tornadoes Essays (235 words) - Meteorological Phenomena, Meteorology

Tornadoes The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. Nahum 1:3 Tornadoes are tapered, files of air that violently rotate. There are different types of tornadoes. Some of these types are, the Fire Whirl, Multiple Vortex Tornado, Waterspout Tornado, Landspout Tornado, Dust-Devil Tornado, Gustnado Tornado. Crazy and unpredictable wind traps are formed in thunderstorms when hot air rises and the cool air sinks. First, when the hot air rises it pushes the cold air down causing a circular motion. As this circular motion continues, it gains speed. Once it is twirling fast enough, it starts to grow. Eventually the whirl will hit the ground and starts its destruction. Tornadoes form all over the world in various places such as, Australia, Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Asia, North America, and South America. They are most common in the South where the temperature is hotter. This is because tornadoes need hot and cool air to form. Weather can be very dangerous. Out of all the atmospherical storms, tornadoes are the most violent. In conclusion, tornadoes are rapidly spiralling funnels that live in the south and destroy whatever they can reach. Thank goodness they are not native to Washington .

Mexico and United States Foreign Policy Relations

Mexico and United States Foreign Policy Relations Mexico was originally the site of various Amerindian civilizations such as the Mayas and the Aztecs. The country was later invaded by Spain in 1519 which led to a prolonged colonial period that would last until the 19th century when the country finally gained its independence at the end of the war of independence. Mexican-American War The conflict was sparked when the U.S. annexed Texas and the Mexican government refused to recognize the secession of Texas which was the precursor to the annexation. The war, which began in 1846 and lasted for 2 years, was settled via the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which led to Mexico giving up even more of its land to the US, including California. Mexico further transferred some of its territories (southern Arizona and New Mexico) to the U.S. via the Gadsden Purchase in 1854. 1910 Revolution Lasting for 7 years, the 1910 revolution ended the rule of the dictator president Porfirio Diaz. The war was sparked when the U.S.-supported Diaz was proclaimed the winner of the 1910 elections despite mass popular support for his rival in the election Francisco Madero. After the war, the various groups that made up the revolutionary forces splintered as they lost the unifying goal of unseating Diaz - leading to a civil war. The U.S. intervened in the conflict including the involvement of the U.S. ambassador in the plotting of the 1913 coup dà ©tat which overthrew Madero. Immigration A major issue of contention between both countries is that of immigration from Mexico to the U.S. The September 11th attacks increased the fear of terrorists crossing over from Mexico leading to a tightening of immigration restrictions including a U.S. Senate bill, heavily criticized in Mexico, supporting the construction of a fence along the Mexican-American border. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) NAFTA led to the elimination of tariffs and other trade barriers between Mexico and the U.S. and serves as a multilateral platform for cooperation between both countries. The agreement increased trade volume and cooperation in both countries. NAFTA has come under attack from Mexican and American farmers and the political left claiming that it hurts the interest of local small farmers in both the U.S. and Mexico. Balance In Latin American politics, Mexico has acted as a counterweight to the policies of the new populist left characterized by Venezuela and Bolivia. This led to charges from some in Latin America that Mexico is blindly following U.S. commands. The biggest disagreements between the left and current Mexican leadership is whether to enlarge American-led trade regimes, which has been Mexicos traditional approach, versus a more regional approach favoring Latin American cooperation and empowerment.

Consulting Case Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Consulting Case Assignment - Essay Example The firm’s quick ratio during 2003-2004 was 0.79. In 2003-2004 the cost of goods sold of the company increased by 41.20% The cost of gods sold of the company have increased at an alarming rate considering that the sales growth factor in fiscal year 2003-2004 was 6.40%. Higher costs of goods sold have diminished the profitability of the company. The cash position of the firm is catastrophic. Its cash balance has been declining since 2001-2002. The cash balance of the firm this year was -$5,804. The organization is suffering from cash flow problems. The situation has escalated to a point that the firm might be forced to shutdown operations because the company will be unable to pay its short term obligations without any cash. Cash is the most important asset because it is used to pay for business transactions. Another problem that the company faces is limited production capacity. The lack of production capacity is hurting the ability of the company to take large orders. Two human resource problems the firm has are absenteeism among the staff and underperforming managers and supervisors. The first issue that must be attended is resolving the cash flow position of the firm. The company is at the blink of bankruptcy. Typically all loans go into default after 90 days without payment. A simple solution that the firm can implement in the short term to solve the liquidity issues of the firm is factoring. Factoring is the sale of the account receivables of the company at a discount. The balance of accounting receivables of the company is $123,501. If the firm is able to factor its receivables at a 10% discount rate the company will generate a cash influx of $111,151. The firm also has to attend the problem of rising cost of goods sold. The increase in costs is the main reason that the profitability of the company is negative. A solution to reduce cost of goods sold is sourcing materials from a Chinese manufacturer. China is the top

Small scale soda bottle rocket launcher capable of shooting a two Research Paper

Small scale soda bottle rocket launcher capable of shooting a two liter soda bottle repetitively and at different angles - Research Paper Example Movable joints are utilized to rotate the launcher at different angles. A thin coat of cement is applied to prevent any leak. It helps to understand the laws of physics that are related to the motion of the rocket. Introduction Newton’s Laws of motion play an important role in our life. Laws of motion depict a scientific explanation for the different type of works we do in our daily routine with respect to locomotion and actions related to motion. In vehicular motion, laws of motion play an important role in determining the distance, time and velocity of the moving object. On the other hand, the motion of rocket and similar types of propulsion engines, laws of motion are also utilized to depict the relation between the force, acceleration and mass of the object and the force to carry and move the mass. Rockets works by utilizing second and third law of motion, where the ignited fuel acts as the force to continue the motion of the rocket. ... The small Soda bottle rocket launcher is much effective in understanding the procedure and the process which makes a rocket accelerate at such high speed. Research and Literature Review Soda bottle rockets make utilization of used soda bottle, which are capable to high pressure due to the strength of the plastic is uniquely selected to bear the immense pressure of soda inside the bottle. Such types of bottle can be used for a normal pressure application. Soda bottles are considered best for the soda bottle rockets due to the capacity and incredible design and light weight of the bottle. In colleges and homes many people build the launching pads for launching the water soda bottle rockets to clear the concepts of real rockets and in homes, it is considered as the fun to launch the empty soda bottle water rocket. Most soda bottles are soft drink bottles, which hold cola or other soda based flavors (Kagan, Louis & Lynda, 150). Soda water rockets can reach as much as 100 meters on the ve rtical axis and more than 100 meters on the horizontal axis provided that the projectile is carefully selected to be 45 degrees (Gurstelle, 34-45). The soda bottles are partly filled with water and then the water is pressurized by pumping air into the bottle by utilizing a hand pump or an electric or mechanical compressor. Any other fluid can also be utilized instead of water, but water presents the best qualities as compared to all other fluids. The most significant feature is the least cost and massive availability of water (Kagan, Louis & Lynda, 150). Water rockets mostly rely on the pressurized air. The more the amount of pressurized air,

New Venture Creation and Business Planning Essay

New Venture Creation and Business Planning - Essay Example Particularly, cash flow forecast indicates Tea Infusions will sustain cash reserves of  £0.18 million at the end of Year 1 of operations. This is achieved by keeping labour costs low, procuring cost-effective raw product from China, and the high mark-up rate on finished product compared to raw materials costs. The business anticipates long-term profitability and will have substantial retained earnings throughout the first year of operations to pay salaries to executives and employees working in the organisation. Payback of all start-up capital will occur within Year 2 of operations. The business is proactive in identifying potential risks, including information technology failures, equipment failures and issues with supplier competency in delivering timely and fresh products. The company, to explore all potential risks, will be creating a steering committee that reports directly to the Board of Directors as a means of establishing a competent and well-developed risk management system. Tea Infusions recognises that there is a gap in the market for distributing Chinese teas with limited suppliers selling foreign teas. In Brighton, on the Southern coast of England, there are 480,000 citizens that are not being serviced with different Chinese tea products. In the UK as a whole, there is a substantial increase in the population of Asians and the Asian tea culture has gained popularity in the country in recent years. Hence, this illustrates an opportunity to bring top quality Chinese teas to a market with demand for these products and where many rare Chinese teas are unfamiliar to consumer demographics. In Brighton area, rare teas include Dragon Well Tea (Long Jing Tea), Bi Luo Chun Tea, Keemun Black Tea and Ba Bao Tea. Common infusions which accompany a well-bodied cup of tea include the foreign goji berry, lyceum berry, and the red jujube, each with a sense of mystical intrigue and physical

Changes in Teacher Ideologies

Changes in Teacher Ideologies Summarise discuss: Sullivan, K. (1997). Theyve opened Pandoras Box: Educational reform, the new right and teachers ideologies. ln M. Olssen K. Morris Matthews. (Eds.), Education policy in New Zealand (pp. 254-261). Palmerston North, New Zealand: Dunmore Press. (extracts) From page 254: Education Reform and Competing Ideologies Within the extract under investigation, Sullivan is building a case to legitimise his theory that Teachers fundamental professional and ideological principals and intentions are just as important as what and how they teach. In order to clarify his point he provides a model for defining what exactly the concept of an ideology in isolation involves and in the context of educational theories. In his argument he persuades the reader to accept that an ideology is a pre-conceived notion of what humans and in this context in particular teachers are programmed to consider appropriate and exceptional; that an ideology is an individual belief system which can alter politically but not necessarily physically. During the time this piece was written a number of educational reforms were taking place in New Zealand and teacher’s roles were having to adapt accordingly, with the school authorities and boards of trustees exacting greater control over them as employees. Consequently losing them a great deal of freedom within their teaching positions. The extract under discussion proposes that the traditional ideology adopted by most teachers is a humanist approach to life and working with children and adults in a l earning capacity. That this humanist ideal is fundamental to their character and instinctive responsibility as a teacher, or as Sullivan conveys ‘their ideology is largely intuitive and implied, based on some important but usually unstated assumptions’. He then goes on to list these assumptions in detail and proposes the notion that they have deep rooted understandings of how their own role functions under the auspices of the government and the traditional understanding of what they have always meant to mean education in its original context. The rationale for presenting this understanding is in relation to the writer’s broader argument relating to the New Right movement in New Zealand politics which has implemented new educational reforms in antithesis to this humanist ideology. Holistically Sullivan’s overall understanding and opinion of how teachers are adapting is by way of building themselves a new ideology which remains humanist but is also applying a resistance and reinforced method of working practice in response to the government’s new line and legislation. However Sullivan’s theories are not merely a personal observation, the outcomes of his conclusions have emerged from empirical data that he collated from interviews undertaken with fifty primary and intermediate school teachers employed in the Greater Wellington area of New Zealand. The new Education system in New Zealand adheres to an ideology which is essentially anti-humanist and the article is written at a time when the country had been dominated by New Right ideologies. These were in stark contrast to the humanist and liberal ideas that dominated Education in the decades before. The article quotes the progressive Educational pioneer John Dewey. He adhered to the opinion that only constant good is change for the good. Dewey did not measure levels of success based on standards, rather against human inspiration and passion (Tiles, 1990). And it is these measures of standards that Sullivan is critical of in his paper. This is emphasized further in Sullivan’s study Teachers Standards and Professionalism where he suggests that teachers have become pawns in the movement to implement right wing ideology across the country, criticising the new management approach to learning which appears to operate more as a business enterprise. How teachers have lost their authority to parents who dictate the way in which they now function. The modern philosophy of the New Right can be attributed to the breakdown of the original ideals of the Welfare State, reflected not only in New Zealand but in many countries around the world who adopted these principles during and following the outcomes of the Second World War. In particular with the English Government during the 1980’s and the new Conservative driven Education Reform Act of 1988. (Lingard et al, 1993) This new devolved system in New Zealand moved from a centralized arrangement to a structure whereby schools now take responsibility for their own governance and management. The country’s Ministry of education which was established under the 1989 Education Act takes forward the following aims and objectives: provides education policy advice to the Minister of Education and the Government; purchases services on behalf of the Crown; allocates funding and resources to schools and early childhood education providers; oversees the implementation of approved education policies; manages special education services; collects and processes education statistics and information; and monitors the effectiveness of the education system as a whole with ‘Separate education agencies hav(ing) national responsibilities for qualifications and quality assurance’. Additionally most education providers operate independently from Government and are rather controlled by boards of trustees or elected councils. Sourced from: http://www.minedu.govt.nz/educationSectors/InternationalEducation/ForInternationalStudentsAndParents/NewZealandEducationSystemAnOverview/Central_Agencies_and_Providers_A_Devolved_System.aspx, Date accessed 16/10/08 Teachers have consequently needed to adapt and find a new position for themselves as basic blue-collar working classroom teachers in a non-democratic environment. As such this has forced them to build new relationships and alliances with Boards of Trustees and amongst civil society. (Gordon, 1992) To discuss the context of this new change in thinking across New Zealand it has not merely acted in response to the UK government but has primarily acted on the issues that occurred during the 1970’s and 80’s when the country was witness to significant problems relating to trade, business, the balance of power and a dwindling economy. It was these concerns that paved the way for changes to the education system as a means of improving the national standards of the workforce and employment opportunities. (Perris, 1998) The New Right philosophy brings with it a complete list of ideals that include the necessity to implement order, reinstate traditional values, social hierarchy and family responsibility. (Dale and Ozga, taken from Lingard et al, 1993) In addition there is a strong emphasis on the relationship between power and knowledge, including a set of educational benchmarks to achieve forward New Right thinking. These predominantly include: That education should be structured in a way that enables parental influence to succeed over quality Education should be provided within a diverse range of institutions, to which admission is based on selection Provision of Education should be accountable to the parents, by way of the appraisal of teachers and through the frequent testing of students and teachers, with the right of publication of these results. (Bell and Gilbert,1996) Prior to this New Right trend vision which sought to improve schools on the basis of poor economies, gaps in the workforce and ill preparation of young people for the workplace, all curriculum development was governed by the Curriculum Division of the Department of Education and was reviewed regularly with ‘input from subject committees, the Department of Education, teacher groups, training colleges and independent schools. Later included university teachers†¦.’ This philosophy carried on into the 1950’s with a curriculum which was developed and delivered by educators who were considered the most authoritative to do so. (Davis, 2007) This was in line with the traditional concepts established during the 1877 Act which adhered to the National Public School system, with native New Zealand schools falling under the control of the Department of Education and Public Schools ministered by Education Boards. Therefore from 1879 there were two systems of state schools running alongside each other. It was the intention then to eventually integrate the teaching of native and ‘new’ residents to the country, although this was never successfully achieved. The state took control of Education in New Zealand in 1877, adopting a policy which epitomized neutrality. Even the teaching of religion was prohibited. (Bell and Gilbert, 1996). A new Education Act was taken forward in 1914 which sought primarily to consolidate all those strategies of the 1877 legislation and to make further developments to benefit Secondary Education and administration. This was followed up with 43 further amendments until A Commission on Educat ion was conducted in 1962 recommending improvements to teaching salaries, curriculum development, teacher training and the need to reduce class sizes. The proceeding 1964 Education Act failed however to implement any of these recommended changes and merely reinforced the previous statutes. (McClaren, 1974) The Curriculum Division which had been so progressive following the Second World War and into the 1950’s closed in 1989, with the politics of the New Right now dominating the future for educational reform across the country. Much of what had been established during the 1877 Act ‘An Act to make provision for the further Education of the people of New Zealand’ (McClaren,1974) was torn apart in 1989 and reinforced with an Education Amendment Act in 1990 and four further amendments the following year. Interestingly in McClaren’s Education in a small Democracy he emphasizes the negative aspects of Government control throughout this long period of history and the excessive amount of education administration structures that existed, which served to create an often bureaucratic and ineffectual Education system. For example he quotes ‘In 1972 25,000 laymen were working sometimes at cross purposes in the interests of separate, largely isolated sectors of the education system, their energies more often devoted to the improvement of lavatories than to the advancement of learning.’ It is an interesting contrasting theory to that of Sullivan who blames the new market ethos for undermining the ability and capacity of teachers to carry out their role effectively as essentially humanist, bureaucratic actors working for the fundamental ‘social good’ of the child and society as a whole. Considering the business culture of the New Right to be affecting the ideologies inherent in teachers and their philosophy to react against anti-humanist thinking. Sullivan insinuates in his paper ‘Educational reform, the New Right and teachers ideologies’ that teachers are essentially being forced to work against the best interests of the child and instead are having to accommodate the economics and politics being addressed by the parents, Boards of Trustees and civic bodies that they are now accountable to. The Guide to Print Culture in Aotearoa tells us that The Education Act 1877 existed to provide free, compulsory and secular education and standardized r eading systems. The emphasis of the curriculum stressed reading and writing and children were graded according against their ability measured by six standards. The reading texts were predominantly moral tales that were written for the benefit of British council schools and upheld strong values and morals and were ‘directed towards civic and moral duty’ all those considerations that are taken into account by the New Right ideology and yet quite clearly existed in the annals of the original 1877 agenda. Over a century of government control is obviously going to affect the way in which a country adapts to new measures of educational implementation and as Sullivan addresses; it is not necessarily a complete change for teaching staff that is necessary in order to work to a new ideology, but rather a need to maintain their own individual ideologies, whilst adjusting to the New Right agenda. However it is apparent that many of the original ideals of the 1877 Act and those that were adhered to and reinforced decades after are themselves questionable. Schools were segregated and their still remained everyday problems amongst the teaching profession. Department of Education Inspectors reports citing the methods and most significant problems and complaints made by teachers was the lack of reading books and materials for the children to work with. Sourced from http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-GriBook-_div3-N12E47.html, Date accessed 16/10/08 This is not a problem in today’s public Education system. It could also be argued that for such a great number of years for a country to experience no other alternative to state intervention and control it seems obvious that problems will occur with the ‘deep-seated assumptions’ that Sullivan refers to in the teaching profession in terms of their ideologies. Teachers should be acknowledged for their knowledge and skills for understanding how to deliver learning programmes and prepare children for the wider world but in addition to taking on board the legislation they are operating within as well as remembering that the child is the most important factor. Davis philosophically refers to this aptly in his paper Whose Education Is It Anyway? ‘†¦As it says in a quote on a school staff room wall: ‘No one ever got taller through being measured’. Bibliography Sullivan, K ‘Teachers Standards and Professionalism: Contested Perspectives in a Decade of Reform’: Victoria University of Wellington Lingard, B, Knight, J, Porter, P.H (1993) Schooling Reform in Hard Times: Routledge, Dale, R, Ozga, J ‘Two Hemispheres – Both New Right? 1980’s Education Reform in New Zealand and England and Wales’ taken from Lingard, B, Knight, J, Porter, P.H (1993) Schooling Reform in Hard Times: Routledge, Bell, B and Gilbert, J (1996) Teacher Development: A Model from Science Education: Routledge Gordon,L (1992) ‘Educational Reform in New Zealand: contesting the role of the teacher’, International Studies in Sociology of Education, Volume 2, Issue 1 Perris, L (1998) ‘Implementince; Ducationr Eforms In New Zealand: 1987-97 A Case Study’, The Education Reform And Management Series, vol 1, no2 Peters, M, Marhall, J.D (1996) Individualism and Community: Education and Social Policy in the Postmodern Condition: Routledge Davis, R.A (2007) ‘Whose Education Is It Anyway?’ Why It Is Important That Teachers Understand and Question the Broader Contexts Shaping the Curriculum’, New Zealand Journal of Teachers’ Work, Volume 4, Issue 1, 32-38, 2007 Leicester, M, Modgil, C, Modgil, S Education, culture and values: Routledge Tiles, J.E (1990) Dewey: Routledge McClaren, I.A (1974) Education in a Small Democracy New Zealand: New Zealand: Routledge Book Print in New Zealand: A Guide to Print Culture in Aotearoa Education Act 1877 New Zealand Electronic Text Centre Sourced from http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-GriBook-_div3-N12E47.html, Date accessed 16/10/08 Sourced from: http://www.minedu.govt.nz/educationSectors/InternationalEducation/ForInternationalStudentsAndParents/NewZealandEducationSystemAnOverview/Central_Agencies_and_Providers_A_Devolved_System.aspx, Date accessed 16/10/08

The Republic - Book 1 - Theme Of Justice Essay -- essays research pape

The subject matter of the â€Å"Republic† is the nature of justice and its relation to human existence. Book I of the â€Å"republic† contains a critical examination of the nature and virtue of justice. Socrates engages in a dialectic with Thrasymachus, Polemarchus, and Cephalus, a method which leads to the asking and answering of questions which directs to a logical refutation and thus leading to a convincing argument of the true nature of justice. And that is the main function of Book I, to clear the ground of mistaken or inadequate accounts of justice in order to make room for the new theory. Socrates attempts to show that certain beliefs and attitudes of justice and its nature are inadequate or inconsistent, and present a way in which those views about justice are to be overcome. Traditionally justice was regarded as one of the cardinal virtues; to avoid injustices and to deal equitable with both equals and inferiors was seen as what was expected of the good man, but it was not clear how the benefits of justice were to be reaped. Socrates wants to persuade from his audience to adopt a way of estimating the benefits of this virtue. From his perspective, it is the quality of the mind, the psyche organization which enables a person to act virtuously. It is this opposition between the two types of assessment of virtue that is the major theme explored in Socrates’ examination of the various positions towards justice. Thus the role of Book I is to turn the minds from the customary evaluation of justice towards this new vision. Through the discourse between Cephalus, Polemarchus and Thrasymachus, Socaretes’ thoughts and actions towards justice are exemplified. Though their views are different and even opposed, the way all three discourse about justice and power reveal that they assume the relation between the two to be separate. They find it impossible to understand the idea that being just is an exercise of power and that true human power must include the ability to act justly. And that is exactly what Socrates seeks to refute. The Socratic dialogue begins of Socrates recounting a conversation he had with a number of people at the house of Cephalus. Returning to Athens from Piraeus, where they had been attending a religious festival, Socrates and Glaucon are intercepted by Cephalus, who playfully forces them to come to his father’s house. Socrates begins by asking t... ...s are a paradigm case of those in control. The essence of ruling is, therefore, to be unjust and that is why a tyrant is a perfect ruler. He always knows what is to his advantage and how to acquire it. Thrasymachus’ view of justice is appealing but therein lies a moral danger and this is refuted by Socrates. Out of the confrontation with Cephalus, Polemarchus, and Thrasymachus, Socrates emerges as a reflective individual searching for the rational foundation of morality and human excellence. The views presented by the three men are invalid and limited as they present a biased understanding of justice and require a re-examination of the terminology. The nature in which the faulty arguments are presented, leave the reader longing to search for the rational foundations of morality and human virtue. Bibliography Allan, Bloom. The Republic of Plato. Second Edition, Basic Books. 1991 Foster, M.B. The Political Philosophies of Plato. New York, Russell and Russell. 1965 Annas, J. An Introduction to Plato’s Republic. Oxford, Clarendon Press. 1981 White, N.P. A Companion to Plato’s Republic. Indianapolis, Hackett. 1979 Graby, J. An Inquiry into the Works of Plato. New York, McGraw. 1961.