E-Compensation Human Resources Information Systems Assignment

E-Compensation Human Resources Information Systems - Assignment Example The development and configuration of the infrastructure requires skilled personnel as well as resources. Another merit of the web-based compensation tool over the client-server and stand-alone PC based compensation tools is that it requires less hardware. This is because most of the hardware required for the web based compensation system are available over the internet and supported by the company hosting the web based services. The client/server and standalone PC based compensation tools require all hardware needed for the compensation system to be available locally. For this reason, the client/server and PC based compensation tools require higher initial cost to setup (Mukherjee, 2012). As much as the client-server based and stand-alone PC based compensation tools require higher initial cost to setup, they offer superior long term savings than the pc based compensation tool. The reason behind the long term saving offered by the client-server and PC based compensation tool is because an organization does not have to pay monthly or annual fees for the services to a third party company. The web based services are offered by id party companies at monthly or annual subscriptions that can result into higher long term costs. On the other hand, companies choosing the client-server and PC based compensation tools require high skilled IT department personnel to support the systems. Therefore, the web based compensation tool is recommendable for the organization stakeholders because it does not require high IT support to support the infrastructure. Moreover, the system can be upgraded and updated at lower costs compared to the client-server and stand-alone PC based services ( Sistare, Shiplett & Buss, 2009). From an employee perspective; the e-Compensation tools can motivate the organizations employees to work harder thus improving their performance. The reason behind motivation is that the efforts of

The Knights Templar Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Knights Templar - Research Paper Example Being a monastic military, the Knight Templar’s mandate was to protect Christian’s pilgrims on the route to the holy land. King Richard 1 commonly known as Richard the lion Hearted fought along side the Templars in the battle to the holy lands. The Templar was interesting because it had both soldiers and monks, making some of the earliest soldiers in the Western World. Orders played a vital role in many battles of the crusade to the extent that it improved modern banking, which could be considered as a notable improvement. The knights of the Templars started in small group, and as time progressed it grew in membership. The members of the group possessed certain duties and lifestyles, which made them unique in all their endeavors. As the military fighting for Christ, the Templars kept aside every temptations of the ordinary secular life, for a dedicated life of holiness and service to God. Since then, the concept of service has been the legacy of the Templars whereby mos t people emulate the military group. To many, the military group fought for Christ extraordinarily putting aside every secular life for an arduous life of service. In reality, the Templars’ services were greatly appreciated given the fact that, they gave their lives fully for the sake of Christ. At this point, the following paper aims to discuss the Knights Templar through giving out a brief history, its mandatory purpose, and its religious benefits. To Hale (1), the Knight Templars were the soldiers of the Christ throughout the medieval world of Solomon’s Temple. This implies that the Knight Templars were devoted soldiers who had set their lives for the service. Historically, the Templars originated from the Kingdom of Jerusalem around 118 AD whereby nine members vowed to protect the pilgrim of the dangerous road leading to Jerusalem. The Templars members combined the rules of knight in a remarkable way that the western world had never seen before. Their passion to se rve was so notable that, King Baldwin 11 of Jerusalem granted part of his palace to them for their headquarters, which thereafter a became a stable place of the Temple Mount which was referred to as Solomon’s Temple. After a while, the temple was captured by the Muslims whereby they built their holiest site commonly known as the Temple Mount. Despite controversial that emerged from who possessed the temple, the site remained sacred to the Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Many assumed the temple was significant to Christians since it was the storage of the Ark of the Covenant with other biblical treasures. After twenty years of crusaders conquest of Jerusalem, the noble French knight collected eight knights where several of them were relatives. Their stated assignment was to protect pilgrims of the holy land in service as military members gave their lives fully to the commitment of Christ. The knights were seen as complementary to the society in the sense that, they cared for si ck and weary pilgrims while the Templars guarded those approaching and those who left the city. The Knights Templar was emulated by many, particularly the official blessings of the church of the Council of Troyes, which grew dramatically hence the group was showered with blessings and donations. The group grew exceptionally, and as time progressed, they received land and money to assist the fight in the holy land. The group was so respected that, no princes, kings, or bishop could command

Boeing and Mcdonnell Douglas Merger Essay Example for Free

Boeing and Mcdonnell Douglas Merger Essay Boeing and Airbus; two longtime rivals fighting over market share in an extremely volatile market due to high research and development costs and constant changes in market demand was the cause for Boeing to take drastic protective measures. Boeing which at the time was one of the largest commercial aircraft manufacturer and third largest aerospace defense contractor decided to merge with McDonnell Douglas. McDonnell Douglas also produces commercial aircraft but held much less of the market share than Boeing. The intent of this paper is to describe the search and screening process Boeing used which is broken down in to three categories: legal, financial and operational, discuss the valuation criteria, analyze the negotiation and bidding process and determine what kind of financing Boeing used to secure McDonnell Douglas. Legal Issues When Boeing announced they were planning on purchasing rival McDonnell Douglas, this sparked a great deal of concern not only with the Federal Trade Commission but with anti-trust authorities in Europe as well. â€Å"The belief was that by reducing the markets to only two players, such a merger would so reduce the competition that consumers would be forced to pay more for airline tickets and tax payers would be forced to pay more for jet fighters and space vehicles† (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/boeing/boeingtoo.htm). The goal addressing these concerns was to prevent Boeing and McDonnell Douglas from creating a monopoly of the aircraft and aerospace market. A monopoly is a situation in which a single company owns all or nearly all of the market for a given product or service (â€Å"Monopoly†, 2012). The concern in Europe was due to Boeing’s Practice of negotiating exclusive supply deals with major airlines such as Delta Airlines, American Airlines and Continental Airlines that prohibited purchases of Airbus planes (European Union Objects To Just About Everything In Boeing-Mcdonnell Merger, 1997). In the end, Boeing was forced to make concessions to ensure the merger would be allowed to go through. Andrews (1997) â€Å"Boeing agreed not to enforce the exclusive-supplier provisions of those deals, though analysts said that would have little effect on Boeings bottom line† (para. 3). Financial Status The commercial and defense aircraft market is extremely volatile and will change from extreme high demand in one or both commercial and defense to a decline in demand in one or both areas. At the time of this merger, Boeing had seen huge changes in defense spending that caused growth on the commercial side of the aircraft market. For Boeing this was a favorable change due to the fact that eighty percent of their products were for commercial aircraft rather than defense. Rolinitis (1997) â€Å"Although these factors heavily favored Boeing’s make-up, Boeing was still concerned with the severe cyclical swings that the commercial market faces† (Boeing’s View). Boeing’s main concern was to gain market share to better compete with the Airbus which was the second largest commercial aircraft manufacture that held most of its operations in Europe. At this time, McDonnell Douglas was structured exactly the opposite; two thirds of its revenue generated from defense products. Due to severe cuts in defense spending, McDonnell Douglas was consistently losing market share. This situation made an attractive opportunity for Boeing to merge with McDonnell Douglas and seemed that it would work out for both parties; Boeing would gain more market share in European markets and McDonnell Douglas would in essence not have to suffer large losses waiting for defense spending to increase. Operational Status The merger between Boeing and McDonnell Douglas was viewed by most a perfect match. The new company would have operations in the United States and Europe; maintain market share in both commercial and defense aircraft production markets. For Boeing, the only downside is they were forced to give up exclusive supplier relations with three airlines; however that did not seem to have that large of a negative effect on the new organization. Rolinitis (1997) â€Å"The merged company will have approximately 200,000 employees which included the recent Boeing merger of Rockwell aerospace and defense units. It will operate with estimated 1997 revenues in excess of $48 billion, making it the largest integrated aerospace company in the world† (The Deal). Valuation Criteria Negotiations Financing Conclusion The air craft production industry is one of the most volatile industries due to ever changing supply and demand and high research and development costs. As the air craft market changed moving towards more commercial demand and declining defense demand, it became in the best interest for Boeing and McDonnell Douglas to merge into one joint company making them the largest commercial and defense air craft production company. There can be quite a bit of issues concerning the merger of two companies; some concern what is in the best interest of one company and others may include the concern of not violating trade laws. The purpose of this paper was to describe the search and screen process and issues; specifically legal, financial, and operational status, discuss the valuation criteria, valuation and negotiation and bidding processes of the merger between McDonnell Douglas and Boeing. References Andrews, E. L. (1997). Boeing Concession Averts Trade War With Eurpe. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/24/business/boeing-concession-averts-trade-war-with-europe.html European Union Objects to Just About Everything in Boeing-McDonnell Merger. (1997). Retrieved from http://www.prenhall.com/divisions/bp/app/phblaw/html/august/august5.html Monopoly. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.investorwords.com/3112/monopoly.html Rolinitis, S. (1997). The Boeing McDonnell Douglas Merger. Retrieved from http://economics.illinoisstate.edu/dloomis/eco320/downloads/papers/steve.PDF

Data Gaps And Limitations Environmental Sciences Essay

Data Gaps And Limitations Environmental Sciences Essay An extensive site history and description of the Trimpell Middleton petrochemical site has been put forward and documented in the phase I site investigations carried out for Environmental Agency and documented in the Atkins scoping study. This historic site is situated to the North and West of Middleton and positioned on National Grid with reference SD420590 (Semple, 2013 as cited in Atkins, 2000). It is about 2km south-east of Heysham and occupies an expanse of 116 hectare. The site was built and managed as a joint project between Trinidad Lake Asphalt, Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) and Shell to produce aviation fuel during the World War II after which it was closed down in 1945 (CSM). It became operational again in 1948 under the ownership of Shell and ICI with a reform in its production techniques and with the introduction of new chemicals (CSM). The main refinery operations and chemical productions closed down in the 1970s and the site became derelict and has been decommissioned. The only finger prints observable in the site is the operations of SRM limited formerly Solrec Limited who are in to solvent refinery and recovery (CSM). The site is considered in two basic areas for the purpose of this report. These are the Main Refinery Area (MRA) and Final Production Tank Farm (FPTF). The main refinery area includes all the land initially occupied by the refinery, located to the west of Middleton Road and an extension which is assumed not to have been occupied by the refinery. The Northern part of the site was purchased by Solrec Limited in1975 while the Lancaster City Council has the ownership of the central and south-western parts (CSM). The Final Production Tank Farm (FPTF) is situated between the railway passageway to the east and Middleton road to the west and contains four giant tanks buried within the vicinity of supporting buildings and parts of the undeveloped land. At present, the Lancaster City Council is the known owner of the two storage tanks in the northern most part while the two other storage tanks and the remaining part of the FPTF in the furthermost south towards the railway passageway are thought to be owned by Middleton Business Park Ltd (CSM). SITE GEOLOGY The site has its central part lying flat with a rising land to the east in the direction of Middleton Road and Trimpell Tip and to the west near Whittam Hill. The site is elevated in both the northern and southern parts compared to the central part which is low-lying with the furthermost southern part of the site having a lower topography than the central part (CSM). Over these years, the site topography and ground elevation has changed because of dumping activities including inert waste materials in some parts of the site (CSM). This is documented in the report and was also observed during the site reconnaissance visit. PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES: In the operational years of the refinery, gasoline was stored in tanks at the banks of Heysham and was conveyed to the tanks on Whittam Hill for refinery use. The conveyance relied on gravity and supported by the topography (CSM). The refinery operation stopped after the World War II and restarted in 1948 with the refinement of crude to produce gas oil, fuel oil, gasoline and butane (CSM). Sulphur was removed from the crude at the Hower Baker Plant possibly by conversion to hydrogen sulphide and absorbed into an alkaline solution in the caustic soda plant (CSM). Knowledge of recovery of sulphur or the sulphide is lacking. The catalytic cracking process introduced sour water condensate which was likely to contain hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, phenol and some other hydrocarbons. Knowledge of the fate of the sour water produced is lacking. Mercaptan, an intermediate product would possibly have been removed by the use of sulphuric acid or sodium hydroxide during production of gasoline in a process of sweetening. This could be by conversion of mercaptan to disulphide (CSM). Ammonia was produced in the main refinery site in the ammonia stalls. Possible by-products of this process are coal tars and ammonia. Hydrogen used in ammonia production was produced in a water gas plant. The residues of this process were carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide which were removed by brushing with caustic soda and injection with copper liquor respectively. Methanol was produced and was stored in ICI product tanks thought to have been previously used to store petroleum. This manufacturing technique stopped and methane was produced by the addition of high temperature steam to waste oil obtained from Shell production activities. ICI went in to manufacturing of insulating board after the war using isocyante process and asbestos was thought to have been used in the process. Insulation board production was continued by Kingspan Insulation and Coolag Limited after ICI left. Knowledge of their manufacturing details is lacking. Also within the vicinity of the site is Trimpell Tip where waste from the refinery and nitrates processing such as incinerator residues, domestic and commercial waste, potentially combustible substances and inert materials were disposed. HIGHLIGHTS OF PHASE I The process of contaminated land management as described in contaminated land report 11 (CLR II) falls within three paradigms. These are risk assessment, option appraisal and implementation of the remediation strategy. The phase I investigation aims to define the purpose of the investigation, identify arrears of concern and to refine a preliminary conceptual site model using available information (CLR II). This is achieved by collating and evaluating desktop information, site reconnaissance survey and possibly interview from people who have historical or current information of the site. In doing this, all the information gathered would be needed to construct a conceptual site model that takes in to cognizance all contaminant sources, pathways and receptors or potential receptors. The report documented in phase I investigation (CSM) has identified areas of concern which is a major objective of the initial environmental site assessment. This includes the refinery area and the final production tank farm. The report makes known the historical sequence of events that have taken place in the site from agricultural use which preceded the refinery to its current derelict state. The report also describes the siteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s environmental setting including the topography and geology. DATA GAPS AND LIMITATIONS The report from the scoping study of the phase I investigation provides basic information about the site including site history and description, geology and a range of production activities that took place at the site. However, there are uncertainties and incompleteness on knowledge of certain historic activities and operations that took place at the site. The most pronounced limitation in the site scoping study is the lack of knowledge of the precise locations where certain operational activities were carried and knowledge of the extent of pollution impacted on the site by reason of those activities. Report shows that some locations of historic facilities (structures) have been identified while some are yet to be traced. Example is the underground tanks whose locations are yet to be determined. Knowledge of some underground utilities is lacking such as piping and sewer system and consequently their pollution or contaminant linkage is not ascertained. Other notable information includ es: The historic processing and manufacturing areas have been identified but there are missing information in the phase I report regarding the disposal and fate of most of the chemicals used in the manufacturing and processing operations. The areas of concern have been identified but contaminant releases and migration mechanisms are yet to be determined. The site geology such as topographical features is known but knowledge of its hydrology, hydrogeology, drainage routes, direction of ground water flow is not known. Contaminants of concern have been identified but whether release has occurred at the areas of concern is yet to be identified. Information is lacking on the background concentrations of the site as this would be a parameter to consider during remediation processes. Because of the gap and limitations in information from the phase I report, the need arises to propose and develop a phase II site investigation and conceptual model which would be used to fill the missing gaps or information. OBJECTIVES OF PHASE II The purpose of phase II investigation is to pull together enough information to determine if release has occurred at each area of concern identified or not (CDEP, 2010). A release is established to have occurred if concentrations of contaminants of concern detected exceed the limits stated in the reasonable confidence protocol (CDEP, 2010). In this stage, consideration will be given to both environmental setting and potential receptors. The site scoping study shows a possible presence of a wide array of contaminants generated from refinery or petrochemical operations, fertilizer works, railway haulage and asbestos manufacturing related process. The potential receptors of concern for these contaminants are humans, fauna, flora, controlled waters and ecological receptors. From the phase I study, a number of significant pollution linkages have been identified with most of them being probable and possible pollution linkages. A complete pathway exists between contaminant sources and the s ite drainage (CSM). This pathway is complete through discharge of site surface water run-off to the Morecambe Bay which is the ecological receptor. The phase I report recognizes a probable significant pollutant linkage through volatile emission, dust generation, direct contact to infrastructure, fauna and human health. Also, likely to exist is a significant linkage in which ground water or surface water could reach deeper groundwater in the aquifer. For the final production tank farm no significant pollution linkage was identified. Noteworthy that the tanks were sealed off during decommissioning and such suggests no significant linkage. However, a probable pollutant linkage has been demonstrated to exist between shallow groundwater and the site drainage system (CSM). There is probable existence of a pathway from groundwater and contaminated soil through dust generation, volatile emission and direct contact to infrastructure, fauna and human health. Table 1: List of possible contaminants to be found on the site Contaminants Class of chemical Fuel oil Organic Gasoline Organic Butane gas Organic Phenol Organic PAHs Organic Coal tars Organic Naphtha Organic Waste oil Organic Alcohols Organic Esters Organic Ketones Organic Toluene Organic Xylene Organic Hexane Organic Cellulose thinner Organic Chlorinated Solvents Organic Sulphur Inorganic Caustic Soda Inorganic Ammonia Inorganic Mercaptans Inorganic Copper Liquor Inorganic Sulphuric acid Inorganic Nitrates Inorganic Asbestos Inert materials Table 2 CONCEPTUAL SITE MODEL AND PHASE II INVESTIGATION Identified Potential Areas of Concern (Potential Sources) Potential Release Mechanism (Potential Migration Pathway) Expected Release Locations Suitable for Sampling and Analysis for Phase II Investigation. Underground storage tanks Tank leaks, over fills, Piping, valve, and dispenser leaks. I) For probable tank leaks, the underlying soil at the edge of the tank and sidewall can be sampled. II) For over fills, sample collection should be underneath the tank or vent pipes at the low lying or by the sloping area. II) For piping and valves, sampling should be along the pipes, pipe joints, and the vicinity of the valves. Underground water Leaching, from the vadose zone through the fringe capillary in to the underground aquifer. Sampling wells should be bore at the lowest lying area of the site, from the site geology; the central and southern parts are the lowest lying areas, so sampling should be carried out within that area. Permanent or temporary wells could be installed. A temporary well enables the detection of contaminant release while permanent well enables to monitor the ground water flow and the effects of season and tides on the fate of contaminants. Trimpell Tip Leaks, degradation and leaching. Within, beneath, down slope within the vicinity of the tip. Delivery and Loading areas Spills and leaks Cracks on the asphalt or motor way reinforcement. If there are no basement where cracks could be found, then areas with sparse vegetation which are observable within the vicinity of concern. Fire service water dam It could be a reservoir or sink for an array of contaminants which seep into it. It can leach downwards or the degradation products may persist and can also be remobilized into the surrounding environment. Beneath, adjacent to the dam. Legacy structure (building) which are fingerprints of the remaining in the site. Spills, volatile emission and depositions. Cracks on walls and floors, joints between the building roofing, wall and floors. Main refineryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s drainage system Migration, leaching to underground water. Underground water or soil core. Solrec Limited Release from solvent recovery and refinery plant. Spills and leaks. Soil within the vicinity of plant, water sample from the low lying terrain of the site Gasoline storage tanks on Whittam Hill. Leaks, spills from over fills Adjacent and underlying soil. SAMPLING STRATEGY The limitations and gaps of the phase I study suggest the need for more site interrogation through sampling to ascertain the presence of contaminants at the areas of concern. The sampling approach to be used will be more direct based on the information that has been obtained from phase I on the particular areas of concern. In addition, the data quality objective is very important in designing a sampling protocol needed to achieve site specific objectives. Ground water The identification of a probable pollutant linkage for ground water or surface water seepage into deeper groundwater necessitates a sampling protocol for groundwater. Besides, ground water sampling is an integrated sample which is representative of more spatial zone. This is because of effect of several environmental system including the unsaturated soil, capillary fringe and aquifer constituents on the underground water (USEPA, 1995). Table 3: Proposed sampling locations, number of soil samples and permanent monitoring wells to be installed for underground water sampling. Sampling Locations Number of samples Number of wells Well depth Main Refinery Area 2 1 Final Production Tank Farm. 2 1 Up Gradient of the site (North). 2 1 Mid-point (Low lying Central Area) 2 1 Down gradient (South) 2 1 Solrec Recovery Plant Site 1 1 Slope down side of Timprell Tip. 1 1 Outside Area of Concern (Background sample) 2 1 The collection of samples at each of the designated area of concern should be close enough to be representative of the area. Monitoring wells designed with screened intervals intercepting the saturated zone at the upper portion are suitable for assessing the occurrence of release to the ground water. Consideration of the site geology such as the length at which release is expected to occur, groundwater flow path and transport characteristics of the potential contaminant of concern should be made before sampling (USEPA, 1995). A single ground water sampling event may not be sufficient to establish a release, so multiple sampling or permanent wells are proposed for complementary purpose. With this strategic arrangement of bore holes, it would be possible to obtain ground water which could be interrogated for non-aqueous phase liquid, oily sheen and samples for laboratory analysis to know if there is organic or inorganic contaminants in the water sample. The observation of high or low pH solution would be suggestive to changes in natural status of the aquifer which could facilitate the mobilization of contaminants of concern. Soil Sampling and Analysis A soil sampling program is being proposed having identified a probable significant pollutant linkage through volatile emission, dust generation, direct contact to human health, fauna and infrastructure. The object of this is to establish if there is a complete pathway for the source emission to reach the receptors. This would involve sampling and analysing core soil samples from designated target areas so as to better characterize the site. A technical bias or judgemental sampling would be used since information has been known about the areas of concern. Sampling can also be carried out for cracks on the walls of legacy structures present on site to reveal the presence of contaminants. Table 4: Proposed sampling locations, number of samples and sampling zones or depth. Sampling Locations No of Samples Core depth Main Refinery Area 3 Surficial Final Production Tank Farm. 3 Surficial and Saturated Slope down side of Timprell Tip 2 Saturated zone. Gasoline storage tanks on Whittam Hill. 2 Surficial and Saturated zone Underground storage tanks 2 Saturated zone Outside the area of concern (background sample) 4 Surficial and saturated zones. The surficial sample which be able to detect if a release has occurred or not but a saturated sample would be representative of an integrated sample affected by the environmental quality of enormous zones of unsaturated soil, capillary fringe and aquifer material. The analysis of the samples should be judgmental for cost effectiveness. Because the contaminants of concern have been identified in the preliminary site investigation, there would less need for a broad spectrum of analytical parameters instead; analysis should be streamlined to the identified contaminants of concern which are mostly petroleum based organic contaminants and a few inorganics. Soil core samples can be observed for non-aqueous phase liquid in sample which usually have characteristic black dint. Detection of organic contaminants in the analysed samples above background concentration or within the reasonable confidence protocol would mean the empirical confirmation that a release has occurred. Noteworthy that dr illing fluid that could contaminate the well should not be used as not to have false positives and the environmental professional has to demonstrate that any contamination observed is not artificial but represents the site contamination state. The occurrence would be suggestive of a significant pollution pathway.

Topology Essay -- Math Mathmatics

Topology The two main figures of Topology, the spheroid and the torus. Shown together like this, they create the symbol for the sun in ancient times (2, 1). The field of mathematics encompasses many different sub-fields which have been studied and researched for a very long time. One of the most intriguing divisions of mathematics is topology. Topology, the mathematical study of the properties of objects which are preserved through deformations, twistings, and stretchings (4, 1), is rooted far back in time; so far back that it outdates all recorded history (2, 1). Modern topological mathematics was introduced in the late 19th century by a mathematician named Henri Poincare` (2, 2). Poincare` Pictures Henri Poincare` was born in Nancy, France in 1854. He received his education at The Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole Superieur des Mines in Paris (8, 1). Poincare` then spent from 1879 to 1896 lecturing and teaching an array of fields ranging from physical and mathematical mechanics to celestial mechanics at both the University of Caen and the University of Paris. Although Poincare` was considered a physicist, his greatest accomplishments came in the fields of topology, differential equations, and probability, all mathematical fields (8,1). Poincare`’s greatest exposure to the public came in 1887, when King Oscar of Sweden announced that he would award 2,500 crowns to any man who could prove the stability of the orbital dynamics of our solar system. This was a great problem for the mathematicians of the day, and a very significant problem for every being on our Earth (2, 2). If the stability of the orbits could not be proven, one could not rule out the possibility of Earth be ing hurtled into space by the influence of the other p... ...logy and its functions. Works Cited Fauvel, John. MÃ ¶bius and his Band, Oxford University Press, New York, 1993. Gilmore, Tom. Mathematics of Topology, http://www.tomgilmore.com/z_top.htm, 4 pp., 12/5/99. Klein, http://history.math.csusb.edu/Mathematicians/Klein.html, 2 pp., 12/9/99. MÃ ¶bius Strip, http://www.treasure-troves.com/math/MoebiusStrip.html, 4 pp., 12/9/99. Paper Strip, http://cut-the-knot.com/do_you_know/paper_strip.html, 5 pp., 12/14/99. Poincare, http://euler.ciens.ucv.ve/English/mathematics/poincare.html, 2 pp., 12/9/99. 7. Poincare, Henri, http://www.treasure-troves.com/bios/Poincare.html, 1 p, 12/9/99. 8. Poincare, Jules Henri, Microsoft Encarta 1999 ed., Microsoft Inc. 9. Tarot FAQ Version 2, http://lonestar.texas.net/~r3winter/tarotfaq.html, 12/10/99. Topology, http://www.treasure-troves.com/math/Topology.html, 3 pp., 12/9/99.

Gangs Essay -- Gang Essays

Gangs Introduction I. -A Los Angeles family takes a wrong turn into gang territory and is fired upon. A 3-year-old is killed and her 2-year-old brother wounded. -A Chinese immigrant in Brooklyn is kidnapped by a Chinatown gang which demands ransom payments from her family. She is murdered when the family fails to pay. -Two FBI agents and a police sergeant are murdered inside the Washington, D.C. police headquarters by a gang member. -A Pittsburgh police sergeant walking home with his daughter is killed with his own gun after he stops and confronts a gang spraying graffiti on a street. II. Resolved : that the Federal Government should pass laws to prevent the development gang related youth violence. Definitions- 1. Development: as defined in Websters Dictionary is â€Å"to make more elaborate; to enlarge† 2. Gang: as defined in Websters is â€Å"A group of persons who are organized and work together or socialize regularly; a group of adolescent hoodlums or criminals; gang up on; to attack as a group.† 3. Violence: as defined in Websters is â€Å"Physical force or activity used to cause harm, damage or abuse† 4. Youth: as defined in Websters is â€Å"The appearance or state of appearing young; the time of life when one is not considered a adult; a young person† III. Our current juvenile justice system is no longer adequate for today's hardened young gang members. Demographics indicated this problem is not going away. In fact, only will get worse. This is a serious problem that can not be left unchecked. If this is not addressed it will only lead to the decay of our society. We must take action to combat gangs in a new way. Vice President Albert Gore recently told the White House press corps, "Gangs have been a major cause of the growth in violent crime in the past decade." He cited a Treasury Department report that found the presence of rival gangs, the Bloods and the Crips, in 35 states and 58 cities across the country. At the same press conference, Attorney General Janet Reno cited the impact of disabling one gang in New Haven, Connecticut. Eighteen members of the "Jungleboy" street gang were put in jail, and, according to Reno, New Haven's murder rate fell by one-third in 1993. I. Outline of Need Arguments A. Problem: Many highly rated experts warn of the impending youth crime crisis. Youth violent crime has been... ...where gangs dominate life and rain violent crime. Many of these children join gangs to find purpose, security, and self-esteem. The gang culture gives them a sense of belonging and remakes their value system. Partying, fighting, and vicious gang loyalty become their primary values, thus pushing aside virtues that favor family life. This is a vicious cycle and it must be broken. Given that youth gangs account for a disproportionate share of youth violence, their potential for contributing to a future crime wave is enormous. A recent decline in violent crime appears to be more a result of fewer teenagers than better law enforcement. When the current bumper crop of elementary-age children become adolescents, the violent crime rate is likely to explode. Gangs are the powder magazine, they must be dealt with before the bomb goes off. Rebuttal extensions- Population of 14-18 year olds Now 17,620,472 5 Years 18,628,635 + 6 % 10 Years 20,284,601 + 15%

Learning environment Essay

â€Å"The environment we are in affects our moods, the ability to form relationships and the effectiveness in work or play, even our health. † (Bullard, 2006). In effectively educating children an educator must build a foundation that has a stimulating environment which includes the inside and outside areas, classroom design and decor size. The outdoor learning area must be one that is organised in a way that promotes exploration and investigation of the elements of nature which includes planting trees and flowers, as well as nature stations where children can observe the different insects. On the other hand is the classroom design which also endorses discovery along with cooperation among peers. The centres should be spacious that enables free movement where group gathering can take place, as well as the different materials and manipulative that are easily accessible to children in the different learning areas in facilitating their knowledge. But however not only that, but as well as decor size which pertains to using child size toys, tools and furniture in the classroom that eliminates children from asking for assistance from adults, as well as allowing them to feel empowered by not requesting of their help. In providing a stimulating environment like the one that was now described would allow children to actively participate in their learning. This is so because the surroundings therefore cater for â€Å"appropriate ways in developing the vital skills, the knowledge and a positive attitude to learning in the individual needs of each child. It is based on â€Å"guiding children to observe, question, discuss, listen, manipulate, feel, investigate and develop the ability to think creatively and independently. This is defined as Active Learning. In discussing the importance of the active learning environment above which includes the inside and outside areas, classroom design as well as decor size that promotes active learning, this paper would now focus on one such area that is assessed in the internal environment, meaning a learning centre that needs to be enhanced, as well as strategies used for improvement to reflect my curriculum goals. Description of the Learning Centre that needs to be Improved While children were in the indoor setting of the classroom I took time to sit and observe what exactly was happening at each of the different centres. While monitoring I noticed that most of them were at the diverse learning areas excluding the language centre which had only about two (2) children who took a short amount of time interacting within that area. The other centres were very attraction as they had many tangible objects that children can interact with, whereas the other had old objects that were very unattractive and discoloured. Most of the materials were posters that were stuck to the wall which were there for a very long time, in turn making it appear distasteful and unappealing. In the language centre it therefore created a barrier that enabled children to further promote their language development as there were an insufficient amount of materials that catered for it. In addition, that learning centre did not cater for the children as it did not promote active learning, because as stated earlier when a centre has materials and manipulatives that are easily accessible to children it therefore facilitates their learning as it guides them to observe, engage and grasp different concepts in a simpler way. But however, there were no materials that held the attention of the children that they can become involved with; hence it developed a barricade for the active learning process to take place. When comparing the centres I have found that this is a situation that needs to be put back into working order immediately, because â€Å"language is an important skill that allows a person to communicate. † (Brannagan, 2010). It is a significant skill that is crucial in a child’s life as they use it to adequately exchange information with others in a meaningful way, as well as understanding the uses of reading and writing and becoming successful early readers and writers as it determines a successful future for them. In contrast, if this particular skill has a delay it can create complications in communication with others. This therefore can build frustration within the child since it may lead to miscommunication about what he/she is trying to convey. This is why it is important for me as an educator to address this matter quickly, so in turn children can have the opportunity to interact within that said learning centre and not only in the others, as they would gain better knowledge by coming into contact with materials and experiences that are provided for  them by adults, hence making it easier to make sense of the world around them, as well as influencing their rate of growth. This process is referred to as The Constructivist Theory in which the philosopher Jean Piaget believed that children’s learning is an active process where there is interaction between the person and the environment. This improvement of the Language Centre would be effective as it will continually provide active learning within all the centres in the classroom without the segregation of one. My Curriculum Goals within the Language Centre As stated by the National Early Childhood Care and Education Curriculum Guide in the strand Effective Communication â€Å"language and literacy play a critical role in the development of children’s thinking, learning and communication. To develop into successful, contributing adults, children must learn to be effective communicators and masters of their official language. † (Ministry of Education , 2005) With this being said my curriculum goals within the Language Centre are taken from the National Early Childhood Care and Education Curriculum Guide. The goals are as follows: ? A growing awareness that speaking is an effective way to communicate thoughts, ideas and views. ?A growing awareness that print (common signs and symbols) conveys meaning. ?An increasing understanding of some symbols, language patterns, letter sound relationships to predict, confirm or make meanings from using their hundred languages, which includes multimodal texts. ?Develop ways to experiment with conventional letters, word signs and symbols to convey meaning. ?Understanding of the relationship between letters and sounds. Develop ways to explore how symbols and written and visual texts are used to communicate meaning. ?The ability to derive and convey the meaning of common signs and symbols (exit signs, area labels etc. ) in the various environments (school, home, community. ) ? A love for listening to and retelling familiar stories, as well as a desire to â€Å"read† on their own. Learn new vocabulary and extend language to communicate and negotiate ideas and plan for activities. Strategies used for Improvement in the Language Centre Letters are all around us! Therefore using environmental prints stuck to the wall in the language centre such as signs, labels and logos can be of great assistance in accomplishing some of my stated goals in developing children’s reading skills. This was stated by Colorin Colorado as an influential method in making the connection between letters and first efforts to read. It discusses how adults can make these techniques interesting to a child’s learning in talking about letters, words and print. The article suggest that in taking advantage of cereal boxes, as they are colourful to facilitate learning in which they can request for the child to find the first letter of his/her name on the box which assist in letter recognition as well as when going on a car trip. This results in children making the explicit link between letters and sounds. Another strategy the article further suggests that can be utilized, is about the use of technology in taking digital pictures of signs such as â€Å"exit† or â€Å"do not enter† to create a book for children to promote his/her reading skills. Environmental print provides lots of opportunities for kids to interact with letters, sounds, and words. † After reading â€Å"Colorin Colorado† 2010 it is concluded that not only can you facilitate children’s learning in the classroom but using the environment prints that surround us everyday can be of grand assistance. As stated by the U. S Department of Education 2011, Phonological Awareness and Training assist in the development of preschool language and literacy. The article defines Phonological Awareness as the ability to detect or manipulate the sounds in words independent of meaning whereas phonological awareness training is the means of involving various training activities that focus on teaching children to identify, detect, delete, segment, or blend segments of spoken words (i. e. , words, syllables, etc. ). In the language centre I can provide picture cards along with letter cards as well so that children can make the distinction between sounds and their letters as they are able to match the letter sound card to their pictures. Other materials may include ABC books, magnetic letters, alphabet blocks and puzzles as well as alphabet charts. It has a positive effect because it’s easier in learning alphabet letters as well as the letter sound knowledge that enables them to add letters together to form words and in turn add words together to form sentences; in addition it also provides the knowledge of print awareness and early reading abilities; Incorporating Interactive and Dialog Reading declared by the U. S Department of Education 2011 refers to the adult reading stories to the children. When teachers repeat the reading’s of favourite books it enables children to become familiarized with the books that will allow for independent reading as well as utilizing different techniques to engage children in the text, while dialog reading is the term used when the adult and child switches roles where the child now becomes the storyteller and the teacher the listener and assistance of the child. Dunst, Simkus and Hamby 2012 says â€Å"Engaging young children in retelling stories read to them by parents or teachers is a strategy that is often used to promote story-related comprehension and expressive vocabulary. This article similar to the one mentioned above suggest that in reading and repeating stories to the child or a small group of children and therefore engaging them to retell the story in their own words results in the expansion of ideas and their imagination. This becomes effective because Interactive and Dialog Reading assist in oral language and vocabulary development as the teacher may ask open ended questions in engaging the child in verbal elaborations which allow the child to gain knowledge about the meaning of spoken and written words and the development of comprehension skills which caters for early literacy and language development. To further endorse these skills in the language centre that is significant in improving and supporting literacy development the materials that would be provided are lots of good child friendly books that are attractive and prints that deals with class activities e. g. helper charts, toy shelf labels, as well as charts that display good habits etc. Apart from all those strategies mentioned above this one takes a different course. This article written by Howard Phillips Parette talks about the acquistion of Phonological Awareness and Alphabetic Principles through the use of Microsoft PowerPoint. It declares that through Microsoft PowerPoint it can facilitate a child’s phonological awareness because teachers can modify such features such as colour, pictures, sounds, animation, slide design and slide transition. This promotes the acquisition of reading skills and fluency. Whereas, alphabetic principles also known as phonemic orthography which refers to relationships between letters and their associated sounds help young children develop letter-sound correspondence. Using the techniques through technology enables the promotion of comprehension skills, the understanding of the concepts about print as well as the facilitation of vocabulary development. This article is critical as it shows how to assist children in identifying letters and sounds through the use of technology. In being educated about how to incorporate technology in teaching children the acquisition of these skills, I would therefore try my utmost best in providing a computer in the language centre that would be most available to the children, as well as undertaking that strategy of how to teach the children phonological awareness and alphabetical principles on that such computer. How does the Active Language Centre Created reflect my Curriculum Goals? When assessing the language centre before I did my creation it was evident that there were no signs of my curriculum goals, mainly because of the lack of attention I gave to that particular centre and the insufficient amount of materials that were provided to the children in classroom. But however, now when comparing the centre from how it was before to this very moment, I can observe that my curriculum goals are off course reflecting. The reason for this is because it is more attractive in the eyes of the future members of society, as well as the materials that are presented to them mirrors my goals. The materials that were mentioned and described earlier above and that would be offered to them facilitates the particular skills that would be met in the declared goals and that are of great importance to the children, as well as the teacher learning strategies that were undertaken in further endorsing and accomplishing them. Limitations and Innovations In implementing the strategies that were discussed earlier, there was off course one (1) obstacle that was preventing me from accomplishing my entire task. But luckily, there were more innovations than limitations presented. They are as follows:- Innovations – all this were possible with the help and the support of the parents ? I was able to provide lots of books in the language corner that were incredibly attractive to the children. ?The magnetic letters, some puzzles along with many beautiful charts. ?Labels ?Alphabet blocks Picture cards ?Letter sound cards ?Environmental Print e. g. (signs, logos etc. ) ?Together with the children we were able to create the book that includes the different environmental signs. Limitations ?The strategy that was very different from the others which was the incorporation of the computer into the classroom was unable to accomplish due to the expense that it would have implanted. It was hard to achieve, but however after sometime we would be able to achieve it to facilitate the children’s learning. Conclusion In discussing the strategies above that I have undertaken in enhancing the Language Centre in my classroom in reflecting my goals, it has enabled me to realize how unique this learning area is to the children in the environment and to there future. When adults create rich language and literacy environments with the appropriate materials, manipulatives and teacher learning strategies to further endorse the important skills, it boosts the child’s vocabulary along with the use of language, which in turn increases their likelihood of future success.