The Great Bridge the Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge Essay Example

The Great Bridge: the Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge Paper THE GREAT BRIDGE: THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE AN NTCP ANALYSIS OF THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE PROJECT EM – 612 B Group D Luigi Ballarinni David DeBorja Matthew Gelmetti Jonathon Lum? TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Executive Summary3 2. Background4 3. Statement of Problem5 4. Project NTCP Analysis7 5. Project Approach11 6. Conclusion16 7. References19 ? EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The goal of the Brooklyn Bridge was to allow people to cross the East River without waiting for a ferry, which at the time was the only way to travel to from Brooklyn to Manhattan. The new bridge would allow people to walk, ride a carriage, and even ride the rail, so people and goods could easily travel from one side to the other. This project made groundbreaking revelations; this included using engineering techniques which had not been used in the type of scale to their extent. Two types of engineering practices were the use of caissons for the foundation and a suspension bridge system, both of which had been limited in use before the Brooklyn Bridge. The way in which Roebling approached the Brooklyn Bridge was a critical component of the management project; he had a vision in mind before being granted the project and executed the project according to his elaborate plan. Although the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge was incredibly successful, the approach taken had left the very little room for error for the designers. Much of the success lies in the fact that the Roeblings had gotten most of the characterization correct. However, without any contingencies, the plan lacked much flexibility to adjust to any major setbacks to the project. We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Bridge: the Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Bridge: the Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Bridge: the Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The Brooklyn Bridge has progressed history in more ways than just one: even though it was one of the greatest marvels of the 19th century, it seems to have driven us to now always push the limits of engineering to its physical bounds and even past them. The following NTCP chart displays the categorization of the project, and the approach that the Roeblings had taken (shown in red): ? BACKGROUND In the early 1800’s, Brooklyn and New York (Manhattan) were considered two separate cities. Even though they were just separated by a mile of water, the amount of trade which could be done between the two cities was severely limited. Their location along the eastern seaboard and the accessibility of their ports through the East River, made these two cities among the most prosperous in the United States. The East River prevented the two cities from utilizing the advantage of their proximity to each other. This was mostly due to the fact that the most common route from Brooklyn to New York was to take a ferry across the East River. Many problems were arising from the situation of only having ferries to get across the East River. This was resulting in long queues, overcrowded waterways, and dangerous conditions among others. In particular, the long queues seemed to be the largest problem; just one mile of water was stopping people from transporting anything whether it be their car or their time perishable cargo across to New York or Brooklyn. To have another way across, would allow for people to cross the East River without waiting as long. Business for these merchants would be easier with a method to cross the East River that did not involve ferries. It was often said that taking a train to Albany was faster and easier than trying to cross the river. The detrimental effects of not having any way across the East River except for the ferry climaxed in the winter of 1866-1867. Being that this was an extremely cold winter, much of the East River had frozen over leaving most traffic between New York and Brooklyn at a standstill because the ferries were not able to get across. This prompted the New York Bridge company to charter a project which would allow people to get from one city to the other in a time effective method that was not by ferry. They eventually decided to pick a chief engineer, John A. Roebling, who was famous for his wire rope suspension bridges.? STATEMENT OF PROBLEM The impending plans for the Brooklyn Bridge were seemingly daunting for its day and age. For one, it stood to become the longest bridge in the world, reaching over 50% longer than any bridge before it. The Brooklyn Bridge was also set to be built on the East River, one of the busiest waterways in the world. These were just some of the many issues that lay ahead of the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. The first problem that was to be encountered by the designers of the bridge was the East River itself. The East River, unlike the name suggests is not so much a river, but more like a salt water estuary. This meant that unlike a river, the East River faced tidal conditions similar to most bodies of water connected to the ocean; these tidal conditions also contributed to the high levels of turbulence that existed in the waters. The East River also had not been fully explored to its depths. The sandy bottom prevented the designers from knowing how deep they would need to dig to reach ground solid enough to build a foundation to hold up the massive structures required for the bridge. The East River was also one of the busiest waterways in the world. This was the waterway that provided the lifeblood of two the busiest commercial ports in the world. Because of the traffic that would flow through the East River, any bridge that would span it, would need to ensure that the span reached high enough to avoid even the tallest sails of the largest ships. In fact, the legislation that authorized the construction of the bridge stipulated that the bridge must not â€Å"obstruct, impair, or injuriously modify† the navigation of the river. Finally, we have to consider the bridge itself. The impending Brooklyn Bridge would easily surpass all existing bridges in terms of length. With the requirement of the bridge not impairing water traffic, the bridge span must be much higher than many other bridges. Building a bridge of this length and height would require the use of a suspension bridge architecture. However, at the time, the suspension bridge concept was a relatively new architecture and had never been tested on a large scale. This architecture also would require two towers to support the structure and would require the construction of a foundation deep beneath the East River, using caissons. Caissons have been used to build structures underwater, however many of the uses were on a much smaller scale, and in much shallower waters. The design and construction of the Brooklyn Bridge obviously faced enormous hurdles and public skepticism before it was to be completed, therefore the proper design and approach must be taken in order to ensure the bridge is constructed successfully. PROJECT NTCP ANALYSIS In order to understand how the Roeblings’ approach fit the project, we must first analyze the project on its own merit. Because of the enormously complex task at hand, it would help to have an organized method to analyze the project, therefore an NTCP analysis was performed on the project. An NTCP analysis is a technique used to characterize projects. This characterization is formed from a basis of 4 key criteria, which form the anagram that the analysis is named after. While many projects may have inherent differences depending on the objective of the task, the resources available, and the complexity of the project; by analyzing a project using the NTCP technique, a project manager may find that many similarities do exist between projects which are seemingly unrelated. By analyzing projects with similar NTCP profiles we can find that many of the projects encounter the same types of problems and require a similar managerial approach. The first component of the NTCP analysis is Novelty. Novelty is used to describe the relative familiarity of the product to the developers and customers. Novelty is broken into three main categories, labeled: Derivative, Platform, and Breakthrough. Derivative projects are defined by projects that extend or improve existing products, such as a next year iteration of an existing project. Platform projects create a new generation or significant improvement over existing products, such as the development of a new aircraft. Breakthrough projects introduce never before seen products or new to the world products, such as the creation of the computer. The Brooklyn Bridge project introduced a number of new breakthroughs in construction technology that influence the industry even to this day. Considered by many to be one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century and a marvel of construction, the Brooklyn Bridge ushered in the era of the modern-day suspension bridge. This bridge created a new concept that introduced the framework for building the modern-day suspension bridge, capable of crossing incredible distances. However, for all the incredible accomplishments and breakthroughs, it was still a bridge, and designers and builders have built bridges before, and therefore have some experience and familiarity with the project. Based on this, we can classify this project as a Platform project. Technology is the second component, which makes the T of the NTCP analysis. The four categories that make up the Technology component are: Low Tech, Medium Tech, High Tech, and Ultra-High Tech. Low Tech projects involve the use of existing, well established technologies. Medium Tech projects use many existing technologies with a few new developments. High Tech projects use many new or recently developed technologies, and possibly a few new technologies. Ultra-High Tech projects generally must develop new technologies as the basic technologies do not yet exist to accomplish the task. The Brooklyn Bridge project had accomplished a number of technological breakthroughs by the time of its completion. One such development was the use of caissons. This was not the first ever use of caissons, in fact caissons had been in use for at least a generation, originating in Europe. The most advanced use of caissons at the time had been the Royal Albert bridge, where Brunel had lowered a caisson over 70 feet to build the foundation for the railroad bridge. However, John Roebling’s plan for the caissons were much larger than anything previously done, and were going to be dropped at least 30 feet deeper than the caissons used in Brunel’s project. The use of steel as a construction material was also a major technological development, as projects mainly used Iron at the time. The suspension bridge itself was a technological achievement as the bridge pushed the limits of construction and architecture; at the time of completion, the towers that support the bridge were the tallest free-standing structure in North America. While there was a significant number of breakthroughs for the Brooklyn Bridge project, the project still relied on many tried and true techniques, which would make this project a High Tech project. Figure 1: The design plan for one of the supporting towers for the bridge Complexity makes up the C component of the NTCP analysis. Complexity is a difficult category to encapsulate, as scale alone cannot completely determine the complexity of a project. â€Å"A very large, and expensive project in one industry say construction might be less complex than a smaller project in another industry, such as biotechnology† (reinventing PM, p102). Therefore we have to base complexity on a number of factors such as cost, scale, number of functions and components, and complexity of the organization and relationships between components. Complexity can also be related to the complexity of both the product and the process used to develop the product. The three categories that compose the complexity of a project are: Assembly, System, and Array. Assembly projects are composed of a collection of components that combine to form a single unit with a single function of a limited scale. System projects are a complex collection of components and subsystems, which can perform multiple functions. Array products are comprised of a wide collection of systems or networks which work together to achieve a common objective. The Brooklyn Bridge project contained a number of components which in themselves can be considered systems or subsystems. The bridge required a foundation and tower component which were being built in an incredibly difficult terrain (over 100 feet underwater). The total length of the bridge was 3,460 feet, including 1,595 feet 6 inches between the two towers. The cable and anchoring system was to be much stronger than anything of its day, and were to be constructed using steel, the first time steel was to be used during a major construction project. After taking all factors into account, this project can be categorized as a System Project. Finally we reach the Pace of the project. The Pace of a project is fairly simple concept to determine, yet it may have far reaching consequence when it comes to execution of the project. The four categories the make up the Pace component are: Regular, Fast/Competitive, Time-Critical, and Blitz. For a Regular program, time is not an important factor in the success of a project. Fast/Competitive projects exist when the success of a project is not dependent on the project completing on time; however, timely completion of the project will have a significant impact to the organization’s competitive advantage and/or bottom line. Time-Critical projects are ones where the success of a project is dependent on completion of the project by a certain time; a delay in completion can mean project failure. Blitz projects are generally projects run during a crisis. Blitz projects often do not have a structured organization, rather decisions are made as quickly as possible to deal with the situation at hand. While the Brooklyn Bridge project was clearly not a Blitz or Time-Critical project, the fact that congress originally provided 3 years to build the bridge, showed a level of urgency desired by the legislating government. Add in the merchants and citizens who stood to benefit from a simple mode of transportation across the East River without having to wait for a ferry; and there was clearly a desire for the bridge to be worked on at a fast pace, resulting in a classification of Fast/Competitive. From the analysis given, the Brooklyn Bridge project could be classified with the following NTCP chart: Figure 2: NTCP diagram of Brooklyn Bridge project ? PROJECT APPROACH For John Roebling, the Brooklyn Bridge project did not begin with approval of the project. In fact, Roebling had been planning a crossing of the East River as early as 1857, when he began making drawings detailing the towers the bridge would require. By 1867, when the New York state legislature had chartered the New York Bridge company to proceed with the construction of the project, Roebling had already devised much of the plans for his bridge. To help in understanding the workings of using a caisson, Washington Roebling, had set out to study caissons being used in Europe for over a year, as well as to pay a visit to the ongoing Eads Bridge crossing the Mississippi, where James Eads was using caissons to build his bridge. Skeptics opposed the idea of the Brooklyn Bridge’s suspension design by linking it to the vibrational effects from wind that destroyed the deck of the Wheeling Bridge on the Ohio River (Great Bridge p33). However, Roebling was involved only in the repair by using auxiliary stay cables. Thus, this design feature was also incorporated into the future design of the Brooklyn Bridge. To help alleviate public skepticism and ensure the legitimacy of the design, John Roebling hired a panel of seven consultants to approve of the work he was set to perform. John Roebling stated: â€Å"In view of ‘the magnitude of the undertaking and the large interests connected therewith’, it was ‘only right’ that his plans be ‘subjected to the careful scrutiny’ of a board of experts† (GREAT BRIDGE, p25). However, it was never Roebling’s intention to listen to the advice of the experts he had chosen, rather, he had only intended to convince these men that his design would work. To do this, Roebling emphasized the suspension bridge would be built 6 times as strong as needed. Demonstrating his point, he claimed the design of the bridge would be of such that if the four main cables were to break, the bridge would sag, but not break. This way, the span of the bridge would be designed strong enough to hold its own weight without breaking, a very impressive feat for a suspension bridge. Thus John Roebling achieved the objective of his expert consultant group: to use their reputation and status to convince any remaining skeptics that his bridge was stable and proceed forward with the plan. Another characteristic of the approach taken by John Roebling, was that although he had his name attached to the project, he was hardly the face of the project. This task, he left to his eldest son, Washington, with whom he confided much of the plan, still kept secret from the rest of the world. Had it not been for Washington Roebling’s excellent education, and desire to follow in his father’s footsteps, the plans for the Brooklyn Bridge might have been in trouble when in 1869, as the construction of the bridge was set to begin, John Roebling was involved in a freak accident, that crushed his toes at the pier he was surveying for the project. The toes were amputated but rather than seeking medical assistance, he refused to listen to his doctors’ advice, which some say may have prevented him from developing the fatal bout with tetanus. John Roebling’s death had left the stakeholders of the bridge in a quandary about how the bridge was going to proceed. However, John Roebling had long desired for his son Washington to take over the project at some point, and had discussed this issue with William Kingsley on a number of occasions. In fact, Roebling had initially suggested that Washington be in charge of the project from the start, but that was deemed unacceptable. Because the detailed designs were kept secret except for John and Washington Roebling, it was easier to pass along the lead of the project from father to son because Washington knew what ideas were going to be implemented in the project. This also prevented someone completely new who did not understand what John was doing and would want to change the ideas. With a clear line of succession, the choice was obvious: Washington Roebling would be allowed to continued the project after his father’s death, taking on the role of Chief Engineer. At this point, much of the project planning was done. This included how the design was going to be carried out for the caissons, towers, wires, and actual roadways. Also, requirements needed to be closely considered in order to make sure that stakeholders were satisfied. Construction started on land where the caissons were built. These large wooden boxes had to be the width and thickness the towers were going to be. They were then floated into position and weighted down until they reached the sandy river bottom. Compressed air was inserted into the caissons keeping the water out as they dug deeper. Figure 3: Cross-section of caisson containing muck holes, shafts for people, and pipes where air pressure was pumped in. Due to the compressed air within in the caisson, the workers were limited to 2 hour shifts before the effects of the â€Å"Caisson’s Disease† began appearing. Special chambers called airlocks were developed and helped prevent the negative effects from forming when the finished worker would ascend too rapidly. However, over the length of the project, about 27 workers died from working in the caissons. Digging deeper inside the caissons was extremely slow. The best performance was 6 inches a week (Sheong). Although the Brooklyn tower’s caisson eventually reached bedrock at 44 feet, the Manhattan tower’s caisson continued to go deeper. When the Manhattan tower caisson had reached a depth of 78 feet, and bedrock was still not found, Roebling recalculated whether the tower structure would be able to meet the strength requirements and made the decision to stop digging at this point. The increased weight of the tower was to hold the caisson in place. This delayed the project because there was no way of knowing how deep the bedrock on the Manhattan side was and if 78 feet was stable enough to hold the tower. The next part of the project which needed to be done once the caissons were in place was fill them in and complete the towers. Right before this, a fire broke out in one of the caissons Washington Roebling was inside of. From the rapid ascension, Washington suffered gravely from the â€Å"bends† and left him paralyzed for the rest of his life. From his apartment in Brooklyn Heights, Roebling oversaw construction through a telescope while his wife, Emily Roebling, coordinated the construction at the site under his direction. Once the caissons were filled with concrete, the towers started to be built. The entire project was supposed to only take 3 years, however once the towers were finished being constructed, it was already 1876, more than 6 years since Washington had sustained his injury. Initially, John Roebling had designed the bridge to be six times as strong as required. However, as the installation of the wire rope was in progress, it was discovered that some of the wire was a substituted material, not steel. This made it have an inferior quality and was discovered when one of the steel cables snapped. This was supplied by contractor J. Lloyd Haigh. As a result, the bridge was only 4 times as strong as required and was allowed to stand with additional 250 cables. In 1880, Haigh was convicted of fraud and jailed; however, his steel cables could not be replaced because it had already been placed in throughout the bridge which was standing. Figure 4: Wrapping cables in protection. The New York Polytechnic Society devoted several lectures at â€Å"Cooper Union devoted exclusively to the supposed engineering fallacies of the Roebling plan† (Great Bridge p28). To an even greater extent, concern arose that the bridge would interfere with traffic to and from the Navy yard. Thus, Chief of Army Engineers, A. A. Humphrey’s â€Å"decided to appoint his own review panel to give an opinion about it, irrespective of the conclusions reached by Roebling’s consultants† (Great Bridge, p28). â€Å"When it opened on May 24, 1883 the world took notice and the entire United States celebrated. And the bridge, with its majestic stone towers and graceful steel cables, isnt just a beautiful New York City landmark, its also a very dependable route for many thousands of daily commuters† (http://history1800s. bout. com/od/bridgebuilding/a/brooklynbrid01. htm). However, while there was much public celebration, there was also just much public skepticism. People were both afraid of whether the bridge would be stable enough for people to come across. Even a week after the opening on May 30th, 1883, a public stampede caused by a false panic that the bridge was collapsing caused the death of 12 people and injuries to many others. In order to put this stigma to rest, Roebling hired the â€Å"great showman Phineas T. Barnum to lead a parade of 21 elephants, including the famous Jumbo, across the bridge a year later, in May 1884† (1800s, strollers on bridge, pg11). This proved the stability of the Brooklyn bridge and was no longer feared that it was unstable. ? CONCLUSION Based on the tasks and design used by the Roeblings, we can attempt to classify an NTCP approach the Roeblings used to manage their project. The Roeblings performed an incredible amount of research on previous generations of the product, and John Roebling was considered by many to be one of the premier bridge engineers of the day. Washington Roebling spent a year abroad in Europe studying the use of caissons, and visited a recent project using caissons at depths similar to that planned for the bridge. John Roebling had also performed a fantastic job of marketing the product, proclaiming the bridge to be a transformative marvel for the world to see. By the time the bridge had opened, the entire world was watching, and there had been such a buildup, the President made it a point to be among the first travelers to cross the bridge. This incredible amount of research and marketing is key for a project introducing a novel concept. However, the Roeblings also had a strict design, which had been frozen at the beginning of the construction process. They had not communicated their plans with anyone besides themselves and therefore took serious risk in the case that both engineers had become disabled, as was the case. Luckily for Washington Roebling, while he suffered severe injuries, they had not been grave enough to prevent him from continuing the project with the help of his wife, Emily. John Roebling had also brought on a panel of technical experts to assess his project; however he never intended to listen to any consultation. Rather, than use their expertise to assess the practicality of his project, his only objective was convincing a skeptical public to allow the project to proceed. Although the Roeblings performed many of the requirements of managing a Platform project, they had also managed the project with many characteristics of a Derivative project, therefore it would be best to classify the Roeblings’ approach a Derivative-Platform approach. Ideally, in order to better fit with the project, the Roeblings should have been more flexible, ensuring that the level of project uncertainty was at a minimal level, before freezing the design plan. They also should have communicated their plans with a committee who could have provided additional perspective that might have noticed any possible flaws that may have existed in the plans. With most projects that contain the level of technological accomplishment of the Brooklyn Bridge project, it was imperative that the designers take the right approach to the match the technical uncertainty of project. The Brooklyn Bridge project required the use of a High Tech technological approach, based on the level of technical achievement and technical uncertainty surrounding the task. A High Tech technical approach would have required flexibility in planning to deal with uncertainty, prototypes and considerable development and testing integrated into the project plans, and frequent communication to the project teams on multiple levels. However, the approach the Roeblings had taken was much different. Instead, the Roeblings had a very rigid design plan, feeling that adherence to the very intricate plan was essential to the success of the project. They had not developed any prototypes, although granted, budget limitations probably would have made a prototype an impossibility. The Roeblings also did not follow a very open communication plan, deciding instead to keep the engineering plan close to the vest. Much of this can be attributed to the engineering culture of the time, as many engineers were very competitive, and most engineers had the mentality of protecting the secrets of their process, rather than helping to promote the science and art of engineering. Because of these characteristics of their project, the Roebling’s approach would need to be classified as Medium Tech. Incredibly, the project encountered relatively few setbacks, none of which were significant enough to derail the project. However, if we were to improve this process, we would certainly have introduced contingencies to allow some flexibility in the design plan, as well as improve the level of communication from the design team to the construction team. The Brooklyn Bridge was an incredibly complex construction project for its time, and based on our NTCP analysis, given a rating of System-level complexity. A System project usually involves complex planning, with a contractor chosen to operate the project. Characteristics of these projects often include a tight level of control, and a significant level of documentation. The Roeblings had indeed operated the project as a complex project with a System level of complexity. They maintained tight control of the project, and created intricate plans for a complex building process. An organization, the New York Bridge Company, was created for the sole purpose of building the Brooklyn Bridge. This allowed for many of the less exciting, non-engineering related tasks to be delegated to someone other than the Roeblings, who surely would have bristled at the thought of worrying about obtaining funding, filing paperwork for the expenditures of the project, or any other tedious task not directly related to the building of the bridge. The pace of a project is an important determinant in the performance of a project plan. As a Fast/Competitive project, the plan is geared with a focus towards accomplishing the objective as soon as possible, as delays can cause a loss of competitive advantage or loss of revenue for the organization. Fast/Competitive projects are often run with a strong level of coordination with subcontractors, and clear, structured plans to ensure the tasks are organized and run efficiently. However, Fast/Competitive projects are not entirely dependent on meeting a deadline, and although great measures are performed to ensure the completion of a project as soon as possible, delays in the project schedule does not immediately cause project failure. Surely the Roeblings followed a structured plan to organize the tasks and ensured that the process stayed on track, yet were aware of the delays that might occur based on the nature of the task, therefore they followed a Fast/Competitive approach. Figure 5: NTCP diagram of project and the approach taken (shown in red) By analyzing the NTCP characterization of both the project and the approach taken by the Roeblings, we can see that there are some discrepancies between the two. While it seems the Roeblings had properly understood the Complexity and Pace of the project, it seems as though they had underestimated the Technology and Novelty of the project. Luckily enough for them the decisions they made and the project proceeded without any major setbacks, and they ended up with one of the engineering marvels of the 19th century. REFERENCES David G. McCullough, The great bridge: the epic story of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, Simon and Schuster, 2001 http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Brooklyn_Bridge http://history1800s. bout. com/od/bridgebuilding/a/brooklynbrid01. htm http://history1800s. about. com/od/bridgebuilding/ig/Images-of-the-Brooklyn-Bridge/Brooklyn-Bridge-s-Caisson. htm http://www. endex. com/gf/buildings/bbridge/bbridgefacts. htm http://www. racontours. com/archive/caissons. php http://www. civilengineergroup. com/building-brooklyn-bridge. html http://www. eyewitnesstohistory. com/brooklynbridge. htm http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=VvG6DSTej4 U http://scheong. wordpress. com/2010/09/21/the-story-of-the-brooklyn-bridge-a-roebling-family-production/

Free Essays on Targeting Children

Innocent Victims America is being brainwashed. Corporate America is pulling the wool over America’s eyes and its children’s eyes with their clever propaganda tactics. I believe that advertisers are taking it too far when they push their products on our helpless children. They are the most susceptible because their minds are immature and are unable to distinguish good advertising versus bad advertising. Television commercials and the internet have a huge impact on children. The internet can brainwash a child with its tactics for advertising. This is legal, but they cannot solicit personal information from them until they turn thirteen years old. The advertisers are telling children what they want and what they need. They are filling the children’s heads with a false sense of reality. For that reason, there are laws and established organizations to protect children from advertising. These children are targeted by advertisers because they are too young to understand the advertiser’s deceptive propaganda. Advertisers spend millions each year on researching what children’s needs and wants are. The advertisers attack children with false statements and many propaganda tactics. Some of these tactics the advertisers use are severe, and could be compared to what Adolf Hitler did in Germany. Hitler was able to manipulate a whole nation to accept his beliefs and ideas using propaganda. Hitler used propaganda to convince his country that they were superior to all others. Some of Hitler’s tactics he used to control an entire nation are still being used today such as bandwagon, transfer, and testimonials. Advertisers use some of the same techniques that Hitler used to target children. Here are some examples of bandwagon techniques that advertisers use to grab the attention of children, â€Å"Everyone is drinking Coke, why aren’t you? Or for us older kids we remember this one, â€Å"What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs,... Free Essays on Targeting Children Free Essays on Targeting Children Innocent Victims America is being brainwashed. Corporate America is pulling the wool over America’s eyes and its children’s eyes with their clever propaganda tactics. I believe that advertisers are taking it too far when they push their products on our helpless children. They are the most susceptible because their minds are immature and are unable to distinguish good advertising versus bad advertising. Television commercials and the internet have a huge impact on children. The internet can brainwash a child with its tactics for advertising. This is legal, but they cannot solicit personal information from them until they turn thirteen years old. The advertisers are telling children what they want and what they need. They are filling the children’s heads with a false sense of reality. For that reason, there are laws and established organizations to protect children from advertising. These children are targeted by advertisers because they are too young to understand the advertiser’s deceptive propaganda. Advertisers spend millions each year on researching what children’s needs and wants are. The advertisers attack children with false statements and many propaganda tactics. Some of these tactics the advertisers use are severe, and could be compared to what Adolf Hitler did in Germany. Hitler was able to manipulate a whole nation to accept his beliefs and ideas using propaganda. Hitler used propaganda to convince his country that they were superior to all others. Some of Hitler’s tactics he used to control an entire nation are still being used today such as bandwagon, transfer, and testimonials. Advertisers use some of the same techniques that Hitler used to target children. Here are some examples of bandwagon techniques that advertisers use to grab the attention of children, â€Å"Everyone is drinking Coke, why aren’t you? Or for us older kids we remember this one, â€Å"What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs,...

How to Deal With Discipline Problems in the Classroom

How to Deal With Discipline Problems in the Classroom Discipline problems challenge most new teachers and even some veteran educators. Good  classroom management combined with an effective discipline plan helps keep bad behavior to a minimum so the entire class can focus on learning. Classroom rules  must be easy to understand and manageable. Make sure that you dont have such a large number of rules that your students cant consistently follow them. Set an Example Discipline starts with you. Begin each class period with a positive attitude and high expectations. Itll help create a positive learning environment. If you expect your students to misbehave, they probably will. Come to class prepared with lessons for the day. Reduce downtime  for students to help maintain order. Work on making transitions between lessons smooth. For example, as you move from whole-group discussion to independent work, try to minimize the disruption to the class. Have your papers ready to go or your assignment was written on the board so you can move quickly through the process. Many disruptions occur in transitional times during lessons. Be Proactive With Discipline Problems Watch your students as they come into class and look for signs of discord. For example, if you notice a heated discussion before class starts, deal with it then. Give the students a few moments to work things out before you start your lesson. Separate them if necessary and try to gain agreement that during your class period at least, they will drop the issue. Post a discipline plan that you follow consistently to govern student conduct. Depending on the severity of an offense, this should provide a warning or two before formal punishment. Your plan should be easy to follow and cause minimal disruption to your class. For example, first offense: verbal warning; second offense: detention with the teacher; third offense: referral. Use humor when appropriate to diffuse touchy situations. For example, if you tell your students to open their books to page 51, but three students are so busy talking with each other that they do not hear you, resist the urge to yell. Smile, say their  names and ask them calmly to please wait until later to finish their conversation because you would really like to hear how it ends but you have to get this class finished. This should get a few laughs but also get your point across. Be Firm But Fair Consistency and  fairness  are essential for effective classroom management. If you ignore disruptions one day and come down hard on them the next, your students wont take you seriously. You will lose respect and disruptions will probably increase. If you appear unfair in how you enforce the rules, the students will resent you. Address disruptions with in-kind responses. In other words, dont elevate disruptions above their current significance. For example, if two students keep talking in class, dont disrupt your lesson to yell at them. Instead, simply say the students names and issue a verbal warning. You can also try asking one of them a question to bring their focus back to the lesson. If a student becomes verbally confrontational, remain calm and remove them from the situation as quickly as possible. Do not get into yelling matches with your students. And do not bring the rest of the class into the situation by involving them in the disciplinary process. Prioritize Safety When a student becomes visibly agitated, you must maintain a safe environment for the other students. Remain as calm as possible; your demeanor can sometimes diffuse the situation. You should have a plan for dealing with violence that you discussed with students early in the year. You should use the call button for assistance or have a designated student get help from another teacher. Send the other students from the room if it appears they could get hurt. If a fight breaks out in the classroom, follow your schools rules concerning teacher involvement as many administrators want teachers to stay out of fights until help arrives. Keep an anecdotal record of major issues that arise in your class. This might be necessary if you are asked for a history of classroom disruptions or other documentation. Most importantly, let it go at the end of the day. Classroom management and disruption issues should be left at school so you have time to recharge before coming back to another day of teaching.

How compelling do you find Ball,s argument in this 2011 article Essay

How compelling do you find Ball,s argument in this 2011 article - Essay Example In terms of the catalyst for the educational change, Ball indicates that the primary contributing factor is the new types of education sponsors and providers. In considering the text, one recognizes that while Ball provides a varying amount of supporting information, the article lacks grounded empirical support for many of its contentions. Additionally, there is the recognition that the researcher does not directly involve themselves in the research. Because of these aforementioned elements, there is the potential that Ball’s insights are ideologically motivated. Still, there are also a number supporting elements. Fletcher-Campbell & Brill (2008; Action 1.9) indicated that it is important to consider the changing nature of education in socio-historical contexts. The recent global recession, as well as the emergence of for-profit instructional institutions, have concomitantly presented necessity and motivation for the shifting structures Ball refers to. A further recognition is presented by Edwards, Sebba & Rickinson (2007; Action 1.4) who indicate the importance of a multiplicity of perspectives to expand the range of interpretations. Ball’s insights then operate within these frames of reference. As one considers the particular arguments of the text, it becomes clear that they include a variety of notable points. Ball begins in discussing leadership. One of the important distinctions in this section is his consideration of new leadership frameworks. Ball (2011, p. 50) states, â€Å"there is the rhetoric and sensibilities of business into state schooling and the production of various forms of ‘entrepreneurial headship.’’’ Ball seems to be indicating that the shifting sponsorship and control of schools has resulted in a new form of leadership influenced by entrepreneurial values. One recognizes that the very language Ball implements in this section, namely ‘entrepreneurialism’ of educational environments, is a mode of considering the subject from multi-disciplinary perspectives. This is an approach supported by Mary James (Action 1.5) in encouraging learning across professional communities. On a larger conceptual scale, one considers the linkage between the workplace and the educational environment. A thematic current throughout the article is that Ball is increasingly referring to the hybridization of the work and school environment. There is the recognition that a similar dichotomy is explored in Action 1.6. While Ball’s argument continues to be rooted in the context of the classroom, there is a clear parallel to Action 1.6’s expanded contextual investigation to the workplace. In both instances, there is an increasing exploration of learning as intrinsically linked with working. Even while Ball may be ideologically opposed to the intrusion business on education, it appears that this is an inevitable new direction in education reform. Ball’s own contention that the ownership of these institutions have increasingly refrained from sharing process information, while outwardly a detriment to progress, in actuality it may hold significant potential for educational research. Edwards, Sebba & Rickinson (2007; Action 1.4) indicate that a multitude of stakeholders is actually beneficial for refining ideas. While the lack of proprietary sharing may be a slight drawback, the diversity of stakeholders is

Optical Spinel Ceramics Processing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Optical Spinel Ceramics Processing - Essay Example Alternatively, efforts to â€Å"make polycrystalline spinel by traditional hot pressing of powder have led to inhomogeneous material, typified by opaque nontransmitting regions, thereby making it unsuitable for practical applications† (Sanghera et al, 215). The properties of spinel optical ceramics can be described as follows: The composition of the material is MgAl2O4. The typical grain size of the material is bimodal in nature, 25 µm average and 150  µm averages. The structure is cubic, spinel. Lattice constant of the material is 8.082A. Density is 3.58 g/cc. It is polycrystalline in form with a melting point of 2135?C. Young’s modulus of the material is 276GPa and the sheer modulus is 18.9?106 psi. The material’s Poisson’s ratio is 0.26, and hardness of the material is 1650 Kg/mm2. Fracture toughness of the material holds a record of 1.5 MPa-m1/2 and the flexure strength is 170MPa. Specific heat of the material is 0.8191 J/g - ?C. The transition lim its are 0.25 to 6.5 microns and the thermal conductivity is 25W/m-C @25 ?C (Spinel Optical Ceramic). The present study focuses on learning about the processing of spinel optimal ceramics, including ceramic product processing, their characterization, and applications. Ceramic Product Processing: With the help of ceramic product processing, commercial products of varying sizes, shapes, details, and complexities, are produced. These products may also reflect varying compositions of their materials, structure and cost. The growing capacity to purify, expand and distinguish ceramic materials has led to application of ceramics processing into the field of science. In general, heat is applied on the material for the production of the ceramic as well as on other raw materials in order to develop a unbending product. For ceramic products that make use of naturally occurring materials like rocks and minerals, there is a need for special processing of the materials. This helps in controlling t he transparency, size of particle, distribution of the particle sizes, and heterogeneity of the materials. All these factors have a significant effect on the final product being developed, which is the finished ceramic. In case of some ceramic materials, the starting materials used for processing include powders that are prepared chemically. With the help of accurate chemical compositions and sizes of particles the synthetic materials may be used to control the production of these powders (Ceramic Processing). Once this step is achieved, the ceramic materials are transformed into particular shapes. Water and additives are added to the material for this purpose after which a shape forming process is applied on the materials. The forming techniques that are most commonly used for the purpose include extrusion, slip casting, pressing, tape casting and injection molding. Once the formation of the ceramics is complete, a green color of the ceramics would be obtained. Heat is then applied on this formed material which is a treatment referred as firing or sintering that leads to the production of a finished product rigid in nature. In some cases a glazing process is also applied, particularly where the products include electrical insulators, dinnerware and tiles. Ceramics processed for highly developed applications may undertake a machining and/or a step for polishing the materials such that they can

Environmental Influences On Human Behavior Essay Example for Free

Environmental Influences On Human Behavior Essay Eating disorder is a condition wherein an individual’s eating behavior of eating or not eating is influenced by a psychological impulse, instead of a physiological need. Individuals with eating disorders generally choose to ignore the signals their bodies send out that nourishment is needed for maintenance or that enough food has already been consumed. One general feature commonly observed in an individual with an eating disorder is abnormal weight, which may be either above or below the normal weight. Normal weight has been defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as having a body mass index (BMI) of 18. 5 to 24. 9 kg/m2 (Deurenberg and Yap, 1999; Weisell, 2002). BMI is the ratio of an individual’s weight in kilograms (kg) to his heights in meters squared (m2). An individual with a BMI of 25 to 29 kg/m2 is classified as overweight, those with BMI greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 are categorized as moderately obese, and people with BMI of 40 kg/m2 and above are identified as morbidly obese. Obesity was earlier considered as an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. Today, obesity is regarded as a disease that is strongly influenced by genetic, physiologic and behavioral factors (Jequier and Tappy, 1999). The global estimate of overweight people is currently 1. 2 billion, of which at least 300 million are classified as obese. Obesity has been identified as a preventable health risk, but unfortunately, the mortality rate of this disease is still high, contributing to approximately 300,000 deaths each year in the United States alone. Since the cases of overweight and obesity are continually increasing without any preference to economic status of a country, health governing bodies have put in a significant effort to promote awareness of this disease and intervention programs that would teach the public of the risks of being overweight and/or obese. A major factor that influences such excessive weight gain is the poor lifestyle choices individuals make, in terms of their eating, exercising and physical activities. Binge eating is another eating disorder that is characterized by consuming huge amounts of food in order to achieve the strong feeling of being full. This disorder is generally involved with eating bouts even when an individual is not hungry. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that is recognized in two forms- the restricting type and the binge-eating/purging types (APA, 1994). The restricting type of anorexia nervosa involves the absolute inhibition of food consumption and does not accompany any purging or binge-eating actions. The binge-eating type of anorexia nervosa is commonly characterized by cycles of binge-eating and purging. The classic symptom of anorexia nervosa is subjecting one’s self to a starvation condition, with the main goal of preventing or avoiding gaining weight or sensing that any fat is deposited in the body. The psychological angle with anorexia nervosa is that the individual perceives himself as overweight yet actually, their weight is already below normal. The extreme condition of anorexia nervosa usually involves death due to severe malnutrition. Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder that is characterized by cycles of binge eating, purging and the employment of laxatives to remove any food that has been consumed (APA, 1994). Bulimia nervosa may be differentiated from anorexia nervosa through the feature that the individuals afflicted with this eating disorder typically have normal or above-average weights. In addition, individuals with anorexia nervosa can strongly inhibit their food intake, while individuals with bulimia nervosa find difficulty in avoiding food consumption. Bulimic individuals commonly carry a psychological feeling of guilt and shame of eating so much food, hence they try to appease themselves of their eating faults through purging and chemical elimination of the food they ate through the use of laxatives. They consider such activities as remedies or cleansing rituals so that they can immediately purify themselves of the disgrace they made from eating huge amounts of food. To date, the exact cause of bulimia remains unknown, yet there are theories that this eating disorder is strongly associated to depression and anxiety, however, a precise correlation of this cause still has to be investigated. Another theory involves the motivation of the bulimic individual to escape from reality, by treating for as a comfort instead of a source of energy and nutrition for their bodies. Childhood experiences may also possibly play a role in the cause of bulimia, because young children are often given different types of food in order to pacify them or to reward them for particular activities. Society may also play a role in bulimia, because the media strongly endorses that being thin is good, beautiful and acceptable. It has been suggested that eating disorders may be physiologically influenced by serotonin and norepinephrine. It has also been suggested that anorexia is more frequently observed in females in the Western world (Suematsu, 1986). Several theories have been proposed to explain the mechanism behind hunger and eating in overweight and obese individuals. The internal-external theory of Schachter (1971) states that hunger is influenced by external signals such as time, as shown in their experiments involving manipulation of clock rates and counting the consumption of crackers by the subjects. The research showed that faster ticking clocks that would reach meal times earlier would influence the subjects to eat earlier, while slower ticking close would influence subjects to eat later during the day. This theory strengthened the hypothesis that obese people tend to â€Å"feel† hungry based on the time of the day, and not based of the real sensation of hunger. The sensation of hungry in normal individuals is generally induced by internal signals such as an increased appetite or need to eat. The boundary theory of hunger considers the cognitive influence of hunger and satiety, wherein an individual determines the amount of food he should take in, as their limit or boundary (Hermand and Polivy, 1984). During diet regimes, the amount of food an individual eats is a little less than the set amount or boundary and in turn, the body physiologically adapts to the available sources of energy. In overweight and obese individuals, the boundary of food intake is significantly higher than an individual of normal weight. A third theory explaining the relation between excessive weight gain and eating is the set point theory, which is essentially based on the control of the hypothalamus on the body’s predetermined weight. Such set point of weight will be biologically maintained through the natural way, regardless of efforts to loss weight through diets and other weight loss regimens. A decreased intake of calories will not perturb the hypothalamus in its self-regulation of body weight. These theories are comparatively similar in terms of their goal of attempting to describe the mechanisms of obesity. The theories all emphasized that obesity is not influenced by a single factor, such as plain and simple overeating. These theories actually describe external influences of factors that result in overeating. In the external-internal theory identifies the time of the day as the major factor that triggers hunger. For the boundary theory, the individual himself, most probably with the cerebellum as the major organ, determines the amount of food he will eat. As for the set point theory, the hypothalamus controls the individual’s body weight. It is interesting to note that what the society has perceived as overweight is not really caused by a simple excessive hunger that stems from the need of the stomach to carry more food, but actually a more complex network involving the digestive system, the central nervous system and the immediate environment. Treatment for eating disorder often involves physical and psychological approaches. Psychotherapy serves as the main treatment for eating disorders, which often involves sessions with a therapist to discuss issues such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and body image concerns. The therapist generally emphasizes the relationship of one’s thoughts and eating activities, as well as teaching the patient that food is a source of nourishment and not a source of comfort or escape. Antidepressants may be prescribed to an individual with an eating disorder, to regulate the emotions of the depressed individual. The physician will also need to regularly check the physical vital signs of the patient, in order to monitor whether the patient is gaining weight and to determine whether any other complications may be present in the individual. Dieticians will design a well-balanced diet for an individual with an eating disorder, as well as educate the person of the nutritional value of every type of food that is consumed. The theories of hunger and eating disorders are based on the concept of primary motivation, which is mainly an interplay between psychology and the biological need to provide energy to the proper functioning of the human body. It is more complicated than the straightforward feeding mechanisms in other organisms because eating in the other species is singly influenced by the need to provide food for the normal physiology of the body. In human beings that have a more complex brain system due to evolution, we have acquired the additional capability to feed our minds, and even our souls, so to speak figuratively. It is important to individuals to understand that the mind is a powerful organ that can influence the actions and activities of the rest of the body but it is also more important to know that such choices of eating the right amount of food, as well as the right type of food, is a conscious and voluntary choice, and the consequences should be seriously considered.

Free Essays on Terrorism: A Message to the Terrorists :: September 11 Terrorism Essays

A Message to the Terrorists "You monster. You beast. You unspeakable bastard. "What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our World Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would learn? Whatever it was, please know that you failed. "Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause. "Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve. "Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together. "Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a family rent by racial, social, political and class division, but a family nonetheless. We're frivolous, yes, capable of expending tremendous emotional energy on pop cultural minutiae -- a singer's revealing dress, a ball team's misfortune, a cartoon mouse. We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the ready availability of trinkets and material goods, and maybe because of that, we walk through life with a certain sense of blithe entitlement. We are fundamentally decent, though -- peace-loving and compassionate. We struggle to know the right thing and to do it. And we are, the overwhelming majority of us, people of faith, believers in a just and loving God. "Some people -- you, perhaps -- think that any or all of this makes us weak. You're mistaken. We are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways that cannot be measured by arsenals. "Yes, we're in pain now. We are in mourning and we are in shock. We're still grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still working to make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from some Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy novel. Both in terms of the awful scope of their ambition and the probable final death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of terrorism in the history of the United States and, probably, the history of the world. You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before. "But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to its bitter sorrow the last time anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us such abrupt and monumental pain.

Is Science Curse

Today, the mankind is living under the shadow of sudden death. It appears that we have come to the end of our journey. Now we stand on the brink of complete and final destruction. The earth has become a dangerous place. It may explode to pieces at any moment. Man has been living on this earth for thousands of years. It has been giving him everything he needed. Then, why it has become so dangerous. The only thing responsible for this is science and its inventions. Science has brought more fear and danger than hope and comfort.In the beginning, it appeared to be the greatest friend and helper of man. It promised to overcome disease and death. The atom bomb wiped out Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It has broken up the established institutins. What has to accomplished? It has not ended poverty. He loved his neighbours and respected his elders. It promised to make this earth a paradise, and man an immortal god. Science has developed such terrible weapons of war that in the next world war not a s ingle man will escape death. It has made this earth a hell and man an insance devel. Of curse, there were wars and famines sometimes.Science has, no doubt, made it possible to produce things in great quantities. The last two World Wars killed millions of people and destroyed many cities. The disadvantages: 1. Can be easily manipulated by irresponsible persons. 2. We'll be too dependant on it. When technology fails, we r helpless (in one way or another). 3. Sometimes, it affects our health and lifestyles(we'll be complacent and lazy. The chemicals r hazardous). 4. It destroys our simple and healthy life(I miss the traditional style of living). 5. Invasion of our privacy. 6. Science can pollute waters.Scientists die in labs because of accidents. * Too many species to keep track of. * Animals disturbed from habitats. * Plant species taken from environment. * Rare species threatened. due to nuclear development there is a danger of occurence of secon world war 2. due to nuclear radiation there are many diseases throught the world 3. it leads to globular warming On the minus side there is weaponry which is the inseparable issue of the new technologies. Hence the main problem is the proper use of this knowledge. Nevertheless, weapon engineering propels and provides a huge advance.Also, the industry despite highly developed machinery pollutes the globe. On the other hand while many people live in horrible conditions and famine governments spend a lot of money on developing weapon industry. Is it the right way? Maybe the modern technology should either stop or prevent social disproportions. Lastly, do new technologies make us happier? It is not an easy question and each person should consider it. If at one hand, science and technology has brought a lot of wonders for us then on the other hand, there are disadvantages of science and technology as well.Firstly, it has increased the anxiety in our lives. Secondly, when technology goes in the wrong hands then it can negati vely impact the society such as the increasing rate of cyber crime, hacking, stealing of personal information and pornography websites. Thirdly, technology has also increased the alternatives and opportunities for the terrorists. Moreover, technology has suppressed our physical efforts and we are getting more luxurious and comfort living. The economies which lag behind in incorporating new technologies are considered poor economies and their progress in the world is hindered.

MeasuringOrganizationInnovativeness

Measuring innovation is an important issue, as business growth and profitability in the knowledge age depend on innovation. Continual acceleration in innovation will sustain revenue growth, which will then fuel more innovation. Therefore, sustainable growth requires sustainable innovation, which requires that innovation be institutionalized and its output made predictable. Sound policy analysis and decision-making also requires credible, timely and relevant measurements as well. Measuring innovation has been studied extensively by scholars and practitioners.There is even an merging â€Å"innovation economics† susceptible that explores the complex relationship between investments in innovation and financial outcomes. At the practitioner end, leading consultancies-?Boston Consulting Group, McKinney & Company, and Bozo Allen Hamilton, to name just a few-?examine innovation and ways to nurture it within firms and other organizations. 3 Purpose of the study This study aims to provi de an overview on how to measure/ assess innovation capability of an organization.The main objective is to enrich our understanding of the innovation process; with an intention to come up with n integrated, convenient, effective, and accurate measure for innovativeness in Egyptian CIT organizations. Our approach for the intended measure would be to focus on a few high impact dimensions, rather than attempting a shotgun approach along many dimensions at once, with significant implications for innovation portfolio strategy. 4 Why the need for Innovation measures (rational)?Assist companies in understanding their current innovation practices/ capabilities, and clarifies where the organization needs to focus to maximize innovation success. Assist TIES to tailor programs to address areas of weakness in order to enhance innovation process capabilities for Egyptian CIT organization as well as advocate policy makers with polices that promote the innovation. Identifies areas of strength to c apitalize on, and identifies opportunities for increasing innovation. Assist TIES to identify and control the barriers that stifle creativity and innovation.Developing Firm-level Innovativeness Index for the sector companies. Benchmarking Egyptian organization with international top innovative companies. Spreading the awareness of the importance of innovation concept and fostering the innovation culture in the organization Methodology 1. Literature review on Innovation process models and measurement frameworks Diamond model Innovation Funnel Innovation Value Chain – VIC ( Hansen and Bikini's Innovation Value Chain, 2007) OSLO Manual Innovation measurement Framework 2. Literature review for some innovation metrics/ innovation audit white papers/ working papers and grey literature. . Investigating some top firm-level innovation indexes, and their corresponding methodologies as well as reviewing different innovation audit/ management tools, studying different innovation dimensio ns of focus, and analysis techniques such as: I-Innocent Ion-Biz assessment Improve -Europe Minivan Innovation for Growth 4. Review Of some white papers in innovation in developing countries. 6 Innovation definition According to the definition adopted by TIES, Innovation is ‘the introduction of a new product, service, or process through a certain business model into the marketplace, either by utilization or by centralization†.Hence, it encompasses: product innovation, service innovation, Process innovation, and business model innovation, and all contribute to strengthen the competitive advantage of a certain company. This definition respects the fact that innovation is a complex and multidimensional activity that cannot be measured directly or with a single indicator, and hence the need to have a composite measure that reflected the organization innovative capability for the purpose of benchmarking, diagnoses, and supporting building up innovation culture and practices i n Egyptian CIT firms. Innovation Activities definition Innovation activities are all scientific, technological, organizational, financial and commercial Steps which actually, or are intended to, lead to the implementation of innovations. Some innovation activities are themselves innovative, others are not novel activities but are necessary for the implementation of innovations. Innovation activities also include R&D that is not directly related to the development of a specific in innovation (Oslo Manual Ever. 3) . Attributes of Innovation Before discussing innovation measurements, it would be of value to learn about the innovation attributes. Innovation has a number of attributes discussed in the literature (Stone et al. , 2008). The key attributes are summarized below: Attribute 1 . Innovation involves the combination of inputs in the creation of outputs. Something novel is created during innovation. Certain crucial inputs must be available for innovation to occur, and the exact na ture of those inputs differs depending on the desired outputs and outcomes.

Free Essays on Students Rights

very wisely because I was recording her, stated that she buys what she can with her budget for what students she has. She merely smiled and shook her head at some of the more risky questions, such as, what do you need technology wise to make life easier for these students. She must have thought that I was an investigative reporter trying to find the scoop on how far off the middle school is from being up to code. I asked the same questions to her as I did her Adaptive Physical Education partner Mr. Adams. He was very willing to speak of any and all things that concerned him and what he liked about the school district. I guess you coul... Free Essays on Students Rights Free Essays on Students Rights Students Rights The section or sections of the book that I chose to right my report and give my oral report on where the students’ rights. I listened to all the other presentations and truly felt that each student covered their material but failed to give a perspective on the student’s rights in every situation. All of my classmates looked at the teacher’s perspective rather than see it from a student’s eye. I can imagine that it is easier to find information on every disability in our book from the teacher’s vantage point rather than the students. Each chapter discusses the symptoms and the professional ways to deal with them, but makes no mention of what these students feel should be done. I actually had a chance to chat with several students and teachers about their thoughts on what technologies or services are used the most and which ones are needed the most. I found out from Mrs. Palmquist that there is a definite shortage in funding for these departments. Mrs. Palmquist is a special education teacher here at Huron Middle School. She has two students and one aid under her supervision. Along with these three people she has a colleague who specializes in Adaptive Physical Education, who helps out during her students normal P.E hour. Mrs. Palmquist, while choosing her words very wisely because I was recording her, stated that she buys what she can with her budget for what students she has. She merely smiled and shook her head at some of the more risky questions, such as, what do you need technology wise to make life easier for these students. She must have thought that I was an investigative reporter trying to find the scoop on how far off the middle school is from being up to code. I asked the same questions to her as I did her Adaptive Physical Education partner Mr. Adams. He was very willing to speak of any and all things that concerned him and what he liked about the school district. I guess you coul...

Hawker Typhoon in World War II

Hawker Typhoon in World War II A troubled aircraft in its early days, the Hawker Typhoon became a critical part of the Allied air forces as World War II (1939-1945) progressed. Initially envisioned as mid- to high-altitude interceptor, early Typhoons suffered from a variety of performance issues that could not be rectified to allow it to achieve success in this role. Initially introduced as a high-speed, low-altitude interceptor in 1941, the following year the type began transitioning to ground-attack missions. Highly successful in this role, the Typhoon played a critical part in the Allied advance across Western Europe. Background In early 1937, as his previous design, the Hawker Hurricane was entering production, Sydney Camm commenced work on its successor. The chief designer at Hawker Aircraft, Camm based his new fighter around the Napier Sabre engine which was capable of around 2,200 hp. A year later, his efforts found a demand when the Air Ministry issued Specification F.18/37 which called for a fighter designed around either the Sabre or the Rolls-Royce Vulture. Concerned about the reliability of the new Sabre engine, Camm created two designs, the N and R which centered on the Napier and Rolls-Royce power plants respectively. The Napier-powered design later received the name Typhoon while the Rolls-Royce-powered aircraft was dubbed Tornado. Though the Tornado design flew first, its performance proved disappointing and the project was later cancelled. Design To accommodate Napier Sabre, the Typhoon design featured a distinctive chin-mounted radiator. Camms initial design utilized unusually thick wings which created a stable gun platform and allowed for ample fuel capacity. In constructing the fuselage, Hawker employed a mix of techniques including duralumin and steel tubes forward and a flush-riveted, semi-monocoque structure aft. The aircrafts initial armament consisted of twelve .30 cal. machine guns (Typhoon IA) but was later switched to four, belt-fed 20 mm Hispano Mk II cannon (Typhoon IB). Work on the new fighter continued after the beginning of World War II in September 1939. On February 24, 1940, the first Typhoon prototype took to skies with test pilot Philip Lucas at the controls. Development Problems Testing continued until May 9 when the prototype suffered an in-flight structural failure where the forward and rear fuselage met. Despite this, Lucas successfully landed the aircraft in a feat that later earned him the George Medal. Six days later, the Typhoon program suffered a setback when Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production, proclaimed that wartime production should focus on the Hurricane, Supermarine Spitfire, Armstrong-Whitworth Whitley, Bristol Blenheim, and Vickers Wellington. Due to the delays imposed by this decision, a second Typhoon prototype did not fly until May 3, 1941. In flight testing, the Typhoon failed to live up to Hawkers expectations. Imagined as a mid- to high-altitude interceptor, its performance fell off quickly above 20,000 feet and Napier Sabre continued to prove unreliable. Hawker Typhoon - Specifications General Length: 31 ft., 11.5 in.Wingspan: 41 ft., 7 in.Height: 15 ft., 4 in.Wing Area: 279 sq. ft.Empty Weight: 8,840 lbs.Loaded Weight: 11,400 lbs.Maximum Takeoff Weight: 13,250 lbs.Crew: 1 Performance Maximum Speed: 412 mphRange: 510 milesRate of Climb: 2,740 ft./min.Service Ceiling: 35,200 ft.Power Plant: Napier Sabre IIA, IIB or IIC liquid-cooled H-24 piston engine each​ Armament 4 Ãâ€" 20 mm Hispano M2 cannon8 Ãâ€" RP-3 unguided air-to-ground rockets2 Ãâ€" 500 lb. or 2 Ãâ€" 1,000 lb. bombs Problems Continue Despite these problems, the Typhoon was rushed into production that summer following the appearance of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 which quickly proved superior to the Spitfire Mk.V. As Hawkers plants were operating at near capacity, construction of the Typhoon was delegated to Gloster. Entering service with Nos. 56 and 609 Squadrons that fall, the Typhoon soon mounted a poor track record with several aircraft lost to structural failures and unknown causes. These issues were made worse by the seepage of carbon monoxide fumes into the cockpit. With the aircrafts future again under threat, Hawker spent much of 1942 working to improve the aircraft. Testing found that a problematic joint could lead to the Typhoons tail tearing away during flight. This was fixed by reinforcing the area with steel plates. In addition, as the Typhoons profile was similar to the Fw 190, it was the victim of several friendly fire incidents. To rectify this, the type was painted with high visibility black and white stripes under the wings. Early Combat In combat, the Typhoon proved effective in countering the Fw 190 particularly at lower altitudes. As a result, the Royal Air Force began mounting standing patrols of Typhoons along the southern coast of Britain. While many remained skeptical of the Typhoon, some, such as Squadron Leader Roland Beamont, recognized its merits and championed the type due to its speed and toughness. After testing at Boscombe Down in mid-1942, the Typhoon was cleared to carry two 500 lb. bombs. Subsequent experiments saw this doubled to two 1,000 lb. bombs a year later. As result, bomb-equipped Typhoons began reaching frontline squadrons in September 1942. Nicknamed Bombphoons, these aircraft began striking targets across the English Channel. An Unexpected Role Excelling in this role, the Typhoon soon saw the mounting of additional armor around the engine and cockpit as well as the installation of drop tanks to allow it to penetrate further into enemy territory. As operational squadrons honed their ground attack skills during 1943, efforts were made to incorporate RP3 rockets into the aircrafts arsenal. These proved successful and in September the first rocket-equipped Typhoons appeared. Capable of carrying eight RP3 rockets, this type of Typhoon soon became the backbone of the RAFs Second Tactical Air Force. Though the aircraft could switch between rockets and bombs, squadrons were typically specialized in one or the other to simplify supply lines. In early 1944, Typhoon squadrons commenced attacks against German communications and transportation targets in northwest Europe as a precursor to the Allied invasion. Ground Attack As the new Hawker Tempest fighter arrived on scene, the Typhoon was largely transitioned to the ground attack role. With the landing of Allied troops in Normandy on June 6, Typhoon squadrons began providing close support. RAF forward air controllers traveled with the ground forces and were able to call in Typhoon air support from squadrons loitering in the area. Striking with bombs, rockets, and cannon fire, Typhoon attacks had a debilitating effect on enemy morale. Playing a key role in the Normandy Campaign, the Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, later singled out the contributions the Typhoon made to the Allied victory. Shifting to bases in France, the Typhoon continued to provide support as Allied forces raced east. Later Service In December 1944, Typhoons helped turn the tide during the Battle of Bulge and mounted countless raids against German armored forces. As spring 1945 began, the aircraft provided support during Operation Varsity as Allied airborne forces landing east of the Rhine. In the wars final days, Typhoons sank the merchant vessels Cap Arcona, Thielbeck, and Deutschland in the Baltic Sea. Unknown to the RAF, Cap Arcona carried around 5,000 prisoners taken from German concentration camps. With the end of the war, the Typhoon was quickly retired from service with the RAF. During the course of its career, 3,317 Typhoons were built.

Analyse article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Analyse article - Essay Example Schaper further argues that in a competitive market environment effective and efficient firms survive while the inefficient businesses collapse. Considering the remarks by the president of Toyota Company, the business may have faced serious competition from other vehicle manufacturers in Australia such as Elfin Sports Cars Pty Ltd, Ford Performance Vehicles, and GM Holden Ltd as well as competition in the export markets of other countries that offer favorable vehicle manufacturing conditions. Another factor that contributed to the decision by Toyota Company is high cost of production attributed to the high labor costs (BBC News Business 10 February 2014). Under normal circumstances, the cost of production in an organization is usually lower giving enough room for profit realization when products are sold. However, the Toyota Company based in Australia experienced reduction in profits and eventually loses in the production of vehicles due to the increased production cost. The company tried to solve the problem of increased labor costs through proposed changes in employee contracts that would have resulted in removal of additional allowances and changes in overtime (BBC News Business 10 February 2014) but the implementation was blocked in a Federal Court. The other critical factor that contributed to the decision by Toyota Company is lack of government support. According to Ch et al., government policies have both positive and negative impacts on businesses operating in the country in question (2011, p.941). In the case of Toyota Company, the impacts of policy changes by Australian government left the company with negative business effects. To begin with, a national commission recommended to the government that subsidies that were initially given to the car manufacturing industry should be stopped and that the companies should device ways of cutting down the production cost (BBC News Business 10 February 2014). Secondly, the proposed changes on employee