Genetic, Biological and Environmental Influences on School-Age Crack Research Paper

Hereditary, Biological and Environmental Influences on School-Age Crack Babies in Dealing with Multiple Stimuli and Forming Close - Research Paper Example Examination has indicated that just about one million newborn children conceived in the USA have been at one time presented to one of the numerous unlawful medications while in utero. The social impacts related with these newborn children or break babies when typically present themselves plainly when these kids arrive at time of going to class. As a rule, the incitement procedure turns out to be exceptionally sporadic and such kids are confronted with challenges of managing these various boosts and have issues with regards to having close connections with individuals around them such an educators and different students (McNichol and Tash, 2001). Managing various improvements and shaping close connections Research has demonstrated that we have a perpetual formative, neurological and conduct outcomes which could be straightforwardly credited to the introduction on medicate use by guardians. One outstanding thing has been that guardians and even scholarly organizations are still very il l-equipped in managing this issue adequately (McNichol and Tash, 2001). Given the earth where such kids are presented to at an early age, it gets hard for them to coordinate completely with the general public around them. Children do acquire certain hereditary segments from their folks. The medication use meddles with a child’s improvement. ... Close perceptions made on these kids have indicated that they are regularly perseveringly pulled back from their condition and appreciate individual space more than keeping organization of others. It has additionally been noticed that these break babies are typically inclined to some unexpected snaps and scenes of savage conduct when contrasted with other kids. These have been ascribed to the way that their folks presented them to drugs in their pre-birth stage. Examination has indicated that newborn children presented to cocaine during the pre-birth stage display expanded danger of having engine brokenness (Schneider and Chasnoff, 1992). Additionally, the danger of having intra-venicular hemorrhages is expanded. Questions despite everything flourish with regards to the specific impact of hemorrhages with regards to the advancement procedure. The introduction has been noted to significantly influence the focal sensory system making irregularities these youngsters (Doberczak, 1988). F ulroth, Phillips and Durand (1989) noticed that various children who have been presented to cocaine in their pre-birth stages give indications of withdrawal from the general public or the earth around them. In any case, a few specialists disputed this basing their contention to the way that the length after birth matters and that the youngsters ordinarily standardize after the ages of 1 to 2 years. In any case, 30 to 40% of those youngsters considered indicated that they encountered language advancement issues which were intensified by consideration issues that experienced their fourth year of development (Schneider and Chasnoff, 1992). Different investigations have likewise indicated that a large number of the youngsters who have been a result of medication misuse related moms have various psychological and conduct challenges. This has been ascribed to the natural impacts. Different examinations such

Significance of Death, Fear, and Deceit in Things Fall Apart Essay Example

Importance of Death, Fear, and Deceit in Things Fall Apart Paper Importance of Death, Fear, and Deceit in Things Fall Apart and Poisonwood Bible The subject of a novel is the main thrust of a book. Regardless of whether the creator doesnt recognize a planned topic, the procedure is coordinated by a controlling thought. In the two books (Kingsolver) and (Achebe) shows this quite well, which compares with the contentions that characterizes each character. The aftereffects of contention can prompt a people demise, experiences dread, and empower misdirection. For instance, the characters in the books passed on account of others. He heard Ikemefuna cry, My dad they have murdered me, nd drew his cleaver and chop him down. (Achebe 61) Ikemefuna was slaughtered by his dad Okonkwo which shows that he couldn't have cared less about him, since he didnt need individuals to think he was frail. Her last swallow of air was ravenous as a babys first breath. (Kingsolver 365) In Poisonwood Bible Ruth May kicked the bucket in light of the fact that a man needed to murder Nelson, who was a laborer at the Cost family. A green mamba snake was plac ed in the chicken coop to slaughter Nelson, yet it bit Ruth May in her neck and she kicked the bucket instantly,which can be contrasted with be frightful. Next, frightful of their prospects, Okonkwo and Rachel has an association of their circumstances. It was a dread of himself, in case he ought to be found to look like his dad. (Achebe 13) In Okonkwos mind he considers his to be as a feeble and ladylike man. Okonkwo exhibits he could be better by: giving food to his family, being an extraordinary fghter, warrior, and an incredible pioneer for his clan. Rachels attitude, so like clockwork or so shed stop whatever she was doing and shout with appall. (Kingsolver 266). In this circumstance Rachel is depicted as being dreadful in light of the fact that she wouldn't like to wed Tata Ndu. Being frightful has an approach to be beguiling. Last, utilizing double dealing increases self-pride. We will compose a custom exposition test on Significance of Death, Fear, and Deceit in Things Fall Apart explicitly for you for just $16.38 $13.9/page Request now We will compose a custom exposition test on Significance of Death, Fear, and Deceit in Things Fall Apart explicitly for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Recruit Writer We will compose a custom exposition test on Significance of Death, Fear, and Deceit in Things Fall Apart explicitly for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Recruit Writer Well incidentally, Father and Mr. Axelroot brought forth up an arrangement. (Kingsolver 269) Rachel is tricky, in light of the fact that it is suggested that she utilizes her dad to get her out of a marriage that she would not like to partake in. Okonkwo misleads Ikemefuna expressing that he would be brought home the following day. (Achebe 57) Okonkwo shows double dealing, since he couldn't have cared less about Ikemefuna, he was stressed over being thought of powerless. Okonkwo in this circumstance is narrow minded, in light of the fact that he was stressed over himself and not Ikemefuna. Taking everything into account, clashes can change the point of view of a story. The aftereffects of contentions can ause individuals to be undermined by death, dread, or misleading. Ruth Mays occurrence represents that her demise made a cost for her family which brought disarray and misery. Okonkwos dread of his dad exhibits how he would not like to assume a job where he is apathetic or rash. Rachels double dealing shows how simple you can control somebody Just to escape a circumstance. The contention in the books help build up the characters to tell the perusers their actual nature. Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor, 1994. Print. Kingsolver, Barbara. The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel. New York: HarperFlamingo, 1998. Print.

How to Register a Trademark A Step-By-Step Process

How to Register a Trademark A Step-By-Step Process Many businesses are under the impression that, once they have registered their business and obtained a license to operate, they are all set and all that’s left to do is to sell their products or services and start earning money. They miss other salient points, and one of them is the trademark. © Shutterstock.com | Rawpixel.comIn this article, you will learn about 1) a  trademark overview and 2) the trademark registration process.TRADEMARK OVERVIEWA trademark is any name, word, phrase, logo, design or symbol that businesses and companies use to assign an identity or distinguishing feature for their goods or products, effectively setting them apart from those of other manufacturers or sellers. The trademark instantly brings about recognition to any customer that sees it. The moment they spot the trademark, they will be able to immediately identify what product it is and, more importantly for businesses, who made it. Essentially, the trademark is the brand name of a company.Physical products or goods make use of trademarks, while service providers have their own respective service marks. They are clearly distinguished from patent, which are meant to protect inventions, and copyrights, which are for the protection of original literary or artistic works.The trademarks that bus inesses eventually decide on must be protected, so that no one else will claim and use them. That is why there is a need to register the trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).Businesses with trademarks duly registered with the USPTO will have the following privileges and benefits:Public notice of the business’ claim of ownership of the trademark or service mark;Legal presumption of the business’ ownership of the mark;Exclusive right to use the trademark in the United States and all other countries where the products or services will be sold;Right and ability to bring an action in federal court on any matter concerning the mark;Right to use the federal registration symbol in their product labels; andInclusion in the listings or databases of the USPTO.Registration of a trademark does not make ownership of the mark permanent. There is a need to maintain it. The registration will remain valid as long as all post-registration maintenance documents are f iled and submitted on a timely basis.THE TRADEMARK REGISTRATION PROCESSRegistering a trademark sounds like a daunting and complicated task. And it is, if you do not know how to go about it. Let us walk you through every step of the process, and you will realize that it should not be all that complicated.To simplify things, we will break the entire process down into four phases: Pre-registration, Mark Selection, the Application Form, Evaluation, until you get the verdict on your application.Phase 1: Pre-RegistrationOnce you have set up your business, you may have decided to immediately register a trademark. Before doing that, however, there are several questions or considerations that must be addressed.Is a trademark truly what you need? As mentioned earlier, trademark is meant for the protection of physical goods or services. Thus, only companies that manufacture or sell physical goods or provide services are eligible to apply for a trademark. Inventions, literary works, composition s and other types of original art are not covered.Do you need to register a trademark, or will your business name suffice? There are instances where having a registered business name will be enough to identify the company or the products and their source. You may also need to look up local rules and statutes on the registration of business names and see if this is allowed.If the answer to the two questions is affirmative, you can move on to the next phase.Phase 2: Mark SelectionThe first thing you have to do before you can apply for a trademark is to select the mark that you will use. This is actually the most difficult part of the process, since selecting a mark must be done with a lot of thought, and several considerations coming into play.First, you have to see if the mark that you want to register is eligible for registration for trademark protection. Is it “registerable”?There are two basic requirements that will make a mark eligible:The mark must be used in commerce. Marks meant for personal use, not business, are not registrable for trademark protection. Commerce, in this context, includes territorial commerce (selling of goods and/or services within the state only), interstate commerce (selling of goods and/or services across state lines), and commerce between the US and foreign counties.The mark must be distinctive or unique. This is so that it can identify and distinguish particular goods or services as produced or provided by one source, and not by anyone else.There are four categories of distinctiveness that the mark may fall under:Arbitrary or fanciful â€" the mark is inherently distinctive. The exclusive rights to the trademark are going to be determined as to priority of use.Suggestive â€" trademarks under this category are treated the same way as those under arbitrary/fanciful.Descriptive â€" trademarks under this category are only eligible for protection if they have already acquired a secondary meaning in the minds and perceptions of the public, particularly the consumers.Generic â€" these trademarks are never going to be protectable, or entitled to trademark protection, since they do not indicate a unique source for the product or service. Instead, they refer to a general class of goods or services.The second thing to consider is whether the mark that you have selected is strong enough on its own, and if the business will not have a difficult time protecting it.When selecting a mark, consider the following:Format of the mark: The mark format could be a standard character, a design, or even a sound. It could even be a combination of several types of marks. Here are some of the more common types of marks.Word marks are “standard character drawings”, where Latin characters are used for the letters and Roman or Arabic numerals are used for numbers. It may also occasionally contain common punctuation marks. Examples include the trademarks of Facebook, SONY, PHILIPS and SUBWAY.Design marks are stylized wordings or de sign, or a combination of both. When submitted for consideration, it must be in .jpg file format and scanned at 300 to 350 dots per inch. It should be between 250 to 944 pixels long and 250 to 944 pixels wide â€" no more, no less. Examples are the stylized texts for Coca-Cola and Disney.Color marks are slightly more difficult to be registered, since there is a need to submit substantial proof of “acquired distinctiveness”, as well as the logo rendered in color. There should also be a color claim naming the colors featured in the trademark, and where the said colors appear in the overall design of the mark.Shape marks show the three-dimensional configuration or the shape or design of the product. Examples include the SHELL logo, the Coca Cola bottle.Sound marks require submission of the file in various audio formats, such as .wav, .wmv, .wma, .mp3, .avi or .mpg. Audio files should not be more than 5MB and video files have a maximum file size of 30MB. The application must be accom panied by a detailed description of the sound. Examples include the T-Mobile ring tone or the ATT sound mark.Goods or services that that mark will be applied to: There is a need to clearly identify what products will be using the trademark, or what service will the service mark be applied to.Availability of the mark: This requires obtaining clearance of the mark for use. The purpose of this step is to minimize or eliminate altogether any possible confusion or redundancy brought about by incidences where the same mark has already been registered and is currently in use.This entails conducting an analysis of all trademarks that are registered with the USPTO, as well as the trademark registries in all the 50 states of the United States. If the product or service is also expected to be sold in countries outside the US, there is a need to check the trademark registries of the countries concerned. You may perform a search on USPTO’s Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) â€" this is free of charge â€" or by personally heading to the Trademark Public Search Library in Alexandria. This is also free.Phase 3: The Application FormOnce you have selected a mark, you must identify your filing basis. There are two bases for you to choose from:“use in commerce”: This basis is for marks that have already been used, or are currently in use. Proof must be provided on the use of the trademark.“intent to use”: This is for marks that have not been used in business yet, but are planned to be used in the future.Now you are ready to prepare your application.Initial application forms are available in the official website of the USPTO (http://www.uspto.gov). The USPTO offers the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), which allows applications to file their application directly online. Applicants may access the system and fill up the electronic forms through their own internet connection, or they can go to any Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) near their l ocation to do so.Those who do not have internet access may opt to file on paper, with a processing fee of $375 for each class of goods or services.To obtain a filing date, make sure that you comply with all the requirements when preparing your application form. Currently, USPTO has three application filing options available, each with their own corresponding processing fees.TEAS Regular: For each class of goods and/or services stated in the application, a filing fee of $325 must be paid. A filing date will be issued to the applicant if the submitted form contains the following:Name of the applicantAddress of the applicant (for correspondence purposes)A clear drawing or representation of the mark selectedA complete listing of goods and/or services of the businessA filing fee for at least one class of goods and/or servicesTEAS Plus: This option is considered to be the one with the most stringent requirements. Applicants have to pay a filing fee of $225 for each class of goods or servi ces. Aside from the minimum requirements, there are additional requirements that must be met by the applicant.TEAS Reduced Fee: The filing fee for TEAS RF applications is $275 for each class of goods or services. It is especially meant to promote processing and communication done purely electronically.Take note that filing an application does not automatically mean the trademark will be registered. In the event that the registration is unsuccessful, the fees paid will not be refunded.Aside from the processing fees stated above, there are other fees that may be required from applicants. For example, applicants that do not meet the filing requirements under TEAS Plus or TEAS RF will have to pay $50 per class of goods or services. You may refer to the Trademark Fees in the USPTO website for a more complete list of the possible fees to be paid.The various methods of payment for the abovementioned trademark fees are the following:USPTO Deposit Accounts, which can be established and subse quently maintained, for a corresponding fee.Credit Cards. Payments may be made using American Express, Discover, MasterCard and VISA.Electronic Funds Transfer may be done for those who have a U.S. bank account.Money orders or checks. They must be made payable to the “Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office”.Phase 4: Evaluation Period to VerdictThis phase involves examination of the application, publication in the Official Gazette, and issuance of a certificate of registration.Vigilance is a must during the period following the submission of application. Monitoring is done through checking the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) System every 3 to 4 months.Your application will be forwarded to an examining attorney, who will be responsible for its complete and final review. It is important that you extend complete cooperation with the examining attorney assigned by the USPTO to your application.In the event that he finds grounds to refuse the registration of yo ur trademark, he will issue an Office Action explaining the reasons thereof. He may also contact that applicant directly if there are corrections or deficiencies of a minor nature that must be rectified.The Office Action must be acted upon by the applicant within 6 months from the date it was mailed by the USPTO examining attorney. No action taken means that the applicant has already given up on the application for trademark registration.Now here is a question on most everyone’s minds: how long does it take for the examination to be completed? It may take several months up to a year. It usually takes around 12 months for the examination to be completed and the registration to be issued, and this is when there are no problems with the application. It may take even longer if there are issues, such as incomplete supporting documents, or certain oppositions to the application.If there are no issues with the application, the examining attorney will now signify his approval of the mark. Approval of the mark by the examining attorney is first manifested through publication in the weekly publication of USPTO, the “Official Gazette”, after duly informing the applicant of the fact. A period of 30 days from the date of publication is provided for any party to come forward with their concerns or oppositions to the mark.If there is an opposition, the proceedings will be taken to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. If not, the USPTO will now register the mark. The applicant, who is now the rightful owner of the mark, will be given a certificate of registration signifying the fact.That does not end there, however. The new owner of the registered mark has to file certain documents to maintain the registration and keep it alive.Finally, here are some additional tips to guide you when you are filling up the application form:All the fields are mandatory, so do not leave any blank fields. Make sure the application form is “completely” filled up, with all the requested information provided. This is to reduce delays.Make sure you have a valid and active e-mail address. To prevent USPTO correspondence from being redirected to your Outbox or Spam, do not forget to include USPTO as one of your authorized e-mail senders.The USPTO does not really require that you use an attorney to represent you when applying for a trademark registration. However, they are not against it either. In case you opt to acquire the services of an attorney, take note that the USPTO allows only attorneys licensed to practice law in the US. They must also be a member in good standing of the state’s highest court.

Application Of A Chinese Culture - 2016 Words

My organization has decided to outsource customer service to the Country of China as part of the company’s decision to cut back on operational costs. I have been selected to travel to China to train the new employees about operational procedures. I understand as an American my cultural values differ from that of Chinese culture, and I do not want to give a bad first impression by inadvertently offending the employees and the management of the Chinese-based office. If I am going to be successful in my mission, I understand that I am going to have to study and know how to implement Chinese culture prior to my trip. There are several factors I must understand before going to China: 1. The significance of Guanxi. Guanxi actually means ‘courting’, and is a gadget of social networks and influential relationships that facilitate commercial enterprise and different dealings. When one has successfully built guanxi with some other, he can be quick to do a favor and act on another’s behalf. Crucially, this is arrangement is give and take, meaning that both parties can assume such favors. This frequently-misunderstood concept is vital in Chinese business tradition, and evidently it takes time for the parties construct guanxi. Now not surprisingly, the procedure for Chinese enterprise people to believe a foreigner and broaden guanxi can frequently take up to at least one-2 years. 2. The significance of Mianzi (face). In Chinese language commercial enterprise way of life, it’s farShow MoreRelatedChinese Thought Patterns And Its Cultural Roots1402 Words   |  6 Pagesher cultural background. According to Kaplan(1996),Chinese thought patterns is the peculiar thought pattern which is considered as spiraling. To make it clear, Chinese people tend to entail a topic without extending the topic directly to the point. 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The target audience of this commercial is represented by a culture which includes three aspects: ecology, social structure and ideology. The ecology in this commercial is a developedRead MoreChinese Music Instruments1574 Words   |  7 PagesChinese music Instruments In this research paper I will introduce four Chinese music instruments: Chinese drum, Guzheng, Qin and Chinese lute. Chinese drum is still very popular in china for the old generation, and they use drum as an exercise for body training. GuZheng is a Chinese traditional instrument; furthermore, I remember when I was in the secondary, one of my classmate played GuZheng very well. In every public holiday, she will show GuZheng; moreover, it’s really specially. The thirdRead MoreDevelopments Of Ancient Chinese Mathematics1643 Words   |  7 Pages Developments in ancient Chinese mathematics reflected the great necessity for organization in China’s expansive domain. In [2]:â€Å"But the main thrust of Chinese mathematics developed in response to the empire’s growing need for mathematically competent administrators†. Administration, then, fueled the need for Chinese mathematical development; practical application formed the foundation. This is not to say that t here were not exceptions, however. China’s golden age of mathematics spanned the 13thRead MoreChinese Culture : Pregnancy And Childbirth1438 Words   |  6 PagesAnalysis of Chinese Culture: Pregnancy and Childbirth Communication Chinese value silence and avoid disagreeing. The purpose of avoidance is to lessen conflict and maintain a peaceful environment. When assessing a pregnant Chinese woman, it is important to understand this idea of silence. The Chinese woman may remain silent during an exam and while the nurse is educating. Although the woman is not verbalizing her understanding, she most likely does. It is important to gauge how the woman demonstrates

Generalization Definition

Generalization is the ability to use skills that a student has learned in new and different environments. Whether those skills are  functional  or academic, once a skill is learned, it needs to be used in multiple settings. For typical children in a general education program, skills that they have learned in school are usually quickly used in new settings. Children with disabilities, however, often have difficulty transferring their skills to a different setting from the one in which it was learned. If they are taught how to count money using pictures, they may be unable to generalize the skill to real money. Even though a child may learn to decode letter sounds, if they are not expected to blend them into words, they may have difficulty transferring that skill to actual reading. Also Known  As:  Community-based  instruction, learning transfer. Examples:  Julianne knew how to add and subtract, but she had difficulty  generalizing  those skills to shopping for treats at the corner store. Applications and Learning Exercises Clearly, special educators need to be sure that they design instruction in ways that facilitate generalization. They may choose to: Teach in different settings in the school.Use real coins to teach money.Take students into the community and give them tasks that require that they use their skills. How about a scavenger hunt at a grocery store? There, you can have students find prices for products on the hunt list.Play store. It gives your students opportunities to read, to add and subtract with a calculator, and to make change and count mixed coins.

Funding Hs Sports Free Essays

State and Federal Aid Brian Alday, Moises Duran, Nuris Finkenthal, and Eric Rossi Grand Canyon University: EDA 535- Public School Finance November 28, 2012 In the last few years our nation has been faced with enormous budget constraints. Nearly every state has either reduced education funding or has maintained funding at a certain level due to the economic downturn of the nation. School districts have needed to find ways to do more with less, especially in the Sunnyside Unified School District. We will write a custom essay sample on Funding Hs Sports or any similar topic only for you Order Now Most of the funding in our district goes toward technology. Although technology is a big part of our 21st Century goals, over funding for one area has been detrimental for our athletic programs. This poses a problem because athletics can be an incentive for students and can encourage them to keep up academically to stay eligible to play. Another important aspect of sports is that it teaches valuable life skills such as adversity, teamwork, integrity, honesty, and responsibility. Sports also build school spirit for both athletes and non-athletes. For these reasons it is important that we keep high school athletics going for students and schools. To improve athletic funding, as an administrator reaching out to local businesses, implementing fundraising campaigns, and organizing booster clubs would be best to financially support the athletic programs at the school. As an administrator it is important to be aware of the schools demographics as well as the school communities needs. The Sunnyside Unified School District has a large number of low-income families, single parent families, and families in which parents have to work two or three jobs to support their families. Asking parents to pay more money for their children to participate in sports is out of the question (even though our district has the lowest participation fees in the state). An avenue that could help raise money for athletics would be to find local businesses around the community to help support athletic programs. â€Å"High schools and other educational institutes everywhere are seeking corporate sponsorship because of district budget cuts, program budgets cuts, and state funding cuts (King, 2006; Pennington, 2004). † As administrator it would be behoove of them to arket their school and create partnerships with local businesses to fund athletic programs. Collaboration between corporate businesses and schools may help build newfound support within the community for its students, its schools, and its programs. With this type of partnership schools can focus on improving academics and athletics, while proving to be beneficial for the local business. Local business can use thei r donations as tax deductions and will demonstrate their invested philanthropic efforts in the community. The daunting reality is that fundraising and schools alone can’t always support athletic programs, â€Å"so schools have turned to nontraditional sources, like sponsorship† (King, 2006; Lickteig, 2003). Support within our community is a must in order for our students to succeed. High schools can use corporate sponsorship to keep their athletic programs afloat and for growth. Although coaches are to develop students’ athletic abilities, they oftentimes turn to players to help them in fundraising efforts. Coaches have to find different ways of fundraising, whether it’s through car washes, cookie dough sales or value cards, these fundraising endeavors help their teams pay for better equipment and gear that will give their team a winning edge. In a perfect world each program would be able to self-sustain expenses for their own equipment, but unfortunately that is not the case for the staff at Desert View. The traditional way of using capital funds is for each sport receives capital monies every 3 years. This is not nearly enough to sustain yearly tournament fees, uniforms, equipment and out of town trips to play other elite teams in the state. Fundraising is not an easy task especially if the players and parents do not buy into what the coach is trying to do. As an administrator a plan would be proposed for all athletic teams to fundraise together, this would eliminate competition between athletic teams within one school site and there would be less conflict of teams selling the same items for their teams. Also all monies would be deposited into one athletic account, which is then distributed evenly to all athletic programs. All athletic programs would be mandated to attend and participate in all fundraising events. To help plan and carry out these events, a Jag Booster club would be created and comprised of parents from each sports team. The booster club would meet once or twice a month to: go over budget plans, create new fundraising ideas, set schedules for different teams to host the snack bar for up-coming athletic events, etc. The Jag Booster club would help alleviate all the pressures from the coach and athletic director by taking on these fundraising roles. The booster club would also oversee any special requests by coaches who ask for more funds for certain equipment and/or for trips. The ultimate decisions will be based upon the discretion of booster club to what will be in the best interest for the entire athletic program. Not only will it get more parental involvement within our schools, but it will also bring our sports programs together to build one common goal of raising funds for all of the athletics. In conclusion, though our school district is facing many budgetary constraints, implementing local business sponsorships, creating fundraising campaigns, and building an overall team booster club, our athletic programs will be able to become more effective in the way we raise funds for not only one program, but all programs, thus allowing coaches to concentrate on coaching, students to concentrate on being student-athletes and achieving excellence References Pennington, B. (2004, Oct. 18). Reading, writing and corporate Sponsorships. New York Times, p. 1 Lickteig, Melissa. (2003). Brand-name schools: The deceptive lure of corporate-school partnerships. The Educational Forum, 68, no. 1, p. 44-51. King, David. (2006, November 30). In hunt for revenue, high schools turn to advertising. San Antonio Express News, 2006. Retrieved February 22, 2007, from Lexis Nexis Academic Database. How to cite Funding Hs Sports, Essay examples

Funding Hs Sports Free Essays

State and Federal Aid Brian Alday, Moises Duran, Nuris Finkenthal, and Eric Rossi Grand Canyon University: EDA 535- Public School Finance November 28, 2012 In the last few years our nation has been faced with enormous budget constraints. Nearly every state has either reduced education funding or has maintained funding at a certain level due to the economic downturn of the nation. School districts have needed to find ways to do more with less, especially in the Sunnyside Unified School District. We will write a custom essay sample on Funding Hs Sports or any similar topic only for you Order Now Most of the funding in our district goes toward technology. Although technology is a big part of our 21st Century goals, over funding for one area has been detrimental for our athletic programs. This poses a problem because athletics can be an incentive for students and can encourage them to keep up academically to stay eligible to play. Another important aspect of sports is that it teaches valuable life skills such as adversity, teamwork, integrity, honesty, and responsibility. Sports also build school spirit for both athletes and non-athletes. For these reasons it is important that we keep high school athletics going for students and schools. To improve athletic funding, as an administrator reaching out to local businesses, implementing fundraising campaigns, and organizing booster clubs would be best to financially support the athletic programs at the school. As an administrator it is important to be aware of the schools demographics as well as the school communities needs. The Sunnyside Unified School District has a large number of low-income families, single parent families, and families in which parents have to work two or three jobs to support their families. Asking parents to pay more money for their children to participate in sports is out of the question (even though our district has the lowest participation fees in the state). An avenue that could help raise money for athletics would be to find local businesses around the community to help support athletic programs. â€Å"High schools and other educational institutes everywhere are seeking corporate sponsorship because of district budget cuts, program budgets cuts, and state funding cuts (King, 2006; Pennington, 2004). † As administrator it would be behoove of them to arket their school and create partnerships with local businesses to fund athletic programs. Collaboration between corporate businesses and schools may help build newfound support within the community for its students, its schools, and its programs. With this type of partnership schools can focus on improving academics and athletics, while proving to be beneficial for the local business. Local business can use thei r donations as tax deductions and will demonstrate their invested philanthropic efforts in the community. The daunting reality is that fundraising and schools alone can’t always support athletic programs, â€Å"so schools have turned to nontraditional sources, like sponsorship† (King, 2006; Lickteig, 2003). Support within our community is a must in order for our students to succeed. High schools can use corporate sponsorship to keep their athletic programs afloat and for growth. Although coaches are to develop students’ athletic abilities, they oftentimes turn to players to help them in fundraising efforts. Coaches have to find different ways of fundraising, whether it’s through car washes, cookie dough sales or value cards, these fundraising endeavors help their teams pay for better equipment and gear that will give their team a winning edge. In a perfect world each program would be able to self-sustain expenses for their own equipment, but unfortunately that is not the case for the staff at Desert View. The traditional way of using capital funds is for each sport receives capital monies every 3 years. This is not nearly enough to sustain yearly tournament fees, uniforms, equipment and out of town trips to play other elite teams in the state. Fundraising is not an easy task especially if the players and parents do not buy into what the coach is trying to do. As an administrator a plan would be proposed for all athletic teams to fundraise together, this would eliminate competition between athletic teams within one school site and there would be less conflict of teams selling the same items for their teams. Also all monies would be deposited into one athletic account, which is then distributed evenly to all athletic programs. All athletic programs would be mandated to attend and participate in all fundraising events. To help plan and carry out these events, a Jag Booster club would be created and comprised of parents from each sports team. The booster club would meet once or twice a month to: go over budget plans, create new fundraising ideas, set schedules for different teams to host the snack bar for up-coming athletic events, etc. The Jag Booster club would help alleviate all the pressures from the coach and athletic director by taking on these fundraising roles. The booster club would also oversee any special requests by coaches who ask for more funds for certain equipment and/or for trips. The ultimate decisions will be based upon the discretion of booster club to what will be in the best interest for the entire athletic program. Not only will it get more parental involvement within our schools, but it will also bring our sports programs together to build one common goal of raising funds for all of the athletics. In conclusion, though our school district is facing many budgetary constraints, implementing local business sponsorships, creating fundraising campaigns, and building an overall team booster club, our athletic programs will be able to become more effective in the way we raise funds for not only one program, but all programs, thus allowing coaches to concentrate on coaching, students to concentrate on being student-athletes and achieving excellence References Pennington, B. (2004, Oct. 18). Reading, writing and corporate Sponsorships. New York Times, p. 1 Lickteig, Melissa. (2003). Brand-name schools: The deceptive lure of corporate-school partnerships. The Educational Forum, 68, no. 1, p. 44-51. King, David. (2006, November 30). In hunt for revenue, high schools turn to advertising. San Antonio Express News, 2006. Retrieved February 22, 2007, from Lexis Nexis Academic Database. How to cite Funding Hs Sports, Essay examples

Starbucks Marketing Strategy free essay sample

Starbucks developed an advantage over its competitors by engaging in partnerships with stores such as Safeway, Barnes Noble where they open cafes to serve their coffee and sell their products. They improved their brand awareness by licensing its brand name on different food products such as ice cream and bottled Frapuccinos 2. What were the principal drivers behind Starbucks’ success in the marketplace? What does the Starbucks brand mean to consumers? How have the growth opportunities pursued that Starbuck has pursued affected the value of its brand name? One of the drivers behind Starbucks’ success is their store locations. The company only open stores in centralized cities in highly visible regions. Stores are always spacious with room for customers to hang out and drink their coffee. They also have great merchandise items such as coffee beverages, whole bean coffee by the pound, pastries, sandwiches, etc†¦ A big part is Starbucks’ success is their employees. We will write a custom essay sample on Starbucks Marketing Strategy or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Their baristas are trained to customize each drink and to explain the origin of different coffees. There are treated like partners, and trained to provide the best customer service and to deal with customer complains on the spot. The Starbucks brand means consistency and predictability to consumers. It is a promise to great coffee and great experience. Starbucks’ extensive product line strategy of creating a variety of products beyond just coffee beans was a big growth opportunity, as well as their partnerships that allowed them to expand their brand by selling ready to drink coffee, flavored ice cream and branded coffee now in supermarkets. They also have joint venture agreements in 15 countries. 3. What are the major challenges facing Starbucks as it goes global? Is the brand advantage sustainable going forward? Can Starbucks defend its position against other specialty coffee retailers? Competition is always a challenge when expanding a business overseas, as well as their lack of experience in the international market. Global expansion also means being operated by local partners and therefore making less money. However, I do believe their brand is sustainable. Starbucks is the market pioneer, which gives them major advantage against their competitors. To defend their position, Starbucks should never impose their western preferences in their international markets and continue to adapt their products to the local markets.

Virtual Lab Report Template Sample

Virtual Lab Report Template Paper In this virtual lab activity, you will be observing the cell cycle in the tip of an onion root. The root tip is responsible for the downward growth of the root and is one of the regions in the plant where cells are actively dividing and growing. Because of this, the root tip is an excellent system in which to observe the entire cell cycle, including the processes of nuclear division (mitosis) and cell division (cytokines). You will be submitting a lab report as the assignment for this lesson. Be sure o read the instructions before completing the virtual lab activity and your lab report. Refer to the lab rubric before you submit your report to your instructor. Cell Cycle Lab Safety Notes: Always handle microscopes and glass slides carefully. Wash your hands after handling the prepared specimens. Materials: Compound Light Microscope Glass microscope slide with prepared onion root tip specimen Purpose: understand and identify the stages of the cell cycle and mitosis. Apply an analytical technique to estimate the relative length of each stage of the cell cycle. Hypothesis: Procedure: Data and Observations: Create a data table containing a tally of the number of cells observed in each of the following stages: Stage Number of Cells in Part 1 Number of Cells in Part 2 Enterprise Prophesy Metaphors Anapest Telephones Cytokines Record any observations about the cells you observed: Data Analysis: Calculate the percentage of the cell cycle spent in each stage. Number of cells in given stage + total number of cells counted x 100 = % of the cell cycle spent in this stage Create a graph that represents the time spent in each stage of the cell cycle. We will write a custom essay sample on Virtual Lab Report Template specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Virtual Lab Report Template specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Virtual Lab Report Template specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

THE ANTITRUST MOVEMENT AMIDST A FRAGMENTED FEDERAL STATE Book Report

THE ANTITRUST MOVEMENT AMIDST A FRAGMENTED FEDERAL STATE Book Report/Review THE ANTITRUST MOVEMENT AMIDST A FRAGMENTED FEDERAL STATE – Book Report/Review Example THE ANTITRUST MOVEMENT AMIDST A FRAGMENTED FEDERAL November 5, The Antitrust Movement amidst a Fragmented Federal Ch. 6 The economic development of a nation highly depends on the business activities within the nation and transactions with other countries or in other words international trade. The article grants me the opportunity to understand the world of business during the early nineteenth century. The article begins by giving me a brief description of how business or rather service providers operated before the issue of merging came into place. Further importance of the article is seen by the critical analysis of the structural defects on the strategies employed by the state to control the business enterprise. I gain vast knowledge by reading through the two main legal traditions employed by the state in the regulation process. The most efficient technique among the two is the right for the state to charter corporations. It ensured that the activities of the enterprise could be c ontrolled.The article in the reading that caught my attention was the information on great merger movement. The author ensures that all the relevant information is well tackled. The origin of the mergers with examples of the companies that were among the first business organization to practice this structure is given. The article gives me an opportunity to understand the step undertaken by the President Roosevelt to protect the people against cases of a monopolistic market. Several analysts and their publications such Kolko are analyzed in the article (The Antitrust Movement amidst a Fragmented Federal State 161). Different questions about techniques used by the authorities to control the situation are analyzed. An important aspect tackled is the answer to the loose end found in the federal policy employed to curb the situation. The formed enterprises prevented competition by ensuring that they controlled the main inputs for production of a certain product thus can easily control en try to that line of business.An important concept in the reading that I can relate to the economics is the aspect of monopoly. It was horrific for the people in America to witness the merger as it would create monopolistic type of market structure. The prices of goods and services are no longer be determined by competition but the producers. It means that the prices can be raised with little influence from the external environment.

Is the Federal Reserve Necessary Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Is the Federal Reserve Necessary - Research Paper Example One such mistake, in United States history, that seems to be repeating its self, is the Great Depression. The Great Depression was a twelve year span, lasting from 1929 to 1941, in which the U.S. market was down and unemployment was at an all time high. It is, by far, considered one of the lowest points in U.S. history, but what is really intriguing is it was preceded by the â€Å"roaring twenties† a time of great economic growth and wealth. Many are comparing this with the recent economic boom of the late nineties, early two thousands; followed by the â€Å"recession† the U.S. is currently in. So the question arises, what led to these two periods of growth, followed by a severe recession? By taking a look at what, the value of a dollar is, what fractional reserve banking versus free banking are, and what caused the increase in moral hazard; and by looking at the arguments for and against each of these, we can identify the factors that led to this tragic example of hist ory repeating itself. This first factor we are going to uncover is what determines the value of the U.S. dollar, how it has changed over the years, and we as a nation are now suffering from those changes. The majority of governments use to base their circulation of paper money, or notes, on the amount of gold that backs up the notes; this is known as the gold standard. Toward the end of the great depression many individual still did not trust banks and so they were holding on to a large portion of gold. This led to a deficit of gold to support the dollar, so President Roosevelt ordered the gold confiscation of 1933 in which all individuals were required, with some exceptions, by law, to bring their gold to the U.S. treasury in exchange for a dollar equivalent. Another by product of the great depression was the Bretton Woods System; this is a system that was agreed upon by most of the world’s powers in 1944 which hoped to govern the monetary regulations of the nations. As a re sult they established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which today is part of the World Bank Group. One of the major implications to the U.S., however, was the fact that they agreed maintain exchange rates by tying its currency to the U.S. dollar. Then in 1981, under the presidency of Nixon, the U.S. terminated the convertibility of the dollar to gold. This meant that the dollar is now a fiat currency backed by nothing but the promise of the federal government; this, in essence, did away with the gold standard. Proponents of doing away with the gold standard based their logic on the fact that they assumed the U.S would remain the number one world power. Though this held true for the first fifteen plus years after the gold standard was removed, that reign soon ended. Now with the U.S. owing over fourteen trillion dollars, and rising, to other nations, and our economy in a deep recession, many are left to wonde r if allowing our currency to be backed by only our government’s worth was such a good idea. Other groups against this move away from the gold standard, also argue that these nations which the U.S. government now owes are growing weary of whether or not the will be repaid. This is leading them to do more trading and lending with the still gold based European market, pushing our country deeper into the recession. This leads to where the dollar is distributed and stored by individual Americans and corporations, which is the U.S. banking system. There are two types of

Personal Ethical Foundations Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethical Foundations - Personal Statement Example I have moral obligation to offer my patients the best care possible to alleviate their suffering because it is right to help a person in need. I would not perform abortions because it’s murder unless when saving the life of the mother. This is a dilemma but by saving the mother, I am following the natural law. I would not practice in eugenics or assist in voluntary suicide because it is morally wrong and is against the social norms of the society. These laws preserve the dignity of human life and the sanctity of life as it is God given. They uphold the dignity and respect of medical practice and all who practice it. Human nature makes upholding natural law very difficult. One must be virtuous to have consistency in medical practice. According to Aristotle, a virtue lies between two central vices and is described as the mean by reference to two vices. Cardinal virtues expounded by ancient Greek philosophers are courage, prudence, temperance, and justice. By using reason, we make the right decisions and this will make me achieve job satisfaction and eventually actualization. By being courageous and doing the right thing we get happier and better at our jobs, this law is fundamental to success in the work place, as the code of conduct will govern most of the key decisions in the work place eliminating unnecessary conflict of beliefs. It is my responsibility to care for my patients and be responsive to their needs at all times during their medical care. It is not right to say that this principle applies to females alone as all practitioners care for the sick in health facilities. My responsibility would be to reduce their physical and emotional suffering by using own experience and expertise in the medical field. I would not withhold necessary treatment and facilities to a sick individual for whatever reason because it is morally wrong and against the medical code of ethics. It would be wrong to offer

Introduction To Mechatronics System Engineering Essay

Introduction To Mechatronics System Engineering Essay Mechatronics is a word originated in Japan in 1980s to denote the combination of technologies which go together to produce industrial robots. The word, mechatronics ,is composed of mecha from mechanism and the tronics from electronics. In other words, technologies and developed products will be incorporating electronics more and more into mechanism, intimately and organically, and making it impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins. According to the Mechatronics forum, UK a formal definition of Mechatronics is the synergistic integration of Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering, Electronics, Computer technology, and IT to produce or enhance products and systems. W.Bolton defines mechatronics as A mechatronic system is not just a marriage of electrical and mechanical systems and is more than just a control system; it is a complete integration of all of them. A graphical representation of mechatronics,as shown in figure 1, illustrates integrated and inter-disciplinary appro ach of nature. 3.PNG Figure 1 Graphical representation of mechatronics Even though many people believe that the presence of mechanical, electrical, electronic components, and computers make a system mechatronics, others do not feel the same as there is nothing wrong with the individual identity. Hence , the term mechatronics should be used to represent a different meaning , namely ,a design philosophy, where mechanical, electrical, electronic components, and IT should be considered together in the design stage itself to obtain a compact, efficient, and economic product rather than designing the components separetly. A mechatronic engineer must be able to design and select mechanical devices, sensors, and actuators, analogue and digital circuits, microprocessor-based components, and control devices such as logic gates to design modern systems. ELEMENTS OF MECHATRONICS SYSTEM Various elements in typical mechatronic systems are shown and are described here under. Actuators and Sensors Signals and conditioning Digital logic systems Software and Data Acquisition systems Computers and Display devices. Actuators and Sensors: Sensors and actuators mostly come under mechanical systems. The actuators produce motion or cause some action. The sensors detect the state of the system parameters, inputs and outputs. The various actuators used in mechatronic system are pneumatic and hydraulic actuators, electro-mechanical actuators, electrical motors such as D.C motors, A.C motors, stepper motors, servo motors, and piezoelectric actuators. (Onwubolu, 2005) The various type of sensors used in mechatronic system are linear and rotational sensors, acceleration sensors, force, torque, and pressure sensors, flow sensors, temperature sensors, proximity sensors, light sensors. Signals and Conditioning: The mechatronic systems deal with two types of signal and conditioning: input and output. The input devices receive input signals from the mechatronic systems via interfacing devices and sensors, and then send to the control circuits for conditioning or processing. The various input signal conditioning devices used in mechatronic system are discrete circuits, amplifiers, analog-to-digital converters, digital-to-digital converters. The output signals are send to output/display devices through interfacing devices. (Bishop, 2002, pp. 1188-1195) Digital logic systems: Digital logic devices control overall system operation. The various digital logic systems are used in mechatronic system are logic circuits, microcontrollers, programmable logic controllers, sequencing and timing controls, control algorithms. (Onwubolu, 2005) Software And Data acquisition systems Digital logic systems Signals And Conditioning Actuators And Sensors Computers And Display devices Figure 2 Elements of a mechatronics system Software and Data acquisition systems: Data acquisition system acquires the output signals from sensors in the form of voltage, frequency, resistance etc and inputting into the microprocessor or computer. Software is used to control the acquisition of data through DAC board. (Bishop, 2002, pp. 1150-1188) The data acquisition system consists of multiplexer, amplifier, register and control circuitry, DAC board. Computer and Display devices: Computers are used to store large number of data and process further through software. Display devices are used to give visual feedback to the user. (Onwubolu, 2005) The various display devices used in mechatronic system are LEDs, CRT, LCD, digital displays etc. STAGES IN DESIGNING MECHATRONICS SYSTEMS The design process consists of the following stages: Stage1: Need for design The design process begins with a need. Needs are usually arise from dissatisfaction with an existing situation. Needs may come from inputs of operating or service personal or from a customer through sales or marketing representatives. They may be to reduce cost, increase reliability or performance or just change because of public has become bored with the product. (W.Bolton, 2003) Stage2: Analysis of problem Probably the most critical step in a design process is the analysis of the problem i.e., to find out the true nature of the problem. The true problem is not always what it seems to be at first glance. Its importance is often overlooked because this stage requires such a small part of the total time to create the final design. It is advantageous to define the problem as broadly as possible. (W.Bolton, 2003) If the problem is not accurately defined, it will lead to a waste of time on designs and will not fulfil the need. Stage 3: Preparation of specification The design must meet the required performance specifications. Therefore, specification of the requirements needs to be prepared first. This will state the problem definition of special technical terms, any constraints placed on the solution, and the criteria that will be used to evaluate the design. Problem statement includes all the functions required of the design, together with any desirable features. The following are some of the statements about the problem: -Mass and dimensions of design. -Type and range of motion required. -Accuracy of the element. -Input and output requirements of elements. -Interfaces. -Power requirements. -operating environment. -Relevant standards and code of practise, etc. (W.Bolton, 2003) Stage 4: Generation of possible solution This is often known as conceptualisation stage. The conceptualisation step is to determine the elements, mechanisms, materials, process of configuration that in some combination or other result in a design that satisfies the need. This is the key step for employing inventiveness and creativity. (W.Bolton, 2003) A vital aspect of this step is synthesis. Synthesis is the process of taking elements of the concept and arranging them in the proper order, sized and dimensioned in the proper way. Stage 5: Selection of suitable solution or Evaluation This stage involves a thorough analysis of the design. The evaluation stage involves detailed calculation, often computer calculation of the performance of the design by using an analytical method. (W.Bolton, 2003) The various solutions obtained in stage4 are analysed and the most suitable one is selected. Stage 6: Production of detailed design The detail of selected design has to be worked out. It might have required the extensive simulated service testing of an experimental model or a full size prototype in order to determine the optimum details of design. (W.Bolton, 2003) Stage 7: Production of working drawing The finalised drawing must be properly communicated to the person who is going to manufacture. The communication may be oral presentation or a design report. Detailed engineering drawings of each component and the assembly of the machine with complete specification for the manufacturing process are written in the design report. (W.Bolton, 2003) Stage 8: Implementation of design The components as per the drawings are manufactured and assembled as a whole system. OBJECTIVE: A coffee dispensing machine has to design using Mechatronic design methodology. The machine is to be used in the university campus. The machine should offer the coffee of user choice like latte, cappuccino, black and expresso. The machine use real coffee beans and milk for this process. The machine should identify the cup size for the particular choice and has to detect and intimate the missing and the wrong size of cup to the user. CONCEPTUAL DESIGN: A vital aspect of this stage is synthesis. Synthesis is the process of taking elements of the concept and arranging them in the proper order, sized and dimensioned in the proper way. Outline solutions are prepared for various possible models which are worked out in sufficient details to indicate the means of obtaining each of required functions. This is the structure of creating high-level for the system. USER REQUIREMENTS: The machine is to be used on a university campus. The machine will: Offer the user choice of ingredients e.g. with or without sugar and should offer the choice of latte, cappuccino, black and expresso. The machine will use real coffee beans and milk. Use two sizes of paper cups- large for latte and cappuccino and small for expresso. Cups will be put in position by the customer. Missing or wrong size cup has to be detected. The machine should accept only  £2,  £1, 50 pence coins and the cost of coffee will be  £1.50p. Change should be given automatically. The cost of machine should me not more than  £2000. The time to display coin is less than 2 seconds and time to make coffee is maximum 30 seconds. The dimension of coffee machine is 0.5 meter* 0.5 meter* 1 meter. Indication for system fault, system needs service and if the coins in the box attains maximum level. Digital display while processing is being carried in each stage to easily understand by the user so that he can communicate easily. It should be designed in such a way that machine should give an output signals when ingredients are empty and allow to refill Ease of maintenance The outer model of the coffee machine is shown below 2.PNG Figure 3- coffee vending machine The designing of coffee machine can be classified as, Automatic coin management system Automatic dispensing of coffee. AUTOMATIC COIN MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: The automatic coin management system should recognize coin, sorting of coin, change dispensing and the control of the associated human-machine interface. To detect the coin, the coin thickness and weight has to be considered. Since the machine will accept only  £2,  £1 and 50 pence the coin has to be detected properly by means of proper detection method. After the detection the coin has to send to their respective bin for storage. If the coin  £2 is inserted then change 50 pence has to be given automatically. In the display, respective value of coin or total value of coin is displayed. In the coin management system, the thickness of the coin, weight of the coin and the diameter of the coin are taken in to consideration. The table below will give detailed description of the following coin. Coins Thickness Weight diameter Image of coin  £2 2.50mm 12.0gram 28.4mm 3.PNG  £1 3.15mm 9.5gram 22.5mm 1983_REV.JPG 50p 1.78mm 8.0gram 27.3mm 50_PENCE_1982.JPG Table 1- coin properties (British coin properties, 2010) The probabilities of inserting coins in the machine are follows:  £1 + 50p 50p+50p+50p  £2 Return 50p 50p+ £2 Return both the coins Fake or counterfeit coins Return the coin The coins are collected in their respective bins. If the bin attains 180 coins the indication has to be made and if the coins in the 50 pence bin have less than 10 coins the indication is made for the operator. The size of  £2 collecting bin should be 50 cm (200*2.5mm=500mm) in height; the sensor is placed in bin at 45cm (180*2.5mm=450mm). The size of  £1 collecting bin is 63cm (200*3.15mm=630mm) in height; the sensor is placed in bin at 56.7cm (180*3.15mm=567mm). The size of 50 pence collecting bin should be 35.6cm (200*1.78mm=356mm) in height; this bin has two sensors to indicate maximum and minimum number of coins, maximum level sensor is placed at 32cm (180*1.78mm=320mm) and minimum level sensor is placed at 1.78cm (10*1.78mm=17.8mm). Consider if the machine has to accept  £2 coin means, first the coin is to be inserted, and then the sensor S1 senses the coin and activates the thickness and weight detector. If the detector detects  £2 coin means the solenoid V1 and V2 are not energised but the solenoid V3 is energised which make the pivotable gate G3 to point towards the  £2 bin. Then the solenoid valve in the 50 pence bin energised to return the change. The schematic representation of coin management is shown in figure 4. INSERT COIN aaaaase 50 pence bin 1 pound bin aaaaaa S1 Thickness detector Weight detector G1 V1 G2 V2 G3 2 pound bin S2 V3 S3 RETURN COIN Figure 4- schematic representation of coin management AUTOMATIC DISPENSING OF COFFEE: The automatic dispensing of coffee should grind coffee, fill brewing chamber, tamp down coffee grounds, brew coffee, detecting coffee cup, fill coffee cup and eject used grounds are to be made automatically. Automatic coffee dispensing process will trigger once the required money of the coffee has been received from the customers. Different procedures have to be followed to prepare different flavours of coffee. Expresso: The coffee beans are grinded finely and 7gm of powder is used for dosage to prepare 30ml of expresso. Tamping has to be done at 134N for 2seconds. The hot water at 92ÃÅ'Ã…   -96ÃÅ'Ã…   Celsius at 9-10 Bar pressure and have to be extracted at 25 seconds. Small cup has to be used. Latte: Expresso and hot milk at 92 degree Celsius has to be added. Large cup is used. Cappuccino: Expresso and milk foam (2/3 of cup) has to be mixed; large cup is used for collecting the cappuccino. Black coffee: expresso and more amount of water (2/3 of cup) is mixed and large cup is used. The cup has to be detected by means of the sensors. The two sensors are used for cup detection. To sense the small cup, the sensor has to be placed at its height. If the expresso is selected and the sensor for the small cup activated means the valve is opened to send the coffee to the cup. To detect large cup, the sensor for the small cup and another sensor placed at the height of large cup has to be activated. If not the user has to be informed in the display PLACE LARGE CUP. EMBODIMENT DESIGN: Power supply: Since all electronic circuits work only with low D.C voltage it needs a power supply unit to provide the appropriate voltage supply. This unit consists of transformer, rectifier, filter and regulator. A.C voltage typically 230V rms is connected to a transformer which steps that AC voltage down to the level to the desired AC voltage. A diode rectifier then provides a full-wave rectified voltage that is initially filtered by a small capacitor filter to produce a DC voltage. This resulting DC voltage usually has some ripples or AC voltage variations, regulator circuit can use this DC input to provide DC voltage that not only has much less ripple voltage but also remains the same DC value even the DC voltage varies somewhat, or the load connected to the output DC voltage changes. The power supply unit is a source of constant DC voltage. The required DC supply is obtained from the available AC supply after rectification, filtration and regulation. Transformer Rectifier Regulator Filter 230 V 5v AC DC 12V 12V 12V Figure 5- Block diagram of power supply. SENSORS: Proximity sensors: These types of sensors are used to determine the presence of nearby objects. They are essentially non contact two state devices which give ON-OFF outputs. The proximity sensor often emits an electromagnetic field or beam and look for changes in the field. The object being sensed is often referred to as the proximity sensors target. Different proximity sensors targets demand different sensors. Inductive proximity sensor: This sensor is used for the detection of ferrous metal objects over short distances. Inductive proximity sensors operate under the electrical principle of inductance. Inductance is the phenomenon where the fluctuating current, which by definition has a magnetic component, induces an electromotive force (emf) in a target object. (inductive proximity sensor, 2008) An inductive proximity sensor has four components; the induction coil, oscillator, detection circuit and output circuit. The oscillator generates a fluctuating magnetic field the shape of a doughnut around the winding of the coil that locates in the devices sensing face. When a metal object moves into the magnetic field of detection, eddy circuits build up in the metallic object. The sensors detection circuit monitors the oscillators strength and triggers an output signal from the output circuitry proportional to the sensed gap between probe and target. (inductive proximity sensor, 2008) This sensor is used as a sensor S1 in the coin detecting mechanism. Its range is about 50mm. Strain gauge load cell: The load cell is an electromechanical transducer that coverts load acting on it into an analogue electrical signal. Load cells provide accurate measurement of compressive and tensile loads. Load cells commonly function by utilizing an internal strain gauge that measures deflection. Because the modulus of the elasticity of a load cell is constant the amount of strain can be calibrated to determine the force upon the train in the load cell which is measured by strain gauge transducer. This strain gauge load cell is used because of its accuracy and its response time. This strain gauge is used for the detection of weight. By means of calculating the force the mass of the object can be identified Since, F= m.A Where, F= force, m= mass; A= acceleration. Mass of the coin is known, by calculating acceleration value, the force can be found. According to the force value the coin can be detected. This strain gauge works in the range of 0-50k lbs. accuracy in the range of 0.03- 0.05%, ( load cell, 2010). It is inexpensive too. This strain gauge load cell is used because of its accuracy and its response time. Strain gauge is attached to the object or the strained element where the force is being applied. As the object is stressed due to the applied force, the resulting strain deforms the strain gauge attached with it. This cause an increase in resistivity of the gauge which produces electrical signal proportional to the deformation (W.Bolton, 2003, pp. 36-37) .The measurement of resistivity is the measure of strain which in turns gives the measurement of force or load applied to the object. The change of resistance is generally very small and is usually measured using a Wheatstone bridge circuit where the strain gauges are connected to the circuit. Temperature sensor: Temperature measurement is needed in coffee machine to maintain the temperature of water and milk. Temperature is defined as the average kinetic energy of the individual molecules that comprise the system. As the temperature increases, the molecular activity also increases and thus the average kinematic energy increases. There are different sensors to measure the temperature they are: Bimetallic strip Resistance temperature detectors (RTDs) Thermistors Thermocouples Thermodiodes and transistors. Among this in coffee machine the thermistor is going to use. The most commonly used temperature sensors are resistance temperature detector (RTD) and thermistor. Both are temperature-sensitive resistors. Thermistor, a word formed by combining thermal with resistor. Thermistor is a non-linear device; their resistance will decrease with an increase in temperature, but at a much faster rate than that of RTDs. The resistance can change by more than 1000 times. As a result, thermistor can sense minute change in temperature that is otherwise undetected by RTDs and thermocouples, (W.Bolton, 2003, pp. 43-47). Thermistors are small, inexpensive devices that are most commonly made of metal oxides such as those of chromium, nickel, manganese and cobalt. The metals are oxidised through a chemical reaction, ground to a fine powder, then compressed and subject to very high heat. These oxides are semiconductors. Thermistors can be classified into two types depending on the temperature coefficient of resistance (k). If k is positive, the resistance increases with increasing temperature, and the device is called a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) thermistor or posistor. If k is negative, the resistance decreases with increasing temperature, and the device is called a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor. NTC thermistors are mostly used in temperature sensing devices where as the PTC thermistor are mostly used in electrical current control devices. The NTC thermistor is going to use in this coffee machine to sense the heat of water and milk. Thermistors respond quickly to temperature changes, and they have a higher resistance, so junction effects are not an issue. Typical accuracies are 1%, but the devices are not linear, have a limited temperature or resistance range and can be self heating. Compared to other sensors, thermistor have a limited measuring range, typically from -80 to 150 degree Celsius. To measure the temperature of water and milk this range is more enough. Advantage of using thermistor: High and fast output. Manufactured in almost any shape and size. Very high degree of accuracy. Good stability and repeatability. Has the ability to withstand mechanical and electrical stress. Temperature controller: The PID controller is used to control the temperature in the coffee machine. The purpose of using PID controller is it eliminates offset of the proportional mode and provides fast response. The three adjustment parameters here are proportional gain, integral time and derivative time. PID controller is the most complex of the conventional control mode combination. The PID controller can result in better control than the other controllers. The PID controllers are mainly used to control the process parameters like temperature, flow, etc. Level sensor: The measurement of level of the water and milk in the tank of coffee machine is very essential. There are number of devices to measure the level of the liquids in the tank. There are two methods in measuring the liquid they are direct and indirect method. Here direct method is going to use because the level if the liquid in the tank can be measured by means of float method, (W.Bolton, 2003, pp. 41-42). The most commonly used design in float type is hollow metal ball or sphere. Here there is no restriction to the size, shape or material used. The design consists of a ball float attached to a rod, which in turn is connected to the lever arm. A slider is attached in the lever is connected to the potentiometer. By means of this arrangement the level can be measured. The water for the machine is continuous that has to be controlled. The level in the water tank can be controlled automatically. The control system maintains water level in the storage tank. The system performs this task by continuously sensing the level in the tank and adjusting a supply valve to add more or less water to the tank. The desired level has to be set by the operator. The level transducer measures the level within the tank by using the float and potentiometer arrangement. The level transducer sends the signal which is the feedback for the control device. This feedback is compared with the desired level value to produce the required control action that will position the level control as needed to maintain the desired level. The level controller used here is PID controller. The block diagram of automatic tank-level control system is shown below. Infra red beam sensor: Infrared beam sensors used for detecting the cups. Consists of a transmitter and a receiver, and the integrated amplifier can produce infrared beam. The LEDs should be properly covered with a reflective material like glass or aluminium foils on the sides to avoid the spreading of the IR beam and to get a sharp focus of the beam. The receiver uses a sharp IR module. When the IR beam from the transmitter falls on the IR module, the output is activated this activates the relay and deactivated when the beam is obstructed. It has highly reliable performance. The operating range of this sensor is 0-6m. Operating temperature of this sensor is -20 degrees centigrade to 60 degrees centigrade. Aperture angle of infrared beam sensors is +/- 8 degrees. (sensors, 2010) Solenoids: A solenoid is a device which is used to convert an electrical signal in to mechanical motion usually in straight line. The solenoids are used in the coffee machine for various purposes like coin management, sending the coffee bean in to the grinder, to open the 50 pence bin to give change when  £2 coin is inserted. The two major parts in the solenoids is coil and movable iron core. The coil used here is to be DC which when energised pulls the core inside it and this result in the mechanical motion of the core. The amount of force by which the core is pulled depends on the amount of current flowing in the circuit and the number of coils. The solenoids are very cheap and its works under 24V DC. D.C Motor: The DC motors are widely used in modern control system and as a final control element in positional or speed control system. The D.C motor is used for the purpose of grinding the coffee beans. This motor has to be controlled. This can be done by means of closed loop control. This speed controller is done by means of pulse width modulation controllers. This has the advantage that its drives the bipolar power transistors rapidly between cut off and saturation where operation is very efficient. (B. Histand Alciatore, 1999) Feed back is used in this circuit to modify the motor speed even if the conditions are changed. Hydraulic pumps: The hydraulic pump is used for the purpose of pumping the water and milk from the tank. The reason for using hydraulic pump is it converts the mechanical energy supplied into hydraulic energy by lifting water or milk to higher levels. Hydraulic energy refers to potential and kinetic energy of a liquid. Hydraulic pumps are the energy-absorbing machines. Since, it requires mechanical power to drive. Lifting of water or milk to higher level is carried out by the various actions of pumps such as centrifugal action, reciprocating action etc. (hydraulic pump, 2010) Power, P = = = Flow rate, Q= Power, P= pressure * flow rate The advantage of using hydraulic systems are it is easy to produce and transmit hydraulic power, it is uniform and smooth, balancing hydraulic forces is easier, it is easy to maintain ,weight to power ratio is very less, it is easy to maintain, maximum fluid flow, frictional resistance is less and hydraulic systems are safe and compact. Gears: The gear is used during the tamping process. The process is based on the relative position of the shaft axes and the position of the teeth on the wheel. For this purpose, helical gear is used in this process. Helical gears are simple modification of spur gears. A helical gear has teeth in the form of helix around the gear. The angled teeth engage smoothly than do spur gear teeth. This causes helical gears to run more smoothly and quietly than the spur gears. This type of gear is used in high-speed application. Because of high-speed, pressure is produced. Where, pressure = mass * acceleration. The selection of ball and roller bearings for gear is considered upon the following factors, they are The load carrying capacity and the nature of the load The speed of shaft in R.P.M The anticipated life of bearings. Magnitude and direction of loads. The proportion of thrust to radial load. Human machine interface:- Human machine interface is an important part to design. As this is an automatic machine and the inputs to the machine are from the user, so there should be an interface between these two. This is accomplished with the help of buttons placed on the front panel. Also the touch sensors located at the back of each button are responsible to transfer the user inputs to the machine. The LED display informs the user regarding the process and intimate any faults in the system. Push buttons: The push button is used for the purpose of selecting the variety of coffee by the user. There are four push buttons in the machine. LED display: The dispensing machine should be capable of outputting text signals so that the user will know the process present state through LED display. Since the machine is made to be user friendly all the process happening in the machine as to informed to the user. If the coin is inserted that has to be informed to the user. The microprocessor is used to store all the information that has to be displayed for the ongoing process. If suppose, milk in the empty means through the level sensor the signal is sent to the microprocessor according to that it will send the output to the display as MILK TANK EMPTY. MICRO-CONTROLLER: It is the brain of coffee machine. The microcontroller contains a microprocessor, memory, I/O capabilities, and other on-chip resources. It is basically a microcomputer on the single chip. The main purposes of using the micro-controller are low cost, versatility, ease of programming and small size. This micro controller is physically embedded in the system to perform the control functions, (Onwubolu, 2005, pp. 205-256) . The PIC micro controller is the most commonly used micro-controller. This has various features like analogue to digital (A/D) and digital to analogue (D/A) converters, timers, digital I/O ports and a serial communication interface. The temperature and flow sensor gives analogue value that will be converted to digital in the micro-controller. So there is no need for external analogue to digital (A/D) converter in this process. Communication: Communication betwee

Buddhism (The Buddha)

The Buddha sought to show us how to overcome suffering by attaining Nibbana. Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world today. Its history that now span some two and a half centuries began from the birth of its founder, Prince Siddhartha Gautama. Most scholars agree that Siddharta who became known as Buddha was an actual historical persona. He began the religion and philosophy of Buddhism when he reached Enlightenment in 535 BCE while meditating under a Bodhi tree following his abandonment of the life of luxury (The Buddha).Beliefs and Ethics Central to Buddhism is the understanding of the nature of humans and the causes of human suffering or dukkha. The Buddhists hold the viewpoint that human suffering lays in ignorance, concluding that it is a condition brought about by conflict and stress inherent in human existence and the interaction with the world (Buddhist Ethics 2005). There are various schools of Buddhism such that it has no one bible or sacred texts but instead, a vast collection of authoritative texts from different traditions.Theravada Buddhism has the Tipitaka or Pali canon; Mahayana Buddhism has the Chinese Buddhist Tripitaka, and the Tibetan branch has the Kangyur and Tengyur, among others (Strong, 2008). In sum, the following constitute part of the basic beliefs in Buddhism: A. The Four Noble Truths 1. Life is suffering or dukkha; 2. The origin of suffering is attachment or craving; 3. Attachments can be overcome, and this cessation of suffering is called nirvana; 4. The way to accomplish the cessation of suffering is the Eightfold Path (Boerre).B. The Eightfold Path – consists of eight elements that can be grouped into the three categories, as follows: †¢ Wisdom or prajna – right view and right aspiration or intention †¢ Morals – rights speech; right action and right livelihood †¢ Meditation or samadhi – right effort; right mindfulness, and right concentration (Strong, 2008). C. Karma  œ all of human actions bear consequences within a cycle of human craving and suffering, such that our lives are always conditioned by our past actions (Buddhist Teachings). D.Buddhist ethics or precepts termed as sila – made up of the four conditions of chastity, calmness, quiet and extinguishment. According to the Karmic Law, keeping sila is meritorious and serves as good cause to bring about happy or peaceful effects (Buddhism 2008). E. Rebirth – consciousness continues beyond death, finding expression in another life or reincarnation in the future (Buddhist Teachings). F. Enlightenment – through the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, one is liberated from karma towards Enlightenment, the state of being that transcends suffering (Buddhist Teachings).Customs and Festivals Because there are many schools of Buddhism that have emerged throughout the centuries, the rituals and practices of Buddhists vary according to tradition in different parts of the globe . Significant Buddhist customs include the following: A. Veneration of the Buddha – refers to the honoring of, and meditation, on the qualities of the Buddha. B. Pilgrimage – the main purposes of the pilgrimage to the many Buddhist centers is the fostering of spiritual discipline or the fulfillment of a vow.C. Ordination – the rite of passage of anyone wishing to be a Buddhist monk involves the renouncing of secular life and accepting life in the monastic sangha as a novice (Venerating). Buddhist festivals are important holy days celebrated in various traditions, which include: †¢ Dharma Day, which marks the beginning of the teachings of Buddha; †¢ Losar, the most important Tibetan holiday that marks the New Year (lunar); †¢ Parinirvana, a Mahayan Buddhist holiday marking Buddha's death;†¢ Wesak festival, the most important festival in the Buddhist calendar, celebrates the birthday of Buddha on the full moon of the month of May. Sangha Day th at celebrates the spiritual community (Holy days). The divisions of Buddhism have sometimes been called sects or schools, but in this book I have used the word lineage, as it seems to fit better with Buddhist experience. A Buddhist is one who has taken refuge, and he or she has taken refuge in a specific tradition whose teachers stretch back, or are claimed to stretch back, in an unbroken line or lineage to Shakyamuni Buddha.There is one over-arching principle in the effective spread of Buddhism: skillful means. As Buddhism asks the individual, so it asks a culture: What is it, do you think, that will bring you the most happiness? When it has heard the response, Buddhism says, under its breath, But that will only bring you samsaric happiness, and continues, out loud, That is good, the Dharma can help you. Then, starting from that samsaric desire, it seeks a way of assisting the individual or culture to break out into extra-samsaric joy.Most countries into which Buddhism spread were what we might call low cultures, that is, they had rich local traditions but little sense of nationhood or broad cultural identity, and did not have a national religion or philosophy. Buddhism was able to supply this lack. It provided a Great Tradition perspective, encouraging local customs to coalesce into national polities and incorporating them in a supra-national worldview. The price was the downgrading of the local customs.Indigenous deities were said either to have converted to Buddhism, becoming Dharma Protectors (dharma-pala), or foolishly to have rejected it, thus being demoted to demons. The only country in which this did not happen smoothly was China. It had already developed, in Confucianism and Taoism, sophisticated national systems, and so was not the â€Å"pushover† that, for example, Tibet was. Buddhism had to be more humble as it approached the Chinese, and it has often smelled, to good upstanding Confucians, of foreigners and their nefarious plots.Even so, t he cultural blending was such that Buddhism came to be counted as the third religion of China, and the eirenic phrase ‘The three religions are a harmonious unity’ was coined. No other foreign system, other than Communism, has been able to penetrate Chinese culture so completely. Buddhism says that it can be said that since the human problem is essentially one of ignorance, and since this is a phenomenon that exists in varying degrees of intensity, it is always worth examining any claims to truth.This is especially the case when the Absolute Truth attested by Buddhism is beyond perfect verbalization, for another religious or philosophical tradition, despite apparent conflict of ideas, may actually be trying with different terms to express the same ultimate perception which is enshrined in Buddhism itself. Rival truth claims are, then, not necessarily hostile and the Buddhist should feel it possible to engage in interested discussion with advocates of other ideologies. Fu rther, it is always possible that other religions may be able to suggest useful techniques for the attainment or apprehension of Absolute Truth.Yet the Buddhist knows that the propositions which attempt to approximate Truth must be submitted to the light of the ultimate Buddhist experience, and if they cannot be seen to lead toward this, they are in genuine and decisive conflict with Buddhism. Each religion, then, is open to dialogue, but each presents a touchstone by which authority is to be tested – the experience which suggests the U+016nyatA concept for Buddhism, and for Christianity the experience of God as he expresses himself in Christ.Interestingly enough, this emphasis on a decisive experience or intuition of Truth means that ardent adherents of both recognize the significance of Kierkegaard’s dictum about subjectivity being truth and know that there are important respects in which a man committed to another religious experience may yet understand mine far bet ter than a purely objective observer can ever hope to do. To study and record the observable data of a religious tradition is utterly useless for the purpose of understanding what the religious man considers important about it.Thus the dialogue between Christians and Buddhists may well be more productive of sympathetic understanding (even with strongly affirmed disagreement) than that between either Christians or Buddhists with disinterested social scientists. Resources Strong, John. Experience of Buddhism. Retrieved 07 Apr. 2008 from Shippensburg University Site: http://webspace. ship. edu/cgboer/buddhawise. html. Buddhism. (2008, April 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:38, April 10, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title= Buddhism&oldid=169957239. Buddhist Ethics and Social Criticism. (Updated 21 June 2005). Retrieved 07 Apr. 2008 from Image India Site: http://india_resource. tripod. com/buddhism. htm. Buddhist Teachings. Retrieved 07 Apr. 2008 from bbc. co. uk Site: http://www. bbc. co. uk/religion/religions/buddhism/beliefs/buddhateachings. shtml. Holy Days. Retrieved 07 Apr. 2008 from bbc. co. uk Site: http://www. bbc. co. uk/religion/religions/buddhism/holydays/.‘Religious text. ’ (2008, October 23). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14:44, April 9, 2008, from http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title= Religious_text&oldid=166613250. The Buddha. Retrieved 07 Apr. 2008 from bbc. co. uk Site: http://www. bbc. co. uk/ religion/religions/buddhism/history/history. shtml. Venerating the Buddha, Pilgrimage and Ordination. Retrieved 07 Apr. 2008 from bbc. co. uk Site: http://www. bbc. co. uk/religion/religions/buddhism/ customs/customs. shtml.

Deception Point Page 69

â€Å"I'll come to your office.† â€Å"No,† she said hurriedly. â€Å"It's late. Your presence here would raise concerns. I'd prefer to keep this matter between us.† Pickering read between the lines. The President knows nothing about this. â€Å"You're welcome to come here,† he said. Tench sounded distrusting. â€Å"Let's meet somewhere discreet.† Pickering had expected as much. â€Å"The FDR Memorial is convenient to the White House,† Tench said. â€Å"It will be empty at this time of night.† Pickering considered it. The FDR Memorial sat midway between the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials, in an extremely safe part of town. After a long beat, Pickering agreed. â€Å"One hour,† Tench said, signing off. â€Å"And come alone.† Immediately upon hanging up, Marjorie Tench phoned NASA administrator Ekstrom. Her voice was tight as she relayed the bad news. â€Å"Pickering could be a problem.† 81 Gabrielle Ashe was brimming with new hope as she stood at Yolanda Cole's desk in the ABC production room and dialed directory assistance. The allegations Sexton had just conveyed to her, if confirmed, had shocking potential. NASA lied about PODS? Gabrielle had seen the press conference in question and recalled thinking it was odd, and yet she'd forgotten all about it; PODS was not a critical issue a few weeks ago. Tonight, however, PODS had become the issue. Now Sexton needed inside information, and he needed it fast. He was relying on Gabrielle's â€Å"informant† to get the information. Gabrielle had assured the senator she would do her best. The problem, of course, was that her informant was Marjorie Tench, who would be no help at all. So Gabrielle would have to get the information another way. â€Å"Directory assistance,† the voice on the phone said. Gabrielle told them what she needed. The operator came back with three listings for a Chris Harper in Washington. Gabrielle tried them all. The first number was a law firm. The second had no answer. The third was now ringing. A woman answered on the first ring. â€Å"Harper residence.† â€Å"Mrs. Harper?† Gabrielle said as politely as possible. â€Å"I hope I haven't woken you?† â€Å"Heavens no! I don't think anyone's asleep tonight.† She sounded excited. Gabrielle could hear the television in the background. Meteorite coverage. â€Å"You're calling for Chris, I assume?† Gabrielle's pulse quickened. â€Å"Yes, ma'am.† â€Å"I'm afraid Chris isn't here. He raced off to work as soon as the President's address was over.† The woman chuckled to herself. â€Å"Of course, I doubt there's any work going on. Most likely a party. The announcement came as quite a surprise to him, you know. To everyone. Our phone's been ringing all night. I bet the whole NASA crew's over there by now.† â€Å"E Street complex?† Gabrielle asked, assuming the woman meant NASA headquarters. â€Å"Righto. Take a party hat.† â€Å"Thanks. I'll track him down over there.† Gabrielle hung up. She hurried out onto the production room floor and found Yolanda, who was just finishing prepping a group of space experts who were about to give enthusiastic commentary on the meteorite. Yolanda smiled when she saw Gabrielle coming. â€Å"You look better,† she said. â€Å"Starting to see the silver lining here?† â€Å"I just talked to the senator. His meeting tonight wasn't what I thought.† â€Å"I told you Tench was playing you. How's the senator taking the meteorite news?† â€Å"Better than expected.† Yolanda looked surprised. â€Å"I figured he'd jumped in front of a bus by now.† â€Å"He thinks there may be a snag in the NASA data.† Yolanda let out a dubious snort. â€Å"Did he see the same press conference I just saw? How much more confirmation and reconfirmation can anyone need?† â€Å"I'm going over to NASA to check on something.† Yolanda's penciled eyebrows raised in cautionary arches. â€Å"Senator Sexton's right-hand aide is going to march into NASA headquarters? Tonight? Can you say ‘public stoning'?† Gabrielle told Yolanda about Sexton's suspicion that the PODS section manager Chris Harper had lied about fixing the anomaly software. Yolanda clearly wasn't buying it. â€Å"We covered that press conference, Gabs, and I'll admit, Harper was not himself that night, but NASA said he was sick as a dog.† â€Å"Senator Sexton is convinced he lied. Others are convinced too. Powerful people.† â€Å"If the PODS anomaly-detection software wasn't fixed, how did PODS spot the meteorite?† Sexton's point exactly, Gabrielle thought. â€Å"I don't know. But the senator wants me to get him some answers.† Yolanda shook her head. â€Å"Sexton is sending you into a hornet's nest on a desperate pipe dream. Don't go. You don't owe him a thing.† â€Å"I totally screwed up his campaign.† â€Å"Rotten luck screwed up his campaign.† â€Å"But if the senator is right and the PODS section manager actually lied-â€Å" â€Å"Honey, if the PODS section manager lied to the world, what makes you think he'll tell you the truth.† Gabrielle had considered that and was already formulating her plan. â€Å"If I find a story over there, I'll call you.† Yolanda gave a skeptical laugh. â€Å"If you find a story over there, I'll eat my hat.† 82 Erase everything you know about this rock sample. Michael Tolland had been struggling with his own disquieting ruminations about the meteorite, but now, with Rachel's probing questions, he was feeling an added unease over the issue. He looked down at the rock slice in his hand. Pretend someone handed it to you with no explanation of where it was found or what it is. What would your analysis be? Rachel's question, Tolland knew, was loaded, and yet as an analytical exercise, it proved powerful. By discarding all the data he had been given on his arrival at the habisphere, Tolland had to admit that his analysis of the fossils was profoundly biased by a singular premise-that the rock in which the fossils were found was a meteorite. What if I had NOT been told about the meteorite? he asked himself. Although still unable to fathom any other explanation, Tolland allowed himself the leeway of hypothetically removing â€Å"the meteorite† as a pre-supposition, and when he did, the results were somewhat unsettling. Now Tolland and Rachel, joined by a groggy Corky Marlinson, were discussing the ideas. â€Å"So,† Rachel repeated, her voice intense, â€Å"Mike, you're saying that if someone handed you this fossilized rock with no explanation whatsoever, you would have to conclude it was from earth.† â€Å"Of course,† Tolland replied. â€Å"What else could I conclude? It's a far greater leap to assert you've found extraterrestrial life than it is to assert you've found a fossil of some previously undiscovered terrestrial species. Scientists discover dozens of new species every year.† â€Å"Two-foot-long lice?† Corky demanded, sounding incredulous. â€Å"You would assume a bug that big is from earth?† â€Å"Not now, maybe,† Tolland replied, â€Å"but the species doesn't necessarily have to be currently living. It's a fossil. It's 170 million years old. About the same age as our Jurassic. A lot of prehistoric fossils are oversized creatures that look shocking when we discover their fossilized remains-enormous winged reptiles, dinosaurs, birds.† â€Å"Not to be the physicist here, Mike,† Corky said, â€Å"but there's a serious flaw in your argument. The prehistoric creatures you just named-dinosaurs, reptiles, birds-they all have internal skeletons, which gives them the capability to grow to large sizes despite the earth's gravity. But this fossil†¦ † He took the sample and held it up. â€Å"These guys have exo skeletons. They're arthropods. Bugs. You yourself said that any bug this big could only have evolved in a low-gravity environment. Otherwise its outer skeleton would have collapsed under its own weight.†