Saturday, October 5, 2019
Geothermal Energy and its Potential Applications in the United States Essay
Geothermal Energy and its Potential Applications in the United States - Essay Example Geothermal energy is classified amongst the group of renewable energy sources: these forms of power utilize energy flows from natural processes like the suns radiation, wind, running water and in this case, magma heated water(" Renewable Energy", Wikipedia). Renewable sources replace the drawn energy through natural processes. In this sense, geo power is not strictly renewable as it is possible to exhaust a particular source by drawing it out faster than it can be replenished. It is most definitely sustainable by re-injecting the spent fluid back into the earth to be reheated. Since it is derived from the earths own heat it can be utilized almost any where in the world, though currently it has only been done so predominantly in the West. It is also one of the cleaner forms of energy, with lower green house emissions than fossil fuels, puts less stress on the environment as it its power plants are small and it does not require dam construction or forest depletion (Geothermal Energy Facts,Geothermal Education Office). The most common application of geothermal power is electricity generation. In fact the United States alone uses 2,800MWe of electrical capacity and this is only a fraction of its capacity.(Fridleifson,n.d, www.crest.org). Idaho National Laboratories list three types of power plants for electricity generation and all three are hydrothermal in source, i.e from hot water reservoirs. (The first type is known as dry steam plants. Steam from underground reservoirs is pumped up into turbines and used to drive a generator. Flash steam plants utilize reservoirs with extremely high temperatures greater than 182 C. Here, water is driven to the surface under its own pressure. When it reaches the surface the pressure drop forces it to become steam and this is then used to drive a turbine. The third type, binary flows, make use of geothermal reservoirs with lower or milder heat conditions. Hot water, at temperatures lower than boiling (100 C), is pumped through a set of pipes known as heat exchan gers and is used to heat an organic volatile fluid in the other pies. The fluid then evaporates into steam which is used to power a generator. In all three types the condensed steam or water is re-injected into the fractures from wherein they were drawn thus replenishing the heat source. From the vastly different temperature ranges observed in the three methods listed, it is evident that even mild temperatures can be used to generate electricity. Considering the United States vast consumption of oil - more than 20.8 billion barrels per day, and its growth, the scope for more geothermal power plants is enormous. Currently, only 0.5% of the U.S. power is supplied by geothermal power.(U.S. Energy Policy,www.solcomhouse.com). Costs are also quite competitive, being only $0.05 -$0.08 per KWh (www.crest.org). Direct utilization of geothermal power for heating buildings and water is another option. This makes use of shallow ground water sources with lower temperatures (20-150C) and thus may be limited to those areas which have access to them. However it is an extremely cost effective method to heat greenhouses and homes, and can be used in small scale industry like fishfarming. Direct use systems make use of heat exchangers wherein the source water is pumped through one set of pipes and the heat
Friday, October 4, 2019
The corporate communications function of Microsoft Essay
The corporate communications function of Microsoft - Essay Example The firm that is analyzed in the paper is Microsoft as one of the largest and most well-known information technology companies in the world. Its internal and external communicational strategies have been analyzed to uncover how the company has been able to generate value for itself and also for its stakeholders. The study has revealed that the organizational communication plays a vital role in the success of a company. The internal communication comprises of the interaction among the employees and staff and the external communication includes the communication with the customers and notable external stakeholders like the investors. The company has improved its internal communication by incorporating advanced telecommunication technologies to virtually bring the employees together who are separated by national borders. It has been found that the communicational strategies incorporated by the company have helped to develop team work, productivity, and efficiency. The external communica tional strategies of the company include its marketing communications and promotional campaigns. Microsoft has developed its advertisements to highlight the brand image of the company and to create customer awareness about its products. It has leveraged its financial prowess to develop robust promotional campaigns. Finally, it has been concluded that the company has successfully designed its communicational process to increase its value generation and it has been recommended that in order to further improve them, it should adopt an integrated marketing strategy and adopt content localization.
Thursday, October 3, 2019
Pilot Fatigue and its role in Aviation Safety Essay Example for Free
Pilot Fatigue and its role in Aviation Safety Essay ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to observe the growing concern of pilot fatigue and the role it plays in aviation safety. A brief assessment of the effects and possible solution to this problem will be carried out. A mention of some of the incidents from the past will also find its place in this paper. Introduction                   Aviation industry is on a growing spree and in the times to come there are going to be more and more airlines filling the sky. As we move steps further towards globalization we are going to need this service more frequently which further increases the pressure on our airlines. To tackle with this situation, especially when the availability of trained pilots is less than required, the pilots are forced to fly more frequently and for longer hours. This causes physical as well as mental stress to buildup as a result of which the efficiency of pilots decreases. This non-pathologic state resulting in physical and mental stress is known as ‘Fatigue’. Human body is always in need of rest, especially in the form of sleep, after regular intervals of time. Any lack in the required rest causes fatigue to be developed in one’s body. Due to fatigue there can be a feeling of sleeplessness, tiredness or exhaustion in a person. This feeling if effective during flight hours can be really dangerous not only for the pilot but also for the lives of the passengers traveling with him and can cause accidents. The only solution to this problem that has been known so far and will ever be known in the times to come is sufficient amount of sleep. This unfortunately is what the pilots are not getting these days and are not expected to get at least in the near future.                   The findings from the past have shown that fatigue was responsible for a large number of aviation accidents. According to a study carried out by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of flight accidents related to flight crew in US from 1978 to 1990, one of the findings related the accidents to fatigue by stating that â€Å"Half the captains for whom data were available had been awake for more than 12 hours prior to their accidents. Half the first officers had been awake for more than 11 hours. Crews comprising captains and first officers whose time since awake was above the median for their crew position made more errors overall, and significantly more procedural and tactical decision errors. (Strauss, n.d.). Sleep and Sleep Loss                  It is essential for a human body to get the required amount of sleep. Sleep is considered to be an essential ingredient of our life without which it is not possible to survive. Whenever a person does not get enough sleep a signal is sent by brain to the body which results in Sleepiness. Eyelids start to get heavier and there is fatigue in the whole body. A person starts to loose concentration and may even go to sleep while he is on a job. If there is a deficiency in sleeping hours of a person and suppose every day a person looses 1 hour of sleep known as â€Å"Sleep Loss†, then it goes on accumulating over days and results in what is known as â€Å"Sleep Debt†. This debt if not cleared can cause serious problems ultimately resulting in fatigue. It has been found in researches that before flying a plane it is necessary to have sufficient amount of sleep (about 8 hours) for the pilots. If they are allowed to fly continuously without getting the required amount of rest (or sleeping hours) in between their flying schedules, then fatigue is most likely to develop in them resulting in, loss of concentration, memory and alertness, slow reaction time, reduced decision power, and bad mood. All these factors are basic ingredients of making mistakes and thus causing accidents. Crew rest                   Fatigue starts to build up from the time one gets out of sleep. Development of fatigue also depends on the amount of time a person was awake before the actual flight operation. Some times there are delays in flight timings due to several reasons ranging from weather conditions to mechanical problems. This means that a pilot has been â€Å"on duty†for a long time before boarding in the plane. Although he may be flying the plane for the normal length of time but delay in flight timing has resulted in him being involved in the activities for much longer, which also results in the pilot being fatigued. Similarly there may be a case of airport congestion as a result of which a pilot cannot land and has to hover in the air for a long time or due to bad whether the plane needs to be redirected to some other destination causing him to fly for longer duration than normal. These instances also cause fatigue to be developed. Overall the fact is that ample amount of rest is essentially required by the human body to keep it fit and fatigue free.                    â€Å"A brief review of US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight time and rest rules for scheduled domestic commercial carriers (US Code Title 14, part 121.471) are as follows†(Strauss, n.d.).: Crewmember total flying time maximum of: 1000 hours in any calendar year. 100 hours in any calendar month. 30 hours in any 7 consecutive days. 8 hours between required rest periods. Rest for scheduled flight during the 24 hours preceding the completion of any flight segment: 9 consecutive of hours rest for less than 8 hours scheduled flight time. 10 hours rest for 8 hours or more, but less than 9 hours scheduled flight time. 11 hours rest for 9 hours or more scheduled flight time. Diet and nutrition                   People all over the world use coffee as a stimulant to remain awake for longer periods of time. Same is the case with pilots. To remain alert they normally consume coffee. The problem with coffee is that although it keeps a person alert, it cannot prevent body from getting tired and thus fatigued. The body still is in working condition for all these hours and hence the effect of coffee is temporary alertness and not a solution to fatigue. Also coffee is diuretic which means that it discharges more fluids than what it takes in and hence results in dehydration which is a cause of fatigue. It is always good to keep your body fit by exercising but there should be a sufficient amount of rest and consumption of water followed by it as exercises cause a lot of dehydration. However dehydration can also be caused by the fact that inside the cockpit humidity is very. There is always a balanced diet recommended for not only pilots but everyone. A pilot should always ensure a healthy diet which provides sufficient energy as well as nutrients for his body. Hypoglycemia, which is caused by low blood sugar levels, is a major cause of feeling sleepiness. A healthy diet ensures sufficient levels of blood sugar and thus energy, preventing hypoglycemia.                   ‘Finally, alcohol is known to disrupt sleep dramatically and therefore contributes to the poor quantity and quality of sleep obtained on trip nights. Alternative approaches to the use of alcohol to unwind after duty and promote sleep should be identified and offered (e.g., relaxation skills)’ (Rosekind, 1994). Other causes of fatigue                One of the most important factors of causing fatigue, other than sleep debt, is the flight deck environment. Inside the deck there are a lot of factors contributing to fatigue such as lesser availability of space, variation in air flow, low atmospheric pressure, low humidity and presence of a lot of noise and vibration. Also in modern aircrafts a number of additional features and systems have been incorporated which means that the pilots have to handle multiple systems resulting in more stress. History of incidents There have been incidents in the past where fatigue has proved to not only be dangerous but also fatal. A legend in aviation refers to an incident when a pilot went to sleep with his autopilot on and found on waking up that the plane was 2 hours from the nearest destination with only one hour of fuel left. This may just be a story but in many cases researches have proved fatigue to be a cause of dangerous and fatal accidents. Some of the cases have been listed below:- In June 1999 there was a runway accident of American Airlines Flight 1420 in which 11 people died, including the aircraft captain, and many injuries among the 145 passengers and crew aboard the flight KAL Flight 801 crashed in Guam on August 6, 1997, was mainly due to a lack of situational awareness resulting in controlled flight into terrain (CFIT). The captain prior to flying to Guam had flown from Seoul to Australia, back to Seoul, to Hong Kong, and then back to Seoul again before his fateful trip to Guam, including only a few hours of rest in between. Cessna 177B Cardinal was flown by Joe Reid, pilot-in-command in which he, seven-year-old Jessica Dubroff and her father were killed. He suffered fatigue from the first days flight. On August 18, 1993, a Connie Kalitta DC-8 crashed on a 1/4-mile base leg to final. The flight crew had been on duty for 18 hours and flown nine, thereby experiencing sleep loss and a disruption of their circadian rhythms. ‘On January 2, 1989, the captain of a 707 tried to maneuver his plane to land in Salt Lake City after breaking out of the clouds at 200 feet. He dragged his left, outboard engine on the runway, leaving a 60-foot-long groove. Within the preceding 30 hours, he had been on duty for 19 hours, and flown 13 hours. He had been off duty for almost 12 hours, but was only able to get one hour of sleep in that time’ (Printup, 2000). In August 1985, the crew of a Learjet killed themselves and their passenger in a failed approach to Gulkana, Alaska. One of the contributing factors was that the company would shift the crews duty/rest requirements from FAR Part 135 to those of FAR Part 121, thereby disrupting their sleep patterns and inducing fatigue (Printup, 2000). Countermeasures Based on several reports a number of countermeasures have been devised to improve alertness to counter fatigue. Preventive measures like 3-4 hours of sleep can restore alertness for 12-15 hours and 10-30 minutes of sleep can do it for about 3-4 hours. Similarly it is advised to rest for 15-20 minutes after awakening and before flying. Some of other means to restore alertness are:- Consumption of high protein diet and less intake of fat and high carbohydrate food. Consumption of large quantities of fluids. Use of caffeine to work against fatigue symptoms if awake for 18 hours or less. Due rotation of flight tasks and frequent conversation with other crewmembers Maintenance of temperature inside the deck to lower levels. Frequent movement of body parts and a possible walk in the cabin. Gradually shift times for sleep, meals, and exercise to adjust to a new time zone (Strauss, n.d.). Conclusion For the safety of pilots as well as passengers the issue of pilot fatigue is of major concern. Growing number of aircrafts in the sky also means longer durations of flight for the pilots, which is a major cause of this problem. History bears the testimony to the fact that fatigue has resulted in numerous aviation accidents resulting in the loss of thousand of lives. To save more lives from getting lost there is a need to solve this problem. Allowing flexible schedules for the pilots is the only viable solution in sight at the moment. Our lives are getting busier and it would be wonderful if they become safer as well. References Dawson, Drew and Reid, Kathyryn. (August 1997). Fatigue, Alcohol and Performance Impairment.  Retrieved December 1, 2007, from http://www.eurocockpit.be/media/Dawson-Reid-1997.pdf Dr Samuel Strauss. (n.d.). Pilot Fatigue. Retrieved December 1, 2007, from http://aeromedical.org/Articles/Pilot_Fatigue.html Goode, Jeffrey H. (27 March 2003). Are pilots at risk of accidents due to fatigue?. Retrieved December 1, 2007, from http://www.eurocockpit.be/media/Goode-2003.pdf Heath, Brad and Levin, Alan. (Nov. 8, 2007). Fatigue plays role in aviation mistakes. Retrieved December 1, 2007, from http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/1108sleepypilots1108.html Mann, Michael B. (August 3, 1999). Statement of Michael B. Mann Deputy Associate Administrator Office of Aero-Space Technology National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Hearing on Pilot Fatigue Before the Aviation Subcommittee of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure United States House of Representatives. Retrieved December 1, 2007, from http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/legaff/mann8-3.html Printup, Mark Brandon. (September, 2000). Guest Editorial: The Effects Of Fatigue On Performance And Safety. Retrieved December 1, 2007, from http://www.airlinesafety.com/editorials/PilotFatigue.htm Rosekind, Mark R. (November 1994). Fatigue in Aviation. Retrieved December 1, 2007, from http://cf.alpa.org/internet/projects/ftdt/alpmag/FATIGUE.html Samel, Alexender, Wegmann, Hans Martin and Vejvoda, Martin. (1997). AIR CREW FATIGUE IN LONG-HAUL OPERATIONS. Retrieved December 1, 2007, from http://www.eurocockpit.be/media/Samel-Wegmann-Veivoda-1997.pdf
Does Descartes Provide A Convincing Argument?
Does Descartes Provide A Convincing Argument? Dualism is the philosophical belief that mind and matter are fundamentally distinct substances. William G. Lycan states that according to Cartesian dualism, minds are purely spiritual and radically non-spatial, having neither size nor location (Lycan, 47) and indeed, Descartes reached his conclusion by arguing that the mind and body are completely different in nature, making it possible for one to exist without the other. Whilst Descartes attempted to argue in favour of substance dualism, it can be said that his argument was ultimately weak, with substance monism being a far stronger viewpoint in the distinction between the mental and the physical. In this essay, I will attempt to argue that Descartes does not provide a convincing argument for the claim that mind and matter are distinct substances and instead, I will argue in favour of materialism through the particular exploration of functionalism. In order to understand dualism, we must first come to terms with Leibnizs Law due to the fact that most dualist arguments rely on this principle. The law states that if A=B, then any property of A is also a property of B (Guttenplan, 431). The first argument for dualism which I will discuss is the doubt argument, which compares the difference between an idea of ones own existence and an idea of ones bodys existence. The argument can be put forward as thus: Because of the nature of my being, my existence cannot be doubted. Because of the nature of my body, its existence can be doubted. Therefore, my mind which is the thinking thing that I am is not identical with my body. (Kim, 36) So in other words, whilst I can be convinced that I exist, it is not possible for me to know that my body exists with the exact same certainty. However, a response to this could be a comparison with another argument of similar structure but with a false conclusion, for example; Mary-Jane believes that Spiderman is a hero but Mary-Jane does not believe that Peter Parker is a hero. Therefore, Spiderman and Peter Parker must be fundamentally distinct. From this argument, we can see that the doubt argument is invalid. A second argument for dualism is the divisibility argument which may be reconstructed as follows: The self or soul lacks any parts into which it is divisible. The body, being spatially extended, is divisible and so composed of parts. Hence, the self and the body are distinct substances and the self is, unlike the body unextended. (Lowe, 8) The basic idea behind this argument is that the body is divisible because it is extended and thus can be separated into any number of parts. But Descartes argues that the mind is not divisible because each part of the mind, despite having different processes, has the same force behind it. Therefore, the mind cannot be seen as an extended entity because unlike extended entities, it cannot be divided into parts. So the same conclusion is reached; mind and body are ultimately distinct. However, the divisibility argument, despite being simple, has the same problem as the argument from doubt. We cant be totally sure that both premises are true. But Descartes was sure you couldnt divide the mind, especially someones thoughts and beliefs. However, it possible to argue that the mind can in fact be divided, if we consider the mind equal to the brain. Descartes may be right in stating that thoughts, beliefs, memories etc. cannot be divided but the substance that they are a state of, the physic al brain, can be separated such as in the case of brain surgery. People with personality disorders or split brains may have a divided mind. The first premise in this argument can only be true if we see the mind as a substance distinct from the brain. Thus, the divisibility argument is ultimately a weak argument in support of dualism. The final argument I will discuss is the argument from disembodied existence. Following the previous arguments, Descartes goes even further yet, stating that the mind is not only separate from the body, but that it can exist without it. The argument can be put as follows: If two things can exist apart from one another i.e. mind and body, they must be distinct. If I can imagine these things existing separately, God must be able to bring it about. If God can bring it about that these things exist separately, they must be distinct. Therefore, it is possible for the mind to exist without the body. In Meditation VI, Descartes expresses that he knows that all the things that he conceives clearly and distinctly can be produced by God precisely as he conceives them (Descartes, 28). Basically, the point that is being made is that if two things can exist separately, then they may be considered distinct. Descartes appeals to God to strengthen his argument, stating that if God can allow two things to exist separately, they must be distinct. But the problem lies in the fact that just because it is possible to perceive the mind and body as distinct, are they really distinct? Kim uses the example of the bronze bust of Beethoven. The bust could exist without being the bust of Beethoven, for example it could easily be the bust of say Brahms. However, if the bust is melted down, could it exist without being a material thing? The answer is no, as being material is a part of its essential nature and it cannot exist without being considered a material thing (Kim, 40). Thus, whilst its conceiva ble that I exist without a body, is it really possible? That is the problematic question that ultimately weakens Descartes argument. As I have shown Descartes argument for dualism to be weak, I will now highlight the ways in which materialism and in particular, functionalism refutes the claim that mind and matter are distinct substances, and fundamentally proves to be the stronger argument. One of the main questions that come from dualism is how the causal interaction of two distinct substances is possible. Materialism states that the universe contains only physical matter rather than distinctions, as in Descartes case. Whilst there are many strands of the materialist theory, functionalism appears to be the strongest. Functionalism is a theory which concerns itself with the idea that mental states are comprised exclusively by their functional roles. It explains how having a non-human brain can still result in mental states and also manages to explain how mental states can come from matter in the first place, without being completely perplexing. One of the strongest arguments in favour of functionalism is the argum ent involving the idea that mental states (such as pain) can be multiply realised because they involve functions. Fodor and Putnam argued that the importance of the state of pain does not lie on the c-fibres firing but what they are doing and what their contribution is to the operation. The point is that the role of the c-fibres could have been performed by anything suitable, as long as it was indeed performed (Lycan, 52). Clark puts the functionalist claim in an interesting way: the mind is to the body/brain as the program is to the physical machine. (Clark, 169) This idea can be seen as a direct response to the dualist view that mind and matter are distinct as the software is the product of material processes rather than being material in itself and any change in the software will cause changes in the computers physical components. Furthermore, it is impossible for the software to function without the hardware and vice versa, indicating that there is no real distinction between th e mental and physical. Ultimately, as I have argued in this essay, I believe Descartes dualist theory to be wholly unconvincing. This is primarily due to the weakness of the three arguments highlighted but also, the lack of strengths that appear in the theory. Descartes is convinced that mind and body are distinct but substance dualism doesnt seem to give an explanation as to why exactly mind and body are distinct and what the purpose of this distinction in. On the contrary, functionalism, a strand of materialism is a far more convincing theory in the discussion of mind and matter. By stating that there is no distinction between the two and that in fact, a mental state is concerned more with its function and its role in the wider system, an analogy can be made between the mind and a computer programme. This analogy is possible to conceive and essentially makes sense. So overall, substance dualism proves to be a far weaker argument in comparison to functionalism.
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
The Benefits of Immigration in the United States :: Pros of Immigration, Immigrants
The Benefits of Immigration in the United States      America is known famously throughout the world with the nickname 'The melting pot.' The reason behind this is that America is extremely diverse and has many different people. Immigrants give America the chance to know the culture of many countries. They bring in their culture, religion, economic benefits, and ideology to America. I believe that the United States should allow legal immigrants from all over the world because they bring many benefits to it. Immigrants are a positive influence on United States of America.      Immigrants have been the start of this great nation. So why argue now that allowing foreign people into America is dangerous? Some people might argue that legal immigration is the cause of overpopulation. This is not true at all because immigrants make merely half of America's population (mruthydotcom). Out of them about 40% of them are illegal immigrants making the U.S border patrol responsible for them (world overpopulation). Another argument that might be brought up is that immigration causes environmental damage. This cannot be proven but we can prove that it is the American citizens themselves that cause this by their expensive lifestyle. Americans consume more per capita than the rest of the world (world overpopulation). Every one in United States has resources like water, electricity, and arable land for granted and we don?t even realize what we can do with out the resources. If you compare them to immigrants who migrated from other countries you see that i mmigrants have more value for these resources. If you consider the environment they came from, they are more likely to preserve the resources available to them. People might continue to argue and bring up the issue of terrorism. There is no solid proof that legal immigration is the cause of terrorism. Terrorism cannot be stopped and can be caused by anyone inside or outside the U.S. People can still fly over wherever they want to terrorize. Finally the problem of communication is brought into the argument of immigration. In a recent study it shows that more than 60% of the immigrants that migrate tend to learn English and speak it during their daily lives and this percentage is raising (VOA news). Language is part of the few benefits that immigrants bring with their culture. United States benefits from cultures of the many immigrants that migrate to the U.S. the variation of different languages brings great benefit to the U.
No Christmas :: essays research papers
When Christmas Couldn’t Come      We lived in the farmhouse until my dad lost his job in 1994. No longer able to afford a mortgage, let alone utilities in the old, drafty house we moved into a smaller house two doors down. My mom called the new house â€Å"cozy†– making the best of a situation I couldn’t begin to understand; words like â€Å"WIC†, â€Å"welfare†and â€Å"debt†meant nothing to me at the time. I missed the barn that longed to be explored, the hill where at eight, I saw my first snowfall and of course, my room. The new house wasn’t mine, it was Miranda’s, a friend who moved away, my room wasn’t mine, it was hers. My mind raced with thousands of questions, all of them pitying myself, feeling bad for Andrea, forgetting about my family, all of them until my mom told the four of us that Christmas couldn’t come that year.      The words fell out of my mom’s mouth like hail from a winter sky, pelting me in the face, stinging my entire body. What did she mean Christmas couldn’t come, that we could no longer afford any â€Å"extras†, that things were going to be â€Å"different†? Instantly my eyes swelled with things unfamiliar to a tomboy, my heart raced my shortening breath as I struggled to empathize with my parents, searching for a question, an answer, something to make it better. Before that November day I never thought about money or affording things; I grew up in a upper-middle class family where eating out was a commonality, vacations were assumed and for all I knew money could have grown on tress. I was eleven, self-absorbed in wants and wishes where the new house was a drag not more affordable and sharing a room was suffocating, not compromising. Life, for me, had never consisted in cutting corners or working to make ends meet, I simply lived getting what I wanted, not what I needed. Only after that conversation with my
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Organising Learning Essay
Furthermore, another area of concern for me is managing behaviour in the classroom. In my opinion, managing behaviour is a partnership between the teacher and the children. The teacher must be the authority figure in the classroom. I feel this is achieved once trust and respect is formed. Once routine is learned and the children know what is expected from them, a lot of pressure is taken off the teacher. In school, the children were constantly encouraged to put their hands up. If they called out the teacher would respond quickly and ask them to put their hand up. Therefore, I have found that unwanted behaviour should either be ignored or dealt with rapidly to reduce further problems. It is they teachers responsibility to decide how to handle a situation. The school has a behaviour policy which the whole school follows. I feel this is a valuable document and offers guidelines to handling challenging behaviour. The teacher uses smiley or sad faces on the board as a management strategy. In my whole school experience only saw three sad faces which was amazing. The Overall behaviour of the children was very good as the teacher used praise, smiley faces, well done points and stickers on a regular basis to encourage good behaviour. The children thought very highly of the teacher and tried hard to please her. I tried to use the teachers classroom management strategies as the children were familiar with them and the children responded to the in a positive wing the very lucky teaching the class as they showed a genuine interest in my lesson and behaved extremely well for me. I feel this was because I tried to make it interesting. I tried to pitch the lesson to their level so they could relate it to their experiences. Meeting the needs of individual children is a constant challenge. Some children may need individual help all the time and there are some children who have special educational needs. Therefore, there needs must be planned for and a lot of praise and encouragement is needed to reward their progress, so they don’t feel excluded from the rest of the class. I believe this is extremely important; an effective teacher must be able to meet the individual needs of every child in the classroom. At university I particularly enjoy science and English lectures. The tutors are friendly and approachable which I feel is because they make sure we all understand the lesson. They quickly recognise if any students are struggling with their work and offer different methods of learning. I feel comfortable participating in these lessons as I feel quite confident in the subject. These tutors also give us the opportunity to discuss our thoughts and ideas with each other which I also think is an effective method of learning. I have also found that assessment is a vital part of teaching and this is an area of concern for me. It is especially vital to assess children at the end of each key stage to provide an individual report they can take with them, which highlight their strengths and possible growth points. Although a teacher will know what level their pupils are at, it is now important to have evidence to support their judgmentsDuring my school placement I observed the teacher assessing the children on a regular basis. Questioning the children is an effective method to establish what level the children are at, this is accomplished in an informal manner and the children are not pressured. The teacher built on the results of the assessment during teaching and addressed any misconceptions which the children may have. Another method of testing was seen at the end of each topic, the children answered questions on a worksheet which provided physical evidence to support the teachers judgment. Sometimes check-lists can be used for smaller groups during some activities which have been planned for assessment. I observed year one and year three and upper key stage two. I saw the same behaviour management in all the classes. Year six children were given more responsibility over their time management and behaviour as the expectations were shared with them from the beginning. Year six did not sit on the carpet, all teaching took place at their tables. It helped to see how the children progress and the NNS and NLS is a valuable document which tells teachers how to develop the children’s learning. I am concerned about becoming an effective teacher, and it is vital that all teachers should recognize their strengths and weaknesses. They should reflect on previous lessons and be able to set targets. I feel that teaching is an occupation where the teachers are also learning alongside the children. Sometimes lessons may not go as well as we anticipate or sometimes they may be better than previously thought. All this should be recorded by evaluating our progress after each day and building on our professional development. It is crucial to act upon areas which need improvement. In conclusion, I have highlighted my concerns of becoming an effective teacher. I have included possible ways to improve areas such as classroom management and behaviour. I have also included my school observations for examples of the teacher giving and receiving respect from the children. I have also included forms of assessment and self reflection which are crucial aspects of teaching. In my opinion, teaching is not simply a career, it becomes part of your life. A creative and stimulating teacher would gain great personal satisfaction from this profession and my school placement has confirmed my desires of becoming an effective classroom teacher. It is important for a teacher to be happy, organised and enthusiastic in school, knowing that they are making a difference to a child’s future. Bibliography Collis, M. Lacey, P. (1996), Interactive Approaches To Teaching, London, David Fulton. Dean, J. (2001), Organising Learning in the Primary Classroom, Third Edition, London, RoutledgeFalmer. Edwards, D. Mercer, N. (1987), Common Knowledge, London, Methuen
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