Meditation One and Two by Descartes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Meditation One and Two by Descartes - Essay Example In Meditation 1, he doubts his knowledge for the reason that he might be dreaming (Med1&2, n.p.). He tells of the danger of confusing dreams from reality especially because of the fact that we are very much convinced that whatever is happening in our dreams, no matter how far they are from reality is the truth. This is a very similar principle derived from the concept of the movie â€Å"Inception† which implies that the beginning of what a man will consider true is when he or she is fully awake. But the question is, how will you distinguish being awake in reality or being in a waking dream? Lastly, Descartes questions his knowledge because of the fact that evil is all around us, constantly causing us a slanted view of truth. That is why we all need to be governed by law and not rely on our morals and free will because with the influence of evil, we can have our own versions of the good and bad and rationalize them to fit our selfish interests. However, in Meditation 2, Descartes brings himself out of his doubts because of the fact that he is a being made up of not only of a body but also of a mind, therefore he is a thinking being. Though his concept of knowledge could be marred by the limitations of his senses, dreams, and the influence of evil, he still can go beyond all three because of his mind or his ability to think. In line with this, he claims that mind can be better known than the body for the reason that the body could be easily deformed, perished, or seeped out of its strength with the influence of evil or is just part of the man’s mortal nature but the mind is something that is strong enough to filter the knowledge that is not only based on senses but also derived with prudence.

How Height Affects Time Taken for A Falling Object to Reach Ground Level Essay Example for Free

How Height Affects Time Taken for A Falling Object to Reach Ground Level Essay Introduction: In this investigation, how height will affect the time taken for a steel ball bearing to reach the ground will be investigated. It is was Isaac Newton that first discovered gravity and wrote laws defining it. His Second Law of Motion states that the Resultant Force on an object (F) is equal to the Mass of the body (m) times its acceleration (a), or . The weight (W) of a body is the force of gravity acting on it, which gives it acceleration (g) if it is falling freely close to the earths surface. If the body was to have a mass (m) Newtons 2nd Law of Motion could calculate its weight. Given that and Newtons Law becomes . In April of 2003, in a method similar to that, which will be conducted in this investigation, the acceleration of gravity was concluded to be 9.81. Using the knowledge mentioned above, several equation of motion have been created. One particularly relevant to this investigation is . In this equation: S = Distance in meters (In this case height) u = Initial velocity in * t = Time Taken in seconds a = Acceleration in ** * As the ball begins its fall from rest, its initial velocity, u, will be 0 ** As the ball is falling under acceleration due to gravity, = 9.81 Plan: In this investigation, since the means to calculate air resistance and friction are unavailable, they will be ignored. Acceleration due to gravity and the method by which the investigation will be carried out are controlled variables. The height from which the ball is dropped is the independent variable, i.e. the variable that is changed and the dependent variable is the time taken for the ball to reach the ground. It is predicted that as the height from which the ball is dropped decreases, the time taken for the ball to reach the ground will also decrease. An actual set of predicted values can be predicted from the earlier mention Equations of Motion. This line of the equation can be related to the straight-line graph equation , (the gradient) and . When the ball is dropped from 0.00m, it takes 0.00seconds to reach the ground as this will mean that the graph will pass through the origin so . Alternatively: . Using the above equations, the expected results for the investigation are: Height H, (m) Time t, (secs) Time squared t2, (secs2) 1.0 0.452 0.204 0.9 0.428 0.183 0.8 0.404 0.163 0.7 0.378 0.143 0.6 0.350 0.123 0.5 0.319 0.102 0.4 0.288 0.082 0.3 0.247 0.061 0.2 0.202 0.041 0.1 0.143 0.020 0.0 0.000 0.000 This is what the expected graph of Height vs. time should look like: Height (m) Time (secs) The following page shows what the expected graph for Height vs. time2 should look like. It is a straight line passing through the origin, thus proving the prediction . The expected gradient, m, should be equal to 1/2 g, or, 4.905ms-2. It is actually 4.926ms-2, which is only 0.021 ms-2 out or 0.428%. This is probably due to the rounding of decimal places when drawing the graph and human error in plotting the points (i.e. not exactly accurate to 3 decimal places.) Apparatus Diagram: Safety: As there is a very minimal risk in this investigation, no safety measures need to be taken. It is planned to drop the ball from a height of 1m and decrease in intervals of 0.1m. At each height 5 readings will be recorded and then the mean result will be calculated. This makes the results more reliable (and better for use in calculation like working out g or the mass of the steel ball.) The Results will be recorded in a table like this: Height (cm) Time taken for ball to reach ground (seconds) Mean Result Mean Result2 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 00 It is hoped that a graph of height vs. the mean results squared will be produced similar to that on page 4. In the graph, it is hoped to prove that the time-taken-for-a-ball2 to fall is directly proportional to the height it is dropped from, i.e. . Obtaining Evidence: Height (cm) Time taken for ball to reach ground (seconds) Mean Result Mean Result2 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 100 0.456 0.454 0.458 0.454 0.454 0.455 0.207 90 0.432 0.431 0.431 0.432 0.432 0.432 0.186 80 0.406 0.407 0.406 0.407 0.406 0.406 0.165 70 0.380 0.382 0.382 0.383 0.381 0.382 0.146 60 0.353 0.354 0.354 0.354 0.354 0.354 0.125 50 0.323 0.323 0.322 0.322 0.322 0.322 0.104 40 0.289 0.288 0.293 0.289 0.287 0.289 0.084 30 0.252 0.251 0.251 0.250 0.251 0.251 0.063 20 0.208 0.207 0.206 0.206 0.206 0.207 0.043 10 0.150 0.150 0.150 0.150 0.151 0.150 0.023 00 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 Graphs: In the following pages, the results recorded in the above table will be shown in the form of line graphs. This will make it easier to identify a trend in the results. It is also an appropriate method of recording the information and is useful for quick reference; also if the time for the ball to fall is desired from a height other than the ones specified in the table, the value can be obtained from the graph. Conclusion: The general trends from the graphs show, as predicted; when the height from which the ball was dropped decreased, the time taken for the ball to reach the ground also decreased. In the graph of Height vs. Time2,, it is shown that Height is directly proportional to Time2. The reason for this is derived from one of the Equations of Motion: , from this equation below, it was shown that . The final line of the above equation can be related to the straight-line graph equation . , (the gradient) and . C can be ignored as the line in the graph passes the y-axis at the orgin. Fundamentally: . H = S = The height in meters from which the ball was dropped. = The time in seconds that the ball took to land. a = g = The acceleration due to the gravitational pull of the earth. Note: The factor that affected the acceleration was g, (which, on earth, is ) is the mass of the planet, for Earth this is constant. The results of the investigation are consistent with the prediction. The relationship of was proved in the similarity of the graphs on page 4 8, they had almost the exact same gradient, only 0.072ms-2 in difference (or 1.462%) it was also very similar to the mathematical prediction of the gradient (1/2g) again only 0.051 ms-2 out. Evaluation: In this investigation, all results are held to be very reliable. When the data was being collected, sophisticated technology was used which measured time accurately and reliably to the nearest thousandth of a second. All recorded results were in very close proximity of each other, so that 0.006seconds was the maximum difference observed. There were no anomalies observed. All points on the graph on page 8 are not only close to the line of best fit, they are actually on it. The results in this investigation are believed to be very reliable; as a result no changes need to be made to the procedure.

Dental Anxiety in Dental and Non-Dental Students

Dental Anxiety in Dental and Non-Dental Students Dental Anxiety in Dental and Non-Dental Students Abstract- Objective: To compare levels of dental anxiety in dental and non-dental students and then relate it with degree of knowledge about dental treatment procedures. Method: Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) was used to measure and analyze statistically the dental anxiety among dental students (n=30) and non-dental students (n=30). The participants include 28 (46.7%) males and 32 (53.3%) females of age ranging from 18-24 years (mean age 21 ±1.619). The data was collected in Islamic International Dental Hospital, Islamabad from patients under waiting treatment. Results: Education was associated with dental anxiety in patients. The dental students had a mean dental anxiety score of dental students was found to be 13.5 and that of non-dental students was 16.5. Conclusion: The results support the hypothesis that knowledge about dental procedures has a significant role to elevate dental anxiety levels. Keywords: dental anxiety; degree of knowledge; dental students; non-dental student â€Å"Dental anxiety is an aversive psychological response to poorly define, or not immediately present dental stimulus interpreted as potentially harmful or dangerous, usually within a dental context†(1). Dental anxiety is a common phenomenon amongst patients prior to obtaining dental procedures, often giving rise to a vicious cycle of fear leading to avoidance of treatment(2, 3). This potential hazard to treatment accounts for an understanding of its etiology, so as to help design and execute effective treatment regimens(4).Research establishes; prior experience of treatment, pain during treatment, age, gender, social class and lack of economic resources, negligence of oral health and inadequacy of and education as etiological factors of dental anxiety. Al-Omari et al. showed in their study that dental students had lowest anxiety levels as compared to medical and engineering students(5). Medical students were found to be the most anxious group and it was indicated that lack of dental information is directly related to increasing levels of dental fears. As per Curson and Coplans, anxiety is a major barrier in the dental treatments as children and adult avoid or delay attending the dentist except in emergency situations(6).Dental anxiety may have elevated levels amongst patients majorly due to lack of knowledge about the procedures and outcomes of dental treatment that would be carried out on them(7).Therefore, it is crucial to highlight dentally anxious patients in order to facilitate the course of treatment and to help accomplish it successfully. Different instruments for measuring dental anxiety include; Corah’s dental anxiety scale, Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS), Dental Fear Survey, State Trait Anxiety Scale, General Geer Fear Scale and Getz Dental Brief Survey(1). Humphris GM et al. (1995) suggested that MDAS is more comprehensive, highly valid and reliable, with a simpler and more consistent answering system(8).Therefore, modified den tal anxiety scale has been used for the purpose of this study. The aim of the study was to understand how lack of knowledge of dental procedures may contribute to increased anxiety levels amongst non-dental students when compared to dental students. With the identification of existence of such differences, improved treatment techniques and management strategies may then be accomplished(7). Materials and Methods: The study was conducted at Islamic International Dental Hospital, Islamabad over a period of two months from May to June, on patients awaiting treatment while attending various departments at the hospital. This study is a cross- sectional study. Questionnaires were given to dental students (n=30) of first to fourth year (prior to receiving treatment) with their ages ranging from 18-24 years. Non-dental students (n=30) meeting the same age requirement were selected by purposive convenient sampling. The subjects were approached personally in clinical settings and questionnaire conducted after verbal consent. A total of 30 questionnaires were distributed to patients from each group. Data was obtained using modified dental anxiety scale, wherein extra items were added related to prior dental treatment experience and whether or not they had a dentist in their family. The modified dental anxiety scale consisted of five multiple choice items, including the following: If you had to go to your dentist for treatment tomorrow, how would you feel? If you were sitting in the waiting room (waiting for treatment), how would you feel? If you were about to have a tooth drilled, how would you feel? If you were about to have your teeth scaled and polish, how would you feel? If you were about to have a local anesthetic injection in your gum, how would you feel? Options available as answers to each of the above question were ranging from not anxious scaled as 1 to extremely anxious scaled as 5. The scores of all the questions were summed up to give us the patient’s dental anxiety score. Demographic details in the questionnaire included age gender and education. For the statistical analysis data was studied using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 17.0. For descriptive analysis of data mean and standard deviation was computed for age. Calculation of dental anxiety scores was made to compare differences in level of anxiety amongst both the groups. If the total score of 15 or more was obtained, it was indicated that the subject was highly anxious(9). Results: A total of 60 patients were included in this study; 30 dental students and 30 non-dental students. Out of this total of 60 patients, 28 (46.7%) were males and 32 (53.3%) were females. Their ages ranged from 18 to 24 years, giving a mean of 21 years with a standard deviation of  ±1.619. There were 13 males (43.3%) out of a total of 30 dental students and 17 females (56.7%). In the non-dental category, there were 15 males (50%) and 15 females (50%) out of a total of 30 students. The results display that a total of 9 (15%) patients had mild anxiety, out of which 8(13.3%) were dental students and 1(1.7%) was a non-dental student. therefore it can be seen that anxiety levels among dental students correspond mainly to the lower level of mildly anxious. 22 (36.7%) of the total patients had a moderate category anxiety, out of these 12 (20%) were dental students and 10 (16.7%) were non dental students. 24 (40%) were highly anxious patients, out of those 2 (3.3%) were dental students and 3 ( 5%) were non dental students. There were no patients who showed a result of no anxiety levels (Fig.2). The graph for the mean dental anxiety scores of dental and non-dental students demonstrates a clear variation in the dental anxiety levels of the two groups. There is an increased average dental anxiety scores in non-dental students which urges the use of a statistical test to further analyze data. Accordingly the Mann- Whitney U test was undertaken. The p value obtained so forth was 0.003 which is less than the arbitrarily significant p value of 0.05, indicating a significant difference in DAS of the two groups. The (Fig.3) and (Fig.4) also, represent the percentage response in tabulated form. Discussion: The study was undertaken to examine the role of, awareness of dental procedures, on patient’s dental anxiety levels. The purpose of the study was to acquire an understanding of differences in the dental anxiety levels amongst patients with sufficient prior knowledge of dental procedures as in the case of dental students and those without. Realization of the existence of any such differences would help dentists design strategies that would eliminate dental anxiety as a barrier to effective treatment. Dentally anxious patients often pose great difficulties during treatment(2).Such patients also are often resistant to going for treatment and may require behavioral pharmacological and educational interventions to allow for improved treatment and oral health statuses(10).The study was undertaken using the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale. The use of MDAS allowed for validity and reliability in the data collected thus serving as strength of the study(8, 11). Standardization was also ob served, with collection of all data in clinical settings. A major limitation of the study was its sample size. The survey comprised of only 60 patients, 30 being non-dental patients, receiving formal education in fields other than dentistry aged between 18-24 years. The second group comprised of dental students in any year of their study undergoing dental treatments and aged 18-24 years. The sample being selected randomly and by convenience also poses questions to generalizability of any findings as it is not representative of a much larger general population. Dental anxiety is a vastly sought after topic with researchers attempting to understand its causative factors and its impact on oral health status of patients. An in-depth understanding of its causative factors would enable practice of newer and improved techniques with increased patient compliance and willingness to undergo the required treatments without making the task difficult. Inadequate knowledge of dental procedure has also been studied as a causative factor of dental anxiety. Abu Hantash et al. suggested that dental anxiety in non-dental students is due to previous traumatic dental experiences and fear of pain(12, 13).High levels of anxiety in non-dental students was also suggested due to lack of acquaintance with dental procedures(14, 15).On the other hand enhanced education and awareness has been positively correlated to dental anxiety(16). B. Peretz et al. (1994) showed in his study that anxiety in dental students is inversely related to the exposure of dental procedures and it tends to reduce from preclinical to clinical years(9, 15, 17). Imran Farooq et al. (2014) following this study, found it sensible to deduce that dental anxiety in students declines with gradual progress in education and clinical exposure(15).Dental anxiety has been understood to have immense impact on oral as well as general health of individuals(18).Those who succumb to dental anxiety are found to enter a vicious cycle of ill-being. wherein anxiety leads to avoidance seeking treatment, leading to increased severity of disease and hence worsened oral and general health status(19), as shown in Fig.5. Some other important considerations that were beyond the scope of this particular study was an investigation of any previous traumatic dental experiences, especially from the non-dental students as they would have led to increased fears. Also there has been no ranking of anxiety provoking stimulus for dental students who may have been equally anxious about pain, and in jection as is true of non-dental students. According to Todd and Walker(20), it was reported by 43% of people that they avoided going to the dentist lest they experienced increased troubles with their teeth. In another study by Curson and Coplans it was found that DA amongst both children and adult patients led to avoidance or irregularities in going for treatment, or visiting dentist in case of emergency only(6). The findings from our study prompt the need of devising ways to increase patient knowledge of procedures to decrease anxiety. This may include arranging of educational workshops on awareness about dental procedures. Conclusion: In conclusion there is existence of a difference in dental anxiety levels; among dental and non-dental students. With this difference it can be comprehended that dental anxiety owes itself to knowledge and awareness of dental procedures alongside other etiological factors. Know-how of dental procedures enhances patients’ ability to cope up with required treatment by eliminating barriers created due to anxiety. Hence increasing patient knowledge may serve to reduce apprehensions and enhance patient confidence on treatment procedure and its needs, consequently reducing anxiety. References: 1.http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/dentalanxiety. 2.Cooper CL WJ, Kelly M. Job satisfaction, mental health, and job stressors among general dental practitioners in the UK. British Dental Journal. 1987. 3.Armfield JM. What goes around comes around: revisiting the hypothesized vicious cycle of dental fear and avoidance. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. Jun;41(3):279-87. 4.Taani DQ. Dental attendance and anxiety among public and private school children in Jordan. Int Dent J. 2002 Feb;52(1):25-9. 5.Al-Omari WM, Al-Omiri MK. Dental anxiety among university students and its correlation with their field of study. J Appl Oral Sci. 2009 May-Jun;17(3):199-203. 6.Curson I CM. The need for sedation in conservative dentistry. An investigation in the inner London area. 1970. 7.Appukuttan DP TA, Cholan PK, Subramanian S, Vinayagavel M. prevelance of dental anxiety among patient attending a dental educational institution in chennai, India. 2013. 8.Humphris GM, Morrison T, Lindsay SJ. The Modified Dental Anxiety Scale: validation and United Kingdom norms. Community Dent Health. 1995 Sep;12(3):143-50. 9.Peretz B, Zadik D. Dental anxiety of parents in an Israeli kibbutz population. Int J Paediatr Dent. 1994 Jun;4(2):87-92. 10.Marya CM, Grover S, Jnaneshwar A, Pruthi N. Dental anxiety among patients visiting a dental institute in Faridabad, India. West Indian Med J. Mar;61(2):187-90. 11.Corah NL. Development of a dental anxiety scale. J Dent Res. 1969 Jul-Aug;48(4):596. 12.Abu Hantash AY, Al Aker Dental Anxiety and Fear among medical field students at Al Quds University 13.Mohammed RB, Lalithamma T, Varma DM, Sudhakar KN, Srinivas B, Krishnamraju PV, et al. Prevalence of dental anxiety and its relation to age and gender in coastal Andhra (Visakhapatnam) population, India. J Nat Sci Biol Med. Jul;5(2):409-14. 14.Serra-Negra J, Paiva SM, Oliveira M, Ferreira E, Freire-Maia F, Pordeus I. Self-reported dental fear among dental students and their patients. Int J Environ Res Public Health. Jan;9(1):44-54. 15.Imran Farooq SA. A cross sectional study of gender differences in dental anxiety prevailing in the students of a Pakistani dental college. 2014. 16.Kirova DG, Atanasov DT, Lalabonova CK, Janevska S. Dental anxiety in adults in Bulgaria. Folia Med (Plovdiv). Apr-Jun;52(2):49-56. 17.Peretz B, Mann J. Dental anxiety among Israeli dental students: a 4-year longitudinal study. Eur J Dent Educ. 2000 Aug;4(3):133-7. 18.McGrath C, Bedi R. The association between dental anxiety and oral health-related quality of life in Britain. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2004 Feb;32(1):67-72. 19.Attaullah AAK. PREVALENCE OF DENTAL ANXIETY AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN. 20.Todd JE WA. Adult Dental Health in England and Wales. 1980

Dinosaur Fossil Discoveries in Antarctica :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Dinosaur Fossil Discoveries in Antarctica The chance of two different research groups finding two different fossils that are in fact two different kinds of species within the course of a week is close to impossible. However, this rare and lucky occurrence in the paleontology world has occured. Two research teams have retrieved fossils of two different dinosaurs in Antarctica that might possibly be unknown species. Judd Case and James Martin discovered bones, specifically those of the lower legs and feet, as well as the animal’s upper jaw and teeth. These fossils are said to be related to the carnivorous theropods, such as tyrannosaurs and velociraptors. Theropods have been related with birds and this new fossil’s feet as well as teeth relate it to the extinct carnivores. Also, due to the size and shape of the foot and leg bones, the animal is said to be a running dinosaur about six to eight feet tall. Thousands of miles away from this excavation sight and during the same week, William Hammer and his research team were in the mountains of Antarctica, about thirteen thousand feet, specifically near the Beardmore Glacier. The pelvis to a plant-eating dinosaur was found buried in solid rock. This pelvis is said to belong to a family of the sauropod, such as the brachiosaurus and diplodocus. â€Å"... Hammer and his fellow researchers believe the pelvis- one meter (three feet) across- isfrom a primitive sauropod that represents one of the earlier forms of emerging dinosaur lineage that eventually produced animals more than thirty meters (100 feet) long† (www.nsf.gov 2004). This animal is estimated to be up to seven feet tall and thirty feet long. These findings are important to paleontology as scientists work to discover more about the Earth’s past. These fossils give more insight into the Earth’s environment million’s of years ago. The fact that these fossils may be new species’ that paleontologists were not even aware of shows how little we may know about the history of the world and what other life walked on the Earth.

Christianity and Islam Essay

Throughout history, belief systems have had political and social impacts on followers. The belief systems of Christianity and Islam have had both positive and negative changes to their societies that they started and traveled to. They had an impact on their followers , spread the belief throughout specific nations/regions , and lastly impacted their followers in both positive and negative ways. Christianity and Islam changed the way people lived their lives and done every day things. Christianity and Islam had a huge impact on their followers because their beliefs made them live their lives in a specific way. For example, in Document 1, Pope Urban II asked the Christians to rebel against the Turks and Arabs due to the attacks that they were doing. This impacted the Christians socially because they no longer did what the Arabs and Turks had asked them to do, they turned against them. Islam had a political impact on the people who followed because the Shah’s policy’s isolated the Islamic clergy as stated in Document 6 and they had an impact socially because there was a creation of Family Protection Act which in turn improved the women’s rights. These changes and decisions helped shape and mold the newly found religions to be what they are today , politically and socially. Christianity spread through traveling and trading. In document 2a and 2b , it shows how the crusades , the time where Christians and Muslims were fighting over the holy land , changed the lives of the Europeans by traveling and migrating. These moves lead to meeting new people and trading spices in new different cities. Islam , in turn , spread through traveling and trade as well. In document 7, it shows how they were spreading through North Africa and the Middle East. They advanced farther than they would have thought they would and made their religion known worldwide. There were both negative and positive impacts that these religions had on their followers. Christianity had a negative impact because the Indians were getting beat and treated harshly as said in document 3. The missionaries were abusing their power and laid laws and rules down that had to be followed. However, in document 4 there was a positive impact because a lot of the Africans began practicing Christianity. Islam also had positive impacts such as the people who followed gained knowledge and their teachings are still taught today worldwide such as algebra and mathematics. Both Christianity and Islam in the long run improved their religions by spreading it. They had both positive and negative impacts on their followers and made their religions known worldwide.

Do Extracurricular Activities Help Students Excel in School? Essay

Extracurricular activities have a positive effect and help students improve their academic performance. The positive effect that extracurricular activities have on students are improvements in behavior, better grades, and provides students with a social outlet. Students who participate in extracurricular activities have to always keep up a positive attitude and become a better student, and a better player and performer. Students who participate in extracurricular activities are better behaved. During sports they must show discipline in drills, practices, and games. They have the responsibility to perform the task the right way. Behavior in sports is important because misbehavior can lead to disqualification. People are able to make decisions on there own and control the way they behave. During sports, under supervision of coaches and parents the athlete must behave with honor. Doing so can show self-discipline and demonstrate a serious athlete or performer. During extracurricular activities students are more motivated to succeed because students want to continue to do the sport or activity they love. Students doing extracurricular activities need to keep their grades up. Students have to work really hard to maintain good grades or their coach, parent, or guardian may have to instruct them to bring their grades up or they will have to quit. When participating in extracurricular activities, school and grades are always the student’s number one priority. The final effect is the social aspect. While doing a sport or activity students meet new people. While doing a sport, an athlete may meet people with a common interest. The people that the athlete or student meets during activities can become a long time friend of theirs. Extracurricular activities contribute to students working better together and teach patience in dealing with different people. Extracurricular activities play an important role in a student’s everyday life. They have positive effects on student’s lives by improving behavior, grades, and provide students with a social outlet. Extracurricular activities are a part of childhood memories and help shape the student’s life as well as education. Both education and extracurricular activities play a huge contribution to one another.

Trains essays

Trains essays Maglev trains may very well be the future of transportation. They are currently being developed in Germany and Japan, and other places around the world, like California in the United States of America, are planning whether getting a maglev train system would be worthwhile. Maglev trains are the fastest, most sensible form of ground transport available at this time, and with the demands of the transport system growing every year, they are bound to become a valuable part of the worlds transportation system. Maglev trains basically work by the simple principle that opposite poles attract, and similar poles repel, but in reality it is much more complex than this. Maglev trains work by gliding over the rails instead of rolling on them, and so do not create any friction on the rails while they are moving. Unlike all other forms of transportation, the system which causes the movement is not in the vehicle itself, but is in the guide way, or rails, beneath the train. These guide ways contain iron stator (a stator is the coil while the magnets is the rotor) packages containing 3-phase cables, and the vehicle is able to levitate when the guide ways attract the support magnets on the train. The train is kept on the rails by lateral guidance magnets which hold the vehicle to the guide way. This system may be compared to an electric motor where the stator has been flattened along the guide way. The train is able to accelerate when the propulsion system is switched on using the cable windi ng. The guide way is able to pull the train along because of the electromagnetic travelling field that is on while the propulsion system is running. The support system of the train is therefore able to become a rotor', which along with the stator, completes the motor'. (MVP Versuchs- un planungsgesellschaft fur Magnerbahnysteme m.b.H., 1999) Because the active part of the propulsion unit is built into the guide way as opp...

AIDs

History of Treatment the HIV/AIDs The problem Since the1980’s, physicians have been looking for a cure to HIV-AIDs; people have been suffering from the disease with the medics offering little hope of getting a cure. The much that physicians have done is to develop medication to reduce the effects of the disease; the major challenge hindering the development of a cure is the different shapes that the virus takes when exposed to medication (Stolley Glass, 2009).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on History of Treatment the HIV/AIDs specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Dimension of the problem A person who is suffering the disease or is infected by the H.I.V. virus is at the risk of developing AIDS; The virus is transmitted when body fluids of an invested person encounter those of an uninfected person. Once the virus gets into the body, it manifests and multiplies itself when hiding in the blood cells. The cells in the body that it attaches to are the wh ite blood cell; the white blood cells forms the human immune systems, thus when attacked and overdone by the virus, then the body can hardly fight other diseases. It has been argued that HIV-AID’s is not a disease by itself however it fights the body defence mechanism giving opportunistic diseases a chance to invade an infected person- the optimistic diseases are the ones that kill. Before the virus can be detected in the body system, it stays for at least three months. A.I.D.S. on the hand is the final stages of H.I.V., when the virus has â€Å"blown out† and having affected the white blood cells to a point that they cannot protect the body any more, optimistic diseases take advantage and affect the person. At this, stage the optimistic diseases that may be tuberculosis or pneumonia, they infect the body and since the body immune system is weak, it cannot fight the infections and the most probable resultant is death. The following are the stages that H.I.V. undergoes through until it becomes AIDS, Stage 1. H.I.V. infection This occurs 4-12 weeks after the infection of the virus; it is defined with short flu like episodes and some of the lymph glands Stage 2; Minor symptomatic phase 3-7 years after infectionAdvertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Stage 3: Severe HIV related complex (disease) this is the AIDS stage. There are different way through which the disease is transmitted, they include: Sexual intercourse; there are different modes of sexual intercourse that human beings interact in; they are heterosexual, homosexual and lesbianism. In all the above sexual intercourse, they involve the mixing of body fluids of the concerned parties. If one of them is having the virus, it is transmitted to the other one during this process. To prevent getting the disease through sexual intercourse, abstinence, faithfulness to ones partner and using condoms is encouraged Blood transmission; in case of blood transmission, the blood of one person is given another, this is in medical situations, there has been circumstances where blood that is already invested with the disease is given to a patient, though this is a rare case, in case it happens the patient get the virus. Parental transmission this is when the child gets the virus from the parent when breast-feeding. Usage of countermined instruments or syringes, this happens when ones uses instruments that have already been used by a person who has the virus, this is common in drug users when they inject themselves the drugs that they are using; if one of them is contaminated he/she can transmit the virus to other during this period Evaluating evidence When one is suffering from the disease, some of the symptoms that he posses include loss of appetite, Vomiting and diarrhoea. At the advance stages, other optimistic diseases infect the patient; they vary although the most co mmon ones are Tuberculosis malaria and Pneumonia. Before one can be assured that, he is suffering from the disease, it is not enough to consider the above symptoms alone but consulting a doctor is crucial. Type of evidence offered The writer has structured the chapters with rich statistical, textual and historical information that traces the origin of the disease and how far the world has gone in the efforts of controlling it.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on History of Treatment the HIV/AIDs specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Data representation and Idiosyncratic The data has been presented in a simple straightforward manner, where the writer has formatted the chapters in a friendly structure with one idea leading to the other. The chapters are quite informative and well researched. Can data be interpolated in a different way? There are different ways of interpolating data, however the information that the writer want to pass in chapter one and two is to trace the diseases is real and there are a number of people suffering (Whiteside, 2008). Conclusion Physicians are working hard to get a cure for H.I.V.AIDs; however, their efforts have not bore fruits. Some drugs have been developed to boost human immune system and assist the white blood cells fight optimistic disease. The medications are called antiviral drugs (ARVs); they come in different shapes, patients are given the medication according to their state. References Stolley,  K., Glass, J.(2009). HIV/AIDS. California: ABC-CLIO. Whiteside, A.(2008). HIV/AIDS: a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Advertisement- Louis Vuitton Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Advertisement- Louis Vuitton - Essay Example The need for that commodity might not even exist but the advertisements have the power to make products seem very important and thus influence the consumers to purchase it. Nowadays, advertising accumulates a great portion of the expenses of any company since expensive and extensive campaigns are carried out. Alongside the benefits of advertising, it has taken a different toll and has started causing a negative impact on the lifestyle of individuals. Advertising has created the want for attention among individuals and has promoted materialism to a great extent. 2. Impacts of Advertising Advertising has integrated deeply in the business field and no company feels positively about its survival without it. Advertising has become a major source of revenue for companies as they have transformed their products into nothing less than sacred possessions and status symbols. A Louis Vuitton advertisement has been chosen to analyze the current trends of advertising in the modern world; the adve rtisement displays an attractive girl who poses a Louis Vuitton bag on a sports model, shiny, purple car. 2.1 Attention Seeking Attitude The first impression perceived by the viewer would be that the beholder of the bag will look very stylish and the bag will win them attention from others. The consumer might not have the necessary resources to purchase the purse but will make it his/her aim to acquire it. Consumers feel that they can get the attention of their peers if they possess such products. Rather than seeking attention on the basis of their personality and good deeds, consumers start focusing on the advertised accessories to attain a prominent position in the society. Such advertisements make people conscious about their attire, accessories, shoes etc and might make them spend more than their resources. Spending beyond one’s pocket makes an individual get into different kinds of debts. In other words, advertisements are promoting the idea of not being true to one†™s own existence since these objects might not even suit the individual’s character and personality but the perception has successfully been created that the attainment of such branded accessories will make them noticeable and attractive for their peers and the opposite gender. The want for seeking attention from others even makes some consumers prefer the purchase of commodities over their basic needs like rent, utility bills, education funds etc. Rosenberg discussed the experiences of a shopaholic, who admitted that acquiring things became a way for her to feel equivalent with her social circle. The subject had witnessed a limited supply of resources in her childhood because of which she always felt inferior to her friends and found herself in a constant struggle to appear equal to them. This childhood struggle has left her with the want for possessions to prove her equivalent status to the people in her life. Rosenberg stated that â€Å"Buying things--the right things-- later became a way for her to attain a sense of parity† (1). 2.2 Materialism It would not be wrong to term the current times as the technological era. The progression in the media field is also due to technology. Both, media and technology, have played a prominent role in the gradual shift in the styles of living and spending. Both of these mediums bombard the viewer with advertisements throughout the day. The constant viewership of advertisements (like the chosen one) creates a false perception of a happy and good quality life. The chosen advertisement shows a brand new sports model car in the background; a viewer with an old and used car will start fantasizing about the attainment of

Czech Republic Conversion to the Euro Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Czech Republic Conversion to the Euro - Essay Example Investments in property have been greatly reduced. Thousands of advertisements for selling properties are seen in newspapers daily. Negotiations with the Czech National Bank (CNB) to lower the interest rate by 1.5 percent are in process so as to lessen the impact and stress on economy. Czech Republic: Importance of Euro Adoption Since Euro is the second largest currency distributed and used worldwide, following points will emphasize on how beneficial it will be to Czech to adopt Euro as its official currency. Minimizing Transaction Costs: - People in Czech, with 'Koruna' (CZK) as their currency, have to first convert their currency to dollar to pay their bills. The latest conversion rate is 1.00 CZK = 0.0499510 USD. Banks and exchange companies charge an extra amount for this conversion. Euro, if adopted as the national currency in EU, will definitely minimize such transaction costs leading the Czech economy to progress. Eliminating Exchange Rates: - Since, conversion from one currency to other in between European states will be eradicated on the adoption of Euro, the exchange rates will no longer affect the economy and the risks for the appreciating or depreciating currency will also be eliminated. Increasing Competition: - Transparency refers to knowing and seeing much of something; a product, price or service. Euro is transparent and will benefit the consumers to understand what they actually need and how much by paying fewer prices for products and services. It will also increase the wages thereby creating competition among the European states with Euro as their national currency. Capital Distribution: - All the European states including Czech... The paper describes the Czech economy and the importance of Euro adoption in it. Since the whole world is going through the period of recession, the economy is being tremendously affected. The economy of Czech Republic, more of a struggling state, is totally dependent upon the development of the Western Europe for the next two years according to the latest poll published by the Czech News Agency. Investments in property have been greatly reduced. Thousands of advertisements for selling properties are seen in newspapers daily. Negotiations with the Czech National Bank (CNB) to lower the interest rate by 1.5 percent are in process so as to lessen the impact and stress on economy. Since Euro is the second largest currency distributed and used worldwide, following points will emphasize on how beneficial it will be to Czech to adopt Euro as its official currency. All the European states including Czech Republic will have a fair allocation of capital in financial markets. The Czech Republi c government first decided the introduction of Euro in 2009. But due to the stressed circumstances all around the world, it has been reported by the Czech News agency that the plan of introducing Euro as the national currency of the Czech Republic has been postponed until 2012. For this, CNB has time to work on its monetary policies. It also plans to research more on the European framework to improve the economic situation of the Czech Republic.

Ethics of the Sale of Body Parts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 3

Ethics of the Sale of Body Parts - Essay Example Becoming an organ donor is very simple as it is a choice offered when registering to vote, getting or renewing a driver’s license or ID card or placing this in your living will in most states. Laws pertaining to organ donation have been created in order to make the process one which does not discriminate and one which is available to all patients meeting specific health criteria rather than socio-economic status, ethnicity, or gender. Current Laws and Policy Regarding Organ Donation Unfortunately the supply of available organ us far from meeting current demands. It is estimated that over 90,000 people are on waiting lists and many have sought new and creative initiatives in order to increase the supply of organs (Georgetown Edu,2012). This field is still one of the most regulated fields in medical care. While there are federal laws there are also state laws which may be more specific or defined in policy. Those facilities who perform transplants are members or the Organ Procur ement Organization and as such have standards and policy which must be followed. Facilities which participate are considered a ‘host’ and are responsible for properly identifying, maintain and evaluating donors (HRSA, 2012). Authorization must be obtained and the organ must be properly handled to ensure it remains viable. In evaluating potential donors death must be pronounced and the donor's medical history must be screened for factors that would affect the function of the organ. There are very specific screening procedures for each organ or tissue which rules out many potential donors. Host facilities must participate in the sharing of the waiting list of candidates for the organ transplant. Referrals must come from specialty units and those placed on the waiting list are screened and rated with a priority. In order to prevent preferential treatment organs which are procured from transplant must be handled by a facility other than the one where the organ is to be rece ived. Those who are non-citizens of the United States may also be referred for the organ transplant. Policy prevents discrimination and in these cases, adherence to the policy preventing discrimination is to be followed. All potential donors a panel of tests are administered which include information such as electrolytes, serological testing, hepatitis screening, chest x-rays and numerous more. Each organ or tissue has more specified and specialized screening processes. Kidney donations must meet a defined matrix which includes factors such as age and creatinine. A history of hypertension will be evaluated and the cause of death must also be considered carefully. Blood types must match when transplanting kidneys and those with a zero-antigen match are usually selected first from the pool of candidates as they are less likely to experience total organ rejection. Information such as this is shared within Unit which is a compilation of all donors on the waiting list. Kidneys are one of the most transplanted organs with high success rates (HRSA-2, 2012). Kidneys are shared first to the most suitable local matches; if there are none then regions are defined which are next allocated the kidney; if a recipient is not found with the region a match is sought nationally. Liver transplant patients are scored with a different system weighs their mortality risk against the medical urgency of their condition. Candidates are assigned a status with points given for factors such as creatinine, bilirubin, age, stage of liver failure, renal failure, and Glasgow coma.

Marketing Strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Marketing Strategy - Assignment Example The paper also have a critical evaluation of the Apple’s competitive edge and demonstrate how effectiveness using its competitive performance evaluation. Lastly, the paper set a marketing objective for the organization to maximize the brand awareness, growth in sales profitability/volume and increase market share. Apple Inc is a global company that gets based in America and its headquarters, Apple California, gets located in California, United States. Apple got established in 1976 by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs and got incorporated in January 1977. Apple designs and sells customers electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The Macintosh personal computer range, iPhone, iPod, and the iPad are some of the best-known products of Apple (Steven, 2002). Some of the software products that get sold by Apple comprise Final Cut Studio that is a video and music production suite, Aperture that is Professional photography software. In addition, Mac Os X operating system, iTunes media browser and Logic Studio that is a music production suite. By May 2012, the company indicated that it has over 300 stores that are located in over ten countries adding the online store. Banton (2011) describes the company as been one of the largest technological firms globally as far as world/s traded companies by market capitalization gets concerned. According to Banton (2011) some of the analysts have even proposed that the Apple Inc. Company has more cash compared to the United States government. Apple (2012) stated that it had over 60, 000 employees that get employed on a permanent basis along with 2800 temporally employees in the world. Regardless of the company success, it has received great critics in the way it treats its contractors and the impacts of the operations of the company in the environment. Among the heavy critics that Apple has received recently is that of Apple supplying workers in China leaving in unhealthy

Federalist #10 and the Existence of Faction in Modern Government Term Paper

Federalist #10 and the Existence of Faction in Modern Government - Term Paper Example I am going to show the despite the publication of Federalist #10 and consistent American media attention to the downsides of factions taking a position contrary to the interests of the American majority, Americans continue to vote in elections against their interests, specifically lower and middle class Americans voting for Republican candidates in recent elections. Although a large republic has been established, political factions such as the Tea Party still exist and substantially influence government. Federalist paper and media downsides on faction have not yielded much fruit. Americans have continued to form factions, which they feel address their interest. This observation leads to an in depth analysis of Federalist paper. In the federalist paper, the author identified two methods, which would solve social inclination towards formation of faction in the society. It argued that one method of dealing with these groups in the society is to stump their causes. The second method that the author mentioned is to control the effects created in the society by this factions. The author of Federalist paper proposed two methods of eliminating factions or emergence of factions in the society. The first proposal argues that by eliminating liberty, which provides room for the formation of factions, the society may fail to form factions1. The second proposal claims that when every citizen gets the opportunity to present their opinions and interests, they would not be able to form factions. Apparently, the second proposal seems to use democratic means of solving a problem, which seems to surface every time. On the other hand, historians and critics have argued that the first proposal has worst implication than the formation of factions. Human diversity is not a factor that any person can eliminate2. However, the society can develop better ways of dealing with diversified views. It is arguable that liberty of the society is not a privilege

Newtons Laws of Motion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Newtons Laws of Motion - Essay Example Several things are needed to be defined to understand this law. Firstly we talk about inertia. Inertia is an ability of matter to resist any change in its motion. For example when a person is sitting in a bus, he is moving with the same speed as that of bus. If brakes are applied suddenly by the bus driver, it is the inertia of a person's body that pulls him forward. The second thing that is important to understand is the concept of Net forces. A net force is the vector sum of all the forces being applied on a body. For example if two forces, each of 10 N, are applied on a body, one from the top and one from bottom then the body will not move in any direction. Since these forces will cancel out each other's effect and the net force on the body will be zero. Now if an object experiences any net force greater than zero it will change its state. A very common day example of this can be a car moving on an empty road. If you turn off the engine, the car will move to some distance and then stop. What is the reason behind this The car when moving is experiencing a force from its engine and some other forces such as friction from the road and air resistance. The car needs sufficient driving force from engine to counter the effects of air resistance and road friction. When the engine is turned off, the car will move because of the momentum it gathered due to its motion for some distance but a net force opposite to its direction of movement are being applied by road and air which will slow it down and will ultimately stop it. Same goes with a cold drink glass in a glass holder kept in a moving car. If a car is moving with the speed of 70 km/hr without any speed breaker and considering that the road is all smooth, the cold drink will not spill out of the glass but it will spill out in case of application of sudden brakes. The reason is simply that when the car was moving with a constant velocity, the drink in the glass was also moving with the same speed and in the same direction as that of car. But when brakes were applied suddenly and car stopped the drink still continued its motion which causes it to spill out of the glass because the force was applied to the wheel of the cars to stop them and not to the coffee. So, when no external force was applied to the drink it continued its motion till it spilled. In our everyday life we do many things that are good examples of First law of motion. Such as a carpenter or a wood worker: when he feels that the head of hammer has loosen its place from the wood of hammer, he hold the hammer from the middle and bangs its bottom on a hard surface to tighten it to its place. The phenomenon behind this is when he moves hammer at a fast speed downwards, every part of hammer is moving with it, but when the bottom hits the surface, still the head of hammer is moving with the same speed downwards and due to this it fixes itself on hammer. (Henderson T. 2004) Newton's Second Law of

Marketing Strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Marketing Strategy - Assignment Example The paper also have a critical evaluation of the Apple’s competitive edge and demonstrate how effectiveness using its competitive performance evaluation. Lastly, the paper set a marketing objective for the organization to maximize the brand awareness, growth in sales profitability/volume and increase market share. Apple Inc is a global company that gets based in America and its headquarters, Apple California, gets located in California, United States. Apple got established in 1976 by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs and got incorporated in January 1977. Apple designs and sells customers electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The Macintosh personal computer range, iPhone, iPod, and the iPad are some of the best-known products of Apple (Steven, 2002). Some of the software products that get sold by Apple comprise Final Cut Studio that is a video and music production suite, Aperture that is Professional photography software. In addition, Mac Os X operating system, iTunes media browser and Logic Studio that is a music production suite. By May 2012, the company indicated that it has over 300 stores that are located in over ten countries adding the online store. Banton (2011) describes the company as been one of the largest technological firms globally as far as world/s traded companies by market capitalization gets concerned. According to Banton (2011) some of the analysts have even proposed that the Apple Inc. Company has more cash compared to the United States government. Apple (2012) stated that it had over 60, 000 employees that get employed on a permanent basis along with 2800 temporally employees in the world. Regardless of the company success, it has received great critics in the way it treats its contractors and the impacts of the operations of the company in the environment. Among the heavy critics that Apple has received recently is that of Apple supplying workers in China leaving in unhealthy

Newtons Laws of Motion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Newtons Laws of Motion - Essay Example Several things are needed to be defined to understand this law. Firstly we talk about inertia. Inertia is an ability of matter to resist any change in its motion. For example when a person is sitting in a bus, he is moving with the same speed as that of bus. If brakes are applied suddenly by the bus driver, it is the inertia of a person's body that pulls him forward. The second thing that is important to understand is the concept of Net forces. A net force is the vector sum of all the forces being applied on a body. For example if two forces, each of 10 N, are applied on a body, one from the top and one from bottom then the body will not move in any direction. Since these forces will cancel out each other's effect and the net force on the body will be zero. Now if an object experiences any net force greater than zero it will change its state. A very common day example of this can be a car moving on an empty road. If you turn off the engine, the car will move to some distance and then stop. What is the reason behind this The car when moving is experiencing a force from its engine and some other forces such as friction from the road and air resistance. The car needs sufficient driving force from engine to counter the effects of air resistance and road friction. When the engine is turned off, the car will move because of the momentum it gathered due to its motion for some distance but a net force opposite to its direction of movement are being applied by road and air which will slow it down and will ultimately stop it. Same goes with a cold drink glass in a glass holder kept in a moving car. If a car is moving with the speed of 70 km/hr without any speed breaker and considering that the road is all smooth, the cold drink will not spill out of the glass but it will spill out in case of application of sudden brakes. The reason is simply that when the car was moving with a constant velocity, the drink in the glass was also moving with the same speed and in the same direction as that of car. But when brakes were applied suddenly and car stopped the drink still continued its motion which causes it to spill out of the glass because the force was applied to the wheel of the cars to stop them and not to the coffee. So, when no external force was applied to the drink it continued its motion till it spilled. In our everyday life we do many things that are good examples of First law of motion. Such as a carpenter or a wood worker: when he feels that the head of hammer has loosen its place from the wood of hammer, he hold the hammer from the middle and bangs its bottom on a hard surface to tighten it to its place. The phenomenon behind this is when he moves hammer at a fast speed downwards, every part of hammer is moving with it, but when the bottom hits the surface, still the head of hammer is moving with the same speed downwards and due to this it fixes itself on hammer. (Henderson T. 2004) Newton's Second Law of

Plato - Epistemology Essay Example for Free

Plato Epistemology Essay ? Plato was born in Athens in 428/27 BCE, one year after death of Pericles. ? His father traced his lineage to the old kings of Athens and before them to the god Posiedon. ? His, mother Perictione, was the sister of Chramides and the cousin of Critias. ? In such a family atmosphere, Plato learned much about public life and developed at an early age a sense of responsibility for public political service. ? Around 387 BCE, when he was about 40 yrs. Old, Plato founded the Academy at Athens. THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE †¢ The Cave †¢ The Dividend Line ? Plato provides more detail about levels of knowledge that we can obtain ? These objects and their parallel types of thought can be diagram as follows: Types of Objects y Thought |The Good, Forms |Intelligence | |Mathematical |Thinking | |Objects | | |Things |Belief | |Images |Imagining | Imagining ? The most superficial form of mental activity is found at the lowest level of the line. ? The three levels of reality here are, then 1. The form of Humanness 2. The embodiment of this Form in Socrates 3. The image of Socrates as represented on canvass Belief ? The next stage after imagining is belief. ? It may strike us as strange that Plato should use the word believing instead of knowing to describe the state of mind induced by seeing actual objects. Thinking ? When we move from believing to thinking, we move from the visible world to the intelligible world and from the realm of opinion to the realm of knowledge Perfect Intelligence ? To have a perfect knowledge would require that we grasp the relation of everything to everything else-that we see the unity of the whole of reality. Plato Summary Statement: â€Å"Now you may take, a corresponding to the four sections, these four states of mind: intelligence for the highest, thinking for the second, belief for the third and for the last imagining. These you may arrange as the terms in a proportion, assigning to each a degree of clearness and certainty, corresponding to the measure in which their object possess truth and reality†. THEORY OF FORMS ? Plato’s theory of the Forms is his most significant philosophical contribution. ? There are atleast five questions that we might ask about the forms: What are the forms? ? In his Symposium Plato states that we normally grasp beauty first of all in a particular object or person. But having discovered beauty in his limited form, we soon â€Å"perceive that the beauty of one form is akin to another†, and so we move from the beauty of a particular body to the recognition that beauty† in every form is one the same†. Where do the forms Exist? ? Plato’s clearest suggestion on this problem is that the Forms are â€Å"separate† from concrete things, that they exist â€Å" apart from the things we see. What Is the Relation of Forms to Each other? ? A Form can be related to a thing in three ways: o The Form is the cause of the essence of a thing. o A thing may be said to participate in a form. o A thing may be said to imitate or copy a form. What is the Relation of forms to each other? ? Plato says that â€Å"We can have discourse only through the weaving together of Forms. † How do we know the forms? ? Plato mentions at least three different ways in which our minds discover the Forms. o There is recollection o People arrive to the knowledge of forms through the activity of dialectic. o There is a power of desire or love (eros) Intelligible World Visible World Knowledge Opinion.

Germany Competitiveness The Porters Diamond Context Economics Essay

Germany Competitiveness The Porters Diamond Context Economics Essay Context for firm strategy and rivalry: Germany can be considered center of Europe both for its geographic and political position. This gives to Germany the possibility to lead the European market and to manage a relevant diversification of its internal economy; it means to create a hugely competitive business environment for German companies. The efficiency rate in German large and small companies is higher than international standards due to the great amount of off shoring and outsourcing practices so that it makes this economy the most competitive in Europe. Throughout last years, German small and medium enterprisers performed better than the large ones, overtaking even the US competitive standards, as shown by the Work Competitiveness Yearbook 2010. Those small enterprisers are the so called hidden champions because they are little known to the public even if they are world market leaders. In contrast to the practice of the other European countries to develop economies related on large state-owned industrial champions, Germany could be considered such as a private driven economy in which the small and medium enterprises are playing the most important role in boosting investments and employment rate. They also make the success of German export with the 80% of the production sold abroad; the Machinery and Equipment Cluster, for instance, holds almost 20% of world export market share. These companies successfully compete on innovation processes and on improving efficiency, getting a great benefit from both the excellent European and German intellectual property protection. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), Germany represents one of the worlds best location in planning and operating security and it is one of the leading Nations in the field of propriety rights protection and contracts protection. This excellence let Germany to grant over 12,500 patents at the EU Patent Office only in 2010 and to be the European leader in triadic patents, registered in the three most important worlds patent offices: the European Patent Office, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and the Japan Patent Office. The German legal system itself can be considered one of the most efficient and independent of the entire world. Moreover, the social and political stability of the country and the Germans culture based on the total respect of the laws principles make this country a greatly attractive places for corporate investments projects even for foreign firms in almost all the industries. In addition to the high quality of the legal organization, Germany has developed a very internationally competitive taxation system: in 2008 an ambitious reform was made in order to decrease the corporate tax burden by around the 25% and the corporate income tax down to 15% on all corporate taxable earnings. Eventually, Germany has developed a unique corporate governance system that makes possible a virtuous match between workers and employers in order to avoid time-consuming and value-destroying disputes: it becomes a key success factor to rise up during recession periods. As a matter of fact, core decisions are taken through Job Alliances that enable flex-security on job market in order to keep companies competitive while maintaining job positions. Great importance is given to the role of federal government which gives big support to this system promoting grants and self-regulation policies. Factor conditions: Germany benefits from a huge number of natural resources such as building materials, natural gas, wood and other strategic natural elements. Its wide land gives to the country a lot of space that can be exploited focusing on clean energy production. Moreover, the climate represents an important factor in producing energy with the key role played by the wind that constantly flows in the northern part of the country. The prevalence of lowlands in northern regions makes Germans able to take the most possible advantage of the wind, becoming part of the Northern Power Cluster for wind energy production. The pretty big population of Germany can be considered little diversified in culture and tradition with a big prevalence of German native speakers over the other cultures ( almost 91% of the entire population, as the CIA World Factbook points out ). The German position on human capital point of view is strongly influenced by the unique education system that represent a best practice in all over the world. This is focused on the importance given to the professional training in order to provide people, since earlier age, with a set of skills useful to join the job market. Parallel to the professional-oriented approach there is also a very good and selective university system for the large number of young people that decide to longer dedicate themselves to study activities: mechanical engineering, with more than 400,000 matriculate students, ranks second in the top 20 of the most in-demand study programs and provides the highest skilled workers for the main sectors of the country such as automotive, machinery, electrical and electronic. This dual track allows enterprises to reduce dramatically the labor costs in term of training programs and young people to enter in the job market already with a high productivity rate. Germany can be considered extremely attractive as a location for investments due to high productivity rates and stable wages. In addition, in recent years the overall labor cost has been the lowest in Europe with an annual increase rate of less than 2%; this job market context contributes to enhance strong competitive business relations. Unskilled workers represent almost the 20% on the total workforce; this evidence reflects the attention paid to education and emphasizes the companies ability to attract skilled workforce from other countries. Germany Important concerns from governments point of view remain the unemployment rate (at the 6% in 2011, as said in CIA World Factbook) and the pretty low participation in work force, compared with countries such as US, UK or Japan. In addition, Germany is one of the worlds leaders in RD investments, both in terms of budget and percentage of GDP, reaching the 2.8% and overlapping the EU average of 2.1%. The high regard to investments is coming both from the public and the private sector and the great number of PPPs (Private and Public Partnership) is playing a key role in German competitiveness and in planned development. The high level of RD investments impacts positively on the dynamicity of German economy: over 27% of the manufacturing turnover is generated from innovative products. Eventually, Germany derives its economic power also from its important and well organized grid of transportation infrastructures: the 2009-2010 Global Competitiveness Report of the WEF ranked Germany at the first position in terms of infrastructures. The rail system, which connects the country with all the neighbors by high speed rail, is gaining more efficiency thanks to the open access to the market given to privates that make the sector much more competitive than the state monopoly. This makes Germany the 6th position for railways infrastructure in comparison with the other states of the world (CIA World Factbook ). Water ways and harbors are extremely well developed too and the airports system is ranked 13th in the CIAs comparison between countries as stated in the CIA World Factbook. By the way, governments biggest challenge is to continue to increase the already large flow of foreign direct investments and to improve, as much as possible, the venture capital system by the adoption of specific policies. Today, German legal framework makes no distinction between national and foreign investments promoting principles such as freedom in trade and payments and the reduction of barriers. Moreover, there are special treatments and opportunities for young entrepreneurs and start-ups: on one hand, special conferences and events like the German Equity Forum, and, on the other one, proposals of venture capital partnerships through development banks and the German Private Equity and Venture Capital Association. Further financial assistance is given at regional, national and European level through a wide number of instruments: cash incentives, interest reduced loans, public guarantees, labor-related incentives and RD grants. Demand conditions: Domestic demand is therefore becoming a more significant driver of Germanys economic expansion (from   CIA World Factbook). Due to the Euro financial crisis the export rate to EU cover the loss in term of exports. In this perspective, a key role is played by the government in boosting investments and supporting internal demand: there are available some governments loans made up for enterprises in order to enable them to borrow new capital at a lower interest rates and, in turn, be able to offer lower prices to the consumers market. A great influence on the demand is played by the high level of quality and environmental standards that characterize German regulation. Germany has a virtuous regulation history, starting with the Deutsches Institut fà ¼r Normung (DIN) during the 20s until today: a huge number of innovations has been introduced in this field such as self-regulation processes related to the new public governance system. German standards and their regulation are also much influenced by EU, which is trying to homogenize the regulation of the Common Market and to stimulate cleaner manufacture and energy production (EU 20/20/20 Program): this affects Germans big industrial sectors such as machinery, chemical and power clusters. This context originates a more complex supply and demand structure which express the need to assess the high level of constraints due to the global environmental challenges. Related and supporting industries: the important number of local suppliers are strongly supported by the efficient system of German scientific infrastructures set up both at the federal and local level . Germany has various types of research locations such as universities, laboratories, non-university institutes, companies and Federal as well as Là ¤nder institutions. Moreover, the German Federation of Industrial Research Associations (AiF) is a great example of how German companies themselves cooperate to research and innovation activity contributing directly to the country competitiveness. The AIF mostly contributes to the technology transfer process and research activity in the growing market of renewable energies such as solar and wind power. Germany is home to several research infrastructures with global significance in physics, earth science, climate research or the humanities. Examples of research infrastructures are: Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) and the German Cli mate Computing Centre (DKRZ). In addition, Germany has a greatly developed Machinery and Equipment industry which provides the supply of power transmission engineering, material and air-handling technology and machine tools. This is the most innovative sector within the country and heavily influence German economy supporting all the other strategic sectors such as chemical, electronic, automotive and renewable energy, providing the sub-components needed for production processes. Da inserire nel diamante sul cluster: GREEN ECONOMY, INVESTMENTSà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(clean power) Germany is the world leader in green technologies Æ’Â   leader in sustainable industries (wind energy, photovoltaic, bioenergy industry, Electricity (demand, import, exports, quanto produce il solare, il vento..) WIND ENERGY: p.6 PORTERS FORCES (Porters book) Role of Government: Public demand, self-regulation, promoting networks and clusters. Public RD support and PPP P.11 and others (ig. Website) Role of Federal Government in green energy P.5

Can cell phones cause cancer? :: essays research papers

Technology has always made an impact on our society. Over the last few decades, there have been many inventions that have changed our lifestyles. Cellular Telephony has, by all accounts, modified how we interact with others; but at what cost? Are there health issues associated with this technology? More explicitly can cell phones cause cancer? This question is the basis of this review. The researcher has compiled articles that cover this topic from diverse scholarly sources, and diverse countries. It is undeniable that cellular technology has become main stream. â€Å"It was estimated that there were 92 million cell phone users in the US, a number growing by one million every month.† (Frumkin, Jacobson, Gansler & Thun 2001). The arrival and widespread use of cell phones has peaked interest of the health effects of radiofrequencies in the human body. Cell phones use radio frequencies to transmit signals. Radio Frequencies (RF) are a form of electrical waves similar to those used in radios, microwaves, radars or satellite stations. They are emitted from a transmitter, and received using an antenna. This telephony technology is restricted geographically to small zones called â€Å"Cells†. Every cell has a base station capable of sending and receiving radio waves. When a call is started a signal leaves the handheld unit headed to the closest base station. This station answers by allocating a specific channel to the unit. When this â€Å"channel† is established, modulated radio frequency signals are both received and transmitted. The head of the user is in the near field of use because the distance from the antenna to the head is a few centimeters. (Blettner & Berg 2000) If the antenna is inside the body of the phone, the exposure to Radio Frequencies is greater. The antenna might be requesting a stronger signal to cont est with the interference of the battery or the actual shell of the phone’s body. The level of RF a person receives is related to many factors, not only the placement of the antenna. Factors that can increase the level of RF are the number of â€Å"cells†, the distance to the â€Å"base station†, or the obstacles between the caller and the station. The number of cell zones depends on the user population. Heavily populated areas have more cells allowing for more telecommunication traffic. Being close to a cell site lowers the power needed to sustain a call, hence reduces the exposure to RF.

Edgar Allan Poe?s Poetry :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Once something is gone, it is extremely hard to recover. Poe proves this true in his poems, many of which are about the loss of ideal beauty. Poe often writes about this, even so much as defining poetry as â€Å"The rhythmical creation of beauty†, as stated in his writing, â€Å"The Poetic Principle†. Three poems that are specifically about the loss of ideal beauty are: â€Å"The Raven†, â€Å"Lenore† and â€Å"Annabel Lee†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In â€Å"The Raven†, the speaker is trying to accept the death of his beloved, Lenore. He decides that he should move on, because it is only causing him great torment. He says this out loud, and the raven states â€Å"Nevermore†, meaning that he will never forget about her. He argues with the bird, but the bird keeps telling him, â€Å"Nevermore†. By the end of the poem, the speaker is still tormenting over Lenore, because the raven is still sitting on top of his chamber door, reminding him, not letting him move on. Lenore was an example of ideal beauty, and as shown in this poem, it was impossible to regain it after it’s death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lenore is the subject of another poem by Edgar Allan Poe, entitled â€Å"Lenore†. In this case, the speaker is basically reprimanding â€Å"Guy De Vere† for killing his bride, leaving the speaker obsessing over what was, and what is now gone. In this poem, he is told to move on, because she is dead, and he cannot help that. The speaker wishes to mourn her death in silence, and imagine her as an ideal beauty, resting beside the King of Heaven.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The final poem I will analyze is â€Å"Annabel Lee†. This poem talks about an ideal beauty he knew as a child, and she was killed unexpectedly by the angels, according to the speaker, because he was too happy, and too much in love with her. In this poem, however, he accepts her death, but claims to have beat the angels, because: â€Å"neither the angels in heaven above, nor the demons down under the sea, can ever dissever my soul from the soul of the beautiful Annabel Lee.† This poem is different from the other two poems, because not only is it a different woman, but he psychologically accepts her death, in a way, rather then being forced to torment over it.

Qam and Qpsk

QAM and QPSK: Aim: Review of Quadrature Amplitude Modulator (QAM) in digital communication system, generation of Quadrature Phase Shift Keyed (QPSK or 4-PSK) signal and demodulation. Introduction: The QAM principle: The QAM modulator is of the type shown in Figure 1 below. The two paths to the adder are typically referred to as the ‘I’ (inphase), and ‘Q’ (quadrature), arms. Not shown in Figure 1 is any bandlimiting. In a practical situation this would be implemented either at message level – at the input to each multiplier – and/or at the output of the adder.Probably both ! The motivation for QAM comes from the fact that a DSBSC signal occupies twice the bandwidth of the message from which it is derived. This is considered wasteful of resources. QAM restores the balance by placing two independent DSBSC, derived from message #1 and message #2, in the same spectrum space as one DSBSC. The bandwidth imbalance is removed. In digital communications this arrangement is popular. It is used because of its bandwidth conserving (and other) properties. It is not used for multiplexing two independent messages.Given an input binary sequence (message) at the rate of n bit/s, two sequences may be obtained by splitting the bit stream into two paths, each of n/2 bit/s. This is akin to a serial-to-parallel conversion. The two streams become the channel 1 and channel 2 messages of Figure 1. Because of the halved rate the bits in the I and Q paths are stretched to twice the input sequence bit clock period. The two messages are recombined at the receiver, which uses a QAM-type demodulator. The two bit streams would typically be band limited and/or pulse shaped before reaching the modulator.A block diagram of such a system is shown in Figure 2 below. QAM becomes QPSK: The QAM modulator is so named because, in analog applications, the messages do in fact vary the amplitude of each of the DSBSC signals. In QPSK the same modulator is used, but wi th binary messages in both the I and Q channels, as describe above. Each message has only two levels,  ±V volt. For a non-bandlimited message this does not vary the amplitude of the output DSBSC. As the message changes polarity this is interpreted as a 1800 phase shift, given to the DSBSC.Thus the signal in each arm is said to be undergoing a 1800 phase shift, or phase shift keying – or PSK. Because there are two PSK signals combined, in quadrature, the twochannel modulator gives rise to a quadrature phase shift keyed – QPSK – signal. Constellation: Viewed as a phasor diagram (and for a non-bandlimited message to each channel), the signal is seen to occupy any one of four point locations on the complex plane. These are at the corner of a square (a square lattice), at angles ? /4, 3? /4, 5? /4 and 7? /4 to the real axis.M-PSK and M-QAM: The above has described digital-QAM or QPSK. This signal is also called 4-PSK or 4QAM. More generally signals can be generated which are described as M-QAM or MPSK. Here M = 2L, where L = the number of levels in each of the I and Q arms. For the present experiment L = 2, and so M = 4. The ‘M’ defines the number of points in the signal constellation. For the cases M > 4 then M-PSK is not the same as M-QAM. The QAM Receiver: The QAM receiver follows the similar principles to those at the transmitter, and is illustrated in idealised from in the block diagram of Figure 3.It is idealised because it assumes the incoming signal has its two DSBSC precisely in phase quadrature. Thus only one phase adjustment is required. The parallel-to-serial converter block performs the following operations: 1. regenerates the bit clock from the incoming data. 2. regenerates a digital waveform from both the analog outputs of the I and Q arms. 3. re-combines the I and Q signals, and outputs a serial data stream. Not shown is the method of carrier acquisition. This ensures that the oscillator, which supplies the local carrier signal, is synchronized to the received (input) signal in both frequency and phase.In this experiment we will use a stole carrier to ensure that carrier signal in the transmitter and receiver are in synchronism with each other. (Please read about Costas Receiver to understand more about carrier acquisition). In this experiment, two independent data sequences will be used at the input to the modulator, rather than having digital circuitry to split one data stream into two (the serialto-parallel converter). Two such independent data sequences, sharing a common bit clock (2. 083 kHz), are available from a single SEQUENCE GENERATOR module.The data stream from which these two channels are considered to have been derived would have been at a rate of twice this – 4. 167 kHz. Lowpass filter bandlimiting and pulse shaping is not a subject of enquiry in this experiment. So a single bandpass filter at the ADDER (summer) output will suffice, providing it is of adequate bandwidth. A 100 kHz CHANNEL FILTERS module is acceptable (filter #3). Experimental Procedure: The QPSK transmitter: A model of the generator of Figure 1 is shown in Figure 4. The QAM modulator involves analog circuitry.Overload must be avoided, to prevent crosstalk between channels when they share a common path – the ADDER and output filter. In practice there would probably be a filter in the message path to each multiplier. Although these filters would be included for pulse shaping and/or band limiting, a secondary purpose is to eliminate as many unwanted components at the multiplier (modulator) input as possible. T1 patch up the modulator according to Figure 4. Set the on-board switch SW1 of the PHASE SHIFTER to HI. Select channel #3 of the 100 kHz CHANNEL FILTERS module (this is a bandpass filter of adequate bandwidth).T2 there are no critical adjustments to be made. Set the signals from each input of the ADDER to be, say, 1 volt peak at the ADDER output. T3 for interest predict th e waveforms (amplitude and shape) at all interfaces, then confirm by inspection. Constellation: You can display the four-point constellation for QPSK: T4 set the oscilloscope in X-Y mode. With no input, select equal gains per channel. Locate the ‘spot’ in the centre of the screen; then connect the two data streams entering the QAM to the scope X and Y inputs.The Demodulator: Modelling of the demodulator of Figure 3 is straightforward. But it consumes a lot of modules. Consequently only one of the two arms is shown in Figure 5. The PHASE SHIFTER can be used to select either channel from the QAM signal. If both channels required simultaneously, as in practice, then a second, identical demodulator must be provided. T5 patch up the single channel demodulator of Figure 5, including the z-mod facility of the DECISION MAKER. T6 while watching the ‘I’ channel at the transmitter, use the PHASE SHIFTER to match the demodulator output with it.T7 while watching the â⠂¬ËœQ’ channel at the transmitter, use the PHASE SHIFTER to match the demodulator output with it. Tutorial Questions: 1) Explain how a QAM system conserves bandwidth. 2) The modulator used the quadrature 100 kHz outputs from the MASTER SIGNALS module. Did it matter if these were not precisely in quadrature ? Explain. 3) Name one advantage of making the bit rate a sub-multiple of the carrier frequency. 4) Why is there a need to eliminate as many unwanted components as possible into the modulator ?

A Description of Quantitative Research

Quantitative research refers to the systematic empirical investigation of social phenomena via statistical, mathematical or computational techniques. [1] The objective of quantitative research is to develop and employ mathematical models, theories and/or hypotheses pertaining to phenomena. The process of measurement is central to quantitative research because it provides the fundamental connection between empirical observation and mathematical expression of quantitative relationships. Quantitative data is any data that is in numerical form such as statistics, percentages, etc. 1] In layman's terms, this means that the quantitative researcher asks a specific, narrow question and collects numerical data from participants to answer the question. The researcher analyzes the data with the help of statistics. The researcher is hoping the numbers will yield an unbiased result that can be generalized to some larger population. Qualitative research, on the other hand, asks broad questions and collects word data from participants. The researcher looks for themes and describes the information in themes and patterns exclusive to that set of participants.Quantitative research is widely used in social sciences such as: psychology, economics, sociology, and political science, and information technology, and less frequently in anthropology and history. However, research in mathematical sciences such as: physics is also ‘quantitative' by definition, though this use of the term differs in context. In the social sciences, the term relates to empirical methods, originating in both philosophical positivism and the history of statistics, which contrast qualitative research methods.Quantitative research is generally made using scientific methods, which can include: The generation of models, theories and hypotheses The development of instruments and methods for measurement Experimental control and manipulation of variables Collection of empirical data Modeling and analysis of da ta The Process: The research process entails a number of steps which include the research question, literature review, research design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of results and answering the research question. Hughes, 2006) From the above diagram it is evident that there are steps that should be followed when undertaking quantitative research, these steps are discussed below: (Creswell, 2003) 1) Selection of topic: The first step when undertaking quantitative research is the identification of the research topic, this involves designing the research question, the selection of the topic will depend on a number of factors and they include topic selection due to interest of an individual, significance of the social phenomena, research based on existing theories and the ability to research on the topic. Creswell, 2003) 2) Literature review: The next step is to undertake research on previous theories that have been developed based on the selected research topic. This step will also involve selection of the theoretical approach that will be used in the study. This step will also involve formulation of questions that will be answered in the study, at this point a literature review will be prepared in order to identify previous studies and theories that support the research questions and methods that will used in the study. Creswell, 2003) 3) Research design: Research design is determined by the research question, this involves identifying the most appropriate way to structure the quantitative research in order to answer the research question, the research question will also determine the type of data to be collected and analyzed. 4) Data collection methods: The research design will involve selection of the most appropriate data collection method.Data collection methods include Questionnaires, Structured Interview, and Observation and analyzing documents i) Questionnaires: Questionnaires involve the formulation of questions that aid in the collecti on of data, questionnaires can be administered to respondents or mailed to the respondents, questionnaires are prepared and pre tested to determine whether questions are biased. Questions formulated will be based on the research question whereby they will aid in the collection of data that will help answer the research questions.Questions will either be closed or open ended, open ended questions are those questions that will require the respondent to input his own answers to the questions whereas closed questions are those questions whereby the respondent will choose from a list of answers highlighted in the questionnaire. (Fowler, 2008) ii) Interviews: An interview can be undertaken to collect data, there are two types of interviews and they include face to face interview and telephone nterview, a face to face interview will involve collection of data whereby the respondent and research administrator sit together, a telephone interview on the other hand will involve calling the res pondent and answers obtained over the phone, a face to face interview is considered more expensive given that the research administrator may be required to travel and also this process may be time consuming. Fowler, 2008) Interview are further subdivided into structured and unstructured interview, structured interview involves setting up a set of questions that will be administered while unstructured involve asking the respondent to elaborate on certain issues. (Fowler, 2008) iii) Observation Observation is another method of collecting data, this method involves observing participants and recording data, for example collecting data on the number of vehicles that use a certain highway will involve the observation method of collecting data. Fowler, 2008) iv) Analyzing documents: This is secondary data collection method that involves collecting data from published documents example journals and a book, other sources include online databases which are relatively cheap methods of obtaini ng data, this method is preferred given that it is less time consuming and also less costly.This method however have a disadvantage given that it may given rise to accuracy problems, data accuracy will depend on the purpose of the data collected and that there may rise problem when data may unavailable and therefore a researcher will be required to use primary sources of data which include interview and questionnaires. Fowler, 2008) When designing the research data collection methods it is important that the researcher takes into consideration the respondent attitude, data collection methods such as questionnaires should be designed taking into consideration the reaction of the respondents when a certain question is directed to them, also the research questions should be clear and simple and should not be leading questions.The other factor that should be taken into consideration is the cost, when selecting the data collection method one should take into consideration the cost associ ated with that method and whether there exist ways to reduce such costs, face to face interview sometimes may be costly and time consuming and therefore questionnaires that are relatively cheap may be preferred, also the questionnaires may be more appropriate given that they are less time consuming given that a lot of data can be collected at once, for example a tudy that involves participants from different regions and the respondent sends the questionnaires to the respondents. (Fowler, 2008) 5) Sampling: Sampling in social research refers to the selection of a few respondents from a population, in some studies it is impossible to collect data from the entire population and therefore a sample is selected, when an appropriate sample is selected it results will represent the entire population, a sample reduces the cost associated with data collection and also reduces time consumed while collecting data.There are two types of sampling and they include probability sampling methods and non probability sampling methods. In probability sampling the sampling error can be estimated and a confidence interval established for the entire population, probability sampling methods include random sampling, systematic sampling, stratified sampling and clustered sampling. Stuart, 1994) i) Simple random sampling: In simple random sampling the population respondents or units are identified and a random number generator is used, each unit in the population is assigned a number and the unit corresponding with the random number generator is included in the sample. The appropriate sample size is calculated using the expected error and therefore the number of total units selected corresponds to the calculated sample size. Stuart, 1994) ii) Systematic sampling: This is a probability sampling method that involves the selection of the sample using intervals, the first step in undertaking a systematic sample is assigning each unit a number, the researcher then decides on the appropriate s ample size and then the sample is selected using intervals, example a study may use systematic sample with a ten unit interval, this means that the first number to be selected will be 1, the next 11, the next 21, if the interval is 5 then the first number will be 1 then 6 then 11 etc. Stuart, 1994) iii) Stratified sampling: Stratified sampling is also an acceptable probability sampling method, this method involves subdividing the entire population using certain characteristics example stratifying data into regions or gender, the next step involves undertaking simple random sampling on the categories and selecting the appropriate sample size. (Maxwell, 2005) iv) Snowball sampling: Snowball sampling is another sampling method which is a non probability sampling method, this method involves selecting the first respondent and then asking the respondent to refer you to another respondent, a good example whereSnowball sampling is used where we have certain units with unique characteristic s, example a research study on gay marriages will use these sampling method, or a study on prostitution will involve this sampling method given that the respondents will refer you to people they know who have the same characteristics. (Stuart, 1994) 6) Ethical issues: In research there are some ethical issues that need to be taken into consideration, this includes confidentiality, cause no harm to respondents, anonymity and consent.A researcher should treat information collected with confidentiality, this means that the researcher should not state that a particular respondents made a certain statement. The other ethical issue to observe is anonymity whereby the respondent should not given out their names or reference numbers that may identify them as the particular individual that gave certain statements. (Punch, 2005) The other ethical issue is consent.Participants should be briefed on the purpose of the study and also be informed on any recording that may take place, this way the researcher should gain the consent of the participants by briefing them on the purpose of the study and also how the information will be recorded. Finally the research should not cause harm to the individuals, this takes place whereby the researcher should not ask questions that offend the participants. Fowler, 2008) 7) Data analysis: When data has been collected the next step is to analyze data using statistical techniques such as calculating the mean, variance, correlation and regression analysis, all the data collected should be analyzed but some exceptions are made for example cases where we have incomplete questionnaires are rejected and not included in the analysis. In this stage the researcher should report accurately the results obtained and should not in any way alter variables collected in achieving desired results.Data should be presented as they are and a report written to show how the data respond to the research question or topic. (Bamberger, 2000) 8) Other factors to consider: A good research study will be free from bias, this means that the information and data collected from the study should not vary in any systematic way, and bias in a study may be eliminated through the use of random sampling and also eliminating biased treatment of participants that may affect their responses. (Flick, 2006) Conclusion: From the above discussion it is evident that when undertaking quantitative research one has to take into consideration a number of actors, the first step is to formulate a research question, the next step involves literature review where a researcher should search for information on previous studies undertaken on the chosen research question. The next step involves research design where the data collection method and the sampling method is chosen, a researcher may chose to use questionnaires, interview or observation to collect data. Research design also involves choosing an appropriate sampling method when the population is large, sampling m ethods include random sampling, quota sampling, systematic sampling and stratified sampling.Sampling helps in reducing costs associated with collecting data from the entire population and also is less time consuming whereby the study is undertaken only a few participants. After sampling and preparation of the data collection method the next step is data analysis and interpretation, this involves recording all the data collected and analyzing data to make statistical inferences and descriptive statistics, results should also report on how the data has helped answer the research question.Qualitative research is a method of inquiry employed in many different academic disciplines, traditionally in the social sciences, but also in market research and further contexts. [1] Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that govern such behavior. The qualitative method investigates the why and how of decision making, not just what, where, when. Hence, smaller but focused samples are more often needed than large samples.In the conventional view, qualitative methods produce information only on the particular cases studied, and any more general conclusions are only propositions (informed assertions). Quantitative methods can then be used to seek empirical support for such research hypotheses. This view has been disputed by Oxford University professor Bent Flyvbjerg, who argues that qualitative methods and case study research may be used both for hypotheses-testing and for generalizing beyond the particular cases studied Research training in the Philippines: exploring the issues for a nation striving to enhance research quality Angelito CalmaCentre for the Study of Higher Education The University of Melbourne Abstract Internationally, research training is changing face due to global changes affecting higher education. Higher education in the Philippines is also affected by these changes. Currently, the Philippines, throu gh the Commission on Higher Education and higher education institutions, is embarking on new ways to enhance research and research training. To reach this objective, however, some areas of research and research training require attention.Thus, the purpose of this paper is two-fold: (1) to identify areas for scrutiny and (2) to propose possible strategies to enhance research training in the Philippines. Introduction It was more than a decade ago that the OECD (1995) highlighted the changing face of research training internationally. Today, research and research training remain under pressure to address a broad array of societal demands. This is due to changes globally and to how nations and universities position themselves as shareholders in a complex knowledge society.If relevance and viability were the language of the past, now and into the future issues of quality, accountability, and internationalisation of research will come to the fore. In the Philippines, higher education push es for ways to ‘[promote] research to push forward the frontiers of knowledge and to develop a culture of research among higher education institutions’ (Commission on Higher Education [CHED], 2007a, para. 2). To reach this objective, however, some areas of research and research training require inquiry and evaluation.Thus, the rationale for this paper is two-fold: (1) to identify areas for scrutiny and (2) to propose possible strategies to enhance research training in the Philippines. The effects of globalisation place necessary demands upon higher education generally. In particular, the effects are felt in the areas of teaching, research, and postgraduate research training. Marginson (2007) maintains that higher education supports ‘multiple connections across the range of teaching, research, doctoral training, and business activities’ (p. ) and universities will continually compete to occupy global spaces to position themselves strategically. Part of this global positioning strategy is advancing research. One way of doing this is by pursuing developments in postgraduate research training. Thus, research training in the future will increasingly play an important role. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the field of research training. The range of research objectives is quite diverse.However, it is observed that research into research training primarily involves the development and evaluation of practices across specific disciplines and institutions. In the Philippines, however, little has been done in this area, much less on the analysis and appraisal of national and institutional research training policies. Research training in the Philippines†¦ 2 This is why research training in the Philippines needs examination and, I will argue, development.For a country where research is at the periphery of higher education curricula and where universities are mostly ‘teaching universities’ as opposed to †˜research universities’ (Bernardo, 2007), the Philippines faces one of the greatest challenges in restructuring its higher education to compete globally, or even with its closest neighbour countries, in areas of research. In the past years, the country’s competitive advantage has largely been its human capital due to the substantial economic gains that dollar remittances from overseas workers bring in.The emphasis in higher education has been on the education and training of nurses, teachers, engineers, and computing specialists and this could well be explained by employment opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region and across the globe. This is evident in the statistical reports published by the CHED (2007b) which reflect (1) Business & Administration, (2) Medical, (3) Education & Teacher Training, and (4) Engineering & Technology courses remain as top disciplines of choice for most students in recent years.However, there has been less attention placed into the educat ion and training of undergraduate and postgraduate students in the area of research. Research remains a peripheral component of undergraduate and postgraduate curricula whilst research training continues to be an under-developed activity. The influx of students from other countries also influences higher education in the Philippines. This is especially so now that neighbour countries like South Korea increasingly view Philippine higher education institutions (HEIs) as hubs for undergraduate education.One reason for this is because English is one of the two official languages of the Philippines. However, the Philippines has thus far not positioned itself as a preferred choice for postgraduate education despite English language advantage. Perhaps some areas that need development are the HEIs’ readiness for research, their research capabilities, and the strength of their academic staff in research and research training. The Philippines remains relatively unsuccessful in attracti ng postgraduate students from Asia-Pacific compared to countries from non-English speaking backgrounds such as Singapore or Malaysia.It has been the national policy of the CHED to enhance research in the Philippines. To do this, examining and developing research training is critical. Research training is at the core of enhancing and promoting research within HEIs. There are even more reasons to develop research training in the Philippines given the strategic directions that HEIs currently take. First, amongst HEIs, one of their aims has been to attract international students due to insufficient funding on public universities as well as to move away from over-dependence on tuition fees from local students for private universities.Second, universities increasingly find it important to integrate research into their postgraduate education curricula and moving towards becoming ‘research universities’. Finally, HEIs push for local accreditation and international quality stand ards benchmarking to mark their place in Asia-Pacific. Thus, it is a critical part of this transformation and positioning to examine research training structures, policies, and practices. This paper focuses on presenting briefly the higher education system in the Philippines and the context of postgraduate education and research training within HEIs.It concludes with an exploration of some important areas for scrutiny and possible strategies to develop research training in the country. Instructions 1. Conducting Research o1 Formulate a research question. Qualitative studies aim to explore and/or describe, not explain phenomena. The question should reflect precisely what you aim to explore or describe in your study. The question should also connect to or be relevant to the field that you are studying.For example, if you are interested in exploring how the parents of young children understand their children's learning in an arts environment your question could be, â€Å"What are the parental perceptions of learning for their preschoolers ages 3 through 5 in an early childhood museum-based visual arts program? † o2 Conduct a literature review. Look for strong academic literature from peer-reviewed journals on your chosen subject. o3 Choose a qualitative approach. This should match or be connected to the subject of your study.Examples of qualitative approaches include ethnography (immersing yourself in one specific culture or group of people to conduct in-depth interviews and observation), phenomenology (exploring the participant's subjective interpretations), grounded theory (creating new theory that is grounded in the data) or action research (the researcher is part of what is being studied, such as a teacher researching her own classroom). o4 Decide on the methods that you will be using. Common qualitative methods include participant observation, direct observation, interviewing and document reviews.Some methods may work better with some approaches. For example, if you are conducting an ethnographic study you would want to rely more heavily on observation techniques. o5 Collect your data via the chosen method. o6 Analyze your data. This may include a method such as constant comparison (comparing different pieces of data against each other). Typically, qualitative researchers will analyze their data using a system of alphabetic codes that express different themes or concepts that emerge from the information.Considerations for Choosing a Topic †¢Choose a topic that you find interesting. oYou will be spending a lot of time researching and writing it, and a topic that interests you will make the process more enjoyable. †¢Pick a controversial issue that you are passionate about. oA hot topic for a speech or persuasive paper that interests you will make the research appealing. †¢Select a topic with multi-purpose research potential oIs it possible to research two different aspects of the same subject for two classes? If so, you will be multi-tasking and saving time.Note: this is not turning in the same paper for two different classes; this is using your research time wisely †¢Choose a topic that relates to your personal interests or future profession. oIf you are writing a persuasive paper on a topic of your choice can you tie it into your major so that the research will have a future benefit to you? This will add value to the research process. †¢Decide on a unique or original topic. Put your own spin on it! oImagine your professor reading 25 papers on the same topics year after year. An original topic or perspective will be welcomed favorably!