Dark Tourism in Prague Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Dark Tourism in Prague - Essay Example ke the basic scenario of a fire in an apartment, it is just normal many people will run towards the scene to either assist, get answers or simply just look. Such is the attention dark tourism has achieved amongst scholars, humanitarians and adventurers all over the world. In Prague, the Church of SS Cyril and Methodius is one such site and has even been ranked Best Dark Tourism site by the country’s Tourism authority. (Hannam & Knox 2010, 28).the site acted has a rich history content regarding the assassination of Reichsprotektor Heydrich. These are not the only centres in Prague. Evidently, the increased demand in dark tourism in Prague has been boosted by the number of the sites this country harbours (Martina 2011, 02). An increase in these centres simply means more place s to visit for the tourists. In a bid to access the rich history in Prague’s dark sites, tourists have flocked the country to have a piece of these fascinating stories. Some of these Dark sides include: The aim of this research is to explore dark Tourism in Prague, view all the effects of this practice of economic, social and political life in Prague. This is because of the vast stories every center holds therefore tourists are bound to learn a lot from their visits. Therefore, the ability of these sites to attract tourists must be outlined to discuss the increase demand for tourists in Prague. I am interested in dark tourism in Prague because I find it quite intriguing that areas associated with death could spur interest in people. Furthermore, I think these places harbor vast historical content that I aim at making

Computing technology in aircraft design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Computing technology in aircraft design - Essay Example It also discuss the advantages such as reduced production cost, improved time management, advanced method of quality control system, product consistency, in time to market and improved customer satisfaction. Aircraft design is a useful field that provides itself to objective design methods and, especially, optimization skill. Nearly all major aerospace design institutes employ computer-based optimization tools, mainly at the early design phase. Usually, the overall objective task used is total life-cycle cost (LCC) of the product. In the early design stage computer-based optimization technique allow a very broad search of the design space. Later, due to the current limits of optimization tools, searching are conducted using manual or ‘computer assisted’ process and, as a result, the search becomes noticeably more expensive and time consuming (Pugh 1996). The search space is narrowed down to a small number of design concepts that are explored in greater depth. At each stage of this process, the minimization of LCC remains the overall target (Southampton e-Science Wiki, 2006). The Boeing Commercial Airplane Company (BCAC) commenced testing with computerized transmission of aircraft design data between engineering groups. It is characteristic for several engineering groups, positioned at different company plants throughout the country, to work on an aircraft drawing as it develops from initial shapes to a final, dimensioned, explained, part. Traditionally, these drawings had always been prepared manually using drafting tables and conveyed between plants via company inter-office mail. By the introduction of early computerized drawing techniques and the accessibility of quality Interactive Computer Graphic (ICG) systems BCAC management decided to replace, both the manual drafting and inter-office mailing of aircraft design drawings.

The messages of An Inspector Calls Essay Example for Free

The messages of An Inspector Calls Essay An Inspector Calls is a classic play written by J B Priestly shortly before World War II ended. The play however, is set in 1912, which is shortly before the First World War. The play is set in an industrial city in the Midlands of 1912 concerns a wealthy industrialist Arthur Birling, the fianci Gerald Croft, The Birling family and an Inspector. It shows how the family each help to destroy a young womans life Eva Smith through their selfish and callous attitudes, which results in her death. The play takes place in the Birlings dining room where the family are celebrating the engagement of Sheila to Mr Gerald Croft. The dining room is the setting in which the whole play takes place in. As the play takes place in one place only the effects can be later seen within the play and dramatised versions as it creates a sense of Claustrophobia amongst audiences as the play becomes more intense later on when the inspector arrives. Arthur Birling believed he was a fair employer paying only what he had to and no more. If asked for a raise he would say it was his duty to keep costs low and prices high. Eva Smith, an employee was sacked with other colleagues seen as a ringleader for going on strike. It is this arrogance that Priestly was concerned about, he conveys Mr Birling as an arrogant, pompous and greedy man with no sympathy for the lower classes. Eva Smith was one of them. Shed had a lot to say, far too much- so she had to go here we see the blindness of Arthur Birling which can, to some extent be related to events in those times. In 1912 people were divided very subjectively into different classes and social groups. Priestly wanted to make audiences aware of the arrogance and in some sense fear in the upper classes for those lower down in the social and economic ladder. Rubbish! If you dont come down sharply on these people, theyd soon be asking for the earth. This quote from Arthur Birling strengthens the statement above and shows that Mr Birling is a selfish man who fuelled by his greed. The reason why the celebration takes place in the first place is because of his daughters engagement to Mr Gerald Croft of Crofts Limited. Through his daughters engagement to Gerald Croft he sees a new business opportunity in the making: And now youve bought us together we may look forward to the time when Crofts and Birlings are no longer competing but are working together- for lower costs and higher prices! This quote shows and presents the question of if Mr Birling was interested in the engagement for sentimental reasons or just for business Your just the type of son-in-law I wanted .

Collective Responsibility For Learning And Education

Collective Responsibility For Learning And Education It is often heard that two brains are better than one. And the idea of such makes perfect sense. One would suppose that by working together, more will be accomplished. But does this apply to a school, its administrators and teachers, and its students? As stated in this article, data was provided, hypotheses were assumed, and studies were completed to see if, in fact, collective responsibility does have promising impacts. Throughout the course of this essay, the importance of collective responsibility within a school and its effects on gains in achievement for early secondary school students will be examined, tested, and discussed. What is collective responsibility? The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy refers to collective responsibility as a shared responsibility (Smiley, 2005). This definition is displayed similarly in a school. Collective responsibility is all members of the school (including but not limited to administrators, teachers, counselors) accepting responsibility for the students success or lack thereof. Authors Valerie E. Lee (an associate professor of education at the University of Michigan) and Julia B. Smith (an assistant professor of education administration and school reform at the University of Rochester) conducted an experiment to determine if the organization of teachers work influences students. (Lee and Smith, 1996). This study focused on three theories: the before mentioned collective responsibility for student learning, staff cooperation, and control over classroom and school work conditions (Lee and Smith, 1996). The article states that it is important for a secondary school to bur eaucratically distribute knowledge into partitions with each group having its own set of experts. For example, teachers would undertake the role of knowledge experts. With this, teachers will be cooperating amongst one another in order to improve upon past teaching methods in hopes gaining student achievement. These educators will not only benefit from face to face interaction with their colleagues, but they will also take part in teamwork. (Lee and Smith, 1996). Lastly, the authors of this article believe that distributing control will produce more effective decision makers as teachers. This idea of empowerment suggests that decision making over resources, technical skills, and curriculum knowledge be handled properly by administrators and teachers. While there is no known relationship between teacher control and student outcome, there is a connection between teacher control and his or her attitude about his or her efficiency in the classroom. (Lee and Smith, 1996). The article sta tes, empowering teachers would induce commitment, and commitment would in turn influence student learning (Lee and Smith, 1996). To understand more about collective responsibility, a study was completed to focus on the shared boundary between teachers, students, and schools (Lee and Smith, 1996). The purpose of this research was to study the correlation between teachers work lives and the extent to which their students learn. Three hypotheses were presumed relating to the following subjects: responsibility and demographics, the teacher and his or her work life, and the teachers work life and equity. (Lee and Smith, 1996). The first hypothesis suggested that schools where teachers assume responsibility for learning enroll students who typically do better in school (Lee and Smith, 1996). These schools are said to be those with more privileged students according to their race, social class, or ability. Understandably, teachers would be more likely to accept acknowledgment for their students achievements if they are learning well. Conversely, teachers would be less like to accept blame for their students failures and pass the responsibility onto the children and their families. (Lee and Smith, 1996). The second hypothesis theorized that in schools where teachers take more respons ibility for the results of the teaching students learn more. In schools characterized by high levels of staff collaboration and teacher control, students also learn more. (Lee and Smith, 1996). And the third hypothesis suggested that features of teachers work live may either facilitate or debilitate the learning of disadvantaged students. Specificallyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ high levels of responsibility for learning are associated with learning that is equitably distributed within the school according to students social background. (Lee and Smith, 1996). These hypotheses were tested. Following are detailed descriptions of the method used to conduct this study. The sampling design was derived from a sample used in the first and second waves of the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) (Lee and Smith, 1996). NELS:88 was sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and is an all-purpose analysis of United States students and schools. The article discloses that one thousand middle grade schools (about 25 students in the eighth grade from each school) were tested in 1988. These same students (tracked through questionnaires) were tested again in 1990. (Lee and Smith, 1996). This sample included all NELS sophomores the fit the following criteria: Students must have full cognitive test data from the base year and the first follow up, Data must be available from their high schools and their teachers, Students had to be enrolled in public, Catholic, or elite private high schools, and Students must have been attending high school with at least four other NELS sampled students. (Lee and Smith, 1996). After the conditions were applied, 11,692 students from 820 different schools were studied. These schools consisted of 650 public schools, 68 Catholic schools, and 47 independent schools. (Lee and Smith, 1996). There were also certain criteria for the teachers of the students. In the base year the teacher sample was comprised of either the eighth graders mathematics or science teacher and either the English or social studies teacher (Lee and Smith, 1996). The teachers were subject-matched when the students reached the tenth grade in the first follow up according to the base year. Below is a pie chart of how the subjects mathematics, science, English, and social studies were distributed as a major subject area amongst the teachers. (Lee and Smith, 1996). Four measures were assessed as part of the teachers professional community. They are 1) collective responsibility for student learning, 2) the standard deviation of teachers responsibility for student learning, 3) cooperation and support among teachers and administrators, and 4) teacher control. (Lee and Smith, 1996). The outcomes from the base test and the follow up test were altered with item response theory (IRT) methods and ultimately compared to see the difference between the two tests. This difference was referred to as the gain score.. In science and social studies, the outcomes were equal from the base test to the follow up test. However, in mathematics and English, the follow up tests had to be adjusted to fit the students capabilities. Demographic measures included the students social class, minority status, and gender and the schools average social class, minority concentration, ability level, academic emphasis, and sector. (Lee and Smith, 1996). The analytic approach provided a descriptive analysis of teachers work lives. The schools were grouped into three categories: 1) high levels of collective responsibility for learning, 2) average levels of collective responsibility for learning, and 3) low levels of collective responsibilities for learning, based on the standard deviation above, within, or below the mean. (Lee and Smith, 1996). After the research had been completed, the results were presented. To understand the results, one must observe the tables presented in the article. When considering the descriptive differences among students in schools with differing levels of collective responsibility for student learning, note that the students are categorized into three groups based upon the levels of collective responsibility structure throughout the school they are attending: high-responsibility, average responsibility, and low responsibility (Lee and Smith, 1996). The students attending high responsibility schools calculate to a total of 1,226 students, or 10.5%, while the students attending average responsibility schools is a much greater total of 8,801 students, or 75.3%. Lastly, students attending low responsibility schools fall between high responsibility schools and average responsibility schools with 1,665 students, or 14.2%. (Lee and Smith, 1996). These outcomes can be found in table one in the article. Table two in the article display information regarding descriptive differences among schools with differing levels of collective responsibility for learning (Lee and Smith, 1996). Again, the levels of collective responsibility are sorted into three groups: schools with high levels of collective responsibility, schools with average levels of collective responsibility, and schools with low levels of collective responsibility. The number of schools filed in the high levels of collective responsibility is 134, or 16.3%, whereas the number of schools sorted into the average levels of collective responsibility is a significantly larger number of 548 schools, or 66.9%. The schools with low levels of collective responsibility rest slightly higher than those with high levels but considerably lower than those with average levels of collective responsibility at 138 schools, or 16.8%. The tables go on to show that

Judicial Activism and The Defense of Civil Rights :: American Government, Courts, Public Policies

Since its first appearance in 1947 in Fortune Magazine, the term Judicial Activism has promoted incandescent debates about the rule of courts in public policy, however to date there is not a consensus of what judicial activism really means. The term may denote a pejorative description of judicial behavior or in other instances the sophisticated elaboration of judicial concepts. (Roosevelt III 2006:1) Since 1947 the term have been used extensively in magazines, newspapers and law reviews, by 1990 was used in average 450 times a year, appeared in 3815 law review articles and several other publications (Kmiec, 2004). After the election of president Obama the term use of the term have been even more extensive, his two Supreme Court nominees have been labeled with the scarlet letter of activism by respected law gazettes like American Bar Association (ABA) journal and the Northwestern University Law Review. Yet the debate about the meaning of the term remains unclear. However the involvement of the courts in policy making is not a recent phenomenon as some media outlets aim to portrait. Since the first use of judicial review by the Supreme Court in Marbuty v Madison (1803) the Supreme Court have exercised judicial review to overthrow 160 federal status and more than a 1000 federal laws (Tarr 2009, p258). Some of the most these cases have important legal implication in the defense of fundamental rights such as freedom of speech, (United States vs Nixon 1973), due process (Brown vs Board of Education 1954) and prisoner’s rights (James v Wallace 1974). Courts are also involved in the defense of civil rights contesting majority ruled decision. Gamble (1997) illustrated this case clearly in her study of court’s rule against referendum mandates affecting minority rights. Gamble stated that between 1959 and 1993 there were 74 ballot measures that clearly targeted minority rights; most of these ballot initiatives deal with issues such as housing segregation, gay rights, school desegregation, English among others. From the 74 measures mentioned by Gambel, 53 (78 percent) generated a form of repression of exclusion against minority groups. Analyzing this results Gamble argued that â€Å"the record show[ed] that American voters readily repeal existing civil rights protections and enthusiastically enact laws that bar their elected representatives from passing new ones. By repeatedly striking down the latter, the judicial system has vigilantly protected the rights of minorities to participate in the political process† (Gambel 1997:262) Judges have been involved in policy making, not just protecting of civil rights, but in filling the gaps overlooked by the law.

Motivating collegiate student-athletes Essay

Motivating athletes is one of the major problems a coach faces. Even the most talented athlete will not perform to his full potential if not properly motivated. Coaches have sought to define what motivates an athlete and what hampers it for years. Motivation directly influences an athlete’s performance. It sets his mood and outlook towards the game or competition. It determines his level of dedication to the sport. Motivation does not only affect the individual player but also his team. It is important that all the members of the team be motivated individually to ensure team motivation. Motivation can also shift. An athlete who was highly motivated at the start of the season may find that his drive to play is dwindling. It is these problems that coaches need to address. This paper tackles the problem of motivating collegiate student-athletes. The key areas of focus will be defining the best type of motivation for collegiate student-athletes and building a structure to incorporate motivation into the coach’s overall program by using the proper tools of goal setting and visualization. A. Intrinsic Motivation Motivation can take two forms: extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation involves â€Å"engaging in an activity as a means to an end† (Higgins & Trope, 1986). This end referred to by Higgins & Trope (1986), take the form of rewards. Factors like popularity, trophies, jackets or jerseys identifying the wearer as part of a sports team, extrinsically motivate student-athletes. While extrinsic motivation is a good start, it does not ensure the consistent and long term drive coaches seek for (Schone, 2008). Intrinsic motivation, on the other hand, refers to the drive of a student to engage in an activity because he wants to (Taylor & Wilson, 2005). The satisfaction derived from playing the game itself is the motivating factor. As Burton and Raedeke (2008) put it, â€Å"intrinsically motivated athletes play for the love of the game. † It is this type of motivational environment that coaches should create for their athletes. How does a coach achieve such an environment? According to Martens (2004), sports psychologists have identified the two key needs of an athlete: having fun and feeling worthy. Having Fun Burton and Raedeke (2008) explained that having fun and developing skills were rated as the top reasons why athletes participate in a sport. On the other hand, Garret (2008) pointed out that one of the reasons why female student-athletes quit sports is because â€Å"the experience ceased being fun. † Having fun does not mean goofing around. Fun is striking a balance between skill and challenge (Burton & Raedeke, 2008). Without that balance, the result would either be boredom, where the skill outweighs the challenge, or anxiety, where the challenge outweighs the skill (United States Tennis Association, 2004). Therefore, it is the job of the coach to identify the level of skill of each player and develop a challenging training program that will develop the team’s skills but not overwhelm them. Following are some ways suggested by numerous writers (e. g. Burton & Raedeke, 2008; Garret, 2008; La Prath, 2008;) to keep training fun: ? Offer variety. Make practices stimulating by varying the exercises and drills given to the athletes. Do not make the training program a routine. Consistency is important however introducing changes will keep athletes sharp. It also helps to change the practice environment. Holding training sessions at the beach or in a park instead of the school gymnasium will be enjoyable for student-athletes. ? Keep all players busy. Make sure that everyone is doing something instead of waiting for long periods of time for his or her turn to practice. Breaks in between practice should be short as well. Giving athletes too much lag time increases boredom. To make sure everyone is participating break the team in to groups where each group is given a specific activity to do or made to compete against each other. Following the first tip, make the groupings diverse. Groupings can be done according to skill or even according to year level or favorite sports celebrity. ? Involve the team. Listening to the inputs or opinions of a student-athlete can help improve not only the performance of the team but also of the coach. It also gives the athlete a sense of investment in the team, ensuring the maintenance of his interest in the sport and in his team. Coaches can involve student-athletes by offering a practice day where the players themselves can devise their own training program. Giving the team an opportunity to formulate strategies to win the game is another way. Even simple things like letting them design their own jackets or jerseys will give them a sense of involvement in the decision making process. ? Give the team time to play. For every training session allot time for the team to play without receiving instruction or evaluation from the coach. Give the athletes a chance to engross themselves in the game. Hearing constant instruction hampers experience of flow. ? Train student-athletes to cope with stress. It is inevitable that an athlete will experience stress. Pressure to achieve in both sports and academics is high in a competitive college environment. The athlete must learn how to deal with this and manage the anxiety accompanied with it. Coping with stress can be done through affirmation, positive reinforcement, and teaching a student that down time is also vital to their health. An hour of rest can energize a student. Sleeping at the correct time and for the proper length of time, eating the right food and taking the appropriate vitamins are ways to minimize stress. ? Incorporate teambuilding activities. Important in team sports is getting the individual players in sync with each other. Without activities that foster friendships you would not have a team but a group of individuals playing together. Building camaraderie would not only enhance the performance of the team but the individual players as well.

Research Paper on Linux vs Windows

Research Paper on Linux vs Windows Linux is a free operating system which was created by an college student for a project for school. He combined a collection of free software and shareware that he downloaded from the Internet, to make an operating system. Linux is unique in that it is not copy righted but is copy left. This simply means that anyone can download Linux and is source code for free and make any adjustments they believe will improve the operating system as long as they make it  available for others to download. This feature can very well be the key that will eventually make Linux the most desirable operating system on the market. Many computer users feel that Windows will never be removed from the position that it has gained in the market. Windows was the first major operating system that used a graphical user interface. It did away with the task of remembering a list of Dos commands to accomplish normal computer activities. With Windows, a user simply has to click on an icon to accomplish a task. Without Windows, personal computers would probably not be as popular as they are today. Linux has several major advantages over Windows. The biggest advantage is probably the cost. Its free as opposed to $400 for Windows. Application software for Linux is also a lot cheaper then Windows software. A lot of Linux software can be  downloaded free off the Internet. There are many Linux user groups that work on developing and testing applications, and making them available for the public. Windows software is mainly developed by large corporations that must make a big profit off their software in order to fulfill their large payrolls. Another major advantage of Linux is the technical support. While you will  probably have to pay for a support package, you will be getting very good support. The people who support Linux are not just college students working a part-time job. They use Linux on an every day basis and truly care about fixing your problems. With Windows, however, tech support is usually free but very lousy. A lot of times the tech-support doesn’t even use the application they are supporting unless they are at work and can only answer questions on which they can find documentation. One disadvantage of Linux is trying to load it. Windows comes with a wizard that installs with very little user input, which makes it very easy to install especially for the average computer user with no technical education. Linux requires hardware knowledge and some Dos commands. The instillation process is very interactive. However, this is rapidly changing, Linux programmers at Redhat are working on creating a wizard to install the operating system and soon it might be easier to install than Windows. Linux is also great for networking, it can be configured to share CPU’s modems and any other hardware. Linux comes shipped with all the software needed to create a very powerful server. It comes with a Mail server, Internet server, Database server, C++ programming tools and many other development tools that you would have to buy separately with Windows NT. Linux is not just an college project anymore, it has advanced into a very powerful and useful operating system. Many say it is just a matter of time till it bypasses Windows and Macintosh. It will probably gain popularity very rapidly in the next 5 years as it becomes easier to install by an average user on a personal computer.