Gender Double Standards For The Past Millenniums And Morrison

Women have been historically treated as second class citizens in both domestic and professional life. Society has circled around men for the past millenniums and Morrison depicts these gender double standards in Song of Solomon. She establishes the norms that women were subjected to and the social pressures that forced them to act, behave, and even live in a certain manner. Throughout the novel, Morrison continually describes Milkman s perspective toward the women that are involved in his life and it reiterates how society during this time neglected gender equality. We are able to see and be submerged into how his mother behaves under his father’s command, and how both of his sisters are forced to grow up and live under the shadow of another man. Morrison accentuates the patriarchy that was prevalent in society during the 1900s by depicting the discrepancies between how men and women were both treated and raised. In the 1900s, women were expected to be tolerant, submissive, a nd obedient. Milkman describes it as learning to be â€Å"mindless.† In the beginning of the book Milkman faces an internal conflict as he profusely desires his father’s power but does not want to inherit his contempt. He initially has a great deal of respect toward women because of his love for his mother, and during his innocence he does not seem to be able to understand why women are treated as second class citizens. He is distraught by his mother’s lack of autonomy and characterizes her as â€Å"tooShow MoreRelatedHow Pastoral Care Policy Has Contributed to the Management of Junior Secondary Schools In Botswana23474 Words   |  94 Pagessignatories to a number of child directed international agreements that call for changes in educational structures (Nthitu, Kathard Sayed, 2009). 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Interview With an Elderly Person Essays - 2516 Words

Aging and being old was dominated by negative characteristics and conditions such as illness, depression, and isolation for a long time (Eibach, Mock, Courtney, 2010). At first glance the terms â€Å"success† and â€Å"aging† seem to be in conflict to each other. When asking people about aging, their answers have many facets that are also found in psychological definitions: successful aging is seen as health, maturity and personal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generativity, coping, and acceptance of age-related limitations. In the psychological sense successful aging is also often seen as the absence of age-associated characteristics (Strawbridge, Wallhagen, Cohen, 2002). It seems that successful aging means is not aging. Methods I†¦show more content†¦2. Which part of aging are you the least satisfied with? This question can be seen as a follow up question of the first. If there are any negative aspects she sees in life, this question will present the details. 3. 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the major systematic error sublimation of caffeine Essay Example For Students

the major systematic error sublimation of caffeine Essay Outline1 Introduction:2 Research Question:3 Background Information:4 Original Coffee beans:5 Caffeine:6 Phase Diagram:7 Roasting procedure:8 Light joint:9 Medium joint:10 Full joint:11 Double joint:12 Method:13 Variables:14 Procedures:15 Explanation of Stage 1 process:16 Premise in Stage 1 process:17 Separate caffeine from other chemicals in the solution18 Precaution of Stage 2:19 Explanation of Stage 2 process:20 Premises in Stage 2 process:21 Completion of caffeine infusion ( In fume board )22 Explanation for Stage 3 process:23 Premise in Stage 3 process:24 Raw informations:25 Decision and Analysis:26 Restrictions and Evaluations:27 Methods to decide the major systematic error- Sublimation of caffeine:28 Further unsolved inquiry and suggested probe:29 Bibliography:30 Appendix31 Chemicals in green java beans32 Degree of roasting Introduction: Coffee has been a popular drink since twentieth century, non merely because of its different colourss and spirits due to different grades of roasting, but besides the consequence on which it can maintain you to remain awake and to complete your occupation. It is normally known that the ground for java to possess this consequence is because of the caffeine inside the java beans. In general, there are four chief types of roasting methods in the industry, viz. , Light Roast, Medium Roast, Full Roast and Double Roast. There are a assortment of utilizations on caffeine presents. By interfering with adenosine in encephalon and organic structure, it moderates new transmittal of signals in CNS, Central Nervous System, and hence keeps people awake . Due to its short half life in human organic structure, around 4-10 hours on mean , it can be used to increase the consequence of anodyne for hurting control Besides it has consequence on detaining the musculus weariness. However, caffeine can do negative consequence on human organic structure, for illustration, increase the bosom rate, take a breathing rate and makes people experience more qui vive and energetic, which is besides the ground why International Olympic Committee forbid high caffeine ingestion. Furthermore, it is a mildly habit-forming drug, so some people can non command the ingestion of caffeine under overdose, which could take to caffeine intoxication. Besides, harmonizing to the a survey held by Montreal University, if pregnant adult fe male consume more than 1.5 cup of java, the opportunity of abortion is doubled ; if consume more than four, the opportunity of abortion is tripled. Therefore, the pick of caffeine ingestion from java becomes critical due to its harmful consequence on human organic structure. It is advised that, if necessary, 100-300 milligram per twenty-four hours of caffeine ingestion is acceptable. However, people are normally lack of cognition about the caffeine content in the java and have no thought what sum precisely is in the java they are imbibing. Therefore, they frequently use their senses to place the caffeine content in java relation to each other. However, there are a batch of myths about this method. For illustration, those darker java has more caffeine than lighter java due to its darkness or that the caffeine is destroyed during roasting in higher temperature, so the caffeine content in lighter java is higher than that of darker java. To forestall over-dosing of caffeine from java, it is critical for people to hold the general thought of comparing the caffeine content in different java when purchasing a them. In this essay, the caffeine contents in java beans roasted in different grades are examined by experiment through the extraction of caffeine by chemical agencies. The consequence would be interpreted by concentrating on the roasting procedure, as java beans experience greatest alteration in physical or chemical alteration during roasting. Although there are a batch of sub-degrees of the chief four roasting grades, merely one sub-degree from each grade would be selected as representative. Research Question: Does different roasting grade affect the caffeine content in java beans? Background Information: Original Coffee beans: The original java beans are green in colour. They contain non-volatile alkaloids, proteins and amino acid, saccharides, lipoids, non-volatile chlorogenic acid, and volatile compounds. Among the non-volatile alkaloids, caffeine is the most abundant. It contains 1-2.5 % w/w of green java been. Caffeine: Caffeine is a white, crystalline odorless and acrimonious savoring solid. It exists in the works of java beans as a natural pesticide. Its formal name is trimethylxanthine, or in systematic calling 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine or 3,7-dihydro-1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6-dione. The chemical expression of caffeine is C8H10N4O2. It is a polar organic compound that contains C, N, H and O. Its denseness in solid signifier is 1.23 g/cm3. Due to the presence of N in the compound, caffeine is base in nature. Since it is a polar molecule, it is soluble to H2O, particularly in hot H2O. The solubility of caffeine in H2O is 22 at 25, 180 at 80, and 670 at 100. Under force per unit area of standard ambient temperature and force per unit area , the runing point of caffeine is 238 and it can besides sublimate at 178in about vacuity , which will be explained by stage diagram following. Phase Diagram: Three general stages of affair are solid, liquid and gas. Change of stage does non merely depend on the temperature, but besides the surrounding force per unit area moving on the chemicals. For illustration, the boiling point of H2O is 100, under standard ambient temperature and force per unit area. However, if the is placed in a lower atmospheric force per unit area, the boiling point of H2O is decreased since the vapour force per unit area is already greater than the atmospheric force per unit area, so H2O molecules can get away from the H2O surface in a lower required energy. Therefore, each compound can undergo stage alteration to the three stages in different combination of temperature and force per unit area. Figure 2 is a phase diagram of. The lines spliting the diagram into subdivisions represent that under certain temperature and force per unit area, would undergo alteration of stage, which is equilibrium between the two stages that the line is spliting. For illustration, th e ruddy line, if A A ; lt ; 1, so the matching thaw point additions, while the corresponding boiling point, A , lessenings. Each component has their ain stage diagram to exemplify the passage of stages under different combination of temperature and force per unit area. Figure 3 is a stage diagram exemplifying the stage passages of caffeine, which is different from. This is critical in ulterior reading of the consequence in the experiment. It is because roasting procedure involves temperature and force per unit area alteration. Roasting procedure: The chief intent of roasting java beans is to take toxins, heighten the gustatory sensation and concentrate the olfactory property wanted. Since green java beans are difficult, small odor and incorporate a batch of compounds that are acrimonious in gustatory sensation. Therefore, by roasting, it can ensue in both physical and chemical alteration in the green java beans. Since caffeine is the chief factor that is concerned in this essay, other chemical alteration will non be discussed. Although there are a batch different roasting procedures in the industry, such as fluidized bed roasting, fast roasting or horizontal rotating membranophone, the basic procedure of roasting is similar. During roasting, there are 10 % to 20 % lost in weight from the green java beans. Here is a sum-up of roasting procedure of java beans: Heating of Green Coffee Beans from 3-5 proceedingss ( about 25 to 100 ) The green java beans are heated so that the H2O in the original java beans evaporates at a really fast rate. As this point, the green java beans turn from green to yellow due to caramelization of sugar in the java beans. Heating of Yellow Coffee Beans from 5th-9th proceedingss ( about 170to 200 ) The xanthous java beans are farther heated and get down to turn to brown in colour as more sugar being caramelized. Carbon dioxide and H2O are forced to get away out of the java beans due to the high force per unit area indoors, as the temperature is really high, which besides causes the enlargement in size of java beans. The olfactory property besides starts to give out at this phase. First cleft from 10th-11th proceedingss ( about 210 ) A first sound of cleft gives out as the java beans expand to about duplicate in size from green java beans in high temperature. Familiar olfactory property is given out and the java beans turn aureate brown at this phase. After this phase, harmonizing to different grades of roasting required, the java beans will undergo different temperatures and clip periods for farther warming. During the procedure, the sugar is caramelized farther and coffee oil is released. Light joint: To get visible radiation roasted java beans, the beans from phase 3 are to be roasted about one more minute in approximately 215 before the 2nd cleft. Medium joint: For farther half to one minute from light roasted in approximately 230, a 2nd cleft occurs and it means average joint is finished. Full joint: If continued for half to one minute from medium roasted in approximately 240, full roasted java beans are collected. Double joint: This is the most common concluding measure that java beans would be roasted, which is acquired from go oning the roasting from full roasted java beans for about half a minute more in approximately 245. The sugar in the java beans at this phase is started to fire and degraded. The above warming procedure can be achieved by either roasting the java beans on a hot home base, which is a traditional roasting method in industry or in place roasting, or go throughing the java beans by high temperature steam. Method: Variables: Mugwump: Degree of roasted java beans Dependant: Caffeine extracted from the java beans ( g ) Controlled: Mass of roasted java beans ( g ) Brand of java beans ( Starbucks ) Apparatus: The undermentioned setup are used in this experiment. Chemicals: The undermentioned chemicals are used in this experiment. Procedures: Extracting chemicals compounds out of java beans Measure 100mL of distilled H2O by graduated cylinder Pour the H2O into a 200mL beaker. Topographic point the beaker on a hot home base and heat the hot home base to 100. Topographic point a weighing boat on an electronic graduated table and tare it. Measure 3g of java beans, in signifier of pulverization, on the electronic graduated table and record it. Add the 3g of java pulverization into the boiling H2O. Use glass rod to stir the solution during warming. After the H2O furuncles, which means it reaches 100, set the temperature to 80 and let the solution to stand for 20 proceedingss to pull out as much caffeine as possible. The Benetton Group EssayTo reason, high temperature and force per unit area in roasting procedure are the grounds that the caffeine content is non affected irrespective the grade of roasting that the java beans have achieved. Therefore, even different grade of roasted java beans is used to brew java, the caffeine ingestion is the same no affair which type of java you prefer. Indeed, decaffeinated java is non taken into history. Restrictions and Evaluations: Random mistakes: Random mistake arises since caffeine may non be all dissolved in methylene chloride since it still has a small solubility in room temperature H2O. Furthermore, the caffeine extracted by methylene chloride may incorporate drosss, which affect the mass of caffeine recorded. Besides, the measuring utilizing graduated cylinder causes uncertainnesss. Furthermore, the usage of other equipments such as electronic balance, which causes 0.01g on the mass measured. Systematic mistakes: The measure of sample is excessively little, which causes ill-defined consequences obtained since big difference may be obtained if sample has larger measure. If there is any difference of caffeine content, it would be more obvious if increase the sum of each java pulverization sample used. However, due to the fact that school research lab do non hold a big beaker at the clip the experiment was performed, which required more than 200mL, merely little sum of sample in each test can be used in order to maintain a big ratio between the volume of H2O and the mass of the java pulverization. Furthermore, the major systematic mistake is the separation of two beds in dividing funnel. Since the running of methylene chloride into a beaker is manipulated by custodies and through the observation. To guarantee that all methylene chloride is collected, the closing of the separating funnel is a small delayed due to the bubbles in the separating line, which blurred the exact dividing degree. Therefore, a small solution of the upper portion, which contains the drosss from java beans, is added into the methylene chloride in the beaker. After the vaporization, since Na carbonate is added before and it has high boiling point due to its ionic construction, its mass contributes to the mass weighed on the electronic balance. Methods to decide the major systematic error- Sublimation of caffeine: In order to decide the major systematic mistake, a farther measure can be done if equipment is allowed in school research lab. Since caffeine sublimes good under vacuity at 178, as no air molecules against the vapor force per unit area of caffeine, the gathered caffeine can be placed into a flask linking to a aspirator, which keeps the status in vacuity, and have a cold finger above it and a heat beginning below the flask. Caffeine can so sublimate and precipitate on the cold finger. Therefore, pure caffeine can be collected and weighed. Further unsolved inquiry and suggested probe: Although the caffeine content is non affected by roasting, a measure rearward can ensue in an unsolved inquiry, which is whether green java beans grown from different topographic points contain different degree of caffeine inside? A suggested manner to make so is that ; purchase different java beans of same roasted degree from different locations around the universe. This can be done by utilizing cyberspace shopping. After, extract caffeine from each illustration and compare the caffeine content in each java bean from different location. Since there are more and more methods of roasting in the industry, such as fluidized bed roasting and fast roasting , it would be interesting to look into whether these new methods of roasting can impact the caffeine content in the java beans even they are claimed to be same grade of roasting after all. Bibliography: A, Nehlig ; JL, Daval ; G, Debry ( 1992 ) . Caffeine and the cardinal nervous system: Mechanisms of action, biochemical, metabolic, and psychostimulant effects . Brain Res Rev FP, Meyer ; E, Canzler ; H, Giers ; H. Walther ( 1991 ) . Time class of suppression of caffeine riddance in response to the unwritten terminal prophylactic agent Deposiston. Hormonal preventives and caffeine riddance . Zentralbl Gynakol Oxford A-Z of Medicinal Drugs Oxford Press. Kent, Michael ( 1997 ) . Oxford Food A ; Fitness ( A Dictionary of diet and exercising ) Oxford University Press. Anderson, Jean ; Deslein, Barbara. The Nutrition Bible William Marrow and Company, Inc. LEUNG, T. M. ; LEE, C. C. Inorganic Chemistry and Chemistry in Action Fillans. Library for Science . A ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.chromatography-online.org/directory/analt-235/page.html gt ; . About.com amp ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //chemistry.about.com/od/moleculescompounds/a/caffeine.htm gt ; Drug bank amp ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.drugbank.ca/cgi-bin/getCard.cgi? CARD=DB00201 gt ; Purdue University Online Writing Lab amp ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //employees.oneonta.edu/knauerbr/chem226/226expts/226_expt06_pro.pdf gt ; Look for chemicals amp ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.lookchem.com/Caffeine/ gt ; Carleton College » A ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //serc.carleton.edu/research_education/equilibria/other_diagrams.html gt ; University of British Columbia amp ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.chem.ubc.ca/courseware/123/tutorials/exp10A/sublimation/ gt ; Coffee-Makers-Caf A ; eacute ; amp ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.coffee-makers-cafe.com/coffee-roasting.html # roastHome gt ; Coffee-Tea amp ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.coffee-tea.co.uk/commercial-roasting.php gt ; Sweet Marias amp ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.sweetmarias.com/roasting-VisualGuideV2.php gt ; Sonora Environmental Research Institute, Inc. amp ; lt ; www.seriaz.org/downloads/4-caffiene.pdf gt ; The Scripps Research Institute amp ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.scripps.edu/chem/finn/Scipdfiles/dipolemoments.pdf gt ; City Collegiate amp ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.citycollegiate.com/dipolemoment.htm gt ; New Mexico Tech amp ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //infohost.nmt.edu/~jaltig/Chem333LCaffeine.pdf gt ;  «Ezine Article » A ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //ezinearticles.com/ ? A-Look-at-the-Coffee-Roasting-Process A ; id=1802022 gt ; Beverage.cc A ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.beverages.cc/Coffea/encyclopedia.htm gt ; PubMed database A ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7361718? dopt=Abstract gt ; Appendix Chemicals in green java beans Non-volatile alkaloids: Caffeine, Elixophyllin, theobromine, paraxanthine, liberine, and methylliberine are present, while caffeine is the most abundant non-volatile alkaloid, which is about 1-2.5 % w/w of a green java bean. Besides, caffeine Acts of the Apostless as a natural insect powder for the works. Furthermore, caffeine s half life is 5.7 hours in a normal grownup organic structure. Proteins and amino acids Proteins and aminic acids make up 8-12 % w/w of a green java bean. Carbohydrates Carbohydrates account for 50 % w/w of a green java bean, largely polysaccharides. Lipids Lipids, ester, long chained unsaturated fatty acids and amides are found in green java beans. The fatty acid is saturated during roasting procedure, which accounts for the java oil. Non-volatine chlorogenic acids Chlorogenic acids are antioxidant. They are good for wellness, but 70 % of them are destroyed during roasting procedure. Volatile compounds Volatile compounds are found in green java beans as aldehydes, short-chained fatty acids and N incorporating aromatic molecules. However, the aromatic molecules in green java beans are unpleasant, which is the ground that java beans are roasted in order to organize pleasant olfactory property of aromatic molecules. Degree of roasting It can be seen that although dipole minute of caffeine is really big, larger than H2O, the size of the molecule is really big compared to H2O and methylene chloride. Therefore, charges are spread widely, which makes the mutual opposition of caffeine molecule less polar. Therefore, caffeine dissolves more readily in methylene chloride than in H2O or Na carbonate, which is ionic compound. Sodium carbonate is used to respond and do some compound other than caffeine to be more soluble to H2O, such as tannic acid. Nehlig, A, Daval JL, Debry G ( 1992 ) . Caffeine and the cardinal nervous system: Mechanisms of action, biochemical, metabolic, and psychostimulant effects . Brain Res Rev Meyer, FP, Canzler E, Giers H, Walther H. ( 1991 ) . Time class of suppression of caffeine riddance in response to the unwritten terminal prophylactic agent Deposiston. Hormonal preventives and caffeine riddance . Zentralbl Gynakol Oxford A-Z of Medicinal Drugs, Oxford Press. Michael Kent ( 1997 ) . Oxford Food A ; Fitness ( A Dictionary of diet and exercising ) . Oxford University Press. Jean Anderson, Barbara Deslein. The Nutrition Bible . William Marrow and Company, Inc. Volatile means inclination of vaporisation. w/w = weight/volume per centum solution Library for Science: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.chromatography-online.org/directory/analt-235/page.html About.com: hypertext transfer protocol: //chemistry.about.com/od/moleculescompounds/a/caffeine.htm Drug bank: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.drugbank.ca/cgi-bin/getCard.cgi? CARD=DB00201 Electrons are unevenly distributed. Purdue University Online Writing Lab: hypertext transfer protocol: //employees.oneonta.edu/knauerbr/chem226/226expts/226_expt06_pro.pdf 25and 1 standard pressure T. M. LEUNG, C. C. LEE, Inorganic Chemistry and Chemistry in Action , Fillans. Expression for chemicals: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.lookchem.com/Caffeine/ Original from Carleton College: hypertext transfer protocol: //serc.carleton.edu/research_education/equilibria/other_diagrams.html Red line added as illustration. Original from University of British Columbia: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.chem.ubc.ca/courseware/123/tutorials/exp10A/sublimation/ Coffee-Makers-Cafe: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.coffee-makers-cafe.com/coffee-roasting.html # roastHomeCoffee-Tea: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.coffee-tea.co.uk/commercial-roasting.php Sweet Marias: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.sweetmarias.com/roasting-VisualGuideV2.php The method of pull outing caffeine from java is improved by myself from originally design from Sonora Environmental Research Institute, Inc. : www.seriaz.org/downloads/4-caffiene.pdf All java beans are from same brand- Starbucks. Using dividing funnel is more accurate than pouring the solution in another beaker by manus and utilizing filter paper to take the staying unwanted solution from the original design. Fig. 4 dividing funnel s diagram is from Jindal Medical A ; Scientific Instrument D = Debye = unit of dipole minute. Look for chemical: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.lookchem.com/Caffeine/ Dipole minute is the vector amount of mutual opposition. The Scripps Research Institute: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.scripps.edu/chem/finn/Scipdfiles/dipolemoments.pdf City Collegiate: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.citycollegiate.com/dipolemoment.htm Calcium sulfate is non used as mentioned in the original process, since it can non be removed after wards, which could impact the mass of caffeine collected. Exothermic reaction agencies there is a net energy given out as heat. New Mexico Tech: hypertext transfer protocol: //infohost.nmt.edu/~jaltig/Chem333LCaffeine.pdf Ezine Articles: hypertext transfer protocol: //ezinearticles.com/ ? A-Look-at-the-Coffee-Roasting-Process A ; id=1802022 Beverage.cc A ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.beverages.cc/Coffea/encyclopedia.htm gt ; PubMed database A ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7361718? dopt=Abstract gt ; Sweet Marias amp ; lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.sweetmarias.com/roasting-VisualGuideV2.php gt ; Rare instance that the java beans are wholly blackened. Sonora Environmental Research Institute, Inc. A ; lt ; www.seriaz.org/downloads/4-caffiene.pdf gt ;

My Fitness Pal Essay free essay sample

My Fitness Pal Essay Throughout the semester have been recording my eating habits on my fitness pal. I knew before even started using my fitness pal that my eating habits were not good and to be healthy I needed to stop eating food that was so bad for me. Even though it took me over half the semester to realize that, I now can say I am on a healthier track in life and could not be happier.Throughout this process have learned what foods are healthier to eat and what foods are really bad for you. When I first started using my fitness pal I as eating fast food literally everyday because it was so easy and convenient for me to get between my classes. Foods such as hamburgers and chicken were what I was consuming everyday. I never cared about how many calories was taking in. As a result from eating fast food everyday I felt tired all the time. We will write a custom essay sample on My Fitness Pal Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Not only did feel tired all the time, I was gaining weight, which is never a good thing. The more calories I was taking in, the more weight I was gaining. After I realized how bad the food was that I was taking into my body I decided to put a stop to it. I no longer eat fast food and I try to eat as healthy as I sibyl can. Now I eat yogurt, salad, and subs a lot. I eat those things because they are no where near as bad for you as fast food is. Before my fitness pal I never worked out because I was too lazy to but that has also changed.Not only do I eat healthy now, I workout everyday. Am so glad that have decided to make these changes in my lifestyle because I have started losing weight. Not only do I look better, but I feel so much better. I have a lot more energy throughout the day. My fitness pal really has helped me. It opened my eyes into a whole new direction of my life that I never thought was possible. I was never motivated to make myself better until realized just what I was putting into my body with all that greasy fast food.I think this is defiantly something you should continue doing with your future classes because I know it was just what I needed to get started. Am now on a 1200- calorie diet. To start with it was a little bit challenging but every day that passes it gets easier. That is another good thing about my fitness pal. It counts the calories I eat so know when I have reached my limit. Overall, I am thankful that my fitness pal was brought to my attention and I was able to make the best of it.

Passive Writing

Passive Writing Passive Writing Passive Writing By Michael Some English teachers actively encourage their students to depend on active voice, while others allow their students to depend on passive voice. Whats the difference, and why is the difference important? Active voice appears in sentences such as, The detective discovered that the manager was a thief. Passive voice appears in sentences such as, It was discovered that the manager was a thief. Why would someone use passive voice in a sentence like that? Because they want to call the manager a thief, but are afraid to say why! Passive voice is common in scientific papers, because it lets the writers avoid using the words I or we, to avoid saying where their ideas came from. Thats why some teachers think that passive voice sounds more educated. Usually, though, its simply less definite. It might (or might not) fool your teacher, but in the real world, when they have something to say, even scientists dont have the luxury of not being definite. In business writing, sentences make the most sense when the subject comes first, followed by what the subject is doing. So make sure passive writing is not reducing the efficiency of your words. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to use "on" and when to use "in"40 Synonyms for â€Å"Different†The "Pied" in The Pied Piper

Why the Illinois v. Wardlow Case Still Matters Today

Why the Illinois v. Wardlow Case Still Matters Today Illinois v. Wardlow is not a Supreme Court case that most Americans know well enough to cite by name, but the ruling has made a serious impact on policing. It gave authorities in high-crime neighborhoods the green light to stop people for behaving suspiciously. The high court’s decision has not only been linked to a rising number of stop-and-frisks but to high-profile police killings as well. It has also been held responsible for creating more inequities in the criminal justice system. Does the 2000 Supreme Court decision deserve the blame? With this review of Illinois v. Wardlow, get the facts about  the case and its consequences today. Fast Facts: Illinois v. Wardlow Case Argued: November 2, 1999Decision Issued:  January 12, 2000Petitioner: State of IllinoisRespondent: Sam WardlowKey Questions: Does a suspect’s sudden and unprovoked flight from identifiable police officers patrolling a known high-crime area justify the officers stopping that person, or does it violate the Fourth Amendment?Majority Decision: Justices Rehnquist, OConnor, Kennedy, Scalia, and ThomasDissenting: Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsberg, and BreyerRuling: The officer was justified in suspecting that the accused was involved in criminal activity and, therefore, in investigating further. There was no violation of the Fourth Amendment. Should Police Have Stopped Sam Wardlow? On Sept. 9, 1995, two Chicago police officers were driving through a Westside neighborhood known for drug trafficking when they spotted William â€Å"Sam† Wardlow. He stood beside a building with  a bag in hand. But when Wardlow noticed the police driving through, he broke into a sprint. After a brief chase, the officers cornered Wardlow and frisked him. During the search, they found a loaded .38-caliber handgun. They then arrested Wardlow, who argued in court that the gun shouldn’t have been entered into evidence because the police lacked a reason to stop him. An Illinois trial court disagreed, convicting him of â€Å"unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.† The Illinois Appellate Court reversed the lower court’s decision, asserting that the arresting officer didn’t have cause to stop and frisk Wardlow. The Illinois Supreme Court ruled along similar lines, arguing that Wardlow’s stop violated the Fourth Amendment. Unfortunately for Wardlow, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, reached a different conclusion. It found: â€Å"It was not merely respondent’s presence in an area of heavy narcotics trafficking that aroused the officers’ suspicion but his unprovoked flight upon noticing the police. Our cases have also recognized that nervous, evasive behavior is a pertinent factor in determining reasonable suspicion. ...Headlong flight- wherever it occurs- is the consummate act of evasion: it is not necessarily indicative of wrongdoing, but it is certainly suggestive of such.† According to the court, the arresting officer hadn’t misstepped by detaining Wardlow because officers must make commonsense judgments to decide if someone is behaving suspiciously. The court said that its interpretation of the law did not contradict other rulings giving people the right to ignore police  officers and go about their business when approached by them. But Wardlow, the court said, had done the opposite of going about his business by running away. Not everyone in the legal community agrees with this take. Criticism of Wardlow U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, now retired, wrote the dissent in Illinois v. Wardlow. He broke down the possible reasons people might run when encountering police officers. â€Å"Among some citizens, particularly minorities and those residing in high crime areas, there is also the possibility that the fleeing person is entirely innocent, but, with or without justification, believes that contact with the police can itself be dangerous, apart from any criminal activity associated with the officer’s sudden presence.† African Americans, in particular, have discussed their distrust and fear of law enforcement for years. Some would even go so far to say that they have developed PTSD-like symptoms because of their experiences with police. For these individuals, running from the authorities is likely instinct rather than a signal that they’ve committed a crime. Additionally, former police chief and government official Chuck Drago pointed out to Business Insider how Illinois v. Wardlow affects the public differently based on income level. â€Å"If the police are driving down a middle-class neighborhood, and the officer sees someone turn and run into their house, that’s not enough to follow them,† he said. â€Å"If he’s in a high-crime area though, there may be enough for reasonable suspicion. It’s the area he’s in, and those areas tend to be to impoverished and African American and Hispanic.† Poor black and Latino neighborhoods already have a greater police presence than white suburban areas. Authorizing police to detain anyone who runs from them in these areas increases the odds that residents will be racially profiled and arrested. Those familiar with Freddie Gray, the Baltimore man who died in police custody in 2015 after a â€Å"rough ride,† argue that Wardlow played a role in his death. Officers apprehended Gray only after he â€Å"fled unprovoked upon noticing police presence.† They found a switchblade on him and arrested him. However,  if the authorities had been prohibited from pursuing Gray simply because he fled from them in a high-crime neighborhood, he may very well still be alive today, his advocates argue. News of his death sparked protests across the country and unrest in Baltimore. The year after Gray’s death, the Supreme Court decided 5-3 in Utah v. Strieff to let police use the evidence they’ve collected during unlawful stops in some circumstances. Justice Sonia Sotomayor expressed her dismay at the decision, arguing that the high court has already given the authorities ample opportunity to stop members of the public for little to no reason. She cited Wardlow and several other cases in her dissent. â€Å"Although many Americans have been stopped for speeding or jaywalking, few may realize how degrading a stop can be when the officer is looking for more. This Court has allowed an officer to stop you for whatever reason he wants- so long as he can point to a pretextual justification after the fact.â€Å"That justification must provide specific reasons why the officer suspected you were breaking the law, but it may factor in your ethnicity, where you live, what you were wearing and how you behaved (Illinois v. Wardlow). The officer does not even need to know which law you might have broken so long as he can later point to any possible infraction- even one that is minor, unrelated, or ambiguous.† Sotomayor went on to argue that these questionable stops by police can easily escalate to officers looking through a person’s belongings, frisking the individual for weapons and performing an intimate bodily search. She argued unlawful police stops make the justice system unfair, endanger lives and corrode civil liberties. While young black men like Freddie Gray have been stopped by police lawfully under Wardlow, their detainment and subsequent arrests cost them their lives. The Effects of Wardlow A 2015 report by the American Civil Liberties Union found that in the city of Chicago, where Wardlow was stopped for fleeing, police disproportionately stop and frisk young men of color. African Americans constituted 72 percent of people stopped. Also, police stops overwhelmingly took place in majority-minority neighborhoods. Even in areas where blacks make up a small percentage of residents, such as Near North, where they make up only 9 percent of the population, African Americans comprised 60 percent of people stopped. These stops don’t make communities safer, the ACLU argued. They deepen the divides between the police and the communities they’re supposed to serve.

Advance process Engineering Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Advance process Engineering - Assignment Example (I) Any value in a pump system can be taken as an outlet. Therefore, taking point j to be an outlet, it the head loss of the point can be calculated from the point j as; †¦(II) Therefore the flow velocities in the pumps will be given as; †¦. (III) †¦ (IV) †¦ (V) The friction factors in the respective pipes can be calculated using Colebrook equation as below †¦ (VI) †¦ (VII) †¦. (VIII) Question 3 a) i.) Such high pressure is needed to provide the propelling force of the gas and to reduce the volume of the gas being transported. ... This is achieved by putting a given quantity of a solid into appropriate conditions that result in solid/fluid mixture to have properties of a fluid. The relationship developed to predict the minimum fluidizing velocity is mainly based on experimental work, despite the fact that many of its important applications is in high temperature locations. According to the tests to show the relationship between fluidization over a range of given temperature, there is a marked discrepancy between prediction and the value of the measured velocity when physical properties values are used appropriating the operating conditions. There is a relationship between the pressure drop across the fluidized bed and buoyant weight per unit area in that the pressure drops is approximately equal to buoyant weight per unit area. There are two approaches in describing these two phenomena in which one considers the process of sedimentation occurring due to dense packing and the other considers the general velocit y of the particles. For either consideration, bed voidage is necessary at minimum fluidization. Voidage refers to the function to the particle distribution, particle size and particle shape. The voidage reduces with an increasing size distribution. Also, the operating temperature relates to the voidage in that as the bed voidage increases, there is a significant increase in operating temperature. During the experiment, the hot fluidized bed is contained in a 188 mm diameter stainless steel cylinder. The fluidization gas is then introduced into the bed through stainless steel distributor plates having a diameter of 0.5 and 1.0 mm drilled holes on a 6 mm 6 mm square pitch

Law case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Law case study - Essay Example Once offer and acceptance are found to exist, the courts will then look to determine whether or not there is consideration. Consideration was defined by Lush LJ in the following terms: While Daniel offered to sell his guitar to Marina for the sum of 500 pounds, Marina did not accept the offer outright. Her offer was no more than a conditional acceptance, in that she would purchase the guitar if she could raise the sum offered. It is commonly felt that in order for the acceptance of an order to be legally binding it must follow the essential substance of the offer made.4 By saying what she could only purchase the guitar if she could raise the funds, Marina was no accepting the offer but merely indicating that she would if and when she had the necessary consideration. Therefore the offer and acceptance would not have been completed until such time as Marina communicated to Daniel a firm intention to purchase the guitar. Since this never happened there was no binding agreement between them. The fact that Daniel sold the guitar to a third party on Wednesday despite having promised Marina that he would not sell the guitar before Friday is of no consequence. There is nothing preventing Daniel withdrawing his offer at anytime before the prescribed period which was stated to Friday. Either party is at liberty to change their minds before the agreement is complete.5 In any event, Marina has a more onerous task establishing that the offer and acceptance goes beyond a mere gratuitous exchange of promises. These kinds of promises, in the absence of an executed deed of contract and/or consideration will not be enforced by the courts. In order to substantiate an effective claim against Anthea for breach of contract, Marina will have to show that there was some consideration.6 Consideration is defined by Patterson J as: Since Marina did not suffer a detriment pursuant to the offer made and withdrawn

The Past, Present, and Future of Automated Scoring Essay Example for Free

The Past, Present, and Future of Automated Scoring Essay â€Å"No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be †¦Ã¢â‚¬  – Isaac Asimov (5) Introduction Although some realities of the classroom remain constant –they wouldn’t exist without the presence, whether actual or virtual, of students and teachers –the technology age is changing not only the way that we teach, but also how students learn. While the implications of this affect all disciplines, it is acutely evident in the teaching of writing. In the last twenty years, we have seen a rapid change in how we read, write, and process text. Compositionist Carl Whithaus maintains that â€Å"†¦ writing is becoming an increasingly multimodal and multimedia activity† (xxvi). It is no surprise then, that there are currently 100 million blogs in existence worldwide and 171 billion email messages sent daily (Olson 23), and the trend toward digitally-based writing is also moving into the classroom. The typical student today writes â€Å"almost exclusively on a computer, typically one equipped with automated tools to help them spell, check grammar, and even choose the right words† (Cavanaugh 10). Furthermore, CCC notes that â€Å"[i]ncreasingly, classes and programs in writing require that students compose digitally† (785). Given the effect of technology on writing and the current culture of high stakes testing ushered in by the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, a seemingly natural product of the combination of the two is computer-based assessment of writing. An idea still in its infancy, the process of technological change in combination with federal testing mandates has resulted in several states incorporating â€Å"computer-based testing into their writing assessments, †¦ not only because of students’ widespread familiarity with computers, but also because of the demands of college and the workplace, where word-processing skills are a must† (Cavanaugh 10). Although it makes sense to have students accustomed to composing on computer write in the same mode for high-stakes tests, does it make sense to score their writing by computer as well? This is a controversial question that has both supporters and detractors. Supporters like Stan Jones, Indiana’s Commissioner of Higher Education, believe that computerized essay grading is inevitable (Hurwitz n.p.), while detractors, primarily pedagogues, assert that such assessment defies what we know about writing and its assessment, because â€Å"[r]egardless of the medium †¦ all writing is social; accordingly, response to and evaluation of writing are human activities† (CCC 786). Even so, the reality is that the law requires testing nationwide, and in all probability that mandate is not going to change anytime soon. With NCLB up for revision this year, even politicians like Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts agree that standards are a good idea and that testing is one way to ensure that they are met. At some point, we need to pull away from all-or-none polarization and create a new paradigm. The sooner we realize that â€Å"†¦ computer technology will subsume assessment technology in some way† (Penrod 157), the sooner we will be able to address how we, as teachers of writing, can use technology effectively for assessment. In the past, Brian Huot notes that teachers’ responses have been reactionary, â€Å"cobbled together at the last minute in response to an outside call †¦ † (150). Teachers need to be proactive in addressing â€Å"†¦ technological convergence in the composition classroom, [because if we dont], others can will impose certain technologies on our teaching† (Penrod 156). Instead of passively leaving the development of assessment software solely to programmers, teachers need to be actively involved with the process in order to ensure the application of sound pedagogy in its creation and application. This essay will argue that automated essay scoring (AES) is an inevitability that provides many more positive possibilities than negative ones. While the research presented here spans K-16 education, this essay will primarily address its application in secondary environments, primarily focusing on high school juniors, a group currently consisting of approximately 4 million students in the United States, because this group represents the targeted population for secondary school high stakes testing in this country (U.S. Census Bureau). It will first present a brief history of AES, then explore the current state of AES, and finally consider the implications of AES for writing instruction and assessment in the future. A Brief History of Computers and Assessment The first time standardized objective testing in writing occurred was in 1916 at the University of Missouri as part of a Carnegie Foundation sponsored study (Savage 284). As the 20th century continued, these tests began to grow in popularity because of their efficiency and perceived reliability, and are the cornerstone of what Kathleen Blake Yancey describes as the â€Å"first wave† of writing assessment (484). To articulate the progression of composition assessment, Kathleen Blake Yancey identifies three distinct, yet overlapping, waves (483). The first wave, occurring approximately from 1950-1970, primarily focused on using objective (multiple choice) tests to assess writing simply because, as she quotes Michael Williams, they were the best response that could be â€Å"†¦ tied to testing theory, to institutional need, to cost, and ultimately to efficiency† (Yancey 489). During Yancey’s first wave of composition assessment, another wave was forming in the parallel universe of computer software design, where developers began to address the possibilities of not only programming computers to mimic the process of human reading, but † †¦ to emulate the value judgments that human readers make when they read student writing in the context of large scale assessment† (Herrington and Moran 482). Herrington and Moran identify The Analysis of Essays by Computer, a 1968 book by Ellis Page and Dieter Paulus, as one of the first composition studies books to address AES. Their goal was to â€Å"evaluate student writing as reliably as human readers, †¦ [and] they attempted to identify computer-measurable text features that would correlate with the kinds of intrinsic features †¦that are the basis for human judgments †¦, [settling on] thirty quantifiable features, †¦ [which included] essay length in words, average word length, amount and kind of punctuation, number of common words, and number of spelling errors† (Herrington and Moran 482). In their study, they found a high enough statistical correlation, .71, to support the use of the computer to score student writing. The authors note that the response of the composition community in 1968 to Page and Paulus’s book was one of indignation and uproar. In 2007, not much has changed in terms of the composition community’s position regarding computer-based assessment of student writing. To many, it is something that is an unknown, mystifying Orwellian entity waiting in the shadows for the perfect moment to jump out and usurp teachers’ autonomy in the classroom. Nancy Patterson describes computerized writing assessment as â€Å"a horror story that may come sooner than we realize† (56). Furthermore, P.L. Thomas offers the following question and response: â€Å"How can a computer determine accuracy, originality, valuable elaboration, empty language, language maturity, and a long list of similar qualities that are central to assessing writing? Computers can’t. WE must ensure that the human element remains the dominant factor in the assessing of student writing† (29). Herrington and Moran make the issue a central one in the teaching of writing and have â€Å"†¦ serious concerns about the potential effects of machine reading of student writing on our teaching, on our students’ learning, and therefore on the profession of English† (495). Finally, CCC definitively writes, â€Å"We oppose the use of machine-scored writing in the assessment of writing† (789). While the argument against AES is clear here, the responses appear to be based on a lack of understanding of the technology and an unwillingness to change. Instead of taking a reactionary position, it might be more constructive for teachers to assume the inevitability of computerized assessment technology – it is not going away — and to use that assumption as the basis for taking a proactive role in its implementation. The Current Culture of High-Stakes Testing At any given time in the United States, there are approximately 16 million 15-18 year-olds, the majority of whom receive a high school education (U.S. Census). Even when factoring in a maximum of 10 percent (1.6 million) who may drop out or otherwise not receive a diploma, there is a significant amount of students, 14-15 million, who are attending high school. The majority of these students are members of the public school system and as such must be tested annually according to NCLB, though the most significant focus group for high-stakes testing is 11th grade students. Currently in Michigan, 95% of any given public high school’s junior population must sit for the MME, Michigan Merit Exam, in order for the school to qualify for AYP, Adequate Yearly Progress[1]. Interestingly, those students do not all have to pass currently, though by 2014 the government mandates a 100% passing rate, a number that most admit is an impossibility and will probably be addressed as the NCLB Act is up for review this year. In the past, as part of the previous 11th grade examination, the MEAP, Michigan Educational Assessment Program, required students to complete an essay response, which was assessed by a variety of people, mostly college students and retired teachers, for a minimal amount of money, usually in the $7.50 – $10.00 per hour range. As a side note, neighboring Ohio sends its writing test to North Carolina to be scored by workers receiving $9.50 per hour (Patterson 57), a wage that fast food employees make in some states. Because of this, it was consistently difficult for the state to assess these writings in a short period of time, causing huge delays in distributing the results of the exams back to the school districts, posing a huge problem as schools could not use the testing information in order to address educational shortfalls of their students or programs in a timely manner, one of the purposes behind getting prompt feedback. This year (2007), as a result of increased graduation requirements and testing mandates driven by NCLB, the Michigan Department of Education began administering a new examination to 11th graders, the MME, an ACT fueled assessment, as ACT was awarded the testing contract. The MME is comprised of several sections and required most high schools to administer it over a period of 2-3 days. Day one consists of the ACT + Writing, a 3.5 hour test that includes an argumentative essay. Days two/three (depending on district implementation), consist of the ACT WorkKeys, a basic work skills test of math and English, further mathematics testing (to address curricular content not covered by the ACT + Writing), and a social studies test, which incorporates another essay that the state combines with the argumentative essay in the ACT + Writing in order to determine an overall writing score. Miraculously, under the auspices of ACT, students received their ACT + Writing scores in the mail approximately three weeks after testing, unlike the MEAP, where some schools did not receive test scores for six months. In 2005, a MEAP official admitted that the cost of scoring the writing assessment was forcing the state to go another route (Patterson 57), and now it has. So how is this related to automated essay scoring? My hypothesis is that as states are required to test writing as part of NCLB, there is going to be a lack of qualified people to be able to read and assess student essays and determine results within a reasonable amount of time to purposefully inform necessary curricular and instructional change, which is supposed to be the point of testing in the first place. Four million plus essays to evaluate each year (sometimes more if more writing is required, like Michigan requiring two essays) on a national level is a huge amount. Michigan Virtual University’s Jamey Fitzpatrick says, â€Å"Let’s face it. It’s a very labor-intensive task to sit down and read essays† (Stover n.p.). Furthermore, it only makes sense that instead of states working on their own test management, they will contract state-wide testing to larger testing agencies, like Michigan and Illinois have with ACT, to reduce costs and improve efficien cy. Because of the move to contract ACT, my guess is that we are moving in the direction of having all of these writings scored by computer. In email correspondence that I had with Harry Barfoot at Vantage Learning in early 2007, a company that creates and markets AES software, said, â€Å"Ed Roeber has been to visit us and he is the high stakes assessment guru in Michigan, and who was part of the MEAP 11th grade becoming an ACT test, which [Vantage] will end up being part of under the covers of ACT.† This indicates the inevitability of AES as part of high-stakes testing. In spite of the fact that there are no states that rely on computer assessment of writing yet, â€Å"†¦ state education officials are looking at the potential of this technology to limit the need for costly human scorers – and reduce the time needed to grade tests and get them back in the hands of classroom teachers† (Stover n.p.). Because we live in an age where the budget axe frequently cuts funding to public education, it is in the interest of states to save money any way they can, and â€Å"[s]tates stand to save millions o f dollars by adopting computerized writing assessment† (Patterson 56). Although AES is not a reality yet, every indication is that we are moving toward it as a solution to the cost and efficiency issues of standardized testing. Herrington and Moran observe that â€Å"[p]ressures for common assessments across state public K-12 systems and higher education – both for placement and for proficiency testing – make attractive a machine that promises to assess the writing of large numbers of students in a fast and reliable way† (481). To date, one of the two readers (the other is still human) for the GMAT is e-Rater, an AES software program, and some universities are using Vantage’s WritePlacerPlus software in order to place first year university students (Herrington and Moran 480). However, one of the largest obstacles in bringing AES to K-12 is one of access. In order for students’ writing to be assessed electronically, it must be inputted electronically, meaning that every student will have to compose their essays via comp uter. Sean Cavanagh’s article of two months ago maintains that ACT has already suggested delivering computers to districts who do not have sufficient technology in order to accommodate technology differences (10). As of last month, March 2007, Indiana is the only state that relies on computer scoring of 11th grade essays for the state-mandated English examination (Stover n.p.) for 80 percent of their 60,000 11th graders (Associated Press), though their Assistant Superintendent for Assessment, Research, and Information, West Bruce, says that the state’s computer software assigns a confidence rating to each essay, where low confidence essays are referred to a human scorer (Stover n.p.). In addition, in 2005 West Virginia began using an AES program to grade 44,000 middle and high school writing samples from the state’s writing assessment (Stover n.p.). At present, only ten percent of states â€Å"†¦currently incorporate computers into their writing assessments, and two more [are] piloting such exams† (Cavanagh 10). As technology becomes more accessible for all public education students, the possibilities for not only computer-based assessment but also AES become very real. Automated Essay Scoring Weighing the technological possibilities against logistical considerations, however, when might we expect to see full-scale implementation of AES? Semire Dikli, a Ph.D. candidate from Florida State University, writes that â€Å"†¦for practical reasons the transition of large-scale writing assessment from paper to computer delivery will be a gradual one† (2). Similarly, Russell and Haney â€Å"†¦ suspect that it will be some years before schools generally †¦ develop the capacity to administer wide-ranging assessments via computer† (16 of 20). The natural extension of this, then, is that AES cannot happen on a large-scale until we are able to provide conditions that allow each student to compose essays via computer with Internet access to upload files. At issue as well is the reliability of the company contracted to do the assessing. A March 24, 2007 Steven Carter article in The Oregonian reports that access issues resulted in the state of Oregon canceling its contract with Vantage and signing a long-term contract with American Institutes for Research, the long-standing company that does NAEP testing. Even though the state tests only reading, science, and math this way (not writing), it nevertheless indicates that reliable access is an ongoing issue that must be resolved. Presently, there are four commercially available AES systems: Project Essay Grade (Measurement, Inc.), Intelligent Essay Assessor (Pearson), Intellimetric (Vantage), and e-Rater (ETS) (Dikli 5). All of these incorporate the same process in the software, where â€Å"First, the developers identify relevant text features that can be extracted by computer (e.g., the similarity of the words used in an essay to the words used in high-scoring essays, the average word length, the frequency of grammatical errors, the number of words in the response). Next, they create a program to extract those features. Third, they combine the extracted features to form a score. And finally, they evaluate the machine scores empirically,†(Dikli 5). At issue with the programming, however, is that â€Å"[t]he weighting of text features derived by an automated scoring system may not be the same as the one that would result from the judgments of writing experts† (Dikli 6). There is still a significant difference between â€Å"statistically optimal approaches† to measurement and scientific or educational approaches to measurement, where the aspects of writing that students need to focus on to improve their scores â€Å"are not the ones that writing experts most value† (Dikli 6). This is the tension that Diane Penrod addresses in Composition in Convergence that was mentioned earlier, in which she recommends that teachers and compositionists become proactive by getting involved in the creation of the software instead of leaving it exclusively to programmers. And this makes sense. Currently, there are 50-60 features of writing that can be extracted from text, but current programs only use about 8-12 of the most predictive features of writing to determine scores (Powers et. al. 413). Moreover, Thomas writes that â€Å"[c]omposition experts must determine what students learn about writing; if that is left to the programmers and the testing experts, we have failed† (29). If compositionists and teachers can enmesh themselves in the creation of software, working with programmers, then the product would likely be one that is more palatable and suitable based on what we know good writing is. While the aura of mystery behind the creation of AES software is of concern to educators, it could be easily addressed by education and involvement. CCC reasons that â€Å"†¦ since we can not know the criteria by which the computer scores the writing, we can not know whether particular kinds of bias may have been built into the scoring† (4 89). It stands to reason, then, that if we take an active role in the development of the software, we will have more control over issues such as bias. Another point of contention with moving toward computer-based writing and assessment is the concern that high-stakes testing will result in students having a narrow view of good writing, particularly those moving to the college level, where writing skill is expected to be more comprehensive than a prompt-based five-paragraph essay written in 30 minutes. Grand Valley State University’s Nancy Patterson opposes computer scoring of high stakes testing, saying that no computer can evaluate subtle or creative styles of writing nor can they judge the quality of an essay’s intellectual content (Stover n.p.). She also writes that â€Å"†¦standardized writing assessment is already having an adverse effect on the teaching of writing, luring many teachers into more formulaic approaches and an over-emphasis on surface features† (Patterson 57). Again, education is key here, specifically teacher education. Yes, we live in a culture of high-stakes testing, and students must be prepared to write successfully for this genre. But, test-writing is just that, a genre, and should be taught as such – just not to the detriment of the rest of a writing program – something that the authors of Writing of Demand assert when they write: â€Å"We believe it is possible to integrate writing on demand into a plan for teaching based on best practices† (5). AES is not an attack on best practices, but a tool for cost-effective and efficient scoring. Even though Thomas warns against â€Å"the demands of standards and high stakes testing† becoming the entire writing program, we still must realize that computers for composition and assessment can have positive results, and â€Å"[m]any of the roadblocks to more effective writing instruction – the paper load, the time involved in writing instruction and assessmen t, the need to address surface features individually – can be lessened by using computer programs† (29). In addition to pedagogical concerns, skeptics of AES are leery of the companies themselves, particularly the aggressive marketing tactics that are used, particularly those that teachers perceive to be threats not only to their autonomy, but their jobs. To begin, companies aggressively market because we live in a capitalist society and they are out to make money. But, to cite Penrod, â€Å"both computers and assessment are by-products of capitalist thinking applied to education, in that the two reflect speed and efficiency in textual production† (157). This is no different than the first standardized testing experiments by the Carnegie Foundation at the beginning of the 20th Century, and it is definitely nothing new. Furthermore, Herrington and Moran admit that â€Å"computer power has increased exponentially, text- and content- analysis programs have become more plausible as replacements for human readers, and our administrators are now the targets of heavy marketing from com panies that offer to read and evaluate student writing quickly and cheaply† (480). In addition they see a threat in companies marketing programs that â€Å"define the task of reading, evaluating, and responding to student writing not as a complex, demanding, and rewarding aspect of our teaching, but as a ‘burden’ that should be lifted from our shoulders† (480). In response to their first concern, teachers becoming involved in the process of creating assessment software will help to define the task the computers perform. Also, teachers will always read, evaluate, and respond, but probably differently. Not all writing is for high-stakes testing. Secondly, and maybe I’m alone in this (but I think not), but I’d love to have the tedious task of assessing student writing lifted from my plate, especially on sunny weekends when I’m stuck inside for most of the daylight hours assessing student work. To be a dedicated writing teacher does not necessarily involve martyrdom, and if some of the tedious work is removed, it can give us mor e time to actually teach writing. Imagine that! The Future of Automated Essay Scoring On March 14th, 2007, an article appeared in Education Week that says that beginning in 2011, the National Association for Educational Progress will begin conducting the testing of writing for 8th and 12th grade students by having the students compose on computers, a decision unanimously approved as part of their new writing assessment framework. This new assessment will require students to write two 30-minute essays and evaluate students’ ability to write to persuade, to explain, and to convey experience, typically tasks deemed necessary both in school and in the workplace (Olson 23). Currently, NAEP testing is assessed by AIR (mentioned above), and will no doubt incorporate AES for assessing these writings. In response, Kathleen Blake Yancey, Florida State University professor and president-elect of NCTE, said the framework â€Å"Provides for a more rhetorical view of writing, where purpose and audience are at the center of writing tasks,† while also requiring students to write at the keyboard, providing â€Å"a direct link to the kind of composing writers do in college and in the workplace, thus bringing assessment in line with lifelong composing practices† (Olson 23). We are on the cusp of a new era. With the excitement of new possibilities, though, we must remember, as P.L. Thomas reminds us, that while â€Å"technology can be a wonderful thing, it has never been and never will be a panacea† (29). At the same time, we must also discard our tendency to avoid change and embrace the overwhelming possibilities of incorporating computers and technology with writing instruction. Thomas also says that â€Å"[w]riting teachers need to see the inevitability of computer-assisted writing instruction and assessment as a great opportunity. We should work to see that this influx of technology can help increase the time students spend actually composing in our classrooms and increase the amount of writing students produce† (29). Moreover, we must consider that the methods used to program AES software are not very different than the rubrics that classroom teachers use in holistic scoring, something Penrod identifies as having â€Å"numerous subsets and criteria that do indeed divide the students’ work into pieces† (93). I argue that our time is better spent working within the system to ensure that its inevitable changes reflect sound pedagogy, because the trend that we’re seeing is not substantially differently from previous ones. The issue is in how we choose to address it. Instead of eschewing change, we should embrace it and make the most of its possibilities.

Financial Markets and the Risks They Run :: Financial Markets Institutions Finances Essays

Financial Markets and the Risks They Run Outline the differences between a broker and a dealer (or marketmaker) in financial markets, including discussions of how they are remunerated and what risks they run. A financial market consists of diverse financial assets traded between buyers and sellers. In addition to enabling exchange of previously issued financial assets, financial markets make possible the borrowing and lending by facilitating the sale by newly issued financial assets. Examples of financial markets include the New York Stock Exchange (which is involved in the resale of previously issued stock shares), the U.S. government bond market (which is involved in the resale of previously issued bonds), and the U.S. Treasury bills auction (sales of newly issued T-bills). A financial institution is an organization whose primary source of profits is through financial asset transactions. Examples of such financial institutions include discount brokers, banks, insurance companies, and complex multi-function financial institutions such as Merrill Lynch. Financial institutions participate in financial markets by creating and/or exchange of financial assets. In the financial market there are four institutions that carry out in this type of trade. One of which is a broker which is a commissioned agent of a buyer/seller who facilitates trade by locating a seller/buyer to complete the desired transaction. A broker does not take a position in the assets he or she trades; there is no maintaining of inventories in these assets on behalf of the broker. The commissions they charge to the users of their services determine the profits of brokers. Examples of brokers include real estate brokers and stockbrokers. Dealers, like brokers, facilitate trade by matching buyers with sellers of assets; they do not engage in asset transformation. Unlike brokers, however, a dealer can and does "take positions" (i.e., maintain inventories) in the assets he or she trades that permit the dealer to sell out of inventory rather than always having to locate sellers to match every offer to buy. Also, unlike brokers, dealers do not receive sales commissions.

Leadership Reflection Essay

1. Background Floods of memories flashed through my mind as I recall the problems I faced when I stepped up to lead the team during the second meeting. Problem 1 The objective of the meeting was to come up with the programme outline, so that we can draft the proposal and show our execution plans to our beneficiary. As the leader, I facilitated the discussion to allow my team mates to partake and contribute ideas, but most of them appeared reserved. Despite my utmost effort to encourage them to express their views, I found myself doing the talking most of the time. When I asked for their opinions on my suggestions, the common answers elicited from them were ‘All right’ or ‘Sounds good’. Upon dividing the programme into different sub-events (such as games station, ice-breakers, teaching of jingle, etc), I allocated a portion to each member, so that each of us can research on our individual activity and provide more in-depth details for the proposal. Besides that, I offered to collate everyone’s work and come up with the framework of the proposal. The stipulated deadline was the subsequent week (the third meeting). During the week, I sent out some emails that constituted some of my humble opinions and suggestions on the different sub-events in the light of cultivating a team environment whereby ideas are expressed and exchanged freely. However, most of my team mates did not reciprocate, notwithstanding my reminder to request them to read the emails. Problem 2 Furthermore, as I was collating everyone’s work, I realized that some of them submitted work that was slipshod in my perspective. Some work exhibited direct copying attempt from the internet without any paraphrasing or analysis, while others lacked structure, thoroughness and forethoughts. For instance, John prepared the ‘logistics’ document, but he merely listed the logistics in scatter of words with the absence of a table or structure and excluded many essential details like quantity and deadlines to purchase them. With all the aforementioned occurrences I faced, I bottled all my feelings and took everything in my stride. After assembling everyone’s work, I edited the proposal myself by injecting my ideas, rephrasing the words and researching on my other team mates’ parts. 2. Self-reflection I found myself thrown into a pool of mixed emotions – disappointment, anger, confusion and discontentment. To describe all these emotions in one word, it would be ‘disheartened’. Disappointment I believed that creativity is an imperative quality that is necessary in the making of an effective team, and to foster creativity, we should be straightforward with our ideas so that we can combine and refine them to create the best outcome. Thus, when I was the leader, I placed a significant proportion of emphasis on establishing a climate of discussions and interactions. I also hold the conviction that if I have any interesting insights or plausible ideas, even if the work is designated to my other team mate, I should still share with the rest instead of keeping them to myself. This is my understanding on the essence of ‘team work’. All the sub-parts tasked to the individual team member will ultimately be organised together and the final product will be submitted as a team effort. Hence, I was very disappointed by the low frequency of team mates voicing out their ideas to support one another. The lack of response painted an impression that everyone was focusing solely on their parts independently instead of considering the overall picture. Anger Secondly, I was furious when some of my team mates submitted work without meeting the basic requirements. In my point of view, it is the responsibility of every member that whenever tasks are allocated to them, they should demonstrate some professionalism in their work by performing extensive research or analysis to achieve its basic objectives. When a member performs the task poorly, it impedes the team’s efficacy, especially if it inconveniences another member to stand in and complete the remaining work. In the midst of experiencing such array of emotions, I kept my cool and tried my best not to show it, because my nature is not prone to expressing feelings. To be frank, I was also afraid of igniting unnecessary conflicts or shaking the team spirit. Hence, I did not raise these issues with my team mates. Confusion and Discontentment Coupled with exhaustion and stress, I became increasingly baffled and displeased with myself. As a leader, I felt that I am not doing enough to understand and solve the problem. If I tolerated everything, pretended that the team was progressing smoothly and not ameliorate the obstacles, how can I call myself a responsible leader? Being responsible does not only entail the fulfillment of obligations. There are two parts to this empowering word. The first half is ‘respons’ which means ‘response’. The second half, ‘ibility’, is a variant of the word â€Å"ability†. Therefore, ‘responsibility’ broken down to its roots literally means respond with ability. It means accepting the situation for what it is and choosing to respond rather than react to it. To me, the members in a team are paralleled to different instruments in a symphony. Each instrument produces a different sound and plays a different melody line. A symphony always sets out to provide a flawless work of art, displaying the harmony achieved by its many intricate melodies from different instruments. For my team to be that ‘symphony’ I envisioned, I told myself that I need to be responsible by responding to the situation. ‘How can I inspire them to join in the bandwagon towards achieving a cohesive and efficient team?’ With this question, I was determined to find the root of the problems and remedy them. 3. Application of leadership concepts Identifying the problems Through the leadership concepts learnt during lesson, I identified that the main problem of my team was called ‘groupthink’. Most of the team members were reluctant to express their opinions to question the viewpoint made by others. Dissenting views were often suppressed or absent in favour of consensus. Understanding the causes was next in line after identifying the problem. I realized that there were 2 main reasons that led to the ‘groupthink’ problem in my team. Causes of the problems Firstly, according to the Big 5 model personality test that we did in class, the trait of ‘agreeableness’ appeared predominantly under the top 2 traits that my team mates possess, including myself. Perhaps we concentrate so much on our relations and that deterred most of us from expressing opposing views, leading to us accommodating to each other’s decisions and conform to unanimity instead of objectivity. This stifles creativity as a team. Secondly, from the Ten characteristics of Effective Teams, I reckoned that my team lacked the ‘vision’. Aligning to a team vision means all members having a clear comprehension of achieving the shared goals through individual commitment and common standards. The existence of ‘groupthink’ could possibly be due to some members’ lack of regard for the importance of the project, giving less attention to the contribution of ideas or smaller priority in achieving quality work. The lack of understanding on the team’s common expectations also gave rise to differences in perspectives on the standards of work values and attitude. The last problem lies in me. From the Leadership Grid of ‘Concern for Production’ against ‘Concern for People’ covered under the Contingency Theories In Leadership, I rated myself as a low structure high consideration country club leader. It explains the suppression of my emotions to maintain an easy-going image and my lack of courage to pin-point the issues I faced as a leader. I needed to work on building my ‘authority- compliance’ aspect and not let my concern for people override my concern for productivity. Solving the problem After recognizing the causes of the problem, I picked up my courage. With sensitivity and tact, I told my team the predicament I faced as the leader, and how we could address the problems by applying the leadership concepts we have learnt. To build an open communication, I infused more humour in discussions and constantly make positive affirmations to other members, allowing meetings to be conducted in a friendlier and less-solemn setting. I also attempted to elaborate on a participant’s contribution with examples and suggest new angles to view problems. These helped to prompt them to speak up more frequently. Next, every team member took turns to articulate the objectives we wished to achieve individually and as a team. After understanding each other’s’ needs and establishing a common vision which everyone could connect with, we took some time to come up with a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in the Team Charter, whereby we determined the criterion on acceptable standards and behaviour. At this time, I took the opportunity to let my team understand my stance regarding individual commitment and quality of work. I was pleased to see all of them acknowledge where I was coming from and promised to strive for better performance. Furthermore, I initiated a fortnight peer evaluation (see appendix 3.1) to recognize the terrific efforts from my team mates, and learn to work on our weaknesses. This will also help the team to keep our efficiency balance in check. After all the efforts into effecting changes in my team, I am delighted to see everyone making consistent progress. The ‘groupthink’ problem is resolved and views are exchanged more openly and regularly. With the strengthening of team’s camaraderie and competency, conflicts are minimized and communication is much more open than before. As for myself, I feel that I became more vocal and candid with my views too. Whenever I foresee or identified any problem, I will discuss the solutions with my team mates instead of avoiding them. In conclusion, there is definitely room for improvement for myself and the team. However, I am gratified that I have discovered more about myself and be part of the experience grown from a group of once-seemed ‘independent individuals’ to a unified team of comrades.

Intermediate 1 Research Paper

Intermediate Accounting 1 (3367) — Fall 2012 Research Assignment Questions Directions: Type your answer starting on the line after each question. 1. FASB Accounting Standards Codification FASC a. When did the FASC Codification become effective? The FASC became effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009 even though the authoritative version of the Codification was released on July 1, 2009. b. Did the FASC change prior GAAP? The FASC did not change prior GAAP but it instead reorganized previous GAAP into a new structure. This new structure is organized into a new research database that is supposed to be user friendly and make finding certain GAAP easier to use.c. What does the FASB expect from the new FASC structure and system? The FASB has high expectations from the new FASC system including reducing the amount of time and effort that is used to solve an accounting research issue. The FASC also expects the Codification to mitigate the risk of noncompliance through easier usability of accounting literature. The Codification is also expected to provide accurate information through real time updates whenever Accounting Standards Updates are released and to assist the FASC with all of the research and convergence efforts.d. What are the â€Å"topics† used in the ASC? There are six major topics that are used in the ASC. The first one is The General Principles Area wh ich includes broad conceptual matters. The next one is The Presentation Area which shows information is presented in the financial statements.The Assets, Liabilities, and Equity Areas have guidance on all of the balance sheet accounts while the Revenue and Expense Areas have guidance on all of the income statement accounts. The next topic that is used in the ASC is The Broad Transactions Area which deals with some financial statement accounts and is generally transaction based. The final topic used in the ASC is The Industry Area which contains guidance on how to account for specific industries or activities.e. Are SEC references included in the ASC? There are SEC references included in the ASC which are used to increase the utility of the Codification for public companies. The referenced materials include: Regulation S-X, Financial Reporting Releases, Interpretative Releases, and some SEC staff guidance.2. Transfer of Receivables FASC 860-10(a) Identify relevant Codification sectio n that addresses transfers of receivables. The main relevant Codification section that addresses the transfer of receivables is FASC 860-10-55. While there is information in other sections, most of it is found within section 55.b) What are the objectives for reporting transfers of receivables? The main objective for the reporting transfers of receivables is to provide users with an understanding of a transferor’s continuing involvement with any transferred financial assets. It is also to provide any restrictions on assets reported in the financial statements and also to show how a transfer of financial assets affects a business’s financial position, financial performance and cash flows.(c) Provide definitions for the following: 1. Transfer.A transfer is the conveyance of a noncash financial asset by and to someone who is not the issuer of that financial asset. 2. Recourse. Recourse is the right of the transferee of receivables to receive payment from the transferor of those receivables for: Failure of debtors to pay when due, the effects form prepayments, or adjustments resulting from defects in the eligibility of the transferred receivables. 3. Collateral. Collateral is any personal or real property in which a security interest has been given.(d) Provide other examples (besides recourse and collateral) hat qualify as continuing involvement. Several examples of continuing involvement that are provided by the ASC include: Servicing arrangements, agreements to purchase or redeem transferred financial assets, arrangements to provide financial support and the transferor’s beneficial interests in the transferred financial asset.3. Inventories FASC 330-10(a) Identify the primary authoritative guidance for the accounting for inventories. The primary authoritative guidance for the accounting of inventories is FASB Accounting Standards Codification topic 330.b) List three types of goods that are classified as inventory. What characteristic will aut omatically exclude an item from being classified as inventory? The three types of goods that are classified as inventory are goods awaiting sale (finished goods), goods in the course of production (work-in-process), and goods to be consumed directly or indirectly in production (raw materials). The definition of inventory does not include any long term assets that are subject to depreciation accounting. Therefore if an asset is depreciable, it is not included as inventory.c) Define â€Å"market† as used in the phrase â€Å"lower-of-cost-or-market. † The word market in the phrase â€Å"lower-of-cost-or-market† means the replacement cost of your inventory. It is the cost that it would take to buy the same inventory new.4. Asset Impairments FASC 360-10 / 820-10(a) What is the authoritative guidance for asset impairments? Briefly discuss the scope of the standard (i. e. , explain the types of transactions to which the standard applies).(b) Give several examples of ev ents that would cause an asset to be tested for impairment.(c) What is the best evidence of fair value?d) Does it appear that ABC should perform an impairment test? Explain.5. Notes Payable FASC 835-30(a) Identify the authoritative literature that provides guidance on the zero-interest-bearing note. Use some of the examples to explain how the standard applies in this setting.(b) How is present value determined when an established exchange price is not determinable and a note has no ready market? What is the resulting interest rate often called?(c) Where should a discount or premium appear in the financial statements? What about issue costs?