Rat trap boat evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Rat trap boat evaluation - Essay Example Our initial focus will be to discuss the evaluation plan for the construction of the rat trap boat. The evaluation plan will cover the following areas: background, purpose, limitations, questions, methods, instrumentation, time line, and budget. The assignment for the creation of said rat trap boat was initially given in an Engineering and Construction course. The purpose of this project is to create a moving water vehicle that is powered only by the energy stored in the spring from a mouse trap. The following limitations will be set in place: a standard mousetrap, the spring on the mousetrap will be the sole power source, the spring on the mousetrap will be cut and bent, but no heat-treated or chemically alteration will occur, the maximum length of the boat will be 18’ (this does not include the lever arm), all materials used will be non-hazardous, and the vehicle will be self-starting and steer itself. In an attempt to answer these questions the following methodology will be used to create a rat trap boat. First I will cut the balsa wood into a ten inch by five inch rectangle. Then I will cut one end into a point, making a boat shape. I will then cut a four inch by two and a half inch notch into the other end. Next, I will make four three inch by one and a half inch rectangles out of the balsa wood for paddles. I will then cut the dowel down to six inches. I will then hot glue the paddles to the dowel, making sure they are centered and evenly spaced. I will then allow paddles to cool completely. The next major step will be to wrap wire around the dowel on one side of the paddle and twist with a wire cutter. I will then trim it to about one fourth of an inch to make an axle pin. Now it is time to attach a one inch wire in a loop to one side of the back of the boat shape by hot-gluing one end to the top of the wood and the other to the bottom. I will then slide the end of the dowel through the loop and attach the second one inch wire to the other side, around the dowel. It is now important to place the mousetrap on top of the boat shape on the same side as the axle pin. I will then hot glue the mousetrap in place. Then I will tie string to the axle pin and turn the dowel until I have about two feet of string wrapped around it. I will then tie the end of the string to the â€Å"jaw† of the mousetrap securely. I will then set the trap and tighten the string around the dowel. The final step will be to place the boat into the water and release the trap. The jaw should slowly begin to close, pulling the string and causing

Red Cross's Crisis Communications Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Red Cross's Crisis Communications Plan - Essay Example Crisis Communication addresses the process of managing a crisis situation, by roping in measures to counter the ill-effects of the situation. Crisis communication helps in analyzing the detriments and then working on the strengths, while also accentuating the positives. It helps in limiting, restricting and then, countering the negatives achieved during the crisis. Hence, it is a very important function for any organization. This paper is an attempt to analyse the Crisis Communication Strategy for one of the leading stores in Britain---John Lewis. John Lewis the retail store that is one of the most popular ones, in Britain. The store has been functional since 1864 and hence, it carries a legacy, robust management and a favourable position amongst the masses. The retail stores are extremely popular, and has branches in almost every city in the country. John Lewis has an employee base of 60,000 employees and hence, is a huge organization. With the level of popularity and the size of the organization, the stakes are rather high for John Lewis when it comes to handling situations that could be detrimental to its image. Crises situations in the past have occurred. For instance, once there was an instance when fire broke out and the retail company had to handle the situation by developing a good communication plan, to balance and fill in the lacunae. The crisis situation we can take up, is that of a new product launch and its consequent withdrawal. A company invests a large amount of planning, efforts, finance and publicity in the launching of a new product. However, when it is required to be taken off the shelves, it is indeed a crisis situation for the company, since it entails the handling of the stakeholders' interests, besides the financial community and also, the general public who procure a bad image of the company. The situation in John Lewis is the same, and hence, a robust crisis communication plan needs to be chalked out. For this, one must first look at the aims and objectives of the plan: Firstly, the main objective is to reach out to the stake holders, to ensure them that their interests are not at stake and is in the process of betterment. Secondly, it involves reaching out to the masses and delivering the exact scenario, while dispelling myths or apprehensions and ensuring that the company will be back with a bang, with their support. Thirdly, it is to convey to the media, the exact problem, the manner in which it is being solved and how the company is concerned about returning back to the grind, in all positivity. For John Lewis, the policy statement for the addressing of the crisis would be, the revealing of the exact reason behind withdrawal of the product. The product here is a new kitchenware. The appliance is an electrical water heater that can also turn hard water into soft

Benefits of Non Verbal Communication Essay Example for Free

Benefits of Non Verbal Communication Essay Non verbal communication is defined as certain ways that a person communicates his thoughts and meanings without actually saying anything. These are the subtle clues that can help an investigating officer uncover a truth while questioning a suspect or witness or can lead him to more questions that will aid the investigating team. Programs such as CSI have shown us how police officers and crime scene investigators utilize contradicting, complementing, substituting, accenting, or regulating verbal messages. An investigating officer will benefit immensely from being familiar with these methods because of the way a crime scene is most often chaotic and witnesses who are being questioned are dealing with fear of being implicated in the case or perhaps, trying to cover their own involvement in the case. A sample of a contradicting non verbal communication that he can look out for has to do with the way a witness recalls the events as it transpired in a certain case. When a witness is looking down while relating the events transpired, that witness is most likely creating a memory. A person recalling a memory usually looks upward when trying to remember events, places, and situations. Under such circumstances, he should take notes and make sure to verify all the events by interviewing other people who might attest to the validity of the statements previously made. He may also consider the tone of voice of a person being interrogated. When a person is trying to hide a truth, there is a certain intonation and nervousness in the voice that usually causes it to raise in tone by a pitch or so. The officer must make sure to gain the trust and confidence of the witness or accused prior to questioning to keep the person off guard in order to get the most truthful answers out of them. A parole officer on the other hand must be highly observant and familiar with the psychological profile of his parolee that could indicate his behavior during certain situations in order to easily recognize the signs being displayed by the parolee when he comes in for his weekly reports. While meeting with the parolee, he should observe his complementing and accenting behavior. Particularly the first time the person enters the room. Does he shake your hand? Does he make eye contact? Does he seem nervous and on the edge? All of these could add up to a specific non verbal message that will give one an insight into the real score behind what the parolee wants to portray as truth. He should then react accordingly by enticing the person to become more open and share more information with him. In the event that the parolee begins to display accenting behavior such as hitting the table or throwing something, he must be prepared to restrain the person and try to snap him out of his mood. The one non verbal communication that both an investigating and parole officer must be quick to realize are the regulating non verbal communication tools. Such actions could be a simple look of question, a hint of despair in the eyes, or the wringing of hands of the person spoken to. Once recognized, he must be prepared to follow up on the subtle messages either by asking follow up questions or reassuring the person that the officer is in charge and everything is under control. People say that there is no such thing as the perfect crime. I have to agree with that statement because any officer who is familiar and highly observant when it comes to non verbal communication cues will easily be able to follow up on subtle clues not included in the physical evidence present at a crime scene or parole interview.

A History of UK Newspapers | Analysis

A History of UK Newspapers | Analysis This newspaper assignment will set out to critically analyse newspapers by comparing political persuasion, ownership, readership, content and style. The chosen two newspapers that will be analysed will be The Sun and The Guardian. The researcher has chosen to analyse, for this assignment a newspaper story exposing taxpayers cash being wasted by EU chiefs. A brief history of Newspapers British newspapers can be traced back to the 17th century, but they were very different to the types of newspapers many people read today, the information in these early newspapers mainly got distributed to the public in the form of posters, news sheets or pamphlets. The first true British newspaper to be published in Britain similar to the ones we read today was the Oxford Gazette in the year 1665. (London-gazette.co.uk). Although this newspaper was originally called the Oxford Gazette it later changed its name to the London Gazette because of a decision by King Charles the II to move his government to Oxford. The London Gazette from the beginning was a good source of reliable news, especially for information overseas. In fact Wellingtons Waterloo victory was published first in the London Gazette. (London-gazette.co.uk). Brief history of The Sun newspaper The Sun was first published on the 25th of January 1911 and was originally called The Daily Herald. Initially a left wing paper, it was printed periodically to offer support to strikers at the time. In 1922 it became the official newspaper of the (TUC) Trade Union Congress and was a Labour Party supporter at the time. (Historic newspapers.co.uk). After changing its name from The Daily Herald to The Sun, The Sun printed its first edition on the 15th of September 1964. After a short period of two months from the first edition, world media tycoon Rupert Murdoch acquired The Sun after unsuccessful bids by Robert Maxwell. (Historic newspapers.co.uk). The Sun newspaper is owned by The News Corporation Group and is part of the News Group Newspapers. Published daily it sells over 2899,310 copies per day, and at its peak in the mid 90s The Sun was selling over 4,000,000 newspapers a day. Normally considered to be Conservative, The Sun has been known for supporting the ruling party, and even supported Tony Blair during his three election wins. (Historic newspapers.co.uk). The readership age average of The Sun is 15-24 year old, having a higher % of male reading The Sun than females. The Southeast of England has been shown to have the highest readership of The Sun newspaper. (Ipsos-mori.com). Brief history of The Guardian newspaper The Guardian newspaper, originally known as the Manchester Guardian was first published on May the 5th 1821 and founded by a man named John Edward Taylor. The Manchester Guardians intention at the time was to promote liberal interest in the aftermath of the Peterloo Massacre and the growing campaign to repel Corn Laws that Manchester suffered from at the time. To begin with the newspaper was published weekly until 1836 when it was published every Wednesday and Saturday, by 1855 the newspaper became daily. (Guardian.co.uk). Under the editorship of C.P Scott, The Guardian achieved national and international recognition and held this post for 57 years. CP Scott bought the paper in 1907 pledging to uphold the principles of the founders, that the newspaper would retain its independence. After retiring from an active role in managing and editing the newspaper, C.P Scott passed control to his two sons John Russell as manager and Edward Taylor as editor, where these roles would remain until the death of C.P Scott in 1932. Unfortunately only four months after the death of his father, Edward Scott died and sole ownership was passed to J.R Scott. In 1936 this sole ownership was then formally passed to the trustees of The Scott Trust. In 1944 AD Wadsworth took the post of editor where in 1964 the editor and paper moved to London. (Guardian.co.uk). The political persuasion of The Guardian as always learned towards the left supporting Labour throughout most its history, however it has been known to support the LibDems and even supported Conservative in the 1955 election. (Guardian.co.uk). The average readership age of The Guardian is 24-34 year old, with a higher % of males reading The Guardian than females, London has the highest readership of this newspaper. (Ipos-mori.com). The difference between broadsheet and tabloid newspapers Income, age, social class and education have all been shown to have a positive correlation between who reads broadsheet or tabloid newspapers. Tabloid newspapers are usually smaller than broadsheet papers with a simple style, having many more photographs and often focusing on gossip and celebrity news rather than political affairs. Tabloids prefer to use a journalese style of writing promoting emotion in its readers using words like huge, crackdown, bubbly blonde, love rat, love child and cops instead of Police. Broadsheets in contrast like to use longer sentences and paragraphs often going into greater detail in their stories using a less dramatic approach in their writing style. (English lesson 2, newspaper hand out). Analysing the newspaper articles on Yuri Gagarins 50th anniversary first space flight The first main difference that is noticeable between the two chosen newspapers is the style of headlines, The Sun states in its headline First man in space parachuted into a ploughed field and had to borrow farmers phone to tell Moscow he was safe. The Sun is clearly using a comical approach in this headline trying to show the incompetence of the Russian space program at the time, in contrast The Guardian uses a more professional approach in its headlines stating Yuri, we have a problem: secrets of Gagarin trip revealed. The second noticeable difference is the introduction of the two stories, The Sun emphasiss emotion in its readers by using big words such as out of this world, huge blow, and his feat. However The Guardian hints at more informative facts within its story, taking a professional approach mentioning Newly released files cast light on hitches, drawing its readers into the story by hinting at facts and figures. The third noticeable difference between the two stories is how the two papers are structured. The Sun breaks its story up into little sections by using subheadings such as Orbit, Blurry and Spirit, making the story quicker and easier to read by jumping to certain sections of the story if the reader chooses too. The Guardian however chooses not to do this, making for a more comprehensive read. The fourth difference between the two papers is how they give the information within the story. The Sun chooses to give little snippets of information, giving their readers a choice to gain information quickly if they choose too, they do this by adding a timeline and adding subsections. The Guardian again, chooses not do this only giving their readers a choice of the main story or a sub story on a mall statue. The fifth difference is the style of picture between the two papers The Sun uses a larger more dramatic picture mixed with images such as the Vostok 1 blasting off, Gagarins funeral, Images of space and Yuri Gagarin in training. The Guardian however has a much smaller picture only showing Gagarin in his cosmonaut suit. The sixth and final difference between the two newspaper stories is how they are written. The Sun uses a journalese style of writing, for example its story has many words such as tiny, plunges, dramatic, plummeting and profoundly making for a very dramatic read. The Guardian however has a more down to earth approach to its story using more formal words such as technical, acceptable, apparatus and intrigue. Conclusion From analysing the two newspapers it can be clearly seen that they are designed to cater for two very different types of readers. The Guardian seems to be aimed for a more professional type of clientele. The reader of this paper will probably have a university education, with strong political views. The Guardian readers are also more likely commute to work on long train journeys. The style of writing in The Guardian paper gives a more comprehensive read with an in-depth approach to facts and figures it is perfectly suited to the more professional type of individual. The Sun, in contrast seems to be aimed at a totally different type of clientele. With its eye catching headlines and easy to read stories giving short snippets of information. This paper is ideally suited to the individual who is not that fussy on politics, whose education probably ended in college or secondary school, and makes short journeys to work getting small tea breaks throughout the day. The style of The Sun newspaper is perfectly suited to this type of individual who is probably on the go most of the day and doesnt get much time to take in the daily news.

The Florida Everglades Essay -- Geology

THE EVERGLADES: RIVER OF GRASS The Everglades, also known as the River of Grass, is one of South Florida's most treasured areas. It is an area still full of wonder and mystery. The Everglades is lined with a specific type of limestone bedrock formed by tiny organisms called byrozoans. These animals, though not related to coral, act like coral by extracting dissolved limestone from the sea water around them and using it to construct protective chambers in which to live. They then attach to various kinds of sea grasses on the ocean floor and coat them as well. Individual chambers combine together to form rock-like structures. Over thousands of years, when South Florida was completely submerged, a vast amount of this limestone combined with other ocean sediments and was laid down over the area now covered by the Everglades. Prior to the draining activities of humans and its use as an agricultural area, the Everglades was flooded about nine to eleven months of the year. It also lost only about 0.03 inches of soil per year. After the drainage the Everglades began losing soil at approximately 1 inch per year. Now, however, it is only losing 0.56 inches per year. In the Everglades there are a variety of different animals and species that seem to be able to thrive in the same habitat. The truth is that due to elevation differences, and therefore differences in the water level, the Everglades is really an area of interconnecting, but different habitats. One of the more important habitat areas is actually created by one of the Everglades most famous inhabitants – the alligator. The alligators move in and out of holes (depressions) in the limestone described above. By doing this they keep this area lower than the rest ... ...restore natural lands. The federal, state, and local governments are joining forces to bring these pristine natural lands back to their original splendor and beauty. "The question of why we should protect the Everglades has now evolved into how we should restore the Everglades," according to Suzie Unger. "Everglades National Park is the largest remaining sub-tropical wilderness in the continental United States and has extensive fresh and saltwater areas, open Everglades prairies, and mangrove forests. Abundant wildlife includes rare and colorful birds, and this is the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles exist side by side. The park is 1,506,539 acres (606,688 hectares) in size. It is a World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve, and a Wetland of International Significance," according to the following website: http://nps.gov/ever

Type :: essays research papers

We are well accustomed to the written word as a primary method of communication in our culture. Its primary elements, the characters of the modern alphabet, were once quite literal symbols of everyday objects which were gradually abstracted to the letters of the alphabet. While cave paintings, dating as far back as 20,000 B.C. are the first evidence of recorded pictures, true written communication is thought to have been developed some 17,000 years later by the Summerians, around 3500 B.C. They are known to have recorded stories and preserved records using simple drawings of everyday objects, called pictograms. As civilizations become more advanced, they experienced the need to communicate more complex concepts. Around 3100 B.C., Egyptian hieroglyphics incorporated symbols representing thoughts or ideas, called ideograms, allowing for the expression of more abstract concepts than the more literal pictograms. A symbol for an ox could mean food, for example, or the symbol of a setting sun combined with the symbol for a man could communicate old age or death. By 1600 B.C., the Phoenicians had developed symbols for spoken sounds, called phonograms. For example, their symbol for ox, which they called aleph, was used to represent the spoken sound â€Å"A† and beth, their symbol for house, represented the sound â€Å"B†. In addition to sounds, phonograms could also represent words. Today, our own alphabet contains many such phonograms: % for percent, ? for question, and $ for dollars. It is the Phoenicians who are generally credited with developing the first true alphabet— a set of symbols representing spoken sounds, that could be combined to represent spoken language. They traded with many cultures, spreading their alphabet throughout the Western world. Around 1,000 B.C., the Phoenician alphabet was adapted by the Greeks, who developed the art of handwriting in several styles. The word â€Å"alphabet† comes from the first two Greek letters alpha and beta. Several hundred years later, the Romans used the Greek alphabet as the basis for the uppercase alphabet that we know today. They refined the art of handwriting, fashioning several distinctive styles of lettering which they used for different purposes. They scribed a rigid, formal script for important manuscripts and official documents and a quicker, more informal style for letters and routine types of writing. By A.D. 100, the Romans had developed a fast growing book industry and, as Roman handwriting continued to evolve, lower case letters and rough forms of punctuation were gradually added.

John Garcia

John Garcia (born June 12, 1917) is an American psychologist, most known for his research on taste aversion learning. Garcia studied at the University of California-Berkeley, where he received his A. B. , M. A. , and Ph. D. degrees in 1955 at the age of 38.He was appointed Professor Emeritus at Los Angeles' University of California, though he at other points has also been an Assistant Professor at California State College, a Lecturer in the Department of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Professor and Chairman of the Psychology Department at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and Professor of Psychology at the University of Utah. Garcia lived with his parents on their farm. By age 20, he was working as a mechanic making 18-wheeler trucks. A few years later he solved the problem of installing mufflers onto submarines and consequently became a ship fitter. citation needed] During World War II, he joined the United States Army Air Corps and became a pilot; after persisten t nausea, he could no longer fly and he finished his term as an intelligence specialist. When demobilized, he used the G. I. Bill to pay for his college tuition. He attended Santa Rosa Junior College were he achieved a bachelor’s degree. He then attended the University of California at Berkeley where he achieved a master’s degree and Ph. D. Garcia's first postdoctoral job was with the U. S. Naval Radiological Defense Lab in San Francisco, California in 1955. citation needed] He began to study the reaction of the brain to ionizing radiation in a series of experiments on laboratory animals, mainly rats. Garcia noticed that rats avoided drinking water from plastic bottles when in radiation chambers. He suspected that the rats associated the â€Å"plastic tasting† water with the sickness that radiation triggers. During the experiments rats were given one taste, sight, sound as a neutral stimulus. Later the rats would be exposed to radiation or drugs (the uncondition ed stimulus), which would make the rats sick.Through these experiments, Garcia discovered that if a rat became nauseated after presented with a new taste, even if the illness occurred several hours later, the rat would avoid that taste. This contradicted the belief that, for conditioning to occur, the unconditioned response (in this case, sickness) must immediately follow the conditioned stimulus-to-be (the taste). Secondly, Garcia discovered that the rats developed aversions to tastes, but not to sights or sounds, disproving the previously held theory that any perceivable stimulus (light, sound, taste, etc. ) could become a conditioned stimulus for any unconditioned stimulus. citation needed] Garcia's discovery, conditioned taste aversion[1], is considered a survival mechanism because it allows an organism to recognize foods that have previously been determined to be poisonous, hopefully allowing said organism to avoid sickness. As a result of Garcia's work, conditioned taste avers ion has been called the â€Å"Garcia Effect. † Throughout his work Garcia also achieved a number of awards such as the Howard Crosby Warren Medal and the APA Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1983 and has over 130 publications.