Hassium Facts - Hs or Element 108

Hassium Facts - Hs or Element 108 Element atomic number 108 is hassium, which has the element symbol Hs. Hassium is one of the manmade or synthetic radioactive elements. Only about 100 atoms of this element have been produced so there is not a lot of experimental data for it. Properties are predicted based on the behavior of other elements in the same element group. Hassium is expected to be a metallic silver or gray metal at room temperature, much like the element osmium. All of the isotopes of hassium are radioactive. Martin Diebel / Getty Images Here are interesting facts about this rare metal: Discovery:  Peter Armbruster, Gottfried Munzenber and co-workers produced hassium at GSI in Darmstadt, Germany in 1984. The GSI team bombarded a lead-208 target with iron-58 nuclei. However, Russian scientists had attempted to synthesize hassium in 1978 at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna. Their initial data was inconclusive, so they repeated the experiments five years later, producing Hs-270, Hs-264, and Hs-263. Element Name:  Before its official discovery, hassium was referred to as element 108, eka-osmium or unniloctium. Hassium was the subject of a naming controversy over which team should be given official credit for discovering element 108. The 1992 IUPAC/IUPAP Transfermium Working Group (TWG) recognized the GSI team, stating that their work was more detailed. Peter Armbruster and his colleagues proposed the name hassium from the Latin  Hassias  meaning Hess or Hesse, the German state, where this element was first produced. In 1994, an IUPAC committee recommended making the elements name hahnium (Hn) in honor of the German physicist Otto Hahn. This was despite the convention of allowing the discovering team the right to suggest a name. The German discoverers and the American Chemical Society (ACS) protested the name change and the IUPAC finally allowed element 108 to be officially named hassium (Hs) in 1997. Atomic Number:  108 Symbol:  Hs Atomic Weight:  [269] Group: Group 8, d-block element, transition metal Electron Configuration:  [Rn] 7s2  5f14  6d6 Appearance:  Hassium is believed to be a dense solid metal at room temperature and pressure. If enough of the element were produced, it is expected it would have a shiny, metallic appearance. Its possible hassium could be even more dense than the heaviest known element, osmium. The predicted density of hassium is  41  g/cm3. Properties: Its likely hassium reacts with oxygen in air to form a volatile tetraoxide. Following periodic law, hassium should be the heaviest element in group 8 of the periodic table. It is predicted that hassium has a high melting point, crystallizes in the hexagonal close-packed structure (hcp), and has a bulk modulus (resistance to compression) on par with diamond (442 GPa). Differences between hassium and its homologue osmium would likely be due to relativistic effects. Sources:  Hassium was first synthesized by bombarding lead-208 with iron-58 nuclei. Only 3 atoms of hassium were produced at this time. In 1968, Russian scientist Victor Cherdyntsev claimed to have discovered naturally-occurring hassium in a sample of  molybdenite, but this was not verified. To date, hassium has not been found in nature. The short half-lives of the known isotopes of hassium mean no primordial hassium could have survived to the present day. However, its still possible nuclear isomers or isotopes with longer half-lives might be found in trace quantities. Element Classification:  Hassium is a transition metal that  is expected to have properties similar to those of the platinum group of transition metals. Like the other elements in this group, hassium is expected to have oxidation states of 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. The 8, 6, 4, and 2 states will likely be the most stable, based on the elements electron configuration. Isotopes:  12 isotopes of hassium are known, from masses  263 to 277. All of them are radioactive. The most stable isotope is  Hs-269, which has a half-life of 9.7 seconds. Hs-270 is of particular interest because it possesses magic number of nuclear stability. The atomic number 108 is a proton magic number for deformed (nonspherical) nuclei, while 162 is a neutron magic number for deformed nuclei. This doubly magic nucleus has a low decay energy compared with other hassium isotopes. More research is needed to determine whether or not Hs-270 is an isotope in the proposed island of stability. Health Effects:  While the platinum group metals tend not to be particularly toxic, hassium presents a health risk because of its significant radioactivity. Uses:  At present, hassium is only used for research. Sources Emsley, John (2011). Natures Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements (New ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 215–7. ISBN 978-0-19-960563-7.Hoffman, Darleane C.; Lee, Diana M.; Pershina, Valeria (2006). Transactinides and the future elements. In Morss; Edelstein, Norman M.; Fuger, Jean. The Chemistry of the Actinide and Transactinide Elements (3rd ed.). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer ScienceBusiness Media. ISBN 1-4020-3555-1.Names and symbols of transfermium elements (IUPAC Recommendations 1994).  Pure and Applied Chemistry  66  (12): 2419. 1994.Mà ¼nzenberg, G.; Armbruster, P.; Folger, H.; et al. (1984). The identification of element 108 (PDF). Zeitschrift fà ¼r Physik A. 317 (2): 235–236. doi:10.1007/BF01421260Oganessian, Yu. Ts.; Ter-Akopian, G. M.; Pleve, A. A.; et al. (1978). ОÐ ¿Ã'‹Ã'‚Ã'‹ Ð ¿Ã ¾ Ã' Ã ¸Ã ½Ã'‚Ð µÃ ·Ã'Æ' 108 Ã' Ã »Ã µÃ ¼Ã µÃ ½Ã'‚Ð ° Ð ² Ã'€Ð µÃ °Ã ºÃ'†Ð ¸Ã ¸ [Experiments on the sy nthesis of element 108 in the 226Ra48Ca reaction] (in Russian). Joint Institute for Nuclear Research.

Dissociation Reaction Definition and Examples

Dissociation Reaction Definition and Examples A dissociation reaction is a chemical reaction  in which a compound breaks apart into two or more parts. The general formula for a dissociation reaction follows the form: AB → A B Dissociation reactions are usually reversible chemical reactions. One way to recognize a dissociation reaction is when there is only one reactant  but multiple products. Key Takeaways When writing out an equation, be sure to include the ionic charge if there is one. This is important. For example, K (metallic potassium) is very different from K (potassium ion).Dont include water as a reactant when compounds dissociate into their ions while dissolving in water. While there are a few exceptions to this rule, for most situations you should use (aq) to indicate an aqueous solution. Dissociation Reaction Examples When you write a dissociation reaction in which a compound breaks into its component ions, you place charges above the ion symbols and balance the equation for both mass and charge. The reaction in which water breaks into hydrogen and hydroxide ions is a dissociation reaction. When a molecular compound undergoes dissociation into ions, the reaction may also be called ionization. H2O → H OH- When acids undergo dissociation, they produce hydrogen ions. For example, consider the ionization of hydrochloric acid: HCl → H(aq) Cl-(aq) While some molecular compounds (such as  water and acids) form electrolytic solutions, most dissociation reactions involve ionic compounds in water (aqueous solutions). When ionic compounds dissociate, water molecules break apart the ionic crystal. This occurs because of the attraction between the positive and negative ions in the crystal and the negative and positive polarity of water. In a written equation, youll usually see the state of matter of the species listed in parentheses following the chemical formula: s for solid, l for liquid, g for gas, and aq for aqueous solution. Examples include: NaCl(s) → Na(aq) Cl-(aq)Fe2(SO4)3(s) → 2Fe3(aq) 3SO42-(aq)

High school students Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

High school students - Essay Example It may be that they want nothing to do with the language that they have learned. The key is that having learned another language looks impressive on any CV because it will show potential employers that you can work outside of your comfort side. Additionally, high school students should be required to learn a foreign language because it will improve their grades on other subjects too. Learning another language requires much brain power, and this extra effort can help develop a work ethic that benefits other subjects as well. Finally, high school students can gain self-confidence by learning a foreign language. Mastering any foreign language requires hours of dedication, so finally being able to converse in it can give any student great confidence for them to take forward. The importance of learning a foreign language cannot be denied. What better way to start than by making high school students study at least one foreign language for at least two years? High school students should be made to learn another language because it can look good to potential employers, improve other school aspects, and make them feel like they have achieved something of

Kolbs cyclical learning theory Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Kolbs cyclical learning theory - Assignment Example In the entire session, I was actively involved in varied chronological ideas with the major one involving lab analysis. Throughout the sessions, it was evident that more and more results were acquired, and each time the results differed. This was identified after each individual clearly demonstrated their results. Concrete experimentation consists of varied activities that can range from field works to lab sessions. In this sessions, everyone is committed to gaining the best results; a reason for having many correct answers for a similar question. Attaining different although acceptable lab results raised a lot of questions with most of them associated with credibility of the entire lab process. Although, I had numerous doubts, I decided to try and understand the results and the causes that resulted into the above facts. On putting more efforts and repeating the process several times, it became evident that these results would always vary, but accurate calculations using the data for each individual would provide similar results. This ensured that if the same lab sessions were repeated or rather taken in similar circumstances, but different periods, it was possible to anticipate the following results or actions. The reflective observation has instances when a learner concentrates and reflects on the experiences that occurred in the prior stage. Understanding the general principle in which the entire lab session, results and the analysis occurred proved incredibly challenging.

Searching for ideology in spite of Media Essay Example for Free

Searching for ideology in spite of Media Essay As individuals, we constantly struggle to find a balance between personal opinion and societal compliance; between our personal value systems and what society in general regards as acceptable, or at least what it wants us to believe. However, some would agree that the influence that media exerts on our psyche can upset such a balance. Every individual aims to be unique and original with their reasoning, but the odds are stacked against them as streams of media flow with such a prominent impact on societal ideology. The effect of the media is significant and far-reaching. Everywhere, the media encroaches upon our ideologies and everything that we hold sacred and changes it in ways that we are often unaware of. Holding on to our personal ideologies in the face of media is swimming upstream against resistance and the irresistible currents of change. Indeed the media has been a powerful force in influencing people’s perceptions, and by extension, their actions as well. Business, politicians, and showbiz personalities pay huge sums of money to media firms in order to create an image or change an existing one. Politics in particular, has been making use of the media to generate public support for certain policies. As an economic force the media has been used by Western nations to trespass into Third World Cultures and impose their own Western views and in effect promote Western goods. The westernization of these countries has led to the destruction of the many elements of native cultures. Similarly, the media infringes upon our system of values and we are never the same. With the greater outpouring of media coming from the United States, advertisers, writers and even politicians of other countries are forced to swim upstream against certain influences from a society that preaches to a larger audience than it can actually support. A trend is emerging in the presentation of media products which Sony has described as ‘global localization’: the structuring of media products designed for certain cultural consumption or presentation, which are assembled without particular concerns for national cultural heritage or tradition (Thussu 21). Of course it must be said that media per se is not the culprit. It is a neutral instrument that can be used both for good and bad ends. The capacity of media to effect positive or negative effects on an individual or a given society depends on the people using the media as a very powerful tool to advance their own, often selfish causes. As such, this paper intends to look at how the media is being used as a tool primarily to promote political and economic agendas. Ideas on Ideology Ideologies refer to a set of beliefs of ways of living that structures the way we see things and act upon accordingly. These ideologies often act below the surface and are the driving force that determines our actions of a daily basis. Ideologies are products of the culture that people were exposed to. In the realm of the social sciences, ideology is perhaps one of the most difficult to define because of its highly complex nature (Bailey 4). Regardless of the difficulties of the concept, we all have some functional grasp of our own ideologies, and it serves as the framework with which we perceive the world at large and by which we base our decisions and value judgments. In terms of society, the word ideology basically makes the connection between ideas and the kind of society that we have (Bailey 23). This implies that a society is the realization of the collective thoughts or ideas of a people, and as such, can also be changed by the same token. For sociologist, ideology refers to ideas that are actually forwarded and manifested for the very purpose of effecting change. These ideologies are ideas or beliefs applied in the public realm; abstract made real. As such, every political entity has a set of ideologies that form the basis of its platform and policies. This paper uses the term ideology in a more general sense; ideology as the set of beliefs and values that buttress an individual and how such ideologies change in the face of media manipulation. As such, these ideologies are the main targets of media as they endeavor to convince people to change their beliefs and value systems.

Comparing the Hero in Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut and A Perfect Day for Bananafish :: comparison compare contrast essays

The Misfit Hero in Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut and A Perfect Day for Bananafish The "Misfit Hero" is a common trait of J.D. Salinger's short stories. The "Misfit Hero" is a character who is in conflict with him or herself and has good qualities and bad qualities. This hero is usually isolated and is attempting to break out of his darkness because he craves and requires love and warmth. These protagonists are unable to function effectively in society because they are so overcome with experience, love, and perceptions. An outsider sometimes reaches out by a romantic gesture that is ridiculous but tender, meaningful, and unexpected (French 305). In "A Perfect Day for Bananafish", the protagonist, Seymour Glass, has a spiritual illness which makes him incapable of distinguishing between significant and insignificant experiences. Seymour's actions seem to demand attention in an immature way, suggesting insecurity and a need for love (French 306). He disrupts the composure of adults. Seymour does not show up for his own wedding because he says he is too happy. The nature of this happiness is further illuminated through the use of a boyhood experience of Seymour's: at the age of twelve he threw a stone at a young girl, wounding her for life. The narrator, Seymour's brother, explains the incident this way: We were up at the Lake. Seymour had written to Charlotte, inviting her to come and visit us, and her mother finally let her. What happened was, she sat down in the middle of our driveway one morning to pet Boo Boo's cat, and Seymour threw a stone at her because she looked so beautiful sitting there in the middle of the driveway with Boo Boo's cat. Everybody knew that for God's sake. (Salinger Raise 89) Seymour's own understanding of his derangement is a more creative one. He writes in his journal: Certain heads, certain colors and textures of human hair leave permanent marks on me. Other things too. Charlotte once ran away from me outside the studio and I grabbed her dress to stop her, to keep her near me. A yellow cotton dress I loved because it was too long for her. I still have a lemon-yellow mark on the palm of my right hand, I'm a kind of paranoiac in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy. (Salinger Raise 75-76) It is obvious that Seymour's perception of this incident differs from that of his brother.

Swimming: Summer Olympic Games and Swimmers

The sport of swimming has been recorded since prehistoric times; the earliest recording of swimming dates back to Stone Age paintings from around 7,000 years ago. Written references date from 2000 BC. Some of the earliest references to swimming include the Gilgamesh, the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Bible, Beowulf, Quran and other sagas. In 1778, Nikolaus Wynmann, a German professor of languages, wrote the first swimming book, The Swimmer or A Dialogue on the Art of Swimming (Der Schwimmer oder ein Zweigesprà ¤ch à ¼ber die Schwimmkunst).Competitive swimming as we know it today started in the United States started around 1800, mostly using breaststroke. Many Americans often used swimming competitions to settle differences in the frontier, such as property rights. In 1873, John Arthur Trudgen introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native Americans. Due to a British dislike of splashing, Trudgen employed a scissor kick instead of the front crawl's flutter kick. Swimming was part of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens.In 1902 Richmond Cavill introduced the front crawl to the Western world. In 1908, the world swimming association, Fà ©dà ©ration Internationale de Natation (FINA), was formed. Butterfly was developed in the 1930s and was at first a variant of breaststroke, until it was accepted as a separate style in 1952. [edit]Competition Competitive swimming became popular in the nineteenth century. The goal of competitive swimming is to constantly improve upon one's time(s), or to beat the competitors in any given event.However, some professional swimmers who do not hold a national or world ranking are considered the best in regard to their technical skills. Typically, an athlete goes through a cycle of training in which the body is overloaded with work in the beginning and middle segments of the cycle, and then the workload is decreased in the final stage as the swimmer approaches the competitio n in which he or she is to compete in. This final stage is often referred to as â€Å"shave and taper†; the swimmer tapering down his or her workload to be able to perform at their optimal level.At the very end of this stage, before competition, the swimmer shaves off all exposed hair for the sake of reducing drag and having a sleeker and more hydrodynamic feel in the water. [1] World record holder and Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps in the 400 IM. Swimming is an event at the Summer Olympic Games, where male and female athletes compete in 16 of the recognized events each. Olympic events are held in a 50-meter pool, called a long course pool. There are forty officially recognized individual swimming events in the pool; however the International Olympic Committee only recognizes 32 of them.The international governing body for competitive swimming is the Fà ©dà ©ration Internationale de Natation (â€Å"International Swimming Federation†), better known as FINA. [edi t]Open water In open water swimming, where the events are swum in a body of open water (lake or sea), there are also 5 km, 10 km and 25 km events for men and women. However, only the 10 km event is included in the Olympic schedule, again for both men and women. Open-water competitions are typically separate to other swimming competitions with the exception of the World Championships and the Olympics. [edit]Swim stylesIn competitive swimming, four major styles have been established. These have been relatively stable over the last 30–40 years with minor improvements. The four main strokes in swimming are: Freestyle(free) Breaststroke(breast) Backstroke(back) Butterfly(fly) Events in competition could have only one of these styles or they could contain all four. The individual medley is an event that where swimmers start the race with butterfly, then move to backstroke, breastroke, and then freestyle. [2] There are two possible distances of this event, both swum in each of the t wo competition pools.In the short course pool, there are 200-yard and 400-yard individual medleys and in the long course pool, there are 200-meter and 400-meter individual medleys. For younger swimmers involved in club swimming, there is also a 100-yard individual medley option in the short course pool, but this event is not often competed by swimmers over the age of 14. [edit]Dolphin kick In the past two decades, the most drastic change in swimming has been the addition of the underwater dolphin kick. This is used to maximize the speed at the start and after the turns.The first successful use of it was by David Berkoff at the 1988 Olympics, where he swam most of the 100 m backstroke race underwater and broke the world record on the distance during the preliminaries. Another swimmer to use the technique was Denis Pankratov at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, where he completed almost half of the 100 m butterfly underwater to win the gold medal. In the past few years,[when? ] American c ompetitive swimmers have shown the most use of the underwater dolphin kick to gain advantage, most notably Olympic and World medal winners Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.While the dolphin kick is mostly seen in middle-distance freestyle events and in all distances of backstroke and butterfly, it is not usually used to the same effect in freestyle sprinting. That changed with the addition of the so-called sharkskin suits around the European Short Course Championships in Rijeka, Croatia in December 2008. There, Amaury Leveaux set new world records of 44. 94 seconds in the 100 m freestyle, 20. 48 seconds in the 50 m freestyle and 22. 18 in the 50 m butterfly. Unlike the rest of the competitors in these events, he spent at least half of each race submerged using the dolphin kick. 3] While underwater dolphin kicking is allowed in freestyle, backstroke and butterfly, its use is not permitted in the same way in the breaststroke. In 2005, a new rule was formed stating that an optional downw ard dolphin kick may be used off the start and each turn, and it must occur during the breaststroke pullout. Any other dolphin kick will result in disqualification. New rules were established to curtail excessive use of underwater dolphin kicks in freestyle, backstroke and butterfly.Currently, performing the dolphin kick past 15 meters results in a disqualification. [edit]Competition pools Most swimming sport events are held in special competition swimming pools, which are either long course pools such as those used in the Olympic Games (50 m) or short course pools such as those used in the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 yards or 25 m but generally 25m). Competition pools have starting blocks from which the competitor can dive in, and possibly also touch-sensitive pads to electronically record the swimming time of each competitor. edit]Seasons Club swimming in the US has two major seasons. During the short-course season, swimmers swim in 25-yard pools. This season lasts from September to the end of March. The long-course season takes place in 50-meter pools and lasts from April to the end of August. The longer freestyle events vary in lengths in each season. In the short course season, the 500 yard, 1000 yard, and 1650-yard freestyle events are swum, while during the long course season the 400 meter, 800 meter, and 1500-meter freestyle events are swum instead.However, this difference in distance holds true for all meter pools, i. e. short course meter pools also swim the 400 meter, 800 meter, and 1500 meter freestyle events instead of their yard counterparts. Training in both short course and long course has become more of an American Standard. Internationally, long course meters is the standard, as seen in the Olympics. This standard of two separate seasons in America may be because it is so much easier for new swimmers to learn to compete in a smaller pool during the short course season.Smaller pools allow for shorter distance races, so for example in short course season if a younger swimmer wanted to compete in a stroke they had just learned, a 25 yard 8 years old and under race is available to them, opposed to the long course season when they would need to be able to swim at least 50 meters of that new stroke in order to compete. [edit]Officials There are several types of officials,[4] which are needed to manage the competition. [5] Referee: The referee has full control and authority over all officials.The referee will enforce all rules and decisions of FINA and shall decide all questions relating to the actual conduct of the meet, and event or the competition, the final settlement of which is not otherwise covered by the rules. The referee takes overall responsibility for running the race and makes the final decisions as to who wins the competition. Referees call swimmers to the blocks with short blasts of his or her whistle. This is the signal for the swimmers to stand next to their blocks. Starters call missing swimmers if necessary.Then the referee will blow a long whistle that will tell the swimmers to step on the block. For backstroke otherwise known as backcrawl events, the long whistle is the signal for the swimmers to step in the water. The referee will then blow another long whistle, signaling the swimmers to grab the gutter or the provided block handle (for backstoke/backcrawl events only). The referee will then hand over control to the starter. Starter: The starter has full control of the swimmers from the time the referee turns the swimmers over to him/her until the race commences.A starter sends the swimmers off the blocks and may call a false start if a swimmer leaves the block before the starter sends them. Clerk of course: The clerk of course assembles swimmers prior to each event, and is responsible for organizing (â€Å"seeding†) swimmers into heats based on their times. Heats are generally seeded from slowest to fastest, where swimmers with no previous time for an event are ass umed to be the slowest. Timekeepers: There are three timekeepers for each lane. Each timekeeper takes the time of the swimmers in the lane assigned to him/her.Unless a video backup system is used, it may be necessary to use the full complement of timekeepers even when automatic officiating equipment is used. A chief timekeeper assigns the seating positions for all timekeepers and the lanes for which they are responsible. The chief timekeeper collects from the timekeepers in each lane a card showing the times recorded and, if necessary, inspect their watches. One timer will be timing with a stopwatch, another recording it down, and one making sure everything is valid.Inspectors of turns: One inspector of turns is assigned to each lane at each end of the pool. Each inspector of turns ensures that swimmers comply with the relevant rules for turning as well as the relevant rules for start and finish of the race. Inspectors of turns shall report any violation on disqualification reports detailing the event, lane number, and the infringement delivered to the chief inspector of turns who will immediately convey the report to the referee. Judges of Stroke: Judges of stroke are located on each side of the pool.They ensure that the rules related to the style of swimming designated for the event are being observed, and observe the turns and the finishes to assist the inspectors of turns. Finish judges Finish judges determine the order of finish and make sure the swimmers finish in accordance with the rules (two hands simultaneously for breaststroke and butterfly, on the back for backstroke, etc. ) If an official catches a swimmer breaking a rule concerning the stroke he or she is swimming, that swimmer is said to be disqualified (commonly referred to as a â€Å"DQ†) and the swim is not considered valid.The referee can disqualify any swimmer for any violation of the rules that he personally observes. The referee may also disqualify any swimmer for any violation rep orted to him by other authorised officials. All disqualifications are subject to the decision of the referee. [edit]Swimwear Main articles: Competitive swimwear and Swimsuit Giovanni Franceschi in Rome, 1983 Swimsuit The suit covers the skin for modesty. Competitive swimwear seeks to improve upon bare human skin for a speed advantage.For extra speed, a swimmer wears a body suit, which has rubber or plastic bumps that break up the water close to the body and provides a small amount of thrust—just barely enough to help a swimmer swim faster. However, competitive swimming rules may limit the type of suit a swimmer can wear. Swim cap A swim cap (a. k. a. cap) keeps the swimmer's hair out of the way to reduce drag. Caps may be made of latex, silicone, spandex or lycra. Goggles Goggles keep water and chlorine out of swimmers' eyes. Goggles may be tinted to counteract glare at outdoor pools.Prescription goggles may be used by swimmers who wear corrective lenses. Swim Fins Rubber fin s are used to help kick faster. They also improve technique by keeping the feet in the proper position while kicking. Drag suit Swimmers use drag suits to make weight to pull them back, to increase resistance. Paddles Swimmers use these plastic devices to build arm and shoulder strength and refine pulling technique. Hand paddles attach to the hand with rubber tubing or elastic material. They come in many different shapes and sizes.Kickboard A kickboard is a foam board that swimmers use to support the weight of the pper body while they focus on kicking; helps build leg muscles. Pull buoy Often used at the same time as hand paddles, pull buoys support swimmers' legs (and prevents them from kicking) while they focus on pulling. Pull buoys are made of foam so they float in the water. Swimmers hold them in between the thighs. Ankle bands Improving balance will minimize the need for this kick to provide an upward, instead of a forward vector, and in some cases completely corrects the kick . Using an ankle band will have the immediate effect of turning off your kick, which then forces you to make efforts to correct your balance.If you are successful in discovering these, then the ankle band has done part of its job. [6] Snorkel A snorkel is a plastic device that helps swimmers breathe while swimming. This piece of equipment helps the swimmer practice keeping his or her head in one position. [edit]Regular practice and competition swimwear [edit]Men Men's most used practice swimwear include briefs and jammers. Males generally swim barechested. There has been much controversy after the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, when many Olympic swimmers broke records an unprecedented number of times using revolutionary swimsuits.To highlight the issue, note that it is rare to break world records, but in 2008, 70 world records were broken in one year, and 66 Olympic records were broken in one Olympic Games (there were races in Beijing where the first five finishers were swimming fas ter than the old world record). Despite many of his records having been won in these suits, Michael Phelps stated that he might boycott the competition after his record was beaten by another swimmer with a more advanced suit. As of New Year's Day 2010, men are only allowed to wear suits from the waist to above the knees. 7]They are also only permitted to wear one piece of swimwear; they cannot wear speedos underneath jammers. This rule was enacted after the controversy in the Beijing Olympics and Rome World Championships. [edit]Women Paralympic swimming at the 2008 Summer Paralympics. Women wear one-piece suits with different backs for competition, though there are two-piece suits that can be worn to compete as well. Backs vary mainly in strap thickness and geometric design. Most common styles include: racerback, axel back, corset, diamondback, and butterfly-back/Fly-Back.There are also different style lengths: three-quarter length (reaches the knees), regular length (shoulders to h ips), and bikini style (two-piece). Also as of New Year's 2010, in competition, women are only allowed to wear suits that do not go past the knees or shoulders. [edit]Use of drag Drag suits, used by women, are used for increasing the resistance against the swimmer in order to help adjust the swimmer to drag. This way, when swimmers switch back to normal practice suits they swim faster as a result of feeling less resistance.They are not worn during competitions. Drag shorts, mainly used by men, like drag suits are worn in training and are also used to increase drag so that when taken off in racing it feels easier and the swimmer feels less resistance. Other forms of drag wear include nylons, old suits, and T-shirts; the point is to increase friction in the water to build strength during training, and increase speed once drag items are removed for competition. Swimmers also shave areas of exposed skin before end-of-season competitions to reduce friction in the water.It is especially c ommon for women to stop the traditional removal of leg hair at least a month before end-of-season competitions. This can be viewed as an additional form of drag because drag is most importantly about mental training and how one feels in the water. Freshly shaven skin feels much smoother and less resistant in comparison when in the water. The presence of leg and arm hair will make very little difference physically in a swimmer’s overall performance, but mentally it has been known to have a very large effect.The mental aspect of wearing drag is critical because the goal is to feel your best in the water on race day. Drag makes a swimmer feel slower and more resistant during training with the added friction. Then on the day of the competition, a shaven swimmer wearing only a fast competition suit will feel a drastic and noticeable improvement in how fast and smooth they feel in the water. As in every other sport, mental training is just as important as physical training. [edit]C ollegiate Swimming Young swimmers compete on club teams and may wish to continue their careers through college.Recruiting for collegiate swimming often starts on July 1 following the athlete's junior year of high school. That date marks the day that college coaches can contact athletes via phone to discuss possibly swimming for their team. College swimmers compete starting in the fall until their conference meet in the early spring. From there, the swimmers with the fastest times in each event will be invited to compete in the NCAA championships after the regular season is over. All college meets are competed in short course pools. [edit]Open-water swimming Main article: Open water swimmingOpen water swimming is swimming outside of a regular pool, usually in a lake, or sometimes ocean. Popularity of the sport has grown in recent years, particularly since the 10 km open water event was added as an Olympic event in 2005, contested for the first time in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijin g. New recent technology has developed much faster swimsuits. Full body suits have been banned, but swimmers at the very top levels still wear suits that have been lasered together because stitching creates drag. The downfall of these suits: they are sometimes uncomfortable and tight. [edit]Changes to the sportSwimming times have dropped over the years due to better training techniques and to new developments. The first four Olympics competitions were not held in pools, but in open water (1896 – The Mediterranean, 1900 – The Seine River, 1904 – an artificial lake, 1906 – The Mediterranean). The 1904 Olympics' freestyle race was the only one ever measured at 100 yards, instead of the usual 100 meters. A 100-meter pool was built for the 1908 Olympics and sat in the center of the main stadium's track and field oval. The 1912 Olympics, held in the Stockholm harbor, marked the beginning of electronic timing. clarification needed] Male swimmers wore full-body s uits until the 1940s, which caused more drag in the water than their modern swimwear counterparts did.Competition suits now include engineered fabric and designs to reduce swimmers' drag in the water and prevent athlete fatigue. In addition, over the years, pool designs have lessened the drag. Some design considerations allow for the reduction of swimming resistance, making the pool faster. Namely, proper pool depth, elimination of currents, increased lane width, energy absorbing racing lane lines and gutters, and the use of other innovative hydraulic, acoustic, and illumination designs.

Interpersonal Process: Decision Making in Organizations Essay

The crucial part of any organization is making good decisions in the various contexts. To reach good decisions, they need reliable information, experience in interpreting information, and reaching a consensus. However, this process of decision-making remains incomplete without the consultation process as the view and expertise of other people in an organization can help to admit one or alter one’s mind. The process of decision-making is supported by various tools and techniques that help an organization better sort and analyze the information by adding numerical and objective precision to minimize the level of subjectivity. As organizational decision-making process is people-centric and it always has some level of subjectivity in it, some sort of training can enable managers to be better decision makers. A supportive environment where one is fairly criticized for making wrong choices and proper support from other group members and superiors enables managers to make better decisions (Kippenberger, T, 1998). The importance of interpersonal process of decision-making is obvious in all types of decisions made in the organizational context such as strategic decision of investment and direction of future growth taken by the board of director and tactical decision about material handling and effectiveness at departmental levels taken by managers. In addition, in the 21st century of market-oriented and customer focused approach also puts pressure on employees to make decision about their own tasks, responses to customers and improvement to business practice. The process of first collecting alternative possibilities and then converging on a solution is referred as decision making. In fact when we decide we try to cut off from all other alternatives as the Latin root of the world decision suggests and means. In the presence and emergence of new innovative solutions and huge variations in the ways business are being done, decision making process still remains a human process. However, the advance methodologies and MIS have reduced the level of human efforts in collecting  and sorting the information thus making the decision-making process comparatively less complicated and difficult. As we have already explained that decision-making is a human-centric process, the importance of interpersonal skills of influencing others, conflict resolving, communicating, and conveying the messages etc cannot be minimized. Decision-making is not only confined to only choosing among the alternative solutions and diverging but this process also involves dialogs, brainstorming, contemplative reflection, critique and conflict resolution. In addition, interpersonal processes of decision making is much evident in new types of organizational structures such as team-based matrix structure where collaborative and group decision-making are increasingly being used to enhance decision-making process as compared to the conventional decision-making processes. GLOBALIZATION: The fast spread of phenomenon of globalization is increasing the present level of complexity o the ways of decision-making as to collect and process the data becomes a difficult and cumbersome issue. As boundaries of the countries are getting wider and non-evident in the presence of globalization, organizations are under huge pressures to make decisions collaboratively to effectively manage the flow of goods, services, labor and capital. These organizations to win the increasingly competitive environment have started to rely on participatory and inclusive approaches to decision-making and knowledge creation. As global organizations have their offices spread across many countries of the world make use, they have to arrange meeting online, face-to-face discussions and group participations from distant and geographically disparate locations. This process of decision making utilizes certain online technologies and solutions to increase the level of efficiency, however, these tools only support the human-centric decision-making process and don’t become alternative to interpersonal process of decision-making. In addition, these tools enhance and improve  communication, learning, creativity and problem solving abilities of management (Anonymous, 2007). GROUP DECISION MAKING: Over the past few years group decision making has become much common and popular as its important function is to come up with a collective decision through discussions, and diversity of ideas, and thus making this process more interpersonal. Sometimes individual members’ enduring attitudes is shifted to the more polarized group position. One of the benefits of this interpersonal process of decision-making is the group members’ learning from each other and mutual persuasion. However, the view point of one member has strong influence on the behavior and attitude of other members even if they sometimes don’t give due importance to each other’s arguments (Isenberg, 1986). Seeking the arguments of most participants but also resolving and mitigating the minority objections is another from of group decision making referred as Consensus decision-making. It is more participative, collaborative and interpersonal approach of decision making. For instance, many organizations use Robert’s Rule of Order for structuring debate and passage of proposals to reach to a majority decision, however, the goal of full agreement and consensus is often missed. As this process often formulate adversarial debates and competing factions, disturbing group members’ relationships, it become much difficult for a group to cooperatively and collaboratively implement a contentious decision (Jeffery, A. B., 2005). REFERENCES: Kippenberger, T, (1998), â€Å"Strategic decisions: the value of diversity and conflict†, The Antidote, 3(7), Emeraldinsight [Online], Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com.ezproxy.scu.edu.au/journals.htm?issn=1363-8483&volume=3&issue=7&articleid=873429&show=html (Accessed: 02 December, 2010) Jeffery, A. B., Maes, J.D., Bratton-Jeffery, M.F., (2005), â€Å"Improving team decision-making performance with collaborative modeling†, Team Performance Management, 11(1/2), pp. 40-50, Emeraldinsight [Online], Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com.ezproxy.scu.edu.au/journals.htm?issn=1352-7592&volume=11&issue=1/2&articleid=1464479&show=html (Accessed: 03 December, 2010) Baron, R.S., & Kerr, N.L. (2002). Group Process, Group Decision, Group Action. 2nd edn. Buckingham: Open University Press

20 Easy Case Study Topics on Prehistoric Art

20 Easy Case Study Topics on Prehistoric Art Prehistoric art is one of the interesting essay subject matters out there due to the history and stories behind how our forefathers discovered art. Prehistoric art covers the time period before human literacy when art was the only form of communication and was also used as a medium of worship. And here is a brief introduction to Prehistoric art and the era that birthed it. Prehistoric art refers to the first art forms created by humans, Homo erectus, before and after the Stone Age approximately 500,000 years ago. Archeological findings show that these art forms evolved over time from the first scratches on cave walls using animal bones to more advanced paintings and drawings using blow pipes and feathers. The art works of the Prehistoric are also divided into three sections according to the era they were created in order to study and better understand the motives that drove prehistoric artist to create art. These sections are the lower, middle and upper Paleolithic era and they occurred 40,000 to 500,000 years ago. Now, that the subject matter of prehistoric art has been introduced, this article will not attempt to go into the details of prehistoric art but will provide students with cool topics on this subject matter. So in that vein, here are 20 easy case study topics covering prehistoric art. Deducing the Lifestyle of Prehistoric Humans through the Study Prehistoric Art. Understanding Prehistoric Art and the Meaning behind its Art Forms Making a Case for Religion and its Influence on Prehistoric Art Craft, Style and Creative Patterns used by Prehistoric Artist. Exploring the Painting Tools and Materials used in the Prehistoric Era A Study of Artworks from the Lower Paleolithic Age A study of Artworks from the Middle and Upper Paleolithic Era The Object and Subject Matters that Influenced Prehistoric Art The Origin and History of Prehistoric Art Analyzing the Venus Figurines from the Prehistoric Age Fertility and its Role in Prehistoric Art Forms The Sculpting Techniques and Materials used in Creating Prehistoric Art Prehistoric Artists and Their Fascination with Animals Prehistoric Art: The Symbolic Journey of Humankind The Cave Art Painting of the Lascaux Cave Reproduction and Sexuality in Prehistoric Art The Affectivity of Prehistoric Art through the Ages Cave Art: Discovering Prehistoric Humans through Pictures Exploring the Treasure Troves of Prehistoric Art Caves across Europe Early Human Artists in the Paleolithic Era These are some easy case study topics on prehistoric art that will help you kick start your essay or presentation on the topic of prehistoric art. The research required to develop content on the above listed topics is quite mild for research materials covering them can easily be found online or at your local/school library. Lastly, to aid your progress while drafting contents on any of the topics on the list we’ve also prepared a list of 10 selected facts for you as well as a complete guide on this topic and genre. Below is a sample case study written to provide some direction on how you should proceed. Sample Case Study: Deducing the Lifestyle of Prehistoric Humans through the Study of Prehistoric Art In most cases, art serves as a pictorial representation of the culture, religious beliefs and lifestyles of people in a community and prehistoric art is no different. Like contemporary artist, the artists from prehistoric times were influenced by their environment and how they perceived the world to be which they ended up depicting in the art works of their time. This means that it is possible to deduce how prehistoric man lived and made ends meet by studying the art forms their lives inspired. So here is an attempt to recreate prehistoric lifestyles using art works as the case studies or basis for deductions. The earliest drawings by cave men, as seen in the Franco-Calabrian caves, depicted animals and the hunt 90% of the time. These drawings consisted of bison, reindeers, mammoths etc. with arrows or spears sticking out of them. Other images consisted of humans drawn in stick like form hounding these animals in what looks like a hunt. Here, one can deduce that prehistoric men were more carnivorous than omnivorous for their diet consisted primarily of meat and other fact that substantiates these deduction is the lack of permanent residence as well as little or no farming skills exhibited by prehistoric societies. Health-wise, a diet solely dependent on meat with not enough vegetables and fruits to supplement it means that prehistoric humans would have suffered from scurvy, mumps and other diseases related to Vitamin C deficiencies. The paintings and drawings discovered in Indonesia’s Leang cave depicted rituals and ceremonies which were quite religious in nature. Although there is no proof that they believed in a supreme being, the gatherers and hunters who sought success in the fields in order to make it through the months believed in gods and goddesses of abundance, fertility and hunting. The entire catalogue of the Venus Figurines show cased women in various stages of pregnancy which included large mammary glands, and extended stomach and hips section resembling a woman in an advanced stage of pregnancy. Studies have shown that these figurines were not sexual in nature but were created as goddesses or fertility talismans to aid childbirth. Here it is easy to deduce that prehistoric humans understood the importance of gathering enough food to stave off hunger as well as the need to procreate in order to populate the earth. Even in prehistoric times, man had to find ways in which to keep themselves entertained and the bone flute items found in the Hohle Fel caves showed that they created music and may have told stories around community fires. The bone flute which was made from vulture bones and spotted 5 holes meant that prehistoric man was quite adept at creating multiple musical tunes to entertain or celebrate events. In conclusion, these deductions showed that prehistoric man did all they could to survive the harsh environment of era gone by. They exhibited above average intelligence in hunting as well as high level creativity in terms of entertainment and creating the art works we pore over today. References: Dobres, M. (1992). â€Å"Re-considering Venus figurines: A feminist-inspired re-analysis Owen, R. Porr, M. (1999). â€Å"Questioning stereotypical notions of prehistoric tool functions: Ethno-analogy, experimentation, and functional analysis. Tringham, R. (1993). Review of: The civilization of the goddess. Wikipedia: Prehistoric Art.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistoric_art Francis, G. (2007). Religious Awareness in Art Forms from Prehistory to Today 3-5  crossroadsnyc.com/files/Greene_CaveArt.pdf John, W. (2011). In African Caves Signs of an Ancient Paint Factory.  nytimes.com/2011/10/14/science/14paint.html The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Vol. 97, No. 1 (1967), 95-97.

Longest paragraph in print goes on display - Emphasis

Longest paragraph in print goes on display Longest paragraph in print goes on display If youre struggling to read the latest lengthy management report, it could be worse. Take a look at this. Its the original manuscript scroll for Jack Kerouacs seminal novel, On the Road, which goes on display in Europe for the first time at Birminghams Barber Institute today. Kerouac wrote the novel on sheets of tracing paper and taped them together to form a scroll 120 feet long, in what must be the longest single paragraph in print. (Even the human genome sequence report is broken up into sections on individual chromosomes, although some would argue its not such a good read.) But that didnt stop it inspiring an entire generation to drop out of society and seek an alternative to the nine to five (a burden that the author found too much to bear: he deliberately drank himself to death according to former friends). He reportedly completed it after 20 days of continuous typing, fuelled by nothing stronger than coffee. We wouldnt really recommend Kerouacs somewhat eccentric approach as an example of best practice, so dont try this at home (or the office). For advice on how to write an effective report, better to read ten tips for writing high-impact documents.

Child maltreatment and abuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Child maltreatment and abuse - Essay Example Psychologists have concluded that many children who have been facing abuse and maltreatment from a very early age tend to suffer these diseases along with other mental health problems as they grow up. Child abuse has been regarded as one of the reasons for arising mental problems. During early days of childhood, the brain is developing and the child is learning new things. If the system of the brain is disrupted at this age and the child goes through unusual events, it affects the mental health of the child as time passes. If a child is abused at the hands of adults, he tends to lose trust in the people around him and thus, is never able to develop qualities such as love, trust and care for others around him (Regehr and Glancy, 2010). In the documentary we see that Beth wants to kill her brother, mother and father because she has lost trust at a very early age. She was tortured and sexually abused because of which she was never able to develop the qualities of loving and caring for others. She wanted to see others around her in pain as she never learned to bond with people. Such children face trauma and abuse in the early days of life and thus, they do not develop a conscious because of which they can easily hurt or even kill other people. These children do not have the ability to love or accept love. They treat others the way they have been treated in their lives (Child of Rage, 1992). Welsh (2012) explains that the abuse in childhood may shrink some of the important sides of the brain. This reduced volume of the brain explains the problems that these children face at the later stages of their life such as depression, addiction of drugs and other mental disorders. Survivors of child abuse can be treated in many ways as science has concluded. The development in the research study of these survivors shows that there are better ways in which these children can