unsafe work conditions, violent protest and strikes, and being beaten thugs. Sinclair thought that because of the difficult working conditions, some kind of regulation was needed from a higher power, and that higher power would be our very own government. He also thought that the people needed to stand up and do something in order for anything to happen. In the book, Sinclair uses Abners son Tom as an example of person trying to make a difference by attempting to make labor unions for auto workers a reality. Tom Shutt who was a college graduate from the University of Michigan was once a worker at a Ford gear plant, he was eventually was listed as a trouble maker by the company and he was shown working for the United Auto Workers. Tom would go into the towns where Ford had great influence he would try and show people how they can get the company to join the union. This proved to be an very dangerous job, especially in the towns where The Ford Motor Company had a strong impact. Also Sinclair shows us that greed that was a common theme in the book did not help a ny efforts to start labor unions in the auto industry. Sinclair believed that since characters like Ford had so much money and power at the time, they could also obtain political influence by attempting to urge the people to vote a for a certain candidate so their policies can maintain the status quo and keep labor unions from becoming a reality. Just a few years after this book was written there was an ongoing battle for Ford to Unionize, the United Auto Workers won, and now even today Ford Motor Company is part of the UAW. In the story, Upton Sinclair used the main characters in some way or another to support his arguments for why there should be a labor union for the workers in the auto factories. With his depiction of Henry Ford a self made billionaire who gets corrupted by the money, power, and the very empire he made. At first people thought of Ford a crackpot with lofty ideas, Abners mother said on the very first page of the book that he is a crazy person who is just fooling around all day. After Ford proves the doubters wrong he creates a strong following, and one of his most loyal followers happens to be Abner. The strange and misunderstood inventor gained so much power in a relatively short amount of time, and the power and wealth turned a peaceful and revolutionary inventor into a power hungry corporate leader who wanted to control everything around him. The next character that Sinclair uses is Abner Shutt, a loyal Ford follower from a young age since he saw the beginnings of Ford on Bagely St reet in Detroit, and later an employee of Henry Ford. Abner appeared to be oblivious to some of things that occurred at the Ford Company at the time. For most of the book he would address Mr. Ford with the upmost respect. With the company growing into a global business powerhouse Abner saw the company rise from humble beginning and with honest intentions. Later Abner saw the company grow to have spies and gang members working for Ford to prevent any type of action that Ford himself would not like. Abner even had one of his own family members Tom Shutt, suffer at the hands of the gang members for trying to make a difference for the factory workers. If a proper workers union would have been established earlier on, maybe his son Tom would not have been beaten by the thugs at Ford. Sinclair uses this compelling story to open the eyes of Americans to show them some of things that occurred to people who tried to make a difference in the world for all of the auto workers in America. He also shows how money and power can overwhelm people who start out with good and clean intentions to help and give products to those who cannot afford it or give good benefits to their workers. With this piece of literature, we now can understand how much of a need there is for a an auto workers union, so we can avoid falling back into a time where workers can be fired for the wrong reasons or killed by the company thugs for attempting to create a safety net for the auto factory workforce.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Pythia Peays Soul Searching Essay -- Pythia Peay Soul Searching

Pythia Peay's Soul Searching Most people are identified by where they are from and what type of background they are accustomed to. In the short story, â€Å"Soul Searching,† by Pythia Peay, the topic discussed relates to the city a person lives in and how it eventually becomes a part of their soul. Many rhetorical appeals are displayed throughout the article, and these methods are successful in expressing to the reader how much a city can become a part of an individual. Peay decides to use her home town of Washington, D.C. to demonstrate her argument of identifying with one’s home. For any article it is important to identify the rhetorical triangle, and get the background information to further the understanding of a subject. The first piece of the rhetorical triangle is the author. Pythia Peay is a writer mostly known for her works in the fields of spirituality and psychology. Her writings tend to focus on specific areas such as â€Å"the soul of the city, the messages in our nightly dreams, the spiritual passage of death, the sacred bonds of friendship, and the wisdom of ancient myths† (duplain.com). She has been a columnist for over twenty years and has numerous articles published in â€Å"Utne Reader, George, New Age Journal, New Woman, Publisher's Weekly, and Beliefnet.com† (www.duplain.com). Some of her well-known newspaper pieces include her comments on â€Å"reincarnation, dreams, healing, and other spiritual topics† (duplain.com). Peay’s credibility in this subject is valid by observing her previous record. Along wit h checking the credibility of an author, a certain audience is always trying to be reached in any piece of writing. â€Å"Soul Searching,† is geared towards any U.S. citizen that lives in a metropolis. Although th... ...icle states â€Å"†¦she receives regular doses of inspiration from the Georgetown Flea Market and the Potomac River† (Peay 3). Because she observes these specific areas, she knows Washington, D.C. and is valid in describing her home town. Each rhetorical appeal enhances the Pythia Peay’s point of view and enhances the information trying to get across. Lastly, Pythia Peay establishes her opinion of home is where the heart is by the format used. Deciding to break up the essay into six sections is effective in making it easier to read. The landscape, history, influential people, heart of a town, wounds of a city, and where individuals come together are all detailed descriptions of a city, and describes the topic of her writing. Peay’s method of writing is easy to follow and conveys her points very well inviting the reader to think the same way about their hometown.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Essay examples --

All students come across difficulties in their studies. In other words all students have weaknesses regarding certain study skills. These weaknesses have a negative effect on the students and may make the life of the student miserable by causing him or her to not succeed in a subject or his or her course. Knowing how to improve these skills will help the student to turn his or her weaknesses into strengths. Motivation is my most problematic and pressing weakness. The first time that I was aware of my weakness with motivation was in high school; I only got motivated to study when there was a little amount of time before the exam or the due date for an assignment. This weakness has affected me negatively and because of it I got low grades in my tests and assignments. This weakness also prevents me from being able to plan effectively. The reason I think I have a low motivation to study is because of the many distractions in my life, like video games. I enjoy playing them for long periods of time. I also watch shows and hang out with friends. However I think that the real actual reason why I am not motivated to study is that I am not interested in my studies, or, in other words I do not find the things they are teaching us interesting. My second weakness is a lack of focus. The first time that I became aware of this weakness was soon after I noticed my low motivation. I am only able to focus for a small amount time, for example if a class lasts for two hours I can only focus for one hour, or in other words, I can generally focus for only half the duration of a class. This weakness also has affected me negatively as I can’t understand some parts from the teacher’s speech about the topic so my... ...to do things. I should be aware of my time, the place it really goes to. Sometimes when I find it hard to fit in everything that I want to do and there are things that are more important than others. I should identify my priorities and set due dates for it. I should be precise and comprehensive when it comes to managing my time. I should prepare a detailed diary/planner. I should put plan notes in places that I would remember them easily. I should carry out my plans according to a schedule. I should think of things that will disrupt my plans. I should experiment with saving time or managing my time, so that I will know what works and save time for the things I priorities. I should check if I am sticking to my plan. If not, I should make some changes to my plan to make it more realistic, or think of what I can do to so that I will not mess up my plan (Cottrell: 2013)