Leadership scenario Essay

INTRODUCTION The purpose of the paper is to explore the various types of leadership styles that affected the motivation of the employee. Jonathan and Dan have two different managerial styles. Jonathan a manager in super market who prefers to change the duties of his subordinates. He is effective manager who is liked by his employees and everyone in supermarket wants to work for him. Dan a manager who prefers a consecutive routine and adherence with a focus on repeatability. He is moderator for 30 minutes lunch break. The main characters are two friends Alex and Stephanie. They work full time and this job helps them to pay for college. Alex works for Dan, he portrayed as unhappy and disappointed. Stephanie works for Jonathon and always ready to work, she is vigorous and high motivated. This case â€Å"A Question of Motivation† will be analyzed through the Needs – Goal Theory (Maslow), Equity Theory of Motivation, Hershey – Blanchard Life-Cycle Theory and Path-Goal Theory. NEEDS – GOAL THEORY (MASLOW) â€Å"Maslow states that human beings possess the five basic needs and theorizes that they can be arranged in a hierarchy of importance – the order in which individuals generally strive to satisfy them†.(Certo&Certo, 2012, p.371) Motivation has a significant meaning in understanding subordinate’s behavior; motivation can influence this behavior to rich goals. Maslow’s Motivational theory is based on the idea that human behavior is controlled through a limited number of developing fundamental needs which operate in a fixed sequence. Need is defined as a condition of deficit. Individuals are perceived as a biological being having psychological capacities. The psychological needs – the needs that are usually taken as the starting point for motivation theory are so-called psychological drivers.2 The Maslow hierarchy of needs starts from the bottom of the pyramid. First step is _psychological needs_, these needs include necessities like food, sleep, water, sexual drive, breathing, air. These necessities required for body to survive and normal function. Next step is _security needs,_ they contain  security of family, health, body, resources, property, employment, a safe work environment. Next is _social needs_, it includes the desire for social contact and interaction, friendship, family, affection and other various types of support. Above social needs are _esteem needs_ which include status, recognition, confidence, respect of others. As they are satisfied, individual goes upper and stands on final need_- self-actualization needs._ At this stage an individual needs morality, problem solving, creativity, desire for achievement, personal growth and development. The movement from one level to the next was termed satisfaction progression by Maslow and it was assumed that over time individuals were motivated to continually progresses upward through these levels. In the case study, â€Å"A Question of Motivation†, Robbins and Judge 12th edition many of these levels are demonstrated, for instance, sense of safety â€Å"†Though pay isn’t great, it’s a steady job that allow them some flexibility, which helps when scheduling classes†(Robbins & Judge, 2007, p. 712). It’s security of having a job and security of being able to pay for college. An example of social needs described in first paragraph, it states that Alex and Stephanie became friends because similar situation made them closer to each other. Their managers Dan and Jonathan are differ in esteem needs, especially Dan is making Alex’s self-respect descend while it’s opposite for Stephanie. According to Robbins and Judge â€Å"_A Question of Motivation,_ 12th edition, Alex’s manager (Dan) supervises the produce department and prefers for subordinates to work in the same position at all times, he often humiliate Alex. Stephanie’s manager (Jonathan) is very friendly, he encourages his subordinates to increase their horizon by letting creativity and working and working in different positions. Stephanie is able to be challenge at work that’s why she is very confident, while Alex feels like grotty and useless because his manager doesn’t let him show his abilities and do his best. Alex has a low self-estimate because of another worker who is doing the same job but she is a new worker and gets more money than Alex. Stephanie’s manager helps her to encounter self-actualization needs; he puts the trust at her and what she is doing. When there is lack of items, Jonathan enables his workers the ability to achieve tasks by ordering supplies She is heartened, she has high problem solving skills, also she can  apply her creativity on making new recipes. This all is the result of manager’s motivational and management skills. EQUITY THEORY OF MOTIVATION All people seek for fairness between what they put into job and what they get of it. Adams calls these inputs and outputs. According to Certo&Certo(2012) â€Å"Equity theory looks at an individual’s perceived fairness of an employment situation and finds that perceived inequities can lead to changes in behavior† (p. 369). This theory based on the social comparison process of examining the ratio of inputs and outcomes between oneself and a comparison other, for example, individuals compare themselves with others, and perceive what they benefit from job. When individuals aren’t treated fairly when compared to their coworkers, they tend react in a number of ways, including changing their work habits to better reap the rewards, resent coworkers and management for the inequality or in extreme cases quit (Certo & Certo, 2012). Inputs typically include: determination, tolerance, hard work, loyalty, effort, commitment, support of colleagues and subordinates, ability, flexibility, personal scarifies, heart and soul. Outputs are typically financial rewards: pay, salary, expenses, bonus payment, travel, development, perks, interest, reputation, respect, praise and thanks, sense of achievement and advancement, promotion, stimulus. If individual feels that inputs are rewarded by outputs, then he/she is happy to work and more motivated to continue inputting at the same level. However, if individual feels that ratio of inputs to outputs is less beneficial than the ratio of others, then he/she becomes unmotivated to work and decreases inputting. In this case â€Å"A Question of Motivation†, Robbins and Judge, 12th edition, there is an unfair in Alex and Stephanie duties. Stephanie has a boss who inspires and empowers her to make decisions and try to do her best, while Alex’s boss Dan seems to be stingy for praise and promotion, he holds his subordinates back. That’s why Stephanie loves her job but Alex doesn’t. Jonathan gives Stephanie opportunity to get rewards for good work. This gives her pride for her job and inspiration to continue working at the same  level. (Robbins and Judge, 12th edition). Alex is unhappy with his job. He becomes dispirit with job â€Å"I don’t even care anymore. What’s the point? If I stock more apples, or something meaningless like that, what does it get me-another sticker that says ‘good job†? ( Robbins and Judge, 12th edition, p. 713). Discouraged with Dan and his management styles he gives up changing the situation, but doesn’t quit because he needs the job. Alex doesn’t want to struggle about fact that another employee has been working less time and is being paid more because she tells compliments to his manager. Alex and Stephanie work in the same place of employment, the same work schedule, but the feedback of this job is different. My opinion that this type of motivation has only one side with good destination. As result, Stephanie is high motivated, while Alex is just working for salary without receiving any skills. THE HERSEY – BLANCHARD LIFE CYCLE THEORY OF LEADERSHIP Leadership is a major way in which people change the minds (influence) of others and move minds of others and move organizations forward to reach identified goals.†The Life Cycle Theory of Leadership is a rationale for linking styles with various situations to ensure effective leadership† (Certo&Certo, 2012, p.342). This theory is based on the employee’s maturity and their ability to work without supervision. Also this theory states that successful leaders should change their leadership styles based on the maturity of the people they’re leading and the details of the task. Leaders using this theory should be able to place more or less emphasis on the task, and on the relationships with the people they’re leading. According to Certo&Certo, 2012, p.342, there are four different phases to the Life cycle: High task – Low relationships. In this phase employees first join an organization, they usually need direction and require specific instructions as to what to do. Employees must be familiar with organizations procedures and policies. The most appropriate approach is a task-oriented leadership. High task – High relationships. A manager becomes more familiar with  subordinates and trust in their performance. At this phase, followers might be willing to work on the task, but they still don’t have the skills to complete it successfully. Low task – High relationships. Leaders focus more on the relationship and less on direction. The leader works with the team, and shares decision-making responsibilities. As subordinates abilities and performance become obvious and as experience increases, subordinates seek more responsibility. However managers continue to support and encourage subordinates. Low task – High relationships. At this phase subordinates are able to work on their own. They have high self-confidence and skills. Leaders still oversee in progress but less involved in decision making situations. This case study â€Å"A Question of Motivation† Robbins and Judge 12th edition is described two managers. Stephanie’s manager Jonathan is portrayed as â€Å"a 10-year veteran who everyone generally admires for his friendly demeanor and relaxed management style† and that â€Å"he often assigns his employees different duties each week so workers don’t get bored†. Two years ago when Stephanie started working she had high task-low relationships phase. Through the years her maturity increased by this four phases. And now Stephanie merits Jonathan confidence to complete challenging tasks without total supervision â€Å"The nice thing is that I’ll be able to do this on my own, without someone breathing down my neck† (Robbins & Judge, 12thed., p. 714). It is seen that Alex doesn’t like Dan and he doesn’t respect him. They have difficult relationship. When Alex was hired he had a high task-low relationship phase and still without any movement. So, relationship and maturity get stuck. Dan’s attitude toward Alex is shown in lunchtime when Dan told Alex: â€Å"I thought that college students were supposed to be smarter than this. At the very least I would think that they could tell time. I guess the university must have glossed over you applications.† (Robbins & Judge, 12thed., p. 714). It can be see that because of manager’s leadership level Stephanie and Alex receive different skills, though, working at the same time and position. PATH-GOAL THEORY Path – goal theory states that a manager can affect the performance and motivation by offering rewards for achieving goals â€Å"The path-goal theory of leadership suggests that the primary activities of a leader are to make desirable and achievable rewards available to organization members who attain organizational goals and to clarify the kinds of behavior that must be performed to earn those rewards†(Certo&Certo, 2012, p.345). So, this theory based on motivating subordinates to accomplish goals. The manager must use a style that best meets the subordinate’s motivational needs. According to Certo&Certo (2012) there are four path-goal types of leader behavior: DIRECTIVE – The leader gives specific guidance of performance to subordinates, for instance, what to do, how to perform task. SUPPORTIVE – The leader is friendly and shows concern for the subordinates. It is most appropriate for situations in which tasks and relationships are physically or psychologically challenging. PARTICIPATIVE – The leader consults subordinates before making decisions and considers their suggestions. It’s most effective when subordinates are highly disciplined and involved in work. ACHIEVEMENT – The leader puts challenging goals and expects subordinates to have high level performance. In this case study â€Å"A Question of Motivation† Robbins and Judge 12th Ed. It’s obviously seen that Jonathan uses the path-goal theory. He allows his subordinates to change duties time to time. This style helps subordinates to learn each functional area in produce department, increases their productivity. He set a goal to Stephanie to sell 10 bottles of truffle oil and if she achieves it, Jonathan will reward her with a $75 bonus. Jonathan is respected and well-liked, everyone wants to work for him, he created an environment and system that employees find both interesting and challenging â€Å"Most employees want to work for Jonathan, as he often assigns his employees different duties each week so workers don’t get bored.† (Robbins & Judge, 12th Ed., p. 712). It can be seen that Alex’s manager Dan doesn’t use the path-goal theory. He doesn’t interest in participating and supporting his subordinates. He doesn’t set some goals to achieve subordinates. So, Dan  doesn’t change his behavior in any situation. CONCLUSION To complete my leadership scenario I’d like to tell that the most effective and best managers are those who able to unite both motivational and leadership theories to accomplish goals of individual or organization and facilitate the employee performance. The case study â€Å"A Question of Motivation† shows that the most appropriate characters to these four theories of motivation and leadership are Stephanie and Jonathan. Stephanie uses Needs – Goal Theory (Maslow) and Equity Theory of Motivation, she prospers in her job and very happy to be under Jonathan control. As for Jonathan, he uses Hershey – Blanchard Life-Cycle Theory and Path-Goal Theory. We can see that because of Dan’s low level of leadership, Alex suffers and couldn’t do anything. So Dan should learn a lot by observing Jonathan in order to improve and increase his leadership style and behavior. REFERENCES 1) Certo, S. C., & Certo, S. T. (2012). _Modern Management: Concepts and Skills._ Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. 2) Maslow, A.H., 1943, A theory of Human Motivation, p. 372-396. 3) Carrell, Michael R. and Dittrich, John E., 1978, Equity Theory: The Recent Literature, Methodological Considerations, and New Directions, p. 202-208.

Mcdonald’s Corporation in the New Millennium Essay

Hamburger or non-hamburger segment put high value on healthy food such as chicken burger or salads. The fast-food industry becoming healthier than before and the potential customers whom care what they eat will go to McDonald’s get they want. The competitive strategy is toward to hear what customer want and create new life style such as healthy food or vegetarian food, and changing fast for keeping original client and gaining more as well. Answer to Q3: Strengths for McDonald’s: No. 1 Fast-food chains- have bigger market share than others. Weakness for McDonald’s Image of McDonald’s fast-food is unhealthy-got to change unhealthy image to healthy one. McDonald’s have large market share than others fast-food restaurants. It strengths are more people could know the news of McDonald’s and easy find it out when have new product or promotion McDonald’s should change the image to that fast-food is healthy food, and plus large share market, McDonald’s future will attract more healthy food lover and doing well for its customers. Answer to Q4: In my opinion, McDonald’s should develop a separate strategy for heavy user segment. According text book† Some of these customers visit fast-food restaurant 20 times per month and spend up to $40 per day in them. † McDonald’s could develop new strategy for them such as home delivery for free order more than $49 or other promotions. Product Strategy Product strategy begins with a strategic vision that states where a company wants to go, how it will get there, and why it will be successful. † †Product strategy is like a roadmap, and like a roadmap it’s useful only when you now where you are and where you want to go

Analysis of the NSPCC Advert

Advertisement is a manipulative use of media in order to bring the audiences attention to a product or service. In the two advertisements we see two different uses of the same media (posters). Types of advertisement come under two main categories: Importance-giving important details such as opening dates and location. Persuasive-plays more on the manipulative side, this is present in the two posters. The ‘NSPCC' advert is appealing to our sympathetic and emotional sides asking for our donations to help the troubled child. We are given the impression that we are helping an individual; this is because of the picture and accompanied story. A vulnerable child bandaged and exposed on what seems to be a bed rather than a crib dominates the page. The message is limited to 1/3 of the page. This message is subtle, keeping our sympathy going rather than anger. ‘NSPCC' is placed in the bottom right hand corner, a name that is well know and respected for its work. The message is in bold lettering against a large white space so it is easily noticed. The message is snappy and carries a rhythmic pattern which is disturbed by the line ‘and the tips of her father's fingers.' Also you can read Analysis July at the Multiplex The baby bandaged and covering its eyes creates an impact on the reader and our attention is diverted b the captivating text, it opens with the word ‘All' which suggests a limited list. In the final item to the list we are shocked at the abolished subtlety. ‘Tip' suggests sharpness increasing the sympathy pain. When we read the donation form we discover yet more about this unfortunate child. In the more in depth story lines such as ‘loss of control' leads us to thoughts of frantic behaviour. Before we get to the amounts for donation we get the line ‘I want to help' this leaves little room for us to deny such an emotional appeal. Rhetorical devices are not present in this appeal because it asks for our co-operation through sympathy instead of the company arguing their point. The overall effect is simple and direct, simplicity is used because they are emphasising how the picture says it all. One sentence in the donation form is opened with ‘You' personalising the advert and making it the reader feel involved and important. The ‘BP' advert uses shock to entice the audience. We cringe with disgust as we see the worms entwined and stacked together taking up 2/3 of the page. The headline is bold but once read it only confuses the reader and increases captivation. Due to our curiosity and hate of confusion we read on in order to understand the link between the poster and its headline. The ‘BP' logo is small; if it wasn't we'd know what the poster was about and would find little need to read on. In this poster there is little need for fancy fonts because curiosity has already occurred. The caption has an informal tone a sign of humanity making it easier to converse with this company. The caption opens with ‘Most people would' a sign of them distinguishing themselves from the average. They make out to be environmental campaigners but our futures can't be the first worry of a petrol company. Both adverts use visually shocking pictures, they erect curiosity. ‘BP' and ‘NSPCC' claim protection over something to our caring and nurturing nature. When we are asked to care it is difficult to refuse without guilt of being heartless. Overall both pictures use the element of shock to attract an audience, 1/3 of the page is a description because the pictures alone aren't too descriptive. ‘NSPCC' uses slightly enlarged and conveniently spaced lettering because the picture requires very little explaining. ‘BP' uses a confusing headline to lure the audience in and keeps the curiosity levels going. A shocking picture is accompanied by 1/3 of writing, the explanation is in a small font and is not particularly short in content, and this is effective in making this a memorable poster. Both posters have a small company logo, but this for different reasons; ‘BP' is to crate confusion and ‘NSPCC' is to give the impression that the poster is a campaign for children rather than popularity. Dramatic vocabulary is used in small amounts throughout the two posters such as; ‘All this baby will ever remember' and in ‘BP' ‘Protecting'. ‘BP' could have used statistics but decided not to, this makes the poster humane and the reader feels empathetic towards the ‘NSPCC' advert. Read also  Case 302 July in Multiplex Presentational devices are arranged around the one objective ‘shock'. These posters captured my attention and curiosity; I was more interested in the ‘BP' because it wasn't too blatant with its point so it required more information beyond its headline. They were both successful in their intentions, but both obviously were directed at two different audiences. Sympathy is a very emotional mindset and as long as our emotions are triggered we become captivated. Emotions are difficult to ignore because they engage rational thinking with knowledge, a combination that would be un-human to ignore hence its use in these adverts.

Bishop’s “The Fish” Poetry Response Essay

In the poem â€Å"The Fish,† Elizabeth Bishop uses a fish as a symbol to express the theme of life and experience. The poem by itself has little structure to it. There are no apparent rhyme schemes, nor any clear meters. However, Bishop uses very powerful diction and ideas in the poem, forcing the reader to think and relate it to a greater aspect of his/her own life. The persona has a very mature and serious tone, and some gloomy element to his/her mood. The poem uses a significant amount of imagery. Descriptions like â€Å"brown skin hung in strips† and â€Å"fresh and crisp with blood† are common throughout the poem. The reader can almost see the fish on the boat, waiting for its life to end. Bishop also uses a plethora of colors in the poem. Colors include: â€Å"brown skin,† â€Å"green weed,† â€Å"dramatic reds and blacks,† â€Å"yellowed,† â€Å"green line,† and it also contains the combination of all the colors in the sp ectrum as â€Å"rainbow, rainbow, rainbow!† was repeated in the poem. The Colors are there to enhance the imagery and also work archetypically to express the mood of the poem. When the persona states that the â€Å"oil had spread a rainbow,† it should indicate that tears has formed in her eyes, splitting the light into its spectrum, as she also mentions â€Å"sun-cracked thwarts.† At the end where â€Å"everything was rainbow,† tears had flooded her eyes, blurring every sight and showing only splashes of colors all around. At the beginning of the poem, the persona notes that the fish did not fight at all. She describes the fish as â€Å"battered,† â€Å"homely,† but yet â€Å"venerable.† Later she discovers that the fish has fought many battles, and the broken lines are signs of victory. She realizes the fish is not just something that gives up without a fight, but it is something that has just fought too long and is tired of it. The persona realizes what the fish has gone through and instantly gains respect and condemnation for it. She lets it go. For writing this poem, the author might have a family member that was suffering from a disease. After a long time of painful struggle, that member finally gives up because he/she saw through the value of life, just like the fish. However, there is one thing that I disagree with the persona, because she states the fish has â€Å"a five-haired beard of wisdom.† In my opinion it should be â€Å"five-haired beard of stupidity† since the fish cannot learn from its past.

Processed Foods

Processed Foods Generally speaking, processed foods are produced using manufacturing methods to transform raw ingredients into neatly packaged goods, which have a longer shelf life. Some of the artificial ingredients used include monosodium glutamate (MSG), flavors, preservatives, hydrogenated oil, fillers, and artificial sweeteners. Usually, consumers can prepare them quickly allowing immediate intake. Disappointingly, they don’t offer much in nutritional value.Most likely, it's processed food if it's wrapped in several layers of plastic, cardboard, and/or foil, and it didn't exist until after 1903 when the hydrogenation process was invented. In addition to being excessively advertised, this food category is well funded by government subsidies. These foodstuffs are located on the shelves of the inside middle aisles in grocery stores. Examples of processed foods include sodas, cereals, and crackers. Whole Foods On the other hand, whole foods are grown in orchards, gardens, or greenhouses, are unprocessed and unrefined, and have a shorter shelf life.These foods are authentically flavorful, have vibrant colors, and rich textures. Moreover, they are full of the micronutrient vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and fiber. Typically, they require longer preparation times. In contrast, they receive very little media advertising, and are not well funded with government subsidies. When you are in grocery stores, these foods are mainly found on the store’s wall aisles to the sides and back of the store. Additionally, this food category can be found at farmers markets, and at fresh fruit and vegetable stands.Examples of whole foods include unpolished grains, fruits, and vegetables. Four Basic Nutrients The four essential basic nutrients are water, carbohydrates, fat, and protein. These four are the foundation of a healthy diet. In any case, all food is composed of various combinations of nutrients. Carbohydrates supplying energy are found most ly in plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, peas, and beans. They are converted into glucose providing energy for the body’s cells, the brain, and red blood cells, or stored for future use in the liver, or in body fat.Sixty percent of daily calories should come from mainly complex carbohydrates to provide the minimum recommended daily requirement of fiber. Fats are the most concentrated source of body energy. Recently, too much negative attention has been focused upon fats. Fats are not an enemy and are needed throughout life to support growth and provide energy. Unfortunately, consuming excessive amounts of fat can contribute to many health problems. Proteins are the building blocks making up body tissues, muscles, skin, and organs.When consumed, protein is broken down into amino acids providing the body with energy for various vital functions. Examples of good sources include meat, fish, eggs, beans, nuts, and seeds. Regrettably, health problems arise when you consume too much or too little of any nutrients. Instead, endeavor to consume a variety of foods to ensure you get a mix of nutrients. In summary, for a healthy well balanced diet make it a habit to choose unrefined whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, peas, beans, and whole-grains, as opposed to refined processed foods such as soft drink sodas, candy, cookies, and cakes.

Stakeholders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Stakeholders - Essay Example Goodjik (2003) point out to the fact that management needs to build relationships with different stakeholders including shareholders, employees, customers, and society at large. This is only possible with increased transparency and accountability in practices on the part of the organizations and increased involvement or participation of the stakeholders in management decisions. The need to mobilize a sense of responsibility among stakeholders could help create an organizational context for participation and involvement and stakeholder arguments and opinions could be used to shift the balance of decisions in the interest of stakeholders. Active stakeholder participation is thus useful for any management perspective as considering stakeholder opinions and arguments could help create and strengthen partnerships between stakeholders and management at the corporate level. The stakeholder model assumes constructive partnership and dialogue between the management and the stakeholders includ ing the employees and is thus useful for promoting a beneficial relationship at the corporate level. This discussion focuses on the contributions of the stakeholders in business success and business performance of companies and emphasizes on the beneficial relationship between stakeholders ... The Role of Stakeholders: Stakeholders play an important role in an organization and affect corporate social performance and financial performance and Neville et al (2005) point out that a company's reputation could determine the corporate social performance and financial performance or CSP-FP relationships. Corporate social performance is related the stakeholders' resource allocation to an organization and how much stakeholders are ready to invest in or trust a company would in turn determine the performance and success of a company. In this context the stakeholder would trust or invest in a company based on the existing reputation of a company thus company reputation would determine stakeholder assessments and would also be relative to stakeholder expectations. Neville (2005) thus suggests that reputation of a company plays a key role in determining the CSP-FP relationship. Strategic management principles and competitiveness also change the CSP-FP relationship. Considering that corporate branding and reputa tion are important in achieving stakeholder trust, the role of marketing could be important for strategic advantages of any company as it helps build brand reputation. Maintaining stakeholder interests and stakeholder benefits is the major concern of companies and forms a major part of corporate social responsibility or CSR. Whitehouse (2006) used qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with representatives of 16 UK companies from different sectors and traced CSR policy development from identifying the meaning attributed to CSR to factors that help to implement CSR agenda. CSR objectives and policies are

Anthropology. write an essay (3000 words maximum) on the development

Anthropology. write an (3000 words maximum) on the development of writing - Essay Example One of the oldest written references to King Solomon’s Temple is in form of inscription on a slice of clay. There are different types of writing systems which include logography, syllabaries, alphabets and featured scripts. The grapheme which represents a word or morpheme is called a logograph. They are commonly known as hieroglyphics. However, hieroglyphics represent ideas more than words (Brown, 1998: Pg 63). They are visual symbols rather than phonemes. All logographic scripts rely on the principle of rebus. This writing system includes Logoconsonantal scripts and logosyllabic scripts. It is a set of symbols that represents syllables. It is phonetic system of writing. Syllabaries are best suited to language with basic syllable structure, for example Japanese (Carter, 1984: Pg 123). Normally it is made of a consonant and a vowel or just a single vowel. The Inuktitut orientation the symbols are used to indentify vowels and small symbols are used to write syllable consonants. Alphabets can be defined as small set of symbols, each one historically represents phoneme of a particular language. A perfect phonological alphabet is the one in which letters correspond perfectly in different directions (Christin, 2002: Pg 87). Writers can predict the spelling of a word easily provided its pronunciation is given. Many languages often evolve of their writing systems and similarly the writing system have been borrowed other systems from different languages. The extent to which letters of an alphabet correspond with the phonemes varies from one language system to another. The featured scripts are the building blocks of phonemes which make up a language. For example the sound pronounced with lips can have some elements in common. It represents finer details than an alphabet. The history of written communication follows the path of civilization which in turn, moves in reaction to changing cultural norms. The transfer of information and

Development Of Saudi Arabia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Development Of Saudi Arabia - Essay Example Empirical studies on infrastructure development and bread-and-butter growth Ruttan (1989) discussed the acumen why avant-garde countries accommodate ODA to developing countries. He asserted that there are two arguments one is based on the bread-and-butter and cardinal arrogance of the donor country. The additional one is based on the ethical or moral albatross of the association of affluent countries against the association of poor countries. Easterly and Rebelo (1993) observed whether or not changes in the akin of assorted action variables assuredly added the bread-and-butter advance rate, and antiseptic whether or not investments accompanying to advice and telecommunications aloft the bread-and-butter advance rate. They begin that accessible infrastructure investment is a ample atom of both absolute and accessible investment, and infrastructure is consistently activated with bread-and-butter growth. Yoshida (2000) presented an absolute assertion that there is a close correlation be tween economic advancement and the development in various sectors such as energy, electricity, and transportation. The development of the transport alley arrangement plays an important role in the bread-and-butter development of a country and, therefore, the long-paved road absolute in a country is generally acclimated as a basis to appraise the further of its development. The able development of the transport alley arrangement not alone reduces the amount of transportation, both in agreement of money and time, but as well helps in the affiliation of assorted regions aural the country and the bigger compassionate of neighboring countries at the all-embracing level. The transport alley arrangement in Saudi Arabia contributed to the development of the country by bringing in absolute allowances from its role in the development of some sectors, such as minerals, agriculture, industry and commerce (Infrastructure, n. d.). In all-inclusive

Corporate strategy(powergen case study) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Corporate strategy(powergen case study) - Essay Example Power generation is a crucial component of a countrys economy as it affects industry and businesses to a very large extent and greatly contributes to its economic progress. In past years, electricity demand showed little growth (only 0.6% a year) during the period 1990 to 1997 in the UK and there was excess generating capacity of 11,000 MW in 1990-1991 (based on projected demand of 50,000 MW vs. 61,000 MW capacity) in the country at the time. However, electricity demand grew by healthy percentages such as the USA (projected at 30% for next 2 decades), big developing countries like India (10%), China (9%) and poorer nations possibly more. On average, global electricity generation will grow at 2.6% annually until 2030 (Economy Watch, 2010:1). Changing conditions due to the technology innovations used in generating electricity brought about industry consolidation and vertical integration of most big players. PowerGen was not so well prepared for the industry shakeup despite its size and lost market share due to its failure to acquire a regional electricity company (REC) which is a crucial component for industry players because it deals with the retailing of electricity. The electricity industry is very important to a nations growth and progress. This has a profound impact on a country by providing its citizens with the conveniences of modern life. Many nations in the poorer regions of the world such as Africa and Latin America where a big majority (4/5 of the worlds entire population) live (Hofstede, 1993:11), the tendency of most governments is to somehow price their electricity artificially low. This social pricing structure does not reflect actual or true cost. The industry was recently liberalised to allow big players to make the necessary big investments to make electricity cheaper and also improve service to consumers through healthy competition. Many external factors affect industry players like environmental

The Issues Surrounding Muslims in the West Term Paper

The Issues Surrounding Muslims in the West - Term Paper Example Still, it is quite unfortunate that the Western media has largely stuck to quite a prejudiced and controversial approach in portraying Muslims over time which has only served to aggravate the already devastated conditions encountered by masses of innocent Muslims living in the US and European countries. There is no denying the fact that everyday Muslims in the West are marginalized for the actions of a few extremist groups. It is an established however grave reality that in the present day world, more and more people are losing their patience with religions and all the vivacious debates that come along with them. People are tired of listening to animated critics arguing among themselves on whose religion is better than whom and do not care much about what is the reality of each major religion in this age of fierce competitiveness and materialism. Even the Western countries today cannot be called primarily Christian countries because the majority is composed of secular people leaning towards atheism. In such circumstances, it has become substantially hard for practicing Muslims living in the West to convey their message, fears, concerns, and requirements to largely unresponsive and nonchalant non-Muslim majorities. It is virtually impossible for them to get significantly unreligious non-Muslims to pay attention to the obstacles encountered by them let alone remake their minds about Islam. It is not just following 9/11, but long before that sorry incident Muslims in the Western countries have remained victims of unjustified aggression. However, it is true that western aggression and intolerance picked momentum after the 9/11 attacks and the rate of issues targeting innocent Muslims reached its climax. Despite many empty arguments put forward by prominent Western politicians that their problem is not with Islam, truth is that practicing Muslims are more under attack than non-practicing Muslims. Hijab is a highly sacred Islamic practice for Muslim women and the rou tine adamant Western contempt and criticism for this practice is highly objectionable.  

Communication and Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Communication and Society - Essay Example Crucial to these claims is the position that communication could refer to the most common and the most mundane. This is Carey's way of using the cultural approach to defining and explaining what communication is. This is the case in the sense that human daily activities collectively constitute the meanings and the reality that we perceive. The Mobile Texting Phenomenon To demonstrate Carey’s position, there is the case of the use of short messaging system (SMS) in mobile phones. If one examines how people communicate through this platform closely, one will find a uniquely different lexicon employed. "How are you?" becomes "hw r u?" or "You are late." becomes "u r l8". Words are radically shortened by redacting words or substituting figures to represent sounds in order to accommodate the restrictions posed by the messaging service. Cell phones usually allow only 160 characters per message. According to Lindholm, Keinonen and Kiljander (2003), â€Å"in advanced phone markets, a s in Scandinavia, Germany, or the Philippines, a whole new culture has been born around text messages as a response to the limitations 160 characters impose.† (p115) This is in addition to other variables like the way the messaging application and interface are designed and the way people interact with it. An excellent example to demonstrate the above points is the use of the so-called "emoticons", symbols that convey emotions. For instance, there is the case of the smiley, :-) an emoticon used to express how pleased one is, or an agreement or a greeting depending on the context of the conversation. The resulting communication process and symbols start to create a reality for people that eventually form collectivities that emerge as social, cultural, and even political forces and even institutions. The severely shortened language, for one, has triggered an attitude among people today to prefer simple, fast and mobile way of doing things. Blogs or online journals became popular way back but it never achieved the degree of wide usage that Twitter has achieved today. Dubbed as a micro blogging platform, Twitter lets users use its service to publish details about people's daily lives in short, concise and uncomplicated manner, not unlike the way people would "SMS" or "text" others. This is in contrast to the way users are required to publish elaborate and detailed messages in traditional blogs like Blogger or Wordpress. The implication of this development in the context of communication and the manner by which it could shape reality is the way it affects behaviors. People become increasingly impatient with details and this is reflected in the way they conduct their affairs and what they expect from their interactions with others. The significance of the SMS phenomenon can also be described from a critical point of view. For example, Patajo-Legasto (2010) argued that mobile phones stifle literacy and young people’s ability to communicate in the real wo rld in real time by â€Å"wrecking havoc on spelling and grammar, and its erosion, in tandem with mindless computer games and Internet chat rooms.† (p410) Several other problems and criticisms were outlined. For instance, Clark and Brody stated: Part of the anxiety surrounding texting arises from its perceived tendency to disrupt protocols of recognition and

Critique of an article in Educational Leadership - Future High Essay

Critique of an article in Educational Leadership - Future High Education Leaders Critique - Essay Example The solution to this recruitment crisis as suggested by the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) is to identify people with leadership talents so that they could be trained early in the fields of leadership and provide them with a greater number of role models. Hence, Future Leaders leadership is a development programme that works to mitigate such crisis through the process of making high-skilled individuals suitable for headship. Given this background, this article evaluates the Future Leaders leadership development programme through the assessment of case studies and interviews of the participants in the programme. Further the future of the headship and the Future Leaders programme is analyzed with respect to the matters of sustainability, enrollment and retention. The Futures Leaders leadership development programme was introduced to fill in the dearth of school teachers in leading roles especially in the schools located in the urban areas. The objective was to form a genre of leaders who are willing to commit their future professions in the field of leadership in urban schools. The goal was to increase the band containing head teachers so that they can be recruited as and when required in urban complex schools. The programme has been built up in the lines of NLNS (New Leaders for New Schools) programme in New York. The members of the NCSL, ARK (Absolute Return for Kids) and SSAT (Specialist Schools and Academies Trust) developed the Future Leaders vocational programme in 2006. Along with the above mentioned objectives, the Future Leaders programme also aims to recruit individuals from non-traditional fields offer a new mode of recruiting senior staffs in urban schools along with a pioneering approach that would manage risk. It gives the teachers and individuals not attached with schools an alternative approach that would help them attain a fast track

REDUCTION OF SMOKING BEHAVIOR IN COPD IN LOS ANGELES AREAS Research Paper

REDUCTION OF SMOKING BEHAVIOR IN COPD IN LOS ANGELES AREAS - Research Paper Example It is a fatal habit, which can cause many diseases like COPD, stress and many forms of cancers. According to the American Society Council, the major cause for death in the states is mainly lung cancer, which is caused due to smoking. Apart from this, it causes many health problems, which need treatment that a common man cannot afford. In spite of all the efforts from the government to stop smoking, the number of people affected from various diseases maintained a steady level for the last few years, which needs to be monitored in the coming days, to reduce the intensity of the problem that is being faced by the present generation. â€Å"Smoking reduction and the rate of decline in FEV1: results from the Lung Health Study†. (Simmons & Connett & Lindgren & Kleerup & Murray & Bjornson & Tashkin, 2011). Current situation: It is totally impossible to count the number of smokers and people suffering from various diseases due to smoking. The only way to get such a data is to analyze v arious surveys regarding smoking and the hospital reports. When we evaluate the reports on cigarette control and smokers, we can see that Los Angeles is the worldwide leader in tobacco control and prevention. Compared to all other states in America, Los Angeles has the least smoking rate. The main reason behind this is as follows: Various tax policies adopted by governing council on cigarettes. It can force many people to stop the habit of smoking, due to the amount they have to pay for it. The media has been aggressive on the anti smoking policies. As the main thing, which directly influences the people today is media; the acts put forward by them affect the criteria. Various public policies like smoke free condition in several public areas, also affects the matter. Mainly the control of tobacco, which largely limits the production of cigarettes. Despite of success in these matters, it is seen that the medical reports from various hospitals reveal the fact that instead of a decline in the number of smokers, it maintained a constant level for last 8 years, some of the reports from the hospitals also prove the same facts: The reports from the cancer department of California hospital medical centre shows that, I. From 1990 to 2002 the patients admitted in the hospitals due to diseases like COPD, lung cancer etc has reduced from 50% to 35%, which is mainly due to the various laws imposed. II. For last 8 years i.e. from 2002 to till now, the rate has fluctuated between 35% and 30%, which shows the various shortcomings of the laws imposed. Same facts are revealed from the good Samaritan hospital reports, I. There was decrease in number of patients suffering from various health problems due to smoking, has decreased from 45% to 30% until 2002 II. After 2002, the

What does Adam Smith mean of invisible hand Research Paper - 1

What does Adam Smith mean of invisible hand - Research Paper Example Adam Smith originally meant that the mechanism of the invisible hand is a result of the market settling the distribution of goods and the prices between what the producers want to produce and what the consumers chooses freely what to consume. As a result, producers will have to create goods that are cheaper to produce undermining competition and gain market share. This competition will ultimately benefit the individual consumer and hence, the greater community as a whole. To paraphrase Adam Smith in his book â€Å"An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations† By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an  invisible hand  to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was not part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good. It is an affectation, indeed, not very common among merchants, and very few words need be employed in dissuading them from it (Smith, 1776). Recent interpretation of Smith’s invisible hand elaborated that â€Å"Adam Smith argued in The Wealth of Nations, 1776, that, under the mechanism of a free market, the pursuit of profit leads each participant to act to the material advantage of society as a whole, as though ‘led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention†. (2007). And though most modern scholars interpret Smith’s invisible hand with regard to investment as preferential to the domestic economy, this was

Evaluation of structure and composition of early childhood narrative Essay

Evaluation of structure and composition of early childhood narrative - Essay Example 3 "Chinese children, generally speaking, include more narrative components,evaluative information, and temporal markers in their narratives over time.However, the growth patterns and rates of change for each child on eachnarrative measure vary (Chang,Chein Ju 2004,page 83-104)". All of these three criteria (narrative structure, evaluation, and temporality) are kept in mind when analysing the stories I have collected from children in the appropriate age range. This essay will employ the Labovian six part narrative model and Hoey's concept of problem-solution pattern to assess the texts. Appendix (1) shows examples of the concepts that will be employed and tested against the children's narrative. Not all of these elements are present in every story, but a majority of the Labovian model fits the narratives. Appendix (1): Labov's and Hoey's Approaches These two concepts will be used to test the data below. Fig. 1: Labov's six part model (Labov. William, Waletzky.J 1967) ABSTRACT- What happened in the beginning ORIENTATION- Who, where and when COMPLICATING ACTION- What happened EVALUATION- The high point RESOLUTION- What finally happened CODA- Final summary which brings listener and speaker back to the present time Fig. 2: Hoey's concept of predictable patterns Situation (optional) Problem Response OR Negative Evaluation Positive Evaluation and Or Result Or Result Hypothesis My hypothesis is that as a child is introduced to... This study builds on many other works as the Labovian model is now frequently used to assess children's narratives, (Kernan, 1977; Eaton, Collis and Lewis, 1999). The idea of linguistic and narrative development in children is also a popular issue. One study that specifically charts the evolution of child narrative with age is Telling stories of experiences: Narrative development of young Chinese children a study by Chien-JuChang in which young Chinese children were visited in their homes at age three years and six months and then at three month intervals for the next nine months. This essay will employ the Labovian six part narrative model and Hoey's concept of problem-solution pattern to assess the texts. Appendix (1) shows examples of the concepts that will be employed and tested against the children's narrative. Not all of these elements are present in every story, but a majority of the Labovian model fits the narratives. My hypothesis is that as a child is introduced to more narrative texts, and comes to identify narrative components, that he or she will

Whether the UK combined code on effective board structure add value to Essay

Whether the UK combined code on effective board structure add value to financial performance in the uk banks - Essay Example This is give me good chance to pass, thanks) (THE AREAS THAT ARE COVERED THROUGH THIS QUESTION ARE DISCUSSED IN THE â€Å"THE PURPOSE OF THE DISSERTATION† and THE QUESTION IS ANSWERED IN THE CONCLUSION) On the basis of the main purposes that resulted in the banking crises in the UK, this report examines if the UK combine Code has proven to be valuable in terms of accelerating the financial performance of the UK banks. However, investors expect a lot more from the financial institutions including banks of the United States of America. This report is aimed to review two companies as criteria, in the United Kingdom corporate governance, on board structure and if the United Kingdom combined code is effective on the financial performance. The dissertation clearly identifies the weaknesses, strengths, current performances and failures of the banking industry of the UK. The collapse of the banking sector of the United Kingdom was followed by the bankruptcy of the Lehman Brothers, the largest banking institutions in the United States of America. Since then, the UK went in to deep recession, which was considered to be the worst by many economists. In the corporate governance sector, the United Kingdom is considered as the world leader (Shah, 2009). The most important factor behind the collapse of banks in the United Kingdom is the ineffective and inefficient progress of the board members. This investigation is aimed to review and analyze the major issues and factors that took part in the failure of the banking and financial institutions, more specifically, RBS and HSBC. These banks are compared and examined deeply, aiming to discover out if the entities act in accordance with the combined code generated good financial results. The rigidity of the financial sector provides no room for abidance (Berndtson, 2009).  The business and management corporate entities, at earlier, were governed in harmony only with the

Each paper is on cultural relativism on the writings provided below Essay

Each paper is on cultural relativism on the writings provided below - Essay Example This fact cannot be denied that people believing in traditional healing systems will not go for biomedicine if they have firm believe in their culture and folk medicine procedures. Their beliefs should be respected and they should not be imposed that they must use the medicine that has no linkage with their culture. Even they should be facilitated with knowledge of their culture so that they can be provided with sufficient provision of needed support. AIDS is not a small or negligible disease as it keeps the capacity of killing a person. This disease is quite common in Africa and people make use of traditional or fold healing systems to get rid of this disease. It is essential for our researchers to make use of cultural herbal medicines and other ways of supporting people to get rid of their disease to facilitate the patients of AIDS with medicines that are not only biomedical but also traditional. Medical anthropologists have researched the topic of AIDS by keeping social and cultur al aspects in view and state that the disease cannot be understood well without understanding the environment and culture of people involved. The writers Singer and Baer (2007) use a term bioculturalism to define the linkage between biology and culture and according to their view, interaction between cultures and biology can be seen well by studying health and illness. AIDS as a disease can be well understood by gaining knowledge of the culture of the people as culture informs us about explaining, sensing and experiencing about pain. Biomedicine cannot be successful for any diseased person until and unless, the culture, political status and environment, all are not well understood. Sexually transmitted disease such as AIDS involves cultural beliefs and practices. According to Singer and Baer (2007), â€Å"disease expression is shaped by cultural values, beliefs and expectations† (12). Therefore, the notion cannot be negated AIDS as a disease in various parts of the world can be best understood, explained and cured by means of understanding the cultures of people. Culture plays a major part in giving value to its followers and also provides people with fighting against diseases in their own constructed and reliable manners. References Singer, Merrill and Baer, Hans A. (2007). Introducing medical anthropology: a discipline in action. Boulevard: Rowman Altamira. Ethnomedicine: The Worlds of treatment and Healing Ethnomedicine can be defined as a term that circulates all the kinds of traditional medicines and its study whether the medicinal procedures are well documented or not. However, the medicinal study and procedures that come under the title of ethnomedicine are well established and people rely on them from centuries due to which, they are well reputed. The writers, Singers and Baer in their book, â€Å"Introducing Medical Anthropology† give the description of ethnomedicine as something that has â€Å"transcended multiple cultural boundariesâ € , which means that ethnomedicine has got so much repute that culturally, it is well-liked in nearly all cultures. The writers use the term ethnomedicine against the term biomedicine, which can be defined as study of medicinal procedures and medicine that is adopted globally. Ethnomedicine also called

Politic papers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Politic papers - Essay Example Wars have raged in these regions for several years and the devastation brought about these wars has been tremendous. To be specific, the Iraq War had cost so much destruction of lives and properties. For the next five years, the destruction of lives and properties will most likely continue. On the other hand, the aftermath of the war could take a great toll on the economy and stability of the area for the next 20 years. The implications of the war in Iraq on the lives of the people and the security of the area are so great that the United States should address this problem more fully. I fully understand the position of the United States on the issue of terrorism but the point is that there are other ways of address terrorism other than counter-violence. We all know that violence begets violence and if the United States does not take concrete moves to end the violence in the area once and for all, this situation will not be resolved in the next several years. I believe that a solution of the problem would be a shift in foreign policies in Iraq. Instead of focusing on counter-terrorism and supporting the armed conflict in the area, the United States government should focus its attention more on the rehabilitation and rebuilding of Iraq through education, economic development and political participation by the people. We must understand that as long as the people in the area feel oppressed and deprived, they will be more prone to violence. Due to the presence of oil in this region, most of us are lead to believe that the economy in these parts of world is doing well. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Although some of the oil rich countries in these areas are dong really well, many of them are struggling to against poverty and deprivation. According to the report of the World Bank in 2006, about one in every five persons in the Middle East and North Africa Region can be

Human Growth and Development Essay Example for Free

Human Growth and Development Essay Definition of Plagiarism Plagiarism is an attempt (deliberate or inadvertent) to gain advantage by the representation of another persons work, without acknowledgement of the source, as the students own for the purposes of satisfying formal assessment requirements. Recognised forms of plagiarism include 1. the use in a students own work of more than a single phrase from another persons work without the use of quotation marks and acknowledgement of the source; 2. the summarising of another persons work by simply changing a few works or altering the order of presentation, without acknowledgement; 3. the use of ideas or intellectual data of another person without acknowledgement of the source, or the submission or presentation of work as if it were the students own, which are substantially the ideas or intellectual data of another person; 4. copying the work of another person; 5. the submission of work, as if it were the students own, which has been obtained from the internet or any other form of information technology; 6. the submission of coursework making significant use of unattributed digital images such as graphs, tables, photographs, etc. taken from books/articles, the internet or from the work of another person; 7. the submission of a piece of work which has previously been assessed for a different award or module or at a different institution as if it were new work; 8. a student who allows or is involved in allowing, either knowingly or unknowingly, another student to copy anothers work including physical or digital images would be deemed to be guilty of plagiarism. 9. If plagiarism is suspected students will be required to supply an electronic copy of the work in question so that it may be subjected to electronic plagiarism detection testing. Therefore students are required to keep work electronically until after they receive their results as electronic detection may be part of the investigative process. Source: Assessment Handbook 15f. In submitting this work I confirm I have read and understood the regulations relating to plagiarism and academic misconduct that I signed when I submitted my Assessment Confirmation Form. In submitting this work I confirm I have read and understood the regulations relating to plagiarism and academic misconduct that I signed when I submitted my Assessment Confirmation Form. ASSIGNMENT TITLE Human Growth and Development PortfolioI am observing a 22 month old boy, who for this report I will call Tom. Tom lives with his Mum, Dad and older sister Molly who is 3 years of age and has just started nursery. His Mum stays at home with the children whilst Dad works. Both parents are from Poland thus polish is their first language, however their Mum explained to me that Molly is going to nursery to develop her English. She also said that Tom was only speaking a little; some words English and some Polish. I will be observing Tom in his home. Observing Tom – Week one 12.10.2012 word count: 991 I arrived at the flat and was greeted by Tom’s mother who took my coat and showed me around the flat. Tom’s sister was sat eating at the table in the living room and Tom walked out of his bedroom and looked at me. He stared at me and I said â€Å"hello†, he smiled and ran back in his bedroom. Molly walked down the hall and smiled at me and spoke to Mum in polish and Mum replied, she then galloped past me and sat on the floor with toys. Mum told me that she had told Molly they had a visitor coming but they had to pretend I was invisible; she said she hadn’t told Tom as he wouldn’t understand. Besides the anxiety I was experiencing, I felt quite comfortable in the flat, the smell of washing powder was very familiar and I instantly warmed to the children. It seemed as though they were waiting for me to engage and it felt alien that I couldn’t. Mum encouraged the children to play in their bedroom as they were both stood looking at me. Mum went into the kitchen and I crouched down in the corner of the bedroom. I quickly realised this wasn’t a great idea as they both presented me with toys and giggled looking at each other. Molly passed me a Barbie and held another one and said, â€Å"This is dolly and you have man dolly† she then spoke in character through the Barbie and said, â€Å"Hello!† I found it difficult to divert from playing with her, I said â€Å"hello† and passed it to Tom to encourage them to play together. Molly continued to say, â€Å"This is dolly† trying to pass her to me. She seemed slightly frustrated that I was attempting to divert her attention away from me and I found it unnatural. As kneeling down was attracting their attention I stood in the doorway out the way. Mum came in the bedroom and put a children’s DVD of nursery rhymes. Molly started jumping about; Tom watched Molly and copied her jumping. They both smiled and kept looking at me. I smiled at them but was unsure of my facial expressions because I didn’t want to seem too approachable. I continued to find it uncomfortable how much they seemed to plea for my attention and I couldn’t respond properly. Molly then got out a box of Lego and brought it over to where I was stood, Tom followed and they started building the blocks together. They played nicely, taking it in turns; I enjoyed watching them and felt at ease that the attention was off me. When they made a tower Molly said, â€Å"no finish, no finish† each time they put a piece on and then said, â€Å"Finished!† and they both clapped their hands smiling. They did this several times. I noticed that Tom seemed relaxed and let Molly take the lead when she wanted to. Molly then went to get a picnic set and brought it back. Tom pretended to pour me a drink and passed me a cup; I said â€Å"Thank-you† and pretended to drink. I pointed at Molly to encourage him to pass it to her. Molly laid three plates on the floor and pointed at one and said, â€Å"Play?† I think Mum could see that I needed some help diverting their attention so she encouraged Molly to go back into her bedroom and they put some books away. Tom quickly ran back in his room following them. Mum laid a picnic blanket and laid it down on the floor in the bedroom and asked Molly to bring the picnic set in there. Mum then changed Tom’s nappy. Molly fluctuated from polish to English as she spoke. She then got out a fancy dress and showed me, saying â€Å"Look its Molly’s dress.† Mum helped her put it on. Tom tugged at the box of fancy dress clothes and so Mum also helped him into a skirt. They danced around the room together laughing. Molly kept spinning around and giggling and Tom copied her. I liked the way Mum had no problem with letting Tom wear a skirt and it reminded me of my own childhood when my younger brother would also wear my dresses. ‘Wheels on the bus’ came on and Tom danced in front of the television and they both did the arm motions. Tom wiggled his bum and stood right in front of the television. Mum laughed and sat cross legged next to them. Although the children were quite active, the atmosphere in the house was very calm and quiet, Mum’s presence was very peaceful and she spoke very quietly. Molly climbed on to her bed, Mum went over and tickled her; she giggled loudly. Tom still had his skirt on and continued to dance around the room. He then started to push a pram with a doll in around the room; he continued to watch the television and wiggled his bum watching with his mouth open. He then tipped over the pram and sat on the floor; he held the back wheel and moved it like he was pretending to drive. Molly then ran in to the hall and put on her shoes; Tom followed her and copied her. Molly put a hat on and then put one on Tom’s head. Mum laughed and helped Tom put his shoes on. She then tried to take off Tom’s skirt but he held on to it so she let him keep it on. Tom then pottered back into his bedroom where Molly was dancing, he joined in. Molly spun around with her eyes closed and then giggled looking at me. Tom copied her and stumbled backwards, Molly pulled Tom towards her and cuddled him and kissed his face. I wondered if Molly was ‘acting up’ because she was being watched by me, I questioned whether their behaviour was entirely natural. End of observation. Observing Tom – Week four 02.11.2012 word count: 1,025 When I arrived Tom ran out of his bedroom and into his parents’ room. He climbed up on to the bed and turned around to look at Mum, smiling as if he knew she was going to react. Mum said, â€Å"Hey, Tom† in a cautionary manner yet smiling. She grabbed him playfully and tickled him; he laughed loudly and squealed rolling on his back. He then climbed up on to the window sill. Mum spoke more sternly to Tom (in Polish) I assumed she was asking him to either get down or be careful. Again Tom turned back and looked at Mum gingerly with a cheeky smile. Mum told me she had felt poorly for a couple of weeks; she seemed quite run down and a little stressed. However she was patient with Tom. Mum was sat next to him and had her hand on the window handle so he couldn’t open it. Tom pointed out the window and looked astonished, Mum said, â€Å"Oooh ****† (Polish) Tom repeated the word and Mum nodded and smiled. She explained to me that he had seen a motor bike, she then pointed at various things out the window and said their names and Tom attempted to repeat the words. Tom spoke in a deep voice and stuck his chest out. Mum laughed and told me she was pointing out the vehicles names. I wondered whether Tom was speaking in a deep voice to imitate someone or whether he was trying to be ‘manly’. Tom then reached out to the window handle, Mum said, â€Å"Tom† firmly and took his hands away. He did this several more times, Mum again said his name and on the 4th time Tom imitated Mum and shouted, â€Å"Tom!† Mum started laughing and picked him up and sat him on the bed and tickled him again, he laughed loudly and then climbed down and ran out into the hallway. Molly came out into the hall from her bedroom and smiled at me, she then ran after Tom and they both went into the living room. Mum pulled out their table and chairs and got out some paper for them. Molly said, â€Å"We’re going to paint, you know?† Mum laughed and sat them down with some paint and cups of water. Tom picked up two paint brushes and banged them on his paper and made roaring sounds. He then struggled to pick up paint on his paint brush and frowned as he brushed over the pallets of paint, he tried to paint on the paper but nothing stuck, he stamped his feet a few times. Molly soaked up more water on her paint brush and slowly brushed her paint brush over the pallets, she seemed to know what she was doing, perhaps from painting at Nursery or remembering what Mum or Dad had taught her. Tom seemed a lot more impatient and frustrated and looked at Molly painting, slightly frowning. He then leant over and painted on her paper. She shouted out, â€Å"No Tom!† But he had left no mark, just a watery smear, so she pulled her paper away and continued to paint. Mum turned around and said, â€Å"Hey, hey Tom.† Tom continued to try to paint and let out noises of frustration; Mum came over and tried to help him apply the paint on his brush. Molly said, â€Å"Mimi† and Mum drew a Mickey Mouse face on her piece of paper in pink. Molly held her paper and came over to me saying, â€Å"Look its Mimi, Mickey Mouse, you know?† I laughed and wondered if Molly had heard someone at Nursery saying, â€Å"you know† and was imitating them as she had said it a few times and I hadn’t heard her say it before. Tom leant over and tried to paint on Molly’s Mickey Mouse, Molly squealed out and shouted, â€Å"No, Tom!† Mum seemed to tell them off as she spoke sternly in Polish, however still remained calm. The children seemed more agitated today and I wondered if Mum being ill had slightly impacted their behaviour, although Mum seemed to be struggling she was still calm with the children. I also noticed that Mum and Molly spoke more in Polish than previous weeks, I wondered if this was because they were more comfortable in my presence. Mum drew a Mickey Mouse for Tom so he wouldn’t bother Molly anymore. She drew his Mickey Mouse in blue, perhaps to tell the difference between whose was whose, but I also considered whether it was colour coded for ‘girl’ and ‘boy’. He smiled and shouted, â€Å"Mimi!† Molly and Tom both called out, â€Å"Mimi† they seemed to be in competition with each other of who could shout louder and laughed each time they shouted. Tom then went around the table on the opposite side to Molly and she prodded him playfully in his tummy with the end of her paint brush. Tom giggled so she did it again, she continued to do it and they both giggled more and more each time, becoming very excited. Molly then climbed up onto a seat at the dining room table and asked Mum if she could have her stickers, Tom went over and peered up at the table to see what Molly was doing. Mum helped Tom into his seat and brought over a sheet of stickers, Molly began sticking them onto her paper but Tom struggled to peel his stickers off, he made a fist and banged the paper making grunting noises. Mum went over again and helped him peel them off. Tom struggled again when Mum went back to the computer so he seemed to lose interest and again became more interested in Molly’s paper. Seeing Tom struggling made me feel uncomfortable that I couldn’t assist him. Tom climbed down from the table and ran into his bedroom; he peered up at the shelf of DVD’s. He shouted out, perhaps in Polish, Mum came in the room and pointed at various DVD’s until he said yes. She put on a film called ‘Pipi’ Tom danced around to the introduction music and stood close to the screen wiggling his bottom. End of observation. In this essay I will evaluate my experience as an observer and describe the place of observation in Social work. Finally, I will focus on gender development as my major theme of consideration. Initially, although I was a little apprehensive; I came to find the role of the observer a considerable challenge. Although in some ways I grew more comfortable with certain aspects of the exercise, I found a degree of discomfort in the role I was to undertake. I could relate greatly to the content of Quitak, N (2004) article, as I too struggled to find my feet to gain the right balance in distance and involvement. I experienced feelings of guilt when the children required my attention and learnt that I had to tolerate the anxiety of non-intervention. Trowell and Miles (1991) say in relation to social work, that due to the requirements of the role, they at times have to be assertive (cited in Quitak, 2004). Therefore to be effective, they must come to terms with the discomfort this can imply. M attinson (1975) cited in Quitak, N (2004) discusses this concept in terms of the ‘psychological distance’ often required. Trowell and Miles (1991) cited in Quitak (2004) in terms of remaining ‘actively positive’; retaining a physical distance, whilst allowing one self to become deeply involved. When recording my observation afterwards, I found that the first things I recalled were from the first and last part of the hour, plus what was unusual and stood out to me. Munro (1991) says that this is because we are trying to hold onto awareness of the surroundings and the different ways in which people converse and interact, (cited in Lefevre, 2010). I recognised I was preoccupied with trying to remember everything. On reflection I realised that I should have observed everything and then later try to identify the most salient points. A further distraction was Tom’s sister, Molly, who features heavily in my records, because her behaviour was more emphatic, however, I was unable to moderate her behaviour in order to allow Tom a more significant role. Munro (1991) says that such challenges an d disruptions to memory are one of the reasons assessments are often based on incomplete or inaccurate information. I was also concerned on whether pre-determined bias would creep in, as indeed, people’s values, culture and previous experiences will always influence how they interpret what they see (Cox, 2005, cited in Lefevre, 2010). Furthermore due to Tom not speaking properly yet and the language barrier it was harder for me to recall as I couldn’t prompt my memory with odd sentences. Malekoff (1994) says that thoughts and feelings of children are often emotionally processed and conveyed through more direct means, and body language may provide important clues as to how they feel (cited in Lefevre, M. 2010). This heightened my awareness of non-verbal communication and improved my capacity to analyse non- verbal behaviour. Observing children over time may help to explain what relates more to their general character and what might be a response to caretaking and environmental experiences. What they convey through certain choices provides insight into their social identity and sense of self and cultural norms. Plus their racial identity may also be revealed. A social worker will need to be open to different social and cultural experiences and consider how a child may be affected by different factors such as ethnocentrism. Self-awareness and understanding of the impact of oppression on racial identity will be important (Robinson, 2007, cited in Lefevre, 2010). Recent work on prejudice/identity development focuses on applications of intergroup theory to examine the basis of social categorization and its effects. One development has been to look more generally at children’s knowledge of other countries and nationalities (Cowie et al. 2009). I believe this could be very beneficial for Tom in the future. When watching the children I questioned whether their behaviour was altered by my presence (see week one, lines 58-62 and week four, lines 109-110). The experience of being observed can evoke anxiety and feelings of disempowerment due to possible fear of being judged or misunderstood, which can result in them behaving differently. In relation to assessments, it is important to consider how workers might affect the observed situation (Tanner and Turney, 2000 cited in Lefevre, 2004). I understand that the move from observation to interpretation is complex and therefore should proceed with caution. In bringing reflective approaches to child observations into social work, a link is made ‘between knowledge of human growth and development, observational skills and effective social work communication with children (Luckock et al, 2006, p 39). A picture of a children’s world, particularly their emotional experience, is created, which may include how they interact with and respond to parents. This may then be used to inform assessment and care planning, including the assessment of neglect (Tanner and Turney, 2000), child protection assessments (Fleming, 2004), multidisciplinary assessments for the family courts (Youell, 2002) and the supervision of contact (Hindle and Easton, 1999). The debate about the health, safety and welfare of children became a preoccupation of government following the death of Victoria Climbie in 2000 (Youell, 2009 and Wilson, 1992). It ‘can refer to both one’s own and one’s partner’s expression, with lack’ of expressiveness on either one’s part seen as dissatisfying’ (Hecht et al., 1989). Cultures vary in what is considered ‘appropriate channelling’ of emotions. For example in some cultural groups restraint of strong feelings is highly valued. Social workers must always consider cultural factors when assessing people (Robinson, 2007. Pg. 116-120). I considered cultural differences whilst observing, Mum was always very quiet and when I met Dad, he was also quiet. Although I was aware that this may be their personalities, I considered if is in their culture to be quiet (see week one, line 49). This experience has taught me that although it is imperative for practitioners to be sensitive to the impact of our presence, it is vital not to forget that we must remain focussed upon the objectives set for the observation. From observing Tom, I found myself particularly interested in his behaviour in relation to his ‘gender role’. I became drawn in to spotting which toys interested him, what he chose to wear and his general behaviour. Piaget has shown how important symbolisation is to cognitive development. One of the many important things children must learn during their first years is what sex they are; they learn that they are expected to behave in different ways according to whether they are a boy or a girl. Learning to behave â€Å"appropriately† for their sex involves learning their â€Å"gender identity† (Davenport, 1992, pg. 275). I will be looking at theories of acquiring a sex-role, looking at; biological factors, social learning and cognitive development. The results of various studies indicate that most children begin to acquire their sex identity from around 18 months. By 2 years they begin to identify what sex other children are, although they’re not too sure of their own gender identity until somewhere between two and a half and three years (Davenport, 1992, pg. 275). Accordingly, at 22 months, Tom should be beginning to identify gender, but not his own for another 7 or 8 months. Boys and girls differ in one chromosome pair; this genetic difference normally leads to differential production of hormones. These hormones lead to differentiation of bodily characteristics, such as the genital organs, and may also influence brain growth and therefore behaviour patterns (Cowie et al, 2003). Theories emphasising biological forces look for experimental evidence that links male hormones with certain types o f behaviour (Davenport, 1992). Collaer and Hines (1995) cited in Cowie et al. (2009) examined the evidence for the effects of sex hormone abnormalities on behaviour over a range of outcome variables. They conclude that the evidence is strongest for childhood play behaviour; in normal foetal development male sex hormones seem to predispose boys to become more physically active. They also argue that the evidence is relatively strong in two other areas: aggression and sexual orientation. Such effects are consistent with evidence that some sex differences appear early in life. Much research has shown males to be more aggressive, and that aggression begins at around 2 years (Cowie et al. pg. 190-192. 2009). Tom demonstrated behaviours of aggression; see ‘observation week four’ (lines 88-103 and 119). This has been explained by the higher testosterone levels than females. However, it is possible that boys are reinforced for behaving aggressively, and this makes them produce more testosterone (Cowie et al. 2009). Money and Ehrhardt (1972) carried out a study to understand the effect that the male sex hormone, androgen has on girls. They examined girls who had been exposed to unusually high levels of androgen before birth. Compared with a matched group of girls who hadn’t, these girls and their mothers reported themselves to being ‘tomboys’. However, Cowie et al (2009) argue that because the parents knew of the hormonal abnormalities, this could have affected their behaviour towards their children. While biological factors are probably important in explanations of sex differences, they do not fully explain the process of sex-role identification, or explain the variations in sex roles in different societies (Cowie et al, 2009). Social Learning theorists claim that we acquire our gender roles by observation, modelling, and being reinforced for behaving accordingly. This implies a learning process, that social factors are also important. For example it may be that female babies are spoken to more often than boys, thus pick up language sooner (Davenport, pg. 276-278, 1992). On reflection, Tom’s Mum spoke more to Molly, although this may be because she was replying to her. An early approach to the learning of sex-role identification was that children are moulded into sex-roles by the behaviour of adults, especially parents and teachers (Bandura, 1969; Mischel, 1970). In its early version (which Maccoby, 2000, calls ‘direct sociolization’) this theory suggests tha t parents and others reward sex-appropriate behaviour in children (cited in Smith et al. 2009), (see week one, lines 45-47 and also lines 40-1 and 56-57). Mum happily helped Tom in to the skirt, although would then attempt to get it off. I wondered if this was because Mum was a bit reluctant to him wearing it, or even feared I may judge her. I also considered if it would be different if Dad were around. Fagot (1978) studied children ages 20-24 months in American homes and found that girls were encouraged by their parents to dance, dress up and play with dolls, whereas boys were encouraged to play with blocks and trucks. Conversely, Tom’s Mum did not discourage him from playing with the pram (see week one, lines 51-54) a typical ‘girls toy’. Furthermore Fagot (1985) found that nursery school teachers tend to reward ‘feminine’ types of behaviour, in both boys and girls, yet this does not prevent boys engaging more in noisy, rough-and-tumble play. Nevertheless, many reviews have felt that this evidence has not been very convincing (Golombok, and Hines, 2002; Maccoby, 2000, cited in Smith et al. 2009). It m ay be that any differential behaviour by parents is simply responding to pre-existing differences in boys and girls behaviour (Davenport, 1992). Indirect socialization (Maccoby, 2000), supposes that children observe the behaviour of same sex models, and imitate them, for example, boys might imitate the behaviour of male figures on TV (cited in Smith et al. 2009).TV features in every record, and Tom was always very engrossed and on more than one occasion I noticed him imitating what was acted or said (see week one, line 52). A report by Himmelweit et al. (1958) looked for changes in children’s behaviour with the concern that violence on television may make children more aggressive, and that many programmes portray stereotyped images of sex roles. Alternatively, others think that television can be used to encourage cooperative behaviour, or reduced stereotyped views (Greenfield, 1984, cited in Smith et al. 2009). This introduces influences on behaviour that suggest the importance of cognitive factors. Social cognitive theory (Bussey and Bandura, 1999) draws together the ideas of both theories. They suggest children monitor their own behaviour built on what is appropriate; identification with peer group monitoring their behaviour in relation to how they expect same-sex peers might react (cited in Cowie et al. 2009). I didn’t get to see Tom interact with any male children, I found Molly to be a great influence on his behaviour; i.e. see week one lines 21-22, 26 and 59. I imagine this is because supposedly he has not yet identified himself as a boy and does not have much, if any, contact with other boys of similar age. Preference for same-sex peers seems to be a cross-cultural phenomenon, and one that increases through childhood into adolescence. Maccoby (1998, 200) has documented this, and argues that it is a key factor in integrating not only cognitive and social factors, but also the biological factors affecting sex differences (Cowie et al. 2009). Observing Tom enabled me a great insight into his world, but has also indeed taught me a lot about myself, gaining skills of self-awareness and reflective practice that I hope to bring to future practice. Bibliography Bandura, A. 1969: Social Learning theory of identificatory processes. In D. A Goslin (ed.), Handbook of Socialization Theory and Research. Chicago: Rand McNally. Peter K.Smith, Helen Cowie and Mark Blades (2009). Understanding Childrens Development . 4th ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. 186-194. G C Davenport (1992). An introduction to Child development. London: Colins Educational. 275-291. Money, J. and Ehrhardt, A. A. 1972: Man and Woman, Boy and Girl. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. Michelle Lefevre (2010). Communicating with children and young people making a difference. Bristol: The Policy Press. 147-169. Judith Trowell and Gillian Miles. (1991). The contribution of observation training to professional development in social work . Journal of social work practice. 5 (1), 50-56. Natasha Quitak. (2010). Difficulties in Holding the role of the observer.Journal of social work practice. 18 (2), 247-253. Lena Robinson (2007). Cross-Cultural child development for social workers an introduction. London: Palgrave Macmillan. 116-120. Kate Wilson. (1992). The place of child observation in social work.Journal of social work practice. 6 (1), 37-47. Biddy Youell . (2009). Guide to emotional and behavioural health . Available: http://www.ccinform.co.uk/articles/2009/10/19/3614/guide+to+emotional+and+behavioural+health.html. Last accessed 27th Nov 2012.

Laser Alignment Theory Essay Example for Free

Laser Alignment Theory Essay Modern optical metrology uses precise lines and planes in space from which measurements are made. Because this method creates these features using light it has become known as optical tooling. The 35 year old historical development and current technology of laser instrumentation as used in optical tooling is discussed in detail. This includes the how the measurements are made, applications, and the technology of alignment lasers and position sensing targets developed for sensing position within a laser beam or plane. The various geometries used to make alignment measurements are discussed in detail. Applications are discussed and the challenges each poses are discussed. The challenge of long range alignment and the effect of the turbulent atmosphere on the measurement process is discussed along with methods of handling the associated errors them. WHAT IS OPTICAL TOOLING? Optical tooling is a means establishing and utilizing a line of sight (LOS) to obtain precise reference lines and reference planes from which accurate measurements are made with position sensitive targets. 1] Formerly the measurements were done by a person interpreting a scale or optical micrometer by looking through an alignment telescope; today the lines and planes are created by a laser; the measurements are digital and require no interpretation. Optical tooling uses the principle that light travels in straight lines to produce precise measurements that cannot be reached by manual or mechanical methods. Level lines can be esta blished over great distances so accurately that every point is exactly perpendicular to the force of gravity. Plumb lines can be set to a given level. Right angles can be produced quickly and precisely with auxiliary components. In the assembly, maintenance and calibration of industrial equipment or in the alignment of precision systems, one or as many as four basic questions always must be answered: is it straight, is it flat, is it plumb or is it square? A number of techniques have been developed to make these measurements; however, many of them result in inaccuracies so great that proper operation of the equipment involved will be compromised or seriously endangered. The science of optical metrology and alignment makes it possible to achieve the highest degree of accuracy in answering these four important questions. It is no longer necessary to interpret readings or to make constant adjustments and calculations. In laser alignment applications, direct, precision measurements are made rapidly and consistently. Straightness In aligning several points, a tight wire is often used as a reference line. This technique has numerous drawbacks and introduces inaccuracy. First of all, wire has weight, which causes it to sag; over long distances this sag can become considerable. In addition, wire vibrates, can bend or kink, and when stretched in the area to be measured, equipment cannot be moved around for fear of disturbing the wire reference line. Even a gentle breeze can cause the wire to move sideways a considerable amount; the aerodynamic drag on a thin wire is huge. In laser alignment, the LOS of is established by a laser beam instead of a tight wire. The invisible LOS reference has no weight, cannot sag, kink, or be disturbed, nor is it a safety hazard. It constitutes a precise, unvarying reference, determining straightness to within thousandths of an inch. Flatness In order to determine flatness a shop level and a straightedge was employed in the past. However, over large horizontal areas, the shop level must be moved from part to part. Consequently, one can only tell the degree of flatness of each individual surface upon which the level is place. Whether all objects in a large area are flat is still in doubt. Flatness over a considerable area must be assured in the erection of large machinery, surface tables and large machine tools. Conventional bubble levels simply do not offer the degree of precision required. Laser levels, a termed that has fallen into generic use, offer a way to produce a level datum over a wide area. Laser technology has overcome the many disadvantages of bubble levels and assures levelness to within a few thousandths of an inch over hundreds of feet. This high degree of levelness is accomplished by horizontally sweeping the laser beam manually or via a motor driven rotary stage. This revolving line of laser ligh t becomes a horizontal plane of sight, giving a precise horizontal reference datum, sometimes called a waterline. Squareness Perfect squareness implies that one plane forms a 90Â ° angle with another intersecting plane. When a steel square is used to test for this condition, the results can be very misleading. Such measurements rely upon the trueness of the steel square, which can vary from square to square with time. In addition, steel squares have a definite limit in their physical dimensions and consequently the testing of very large surface becomes inaccurate, slow and cumbersome. Laser alignment overcomes all these disadvantages and offers a quick and precise method for determining squareness. One method is to use a transparent penta prism in conjunction with a simple alignment laser. This optical element will split the beam from the laser into two parts; one beam passes through the prism undeviated, the other beam is reflected at a perfect 90 degree angle. This will be described in more detail later. Other systems use three independently mounted lasers that are orthogonal to each other. Plumb Classically, a plumb bob is used to establish a single vertical reference line. Of course, as vertical distances increase, the plumb bob becomes cumbersome and inaccurate. It takes a long time for the plumb bob to settle. Also, it can easily be swayed by vibration, air currents, and other disturbances which are bound to be encountered. In the laser alignment method there are several ways to produce a plumb reference; it can be a plane or a line. To form a plumb line, an alignment laser with autocollimating capability is used with a pool of almost any liquid. Autocollimation senses the angle of an external mirror by reflecting its beam back into the laser head. A position sensor, beamsplitter and lens measure the angle of the reflected beam. When the laser is adjusted such that the internal sensor reads 0 in both axes, then the laser is producing a plumb line. For example, if a heavy machine tool is being surveyed, the two reference points which determine the LOS should be located off of the machine. If for any reason the machine were to move or deflect all measurements would be in error. The two reference points should be located close enough to be convenient to use and/or out of the way of other people working in the area. Transits and alignment telescopes first made these types of measurements. But the problem with transits and telescopes is that they require a person to interpret a scale placed on the object of interest; and usually a second person is holding the scale against the object. It is a two person job that takes time and much training to accomplish successfully. It is also subject to errors. This type of alignment measurement, commonly called straightness, is the most basic of all alignment applications. The figure below shows an alignment laser source on the left whose collimated beam is striking a position sensor target on the right. The target can freely slide and make measurements of straightness of the structure to which it is attached. [pic] Another common requirement is to establish another LOS perpendicular or parallel to the original LOS. To establish a perpendicular a special prism is used: a penta prism. A penta prism has the property that rotation around its axis does not deviate the reflected beam at all; it does not have to be critically mounted. Penta prisms are often called optical squares, an appropriate term. To establish a parallel LOS to an existing LOS typically involves tooling bars if the distance is relatively short, say a meter or less. These bars are made of steel and hold electronic targets at a precise distance from a center. Using two of them with the original LOS establishes a parallel LOS. If the distance between the two LOS is large, then it can be done using the penta prism twice; the first time to turn the beam 90 degrees, followed by a certain distance, and concluded by turning the beam back 90 degrees. Care must be taken that two LOS are truly parallel; usually using a level reference datum makes the task much easier. The next alignment application involves measuring the alignment error between two different LOS datums; the typical application is to determine the lateral offset and angular error between two shafts. The shafts essentially define the two LOSs. The measurement consists of setting up the source on one shaft and parallel to it. The targets are placed on the second shaft and surveyed. Then the shafts are rotated 180 degrees and surveyed again; the difference is twice the shaft offset. If the target is placed at two axial locations and measured for offset, the difference in the offsets divided by twice the axial separation is the angular error in radians. The figure below shows a typical method to measure shaft alignment errors using a laser and target. [pic] A more sophisticated alignment application is to sweep a laser beam quickly to generate a plane of light. The advantage of this is that many targets can be aligned using one laser source. In simple straightness applications the target location is restricted to the active area of the position sensor. In swept plane alignment, the targets are using sensitive in only one dimension. A typical application to establish a level plane is to put three or more targets at the same (desired) waterline location and adjust the structure the targets are on until all targets read the same. The targets for swept plane alignment can be static, meaning they require the laser beam to be directed in to them constantly. Usually the laser beam is swept by hand by rotating a knob on the laser source. If the laser plane is moving at high speed, say once a second or faster, then the targets must capture and hold the position of the laser beam as the beam sweeps by. The problem becomes harder to accomplish at longer distance because the beam is on the detector for such a short periods of time. The figure below shows a horizontally swept level laser beam scanning by several targets placed on a machine bed.