Misconception and Misdiagnosis of Tourette Syndrome

{draw:g} {draw:g} {draw:g} Tourette syndrome, (TS), named after Gilles de la Tourette who discovered the condition, is a disorder that causes motor and vocal tics due to a chemical imbalance in the brain. Neurotransmitters constantly misfire in the brain of a TS sufferer releasing a chemical, known as dopamine, which transmits signals to many parts of the body causing these uncontrollable tics. Lange, Olivier and Meyer (2003) states, â€Å"This neuropsychiatric disorder is, in all likelihood, genetically determined and associated with neurotransmitter (â€Å"chemical†) imbalances in the brain. Although there is no known cure for TS, medications are available that help control the condition. Society often misunderstands those who suffer from TS, because the condition is commonly misdiagnosed and misunderstood. There are many misconceptions about TS and much of society is poorly educated and misinformed about the condition. Physicians do not refer to TS as a disease, but more c ommonly as a â€Å"condition†, even though people lend to view those who suffer from TS as having some debilitating disease. Although this is not an accurate conception of syndrome, some patients with severe case may suffer some type of debilitation. One of the most common misconceptions that society has regarding TS patients is that they curse uncontrollably in public. The media contributes to this by depicting characters with the syndrome in movies displaying this type of behavior. This is entirely inaccurate and represents only a small percentage of TS patients with more severe cases. Society is also guilty of misrepresenting and misunderstanding people with TS, often using hurtful quips or acting out in jest towards people who have this condition. This is not only psychologically damaging to TS patients but can temporarily cause tics to become more severe due to stress and discomfort associated with ridicule. TS is no joking matter and is a serious condition that affects the daily lives of many people. There are public awareness groups that have information needed to provide better understanding of TS as well as how to live with the condition once diagnosed. The most notable is the Tourette syndrome association (TSA) founded by group of medical professionals, laypeople and TS patients. This organization educates people about the condition and provides assistance, information and encouragement to those who have it. TSA has been instrumental in bridging the gap between the medical profession and the public. Tourette syndrome generally develops in early childhood between ages of four and eight. Mayo clinic staff (2004) wrote the following: â€Å"The first symptom of Tourette syndrome is usually a facial tic, such as eye blinking. As many as 1 in 200 children develop tics that last only a few weeks or months and then stop. Tourette syndrome, however, involves multiple motor and vocal tics that have lasted longer than a year. Children with TS, like a percentage of children who develop tics that eventually disappears, often experience a wax and wane of tics over a long period, making it difficult condition to diagnose. The symptoms of TS include motor and vocal tics as well as behavior symptoms such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and attention-deficit hyper-acti vity disorder (ADHAD). Motor tics may include heard jerking, eye blinking or twitching, shoulder shrugging as well as unusual torso or limber movements. Vocal tics include throat clearing, coughing, humming and uncontrollable cursing. OCD and ADHAD are psychological co-morbid behaviors that are associated with many patients with TS. Although there is no guaranteed predisposition to these co-morbid behaviors for every TS patient, it does play an active role in most cases. Budman and Feirman (2001) stated, â€Å"Disturbances of affective regulation, including mood disorders, OCD, obsessive-compulsive symptomatology, non-OCD anxiety disorders, ADHAD, personality disorders, and self-injurious behaviors, have been reported to occur more frequently among patients with Tourette’s syndrome who are seen in clinical settings. Again, this is not a medical adherence to a guaranteed predisposition to these behaviors. It is; however, a good indication that they are likely occurring more often than not in TS patients. This supports many doctors and physicians belief that TS is a genetically inherited condition. Effective diagnosis of TS is a long-term process. In order for doctors to make a positive diagnosis, monitoring of patients for a period of several months is necessary to determine critical question is the degree to which tics are interfering with the child’s emotional, social, familial, and school experiences. To determine this, it is useful to monitor symptoms over a few months in order to assess their severity and fluctuation, impact on the family, and the child’s and A medical professional skilled in the observation and treatment of TS is required to make accurate diagnosis. Just as Gilles de la Tourette observed long ago, most doctors and leading experts still believe there are genetic linkages associated with TS. Leckman (1997) states, â€Å"Gilles de la Tourette’s original reports hypothesized an etiologic role for hereditary factors. Subsequent twin and family studies confirm that genetic factors play an important role in the transmission and expression of TS. † practitioners believe that natural and behavioral methods can assist in the control and tolerance of TS, although there is no agreement about treatment in this manner. The most effective treatment, although not without substantial risks and side effects, is that of pharmacotherapy. Medications can reduce symptoms of TS significantly but ultimately may cause side effects, which are also difficult to live with. Alpha-adrenergic medications such as Clonidine and Atypical and typical neuroleptics such as haloperidol and pimozide, though studied and administered the most can have more severe side effects. Neuroleptics cause side effects that include weight gain, sedation, and EKG abnormalities. Alternative treatments such as relaxation and discipline techniques can be effective in reducing the onset and severity of tics but only provide temporary relief of symptoms. As TS patients learn how to cope with their condition and adapt to the challenges that it can cause in everyday life, sustaining a normal, fulfilled life as possible. Social ramifications can have devastating effects on TS patients who are incapable of finding self-worth due to social anxiety and/or personality behavior disorders associated with the condition. These challenges can be more difficult to overcome than the condition itself. Due to misunderstanding and lack of patience between parents and children, problems in home can have a profound effect on a child’s emotional and psychological state. The key for a family is to seek professional guidance and counseling to learn how to deal with and accept the challenges that TS may cause at home. The long-term, lifelong challenges that TS poses to patients are complex. First, acceptance of the condition is imperative. Secondly, and even more important, professional guidance is encouraged in order to help TS patients deal with and adapt to the changes and challenges that he or she will face in life. . Third, as TS sufferers deal with social and personal conflicts, each must find balance in his or her own life through combination of emotional, physical, and medical treatments and methods that are necessary to gain control over the condition. Lastly, it is extremely important for TS patients to find positive experiences and factors in his or her situation. Most people with condition demonstrate certain gifts or abilities such as increased determination and drive, inner and physical strengths, creativity and intelligence. the gifts that TS patients demonstrate. Swain and Leckman (2005) state, â€Å"Children with TS are often observed to be particularly attuned to the concerns and well being of others, possibly because of their own experience of illness. † These positive traits can help offset the negativities often experienced by TS sufferers. As with anything, the more positive attitude a person adapts in life, the more likely he or she is to succeed and flourish. TS is a condition not considered debilitating or handicapping to anyone, although more severe cases reported have such effects. For society to understand and accept people who suffer from TS, more information needs to be readily available via the internet, medical journals and media coverage in order to educate the general population on this fascinating condition of the human mind and body. Society often misunderstands those who suffer from TS, because the condition is commonly misdiagnosed and misunderstood. Tourette syndrome is not contagious; therefore, no one has a reason to fear or reject those who suffer from the condition. References Mayo Clinic Staff (2004, March). Tourette syndrome. hhtp://www. mayoclinic. com Swain, J. J. , & Leckman, J. F. , (2005) Tourette syndrome and tic disorders: Overview and Practical Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment. _ Psychiatry_ Leckman. J. F. , (1997, April). What Genes Confer Vulnerability to Gilles de la Tourette’s syndrome? Psychiatric Annals. Olivier, M. A. J. , Meyer, L. W. , & De Lange, N. (2003). Tourette’s syndrome: isn’t that the foul mouth disease? Early Child Development and Care Prestia, K. (2003, November). Tourette’s syndrome: Characteristics and Interventions. Intervention in School and Clinic. Budman, C. L. , & Feirman, L. (2001, September). The relationship of Tourette’s syndrome with its psychiatric co-morbidities: Is there an overlap? Psychiatric Annals.

Boston Tea Party

December 3rd, 2011 The Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party made a change in history, a rebellion that has a cause and effect. It was a cold December night in Boston. There were three famous ships, the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver were sitting in Boston harbor, their holds full of tea that wasn’t being unloaded because of the angry residents of Boston were threatened not to buy or use the tea. The government of Great Britain had passes the Tea Act, a law that almost guaranteed that the American colonists would buy tea from the East India Company.The law lowered the price on tea, resulting the East India Companies so much that it was the cheapest tea around. The price was so low that even other tea companies were shocked. This was beneficial to them because if American colonists were looking for way to cut down costs and save money, they would much rather choose a cheaper tea over the expensive one, in this case were the merchants. The law came out because the East I ndia Company weren’t doing well and the British government wanted to help the company get back on its feet.Other tea companies weren't happy about the Tea Act, but the American colonists viewed it as another example of â€Å"taxation without representation†: In effect, the Tea Act was putting a tax on tea sold by companies other than the East India Company. As with the Stamp Act and other unpopular taxes, they were all voted in by Parliament, which was thousands of miles away, and the American colonists had no way to influence the law or speak out against it while it was being debated in government. So the colonists were angry.They wanted to do something else to let the British know about the unhappiness that the Tea Act was causing. Some people wanted to keep things nonviolent; others wanted bloodshed. The result was somewhere in the middle. A group of colonists determined to make things change was the Sons of Liberty. Led by patriots as Samuel Adams and John Hancock, the Sons of Liberty had secret meetings at which they discussed how best to get their message across to Great Britain, that the American people wanted more of a role in governing themselves.In the year 1773, and the colonists faced another year of unopposed and unrepresentative taxes. The Sons of Liberty decided to take action. Donning disguises that made them look like they were Native Americans, a large group of the Sons of Liberty on December 16 stormed aboard those three unsuspecting British ships and dumped 342 crates full of tea overboard. By any standards, that's a lot of tea. These crates happened to be jammed full of tea, and so the companies that made that tea lost a lot of money that night.Because the Sons of Liberty were disguised as Native Americans, they could claim that they were not guilty of dumping the tea. The British government knew better, of course, and grew angrier than ever at what it saw as Americans' ingratitude. The very next year saw the passage of what came to be called the Intolerable Acts. The Intolerable Acts were series of laws by the British Prime Minister in response to the Boston Tea Party.The laws were these: * Impartial Administration of Justice Act, which allowed the royal governor of a colony to move trials to other colonies or even to England if he feared that juries in those colonies wouldn't judge a case fairly * Massachusetts Bay Regulating Act made all law officers subject to appointment by the royal governor and banned all town meetings that didn't have approval of the royal governor * Boston Port Act, which closed the port of Boston until the price of the dumped tea was recovered, moved the capital of Massachusetts to Salem, and made Marblehead the official port of entry for the Massachusetts colony. Quartering Act, which allowed royal troops to stay in houses or empty buildings if barracks were not available * Quebec Act, which granted civil government and religious freedom to Catholics living in Quebec. The Bos ton Tea Party was a symbolic act, an example of how far Americans were willing to speak out for their freedom. Two short years later, Americans were willing to give their lives for their freedom, as shots rang out on Lexington Green.In my opinion the Sons of Liberty were fed up with everything that was going on because of the Tea Act. They wanted to get the attention of Parliament and the King, but with them being so far away; by the time a letter got there could be ages. They knew they had to get their attention some way. The waited a long period of time to see if things would change, but things just got worse. They reacted, and the king was not happy, so he reacted by passing the Intolerable Acts. This brought major changes in Boston.

Experience essay Essay

It all started ten years ago, an event that would change my life forever.I had my first known seizure and it was perhaps the scariest moment in my life. It wasn’t the seizure that scared me, mostly because i was asleep when it happened, but it was the way my mother and father reacted. It was as if they had just seen a ghost. They were in disbelief. I could tell by the way they were looking at me that something terrible had just happened and nobody, including the paramedics was telling me what happened. All i know is that it had felt like I had ran a marathon in my sleep and could barely move, my whole right side of my body numb and discombobulated. Even though this was one of the worst days in my life I also consider it to be one of the best days too, because thats the day I realized I was destined for greatness. I say I’m destined for greatness because i believe one hundred percent that I am, plain and simple. As a kid I was constantly told I wouldn’t amount to anything and that I couldn’t overcome my disability. For instance, at a young age I went to go get some testing done by Alexian Brothers, their test told me that i wouldn’t succeed in pretty much every subject needed to achieve my goals in real life, yet here I am. Even though I had some hiccups my first two years because of medical issues, I persevered and graduated High school and have now set my goals on getting my associates degree because i’m a fighter. I have to fight, grind, and push my way through everyday just so I can understand some of the most simplest things, but its worth it because it makes me stronger and stronger. i can honestly say that im proud to be epileptic because it has allowed me to grow in ways that might not have been possible if I were a regular teenage kid. I’ve matured much quicker than I should have by having to take care of myself when my parents aren’t around. I’ve been taking myself to doctors appointments and having to get blood drawn for as long as i can remember, and as far as I’m concerned no teenager should go through this because not only is it physically straining but it is ten times worse mentally and I think it goes to show how well and extremely lucky i am. I’ve come a long ways from that little eight year old kid ten years ago. I went from a frightened, scared kid who had no idea what epilepsy was or what it did, to a extremely confident young man who works harder than anyone else just to prove he’s worthy, and I believe I am because ever since I realized i was destined for greatness I haven’t let anything get in my way and I don’t  intend to in the future.

Asign 1 Information Technology Planning Process Essay

Asign 1 Information Technology Planning Process - Essay Example e details incorporated in the plan (what); the earmarked locations for implementation (where); the rationale for the planning process (why); the relevant time frames and planning period (when); and finally, the actually planning process (how). Roto-Rooter is a plumbing and drain cleaning service organization that originated in 1935 (Roto-Rooter, 2013). It was reportedly founded by Samuel Blanc and was eventually sold to Chemed Corporation in 1980. Currently, the organization was disclosed to operate in more than â€Å"100 company-owned branch and independent contractor territories and approximately 500 independent franchise operations, serving approximately 90% of the U.S. population and parts of Canada† (Roto-Rooter, 2013, par. 4). From the interview with Swanson, it was revealed that the organization has acknowledged the relevance of IT to be incorporated within their operating and telecommunications system. It was acknowledged that the IT planning process starts off with the identification and aligning with the overall goal: â€Å"to be the premier provider of repair and maintenance services. As always, we will continue to listen to customers and expand service offerings to meet and exceed their changing expectations† (Roto-Rooter, 2013, par. 3). Due to this goal, the IT planning process initiated with determining the needs of demands of the consumers. The Customer Satisfaction Manager, Pat Swanson, is the person responsible for governing and administering the planning process. The inputs to be incorporated in the plan include the financial targets, for instance in a particular year: (1) an increase of 10% in market share; (2) greater customer satisfaction as evidenced from 10% decline in customer com plaints; (3) increased locations and products; and (4) a10% increase in independent contractors and franchises through information technology and applications. According to Swanson, the earmarked locations in expanding services and operations would be in

Information Systems Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Information Systems Paper - Essay Example The latter is typically referred to as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. A typical ERP platform would encompass all major functions in an organization such as Operations, Inventory & Stores, Accounting, HR, Payroll, etc. Most clients tend to purchase an off the shelf product, and contract a software deployment specialist to make the required customizations to the platform and adapt the system for use at a particular company. I was involved with the specific deployment of an ERP system at a ceramics manufacturing company with roughly 1300 employees. The company was migrating from a legacy FoxPro based system to an MS .net based client-server ERP system, which would encompass all departments and be written in the newer Microsoft .net framework with a user friendly Graphic User Interface (GUI) as opposed to the text based interface for the legacy system. The specific departments that the ERP presently covers is Accounts, HR, Payroll, Inventory & Stores, Commercial Department, Sales, and Fixed Asset Control. The Manufacturing module is being developed and will be integrated into the ERP system over the next 10 - 12 months. The ERP platform, in its present state controls virtually every business process in the company. A closed loop workflow ensures tight knit integration between departments with electronic authorizations and checks at every stage of the process. Global connectivity of the system with users in 2 factories and 4 sales offices meant that user groups had to be able to interact with the system in a secure environment to manage workflows in these remote locations. For the factory locations, the company decided on connectivity through leased lines with direct point-to-point connectivity. However, with the geographically diverse locations of the 4 sales offices, leased line connectivity was not feasible. The company decided to utilize Internet based connectivity using Virtual Private Networks (VPN) to be establish connectivity from these remote locations to the main server housed in the corporate office. Connectivity to the system was a critical requirement for all remote locations. In the factory environment, the only way for the factory warehouses to check-in and enter fresh production into inventory is by utilizing the Stores & Inventory module to generate an inward bound Material Note. The Warehouse in turn is required to generate the Material Receipt Note to complete transactions. Similarly, when the Warehouse receives an electronic request to dispatch new products to one of the four remote sales locations, it uses the system to create a Material Dispatch Note that is closed once material is received by the remote location and the ticket workflow is closed in the system electronically. In case of an unplanned system downtime or a network outage, the company's operations come to a standstill since workflows cannot be completed. One of most critical workflows that get affected is the inventory process. No inventory can move in and out of any warehouse of the company until the sys tem electronically updates its records. The company had to put in exception handling for these circumstances, which involve emailing data packets to update inventory and complete workflows when there is scheduled maintenance of the system, or where longer system shutdowns may be required. System security was another important aspect of the system.

Civil Service Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Civil Service - Essay Example From this study it is clear that   there are people who are dedicated enough to work tirelessly without thinking of the appreciation and rewards coming their way. Indeed such federal employees deserve all the accolades for being devoted to their respective jobs and demonstrating professionalism on an out and out basis. These federal employees find it easier to satisfy their conscience more than anyone else and this remains a much debatable aspect related with civil service nonetheless. The need is to understand how civil service could prove to be a positive force behind the nation’s perceptive regimes. The answer lays in the fact that accountability and hiring of dedicated staff could actually solve the anomaly with the issue at hand. This study outlines that the recognition and appreciation aspects of the federal employees come about when they do something extraordinary. However they are not given much credit when they do their work in a responsible manner, for the sake of the public. Indeed the fault lies within the public itself which fails to recognize the true talent of the civil service and the people who work within these areas – the federal employees. The state should also enact certain policies which ask of the people to give feedback with regards to these federal employees so that betterment within the relevant fields could be achieved. The civil service is indeed a domain of the government in one way or the other and hence the government should be accountable for the mistakes that these federal employees commit.  

HealthCare IT Executive Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

HealthCare IT Executive Interview - Essay Example In order to develop comprehensive understanding of healthcare informatics and the role that the field plays in the health sector, I took time to interact with and interview a professional in the field. I carried out an interview with one hospital based healthcare (IT) information technology executive from Baylor University Medical Centre-Jason Baron. Interview Specifics Interviewer: As an IT Executive in this hospital could you briefly describe your role and job description? IT Executive: My role specifically entails liaising with the house staff, medical staff and different patient care departments with an aim of designing, developing, planning, implementing, maintaining, evaluating and upgrading clinical systems, which mainly include medical records. I coordinate my teams’ analysis of clinical operations and structural processes so as to facilitate decision-making in clinical operations. As a team, we also determine clinical functions, which need incorporation into computer systems. Interviewer: Your description is a little skewed and greatly highlights the technical aspect, but I would like to know whether you have any legal or clinical research role mandated by the description of your job? IT Executive: Yes, in addition to the more technical roles, I also have to ensure that the developed system is consistent with legal regulations and professional standards of accreditation and practice. The legal aspect is important in systems security, especially; with the development of HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Additionally, researchers often seek information from our team for research purposes, and the collected information serves as an important base for building evidence-based clinical practice. Interviewer: Therefore, it could be said that your role entails more than just computers? IT Executive: Yes, of course. Informatics within the health sector entails more than just dealing with computers, but also medical technical la nguage, clinical guidelines, laws, regulations and IT communication systems as well. Interviewer: The medical field is wide, and I would like to know whether there are specific areas or departments, where your services are necessary than others? IT Executive: Healthcare is pervaded with information use and creation. As such, it would not be appropriate to say that there are departments that need our services more than others. In actual sense, all departments require our services be it for billing purposes, prescription, and research or policy formulation. In fact, be sure to find an element of informatics in any health department. Interviewer: What would you say is the importance of healthcare informatics for the future of the health sector? IT Executive: Firstly, instituting appropriate information systems facilitates faster coordination, decision-making and smooth service delivery. Secondly, it presents significant optimism with regard to service delivery in the health sector, esp ecially; in relation to error reduction. The World Health Organization and the Institute of Medicine have both expressed concern about the significant harm caused by different medication errors including treatment and diagnostic errors (WHO, 2012; IOM, 2006). The use of computers and information systems has shown that they can bring about significant reduction in errors and improve care. Additionally, Rothschild (2011), states that computers and

Goals of Hinduism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Goals of Hinduism - Essay Example The Vedic texts of Hinduism, also known as the Vedas, are the oldest scriptures of Hinduism and are essential to the practicing of Hinduism. The Vedic texts make up the four Saá ¹Æ'hitÄ s: the Rigveda contains hymns and songs that are meant to be recited by a designated priest; the Yajurveda has various formulas that are also to be recited by a specific priest; the Samaveda also contains formulas, but instead of being recited, these are to be sung by the designated priest; the fourth and final text is the Atharvaveda, which is a collection of spells, incantations, charms, and hymns. In the songs and hymns, each individual verse is also known as a mantra, which can be recited for certain needs or occasions, much as a prayer would be recited in other religions. These various texts are said to have been passed down from numerous gods and goddesses, as it is believed that humans had no part in their creation. Furthermore, they did not originate as texts, but as words that were heard and then written down. Many practitioners of Hinduism preferred, and still do, to memorize the Vedic texts rather than write them down or keep them as a book because they believe there is an importance of remembering sacred words as opposed to looking them up when they are needed. Since there are no direct origins of the texts, there are many branches of Hinduism that do not trust them, and therefore do not use them in their practices. In orthodox branches of Hinduism, the Vedic texts are regarded as their main spiritual authority. ... Ritual is a very important part of Tantra, and is often seen in the form of yoga, which is a sacred practice in Hinduism. The implementing of ritual in the practices of Hinduism allow practitioners to become closer with their gods and goddesses, bringing them closer through a spiritual exercise. By using the divine power, which is also known as prana, that can be found in the Earth and in the bodies of human beings, Hindus are able to use the energy to achieve certain spiritual or physical goals. During these rituals to access the divine energy, it is common for practitioners to use yoga, as previously mentioned, as well as visualizations of specific deities and mantras. All of these tools are used to help center and focus the attention of the practitioner on the goal that they wish to achieve. The sole purpose of tantric exercises and worship is to help a person attain complete control over themselves, as well as every force of nature, to become one with the divine rulers. Tantric exercises must be taught to followers of Hinduism, and their training usually begins with being taught how to meditate, which is often taught and overseen by a guru. Meditation will teach the practitioners how to control their breathing, their thoughts, and the ability to shut themselves off from their surroundings, allowing them to completely focus. After learning how to meditate, practitioners are taught yoga, which teaches how to exercise will over one’s body. From there, the practitioner is able to implement everything into a tantric worship ritual, bringing forth the energy from the Earth and their own body.

Financial Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Financial Management - Assignment Example In this research we analyzed how the company could revive its position with the growth rate of 20% in revenues and would be the future impact of investment decisions and losses made at Kuwait by the company1. Research Methodology The research employs secondary research methodology for analyzing data and reaching conclusions. High emphasis had been laid on studying the annual statements of the company, e-journals, financial books and magazines. Organizational Background Industry Background The market research industry has grown globally into a number of areas and sectors including financial research, business research and marketing research. Companies like Grail Research, Global Insight and ICRA are one of the top most companies in this field globally. Companies with the help of innovative and latest technologies along with the use of various business tools, come up with results that are practical and profitable for many other companies. Also companies in this industry employ various pricing and differential strategies to be ahead of competition2. Company Information Synovate FZ-LLC is a market research consultancy in Dubai. It is a free zone company registered with limited liability pursuant to regulations issues by Dubai Government and Media Free Zone Private Regulations, 2003. The company current has revenues of AED 27.24 million with net loss of AED -5.4 million in 2008. The company is also having going concern issues currently. This is primarily due to negative equity of AED 6.6 million of the company along with the operating losses described above. The product and services of the company are basically related to industry research. The company has offices in over 60 countries and operates as a global brand in global market research firm3. Mission The mission of Synovate FZ-LLC is to showcase how market research is deriving changes in an enterprise, the market place as well as the society. Services As discussed earlier the company is into marketing research. The product and services of the company are basically related to industry research. The company has offices in over 60 countries and operates as a global brand in global market research firm. The company researches various companies, sector and industry for new investment opportunities of for some other specified reason. My Role I worked with Synovate FZ-LLC as a sales executive and I am in direct contact with the management team of the company and have thereby utilized my knowledge, experience and relationship for building this proposal. Financial Management The objectives of financial management are to maximise owners wealth by â€Å"Planning, directing, monitoring, organizing, and controlling of the monetary resources of an organization†4. To achieve the above definition, financial management involves the following: 1. Financial Planning and control: how the resources will be managed effectively in order to achieve the financial objectives. 2. Managing of working capital: managing day to day operations, this includes managing current assets components: Cash and

TV Show Presentation Speech or Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

TV Show - Speech or Presentation Example It is time for the History Channel to produce its first original hour long dramatic TV series. The success of Roots back in the 1970s and the Tudors on Showtime today proves that there is an audience for a well-produced drama that engages with exciting history. It is our intention to produce for you a show that focuses like a laser on historical accuracy while also providing your audience with entertainment unlike they can find anywhere else. Some might call this show a soap opera, but do you know how Webster's defines a soap opera It is a serial drama chiefly characterized by tangled interpersonal situations. In other words, you could describe Desperate Housewives as a soap opera as well as William Shakespeare's Hamlet as a soap opera. The difference, of course, lies in the construction and the presentation. Was Buffy the Vampire Slayer not simply a soap opera with vampires And yet, today you can find college courses devoted to themes and philosophy of that show, as well as highly s killed academic papers. Call it a soap opera, or a historical drama, our show is guaranteed to draw viewers in with sex, violence, romance, backstabbing, politics, religions and some of the most infamous historical figures of all time. The title of our show tells it all: The Borgias.

Goals for Creating the New City Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Goals for Creating the New City - Essay Example Since it is a new city, it has not yet had universities constructed. Since it is aimed to be a center for academic achievement, it has plans for the construction of institutions of higher learning. Many people have been attracted to the city. This is due to its fame of having a high rate of civic involvement. There is a lively democratic process within the city. This makes it attract people from different parts of California and from other parts of the globe. Residents are not only involved in politics, but issues including crime prevention, disaster readiness, and lack teamwork remain to its main challenges. Nonetheless, the city has remained the attractive place for people from all over the globe. The city is less good as Berkeley. This is because we have several colleges in Berkeley. The Vista Community College and the University of California are built in Berkeley. This makes Berkeley a better place for higher education than in the city (Wilson et al. 23). Nonetheless, the city i s similar to Berkeley; the only difference is the college and the university. However, there is no big difference of Berkeley from the city; education is highly valued in both cities. Democracy and security are considered basic for the residents. People within the cities are committed to the establishment of one economic center with the justified distribution of resources. The two cities are looking forward to working together to build their economy by becoming economic partners. Since the two cities are neighbors, they can be good business partners. Transportation of commodities from one city to the other would be efficient. Since the two cities have greatly invested in security, the establishment of security within the border would be ensured. Both the cities would work together to achieve improved security in their borders and within the cities.  

Classifications of Hybrid Electric Vehicles Essay Example for Free

Classifications of Hybrid Electric Vehicles Essay 1. Technology Although the Electric Vehicles (EVs) have been around since the earliest days of automotive industry, they were not able to live up to consumer demand in terms of price range and charging time until recently. A recent survey has revealed what the consumer demands from EVs. According to a study based on a survey conducted in 17 countries with 13,000 individuals the demanded technology and the result of the study is that EV technology is at a period of its lifecycle where the performance of the technology is not at a level that customer expects. 1. 1. Range Although there is a high consumer willingness recently to either consider to purchase EV or willing to be a first mover when it comes to EV adoption, many of them does not compromise in Range. Despite the fact that the average consumer does not exceed 50 miles per day, the consumer still demands further range capacity from EVs. The majority of the consumers correlate EVs range with conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles [1]. Also According to Hidrue, M. (2010) â€Å"range anxiety† is the primary concern of a potential EV consumer. As the figure illustrates, although the greater majority (78%) of consumers in the US drives around 50 miles, a big portion of them have expectation for EV to be able to drive around 300 miles. The current technology allows EVs to drive between approximately 100 miles between charges. The only EV that can get close to consumer demand in terms of range is Tesla S (which drives 265 miles) as of 2013. However, the average technology does not live up to consumer demand in terms of drivable range between charges currently. The main constraint for the low range is energy density. According to Deploit (2011), the forecast was revealing that with the battery technology in hand the driving range still would fall short of consumer expectations. 1. 2 Top Speed and Acceleration There are multiple schools of thought about how consumer behavior affects EV market. According to those consumers would purchase new vehicles whose attributes are superior to those of currently in the market, they would not seek alternatives which are worse than what they have currently [4]. As an example Nissan Leaf is rated up to 90 kW of power which is approximately 120 horsepower in ICE which is in line with a large number of compact and intermediate vehicles such as CW Jetta, Toyota Corolla and Ford Focus. There are also better EVs in the market in terms of performance, in example Tesla S series can produce 416 horsepower and can go up to 130 mph on a highway [5]. The reason why EV generally does not go more than that is that high speeds drop the fuel efficiency dramatically. Table. 1 The performance chart of Tesla S [5] 2. Vehicle Architecture 3. 1. Vehicle Architecture. Although there are different frames that can model a vehicle’s architecture, the following one is a comprehensive way to understand the functions and interrelationships of the components. In order to adjust the high speed of the electric machine to the low speed wheels, the torque of the left and right wheels are provided by a differential. Basically, the inverter inverts DC voltage battery into three-phase AC voltage that is required by the electric machine. Furthermore, it is also important to account for losses due to the components, which are not a part of the power chain when analyzing the energy consumption. These auxiliary losses comprise lighting system, comfort system, safety systems, etc. It is also very critical that the maximum voltage of the battery is not exceeded during the regenerative braking, to prevent that from happening the architecture is reinforced by braking resistor [6]. Exhibit 1. Architecture of a typical Electric vehicle [6] 3. 1. System Architecture Electric Vehicle’s architecture is similar at certain points to ICE. Driver interface and command interpreter receives input from users through steering wheel, brakes, and gas pedal and then by considering vehicle speed and vehicle path, creates propulsion. The motion control comprises two primary blocks such as the path controller and energy management controller. Path controller gives forces and moments demands to the force distributor. The energy management controller determines the state of the charge and estimates the overall traction force to be sent to command controller unit [7]. Exhibit 2. System architecture[7] References [1] Deloitte (2011), Survey: Electric vehicle realities versus consumer expectations [2] Hidrue, M., (2010) Willingness to Pay for Electric Vehicles and their Attributes [3] Wikipedia, (2013) Plug-in electric cars in the United States: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Plug-in_electric_vehicles_in_the_United_States [4] Lee, H. , Lovellette, G. , (2011) Will Electric Cars transform the U. S. Vehicle Market. [5]Wikipedia, Tesla S (2013), http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Tesla_Model_S [6] Shaltz, E. , (2011), Electric Vehicle Design and Modeling. [7] Sinha, P. , Agrawal, V. , (2011), Evaluation of Electric Vehicle Architecture Alternatives.

Power quality problems

Power quality problems INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Power quality problems have become serious and common issues that are being discussed due to its effect on power system networks. Any variation in voltage, current, or frequency which may lead to an equipment failure or malfunctions is potentially a power quality problem. According to IEEE standard 1159-1995, a voltage sag is defined as a decrease to between 0.1 and 0.9 p.u. in root mean square (rms) voltage at the power frequency for durations of 0.5 cycle to 1 min.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A power system fault is a typical cause of voltage sag and have been the vast contribution of power quality problems. Other typical causes of voltage sag includes of starting of large induction motor, transformer energizing and load changes. When a system is faulted, the voltage on the particular phase will drop to certain amount and sometimes drop to zero. When certain voltage drops to zero, particularly it will become an interruption. Interruption cant be tolerated as it gives a very bad impact to the utilities. Thus it is important to ensure that the consumer side will not experience any problems related to the power quality problems. Voltage sags can generally be characterized by sag magnitude, duration and frequency. Voltage sag is a common power quality problem that always occurred in power system network. Voltage sag problems is one of the most serious problems that affecting process industry consumers. Due to the awareness developed from time t o time, consumers and utilities have become concerned with the inconvenience caused by voltage sag.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is important to distinguish between interruptions and voltage sags. Both is a power quality problems but are different in terms of occurrence. Interruptions (zero voltage) are mainly occur when a fault occur at the particular bus. Whilst the feeder in parallel that share the same bus will particularly experienced voltage sag during the period of a fault for faults in any area of the power system network. The travelling and the propagation of the faulted voltages may change it to sagged voltage depending on the transformer connections. Voltage sag does not cause any interruption but in the case of sensitive equipment it tends to resulting in shut down of a certain process. This paper is written to describe the propagation of the faulted voltage to other busbar depending on the transformer connections, system grounding and the effect of line length impedances to the faulted voltages. The purpose of these research is also to extract the features of the travelling and the propagation of sgged voltage. Thus it is hope that the purpose and objectives of this project, an empirical formula can be developed in monitoring the propagation of voltage sag in every level of distribution network on the consumer side. Futhermore, this research is intended to contribute to the utilities in improving the existing power quality monitoring system, and to develop a better understanding on voltage sag propagations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Several studies shows that from all types of power quality disturbances known, voltage sags have the most significant severity to consumer equipment. In specified that almost 80% of the disoperation in distribution systems cause the failure and interruptions of power system. The behaviour of voltage sag in embedded generation in distribution networks is discussed in. The study of faults that occurring in transmission (EHV), subtransmission (HV) medium-voltage (MV), low-voltage (LV) systems and the voltage sags propagate through out the power system can be seen in and is being concentrated as the frequency of voltage sag occurrences. Focuses on studying the propagation characteristics of sag and harmonics in medium voltage distribution systems by using EMTP simulation, analysing the effects of fault locations on sag levels, nature of sag produced by different types of faults, effects of line length on sag/swell propagation, transformer connection effect s on the nature of sag and swells effects, swell propagation characteristics and the total harmonic distortion in different parts of the systems. Discussed in detailed the sag propagation characteristics in medium voltage busbar. Voltage sag is a serious power quality problem such that it can propagates through transformer to all distribution networks and travel to the consumers voltage level. Voltage sags that are caused by symmetrical three-phase faults propagate without changes through transformers but in the case of unsymmetrical faults, however, the transformer connections have a strong effect. Moreover the propagation of voltage sag through transformer that is caused by transmission fault is dependent on the location of voltage source of the transmission system. METHODOLOGY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before any voltage is being sent to consumer it is generated in power station. Not all feeders are being installed monitoring equipments. The monitoring equipments are being installed at strategic places where utilities think that have the worst severity at 33/11kV bus feeders only. Thus the data that are being recorded only at the respective feeder that are being install monitoring equipment i.e. 33/11KV busbar. In this situation, it creates several questions on how to acquire the data at different level of voltage busbar. As installing metering equipment and waveform recorders would lead to huge increased costs, alternative method to monitor the propagation of voltage sag should be establish. This paper can be divided into several phases. The methodology of this project can be simplified by the flowchart in figure 2. The simulation package that will be used is PSS/ADEPT. Simulation Test System   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A single line diagram test system was modeled as in figure 3. Transformers connections in the test system are being modeled as accurate as possible with the transformer connections that are being used by the utilities. G1 is a generator producing 11.5kV. The voltage level at B2 and B3, B4 and B5, B6 and B7, B8 and B9 are 275kV or 132kV, 33kV, 11kV and 0.415kV respectively. The transformers connections are being described in table 1. Transformer and transmission lines parameters for different types of impedances are being described in table II and III respectively. In the vector group of the transformer configurations, capital letter represents the high voltage winding and small letter represents the low voltage winding. 1 and 11 represents the phase shift in between high voltage and low voltage angle where 1 is -300 and 11 is +300.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the test system single line diagram, the system grounding is being implemented in all of the transformer connection. System grounding is referring to the method of how the entire system or network is being grounded. The grounding in electrical distribution system is being at the Y-connected side of the transformers. The resistor that is being used grounding at TX3 and TX4 is called Neutral Earthing Resistor (NER). The basic purpose of the NER is to protect the transformer from from damaging fault currents fault current by limiting the fault current to be equaled to the transformers capacity or the transformers full load current. Fault event will be simulated at B5. The propagated voltage through TX3 will be characterized. Different types of transformer and transmission lines parameters will be used to analyze the vulnebarality of the fault event at the neigbouring busbar B4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Propagated Fault Event The simulation faulted results that were being presented was single line to ground fault and double line to ground fault using type 1 parameters for transformer and transmission lines. The results of the simulations are being represented by phasor diagram shown in figure 5, 6 and 7. For all figure the bold line represent the primary voltage of TX3 i.e voltage at B5 and for dashed line represents the voltage at the secondary side of TX3 i.e. voltage at B6. Figure 6 depicts the situation of a single line to ground fault is being applied at B5 (33kV). The red phase at B5 experiencing an interruption due to the fault but the other two phases experiencing increase in voltage and phase angle jumps. From due to solid grounding stated that sag that is caused by single phase fault is given by the equation in table IV and is classified as type B and after traveling to Dyn11 transformer transform into type C but in this scenario the situation is different because the presence of NER restore the voltage to a normal voltage level at B6 (11kV). Figure 7 depicts the situation when there line to line fault is simulated at B5. The voltage at B5 during this type of fault follows the explanation in but after propagated to TX3 the red phase blue phase at B6 disappears due to the presence of NER. The voltage during fault may not necessarily drop to zero but the value of the voltage is very minuscule that it can be assumed it reached to zero during fault. Vulnerability of fault event   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The neighbouring bus B4 is of concern when there is a fault. In order to test the vulnerability of the propagation of sagged voltage at the neighbouring busbar B4, the length pf the transmission lines is being increased. The transformer and transmission lines parameters is being changed by the data given in table II and III respectively. In figure 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 are being presented by two graph where bold line is the voltage at B4 without any fault as the length is being increased where as the dashed line is the voltage at B4 during fault event occurs. the fault that is being simulated is single line to ground fault. In shows that the theoretical calculation of the vulnerability of fault event increase to a constant value. But in this research simulation as the length of the transmission lines is being increased when fault is simulated, the voltage at the neighbouring bus is decreasing due to the voltage drop of the cable length it self. Up to a c ertain point as the length of the transmission lines is being increased, the voltage during fault and the voltage when there is no fault is moving towards the same value. CONCLUSIONS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The transformer connection and configuration as well as transformer and transmission lines have a crucial role where it gave an impact to the propagation of sagged voltage. It can be seen that when a single line to ground fault event occurs, one phase may not necessary drop to zero but will be sagged and two phases will swelled and the transformer connection Dyn11 NER grounding can automatically mitigates the problems. But Dyn11 transformer might not necessarily mitigates any fault because it s shown that line to line fault that propagates through it does not mitigates the problems. Consumers that are connected to 0.415 kV may or may not be affected by the fault event as the transformer connections have mitigated the disturbances since the severity of the sag voltage is presence eventhough NER grounding transformer connections is being used. The vulnerability may overcome the severity of sagged voltage but up to a certain point the voltage drop due to cable length may provides under voltage to the power system network. Through transformer connections, the voltage sag propagation can be predicted with empirical formula through continuous observations. As installing monitoring equipment could dramatically increase cost, alternative approach such as developing empirical formula can overcome this hassle. By having a proper monitoring method, voltage sag propagation that can cause variety of problems can be apprehended. It is hope through this study and investigation, future development in predicting to develop an empirical formula can be establish. REFERENCES M. F. M. Roger C. Dugan, H. W. Beaty, Electrical Power Systems Quality. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996. IEEE Std. 1159-1995, IEEE Recommended Practise for Monitoring Electric Power Quality, June 1995. IEEE Std 1250-1995, IEEE Guide for Services to Equipment Sensitive to Momentary Voltage Disturbances, Mar 1995. M. H. J. Bollen, Understanding Power Quality Problems, in Voltage Sags and Interruptions: IEEE Press, 1999. E. F. P. R. o. P. 309801-1996, Distribution Power Quality Study. E. L. W. H., Ling G. Tu, H. Wayne Hong, W. Zhong, An Intergrated Application for Voltage Sag Analysis, IEE Transaction On Power System, vol. 13, pp. pp 930-935, 1998. J. E. B. R. Billinton, Distribution System Realiability Indices, IEE Transaction On Power System, vol. 13, pp. pp 930-935, 1989. R. Gnativ and J. V. Milanovi, Voltage sag propagation in systems with embedded generation and induction motors, presented at Power Engineering Society Summer Meeting, 2001. IEEE, 2001. E. Y. Ahmet Serdar Yilmaz, Behaviour of Embedded GEneration during The Voltage Sags in Distribution Networks, Academic Journals, 2009. M. L. Pirjo Heine, Voltage Sag Distributions Caused by Power System Faults, IEE Transaction On Power System, vol. 18, 2003. R. V. A. J. Xu, V. Rajagopalan, Propagation of Sag and Harmonics in Medium Voltage Distribution System, IEEE Power Engineering Society Winter Meeting, vol. Vol 4, pp. pp 2582-2587, Jan. 2000. J. Xu, R. V. Annamraju, and V. Rajagopalan, Propagation characteristics of sag and harmonics in medium voltage distribution systems, presented at Power Engineering Society Winter Meeting, 2000. IEEE, 2000. D. P. K. I. J. Nagrath, Modern Power System Analysis, 2nd Edition ed. New Delhi, India: TATA McGraw-Hill, 1989. M. H. J. Bollen, Characterisation of voltage sags experienced by three-phase adjustable-speed drives, Power Delivery, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 12, pp. 1666, 1997.

A Review on Client Side Load Balancing

A Review on Client Side Load Balancing Prof. Vikas Nandgaonkar, Prof.Prashant Dongare Harshal Mahajan, Awadhoot Lele, Akshay Gaikwad Abstract : Load balancing is an important issue while managing server resources in a cloud environment. The concept behind load balancing is to manage server load which includes number of resources like avaliable RAM,CPU bandwisth, etc as well as to manage incoming request on the server. In cloud environment, it is important that even small application requests from clients must be served with an appropriate response, but in convensional approach, it becomes difficult to serve small data resourcesover large ones. Here load balancing plays an important role by managing and distributing load from one server evenly across multiple servers. Our approach is to perform load balancing at client side which means to shift load management process at client side hence reducing servers load balancing overhead. Keywords— string matching, experimental algorithms, text processing, automaton, pattern I. Introduction Cloud computing may be a new term within the computing world and it signals the appearance of a brand new computing. Cloud computing is Associate in Nursing on demand service within which shared resources, data, computer code and alternative devices area unit provided in step with the purchasers demand at specific time. It’s a term that is mostly employed in case of web. the complete web is viewed as a cloud. Capital and operational prices is cut victimisation cloud computing. Load equalisation in cloud computing systems is absolutely a challenge currently. continually a distributed resolution is needed. Jobs can’t be appointed to acceptable servers and purchasers separately for economical load equalisation as cloud may be a terribly complicated structure and elements area unit gift throughout a good unfold space. Our aim is to produce Associate in Nursing analysis and comparative study of those approaches. Cloud computing could be a bunk meaning totally different things to different individuals. For some, its simply in our own way of describing IT (information technology) outsourcing;others use it to mean any computing service provided over the Internet or an identical network; and a few outline it as any bought-in laptop service you utilize that sits outside your firewall. Different types of cloud Based on the domain or environment in which clouds are  used, clouds can be divided into 3 categories: Public Clouds It is type of cloud which can be access from  anywhere in the world and can be accessed by anyone. Examples of this cloud are Amazon’s or Google’s cloud  which are open to all after specific SLA between user and  provider. Private Clouds In this type of cloud the specific  organization’s or company’s employee can only get access  and it will be accessible only within organization’s premises  and by authenticating each and every user, it is not open to  all. Hybrid Clouds (combination of both private and public  clouds) This types of cloud are combination of both public  as well as private cloud. Most of the commercial use is  influenced by this type of cloud. Different services provided by Cloud Fig 1: Services of cloud.[1]. A. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Means we have a tendency to area unit buying access to raw computing hardware over world wide web,such as servers or storage. Since we have a tendency to get what you would like and pay-as-you-go, this is {often|this can be} often said as utility computing. normal net hosting may be a straightforward example of IaaS: we have a tendency to pay a monthly subscription or a permegabyte gigabyte fee to own a hosting company serves up files for our web site from their servers. B. Software as a Service (SaaS) Means we use a  complete application running on someone elses system. Web-based email and Google Documents are perhaps  the best-known examples. C. Platform as a Service (PaaS) Means we develop  applications using Web-based tools so they run on systems software and hardware provided by another company. So, for example, we might develop your own ecommerce website but have the whole thing, including the shopping cart, checkout, and payment mechanism running on a merchants server. Force.com (from salesforce.com) and the Google App Engine are examples of PaaS. Existing Load Balancing Algorithm A. Dynamic Load Balancing Algorithm: In a distributed system, dynamic load equalization is worn out 2 totally different ways: distributed and non-distributed. within the distributed one, the dynamic load equalization algorithmic program is dead by all nodes gift within the system and also the task of load equalization is shared among them. The interaction among nodes to attain load equalization will take 2 forms: cooperative and non-cooperative [4].Dynamic load equalization algorithms of distributed nature, typically generate additional messages than the non-distributed ones as a result of, every of the nodes within the system must move with each alternative node. A benefit, of this can be that though one or additional nodes within the system fail, itll not cause the overall load equalization method to halt, it instead would effects the system performance to some extent. Distributed dynamic load equalization will introduce Brobdingnagian stress on a system within which every node must interchange standing info with each alternative node within the system. In non-distributed kind, either one node or a gaggle of nodes do the task of load equalization. Non-distributed dynamic load equalization algorithms will take 2 forms: centralized and semi-distributed. within the initial kind, the load equalization algorithmic program is dead solely by one node within the whole system: the central node. This node is exclusively chargeable for load equalization of the entire system. the opposite nodes move solely with the central node. In semi-distributed kind, nodes of the system square measure partitioned off into clusters, wherever the load equalization in every cluster is of centralized kind. A central node is nonappointive in every cluster by acceptable election technique that takes care of load equalization at intervals that cluster. Hence, the load equalization of the entire system is completed via the central nodes of every cluster[4]. Strategies in Dynamic Load Balancing: 1) Transfer Policy: The part of the dynamic load balancing algorithm which selects a job for transferring from a local node to a remote node is referred to as Transfer policy or Transfer strategy. 2) Selection Policy: It specifies the processors involved in the load exchange (processor matching) . 3) Location Policy: The part of the load balancing algorithm which selects a destination node for a transferred task is reffered to as location policy or Location strategy. 4) Information Policy: The part of the dynamic load balancing algorithm responsible for collecting information about the nodes in the system is reffered to as Information policy or Information strategy. B. Distributed Load Balancing For the Clouds: (a) Honeybee Foraging Algorithm: In load-balancing operation,[2] every server takes a specific bee role with possibilities post exchange or pr. These values area unit wont to mimic the bee colony whereby an explicit range of bees area unit maintained as foragers – to explore (px); instead of as harvesters – to take advantage of existing sources. A server with success fulfilling asking can post on the advert board with likelihood pr. A server might at random select a virtual server’s queue with likelihood px(exploring), otherwise checking for an ad (watching a waggle dance). In summary, idle servers (waiting bees) follow one in every of 2 behaviour patterns: a server that reads the advert board can follow the chosen advert, then serve the request; therefore mimicking harvest behaviour. A server not reading the advert board reverts to forage behaviour; pairing a random virtual server’s queue request. associate degree corporal punishment server can complete the request and calculate the prof it of the just-serviced virtual server. Fig 2 :Virtual Servers and Advert Boards[2] II. Problem Statement To develop scalable, secure and fault tolerant client side load balancing application to leverage strength of cloud components[1] by using signature driven load management algorithm along with dynamic time wrapping[3]. Proposed System In our proposed model we establish cloud setup between  two computers using Ubuntu, xen and Eucalyptus on  peer to peer network. This can be discussed as follows- 1. Cloud Setup Creating cloud (test bed) by using  (Ubuntu, Xen and Eucalyptus 2. Resource Monitoring monitoring critical  resources like RAM, CPU, memory, bandwidth,  partition information, running process information and  utilization and swap usages etc. 3. Load Balancing load balancing algorithm for  homogeneous and heterogeneous architectures. 4. Testing In order to evaluate the performance of  complete setup, need to deploy resource monitoring and  load balancing tools on test bed and evaluate  performance of our algorithm. A. What is Resource Monitoring? Cloud computing has become a key manner for businesses to manage resources, that square measure currently provided through remote servers and over the web rather than through the recent hardwired systems that appear therefore out of date nowadays. Cloud computing permits corporations to source some resources and applications to 3rd parties and it means that less problem and fewer hardware in an exceedingly company. rather like any outsourced system, though, cloud computing needs watching. What happens once the services, servers, and web applications on that we tend to have faith in run into hassle, suffer period, or otherwise don’t perform to standard? however quickly can we tend to notice and the way we tend toll can we react? Cloud watching permits America to trace the performance of the cloud services we would be victimisation. whether or not we tend to square measure victimisation in style cloud services like Google App Engine, Amazon net Services, or a made-to-order answe r, cloud watching ensures that every one systems square measure going. Cloud watching permits America to follow response times, service accessibility and a lot of of cloud services in order that we are able to respond within the event of any issues. B. Approach to Resource Monitoring Here during this section we tend to area unit developing Associate in Nursing application in java where we tend to area unit observance the node resources like RAM, CPU, Memory, Bandwidth, Partition data, Running method data and utilization by employing a Third Party merchant application like SIGAR (System data Gatherer and Reporter). Proposed Algorithm Client side load balancing system which leverages strength of cloud components and overcomes above mentioned disadvantages Signature Driven Load Management(SigLM) using Cloud The above algorithm works by capturing system’s signature like available RAM, current CPU bandwidth available and other resources. Once captured, that value is compared with default threshold value and accordingly load like incoming requests is shifted to target node machine using Dynamic Time Wrapping (DTW) technique. Dynamic time wrapping works by considering source node as given by SigLM algorithm and makes some calculations to predict target node to which the load is to be shifted. This algorithm has better results than conventional algorithms with following advantages : Caption of resource signature. Scheduling by comparing signature of each server. 30%-80% improved performance than existing approaches Scalable, efficient and 0.0% overhead Dynamic time wrapping (DTW) for selection of target node at runtime. Client side means to perform load balancing before requests hit to server. D. Conclusion : In this paper we tend to created non-public Cloud setup mistreatment Ubuntu, xen and Eucalyptus which we tend to use as a workplace for closing implementation of DTW algorithmic program. we tend to conjointly did literature survey of existing resource observation tools additionally as load leveling tools and are available up with Associate in Nursing algorithmic program for various design with higher performance. In this paper we tend to discuss the implementation modules of Signature pattern matching DTW algorithmic program with the right flow diagrams that simplifies the work of Load Balancer. The planned metrics may be any refined by taking a lot of elaborate formalism for every module. References [1] Tony Bourke: Server Load Balancing, OReilly, ISBN 0-596-00050-2 [2] Chandra Kopparapu : Load Balancing Servers, Firewalls Caches,Wiley, ISBN 0-471-41550-2 [3] Robert J. Shimonski : Windows Server 2003 Clustering LoadBalancing, Osborne McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-222622-6 [4] Jeremy Zawodny , Derek J. Balling: High Performance MySQL,OReilly, ISBN 0-596-00306-4 [5] J. Kruskall and M. Liberman. The Symmetric TimeWarpingProblem: From Continuous to Discrete. In Time Warps,String Edits and Macromolecules: The Theory and Practiceof Sequence Comparison, pp. 125-161, Addison-WesleyPublishing Co., 1983. [6] Matthew Syme , Philip Goldie: Optimizing Network Performancewith Content Switching: Server, Firewall and Cache Loadbalancing, Prentice Hall PTR, ISBN 0-13 101468-5 [7] Anthony T.Velte, Toby J.Velte, Robert Elsenpeter, Cloud  Computing A Practical Approach, TATA McGRAW-HILL Edition22International Journal of Advances in Computing and Information ResearchesISSN: 2277-4068, Volume 1– No.2, April 2012 [8] 2010.Martin Randles, David Lamb, A. Taleb-Bendiab, A Comparative Study into Distributed [9] Load Balancing Algorithms for Cloud Computing, 2010 IEEE 24th International Conference on Advanced Information Networking and Applications Workshops. Mladen A. Vouk, Cloud Computing Issues, Research and Implementations, Proceedings of the ITI 2008 30th Int. Conf. on Information Technology Interfaces, 2008, June 23-26. [10] Ali M. Alakeel, A Guide to Dynamic Load Balancing in Distributed Computer Systems, IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL.10 No.6, June 2010. [11]  http://www03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/22613.ws [12]  http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html?node=20159001 [13] Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud http://aws.amazon.com/ec2/. [14] M. Vlachos, M. Hadjieleftheriou, D. Gunopulos, and E.Keogh. Indexing Multi-Dimensional Time-Series with Support for Multiple Distance Measures. Proc. of SIGKDD, 2003. [15] Keogh and C. A. Ratanamahatana. Exact indexing of dynamic time warping. Journal of Knowledge and Information Systems,2004.23

The Development of Childhood Throughout History Essay -- Sociology

Throughout the history of childhood development poor social and economic conditions contributed to the many hardships and poor treatment of children. During the early Middle Ages the "paternalist" family concept evolved and the father had authority and control over family matters including the welfare and safety of his wife and children. Discipline was severe, young children both poor and wealthy were subjected to strict rules and regulations and often beaten if disobedient. Children took on the responsibilities of adults at an early age, sharing in the work of siblings and parents. Girls from affluent families were educated at home and married in their teens. Some males were educated at a monastery and others became apprentices to experienced knights. Children who were considered retarded or suffering from disease were abandoned to churches or orphanages. Relationships between parent and child were distant, and younger male and female siblings were considered "economic and social l iabilities." (Siegel 10). Custom and practices such as primogeniture and dower subjected many children to endure suffering and cruel treatment. These customs and practices often caused family rivalry, sometimes led to tragedy and had a significant impact on the role of women and children. Under primogeniture the oldest surviving male inherited family lands and titles. Younger siblings who were not fortunate to receive lands were forced to enter religious orders, become soldiers or seek wealthy patrons. Under the Dower system, a woman's family gave money, land or other wealth in exchange for a potential husband. This system "forced women into the role of second class citizens dependent on their fathers and brothers." Wet nurses took care of newb... ...rs (mandatory sentences) and target hardening techniques (steering locks, unbreakable glass on storefronts). This approach is not consistent with the viewpoint guiding the juvenile court because this type of deterrence punishment interferes with "parens patriae" philosophy. Juveniles are treated more leniently than adults, which limit the power of the law to deter juvenile crime. (Siegel 96). REFERENCES Siegel, Larry J., Brandon C. Welsh and Joseph J. Senna. 2003. Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law. California: Thomson Wadsworth. Hyperdictionary, (http://www.hyperdictionary.com/search.aspx?define=status+offenders) Flowers, R. Barri. 2002. Kids Who Commit Adult Crimes Serious Criminality by Juvenile Offenders. New York: The Haworth Press.

Slavery In Latin America Essay -- Slavery Essays

Slavery In Latin America   Ã‚  Ã‚  Slavery in the Americas was quite diverse. Mining operations in the tropics experienced different needs and suffered different challenges than did plantations in more temperate areas of Norther Brazil or costal city’s serving as ports for the exporting of commodities produced on the backs of the enslaved peoples from the African continent. This essay will look at these different situations and explore the factors that determined the treatment of slaves, the consequences of that treatment, and the conditions that lead to resistance by the slaves working in their various capacities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the initial conquest of Mexico and South America it was time to develop the economy and export the resources that would benefit the monarchy back home in Spain and Portugal. Silver and Gold were two such commodities. Silver mines in Northern Mexico were supervised by blacks who directed the Indians in the arduous task of extracting the precious metal. Gold in Central Mexico was also mined by blacks. The Gold mining regions were hot, tropical, isolated areas of the jungle. The regions were sparsely populated and it was difficult to keep the locals as a work force. The introduction of disease in the tropics made these areas death zones to the indigenous people as they had no resistance to the virulent plagues. There was a need to get cheap or free labor that would be capable of resisting the disease and who would be easier to dominate than the locals who could run off and establish themselves elsewhere relatively easily. The natural answer was to obtain slaves from the African continent. The slave trade was already in operation on the African continent. Coastal cities there often enslaved inland peoples so it was not difficult to obtain the stock and export them to the Americas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Slaves in the mining regions were subject to harsh, isolated conditions. There were few females and little or no community amongst the slaves. Some of the workers did have access to money and as a result could negotiate there freedom for a price. In 1732 1/3 of the African population of Choco was free as a result. Less fortunate slaves who found the conditions unbearable fled to even more isolated areas of the back country to survive on their own or in small colonies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Sugar plantations of Northern Brazil were a major c... ...so manumission possibilities increased. Slaves isolated from family life and culture working in miserable conditions were often flight risks as they had no real options and the terrain lent to good hiding. There were also no whites around to hire as cheap labor to search them out and return them. Mulatto and Criollo slaves were higher on the socioeconomic ladder than the Bozal and were therefore less likely to resist as they were a step away from freedom which meant they would not consider fleeing as good an option as remaining in the social circle and family they had established.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Slavery under any conditions is not the optimum existence for human beings. It is a fact that human nature seeks to dominate. Greed and money are often at the root of such efforts. The Israelites, the Irish, the Africans, and enumerable other groups have heritage that includes a period of slavery or of enslaving or both. African Cimarron communities even enslaved other African fleeing the plantations. It is not rooted in race as much as it is rooted in human nature. The preceding essay is just a synopsis of how it functioned for African’s in certain regions during a space in history.

Diversity Essay -- essays research papers

By the year 2050, nonwhites will represent close to half of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau projections. By 2005, the ethnic minority share of the workforce is expected to grow to 28 percent, up from 18 percent in 1980 and 22 percent in 1990. Although the African American population is now the largest minority group, the Hispanic and Asian populations are growing much faster. In 1994, the African American population was estimated to be 33 million, or 12.7 percent of the total population, up from 11.7 percent in 1980. By 2025, African Americans are expected to represent 14 percent of the total. The Hispanic population is 10 percent of the total U.S. population in 1994, it is projected to be 17 percent by 2025. The Asian population was 3.4 percent of the total U.S. population in 1994, it is expected to more than double by 2025. With all of that stated, the above statistics should erase any doubt that workforce diversity is a critical business issue with serious, bottom line consequences, the Texaco lawsuit has erased those doubts forever. But a well publicized racial discrimination lawsuit is just one example of how an organization can be hurt if it is not actively working to manage and leverage workforce diversity. Other organizational costs could include depressed employee morale and loyalty, increased turnover and poor productivity. On the other hand, if managed well, a diverse workforce can boost productivi...

Dreams: Winnie-the-pooh and Vision Center Essay

We have prepared this handout of actual essays written by current Harvard students who attended secondary schools in the UK (with names changed for anonymity) in order to provide some guidance to schools and applicants. Because the university admissions processes in the US and the UK are markedly different, we have received requests for some sample essays and tips for writing them and hope they will be helpful. Here is the official description of the personal essay requirement: Please write an essay (250 words minimum) on a topic of your choice or on one of the options listed below. This personal essay helps us become acquainted with you as a person and student, apart from courses, grades, test scores, and other objective data. It will also demonstrate your ability to organize your thoughts and express yourself. 1. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you. 2. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you. 3. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence. 4. Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence. 5. A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you. 6. Topic of your choice. Your essay for a US university might be the same one you would write for the UCAS system, but perhaps not. We are interested in your academic successes and future plans, but also want to understand what makes you tick as a person. What are your hopes, dreams and fears? Our advice is to think of two or three possible topics, write a quick first draft of each essay and then show them to your best friend, mother, teacher or anyone who knows you well. Ask that person if your voice and personality come through in the essays and which one sounds the most like you. Then take that essay and polish it off! As you will see from the following sample essays, these students have written about learning to ride a bike, culture shock at coming to the UK, music, public service, and a favourite book. What will you write about? Sample College Essay #1 I never imagined that by swimming, a Vision Center in India would be built. And I certainly never thought so many people could be cured of blindness there. For the past twelve years of my life, my passion has been competitive swimming. Mile after mile I train almost every single day in the hope of becoming that much faster, that much more powerful in the water, that much closer to my goals. (My classmates tell me I am better adapted to live in the water than on land!) I have reached more athletic goals than I ever imagined when I first splashed into the water as a timid six-year old. I have won several Texas state titles, been ranked nationally in both the US and the UK, set numerous International Schools Tournament records, and captained both my school and club swim teams. This past year, I decided to combine my love of swimming with a fundraising target. My older brother worked as an intern on the Flying Eye Hospital run by the international sight-saving ch arity ORBIS. I was horrified by his description of the magnitude of curable, but untreated eye diseases. I knew I had to take action. To help those who have or will lose their sight for no fault of their own, my triplet siblings and I organized, planned, publicized, and successfully led a community-wide Swim-a-thon that raised funds for ORBIS. The goal of our event was not only to raise funds for this very worthwhile cause, but more importantly, to raise awareness about avoidable blindness. Our theme â€Å"Every minute a child goes blind†, caught the attention of the community. The word spread. People were surprised to know that we have the medical capability to cure millions of people with a simple surgery or eye droplets, yet hundreds of people lose their sight every day. As a two-year class vice president and student member of the Athletic Advisory Board, I was able to gain permission from the Head of School to plan the event. I convinced the Athletic Director to set aside pool time and recruited life guards. In order to garner support, I placed ads in the school newspaper, hung posters throughout my school, and persuaded my coach to replace an afternoon workout with the Swim-a-thon. After weeks of preparation, swim mates, school faculty, and parents logged thousands of laps. It was an immensely successful day. Enough money was collected to build a Vision Center in India, with surgical equipment, medicines, and training materials. The new Vision Center will not only treat thousands of patients, but will create a permanent site to train doctors and other medical personnel. As Treasurer of my school’s chapter of the National Honor Society, I plan to allocate charity funds this year to ORBIS for the continuing operational costs of the Vision Center. Every minute a child goes blind. Thirty-seven million people in the world are blind. Remarkably, an overwhelming 28 million of them do not need to be. When I think about the Vision Center we funded, I am overwhelmed with a sense of accomplishment and pride. Even though I will never meet the many people who will receive medical treatment there, the satisfaction of knowing that I have helped change the lives of thousands of people is astonishing. More meaningful than any swim race or trophy, we have brought hope where there was darkness. Sample College Essay #2 If we speak the same language, then why don’t I understand you? Why are the clothes you wear so different and the expressions you say so unclear to me? It was my first day in England and a â€Å"Bank Holiday† at that. With only one sport on television, I was determined to watch and study a game I had no idea how to play. I didn’t know what an â€Å"over† was, or even the job of the bowler. I didn’t know what a â€Å"wicket† was, or how many a team needed to win. But I didn’t care. I was living across the pond now, and if I was going to fit into my new surroundings, understanding the rules of cricket seemed like a fine starting point. I persevered, and eventually I was explaining the now familiar game of cricket to my family; baseball analogies helped a great deal. I was proud of myself. I had conquered the English culture. Maybe England wasn’t so bad after all. I soon realized how naive these thoughts were. Cricket was just the beginning. A whole world of different traditions and customs was thrown in front of me. July Fourth was exchanged for Guy Fawkes Day and the â€Å"the celebration with the turkey† was erased from the calendar. Where would I fit in? Rugby and Premier League Football dominated the sports channels. Where was my beloved ESPN? Why is the television show, Little Britain, so hysterical? The movie theatres were smaller than a British mini cooper, and the Super Bowl kicked off at four a.m. The warmth of the Texan sun was replaced by the rainy days of Wimbledon. I was surprised to see that some parts of life abroad were better. Friends became mates. The frenetic pace of Piccadilly Circus and the splendour of St. Paul’s Cathedral are unsurpassed. Roundabouts make the traffic run smoothly. I like the sound of â€Å"Cheers†. Over sixty different nationalities and over thirty languages are represented at the International School I attend. The culture shock was overwhelming. But I refused to yield. I was going to start by mixing into the English culture. I reported on local and national events as an Editor of the school newspaper. In addition I met swimmers from all over the U.K. through my British swim team, all with different backgrounds and lifestyles from mine. The cultures that engulfed me when I first came to England are part of me now. London is at my disposal. The people, the pubs, the expressions, and the entertainment are all a part of what makes living in England a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Yes, I have missed several Thanksgiving feasts and numerous Astros games, but I have come to understand and enjoy a completely new place. I wouldn’t change any of my experiences. Living in Europe has broadened my perspective on life and opened my eyes to so may wonderful people and ideas. People have similar goals wherever they come from. I’m glad I know that there is no single right way to achieve them. Sample College Essay #3 I wake up and there is a rhythm in my head: it’s hazy. I climb into the shower and the water tapping on my scalp reminds me. As I sit on the bus to go to school, I get strange looks from passengers as I tap the rhythm onto my knees, but it’s not yet fully formed. Throughout the school day, I feel it evolve and develop until I inevitably sit down at my drums and play. From my brain via my heart it enters my muscles; they transfer it to the sticks which relay it to the drum. Eventually, the air gets my gift and the rhythm returns through my ears. Even after the sounds are gone, the rhythm is not. Until I go to bed, a day’s repetition keeps it rebounding inside my cranium, in my own private concert hall. This is the journey of my daily rhythm. I wake up and there is a rhythm in my head: it’s not straight for this rhythm swings. At 6:00 am in Germany I get on a coach and as the wheels rotate beneath me I get closer. My coach has thirty five other people in it, each one is carried forward in their own sense of time, but in less than an hour they must all merge; seven hundred people will not accept a big band not keeping the pulse. Butterflies are roused in my gut and nerves take over. I’ve never played a solo in front of so many people yet somehow my fear must be quelled. My imagination, my sticks and my drum-set have to communicate my inner rhythm; the audience must be able to feel it or else I have failed. Rhythm is the barrier to embarrassment. As the opening to â€Å"Sing, Sing, Sing† begins to take shape, all my trust is placed in the pattern I have within me transporting me safely to the end. If this vessel sank, I too would go with it. A standing ovation confirmed that this time, the barrier held strong. I wake up and there is a rhythm in my head: but it is quiet. In fact, no-one hears it; it makes no noise and never will. Between the hours of 0845 and 1545 I have 4 beats: each one signaling another unit of learning. This phrase is repeated 5 days a week for 40 weeks a year and the chorus goes on 6 more times. My song is my school, and in it I am caught up in its inner rhythms that I cannot control – I must give in to them. The melodies that are assigned to these rhythms are made up of Virgil, esters and numbers that don’t exist. From these, cadences form that give me a chordal progression through education. Each part of my song has been given a name; there are no verses, no choruses but consecutive Key Stages. The rhythm indicates when I should make the transition: there is a series of fills, but they are not called fills. They call them exams and as the stages progress, the fills get more intense. In fact, they get more frequent and at the end of my school career, I look forward to a year where exams punctuate my calendar. In January, I will have moved to the dominant, only to complete the progression in June when I descend and finish on the tonic: a perfect cadence. I wake up and there is rhythm: the rhythm is life. The cycle of night and day and the constant pulsing in my chest are rhythms, and as the Earth revolves around our local star it is in time with the universe. I think in meter: a man crosses the street and his steps divide the distance between one curb and the next – they provide a beat in the asphalt bar, or at least that is how I picture it. If animals could not use the rhythm of the seasons, then they would surely die. Life is a rhythm and all that it contains is in time. When the rhythm ceases to exist, so will I. Sample College Essay #4 Magicians are not truly magical, though they like others to think they are. So what inspires this â€Å"deception†? Some think it is the money and others, the glamour of performing on stage and mystifying the audience. But for me it has always been a question of identity. Magic has helped me develop my confidence and communication skills so when the time comes to stand up and address a crowd, such as the school debate or a Model United Nations conference, it is no effort at all. However, I can say that one unusual circumstance in my life has given me a new sense of direction for my magic. At first, I thought magic was mere entertainment, but Horace, a man from the local Spastics Center diagnosed with autism in his late twenties, changed my perspective on my art. So often when we think of the disabled, we imagine children, and we sympathize with them. With Horace, I was faced with a situation largely unknown to the general public’s experience: an unemotional adult who ra rely spoke to or acknowledged others around him. When I tried to engage him, he mumbled to me uninterested and somewhat detached. But then when I produced my deck of cards, when through several routines and then showed him how he, too, could create â€Å"miracles†, he smiled and laughed. This reaction highlighted the most rewarding aspect of magic because he accepted me into his world and responded to me. The Center’s staff even commented, â€Å"We have never seen Horace behaving in such an emotional way!† For the first time, Horace had been given hope that he too could, perhaps, achieve and live a meaningful life. The magic had broken a myth of futility and dispelled it forever. I saw that magic could provide a driving force for pursuing change, and this realization overwhelmed me. I had witnessed something so unusual that the force of it took my breath away. The essence of magic is establishing a connection between the audience and the performer. With Horace, the ordinary had become the extraordinary, and for a moment, we connected in a state called â€Å"Astonishment†. This experience brings about a revisit to our most basic form, unaltered by culture or society. Indeed, that instant is so special because as adults, we are all too rarely astonished, and this moment returns us to our days as children when we were clueless and laughed at everything. This unusual encounter showed me that in this moment of astonishment, magic has the power to inspire. Since the encounter with Horace I have founded a society that brings all the magicians at my school together to perform magic for the elderly and the less fortunate in the nearby community. If I can show them, for instance, how to produce onepound coins from thin air, then contrary to what they have been told, perhaps they can challenge their â€Å"limits†. Then, dare I say that my passion for magic would be enhanced by a touch of true magic, generated perhaps from a truly unusual moment of astonishment. Sample College Essay #5 The ball ricocheted off the wall and disappeared into the black hole under my bed. It had been some years since the Hoover had been granted visiting rights and a heavy cloud of fluff covered every inch of the 4’ x 6’3† rectangle. Slightly nervous of what I might find, I ventured in slowly with an outstretched hand. The ball was nowhere to be found but I felt a small box-shaped object. I dragged it out, dusted it off and there looking somewhat the worse for wear, was my old leather book trunk. As I eased open the lid, the familiar smell (slightly musty with time) transported me immediately back ten years. Inside, in pride of place on top, staring boldly back at me, was my old friend Winnie the Pooh. The familiar, faded yellow face, the shrunken red tshirt with tummy protruding proudly from beneath, an empty honey pot and by his side, as ever, was Piglet. It is to Winnie the Pooh that I owe my greatest debt. It was this funny bear of little brain and large appetite who first sparked my interest in the literary world. He taught me about friendships and Woozles and how to make the best Heffalump traps. Many a happy hour was spent with Pooh and his friends facing adversity with his ever optimistic demeanour. Although I haven’t seen this treasured copy for many a year, I must admit to a weekly dose of life in a Hundred Acre Wood. Each week I share my passion for reading with Class 2A at the local village primary school. We start off with one of Pooh’s adventures – richly embellished with different voices that perhaps A.A. Milne may not have intended but, nevertheless, seem to get the seal of approval from my six-year-old audiences. After this we get down to the nitty gritty – the business of learning to read – or as I like to call it â€Å"Discovering How to Lose Yourself†. I go round the class taking turns to listen to them read. Although the range of their abilities is surprisingly large they all make a huge effort and really enjoy themselves. Progress is made and more and more pupils get lost each week. All too soon it is time to go. I say my goodbyes and rush back to school for my next lesson. I hum a little happiness tune and as I round the corner into the school a large thundercloud looms above. In my head a very Pooh-like voice says â€Å"Tut, tut, looks like rain!†. Sample College Essay #6 Nothing of much significance ever happens on the Isle of Wight. And to those of you for whom island travels only involved the palm trees and pink sand variety, let me enlighten you. The Isle of Wight is a small, chalky lump that broke off the south coast of England and came to a halt one mile out. It is caught in a rather charming time warp – circa. 1955. No palm tree could ever survive the freezing easterly winds that blast through from Siberia every winter and the only pink sand would be the result of a small child falling over a sandcastle on the way back from the Mr. Whippy ice cream van. It has sand and it has trees but of the altogether more hardy type. The sand is yellow and coarse, the trees are sturdy and solid with waxy leaves to withstand the salty air. The people are sturdy and solid too with an accent inherited from their pirate ancestors that sets them apart from those on the mainland. Life ambles along and nobody rushes. Pity anyone caught in a queue at the butchers behind Mrs. Singleton as she recounts, far too vividly, details of her latest health scare. Don’t get me wrong, it has its virtues – the Victorian pier pointing like a lace gloved finger out to sea and the promenade with shops selling pink and white sticks of rock with â€Å"Isle of Wight† running through it (how do they do that?), â€Å"Kiss me Quick† sunhats and inflatable boats. And on the corner of the High Street, the Cod Father fish and chip shop with a sign in the window saying â€Å"We batter anything!† It was on this sleepy little island that I, as a small boy, spent most of my summers. Summers that, due to the temperature, would be called autumn anywhere else – but nothing a long wetsuit and hat couldn’t disguise. One day in early July, arriving back from another bracing trip to the beach, I saw my mother and sister sitting side by side on the grassy bank overlooking the lawn. Nex t to them was a large bag of sweets and a bicycle. My mother announced that today was the day she was going to teach me how to ride a bike. There had been many attempts before but today I could tell she meant business. A succession of sweets was laid out at regular intervals along the lawn marking the route I was to take. Each time I made it to that point without falling off I got the sweet. Knowing that I really didn’t have any choice, I climbed awkwardly onto the enormous bike. Mother steadied me with one hand and then with a shove I was hurtling down the bank and onto the lawn. A blur of screaming and clapping preceded the first of many spectacular falls and my shins took on the blue hue of an uncooked lobster with blobs of grease from the chain splattered amongst the bumps. My sister, younger than me and already a whiz on her pink Barbie bike, gave patronizing advice trying to sound encouraging but, I suspect, rather enjoying the moment. An hour and a half later, battered and bruised with tears streaking through the mud on my face, I climbed onto the beast one more time. I steadied myself, focused on the hedge at the other end of the lawn (where the biggest chocolate bar lay) and with an almighty push I launched myself forward peddling with fury. Before I knew what had happened, there was a rush of green as I landed headfirst into the hedge. The bike, free of its incompetent rider, did an elegant ark to the left before coming to a halt. As I cycle confidently (but still can’t do the no hands thing) to the boathouse every day, I think of the words of Claude Pepper who said, â€Å"Life is like riding a bicycle. You don’t fall off unless you plan to stop peddling.† I won’t stop peddling. – and am proud to announce that on the 3rd July 1998 something of great significance did, at last, happen on the Isle of Wight.