Basic Computer Fundamentals

Introduction A  computer  is an electronic machine, operating under the control of instructions stored in its own memory, that can accept data, manipulate the data according to specified rules, produce results, and store the results for future use. Computers process data to create information. Data  is a collection of raw unprocessed facts, figures, and symbols. Information  is data that is organized, meaningful, and useful. To process data into information, a computer uses hardware and software. Hardware  is the electric, electronic, and mechanical equipment that makes up a computer.Software  is the series of instructions that tells the hardware how to perform tasks. Characteristics of Computers 1> Automatic: Requires human intervention to start any task, solve problem but once initiated, it continues the job until its completed. 2> Speed: in terms of microseconds (10 power -6), nanoseconds(10 power -9), and even picoseconds (10 power -12). A powerful computer is capable of performing several billions simple arithmetic operations per second. Limited by hardware and software resources. 3> Accuracy: garbage-in-garbage-out (GIGO).E. g. Human input error, programmer logic error. 4> Diligence: Unlike human beings, a computer is free from monotony, tiredness, and lack of concentration. 5> Versatility: Can perform multiple tasks at same time. Limited by hardware and software resources. 6> Power of Remembering: As long as user desires, it can store any amount and type of information. Limited by hardware and software resources. No IQ: Cannot make decisions until instructed. Cannot learn on its own. No Feelings: No emotions, no taste, no knowledge. Instructions are required. 1. Evolution of Computers Necessity is the mother of invention then who is the father? – Curiosity, Vision, Idea 1642: Pascal invented first mechanical adding machine 1671: Baron Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz first calculator for multiplication 1880: Keyboards & Herman Hollerith u sed punch cards as input devices 19th century: Charles Babbage, father of modern digital computer, Differential Engine, Analytical Engine 1. The Mark I Computer (1937-44) 2. The Atanasoff-Berry Computer (1939-42) 3. The ENIAC (1943-46) 4. The EDVAC (1946-52 5. The EDSAC (1947-49) . The UNIVAC I (1951) 1. 3 Computer Generations Overview of the major developments and technologies during the five generations of computers which include both hardware and software that together make up a computer system. 1. 3. 1 First Generation (1942-1955): – Used vacuum tubes(glass), performed calculations in milliseconds -Memory electromagnetic relays, Data & Instructions using Punch Card, Assembly Language Programming Characteristics: Bulky in size, thousands of vacuum tubes, constant maintenance, costly, all circuits were man-made. . g. ENIAC, EDVAC, EDSAC, UNIVAC 1, and IBM 701 1. 3. 2 Second Generation (1955-1964): – Used transistor, Germanium semiconductor, magnetic disks and tapes, magnetic core memory – faster, small in size, low cost, consume less power – High level programming language like FORTRAN, COBOL, ALGOL, SNOBOL 1. 3. 3 Third Generation (1964-1975): -Integrated Circuits(IC) consists of transistors, resistors, capacitors, SSI(Small Scale Integration), MSI – more fast, performed one million instructions per second -low space, more reliable, less power consumption e. . Mini computers & Mainframe computers 1. 3. 4 Fourth Generation (1975-1989): – personal computer, IC- LSI, VLSI – one million electronic components on a single chip. Semiconductor memories – less power, more fast, small in size – Magnetic tapes, floppy disks, LAN, WAN, GUI, MS-DOS, Windows, Macintosh 1. 3. 5 Fifth Generation (1989-Present): – VLSI & ULSI(Ultra Large Scale Integration) – Microprocessor chips: 10 millions electronic components Small, much faster, less power, portable, internet, www, email 1. 4 Block Diagram of C omputer 1. 4. 1 Input Unit: – Accept data & Instructions – Convert into digital form so that computer can accept and further processing can be done e. g. Mouse, Keyboard, Light Pen, Joystick, Scanner, Touch Screen 1. 4. 2 Storage Unit: The storage unit performs the following major functions: †¢ All data and instructions are stored here before and after processing. †¢ Intermediate results of processing are also stored here. > Primary Storage(Main Memory): – This memory is generally used to hold the program being currently executed in the computer, the data being received from the input unit, the intermediate and final results of the program. -Temporary in nature, i. e. volatile memory -fast and cost is high than secondary storage -e. g. Random Access Memory(RAM) 2> Secondary Storage/External Memory(Secondary Memory): – Long term/ permanent storage of data. -slow and cost is low than primary memory -e. g.Floppy Disk(FDD),Hard disk drive(HDD), Comp act Disk(CD), Digital Versatile/Video Disk, USB Drive, SDD 1. 4. 3 Memory size: -Digital Computer uses the Binary System i. e. 0's and 1's – Each character or a number is represented by an 8 bit code. -1 bit = either 0 or 1 – 4 bits= 1 nibble & 8 bits= 1 byte 1. 4. 4 Output Unit: – Any peripheral devices that converts the stored binary coded data into convenient external forms as texts, pictures, sound – e. g. Monitor, CD, Printer, Speaker, Head phones, plotter, projector 1. 4. 5 Arithmetic Logical Unit: All calculations(arithmetical +-x/ ), comparison(,=) and decisions – Whenever calculations are required, the control unit transfers the data from storage unit to ALU once the computations are done, the results are transferred to the storage unit by the control unit and then it is send to the output unit for displaying results. 1. 4. 6 Control Unit: -It controls all other units in the computer -The control unit instructs the input unit, where to sto re the data after receiving it from the user and how to output. It controls the flow of data and instructions:(fetching of instructions from main memory and subsequent execution of these instructions) 1. 4. 7 Central Processing Unit: The ALU and the CU of a computer system are jointly known as the central processing unit. You may call CPU as the brain of any computer system. – A PC may have CPU-IC such as Intel 8085, 8086, 8088, 80286, 80386, 80486, Celeron, Pentium, Pentium Pro, Pentium II, Pentium III, Pentium IV, Dual Core, Core 2 Duo, Quad Core and AMD etc. 1. 5 Summary:

Creative Writing “Into the Darkness” Essay

It had just turned night when Victoria heard the thunder roll in, and the lightening strike against the ground. This worried her for she was afraid of losing power. As the night grew on the storm worsened. Making sure she wasn’t forgetting her laptop, Victoria made her way upstairs to the comforts of her bedroom. She decided this would be the perfect opportunity to take advantage of her time and watch the latest shows Netflix had to offer. Settling into her bed with her laptop in hand Victoria reached over to plug her charger in. Just as she did so, the power went out. Startled by the sudden darkness, she reached under her bed for her flashlight. Grasping her flashlight tightly, Victoria headed back downstairs to see what may have caused the power to go out. As Victoria went downstairs she noticed her porch door was ajar. Cautiously she approached the door and peered outside to see who or what may have opened the door. Nothing seemed to be around. Certain that the storm had simply blown out the power, Victoria poured herself a glass of hot chocolate and returned upstairs. Something seemed different to Victoria, but she was unsure of what exactly. Much to her dismay her beloved laptop was missing. Appalled by this discovery, Victoria quickly became worried that someone may be in the house with her. Using her survival instincts she quickly grabbed the flashlight and headed out into the hallway, if someone was in the house with her laptop, Victoria was determined to catch them and get her laptop back. Shaky and nervous she slowly peered out into the hallway, no one was to be found. Once at the stairs she swiftly tumbled down them, only missing a few steps at the bottom, but redeeming herself with style. The power had yet to return, and the only thing Victoria had with her was a flashlight. Determined she would catch the culprit and get her laptop back, she sprang across the room and swung the bathroom door open. Still she found no one. Next she opened the closet, then her office, and finally the last room she had left to check was the basement. Victoria clenched onto the flashlight and slowly turned the nob and entered the dark stairwell leading to the basement. Taking each step one at a time, until she got to the final one. When she glanced around the corner Victoria could see someone standing there. She couldn’t make out the face for it was too dark, and her flashlight was dimming by the second. Victoria slowly inched towards the dark figure, getting closer and closer, until finally she was close enough. Just as she reached out to grab onto the dark figure, she dropped the flashlight. All hopes of seeing who they were went away as soon as Victoria’s flashlight hit the floor. The dark figure quickly turned around tightly grasping the laptop. Victoria got struck in the face by her own laptop, and was knocked onto the ground. When she awoke the power had returned, and the storm had stopped. As Victoria got up off the floors she quickly glanced to around to see if anyone was around. There was nobody to be found, and her laptop was gone.

LET3 (Leadership) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

LET3 (Leadership) - Essay Example Evidently, the marketing manager and accounting manager in the case study hold positional power which is backed by the organizational policy. The reward power reflects the ability of the power to offer valued material rewards including money, time off, promotions, or other desired gifts. In the case study, the marketing department of the corporation (or marketing manager) provides large bonus to its employees who achieve a superior rating on their yearly performance evaluation; here, the organization employs the power of reward. The personal power can be referred to people’s ability to â€Å"attract others, to build strong interpersonal relationships, to persuade and build loyalty† (Mason, 2009, p.55). The case context indicates that the employee 3 has personal power because he/she could reach the project leadership position regardless of his/her experience in the organization. Even though, the employee 3 had been inexperienced as compared to most other employees in the firm, he/she could dominate his/her co-workers with his/her personal power. The expert power represents a form of power that people derives from their skills, knowledge, and experience and it is highly specific and limited to the particular area. From the given scenario, it seems that the employee 2 has expert power in the corporation as he is the only certified public accountant (CPA) in the firm. CPA is a highly expert and specific position which is not easily attainable for everyone. Finally, the coercive power refers to the application of fear-based influence on others. For instance, the marketing manager can apply a coercive power over employees as he has the authority to rate the employee performance. As every employee wishes to be rated top, they are compelled to be under the coercive power of the marketing manager. B. Dependency and power are two interrelated concepts by which an individual attains more power when another person or unit is more dependent

Organisational behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organisational behaviour - Essay Example In any case, behavior of an organization plays a vital role in determining the job satisfaction of its employees. Organizations are operating from different platforms and management styles. Participatory of democratic management is followed in some organizations whereas autocratic or totalitarian management styles are followed in other organizations. Employees in a democratic organization may have better job satisfaction compared to the employees in an autocratic organization. Only the satisfied employees deliver maximum efficiency or output to an organization. In short, job satisfaction is directly proportional to the level of performances of the employees. Job satisfaction and performance of an organization â€Å"Human resource management takes the theories and principles studied in OB and explores the â€Å"nuts-and-bolts† applications of those principles in organizations (What Is Organizational Behavior? N.d. p.7). HR department has an important role in determining the pe rformances of the employees and the performances of the organization. Even though an organization may have many resources such as material, machineries, money etc, man power seems to be the most important one. It should be noted that human supervision is necessary for the mobilization of all the other organizational resources. Mobilization or utilization of organizational resources such as material, money and machineries takes place in an efficient manner only when the employees handling these resources have enough job satisfaction. In short, effective utilization of organizational resources is heavily dependent on the job satisfaction of the employees. According to Soviet economists and social scientists, ‘job satisfaction studies are irrelevant in a society in which workers own the production means†(Braveman, 1974, p.10). The above principle may be true in the case of organizations operating in communist countries. Since private capital is not allowed in communist coun tries, employees may work mechanically in such countries. However, the cases of employees in capitalist or democratic countries are entirely different. Employees get material or financial gains, if they perform well in organizations in the capitalist economies. Moreover, they have more freedom and liberties than the employees in communist countries. Therefore, they can easily adjust (increase or decrease) their output while working in an organization operating in a democratic country. It should be noted that such employees have the freedom for forming trade unions to fight against injustices of the employers. In short, employees in a democratic organization, operating in a democratic country, can definitely change gears from top to bottom or bottom to top, based on the treatment they receive from the employers. Employees may develop lot of suspicion or cynicism while working as part of an organization. Rumors and propagandas are common in the organizational world and these things ca n affect the productivity of the employees negatively. For example, the managers of Apple Inc. warn its employees that the company is more interested in employability rather than employment security (Qumer, 2009, p.7). Such warnings always create cynicism among the employees. â€Å"Cynical employees have the impression that they are autonomous, but they still practice the corporate rituals nonetheless† (Fleming &Spicer, 2003, p.157). However, such rituals under pressure may not derive the full productivity

Statistical Problems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Statistical Problems - Essay Example The approximation becomes better with increasing sample size The simple random sample of 50 women with one job is greater than 30. Therefore, in this case Central Limit Theorem is applicable and the distribution of the sample can be assumed as normally distributed. (b) The percentage of all samples of 50 women with one job that have the mean length of time employed within 20 weeks of the population mean is (approximately) equal to the area under the normal curve with parameters  µ and 13.01 that lies between  µ - 20 and  µ + 20. The corresponding z-scores are: (c) No. If I bought one bag of water-softener salt and it weighed 39 lb, I would not consider this evidence that company’s claim is incorrect. Because there is 25.14% probability that the weight of one randomly selected bag of water softener salt will be 39lb or less. (d) Yes. If I bought 10 bag of water-softener salt and it mean weight was 39 lb, I would consider this evidence that company’s claim is incorrect. Because there is only 1.74% probability that the mean weight of 10 randomly selected bag of water softener salt will be 39lb or

Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Case - Essay Example Employee benefit center and physician. Both groups should correspond with each other in order to achieve the utmost goal. For the optimization of good customer service both groups should communicate and set their budgets to accommodate the patients in best manner. Staff of Dr. Martin’s office must modify their way of communicating with their customers and deal them in more friendly way. They should reshape their service structure in order to increase productivity. The first ethical issue is that Doctor (Martin) knew which medical service is best for his patients and if he is busy he must refer his patients to other doctor but instead of referring professor to health care service betty (nurse of Dr. Martin) told him that doctor would not refer him to any other doctor but emergency room. The nurse without the checkup of professor prescribed him a medicine to get from pharmacy, which doesn’t help him much. The health condition of professor may worsen if he had not visited Healthcare

19th century Romanticism in France Research Paper

19th century Romanticism in France - Research Paper Example He bathes himself in the emotional zeal and beliefs of the French Revolution and greatly admires Napoleon Bonaparte. He outwardly professes to be a monarchist all the while secretly reading Rousseau’s Confessions by candle light. For Stendhal then, Sorel serves as a means of expressing the pain many French Romantic thinkers and writers felt when trying to reconcile the lofty ideals of the eighteenth century Enlightenment with the realities of the French Revolution. It is important to recall that throughout the eighteenth century France was the philosophical heart and soul of the Enlightenment. Its language was most often the preferred prose for its expression. French after all was the language of Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, and Condorcet (among others). In their ideas, however, there already developed a troubling dichotomy: the belief that science could answer any question and that man, if he so chose, could better himself using that same science. The eighteenth century’s â€Å"rising middle class proclaimed new political ideas: democracy and patriotism. It had a new conception of morality: civic virtue and heroism† (Antal 1935, p. 160). The Enlightenment sought to apply science and â€Å"rationalize† every part of society. Thus it was irrational for a king to have absolute power. It was rational for the people to determine things. If only the latter were the case then society’s ills would be no more. Of course the end result could not have been farther from these ideals: with the French King beheaded and the social order laying ruins, France of the 1790’s was the place of murder, mayhem, and inhumanity. The ideals of â€Å"liberty, fraternity, equality† were a mockery. And when Napoleon brought order he did so only after crowning himself emperor and thus demonstrated that order in France was only possible if there was a strong monarch. Stendhal was a believer in the French Revolution and himself

Consumption and Consumer Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Consumption and Consumer Behaviour - Essay Example (Perner n.d.) Researchers in sociology argue that consumption is both a cultural as well as an economic phenomenon; therefore participation in consumer culture is not restricted to those with financial resources to actually purchase goods. The new middle classes, gender, race and youth influence the development of consumer culture. In her seminal work Consumer Culture, Celia Lury argues that consumer culture should be considered as a subset of material culture; that in its current form consumer culture is characterised by 'stylization', following notions of the 'aestheticisation' of everyday life; the ability of subordinate social groups to influence development of consumer culture. This in turn suggests their relative autonomy form dominant structures of economic and social power and to an extent breaks down the distinction between high and low culture, thus levelling or augmenting social change (cited in Bowlby 1997 and Horrocks 1997). The implications of Lury's theses to marketers are obvious. Aesthetics in product presentation are as important as contents. Children, youth and other subordinate groups, which do not form dominant structures of economic and social power, determine or influence consumption. Marketers have data, analytical ability, practical tools and experience to understand consumer behaviour and presumably have the ability to influence it. Yet marketers influencing consumer behaviour on such a scale as to make their company's gigantic successes are an exception rather than the rule, the honourable exceptions being companies like Tesco, Dove, Innocent and iPod. Professor Andrew Ehrenberg observed "that keeping things the same would represent a reasonable success for most promotional campaigns." (Marketing theory2007). On the other hand from a consumer's viewpoint is buying a simple process Is it just that people recognise the need for a product, locate a place to buy it, buy it and consume it According to the post-modern approach, there are a lot of influences that affect the 'simple process'. The experience of Wal-Mart's Latin America operations have important lesson for marketers. The retail chain designed its stores the way they are in the US, with narrow aisles broad parking areas and red, white and blue banners. Latin Americans like wide aisles because they visit super markets with their large families; large parking lots do not appeal to them, as many do not own cars and the banners appeared to them as 'Yankee imperialism'. Consumer's buying behaviour is influenced by cultural, social, personal and psychological factors but in this mix cultural factors dominate. (Kotler 2003, p.183). The following diagram depicts the stimulus-organism-response model of buying behaviour: Model of buyer behaviour- Adapted from Kotler 2003, p. 184 According to Kotler, culture, subculture and social class largely determine the consumer's buying behaviour. (Kotler 2003, p. 183). Culture or civilisation is an individual's highest form of identification with the society. Each culture has within itself - sub-cultures - smaller

Criminal law 1 A Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Criminal law 1 A - Essay Example cessary to show that (a) the accused committed a dangerous act (b) the act was dangerous in that a reasonable person would have recognized the potential for harm inherent in the act (c) the act was the cause of death and (d) the accused intended to commit the act, even if he or she did not intend the consequence of the act.1 Apart from this, Jake will also be liable for manslaughter with subjective recklessness in regard to the risk of death or bodily harm. Applying this to the question of Jake’s liability, his action in spiking Robin’s drink with a drug was a dangerous act, which is also unlawful.2 Applying the standards of a reasonable person, the act of spiking another person’s drink with a drug such as LSD will be deemed to be a dangerous act, because of the recognition that it could cause some kind of physical harm3. He has therefore intended an unlawful act of spiking Robin’s drink which was likely to cause harm, and death resulted which was neither foreseen nor intended.4 The aggravated form of criminal damage with intent to endanger life is set out under Section 1(2) of the Criminal Damage Act of 1971, according to which if the unlawful act actually causes death, the accused will be criminally liable. In the case of R v Dawson5, a petrol station attendant who had a weak heart died of heart failure when the appellant attempted robbery of the station. In arriving at a determination of whether the unlawful act was dangerous enough to so shock the victim that it causes him physical injury, the Court applied a test based on the average sober and reasonable bystander who would know that the use of a gun would terrify people and held the appellant to be guilty of causing death. In the same way, Jake has spiked Robin’s drink with drugs, which an average, reasonable person would realize as one that could potentially have a harmful effect, hence he will be liable. Another aspect that must be considered is whether Jake’s action was the substantial

Question 2. Standardized Testing of Students Essay

Question 2. Standardized Testing of Students - Essay Example Without a doubt, this uniform and consistent system of assessment has now become an indispensable and requisite part of most of the schools, colleges and universities all over the globe. These educational institutions therefore, spend millions of dollars every twelve months on this system wide testing of their students to judge them in all possible aspects and assist them in overcoming their faults and flaws (Sacks, 12). Initially there were only a few educational institutions that were adopting the special standardized system of assessments (Heller, 152). However with the rapid pace of time and the excessive competitiveness in the world a number of agencies have been developed that are conducting these tests. Some of the most prominent evaluation agencies of the world are named as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Educational Testing Service (ETC), National Council on Educational Standards and Testing (NCEST) and many more widespread all over the world. These a gencies have great expertise in their tasks and are highly professional in conducting the testing methods and practices. This standardized system of evaluating the students was basically introduced for the purpose of shaping the learners so that they get pretty much suitable for the remediation. In addition, this system has therefore gained so much in popularity that renowned educational institutions have started adopting this system. The reason behind this excessive adaptation is the fact that people have widely developed so much trust factor on these testing service agencies. The trust factor is developed because these agencies are well reputed, rated and most importantly known for their unbiased attitude. They treat all students with complete justice and make sure that no unbiased practice exists within their system. Thus all this results in a positive outcome that all the students are objectively judged and evaluated that ultimately lend them a hand to improve on their mistakes. No matter these testing systems are really authentic and bonafide but the question arises that, why do the school, colleges and universities pay so much to get these external services rather than conducting the tests within their management. The reason behind this statement is that these agencies not simply conduct the evaluative assessments but also provide countless benefits to the institutes that hire these agencies. Some major pros of these standardized tests can be highlighted as they are greatly efficient and effective to provide two most important sources of information. These information sources that include the standardized system can bring into play as to weigh up the student’s potential, capability, competence and aptitude towards his or her studies. In turn all these evaluations will lend a hand to the student and institute in order to endow with enhanced or improved teaching, responsibility, and the control (Hamilton et al, 3). Moreover, it also encompasses the piece of evidence that this information can even be used in order to make a number of important and imperative decisions. In addition, the overall focus of these harmonized and uniform tests revolve around her universal and collective nature. It is devised or proposed to the students in a common mode for the reason that the management and admin do not become erratic or capricious in reflecting the complete performance of the students. Thus, all these controlled and calculative variables escort to an

Ethnic Groups and Discrimination Essay Example for Free

Ethnic Groups and Discrimination Essay I belong to the White ethnic group which was responsible for the colonization of North America. While I am part of the White ethnic group, my family immigrated to the United States from Germany quite some time after the major colonization of North America. When most people think about the colonization of North America they think of White people on the Mayflower landing on Plymouth Rock. While the pilgrims did colonize what is now referred to as New England, the Spanish were actually the first to colonize North America. No matter who first colonized North America, this colonization caused an influx of immigrants that asserted their dominance over the native people. This colonization was also the root cause of slavery being introduced to this New World. Pilgrims are most notably identified as coming to North America to escape religious persecution. The ironic part of the colonization is that the pilgrims forced their religion on those native to North America. It is important to note that this may be one of the first indications of future ethnic and racial problems that would caused by the colonization of North America. I dont think people normally think about racism happening to Caucasians. Unfortunately it is very common for racism to happen to all ethnic groups in the U. S. Caucasian racism and prejudice against other ethnic and racial groups always seem to get the most publicity. It would be better to broaden our view of prejudice and racism so that we could get the whole story. I think that the Caucasian group had brought most of this negative attention on itself. Historically the U. S. has been dominated by Caucasians, which means this group doesnt have as much to worry about restrictions due to ethnicity or racial group. If we break down the Caucasian group even further we can see that this is even truer for the males, which I am, of this group. Male Caucasians have long been the dominant force in U. S. society. The majority of restrictions placed on females and ethnic groups have been enforced by Male Caucasians. The most notable Caucasian discrimination has been against African Americans. African Americans were largely used for slave labor during the beginning of the U. S. Going from slave to equal isnt easy, in both occurrence and acceptance from the former dominant or controlling group. This dominant position can be seen as a major reason why the view of discrimination is still focused on Caucasians. Since the Caucasian males of the past have put restrictions on most other ethnic groups, this wrong was attempted to be undone by Affirmative Action laws (Fullinwider, Robert). While most people see Affirmative Action as being helpful, it has also caused discrimination against Caucasian males. Some government agencies require a quota on hiring certain ethnic groups (this included female Caucasians). This can cause a job candidate that has hirer qualifications to be passed over just to fulfill a quota. I have seen this happen to my father while he was applying for a firefighter/EMT position. You can easily see the Caucasian male dominance by noticing the dual labor market effect. I see it more as a multiple labor market since I would also include female Caucasians as another labor market. Immigrants from Mexico often enter into a portion of this multiple labor market, most notably the farming community. Whether it is farming, manual labor, or the lower-end service sector it seems that it seems more acceptable to Caucasians for other ethnic groups to occupy these types of jobs. When the other ethnic groups occupy positions normally held by Caucasian males, we often see a limitation in their ability to progress in that profession (glass ceiling). If you look at the breakdown of people who run companies you will see this is dominated by Caucasians males, followed by males of the other ethnic groups, then females of all ethnic groups. Discrimination isnt only apparent in the job market, but in how companies invest in certain areas. It is seen in our response to what is happening in other areas of cities or areas of the country. We have slums and ghettos that dont get investment monies to fix them up due to the lower class segregation. We have other areas occupied by a high number of non-Caucasians that dont get investments just because of their ethnicity. New Orleans is a perfect example of all of these inequalities. It was a city segregated by race, ethnicity, and social class standing. The devastation caused by hurricane Katrina happened to people who couldnt afford to get out on their own, and was compounded by the predominantly Caucasian governments lack of response (arguably due to the racial differences between U. S. leaders and with the people effected by the disaster). I dont feel that I fit in with the standard culture for my Caucasian ethnic group or the U. S. mainstream culture. I dont participate in any religions, as I believe in myself and science that can be proved. I dont feel that I am or need to be better than any other ethnic group. I couldnt care less about what style is popular or what haircuts are in. I just try to be myself and try to ignore things that try to sway my opinions. Instead of taking someones word for something I would rather research and come to my own decision (almost to a fault). I think it is better to be different than a lemming following the crowd running off the cliff. References Fullinwider, Robert (2005). Affirmative Action. Retrieved February 1, 2006 from http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/affirmative-action/.

Literature Review on Metamaterial

Literature Review on Metamaterial LITERATURE REVIEW ON METAMATERIAL The Left-Handed Metamaterial (LHM) has a few unique properties such as negative refraction and backward wave. In this chapter, the basic theories behind their unique properties are presented and some applications of LHM toward the antenna application are discussed. DEFINITION BACKGROUND OF LEFT-HANDED METAMATERIAL Electromagnetic Metamaterial can be defined as artificial effective homogenous electromagnetic structures with unusual properties not readily found in nature . A Left-Handed Metamaterial (LHM) [17][18]or Double Negative Metamaterial (DNG) is an electromagnetic Metamaterial that exhibit negative permittivity and permeability. This phenomenon can be characterized by the negative refraction index and the anti-parallel phase velocity which is also known as backward wave. HISTORY OF LEFT-HANDED METAMATERIAL (LHM) The initial work on LHM was started by V. G. Veselago from the Lebedjev Physical Institute in Moscow when he made a theoretical speculation of this artificial material that exhibit negative permittivity and negative permeability. Veselago speculation remain silent for 29 years until 1996, J. B. Pendry from Imperial College London and his co-author form GEC-Marconi published a paper about artificial metallic construction which exhibit negative permittivity and negative permeability. Following this interesting discovery, in 2001, the first experimental verification was made by Shelby, Smith and Schultz at the University of California. The left handed material structure consists of split ring resonator and thin wire inspired by J. B. Pendry as shown in figure 3.1. Figure 3.1: First experimental LHM structure Since the introduction of LHM twelve years ago, many researchers were interested in investigating this artificial material and several of them was using LHM to improve the properties of the microwave devices such as antennas and filters. Many papers have been published regarding the LHM integrated with antennas and their properties have been analyzed. The focusing affect of LHM has made a low gain antenna becomes directive and have an increment of gain. FEATURES OF METAMATERIAL Improvement in the performance of a small monopole antenna, realized via the use of an ENG envelope that compensates for its high capacitive reactance. Lens effect produced by DNG slabs that are useful for enhancing the directivities of a small antennas, e.g. dipole and Microstrip patches, by collimating the cylindrical waves emanating from these antennas and focusing them at infinity. Creation of super lenses which can have a spatial resolution below that of the wavelength. UNIQUE PROPERTIES OF LEFT-HANDED METAMATERIALS Negative Refractive Index: For conventional material with à °Ã‚ Ã…“â‚ ¬r > 0 and à °Ã‚ Ã…“†¡r > 0, the refractive index is givenà °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ º=√à °Ã‚ Ã…“†¡Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ¸Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã…“â‚ ¬Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ¸, so that the conventional material possesses a positive refractive index. Yet, Left-handed Meta-material has both negative permittivity (à °Ã‚ Ã…“â‚ ¬r à °Ã‚ Ã…“† r à °Ã‚ Ã…“† The Snells law is described as ..3.3.1(a) Where à °Ã‚ Ã…“Æ’2 the incident is angle and à °Ã‚ Ã…“Æ’1 is the refraction angle. Supposing medium I and medium II are conventional materials with à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ º1>0 and à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ º2>0 respectively, them refracted light will be bent with positive ÃŽ ¼ with the normal line OO as indicated by the 4th light ray in figure3.2. If medium II is a left-handed meta-material with à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ º2 Figure 3.2 Passage of a light ray through the boundary between medium I with positive refractive index à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã‚ Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã… ¸Ã‚ >0 and medium II with refractive index à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã‚ Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã… ¸Ã‚ . The phase velocity expression à °Ã‚ Ã…“-à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ =à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ º à °Ã‚ Ã…“† shows that the phase velocity à °Ã‚ Ã…“-à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚  is related to the index of refraction , here c denotes the speed of light in a vacuum. For LHM has negative refractive index (à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ º à °Ã‚ Ã…“† Figure 3.3: The energy flow and group velocity propagate forward in LHMs but the phase velocity is backward Veselago also predicted that the Doppler and Cerenkov effects will be reversed in LHM. An approaching source will appear to radiate at a lower frequency and charged particles moving faster than the speed of light in the medium will radiate in a backward cone, not a forward cone. These two exotic properties are not employed in this Dissertation, however details about them can be found in. LEFT-HANDED METAMATERIAL STRUCTURE The first LHM structure consists of split ring resonator (SRR) and thin wire (TW) or capacitance loaded strip (CLS)[19]. The SRR exhibits the negative value of permeability and the CLS and TW exhibit the negative value of permittivity in a certain range of frequency. Split Ring Resonator (SRR) (b) Figure 3.4: (a) Circular split ring resonator and (b) Square split ring resonator A split ring resonator (SRR) as shown in figure3.4 is part of the LHM structure that exhibit negative value of permeability. If the excitation of the magnetic field is perpendicular to plane of the structure, this will generate the magnetic dipole moment. The SRR is a highly conductive structure in which the capacitance between the two rings balances its inductance . The SRR induces high current density structure which creates a large magnetic moment. Capacitance Loaded Strip (CLS) and Thin Wire (TW) (a) (b) Figure 3.5: (a) Capacitance loaded strip (CLS) and (b) Thin wire (TW) figure 3.5(a) shows the capacitance loaded strip (CLS) and figure 3.5(b) shows the thin wire (TW). CLS and TW would produce strong dielectric like response. As electric field propagates parallel through the TW or CLS, it will induce a current along them. This will generate an electric dipole moment to the structure and exhibit a plasmonic-type of permittivity frequency . CST SOFTWARE CST was founded in 1992 byThomas Weiland. The main product of CST is CST STUDIO SUITE,which comprises A various modules dedicated to specific application areas. There are modules for microwave RF applications, summarized in CST MICROWAVE STUDIO, low frequency (CST EM STUDIO), PCBs and packages (CST PCB STUDIO), cable harnesses (CST CABLE STUDIO), temperature and mechanical stress (CST MPHYSICS STUDIO) and for the simulation of the interaction of charged particles and electromagnetic fields (CST PARTICLE STUDIO). All modules are integrated with a system and circuit simulator (CST DESIGN STUDIO). The version is CST Microwave Studio 2010. Figure 3.6 CST Microwave Studio In next chapter, the design of the LHM is discussed and the procedure in the simulation of the LHM using CST software is elaborated thoroughly. Besides that, the design of the Metamaterial structures, patch Microstrip antennas are also elaborated. CST Microwave Studio is a fully featured software package for electromagnetic analysis and design in the high frequency range. It simplifies the process of inputting the structure by providing a powerful solid modeling front-end which is based on the ACIS modeling kernel. Strong graphic feedback simplifies the definition of Your device even further. After the component has been modeled, a fully automatic meshing procedure (based on an expert system) is applied before the simulation engine is started. The simulators feature the Perfect Boundary Approximation (PBAâ„ ¢ method) and its Thin Sheet Technique (TSTâ„ ¢) extension, which increases the accuracy of the simulation by an order of magnitude in comparison to conventional simulators. Since no method works equally well in all application domains, the software contains four different simulation techniques (Transient solver, Frequency domain solver, Eigenmode solver, Modal analysis solver) which best fit their particular applicat ions. The most flexible tool is the transient solver, which can obtain the entire broadband frequency behavior of the simulated device from only one calculation run (in contrast to the frequency stepping approach of many other simulators). This solver is very efficient for most kinds of high frequency applications such as connectors, transmission lines, filters, antennas and many more.

Reducing energy consumption in hospitality

Reducing energy consumption in hospitality Introduction In recent years the environmental issues and energy saving methods have become increasingly important towards tourism and hospitality industry. Hotel energy consumption depends on various factors such as geographical location, size, class, equipments, occupancy and age of facilities. In this report it includes the methods of reducing energy consumption in hotels at a management level, followed by current legislations towards controlling environmental issues, in addition it shows how the building design and structure of hotels can help with environmental issues. How energy consumption can be reduced on a management level In order to build up an efficient energy system the hotels should, re think, re-use, reduce, recycle, recover and rationalise the resources. In fact those practices should be followed in every single department throughout the organisation. Such as housekeeping, food and beverage, maintenance, room division, front office should participate individually towards energy consumption process. Below are the actions that should be taken, in order to build a healthy and energy efficient environment. Employees contribution One major step towards reducing energy consumption is to plan a staff awareness programme throughout every department, it is important because their daily contact with guests gives them the opportunity to increase the awareness of the guests. Include the environmental messages on gifts (such as mugs) to employees. Encourage staff to switch off lights and switch off unnecessary equipments (computers, air conditioners) when leaving staff rooms. Get staff ideas about energy conversation methods and environmental issues in staff meetings. (www.gogreentravelgreen.com) Allocate coordinators towards environmental activities. Allocate designated members of staff who will be responsible for daily monitoring water/gas/electricity consumption. Furthermore the hotel can fix separate consumption meters in each department in order to have a better view and control of energy. For an example, it should be daily practise with all employees of the hotel to switch off all lights when leaving an empty room. At the end of a working day, all unused office appliances should be turned off at mains and not to be left on standby. Furthermore providing computers, printers with a power down features can reduce 60% energy than regular electronic equipments. On top of that encourage staff to use emails where possible instead of printing. (www.businesslink.gov.uk) Gaining Guests contribution Send an environmental message with reservation conformation messages. When guest check-in and check-out take couple of minutes to educate the guest about the hotels environmental effort. Leaving placards in guest rooms can save the use of unnecessary energy. This can encourage the guests to reuse their towels and bed sheets. Bed sheets washed every day in thousand of hotels in this world millions of gallons of water, electricity and tons of detergent. Sheets are customarily changed between guests. If you feel that your sheets need to be changed daily, please leave this card on your pillow each morning. Housekeeping will be pleased to accommodate you. PLEASE DECIDE YOURSELF Every day millions of gallons of water, electricity and tons of detergent is used to wash towels that have been used only once, A towel o the rack means Ill use it again, a towel o the floor or in the tub means please exchange. PLEASE DECIDE YOURSELF (www.greenhotels.com) Encourage the guest to switch off unnecessary electric items such as air conditioner, and use natural ventilation instead. Place recycle bins in guest rooms and hallways. Allow the guests to contribute an extra pound (Â £) towards a local environmental group. (Georgia hospitality environmental partnaship.1996) Lightning efficiency By replacing the excising bulbs with low energy consumption ones (florescent light bulbs), offers savings in energy costs. On top of that those bulbs have a longer life span than the ordinary light bulbs. Fix light reflectors that direct more light into the room. Using motion detectors for public area lighting (lobby), staff rest rooms, walk-in cooers and storage area can keep the unnecessary lights switched off. (www.4hoteliers.com) Install photovoltaic lighting systems (Georgia hospitality environmental partnaship.1996) for advertising signs, walkways, water fountains and remote outdoor areas. Use solar lamps in order to lighten the hotel garden area. Further by installing daylight sensors for garden area and other exterior lightning can save a massive load of energy consumption. (www.gogreentravelgreen.com) Use of Air conditioners (A/C) When the A/C competes with hot or cold air more energy is wasted. So do not cool more than necessary. Install timers and sensors in order reduce energy waste. Turn off the A/C when the weather is cooler. Close air gaps around doors and windows, and close all the unnecessary openings. Use higher energy efficiency rating equipments. Compare efficiency between gas and electric A/C equipments. Have the units checked yearly; spring is the best time before starting the heavy use in summer. Minimise the available heat sources (Below are methods to reduce heat sources) (My Ton.1996) Minimising heat sources Turn off lights and other heat producing sources that is not in use. Position heat producing sources such as lamps, television away from the thermostats. Cover windows (especially west and south facing) to reduce the heat Use window film to reduce the heat sources heading in to the rooms. Install timers and sensors for lights and other necessary electric equipments. (My Ton.1996) Reducing water consumption Provide Dual flush toilets to save water. Provide separate walk-in showers in order to encourage the guests to have a shower instead a bath; this saves both water and energy. Keep a good maintenance on the plumbing system, fix any drips as soon as possible (www.businesslink.gov.uk) Introduce dish washing machines and laundry machines which use final rinse water for prewash of next load. Use of a food thawing machine instead of running water for faster thawing. (Georgia hospitality environmental partnaship.1996) Adapt the hotel water system to be able to re-use the water for gardening and other non-drinking purpose. (One Source.2009) Other general operations and actions By lowering the thermostat temperature by 2 degrees in the winter or raising it by 2 in the summer you will save a lot of energy. This is a technique used in many organisations in order to save without even noticing the change of temperature. (Keynote.2008) Review and update the hotels preventative maintenance in order to maintain standards which help the system to sustain the system efficiently. (www.gogreentravelgreen.com) Change all individual amenities in the guest bathrooms to automatic dispensers of eco-friendly products; these can be refilled upon usage. (www.4hoteliers.com) Re use the heat and steam of the kitchen and laundry to be re-used for public heating Calculate the energy usage and assess it against available industry benchmarks in terms of per guest night or CO2 (carbon dioxide) generated. (www.tourismpartnership.org) Below it shows actions taken by some of the hotels in United Kingdom, in order to be an eco friendly property. Derwentwater Hotel, Keswick has been following eco friendly prospectors and has been one of the greenest hotel in United Kingdom. They have introduced water saving measures, energy saving measures and waste reduction methods by gaining support from staff, guests and the local communities. (Georgia hospitality environmental partnaship.1996) Also, Radisson Edinburgh has replaced their ordinary light bulbs to energy efficient lights at a cost of $2,307, as a result the first year savings were $27,889. (www.environmentalleader.com) this is a perfect example towards energy conservation, it clearly shows although it costs in order to take action, at the end of the process it save more than 10 times of the cost. According to environmental leader (2009) reports Hilton has announced their sustainability targets to reach by 2014, which includes the following, Reducing energy consumption from direct operations by 20 percent. Reducing CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions by 20 percent. Reducing output of waste by 20 percent. Reducing water consumption by 10 percent. Hilton has already introduced carbon-free electricity in United Kingdom and Ireland, they say it reduce CO2 emission by more than 64,000 tons, or 56 percent of its carbon footprint. They also managed to reduce energy and water consumption by 10 percent over the last two years. According to economically sound reports Marriott hotels are planning to publish their environmental policies on the official website, and each hotel will list their eco friendly actions. They say this will encourage each hotel to discuss their specific environmental policies and share these with other individual hotels. This will encourage the whole hotel chain to be an environmental friendly property as an individual. How Structure and the design of hotels can help with environmental issues When planning the design and the structure of the building, the hotel can get help from government and private companies in order bring guidance and knowledge towards building an environmentally friendly building. In terms of design the following steps can be taken, Light or reflector roofs and exterior coatings can result an environment with a lower temperature. Planting shade trees on the south side helps to keep the building cooler in warm climates. Also it provides the guests an attractive and enjoyable environment. (my ton.1996) Install large windows and glass bricks in lobby and other public areas to maximise the use of natural light (www.businesslink.gov.uk) When designing guest rooms, installing thick curtains and carpets made with wool can retain the heat in order to conserve energy. Painting the walls in light colours (such as white, green) can help to reduce the temperature of the rooms. Also by installing reflective mirrors with reflective wall paint can facilitate natural lightning. Introduce water saving shower heads and sink faucet aerators, 2.5 gallons per minute (GPM) shower heads and 1.5 GPM aerators are recommended for water saving and guest satisfaction. Because less water flow showerheads causes guest complains. (Georgia hospitality environmental partnaship.1996) Design of the building should allow space for recycling, which encourages staff and guests to contribute towards the process. Key card systems control lighting, heating and air coolers when room not in use. Because of Key cards the hotel can make sure there wont be any electricity waste on a vacant room. (www.4hoteliers.com) When positioning equipment such as refrigerators, in order to get the best performance should avoid it placing next to heat sources (cookers, Owen) Adopt a water system that reuses the water for non-drinking purposes such as gardening purposes. In terms of structure the following steps can be taken. Thermostat should not be installed nearby heaters and other heat producing equipments, because this may calculate the building temperature incorrectly and increase the energy costs. (www.carbontrust.co.uk) Installing double or triple glazed windows will protect the heat sources inside the building. Furthermore proper insulation throughout the building will reduce energy consumption. Installing solar energy system to retain heat from the sunlight and make it one and only source of energy for the hotel. Use of timing devices on thermostats will control the energy produced by the radiators. In fact fitting reflective material behind radiators can reduce energy consumption. (ww.4hoteliers.com) Placing gas, electricity and water meters in individual departments allows the organisation to examine energy consumption of each department which helps them to take actions on energy waste and provide necessary improvement. When designing the structure of the building it should be in a way that invites natural light and air in to the building. (www.archinode.com) A research done by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system in United States have proved when designing the structure of the building use of steel superstructure is estimated environmental friendly than using concrete superstructures. Below it shows the negative impacts of concrete. A concrete superstructure would consume over three times more energy than a steel one. A concrete superstructure would consume almost six times as much as natural resources than a steel one. Production of a concrete superstructure would use more toxic than a steel superstructure. A concrete superstructure would produce over four times solid waste as a steel one. A steel superstructure is easier to recycle, producing more secondary useful product, than a concrete one. A concrete superstructure would pollute air over five times than a steel one. A steel superstructure would pollute water over three times than a concrete one. A concrete superstructure would contribute to global warming almost seven times more than a steel one. (www.archinode.com) Current legislations relating to environmental issues Environmental Protection Act 1990 Environment Act 1995 Environment Agency and Scottish Environment Protection Agency as the regulating bodies for contaminated land, abandoned mines, national parks, control of pollution, conservation of natural resources and conservation or enhancement of the environment.. (www.opsi.gov.uk) Energy conservation act 1996 This act was introduced to make provisions for energy conservations, future to to allow local authorities to implement a strategy to achieve improvement in energy efficiency (www.opsi.gov.uk) Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989 c.14 This act controls the methods of waste disposal with the Environment Agency or Scottish Environment Protection Agency and outlines the penalties (including seizure and disposal) for vehicles shown to have been used for illegal waste disposal. (www.statutelaw.gov.uk) Clean air act 1993 The clean air act authorizes the local councils to control domestic and industrial smoke and allows them to create smoke control areas in order to improve the local air quality. (www.netregs.gov.uk) Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 SI 3538 Introduces a new system for environmental permits for industrial activities and waste operations in England and Wales, including landfill and waste incineration, and sets out the powers, functions and duties of the regulator. (www.opsi.gov.uk) Buildings Regulations 2000, SI 2531 Introduces requirements for builders to calculate and display energy ratings on new or altered buildings. (www.books.google.com) Eco Design for Energy-using Products Regulations 2007 SI 2037 This regulation establishes a framework for setting eco design requirements for energy-using products. (www.opsi.gov.uk) Water act 2003 This act was introduced to control the abstraction and impounding of water. It helps to protect the water resources throughout the country. (www.environment-agency.gov.uk) Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 SI 991 This regulation issues energy performance certificates (to maintain energy efficient standards) when buildings are constructed in order to rent out or sell. (www.communities.gov.uk) EU Regulation on a Revised Community Eco-Label Award Scheme 1980/2000 This is an award scheme towards eco-label to manufacturers who want to inform consumers about what they are doing to reduce the environmental impact of their products. (Eur-lex.europa.eu) List of Wastes (England) Regulations 2005 SI 895 This regulation provides the European Waste Catalogue list of codes used to classify wastes. (www.products.ihs.com) Conclusion Being an environmental friendly property means that they save electricity, water, reduce solid waste while saving money and creating a healthy environment to the guest, staff and the management. In order to become a green property the organisation should the gain contribution from every parties such as staff, guests, local communities, local councils and other environmental friendly organisation. As a result the organisation can gain respect towards the idea of conserving the environment. From a business point of view this allows them to differentiate their products from rivals and attract more guests. Being a green property will not only gain guest respect, they will overlook at the hotel over the rivals. Further, by being environmental friendly the organisation can reduce costs on energy, water and waste, the money saved can be re invested in future development, research and staff incentives. This concept also leads towards staff satisfaction by building a pleasant, relaxed environment to work. Once the hotel adapts to environmentally friendly practices it will gain marketing opportunities and support by local media (magazines, newspapers and television programs). Also it allows the hotel to gain financial support and expertise form government organisations who helps green concepts. Furthermore all these efforts give an opportunity to achieve rewards and awards from hospitality bodies which the organisation can be proud of. The most important fact of all this whole process is that, it will contribute to protect our one and only earth. Bibliography My ton.1996.Greening your property, green seal Georgia hospitality environmental partnaship.1996.Waste reduction in hotels and motels Top 10 tips for reducing waste and saving energy http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=ONEOFFPAGEitemId=1081838672 [accessed on: 20/08/2009] One Source information service (2009) Data monitor independent research. (British Library online database) Available from: http/globalbb,onesource.com/sharedscripts/reports/FetchAR.asp?process=cpDocID [Accessed on: 13/03/2009] Keynote information service (2009) (British Library online database) http:/www.bl.uk/eresources/business/cd-busin.html#market. (Keynote) [Accessed on: 13/03/2009] Tips and Tricks for Greening your Hotel Available from: http://gogreentravelgreen.com/green-hotels-green-accommodation/11-tips-and-tricks-for-greening-your-hotel-stay-25-days-to-green-travel-day-16/ [Accessed on: 13/03/2009] Tips and Tricks for Greening your Hotel Available from: http://www.4hoteliers.com/4hots_fshw.php?mwi=3229 [accessed on: 20/08/2009] Steel VS Concrete Available from: http://www.archinode.com/lcasteel.html [accessed on: 12/03/2009] http://www.healthandsafety.co.uk/envas.htm [accessed on: 12/03/2009] Going green Available from: http://www.tourismpartnership.org/downloads/Going%20Green.pdf [20/08/2009] Hilton Sets Target Of 20% CO2 Reduction By 2014 Available from: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2008/06/05/hilton-sets-target-of-20-co2-reduction-by-2014/ [accessed on: 22/08/2009] Marriott To List Green Actions Of Individual Hotels Available from: http://www.economicallysound.com/marriott_speaks_green_soon.html [accessed on: 22/08/2009] Environmental Protection Act 1990 Available from: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1990/ukpga_19900043_en_1#Legislation-Preamble [accessed on: 20/08/2009] Environment act 1995 Available from: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1995/ukpga_19950025_en_1 [accessed on: 20/08/2009] Environmental permitting regulations 2007 SI 3538 Available from: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/uksi_20073538_en_1 [accessed on: 20/08/2009] Building regulations 2000, SI 2531 Available from: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ixzl0dw8LpICpg=PA3lpg=PA3dq=building+regulations+2000,+si+2531source=blots=BkC1vCaLdSsig=HBUkP0oQmHzE5s5dq_RD0dwuvPYhl=enei=6mqNSpS3Kd6RjAeWiZHcDQsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=5#v=onepageq=building%20regulations%202000%2C%20si%202531f=false [accessed on: 20/08/2009] Energy Conservation Act 1996 Available from: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1996/Ukpga_19960038_en_1[accessed on: 20/08/2009] Eco design for energy-using products regulations 2007 SI 2037 Available from: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/uksi_20072037_en_1 [accessed on: 20/08/2009] Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989 c.14 Available from: http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?LegType=All+PrimaryPageNumber=36NavFrom=2parentActiveTextDocId=1349599ActiveTextDocId=1349599filesize=112837 [accessed on: 20/08/2009] Clean Air Act 1993 Available from: http://www.netregs.gov.uk/netregs/legislation/current/107146.aspx [accessed on: 20/08/2009] Water act 2003 Available from: http://www.environmentagency.gov.uk/static/documents/Business/water_act_leaflet_833646.pdf [accessed on: 20/08/2009] The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/991) Available from: http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/energyperformance [accessed on: 20/08/2009] EU Regulation on a Revised Community Eco-Label Award Scheme 1980/2000 Available from: http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2000:237:0001:0012:en:PDF [accessed on: 20/08/2009] List of Wastes (England) Regulations 2005 SI 895 Available from: http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=enq=List+of+Wastes+%28England%29+Regulations+2005+SI+895btnG=Searchmeta= [accessed on: 20/08/2009]

Crime Scene Investigation Essay -- Media, TV Show

Every week more than 60 million Americans turn their television sets to tune to the popular crime investigation drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation or one of its countless spin offs, which have become increasingly popular among the American public (Shelton, n.d.). The show has been a top rated drama since it was first aired in 2001, it has received several Emmy nominations, and many even claimed it has lead to the considerable increase in college students studying forensic science. Recently however, despite its many achievements several newspapers and magazine articles began warning about the impact the shows influence is having on our criminal justice system; they referred to the phenomenon as the CSI Effect. Max Houck, Director of the Forensic Science Initiative at West Virginia University, explains the CSI effect as â€Å"basically the perception of the near-infallibility of forensic science in response to the TV show† ( Podlas, 2010, p. 99). The concern among criminal jus tice experts and prosecutors is that the so called CSI effect creates unrealistic expectations that every case must be solved with high tech forensic tests, which they believe, has a significant impact on juror decision making. Exposure to the dramatized and fictional depiction of crime solving portrayed by these television shows has had a significant impact on viewer’s conception of reality, which has negatively altered the expectation of jurors and influenced jury verdicts. In order to comprehend the impact of television crime dramas on the criminal justice system, it is important to understand how the CSI effect operates. The relationship between entertainment programming and viewer beliefs is based on the media theory of cultivation. The cultivation theor... ... more than twelve million people tuning in to watch CSI (Shelton, n.d.), and with science and technology continuing to evolve so rapidly, we will continue to see a substantial influence on American criminal justice through their impacts on potential juror expectations. Our criminal justice system should seek to adapt to these changes as supposed to fight them, the way the system is set up juror verdicts are expected to be a reflection of our society’s values. With those value will change and jury verdict will reflect those changes in popular culture. In adapting to such changes, we must invest in funding and training law enforcement to collect and analyze scientific evidence. While we adapt to those changes it is crucial that the jury is carefully instructed about the nature of such evidence as well as properly selected by a Voir Dire process to identify biases.

Eli Whitney: The Inventor That Shook The Nation :: essays research papers

Eli Whitney, one of the first great American inventors, who had a very interesting inventing period. It pretty much didn't happen. But I'll explain that later. I chose Eli for a very good reason: I knew absolutely nothing about him. Well, other than the given, he invented the cotton gin. I've always enjoyed researching inventors, so it was either Mr. Whitney, or Robert Fulton. Happily I chose Eli. From studying Eli I hoped to learn about some of his other inventions, what inspired him to invent, in what conditions did he grow up and live in, and also what did his inventions lead to (as in other inventions or discoveries). Since I knew nothing about the E-ster when I began, I was eagerly soaking up information. So I knew nothing to be true or false when beginning. He proved to be a very interesting and almost tragic inventor. Now I'll get into the information part of it. Well, I may as well begin in the beginning . . . you know what I mean. Mr. Whitney was born on December 8, 1769 in Westborough, Massachusetts. He was one of the first great American inventors. It probably began early on because he always enjoyed toying with objects. He loved to build and take apart items. When he was twelve, he made a violin. Shortly after, when he was in his teens, he established a prominent nail making business. Later on, 1783-1789 to be exact, he taught grammar school in Westborough. When he'd had enough of that, he entered Yale in 1789, then graduated in 1792. After Yale, he journeyed to Savannah, Georgia to teach and study law. There he met Catherine Littlefield Greene. She invited him as a guest to stay in her home while he studied law. Eli believed he should start fixing things to earn his keep around the house. After many of the visitors to Mrs. Greene's house, a certain couple began to discuss the south and their needs. Eventually, the talk fell upon cotton, and how useless the cotton that grew there was. It took ten hours of hand work to separate the cotton from the seeds. That was when Mrs. Greene suggested they ask Mr. Whitney. She said: quote "Gentlemen, apply to my young friend, Mr. Whitney. He can make anything." Unquote. He watched how people would go about doing this and in ten days, he had created a prototype of the

Use of Doubt To Persuade Essay -- Successful Persuasion Essays

Persuasion goes on around us everyday, all the time, on television, on advertisements, even in conversations with friends. Perhaps because of this, much has been written on how to persuade more effectively. Most of this literature is built upon the notion that to persuade is to urge successfully and completely. Going along these lines, certainty and confidence are logical complements to effective persuasion, since we cannot hope to convince others when we are ourselves in doubt. Doubt, therefore, is felt to be at the other end of the spectrum and antithetical to persuasion. But the art of persuasion is a human art, and so it is a living art, which cannot be satisfactorily summed up between the covers of self-improvement guides. In reality, successful persuasion can somewhat deviate from the conventional criteria of certainty; in fact, even doubt can be used to persuade. This exciting possibility appears unlikely from the start, because there is an inherent paradox in the notion that doubt can persuade. This contradiction is even clearer when we consider persuasion in the form of a speech given to a large audience. To be able to hold his own in front of a crowd, the speaker, surely, must be certain of himself and what he wants to say. But there is a possible approach by which orators can round the corner of persuading with doubt, and even make doubt work to their advantage. Given that the doubt is a shared concern of both the speaker and his audience, a candid confession of uncertainty may open new emotional inroads into the audience. By serving as a common denominator and a common challenge to both parties, a shared doubt when brought into the open can direct the combined energies of the listeners towards finding a workable so... ...nd genuine than an outward show of sorrow. In this case, to contrive is to constrict. Doubt as an instinct embedded in persuasion transcends common rhetoric as it moves beyond the rational sphere of intellect into the domain of unbridled emotions. For this reason, and also because it was with an intention to explore persuasion beyond conventional notions that we set out to study the use of doubt in the first place, it is impossible and indeed unnecessary to encapsulate the skill of persuading with doubt within any sort of generalising guidelines. To subject this practice to prescriptive limits is to sever its lifeline-the vital element of spontaneity that moves with circumstances. As Lee lamented, "sometimes, history takes many devious turns"; it was exactly through one such quirk of history that his speech in 1965 achieved such astonishing payoffs ("Press" 9).

Poems: Poetry and Film Karate Kid Essay

Good morning teachers and students, our understanding of Hamlet takes many turns and the most important of these is in act 3 scene II. As a pivotal scene in William Shakespeare’s play, audiences gain an understanding of the characters and their actions leading up to this point. Many of the themes in the play come to light in this scene as the plot gathers pace and it is for all these reasons I chose this scene. Our understanding of a text is greatly affected by the context in which scenes take place. Act 3 Scene 2 transpires after a series of turbulent events and the increasing surveillance of Hamlet’s life. In the preceding scene Hamlet considers suicide in the â€Å"To be or not to be,† soliloquy after learning that his father’s sudden death was in fact a murder by his uncle Claudius’s hand. He plans to prove the ghost’s word by watching his uncle’s reaction to a play that follows the events of Hamlet’s father’s death. Hamlet also confronts Ophelia and denounces her and women in misogynous diatribe overheard by the spying Polonius and Claudius. After hearing this Claudius decide to export Hamlet to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, as â€Å"madness in great ones must not unwatched go†. The latter gives audiences insight to later events in the play. Context is the basis of our understanding of certain lines, soliloquies and actions and overall affects our understanding of the entire play. The ‘Play within a play’ scene is a pivotal scene in Hamlet and its significance resounds throughout the rest of the play. It is a scene dripping in dramatic irony because Hamlet triumphs over the king in full public view while Claudius deals in secret to obtain information. The scene comes as the action following Hamlet’s musings of death, and the relative inaction of the first two acts. Knowing he was correct about his father’s murder Hamlet is emboldened and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern then sets out to confront his mother fracturing numerous relationships. Furthermore, Claudius’s sudden exit from the play raises the question whether he was reacting to the guilt of murdering his brother or to the act of Lucianus, the murdering nephew of king Gonzago in the Mouse Trap, possibly foreshadowing his own death. Either could be the trigger of Claudius’s decision too have Hamlet killed in England. The significance of this particular scene is undeniable because of its importance is upheld throughout the rest of Hamlet and this is why it affects audiences understanding of the entire play. As a pivotal scene, many themes in Hamlet are present including action versus inaction, espionage, revenge and deceit. These mix into a tangible cocktail to which audiences are more likely to pay attention to and gain better understanding. The scene provides the first ‘action’ in the play after driving uncertainty of the first two acts, the audiences reaction epitomised in a player’s line â€Å" so after Pyrrus’ pause, a roused vengeance sets him to work†. Revenge is the motive behind Hamlets writing of the play. Espionage makes another appearance in Hamlet’s urging Horatio to ‘observe my uncle. If this occulted guilt do not unkennel itself in one speech, it is a damned ghost we have seen† Rosencrantz and Guildenstern deceitfulness comes to an end when Hamlet turns the tables on them using the metaphor of how he was played like a pipe then later abandoning and sending them to their deaths. The presence of themes allows audiences to make connections with dialogue and leads to heightened understanding of the play and this is why act 3 scene 2 is crucial to the understanding of the entire play. A plethora of literary devices is used throughout the scene causing the meanings of numerous lines to be left up to the audience’s interpretation. Use of dramatic irony, alliteration, metaphor, pun, repetition and others highlights lines that are of greater importance for example, Hamlet’s mocking â€Å"what, frightened with false fire! † to his uncles reaction to the murder as well as the extended metaphor of hamlet being a pipe played upon by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The dramatic irony of the scene is important, as it is Hamlet’s action that snowballs into the different outcomes. Hamlet’s rhyming flattery to Horatio is full of literary techniques like alliteration (need example), possibly highlighting his desperation to keep one faithful friend by his side or adoration or want of Horatio’s balanced character. Hamlets jovial punning makes light of all that said to him by authority figures, this being an attempt at showing possible rebelliousness or more likely showing his enthusiasm for the outcome of the play’s impact on the king. We do not know which part of the play Hamlet scripted so it can be assumed that some of his own feelings are showing through the repetition of love and fear whether this be about his love of Ophelia or incestuous thoughts about Gertrude. Understanding of act 3 scene 2 is crucial to our understanding of Hamlet. This is assisted through the uses of literary techniques, the presence of many themes to capture audience’s attention, the significance of these and the context in which the scene takes place. These combine to make this scene of upmost importance to our interpretation of the entire play and that is why it was chosen. 5min14secs Matt: I’ve re-worked your speech below using as much as possible, cutting out the repetition, and suggesting where examples from the play are needed to illustrate your point. We can add these in tomorrow as I want you to go through this process of selecting appropriate egs with me. Apologies for typos – something is rotten in the state of our computer (ref to the play, sorry! ) â€Å"The play is the thing in which I’ll catch the conscience of the king† [Good morning teachers and students, our understanding of Hamlet takes many turns and the most important of these is in act 3 scene II. As a pivotal scene in William Shakespeare’s play, audiences gain an understanding of the characters and their actions leading up to this point. Many of the themes in the play come to light in this scene as the plot gathers pace and it is for all these reasons I chose this scene. Too vague: needs a more dramatic opening eg rhetorical question, or fabulous quote or natty and relevant anecdote or recent current happening that you can relate to this scene to catch the audience attention. The intro needs also not to waste words that could refer to specific context, themes, dramatic techniques, particular character development and plot development. Adding language aspects into this intro may be overdoing it but the word play on the idea of the â€Å"play† and â€Å"play within the play† might work. ] e. g. Can you think of a more delicious irony or more dramatic way of catching out a murderous hypocrite like Claudius than putting on a play in full public view that shows two audiences – the court of Denmark and us – how he killed the rightful king? Especially since we know that Claudius has set up all those who are closest to Hamlet, except for the faithful Horatio, to spy on him in secret! I chose this play within the play scene – Act 3 Scene II – for a number of reasons: firstly, for the lovely dramatic irony I just mentioned; secondly, it is pivotal in terms of resolving Hamlet’s doubts and advancing the plot towards the final bloody end; thirdly, it is very satisfying drama, with lots of action following on from the lengthy musings and relative inaction of Hamlet’s famous. â€Å"To be or not to be† soliloquy; in addition it reflects a number of key themes and preoccupations of the play, including that of surveillance; and finally it is incredibly dramatic and beautifully written, with lots of the fantastic and funny word play, vivid images and other literary and dramatic techniques we all love about Shakespeare. This scene, as I said in the introduction, is pivotal in terms of the action of the entire play, and also in terms of Hamlet’s evolution, from inactive to hyperactive. In the preceding scene Hamlet considers suicide after learning from the Ghost that his father’s sudden death was in fact a murder by his uncle Claudius. The Ghost is a mysterious character about whom there are considerable doubts – does he represent the troubled state of Denmark following the death of a beloved and heroic king and/or does he represent H’s traumatised mind following the sort of tragedy that would unhinge most of us. [ref to a critic here? ]. Whatever we say about Hamlet and his tendency to overdo the thinking aspect of life, he does approach problems with a fair and scientific mind: he does resolve to kill his father’s murderer, but, fair enough, as death is reasonably permanent, even for Shakespeare’s religious audiences, he set up the play within the play as a kind of controlled test for his uncle, whom the Ghost purporting to be King Hamlet has said killed him: He tells Horatio to observe his uncle during the  play as well and â€Å"after we will both our judgments join in censure of his seeming†: this does indicate that Hamlet, despite his understandable hatred of Claudius, is a fair man, who is also aware of the seriousness of killing the man who is now King of Denmark. Elizabethan audiences would have recognised Hamlet’s hesitation about killing the King as reasonable, just as they would have seen his vengeance once his suspicions had been confirmed, as justified. This scene also follows Hamlet’s misogynist confrontation of Ophelia which is overheard by the spying Polonius and Claudius, who decides at this point to export Hamlet to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, since â€Å"madness in great ones must not unwatched go†. Since Ophelia had also been encouraged to spy on Hamlet, we now have his dastardly uncle, his school friends, and his fiance, not to mention his mother, keeping a close watch on Hamlet: no wonder he needed a theatrical outlet! However, seriously, we see here a recurring and important theme in the entire play, that of spying and surveillance. The Michael Almereyda directed film version of Hamlet with its constant CCTV cameras and Hamlet’s speaking into the cameras provide the perfect representation of the sense of inescapable surveillance that Hamlet feels he is under throughout the play. : FIND QUOTES re SPYING IN THIS SCENE. Another key theme of this play within the play scene. amd to the entire play, that relates to the spying is that of deceit, and of illusion masking the reality. The play Hamlet devises to catch the King out is called â€Å"The Moustrap†, and its aim is to depict the exact way in which Claudius killed his brother, that is, by pouring poison into his ear, not the commonest way to kill someone! If King Claudius reacts is a guilty manner, presumably this demonstrates his guilt. So Hamlet’s goal is to unmask his uncle in front of the entire court, including the wife he has won so wrongfully. Plays are a theatrical form of illusion, masquerading as reality, just as Claudius in killing the rightful king, marrying his widow and acting as a legitimate King, is masquerading. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are similarly masquerading as Hamlet’s friends, while in reality they are deceitfully reporting on his actions and words to his treacherous uncle. The play within the play traps Claudius just as Hamlet himself must have felt trapped within this world without honesty and fidelity. The theme of honesty and reliability, those qualities that Hamlet craves and finds in no-one but his friend Horatio, provides a key to a deeper understanding of Hamlet’s apparently cruel behaviour towards his mother and also Ophelia, and also to Polonius and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. â€Å"Give me that man/That is not passions’s slave .. and I will wear him/ in my †¦ heart of hearts†: Hamlet, having suffered the worst tragedy one can imagine, finds no person in his circle whom he can trust except for Horatio. [ repetition Our understanding of a text is greatly affected by the context in which scenes take place. Act 3 Scene 2 transpires after a series of turbulent events too vague – what events? References like this read like padding and markers know it! ] and the increasing surveillance of Hamlet’s life. The play within the play leads us to a focus on another potent theme of this scene and of the entire play: revenge! â€Å" So after Pyrrus’ pause, a roused vengeance sets him to work†. Revenge is the motive behind Hamlet’s writing of the play, and once his suspicions have been confirmed, Hamlet is ready to turn his vengeful thoughts into action. This scene is brilliant drama! There is beautiful dramatic irony in Hamlet’s selection of a play to trap the guilty king. And there is lots of discussion of theatrics, and how the players should speak their lines, which reveals Shakespeare’s own deep understanding of the craft of acting, the more realistic version being more like his own preferred style: â€Å"Nor do not saw the air too much with your hand †¦ the purpose of playing,.. is to hold the mirror up to nature†, that is to act as one would speak and act out such lines in reality. Critics say that Shakespeare is having a go here at the plays of Chrsitopher Marlowe and the players such as Edward Alleyn at the Rose Theatre, who was known for a rather exaggerated approach to acting. Whatever the origins of these descriptions of how NOT to act, they are very funny, and must have made an Elizabethan audience as well as myself, a 21 century lad, laugh! â€Å"O it offends me to the soul to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters: etc. [we need egs of each of these Use of dramatic irony, alliteration, metaphor, pun, repetition and others] Shakespeare’s literary teachniques also work brilliantly in this scend. As well as the dramatic irony, we have superb play on words combining wioth the extended highlights lines that are of greater importance for example, Hamlet’s mocking â€Å"what, frightened with false fire! † to his uncles reaction to the murder as well as the extended metaphor of hamlet being a pipe played upon by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The dramatic irony of the scene is important, as it is Hamlet’s action that snowballs into the different outcomes. Hamlet’s rhyming flattery to Horatio is full of literary techniques like alliteration (need example), possibly highlighting his desperation to keep one faithful friend by his side or adoration or want of Horatio’s balanced character. Hamlets jovial punning makes light of all that said to him by authority figures, this being an attempt at showing possible rebelliousness or more likely showing his enthusiasm for the outcome of the play’s impact on the king. We do not know which part of the play Hamlet scripted so it can be assumed that some of his own feelings are showing through the repetition of love and fear whether this be about his love of Ophelia or incestuous thoughts about Gertrude. Understanding of act 3 scene 2 is crucial to our understanding of Hamlet. This is assisted through the uses of literary techniques, the presence of many themes to capture audience’s attention, the significance of these and the context in which the scene takes place. These combine to make this scene of upmost importance to our interpretation of the entire play and that is why it was chosen. 5min14secs Character development – in this question

My ecological footprint

My ecological footmark per centum is 70.82 % . We would necessitate 4.51 Earths if everyone had the life style that I lead. The consequences made me experience concerned because my footmark is below norm by about 20 per centum, which seems like a batch to me. I was surprised that my consequences were so hapless because I think of myself as person who is environmentally witting. I do non litter by throwing refuse on the street. If a refuse can is non handily located by me, I carry the refuse with me until I can happen a refuse can. Because of small things like this, I was surprised that my ecological footmark is so low. That is why I think this was a worthwhile assignment because it educated me about how environmentally friendly I am. I would realistically cut down my footmark by about 25 % by utilizing cleaner conveyance. Normally I drive whenever I need to travel someplace, but I think from now on whenever possible, I will take the Metro Transit coach alternatively. I think that resource depletion is likely to increase as Developing Countries effort to increase their criterion of life. The state where I am from, a underdeveloped state, Yemen, does non hold as big an ecological footmark as Canada does. In our metropoliss, autos are used a batch but in the countryside, people uses Equus caballuss and camels as their chief manner of transporting themselves. Yemen is seeking to go more developed like the West, but so far it has non worked out that good. Originally, because Yemen started out as a land, merely the King had a auto but over clip, as it became a democracy, autos became more common as mundane people began driving them in the metropoliss. I think that as Yemen seeks to go more like the Western universe, particularly the United States, resource depletion will go more marked. Developing States should non hold the right to consume resources merely to go more like the West, because that will do merely the state of affairs with the environment worse as clip goes on. If every state has a big ecological footmark, so we will progressively necessitate more Earths to fulfill everyone ‘s energy ingestion. The article, found onhypertext transfer protocol: //www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp? id=16168. says that people in Europe are trusting excessively much on groundwater. If this continues, so the H2O supply could go a job. If that happens, the monetary value of H2O will travel up, and this will be bad for the universe economic system because everyone needs H2O. If people who need it can non afford to pay for it, so that could be an economic, every bit good as environmental, catastrophe. The root cause of this job is that people are trusting excessively much on groundwater. We can cut down our footmark as states by doing certain that some people do non acquire excess H2O, while others go without.MentionsRetrieved online on May 18, 2009 at hypertext transfer protocol: //www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp? id=16168

Life development Essay

The aim of this research is to explore a married couple’s real life experiences and the possible influences that affect their life development. A qualitative thematic analysis was carried out on pre-existing material of three semi-structured interviews and a video. Two main themes were identified : Various Influences and Changeable. This analysis showed support for some research done regarding Erikson’s development stages, Peck’s contribution on later life, developmental contextualism and Bronfenbrenner’s theory. The findings suggest that life development is multi-facet. A reflexive analysis reviews some limitation on this analysis and recommendations are also made. INTRODUCTION Lifespan development is the one among different psychological perspectives. Psychologists are of different views on human development. Some of them split human development into different stages, some of them focus on the people’s later development, some are optimistic but some not, and some opined that our development are deterministic but also some do not think so. Erik Erikson has developed a theory named as Psychosocial in which he stated that there would be eight development stages from birth to later adulthood within our life. (Cooper & Roth, 2002). The theory emphasised that our development is a product of the interaction between the society and individual; and our parents seems to play a key role in our early life. Erikson argued that everyone must develop throughout these eight stages. While treating later life as a relative stable period, Erikson neglect the room of change during the middle and old stages, to cope with this difficulty, Peck further subdivided these two stages into sub-stages. For middle age, Peck consider that we should acknowledge our loss of physical strength while also appreciate our gaining of wisdom, the main task within these stage is to redefine one’s personality and personal relationship. Besides, individual should shift their emotional attachment to both the vertical and horizontal relationship, i. e. the death of parents and friendship (Cooper & Roth, 2002). For old age, in order to cater the crisis of retirement, Peck argued that individual need to seek other meaningful activities, thus accepted by themselves that they are continually contribute to and valued by the society. Other approach on lifespan development is named as developmental contextualism. It emphasised that development of an individual cannot be seen as an isolated manner, rather, there are internal (e. g. physical fitness) and external (e. g. cultural and social) factors that influences one’s development. These factors are referred as a level of explanation by psychologists, they comprise different variables, for instances, interpersonal influence, cultural influence, historical influence and etc. These variables would interact and change each other at the same or a different level of explanation which is known as dynamic interactionism. (Cooper & Roth, 2002) In contrast to developmental contextualism, Bronfenbrenner is of different view. He argued that individuals are capable to determine their own development rather than simply constrained by internal and external influences. In his ‘ecological’ theory of development, he suggested that individuals are actively interact with his or her environment during their development. According to the theory, it divided individual physical environment into four parts, i. e. micosystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem as well. The microsystem refers to one’s immediate environment, includes social, symbolic and physical characteristics, e. g. personality, healths, values and expectations. The mesosystem describes two or more microsystems inhabited by the same person, e. g. family, work and marriage. Links that take place between two or more settings involving the individual is known as the exosystem, i. e. our community. The macrosystem illustrates the patterns of the aforesaid systems that characterize any given culture or society structures. (Cooper & Roth, 2002) In view of the above approaches, it seems that human development are encompassed by different stages, with internal and external influences; and individuals are with ability to actively change it during the process of development. The purpose of this qualitative research is to see how a couple, Tony and Jo experienced their life and what influence to their development indeed. METHOD Three semi-structured interviews were conducted of a (an aging) couple, Tony and Jo. There is no information on the exact ages of the stakeholders, including the interviewees and the three interviewers. For teaching purposes, the process of the interviews were videotaped with the interviewees’ consent. The interviews touch topics of identity, separation and attachment and lifespan development. The first interview was conducted by a female researcher Jane who knew that couple for several years. A male researcher has conducted the second interview who knew none about that couple. The last interviewer was a female who asked them about their experiences on the first two interviews. The research was adopted analysing pre-existing materials. It assumed that the Open University of United Kingdom (OUUK) adhered strictly to the British psychological code of ethics such as obtaining informed written consent, addressing issues around confidentiality, protection of participant’s identities, permission to withdraw at any time and sufficient debriefing. (Miell, Phoenix & Thomas, 2002). I am a Chinese male, a part-time psychology student (36 years of age) of the Open University of Hong Kong, and carried out a qualitative thematic analysis on transcripts and video provided by the OUUK. (see Appendix for the full annotated transcripts and an extracted video of the three interviews is also attached) The lifespan development research topic and question were selected and supplied by the OUUK (DSE 212, Method Booklet 5, pages 60 and 61). Familiarization of material was done by reading Chapter 1 in Book 2 (Cooper & Roth, 2002). The next stage of the analysis involved my reading the transcripts several times – noting significant points related to my chosen research topic. I then identified recurrent themes from the transcripts. Two main themes were identified and the data was condensed under these themes. This was achieved by photocopying the transcripts and highlighting each bit of the dialogue relating to the themes in different colour pens. Only the first two interviews were used in this research.

Contemporary issues of surrogacy and birthing technologies Essay

An Estimated 10-15 per cent of Australian couples who want to start a family are infertile, similarly same-sex couples are unable to reproduce and this has led to the use of surrogacy and birthing technologies to provide a means to overcome such barriers in having children. The changing views of society along with the corresponding reforms of the law in relation to these procedures have been main contributors to contemporary issues within the area being addressed, however the effectiveness of legal and non-legal measures in place is questionable. With diverse perspectives and interpretations on what is a just outcome for all parties involved, it is difficult to evaluate such a controversial matter. Issues relevant today in relation to surrogacy include the exploitation of women overseas through commercial surrogacy as well as the presumption of parentage and parentage orders, even with the approval of legal measures dealing with such problems, conflict of views indicate many people do not agree and feel there is a great need for reform. Birthing technologies hold many interrelated issues of concerns with difficulties in defining legal parents in relation to birth certificates as well as the roles and responsibilities of gametes donors. The amendment of previous laws in addition with the introduction of new ones aim to better reflect the changing values of society with non-governmental organisations and the media attempting to assist in informing the public and creating awareness with current issues. Surrogacy is a difficult issue, especially in Australia where the law varies from state to state. Many infertile Australian couples seek the services of surrogate mothers overseas in the United States, India and other countries, spending up to $80,000 and risking breaking the law. The current issue of concern in this, is not only the exploitation of poor women but also the Australians being overcharged by these clinics as well as the legal status and protection of children caught up in the booming overseas surrogacy trade. Currently under Australian law, altruistic surrogacy is acceptable however commercial surrogacy is banned in all states, excluding the Northern Territory with no current legislation targeting surrogacy. The Surrogacy Act 2010 was designed to accommodate altruistic surrogacy moving against  commercial surrogacy, while setting out safeguards to achieve the best interest of the child and attempt to uphold all surrogacy agreements. This can be seen as an effort to sufficiently reflect societal views within the law as a 1993 survey revealed community attitudes towards commercial surrogacy had a 30% approval rate whereas 59% disapproved. Since its commencement in March 2011 overseas commercial surrogacy arrangements have also been made illegal in NSW, Queensland and the ACT, with the NSW Parliament introducing extraterritorial provisions that extend the offence to outside the jurisdiction for residents, who could possibly face fines of up to $100,000 or up to 2 years prison if caught. This legal measure however is questionable in its ability to achieve the best outcome for the child, being a punishable offence and enabling the imprisonment of parents or subjecting them to a financial hardship could only worsen the situation for a child involved. Moreover this amendment to the bill was willfully added with little review of its consequences, motivated to reduce the exploitation of poor women in developing countries, it fails to ensure the best interest of the child and that justice is achieved. Failure of existing law has led to a further need for reform as the criminalization of overseas arrangements is difficult to police and unenforceable which has created issues of compliance and non-compliance. Currently an estimated 40 per cent of India’s $2.5 billion commercial surrogacy industry is made up of Australian clientele, however complaints about the overcharging nature of these clinics are increasing. This is problematic as there are few protections for intended parents in India with its unregulated industry as well as the legal restrictions in Australia, creating difficulty in the ability to monitor such arrangements. Chief Federal Court Magistrate, John Pascoe issued a statement in December proposing Australia should legalise commercial surrogacy to ensure that agreements are properly regulated to protect children, surrogates and commissioning parents. This statement attempts to introduce a different approach similar to that of California, which relies on executed contracts between intended parents and the surrogate, defining the legal status of the child as well as the responsibilities of all parties. NSW Greens MP David  Shoebridge commented on the present act saying â€Å"What began as a progressive legislation giving equal rights to all children has ended up as regressive legislation which will force parents underground and create uncertainty around many children’s parenting†. Pascoe’s proposal would allow for better control of the issue, avoiding the criminalisation of parents and the need for intending parents acting outside of the law, which has been the result of pr esent legislation. Surrogacy Australia is a non-governmental organisation and advocacy group, which is currently addressing the concern for intended parents involved in overseas arrangements who are being cheated and taken advantage of by clinics. Increasing complaints to the organisation as well as research collected, suggests Australians are being overcharged by up to 40 per cent and more so being billed for unnecessary medical procedures on surrogates. Surrogacy Australia is a support organisation assisting those who require help and access to information, with a present focus on warning and creating awareness of this concern, for those in the future considering the surrogacy option. Research by the group also suggests the ineffectiveness of the existing laws, revealing the ban on commercial surrogacy, deters only 7 per cent of considering parents and this places a certain pressure on the government to reconsider its prohibition. A further issue arising from the inconsistent laws targeting surrogacy in Australia is the presumption of parentage, whether in cases of genetic or gestational surrogacy. Under the previous legislation, with cases governed by the Status of Children Act 1996, a child’s legal parents were its birth mother and her husband or de facto partner, irrespective to whether birthing technologies were used. For intending parents this caused a number of legal problems as they could be subject to tumultuous legal obstacles when applying for full parental rights and therefore led to the commencement of the Surrogacy Act on the 1st of March 2011. The reformed Surrogacy Act 2010 (NSW) has recognised certain altruistic surrogacy arrangements and created a process for transferring legal parentage from the surrogate mother to the intended parents in a more time-effective manner. The eligibility requirements and preconditions to  obtain a parentage order are also contained in this act and this is for purposes of creating a more structured system, considering the best interest of the children and also to regulate arrangements, as they cannot be enforced, except by the birth mother. The stated aim of surrogacy laws in Australia has been and remains to be the prevention of exploitation of vulnerable adults, to avoid the commercialization of reproduction and to protect the best interests of children. However children born overseas through surrogacy are not the legal children of their Australian intended parents; none of the state inquiries directly address the problem of parentage for children when adults travel out of the jurisdiction and or pay a birth mother to carry the pregnancy and this creates another challenge for parentage orders. Intending parents cannot lodge an application for a transfer of parentage until they return to Australia and currently the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 excludes commercial surrogacy. This is a contradiction in the attempt to protect the child, with courts torn between two irreconcilable concepts, finding on one hand parliaments intention to prevent commercial surrogacy with a clear policy across the country, and on the other the courts duty to mitigate such policy by consideration of the child’s welfare, who may end up a stateless orphan if orders are not made. Recent changes to commercial surrogacy in India however, may be of assista nce in preventing such situations from occurring. The Indian government has issued a directive that only couples who have been married for more than two years can enter into commercial surrogacy arrangements, and only if it is legal in their home country and this will have a huge impact in making Australian law unavoidable. Moreover on parentage orders, the increasingly complex web of eligibility rules developed through successive reforms to safeguard the interest of children, appear to also be inadequate with the family formation behaviours of those involved in surrogacy. This was demonstrated in the case of AP v RD (2011) NSW, which took place prior to the commencement of the Surrogacy Act on The 1st of March, with its provisions and requirements remaining, AP applied for a parentage order under the Surrogacy Act in the Supreme Court. This parentage order could only be made with all the preconditions met and in this instance the court was satisfied that the arrangement was made prior  to conception, however declined to make the parentage order due to the provision of a counselor’s report and evidence confirming the parties consent was not to a satisfactory level . This shows the courts ability to protect and ensure the rights of the surrogate mother and her partner, as consent is a dominant requirement in surrogacy arrangements. Although indicates an ineffectiveness in achieving justice for intending parents, demanding an excessive amount of evidence to allow parentage orders. With the intention to create better circumstances and gain parentage rights regulated by the law, these precautions can be seen to make it somewhat difficult for arrangements to be followed through as seen in this particular case. The reform inquiries were commenced by hastily arranged parliamentary inquires, where only six to nine months was allocated for the entire hearing and reporting process. This implies the new laws in Australia are based not on evidence of the actual behaviour or needs of families formed through surrogacy to date, but rather on inaccurate ideas and assumptions about the threats and problems with surrogacy and how they can be ‘improved’. The Federal Attorney-General, Phillip Ruddock, is calling on the states to bring â€Å"some uniformity† to the widely different laws covering surrogacy and this is an indication for a further need to reform. Prior to reforms made to the Family Law Act 1975, a birth mother that used an artificial conception procedure to conceive, in a same-sex relationship, was unable to legally identify her female partner as a parent, whereas in the case of heterosexual relationships, the law allowed the husband or male partner to be recognised as a parent. Before 2008 children born to lesbian couples only had one legal parent, and it was not uncommon for a sperm donor’s name to be recorded in recognition of their biological relationship. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission found this to be inequality in the law and an issue of discrimination. The fact that the Family Law Act was designed to accommodate and emphasise the heterosexual family also caused difficulty for judicial officers to resolve cases and disputes within same-sex families. In response to this, the NSW government in 2008 amended the Status of Children Act 1996 (NSW) and the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 (NSW) with the Miscellaneous Acts Amendment (Same Sex Relationships) Act 2008 (NSW). This created a parenting presumption in favour of women of same-sex relationships, through recognising the female co-parent of children born through birthing technologies as well as allowing both mothers to be listed on the child’s birth certificate. Accomplishing the best interest of the child who no longer will only have one legal parent, the act also successfully reflects the change in community attitudes as negative societal outlooks on homosexuality has decreased with recent years presenting a more accepting nature. A birth certificate creates a rebuttable presumption of parentage however a presumption arising out of use of a fertilization procedure is certain. The case of AA v Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages and BB (2011) focused on a man who donated sperm to a lesbian couple, considering himself to a father to the child conceived while forming a loving relationship with her and contributing thousands in support payments. This was the first case of its kind after the amendments made to the law in 2008, attempting to forcibly remove BBs name from the child’s birth certificate in a court battle that succeeded. Bringing forward the notion of legal parents versus biological parents creates the potential for complex issues surrounding children born to same-sex couples. Sperm donors have no legal parental status even if they’re on a birth certificate, with partners of lesbian mothers gaining that right automatically with the introduction of the act in 2008. Judge Walmsley, involved in the case, suggested allowing for three parents to be on the birth certificate as he recognised its powerful symbolism. However it is not possible under NSW law to have three parents with legal responsibilities, had he had sexual intercourse with the mother or married her, he would have gained this legal status. This essentially highlights the inadequacy of laws dealing with multi-parent families. Janet Loughman the Principal solicitor of Women’s Legal Services NSW stated, â€Å"Contrary to popular belief birth certificates do not make you a parent, they are just proof, like a drivers license. They record legal parentage,  not genetic parentage. It is the legal parents who need that proof as they go about the daily business of raising the child†. Even so, donors do not often involve themselves in the life of their child and prior to 2010; the Status of Children Act 1996 (NSW) stated that the identity of donors would be concealed allowing them to maintain their right to privacy. However this resulted in concerns arising for the children, as they were likely to suffer from lack of information about their genetic heritage with identity crisis or medical and social dilemmas impacting them negatively. The Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2007 commenced on the 1st of January 2010, with it, introducing the National ART Donor Registry. The Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation 2010 specifies by law what information about both the donor and donor conceived child must be provided and recorded in the registry, which is then accessible by the child at the age of 18. Significantly the rights of the child are being addressed, although this is not concurrent with those of the donor, with the legislation only allowing their access to the child’s date of birth and sex. The commencement of this legislation has provoked a wide range of responses and this in itself speaks for its effectiveness in the view of the community. The opposition health spokeswoman, Jillian Skinner commented on these changes to the bill saying, â€Å"Proposed new laws to assist donor children to know who their fathers are, have been a long time coming†. Suggesting the NSW government had a delayed response to this current problem for children, as drafts for the legislation were introduced to parliament in 2003 implies an unproductive approach in assisting children in these situations. This has now resulted in confusion towards the stance of the law in prioritising the best interest of the child or upholding privacy rights of donors prior to the enactment of the regulation. In the past 10 years, fertility clinics have only allowed donations from men who are willing to provide their identity for recording and this has resulted in the number of sperm donations decreasing by more than half between 1998 and 2008 according to the President of the Fertility Society of Australia, Peter Illingworth. Through the establishment of the ART Donor  Registry it can then be assumed this will lead to an even further decline in the number of sperm donations in Australia. Peter Illingworth also commented on the exposure of donor identities, which may occur due to the introduction of the legal clause giving the government power to demand access to this information. â€Å"We can’t release the information at all without the donor’s consent and it is as simple as that†¦ consent over-rides everything†, emphasising the importance of their right to privacy and the fact that this legislation was not enforceable when they chose to donate sperm plays int o the injustice that will occur if the government chooses to enable such actions. Regardless of this Jillian Skinner feels â€Å"The rights of children will now be enshrined in the legislation so that any child born through ART will, after they turn 18, be able to know the details of their biological parents†. Being the most important focus this understanding emphasises the fact that the current regulation, does provide a legal certainty that the best interest of the child is ensured. The media can be accredited through its release of numerous articles keeping track of the process and government introductions of new laws and regulations. Ensuring the community is aware and informed of changes in legislation that may impact on previous sperm donors or those considering donating, will help avoid any confusion or injustice occurring in the future. The commonwealth government of Australia cannot universally legislate for reproductive technology practice. Therefore each state and territory is responsible for designing and implementing separate legislation. This has resulted in laws and practices that differ from state to state. Advances in birth technology have created a great need for law reform as they challenge the long-standing moral and legal conceptions of ‘family’ and ‘parent’. It is difficult to compare surrogacy with other reproductive methods, as the surrogate mother is undergoing all the emotional, mental and physical feelings of pregnancy, not simply donating an ovum and therefore laws in place protecting surrogate mothers in Australia and overseas are important, however are useless when they compromise the rights of intended parents and the children. The current debate, taking place in Australia reflects the rapidly changing legal landscape and societal attitudes in relation to surrogacy and assisted reproductive technology. The wide divergence in  Australian and international laws are indicative of the range of opinions about surrogacy and assisted reproductive technologies and of the challenges lawmakers face in staying up to date with these new technologies. Thus far the attempt to satisfy and cater for all contemporary issues within the area can be furthered to remove inconsistencies between state and federal, as well as clarify legal rights of all parties involved. However laws relating to these issues have been slow to pass with the government and courts constrained by existing legislation, suggesting the legal and non-legal measures are more so ineffective than they have been efficient.