Achieving a Balanced Life in Jane Austens Sense and Sensibility Essay

Achieving a Balanced Life in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility We are often told that too much of anything can be a bad thing. Even Aristotle, one of the greatest thinkers of all time, insisted that the only path to real contentment and inner peace is "The Golden Mean" (Funk & Wagnalls 328). This life lesson is learned by two of Jane Austen's most well-known characters. Only when Elinor and Marianne Dashwood achieve a balance between Sense and Sensibility do they find true happiness in their lives. The dichotomy between "sense" and "sensibility" is one of the lenses through which Austen's Sense and Sensibility is most commonly analyzed. This distinction is most clearly symbolized by the psychological contrast between the novel's two main characters. Elinor, the older of the two, represents qualities of "sense," such as reason, restraint, social responsibility, and a clear-headed concern for the welfare of others. In contrast, Marianne, her younger sister, represents the qualities of "sensibility," such as emotion, spontaneity, impulsiveness, and rapturous devotion. As both Elinor and Marianne suffer disappointments in love, they undergo transformations that bring each character closer to the other in behavior and personality. Elinor, the epitome of all that is proper and conventional, begins to show emotions, traits that appeared to have been hidden within her. Marianne, the over-reacting and highly emotional young lady, evolves into a more mature and dignified woman. In the final analysis we find that only when these two young women achieve a balance in their lives, can they truly enjoy a peaceful existence. In other words, the novel's success is a result not of the triumph of sense over sensibility, or sensibilit... ...rself as a mature and responsible young woman. By adapting some of each other's traits but maintaining some of their own, these women have achieved the necessary balance. Perhaps Yasmine Gooneratne says it best when she writes, "The complete human personality needs certain qualities in balanced proportion. Sense and sensibility, reason and passion, mind and heart, complement each other" (73). This is "The Golden Mean". Works Cited "Aristotle." Funk and Wagnallas New Encyclopedia. 1992. 328. Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. New York: Doherty, 1995. Gooneratane, Yasmine. Jane Austen. London: Cambridge, 1970. 73. Mansell, Darrel. The Novels of Jane Austen: An Interpretation. London: Macmillian, 1973. 66. Reinstein, P. Gila. "Moral Priorities in 'Sense and Sensibility'." Renascence 35.4 (Summer 1983): 269-83. (I found this using the MLA Database)

Meaning of supervision and my professional life Essay

Instructional Supervision Instructional supervision is a very important concept which must be understood by all educators for the sake of achieving their teaching objectives. For this case, the process of instructional supervision must be applied for the sake of delivering effective instructions to the students. Supervision of instruction for example in England began as an external inspection where some people were appointed to go around the school to observe what the students were learning and what the teachers were teaching the students. The main aim of these supervisors was to ensure that the set curriculum was being followed and the students were actually being taught. On the other hand, in United States, supervision began in 1830’s after the formation of common schools. Initially, supervision in schools was undertaken by superintendents after the formation of city school system due to increased population in major cities. Later on, the role of supervision by superintendents became impossible as the number of schools increased. The role of supervision had to be delegated to the principal to oversee that the teachers we following the curriculum in their teaching. In order to promote growth of teachers and recognizing practice of supervisors time restrain, Sergiovanni and Starratt (1998), suggested that a supervisory system be created that would contain a number of processes of supervision even summative evaluation. The system was not to involve direct formal supervision every year for every teacher. This system was to evaluate the teachers within a period of three to five years. In this kind of evaluation, the teachers were to receive a variety of evaluation during the three or five years and finally be evaluated formally only once. Professional growth evidence is required during once-a-cycle formal evaluation. The work of supervision was also attempted to be opened at international involvement by Sergiovanni and Starratt. In a school setting, the principal has the overall responsibility of supervision of the whole school. For this case, he supervises, teachers, students and all the other staff working in the school that include: librarian, gardeners, drivers, cleaners etc. The supervision role is not an easy task especially of teachers and for this case, the principal has to carry out the exercise with intelligent and diplomacy. The teachers of course knows their role and they would feel not motivate if they see they are being supervised like factory workers. This would in turn kill their morale at work and finally they would not deliver the required knowledge to the students and the end result would mean that the teaching objectives will not be achieved. The principal on the other hand has a responsibility of supervising the work of the students and together with their behaviors. Students tend to acquire deviant behaviors from other students like smoking and unless this behavior is corrected at an early stage, the student will not concentrate in his learning. In some situation, the supervision of students gets out of hand as they tend to have acquired more serious behaviors such as carrying of weapons and may be killing of their fellow students. For this case, this becomes criminal offence and is not likely to be handled the principal. Principal should be very strict when it comes to discipline for the sake of ensuring that education objectives are achieved. Since the students are in a crucial stage of adolescent stage where influence of behavior is at high level hence their behaviors should supervised keenly. According to Glickman (1990), there are a number of supervisory approaches within clinical supervision structure. He developed a supervision model that provides theoretical framework that with four supervision approaches that would be found in supervision concept. These approaches are similar in the intended end goal but they differ differs slightly in the power and control that is accorded to the teacher. The four approaches are a follow: The first supervision approach is the nondirective supervision whereby the teacher has the freedom of formulating his own plan on the future development. In such a situation, the supervisor is there to give advice to the teacher when he comes up with his own ideas on the way forward. This kind of approach indeed motivates the teaching staff members as they feel they are in control with their undertakings. For this case it should be encourage at situations where the teachers are experienced in their work and they can work with little or no supervision. (Glickman, 1990) The other supervision approach is collaborative supervision. In this approach, the teacher and the supervisor do share idea before the supervisor makes decision on whatever decision he wants to make. This approach too is a good one also as the teachers feels motivated as they are consulted before any decision can be arrived at. For this case, the teachers contribute their ideas and the supervisor weighs various options before settling on the best idea that has been contributed by the teachers. By merely brainstorming of ideas, the approach is of much help for the sake of choosing the best approach to be used. For this case, this kind of approach should be encouraged at situation where teachers involved are experienced in their work. The third supervision approach is the directive informational approach. In this situation, the supervisor formulates the supervisor plan and it is the responsibility of the teacher to decide if he is going to follow the plan. In this kind of an approach, the teachers are not motivated with it as they feel they are not consulted before a decision is being made in their work. Although some of the approach since it consumes less time before it is formulated, majority of them especially the experienced ones feels that some ideas which are better are overlooked. In this kind of approach, the teachers are given an opportunity to follow or not to follow the approach directives. However, the approach is appropriate mostly to teacher who are not experienced or the novice teachers. Lastly is the directive control approach in which the teacher formulates the supervisory plan and expects are the teacher to follow it. For this case, the teachers have no alternative on whether to have another idea. They have to follow the supervisory plan that has been formulated by their supervisor. This approach however does not motivate the teachers as they are not given an opportunity to contribute their ideas toward formulation of a supervisory plan. For this case, they have to follow the directives as formulated by their supervisor. This approach is popular where the teachers being supervised are less experiences of novice. It is also very appropriate in situations whereby there is not time to gather in a meeting and brainstorm on the way forward as far as supervisory plan is concerned. Before the supervisor can know on which approach he should use, he should consider knowledge and experience of the teachers concerned before settling on the supervisory approach plan to use. The issue of responsibility and accountability should also be looked into in order to decide on the approach to use for the sake of at least motivate the teacher in their work. Motivation is the inner drive to do something, and unless the teachers have that inner drive to deliver knowledge to their students, teaching objectives might never be achieved Glickman (1990) asserts that collaborative approach is very popular among the teachers and they really enjoy their work if used. For this case, school principal should at least ensure they use this kind of an approach when they are formulating their supervisory plan to be applied in their school. There are three supervisor responsibilities that should be considered in the supervision process. They include: ? The Supervisor to carry our observations to both the teachers and students. ? The supervisor to give guidance and support to teachers and students. ? Lastly is for the supervisor to give feedback to the teachers. According to Knoll (1987), the information that a supervisor gather after carrying out a classroom observation is very important. He is able to have an access to a wide range of skills necessary for teaching which he can in turn share it with other teachers. The main aim of carrying out a classroom observation is to collect data that is necessary for carrying out an evaluative rating which is accurate. As far as supervision is concerned, guidance and support should be the main idea of supervision in the first place. Supervision is not done just to see whether teachers are following the curriculum or not and then note that one down, no. One should continuously offer guidance and support as he supervises. For this case, the supervisors are urged to make correction on the spot while carrying out their supervision roles in order for them to achieve their objectives. In order for teachers to improve on their areas of teaching, the supervisor must ensure that he gives feedback to them on the areas he has observed that would like to be improved. There would be no need of supervision if the teachers are not given the feedback as it is this feedback that they will know what areas they need to improve in while carrying out their duties. There is very big difference between evaluation and supervision though the two terms interrelates. Evaluation is the art of making judgment about the performance of a teacher. On the other hand, supervision is mere the art of ensuring that the teachers are following the laid down rules and regulation in their work. Evaluation comes after one has carried out an observation on the teachers. Appendix Literature Review Instructional supervision improves teaching performance if it is carried out in the manner that is desired by teacher. If the collaborative supervision approach is used according to Knoll (1987) is used, the teachers will be motivated in their work and the overall performance of the school will be felt. In his book – Supervision for better instruction: Practical techniques for improving staff performance, Knoll (1987) asserts that teachers are motivated in their work of teaching when collaborative supervisory plan approach is applied in their supervision. Pfeiffer and Dunlap (1982) in their book – Supervision of teachers: A guide to improving instruction asserts that teachers need to be motivated in their work for the sake of achieving their teaching objectives. Motivation can only be achieved if the supervisors uses collaborative supervisory plan in their work. On the other hand, Rettig (2000) in his journal – Leslie’s lament: How can I make teachers’ supervision meaningful? – asserts that unless guidance and support is given to teacher, there is no need of supervision in the first place. He further states that teachers should be given a feedback after they have been successfully evaluated by their supervisor in order for them to improve in their teaching. He concludes that teachers’ supervision will be meaningful after the guidance, support and feedback is given to teachers by their supervisors. References Bourisaw, D. M. (1988): Anticipatory set bias: Effects on teacher observation in Evaluation: Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Iowa State University, Ames Glickman, C. D. (1990): Supervision of instruction: A developmental approach, 2nd Edn: Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Knoll, M. K. (1987): Supervision for better instruction: Practical techniques for Improving staff performance: Englewood Clif, NJ: Prentice Hall. Odell, S. J. (1986): Induction support of new teachers: A functional approach. Journal of Teacher Education, 37(1), 26-29 Pfeiffer, I. L. , & Dunlap, J. B. (1982): Supervision of teachers: A guide to improving instruction: Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press. Rettig, P. R. (2000): Leslie’s lament: How can I make teachers’ supervision meaningful? Educational Horizons, 79(1), 33-37. Sergiovanni, T. J. (1982): â€Å"Toward a Theory of Supervisory Practice: Integrating the Scientific, Clinical, and Artistic Views. † In Supervision of Teaching, ed. Thomas J. Sergiovanni. Alexandria, VA: Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development Sergiovanni, T. J. and Starratt, R. J. (1998): Supervision: A Redefinition, 6th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill. Shantz, D. , & Ward, T. (2000): Feedback, conservation and power in the field experience of preservice teachers. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 27 (4), 288-294.

There Is Something Disturbing About the World

Perhaps the most disturbing character of all Is the thirteen year old Bryony Tallish, a precocious girl with the habit of traumatizing and romanticizes events that occur in her own life, leading to disastrous consequences. Cecilia and the Tallish parents are also a cause for concern, the former due to her lack of direction and purpose and the latter because of their absence and failure to fulfill their roles as head of house. Finally, the house that the family reside in can be seen to reflect them and their faults.Overall, Mclean presents a family that has deep robbers, which gives rise to many concerns. With absent parents and a sister that does little other than aimlessly smoke cigarettes, Bryony Totals can be viewed as a by- product of the poisonous environment in which she has grown up in. As her mother battles with depression and her father is in a senior position at the war office, she has had to grow up largely on her own, which perhaps contributes to her tendency to dramatist and fantasies everything, as she needs to create her own worlds In order to escape from her truthful lonely reality.Perhaps what concerns us the most forever, is when she dramatists events that she sees, or in the case of the incident at the fountain, which she only sees part of. Also, she links events that happen in the adult world to experiences she has had or read about whilst growing up. Bryony dreams that the Incident will precede a ‘proposal of marriage, which she then relates to her childhood, stating that ‘She herself had written a tale in which a humble woodcutter saved a princess from drowning and ended by marrying her,' a story plausible only in a fairy tale.This Is In stark contrast with what she refers to as her entering an arena of adult emotion and dissembling from which her writing was bound to benefit,' highlighting that even in the strange events she has seen, she feels that she can still profit, which disturbs the reader as she has a sordid sense of w hat Is right and wrong, instead of showing concern for her sister she views herself as a form of gladiator as she has entered an arena, Implicit that she will be her sister's savior. Another disturbing characteristic of Bryony is her flawed idea of what is right and what is wrong, which could be due to her solitary upbringing.She feels that the OFF intrusion into his private life. Her inability to cope with events is perhaps showcased most oddly when Lola coerces her into giving her the part of Rubella and Bryony feels that ‘her only reasonable choice would be to run away, to live under hedges, eat berries and speak to no one, and be found by a bearded woodsman one winter's dawn, curled up at the base of a giant oak,' showing that she deals with what goes on in her life by making into a play and basing her actions on what heroines or people in fairy tales would have done.Overall, Briton's delusions of grandeur coupled with her incessant capability to transform any event in her own life into a work of fiction leads to one being disturbed because of her warped visions of what is real and what transcends reality. The crumbling family can perhaps be attributed to the lack of a strong patriarchal or matriarchal figure in the family. Emily Tallish battles with what she calls her ‘monster' and Jack Tallish holds a senior position in the war office, and thus this family has little unity, as Betty the maid takes the role of surrogate mother for the children, doing what Emily Tallish no longer feels that she can do.Her opening description as being ‘inert' alerts us to how useless she is in this house, and her life is described as ‘invalid nullity highlighting how little she does. However, one must appreciate the fact that she has depression, brought on from Britons birth, and thus she cannot solely be criticizes as being a lazy character, as it is not her fault, however, her lack of desire to change things is a disturbing problem, and she takes a great deal of time Just to find her ‘dark glasses. Emily movements are described as being ‘slow and ‘awkward. Overall, Mclean shows a mother utterly failing to fulfill both her role as career for her children and as leader of the house in Jack Italian's perpetual absence, owing to his busy Job, and he is even late for Loon's homecoming meal, leaving the women to run the show, a disturbing situation in the patriarchal early 20th century society. Despite her privileged background and the chances she has been given, Cecilia Tallish has failed to achieve much at all thus far in her life.She graduated from Gorton with ‘a third' showing that her opportunity for a good start has been squandered. Whilst Cecilia does attempt to do something, she often fails, as her start on a family tree was ‘half-hearted' and she even states that ‘nothing was holding her back from leaving the house, other than the thought of packing a suitcase' which ‘did not excit e her,' showing her reluctance to make any changes to her otherwise boring life.Perhaps her reading of Claries can be seen as an interpretation of her own life, as Richardson novel tells the story of a girl whose attempts at something (virtue in this case) are continually thwarted by her parents, and for Cecilia Tallish, her tempts at starting a relationship with Robbie are thwarted, first by Bryony Tallish naming and thus condemning him as the rapist of Lola Quince, and then due to World War II.However, Cecilia does also have some desire to be independent, shown through her smoking her own cigarettes, which contrasted with the early 20th century that women had to be offered and could not possibly ask or smoke their own, yet she does both of these. She also shows some desire to live independently, as she ‘had a little money in her account' and ‘offers to help her find a Job' yet she labels all f her options as ‘unpleasing. Mclean presents to the reader a flawed pai r of siblings, who have been left to cope, in essence, without parents, and whilst Bryony has the activity and direction her older sister lacks, it is utilized negatively. Overall, despite her chances that other would have craved for is disturbing. Means's setting for the novel reflects the Tallish family, serving only to reinforce and highlight their inherent flaws.From the outside, the house is described as being ‘ugly and condemned as ‘chartless to a fault' and as a tragedy of wasted chances' perhaps ere referencing Cecilia Italian's lack of motivation and direction in life, shown by her failures to achieve much since arriving home from university and this could perhaps also foreshadow the tempestuous and ill-fated love between Cecilia and Robbie.The temple is shown to be in disrepair, as the exposed laths ‘showed through like the ribs of a starving animal,' referencing how the family is falling apart and their flaws are easily visible, also shown through the bu ilding having a ‘mottled, diseased appearance. Cilia's lack of purpose is reflected in the temple which ‘had of course o religious purpose at all' and was meant to enhance the ‘pastoral ideal' meaning that it had an artificial premise, which relates to Cilia's whim of staying home through the feeling that ‘she was needed' even though she does little to look after Bryony and when she does there are selfish motives coursing through her actions, as seen when she strokes Bryony and gets comfort from it.Her other motive that she was required to help her mother is also shown to be false, as she does nothing to aid her other than putting flowers in Uncle Clime's vase, and even that is eventually broken. Means's tendency for his architecture to be flawed can be seen to display the family within the walls, a family in disrepair that is completely and utterly ‘a tragedy of wasted chances,' disturbing when considering all the opportunities the characters have been given which have been ruined by themselves or others.Overall, Mclean presents a disturbing set of characters, all in a toxic environment which serves only to exacerbate their already prominent flaws, leaving the reader disturbed as a collection of flawed individuals in an environment such as this will only lead to catastrophic consequences.

Samuel Slater and the Textile Revolution

Samuel Slater and the Textile Revolution Samuel Slater is an American inventor who was born on June 9, 1768.  He built several successful cotton mills in New England and established the town of Slatersville, Rhode Island.  His accomplishments have led many to consider him to be the Father of American Industry and the Founder of the American Industrial Revolution.   Coming to America During the United States early years,  Benjamin Franklin and the Pennsylvania Society for the Encouragement of Manufactures and Useful Arts offered cash prizes for any inventions that improved the textile industry in America. At the time, Slater was a young man living In Milford, England who heard that inventive genius was rewarded in America and decided to emigrate. At the age of 14, he had been an apprentice to Jedediah Strutt, a partner of Richard Arkwright  and  was employed in the counting-house and the textile mill, where he learned a lot about the textile business. Slater defied the British law against the emigration of textile workers in order to seek his fortune in America. He arrived in New York in 1789  and wrote to Moses Brown of Pawtucket to offer his services as a textile expert. Brown invited Slater to Pawtucket to see whether he could run the spindles that Brown had bought from the men of Providence. If thou canst do what thou sayest, wrote Brown, I invite thee to come to Rhode Island. Arriving in Pawtucket in 1790, Slater declared the machines worthless and convinced Almy and Brown that he knew the textile business enough to him a partner. Without drawings or models of any English textile machinery, he proceeded to build machines himself. On December 20, 1790, Slater had built carding, drawing, roving machines and two seventy-two spindled spinning frames. A water-wheel taken from an old mill furnished the power. Slaters new machinery worked and worked well. Spinning Mills and the Textile Revolution This was the birth of the spinning industry in the United States. The new textile mill dubbed the Old Factory was built at Pawtucket in 1793. Five years later, Slater and others built a second mill. And in 1806, after Slater was joined by his brother, he built another. Workmen came to work for Slater solely to learn about his machines and then left him to set up textile mills for themselves. Mills were built not only in New England but in other States. By 1809, there were 62 spinning mills in operation in the country, with thirty-one thousand spindles and twenty-five more mills being built or in the planning stages. Soon enough, the industry was firmly established in the United States. The yarn was sold to housewives for domestic use or  to professional weavers who made cloth for sale. This industry continued for years. Not only in New England, but also in those other parts of the country where spinning machinery had been introduced. In 1791, Slater married  Hannah Wilkinson, who would go on to invent two-ply thread and become the first American woman to receive a patent.​ ​Slater and Hannah had 10 children together, although four died during infancy. Hannah Slater died in 1812 from complications of childbirth, leaving her husband with six young children to raise. Slater would marry for a second time in 1817 to a widow named Esther Parkinson.

American Identity- Rip Van Winkle essays

American Identity- Rip Van Winkle essays Rip Van Winkle, by Washington Irving, is symbolic of the European sentiment towards the new society in America and establishes an identity before and after the American Revolution. Rip Van Winkle's character depicts the society of America as seen by England, whereas the England portrayed by his wife, Dame Van Winkle. The townspeople represent American society at large and how it changed with the realization of becoming an independent country. Rip Van Winkle was a "a kind neighbor, and an obedient hen-pecked husband". All the good wives of the village liked him because he was willing help at any time. "In a word Rip was ready to attend to anybody's business but his own; but as to doing family duty, and keeping his farm in order, he found it impossible." Seeing that Rip Van Winkle's family was deteriorating while the people of the town were profiting from his rebellion against the authority and possible needs of his family shows that the Crown was losing respect while America was gaining the loyalty of its own people. Rip's idleness could be perceived as the British perception that America was unwilling to focus on their duties as servants of the Crown. In representing the Crown, Dame Van Winkle would nag him to death over his duties so much that he would seek refuge from these tirades by going to town to sit in front of the tavern and remain idle with his friends. Even this did not prove to be an efficient escape because soon enough his wife would track him down to nag him and his colleagues further. This is a direct parallel to the political situation with the continued government control of Mother England. England was very domineering in their everyday lives and not willing to allow America its freedom. Americans were trying to avoid the tyranny of the Crown, just as Rip would do everything possible to escape his overbearing wife. The townspeople, in representing the American society, show how American ...

The Worlds First Artificial Satellite

The World's First Artificial Satellite On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union stunned everyone by launching the worlds first artificial satellite,  Sputnik 1.  It was an event that galvanized the world and spurred the fledgling U.S. space effort into high gear. No one who was alive at that time can forget the electricity of the moment when humans first lofted a satellite into orbit. The fact that it was the U.S.S.R. beating the U.S. to orbit was even more shocking, especially to Americans. Sputnik by the Numbers The name Sputnik comes from a Russian word for traveling companion of the world. It was a smallish metal ball that weighed just 83 kg (184 lbs.) and was lofted into space by an R7 rocket. The tiny satellite carried a thermometer and two radio transmitters and was part of the Soviet Unions work during the International Geophysical Year. While its goal was partly scientific, the launch and deployment into orbit had heavy political significance and signaled the countrys ambitions in space.   Sputnik 1 Assembly. Asif A. Siddiq / NASA Sputnik circled Earth once every 96.2 minutes and transmitted atmospheric information by radio for 21 days. Just 57 days after its launch, Sputnik was destroyed while reentering the atmosphere but signaled a whole new era of exploration. Almost immediately, other satellites were built and an era of satellite exploration began at the same time that the U.S. and U.S.S.R. began making plans to send people to space. Setting the Stage for the Space Age To understand why Sputnik 1 was such a surprise, its important to look at what was going on at the time, to take a good look back to the late 1950s. At that time, the world was poised on the brink of space exploration. The development of rocket technology was actually aimed at space but was diverted to wartime use. After World War II, the United States and the  Soviet Union (now Russia) were rivals both militarily and culturally. Scientists on both sides were developing bigger, more powerful rockets to take payloads to space. Both countries wanted to be the first to explore the high frontier. It was just a matter of time before it happened. What the world needed was a scientific and technical push to get there. Space Science Enters the Main Stage Scientifically, the year 1957 was established as the International Geophysical Year (IGY), a time when scientists would use new methods to study Earth, its atmosphere, and magnetic field. It was timed to coincide with the 11-year sunspot cycle. Astronomers were also planning to observe the Sun and its influence on Earth throughout that time, particularly on communications and in the newly emerging discipline of solar physics.   The U.S. National Academy of Sciences created a committee to oversee U.S. IGY projects. These included investigations of what we now call space weather caused by solar activity, such as auroral storms and other aspects of the upper ionosphere. They also wanted to study other phenomena such as airglows, cosmic rays, geomagnetism, glaciology, gravity, make determinations of longitude and latitude and planned to conduct tests in meteorology, oceanography, and seismology. As part of this, the U.S. had a plan to launch the first artificial satellite, and its planners were hoping to be the first ones to send something into space. Such satellites were not a new idea.  In October 1954, scientists called for the first ones to be launched during IGY to map Earths surface. The White House agreed that this might be a good idea, and announced plans to launch an Earth-orbiting satellite to take measurements of the upper atmosphere and the effects of the solar wind. Officials solicited proposals from various government research agencies to undertake the development of such a mission. In September 1955, the Naval Research Laboratorys Vanguard proposal was chosen. Teams began building and testing missiles. However, before the United States could launch its first rockets to space, the Soviet Union beat everyone to the punch. The U.S. Responds The beeping signal from Sputnik not only reminded everyone of Russian superiority, but it also galvanized public opinion in the U.S. The political backlash over the Soviets beating Americans to space led to some interesting and long-reaching results. The U.S. Defense Department immediately began providing funding for another U.S. satellite project. At the same time, Wernher von Braun and his Army Redstone Arsenal team began work on the Explorer project, which was launched to orbit on January 31, 1958. Very quickly, the Moon was announced as a major target, which set in motion planning for a series of missions.   Dr. Wernher von Braun was part of the U.S. space effort at the time of the Sputnik launch, working to build rockets to take U.S. satellites and astronauts such as L. Gordon Cooper (right) to space.   NASA The Sputnik launch also led directly to the creation of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to carry on a civilian space effort (rather than militarizing the activity). In July 1958, Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act (commonly called the Space Act). That act created NASA on October 1, 1958, uniting the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and other government agencies to form a new agency aimed at putting the U.S. squarely in the space business.   Models of  Sputnik commemorating this daring mission are scattered around the world. One hangs at the United Nations building in New York City, while another is in a place of honor at the Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. The World Museum in Liverpool, England has one, as does the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson and the California Science Center in L.A.. The Russian Embassy in Madrid, Spain, also has a Sputnik model. They remain gleaming reminders of the earliest days of the Space Age at a time when science and technology were coming together to create a new era of exploration.   Edited and revised by Carolyn Collins Petersen.

PROJECT PLAN AND REPORT Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

PROJECT PLAN AND REPORT - Coursework Example It was also recommended that while planning the project, optimum utilization of resources should be done, the timeline is strictly followed and part-timers are recruited, so that the recruitment cost is reduced. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 INTRODUCTION 5 Background 5 Scope of the Project 7 Method of Collecting Information 7 Limitations 7 DEVELOPING AN ONLINE CHRISTMAS GIFT STORE 7 Project Objectives 7 Products 8 Resources Required 8 Strategy and Implementation 9 Stakeholder Analysis 10 Risk Analysis 11 Milestones 13 Conclusion 14 Recommendation 14 References 15 Appendices 16 Appendix 1 16 INTRODUCTION Background Project planning is the science and art of utilizing the historical data, personal expertise, organizational knowledge and the project scope to depict the resource expenditure, cost, and the duration of a project. It also includes the development of guidelines in order to ensure the service quality, response to unfavourable events and commencing with the inevitable changes in the plan prepared for the project. In order to arrive at the estimated duration and cost of the project, the project manager identifies the numerous physical elements and activities that are necessary to meet the objectives of the project (Rad, and Anantatmula, 2005, p. 1). On the basis of this information the project manager estimates the requirements of the resources and the time length of the project. However, the estimation of the resources is done along with their cost estimation, as it is a valuable piece of information for the project team. The estimates of the resource are reduced to the cost. This is because total cost is more important information for the client. The project manager then finally computes the costs and completes the total estimation of the report (Haugan, 2002, p. 4-5). There are many different steps or stages through which a project passes to its completion or closure. Those set of stage would be described in this study through the development o f an online Christmas gift store. Since Christmas gifts are sold before and during Christmas, so this online store opening, launching and operations can be considered a project, which would be described in detail based on the phases that would be described here. The different phases or stages in a project plan are: Defining: Before initiating the project the project manager should determine the goals of the project, ascertain the scopes, risks, budget, cost, timescale, and approach. It should also be communicated to the stakeholders of the company, and the difference in opinions should be resolved in the initial stage. Planning: Planning is very important part of any project plan. While creating the project plan, the first task that is undertaken by the project manager and his team is planning the stages and the minute details in the project. Executing: In this stage the project manager and his/her team would be executing or implementing the pre decided activities for the completion of the project on time and according to the design. Monitoring: After implementing the step wise project operations, the manager has to monitor whether the implementation has been done according to the framework designed or not. Controlling: Controlling ensures that the plans have been followed according to the stages decided and set by the project team. Closure: Once all the tasks are complete in the