Maintaining a Learning Environment Free Essays

The teacher is a manger. The organization he or she manages is a group of students from diverse backgrounds and with differing skills and abilities. Some are already eager learners, while others have to be awakened to the joys and satisfactions of learning. We will write a custom essay sample on Maintaining a Learning Environment or any similar topic only for you Order Now Still others have special problems that must be dealt with effectively in order for them to learn and in order to maintain an environment conducive to learning for the whole group. It’s important, first, to provide students with opportunities to learn about things that interest them and then, to find ways to introduce the learning that peaks the student’s interest. If the teacher can find ways to relate the topic to the student’s present experience, and provide interactive learning activities that the student can actively participate in, then the student will gain motivation. The physical environment plays a role in learning too. Some students learn better in different lighting (softer or brighter), sitting at a desk or lying on the floor, with music on or in perfect silence, in a warmer or cooler place, etc. The teacher can establish areas in the room that meet these different needs and styles of learning. Students who learn better lying down, for example, could bring mats to school that can be unrolled for study time. A small tent in the corner could provide the dimmer light some students need. A radio or CD player with earphones could be allowed during study time provided it truly helps the student to learn. The importance of reasonable rules that everyone understands can hardly be overestimated. On the first or second day of school the teacher could initiate an interactive discussion with the students about why rules are needed in the classroom. Let students share a few experiences that happened when there were no rules. Then, ask them to come up with no more than five rules for classroom behavior. They could each write down a rule or two they think is important on an index card, and the teacher could then let each person read what he/she wrote down. A list could be generated on the board. Or, they could start by brainstorming a list of every rule they can think of, then evaluate, eliminate, combine (just the word respect, for example, includes many rules), and whittle them down into three to five good rules. A student with good handwriting or an artistic bent could be chosen to make a large poster with the rules, or a bulletin board for classroom display where everybody can see it. Once the students have set their classroom rules, they are invested in them. I have tried this with grades 4-7 students, and it worked very well to establish an orderly learning environment. The students took the rules more seriously because they had had a say in setting them. It teaches democracy, too. If the students do not think of something the teacher considers important, the teacher can add it to their list and explain why. However, this is unlikely. In my experience, the student’s rules tend to be very good-actually, the same rules I would have made myself, only they mean more to the students since they have developed them as a group and the rules are in their own words. Lane and Wehby (2005) report that 1% of school age children have been labeled emotionally disturbed and are receiving special education services because of it. They estimate an additional 2% to 16% of U. S. students who demonstrate anti-social behavior patterns such as defiance disorders or conduct disorders. When a student is oppositional or defiant, the teacher must be careful not to respond angrily and get into a confrontation. Teachers should be aware of their own triggers so that they can control their own behavior. This will help them to avoid a confrontation. It is best to remain calm and to diffuse the student’s anger before it escalates into a crisis and/or violence. If a student refuses to do a certain task, offering an alternative choice may help, and it would be a good idea for the teacher always to have alternative tasks ready just in case-alternative activities that are still learning activities. A sense of humor may be a teacher’s best defense when students are uncooperative. It is better to prevent escalation than to deal with a crisis later. One way to do this is to reinforce good behavior with praise, a smile, gesture, touch, â€Å"or a pleasant comment when they display unprompted, socially appropriate behavior† (Albin, 2003). Don’t wait until students are disruptive to pay attention to them! Teachers should make the effort to notice and praise good behavior and reward it. Punishment is a negative way of dealing with problematic behavior. It may provide reinforcement for bad behavior if the reason the student is misbehaving is because he/she wants attention. If a student misbehaves because he doesn’t want to do his work, and then gets sent out in the hall or to the office, then he gets what he wanted, and the bad behavior is reinforced. Rewards for positive behavior, such as time to do an activity the students loves, a toy or candy, or one-on-one time with the teacher (just to talk and visit for a few minutes) makes students happy to learn and to be in school. Punishment often produces resentment, and may make the student hate school. A student who hates school is not an eager learner, so punishment can be anti-productive (Peck Scarpati (2005). Teachers commonly deal with difficult students by restricting them-the more intense the student’s needs are, the more restriction–such as placing a child’s desk toward the wall (Duhaney, 2003). However, a needs-based approach is more positive and effective and suggests recourse to greater resources. Perhaps the child needs to learn appropriate ways to handle anger and aggression, more problem-solving skills, or receive feedback for appropriate behaviors. If the child has trouble with self-control, instructional strategies could include modeling, role-play, and feedback to help him stay out of fights, solve problems, express anger appropriately, and deal with frustration. Without intervention students with or at risk for behavioral disorders are liable to experience many negative outcomes both in school and outside such as impaired social relationships, academic underachievement, and discipline problems (Lane, Wehby, Barton-Arwood, 2005). Social skills interventions have been used and evaluated for more than 25 years, but their efficacy continues to be questioned. Researchers suggest that social skills training makes only a modest impact; however, most educators agree that not doing anything is worse. The ability to adapt and modify instruction is crucial to effectively educating these children. Before starting an intervention, it would be wise to gather information about the student, such as why, where and when he uses the particular behavior. Identify what social, affective, cultural, or contextual elements might be at work, and analyze the information. List the specific behaviors and describe where when and with whom the behavior is likely to occur. What consequences are usually administered? Keep anecdotal records so you can look for patterns and what triggers the behavior. Then figure out what strategies might be effective to avoid the behavior; for example, teach self-talk to students who are impulsive and organize the classroom environment to help hyperactive students. Consider making a contract with the student. Develop personal schedules for students who have difficulty making good use of their time. Consider implementing a token economy in which the teacher systematically awards or withdraws tokens or points for appropriate or inappropriate behavior. The student can redeem the tokens for something he wants such as privileges, desired activities, or food. Conflict resolution is a way to help students express their feelings and communicate better with others. We tend to see conflict as negative because of the disruption it causes in the classroom; however, conflict is neither good nor bad but simply a fact of life. According to Vollmer, Drook and Harned (1999) â€Å"Learning through social conflict is important to all human development† (p. 122). As children develop cognitive reasoning skills, they begin to see that others have perspectives, needs, and desires too. Early training with role plays and simulations will help them develop the social skills they need to maintain relationships. Students can be taught a process for resolution of conflict. One way is to use a large visual of a traffic light which shows the steps to conflict resolution and includes the words Cool down and Ground Rules (RED), Tell your side and Listen (YELLOW), and Brainstorm and Ideas (GREEN). A turn arrow at the bottom has the words Choose solution, and do it and Shake hands. Teachers report that students take more responsibility and often initiate conflict-resolution strategies on their own after learning and practicing this system (Vollmer, Drook Harned, 1999, p. 124). The teacher should provide a quiet place in the room where students can work things out when they have a conflict. Once they have mastered a structured routine for conflict management, it will be unnecessary for the teacher to get involved. Classroom management is a challenge that requires the teacher to put his or her heart into it. An ancient Chinese proverb states that a student only learns from a teacher who loves home. In other words, a child needs to feel accepted and that the teacher cares about him or her. All children have basic needs–physical needs, safety needs, and social needs–that must be met before they can feel free to learn and develop to their true potential. If their needs are met and a positive learning environment is created, they will learn and be eager to participate. Therefore, the teacher’s goal should be, not to fill their heads with specific information, but to make learning possible in a calm, structured, safe, and flexible environment and help them gain the skills to go after knowledge. How to cite Maintaining a Learning Environment, Papers Maintaining a Learning Environment Free Essays The teacher is a manger. The organization he or she manages is a group of students from diverse backgrounds and with differing skills and abilities. Some are already eager learners, while others have to be awakened to the joys and satisfactions of learning. We will write a custom essay sample on Maintaining a Learning Environment or any similar topic only for you Order Now Still others have special problems that must be dealt with effectively in order for them to learn and in order to maintain an environment conducive to learning for the whole group. It’s important, first, to provide students with opportunities to learn about things that interest them and then, to find ways to introduce the learning that peaks the student’s interest. If the teacher can find ways to relate the topic to the student’s present experience, and provide interactive learning activities that the student can actively participate in, then the student will gain motivation. The physical environment plays a role in learning too. Some students learn better in different lighting (softer or brighter), sitting at a desk or lying on the floor, with music on or in perfect silence, in a warmer or cooler place, etc. The teacher can establish areas in the room that meet these different needs and styles of learning. Students who learn better lying down, for example, could bring mats to school that can be unrolled for study time. A small tent in the corner could provide the dimmer light some students need. A radio or CD player with earphones could be allowed during study time provided it truly helps the student to learn. The importance of reasonable rules that everyone understands can hardly be overestimated. On the first or second day of school the teacher could initiate an interactive discussion with the students about why rules are needed in the classroom. Let students share a few experiences that happened when there were no rules. Then, ask them to come up with no more than five rules for classroom behavior. They could each write down a rule or two they think is important on an index card, and the teacher could then let each person read what he/she wrote down. A list could be generated on the board. Or, they could start by brainstorming a list of every rule they can think of, then evaluate, eliminate, combine (just the word respect, for example, includes many rules), and whittle them down into three to five good rules. A student with good handwriting or an artistic bent could be chosen to make a large poster with the rules, or a bulletin board for classroom display where everybody can see it. Once the students have set their classroom rules, they are invested in them. I have tried this with grades 4-7 students, and it worked very well to establish an orderly learning environment. The students took the rules more seriously because they had had a say in setting them. It teaches democracy, too. If the students do not think of something the teacher considers important, the teacher can add it to their list and explain why. However, this is unlikely. In my experience, the student’s rules tend to be very good-actually, the same rules I would have made myself, only they mean more to the students since they have developed them as a group and the rules are in their own words. Lane and Wehby (2005) report that 1% of school age children have been labeled emotionally disturbed and are receiving special education services because of it. They estimate an additional 2% to 16% of U. S. students who demonstrate anti-social behavior patterns such as defiance disorders or conduct disorders. When a student is oppositional or defiant, the teacher must be careful not to respond angrily and get into a confrontation. Teachers should be aware of their own triggers so that they can control their own behavior. This will help them to avoid a confrontation. It is best to remain calm and to diffuse the student’s anger before it escalates into a crisis and/or violence. If a student refuses to do a certain task, offering an alternative choice may help, and it would be a good idea for the teacher always to have alternative tasks ready just in case-alternative activities that are still learning activities. A sense of humor may be a teacher’s best defense when students are uncooperative. It is better to prevent escalation than to deal with a crisis later. One way to do this is to reinforce good behavior with praise, a smile, gesture, touch, â€Å"or a pleasant comment when they display unprompted, socially appropriate behavior† (Albin, 2003). Don’t wait until students are disruptive to pay attention to them! Teachers should make the effort to notice and praise good behavior and reward it. Punishment is a negative way of dealing with problematic behavior. It may provide reinforcement for bad behavior if the reason the student is misbehaving is because he/she wants attention. If a student misbehaves because he doesn’t want to do his work, and then gets sent out in the hall or to the office, then he gets what he wanted, and the bad behavior is reinforced. Rewards for positive behavior, such as time to do an activity the students loves, a toy or candy, or one-on-one time with the teacher (just to talk and visit for a few minutes) makes students happy to learn and to be in school. Punishment often produces resentment, and may make the student hate school. A student who hates school is not an eager learner, so punishment can be anti-productive (Peck Scarpati (2005). Teachers commonly deal with difficult students by restricting them-the more intense the student’s needs are, the more restriction–such as placing a child’s desk toward the wall (Duhaney, 2003). However, a needs-based approach is more positive and effective and suggests recourse to greater resources. Perhaps the child needs to learn appropriate ways to handle anger and aggression, more problem-solving skills, or receive feedback for appropriate behaviors. If the child has trouble with self-control, instructional strategies could include modeling, role-play, and feedback to help him stay out of fights, solve problems, express anger appropriately, and deal with frustration. Without intervention students with or at risk for behavioral disorders are liable to experience many negative outcomes both in school and outside such as impaired social relationships, academic underachievement, and discipline problems (Lane, Wehby, Barton-Arwood, 2005). Social skills interventions have been used and evaluated for more than 25 years, but their efficacy continues to be questioned. Researchers suggest that social skills training makes only a modest impact; however, most educators agree that not doing anything is worse. The ability to adapt and modify instruction is crucial to effectively educating these children. Before starting an intervention, it would be wise to gather information about the student, such as why, where and when he uses the particular behavior. Identify what social, affective, cultural, or contextual elements might be at work, and analyze the information. List the specific behaviors and describe where when and with whom the behavior is likely to occur. What consequences are usually administered? Keep anecdotal records so you can look for patterns and what triggers the behavior. Then figure out what strategies might be effective to avoid the behavior; for example, teach self-talk to students who are impulsive and organize the classroom environment to help hyperactive students. Consider making a contract with the student. Develop personal schedules for students who have difficulty making good use of their time. Consider implementing a token economy in which the teacher systematically awards or withdraws tokens or points for appropriate or inappropriate behavior. The student can redeem the tokens for something he wants such as privileges, desired activities, or food. Conflict resolution is a way to help students express their feelings and communicate better with others. We tend to see conflict as negative because of the disruption it causes in the classroom; however, conflict is neither good nor bad but simply a fact of life. According to Vollmer, Drook and Harned (1999) â€Å"Learning through social conflict is important to all human development† (p. 122). As children develop cognitive reasoning skills, they begin to see that others have perspectives, needs, and desires too. Early training with role plays and simulations will help them develop the social skills they need to maintain relationships. Students can be taught a process for resolution of conflict. One way is to use a large visual of a traffic light which shows the steps to conflict resolution and includes the words Cool down and Ground Rules (RED), Tell your side and Listen (YELLOW), and Brainstorm and Ideas (GREEN). A turn arrow at the bottom has the words Choose solution, and do it and Shake hands. Teachers report that students take more responsibility and often initiate conflict-resolution strategies on their own after learning and practicing this system (Vollmer, Drook Harned, 1999, p. 124). The teacher should provide a quiet place in the room where students can work things out when they have a conflict. Once they have mastered a structured routine for conflict management, it will be unnecessary for the teacher to get involved. Classroom management is a challenge that requires the teacher to put his or her heart into it. An ancient Chinese proverb states that a student only learns from a teacher who loves home. In other words, a child needs to feel accepted and that the teacher cares about him or her. All children have basic needs–physical needs, safety needs, and social needs–that must be met before they can feel free to learn and develop to their true potential. If their needs are met and a positive learning environment is created, they will learn and be eager to participate. Therefore, the teacher’s goal should be, not to fill their heads with specific information, but to make learning possible in a calm, structured, safe, and flexible environment and help them gain the skills to go after knowledge. How to cite Maintaining a Learning Environment, Essay examples

The Sun Witness Is an Interesting Didactic Poem Samples for Students

Question: Write A poem on the sun? Answer: Introducation: The Sun Witness is an interesting, didactic poem, written by Nurun Nessa Choudhury, that explains how the action and behavior of an individual determines whether he is blessed or cursed in life. The poet develops the idea of the Law of Karma. The protagonist of the poem, the young girl initially helped the dead grass in getting the heat of the sunlight and accordingly she enjoyed a sunny day. However, as soon as she turned into a proud, self-conceited girl, the rain immediately taught her a lesson, by showering on her dress. The sun, here is symbolizing the Divine Power, which observes every human action, and accordingly and offers justice to the wrong-doers, by punishing them. Instead of narrating the tale in simple language, the poet deliberately chooses symbols to explain her point (King). Here, happiness is being symbolically represented through the sun-lit day, which the girl enjoys to her fullest, for having done a merciful act. On the other hand, the sun hid, and the happiness disappeared from the girls life, while she behaved indignantly with the beggars (Masters). Accordingly, the rain started showering, which has symbolic association with tears and sadness. Just like a fable, the poem explains the importance of good deeds, whereby a benevolent, sensible and compassionate person will always be rewarded with happiness and good luck. On the other hand, an individual who is too indignant and scornful towards the less privileged ones, will always suffer from misfortune and adversity. By personifying the Sun, and making it the symbol of Divine Justice, the poet explains how law of Karma operates in human life. Reference List: King, George.Karma and Reincarnation. The Aetherius Society, 2014. Masters, Bradford. "The (f) law of karma: In light of Sedlock v. Baird, would meditation classes in public schools survive a first amendment establishment clause challenge."Cal. Legal Hist.9 (2014): 255.

Edward Scissorhands and the Cay free essay sample

As a result of this Timothy and Phillip meet because they happen to get on the same raft that leads them to the small Cay. Some of the adversities that are overcome are dealing with Phillip going blind, being shipwrecked and prejudice. Getting along, working as a team and most importantly a friendship help overcome these adversities. The second example of adversity is in a film called No Limbs, No Limits. This is about a man called Nick Vujicic who was born with no limbs. After seeing the film you will always remember Nick as it is one story that will blow your mind. This 25 year old man is overcoming every obstacle that life puts in front of him. Some of the obstacles that he and his family have to overcome are having to accept Nick for who he is and having to change the way that they will live forever. Striving for what he wants helps overcome this and Nick does it with determination and family encouraging him to do his best always. The Cay: They have been shipwrecked on the island for a few days and it is starting to get hard. They are running low on supplies which mean that they have to go and hunt for food. With Phillip being blind it makes it very difficult because Timothy who is quite old has to do the hunting in order for them to survive. What kept them alive and the way they got through everything in the story was by supporting each other, growing a friendship and Timothy’s knowledge due to his age. At one point in the book Timothy and Phillip found a coconut tree. With Timothy being old and frail and Phillip being blind they still thought of a way to get the coconuts. The way they did this was for Timothy to tell Phillip exactly what to do. It was hard for the both of them with Timothy having to explain to Phillip each step of the way as well as making sure that there were no dangers in the process that could hurt Phillip. Having to actually climb the tree while being blind and not knowing what was coming up ahead would have been very scary. Eventually getting to the top of the tall coconut tree, Phillip cut some coconuts down from the tree and then came back down safely. They were both jumping for joy and as quoted by Phillip in the book â€Å"I just felt like I had just passed a survival course†. With this we as readers take away how having a disability means nearly everything is still possible. You are still very capable of doing the same things that a person who has no disability can do providing you have the right support and people around that care about you and you can trust. Black and white to most people are just colours, but to some if you are black then you are discriminated against. The Cay is set in 1942 when if you were black then you had to stand up if a white person got on the bus and there was no seats left. It was the time when half of the bus was for white people and the other half was for black. Phillip was bought up by his mother Grace to disregard black people. That all had to change when Phillip and Timothy got stranded on the Cay. Phillip had to get used to having a black man around because he and Timothy were the only people on the island. They both got so used to each other that they overcame the whole concept of black and white. They did this by accepting each other for who they were and equality that was done by forgetting that they â€Å"were neither white nor black† as quoted by Phillip when he was lying next to Timothy on the Cay. This is also shown when Phillip says to Timothy â€Å"I want to be your friend† Timothy replies â€Å"young bahss you have always been my friend. † Phillip said â€Å"instead of calling me young boss call me Phillip†. Here we take away that different coloured skin really means nothing. It is people’s actions and personality that we should judge someone by not their colour or age and certainly not their disability. No limbs, No limits: Nick Vujicic is a man who was born with no arms or legs and he has had to overcome that he is very different to everyone else. Nick got bullied throughout primary and high school as a result of his disability. Nick was also misunderstood and everyone thought that because of the way he was he could not achieve anything. Nick’s personality was so determined that he proved them all wrong. He has overcome so much in his past, worked through many obstacles and is now a successful speaker with a wife and a child. Nick has got to this point in life because he was determined to let nothing get in his way and supported from all of his family and friends. We can take away from this film that no matter what your disability is or even if you do not have a disability then there is nothing holding you back. Go for what you want in life and you can achieve anything if you want it badly enough. There is a shot in the film where teenagers are looking at Nick with tears in their eyes. The teenager’s point of view is that of admiration of Nick and encouragement that all is possible. Then Nicks point of view shot is showing his feelings of joy, pride, success and achievement in life. By Nick becoming a public speaker he is showing people never give up no matter what is thrown at them in life as despite his disability he is successful and very happy. In conclusion after reading the book and watching the film I feel that no matter what obstacles are put in front of us if we have the determination and believe in ourselves anything is possible. Life is full of ups and downs. It is these ups and downs that make us strong and the people we are today. Both the book and the film encourage audiences to go for what they want in life and never let anything hold you back. Persistence and determination are so important and as a result of this Nick has an amazing career and is very happy despite his disabilities and Phillip and Timothy survived being stranded on The Cay.

Native American Astronomy Essays (1211 words) - Meteor Showers

Native American Astronomy For many years astronomers and people alike have constantly heard about the observations and records of the Chinese and Europeans. No other culture can provide as much information as that gathered by the Chinese and Europeans, but there are many other cultures that observed and recorded the night sky, one of those being the Native Americans. During the last fifteen to twenty years archaeoastronomers have uncovered much concerning the beliefs and records of Native Americans. Unfortunately, the methods of keeping records of astronomical events were not as straight forward as the Chinese and Europeans. The Native Americans had to use what they could to record what they observed. Their records were found on rock and cave drawings, stick notching, beadwork, pictures on animal skins and story telling. One of the few dateable events among the various records of Native Americans was the 1833 appearance of the Leonid meteor shower. The most obvious accounts of the Leonid storm appear among th e various bands of the Sioux of the North American plains. The Sioux kept records called winter counts, which were a chronological pictographic account of each year painted on animal skin. In 1984 Von Del Chamberlain listed the astronomical references for 50 Sioux, forty five out of fifty referred to an intense meteor shower during 1833/1834. He also listed nineteen winter counts kept by other plains Indian tribes, fourteen of which referred to the Leonid storm. The Leonids also appear among the Maricopa, who used calendar sticks with notches to represent the passage of a year, with the owner of the stick remembering the events. The owner of one stick claimed records had been kept that way since the stars fell. The first notch on the stick represented 1833. A member of the Papago, named Kutox, was born around 1847 or 1848. He claimed that 14 years prior to his birth the stars rained all over the sky. A less obvious Leonid reference was found in a journal kept by Alexander M. Stephen , which detailed his visit with the Hopi Indians and mentions a talk he had With Old Djasjini on December 11, 1892. That Hopi Indian said, How old am I? Fifty, maybe a hundred years, I cannot tell. When I was a young boy eight or ten years there was a great comet in the sky and at night all the above was full of shooting stars. (Stephen 37). During the lifetime of Old Djasini there was never a great comet and a sky full of meteors in the same year, but he might be referring to the comet in 1843 and the Leonid storm in 1833. The Pawnee have a story about a person named Pahokatawa, who was killed by an enemy and eaten by animals, and then brought back to life by the Gods. The legend goes that he fell to earth as a meteor and told the people that when meteors were seen falling in great numbers it was not a sign that the world would end. When the pawnee tribe witnessed the time the stars fell upon the earth, which was in 1833, there was a panic, but the leader said, remember the words o f Pahokatawa and the people were no longer afraid. This shows how powerful a role astronomy played in the Native American culture. Although the Pawnee learned not to be afraid there were Native Americans who feared meteors. The Blackfeet of Montana believed a meteor was a sign that sickness would come to the tribe in the winter the Kawaiisu thought a meteor started high and fell to the horizon was an omen of death. The Cahuilla thought a meteor was the spirit of their first shaman, takwich, who was disliked his people. Takwich wandered the sky at night looking for people far from their tribe. If he found a lost person he steal their spirit and the person home and eat them. The Shawnee believed meteors were beings fleeing from the wrath of some adversary, or from some anticipated danger.(Howard 178) Many Native Americans saw the stars as heavenly and mystical. The Wintu explained meteors as the spirits of shamans traveling to the after life. The Chumash referred to meteors

Creating a Vehicle Using Green Technology Essays

Creating a Vehicle Using Green Technology Essays Creating a Vehicle Using Green Technology Essay Creating a Vehicle Using Green Technology Essay Solar Vehicle EGR 100 12/3/2013 Introduction Living on Michigan States campus, one is constantly reminded to Be Spartan Green, whether it is turning off the lights or taking a shorter shower, Spartans are always striving to b e the most eco friendly students that any university could have. The problem at hand is to create a v ehicle using only green technology, such as solar panels, and have this car race up a ramp as fast as possible, with a shorter time being ideal. There are many requirements for this project, first of them being that the team itself eeds to be qualified to tackle such a task. With two members majoring in mechanical engineerin g, two members majoring in computer science, and one in biosystems engineering, the team has a wi de range of engineers that all pose a special skill that will aid in the creation of this solar car. An other requirement for this project is materials. Some needed are solar panels, which are provided, whee Is, gears, axles and some form of a structure. Each week the group needs to collaborate on new ideas an d be willing to share their opinions. A major constraint for this project would be time management. With so many different schedules it can be difficult to find the time to meet with the entire group at once. Each week group members would meet up to accomplish their goal. From starting out with prototypes and ending with a finished project. The desired end result will be a solar c ar that is light, efficient, and able to use its energy source in a way that will help it go as fast as possi ble up the ramp. Methods There are many different possible designs that would have fit within the constraints o f this roject. The designs that were created initially were later discarded after realizing th at transporting a load was no longer a requirement. This meant that the solar car would only need to go as fast as possible. This could be accomplished by either reducing weight or increasing power. Reducing weight was ultimately the key factor to the design decided upon. Many different designs we re thought through all with pros and cons that eventually led to the final design. The first alternative design was relatively similar to the primary design in that it had f our wheels, he motor on the front end of the car, and the solar panel placed on top, but it did no t incorporate any space to carry a load. The second alternative design for the solar car only had three wheels as to minimize weight. The axle of the third wheel would be connected to the axle of the fr ont two wheels by rubber bands so that the motor would still power the third wheel. Both of the design s were to be built upon a base constructed of 4 small long blocks of wood. These designs were created knowing that there would be future improvement. A basis was needed to start of the design proce The design of the prototype is roughly the same as the alternative design. It consists ofa simple structure and base that act as a housing for the parts of the motor and the solar pan el. The design is aimed to use the least amount of parts as possible so that the vehicle will be lightwei ght yet sturdy. The motor and solar panels are at opposite ends to balance the car. There is a spot to ad d a load if necessary. The power is being sent to the rear wheels via a rubber band and gears. This prototype was not functional because of various reasons. One of the reasons was because it was to bulky and heavy for the motor to move the vehicle. The elasticity in the rubber band caused the whee Is to have a hard time turning. It was decided that gears would work better because they are not goin g to have any elasticity damping the power of the motor. The final design was decided upon because it was lightweight and proved to be the most cost effective of all the designs. The base of the car is in a triangle shape that has a slit in the top of the triangle. The slit is big enough so that the back wheel can fit inside of it without touc hing the sides. On

What are the main practical considerations which are likely to Essay

What are the main practical considerations which are likely to influence a firm's capital structure - Essay Example Their study was based upon the assumption that perfect capital markets existed, i.e, there was an absence of taxes, bankruptcy costs and other market friction. Under such a condition, their conclusion was one of capital structure irrelevance, which means that the kind of capital structure chosen by a firm will not impact upon its value and hence there is no advantage to be gained through the creation of debt. The value of the firm will be totally dependent upon its assets and their expected value, as well as the risk of cash flow generated from those assets. However, these same authors later took taxation into consideration and their conclusion then was that one of the features that would promote an optimal capital structure for the firm was the employment of as much debt capital as possible. (Modigliani and Miller, 1963). Once corporate earnings taxes are introduced, then there is an advantage to the firm to be gained by the firm, because the tax shield that can be provided by debt results in a gain from leverage. In this context, Miller (1977) also introduced personal taxes into the equation and he discerns three distinct tax rates in the United States that determine the total value of the firm, which are (a) corporate tax rate (b) tax rate imposed on income of dividends and (c) tax rates imposed on the inflows of interest. Miller stated that the capital structure of a firm will depend upon the relative height of each of the tax rates as compared to the other two. When tax rates on income from stocks and bonds are equal, then the advantage from leverage is zero, hence capital structure of the firm becomes irrelevant. However, for example when the tax rates on the income from the stock is lower than the tax rate on incomes from the debt, then leverage will negatively affect the value of the untaxed firm. With non trivial bankruptcy costs, the introduction of leverage creates a negative effect of debt financing

Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 19

Human Resource Management - Essay Example In response, a discussion of how HR managers can improve organizational performance through recruitment and selection, training and development, equality/diversity policies and employee involvement would be presented. All resources – man, money, methods, market, materials, minutes (representing time) and machines are the domain of general management. Human resources management solely involves man. Through and by men, the other m’s are acquired and utilized. The quality and utilization of the rest of the resources are almost always affected by decisions about and by human resources. Indeed, the accomplishment of the goals of an organization depends upon the availability and utilization of all these ingredients, the interaction of which, are people-caused. The acquisition, utilization and development of financial, material, technological and market resources which may be exhaustible are dependent on human resources. If the latter is available and capable, the other factors can be of great use to the organization. It is through people that they can be either harnessed and developed or dissipated and lost. Man does or undoes what exists; man creates or bypasses opportunities and scenarios. Hence, people power is the most significant and potent factor of all the resources available to an organization. An organization may start with zero funding, but with creative, resourceful, hardworking and honest people, it becomes financially viable. On the other hand, a plethora of financial and material resources in an organization may go down the drain if handled by an incompetent and dishonest staff. The significance of human resources in an organization has been emphasized by various scholars, to wit: Andres (2003: 48) averred that â€Å"the place of organizational objective is largely attributable to successful human resources management†. Clements