Subsidation of Irrigation Infrastructure for Environmental Management

Question: Why Subsidation Of Irrigation Infrastructure Is Difficult In Dislodging Due To Change Answer: Discussion Irrigation is an important component that facilitates the development of the agricultural sector. However, it is not taken as an important sector since it has been faced with challenges. Some of the challenges are similar to the ones facing various sectors of the economy especially the private sector. Subsidizing of the irrigation infrastructure has been difficult to dislodge because most of the jurisdictions are believed to be sharing this infrastructure. For example, in the cases where the infrastructure is owned jointly by the shareholders(Crase Cooper, 2015, p. 292). Therefore, in the event such situations, there is a lack of contribution from the users in the form of charges which will cover the depreciation. As a result, the infrastructure ends up leading to the accumulation of the residual risk that is catered for by the government. Additionally, there have been some environmental consequences caused by water to transportation. This evidenced by the fact that there is no an i ndication of the importance of storing water in the dams(Crase O'Keefe, 2014, p. 3). Subsidizing of the irrigation infrastructure is seen to be bestowing some benefits to selected individuals. Therefore, the spread of the empowerment is seen to be unpredictable due to some factors facing the initiative. Some farmers in certain areas are faced with water shortage, and this has led to a high degree of coercion among them. This has been associated with the challenges which are faced when establishing some techniques that are cost-effective. This is because of the difficulty of the tasks involved. Also dealing with the over-allocation of the MDP has again given rise to the responses towards the policies which have been put in place, for example, investing the money into the agricultural sector. This has led to the undermining of the incentives which are responsible for the markets and in other situation, hazards that are moral are experienced(WWF Global, 2016).Tariffs associated with water are also seen to be impacting the initiative since they disguise the various oppor tunities that facilitate the supply of water. References Crase, L. Cooper, B., 2015. Politics, socio-economic and water allocations: a note on the limits of Integrated Water Resources Management. Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, 22(4), pp. 388-399. Crase, L. O'Keefe, S., 2014. The Contradiction between Modernising Irrigation and Water Buyback, s.l.: s.n. WWF Global, 2016. Environmental problems in Australia. [Online] Available at: https://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/australia/environmental_problems_in_australia/ [Accessed 7 October 2017].

Wells Fargo OFS free essay sample

First electronic banking product in 1989 First major U. S. ank to offer Internet access Wells Fargo Online Financial Services (A) Harvard Case Solution Analysis Wells Fargo, the leader in electronic banking transactions Balanced Scorecard in its online inancial services group (OFS) to track and measure performance. OFS Group develops and supports services that allow existing and future customers to transact banking over the Internet. The new division is facing rapid change and must invest heavily in new technologies and the development of innovative products and services. OFS has been found difficult to balance the need for a clearly articulated strategy and measurable goals with the flexibility required in a dynamic environment. Wells Fargo was a culture that encompasses financial performance. However, OFS management believes that its business can not be measured and valuated on the basis of financial indicators alone. For example, the group was not yet profitable, but under the condition that a critical component of long-term strategy of the bank. OFS Group believed that the Balanced Scorecard will allow them to develop a number of complex, multi-dimensional measures for assessing the performance of its objectives and to communicate and update their strategies in a rapidly changing environment. Hide by Robert S. Kaplan, Nicole Tempest Source: Harvard Business School 18 pages. Publication Date: June 12, 1998. Prod. #: 198146- PDF-ENG Abstract Wells Fargo, the industry leader in electronic banking, has implemented a Balanced Scorecard in its online financial services group S) to track and measure performance. The OFS group develops and supports services that allow existing and future banking customers to perform transactions via the Internet. The new division faces rapid change and must invest heavily in new technology and in the development of innovative products and services. OFS was finding it difficult to balance the need for a clearly articulated strategy and measurable objectives with the flexibility required in its dynamic environment. Wells Fargo had a culture that embraced financial metrics. Yet OFS management believed that its business could not be measured and evaluated on the basis of financial metrics alone. For example, the group was not yet profitable, yet it provided a critical component to the banks long-term strategy. The OFS group believed that the Balanced Scorecard would allow them to develop a set of integrated, multidimensional measures to assess performance against its goals and to communicate and update its strategy in a rapidly changing environment. Email this CASE (FIELD) Wells Fargo Online Financial Services (A) by Robert S. Kaplan, Nicole Tempest Source: Harvard Business School 18 pages. publication Date: Jun 12, 1998. prod. 98146-PDF-ENG wells Fargo, the industry leader in electronic banking, has implemented a Balanced Scorecard in its online financial services group (OFS) to track and measure performance. The OFS group develops and supports services that allow existing and future banking customers to perform transactions via the Internet. The new division faces rapid change and must invest heavily in new technology and in the development of innovative products and servi ces. OFS was finding it difficult to balance the need for clearly articulated strategy and measurable objectives with the flexibility required in its dynamic environment. Wells Fargo had a culture that embraced financial metrics. Yet OFS management believed that its business could not be measured and evaluated on the basis of financial metrics alone. For example, the group was not yet profitable, yet it provided a critical component to the banks long-term strategy. The OFS group believed that the Balanced Scorecard would allow them to develop a set of integrated, multidimensional measures to assess performance against its goals and o communicate and update its strategy in a rapidly changing environment. Wells Fargo Online Financial Services Since its inception, Wells Fargo Bank (Wells Fargo) has been focused on using financial measures to assess performance and make strategic decisions. Headquartered in San Francisco, Calitornia, Well Fargo was the second largest bank in California and was one of the largest banks in the United States with approximately $100 billion in assets in 1997. As of December 1997, Wells Fargo served 10 million households in ten western states, while operating over 1,900 staffed etail outlets and 4,400 automated teller machines. As the banking industry has continued to grow, shifts in consumer needs and demands have caused banks to be much more aggressive and competitive in the services they provide. Wells Fargo has tasked its organization with being at the forefront of this competition in the banking industry. It has used outside- the-box thinking to produce such ideas as extended and weekend hours, ATMs, in grocery stores, and one-stop-shopping banking centers. By being the first to implement many of these ideas, Wells Fargo has been able to enhance its brand image and attract many new consumers. This was clearly the case in 1995 when Wells Fargo launched into the Online Financial Services (OFS) realm (Electronic banking, PC Banking, Internet Banking). The OFS group started off slow, with approximately only 10,000 consumers, or one percent of its current client base accessing their accounts via the web. Those numbers did not stop Wells Fargo OFS group from continuing to expand its online presence, and soon it introduced items, such as a website and online bill pay. Management understood the importance of the consumer continuum and felt strongly that the internet was not only the next step, but would eventually be a vital art of everyday life, paralleling expected PC and internet growth. While WFOFS continued to request more resources in an attempt to attract more consumers to OFS, it still faced many issues. First, as a first mover it needed to continue to bolster and improve their client base accessing their accounts via the web. Wells Fargo was in a growth environment where new projects and opportunities were raised both internally and externally. Secondly, as Wells Fargo began to have success in its OFS group, many banks were quick to implement copycat products, increasing competition in the online financial services market. Finally, cost and revenue recognition were not concrete with the OFS group. Costs were being incurred to start this new department, but OFS was saving costs that other departments would have incurred. Wells Fargds stance on success in the past had strictly been financial, but the OFS results were not as clear or as quickly understood by internal and external stakeholders. Therefore, Wells Fargo needed a new standard to measure success, one that not only focused on financials, but also on strategy and creating long-term value for its company and stakeholders. Developing a Balanced Scorecard General reasons / benefits of uses scorecard Specific reasons for WF to apply the scorecard As mentioned previously, in the mid-eignties WF nad become increasing customer centric with extended hours and increased accessibility but this change has clashed a culture that focused primary on financial measures. It was understood that something needed to change in order to shift the focus to longer term goals and better align daily activity to its long-term strategy. Wells Fargo needed to develop a key piece of infrastructure to help synchronize the OFS strategy with their daily xecution plans and translating those executions into measurable results. This tool would enable the OFS group to communicate with the senior management team of Wells Fargo but it would also allow it to communicate with other departments across the Wells Fargo company. Wells Fargo decided to develop a balanced scorecard for two main reasons. First, the balanced scorecard provided a mechanism to ensure the OFS group plans supported its overarching vision while creating a set of objective measures of performance. Second, the balance scorecard put a premium on the elements that make up success y placing a strong emphasis on quantitative measures for evaluating business performance. The balanced scorecard helps managers stay in tune with all of the objectives. More specifically: The leaders of Wells Fargo Online Financial Service organization recognized that financial measures only were insufficient in capturing and communicating the status, goals, and performance of their business unit. They needed to identify the factors that drove their business and develop a way to measure them. The constantly changing nature of the technology required that the OFS constantly adjust to keep up. Products should be offered in conjunction with related products, for example if a customer if seeking checking their balance, rates for Mortgages of a 3rd party provide should non-intrusively be listed along the border of the website. In order to insure Wells Fargos Online services are providing a full solution for their customers needs they should expand their portfolio of products available online to include all financial services appropriate. Wells Fargo should improve the actual performance of the site itself to support the additional unctionality and services being offered. Improved site performance will insure that there are no lost opportunities for revenue due to downtime or slow time. Finally in support of their seamless integration of cross selling and expanded portfolio objective, Wells Fargo should Deepen the relationship with the 3rd Party Alliance Partners that support their non-branded offerings. The deepened relationship should include coop-marketing opportunities on the partner websites and reciprocal referral links to encourage their customers to enroll for Wells Fargo Online banking . Improve functionality from Click to Close Seamless Integration of Cross Selling Expand Product Portfolio Improve Site Performance Deepen Relationship with 3d Party Alliance Partners Objectives for reducing cost per customer Wells Fargo should have four primary objectives when pursuing the goals of reducing cost per customer. First they should focus on reducing resolution time for issues for both technical and enrollemnt issues. This can be done by training call center associates to quickly help the customers. A reduced resolution time means less labor, happier customers and more enrollments. As those calls are coming in the call center ssociates should be thoroughly record issues so that Wells Fargo associates can study and address the root causes of calls Wells Fargo. Using that information they can now develop self help tools for enrollment that will be more effective in quickly getting customers enrolled and reduce the number ot calls and emails needed to resolve issues. Often customers would prefer to use self help tool in favor of calling a help center so again by improving a functionality of the site itself call center expenses could be reduced while pleasing the customer with improved functionality. As the functionality of the website is improved adding customers to spread the cost of service should be the next priority. By stream-lining the process of enrollment and making it easier Wells Fargo can make enrollment quicker and cheaper. Finally Wells Fargo should address non-enrollment issues the same way as the enrollment issues, by studying the root cause of issues or complaints and using the information to improve the Help Feature as issues are identified. Reduce Resolution time for technical and enrollment issues Develop Self Help Tools for Enrollment Increase Ease of Online Enrollment Improve Help Feature Functionality What elements of this case still apply today russell Elements that apply today: 3 strategies: Adding and retaining high value customers, increasing revenue per customer, reducing cost per customer Innovaton and adapting to meet customer needs: -2004 webMethods Customer Innovation Award Winner The Wells Fargo Wachovia Blog is created when Wachovia became part of Wells Fargo. The purpose is to help customers understand more about whats going on post merger. Guided By History This blog is intended to help provide a rich online xperience that bridges events in the past with an outlook on the future. The Student LoanDown this is a blog aimed at helping students finance their college education. Stagecoach Island Stagecoach Island is an online virtual world created by Wells Fargo for young adults. The purpose is to help young adults connect with friends and make new ones, and learn smart money management. CEO Blog Get the inside scoop on whats cooking in Wells Fargos product areas with the [emailprotected] blog. What new products are we thinking about building for our commercial customers? What hanges are we making to existing treasury management products? Log into CEO portal and visit our blog today. Cross sell branded and nonbranded products to increase revenue per customer: average cross sell ratio for financial institutions is 2, WFOFS is 5. 5 Develop and implement cost effective marketing programs: -Bottom line: The banks willingness to try new things has created an impressive lists First U. S. bank with a blog First bank with a student loan blog First bank with a business banking blog First bank in the world with a Second Life presence.

Social integration Essay Example

Social integration Paper One of the benefits of group work is increased social integration. Social integration has been show to have a significant positive effect on retention. Small groups of peers at the same level of career maturity create a social environment that motivates adult learners to persist. The importance of drawing on the experiences, skills, and values of the learners themselves is an internationally supported tenet of adult education. Groups allow students to draw on these experiences. They will then carry out the checks themselves whilst under supervision from the same instructor. The two lessons are rooted in the Process or Dynamic interaction curriculum model which is the opposite end of the scale from Product. This model of curriculum was advocated by Skillbeck and Walker and pioneered the more hands on approach to learning, without strict guidelines, losing the strict Objectives framework but still keeping the Aims. The students will then return to the classroom for the final session which will take the form of a Summative test on all the days events. The overall layout for this group of lessons was chosen because it gave the best format for learning opportunities for the students. We will write a custom essay sample on Social integration specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Social integration specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Social integration specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Although in essence we have used all three models of curriculum design in assembling this lesson plan, Process, Product and Spiral. The eventual end product uses all three models to let the students build on information learned in earlier sessions. Research in the field of education by Dr Jerome Bruner has shown that this pattern will give the greatest amount of retention by the student population as a whole. The lesson content can be revisited again and again for the benefit of some of the weaker students whilst strengthening the learning of the stronger students amongst the class. There is defiantly a chain of reasoning or a step-by-step process employed in this lesson framework, each one of the individual pieces of the checklist is important in its own right but we have to explain the reasoning behind the positioning of this particular verification in the overall checklist. All of the paperwork must be shown and the reasoning behind the way in which we check it must be fully explained to all the students on the course. Again following the spiral learning curve the students will learn not only the switch, its location and state, but the reason behind its position in the overall checklist. This has an added bonus of developing independent thinking and promoting comprehension over simple memorization during the lesson. When revisiting the individual parts of the scheme you increase the knowledge of the student. This is in direct opposition to the linear model of teaching where the student learns one part after another in a strict order with no revisiting of previously learned units. In the linear model the first indication to the teacher of any lack of comprehension is a failure at the testing stage. With the use of the spiral approach, the teacher has a constant feedback from the student body of their level of comprehension and retention throughout the lesson stages, and can return to the problem areas to the benefit of an individual or group of students. In our considered (although new to the teaching profession) opinion this is definitely the better approach to the more rounded and complete education of our students. Individual Unit Objectives and Outcomes. During the five individual parts of this lesson plan we move from one side of the curriculum matrix to the other. The first two lessons are given in a strict classroom environment using the Product model. They follow the Aims and Objectives framework and therefore can be measured against quantifiable goals. In the case of both lessons the student must be able to list, correctly, the paperwork checks, the safety procedures and switch locations and position prior to entering the cockpit. This has no room for mistakes by the student; it is a safety issue and must be carried out correctly and with no error. These two lessons use the Cognitive and Affective domains, i. e. the students use the knowledge they have gained to construct and evaluate a foundation for learning. They can also develop the awareness of the reasons behind the structure of the lesson. The other two lessons in the plan follow the Process model and therefore, as such, have only Aims but no laid out objectives; they move more in the Dynamic area of the educational model and are more flexible in both construction and overall framework than the Objective based lessons. We still have Aims and goals, but the building of these lessons allows certain flexibility in the speed of learning for the students. They can be educated at the optimum speed for each individual student. The teacher has the opportunity to observe and assess the students learning. The teacher within the hangar environment has the hands on chance to guide the student along the best path for learning. These two lessons use the psychomotor domain i. e. the students develop Motor or physical skills to enable them to complete the task. Assessment The students are assessed in some form or another constantly throughout the five lessons. Formative assessment is carried out continuously during the four practical lessons by use of Socratic questioning to extract the answers from the students. We also use technical observation to assess the students demonstrative use of information during the hands-on stages of the lessons. Summative assessment is carried out in three stages of the lessons. The first being in the second lesson when the students complete a gapped handout both as a Summative test and as an aide memoir for their own use later on in the day. The second, and by far the largest, use of Summative assessment is during the last session and is a complete test of the five lessons activities, checking the students safety knowledge. This is a twenty question, multiple choice test which has an overall pass mark of 80%. The final use of Summative assessment is when the instructor fills out the area on the students individual portfolio assigned to each lesson. This one paragraph block is designed to allow the instructor to point out areas that require attention and also to comment on positive trends displayed by the student during this lesson. The students can read and comment on this portfolio at any time and as such forms an excellent form of feedback for both instructors and student. Overall strengths of the new lesson as perceived by the authors This group of five lessons was designed to fill a perceived gap in the programme that exists within our workplace. This area of the curriculum was lacking a coherent lesson to enhance the safety knowledge of the students prior to working on the aircraft in the hangar environment. Before the construction of this lesson the students were lectured on the safety devices with power point slides in a classroom and no practical time on the aircraft. They were then expected to confidently carry out the safety checks before entering the aircraft cockpit. It became blatantly obvious to the authors of this assignment that due to the diverse levels of learning abilities and the differences in learning speeds of the students, they were entering the hangar in an unfit state to work safely and confidently on the aircraft. This group of lessons were designed specifically to be, as much as possible in the military environment, student based and ultimately student friendly. The lessons are constructed to take the students through a logical progression, building levels of knowledge and understanding up to a point that they can confidently assess the state of the engineering paperwork and then carry out the checks of the safety devices before entering the cockpit. More to the point the students can do this by using not only the criteria that they have been shown and learned in the lessons but by constructing their own latticework of checkpoints from the retained knowledge. They know the reasons behind the selection of the paperwork chain and the rationale for the safety checklist. They now know the dire implications of missing a safety point on the engineering paperwork and misinterpreting a safety device within that cockpit. The lessons can be checked on the basis of the three curriculum evaluation dimensions; Quality. The lessons are effective and successful in that the students are more confident in their abilities and knowledge when they approach the problems in the hangar. Accessibility. The course is meeting the requirements of the clients or students; They are better equipped for the task and therefore they are safer. Validity. This concerns whether or not the plan of the lessons remains relevant to the occupational context for which it was designed. In the case of this segment of five lessons it will remain relevant for the near future, and given the level of in-house quality assurance that we as military instructors undergo when the need for adjustments and changes to the lesson become necessary they will be carried out to maintain relevance. The new lesson format has produced an altogether more self-assured technician, more confident in his or her abilities with the paperwork and safety devices and therefore a more efficient member of the workforce. Peer assessment from this assignments presentation The peer assessment from the presentation was extremely constructive. Everyone liked the format and content of the new lessons as explained to the group. By far the largest amount of feedback was to do with the inclusion issues that were mentioned in some depth in the presentation. It was mentioned by the class that because of our background in the military and the ethos of teaching that we came to the Cert Ed course with, it was extraordinary that we could produce such a scheme of work. Admittedly two years ago this would have seemed incomprehensible to both of us that we would even consider teaching in this manner let alone freely admit to trying to change the system at our workplace to reflect these new (to us at least) teaching concepts. Of all the positive feedback this was by far the most rewarding. In essence there was no negative feedback other than a personal observation that some computers (amazingly) do not talk to each other, and if they do it may not be in the same language. The presentation was marred by the difference in the perceived animation on our version of PowerPoint and the college version. A minor point but one that can totally un-nerve potential speakers seconds before a crucial and terrifying ordeal in front of their peers.

Programming Languages Comparison

Programming Languages Comparison Since the 1950s, computer scientists have devised thousands of programming languages. Many are obscure, perhaps created for a Ph.D. thesis and never heard of since. Others became popular for a while then faded due to lack of support or because they were limited to a particular computer system. Some are variants of existing languages, adding new features like parallelism- the ability to run many parts of a program on different computers in parallel. Read more about What is a programming language? Comparing Programming Languages There are several ways to compare computer Languages but for simplicity, well compare them by Compilation Method and Abstraction Level. Compiling to Machine Code Some languages require programs to be transformed directly into Machine Code- the instructions that a CPU understands directly. This transformation process is called compilation. Assembly Language, C, C, and Pascal are compiled languages. Interpreted Languages Other languages are either Interpreted such as Basic, Actionscript, and Javascript, or a mixture of both being compiled to an intermediate language - this includes Java and C#. An Interpreted language is processed at runtime. Every line is read, analyzed, and executed. Having to reprocess a line every time in a loop is what makes interpreted languages so slow. This overhead means that interpreted code runs between 5 - 10 times slower than compiled code. The interpreted languages like Basic or JavaScript are the slowest. Their advantage is not needing to be recompiled after changes and that is handy when youre learning to program. Because compiled programs almost always run faster than interpreted, languages such as C and C tend to be the most popular for writing games. Java and C# both compile to an interpreted language which is very efficient. Because the Virtual Machine that interprets Java and the .NET framework that runs C# are heavily optimized, its claimed that applications in those languages are as fast if not faster as compiled C. Level of Abstraction The other way to compare languages is level of abstraction. This indicates how close a particular language is to the hardware. Machine Code is the lowest level,  with Assembly Language just above it. C is higher than C because C offers greater abstraction. Java and C# are higher than C because they compile to an intermediate language called bytecode. How Languages Compare Fast Compiled Languages Assembly LanguageCCPascalC#Java Reasonably Fast Interpreted PerlPHP Slow Interpreted JavaScriptActionScriptBasic Machine Code is the instructions that a  CPU  executes. Its the only thing that a CPU can understand and execute.  Interpreted  languages need an application called an  Interpreter  that reads each line of the program source code and then runs it. Interpreting Is Easier Its very easy to stop, change and re-run applications written in an interpreted language and that is why theyre popular for learning programming. There is no compilation stage needed. Compiling can be quite a slow process. A large Visual C application can take from minutes to hours to compile, depending on how much code has to be rebuilt and the speed of memory and the  CPU. When Computers First Appeared When computers first became popular in the 1950s, programs were written in machine code as there was no other way. Programmers had to physically flip switches to enter values. This is such a tedious and slow way of creating an application that higher level computer languages had to be created. Assembler: Fast to Run- Slow to Write! Assembly language is the readable version of Machine Code and looks like this Mov A,$45 Because it is tied to a particular CPU or family of related CPUs, Assembly Language is not very  portable  and is time-consuming to learn and write. Languages like C have reduced the need for Assembly Language programming except where RAM is limited or time-critical code is needed. This is typically in the  kernel  code at the heart of an Operating System or in a video card driver. Assembly Language Is the Lowest Level of Code Assembly Language is very low level; most of the code just moves values between the  CPU  registers and memory. If you are writing a payroll package you want to think in terms of salaries and tax deductions, not  Register  A to Memory location XYZ. This is why higher level languages like C,  C#  or  Java  are more productive. The programmer can think in terms of the problem domain (salaries, deductions, and accruals) not the hardware domain (registers, memory, and instructions). Systems Programming With C C was devised in the early 1970s by Dennis Ritchie. It can be thought of as a general purpose tool- very useful and powerful but very easy to let bugs through that can make systems insecure. C is a low-level language and has been described as portable Assembly language. The syntax of many scripting  languages is based on C, for example,  JavaScript, PHP, and ActionScript. Perl: Websites and Utilities Very popular in the  Linux  world, Perl was one of the first web languages and remains very popular today. For doing quick and dirty programming on the web it remains unrivaled and drives many websites. It has though been somewhat eclipsed by  PHP as a web scripting language. Coding Websites With PHP PHP  was designed as a language for Web Servers and is very popular in conjunction with Linux, Apache, MySql, and PHP or LAMP for short. It is interpreted, but pre-compiled so code executes reasonably quickly. It can be run on desktop computers but is not as widely used for developing desktop applications. Based on C  syntax, it also includes  Objects  and Classes. Pascal  was devised as a teaching language a few years before C but was very limited with poor string and file handling. Several Manufacturers extended the language but there was no overall leader until Borlands Turbo Pascal (for Dos) and Delphi (for Windows) appeared. These were powerful implementations that added enough functionality to make them suitable for commercial development. However, Borland was up against the much bigger Microsoft and lost the battle. C: A Classy Language! C or C plus classes as it was originally known came about ten years after C and successfully introduced Object Oriented Programming to C, as well as features like exceptions and templates. Learning all of C is a big task- it is by far the most complicated of the programming languages here but once you have mastered it, youll have no difficulty with any other language. C#: Microsofts Big Bet C#  was created by  Delphis architect Anders Hejlsberg after he moved to Microsoft and Delphi developers will feel at home with features such as Windows forms. C#  syntax  is very similar to  Java, which is not surprising as Hejlsberg also worked on J after he moved to Microsoft. Learn C# and you are well on the way to knowing  Java. Both languages are semi-compiled so that instead of compiling to machine code, they compile to  bytecode  ( C# compiles to  CIL  but it and Bytecode are similar) and are then  interpreted. Javascript: Programs in Your Browser Javascript  is nothing like Java, instead, its a  scripting  language based on C syntax but with the addition of  Objects  and is used mainly in browsers. JavaScript is interpreted and a lot slower than  compiled  code but works well within a browser. Invented by Netscape it has proved very successful and after several years in the doldrums is enjoying a new lease of life because of  AJAX; Asynchronous Javascript and XML. This allows parts of web pages to update from the server without redrawing the entire page. ActionScript: A Flashy Language! ActionScript  is an implementation of JavaScript but exists solely within Macromedia Flash applications.  Using vector-based graphics, it is used mainly for games, playing videos and other visual effects and for developing sophisticated user interfaces, all running in the browser. Basic for Beginners Basic  is an acronym for Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code and was created to teach programming in the 1960s. Microsoft has made the language their own with many different versions including VBScript for websites and the very successful  Visual Basic. The latest version of that is VB.NET and this runs on the same platform  .NET  as C# and produces the same CIL bytecode. Lua is a free scripting language written in C that includes garbage collection and coroutines. It interfaces well with C/C and is used in the games industry (and non-games as well) to script game logic, event triggers, and game control. Conclusion While everyone has their favorite language and has invested time and resources in learning how to program it, there are some problems that are best solved with the right language. E.G you wouldnt use C for writing web apps and you wouldnt write an Operating System in Javascript. But whichever language you choose, if its C, C or C#, at least you know youre in the right place to learn it.

Gunpowder Facts, History and Description

Gunpowder Facts, History and Description Gunpowder or black powder is of great historical importance in chemistry. Although it can explode, its principal use is as a propellant. Gunpowder was invented by Chinese alchemists in the 9th century. Originally, it was made by mixing elemental sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter (potassium nitrate). The charcoal traditionally came from the willow tree, but grapevine, hazel, elder, laurel, and pine cones have all been used. Charcoal is not the only fuel that can be used. Sugar is used instead in many pyrotechnic applications. When the ingredients were carefully ground together, the end result was a powder that was called serpentine. The ingredients tended to require remixing prior to use, so making gunpowder was very dangerous. People who made gunpowder would sometimes add water, wine, or another liquid to reduce this hazard since a single spark could result in a smoky fire. Once the serpentine was mixed with a liquid, it could be pushed through a screen to make small pellets, which were then allowed to dry. How Gunpowder Works To summarize, black powder consists of a fuel (charcoal or sugar) and an oxidizer (saltpeter or niter), and sulfur, to allow for a stable reaction. The carbon from the charcoal plus oxygen forms carbon dioxide and energy. The reaction would be slow, like a wood fire, except for the oxidizing agent. Carbon in a fire must draw oxygen from the air. Saltpeter provides extra oxygen. Potassium nitrate, sulfur, and carbon react together to form nitrogen and carbon dioxide gases and potassium sulfide. The expanding gases, nitrogen and carbon dioxide, provide the propelling action. Gunpowder tends to produce a lot of smoke, which can impair vision on a battlefield or reduce the visibility of fireworks. Changing the ratio of the ingredients affects the rate at which the gunpowder burns and the amount of smoke that is produced. Difference Between Gunpowder and Black Powder While black powder and traditional gunpowder may both be used in firearms, the term black powder was introduced in the late 19th century in the United States to distinguish newer formulations from traditional gunpowder. Black powder produces less smoke than the original gunpowder formula. Its worth noting early black powder was actually off-white or tan in color, not black! Charcoal Versus Carbon in Gunpowder Pure amorphous carbon is not used in black powder. Charcoal, while it contains carbon, also contains cellulose from incomplete combustion of wood. This gives charcoal a relatively low ignition temperature. Black powder made from pure carbon would barely burn. Gunpowder Composition There is no single recipe for gunpowder. This is because varying the ratio of the ingredients produces different effects. Powder used in firearms needs to burn at a fast rate to quickly accelerate a projectile. A formulation used as a rocket propellant, on the other hand, needs to burn more slowly because it accelerates a body over a long period of time. Cannon, like rockets, use a powder with a slower burn rate. In 1879, the French prepared gunpowder using 75% saltpeter, 12.5% sulfur, and 12.5% charcoal. The same year, the English used gunpowder made from 75% saltpeter, 15% charcoal, and 10% sulfur. One rocket formula consisted of 62.4% saltpeter, 23.2% charcoal, and 14.4% sulfur. Gunpowder Invention Historians believe gunpowder originated in China. Originally, it was used as an incendiary. Later, it found use as a propellant and explosive. It remains unclear when, exactly, gunpowder made its way to Europe. Basically, this is because records describing the use of gunpowder are difficult to interpret. A weapon that produced smoke might have used gunpowder or could have used some other formulation. The formulas that came into use in Europe closely matched those used in China, suggesting the technology was introduced after it had already been developed. Sources Agrawal, Jai Prakash (2010). High Energy Materials: Propellants, Explosives and Pyrotechnics. Wiley-VCH.Andrade, Tonio (2016). The Gunpowder Age: China, Military Innovation, and the Rise of the West in World History. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-13597-7.Ashford, Bob (2016). A New Interpretation of the Historical Data on the Gunpowder Industry in Devon and Cornwall.  J. Trevithick Soc.  43: 65–73.Partington, J.R. (1999). A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-5954-0.Urbanski, Tadeusz (1967),  Chemistry and Technology of Explosives,  III. New York: Pergamon Press.

Developmental Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Developmental Psychology - Essay Example In the developmental Psychology, there are the tendencies to make assessments on the differences between the young and the grown human being in terms of experience, knowledge and thinking, and many aspects that treat the said issue. They said Cognitive development is the growth of skills used by infants and children to understand and interact with the world around them. (Cognitive and Social Development of Children's with HoloProsencephaly). On this note, the children's' since early childhood would be thought about many things based on their ability to understand. For example seeing image and able to remember it at any moment. Additionally, when the child continues to grow would also know the uses and value and the ill effect of any object shows to them. For example, a child would know what the uses of a lamp; while at the same time would be thought that it is very dangerous for him or her to put hands on the open flame of a lamp. Children start learning about sounds when they are still in the womb. Over the first year, this attention towards sounds and particularly voices develops into an understanding of specific words and phrases. We can assess children's understanding of language by looking at 2 their reactions to familiar words and their ability to follow instructions. The ability to understand language begins well before children begin to speak their first words... Children start learning about sounds when they are still in the womb. Over the first year, this attention towards sounds and particularly voices develops into an understanding of specific words and phrases. We can assess children's understanding of language by looking at 2 their reactions to familiar words and their ability to follow instructions. The ability to understand language begins well before children begin to speak their first words. We can also listen to what children are saying. Most children start to produce language-like babbling towards the end of the first year before they actually start speaking words. (Cognitive and Social Development of Children's with HoloProsencephaly) Developmental psychology also helps to dictate the differences that relates to child development. Example of this is that, its give an insight and background of children's with different intellectual capacities. Why some children show delayed or slower growth in intellectual abilities compared with their age peers, and why some adults remain cognitively fit into old age and others show cognitive decline. (Developmental Psychology -Concepts of Change and Development) THEORY OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT It is through the Developmental psychology that the theory of cognitive development derived, which deals with children's mental capabilities. These include how child can solve problem, memory and language. But the key factor on this aspect is the language acquisition and development of perfectual and motor skills. Piaget is one of the most influential psychologists that shed lights on development of cognitive skills. His theory states that: development proceeds through a set of stages from infancy to adulthood and that there is an end point or goal. Other

Response to The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht Essay

Response to The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht - Essay Example Upon learning their situation, she remembered her recently deceased grandfather and had a brief look of her life when â€Å"there is war† in her hometown, the Balkan City. Natalia recalled that like any other little girl, she also loved and grew up listening to her grandfather’s stories. She remembered the two stories of her grandfather with memorable mythical characters: the tiger’s wife and the deathless man. The tiger’s wife is the story of a lonely deaf and mute woman, who lived in an isolated mountain village. She was married to an abusive butcher, where in she always suffered beating. The woman was named by the villagers â€Å"the tiger’s wife† because of their malicious thinking. The woman’s affection and too much kindness to the tiger that escaped in the zoo during the war, had been maliciously mistaken by the villagers for something indecent. They thought the woman married the tiger. This rumor had led the villagers to plan fo r the killings of the tiger. However, as Natalia narrated, they were saved and protected by her grandfather. The story of the deathless man was based from the story of Natalia’s grandfather, who was a Christian married to a Muslim from Sarobor.