The Note free essay sample

One choice. One book. One sentence. That’s all it took for me to decide what I wanted to do with my life. Impossible? I’ll leave that up to you to decide. It was a flawless autumn day, the type of day when the bright sun and the baby blue sky fill you with a certain unexplainable nostalgia. The birds sang fearlessly, like the innocent laugher of young children playing on a summer night. The scene was deceptive. It looked pleasant, but the air had a definite briskness to it, making a jacket an unfortunate necessity. I, regrettably, was inside, at my local library, browsing the multitude of stacks for the â€Å"perfect† book. It was a task that, after a certain amount of time, became quite overwhelming, due to the great number of titles that lined the shelves. Eventually, though, I picked. I wish I could recall which book I selected from the myriad, and what it was that drew me to it, perhaps an attractive cover or an intriguing title. We will write a custom essay sample on The Note or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Whatever it was, I pulled it out and started to walk towards the librarian’s desk to check out. As I did, a small, folded piece of paper fell out of the book and fluttered to the ground. I reached down and picked it up, figuring it was just a bit of aimless doodling and began to walk towards the trash can. However, after a few steps, curiosity got the better of me, and I gave into my desire to unfold it and see what it was. There, scrawled in an untidy hand and blue pen were these words: â€Å"I may not make a million dollars but I will make a million smiles.† Those words broke my determined stride, and I stopped and inspected the scrap. Then I shrugged, shoved it into my jeans pocket and resumed my original expedition to the librarian’s desk. When I got home that evening, I opened the book and began to read, only to find my thoughts repeatedly returning to the piece of paper in my pocket. I pulled it out again and examined it, thinking to myself, â€Å"What kind of person leaves a note like this in a library book?† My mind churned through the possibilities. Maybe it had been a bookmark? But then, why not use a tissue, or something simple? Why this piece of paper? After a few minutes of intense contemplation I came to the conclusion that whoever put the scrap there wanted someone else to find it and take the words to heart. I then resumed my reading, no longer perplexed, but encouraged that someone would be motivated to do such a thing. I kept that paper, and those words written on my heart. As I think of that creased scrap, sitting even now on top of my dresser in my bedroom, I realize how much of an impact that paper had on me, and how my reaction to those fourteen little words caught me off guard. It touched me deeply and resulted in a more thorough comprehension of myself and who I want to be. I didn’t change in a huge way. If you asked my family and friends, they would probably say that I’ve always been a genuinely kind, caring person, and I didn’t undergo any drastic metamorphosis. However, life is a series of choices, and making the right ones is sometimes easier said than done. I might not feel like helping my friend study for an important French test or getting up early on Saturday mornings to go and volunteer at St. John’s Soup Kitchen, but those fourteen little words reinforced my determination to do the right thing, even when it’s the last thing I feel like doing. And when my friend gets an A on that test, or I see a smile on the face of someone who might have gone hungry that day without the assistance of the soup kitchen, I know that it’s worth it. Life challenges us to be benevolent and emancipate ourselves from apathy, and I will face this challenge wholeheartedly. Although it’s sometimes difficult to remain motivated to do good in a world that at times seems as though it’s just brimming with people with no morals or no compassion, I do it anyway. I have the privilege of knowing many spectacular people, who have touched me greatly, unknowingly encouraging me to be the best person I can be and reach my full potential. Just like that paper, I get creased and crumbled, but I will never give up, and I will never stop being true to myself. That piece of paper changed my life in an irrevocable way. One choice. One book. One sentence.

The Toledo War essays

The Toledo War essays The Toledo War could possibly be called the most bizarre war in American History. Fought in 1835, it resulted in one casualty, quite a bit of bickering between grown men and a lot of territory changing hands. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 sparked the controversy over Toledo. It established a boundary between the Michigan and Ohio Territories that was to start at the southern tip of Lake Michigan and go east until it met Lake Erie. This dividing line worked well until 1805 when surveyors discovered that the boundary was actually a few miles too far north and should actually include the area known as Toledo. The gap between the boundary lines recognized by Ohio and Michigan became known as the Toledo Strip. The Ohioans in Congress immediately campaigned to have the northern line accepted as the true border, however their quick action did not save the battle for the Toledo Strip from being long and drawn out. In 1817 Edward Tiffin, the United States Surveyor General and former governor of Ohio, sent a man named William Harris to survey the line according to what was written in Ohios constitution. In turn the governor of the Michigan Territory, Lewis Cass, called upon President Monroe to protest Harris boundaries. In 1818 a neutral third party was appointed to make another survey of the land and call it in accordance with the Northwest Ordinance. The survey determined that the strip of land was the rightful property of the Michigan Territory; however Ohio paid no attention to it and claimed the area, which included the mouth of the Maumee River, as part of their territory. The argument softly rankled for the next 15 years until 1833 when Michigan applied for statehood and the issue was brought to the surface once again. Negotiations between Michigan and Ohio governors proved fruitless and a compromise could not be reached. In 1835 Stephens T. Mason, the 21 year old boy ...

About Byzantine Architecture and the Rise of Christianity

About Byzantine Architecture and the Rise of Christianity Byzantine architecture is a style of building that flourished under the rule of Roman Emperor Justinian between A.D. 527 and 565. In addition to extensive use of interior mosaics, its defining characteristic is a heightened dome, the result of the latest sixth-century engineering techniques. Byzantine architecture dominated the eastern half of the Roman Empire during the reign of Justinian the Great, but the influences spanned centuries, from 330 until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and on into todays church architecture. Much of what we call Byzantine architecture today is ecclesiastical, meaning church-related. Christianity began to flourish after the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313 when Roman Emperor Constantine (c. 285-337) announced his own Christianity, which legitimized the new religion; Christians would no longer be routinely persecuted. With religious freedom, Christians could worship openly and without threat, and the young religion spread rapidly. The need for places of worship expanded as did the need for new approaches to building design. Hagia Irene (also known as Haghia Eirene or Aya Ä °rini Kilisesi) in Istanbul, Turkey is the  site of the first Christian church ordered built by Constantine in the 4th Century. Many of these early churches were destroyed but rebuilt atop their rubble by Emperor Justinian. Hagia Irene or Aya Ä °rini Kilisesi in Istanbul, Turkey. Salvator Barki/Getty Images (cropped) Characteristics of Byzantine Architecture Original Byzantine churches are square-shaped with a central floor plan. They were designed after the Greek cross or crux immissa quadrata instead of the Latin crux ordinaria of Gothic cathedrals. Early Byzantine churches might have one, dominant center dome of great height, rising from a square base on half-dome pillars or pendentives. Byzantine architecture blended Western and Middle Eastern architectural details and ways of doing things. Builders renounced the Classical Order in favor of columns with decorative impost blocks inspired by Middle Eastern designs. Mosaic decorations and narratives were common. For example, the mosaic image of Justinian in the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy honors the Roman Christian Emporer. The early Middle Ages was also a time of experimentation with building methods and materials. Clerestory windows became a popular way for natural light and ventilation to enter an otherwise dark and smokey building. Mosaic of the Roman Christian Emporer Justinian I Flanked by Military and Clergy. CM Dixon/Print Collector/Getty Images Construction and Engineering Techniques How do you put a huge, round dome onto a square-shaped room? Byzantine builders experimented with different methods of construction; when ceilings fell in, they tried something else. Art historian Hans Buchwald writes that: Sophisticated methods for assuring structural solidity were developed, such as well-built deep foundations, wooden tie-rod systems in vaults, walls and foundations, and metal chains placed horizontally inside masonry. Byzantine engineers turned to the structural use of pendentives to elevate domes to new heights. With this technique, a dome can rise from the top of a vertical cylinder, like a silo, giving height to the dome. Like the Hagia Irene, the exterior of the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy is characterized by the silo-like pendentive construction. A good example of pendentives seen from the inside is the interior of the ​Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) in Istanbul, one of the most famous Byzantine structures in the world. Inside the Hagia Sophia. Frà ©dà ©ric Soltan/Corbis via Getty Images Why This Style Is Called Byzantine In the year 330, Emperor Constantine relocated the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to a part of Turkey known as Byzantium (present-day Istanbul). Constantine renamed Byzantium to be called Constantinople after himself. What we call the Byzantine Empire is really the Eastern Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was divided into East and West. While the Eastern Empire was centered in Byzantium, the Western Roman Empire was centered in Ravenna, in northeast Italy, which is why Ravenna is a well-known tourist destination for Byzantine architecture. The Western Roman Empire in Ravenna fell in 476 but was recaptured in 540 by Justinian. Justinians Byzantine influence is still felt in Ravenna. Byzantine Architecture, East and West The Roman Emperor Flavius Justinianus was not born in Rome, but in Tauresium, Macedonia in Eastern Europe in about 482. His place of birth is a major factor why the reign of the Christian Emperor changed the shape of architecture between 527 and 565. Justinian was a ruler of Rome, but he grew up with the people of the Eastern world. He was a Christian leader uniting two worlds; construction methods and architectural details were passed back and forth. Buildings that previously had been built similar to those in Rome took on more local, Eastern influences. Justinian reconquered the Western Roman Empire, which had been taken over by barbarians, and Eastern architectural traditions were introduced to the West. A mosaic image of Justinian from the Basilica of San Vitale, in Ravenna, Italy is a testament to the Byzantine influence on the Ravenna area, which remains a great center of Italian Byzantine architecture. Byzantine Architecture Influences Architects and builders learned from each of their projects and from each other. Churches built in the East influenced the construction and design of sacred architecture built in many places. For example, the Byzantine Church of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus, a small Istanbul experiment from the year 530, influenced the final design of the most famous Byzantine Church, the grand Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya), which itself inspired the creation of Blue Mosque of Constantinople in 1616. The Eastern Roman Empire profoundly influenced early Islamic architecture, including the Umayyad Great Mosque of Damascus and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. In Orthodox countries such as Russia and Romania, Eastern Byzantine architecture persisted, as shown by the 15th century Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. Byzantine architecture in the Western Roman Empire, including in Italian towns such as Ravenna, more quickly gave way to Romanesque and Gothic architecture, and the towering spire replaced the high domes of early Christian architecture. Architectural periods have no borders, especially during what is known as the Middle Ages. The period of Medieval architecture from roughly 500 to 1500 is sometimes called Middle and Late Byzantine. Ultimately, names are less important than influence, and architecture has always been subject to the next great idea. The impact of Justinians rule was felt long after his death in A.D. 565. Source Buchwald, Hans. The Dictionary of Art, Volume 9. Jane Turner, ed. Macmillan, 1996, p. 524

Role of professional nursing organizations in maintaining a healthy Research Paper

Role of professional nursing organizations in maintaining a healthy workplace - Research Paper Example The research â€Å"Role of professional nursing organizations in maintaining a healthy workplace† investigates the professional work of healthcare workers in ensuring healthy workplaces. In the healthcare setting, the main players are hospital administrators, doctors, nurses and patients. Nurses play a particularly important role in the provision of healthcare services to patients the other stakeholders not necessarily playing a lesser role in this respect. One of the main concerns of nurses in the course of fulfilling their duties is maintaining a healthy working environment. Indeed a healthy environment plays a key role in ensuring that health workers, doctors, patients and other people visiting the hospital face less risk of getting infected with diseases that they previously did not have. At this point, however, it must be noted that maintaining a healthy working environment is not limited to a clean environment. Instead, a healthy working environment (HWE) encompasses a w hole set of factors including skillful communication and accountability as noted by Medscape. Indeed according to AACN, a healthy environment means an atmosphere that is â€Å"productive, able to give quality care, satisfying, and able to meet personal needs†. In fact, maintaining a healthy environment also helps in ensuring positive patient-staff outcomes according to Laschinger and Leiter. On the contrary, an unhealthy environment negatively impacts on nurses’ willingness to continue offering services in the workplace and patient safety Medscape. (2001). Apart from hospital staff, professional nursing organizations play an enormous role in the maintenance of a healthy work environment. This paper will focus on the role played by professional nursing organizations in the maintenance of such environments. Strategies used by Professional Nursing Organizations to Foster Healthy Work Environments The safe care of people who are sick is positively correlated with the quali ty of the work environment that nurses encounter (Alspach, 2009). Furthermore, HWEs are practically linked to the retention and satisfaction of patients, reduced job stress among healthcare workers, increased job satisfaction as well as heightened attraction (Kramer & Schmalenberg, 2008). There are numerous professional organizations that have established strategies to ensure that the healthcare environment remains a healthy workplace. Some of these organizations include the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Hospitals, Institute of Medicine, American Nurses’ Credentialing Center, Nursing Organizations Alliance, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), and American Organization of Nurse Executives (Kramer & Schmalenberg, 2008). In ensuring healthy workplaces become a reality, these organizations commonly focus on instituting systems, policies, structures and programs that reflect the domain and point of view of nurse s in executive as well as leadership roles (Kramer & Schmalenberg, 2008). Training programs for example may be established so as to equip nurses with skills that will help them be at the forefront of establishing a healthy work environment. The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (2005) states that the ingredients for achieving a healthy work environment successfully are effective decision making, true collaboration, proper staffing, good communication, authentic leadership, and meaningful recognition. The organization has developed standards to help hospital and other healthcare centers achieve healthy work environment standards. The standards developed by the organization focus on quality improvement, evidence based practice as well as informatics (AACN, 2011). Instead of providing exhaustive dimensions of nursing practice that already are addressed by regulations and professional agencies, the standards are presented as a basis for engaged dialogue and thoughtful reflect ion about the work environment. Skilled communication as a strategy for creating a healthy work environment involves two way communication in which individuals

Organisational Development Plan Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Organisational Development Plan - Coursework Example The paragraphs below will be looking at how the organizational structure and its development are fitted within the overall organizational development agenda of the force as it performs its security functions. As stated in the foregoing paragraph of this essay, one of the responsibilities of the Port Authority is to secure the nation’s leading airports, consequently the main ports under the security watch of the Port Authority are the John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and the LaGuardia Airport. Judging by the sensitivity of these entry points to national security the role of the Port Authority Police Department is very important. They carry out duties spanning from checking security details of all human and vehicular movements in and around the airport, in addition to offering special security detachment service to diplomats and other high profiled personalities traveling through the airport. Operating from Jersey City in New Jersey, the headquarters of the Port Authority Police Department’s headquarters has a complex network of personnel and equipment that are constantly working around the clock to collate crime related information, analyze the information and proceed to transmit the information to the relevant task force for onward action to be taking to this effect. The New York and New Jersey Intelligence and Crime Information Systems and the National Crime Information Centre headquartered in Washington DC are working in close partnership to make the campaign against crime a living reality. In many ways this essay is intended to present a lucid procedure for carrying out a comprehensive analysis scheme that will adequately fit the within the boarders of the changing dynamics of organizational development in contemporary justice and public safety institutions. It addresses the pivotal place to embrace the process of transformation,

Video Case Study Essay Example for Free

Video Case Study Essay 1. In the 21st century what trends in the environmental forces (social, economic, technological, competitive, and regulatory) (a) work for and (b) work against success for Prince Sports in the Tennis industry? a) The social media and technology have helped the success for Prince Sports. b) The economy and competitors work against the success of Prince Sports. 2. Because sales of Prince Sports in Tennis-related products depends heavily on growth of the tennis industry, what marketing activities might it use in the U. S. to promote tennis playing? They could hold local city tournaments. They could also sponsor a tennis team or donate tennis rackets to a school to promote playing tennis. 3. What promotional activities might Prince use to reach (a) recreational players and (b) junior players? a) School sponsorship, hosting junior tournaments, web advertisements, social media presence. 4. What might Prince do to help it gain distribution and sales in (a) mass merchandisers like Target and Wal-Mart and (b) specialty tennis shops? a) Focus on circulars (ads in Wal-Mart paper) organizing tennis rackets in a positive way that could increase sales. Find a way to sell their rackets for cheap. b) Suggest sponsoring an athlete or create custom displays in the store. Focus on wall space, and making the best racket. Personal selling, and market the product to the important people. 5. In reaching global markets outside the U.S. (a) what are some criteria that Prince should use to select countries in which to market aggressively, (b) what three or four countries meet these criteria best, and (c) what are some marketing actions Prince might use to reach these markets? a) Are there professionals from the country, Economy status, Demographics, b) Germany, United Kingdom, France, Czech Republic, c) Find an athlete and convince them to be sponsored by your company.

Teaching Status Report Essays -- Education JPE Teaching Teachers Essay

Teaching Status Report After the wondering, dreading, and preparing, I am teaching in a middle school classroom. I entered the school feeling very ready. After weeks of studying, discussing, and writing about topics related to teaching, I was ready to implement my learning. During my first week I started by simply observing my cooperating teacher. From this observation, I have formed many opinions and views on my teacher’s approaches to classroom management and other topics. In regards to classroom management and discipline, my cooperating teacher is a naturally confident and strong-minded individual. When he walks into a classroom, he commands attention and even his peers feel obligated to listen to his powerful voice. Due to this natural power, I believe my cooperating teacher does not feel he needs a set of classroom management rules. If a student misbehaves, my teacher singles out the student and verbally corrects him/her. The only other method of discipline I have seen him utilize is movi ng a student who was especially troubling. This form of classroom management and discipline appears to be effective for my cooperating teacher, however as I begin to take over the classroom I feel that this method will not work for me. While I do not see myself as someone who can be bullied, I do not think I have the natural aggressiveness to be able to simply use my voice and intimidation as my single form of discipline. I think when I have full control of the classroom I will ask my cooperating teacher what other forms of discipline can be used, such as detentions, extra homework, or possibly in school suspension. I feel if the students know that I will use these punishments if needed, they will respect me the same way they respe... ... aggressive and demanding but I finally said in a loud voice, â€Å"Excuse me, I don’t talk when you talk, so don’t talk when I talk.† I think the students were as surprised as I was to hear me speak in such a tone. However, they did listen and did not talk for the rest of the period. I left the classroom feeling empowered and now I am comfortable with correcting the class when they misbehave. These accomplishments are what keep me interested in teaching. I make mistakes and face many challenges, but each experience makes me stronger and helps me develop skills I did not think I could ever have. I guess the best way to summarize my JPE experience is so far so good. My love for teaching has not decreased and I can honestly say I experience a feeling of joy and excitement when I drive to my school everyday. Hopefully, my next status report will be as positive as this one.

Poem Analsys

After reading The Eagle and Hawk Roosting, there were several differences and similarities that I noticed between them. Some of these brought them closer to each other while others made them more independent of each other. In both poems the main characters of the hawk and the eagle seem to be aware of their surroundings in a humanistic way. The Eagle, while being much shorter than Hawk Roosting, is still able to impart the feeling that he is the master of his domain.I think that Hawk Roosting, however, is able to give more relatable sensory details than The Eagle because of the perspective that it was told from. Because of the first person point of view in Hawk Roosting the author is also able to use personification to make himself seem more important. In The Eagle, a sense of importance is still present, but it can be overlooked because of the third person point of view. While only The Eagle uses rhyme, the rhythm in both poems helps to move the reader through it.They both have sens ory details for sight, but I think that Hawk Roosting uses the sense touch in a very personal way with the phrase â€Å"My feet are locked upon the rough bark. † While both poems impart a feeling of power and majesty, they convey different parting experiences for the reader. Hawk Roosting ends with the hawk believing that he is the master of everything. The Eagle, I believe, finishes with a sense dignity.

Model for free and open university courseware

One of the determinants of creation of FOCI contents is the capacity building which generally refers to developing required competences for creation of FOCI online contents. Dealing with copyright issues may be a serious roadblock even if the intention of the author was meant to provide the resource for free access and use. In the process of preparing contents, instructors research contents from various sources of which some may have various uprights and other restrictions. Instructors may also raise issues of their intellectual property rights.Another determinant is the motivation of instructors; there is no clear incentive of engagement for the faculty to participate in open courseware. The greatest concern is the time that is required by instructors to prepare a course that will be available, monitored, maintained, updated and perhaps re-formulated for new settings and different uses. The open courseware materials provided by the instructor will be Judged by the peers; therefore e ffort in producing quality desired is of essence. Validation Quality assurance mechanism will guarantee that materials are validated for publication.Quality in this sense refers to the relevance of material to the public, compliance to education standards and integrity, organization of contents and compliance to intellectual property rights. The FOCI materials should be intellectual property-cleared, meaning that the university has the rights to make the materials available under open terms and that nothing in the materials infringes the copyrights of others. Secondly, conceptualization and localization of contents trials from course instructors have been designed for their students at the university.If the same contents are to be available for public view, it is important to consider relevance of the contents to other people outside the university in diverse thematic areas of research and training. Quality assurance will involve checking the contents for consistency, pedagogical as pects, compliance to education standards and organization of contents. By publishing materials in the web for open access through FOCI, university is allowing the public to Judge what is offered by the institution.If materials are of poor quality, it may be threat to the reputation of not only the author but also the university. The university should strive to provide best quality material to avoid negative criticism by the public. Reliance should be made on standards and specifications to the extent possible. Lastly, there is need for accreditation which is the official approval of contents for publication in FOCI sites. Dissemination A key component of open courseware is the dissemination of contents whose cornerstone is technology. The technology is based on the CIT infrastructure for publishing the contents.Open courseware technology infrastructure consists of several components, internet connectivity, desktop tools for building course web sites and file conversion, web authorin g tools, workflow, metadata capture and publication tools, content staging infrastructure, content publication infrastructure, content repositories (file storage) Implementation. The technology should be designed to allow the use of a variety of appropriate tools, with a minimum of integration problems. The choice of technology should consider setup and maintenance cost.In our framework we endeavor to recommend use of cheap but efficient technology eatable for Kenya situation. One of the key determinants of dissemination of FOCI contents is the internet Connectivity. The university should be well served with internet and the bandwidth should be sufficient to allow access of not only textual information but also transmission of multimedia contents. Sufficient campus network connectivity is crucial to facilitate easy creation and updating of contents by course authors at the comfort of their offices.Secondly, Contents delivered through open courseware should be easily searchable and w ell organized for open access. Care would be made for usability considerations, which means contents, should be easy to edit or modify (formats, specifications) and should accommodate different kinds of access considerations. There is need for content management systems which provides a means of managing large amounts of contents and at the same time providing room for incorporating other pedagogical aspects.From literature review we found out that a number of content management systems are available and which are suitable for open courseware. Lastly, preparing contents for web access also require inserting metadata information. In most cases, local access of online contents does not pose a big problem to users as the remote access. Some of remote users may access courseware contents using very slow connections given the situation of internet in our country. For example it can be extremely difficult to watch or download video contents using slow connection.Before university implemen ts open courseware it is important to consider the connections of the expected users especially for remote access. In addition, a whole range of delivery modes should be made available for cases where connectivity at sufficient bandwidth would cause a robber. Lastly, criteria for the assessment of outcomes on the user of open courseware should be defined. Feedback mechanisms should be designed and implemented. It should allow users to express their views on their experiences with the courseware. In addition the site should include access counter to tell the number of people who visit the site.Utilization Utilization refers to usage of open courseware materials in the context of our proposed framework . This may entail learners using the materials for additional learning and research, instructors from other institution using the materials in their raining and other people using the materials for personal study. Awareness is thought as one of determinant of utilization in which case t argeted citizenry needs to be sensitizes of the availability of open courseware. The public should have information about what is available on open courseware and benefits of using the materials .The impact of the contents on the learner will greatly determine the utilization of the contents. Care should be taken in that the design of contents. The material should not only be useful to the university students but also majority of the public. Lastly, given that FOCI will be delivered through ‘CT. It is important to consider literacy levels of FOCI users. Basic cit requisite skills are needed for one to be able to search open courseware materials on internet, interact with the site in different ways, save contents and provide feedbacks.Methodology The research adopted a field survey research design whose objective was to establish factors that discourage or/and encourage free and open courseware in public universities of Kenya. The target population of the research was the publi c universities in Kenya. Questionnaire was the primary data collection instrument and as divided into five parts based on the five elements the free and open courseware framework elements; organization, creation, validation, dissemination and utilization. The study involved both qualitative and quantitative approaches. A sample size of 450 students and 150 lecturers was targeted.Data collection took place in August 2010. It was collected from 3 public universities that is university of Nairobi, Kenya and Com Kenya University KODAK). Useful and complete responses were obtained from 392 students representing a response rate of 87% and 1 11 lecturers representing a response rate of 74%. RESULTS On the basis of the analyzed responses the following inferences were drawn Table 4. 1. Elements Components Processes Observations Governance & Management -Planning -Setting up testators -Free and open courseware has not so far been implemented in Kenya. No comprehensive plan. Partnership and col laboration Building alliances and consulting Foci partners -Public universities have established some local and international links on open contents provision. Institutional policies Creating policies that support open courseware -Universities policies do not cater for free and open content. Some of universities are errantly reviewing policies. Sustainability Establish ways of meeting the setup and maintenance cost -Difficult to direct university limited funds to free and open courseware project. Low support from Government and Nags Developing knowledge & sharing culture Faculty assassination and advocacy A number of workshops and conferences have been held Capacity building -Improve CIT literacy among lecturers -Training of faculty in E-content development -Creating textual and video contents -Majority of faculties are CIT literate. -Majority of lecturers have not attended training in E-content development -Most of structures contents is not in electronic format -Faculties have not developed video contents of most of lectures. Lecturers have no access to video capturing and editing facilities. -Dealing with copyright issues -Adhere to PR -Set up open sharing licenses -Majority of lecturers obtain materials from copyrighted sources -No clear Intellectual property rights policies in Kenya and particularly in the universities that cater for open sharing. Attitudes -Developing positive attitudes towards open sharing materials Majority of lecturers have negative attitude towards open sharing. However, majority are willing to share heir materials for free under open Terms.Motivation -Establish ways of motivating lecturers Low motivation of faculty. Majority of lecturers indicated that they cannot dedicate their time to embark on contents creation for free publishing without clear terms of engagements. Validation Copyright clearance -Perform copyright clearance Majority of lecturers obtain contents from copyrighted sources. Conceptualizing of contents Perform releva nce check Some of the materials are not relevant to the public Quality Assurance Perform quality assurance Some of the instructor's materials do not meet quality standards for OCW.Accreditation of materials -Get official approval and seek authorization for publishing from faculty No policies available to support accreditation of open materials. Utilization -Awareness -Public assassination -Low awareness level Majority of university students, instructors and administrators are not aware of open courseware. -CIT Literacy Improve cit literacy Majority of learners at public university are CIT literate -Access Improve internet access Internet usage level is generally high by university students.However, majority of students utilize free contents available on the web for research as opposed to buying kooks. -Relevance Maintain high standards and quality in production of open courseware materials Some of the materials are not useful to public 5. 0 Conclusion Results from the study shows th at the concept of FOCI has not been embraced in Kenya. However, it is not an absolutely new phenomenon since some of the universities are sensitivity their faculties on content sharing and aligning their policies to accommodate open contents.Nevertheless, the study reports low awareness of FOCI in Kenya universities among students and faculty members. The study identified a number of issues that pose significant challenges in implementation of FOCI in Kenya based on regression test performed . Amongst, Intellectual property rights and attitudes of faculty towards open courseware have shown significant effect on creation of FOCI contents while quality and relevance of materials shown significant effects on utilization of open courseware. In addition sustainability of FOCI project is another issue that poses a significant challenge to the implementation.The fact that the original design of FOCI is not to generate income for the university or contents providers begs the question of how such project can be sustained. It is encouraging to note that the number of lecturers participating in development of content for online learning is on increase. Universities have also set up repositories for storage of contents e. G University of Nairobi and Kenya University has each two servers for storage of contents and backups and the universities are gradually embracing online learning in their curriculum.Lastly, over last five years internet connectivity has greatly improved in Kenya and currently, the majority of public universities in Kenya are connected through a fiber-based local and external access infrastructure. 5. 1 Recommendations There will be need for rigorous campaign and assassination to raise the awareness level if a university wants to embark on implementation of FOCI. The public needs to get information about the availability of materials, various techniques of accessing the materials online and build confidence about the quality of materials.Study has reveal ed that majority of lecturers utilizes copyrighted contents in preparation of their lecture materials and this poses a significant challenge of sharing the contents to the public. The study identified IP clearance as one the solutions of coping with issue of non adherence to copyright laws. IP clearance is the process that ensures the open courseware publisher has the rights to make the materials available under open terms and that nothing in the materials infringes the copyright of other . Let may involve getting approvals from authors whose contents have been copied and/or removing such contents.It may also involve making sure fair use of other author's contents which involves ensuring that the original authors are properly acknowledged and may involve granting licenses to open courseware end-users to use, reuse, adapt, and redistribute materials for non-commercial educational reposes, in accordance with the open courseware concept. The greatest concern is the time that is require d by faculty from academics to prepare elements of a course that will be available, monitored, maintained, updated and perhaps re-formulated for new settings and different use.Therefore motivation and attitudes of instructors is critical. The study recommends that stakeholders in academia should first demystify the whole issue of free and open sharing of contents through assassination of the faculty. It important for management of open courseware to consider financial rewards of the developers for their time and other forms intrinsic motivation such as recognitions of leading authors by the universities or/and other agencies. Course materials published on FOCI are subjected to public scrutiny.End users will constantly evaluate the quality of content offered by the university. Therefore, quality of content can positively or negatively impact on the reputation of the institution. It is difficult to achieve 100% acceptance of FOCI content in the face of the diverse thematic areas of re search and training, and the different approaches and modes of delivering contents. However universities should strive to make the contents relevant to majority of the public. One of the unresolved issues is delivery methods for remote access which includes off campus accesses.The scope of our study did not carry out assessment on the network infrastructure outside the university. But, results from other studies indicate that, it may be difficult to maintain high speed connection in most of places in Kenya especially the remote areas. Nevertheless, the current Kenya devolution promises to improve the internet connectivity of major towns and increase the internet reach for majority of citizens. It is also important to set up distributed contents servers or mirror servers in various parts of the country especially in major towns to improve speed of access all over the country.Sustainability of the project has shown significant effect on the implementation of FOCI, given the high setup and maintenance cost of implementing. It might be difficult to maintain budget line for open courseware. However, universities which already have an existing and well established online learning infrastructure can easily and cheaply migrate to FOCI. If the university offers online learning for a umber of years, over time published materials will be continually refined and since online learning is income generating Return-on-Investment will have been achieved.

Peter Browns The World of Late Antiquity essays

Peter Browns The World of Late Antiquity essays Peter Browns The World of Late Antiquity The Late Antique period is recognized from AD 150 to 750. For many historians, the central focus of this era revolves around decline and fall; however, this is not the case for Peter Brown, author of 1971s The World of Late Antiquity. Brown saw the Late Antique period as a study of social and cultural changes. Instead of focusing merely on the declines of empires, like many of his contemporaries, Brown goes deeper with his research to describe the Late Antique period as an era in which the most deep rooted of ancient institutions disappeared for all time (p.9). By 476, the Roman Empire had vanished from Western Europe, and by 655, the Persian Empire had disappeared from the Near East. What makes Brown unique in his portrayal of the era is that instead of studying just the cause and effect of the civilizations downfall, he examines the changes that occurred and mens reaction to them. By doing so, Brown is able to show his purpose for writing the book. He believed there were t oo many books concerning just the downfalls of the era, and wanted people to know that the period was also one of outstanding new beginnings. Brown also wanted to show that the Late Antique period defined the far-reaching impact of both Christianity on Europe, and Islam on the Near East. His thesis centers around social and cultural changes and specifically states: I hope that the reader will put it down with some idea of how, and even why, the Late Antique world came to differ from classical civilization, and of how the headlong changes of this period, in turn, determined the varying evolution of western Europe, of eastern Europe and of the Near East (p.7). The World of Late Antiquity is organized into two parts titled the Late Roman Revolution and Divergent Legacies. Part one, the Late Roman Revolution, is divided into two chapters, society and rel...

Chemically prepared or sensitized material

Chemically prepared or sensitized material INTRODUCTION OF PHOTOGRAPHY Photography is defined as the science and art of producing an exact impression of an object on chemically prepared or sensitized material by using light. It depends on the sensitiveness of silver compound to light. The photographs are usually taken by means of a photographic camera. Camera is an instrument consisting of a light-tight box with a place for the light sensitive film at one end and covering lens or a combination of lenses by which a real, inverted and diminished image can be obtained on the other hand. This instrument called camera is so devised that lens may be moved forward and backward by screw arrangement, with a view to getting a distinct and clear image of an object, placed before the lens, on the film. While it is easy to make comparisons between the pupil of the eye and the f-stop of a camera or between the retina of the eye and photographic film .Once we get past the basic similarities of the optics of the two systems comparisons begi n to rapidly break down. The eye is not only much more complex than a camera and its film but the two imaging devices function by different chemical mechanisms. The photographer the automatic exposure system of the camera regulates the f-stop opening and time of exposure of her camera to match the sensitivity of film while the iris and retina sensitivity of the eye adjust to correspond to the light level of the scene. This first installment on the chemistry of photography is intended to introduce in a simplified way the basic concepts of silver halide photography. It will not delve into the physics of optics the functioning of cameras and lenses, photographic techniques, non-silver processes, or the artistic aspects of photography. Photography encompasses many things – there is a science to photography, but as a means of expression, it is ultimately an art form. There are many techniques and forms of photography which fill many books in the library and many pages on the Inter net. Beyond this point, the actual taking of pictures, style, and good composition will not be mentioned again. Chemistry is an even larger subject area, encompassing all areas of life and invisible details that are often mind boggling. To couple photography and chemistry is narrower than either subject on its own, but still includes a lot of material. These pages will look at some basics, presenting only a small fraction of the information relevant to the chemistry of photography. Photography encompasses many things – there is a science to photography, but as a means of expression, it is ultimately an art form. There are many techniques and forms of photography which fill many books in the library and many pages on the Internet. Beyond this point, the actual taking of pictures, style, and good composition will not be mentioned again. Chemistry is an even larger subject area, encompassing all areas of life and invisible details that are often mind boggling. To couple photogra phy and chemistry is narrower than either subject on its own, but still includes a lot of material. These pages will look at some basics, presenting only a small fraction of the information relevant to the chemistry of photography.

Ethics wssay Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethics wssay - Essay Example This good reputation will continue earning it more revenues owing to the fact that more customers repurchase vehicles and attracts new customers. The employees of the organization will feel that their employer cares about them and for this reason they will have the impetus to increase their productivity, and there will be a reduction in labor turnover (Institute, 2010). However, the organization will be experience some bottlenecks in case the legislature passes laws that will strip off its tax benefits. The operations of the organization will have to change and there will be lower profits. Uncertainty is not good for business; the organization should always strive to be in control or to influence action where possible. Volkswagen can allow the vote to go through as this is in line with the organization’s ethical culture of promoting the workers’ welfare. The Promotion of the workers’ welfare will enhance productivity, minimize the labor expenses ascribed to the exit of employees, and maintain a good public image. The organization also needs to gain support from the legislature and the governor on the importance of ethical behavior to a flourishing business. This meeting with the law-making authorities is essential for the out and out clarification of the rationale for the decision in order for the organization to limit the probability of negative consequences. The organization needs to let the state know that the success of the business is advantageous to the state in terms of additional revenue generation. An explanation to the state will also give the organization an even better reputation for risking its business for the welfare of its employees (Institute, 2010). This deci sion will portray the organization as one that has a commitment to bringing positive change in the culture of non-unionism. The state is likely to support the organization in the quest to maintain the state’s popularity as a caring authority for its citizen’s welfare.