College Student Essay

College life is changing for nearly every student. From meal plans and roommates to study abroad and college finances. College life can be a difficult thing to get used to and handle. There will be a lot of time where you doubt yourself and your decision. A lot of student became overwhelm by the requirement of college, the change that took place too fast. No matter how prepared you think you are for college, there are still of shock when you come and have to deal with responsible, the stress of school. and adapting to college campus. The most frequent complaint heard from college students is that their professors are out to fail them and ruin their chance at getting a career. But, what they need to understand is that the professors job is not to force you to do your work, they will not follow you home to make sure that you do what you have to in order to pass the class. Responsible,that seem to be the thing a lot of freshman students seem to lack. They think that they can get away with the same thing that they have been getting away with in high school, that their teacher will pressure them to do their homework and class works in order to pass the class. What they need to understand that they are paying for the education that they are getting, it is up to them if they choose to take it seriously or not. However, it is hard for some kids to go from a high school where their teacher would be on their back about the work their missing work to a college student where the professor would tell them what they need to do and it is up to them if they complete the work or not. On our defence, it hard sometime to go from having some one holding your hand to having to do everything on your own. In your first year of high school, the teacher tell you that they are not here to babysit anyone, they are here to prepare you for college. Yet,they would still hold student hand through the whole process and some can’t break through that phase and take responsible for their own success. what they should do if they are having a hard is to seek help, go see a tutor, work out a time management schedule for your self, and work on doing thing by your self. Success on any major scale requires you to accept responsibility. One of the great destroyers of college students is the belief that thing are very complex, and falling victim to stress. Stress in student happens when student are trying to adjust to college life, emotionally or mentally. Students today face many issues in their life that may clash with their college life like family problem, loss of employment, and school related issues. Student under a lot of stress can end up having depression which could cause student to believe that they are not living up to others expectation or their own expectation. Student end up giving up on their dream and getting some where in life and start doing poorly in school. Most students do not know how to handle the stress they have so they use alcohol, drugs or cheating as a stress reliever. It doesn’t get rid of the feeling you are having it only increase and get more complex until you can handle it no more. if you feel this way go see a student counslor , call a 24-hour help ling, or just find a good friend and tell them hoe you been feeling and together you can get the help you need. In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers. A majority student go out of state for their college experiences, the desire to get a degree at a university can be a rewarding experience but it can be a challenges to living on campus. For many it is the first time outside of the protection of their family’s security. Coming from parent that used to provide all they need and set the boundaries they went by. When they unleash to the life of a college student where the same life they used to live don’t apply any more. Some student take advantage of their new found freedom to try new thing like drinking, smoking, parties out with friend, wasting hundreds of dollar ruin their college years. Other fall under the pressure and fall prey to depression and bad thoughts. Taking advantage of your freedom can be in a good way like joining clubs, and spending your money wisely. If you new friend want you to join with them smoking and drinking then you need to get a new group if friend that would have a positive influences on you. The only time success occurs before work is in the dictionary. Too many student enter college thinking that theres nothing but good time, friendship, and a new change of direction. They soon come face to face with the challenges and struggles of college life. The challenge of having to take care of their education, having to depend on yourself for success. The struggle of feeling like you are a fail to everyone around you. The difficulty of getting used to all you used to know. They need to keep in their mind â€Å" Before you can work smart, you must work hard†. Opportunities don’t just happen, you need to create them.

Compare the ways ‘Old Man, Old Man’ and ‘Warning’ Deal with the theme of old age Essay

The U.A. Fanthorpe poem, ‘Old Man, Old Man’ and J Joseph’s ‘Warning’, deal with the theme of old age in very contrasting ways. Both deal with similar issues, yet come out with very different views. The first thing we see in both poems is the immediate tone portrayed. ‘Old Man, Old Man’, starts talking of someone who â€Å"lives in a world of small recalcitrant / Things in bottles, with tacky labels†, while ‘Warning’ begins with the colourful image that â€Å"When I am an old woman I shall wear purple / With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me†. Purple and red tend to suggest a vivid and lurid tone, and the immediate contrast between the two sets the character in â€Å"Old Man, Old Man† as being reclusive and isolated, living in his own confined world, while in â€Å"Warning† we see the author looking forward to old age, seeing it a time for enjoyment of life. â€Å"Old Man, Old Man† continues to explain to the reader how old age brings deterioration and isolation to people, talking of how â€Å"small things distress† and having his hands â€Å"shamble among clues†, implying that old age brings more constraint and misery to a person, while we see that in ‘Warning’ the coming of old age will give the author an excuse to break society’s constraints, such as dressing strangely and wasting money on â€Å"brandy and summer gloves†¦and say we’ve no money for butter†. A strong sense of bitterness and melancholy is created in ‘Old Man, Old Man’ as the author describes a regimented, authoritarian past world, which has gradually worsened into a narrow, emotionless one. The man is seen to be upset by small incidents, have a deteriorating sense of humour and vision, and, despite his age, is still attempting to impose order on his world with his â€Å"timetabled cigarette†. The man’s previous interests are belittled by using sarcastic phrases such as â€Å"Lord once of shed, garage and garden†, showing us that this man used to only be able to control his environment, and now he has â€Å"lost the hammer†, he cannot even do this. The traditional view of eccentricity is portrayed in both poems, however, Joseph also adds an element of freedom, showing her rebellion against taste and sobriety. Her excitement is shown in the language with the excessive use of the word â€Å"and† as well as the enjamberment, which stress the enthusiasm she has, and showing her to be breaking free of the rules of language in the same way she will break free from the rules of society. Further rebellion is shown as she talks of running her â€Å"stick along the public railings† and â€Å"learn to spit†. Sprawling sentences such as â€Å"You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat / And eat three pounds of sausages at a go† portray her excitement, as well as anticipation. Use of words such as â€Å"I†, and â€Å"shall† give a sense of force and individuality. Both poems have a similar structure, as they move from past to present in their tense. In â€Å"Old Man, Old Man†, we see a move to the present as Fanthorpe writes â€Å"Now television has no power to arouse – / Your surliness; your wife could replace on the walls / Those picture of disinherited children†. This not only suggests the man has rage pent up inside, but also poses the question as to why the children have been disinherited their father’s love. The description continues as Fanthorpe says â€Å"Now you ramble / In your talk†¦fretting / At how to find your way†. We see here that the man is slipping into a loss of control, and a change of personality. In contrast to this, we see â€Å"Warning† describing a present of constraints while she remains in the â€Å"sobriety of†¦youth†. Joseph describes to us the way in which â€Å"Now we must have clothes that keep us dry / And pay our rent and not swear in the street†. The word â€Å"must† shows a lack of freedom and constraint in present existence. This verse is designed as a contrast to the previous verse, which had concentrated on the promises of old age. A sense of restraint is portrayed as Joseph lists all the constraints she has in her life. While ‘Old Man, Old Man’ had showed a deterioration from a more happy existence to a worthless one, ‘Warning’ tends to show one that has begun with constraint and will end with happiness and freedom. In the final verses of ‘Old Man, Old Man’, we see a turning points, where the daughter (and author) intervenes, showing that he has literally and metaphorically lost his way in the world with the phrase â€Å"Where is Drury Lane?† In the final verse, we see a slight raise of the grim tone, as we can see Fanthorpe prefers her father in this softer, less threatening manner, as the two have become more equal in terms of power. This is shown with the phrase â€Å"I love / Your helplessness† and â€Å"Let me find your hammer. Let me / Walk with you to Drury Lane†. This marks a point in the poem where the theme is now the relationship with the daughter and father rather than just the father. In a similar way, ‘Warning’ changes in it’s theme towards the end, but not for the same tone. We see in the final verse Joseph’s confidence wane slightly, as she says â€Å"Maybe I out to practise a little now†¦So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised / When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple†. This provides a relatively quiet ending, almost an anticlimax, to a colourful, liberated poem, as the tone becomes more restrained and the drive of her dream starts to lose pace. Circularity is also shown as the first and last lines of the poem both talk of wearing purple. In conclusion, both poems take different views in addressing old age, and even though some elements in structure are similar, both contain inherently different views, as â€Å"Old Man, Old Man† is a melancholy remainder of the deterioration the old go through, while â€Å"Warning† shows a more bright outlook, explaining the opportunities and liberation that will follow with the coming of old age. This may be to do with the fact that in â€Å"Old Man, Old Man†, Fanthorpe describes what she has previously seen, while in â€Å"Warning† Joseph is merely hypothesising what life may be like in the future.

The Substance of Justice Assignment - Sex Offender Records

The Substance of Justice - Sex Offender Records - Assignment Example The sentence for this offence is highest among the penalties subjected to sex offenders. Indecency with a minor is another offence. It involves exposing an adult’s private parts in front of children. In addition, touching the genital of a person of the opposite sex without consent is a sex offence documented in the State department for public safety. Unfortunately, sex offences are mostly targeted at children. In the registry, most of the victims are under the age of 16. It is disturbing to note that male adults sexually harass children aged as low as 7 years. However, there are cases of male adults harassing elderly women with a sample case of an assault on a woman aged 71. The assaults on middle aged women are minimal. Sex offenders are deemed to be dangerous to the community. Actually, I wouldn’t feel safe living among sex offenders. However, taking into consideration the rights of each individual to live in a free country without discrimination lures me to rebel against the stigma that sex offenders are subjected to. Human being are prone to change if given a chance. The community should thus integrate them into the society and engage them if they desire to live normally (King 61). Sex offender records are damaging to the self-esteem and also the future of the convicts after parole. When records remain in the public domain, the offenders are prone to prejudice, and stigma from the public. Integration into the society seems hard to them due to the records. In this regard, the department of public safety should have the records of paroled individual erased if they pose no threat. The cause of the offence each individual committed should be the starting point in gauging the validity of the information in the database. Despite the proposition to erase the criminal records of individuals, there are records that are necessary for public safety. Paroled criminals who have a high chance of repeating the crime

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Discussion - Essay Example Examples will be provided of the Structural, Human Resource, and Political Frames from the video and transcript of the speech. This will exclude the Symbolic Frame as that information has already been provided per the instructions. As Bolman and Deal (2008) mention from his own unique and personal perspective, David King’s diagnosis makes sense. The reframing process, however, is different for every manager and leader as no two individuals look at a company from the same experiences, career path, education, beliefs, values, and interests. His recommendations made sense for the situation for him and the circumstances he was in at that point in time. He referenced his previous experience many times, but also referenced all four frames equally in his recommendation. It seemed as though, initially, he was relying much too heavily on the human resource frame to justify his actions, but as he later explained his thoughts more fully it became clear that he was considering all four frames. The opportunity he may have missed was explaining to the staff the issues related to structure he had observed, so that when dealing with the human resource tensions and conflicts rather than focusing on blaming one another or the details of what one person said to one another. He could have given them a little bit of analysis to divert the attention away from the people issues (Bolman and Deal, 2008). One of the benefits of understanding the Structural Frame, as an example, is that you know the concerns are not primarily the fault of the people. It seemed he spent the majority of his time delving into issues with the staff, which could lead some people to believe that administration was the primary problem. Appearances can mean a lot particularly when there is a change in leadership. His decisions were effective in the short run in that he calmed the situation down that was brewing between Carver and Dula, but in the

Esaay Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Esaay - Essay Example Kant comes up with another theory of mind. Here, Kant vividly rejects limitations posed by Hume on human knowledge claiming that mathematics gives us more knowledge regarding the empirical world. He also says that knowledge of facts is along the cause and effect relationship. The manner in which Kant circumvents the challenge by Hume is through coming up with new ways of embracing the workings of the mind. For this reason, Kant observes that human mind transforms information from noumena through turning it into substantial phenomena in help the mind process pure concepts regarding understanding. Copernicus adopted the alternative after seeing the impossibility of explaining the motion for heavenly bodies with reference to the supposition that such bodies moved across the earth as the immovable center (Gupta 78). This also included the supposition of all components to go around the sun. For this reason, Kant supposed on the contrary other than supposing man into moving around objects. He considered himself as the center where all other things moved round him. According to Kant, both empiricism and rationalism are wrong in claiming that human beings can possess all knowledge of things within themselves. Further, rationalists go wrong in not trusting senses within in the phenomenal world where senses form part of decision-making processes. Rationalists are in order are well within â€Å"innate ideas† even though not in sense of forms by Plato similar to the argument of the wax in Descartes. Hume is inaccurate as claims of self-concept are unsupported by senses (Lawhead 63). The experiencing self remains one of the pre-conditions in engaging such experiences (this way, Descartes was right). Kant adds that Hume was wrong in the perspective that the future resembles the past solely due to â€Å"habit and custom†. This way, morality provides the crucial linkage to the phenomenal worlds and noumenal. Kant is for the opinion that if morality is acceptable,

Journalistic Contributions of Horace Greeley Essay

Journalistic Contributions of Horace Greeley - Essay Example Greeley's editorial and journalistic talent coupled with his political activity (he actively supported the Whig party) contributed to the success of the edition. In 1940 Horace Greeley became the head of the campaign weekly, the Log Cabin and contributed to William Henry Harrison's victory in presidential elections. Only having got the experience, increasing authority and a large audience, Horace Greeley founded the newspaper that became the most read edition in the southern states, the New York Tribune. It covered such fields as politics, social reforms and news. Via this newspaper Horace Greeley spread the communitarian ideas of Fourier, defended homestead principle of distributing free government land to settlers and other agrarian reforms and attacked the exploitation of wage labour. Sympathizing to settlers Greeley advised to "Go West, young man" (notwithstanding the fact that this phrase was initially written by John Soul in the Terre Haute Express in 1851, it is usually attributed to Greeley). Being sincere in his political views Horace Greeley founded a real tribune from which he could propagate his political ideas and convictions. In a shot period of time the daily circulation of the newspaper grew up to ten thousand in 1841 and to 300 thousand in 1861 (one should take into account that a newspaper was often read by a dozen of readers at the time). The historian Allan Nevins explains the enormous success of The Tribune: "The Tribune set a new standard in American journalism by its combination of energy in news gathering with good taste, high moral standards, and intellectual appeal. Police reports, scandals, dubious medical advertisements, and flippant personalities were barred from its pages; the editorials were vigorous but usually temperate; the political news was the most exact in the city; book reviews and book-extracts were numerous; and as an inveterate lecturer Greeley gave generous space to lectures. The paper appealed to substantial and thoughtful people." He continued to oppose the exploitation of wage labour, criticized monopolies and advocated the abolition of capital punishment. The articles and editorials Greeley wrote reflected the strategies of political flows he supported. In general all his professional activity was extremely influenced by his background and his current political views. And this sincere and strong belief in the right of his ideas made his journalistic style sharp, open and pathetic. His editorials were often reprinted by smaller newspapers. Opposing slavery, Horace Greeley was interested in feminist and socialist ideas as well. He maintained contact with Karl Marx, who being in London wrote the articles for the Tribune. Greeley called him "an instructive source of information". Having joined the Radical Party, Greeley supported Lincoln. When the war he took the Radical Republican position and criticized Lincoln's hesitating political course, his incapability to make the slavery the principal issue of the war, digression of the main political course in favour of moral principles. On 19th August, 1862 Greeley wrote an open letter to the president, and published it in the Tribune. In this famous and bold letter Greeley expressed a strong disappointment in

Effect Size Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Effect Size - Assignment Example Moderator is the variable that has an effect on the interrelationship between the two variables which have a zero order correlation. In another case an importance of the mediator variables has to be seen and it has been known by the researchers that the mediator variables have been seen to be following the models that are given by the researchers (Briggs, 2006). One of the models realizes that interferes between the response as well as the stimulus that an organism has. This model has been seen to represent the complete formulation of the mediation hypotheses that has been recognized by the social sciences researchers. In the general terms it has been said that the mediator can be defined as a variable when the relationship between the predictor and the criterion is defined and is established in an analytical manner. The external events when assume an importance of the psychological significance only than the importance of the mediators is to be realized. In this case the mediator model can be represented by the following diagrams. The mediator variable can be represented by the path diagram and this model has been seen to assume the three variable systems in which there are two main causal paths that join the variable, the path measures the direct impact of the indirect variable and this also measures the impact of the mediator (Baron, and Kenny, 1986, 1180). The variable in this case has been seen to function as the mediator when the specific set of characteristics are being followed by the variable and these are inclusive of the variations that might be noticed in the independent variable and these are the changes that have been seen to notify the changes that are related to the mediator. In a similar manner the variations that take place in the mediators notify the changes in the variable (Hayes, and Preacher, 2008, p. 880). Effect size Strength of the relationship between the two variables can be measured by the effect size. Here it can be said that the effect size is the research on a numeric scale. It is the effect size that can be helpful in making the measures if the deference between the two variables is real or if the deference is because of the change that has occurred in the various factor that have caused the changes in the values (Klein, Fan, & Preacher, 2006, p. 100). It has been seen that in case of the hypotheses testing the effect size, the sample size as well as the critical significance levels are the ones that have been given an importance and these are the ones that have been leveled with each other in hypotheses testing. An importance of the effect size has been determined in the case of the Meta analysis and in this case it has been seen that the effect size is the one that takes into consideration the different studies and it has been seen that in this case the different studies are combined together into the single studies (Briggs, 2006). It has been said that for the purpose of the Meta analysis the kind of effect size being used is the one that is in correlation with the sum of all the researches being taken into consideration.

Introduction to Organisations and Management Essay - 9

Introduction to Organisations and Management - Essay Example The structure is strictly hierarchical and there is a long history of conflict with the unionised workforce that comprises the majority. There seems to be an issue of trust between management and workers. The changing business environment is putting pressure on the company to achieve more with less. The company has a number of issues in its ability to manage existing and new business requirements due to internal capability limitations – poor inter-department communication and coordination, lack of flexibility among teams and poor internal control mechanisms. The leadership is, in the meanwhile, focusing on personal plans. Watson represents a company that has omitted the task of creating a vision or strategy for itself. The owner believes in responding to situations after they arise, an attitude that runs through the organisation and stifles the capability of talented resources. This is demonstrated in the absence of unified focus at all levels in the company and that of Ã¢â‚¬Ë œclarity to business units’ to provide direction (Johnson, 2008, p. 304). The H&M Consulting Group employs a highly-skilled specialised workforce that can cater to business requirements of a diverse client group. The company is following a strategic path of inorganic growth through acquisitions and recruitment. The company follows a networked structure that utilises specific talent in teams to manage projects. Sophisticated information technology is utilised for effective coordination between and within project teams and to ensure resource availability to achieve project requirements. The workforce is self-directed. H&M has laid down well-defined mission and value statements and the workforce is focused on ensuring commercial success while taking care that core principles are met. The leadership is in constant contact with relevant issues with respect to corporate responsibility and seeks to find ways to ensure that it contributes to these larger goals. H&M represents a globa l organisation that draws strength from a strongly networked employee base. It represents a structure that is transnational as defined by Bartlett and Ghoshal as possessing ‘strong geographic movement†¦ global product responsibility necessary to achieve global efficiency†¦ worldwide functional management†¦ vital to worldwide learning’. Translated into management tasks, this includes ‘legitimising diverse†¦ capabilities, developing†¦ flexible coordination, building shared vision’ (Hoecklin, 1995, p. 42-43). Analysis The case is analysed on the parameters of organisation design, team work, leadership and management style and culture. Organisation design and structure The key to competing in a changing environment lies in the capacity to differentiate one’s offerings from the other players in the market. Differentiation may be based on niche service offerings that cover specific market needs or a diverse offering that covers var ied ones. Watson operates in the automobile components sector and has not opted for a strategy based on differentiation. H&M operates in a number of sectors that require specialised knowledge and skill thereby creating a niche for itself in a wide setting. The method to implement a strategy based on differentiation is through a careful assessment of the value chain within as well as among competitors and designing the organisation structure. Organisation structure that is based on the view of the value chain

Course Reflection Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Course Reflection - Coursework Example Moreover, they facilitate the learning and communication about ethics and ethical issues. Nurses also create structures that encourage and espouse an ethical environment (Home & Care, 2010). As a nurse, I will foster the ethical issues of nursing by creating techniques that monitor and offer immediate feedback on the ethical performance of nurses and the nursing organization as a whole. Nurses focus on the betterment of the organizations relationship to its immediate environment. In addition, they focus on organizations interpretation of human nature, truth, reality, and relationships as the prominent ethical dimensions that define the organizational culture (Falk & Chong, 2008). I will ensure that others foster trust within the organization as this is the sole lubricant for all smooth and transparent operations and values in the organizations. The shift in thinking took place after considering the future issues in nursing. The future issues that face the nursing fraternity have a direct bearing to the ethical code of conduct of the nursing profession. Hence, it is paramount to contemplate on the ethical issues and deliberate on how the nurse leaders can put in place mechanisms that will guarantee effective, ethical issues in the nursing fraternity. For instance, the nurses are required financial motivation to offer proper services, an issue that when not addressed will culminate into a worse unethical

Online education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Online education - Essay Example With advanced technology, the world today has adopted everything to be digital. With learning institutions not left behind, today traditional form of learning is being replaced with online learning.Many higher learning institutions and colleges are offering Massive Open Online Courses where students register and learn online. Initially, people get updated with dynamic changing demands in profession, education, industries and commerce. There is more use of blogs, e-portfolios, and smart phones, projectors among others (Zane and Lin 357). Online education is widely used by people aging between 30 years and above since they find it hard to be in a classroom with young people. In addition, online courses offer freedom to learners as they can attend classes at their own convenience. That is there is no time table as to the time and venue where the course will be taken. This makes it flexible and convenient to full time workers, employers, parents and any other person who cannot afford tim e to attend classes. Online education discriminates the poor who cannot access internet or computers at their homes (Rina 55). Since every development and advancement has both benefits and limitations, online learning has social, economic, social and technological limitations. By comparing the traditional mode of learning and the online education, traditional learning method has more beneficial factors to online education. Traditional education was not only gaining knowledge but it encouraged social interaction. By interacting with other people, one is able to gain courage and understand the real life experiences. In addition, group discussion is a motivating factor that helps students to face life with courage. Majority of those who support online education argue that it is time saving and cost effective. To be relevant, it saves the traveling time to students but to educators, it is not time saving compared to traditional education. This is because the educator has to respond to e very student’s query which is all different. It is difficult to address the requirements of students’ different backgrounds and cultural beliefs which might be different from the educational culture provided online (Siddiqui 92). In addition, online education is not convincing enough since the learner does not get the argumentative point to a response. To support traditional method, students and teachers are more exposed to subjects as they learn from each other (Yukiko 96). For instance, a student learns from another student views, the teacher’s stand, and this leads to better educators, therefore, better system. In addition, in one has access to a variety of materials to study like student’s centre, library, laboratories and writing centre. These facilities are not available in online learning and the learning environment may not be conducive for learning due to interruptions of children, unexpected visitors among other family issues. Online education l imits thinking capacity and narrows the development process of children (Dominguez 17). In the growth and development of children, it is important for them to interact socially and play together. With the introduction of online education, children sit behind a computer and perform his or her task. This is so boring to them and they may end up developing some flimsy characteristics. Traditional education gives room for interaction and sharing of idea in and out of classroom. This is because all students participate in group discussions and during break time, they are able to interact freely. Additionally, learning is not only books and exams, there is need to discuss factors affecting like. In traditional learning, instructors teach students social life as he or share life experiences (Beers 512). This is a way of guiding students on how to

The opening of a novel Essay Example for Free

The opening of a novel Essay Charles Dickens was a 19th century writer who is renowned for his fantastically written novels and his knack for story-telling. Originally a journalist, he wrote for the Victorian magazine All the year round which captivated its readers who would purchase it every week just for the next addition to one of Dickens novels. An enthusiastic social campaigner, Charles Dickens liked to explore and challenge the ways of Victorian society and culture in his novels, rarely basing his stories in past times in this way he was like a soap writer of his time. His writing appealed to anyone and everyone who had the ability to read, especially those who were working class as his characters were like them, and could be related to. His novels also allowed audiences of this type to indulge and fantasise in his stories, Dickens took his readers to a place where they could escape, and experience the adventures that his characters did, and this is perhaps why he was so popular. One particular novel that he started in 1860 was called Great expectations a tale about a boy named Pip; in this novel Dickens explores the social barriers of Victorian society. In the Victorian era life was hard, a large percentage of the population were working class people who were considered bottom of the social hierarchy. These people had to work for a living, and as they usually were poorly educated which meant any form of work they endured was laborious and caused both physical and mental strain on them. There was little pay and unfortunately this way of life was a continuous cycle, few rarely breaking free of the social barriers that condemned them to a life of continuous strenuous physical endurance. Those who were born into a family like this often took on the role of their parents, boys would inherit their fathers job and girls would be married off to other families, their life mainly consisting of housework, reproducing and attending to their husbands needs. This was all because of the lack of money. Without a large amount of money coming in from somewhere, educating children was simply unaffordable, and therefore they had no hope of getting a job that would have a much larger pay and wouldnt consist of any hard labour. It is made clear to us that Pip is a child born into a working class family as Dickens explains that most of Pips siblings died in early childhood: five little brothers of mine who gave up trying to get a living, exceedingly early in that universal struggle. This would not have happened if Pips family had the money to cater for their health. In universal struggle Dickens refers to life indicating that life at that time was hard, and reinforcing the points I made earlier. The novel starts with Dickens having Pip tell us that his mother and father are dead, and that he couldnt remember either of them and never knew what they looked like in the form of the words I never saw my father or my mother, and never saw any likeness of either of them. Pip also tells us their days were long before the days of photographs, referring to the historical context and telling the readers that it is set in Victorian times, or rather, when it was written, in the present. The fact that Pips parents and most of his siblings are dead creates an image that Pip is a very lonely little boy, and makes us feel sorry for him. After explaining that most of Pips family are dead, Dickens aquatints us with the current setting marshland, 20 miles from the sea. Dickens says a raw afternoon towards evening which indicates that it is growing darker, and with no-one about this puts Pip in a very vulnerable position. Dickens then goes on to describe the setting in a way that would be frightening, especially to a child, if you were alone in such a place. He uses phrases like bleak place overgrown with nettles, dark flat wilderness and distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing and one would usually associate features like these with fear. Dickens also tells us of Pips realisation that he is alone, at such a time I found out for certain that Phillip Pirrip and also Georgina wife of the above were dead and buried and that his parents arent with him, they were six feet under. He was alone and unprotected. Dickens says all of this in a very long sentence, which would build up tension and the impression that Pip was in a very frightening place. The most effective part of doing this is the way Dickens ends the sentence and that the small bundle of shivers going afraid of it all and beginning to cry, was Pip hed built up this terrifying image of a setting and then in the middle of it all was a frightened little boy who was completely alone and vulnerable a brilliant use of juxtaposition.

Social Media Is A Growing Phenomenon Media Essay

Social Media Is A Growing Phenomenon Media Essay Social media is a growing phenomenon in our present information age. For many persons, particularly the youth, social media and other newmedia tools provide the platform to create, disseminate and share information among groups and in other cases consolidate existing connections (Lind Zmud, 1995; cited in Haythornthwaite, 2002). The power and influences of the social media phenomenon in shaping our world today cannot be overlooked. Its impact is witnessed as a coordinating tool for a significant number of the worlds political movements. The angry protests that pushed the removal of Philippine President Joseph Estrada (Shirky, 2011; Safranek, 2012) and the political revolutions that took place in the Middle East commonly referred to as the Arab Spring are but some examples of the potency of the social media in empowering citizens and projecting their will. Again in political campaigning, social media is credited to have contributed significantly to the electoral success of then candid ate Barak Obama as his adoption of the technology facilitated his reach to and garnering support from many young voters, and also support his fundraising during the 2008 American presidential elections (YouTube and the 2008 Election Cycle in the United States, 2009; Haley, 2011/12). In Ghana, a number of the presidential and parliamentary candidates for the 2012 elections have created presence on the various social media platforms targeting their campaign messages at the different social groups found on these platforms. Advertisers, marketers as well as other businesses and brands in Ghana are gradually adopting social media to facilitate interactions between themselves and the audiences they seek to reach. The trend in this means of communication is not much different from what is happening globally. The social media fad is believed to have enhanced cultural exchanges (Grincheva, 2012), created, maintained and deepened social ties in a significant number of social settings (Haythornthwaite, 2002). For quite a number of people, it is almost impossible to exist in our present world and not be affected by the social media phenomenon. It has become part of our new world which is driven extensively by information and communication. The importance of civic engagements in democratic dispensations cannot be over emphasised. Various works suggest less civic engagements in many western nations (Banaji Buckingham, 2010). These works imply decreases, especially among Americas young generation, in social and political happenings such as volunteering for community activities and voting to elect political officials. They conclude that such apathy towards civic engagements poses a threat to the countrys democracy. Civic conversation or discourse is a useful measure of civic engagements. Good civic discourse,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦enriches the set of ideals and choices by which citizens govern themselves (Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy, 2006). Thus in a time where Information and Communication Technology tools are facilitating efficient communication and have become an attraction for many, noticeably the youth, understanding its adoption for the promotion of civic discourses in Ghana cannot be overlooked. Background The social media application runs on the foot of the internet technology. The internet in our world today directs the manner in which efficient means of communication is carried from place to place, person to person and culture to culture. There are expectations that the internet will become ubiquitous (Rao, 2012). Researchers and scholars have divergent opinions of the impacts of the internet and new media technology on our world today. Their opinions are expressed broadly in utopian and dystopian perspectives and cover all aspects of life of which the technology is experienced. The utopians appreciate the Internet as a potentially enormous tool for good. The positive possibilities from the Internet include supporting the practice of democracy, human interactions, concerted political action, education, etc. On the other hand the dystopians, the cyberpunks and the alarmists, see danger in every digital project to the extent of its cause to an ultimate loss of our humanity. The many t exts messages, Facebook comments or tweets that pour into radio and television programmes each day according to Utopians proponents are indicative of the internet empowering ordinary citizens to participate and have their voices heard in the discourses on issues that affect their lives in the communities they live in. However, when stories such as the murder of a 25 year old girl by friends she had met on Facebook make the news (Adeboye Ayodeji , 2012),dystopian proponents have cause to warn of the dangers of the internet technology. (Bell, 2001) Understanding the internet and all its associated technology and applications requires an understanding of the dimensions under which the internet can be studied. Bell explains three ways to understanding the internet or its synonym cyberspace: the material, symbolic and experiential. Bell cites Stanley Aronowitz (1996) as providing the terms ontology, phenomenology and pragmatics as other synonyms to discuss ways of thinking about the internet technology. Material stories of the internet technology provide a historical understanding of how the technology came to exist and the transformations it has undergone. Thus the advent of the ARPAnet-a network of geographically separated computers that could exchange information between military installations (Bellis, 2012) is an example material understanding of the internet technology. Symbolic stories of the internet or cyberspace give literary and generic accounts most notably in cyberpunk but also in science fiction and other speculative fiction (Whittaker, 2004). Bell, citing Jordan (1999), provides an explanation to symbolic stories of cyberspace as the ways in which the realm of cyberspace is depicted in films and fiction, e.g. Robocop, Matrix. Robocop treats symbolic representations of the bad cop and the good cop (Newitz, 1997), scenarios which are on-going debates in our material world. Experiential stories, according to Bell, relate to the intersections of the material and symbolic stories of cyberspace in our everyday life. Our daily interactions with the internet technology provide foundations for understanding the internet and its associated new media technologies. Experiential examples of the new media are evident in its ability to allow people: to more easily work from their homes, to form and sustain friendships and romantic attachments, to bank from their homes, to vote and engage in political and social-issue-based discussions and civic discourse, may empower shy people who find it difficult to participate in communication to share their views on issues. A dystopian view sees the advent of theft of personal information, considerable reduction in physical contact and face-to-face communication, virus threats to data and information storage as well as a lack of productivity in work. Broadly, the discussions on the study will be situated more in experiential understandings of cyberspace. New media and social media New media tools, internet based technologies and applications, provide platforms for social media tools to be used for all manner of conversations including civic discourses (Simon, 2007, pp. 258-259). The new media technology is quickly changing the communication and media industry with its study detailing how digital (computer) technology is applied to mass communications (Hoggatt, 1999). Pointedly the new media technology has not completely dislocated the significance of traditional media channels but thus created a convergence making its impact on society, commerce, and governance phenomenal. The Internet, satellite and cable data transmission, computer assisted mediations and research, multimedia publishing, mobile and phone interactions, and word processing are but examples of new media technology. New media technology has become revolutionary in its ability to handle behind the scenes work and become  the finished product (Hoggatt, 1999). Its ability to break down the obstructions of time and space, change the balance of power in equitable opportunities to communicate in the mass media are recorded contributions to the operations of contemporary societies (Nag, 2011; Hoggatt, 1999). A component of the new media technology is social media which is often erroneously used synonymously to represent new media. Social media refers to online technologies and practices that are used to share opinions and information, promote discussion and build relationships (Crown Copyright, 2009). The application shares the features of Participation, Openness, Conversation, Community, and Connectedness (iCrossing, 2008). According to iCrossing, social media can presently be found in the following basic forms: Social Networks:sites which allow people to build personal web pages and then connect with friends to share content and communication. Facebook, Myspace, bebo and Academia.edu are examples of social networks. Blogs: online journals with entries appearing with the most recent first. Wikis: websites which allow people to add content to or edit the information on them, acting as a communal document or database. The best-known wiki is wikipedia Podcasts: audio and video files that are available by subscription, through services like apple itunes. Forums: areas for online discussion, often around specific topics and interests. Forums came about before the term social media and are a powerful and popular element of online communities. Content Communities: organise and share particular kinds of content. The most popular content communities tend to form around photos (flickr), bookmarked links (del.icio.us) and videos (YouTube). Micro blogging: social networking combined with bite-sized blogging, where small amounts of content (updates) are distributed online and through the mobile phone network. Twitter the clear leader in this field.  [1]   Social media and New media in Ghana With about a 10% gain from 5% in internet penetration (Daily Graphic, 2012)Ghana is not likely to be isolated or insulated from global trends in internet and new media use, especially those associated with the social media. Universally, Facebook is noted as the most popular social media platform (eBizMBA, 2012), and is most recognized in Ghana as well. Currently, there are nearly 2 million Facebook users in Ghana ranking the country at number 69in global ranking of Facebook statistics (Socialbakers, 2012). Socialbakers statistics for October 2012 illustrates that Facebook penetration in Ghanais6.77%compared to the countrys population and 126.98%in relation to number of Internet users. The total number of Facebook users in Ghana is reaching 1,646,920 and grew by more than 435,160 in the last 6 months. About 41% of Ghanas Facebook user population is between 18 and 24 years, an age group that can be found typically beginning university education or exiting into the professional world. Chart (Socialbakers, Ghana Facebook Statistics, 2012) Figure : Ghanas Facebook user age distributions as at July 2012 http://api.socialbakers.com/charts/countries/users.html?country=ghanainterval=last-monthstate=0 (Socialbakers, Users Demography for the Ghana, 2012) Figure : Growth pattern of Facebook users in Ghana as at October 2012 YouTube, twitter and LinkedIn are also popular among Ghanaians. Though their popularity is high among the youth and IT savvy persons, statistics on these social media applications are rather low or unavailable. Statistics for twitter presented by Socialbakers present individual followership rather than an assessment on national. No Ghanaian profile or account is listed in the top 200 global accounts. The same applies with YouTube and LinkedIn. Ghana was one of the first African countries to get connected to the Internet between 1989 and 1990. However, the extent of use of the new media technology generally among Ghanaians is limited (Sey, 2011). This is a result of the underdevelopment of existing telecommunications infrastructure, though in recent times significant investments have been in developing them. The investments have been supported by a national communications policy which highlights the Government of Ghanas commitment to accelerating the socio-economic development process of the country through ICT (Republic of Ghana, 2003, p. 14; cited in Sey 2011). In the wake of this policy, there has been considerable improvements in internet connectivity which begun in the early 1990s with the slow bandwidth dial up access to the now high speed broadband connectivity. Mobile phone telephony is not only big on the African Continent but equally the predominate mode of telecommunications in Ghana. This is attributable to the generally poor development of the fixed line infrastructure in the country. As at the year 2007 just over one fixed line existed per 100 inhabitants (Sey, 2011). Ghanas National Communications Authority announced a mobile telephony penetration rate of about 88.6% as at January 2012 with the leading service provider recording over 10 million subscriptions (Myjoyonline, 2012 ). New media uses of in Ghana Several accounts have been given for the varied uses of the new media technology in Ghana. The technology is appropriated to businesses and community development. For some Ghanaians the Internet serves as an escape mechanism to connect with the Western world as a poverty reduction strategy (Sey, 2011 citing Slater Kwami, 2005). The Internet provides a means to connect with people in developed countries who are seen as prospective sources of financial aid for their migration out of Ghana. Those with no intent to physically leave the country enjoy Western life, indirectly, through foreign content online available via new media tools. Other uses of the new media include sending e-mails, finding and communicating with pen pals, applying to schools abroad, watching movies, listening to music, and playing games (Alhassan, 2004; Burrell, 2009; Daily Graphic, 2003; Slater Kwami, 2005; Cited in Sey 2011). Political parties have also embraced the new media technology and are using social med ia particularly to grasp the attention of young people. A Communication official of the New Patriotic Party says the party adopts a writing style suitable for the social media in its messaging as the technology creates a better communication channel between the party and voters. The National Democratic Congress says the interactive nature of social media facilitates incorporating feedback from voters into the partys decision making processes (Boakyewaa Pokua, 2011). Amongst Students of the University of Ghana, the most popular social media tool is Facebook (Oduro, 2011). Oduro says Facebook uses are varied; including meeting new friends, sharing information on academic work, and updating family and friends with what is happening in ones life. With mobile telephony, Ghanaians surf the internet, store music, receive SMS alerts on international and sports news, send funds, chat via instant messaging services like Whats App or BBM, and even watch mobile TV. Some political parties are raising funds for their political activities through the use of SMS systems (Amega-Selorm, n.d). As the 2012 Presidential and Parliamentary elections draw close, civil election monitoring is being promoted via mobile telephony. The African Elections Project is enabling mobile phone users to be part of the election reporting and monitoring (GNA, 2012). Civic discourse and principles of civic discourse Making reference to the Hurricane Katrina which devastated the Gulf Coast of the United States of America, the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy (2006; pp1) suggests that civic discourses may have the potential to help mitigate the impact of crisis and also help prepare for the next. According to the ICDD, energies spent on media discussions following the disaster which focused on blames and accusations could have been used to discuss how victims of the disaster could be helped. The ICDD suggests that focusing on what mattered rather than blame games could have helped address human need during the crisis or its immediate aftermath. Civic discourse is purposeful communication carried out among citizens dedicated to sharing perspectives and constructing possible actions on issues that matter (ICDD 2006). Effective civic discourse ought to establish principles of inclusiveness, reflection, reciprocity, rationality, recognition of difference, and moderation. Thus the following are identified as Good Principles of Civic Discourse: Provide framework for dialogue (establish ground rules; framework should recognize any cultural differences) Provide all with voice (create safe rhetorical space; manage inequalities of access and power) Focus on issues. Invite/encourage a variety of perspectives (inclusiveness) Value evidence variety testimony, statistical evidence, narrative story telling Seek common ground and consensus when possible Avoid personal attacks Resist relying on ideological sloganeering Seek to understand rather than to persuade Problem statement Studies suggest citizens disconnections from civic life in our present information society (Banaji Buckingham, 2010). These are noticeable among younger generations in Western democracies (Putnam, n.d.). The United States, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom have all recorded younger peoples withdrawal in participating in conventional politics and government (Bennett, 2008, p. 1)which constitute civic activities, in alarming numbers. Americans in the last three decades of the 20th century has witnessed much less engagements in terms of political participation, charitable contributions, involvement in community organizations, and even participation in social activities with some of these trends obvious among college students (Sander Putnam, 2010; Putnam, n.d.). Despite a withdrawal from offline civic life, studies suggest interests in online civic engagements. Online engagement sites facilitate offline activities permitting the youth to access information about issues that affec t them as well as create and maintain connections with their peers for feedback. Ghana is not insulated from the phenomenon of civic recession. A district director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in an online publication revealed the decline in civic engagements attributing it to polarised political discourses often at the grassroots (GNA, 2012). The long historic periods of military authoritarian government has probable contribution to Ghanas civic recession. These were periods characterised by a stifled atmosphere for free civic discussions without fear of arrest and or detention. However, the new democratic dispensation gives opportunity for civic participation in social and political discourses mainly through traditional media. The younger generation of Ghanaians, a good of whom maybe enrolled in the universities, increasingly seek to master the use of the internet and new media technologies including social media to express themselves, explore their identi ties, and connect with peers the opportunity to utilise social media to promote civic discourses amongst their social networks is not readily known. The study thus seeks to ascertain the use of social media for civic discourses amongst students of the University of Ghana and will speak to the questions: Are students of the University of Ghana engaged in civic discourses? Are the discourses extended to or carried via the social media? Are there any benefits of engaging in civic discourse via the social media? Are the civic interactions on the social media platform guided by principles of civic discourses? Purpose This study looks to identify and assess civic discourses of students of the University of Ghana as carried via the social media site. Traditional media following their innovations have provided channels for civic discourses. Professional journalism may account for education on what is civically and politically relevant (Akilah, 2012). Thus the publication of journals, articles, letters and the broadcast of views from varied perspectives provide opportunities for all manner of citizens to engage and be engaged on issues that affect them and the communities they find themselves in generally. However, Robert Putnams description of a generation of Americans cut off from traditional forms of community life and civic engagement and have become passive consumers of mass media (Theater, 2007) suggest that the traditional media may have lost its lead in facilitating civic engagement amongst American citizens. Until recently, the print and broadcast media were restricted in their ability to provide all the characteristics of openness, participation, conversation, connectedness and community at the same time as the social media provides. With about seven (7) billion of the worlds population online or accessing the internet through its varied sources (Internet World Stats, 2012), the broadcast media particularly incorporates social media tools in programming to encourage contributions from its audiences. The print media has also adopted a presence on the internet and incorporated social media characteristics in order to maintain relevance in our increasingly sophisticated world. Objectives The study objectives are: to evaluate whether civic discourses take place among students of the university of Ghana. to identify the forms of such civic discourses students of the university of Ghana are engaged in. to ascertain whether such discourses conform to the principles for civic discourses. Significance of the study There is a gap in literature detailing or explaining civic interactions among Ghanaian students particularly those in tertiary institutions. With the advent of the phenomenal social media, many a youth who are mostly likely to be in tertiary education are engaged in various activities on social media. This study will thus provide data and contribute to filling the gap on social media uses for civic discourse interactions among students of the University of Ghana and make recommendations on the possibility of nurturing a generation of elites who adopt technology to further discourses that affect how they are governed and their society at large. Findings from the study can help in selecting and developing alternate communication channels for the promotion of civic discourse in Ghana and among an increasing youthful population enchanted by the new media and its varied applications. Structure of the thesis The design, procedure and findings of the study are presented in seven (7) separate chapters. In each chapter an introduction of the chapter details is presented. The first chapter sets the context of the study by introducing the place of social media in our world today. It further presents patterns of understanding the internet technology on which the social media application is delivered. An overview of new media technologies is also presented situating the nature of use in the Ghanaian context. The aim of the study, research questions and significance are all placed in this chapter. Chapter Two (2) presents the theoretical framework for the study. Three theories underpin this study: a) Democratic theories would be discussed, b) Discourse Theory and c) Deliberation Technology Theory. Chapter Three (3) presents a review of some scholarly works conducted around the use of online technologies and tools for civic or citizen conversations and participations in decision making processes. Chapter Four (4) details the methodology used for the study. A detail of the design, data gathering procedure and analysis of the data are explained. The Chapter Five (5) presents findings from the study from which interpretations and discussions are provided in Chapter Six (6). The final Chapter Seven (7) concludes with summarises of the results, limitations of the study and recommendations for further studies in the subject area. A list of sourced work is presented in the appendices section. The section also includes data gathering tools used for the study.

Strategies for Welding Aluminium

Strategies for Welding Aluminium CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 INTRODUCTION OF THE FSW TECHNIQUE In todays modern world there are many different welding techniques to join metals. They range from the conventional oxyacetylene torch welding to laser welding. The two general categories in which all the types of welding can be divided is fusion welding and solid state welding. The fusion welding process involves chemical bonding of the metal in the molten stage and may need a filler material such as a consumable electrode or a spool of wire of the filler material, the process may also need a inert ambience in order to avoid oxidation of the molten metal, this could be achieved by a flux material or a inert gas shield in the weld zone, there could be need for adequate surface preparations, examples of fusion welding are metal inert gas welding (MIG), tungsten inert gas welding (TIG) and laser welding. There are many disadvantages in the welding techniques where the metal is heated to its melting temperatures and let it solidify to form the joint. The melting and solidification causes the mechanical properties of the weld to deteriorate such as low tensile strength, fatigue strength and ductility. The disadvantages also include porosity, oxidation, microsegregation, hot cracking and other microstructural defects in the joint. The process also limits the comb ination of the metals that can be joined because of the different thermal coefficients of conductivity and expansion of different metals. The solid state welding is the process where coalescence is produced at temperatures below the melting temperatures of the base metal with out any need for the filler material or any inert ambience because the metal does not reach its melting temperature for the oxidation to occur, examples of solid state welding are friction welding, explosion welding, forge welding, hot pressure welding and ultrasonic welding. The three important parameters time, temperature and pressure individually or in combinations produce the joint in the base metal. As the metal in solid state welding does not reach its melting temperatures so there are fewer defects caused due to the melting and solidification of the metal. In solid state welding the metals being joined retain their original properties as melting does not occur in the joint and the heat affected zone (HAZ) is also very small compared to fusion welding techniques where most of the deterioration of the strengths and ductility begins. Dissimila r metals can be joined with ease as the thermal expansion coefficients and the thermal conductivity coefficients are less important as compared to fusion welding. Friction stir welding (FSW) is an upgraded version of friction welding. The conventional friction welding is done by moving the parts to be joined relative to each other along a common interface also applying compressive forces across the joint. The frictional heat generated at the interface due to rubbing softens the metal and the soft metal gets extruded due to the compressive forces and the joint forms in the clear material, the relative motion is stopped and compressive forces are increased to form a sound weld before the weld is allowed to cool. Friction stir welding is also a solid state welding processes; this remarkable upgradation of friction welding was invented in 1991 in The Welding Institute (TWI) [4]. The process starts with clamping the plates to be welded to a backing plate so that the plates do not fly away during the welding process. A rotating wear resistant tool is plunged on the interface between the plates to a predetermined depth and moves forward in the interface between the plates to form the weld. The advantages of FSW technique is that it is environment friendly, energy efficient, there is no necessity for gas shielding for welding Al, mechanical properties as proven by fatigue, tensile tests are excellent, there is no fume, no porosity, no spatter and low shrinkage of the metal due to welding in the solid state of the metal and an excellent way of joining dissimilar and previously unweldable metals. 1.2 ALUMINUM ALLOYS AND WELDING OF ALUMINUM ALLOYS Aluminum is the most abundant metal available in the earths crust, steel was the most used metal in 19th century but Aluminium has become a strong competitor for steel in engineering applications. Aluminium has many attractive properties compared to steel it is economical and versatile to use that is the reason it is used a lot in the aerospace, automobile and other industries. The most attractive properties of aluminum and its alloys which make them suitable for a wide variety of applications are their light weight, appearance, frabricability, strength and corrosion resistance. The most important property of aluminum is its ability to change its properties in a very versatile manner; it is amazing how much the properties can change from the pure aluminum metal to its most complicate alloys. There are more then a couple of hundreds alloys of aluminum alloys and many are being modified form them internationally. Aluminium alloys have very low density compared to steel it has almost on e thirds the density of steel. Properly treated alloys of aluminum can resist the oxidation process which steel can not resist; it can also resist corrosion by water, salt and other factors. There are many different methods available for joining aluminum and its alloys. The selection of the method depends on many factors such as geometry and the material of the parts to be joined, required strength of the joint, permanent or dismountable joint, number of parts to be joined, the aesthetic appeal of the joint and the service conditions such as moisture, temperature, inert atmosphere and corrosion. Welding is one of the most used methods for aluminum. Most alloys of aluminum are easily weldable. MIG and TIG are the welding processes which are used the most, but there are some problems associated with this welding process like porosity, lack of fusion due to oxide layers, incomplete penetration, cracks, inclusions and undercut, but they can be joined by other methods such as resistance welding, friction welding, stud welding and laser welding. When welding many physical and chemical changes occur such as oxide formation, dissolution of hydrogen in molten aluminum and lack of color change when heated. The formation of oxides of aluminum is because of its strong affinity to oxygen, aluminum oxidizes very quickly after it has been exposed to oxygen. Aluminum oxide forms if the metal is joined using fusion welding processes, and aluminum oxide has a high melting point temperature than the metal and its alloys it self so it results in incomplete fusion if present when joined by fusion welding processes. Aluminum oxide is a electrical insulator if it is thick enough it is capable of preventing the arc which starts the welding process, so special methods such as inert gas welding, or use of fluxes is necessary if aluminum has to be welded using the fusion welding processes. Hydrogen has high solubility in liquid aluminum when the weld pool is at high temperature and the metal is still in liquid state the metal absorbs lots of hydrogen which has very low solubility in the solid state of the metal. The trapped hydrogen can not escape and forms porosity in the weld. All the sources of hydrogen has to be eliminated in order to get sound welds such as lubricants on base metal or the filler material, moisture on the surface of base metal or condensations inside the welding equipment if it uses water cooling and moisture in the shielding inert gases. These precautions require considerable pretreatment of the workpiece to be welded and the welding equipment. Hot cracking is also a problem of major concern when welding aluminum, it occurs due to the high thermal expansion of aluminum, large change in the volume of the metal upon melting and solidification and its wide range of solidification temperatures. The heat treatable alloys have greater amounts of alloying elements so the weld crack sensitivity is of concern. The thermal expansion of aluminum is twice that of steel, in fusion welding process the melting and cooling occurs very fast which is the reason for residual stress concentrations. Weldability of some aluminum alloys is an issue with the fusion welding processes. The 2000 series, 5000 series, 6000 series and 7000 series of aluminum alloys have different weldabilities. The 2000 series of aluminum alloys have poor weldability generally because of the cooper content which causes hot cracking and poor solidification microstructure and porosity in the fusion zone so the fusion welding processes are not very suitable for these alloys. The 5000 series of aluminum alloys with more than 3% of Mg content is susceptible to cracking due to stress concentration in corrosive environments, so high Mg alloys of 5000 series of aluminum should not be exposed to corrosive environments at high temperatures to avoid stress corrosion cracking. All the 6000 series of aluminum are readily weldable but are some times susceptible to hot cracking under certain conditions. The 7000 series of aluminum are both weldable and non-weldable depending on the chemical composition of the alloy. Alloys with low Zn-Mg and Cu content are readily weldable and they have the special ability of recovering the strength lost in the HAZ after some weeks of storage after the weld. Alloys with high Zn-Mg and Cu content have a high tendency to hot crack after welding. All the 7000 series of aluminum have the sensitivity to stress concentration cracking. All these problems associated with the welding of these different alloys of aluminum has lead to the development of solid state welding processes like Friction Stir Welding technique which is an upgraded version of the friction welding processes. This process has many advantages associated with it, and it can weld many aluminum alloys such as 2000 and 7000 series which are difficult to weld by fusion welding processes. The advantages of the Friction Stir Welding processes are low distortion even in long welds, no fuse, no porosity, no spatter, low shrinkage, can operate in all positions, very energy efficient and excellent mechanical properties as proven by the fatigue, tension and bend tests. 1.3 Conventional Welding Processes of Aluminum A brief description of the most common processes, their applications on aluminum and limitations are given below. 1.3.1 Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW): In gas tungsten arc welding process the heat generated by an arc, which is maintained between the workpiece and a non-consumable tungsten, electrode is used to fuse the joint area. The arc is sustained in an inert gas, which serves to protect the weld pool and the electrode from atmospheric contamination as shown in Figure 2.3. The process has the following features: It is conducted in a chemically inert atmosphere; The arc energy density is relatively high; The process is very controllable; Joint quality is usually high; Deposition rates and joint completion rates are low. The process may be applied to the joining of a wide range of engineering materials including stainless steel, aluminum alloys and reactive metals such as titanium. These features of the process lead to its widespread application in aerospace, nuclear reprocessing and power generation industries as well as in the fabrication of chemical process plant, food processing and brewing equipment. 1.3.2 Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW): Shielded metal arc welding has for many years been one of the most common techniques applied to the fabrication of steels. The process uses an arc as the heat source but shielding is provided by gases generated by the decomposition of the electrode coating material and by the slag produced by the melting of mineral constituents of the coating. In addition to heating and melting the parent material the arc also melts the core of the electrode and thereby provides filler material for the joint. The electrode coating may also be used as source of alloying elements and additional filler material. The flux and electrode chemistry may be formulated to deposit wear- and corrosion-resistant layers for surface protection as shown in Figure 2.4. Significant features of the process are: Equipment requirement are simple; A large range of consumables are available; The process is extremely portable; The operating efficiency is low; It is labor intensive. For these reasons the process has been traditionally used in structural steel fabrication, shipbuilding and heavy engineering as well as for small batch production and maintenance. 1.3.3 Plasma welding: Plasma welding uses the heat generated by a constricted arc to fuse the joint area; the arc is formed between the tip of a non-consumable electrode and either the work piece or the constricting nozzle as shown in Figure 2.5. A wide range of shielding and cutting gases is used depending on the mode of operation and the application. In the normal transferred arc mode the arc is maintained between the electrode and the work piece; the electrode is usually the cathode and the work piece is connected to the positive side of the power supply. In this mode a high energy density is achieved and the process may be used effectively for welding and cutting. The features of the process depend on the operating mode and the current, but in summary the plasma process has the following characteristics: Good low-current arc stability Improved directionality compared with GTAW Improved melting efficiency compared with GTAW Possibility of keyhole welding The keyhole technique is the high heat concentration can penetrate completely through the joint. These features of the process make it suitable for a range of applications including the joining of very thin materials, the encapsulation of electronic components and sensors, and high- speed longitudinal welds on strip and pipe. 1.3.4 Laser welding The laser may be used as an alternative heat source for fusion welding. The focused power density of the laser can reach 1010 or 1012 Wm-2 and welding is often carried out using the keyhole technique. Significant features of laser welding are: Very confined heat source at low power Deep penetration at high power Reduced distortion and thermal damage Out-of-vacuum technique High equipment cost These features have led to the application of leaders for micro joining of electronic components, but the process is also being applied to the fabrication of automotive components and precision machine tool parts in heavy section steel. 1.4 Weld Defects using Conventional Processes Because of a history of thermal cycling and attendant micro structural changes, a welded joint may develop certain discontinuities. Welding discontinuities can also be caused by inadequate or careless application of established welding technologies or substandard operator training. The major discontinuities that affect weld quality are described below. 1.4.1 Porosity: Trapped gases released during melting of the weld area and trapped during solidification, chemical reactions during welding, or contaminants, cause porosity in welds. Most welded joints contain some porosity, which is generally spherical in shape or in the form of elongated pockets. The distribution of porosity in the weld zone may be random, or it may be concentrated in a certain region. Porosity in welds can be reduced by the following methods: Proper selection of electrodes and filler metals. Improving welding techniques, such as preheating the weld area or increasing the rate of heat input. Proper cleaning and preventing contaminants from entering the weld zone. Slowing the welding speed to allow time for gas to escape.8 1.4.2 Slag inclusions: Slag inclusions are compounds such as oxides, fluxes, and electrode-coating materials that are trapped in the weld zone. If shielding gases are not effective during welding, contamination from the environment may also contribute to such inclusions. Welding conditions are important, and with proper techniques the molten slag will float to the surface of the molten weld metal and not be entrapped. Slag inclusions may be prevented by: Cleaning the weld-bead surface before the next layer is deposited by using a hand or power wire brush. Providing adequate shielding gas. Redesigning the joint to permit sufficient space for proper manipulation of the puddle of molten weld metal. 1.4.3. Incomplete fusion and penetration: A better weld can be obtained by: Raising the temperature of the base metal. Cleaning the weld area prior to welding. Changing the joint design and type of electrode. Providing adequate shielding gas. Incomplete occurs when the depth of the welded joint is insufficient. Penetration can be improved by: Increasing the heat input. Lowering travel speed during welding. Changing the joint design. Ensuring that surfaces to be joined fit properly.8 1.4.4 Weld profile: Weld profile is important not only because of its effects on the strength and appearance of the weld, but also because it can indicate incomplete fusion or the presence of slag inclusions in multiple-layer welds. Under filling results when the joint is not filled with the proper amount of weld metal Figure 2.7. Undercutting results from melting away the base metal and subsequently generating a groove in the shape of recess or notch. Unless it is not deep or sharp, an undercut can act as a stress raiser and reduce the fatigue strength of the joint and may lead to premature failure. Overlap is a surface discontinuity generally caused by poor welding practice and selection of the wrong materials. A proper weld is shown in Figure 2.7c.5 1.4.5 Cracks: Cracks may occur in various locations and direction in the weld area. The types of cracks are typically longitudinal, transverse, crater, and toe cracks Figure 2.8. These cracks generally result from a combination of the following factors: Temperature gradients that cause thermal stresses in the weld zone. Variations in the composition of the weld zone that cause different contractions. Embitterment of grain boundaries by segregation of elements, such as sulfur, to the grain boundaries as the solid-liquid boundary moves when the weld metal begins to solidify. Hydrogen embitterment. Inability of the weld metal to contract during cooling is a situation similar to hot tears that develops in castings and related to excessive restraint of the work piece. (a) crater cracks. (b)Various types of cracks in butt and T joints.8 Cracks are classified as hot or cold cracks. Hot cracks occur while the joint is still at elevated temperatures. Cold cracks develop after the weld metal has solidified. Some crack prevention measures are: Change the joint design to minimize stresses from shrinkage during cooling. Change welding-process parameters, procedures, and sequence. Preheat components being welded. Avoid rapid cooling of the components after welding.8 1.4.6 Lameller tears: In describing the anisotropy of plastically deformed metals, we stated that because of the alignment of nonmetallic impurities and inclusions (stringers), the work piece is weaker when tested in its thickness direction. This condition is particularly evident in rolled plates and structural shapes. In welding such components, lamellar tears may develop because of shrinkage of the members in the members or by changing the joint design to make the weld bead penetrate the wearer member more deeply.8 1.4.7 Surface damage: During welding, some of the metal may spatter and be deposited as small droplets on adjacent surfaces. In arc welding possess, the electrode may inadvertently contact the parts being welded at places not in the weld zone (arc strikes). Such surface discontinuities may be objectionable for reasons of appearance or subsequent use of the welded part. If severe, these discontinuities may adversely affect the properties of the welded structure, particularly for notch-sensitive metals. Using proper welding techniques and procedures is important in avoiding surface damage.8 1.5 Skill and Training requirements: Many of the traditional welding processes required high levels of operator skill and dexterity, this can involve costly training programs, particularly when the procedural requirement described above need to be met. The newer processes can offer some reduction in the overall skill requirement but this unfortunately been replaced in some cases by more complex equipment and the time involved in establishing the process parameters has brought about a reduction in operating factor. Developments, which seek to simplify the operation of the equipment, will be described below but effective use of even the most advanced processes and equipment requires appropriate levels of operator and support staff training. The cost of this training will usually be recovered very quickly in improved productivity and quality. 1.6 Areas for development: Advances in welding processes may be justified in: Increased deposition rate; Reduced cycle time; Improved process control; Reduced repair rate; Reduced weld size; Reduced joint preparation time; Improved operating factor; Reduction in post-weld operations; Reduction in potential safety hazards; Removal of the operator from hazardous area; Simplified equipment setting. Some or all these requirement have been met in many of the process developments which have occurred in the ten years; these will be described in detail in the following chapters but the current trends in the of this technology are examined below. 1.7 New processes: The Primary incentive for welding process development is the need to improve the total cost effectiveness of joining operations in requirement for new processes. Recently, concern over the safety of the welding environment and the potential shortage of skilled technicians and operator in many countries have become important considerations. Many of the traditional welding techniques described in this Chapter are regarded as costly and hazardous and it is possible to improve both of these aspects significantly by employing some of the advanced process developments described in the following chapters. The use of new joining techniques such as Friction Stir Welding appears to be increasing since it does not involve melting. The application of these processes has in the past been restricted, but with the increased recognition of the benefits of automation and the requirement for high-integrity joints in newer materials it is envisaged that the use of these techniques will grow. This is a new process originally intended for welding of aerospace alloys, especially aluminum extrusions. Whereas in conventional friction welding, heating of interfaces is achieved through friction by rubbing two surfaces, in the FSW process, a third body is rubbed against the two surfaces to be joined in the form of a small rotating non-consumable tool that is plunged into the joint. The contact pressure causes frictional heating. The probe at the tip of the rotating tool forces heating and mixing or stirring of the material in the joint. 1.8 Research objectives: The objectives of our project are to: Adopt FSW to a milling machine Design the FSW tools, select its material and have it manufactured Design the required clamping system Apply FSW to plates of an alloy that is not readily weldable by conventional methods Investigate FSW parameters (RPM, Feed Rate and Axial force) Analyze conventionally welded and Friction Stir welded sections then compare their properties. The objective of this research is to characterize the mechanical properties of friction stir welded joints and study the micro structure of the base metal and the weld nugget evolved during the friction stir welding of similar and dissimilar alloys of Aluminum. Aluminum 2024 and 7075 are considered for this investigation. The mechanical properties such as ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, formability, ductility and vickers hardness are measured and an effort is made to find out a relation between the process variables and properties of the weld. The optimal process parameters for the Friction-Stir welding of AA2024 and AA7075 will be defined based on the experimental results. Having understood the significance of FSP, the main objective of this thesis is to investigate the effect of process parameters like rotational and translational speeds on the forces generated during FSP of aluminum alloys and relate these forces with the microstructure evolved in order to optimize the process. The specific objectives of the work presented are: Design and conduct FS processing experiments on aluminum alloy for different combinations of rotational and translation speeds. Measuring the generated processing forces during FSP of aluminum alloys Examine the microstructural of the processed sheets using transmission electron microscope (TEM). Attempt to establish a correlation between these measured forces and the resulting microstructure. Chapter 2 Review of Literature 2.1 General Idea of the Friction Stir Technology This section gives an insight into the innovative technology called friction stir technology. The action of rubbing two objects together causing friction to provide heat is one dating back many centuries as stated by Thomas et.al [1]. The principles of this method now form the basis of many traditional and novel friction welding, surfacing and processing techniques. The friction process is an efficient and controllable method of plasticizing a specific area on a material, and thus removing contaminants in preparation for welding, surfacing/cladding or extrusion. The process is environmentally friendly as it does not require consumables (filler wire, flux or gas) and produces no fumes. In friction welding, heat is produced by rubbing components together under load. Once the required temperature and material deformation is reached, the action is terminated and the load is maintained or increased to create a solid phase bond. Friction is ideal for welding dissimilar metals with very different melting temperatures and physical properties. Some of the friction stir technologies ar e shown in the Fig.2-1. Work carried out at TWI by Thomas et.al [2,3] has demonstrated that several alternative techniques exist or are being developed to meet the requirement for consistent and reliable joining of mass production aluminum alloy vehicle bodies. Three of these techniques (mechanical fasteners, lasers and friction stir welding) are likely to make an impact in industrial processing over the next 5 years. FSW could be applied in the manufacture of straight-line welds in sheet and extrusions as a low cost alternative to arc welding (e.g. in the fabrication of truck floors or walls). The development of robotized friction stir welding heads could extend the range of applications into three dimensional components. Mishra et.al [4] extended the FSW innovation to process Al 7075 and Al 5083 in order to render them superplastic. They observed that the grains obtained were recrystallized, equiaxed and homogeneous with average grain sizes

Brave New World :: essays research papers

Today there are strong debates and questions about the extraordinary breakthroughs in science such as cloning, in communications through the Internet with its never ending pool of knowledge, and the increasing level of immersion in entertainment. People facing the 21st century are trying to determine whether these new realities of life will enhance it and bring life as they know it to a great unprecedented level, or if these new products will contribute and perhaps even cause the destruction of society and life. To many cloning, censoring, and total immersion entertainment are new, but to those who have read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, the topics are reminiscent of the horror that is found in Huxley's fictional utopian world where the dehumanizing of man is achieved in the interests of "Community, Identity, Stability," the world state's motto. The novel Brave New World shows that in order for a utopian society to achieve a state of stability, a loss of individuality, and the undoing of Mother Nature must occur. Successfully engineering these conditions produces a world where people are finally living "happily ever after," but at a great cost. The time of Brave New World is in the future on the planet earth and it is, a pessimistic accounting of the shape a scientifically planned community would take, of its sterility and human emptiness. Ten controllers of the world states determine all aspects of society. Children are born in state hatcheries where according to what social class they will be, they are given or denied certain elements that are critical to proper development. The citizens are happy and content with their simple lives as it is shown in the novel when it is stated, "We don't want to change. Every change is a menace to stability," therein lies the problem. The key ingredient to stability that the novel implies is that individuality must be absent. The government in Brave New World understands that fact and in the worlds of one of the ten controllers of the world states, "[there is] no civilization without social stability. No social stability without individual stability." The need for stability creates a government which believes that stability can be achieved if people think and look the same. Stability, in effect, demands robots, not people. The main element of what makes a person human and unique are the emotions that inhabit their minds, which they can control to some degree.

Graduation Speech: Life is a Blank Canvas -- Graduation Speech, Commen

My father always told me that my life is a blank canvas waiting for me to paint my future upon it. As I stand here before my fellow classmates, cherished friends and beloved teachers, I see more than just a graduating class, I see a group of artists waiting to exhibit their art to the world. See, the beauty of my father's analogy lies in the fact that we have all been given the right to choose our own destiny, essentially to paint whatever we want on our canvases of life. Our parents, teachers and friends have taught us all the techniques we need to embrace a bright and beautiful future, and now with this diploma, we stand alone with a paintbrush, palette and a world waiting our arrival. The question now is how do you go from where you are to where you want to be? I don't think there is a universal answer to this question, but I do think that you'll find an answer for yourself once you understand that even though life may appear to be the highest mountain, you can walk over it taking one step at a time. As a painter, you get to determine what kind of day you are going to have, ...

Roaring Camp Essay -- essays research papers

The Regeneration of Roaring Camp "And so the work of regeneration began is Roaring Camp"(9). The regeneration referred to takes place in a California mining camp in 1850 after the birth of Tommy Luck, son of Cherokee Sal, the camp’s prostitute, who died giving birth. Sometimes one doesn’t realize how much he needs to change until he gets a subtle push from fate. Just a little addition to the world can cause a regeneration of a lifetime. Bret Harte demonstrates this idea in the story "The Luck of Roaring Camp." In this story, Bret Harte shows that even the roughest men can regenerate into kind, gentle, wholesome people, with the love of a child. "The term "roughs" applied to them was a distinction rather than a definition(3). The men of Roaring Camp live the way they please. They have no rules or regulations, nobody to impress, and nobody to tell them what to do or how to act. "The assemblage numbered about one hundred men. One or two of these were actual fugitives from justice, some were criminal, and all were reckless"(2). The men of Roaring Camp were unruly and all it takes is the love of an infant to change the rude into responsible. Roaring Camp will go through a regeneration of a lifetime. All of the men at the mining camp will strive to make Roaring Camp a suitable place for a baby to live. The very first signs that the men are in the process of change...

Prompt: with Growing Age, One’s Loses Essay

We live in a world of war and violence, where every second news item is tragic and disturbing. As children growing up, we are protected from the horror of the real world; shielded by our parents who nurture us with infinite care and love, taking care to ensure that we are safe from the awfulness and pain of the real world we find ourselves in. In an attempt to preserve our innocence as children, our parents throw upon us a veil that conceals us from the horrific truth of the adult world. However, this veil isn’t completely shielding, and slowly, one by one, the truth of the real world is revealed to us. Our childish innocence diminishes until eventually not a single drop is left; the warm sympathy in our hearts is sucked out, replaced by a cold insensitivity to everything that we see. Our reality becomes deformed, twisted into a world of detachment. The first day of prep is a big day in each of our lives; it is the day we first become exposed to the problems of the outside world, beyond the shelter of the veil placed upon us by our parents. We begin to see throughout our schooling career, what our parents had tried so hard to protect us from. As we progress through school, the harsh realities of the real world become apparent to us, yet our innocence as children withholds till the day we see ourselves peering at the end of our schooling career. Up until the last day of year twelve, we are exposed to many of the harsh realities of the world, but we do not encounter fully the pitilessness of the world that we live in; and hence, our innocence and compassion towards others stays with us throughout school. The last day of year twelve is a day of great joy and happiness for all of us; it is the day we think we are leaving behind all the harsh experiences of our schooling careers and diving head first into a friendly, easy-going world. However, this last day of school fizzles out for the rest of our lives; the world we are heading into as we leave school is not the friendly, easy-going world that we had anticipated in our minds during high school. The joy of leaving school is short felt, and disappears within a moment’s time of entering the workforce or university. The adversity of life outside of the nurture and care of our parents’ veil of protection becomes a sudden realization that takes many people by surprise and forces them to harden their hearts. Cold insensitivity seeps into each person, slowly devouring the warmth and compassion within their hearts; eventually leaving behind individuals who see in their reality, the world as a harsh and unforgiving place, deserving no sympathy or compassion. The childish innocence that our parents strived to preserve has been lost, and the joy of the last day of school, long forgotten. Soon we lay on our deathbeds, having become veterans to the true horrors of the world that we were born into. Our cold insensitivity to the harsh reality of the world we live in has completely replaced the innocence and compassion we once had in our hearts as children. The joys of our childhood, when we had a veil placed over us by our parents, are no longer present in our memories. Our reality has been altered so dramatically over the course of our lives that the reality we had as children no longer seems identifiable to us. We die peacefully, but having experienced everything but peace in our adult lives.

After the Ratification of the Declaration of Independence Essay

After the ratification of the Declaration of Independence, establishing the â€Å"united colonies† as Free and Independent States, the Continental Congress set to work on the task of drawing up a document that would provide a legal framework for that Union, and which would be enforceable as the law of the new land. The Articles were written during the early part of the American Revolution by a committee of the Second Continental Congress of the now independent thirteen sovereign states. The head of the committee, John Dickinson, who had refused to sign he Declaration of Independence, nevertheless adhering to the will of the majority of the members of the Continental Congress, presented a report on the proposed articles to the Congress on July 12, 1776, eight days after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Dickinson initially proposed a strong central government, with control over the western lands, equal representation for the states, and the power to levy taxes. Because of their experience with Great Britain, the 13 states feared a powerful central government. Consequently, they changed Dickinson’s proposed articles rastically before they sent them to all the states for ratification in November 1777. The Continental Congress had been careful to give the states as much independence as possible. The Articles deliberately established a confederation of sovereign states, carefully specifying the limited functions of the federal government. Despite these precautions, several years passed before all the states ratified the articles. The delay resulted from preoccupation with the revolution and from disagreements among the states. These disagreements included quarrels over boundary lines, conflicting ecisions by state courts, differing tariff laws, and trade restrictions between states. The small states wanted equal representation with the large states in Congress, and the large states were afraid they would have to pay an excessive amount of money to support the federal government. In addition, the states disagreed over control of the western territories. The states with no frontier borders wanted the government to control the sale of these territories so that all the states profited. On the other hand, the states bordering the frontier wanted to control as much land as they could. Eventually the states agreed to give control of all western lands to the federal government, paving the way for final ratification of the articles on March 1, 1781, Just seven and a half months before the surrender of Lord Cornwallis and his British Army at Yorktown, October 19, 1781, the victory ended fighting in the War of Independence and virtually assured success to the American cause. Almost the entire war for five long years had been prosecuted by the members of the Second Continental Congress as representatives of a loose federation of states with no resources and reputations. Under the Articles, on paper, the Congress had power to regulate foreign affairs, war, and the postal service and to appoint military officers, control Indian affairs, borrow money, determine the value of coin, and issue bills of credit. In reality, however, the Articles gave the Congress no power to enforce its requests to the states for money or troops, and by the end of 1786 governmental effectiveness had broken down. Nevertheless, some solid accomplishments had been achieved: certain state claims to western lands were settled, and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established the undamental pattern of evolving government in the territories north of the Ohio River. Equally important, the Confederation provided the new nation with instructive experience in self-government under a written document. In revealing their own weaknesses, the Articles paved the way for the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the present form of U. S. government. The Articles were in force from March 1, 1781, to March 4, 1789, when the present Constitution of the United States went into effect. During those years the 13 states were struggling to achieve their independent status, and the Articles of Confederation stood them in good stead in the process and exercise of learning self- government. The articles created a loose confederation of independent states that gave limited powers to a central government. The national government would consist of a single house of Congress, where each state would have one vote. Congress had the power to set up a postal department, to estimate the costs of the government and request donations from the states, to raise armed forces, and to control the development of the western territories. With the consent of nine of the thirteen states, Congress ould also coin, borrow, or appropriate money as well as declare war and enter into treaties and alliances with foreign nations. There was no independent executive and no veto of legislation. Judicial proceedings in each state were to be honored by all other states. The federal government had no judicial branch, and the only Judicial authority Congress had was the power to arbitrate disputes between states. Congress was denied the power to levy taxes; the new federal government was financed by donations from the states based on the value of each state’s lands. Any amendment to the articles required the unanimous approval of all 13 states. In attempting to limit the power of the central government, the Second Continental Congress created one without sufficient power to govern effectively, which led to serious national and international problems. The greatest weakness of the federal government under the Articles of Confederation was its inability to regulate trade and levy taxes. Sometimes the states refused to give the government the money it interstate commerce. The government could not pay off the debts it had incurred uring the revolution, including paying soldiers who had fought in the war and citizens who had provided supplies to the cause. Congress could not pass needed measures because they lacked the nine-state majority required to become laws. The states largely ignored Congress, which was powerless to enforce cooperation, and it was therefore unable to carry out its duties. After the Colonial victory in the Revolutionary War, it became obvious to the Founding Fathers that the original attempt would not be equal to the task of providing the equitable law which they sought. Congress could not force the states to adhere to the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1783 ending the American Revolution, which was humiliating to the new government, especially when some states started their own negotiations with foreign countries. In addition, the new nation was unable to defend its borders from British and Spanish encroachment because it could not pay for an army when the states would not contribute the necessary funds. Leaders like Alexander Hamilton of New York and James Madison of Virginia criticized the limits placed on the central government, and General George Washington is said o have complained that the federation was â€Å"little more than a shadow without substance. On February 21, 1787, Congress called for a Constitutional Convention to be held in May to revise the articles. Between May and September, the convention wrote the present Constitution for the United States, which retained some of the features of the Articles of Confederation but gave considerably more power to the federal government. The new Constitution provided for executive and Judicial branches of government, lacking in the Articles, and allowed the government to tax its citizens.