Celta Reflective Account - Teaching Practice Essay Example for Free

Celta Reflective Account Teaching Practice Essay I had been teaching workers in the children and young people’s workforce for a number of years when I started the Celta   course. I already had experience of planning lessons, staging, timing and classroom management. I knew nothing about setting appropriate language aims. One of my main weaknesses was anticipating problems that students would have with particular lessons and in incorporating activities to suit the stronger students. This is partly because I am not very sure about what a beginner, intermediate or advanced learner knows. In our teaching practice we are given exercises to suit the different stages but I would not be very confident, even now, to choose exercises for myself. Another weakness that I have is that although I am experienced at planning timing in lessons I have on several occasions in teaching practice gone over time. I am usually a facilitative teacher, which is a strength in my experience people learn best when they work something out for themselves. However, it is also essential when using this approach to ensure that learners’ interest in words and grammar not related to the target language doesn’t overtake the lesson. It was also identified by Jan that I tended to allow feedback on exercises to go on for too long. It is at this point that I become less facilitative and sometimes repeat what the learners have already said. One of my strengths is the development of resources. I enjoy looking for pictures that will amuse and interest the students – I think that people learn better when the resources pique interest. I also ensure that resources are culturally appropriate or culturally neutral such as making a paper airplane which illustrated the different forms of the verb ‘to make’. This was an effective tool for elicitation and is one that uses minimal resources. Learning from watching experienced teachers When I started the course I felt very nervous about teaching. When I was observing experienced teachers I noticed that they used relevant intonation, hand gestures and voice projection skilfully. I recognised that by using relevant expressive body language I could increase my own confidence. It is important when teaching to project your voice and speak confidently so that students feel confidence in you. It is important also not to pretend that you know something when you are not sure. People can often tell if you are not sure about what you are saying. Tutor assessment of strengths and weaknesses Jan identified in my first class that I must reduce the teacher talk time. I think initially that I was talking a lot because I was unconfident and nervous. I was talking to prove to the learners that I knew the target language. I ensured that I started my second lesson with questions to the learners. This was a good exercise for me in reducing teacher time and in finding more about the level of the group and individual learners within it. By starting off with questions to the learners it encourages more learner participation throughout the lesson. The need for clearer instructions has been noted in a number of my practice teaching sessions. I have improved on this by planning in †¢ model answers †¢ giving only one instruction at a time †¢ asking students to repeat instructions Fellow students identification of strengths and weaknesses I moved from an intermediate group to an elementary group. Initially I didn’t moderate my meta language to accommodate for the learners’ knowledge of English, which was noted by colleagues in my first observation. I worked on this in my second lesson. I still sometimes forget my plans to clarify instructions when I am teaching. I have found error correction a challenge. I am aware that it is not always appropriate to correct and find it difficult to identify quickly whether the mistake needs to be corrected because meaning is fundamentally changed. This is often because I am feeling rushed because the timing of the lesson is out. I also worry that learners will feel humiliated if I correct them. I imagine that this is a concern for many teachers who had negative experiences as school students. My fellow student Siroja noticed during her observation of me that I am reluctant to nominate students to feedback. This is also because of a fear of humiliating someone who doesn’t know an answer. Reena noticed that when I ask for general feedback I am prepared to wait and allowed for pauses in the lesson which she felt was a strength because it shows confidence. Improvements needed  Timing is still a major issue for me in my lessons. I have managed to keep a couple of my lessons exactly to time but need still to identify ways to ensure feedback is more succinct. Ways in which I intend to do this: †¢ Learners checking their own answers using answer sheets †¢ Checking answers while monitoring learners I will also aim to make instructions snappier. I observed Reena using post-its which she stuck to her lesson plan – I will use them to write short, easily understood instructions which I will throw away as soon as I have finished explaining a particular exercise. If my timing is better I will feel less rushed and more able to stop and consider errors and whether the merit or not of correcting them. However, to make error correction easier I will also identify some key phrases that I can use to help learners re-consider what they have said without showing them up. I will aim also to ask the more reluctant students to answer questions, understanding that sometimes they don’t speak up in class because of a lack of confidence. By asking the question directly of the quieter students it is giving them permission to speak. Examples of question I might ask are: Can you think of another way of phrasing that? Do you think that you used the right tense/preposition there? If I have a few stock phrases it will help overcome my own fears that I am putting down the learners. However, I have also to recognise that learners often want to be corrected and if there isn’t enough time it may be necessary for me to put aside my own sensitivity and give the right form or ask the other students to rephrase the statement. To find out more about what is expected at different levels I will explore the ESOL Adult Core Curriculum because I missed the class. I will also look through text books for students to get a flavour. This assignment has helped me consider my progress and will help me develop my teaching practice further. I see myself like the child who measures her height by drawing marks up the wall and can see progress. This assignment, the feedback from teaching practice and mid course assessment are my marks on the wall. I can affect my progress by taking account of feedback from mine and colleagues’ teaching practice and from Tuesday evening lessons and grow taller.

Native American Policy :: American America History

Native American Policy In the 30 years after the Civil War, although government policy towards Native Americans intended to shift from forced separation to integration into American society, attempts to "Americanize" Indians only hastened the death of their culture and presence in the America. The intent in the policy, after the end of aggression, was to integrate Native Americans into American society. Many attempts at this were made, ranging from offering citizenship to granting lands to Indians. All of these attempts were in vain, however, because the result of this policies is much the same as would be the result of continued agression. Beginning in the 1860s and lasting until the late 1780s, government policy towards Native Americans was aggressive and expressed zero tolerance for their presence in the West. In the last 1850s, tribal leaders and Americans were briefly able to compromise on living situations and land arrangements. Noncompliance by Americans, however, resumed conflict. The beginning of what would be called the "Indian Wars" started in Minnesota in 1862. Sioux, angered by the loss of much of their land, killed 5 white Americans. What resulted was over 1,000 deaths, of white and Native Americans. From that point on, American policy was to force Indians off of their land. American troops would force Indian tribe leaders to accept treaties taking their land from them. Protests or resistance by the Indians would result in fighting. On occasion, military troops would even lash out against peaceful Indians. Their aggression became out of control. Indian policy gradually shifted from this aggressive mindset to a more peaceable and soft line policy. The Indian Wars ended in 1980 with the Battle of Wounded Knee. The battle resulted in over 200 deaths, but also, almost officially, marked a change in Indian policy. Although the change had subtly began before then, policies then became more kind. The Peace Commission created the reservation policy, although this was created 27 years before the Battle at Wounded Knee. The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 was the greatest of reform efforts. The Act provided the granting of landholding to individual Native Americans, replacing communal tribal holdings. Another policy, the Burke Act of 1906, allowed Indians to become citizens if they left their tribes. Citizenship was eventually granted to all Native Americans in the 1920s. Although the intentions of Indian policy shifted, the outcomes of these policies still helped to suppress Native Americans and their culture.

Abrahamic Covenant

ABRAHAMIC COVENANT Reference:| Addressed To:| Circumstance Under Which it was Reiterated:| â€Å"Ingredients†Which compose the Covenant:| Development in the Book of Genesis:| Any Change in Content or Emphasis:| | Genesis 12:1- The Lord has said to Abram, â€Å"Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. Abram| God called Abram to move from Haran to Canaan| Faith | This all started with a call from God| The emphasis here is placed on Faith as God calls Abram by Faith| | Genesis 12:2- â€Å"I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. | Abram| Abram is called by God to move by Faith| Blessing/Seed| God calls Abram| God promises to Bless Abram| | Genesis 12:3- I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. | Abram| Abram is called to move by Faith| Blessing/Curse| This call is just the beginning| God promises Blessings and cursing’s to those who bless and curse Abram. | | Reference:| Addressed To:| Circumstance Under Which it was Reiterated:| â€Å"Ingredients†Which compose the Covenant:| Development in the Book of Genesis:| Any Change in Content or Emphasis:| | Genesis 12: 7- The Lord appeared to Abram and said, â€Å"To your offspring I will give this land. † So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. Abram| Abram was in the Land that God promised him. | Seed/Land| | | | Genesis 13: 14-15- The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, â€Å"Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. | Abram| Abram in Canaan| Seed/Land| | | | Genesis 13: 16- I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Abram| Abram in Canaan | Seed| | | | Reference:| Addressed To:| Circumstance Under Which it was Reiterated:| â€Å"Ingredients†Which compose the Covenant:| Development in the Book of Genesis:| Any Change in Content or Emphasis:| | Genesis 13:17- Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you. †| Abram| Abram in Canaan| Land| | | | Genesis 15: 4- Then the word of the Lord came to him: â€Å"This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir. | Abram| Abram’s Vision| Seed| | | | Genesis 15: 5- He took him outside and said, â€Å"Look up at the heavens and count the stars-if indeed you can count them. † Then he said to him, â€Å"So shall your offspring be. †| Abram| Abram’s Vision| Seed| | | | Reference:| Addressed To:| Circumstance Under Which it was Reiterated:| â€Å"Ingredients†Which compose the Covenant:| Development in the Book of Genesis:| Any Change in Content or Emphasis:| | Genesis 1 5: 7- He also said to him, â€Å"I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it. | Abram| Abram’s Vision| Land| | | | Genesis 15: 18- 19- On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, â€Å"To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates-the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadomonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites. | Abram| Abram’s Vision | Seed/Land| | | | Genesis 16: 10- Then the angel added, â€Å"I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count. | Hagar| Hagar Flees to a spring in the desert beside the road to Shur| Seed| | | | Reference:| Addressed To:| Circumstance Under Which it was Reiterated:| â€Å"Ingredients†Which compose the Covenant:| Development in the Book of Genesis:| Any Change in Content or Emphasis:| | Genesis 17: 2- I will confirm my covenant b etween me and you and will greatly increase your numbers. | Abram| | Seed| | | | Genesis 17: 4- â€Å"As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. Abram| | Seed| | | | Genesis 17: 5- No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. | Abraham| | Seed| | | | Reference:| Addressed To:| Circumstance Under Which it was Reiterated:| â€Å"Ingredients†Which compose the Covenant:| Development in the Book of Genesis:| Any Change in Content or Emphasis:| | Genesis 17: 6- I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. Abraham| | Seed| | | | Genesis 17: 7- I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. | Abraham| | Seed| | | | Genesis 17: 8- The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give a s an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God. †| Abraham| | Land/Seed| | | |Reference:| Addressed To:| Circumstance Under Which it was Reiterated:| â€Å"Ingredients†Which compose the Covenant:| Development in the Book of Genesis:| Any Change in Content or Emphasis:| | Genesis 17: 9- Then God said to Abraham, â€Å"As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. | Abraham| | Seed| | | | Genesis 17: 10- This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. Abraham| | Seed/Circumcision| | | | Genesis 17: 11- You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. | Abraham| | Circumcision| | | | Reference:| Addressed To:| Circumstance Under Which it was Reiterated:| â€Å"Ingredients†Which compose the Covenant:| Development in the Book of Genesis:| A ny Change in Content or Emphasis:| | Genesis 17: 12- For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner-those who are not your offspring.My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. | Abraham| | Circumcision/Flesh| | | | Genesis 17: 13- Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant. †| Abraham| | Circumcision| | | | Genesis 17: 15-17- God also said to Abraham, â€Å"As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her. † | Abraham| | Blessing/Seed| | | |Reference:| Addressed To:| Circumstance Under Which it was Reiterated:| â€Å"Ingredients†Which compose the Covenant:| Dev elopment in the Book of Genesis:| Any Change in Content or Emphasis:| | Genesis 17: 19- Then God said, â€Å"Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. | Abraham| | Seed| | | | Genesis 17: 20- And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers.He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. | Abraham| | Seed/Land| | | | Genesis 17: 21- But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year. | Abraham| | Seed| | | | Reference:| Addressed To:| Circumstance Under Which it was Reiterated:| â€Å"Ingredients†Which compose the Covenant:| Development in the Book of Genesis:| Any Change in Content or Emphasis:| | Genesis 18: 18- Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth wi ll be blessed through him. Abraham| God reveals to Abraham that He is going to destroy Sodom| Seed/Blessing| | | | Genesis 18: 19- For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him. †| Abraham| Abraham’s revelation from God| Seed/Land/Promise| | | | Genesis 21: 1- Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah| Sarah gives birth to Isaac| Seed| | | | Reference:| Addressed To:| Circumstance Under Which it was Reiterated:| â€Å"Ingredients†Which compose the Covenant:| Development in the Book of Genesis:| Any Change in Content or Emphasis:| | Genesis 21: 2- Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. | Abraham| The birth of the promised heir, Isaac| Seed/Promise| | | | Genesis 21: 4- When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. | Abraham| Abraham eaffirmed the covenant through the circumcision of Isaac| Circumcision| | | | Genesis 21: 13- I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring. | Abraham| God reassures Abraham that he will bless Ishmael. | Seed| | | | Reference:| Addressed To:| Circumstance Under Which it was Reiterated:| â€Å"Ingredients†Which compose the Covenant:| Development in the Book of Genesis:| Any Change in Content or Emphasis:| | Genesis 21: 18- Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation. Hagar| God hears Ishmael’s cries and provides while reassuring Hagar of His promise. | Seed| | | | Genesis 22: 17- I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, | Abraham| Abraham obe ys God and is rewarded with His promises. | Seed/Land/Blessing| | | | Genesis 22: 18- and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me. Abraham| God reminds Abraham of His promises. | Seed/Blessing| | | | Reference:| Addressed To:| Circumstance Under Which it was Reiterated:| â€Å"Ingredients†Which compose the Covenant:| Development in the Book of Genesis:| Any Change in Content or Emphasis:| | Genesis 26: 3- Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. | Isaac| Famine in the land. God gives Isaac instructions. Seed/Land/Blessing/Oath| | | | Genesis 26: 4- I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, | Isaac| | Seed/Blessing| | | | Genesis 26: 24- That night the Lord ap peared to him and said, I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham. | Isaac| | Seed/Blessing| | | |Reference:| Addressed To:| Circumstance Under Which it was Reiterated:| â€Å"Ingredients†Which compose the Covenant:| Development in the Book of Genesis:| Any Change in Content or Emphasis:| | Genesis 28: 13- There above it stood the Lord, and he said: â€Å"I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land which you are lying. | Jacob| | Land| | | | Genesis 28: 14- Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south.All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. | Jacob| | Seed/Blessing| | | | Genesis 28: 15- I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. | Jacob| | Land| | | | Reference:| Addressed To:| Circumstance Under Which it was Reiterated:| â€Å"Ingredients†Which compose the Covenant:| Development in the Book of Genesis:| Any Change in Content or Emphasis:| | Genesis 35: 11- And God said to him, â€Å"I am God Almighty, be fruitful and increase in number.A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. | Jacob| | Seed| | | | Genesis 35: 12- The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants. | Jacob| | Seed/Land| | | | Genesis 46: 3- â€Å"I am God, the God of your father,† he said. â€Å"Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. | Israel| | Seed| | | |

Great Gatsby is a tragic hero Essay

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a classic American tragedy. The novel has all the basic elements necessary to classify a story as a tragedy: a tragic hero, his character flaw, and a twist of fate which results in the hero’s ultimate destruction. Jay Gatsby is the doomed tragic hero, blinded by his irrational dream to relive the past. Fate interferes in the form of the unexpected manslaughter of one character’s mistress by his wife. All these facets of the story come together to cause the end of Gatsby. In order for a character to be defined as a tragic hero, he must be noble in character. Jay Gatsby demonstrates this in his devotion to Daisy Buchanan, whom he has been preparing for a re-encounter with for the past 5 years. When he finally finds himself in her presence again, â€Å"†¦there were twinkle-bells of sunshine in the room, he smiled like a weather man, like an ecstatic patron of recurrent light†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He talks with Daisy, and even after 5 whole years of building her up in his mind, he is still very much in love with her. â€Å"†¦[After speaking with her,] there was a change in Gatsby that was simply confounding. He literally glowed; without a word or a gesture of exultation a new well-being radiated from him and filled the room.† He loves her, everything he does is for her, and there is no characteristic more noble than true love and devotion. The very denotation of a tragic hero is a noble person with a tragic flaw which helps to bring about his downfall, and which may cause the hero to make poor decisions. Mr. Gatsby’s character flaw is his enduring dream of finding Daisy, the woman he met and fell in love with before he was sent to fight in World War I, and reuniting with her. When they met, he was a poor nobody and she was a member of the old-money elite, a match that they both knew could not possibly work. So, even though he knew she was married, when Jay came back from the war, he devoted his life to reinventing himself to make himself good enough for her. â€Å"Out of the corner of his eye Gatsby saw that the blocks of the sidewalks really formed a ladder and mounted to a secret place above the trees — he could climb to it, if he climbed alone, and once there he could suck on the pap of life, gulp down the incomparable milk of wonder.† Basically, his pure, true love for Daisy was reinforced with obsession and encased in determination and wrapped in everything he  could find to make it real again. His love for Daisy outweighed any kind of reality to the point where he could no longer distinguish fact from fiction. â€Å"It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart.† Fate, with the tragic flaw, plays the principal role in the undoing of the protagonist. In The Great Gatsby, the turn of fate is when Daisy, driving Gatsby’s car with him in the passenger seat, hits and instantly kills Myrtle Wilson, and in a panic flees the scene, too shaken to stop the car. Myrtle Wilson happens to be the woman who Daisy’s husband tom has been cheating on her with, and Myrtle’s husband George Wilson witnesses the accident. He sees his wife killed by someone driving Gatsby’s car. He find out that the car belongs to Gatsby, who he has never met before, and assumes that it was he who had so violently and recklessly killed his wife. George, in a state of grief-stricken insanity, kills Jay Gatsby in his own backyard the very next day. It didn’t happen a moment too soon, either. The quality of Gatsby’s life had been deteriorating at an exponential rate, ironically, since his dream had come true. Becoming involved with Daisy at this point was upsetting his life — he had learned firsthand of the shortcomings of the woman he loved, had witnessed her weaknesses. It was tearing him up inside that he had spent half a decade on something that would be mostly detrimental to him in the end. â€Å"†¦perhaps he no longer cared. If that was true he must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream.† The narrator conjectures of Gatsby that, just before his death, â€Å"He must have looked up at an unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves and shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is and how raw the sunlight was upon the scarcely created grass.† Gatsby’s intentions were pure, modest, innocent, genuine, but the momentum of his pursuit carried him into trouble when he was forced to stop dreaming because his dream had become reality, a thing to which Gatsby had become unaccustomed after imagining for so long. Once his dream tumbled into a  brick wall and things were sent spinning in disarray, there was no longer a place for Jay Gatsby. He had come to belong only to his dream, and was consumed by it. â€Å"†¦Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men.†

The Many Uses of Carbon Fiber

The Many Uses of Carbon Fiber In fiber reinforced composites, fiberglass is the workhorse of the industry. It is used in many applications and is very  competitive  with traditional materials such as wood, metal, and concrete. ​Fiberglass products are strong, lightweight, non-conductive, and the raw material costs of fiberglass are very low. In applications where there is a premium for increased strength, lower weight, or for cosmetics, then other more expensive reinforcing fibers are used in the FRP composite. Aramid fiber, such as DuPonts Kevlar, is used in an application that requires the high tensile strength which aramid provides. An example of this is body and vehicle armor, where layers of aramid reinforced composite can stop high powered rifle rounds, due in part to the high tensile strength of the fibers. Carbon fibers are used where low weight, high stiffness, high conductivity, or where the look of the carbon fiber weave desired. Carbon Fiber In Aerospace Aerospace and space were some of the first industries to adopt carbon fiber. The high modulus of carbon fiber makes it  suitable  structurally to replace alloys such as aluminum and titanium. The weight savings carbon fiber provides is the primary reason carbon fiber has been adopted by the aerospace industry. Every pound of weight savings can make a serious difference in fuel consumption, which is why Boeings new 787 Dreamliner has been the best-selling  passenger  plane in history. The majority of this planes structure is carbon fiber reinforced composites. Sporting Goods Recreational sports is another market segment which is more than willing to pay more for higher performance. Tennis rackets, golf clubs, softball bats, hockey sticks, and archery arrows and bows are all products commonly manufactured with carbon fiber reinforced composites. Lighter weight equipment without compromising strength is a distinct advantage in sports. For example, with a lighter weight tennis racket, one can get much faster racket speed, and ultimately, hit the ball harder and faster. Athletes continue to push for an advantage in equipment. This is why serious  bicyclists ride all carbon fiber bikes and use bicycle shoes that use carbon fiber. Wind Turbine Blades Although the majority of wind turbine blades uses fiberglass, on large blades (often over 150 ft in length) include a spare, which is a stiffening rib that runs the length of the blade. These components are often 100% carbon, and as thick as a few inches at the root of the blade. Carbon fiber is used to provide the  necessary  stiffness, without adding a tremendous amount of weight. This is important because the lighter a wind turbine blade is, the more efficient it is at creating  electricity. Automotive Mass-produced automobiles are not yet adopting carbon fiber; this is because of the increased raw material cost and  necessary  changes in tooling, still, outweighs the benefits. However, Formula 1, NASCAR, and high-end cars are using carbon fiber. In many cases, it is not because of the benefits of properties or weight, but because of the look. There are many aftermarket automotive parts being made out of carbon fiber, and instead of being painted, they are clear-coated. The distinct carbon fiber weave has become a symbol of hi-tech and hi-performance. In fact, it is common to see an aftermarket automotive component that is a single layer of carbon fiber but has multiple layers of fiberglass below to lower costs. This would be an example where the look of the carbon fiber is actually the deciding factor. Although these are some of the common uses of carbon fiber, many new applications are seen almost daily. The growth of carbon fiber is fast, and in just 5 years, this list will be much longer.

How to Create an Environment of Effective Communication at a Business Research Paper

How to Create an Environment of Effective Communication at a Business Meeting - Research Paper Example This essay stresses that the employees will have their say leading to rising contention and new ideas may bring brighter prospects for the firm. At times entrepreneurs cannot think of ideas that fresh minds can and so this might help in the smooth running of the firm. Also this action item plan will lead to the development of attributes like target making and target achieving. When the employees have goals in front of them and a deadline to achieve them, they would do everything to accomplish that. Other employees will learn by seeing the example. This way, there would be a lot of competition and positive spirit arising in the employees. It is also equally important to seek for accountability of the follow up plan during the next meeting. Often people say a lot during one meeting and its effect simply cools down or, more appropriately phrased, dies out before the next meeting. This is very discouraging for those who take the meetings seriously. To ensure that the effective communicat ion environment is maintained, it is extremely important that the follow up plan is actually followed and the first thing during the next meeting should be to discuss its proceedings. This paper makes a conclusion that the decisions that the firm makes are actually representing everyone involved in the firm’s activities. Also, effective communication gives rise to fresh ideas and minds leading to innovation and more chances of research and development. It also ensures satisfaction amongst the employees. They would be contended and would thus work for the firm earnestly.

What Part Does Cultural Compatibility Play in Determining The Success Essay

What Part Does Cultural Compatibility Play in Determining The Success of Cross-Border Mergers & Acquisitions - Essay Example Most often, considerations in relation to financing and strategies have become the main concern in obtaining the acquisition targets or merger partners that are most suitable for a company’s purpose. Usually, decisions are made depending on certain issues such as availability, price and probable earnings. When their activity fails, the analysis of merger failure or weak performance is often focused on the re-examination of certain factors that initiated the decision for selection (Schweiger & Goulet 2005). Often, poor selection decisions for mergers and acquisitions are associated with an overly high purchase price, incompetence of managers in achieving goals, or that the companies simply do not match each other. These factors have been continuously examined yet M & A activity has not obtained the necessary improvements (Teerikangas 2007; Seo & Hill 2005). Because of this, international acquisitions make up inconsistencies: despite the fact that business practice and academic research have reported that many of these activities fail to achieve their objectives, cross-cultural acquisitions still remain to be a popular strategy for multinational companies. Therefore, it is necessary that the causes of international merger and acquisition failure are examined as well as the strategies for addressing such problems. As reported by Galpin & Herndon (2007), in a study of 190 top executives who were involved in the global acquisition, it was believed that cultural incompatibility was viewed as the greatest barrier to the success of their M & A activities. Furthermore, the 1996 British Institute of Management survey reported that when merging two cultures is underestimated, it becomes a significant factor for failure (Carleton and Lineberry 2004).