John Dewey Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

John Dewey - Term Paper Example In the said era, the government enacted first educational law by Massachusetts General Court requiring the parents that their children must able to understand the religion and laws by reading and writing. Following the premier rule, many other consequent policies were endorsed by general court with cooperation and support of federal government. After the permissive era, the next era has been nominated as Encouraging Era (1826-1851). During this era, the educational sector in United States was enough furnished and flourished through educational friendly policies and law enforcement. The education was at its growing phases during these years. It is because people in the government had begun realizing that education is the key that may lead the nation above skies. However people were not forced to must send their children to public schools but the provision of understanding the laws and religion was still persisted. Education was made compulsory in all states of United States in 1855. F rom 1855 to 1980, parents were compelled by the government to send their children to schools. In case of violation of the order, they were charged penalties. In encouraging era, people were motivated by making them aware with the prime significance of education in the development of any nation. During that era, the volunteers and persuaded people blissfully sent their charges to educational institutions while some of those were still overlooking. To compensate the ignorance committed by citizens, government made it compulsory for every child (Kauchak and Eggen, 08, 12, 21). After 1980 to date, the educational era is committed as freedom and choice of school era. People were enough matured and full blown that they were not needed to force any more. The policy approach by historical timeline in perspective of United States of America suggests that government adopted the most suitable strategy for its nation in order to enforce a powerful and well established educational system. It rem ained pretty successful such that literacy rate in United States is reported as 99% (males as well as females) (U.S. Dept. of Education). Philosophical Perspectives of American Education In generalized philosophy, it is comprised of four broader categories which are further applied to other applications. Such as here we are required to apply philosophical concepts over US educational system. The four branches are Epistemology, Metaphysics, Axiology and logic. Every one of these is relative to describe the real phenomenon behind the scene. The purposes of education overlap in different scenarios. Such as if we critically examine the historical perspective of purpose of education, it can be clearly elucidated that educational basis has a strong philosophy behind it. In the same connotation, being most precise, the logic behind education is development and awareness. The twofold rationale behind introducing the education explains the purposes with respect to society and purpose with re spect to culture. The goals of a person’s life may be better achieved with the help of education. It polishes the human mind by putting immunity for critical thinking and decision making in it (King). Not only it gives bookish knowledge only but also it offers a strong sense of socialization, judgment and finding of reality. It has a defined way for every individual through a particular age in order to get an equivalent chance for development and augmentation.

Library Management System Essay Example for Free

Library Management System Essay In today’s modern age where computer has become a way of life, it is evident that a majority of country’s institution still do not adapt high technology. Particularly in some schools, library transactions are still done on paper. We all know that modern school libraries are operating at great pace striving to serve as many students as possible with the best of their abilities. But as the years rolled by, the number of study has grown and the manual method of managing student and book records is no longer practical. A Library Management System is a system that makes use of information technology to perform managerial objects. The main goal of a library management information system is to store, organize, share and retrieve vital information needed to perform daily operational functions of the library. St. Matthew Academy of Cavite does not have one. Since library has a very large number of books and large number of members, it is impossible for librarians to handle day to day activities manually. Therefore, a library management system is used to facilitate the tasks in the library. With growing population and high demand of students, St. Matthew Academy of Cavite is in need of such system. And so this is the reason why the proponents came up with the idea of developing the system. By means of obtaining good performance of such system for the library, the level of production and effectiveness of the library will progress. Therefore, this proposal was conducted to develop a system that will minimize all paper works and manual records keeping, thus allowing the librarians and staff ease in keeping track of student records, reducing waiting time and increasing the number of students served – a system that is well-organized, efficient and user-friendly. Statement of the Problem. We had observed that the St. Matthew Academy of Cavite Library does not have a secured system to protect their records and files. The study aims to answer the problem, â€Å"How will the proposed system assure security for the files and records of the library? † Some library cards and other files are misplaced or lost due to improper storage. The study seeks answer to the problem, â€Å"How will the proposed system keep track and record all the files and information? † According to the librarian, paper works and manual process consume a lot of time which causes the transactions to be slow and inaccurate. †How will the proposed system produce accurate and fast transactions? † Importance of the Study St. Matthew Academy of Cavite is located in Niog 1, Bacoor Cavite that offers elementary and high school courses owned by Mr Efren L. de Guzman(School director). In the School library, the processes are done manually. A borrower should have a library card; this will serve as library pass/identification to avail the privileges to each student of the school. The student may enter the book section and search for a book. After choosing a book, he/she will take it to the librarian. The librarian will get the catalogue at the back of the book and fill the details on it. The student must surrender his/her library card. Today, the kind of process they are using is no longer convenient. With establishments like St. Matthew Academy of Cavite, Library Management System is necessary. We are already in the phase wherein a lot of technological advances are taking place which makes the proposal very suitable. Through the implementation of the said system, better results and improvements will take place and it will mainly contribute to the progress of the establishment. The users are the people for whom the system is being built for. Therefore, the Library management system will help satisfy the requirements of the user. Especially now that we are in the modern age where technology has become part of our lives, the system is very appropriate to fulfill the ever-changing needs of users. The researchers are the one responsible for meeting the user requirements. The study certainly adds knowledge and improves the researchers’ skill in developing a functional system that would satisfy their clients. The study unleashes their ability to investigate and come up with a system that makes them more effective and productive researchers. For the future researchers, the Library management system works for small library establishment only. Thus, if the future researchers will find the system appealing, they can come up with new ideas and enhance the system for a more useful and efficient system which can be used for larger libraries. Objectives of the Study In general, the study aims to provide a better system for the SMAC library that would help the librarians to make their work easier. The system is created to replace the manual lending, returning of books. Specifically it aims: 1. To plan for a system that will lessen all paper works and manual procedures to make transactions fast, accurate and accessible. 2. To analyze the function and performance of the library management system, understand the user’s need for the system. 3. To design a user-friendly system that is secured and protected that will help the users understand the functions and flow of the system. 4. To implement a system that will help librarians to keep all the records and transaction manageable. Time and Place of Study The proposed study was conducted at St. Matthew Academy of Cavite, located at Niog 1, Bacoor, Cavite, in the year 2012. Scope and Limitation In general, the focus of the study is to provide a better system for the SMAC library. The implementation of the Library management system will provide solutions for the existing problems within the library. The Library management system is intended to manage the transactions going throughout the library. It will enable the user to operate all the records that are entered to the system. The system maintains the record of the books in the library, borrowing and returning process of the books in the library. It includes the information of books such as title of the book, name of author, the date it was published. The end user of the system is the librarian or the one in charge of the library, which take care of the transactions inside the library. Developments and effectiveness are to be established in this proposal. However, every study has its own limitation. The limitations of the system are the following: Module of Books The user is capable of adding, editing, and searching of book information. The members can search for book title, author or subject by keywords through the OPAC(Public user interface). The OPAC only displays result of the searched book. The members are not capable of editing any records. The user is not capable of deleting records because this is an inventory. Module of Members The user is capable of adding new members, editing, searching and updating member’s information. The user is not capable of deleting members in the database. Module of Borrowed Books This module includes data of books which are issued or borrowed. The user is capable of adding records about issuance of books. Module of Returned Books This module includes data of books which are returned. The user is capable of adding of records. Module of Unreturned books This module includes the record of all unreturned books. Module of Penalty This module includes data of fine on members for late return of books, damage of books or lost books. It does not include printing of receipt. Module of Transaction This Module includes the transactions of borrowing and returning of books, and maintaining records of the book details, member info, date borrowed, due date, the date returned and penalty, if any. Definition of Terms Visual Basic – a programming language created with the main purpose of teaching programmers and developers how to design and develop GUI. Database- a collection of data (information) on a specific topic stored in an organized manner. Record- all of the information listed for one particular item (person, place or thing) in the database file. Search/Find –an operation to locate a specific record(s) that satisfies a statement or statements of criteria. OPAC (Public Interface of User) or simply Library Catalog is a database of materials held by a library or group of libraries. Users search a library catalogprincipally to locate books and other material physically located at a library. Circulation- or library lending comprises the activities around the lending of library books and other material to users of a lending library. A circulation or lending department is one of the key departments of a library. Filipiniana- repository of materials regarding the Philippines either published within or outside the country, authored by a Filipino or foreign writers as long as it is about the Philippines. This section includes books in the different fields of endeavor. Reference – various books that are sources of information about different subjects. They include dictionaries, encyclopedias, manual, and other informational books. Most books in the Reference Section may not be taken out so that they are always available to those who need them. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Information System It has been a computer era. The computer revolution is greatly affecting the way human’s life. The task of the storage and retrieval for vest amount of information has been taken over almost entirely by computer system. The computer has made it possible to automate much of the information interchange and processing that constitute the nervous system of the society. The computer system that provides the automation is commonly called information system. It will be responsible for computer technology for long term impact on society especially in science like in the field of health and medicine, chemistry, mineral exploration, millitary tactics, finance, education, media and communications, economics, sports, transportation, photography and other related areas. The information storage and retrieval is an active area of computer to help related work both for hardware device and software system as it was stated, information storage and retrieval involves more than hardware devices and storage media alone. To make the physical equipment readily, usable it is necessary to operation associated with it are to add information and others. While many people are excited about all these uses of computer, many others are concerned about the problems like work displacement, invasion, privacy, and the personalization in business operatation. The advantages of a new technologyb are often obvious but the problemas that may arise are much more difficult to access. (Davis, 2005) Use Case Diagram A use case is a methodology used on system analysis to identify, clarify, and organize system requirements. The use case is made up of a set of possible sequences of interactions between systems and users in a particular environment and related to a particular goal. It consists of a group of elements that can be used together in a way that will have an effect larger than the sum of the separate elements combined should contain all system aactivities that have significance to the users. A use case can be thought of as a collection of possible scenarios related to a particular goal, indeed the use case and goal are sometimes considered to be synonymous. (Antoinette Michaella, 1999) Class Diagram A class diagram is an illustration of the relationships and source code dependencies among classes in the unified modeling language (UML). In this context, a class defines the methods and variables in an object which is a specific entity in a program or the unit of code representing that entity. Class diagrams are useful in all forms of object oriented programming (OOP). The concept is several years old but has been refined as OOP modeling pardigms have evolved. The classes are arranged in groups that share comon characteristics. A class diagram resembles a flowchart in which classes are portrayed in boxes. Each box having three rectangles inside. The top rectangle contains the name of the class; the middle rectangle contains the attributes of the class; the lower rectangle contains the methods, also called operations, of the class lines, which may have arrows at one or both ends, connect the boxes. These lines define the relationship, also called association, between the classes. (Francis Michael, 2001) Related Studies on the Proposed Study Saint Vincent High School Library System The objective of Saint Vincent High School Library System is to impelement a system to facilitate the borrowing of books in the school. The Library contributes to the quality of services offered in the academic community, making it an excellent place for study and research. The Library is responsive units that have adapted and changed substantially over the years. (Pomperada, 2011) El Segundo Unified School District Library System The School Libraries of the El Segundo Unified School District are deeply involved with the El Segundo Public Library. The Public Library shares the Automated Circulation and on-line Public Access Catalog System with the School Libraries. The School Libraries serve as branches of the El Segundo Public Library. This collaboration means the El Segundo Public Library Card is used at the School Libraries. Anyone visiting the Public Library and using the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) can locate and request any book in any of the libraries. Using the Interlibrary loan system, books are shared between the school libraries and the Public Library. Books can also be pooled together to assist a teacher with a research assignment. UCV Library System The University of Cagayan Valley Library System is an important part of UCV instructions. These are the heart and brain centers of the University, and special place to do research and thorough study. The libraries provide each college with intellectual, up to date high tech resources to support its educational programs. (Del Rosario, 2008) Table 1 shows the comparison of local studies features with the features of the proposed system. |FEATURES |SVHS |ESUSD |UCV |SMAC | |Checking of penalties | | | | | |Viewing of records | | | | | |Updating of Records | | | | | |Adding of Members | | | | | |OPAC | | | | | Table 2. Comparison of Local Studies features with the Proposed Study Legend: SVHS- Saint Vincent High School ESUSD – El Segundo Unified School District UCV University of Cagayan Valley METHODOLOGY The Model chosen for the study is Waterfall Model. The following are the verification phases: Figure 1. Waterfall Model The Planning Phase, the researchers determine the nature and scope of the development. In this phase, the researcher gathered all the information about their process. The procedure was conducted by interviewing the librarian to learn the process of borrowing books from the library. The librarian provided sufficient and useful information on how the manual borrowing of books in the library is conducted. The system’s physical interface, data purpose, etc. , was reviewed by the researchers. The Analysis Phase, the researchers analyzed the user’s needs for the system. In this phase, the system shall be defined in more detail with regard to system inputs, processes, outputs and interfaces. The system shall be described in terms of the functions to be performed. The document for system testing was prepared in this phase. The Design Phase, describes how the proposed system will be built. It defines the specifications, plans, parameters, activities, processes. The researchers designed a well-structured GUI to make it appropriate for the users. It must be user-friendly and secured. The Testing Phase, a particular process or method for trying or assessing. The system needs to be evaluated and tested before it will be used in SMAC Library. A sequence of test was held by the proponents to emphasize all possible problems that may occur. The Implementation Phase, the carrying out, execution or practice of a design. It encompasses all the processes involved in getting new software or hardware operating properly in its environment, including installation, configuration and running, testing and making neccesary changes. The Maintenance Phase, the last phase of the system wherein all areas of operations and maintenace are performed. The system is being used and monitored to ensure that it meets the needs initially stated in the planning phase. Design Maintenance Implementation Testing Analysis Planning.

Shikata Ganai - It Cant Be Helped :: Free Essay Writer

Shikata Ganai - It Cant Be Helped Welcome to August 6, 1945. In a final attempt to end World War II, the United States of America drops the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, a major industrial and military center. Temperatures are more sweltering than the surface of the sun. Light is resplendent. Air is thick and heavy with an enveloping radiation. John Hershey informs us of the experiences of six people that survived the planets’ first nuclear explosion in Hiroshima. Hiroshima begins by characterizing the situations of the six individuals just before and at the moment of the explosion that changed history. The book first introduces Miss Toshiko Sasaki, a personnel clerk in the East Asia Tin works, who had just turned to chat with her friend during a rest from work. Next, Dr. Masakazu Fujii, a doctor at a private hospital, was introduced as relaxing on his clinic’s porch and reading the daily newspaper, a stone’s throw away from a calm river. At the same time, Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura was watching her next door neighbor, who was making way for a larger fire escape route, through her kitchen window. Fr. Wilhelm Kleinsorge, a German priest, was lying on a couch in his room reading a magazine, corresponding with the actions of Dr. Terufumi Sasaki, a surgeon who was walking down a hospital corridor carrying blood specimens. Finally, Rev. Mr. Kiyoshi Tanimoto, the pastor of the Hiroshima Methodist Church, was in the process of tiredly m oving the belongings of his house of worship. Unbeknownst to these innocent civilians as they were carrying out their daily tasks, a plane called the Enola Gay silently passed unnoticed overhead and quietly dropped the world’s deadliest bomb that altered the future. A noiseless flash of light was the only warning they received, a split-second which gave them just enough time to turn their heads. The bomb detonated at ground zero, and in seconds, hell unlike any other kind unraveled. Miss Sasaki was knocked unconscious when her bookcase, due to the impact of the blast, trampled her to the ground. She lay trapped, as the bookcase had fallen on and crushed her leg, leaving her crippled. In the years to follow, she learns to overcome this disability and enters a house of Catholic nuns. She spends a great deal of her life aiding orphaned children.

How Can A Students Cultural Knowledge and School Knowledge be Contextualized Within the Classroom? :: Teaching Education

How Can A Student's Cultural Knowledge and School Knowledge be Contextualized Within the Classroom? Anne, a 15 year old Vietnamese American student stared out the window while the teacher droned on in the background. Her thoughts centered on lunch and her friends, and family. On a deeper level, her thoughts were about friendship, loyalty, kinship, and how children gain status and acceptance in the social structure of the school. Anne's attention was brought back into the classroom when the teacher announced that "this information will be on the test". Mechanically, Anne began to write as the teacher dictated notes. When the teacher had finished dictating the notes, Anne's thoughts wandered back to her own concerns. This true story is about me as a young girl trying to identify with the experiences of school knowledge and real life knowledge. Most of us as students have been in my shoes can readily identify the occasional moments of boredom and daydreaming in an otherwise interesting and engaging school experience, and in other occasions, this is the main reality of the classroom life. Traditionally, the educational community has tended to view culturally diverse students as coming from a deficit model, that somehow these students lacked the right stuff, the educational experiences for success in school. Rarely have schools and educational institutions viewed culturally diverse students as being culture rich and not at risk. When children are not allowed to incorporate their prior knowledge with new experiences provided in the classroom, learning is slowed and the child constructs a disjointed view of the world. This paper explores the multicultural and diversified world of the students and juxtaposes it along the knowledge the students are encountering in the classroom. It explores knowledge in respects to the traditional notions of commonsense knowledge of school, and knowledge that centers on the interests and aims of the learner. Multicultural learning needs to build on student's regenerative (prior knowledge) along with their reified (school knowledge)knowledges, the knowledge must be in relation to the student's home and community, the information must be personally familiar to the child, the understanding must come through a connection with culturally familiar stories and materials, knowledge needs to create a meaningful linkage to give children control over their learning, and multicultural knowledge needs to address the histories and experiences of people who have been left out of the curriculum (Dewey, 125). What I experienced as a little girl was a conflict between two different kinds of knowledge, which R.B Everhart has distinguished as reified and regenerative knowledge. Regenerative knowledge "is created, maintained, and recreated through the continuous interaction of people in a community How Can A Student's Cultural Knowledge and School Knowledge be Contextualized Within the Classroom? :: Teaching Education How Can A Student's Cultural Knowledge and School Knowledge be Contextualized Within the Classroom? Anne, a 15 year old Vietnamese American student stared out the window while the teacher droned on in the background. Her thoughts centered on lunch and her friends, and family. On a deeper level, her thoughts were about friendship, loyalty, kinship, and how children gain status and acceptance in the social structure of the school. Anne's attention was brought back into the classroom when the teacher announced that "this information will be on the test". Mechanically, Anne began to write as the teacher dictated notes. When the teacher had finished dictating the notes, Anne's thoughts wandered back to her own concerns. This true story is about me as a young girl trying to identify with the experiences of school knowledge and real life knowledge. Most of us as students have been in my shoes can readily identify the occasional moments of boredom and daydreaming in an otherwise interesting and engaging school experience, and in other occasions, this is the main reality of the classroom life. Traditionally, the educational community has tended to view culturally diverse students as coming from a deficit model, that somehow these students lacked the right stuff, the educational experiences for success in school. Rarely have schools and educational institutions viewed culturally diverse students as being culture rich and not at risk. When children are not allowed to incorporate their prior knowledge with new experiences provided in the classroom, learning is slowed and the child constructs a disjointed view of the world. This paper explores the multicultural and diversified world of the students and juxtaposes it along the knowledge the students are encountering in the classroom. It explores knowledge in respects to the traditional notions of commonsense knowledge of school, and knowledge that centers on the interests and aims of the learner. Multicultural learning needs to build on student's regenerative (prior knowledge) along with their reified (school knowledge)knowledges, the knowledge must be in relation to the student's home and community, the information must be personally familiar to the child, the understanding must come through a connection with culturally familiar stories and materials, knowledge needs to create a meaningful linkage to give children control over their learning, and multicultural knowledge needs to address the histories and experiences of people who have been left out of the curriculum (Dewey, 125). What I experienced as a little girl was a conflict between two different kinds of knowledge, which R.B Everhart has distinguished as reified and regenerative knowledge. Regenerative knowledge "is created, maintained, and recreated through the continuous interaction of people in a community

Fire Behavior Essay

Fire has been associated with mankind for a very long time. There was probably a time when mankind had no fire, and later became acquainted with fire, derived naturally. Man then learnt to preserve fire so as to be able to use it whenever required (Ed Semmelroth, 1998). Today man has come a long way in not only being able to generate fire, but also vary its properties according to his needs and requirements. Today, man has successfully learned to harness this fire power because of his better understanding of the properties of fire. The qualities of fire are various, ignited by different factors and sustained by many factors. A fire which keeps spreading can be examined and estimated using various parameters. Generally people including fire fighters have less understanding on the spread of fire and concentrate only the closest fire front or that which look dangerous. However fire can be more effectively tackled when the science behind it is better understood. The attributes of a fire like the direction of spread, its strength etc. are determined by fire behavior. There are several types of fire based on their strength and spread. For instance, firestorms are high strength or high intensity fires, spreading rapidly. Fires of low strength and rapid spread are referred to as flashy fires while fires with low spread and low intensity are called creep fires (Marco Morais, 2001). The behavior of fires depends on several factors like fuel, weather and topography. A change in any of these factors would cause an appropriate and immediate change in the behavior of fire. The fire behavior is also affected by the interaction of these factors. Fuel is an important determinant of fire behavior and most fuels don’t change rapidly. The behavior of fire is directly related to the amount of fuel present. Lower quantities of fuel result in low strength, low spreading fires, like creep fires. Fuel in larger quantities could produce heavy fires that are most likely to get out of control. When the quantity of fuel is more, the intensity of fire is more and more heat is generated. The total quantity of fuel present in a given area is determined by fuel loading, which is the amount of fuel present in a given area that can burn under high or intense conditions. The fuel loading factor is almost constant and require a long period of time, like a year, to change. On the other hand, the available fuel is the quantity of fuel that can burn at any particular time, under the existing circumstances relevant to that point of time. The size of fuel is important in deciding its ignition time. Smaller fuel can be ignited more rapidly than larger fuels. This is because the time required to heat and ignite fuel is directly proportional to the ratio of surface area to volume. The presence of small sized fuels is also essential for the spread of fire and constitute the fuel bed; and help in igniting larger fuels. The burnout periods of the fuel are determined by their diameter. Fuels with a diameter of less than 0. 25 inches are classified as one hour fuel while fuels with a diameter of 1 to 3 inches are referred to as 100 hour fuel. Dry leaves, twigs and sticks are examples of small fuels while logs and big stumps are large fuels (PFMT). The behavior of fire is also influenced by the arrangement of fuels. Fuels that are more loosely arranged would quickly ignite and burn more rapidly than compactly arranged fuels, due to the availability of oxygen. There are several fuel models which are based on the main cause of fire propagation, like grass, shrub, litter, logging slash etc. The fire behavior can be easily assessed when a single fuel model corresponds to a particular area. By observing the fires and analyzing their behavior, it is possible to assign a fuel model based on its characteristics (NIFC, 2006). Each model has distinct qualities and sometimes the fire may be attributed to the interaction of several models. The behavior of fire is also dependent on the amount of moisture content in the fuel. Combustion is slow in moist fuels as the heat is utilized in converting moisture to steam. The fuel can reach ignition temperature and undergo combustion only when the entire moisture is removed. The behavior of fire is also dependent on the shape of the fuels present. Fuels having a flat shape have a higher surface-volume ratio and therefore burn more rapidly. Weather is another important factor of behavior determination. Winds of high speed, low humidity and absence of rains contribute to the acceleration of fire. High temperature and hot air can reduce the moisture content present in the fuel, contributing to the intensity and spread of fire. Wind is a source of oxygen required for fire sustenance and winds of higher speed provide more oxygen and thus more intensity fire. It should be noted here that when the wind speed is doubled, the rate of fire spread is quadrupled. Winds can also carry with them small burning fuels which can start fresh fires on their own. During periods of drought, the shrubs and grass are dry and serve as an ideal fuel for fire. Under such intense dry conditions, even logs and greener leaves get dried quickly and become inflammable. Therefore, rains have a dampening effect on the fuels and suppress fires. (Australian Bureau of Metrology, 2008) The weather changes are rapid, changing even on an hourly basis, causing appropriate change in fire behavior. Topography or the nature of the earth’s surface is an important determinant of fire behavior. The characteristics of a region are unique and is the resultant of existing natural and man made features. The topography of a given region doesn’t change much. In the mountainous regions, topographic factors contributing to fire behavior are crucial while most of these factors are not relevant to fire behavior in the coastal plains. These factors include slope, aspect and barriers. Fire is spread more rapidly up slope than down slope as fuels are preheated by the approaching flames which are closer to them on the uphill side than the downhill side. Hot air from fire move upward drying up fuels which facilitate ignition and burning. Fire spread is doubled when a given slope is raise by 10% (Tropical Savannas CRC, 2008). The direction of the slope favorable for fire is indicated by the aspect factor, which determines the amount of solar radiation received by the slope face. South to southwest facing slopes receive more solar radiation than slopes that face the northern direction. These slopes which receive more radiation would have less humidity and moisture, be drier and burn easily. The barriers to fire in a topography are the presence of roads, lakes, wet swamps etc. Such barriers prevent or retard the advance of fire. Complex terrain can result in fire behavior being very erratic. REFERENCES Marco Morais. What is fire behavior? (2001) [Electronic Version]. Downloaded on 28th May 2008 from http://www. physics. ucsb. edu/~complex/research/hfire/fbehave Private Forest Management Team Fuel’s effect on fire behavior [Electronic Version]. Downloaded on 28th May 2008 from http://www. pfmt. org/fire/fuels_effect. htm Tropical Savannas CRC (2008) Topography [Electronic Version]. Downloaded on 28th May 2008 from http://learnline. cdu.edu. au/wip/fire2/fundamentals/topography. html Australian Bureau of Metrology (2008) Weather and fire Topography [Electronic Version]. Downloaded on 28th May 2008 from http://www. bom. gov. au/inside/services_policy/fire_ag/bushfire/wandfire. htm National Interagency Fire Center (2006) NWCG Fireline Handbook [Electronic Version]. Downloaded on 28th May 2008 from http://www. nwcg. gov/pms/pubs/410-2/appendixB. pdf Ed Semmelroth (1998) A brief history of fire and its uses [Electronic Version]. Downloaded on 28th May 2008 from http://hearth. com/what/historyfire. html

Bullfrog Essay Essays

Bullfrog Essay Essays Bullfrog Essay Essay Bullfrog Essay Essay Rana Catesbeiana (Bullfrog) Essay I was amazed to find out just how ancient frogs are. For 190 million years, the ancestors of modern frogs have roamed the earth, looking much the same as they do today. This means that at one time when there was a huge dinosaur eating a plant, there could have been some type of frog down by its feet. About 3,800 species of frogs and toads have developed since the dinosaur days. The secret to their success is their amazing adaptability. Frogs have evolved to live in a large variety of climates. They can be found just about anywhere there is fresh water- on all continents except Antarctica. Though they thrive in warm, moist tropical climates, frogs also live in deserts and high on 15,000-foot mountain slopes. They can be so adaptable because they are cold blooded, which means that their body temperature can change along with the temperature around them. When temperatures drop, some frogs dig burrows underground or in the mud at the bottom of ponds. They hibernate in these burrows until spring, perfectly still and scarcely breathing. A frog’s skin also plays a big role in their survival. It is through their skin that they both drink and breathe. Frogs dont swallow water; they get all the moisture they need through their skin, which must stay moist. If it dries out, oxygen cant pass easily through it and the frog can suffocate. Frog skin secretes mucus that helps keep it moist. Even so, their skin tends to dry out easily, which is why they usually stay near bodies of water. About once a week, frogs shed their skin. The process begins with the frog doing a lot of twisting, bending, and stretching to loosen the old skin. Then the frog pulls the skin over its head like a sweater and usually eats it. Two other parts of the frog have helped it to survive all these years as well. First, the hind legs of the frog, which enable some frogs to jump twenty times their body length. This would allow them to quickly get away from any predators. A frogs two front legs have four toes each, while the back legs have five toes each. Most aquatic frogs have webbed back feet to help them swim, another way to get away from an enemy. Frogs that live on land tend to have shorter legs for walking and climbing, but are still able to swim in water. The other part of the body that help them survive so long are their big, bulging eyes, as they are able to see in all directions. Frogs large eyes see a wide range of colors and also see well in dim light. This not only increases their chances of surviving a predator, but also decreases the ability of their prey to get away. Since they have such big eyes, they are able to see their own prey and target them for food. It has been found that when a frog sticks out its tongue to catch an insect or other food source, it briefly closes its eyes. The frog must therefore, know exactly where its target is, and aim, before the tongue leaves the mouth. The positioning of the eyes, on top of the head, allows a frog to sit in the water with only its eyes and nose above the surface, so they do not have to leave the water for food. Frogs eat almost any live prey they can find, including insects, snails, spiders, and worms, or small fish. Their tongue is long and sticky and takes less than a second to roll out, stick to prey, and roll back into the frogs mouth. Their mating call is sometimes called an advertisement call. It is made by the male in the water and which helps the females to identify with her species. Each species has a different type of mating call. This is difficult to decipher around a pond of noisy frogs. When they mate, the male frog climbs onto females back, grasping her with his front legs. As the female lays her eggs, usually into water the male release sperm that fertilizes them. There may be anywhere from one to hundreds or thousands of soft, jelly-covered eggs. The eggs hatch within three to twenty five days, and few will survive the difficult trip to adulthood. Among most frogs, a tadpole will hatch and spend the next few years growing into a frog. The changes begin when the hind legs sprout. Soon after, lungs develop and the front legs appear. Meanwhile, the tail gradually shrinks. Just before becoming a frog, the tadpoles gills disappear. The tiny froglet emerges from the water with just a stump of a tail, which soon disappears. The observations that I took did little justice to the complexity of Rana Catesbeiana, the bullfrog. Frogs have been living on this Earth for millions of years and have perfected their lifestyle throughout that time. The amazement of these creatures is that they can survive well in nature, but can also be house pets for children to play with and learn from. There are myths that have surrounded frogs and superstitions that have risen over the years. One that comes to mind is that if you kiss a frog, you will get a wart. Like many superstitions and legends, no one knows for sure where that one came from, but watching these little amphibians, I highly doubt that they could do any harm.

Liberilism vs Conservatism essays

Liberilism vs Conservatism essays When one thinks of liberals and conservatives it tends to be a comparison of entirely different views concerning every issue. Conservative thinking is regularly associated with the Republican Party while liberal thinking is regularly associated with the Democratic Party. Two such figures that come to mind whose views tend to put them on opposite sides of the political spectrum are presidents Herbert C. Hoover and Harry S. Truman. For example, Hoovers failure to intervene in the private sector of the economy during the infant stages of the Great Depression agrees with the conservative idea of a free market economy. In contrast, Truman continued Roosevelts liberally supported reform measures. One important factor that influences a political figures decision making is his/her morals and beliefs. Conservatives usually have great influence from traditional institutions such as church. As a child, Hoover was raised in a rural Quaker community with a strict belief in the church and the traditional family. This led to his conservative beliefs and actions. During his presidency, Hoover promised to uphold the prohibition amendment, since drinking was seen as an evil in the Quakers (Encarta). Furthermore, he promised to enforce national laws. This went about with the conservative that that authority is needed to make man resistant to evil. Hoover became a millionaire by the time he was forty with great effort. His conservatism and respect for authority earned him that position. On the other hand, liberalism preached that belief that man has a natural ability to reason out right and wrong. Truman did not introduce any major crime legislation, nor did he believe that muc h authority was needed for man to reason out right and wrong (Bernstein 93). Concerning the views on the nature of man, Truman and Hoover developed their views in their early years. Truman being a farmer at heart never let go the hardships o...