The Effects Of Self Efficacy On Self Confidence And Self...

Self-efficacy is one reason that people may not start a fitness program or even begin to exercise on their own. If someone is unsure of how to perform a certain exercise or feeling as if they will not be able to stay with a program it can be a deterrent from even beginning. Feeling ridiculed for performing an exercise incorrectly can have an effect on self-confidence and self-esteem. Their perceived notion of how others will view them is very real to them but may be misplaced fear. It becomes difficult to enjoy doing something when there is so much stress and anxiety surrounding it. One way to help overcome this barrier is to work with a trained professional and learn how to do the exercises properly. Someone that can give positive feedback and encourage a person will not only help to motivate them to get moving but will also increase their self-esteem and sense of self-worth. Having support from family and friends can also create a barrier to exercising. The negative feedback can be counterproductive to what the trainer is attempting to do. Family members can make a person feel guilty for taking away from time spent with them. They may also not understand why the person feels the need to work out. If friends and family members are unhealthy and unfit themselves they may feel as if the person is moving forward without them. They may try to sabotage the persons exercise, whether it be intentionally or unintentionally, by convincing them to spend time with them andShow MoreRelatedAffective Factors : Self Efficacy, Self Esteem, And Self Confidence811 Words   |  4 PagesAffective factors: self-efficacy, self-esteem, and self-confidence. Bandura (1994) proposed that individual’s perceived self-efficacy plays a central role in anxiety arousal when encountering potentially threatening situations. According to Bandura, self-efficacy is â€Å"people’s beliefs about their capabilities to produce designated levels of performance that exercise influence over events that affect their lives† (1994, p. 71). In other words, individuals’ perceptions regarding their efficacy are likelyRead MoreConstruct Development and Scale Creation Essay1465 Words   |  6 PagesCreation Choose a construct you would like to measure. I picked self-confidence. According to Brown (2004) self confidence is defined as ones ability to rely on themselves, to assert oneself socially, regarding what one thinks and possessing the skills to work independently, based on ones learning from personal experience and the ability to make use of prior knowledge. Self confidence measures include self efficacy, self esteem, knowledge and ability to work out problem situations and make informedRead MoreSelf Efficacy, Self Esteem, And Social Wellness Essay1028 Words   |  5 Pagesproblems. Unhealthy minds and healthy minds will tell you how unclear thoughts affects someone. This brings down the self-efficacy, self-esteem, and self-confidence. There are three steps to prevent suicide, which might decrease the risk of suicide from happening. This might give you a clear idea to help prevent a friend, family member, or anyone from committing suicide. Self-Efficacy Many of us had been though a couple of rough times and some pretty amazing ones as well. Difficult times for mostRead MoreStatistical Report on the Effects of Self-Efficacy on Depression1333 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction to self-efficacy Self-efficacy has been studied extensively since Albert Bandura first published his theory in 1977. In social situations, individuals have varying perceptions of their ability to successfully interact with others.(Bandura 1977) In other words, their self-efficacy beliefs reflect their level of social confidence (Bandura, 1977). The possession of strong self-efficacy beliefs has been related to positive outcomes in academic achievement, career choice and also to reduceRead MoreSelf-Esteem And Self Esteem950 Words   |  4 PagesA bullied student’s self-esteem can be defined as the belief of who they are as a person. Bullied students’ self-esteem can be threatened when confronted with another student that’s bullying them. Students that are being bullied tend to have low self-esteem about who they are as an individual (Raskauskas, Rubiano, Offen, Wayland, 2015). This is a time where students tend to lack confidence in who they are which will cause them to have a negative outlook as it pertains to being bullied and otherRead MoreSelf Esteem And Self Efficacy993 Words   |  4 Pagesand it concludes that factors like self-confidence and self-efficacy will have an effect on making accurate decisions. The theoretical perspective used are self-confidence, self-efficacy and calibration. Firstly, the relationship between self-efficacy and self-confidence. Self-efficacy, which is the belief in own ability, is closely related to self-confidence, which is the sense of competence. There’s a proven connection between self efficacy and self-confidence and the performance of various cognitiveRead MoreThe Triadic Reciprocal Causation Of Social Cognitive Theory1749 Words   |  7 Pageslearner. Lots of (early) behaviorist work was done with animals (e.g. Pavlov s dogs) and generalized to humans. Modeling and Observational Learning Name and describe the 4processes of observational learning. Self efficacy is one s belief and confidence in oneself regarding success in any field. It defines how you approach your goals and challenges. Social cognitive theory defines learning as an internal mental process that may or may not be reflected in immediate behavioral changeRead MoreThe Theory Of Social Psychology1551 Words   |  7 PagesBandura and Bernard Weiner. Both theorists have made great impacts within their fields, determining and describing cause and effect of social influences on the individual’s behaviors, but more importantly, how external contributors manifest into self- construct systems for motivation of cognition, behavior, and learning. With Bandura’s concepts of self-regulation / self-efficacy, and Weiner’s concept of attribution as driving mechanisms for motivation in individual cognition and behavior, the two theoristsRead MoreSelf Esteem1583 Words   |  7 PagesSelf-Esteem is a personal judgment of ones worth and the satisfaction or dissatisfaction with ones own self. By this definition Self-Esteem is how each individual person views them selves as a person both mentality and physically. According to William James, the American psychologist, self esteem involves only one mental perception of the own qualities and their physical. Self esteem plays an important role of who people are and starts at a very young age. There are both positives and negativeRead MoreThe Concept Of The Self Essay1258 Words   |  6 Pagesof the Self The concept of self is a notion that is used to describe who an individual is and how he/she is in the study of personality. In examining the concept of the self, the social world plays a crucial role because humans are basically relational or social beings. As compared to animals, humans have the ability to interact and cooperate in discovering solutions to the issues of everyday life in relation to survival and reproduction. Within the social world, the concept of the self is used

Business Analysis Business Manager - 846 Words

Most small business owners would benefit by electing to hire a business consultant, particularly if they are just starting up or if their business is not doing as well they hoped it would. Consultants can help you in many ways, offering the breadth of their experience in business start-ups and management to enable you to get off to the best possible start or to rescue a failing business that nevertheless has good potential. Business Consultant Services When you hire a business consultant you are hiring experience and expertise in a wide range of business elements. They can bring a new perspective to your business in terms of operation analysis, obtaining finance, strategic planning, management consulting and a great deal more. Very few small owners have much business knowledge or acumen, and even fewer contacts in the business world that can help them with good advice. Business consultancy services can offer you these missing ingredients that can not only turn a failing company round into a successful enterprise, but can also build on the success of a successful firm and enable it to even further dominate its market. So your small business need not be failing for you to make the best use of a business consultant - successful businesses also employ them to accelerate what may already be a rapid growth rate. Why Hire a Business Consultant? â‚ ¬ Have you just started up and are unsure where to go next? â‚ ¬ Is your business losing money? â‚ ¬ Do you understand your market but lackShow MoreRelatedRole Of An Artist Manager On The Music Industry1474 Words   |  6 Pagesown career. 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Sometimes this team is hand chosen by the artist, while other times the artist may sign to a record label and be asked to signRead MoreBusiness Analysis Project Management Delivery Development Management1050 Words   |  5 PagesSkilled Senior Business Analyst and Project Manager with outstanding capability in the development and delivery of complex applications and architecture, backed by 15 years experience. Promoted to the Executive Management Committee of MediSwitch and received multiple awards including CEO Award and Leader of the Year Award. Expert in all aspects of business integration management and change management. 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Typically, managers’ ï ¬ rst consider internal strengths and weaknesses (at the top row of the 2x2 grid) which can include image, structure, access to natural resources, capacity and efï ¬ ciency, and ï ¬ nancial resources. It is the foundation for understanding the true dynamics of how a business is flowing from all aspects. It is the most well-known tool for assessment and analysis of the total strategicRead MoreStrategic Management : The General Environment And The Competitive Environment1223 Words   |  5 PagesThroughout the semester we learn the importance of strategic management in business. The textbook defines strategic management as â€Å"consisting of the analyses, decisions, and actions an organization undertakes to create and sustain competitive advantages†. Strategic Management is divided into three segments; strategic analysis, strategic formulation and strategic implementation. 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Critical Issues For The United States Free Essays

Deliberation suggests careful thought or reflection, consideration of alternatives, but may also imply public discussion, processes working toward collective judgments. For different reasons, liberals and their critics would agree that deliberation is central to citizenship. For liberals, deliberation in the public sphere is instrumental to the purposes and interests of free individuals, combining with other private citizens to articulate and pursue common interests. We will write a custom essay sample on Critical Issues For The United States or any similar topic only for you Order Now For those with a more communitarian perspective, public deliberation is part of the process through which citizens are socially constituted and democratic participation is thus intrinsically rather than instrumentally valuable. At Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, we have developed a team-taught, cross-disciplinary social science course which emphasizes public deliberation not only on policy issues, but on the meaning of citizenship itself. Our course entitled Critical Issues for The United States – along with its sister-course, The Global Community – originated with a year-long process of intensive discussion and planning among a group of faculty drawn from the various academic departments and programs of the Maxwell School†¦ The courses we developed were first offered during the 1993-94 academic year, and have undergone annual revisions – some modest, some more substantial – ever since. The fundamental ideas underlying the courses have not changed, however: they remain focused upon citizenship, understood in terms of practices of public deliberation. Our courses were designed as multidisciplinary survey courses which would, in the process of discussing issues important to the lives of our students, introduce them to some of the major concepts and modes of analysis employed in the various social science disciplines represented at the Maxwell School. There was from the outset, then, a sense of multiplicity of perspective built into the core concept of these courses. They would not present a single seamless vision of social life or seek to find the one right answer. Rather, they would present multiple interpretations of each issue we dealt with, some convergent, some in direct conflict. We would try to link these interpretations to fundamental assumptions about the nature of social life, and to show how these basic conceptual frameworks were related to different normative orientations and political positions — that is, to different practices of citizenship. We would invite students to ponder the implications of the various perspectives we discussed, to consider the consequences for their lives as citizens, but we would not push for closure or consensus. We would emphasize the process of deliberation, rather than any particular result. We expose students to different ways of knowing social reality: the hypothesis-testing approach of orthodox social science, rudimentary rational choice theory, more interpretive understandings of social action, and critical theory models which seek organic links between knowing the world and recreating the world. We try to underscore the idea that different ways of knowing are associated with different modes of action and, ultimately, with alternative possible worlds. How knowledge is socially constructed is thus a crucial dimension of citizenship, and an important aspect of this course. FormatAs part of our emphasis on processes of deliberation, we wanted to move away from the passive, lecture-based format typical of introductory survey courses at larger universities. In many such courses, if students are involved in smaller discussion sections at all, they are typically led by graduate teaching assistants and are at best an adjunct to the primary, lecture-driven substance of the course. In contrast, the Maxwell courses were designed so that two-thirds of students’ class time would be spent in discussion sections of no more than fifteen, led by members of a team representing a cross-section of the Maxwell School faculty. To underscore for students that these discussion sections were not merely the caboose on a lecture-driven train, but were rather the motor of this course, a substantial part of their final course grade (currently 25 percent) is directly linked to their level of participation in these discussions. Particular faculty members meet twice each week with the same discussion groups so that a sense of mutual familiarity and group identity could develop, fostering candor in discussion and a willingness to think out loud. Once a week, rotating pairs of faculty share the responsibility of lecturing to a â€Å"plenary† in which all the discussion sections meet together. These lectures typically present alternative perspectives or ways of thinking about some general question or issue area. Faculty attempt to â€Å"model† intellectual activity for students, thinking through the strengths and weaknesses of various perspectives, underscoring their implications for politics and social life. Often, faculty will present perspectives with which they do not agree, and will state so at the outset. In this way, they may illustrate for students that there is an intelligible train of reasoning behind each position, and that our fist task as critical thinkers and citizens is to try to understand that reasoning. Implicitly we pose the question: why would reasonable people hold such a view? In the first instance, then, our objective is to help students to feel the attraction which draws scholars and citizens to a particular perspective, its intellectual power, its political promise, its vitality. We then try to explore the tensions or limits of each perspective. Again, the emphasis is on deliberation rather than mastery of a given fund of â€Å"knowledge†, but we do expect students to understand key concepts, arguments and supporting evidence for each of the major positions we deal with, and ultimately to be able to incorporate these into their own critical judgments and deliberations. To deemphasize rote learning, we abandoned conventional exams altogether. Instead, frequent writing assignments are integrated into the course as one more mode of deliberation and discussion. Students contribute regularly to a computerized â€Å"citizenship log† in which they are asked to exchange comments on a particular issue or idea in the course material. To encourage students to come to class prepared to actively discuss the material at hand, we may ask them to write a brief paragraph responding to each day’s readings and perhaps to post this response on the electronic log for other members of the class to see. In addition to addressing regular prompts from the faculty, students may also engage each other on the electronic log, continuing or anticipating classroom discussions. Often, faculty will review students’ e-log entries prior to class and use them to construct an agenda for more focused group discussion. We also employ more traditional forms of writing. From time to time, we ask students to write very brief (1-2 page) response papers which focus their attention directly upon substantive points judged by the faculty team to be especially significant. Frequently these will be concepts or issues which will be important for future deliberative essays. This helps students early on to begin come to grips with key claims or ideas, and enables the faculty to gauge their success in doing so. This may be a useful diagnostic tool: disappointing performance on response papers may then signal to us that particular students need additional help with key concepts, or they may reveal that the entire class needs to spend more time collectively working through some especially difficult points. Finally, each major unit of the course culminates in a somewhat longer â€Å"deliberative essay† in which students are asked to critically assess various perspectives and formulate a position relative to the major theme or issue of that unit. These essays are kept short (typically around five pages) in order to encourage students to be as concise as possible, to make deliberate decisions about what material is most significant, to develop summarization skills and to preclude the â€Å"kitchen sink† approach to paper writing. To aid students in the development of essay writing skills, the faculty have prepared extensive writing guidelines which include such fundamentals as how to construct and support a reasoned argument, how such arguments differ from assertions of opinion, how to use sources and avoid plagiarism. To reinforce our seriousness about the development of analytical writing skills, our grading criteria are keyed to these guidelines and we provide extensive written feedback on essays pointing out where there is significant room for improvement. We also make available to students annotated examples of especially strong essays so that students can see for themselves the kinds of work they are capable of producing and what faculty graders are looking for in student writing. Altogether, students would write 5-8 papers of various lengths, and anywhere from a dozen to several dozen computer log entries. To aid faculty in designing these writing assignments, and to advise students on how to construct them, our faculty team includes an instructor from the university’s writing program who has been involved in course planning from the outset, is familiar with the readings, attends all our lectures, and participates actively in faculty meetings. We have found the writing instructor to be especially valuable in helping us to design writing assignments which balance the open-endedness necessary for real deliberation with the concreteness required to hold student interest. In keeping with this relatively open-ended format, we avoided adopting any standard textbooks, and instead assembled a custom reader which presents students with the challenge of interpreting multiple voices and engaging a variety of perspectives. In addition to our reader, we assign three books representing particular positions on each of the major issues under discussion. To maintain creative tension and space for deliberation, we are careful to include in our reader several counterpoints to each of the books we assign. Our goal is to provide students with enough material to construct a critical and also a supportive position with regard to each major reading. We have also developed a home page on the World Wide Web in order to give students the opportunity to explore the vast array of resources available in cyber-space. Our home page contains all the materials which would be found in a syllabus, together with guidelines for the different kinds of writing assignments students will encounter, annotated examples of strong student essays, information about members of the faculty team, links to computerized discussion forums for each class section, and links to a variety of resources external to the university. Newspapers and magazines, government agencies, political parties, advocacy groups, think tanks, data bases and archives are made accessible through our web page. Our hope is that this array of electronic resources will not just facilitate learning through the classroom experience, but will also prompt students to consider the links between issues and perspectives discussed in class and those they encounter in the media and on the web. To further encourage this, we directly incorporate web materials into some of our class sessions: for example, we used material from the web sites of industry, environmental, and citizens’ groups to facilitate a role-playing exercise in which groups of students were asked to interpret the position of a particular group and to come to class prepared to assume their identity and negotiate with others based upon what they had learned from the web sites we assigned. Substantive VehicleCritical Issues for The United States began as a series of debates on issues which faculty planning teams thought to be important ones for students as citizens. Early versions of the course focused upon such issues as: individual rights and the responsibilities of citizenship; the size and scope of federal government as well as the relative merits of governmental centralization and decentralization; unequal access to quality education; race and affirmative action; and the environment. However, over successive semesters, student evaluations suggested that these issues and the arguments relevant to them were being perceived as separate and disconnected. The course was not providing students with a way to connect these discussions to contested visions of civic life, to see that positions on different issues might be linked by similar understandings of citizenship, to understand that policy debates are also debates about the kind of society we wish to live in and the kinds of citizens we want to be. To provide a substantive vehicle which would refocus the course on contested meanings of civic life and citizenship, and to help students see more clearly the linkages between these visions and particular political positions, we introduced a new integrative theme for the course as a whole: â€Å"the American Dream reconsidered†. We ask students to deliberate on questions such as the following: What has the American Dream meant historically? What meanings does it have for people today? How do visions of the American Dream help us to think about ourselves as citizens, and what difference does it make if we think about the Dream in one way or another? How have issues of race, class, and gender figured in various interpretations of the Dream? Are there nationalist or nativist undertones in some or all versions of the Dream? Can, or should, the prevailing interpretation of the American Dream survive into the 21st century? To engage students on issues where they feel they have some stake and where they already know something, we approach these questions not in the abstract but as they have confronted us in three major areas of public controversy. EconomyWe ask whether the American Dream has been associated with the rise of a large and prosperous â€Å"middle class†, and if that version of the Dream is threatened by economic changes currently underway. What kinds of economic conditions are needed to support the Dream? Who can, or should, participate in such prosperity? What is the meaning of participation in an economy, and how is that participation related to different notions of citizenship and community? This unit of the course introduces the basic market model, emphasizing individual choice and the role of prices as transmitters of both information and incentives. We present the case for the proposition that, in the absence of external intervention, individuals acting in pursuit of their own self-interest will realize through market institutions the most efficient allocation of resources. This implies a limited role for government and a tolerance for the economic and political inequalities which are intrinsic to a system of individualized incentives. We present the classic critique of governmental policies aimed at fostering greater equality: such policies are counterproductive insofar as they distort price signals and undermine incentives for the efficient allocation of resources, and are undesirable since they restrict individual liberty. On this view, then, the American Dream entails the protection of individual rights and liberties and a system of opportunity in which individuals are rewarded in proportion to their hard work and merit. America became a wealthy and powerful world leader through the pursuit of this vision of the Dream and, to the extent that we have in recent decades experienced diminished opportunity, prosperity and power, it is because we have strayed from the original version of the Dream. We also present in this unit a view of the American Dream of individual reward and prosperity as embedded in sets of social institutions which unequally allocate power, wealth and knowledge, and which limit opportunities for meaningful self-government. These inequalities are woven through relations of class, race, and gender, and have intensified in recent years as the American economy has become more polarized in terms of power, income and wealth. This view offers its own vision of the American Dream, one which has markedly different political implications from the first view. The political horizon projected by this vision of the Dream constitutes a community of actively self-governing citizens. To the extent that economic institutions foster inequalities which preclude the realization of this Dream of participatory democracy for all citizens, institutional reforms aimed at equalization and democratization are warranted. We then explore some of the reforms proposed by critics of the contemporary American political economy, as well as the concerns which a more individualistic perspective would raise about those proposed reforms. EducationWe look at education as a pathway to a better life for individuals, or as a prerequisite of an actively self-governing community. What kind of educational system do we need in order to fulfill different versions of the Dream? How are different visions of citizenship implicated in contemporary debates about educational reform? We explore problems of unequal access to quality education, both in K-12 public schools and at the college level. We examine analyses which argue that some Americans receive first-rate education at public expense, while there are entire classes of citizens who are not provided with education adequate to enable effective participation in public deliberations, and thereby become disempowered, second-class citizens. Accordingly, some prescribe a more centralized and uniform administration of public education in order to eliminate the grossest inequalities and insure for all citizens the â€Å"equal protection of the laws† promised by the Fourteenth Amendment. We also explore arguments which locate the problems of public school systems in over-centralized and bureaucratized administrations, and which prescribe institutional reforms which move education closer to a competitive market model based upon consumer sovereignty and choice. Finally, we grapple with the dilemmas of affirmative action in college admissions, and ask how a liberal individualist society can cope with persistent inequalities of race in higher education. EnvironmentWe look at the relationship between the natural environment and the American Dream. Can the prevailing vision of the Dream coexist with a healthy environment? Can we imagine more environmentally friendly versions of the Dream? What would be the broader social and political implications of enacting a more environmentally sustainable vision of the American Dream? We examine the anthropocentric view of nature as having value only insofar as it serves human purposes, and which further suggests that the market mechanism is the best way to determine to what extent humans should exploit the natural environment. Establishing property rights over natural resources creates a direct incentive for their wise management. Further, the price signals and incentives of the market will call forth effective substitutes in response to resource shortages and new technologies which may minimize or eliminate our costliest environmental problems. This â€Å"free market environmentalism† is entirely consistent with the individualistic vision of the American Dream, promising consumers a world in which self-interested market behavior continues to generate high standards of living into the indefinite future. This view is encapsulated in Jay Lenno’s snack chip advertisement: â€Å"Eat all you want; we’ll make more†. In contrast to this market-based view, we also examine the perspective of environmentalists who suggest that our relationship with nature is best viewed not in terms of the instrumental exploitation of an external object, but rather as a necessary aspect of any sustainable human community. On this view, then, our obligation as citizens of the community extends to future generations, and we must make environmental decisions based upon social norms of long-term sustainability. Such decisions cannot be made through the instrumental calculus of the market, but must instead be made through processes of public deliberation. This, in turn, requires institutions to support such processes of democratic deliberation and citizens competent to participate in them, and thus also suggests certain linkages to the other units of our course. In addressing each of these critical issues we hope to lead students to ask: What does the American Dream promise? Does it mean individual liberty? Does it mean democracy? Does it mean equality? Does it mean opportunity for material success? A â€Å"middle class† standard of living for most, if not all, citizens? The freedom to succeed or to fail? Freedom from oppression or poverty? Is it a promise of a better life for individuals? A better society in which all of us can live? Is mass consumption a necessary centerpiece of the Dream, or might it involve a more harmonious and balanced relationship with nature? What can, or should, we expect from the American Dream now and in the future? And what do those expectations mean for our own practices of citizenship? In these ways, we try to encourage our students to see this course as being about themselves, their political community and their future. In that sense, the course as a whole represents an invitation to enter into the public deliberations which are at the heart of various understandings of citizenship. ReflectionsI came to these special courses with some modest experience of teaching discussion-oriented and writing-intensive courses. After an introduction to the teaching profession which involved lecturing three times a week to faceless crowds of 250 or so students, I was fortunate to be able to teach international relations for several years in the Syracuse University Honors Program. These were some of the best students at Syracuse, accustomed to putting serious effort into their education and expecting a more intensive learning experience. It was exhilarating, a whole new kind of teaching for me: the students were eager to learn and it seemed as though all I had to do was present them with some challenging material and prompt them with a few provocative questions and off they went, teaching each other and, in the process, teaching me about teaching. Eventually, though, I began to feel a nagging sense of guilt, inchoate at first, increasingly clear later on. I was doing my best teaching with those students who least needed my help. In that sense, I began to feel that I wasn’t really doing my job. Then I was offered the opportunity to join the Maxwell courses. Reflecting back now on five years of continuous teaching with these very special courses, the thing from which I derive the greatest satisfaction is that we have been able to create for a cross-section of first and second year students a learning experience very much like that which was previously the privilege of Honors students. In that sense, our courses have been about the democratization of education, as well as the education of democratization. How to cite Critical Issues For The United States, Essay examples

Citizens Band Brand Of Personal Computers †Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Citizens Band Brand Of Personal Computers? Answer: Introducation Entrepreneurs are often confused with business owners. While a business owner may be an entrepreneur, not every person who operates a business entity qualifies as one. At the core of this concept is the mindset of the entrepreneur which is centered on innovation that seeks to create value and solve problems. Confidence and passion are some of the hallmarks of the typical entrepreneur who is also motivated. The current theories on the concept include the sociological and psychological approaches. Innovation and motivation theories are also postulated by scholars such as McClelland and Joseph Schumpeter. Dick Smith is an Australian entrepreneur who exhibits the traits of an entrepreneur, saw the opportunities and developed business ideas and competes successfully against his competitors. Background of the entrepreneur Some of the enterprises started by Smith include the Dick Smith Electronics in the 1960s under the erstwhile name of Dick Smith Car Radios. This venture was engaged in the sale of the Citizens Band brand of radios and personal computers. He sold the business in 1982 to Woolworths which continued to operate the business under his name (Feneley 2015). He also successfully established the Australian Geographic which was based on the famous world renowned National Geographic. Dick Smith Foods was founded in 1999 to sell food that is exclusively produced in Australia and owned by Australian companies. This company competes with companies with foreign ownership such as Campbell Soup Company which is actively engaged in the foods market in Australia. Smith was born in 1944 and his father was a salesman while the mother was a housewife. His father tried unsuccessfully to start a business which failed (Griffins 2017).He did not perform well in his education and at one time dropped out to start an apprenticeship. He managed to obtain a radio license at seventeen years of age and was repairing taxi car radios by the age of 20. This shows that he had a passion and propensity to engage in entrepreneurship that was hinged on problem solving. The relevant theory that is applicable in this case study is the psychological approach (Gorgievski, Stephan 2016). While performing poorly in his academics, he may have developed the passion to achieve highly in business that was based on a focused vision. He showed the ability to face opposition by briefly dropping out of school to start an apprenticeship. The characteristics that contributed to his success as an entrepreneur may have been influenced by his father who unsuccessfully tried to start a business. The need to start in the future a business that would be successful in comparison to his father may have been a motivator for the young entrepreneur. It is also probable that the father had low dominance on Smith in allowing him to briefly take leave of his studies in his formative years. Hgg Kurczewska (2016) state that self reliance is another trait that he exhibited by attaining the license to repair car radios at a young age. The psychological theory also posits that the society should have a sufficient number of people with the necessary psychological characteristics (Ikemefuna 2016). This could have been provided to the young entrepreneur by his parents as well as his grandmother who was a photographer. Entrepreneurial traits The three traits of an entrepreneur as stated by Joseph Schumpeter are innovation, creativity and foresight (Jasanta 2015). Smith showed innovation when he opened a new market under his Dick Smith Foods which competed against foreign owned entities. The new market catered for Australian owned companies and dealt with food exclusively produced in Australia. He also introduced a new product, Australian Geographic which became successful. His foresight is seen when he foresaw the opportunity for the car radio and personal computers and pioneered in capturing the market at its infancy stage. He later sold out when the market was beginning to mature and made a good profit from the disposal of the electronics business. Some of the colorful names given to his food labels show his creativity. This is in the effort to compete with the closest market leaders. In addition to the above traits, Smith showed the character of being able to make decisions under uncertainty as well as to make things in a better and totally new way. This is according to the theory set out by McClelland in the theory of high achievement (Jasanta 2015).The need to succeed may have started from his early years after seeing the failure of the business started by his father. The need to succeed that is not influenced by money is a trait that can be seen in Smith. The theory of high achievement is underpinned by the acquired needs theory. This theory states that a person has three needs at any given time: need for power, affiliation and achievement. The third consideration is applicable in the case of Smith who showed the desire to achieve or get success through his efforts. The above traits collectively are common in most successful entrepreneurs. Opportunity recognition and development of ideas The recognition of opportunity and development of ideas is within the perspectives of process and activity (Kuratko, Morris Schindehutte 2015).Using this perspective, Smith was able to extract profits from the car and radio electronics business when the environment was ambiguous and uncertain. Smith capitalized on the value of information that he had received while undertaking his radio repair license and recognized the opportunity in its infancy. The need for customers to install car radios in their cars was an opportunity he leveraged with his training as an emerging entrepreneurial opportunity. Schmidt (2007), states that he also recognized the opportunity and potential growth of the Citizens Band radio for short-distance communication which enabled individuals and businesses to communicate. The development of the ideas started in Australia in the electronics but which later spread to other markets. In the years 1978-1982, he spread outside of the boundaries of Australia into Asia and the US (Schmidt 2007). In the foods business segment, the process of development of ideas was simply to instill pride in Australian ownership and products. This required knowledge of the food market, the objective to undertake sector marketing and identifying the consumer problems and issues. His proposition that was part of the activity process in idea development was the objective to change the market. He located the opportunity, accumulated resources, built an organization and marketed his products creatively. His entrepreneurial ability was in the ability to make connections with the dots in a market and establish a business idea out of them. Dick Smiths (media releases, 2017), states that the process of development of the idea frequently courted legal actions by his competitors to whic h he responded to proactively. Competitive advantage The competitive advantage in his foods business is the differential advantage he propositioned of being a domestic brand. The mission statement states that sells food produced in Australia by domestically owned companies. The value proposition is that the profits made will stay within Australia, will provide employment for Australians and will help in the development of the Australian economy (Dick Smith 2017).This appeal to the patriotic sensibilities of consumers is what gives Dick Smith the competitive advantage over its competitors. Another proposition and marketing strategy is that all profits are donated to charity (Heene Sanchez 2010). This approach gives it the differential advantage of being seen as being more of a charitable enterprise that is not driven by private gain when compared to its competitors. This approach appeals to consumers, who would wish to participate in charitable activities and are able to do so indirectly by purchasing products from this company. In the electronics business, Dick Smith Electronics had a comparative advantage over its competition. Apart from selling and installing car radios, the business also sold components to hobbyists who enjoyed working with electronics. The current market at that time was dominated by large whole sellers. Their mode of operation was run on customers making queues and being served at the counter. Smith introduced a new model that was based on self service as well as a mail order service. This advantage in improved service when compared to the counter-sales of his competitors resulted in an exponential growth of his company. The Australian Geographic publication enjoyed the differential advantage of being seen as a superior brand that is affiliated with the world renowned National Geographic. This brand was protected by patent and had immediacy in brand recognition. Recommendations The future recommendation to Dick Smith is with regards to the two business entities he currently runs: Australian Geographic and Dick Smith Foods. He should consider diversifying into other publications that are related to his current business. He should also ensure generational transition in the leadership of his business entities by mentoring his children to take over when he passes on (Daspit 2017). A magazine that is informative that targets farm producers in Australia would be in tandem with his foods business. For the Dick Smith Foods, the consideration of branching out into new markets and replicating the model is worth considering. An example would be to venture into New Zealand and establishing a similar venture and appealing to the sensibilities and patriotism of New Zealand consumers. He would use the Australian entity as his reference point in gaining consumer confidence. Entrepreneurs are differentiated from business owners by several traits such as being self driven, motivated and innovative. Dick Smith in Australia developed his entrepreneurial ability early on in life, influenced by the experiences of his father. The need to succeed and achieve as stated by McClelland influenced the decisions he made in his formative years. Being a socially marginal man, he was not constrained by social restrictions in his quest for success. He recognized opportunities, developed the ideas into business organizations and grew the entities formed. His companies prospered on competitive advantages of the value proposition he postulated that were based on differential advantages. The recommendation for Dick Smith is to diversify his investments and consider replicating his models in new markets such as New Zealand. References Daspit, JJ, Chrisman, JJ, Sharma, P, Pearson, AW, Long, RG, 2017, 'A Strategic Management Perspective of the Family Firm: Past Trends, New Insights, and Future Directions', Journal of Managerial Issues, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 6-29. Dick Smiths, 2003, Media releases, viewed 15 September, https://www.dicksmithfoods.com.au/?d=media Dick Smiths, 2017, About us, viewed 15 September, https://www.dicksmithfoods.com.au/?d=mainp=sitemap Feneley, R, 2015, Queens Birthday honours: Dick Smith, a dumb kid who was almost never famous, viewed 15 September, https://www.smh.com.au/national/queens-birthday-honours-dick-smith-a-dumb-kid-who-was-almost-never-famous-20150605-ghhxjc.html Gorgievski, MJ, Stephan, U 2016, 'Advancing the Psychology of Entrepreneurship: A Review of the Psychological Literature and an Introduction', Applied Psychology: An International Review, vol. 65, no. 3, pp. 437-468. Available from: 10.1111/apps.12073. [15 September 2017]. Griffins, G, 2017, Dick Smith: Australian aviator and businessman, viewed 15 September, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dick-Smith-Australian-aviator-and-businessman Hgg, G, Kurczewska, A, 2016, 'Connecting the Dots: A Discussion on Key Concepts in Contemporary Entrepreneurship Education', Education Training, vol. 58, no. 7-8, pp. 700-714. Heene, A, Sanchez, R, 2010, Enhancing Competences for Competitive Advantage, 1st ed, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Bingley, UK. Ikemefuna, A, 2016, 'International Entrepreneurship Theory: Past, Present and Way Forward', Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, Vol 4, Iss 4, Pp 93-103 (2016), no. 4, p. 93. Jasanta, P, 2015, 'A Conceptual Mapping Resource Advantage Theory, Competitive Advantage Theory, and Transient Competitive Advantage', Expert Journal of Business and Management, Vol 3, Iss 2, Pp 140-149 (2015), no. 2, p. 140. Kuratko, D, Morris, M, Schindehutte, M, 2015, 'Understanding the dynamics of entrepreneurship through framework approaches', Small Business Economics, vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 1-13. Available from: 10.1007/s11187-015-9627-3, viewed 15 September 2017. Schmidt, L, 2007, Profile: Dick Smith, viewed 15 September, https://www.smh.com.au/small-business/profile-dick-smith-20090619-coo6.html

Iliad-Odyssey Paper Essays - Trojans, Iliad, Epic Cycle,

Iliad-Odyssey Paper Hate to Love ?I lie upon my bed with my afflicted heart, besieged by tears so stubborn and so sharp that, even as I mourn, tear me apart? (Odyssey 19.610-13). The preceding quote made by the heartbroken and devoted Penelope in Homer's the Odyssey shows an intensity of feeling that is lacking within his earlier work, the Iliad. It is amid the latter epic that the female roles are able to step into the limelight and express the befitting emotion that give the Odyssey a philanthropic feel. Therefore it is the female characters within the Odyssey that incorporate attention to compassion because they demonstrate greater altruistic expression than men especially here when compared with the Iliad. In the Iliad the dominant role is played by men hence women had to wait backstage to prove their own complexity of character. The highly regarded ancient Greek society was overseen by the males, that is, the women weren't involved unless they had permission by the men. Women were valued -- the Iliad opens with the Achaian army's capturing of two beautiful enemy maidens, Chryseis and Briseis, who are then awarded as prizes to Agamemnon -- but, in comparison to men, their concerns weren't as proclaimed in early epic poetry. In the Iliad, for example, Hektor orders Andromache back into the house during the ensuing Trojan War: Go home, attend to your own handiwork at the loom and spindle, and command the maids to busy themselves, too. As for the war, that is for the men, all who were born at Ilion, to put their minds on -- most of all for me (Iliad 6.436- 40). Hektor also desires his own baby son to be a great warrior rather than being active in domestic affairs as he prays: O Zeus and all immortals, may this child, my son, become like me a prince among the Trojans. Let him be strong and brave and rule in power at Ilion; then someday men will say ?this fellow is far better than his father!' seeing him home from war, and in his arms the bloodstained gear of some tall warrior slain -- making his mother proud (Iliad 6.419-27). (Ironically, just before Hektor made this plea to the gods his baby ?squirmed round...and began to wail, terrified by his father's great war helm? and thereafter was comforted by his mother's ?fragrant breast? as she ?held and cherished? her small son.) Later when Hektor becomes frightened of the realness of encountering Achilles he says, ?Aye, then and there he'll kill me, unprotected as I am, my gear laid by, defenseless as a woman? (Iliad 22.149-51). However, it's in the Odyssey that a man puts his trust -- his own life's safety -- in a woman to direct and protect him on his arduous journey. The men of the Iliad are incredibly jealous creatures whereas in the Odyssey they show sensitivity that rivals that of the women who have enhanced their shrewdness. Achilles gets angry because Agamemnon acquires the ?best? war prizes without fairly earning them: You [Agamemnon] thick-skinned, shameless, greedy fool!.. . . Never have I had a plunder like your own from any Trojan stronghold battered down by the Akhaians. I have seen more action hand to hand in those assaults than you have, but when the time for sharing comes, the greater share is always yours. Worn out with battle I carry off some trifle to my ships (Iliad 1.175-196). -#- Achilles later sits and weeps childishly to his mother, Thetis, over his prize being rewarded to his adversary. Thetis actually feels responsible for her son's misery as she declares, ?Oh early death! Oh broken heart! No destiny so cruel! And I bore you to this evil!? (Iliad 1.481-2). The mother never scolds her son. In contrast, Odysseus becomes more empathetic throughout the Odyssey because Athena brings out a new humaneness within the hero. Odysseus refrains from gloating after he kills the suitors that have overtaken his palace and scolds his maid for rejoicing: ?Old woman, check yourself; you must restrain your joy -- don't shout aloud. It is profane to let your voice exult when men are slain? (Odyssey 22.480-83). His selfless attitude gives the poem passion, warmth, and balance all of which set it apart from the tone of harshness within the Iliad. There's little opposition from the female characters while the revengeful men of the Iliad are constantly fighting one another whereas in the Odyssey battle is less of

Naipaul essays

Naipaul essays In V.S. Naipaul's novel, Literary Occasions, he discusses how he came to be an author and what attracted him to this profession. As a result of choosing this occupation, he needed to find out more information on his heritage and his own personal identity. In the section "Prologue to an Autobiography," he recounts how he came to possess this knowledge, especially since his father's family was shrouded in mystery. In the very beginning of the book, in "Reading and Writing," Naipaul states that he wanted to be a writer ever since he was eleven (Literary Occasions 3). However, some may find this unusual considering Naipaul was never an avid reader. At this point, he hadn't developed a passion for writing either. Where did this literary interest come from? Naipaul attributes it to his father and says the involvement was "built up from the little things my father read to me from time to time (Literary Occasions 5)." Naipaul states later that he did not know his father well and the only time spent with him was during Naipaul's impressionable childhood years. The author recounts the manner in which his father read and how it later became his own style: He read in his own way... He read many books at once, finishing none, looking not for the story or the argument in any book but for the special qualities or character of the writer. That was where he found his pleasure, and he could savour writers only in little bursts (Literary Occasions 5). Throughout his schooling and the early years of his career, Naipaul adopted this same method of reading and often found he had trouble losing himself in a book. He doubted his abilities as a writer and struggled for several years with finding a topic that he could write about. Later, he was asked by an American publisher to contribute to a series for travelers on the colony of Trinidad. Realizing he knew very little about his family, he turned to history books and found little more (Literary Occasions...

Voter Turnout in Local Election Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Voter Turnout in Local Election - Research Paper Example Turnout is bad enough during the a federal election cycle, but when there are no national politics involved, that statistics get even poorer. As a result, it becomes increasingly difficult to unseat incumbents, many of whom have grown too comfortable in their position to enact meaningful change. There are other issues involved, as well, in the record low numbers of voters turning out in local elections. This paper aims to examine some of those issues, provide implications for such voter apathy should it continue, and propose possible solutions for increasing voter turnout in local elections in the future. There is a wealth of current research looking into possible reasons that local election typically draw such abysmal voter turnout year after year. Many simply blame this on voter apathy, a frustration with current politicians and government in general, or simply on a mismanagement of the election calendar, resulting in elections in off years simply not gaining the attention that the y need to in order to garner a deeper interest in local government. While the reality is that it is likely a combination of these factors that have created the problem, a solution centered on having local elections coincide with the federal cycle will likely be a quick way to improve initial voter turnout numbers. Then, attention could be directed into getting more local involvement in government and restoring trust to the people in their own political system. To begin, let us consider the state of California. Hajinal and Lewis (2003) looked at some empirical research to determine various factors that are leading to low voter turnout in elections for various mayoral and city council races. The feeling was that something needed to be done to combat these low turnout numbers in order to have a more active and politically sensitive government. The study revealed that many residents in various towns and cities throughout the state had lost faith in their local government, so they have c eased any type of involvement in their community political system, most of all among these local elections. As a result, many incumbents are running unchallenged and seemingly unabated in their quest for a career in local politics. Not only has this phenomenon resulted in voter apathy, as it is difficult to get excited about voting when there is only candidate running for various offices, but it has also cheapened the entire political process of local government. The author’s of this study concluded that many local politicians who had been in office for numerous election cycles were now unmotivated to really invoked lasting change in the community, because they had no fear of being unseated. Similar to other studies, it was also uncovered that the same incumbents were supported in every campaign by the same special interest groups who could count on the local politicians to keep voting their way on various issues. It has been little wonder that many local communities simply h ave low turnout on voting day (Hajinal & Lewis, 2003). This study employed a methodology whereby current voting data was triangulated with current events in an effort to determine what remedies could be found to help encourage higher numbers of voters to actually turn out and cast their vote on election day. The research findings and data led to the eventual conclusion that shifting local

National Institute of Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

National Institute of Health - Essay Example And they are more inconsistent, affected by momentary events and dominated by objects in their immediate environment". However, when every function of the child is predominated by such behaviour then it is time to take cognizance. (Barkley, Russell. A, 1998). This disorder was first described by Heinrich Hoffman in 1845. A child with this affliction will either be hyperactive or will seem to be always lost in a brown study. The main causes for this disease are supposed to be neurobiological and genetic. A possible correlation between the use of alcohol and nicotine during pregnancy has been established by various studies. (Stock, Margaret, n.d). The hormone epinephrine (also known as adrenaline), is released during stressful situations producing an increased heart rate and increased blood flow to the muscles. Stimulants act similarly by increasing the levels of the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain. In addition they also act on the limbic system that reward behaviours like sexual intercourse, eating and drinking or in other words actions that are beneficial to the continuation of the species. These are normally accompanied by positive sensations due to increased levels of dopamine in the limbic system. Stimulants mimic this activity but at a much more enhanced level producing euphoric sensations by directly increasing dopamine level

Should Films and Computer Games with Violence be Restricted Essay

Should Films and Computer Games with Violence be Restricted - Essay Example Today computer games such as Grand Theft Auto allow users to actively engage in car theft and murder. Films such as Die Hard glorify violence. With the increasing liberalization of subject matter, a growing body of concern has emerged as to the extent that films and computer games with violence should be restricted. This essay examines this question through an examination of opinions both in favor and against restrictions on film and computer game violence before ultimately arguing that there should be a level of restrictions on violent video games and films. Analysis Perhaps the most pervasive argument in favor of restrictive measures on violent films and video games is that these media outlets cause real life crime through desensitizing the viewers and game players. There are a variety of perspectives on this issue. Some of the most powerful and convincing arguments have emerged as a direct result of psychological research. Dill (2000) conducted a study that is argued to demonstrat e engagement with violent films and video games â€Å"provide a forum for learning and practicing aggressive solutions to conflict situations† and there is the understanding that such violence â€Å"appears to affect aggression by priming aggressive thoughts. Longer-term effects are likely to be longer lasting as well, as the player learns and practices new aggression-related scripts that can become more and more accessible for use when real-life conflict situations arise." If true, these are powerful conclusions. Essentially, Dill is arguing that through participation in violent video games and films, participants are actually able to rehearse how they will act in violent or criminal contexts. This perspective is not far-fetched when one considers that violent films often implicitly ask the viewer to identify with a protagonist who is willing to engage in violent acts as a means of solving conflicts. Video games go even further in allowing the user to actually participate i n the violence. Ultimately, it’s clear that the potential desensitizing effects of violent films and video games is a pressing concern. Another prominent concern is that violent video games have a detrimental effect on the individual’s cognitive development. While traditional video games have been demonstrated to contain addictive qualities, growing bodies of researchers argue that the addictive quality of violent video games has an increasingly negative impact on cognitive development. The addictive nature of video games has been a long established fact with a sect of players referred to as ‘gamers’ oftentimes participating in upwards of 40-50 hours of video game playing per week. When such video game playing occurs in the context of a violence gaming world, the potential for negative cognitive development occurrences is argued to become a readily apparent fact. Indeed, a number of instances have been recorded where extreme consequences have occurred for individuals. In one instances, regarding a child in Moscow it’s noted that, â€Å"He had not only received bad marks but was also known for bad behavior in class.   Denial of video games is, by all rights, appropriate punishment and I’m sure no one thought that it would lead to his jumping  from his 19th floor apartment

Electrical Detection Of Liquid Lithium Leaks from Pipe Joint

Electrical Detection Of Liquid Lithium Leaks from Pipe Joint Contents (Jump to) 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Theory Of Operation 3.0 Hardware and Electrical Circuit 4.0 Result from Test Circuit 5.0 Summary 1.0 Introduction Liquid lithium is a candidate plasma facing component (PFC) material for a fusion reactor, and lithium PFCs have been shown to improve plasma confinement and reduce impurities in tokamaks such as TFTR, 1 CDX-U, 2 NSTX,3, 4 FTU,5 and HT-7.6 In a reactor, the liquid lithium would have to be circulated in a loop system for power handling and the removal of impurities including tritium. A circulating system is more complicated than the static configurations used to date in fusion devices, and so requires further development and testing: for example, in a liquid lithium system, the ability of a system to safely freeze, re-liquefy, and then continue operation without leaks is essential. The Liquid Lithium Test Stand (LLTS) is being constructed at Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPL) to gain experience with flowing lithium systems, and as a prototype for circulating lithium in future PFC test modules. The LLTS consists of an upper and lower reservoir, a rotating permanent magnet pump, and an electromagnetic flow meter. The top of the reservoirs are kept under vacuum. The LLTS is designed to operate at up to 500 à ¢- ¦C and contain up to 2 l of lithium. Connections of the pipe to the reservoirs are welded, but all other joints are demountable VCR fittings to ease construction, maintenance, and reconfiguration of the loop. Compared to a weld, a demountable joint is more likely to leak, which is a major safety concern since liquid lithium is hot (over 200 à ¢- ¦C) and reacts with atmospheric gases, water, and concrete. The LLTS therefore requires a design to minimize the impact of potential leaks, including a system to detect leaks and actuate control systems. 2.0 Theory of Operation We monitor for leaks of liquid lithium from a pipe joint by using the conductivity of the leaking liquid metal to complete a circuit. Liquid lithium at 400 à ¢- ¦C has a resistivity9 of 32 ÃŽ ¼ cm, roughly three times less than that of 316 stainless steel at the same temperature, 10 102 ÃŽ ¼ cm. A conducting shell, normally electrically isolated from the pipe, surrounds each VCR fitting. If lithium leaks it will contact the shell, which will no longer be electrically isolated from the pipe. A circuit monitors for continuity between the pipe and the shell. If continuity is detected, the control systems are actuated: power to the heaters and pump motor is turned off so that the lithium in the loop can cool down and solidify. 3.0 Hardware and Electrical Circuit The loop is constructed from 316 stainless steel, which is resistant to corrosion by liquid lithium. The pipe of the loop has a 3/8 in. diameter and pipe joints are 5/8 in. Swages lock VCR fittings, with special non-silver-coated stainless steel gaskets. Each VCR fitting is surrounded by a 0.050 in. thick cylindrical copper shell, electrically isolated from the pipe by Cotronics Ultra Temp 390 ceramic tape. A mockup of the shell around VCR fittings is shown in Figure 1. The ends of the cylinders are attached to the body by a temperature compatible braze. The shell is cut in half so that it can be positioned around the fitting. The two halves then are fastened in place by a metal band. A wire lug for the leak detector circuit is attached by a tapped hole on one cylinder end face. While copper readily alloys with lithium, it was chosen as the shell material because of its high thermal diffusivity. The shells will not be thermally insulated as the pipes will, so they will be cooler than the liquid lithium inside the pipe. If lithium leaks out of a VCR fitting, it will be physically contained by the shell and cooled down by the copper acting as a heat sink. The combination of alloying and lower temperature reduces reactivity. On this principle, copper powder fire extinguishers for lithium fires were developed.11 In order to prevent lithium from reacting with air, and that which might leak from the shells from contacting the concrete floor, the loop will be surrounded by an argon-filled stainless steel enclosure which includes a floor plate with walls sufficiently high to contain the entire inventory of liquid lithium. An electrical circuit, shown in Figure 2, monitors for continuity between the copper shell and the pipe. The inputs to the circuit are the two lea ds in the lower left of the figure: the upper lead is attached to a copper shell, and the lower (ground) lead is attached to the loop. Normally, the â€Å"+† input of the comparator is pulled up above the â€Å"–† Comparator Reference Voltage by a 100 k resistor attached to a 5 V supply. If there is a fault in the loop such as a leak of lithium or a physical contact between some part of the copper shell and the pipe that allows current to flow from the upper lead to ground, the â€Å"+† input of the comparator is pulled below the reference voltage. This causes the comparator to output 0 V and the relay latches off the power to the heaters and pump. A fault draws current through the 100 k pull up resistor and also through a front panel LED, which lights. FIG. 1. One channel of the interlock circuit. If there is a fault (such as a leak) that causes the open circuit at left to be shorted, the â€Å"+† input of the comparator will be pulled down, the comparator will output 0 V, and the relay will open, latching off the power to the heaters and pump. FIG. 2. Block diagram of the interlock system for the heaters and pump motor. If the leak detector circuit detects a fault, or the E-stop button is pushed, power to the pump motor and heaters will be turned off until the leak detectors register no fault on all channels and the start button is pushed. â€Å"MC† is the motor controller and â€Å"SSR† is the solid state relays. In order to ensure that it is easy to identify the location of a fault, for each channel there is an analog LED on a front panel display that will light up in case of a fault. One additional normally-on LED for each board shows that the interlock system itself is powered on. The fault status of each channel in the interlock system is monitored and recorded by a PC with lab VIEW. The digital output of the comparator for each channel is sent to a SCB- 68A connector box which is attached to a 6323 National Instruments card in the PC. The lab VIEW program polls each interlock channel at 1 kHz, in order to record intermittent faults. Each channel has two displays in lab VIEW: one for its present status, and one indicating whether there has ever been a fault in the time since a â€Å"reset† was clicked. Since the analog front panel display shows the present status, this lab VIEW display would allow an operator to see where a past fault occurred. Additionally, for ease of monitoring, a schematic of the loop shows the status of each leak detector in its proper location. Every second, for each channel, the program logs to a file whether there has been any fault during that 1 s period. Along with thermocouple and pressure data in the same file, this could aid in reconstruction of the circumstances surrounding a fault. Note that the PC with Lab VIEW is for monitoring and logging only, and it is not at present part of any control loop. 4.0 Result from Test Circuit The electrical systems described were constructed. The open-circuit voltage between the sensing terminals was 3.5 V, and the short-circuit current (limited by the 220 resistor) was 15 mA. The reference voltage potentiometers were adjusted for maximum sensitivity so that any resistance between the sensing terminals of less than 2 k triggers the interlock. A test of the interlock system was performed in air with gallium as a surrogate liquid metal. Gallium was poured into a section of pipe with a VCR fitting gasket that was intentionally damaged by cutting a small slit. As expected, gallium leaked out from the damaged gasket, contacted the copper shell, and triggered the interlock. 5.0 Summary The resistance of a liquid lithium leak should be much less than the 2 k maximum resistance to trigger the interlock: even a 1 cm long, 1 ÃŽ ¼m radius cylinder of liquid lithium between the copper shell and pipe would have a resistance of only 1 k and would trigger the interlock. The LTS will be in an argon-filled enclosure to minimize lithium reactions if leaks occur. Lithium compounds that do form with any residual gases will dissolve in the liquid lithium, 12 and should not affect its electrical conductivity in the time it takes to trigger the interlock system. One potential problem of this system is that an open circuit between the two sensing terminals is the normal condition: if one of the sensing wires were to become disconnected or be cut, that channel would cease to be able to detect a fault, but there would be no indication in the system of a problem. A testing procedure or additional system could be developed to ensure operation of all leak detector channels. Another issue is that only VCR fitting joints are monitored. A leak elsewhere in the LTS would not trigger the interlock system. It could be advantageous to have an additional non-localized leak detection system, for example, by monitoring for a sudden change in pressure in the loop. While the vacuum pressure above the reservoirs is monitored and logged, pressure readings are not at present incorporated into the interlock system. The LTS, a test stand for flowing liquid lithium and liquid lithium PFC test modules at PPL, is being constructed. A circuit to detect leaks at the demountable joints in the loop has been constructed and tested with a surrogate liquid metal, gallium. If a leak is detected, the circuit actuates a control system, latching off power to the heaters and pump in order to bring the loop to a safer state. Liquid lithium leaking from joint contacts the surrounding copper shell, completing the leak detector circuit. The copper shell helps lower the reactivity of leaking lithium b y alloying with the lithium and by acting as a heat sink.

The Federal Governments Effect on Renewable Energy in the United State

The Federal Government's Effect on Renewable Energy in the United States In an article posted by Reuters on October 24, 2006, the global conservation group, formerly known as the WWF, stated that â€Å"humans are stripping nature at an unprecedented rate and will need two planets' worth of natural resources every year by 2050 on current trends† (Blanchard). The report indicates that, if every other country were to use the same amount of energy as America does, five planets worth of resources would be needed to support the world. America, as one of the largest consumer countries of energy, has been making attempts to implement methods for using alternate energy sources in order to preserve the already dwindling resources of its environment. Although many advances have been made in alternate and renewable energy research, one major factor appears to stand in the way of its development: the federal budget. President George W. Bush and his administration have been making budget cuts in solar and other renewable energy programs due to the pro grams’ lack of popularity in the marketplace and little success in research and developmental advancements throughout the years. However, many advocate groups for the use of renewable energy blame the field’s slow advancement on the lack of funding it is being allotted by the federal government. Without interest, the government will not increase funding, but without funding, the opportunity for interest to expand is minimal. The question of why the federal government has allowed outside interest groups to play an influential role on the decisions it makes regarding the nation’s environmental well being comes into play, as the American public’s national opinion continues to be overlook... ...r Beyond Planet's Means: WWF." Reuters News Service. 24 Oct. 2006. 24 Oct. 2006. n.pag. Doggett, Tom. â€Å"UPDATE 2-Bush budget cuts solar, renewable energy programs.† Reuters New. 9 April 2001. 1-4. Morris, S.C. â€Å"Coal Conversion Technologies: Some Health and Environmental Effects.† Science Magazine. 206. 4419 (1979): 654-662. O'Neill, Brian C. and Michael Oppenheimer. â€Å"Climate Change: The Untold Story.† 13 Sept. 2006. Greenpeace UK. 15 Oct. 2006. 1971-1972. . Skylar, Scott and Kenneth Sheinkopf. Consumer Guide to Solar Energy. Chicago: Bonus Books, 2002. 2-24. "U.S. Public Favors Use of Renewable Energy." Xinhua New Agency. 3 Nov. 1998. 2 Oct. 2006. n.pag. The Federal Government's Effect on Renewable Energy in the United State The Federal Government's Effect on Renewable Energy in the United States In an article posted by Reuters on October 24, 2006, the global conservation group, formerly known as the WWF, stated that â€Å"humans are stripping nature at an unprecedented rate and will need two planets' worth of natural resources every year by 2050 on current trends† (Blanchard). The report indicates that, if every other country were to use the same amount of energy as America does, five planets worth of resources would be needed to support the world. America, as one of the largest consumer countries of energy, has been making attempts to implement methods for using alternate energy sources in order to preserve the already dwindling resources of its environment. Although many advances have been made in alternate and renewable energy research, one major factor appears to stand in the way of its development: the federal budget. President George W. Bush and his administration have been making budget cuts in solar and other renewable energy programs due to the pro grams’ lack of popularity in the marketplace and little success in research and developmental advancements throughout the years. However, many advocate groups for the use of renewable energy blame the field’s slow advancement on the lack of funding it is being allotted by the federal government. Without interest, the government will not increase funding, but without funding, the opportunity for interest to expand is minimal. The question of why the federal government has allowed outside interest groups to play an influential role on the decisions it makes regarding the nation’s environmental well being comes into play, as the American public’s national opinion continues to be overlook... ...r Beyond Planet's Means: WWF." Reuters News Service. 24 Oct. 2006. 24 Oct. 2006. n.pag. Doggett, Tom. â€Å"UPDATE 2-Bush budget cuts solar, renewable energy programs.† Reuters New. 9 April 2001. 1-4. Morris, S.C. â€Å"Coal Conversion Technologies: Some Health and Environmental Effects.† Science Magazine. 206. 4419 (1979): 654-662. O'Neill, Brian C. and Michael Oppenheimer. â€Å"Climate Change: The Untold Story.† 13 Sept. 2006. Greenpeace UK. 15 Oct. 2006. 1971-1972. . Skylar, Scott and Kenneth Sheinkopf. Consumer Guide to Solar Energy. Chicago: Bonus Books, 2002. 2-24. "U.S. Public Favors Use of Renewable Energy." Xinhua New Agency. 3 Nov. 1998. 2 Oct. 2006. n.pag.