The History and Use of Metal Detectors

The History and Use of Metal Detectors In 1881, Alexander Graham Bell invented the first metal detector. As President James Garfield lay dying of an assassins bullet, Bell hurriedly invented a crude metal detector in an unsuccessful attempt to locate the fatal slug. Bells metal detector was an electromagnetic device he called the induction balance. Gerhard Fischar In 1925, Gerhard Fischar invented a portable metal detector. Fischars model was first sold commercially in 1931 and Fischar was behind the first large-scale production of metal detectors. According to the experts at AS Company: In the late 1920s, Dr. Gerhard Fisher, the founder of Fisher Research Laboratory, was commissioned as a research engineer with the Federal Telegraph Co. and Western Air Express to develop airborne direction finding equipment. He was awarded some of the first patents issued in the field of airborne direction finding by means of radio. In the course of his work, he encountered some strange errors and once he solved these problems, he had the foresight to apply the solution to a completely unrelated field, that of metal and mineral detection. Other Uses Simply put, a metal detector  is an  electronic instrument  which detects the presence of  metal  nearby. Metal detectors can help people find metal inclusions hidden within objects, or metal objects buried underground. Metal detectors often consist of a handheld unit with a sensor probe which the user can sweep over the ground or other objects. If the sensor comes near a piece of metal, the user will hear a tone, or see a needle move on an indicator. Usually, the device gives some indication of distance; the closer the metal is, the higher the tone or the higher the needle goes. Another common type is the stationary walk through metal detector which is used for  security screening  at access points in prisons, courthouses, and airports to detect concealed metal weapons on a persons body. The simplest form of a metal detector consists of an  oscillator  producing an alternating current that passes through a coil producing an alternating  magnetic field. If a piece of electrically conductive metal is close to the coil,  eddy currents  will be induced in the metal, and this produces a magnetic field of its own. If another coil is used to measure the magnetic field (acting as a  magnetometer), the change in the magnetic field due to the metallic object can be detected. The first industrial metal detectors were developed in the 1960s and were used extensively for mineral prospecting and other industrial applications. Uses include  de-mining  (the detection of  land mines), the detection of weapons such as knives and guns (especially in  airport security),  geophysical prospecting,  archaeology,  and  treasure hunting. Metal detectors are also used to detect foreign bodies in food as well as in the  construction industry  to detect  steel reinforcing bars  in concrete and pipes plus wires buried in walls or floors.

Women, Voice Pitch Authority, and Gender Bias

Women, Voice Pitch Authority, and Gender Bias Do we respond differently to the sound of a voice based on its gender? Do mens voices have more authority and are womens voices more friendly? These questions skim the surface of an overlooked aspect of gender discrimination bias that arises from how we judge a female voice, especially pitch. Typically, gender bias against women is rooted in optics. We look at hair color, body shape, size, weight, height, physical attractiveness and make assumptions. Clothing, skirt length, and style of attire provide visual cues that fuel stereotypes and feed into gender expectations. Take away sight and we still jump to conclusions, but now the pitch of a womans voice becomes the yardstick by which we measure her worth. Picture the stereotypical dumb blonde. How does she sound? Either we imagine her voice as high and squeaky, or soft and breathy like Marilyn Monroe. Its sexy, but it doesnt convey authority or increase trust. Going Low To gain authority, women have long believed that its better to pitch their voices lower. And experts have discovered that most women are following that dictum. Over the past 50 years, womens voices have dropped significantly. Although womens voices normally register a full octave higher than mens voices, today theyre just 2/3rds of an octave higher. The most prominent example of this vocal divide can be seen in the media where an enormous distinction exists between the types of products sold by female voices and those pitched by male voices. At first glance, it might appear that women and men enjoy parity based on the number of voiceovers on TV commercials. Womens voices are commonplace in commercials that sell everyday household items such as dishwashing detergent, toilet bowl cleaners, diapers, paper towels. But commercials selling big-ticket items such as cars and trucks are largely the domain of male voices. Thats because of the sexual politics surrounding how we perceive male and female voices. Writing for the UK website the New Humanist, Sally Feldman observes: [Theres] a basic difference between the way men and women tend to speak. Whereas men often breathe from their abdomen, women are more likely to constrict their voices to an upper range which allows less variety and less control. In a recent collection of essays, Well-Tuned Women, Kristin Linklater writes: â€Å"When a high voice connects with a strong impulse based, for instance, in anger or fear, it becomes shrill, strident, screechy, piercing, nasal, penetrating, sharp, squeaky or brassy and generally unpleasant to the point of causing major distress in the hearers.† Men, on the other hand, with their deeper voices and richer tones, find it easier to convey authority and control. It’s partly physiological. Men’s voices are lower than women’s because they have a larger larynx, developed in the Adam’s apple at puberty, and longer, thicker vocal folds.... Anne Karpf [author of The Human Voice] argues that men have come to assert power through their deep voices and resonant tones to such an extent that â€Å"pitch has become a weapon in the gender wars. Men in Control Look beyond TV commercials and youll see how effectively men have wielded the power of pitch in the gender wars. Ever notice there are no female announcers on game shows? asks veteran voice actor Lora Cain. None serve as announcers on TV talk shows, and very few do network promos or movie trailers two of the most prestigious and highly-coveted jobs in the voiceover industry. According to Cain, statistics bear this out. Men do 80% of the voice work while women accounting for only 20%. Why does gender discrimination exist in a field where its not how you look but how you sound? Cain feels its because those positions of clout that determine whether a voice will be male or female namely, writers and directors are held primarily by men. The key is more women writers and women directors, she observed in a recent phone interview. If there were more women writers, thered be more of a tendency to say, Lets consider a woman for this. Opening Doors for Women Voiceover professional Lora Cain is one of just a handful of women competing at the upper levels of this male-dominated field, and shes acutely aware of how the deck is stacked against female announcers and women voice actors. Theres this belief that women dont sound good in certain situations or that women dont like to listen to women. Wheres the logic in that? she argues. Women talk to each other, and women make 80% of the buying decisions in this country. But when a woman wants advice on what to buy, shes not as likely to ask her male partner as she is a female friend...or even another woman standing in line at the bathroom. Thats just what women do. So, of course, we listen to other women. We seek out each others opinions. We are  our greatest resource. Im hoping that we can change that belief little by little. Cain credits changing opinions in the industry as opening doors for women. Whats popular now is the real person sound. Its created new opportunities and thats really wonderful. But women are still shut out of certain jobs where theres an expectation that you need to have a certain weight behind your voice. Some say that women dont have that, but thats not true. She cites Randy Thomas  as a woman with vocal weight. Described as the most recognized female voice in America,  Thomas is best known as the voice of the TV show  Entertainment Tonight  and the Hooked on Phonics commercials. Thomas shattered the voiceover glass ceiling in 1993 when she became the first female announcer of the Academy Awards. Since then, shes done the Oscars at least seven times as well as the Miss America Pageant and the Democratic National Convention. Shes the first announcer male or female to hit the trifecta of announcing the Big Three Awards the Oscars, the Tonys and the Primetime Emmys in a single year. Confidence Thomas has broken out of the pack of female voice talent due to that authoritative voice, as Cain describes it. You hear it and you believe her. This authority and forcefulness is ultimately the biggest hurdle facing women in the voiceover industry and in business as well. Listeners, like clients and co-workers, are more willing to place their trust in the voice that sounds confident and assured. The Count Is In A March 2010 AdweekMedia/Harris Poll  bears out these findings. Researchers asked participants to listen to male and female voiceovers in commercials and judge them based on various criteria. When asked who sounded more forceful, 48% chose the male voiceover while only 2% chose the female. When asked who sounded more soothing, respondents overwhelmingly chose the female voiceover 48% vs. only 8% for the male. Both genders were regarded as equally persuasive with 18% choosing the male voiceover vs. 19% choosing the female. Yet when it comes to major purchases, authority seems to trump soothing or persuasive. When asked which voiceover would be more likely to sell them on buying a car or a computer, respondents chose the male voice 3-4 times more often than the female; only 7% chose the female voice in either situation. In comparison, 28% of respondents felt the male voiceover was more likely to sell them a car, and 23% felt they were more likely to buy a computer based on the male voice. The problem is that we hear gender first and form assumptions about the speaker even before we have a chance to assess timbre, pitch, speed, clarity, and other vocal qualities that might establish authority or trust. Unfortunately, hearing gender isnt all that different from seeing gender when we discriminate based on sex alone and assign characteristics to physical traits often arbitrarily, stereotypically, and unfairly. Crossing Barriers Like Thomas, Cain has come up against the structural bias inherent in an industry where voices are judged by how well they sell. Shes been taking a crack at another glass ceiling announcing TV game shows as the only woman among half a dozen candidates vying to announce the popular syndicated show  Wheel of Fortune.  When the shows longtime male announcer passed away in November 2010, Caine pushed for the producer to consider a woman. Although there are no female announcers on any games shows currently in production, Cain is optimistic, noting, We go through these cycles in the 80s and 90s women could be heard as announcers on game shows although they were mostly cable channels. When she pointed out to  Wheel of Fortune  executive producer Harry Friedman that there were no other women announcers on TV game shows today, he was willing to give her a shot. Although the person behind the voice usually remains invisible, Cains putting her thoughts forward along with her voice to make audiences aware that women are capable of doing the same quality work as men, just as they do in every other career field. Im calling attention to this, Cain explains, because we need to recognize when women cross these barriers. At the same time, however, it would be nice to have viewers listen to someone like Randy Thomas and think, Oh, she sounds great instead of focusing solely on the fact that, Oh, thats a woman. Sources Camber, Rebecca.  Why women who want to get ahead get a husky voice.  DailyMail.co.uk.Dolliver, Mark. How People React to Male vs. Female Voiceovers.  Adweek.com. 8 March 2010.Feldman, Sally.  Speak up.  NewHumanist.org.uk.Hendrickson, Paula. Choice Voice. EMMY Magazine at RandyThomasVO.com.

Martins Four Subsidiary Philosophical Questions Essay

Martins Four Subsidiary Philosophical Questions - Essay Example In this view, then it emerges that the idea put across is about knowledge of things. Therefore, the communist has the tendency of assuming that God is not intelligent enough to create the universe. The idea brings about the theory of knowledge that presupposes that man knows all thus limiting the human knowledge. According to Martin (2006), epistemology undermines an office as shown by the way of life compelled by injustices. The axiological view of the communist is that man has the value and capability to challenge the masterworks of creation. The axiological view associates with the theory of value that has an interest in the study of goodness in philosophy. There are the values themselves and the value judgments in question for the communist. According to Martin (2006), simply implies ultimate value. In other words, it is what is naturally good? Lastly, the communist teleological views concern the purpose of a person in life. Teleological life entails the destiny of a person, goal, and purpose in life. According to martin, (2006), there are two very fundamental approaches to life. Martin strongly argues that the concept of work has greatly evolved from every day’s

Qualitative Vs Quantitative Research method Article

Qualitative Vs Quantitative Research method - Article Example There is a further analysis on the strengths and limitations of the two research approaches. Debra A. Friedman (2011), presents qualitative research to contain questions that have an open approach to the subject under investigation. The questions by researcher give him the benefit to expect anything from the correspondence hence approach the topic with an open mind. The definition by James Dean Brown (1988) of Quantitative research help in understanding more on what type of questions characterize this type of research approach. James definition is based on trying to understand things that are continuous in a bid to derive patterns that arise because of the continuation factor in the aspect under study. The definition narrows the questions of Quantitative research to be Consistent that ensures dependency and verifiable through the different mathematical models employed in this type of research (mean, t-tests, mode, median and variance). The questions must have fidelity that ensures the answers are credible and aim at a meaningful result this is with the aim of being able to interpret the questions with different tools of mathematics or transferable. Qualitative research has the characteristics of the manner in which the question is, and the setting of the question is crucial in this approach of doing research. Donald Freeman (2009), states that the above characteristic makes the difference between qualitative and quantitative research questions. Freeman explains that the findings that the research aims at dictate the setting of the questions and the main reason that warrants these claims is the line separating the questions in the two types of researches. All the research questions are at finding a given inquiry that makes up the main purpose of the research. To illustrate the difference between the questions we use a common inquiry of a reporter to a correspondent on the ground about a political rally. Qualitative

General Safety and Security Essay Example for Free

General Safety and Security Essay * Investment in surveillance camera systems by school districts ensures parents and guardians that the general safety and security of children are being addressed during schools hours and at all after-school extracurricular activities and programs. 2. Crime Deterrent * The presence of highly visible surveillance cameras at strategic locations in buildings and public areas/premises of a school property prevents theft, vandalism and acts as a deterrent to thieves and criminals from indulging in illegal activities. 3. Sexual Predators * One of the biggest threats that school children face is the threat of sexual predators and pedophiles hanging around unobtrusively on school campuses or in parking lots. Camera systems footage is very useful in tracking down predators or helping inform police about threatening situations in real time. 4. Prevent Bullying * New-generation surveillance camera systems have audio, voice and sound capturing capabilities. Teenagers bullying or harassing other students can be disciplined based on video and audio footage records. 5. Emergency Evacuation * School security personnel manning surveillance camera systems in real-time can take quick action about evacuating children, faculty and staff in case of emergencies related to fire or other potentially dangerous situations. Prevent Theft and Illegal Activities * The primary purpose of installing surveillance cameras is to act as deterrence to robbers, criminals, petty thieves and unscrupulous elements from indulging in theft, illicit and criminal activities. Security cameras are installed in bungalows, townhouses, apartment buildings, condominiums, schools, university campuses, offices, stores, malls and other public areas. These cameras monitor suspicious activities; stop theft, vandalism and shoplifting; and alert stationed security officers about real-time thefts. Staff monitoring cameras and centrally manned systems in large businesses can also inform county and state law enforcement officials about developing dangerous situations.

Essay --

Have you realized that â€Å"Fear of quitting smoking causes the majority of smokers to continue smoking, not the actual nicotine withdrawal† (That company called if). The reasons to smoke differ from teens within society. This is an opinion based paper that gives a brief scope as to what the main reasons are for inhaling this harmful substance, going from getting addicted to eradicating the need to smoke in your daily life. This essay not only shines a bright light in the life of a ‘smoker’ but also brings out the prospects in not smoking and how it only goes uphill from there! â€Å"The action or habit of inhaling and exhaling the smoke of tobacco or a drug† (Oxford University Press), is the classification of smoking. Why do people start smoking in the first place? The main 4 reasons for a teen to start smoking are stress, social awareness and peer pressure but also to cope with boredom; this are the alleged reasons that are all psychological based. Today in the 21st century smoking a cigarette or smoking in general will enhance ones social skills, as in make you cool throughout your friends and you even might impress someone of the opposite gender too. Teens specially start smoking cause they think their life is stressful due to studies and personal pressures such as family problems. Teens are looking for a way to put their blame on something other than just facing their problems. Nonetheless in today’s society you have a bigger chance of getting influenced specially from those close to you such as friends and family, which leads to peer pre ssure, doing something that you don’t want to do. â€Å"The number of movies with tobacco-related scenes has gone down since 2005. But in 2010, more than 30% of top-grossing movies rated G, PG, and PG-... ...minimum of 5 other effects smoking causes the human body and your health (Free OxyGenaration). On the positive of things, if you stop smoking you will look much healthier as your skin will receive more oxygen, you will increase your life expectancy by a couple of years, decrease the chances of getting cancer and finally but not least you will save a lot of money which you could benefit you and your family. To sum up, the benefits of not smoking are gigantic and therefore you will realize once you stop smoking that everything is going to go uphill from now on. This is the foundation or you can say the basis of your life, which will gradually be built. This will help you live the so-called smoke-free and healthy lifestyle. All together, what you decide; to smoke or not to smoke decision is up to you. This essay gives a detail outline for what to do and what not to do.

Does gay marriage threaten the family Essay

The question is clear does gay marriages threatens the family? To my belief yes it does with a capital Y. It is for a very simple reason that it nullifies the basic web of the society, the family. By the term alone, for instance if a two male person established among themselves what they so called â€Å"conjugal love or the so called domestic partnership â€Å"who would be called the mommy and the dad. If they have children by adoption or from the other partner would that child not be confused that his or her mom is physically and physiologically like his dad? In this aspect it also waters down the dignity of a man and that of a woman. For all we know yes we are created equal but were given recognition that each one has his and her role to play. And that part cannot be taken away by some whims of only few individuals. In fact, it is everyone’s concern to value his masculinity and for the woman her femininity. Those who can not recognize this fact is in no way no longer care for respect for the right reason. Ralph Wedgewoods justifications are like a mens rea. Justification does not eliminate one’s malicious act. He justifies gay marriages by attacking the evils in marriages. He could have forgotten that he is once a product of a basic family of a union between a man and a woman. Divorce, children born out of wedlock, abandonment, etc. are ills to our society but must not be taken into account that since we have this evil, marriage is doomed. In fact, a holy marriage is a sanctuary, a place where we could raise good citizens of the world. When love is lacking between a complete man and a complete woman, how can we be so sure that love between the same sexes is less chaotic? I do not deny the value of clean friendship here; same sexes could love each other in a platonic and respectful way. Giving into licentiousness already debases the human dignity, and that dignity is for everyone. Perfect union is only enjoyed by legitimate love. Anything outside of it is simply lust. And when lust diminishes convulsion of consciences regains unless that conscience has had hardened its heart not being able to conceive what is right and what is wrong. Maggie Gallagher’s discusses in her book â€Å"What is Marriage for? †. That gay marriage is nothing new. It could be accepted in Massachusetts and may infiltrate the 50 states of America. Marriage is defined as giving a legal ground for sexual desires of adult individual but it has more to offer. Well it is not simply institutionalizing a marriage and begetting children. It is beyond that. Moreover it is not only for the elite. But justice dictates that if a man and a woman can not properly raise a child it is better for him and her to live continence. Many have fallen into the ifs’ and buts’ of marriage, but if we could only look at one direction and try to research what it really mean to be. Finally, everyone could have a conclusion that marriage is never a license but more of a gift of faith and love. Matrimony is defined in the Humane Vitae (Human life) as Married love which is far from being the effect of the result of blind evolution of the natural forces in which husband and wife through mutual gift of themselves perfect themselves as one in cooperating with God for generating new lives. It is a love that is total. How many have come in to marriage without valuing this basic requirement? They are the ones on the event of sorrows of daily life ran away from their commitment. It is them who forget that married love is faithful and exclusive until death. They never thought that it is a real commitment and not just a sharing of domestic problems. â€Å"Marriage and conjugal love are ordained toward procreation and education of children which are the supreme gift of marriage. † (VI, 1968) This always includes responsible parenthood and the observance of the natural law. Marriage between same sex is not only a direct defiance to God’s will who have created the whole universe but a rendering injustice to ones self. A man with a common sense knew that anything unnatural is a hoax. Never would a man find complete ecstasy on any union that is filled with guilt and full of perversion. In Kerry Howley`s debate, she stresses more on the political side of the issue. The author could have forgotten one dimension of marriage. This social institution is not only bounded by a certain state but is treated more of a sacrament. The unions between spouses are not only by civil norms but out bounds the soul. Religion, the church, and God who created you and me have institutionalized marriage to be the seed of His elects. Here we are not negating the rights of lesbians and homosexuals, in fact our society of today are more civil with them and accepted them as creative and respectable individuals. But to carry on an error of licentiousness we are just debasing their human existence. There are always limitations where we can not be what we want but in the eye of a believer of truth he could see beyond even if his eyes are closed. Let consciences be heard and man will bend his knees, for all we know – something out there is of greater value, more precious than gold. Our soul and its eternal end.

Poetry Analysis: Joseph Von Eichendorff

Desires Joseph von Eichendorff is seen as one of the most famous poets of the German romanticism. Eichendorff composed many poems about his desires, the romantic world of joy, the simple intimacy, and the experience of nature as a way to God to create a mental antithesis to his violent affected military life. In this manner, his poem â€Å"Moonlight Night†, written in 1837, reflects his desires and his closeness to nature and to God. The speaker of the poem describes his feelings and impressions of a moonlit night presenting nature and its beauty in a very detailed way with the use of illustrative language. Related article: How to be Old by May Swenson AnalysisThe poem consists of three four-line stanzas. The stanzas are written in an alternating end rhyme scheme and it is striking that the first and the third stanza both contain an imperfect rhyme. In addition, there are enjambed line-breaks between the respective first and second line of the first and third stanza. Due to the similarity of the structure of these stanzas, the second stanza seemed to be framed and the poem appears as a circle. The rhythmic meter is iambic with alternate female and masculine cadences. Each stanza features one sentence.Also, the poem radiates deep peace and harmony; it seems relaxing to the reader which is reinforced by repeating of the adjectives â€Å"quiet† and â€Å"soft†. The headline â€Å"Moonlight Night† and the first stanza give the frame of the story: â€Å"It was like Heaven’s glimmer/ had [quietly] kissed the Earth’s skin /that in Her blossom’s shimme r/ She had to dream of Him†, it is night and the speaker seems to dream. The heaven is used as a metaphor which symbolizes God and the earth is an image for the mortal. The heaven and earth – being personified – interact with each other in the form of a kiss.The interaction of the kiss stands for the love that god gives. The â€Å"blossom’s shimmer† is understood as the godly shine which can be interpreted as warmth and love which god spreads over the earth. The word â€Å"quietly† makes the moment – of the heaven touching the earth – intimate and creates a calm atmosphere. In the second stanza, the speaker focuses on the nature: â€Å"The breeze was gently walking/ through wheat fields near and far;/ the woods were softly talking/ so bright shone ev’ry star. † The speaker personifies the breeze which is walking through the wheat fields.The breeze being sent from heaven – thus from god – is touching t he woods and wheat fields â€Å"gently† and â€Å"softly† which again creates a harmonic atmosphere and the touch shows the connection of god and mortals. The breeze goes â€Å"near and far† which again shows God’s endless love for the earth. Translating word to word from the original, German version, the second line would say â€Å"ears of the corn swayed gently† which also puts the description of the nature in context to the first stanza: ears of corn are a Christian symbol for the Eucharist.The nature is used as a symbol for the religious feelings of the speaker. The speaker appears the first time as a first-person narrative in the last stanza: â€Å"And thus my soul extended/ its wings through skies to roam:/ O’er quiet lands suspended, my soul was flying home. † Importantly, that the speaker uses the adjective â€Å"quiet† again to underline the calm and intimate atmosphere of the setting. The speaker gives a comparison sa ying that his soul is opening its wings like a bird that gets ready to take off.The speaker dresses his soul with wings which shows the deep emotion that the speaker perceives through the nature. Caught in the perception of the heavenly-touched, harmonic, and beautiful nature the speaker lets go all earthly bonds for his soul to be free; the here and now is not enough for the speaker which is a typical topic of the late romanticist movement. Furthermore, the first stanza stated that the heaven (god) is moving down to touch the earth and the last stanza is saying that the soul is flying up home.The heaven can be interpreted as the home of the soul, which is the Christian paradise. The harmonic atmosphere which was carefully built up during the whole poem is hurt by the last two lines which imply the death of the speaker and therefore puts the mortal speaker in contrast to immortal beauty of the nature. The poem â€Å"Moonlight Night† gives a typical example of the romanticism showing the speaker’s love of nature and his religiousness.The religiousness is not only seen in the words but also in the structure of the poem: the number three. There are three stanzas and three is also the cross sum of the number twelve (the poem consists of 12 lines). The number three represents the Trinity which is the matrix of the Christian faith. Eichendorff created a poem which is – especially despite its brevity – very deep and impressive, showing the infinity of the beauty and the desire to be close to god.

Vanity Presses

Vanity Presses The world would be glorious indeed if authors could write then hand off the manuscript to an entity that published the book, put it out there, and made it sell. Wed come up from our deep mental state of storytelling, occasionally check on statistics, cash the checks, and create to our hearts content. We wouldnt have to do social media every day. No speaking in public. No guest blogging. No shaking hands with bookstore owners or cold-calling book clubs in hopes of being selected for one of its 2016 choices. But an author isnt allowed to just write. He is if he doesnt care how many books sell, but if he isnt writing to be read, why is he writing at all? Here lately, Ive had a rash of requests from frustrated new authors. Way more than usual. They state they have a publisher who believes in their work, and for their investment of $3,000, $4,000, even $9,000, their book would be everywhere . . . even on Amazon! So, lets define a vanity press for those of you who are not sure how to avoid these people who will take your money and not care whether you sold your first child into slavery to do it. 1) They offer an entire turnkey program so you dont have to worry . . . for a four-figure fee. 2) They try to sell you a marketing package. Sorry, but you are the marketer. And bookstores know these vanity presses and dont want to read those pretty marketing publications that supposedly go out to an eager world of book buyers. 3) The price on your book is higher than the norm. How do you know this? Because you have done your homework and look in the bookstores or on Amazon to see what the norm is. Twenty dollars for a romance paperback isnt the norm. 4) They offer payment plans. 5) Their websites talk more about how to publish than about the books that have been highly successful. Their business is selling publishing packages, not books, unless they are selling those books to hungry authors. The reader is not the focus of their business. Most of you know to avoid vanity presses. There are too many other ways to publish in which you have more control and make far more money, but like anything in publishing, you have to do the promotion. If you write a book for family and friends and dont care about how books are made or sold, then vanity press publishing might be the answer. But the next time you are in the bookstore, take a list of vanity presses with you . . . and let me know how many of their books you see on the shelves.

Pros and Cons of Teacher Tenure

Pros and Cons of Teacher Tenure Teacher tenure, sometimes referred to as career status, provides job security for teachers who have successfully completed a probationary period. The purpose of tenure is to protect teachers from being fired for noneducational issues including personal beliefs or personality conflicts with administrators, school board members, or any other authority figure. Tenure Definition Teacher  tenure  is a policy that restricts the ability of administrators or school boards to fire teachers. Contrary to popular belief, tenure is not a guarantee of lifetime employment, but cutting through the red tape needed to fire a tenured teacher can be extremely difficult, the website notes. Laws pertaining to teacher tenure vary from state to state, but the overall spirit is the same. Teachers who receive tenure have a higher level of job security than a nontenured teacher. Tenured teachers have certain guaranteed rights that protect them from losing their jobs for unsubstantiated reasons. Probationary Status vs. Tenured Status To be considered for tenure, an educator must teach at the same school for a certain number of consecutive years with satisfactory performance. Public school teachers, in grammar, middle, and high school generally have to teach for three years to earn tenure. Private school teachers have a wider range: from one to five years depending on the school. The years prior to tenure status are called probationary status. Probationary status is essentially a trial run for teachers to be evaluated- and if necessary to terminated- through a much easier process than one who has received tenured status. Tenure does not transfer from district to district. If a teacher leaves one district and accepts employment in another, the process essentially starts over. In higher education, it generally takes six or seven years to earn tenure, which at colleges and universities is known as a full professorship or simply as achieving the position of professor. In the years before achieving tenure, a teacher might be an instructor, an associate professor, or an assistant professor. Typically, college or university instructors are given a series of two- or four-year contracts and then reviewed around their third year, and again in the fifth or sixth year. To achieve tenure, a non-tenured instructor might need to exhibit published research, proficiency in attracting grant funding, teaching excellence, and even community service or administrative ability, depending on the institution. Tenured teachers in public education at the grammar, middle, or high school level, are entitled to due process when they are threatened with dismissal or nonrenewal of contract. This process is exceedingly tedious for administrators because just like in a trial case, the administrator must show proof that the teacher is ineffective and has failed to meet district standards in a hearing before the school board. The administrator must produce definitive evidence that he gave the teacher the support and resources necessary to correct the problem if it is an issue relating to the educators performance. The administrator must also be able to show proof that the teacher willingly neglected her duty as a teacher. Differences Among States States differ as  to how a teacher achieves tenure, as well as in the due process procedure for firing a tenured teacher. According to the  Education Commission of the States, 16 states regard performance as the most important step for a teacher to earn tenure, while others place a higher level of importance on the amount of time an educator has spent working in the classroom. The organization notes some of the differences in how states handle the issue of tenure: Florida, North Carolina, Kansas, and Idaho have chosen to repeal tenure outright, phase out tenure, or remove due process provisions, though Idaho’s effort to abolish tenure was reversed by its voters.Seven states require districts to return teachers to probationary status if their performance is rated unsatisfactory.Instead of making layoff decisions on the basis of tenure status or seniority, 12 states require that teacher performance be the primary consideration. Ten  states explicitly prohibit the use of tenure status or seniority. The American Federation of Teachers notes that there are wide disparities in due process in regard to firing or disciplining tenured teachers. Citing a New York court case, Wright v. New York, the organization said that due process for firing a tenured teacher- which the plaintiffs attorney in the case called uber due process- lasted an average of 830 days and cost more than $300,000, meaning that very few administrators would pursue a case of terminating a tenured teacher. The federation adds that an analysis using the New York State Education Department data found that in 2013, disciplinary cases took only about 177 days statewide. And in New York City, data show that the median length of proceedings is just 105 days. Indeed, Connecticut has adopted an 85-day policy for terminating tenured teachers, unless there is agreement from both sides to extend the process, the AFT says. Pros of Tenure Advocates for teacher tenure say that teachers need protection from power-hungry administrators and school board members who have personality conflicts with a particular teacher. For example, tenure status protects a teacher when a school board member’s child fails the teachers class. It provides job security for teachers, which can translate to happier teachers who perform at a higher level. ProCon.org sums up a few other pros of teacher tenure: Tenure protects teachers from being fired for teaching unpopular, controversial, or otherwise challenged curricula such as evolutionary biology and controversial literature, says the nonprofit website that examines the arguments for and against various issues.Tenure helps with recruitment because it offers teachers a stable and secure job.Tenure gives teachers the freedom to be creative in the classroom and rewards them for their years of dedication. Tenure also ensures that those who have been there longest have guaranteed job security in tough economic times even though a more inexperienced teacher may cost the district significantly less in salary. Cons of Tenure Opponents of tenure argue that it is too difficult to get rid of a teacher who has been proved to be ineffective in the classroom. Due process is particularly tedious and difficult, they say, adding that districts have tight budgets, and the costs of a due process hearing can cripple a district’s budget. ProCon.org summarizes some of the other cons opponents cite when discussing teacher tenure: Teacher tenure leads complacency because teachers know they are not likely to lose their employment.Teachers already have sufficient protection through court rulings, collective bargaining, and state and federal laws making tenure unnecessary.Because of tenure rules, its too expensive to remove educators, even when their performance is subpar or they are guilty of wrongdoing. Finally, opponents argue that administrators are less likely to discipline a teacher who is tenured compared to one who is a probationary teacher even if they have committed the same offense because it is such a difficult proposition to remove a tenured teacher.

Demand Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Demand Management - Research Paper Example This is because with a good demand and supply matching, companies benefit in several aspects of their corporate management including logistics, stocking, manufacturing and even retailing (Lapide, 2006). Because demand and supply trends keeps changing by the day, companies are obliged to have a stronger mechanism that can serve as a yardstick for getting accurate predictions for trends and hence forecasting. Demand Forecasting for Manufacturing Enterprise Manufacturing enterprises have been identified as one outfit that has so much potential when it comes to the appropriate use of demand forecasting to ensure projection of business goals. The most underlying effect or reason behind the meriting use of demand forecasting in manufacturing is the fact that competitive pressures that manufacturers receive often makes it impossible for these manufacturers to wait for demand to emerge before they can behind taking the necessary steps towards meeting these demands (Greene, 2003). In effect, The Material Requirements Planning (MRP) technique of demand forecast has been appropriate for the purpose of "make to stock" strategy rather than "make to order" strategy so as to ensure that they are able to deploy inventories of manufactured products into field locations (Caplice, 2003). Consequently, the situation whereby orders made by customers are delayed becomes a thing of the past in utilizing accurate demand forecasting. There are a number factors and conditions that may make forecasting inappropriate for a manufacturing enterprise. One of these has been identified to be bias in demand forecasting when using independent demand. Caplice (?2003) has explained that bias is a form of inaccuracy in demand forecasting, leading to a situation where forecasting do not become appropriate for manufacturing planning and decision making. Generally, Caplice (2003) believes that â€Å"bias is the persistent tendency of the forecast to err in the same direction, that is, to consistently over-predict or under-predict demand.† The reason this phenomenon makes forecasting inappropriate is that it leads to a situation where there is always a self-centered judgmental approach to manufacturing decisions inside of an evidence based approach to decision making (Lapide, 2006). Consequently, when bias comes, it gives an indication that the demand data has been wrongly used. This is because bias is a representation of total pattern of error instead of the existence of just a series of errors. Making manufacturing decisions would thus mean that there is going to be either excesses or shortages, depending on the trend of bias. Demand Forecasting for Service Provider There are several works of literature that looks into different methods or techniques of forecasting, appropriate and inappropriate for service providers. Generally, the use of subjective approach or technique to forecasting has been explained as a very viable approach of demand forecasting that works best to the interest of service providers. Generally, a subjective approach to forecasting may be explained as one that makes use of qualitative procedures based by the opinions of people to undertake demand forecasting (Taylor, 2006). Ideally, this approach to forecasting is said to be appropriate and suitable for service providers because of the nature of business that these people are involved in. unlike manufacturers who deal with quantities of goods or

Memo to training manager Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Memo to training manager - Essay Example As revealed from the Encyclopedia of Business and Finance, international marketing â€Å"occurs when firms plan and conduct transactions across international borders in order to satisfy the objectives of both consumers and the firm† (1). Obviously, as a global organization where our operations have been expanding in various countries all over the world, the strategies that were previously applied in our domestic markets are not sufficient and applicable in global settings. Accordingly, â€Å"unique environmental factors that need to be explored by firm managers before going global include trade systems, economic conditions, political-legal systems, and cultural conditions† (Encyclopedia of Business and Finance 1). These factors are macro-environmental factors that impinge on the performance of global organizations as they impact the host countries’ operations. For instance, trade systems encompass â€Å"regulations and restrictions include tariffs, quotas, embargoes, exchange controls, and nontariff trade barriers† (Encyclopedia of Business and Finance 1). Economic factors consider â€Å"industrial structure and income distribution. Industrial structure refers to how well developed a countrys infrastructure is, while income distribution refers to how income is distributed among its citizens† (Encyclopedia of Business and Finance 1). Politico-legal factors take into account the prevailing government structure, laws, policies and regulations, status of stability and impending threats. Finally, and equally important are cultural factors that include familiarity with the language, customs and traditions, values, and dimensions that affect practicing business in host countries. Just like any other objective for training and development programs, a specialized training for IM would prepare and enhance the skills, knowledge and abilities of all personnel on trading within international scope. As emphasized in Education