Grumman X-29 By Pace Essays (419 words) - Edwards Air Force Base

Grumman X-29 By Pace I have chosen to do my book report on the book "The Grumman X-29", by Steve Pace, for a couple of reasons. I've seen the X-29 in flight at an air show and was mystified by its wing design. I asked myself how could something like that fly at all? This book shed some light on the mysteries of how the X-29 flies and performs. I am going to tell you a little about the book and the X-29, so sit back relax and enjoy the fruits of my reading labor. The X-29 is a single-engine aircraft 48.1 feet long. Its forward-swept wing has a span of 27.2 feet. Each X-29 was powered by a General Electric F404-GE-400 engine producing 16,000 pounds of thrust. Empty weight was 13,600 pounds, while takeoff weight was 17,600 pounds. The wing substructure and the basic airframe itself are aluminum and titanium. Wing trailing edge actuators controlling camber are mounted externally in streamlined fairings because of the thinness of the supercritical airfoil. The aircraft had a maximum operating altitude of 50,000 feet, a maximum speed of Mach 1.6, and a flight endurance time of approximately one hour. Overall, VFC, like the forward-swept wings, showed promise for the future of aircraft design. The X-29 did not demonstrate the overall reduction in aerodynamic drag that earlier studies had suggested, but this discovery should not be interpreted to mean that a more optimized design with forward-swept wings could not yield a reduction in drag. Overall, the X-29 program demonstrated several new technologies as well as new uses of proven technologies. These included: aero elastic tailoring to control structural divergence; use of a relatively large, close-coupled canard for longitudinal control; control of an aircraft with extreme instability while still providing good handling qualities; use of three-surface longitudinal control; use of a double-hinged trailing-edge flap at supersonic speeds; control effectiveness at high angle of attack; vortex control; and military utility of the overall design. The book was overall very informative in the sense that all terms and ideas were explained clearly and simply in order to communicate to the general public better versus someone who is educated in the aeronautics field. I highly recommend this book to someone looking for a little overall knowledge of the X-29, but if you are looking for in-depth report and analysis you should look elsewhere. Bibliography NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Document number: FS-98-04-008 DFRC Responsible NASA Official: Jenny Baer-Riedhart http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/PAO/PAIS/HTML/FS-008-DFRC.html

The Plural of Genus and Other Irregular Plurals

The Plural of Genus and Other Irregular Plurals A genus is a group of objects that have similar characteristics. You may be most familiar with the word genus from biology class, as it refers to the subdivision in the classification of organisms. If you want to refer to more than one genus, you can use a few forms. Both genera and genuses are correct, although genera is best for academic writing. Note: You pronounce genera as JEN - er - uh. Awkward Plurals Pluralizing words is not something you stress about when preparing to write a paper. You just add an â€Å"s† or maybe an â€Å"es,† right? Well, sometimes it is not that easy. As you write, you may come across a word that you just do not know how to make plural. There are many words that just do not fit into our standard idea of making a singular word into a plural one. These kinds of nouns are called irregular plural nouns.   Irregular plural nouns can take many forms. Some of them change just the last few letters. Some change vowels in the middle of the word. Some nouns do not even change at all. There is not an easy trick to remember most of them, you just have to learn and memorize them. Below we will look at some commonly confused plural forms of words. There are some words or phrases that can be a bit tricky as well: Attorney general to attorneys generalPasserby to passersbySister in law to sisters in lawCoat of arms to coats of arms Plurals That Take No Change Some words do not have different forms when singular or plural. For example: PantsDeerCorpsFishSheepOffspringShrimpMooseScissors Words That Add S Some words that end in â€Å"o† can either just have an â€Å"s† or an â€Å"es† added to the end: Potato to potatoesMemo to memosHero to heroesVolcano to volcanoesTomato to tomatoes Words That Take an I Next are some words that end in â€Å"i† when pluralized. These words usually come from Latin or other languages. Here are some examples that you may encounter in your writing: Syllabus becomes syllabiFungus becomes fungiNucleus becomes nucleiRadius becomes radiiAlumnus becomes alumniStimulus becomes stimuliCactus to cactiFocus to foci Words That Change Completely Then, of course, there are words that just change. Some of these are Latin or Greek based as well: Die to diceMillennium to millenniaBacterium to bacteriaCriterion to criteriaCurriculum to curriculaParenthesis to parentheses  Emphasis to emphasesThesis to thesesAppendix to appendicesAnalysis to analyses  Synopsis to synopsesGenus to generaOx to oxenHypothesis to hypotheses   Words That Replace F With V Sometimes if a word ends in â€Å"f† or an â€Å"f† sound, we replace it with a â€Å"v† before adding the â€Å"es†: Wife to wivesCalf to calvesLife to livesThief to thievesLeaf to leavesSelf to selvesKnife to knivesElf to elvesShelf to shelvesWolf to wolves Words That Change a Vowel Sound Another strange way we can change a singular word to plural is by changing the internal vowel sound. Some of these are: Man to menWoman to womenMouse to miceFoot to feetTooth to teethGoose to GeeseLouse to lice

Ways of knowing are a check on our instinctive judgments To what Essay

Ways of knowing are a check on our instinctive judgments To what extent do you agree with this statement - Essay Example Undeniably, life comprises a series of instinctive judgements; nevertheless, the sources of these decisions have attracted attention from different scholars. Despite many theories and publications, ways of knowing are a check to our instinctive judgements as proven in the paper. Notably, different ways of knowing exists depending on various factors. Consciousness is a moral obligation to make rational choices in life regarding certain topics. It is the ability to configure internal aspects of brain to conform to the ever-changing external environment. However, the key question separating imagination from institution presents various ways of knowing that complement instinctive judgment. To start with is reason or logic. Notably, reason is a privilege of knowing in the contemporary life. It is a quality of life dated back to the 18th century and can be traced to fathers of philosophy like Plato and Socrates. Enlightenment in the ways of knowing makes reason an important aspect of life. Conceivably, the uncertainties surrounding knowledge justifies the application of reason to deduce the instinctive decisions from many perspectives. Apparently, the use of senses to make important decisions can be challenging without higher capacities to reason (Pickstone 41). Many senses deceive while others cloud people’s judgement. It, therefore, is important to find the right way to reason and rationally make the right decisions. From this perspective, reason proves to be a reliable element of knowing. Undeniably, every area of knowledge is only valid and remains rational in the presence of a reason. It is a non-contested fact that mathematics is an argument of formulas and claims, which must have proof. The summation of one and one cannot be five, three or any other number apart from two. The answer traces back to the numerical strength of knowledge that only

The main character Hester Prynne experiences a metamorphosis in Research Paper

The main character Hester Prynne experiences a metamorphosis in Hawthorne's The Scarlett Letter due to the act of adultery she - Research Paper Example In the case of The Scarlet Letter, the main protagonist of the story, Hester Prynne, is convicted of adultery and is chastised by the Puritan community. As punishment for her crime, she is forced to where a scarlet â€Å"A† on her chest for everyone to see. In the initial part of the novel, the identity of the father is unknown due to the fact that Hester’s husband is overseas in England; therefore he could not be the father. As a result, she refuses to reveal the identity of the true father, but is convicted of adultery. In this aspect, she is branded so that no one will associate with her due to the fact that she broke the Ten Commandments. It has the â€Å"effect of a spell† or a plague in that it causes the inability for her to associate with anyone in the town. Even travelers who come to visit the town soon learn the truth behind her sins. Because of the mark that she wears, it causes her to become isolated from the rest of the community. Therefore, she does not develop the typical relationships and social connections that would normally be experienced in Puritan society. This is due to the fact that religion is the bond, which ties the entire community together and that connection with Hester was severed when she was convicted of adultery. In this case, she creates her own world for both her and her daughter Pearl. In addition, by closing herself off to the rest of society, it protects the identity and questioning of who is the true father of Pearl. As a result, her â€Å"imprisonment† by society is used in terms as more of a social barrier, than as physical imprisonment. The aspect of her being in prison also transcended other bounds. She was not able to be with the man that she really loved. Chillingsworth tormented her about the whereabouts of her lover, and eventually set out on a vendetta to take revenge on that individual. In spite of all animosity and negative feelings toward her, she is able to maintain and create a saf e environment in which both her and Pearl can live in. Because of the animosity that Hester experiences, there are a great deal of effects of both living and emotion that she has to deal with through the course of the novel. The first main effect on Hester is dealing with Pearl. She is an extremely unruly child that Hester has a hard time controlling. Because the child was conceived out of sin and because of the eccentric and misbehavior, many of the townspeople began to regard the child as a child of hell. In this respect, many of the community attempts to take away Pearl from Hester so that she may be saved and raised in a proper Puritan manner, however the minister of the town, Authur Dimmesdale protests saying that the daughter must remain with the mother. Also, Pearl served as a walking reminder of the sin that Hester committed along with complementing the scarlet â€Å"A† on her chest. Hester lived in this political and social prison for a very long time. Not willing to divulge the other adulterer, she was condemned to living a cursed life. The inability of her to form relations with anyone inside the town as well as raise a child by herself gave her a sense of hopelessness. All of Hester’s struggles and misery is derived from the structure of the Puritan religion. They often did not tolerate those who did not worship

Nuclear Power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Nuclear Power - Essay Example Several countries have presented diverging views on the use of nuclear energy owing to its volatile nature. Nuclear energy is the single most powerful source of energy with the ability of powering the entire world effortlessly (Gibson 23). The discovery of the nuclear energy therefore presents both advantages and disadvantages in equal measure. During the debates, the proponents of the continued use of the nuclear energy based their argument on the ability of the energy source to single handedly replace all other sources of energy thereby saving the world economy. While their argument sounded realistic, such people failed to consider the numerous disadvantages of the use of nuclear energy. Liberal debates give both sides to a discussion thereby determining the winning side based on the number of points that each side earns. The most realistic argument therefore is the immediate abolition of any nuclear related activity. Nuclear has greater potential than any country can possibly mana ge. This therefore makes the world unsafe; some of the arguments to this effect are below. The ongoing debate globally is the climatic change and the effects of global warming. All these are results of pollution of the atmosphere arising from the increasing use of fossil energy that produce a lot of carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas that reacts extensively with the ozone layer thereby depleting it. The invention of the nuclear energy therefore presents an opportunity of overturning the events preceding the depletion of the ozone layer possibly resulting in a safer and more stable world. The fact that the world consumes billions of gallons of petroleum products daily equals the extensive nature of the pollution of the environment thereby making the world increasingly unsafe. Several international environmental bodies such as the Kyoto protocol have tried convincing different countries to emit more carbon monoxide gasses into the environment. A debate that the developed countries such as the United States of America, Japan and China strongly oppose owing to the fact that such policies may hamper their economies. Nuclear energy is clean and renewable implying that it is not possibly exhaustible. It is therefore the only single source energy capable of sustaining the world’s economies while still maintaining the clean healthy environment. Despite the evident advantages of the use of nuclear energy, its use still requires extensive regulation even possible abolition. The widespread lack of trust makes no country safe enough to use nuclear energy. Nuclear is highly unstable yet with great potential, this implies that it requires greater capital for installation and maintenance in order to develop a safer environment for its effective use. Exposure of the nuclear elements in the environment results in immediate reaction to the elements in the environment thereby resulting in mass destruction and loss of lives. Japan, which is the most developed country in the e astern bloc, had all the financial resources to safeguard the use of nuclear as a source of energy (Adams 12). The country took every precaution including the development of an underground laboratory from where the volatile they handled the instable substance. However, the country did not consider the possibility of a natural disaster such as an earthquake. The earthquake that shook the ocean bed therefore broke the tanks in which they

How has management theory advanced over the past hundred years

How has management theory advanced over the past hundred years Are the structures and ideas of management theorists of the past still analogous to the work done by modern managers of today? Management theorists of the past have labeled three clear categories to help define the job description of a manager. These are management functions, roles and skills, which were identified as being highly influential to the success of the manager, defined as someone whose primary responsibility is to carry out the management process. This essay looks at the work of three management theorists, Henri Fayol, Robert Katz and Henry Mintzberg and how their work compares to todays modern day managers. Henri Fayol, a French industrialist, believed that management could be taught and was therefore always looking on improving the quality of management. In 1916 he wrote the book administration industrielle et gà ©nà ©rale which presented his views on the proper management of organisations and the people within them. This is known as administrative management, which is a style of management that focuses on managing the total organisation. Fayol believed that there were five management functions in which a manager must employ on his business to achieve success. These five functions were planning, organising, commanding, co-ordination and controlling. This is the functional view of management as it is on a day-to-day level. It describes the functions that a manager must carry out on a daily basis, which Fayol realised when working as a successful managing director of a mining company. He saw there was a need for managers to be trained due to the increasing complexity and growth of orga nisations over the world. The Planning function looks at the managers ability to look ahead, taking into account the operating environment, forecasting what is possible and provide direction for the firms employees. Secondly the organising function is a key management function that is defined as the process of assigning tasks, allocating resources and arranging activities to implement plans. Managers have to group and deploy resources, either human resources such as employees or equipment resources such as machines, in the best possible way to achieve the goals of the organisation. Thirdly Fayol identified was for a manager to command, which is to lead, select and evaluate to get the best work towards the plan. Managers are required to do these tasks as it helps them to achieve the task that they had planned. The fourth function Henri Fayol identified was coordination, which is to fit diverse efforts together and ensure information is shared and problems are solved. Finally, Fayol i dentified the fifth aspect of management functions as controlling, which is the process of measuring performance and taking action to ensure desired results. The manager has to ensure that the functions of planning, leading and organising take place in such a way hat they are controlled through timely, accurate and valid feedback based on a transparent measurement strategy. Fayols management functions are focused on the key relationships between a businesses personnel and its management. Harvard Scholar Robert Katz classified three essential skills for managers of a firm, technical skills, human skills and conceptual skills. Technical skills is the ability to use a special proficiency or expertise in you work, for example skills learnt through a formal education such as University or TAFE and then further development through on the job training. These skills are very important in low-level management where the manager is still hands on in the business. Human Skills is the ability to work well in cooperation with other people, this is highly important at all levels of management as it shows a spirit of trust, enthusiasm and involvement in interpersonal relationships. An important concept of human skills is emotional intelligence, which is the ability to manage ourselves and our relationships effectively which Katz identified as influential to a firms success due to the high interpersonal nature of business. Finally, there are Conceptual skills, which is the ability t o think analytically and solve complex problems. Katz identified this skill as part of the three essential skills of managers as all good managers have the ability to view situations broadly and to solve problems to the benefit of everyone else. Managers with conceptual skills have the ability to break down problems into smaller parts, which is important for top level managers but is relatively unimportant for low lever managers. Katzs three essential skills of management are a requirement for business that want to be success in modern day society. Management theorist Henry Mintzberg in his book the nature of managerial work (Mintzberg, H 1973, The nature of management, New York) written in 1973 offers an observation of corporate chief executives. He says there was no break in the pace of activity during office hours. The mailà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ telephone callsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and meetingsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ accounted for almost every minute from the moment these executives entered their offices in the morning until they departed in the evenings (Mintzberg, H 1973, The nature of management, New York). In todays modern era of technology this would add email to the list of preoccupations a manager deals with on a daily basis. Mintzberg had realised the importance of how a manager uses his controlling powers and he recognised three important managerial roles in which a manager must successfully perform in order for the manager to be able to run the business at its most efficient level. The three roles in which Mintzberg recognized were int erpersonal, informational and decisional roles which can be further split into ten more specific roles. Interpersonal roles are how a manager interacts with other people, both within the business like employees and external to the firm like customers. Interpersonal roles for managers can be further separated into whether the manager is a figurehead, leader or liason in the firm. Informational roles are how a manager exchanges and processes information which the managers role is then to either monitor, disseminator and spokesperson for the firm. Finally, decisional roles which is how a manager uses information in decision making and the managers role is then to be an entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator or negotiator depending on the scenarios at hand for the manager. The roles of management are all interconnected and all managers must be prepared to perform the in order to see the best from their business. These management theorists however wrote their management functions, roles and skills in the 20th century, so are they still relevant in our 21st century business environment? An internal endeavor made by Google, the worlds largest search engine, looked at what the eight most important traits for a manager to have to be successful. The use of the article 8 traits of stellar managers, defined by googlers, written by Judith Aquino helps to link the management theories of Henri Fayol, Robert Katz and Henry Mintzberg to modern day managers of the 21st century. The article, written on the 15 of March 2011, brings a modern day link to the management theorists of the 20th century. The importance of managers having technical skills in the workplace is seen by its inclusion in the 8 traits of stellar management. It is important for managers to have these skills as they then have the ability to understand the different challenges and help their employees solve the problems that they are facing. This important trait for managers is linked to Robert Katzs management skills. Katz believed that one of his three essential skills for managers were that they had technical skills. This is seen as an important trait for managers of the 21st century as employees want to be managed by someone who knows what they are doing and is able to give them advice on how to solve the various problems that they are likely to face in the day to day life of the business. With the survey showing that Katzs technical skills are still an important trait which is admired in the business workplace makes me wonder whether the three management theorists, Robert Katz, Henri Fayol and Henry Mintz bergs work is still relevant in a 21st century business context. Former CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch said good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it in competition. Google employees have recognised the importance of the business and its manager having a clearly outlined vision and a strategy for the employees. The manager is required to lead the employees by keeping all staff involved and working towards the teams common goals and business vision. When looking at the management theorists of the 20th century we can see that they all have their opinions on a businesses vision and strategy. Henry Mintzbergs leadership principle is related to the ways in which the firm looks to achieve its vision. Without a manager who is willing to lead his employees they will lack direction in their work, increasing the chance of mistakes being made by misled employees or the firm moving away from its corporate vision. Henri Fayols planning function is also related more to the firms busi ness strategy than the vision as it looks at how the business will enter its business strategy into the business environment to help reach its vision. These two theories are still relevant in todays business environment as shown by their relevance to a managers ability to have a clear vision and strategy. Career development is an important aspect of a managers roles when running the business as employees want to feel like their efforts are being noticed and that their hard work is furthering their careers. A good manager is a man who isnt worried about his own career but rather the careers of those who work for him. Managers should make it known to their employees that they are a valued member of the business and that the work the employees do for the firm will pay of with promotions and pay rises in the future. Helping employees is linked to the management theories of Mintzberg and Fayol as it is both a role and a function that the manager must undertake in order to successfully manager their employees. The fifth most important trait recognised by Google employees was the ability for their managers tot be good communicators and willing to listen to ideas from all employees. It is important for managers to listen to others as well as sharing their opinion as then the opinions and concerns of your employees are heard and can be looked at more closely by the manager. Henri Fayols commanding function shows the importance of being a good communicator and listener for managers as the function requires them to lead, select and evaluate the workers to get the best out of them. This function recognises the importance of employees ideas in the success of the business and the manager therefore needs to evaluate proposed ideas to get the best from the team. American businessman Lee Iacocca said on communication you can have brilliant ideas, but if you cant get them across, your ideas wont get you anywhere (Croce and Lyon 2004, p.69). Henry Mintzbergs interpersonal roles are the managers respons ibility when dealing with employees and their ideas. Robert Katz provides two management skills on the communication with employees and their ideas. Google recognising the importance of communication in the organisation as one of the three essential skills a manager must have to be successful shows Katzs theory of interpersonal skills. Katz also provides a more precise skill in which managers should have, this being communication skills, defined as the ability both to convey ideas and information to others effectively and to be receptive to ideas and information from others. This skill that Katz states as being important to managerial success is what Google employees hold in high regard from their managers as shown by its inclusion in the 8 traits of a stellar manager. Henry Mintzbergs informational roles, which is the processing of information, is recognised in Googles survey where they admire managers who are productive and results orientated. Mintzbergs informational role accepts the need for managers to focus on helping the team achieve its goals by prioritizing work and removing obstacles. Robert Katzs decision-making skills, defined as the ability to recognise and define problems and opportunities correctly then to select an appropriate course of action to solve problems and capatilise on opportunities, shows that his theory looks at how the business can be more productive and achieve their results through eliminating any problems and taking advantage of any opportunities the firm may encounter. Employees feeling that they belong as an important part of the business success is one of the key tasks a manager must undertake when running the firm. Ensuring that new employees feel welcome and get to know your employees. Robert Katzs interpersonal skills are linked to this trait recognised by Google employees as it involves the relationships between employees and managers, both working and outside of work relationships, to make the employee feel a part of the team. Henri Fayols Controlling function is also interrelated with taking interest in your team members success and well-being as managers need to make sure everything happens according to plan, with corrective action in place. Fayol however has a more minor point in the controlling function, which is feedback, and this shows the employees that their input is important and taken into consideration when they offer ideas to the managers of the firm. At number two, Google employees decided that a managers ability to empower your employees and to not micromanage was a trait that they respected in their managers. Giving employees the space to tackle problems on their own but still be there for advice is something that employees admired as it provides them with a feeling of responsibility and importance in the firm. Katzs time management skills is important when not micro-managing as the ability for the manager to delegate work to his staff and then empower them to complete these on their own. Mintzbergs decisional role is also important for managers as it involves how they allocate their resources (employees) to job certain jobs that are required. Finally Fayols Organising function is important as the manager is required to provide and mobalise resources, which can be human resources such as employees, to implement the plan. The most important trait in stellar managers defined by a survey done by Google says that being a good coach is what they admire most in a manager. A manager who can provide specific feedback through regular one-on-one meetings with employees, as well as offering solutions that are tailored to each employees strengths. John Wooden said, make sure that team members know they are working with you, not for you. Relationships are the best way for employees to feel as though they are on an equal level to manager, which is therefore why Henry Mintzbergs interpersonal roles theory is highly important to becoming a successful manager. Robert Katzs interpersonal skills are also applicable to being a good coach, as they are required to communicate with, understand and motivate both individuals and groups. These two management theories along with communication skills are the most influential management theories in being a good coach to their employees. The work of management theorists of the past is still admired and applicable to modern managers in the 21st century. Googles survey shows a list of the most important traits seen in a manager in the 21st century, and I have shown that there are many links that can be drawn between the work of management theorists Robert Katz, Henry Mintzberg and Henri Fayol and modern day managers of the 21st century.

Magazine Article Summaries :: essays research papers

Magazine Article Summaries JOURNAL #1-- INC. THE MAGAZINE FOR GROWING COMPANIES May 1994. Publisher: James J. Spanfeller, 488 Madison Ave., 6th Floor New York, NY 10022 (212) 326-2600 Audience Statement: Inc. speaks directly to the entrepreneur, sole-proprietor, small business partnerships. Advertising: There were several advertisements including investing, retirement, tax accounting, computer companies and small businesses. Summary:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Inc., The Magazine for Growing Companies speaks to a specific audience (see audience statement). Some interesting articles were about the role of non-profit organizations within the business community, how to maximize return on an investment, how to effectively hire good employees, quite a lot about planning and preparing a retirement portfolio and shrewd long term investing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The article titled â€Å"Managing Autonomy† is the focus of my summary, I also mention later another article I found interesting. This article spoke about managerial styles: how and what works well when deciding policy for your employees. Some CEO’s would say that your primary duty as a manager is to participate in managerial styles that encourage group problem solving. You have to continue tapping the collective wisdom of your employees. But you can’t empower employees without holding them responsible and accountable for their actions. These are the most important ideas presented in the article but they go on to discuss some other topics such as marketing strategies and computer technology. You have to focus on a particular market area and remember that quality is the single most important factor. Another good question they ask is, What can a growing direct seller do to reduce its chances of being ripped off by customers? I think the most important point they bring out here is to concentrate on the front end, that is to remove the undesirable customers. Along with credit checks and the usual business safety precautions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another article about non-profit organizations spoke volumes about the need to explore and how to give responsibly and effectively. Businesses can donate money or services to a charity and use that for a tax credit or write-off. The tax benefits were hammered on quite a bit. Wanting to do the right thing may be one of the impulses for giving, but soon it needs to be replaced with a more durable strategy. The relationship between private business and charity organizations has a long and complex history. Private foundations are excellent places to find out about how giving can be done effectively. These are some of the typical topics you will find when you pick up a copy of INC.