Strain Gauges Experiment Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Strain Gauges Experiment - Lab Report Example Wheatstone bridge and amplifier method It must be noted at first that the 3rd method is a recommended on and no actual experiments have been done on it. It has nevertheless been included here because a combination of the Wheatstone bridge and an amplifier is a very efficient method for measuring voltages as the amplifier maximizes it and makes measurement easier. Also occurrence of electrical noise and fluctuations in instrument resolutions can be better revealed by it.Theory & Apparatus In this section of the report the justifications for the three measurement methods as well as circuit diagrams of the three measurement apparatus are provided. Basic current and voltage measurement method: The experimental rig shown in Figure 1 has a cantilever beam with a pair of 120 strain gauges attached one on the upper and one on the lower beam surfaces. The strain-setting device is a bolt with a metric thread. The strain produced at the surface of a deflected cantilever beam varies along its length. Close to the gripping point (where the strain gauges are mounted) it has a maximum value of: (Eq.1) where: - deflection of the end of the beam (max of 45 mm), d - beam thickness (0.8mm in the rig) and L - beam length (250 mm in the rig). Figure 1: The experimental rig. Wheatstone bridge measurement method: The purpose of this experiment is to improve the results obtained in experiment 1 by the previous measurement method by using a Wheatstone bridge (Figure 2) that comprises of four nominally identical 120 strain gauges. Figure 2: Wheatstone bridge Ideally, if the bridge resistors are identical no voltage will be registered at the meter but this is not...It is envisaged that this would be the most efficient method of all. It must be noted at first that the 3rd method is a recommended on and no actual experiments have been done on it. It has nevertheless been included here because a combination of the Wheatstone bridge and an amplifier is a very efficient method for measuring voltages as the amplifier maximizes it and makes measurement easier. Also occurrence of electrical noise and fluctuations in instrument resolutions can be better revealed by it. The experimental rig shown in Figure 1 has a cantilever beam with a pair of 120 strain gauges attached one on the upper and one on the lower beam surfaces. The strain-setting device is a bolt with a metric thread. The purpose of this experiment is to improve the results obtained in experiment 1 by the previous measurement method by using a Wheatstone bridge (Figure 2) that comprises of four nominally identical 120 strain gauges. Ideally, if the bridge resistors are identical no voltage will be registered at the meter but this is not so practically and a small voltage of about 2 mV is detectable. This is because the resistors are not exactly identical. The amplifier needs to be able to amplify differential signals of up to about 3mV and produce an output in the range of about 1V to 5V.

People as a huge asset Essay Example for Free

People as a huge asset Essay 1.1INTRODUCTION Organisations are made up of people and people are a huge asset to any organization. To be more successful in achieving their goal and objectives; organisations needs to have an understanding about their human assets, their behavior, tendencies, best practice etc..† Leadership is the ability of one person to influence a group of persons toward the achievement of common goals† (Yukl, 1994). Influencing others means that leaders must have an understanding about their behavior, which can only happen when they themselves understand their values, assumptions, beliefs and expectations. Understanding oneself means one must carry out self-assessment/evaluation as this is very important for leaders today. I will be carrying out an assessment about the benefit of self -assessment/evaluation to leaders today and the importance of understanding human behavior in oraganisations. 1.2 DEFINITION OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR Human behavior is the way people behave and which can be influence by culture, emotions, attitudes, values, ethics, genetic etc.. Depending on the society and environment, human behavior can either be common, usual, acceptable or unacceptable. Human behavior can either be learnt as we relate to our environment; for example, tying your shoes is a learned behavior or it can be innate which can be inherited through genes. 1.3THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING HUMAN BEHAVIOR TO AN ORGANIZATION Organisations depend on the behavior of both individual and teams to achieve their goals and objectives; as such it is very critical for organisations to have thorough understanding of human behavior. Understanding human behavior is a  key to organisational success. Human behavior defines how people work together and relate with one another. Communication being the cornerstone of behavior can only be effective when people understand one another. Interpersonal conflict can be reduced in an organisation once there’s an understanding of human behavior. Behavior can influence negatively on the achievement of an organization’s goals and objectives if not manage well; will lead to poor output and failure. Organisations need to plan their training programme, understanding the behavior of its employees will inform the planning process, thereby ensuring that training needs are effectively met. An effective understanding of the diverse behavior of personnel is important. Evidence has shown that as people get to know one another, they became less concerned about differences if they see themselves as sharing more important characteristics, such as personality and values, that represent deep-level diversity† (Stephen P Robbins Timothy A Judge, Organizational Behavior -15th Editions) A co-operative team that knows how to work with one another can produce better result than those who have problems relating to one another. 1.4 THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING HUMAN BEHAVIOR BY LEADERS Organisations need strong leadership to achieve its goals and objectives. An organisation is only as successful as its leadership. Leadership is the ability to influence a group towards the achievement of a vision or set of goals. Individuals or group can only be influence when there’s an understanding of their behavior. Business necessity, enlightenment about differences and moral fortitude have combine to push organisations into hiring a diverse set of employees, as a result managing this diversity has proven to be a challenge to leaders†¦ Leaders can effectively manage this challenge through understanding this diversity. A leader who fails to understand his followers thereby focusing at a very superficial level by commanding others to do their will; is at the bottom of the leadership level. Deeper understanding provides more options, give one more potential tools, and frankly, makes one a powerful leader (Stephen P Robbins Timothy A Judge, Organizational Behavior -15t h Editions). This is a trait of level 5 leadership. â€Å"Understanding the behavior of followers will assist leaders in putting together teams to manage projects and it will also assist in  assigning task to employees in a way that will put to efficient use each member’s strength rather than their weakness â€Å" (www.employment-testing.com) Attempting to influencing individuals without understanding why they behave the way they do, might yield random or unpredictable effect and this will lead to leaders being unsuccessful as followers will be alienated; whereas understanding the personalities of subordinates and superiors informs leaders as to others expectations and provides insights into motivation, competitiveness and interpersonal relationships and communication. 1.5 LEADERSHIP SELF-EVALUATION/SELF-ASSESSMENT As leaders the ability to influence people has to be continuously improved; and the first step in achieving that will be by knowing yourself and gaining understanding of your leadership style, skills, traits, competencies, abilities, personality type and experience. According to Kevin Sharer of AMGEN CEO and president, â€Å"Leadership has many voices. You need to be who you are, not to emulate someone else.† An apt statement as leaders has the responsibility of influencing others in the achievement of goals and objectives; an achievement that will be almost impossible to attain when followers lacks faith in their leader. People normally have faith in authentic leaders as they are leaders who not only know what they believe in and value but also act on that values and beliefs candidly and openly. Most leaders are unaware of the effect their emotional intelligence has on their superiors and subordinates, many a time we blame negative outcome to those around us, all the time bei ng totally blind to the fact that our personality might have had effect on others action. â€Å"Those who use the emotional intelligence framework to guide their thoughts and actions may find it easier to create trust in relationship, harness energy under pressure, and sharpen their ability to make sound decisions-in other words, they increase their potential for success in the workplace†(Jones and Bartlett learning PTT) only by carrying out self-assessment/evaluation will you be able to understand your emotional intelligence and other traits. As leaders one should know what their strength and weaknesses as this will enable them build on their strength and march it to their leadership opportunities, it will also assist in the development of their weaknesses and allows for the  elimination of threats to leadership. 1.6 THE BENEFITS OF SELF- ASSESSMENT/SELF-EVALUATION TO LEADERS TODAY. Most of the benefits of self-assessment have already been discuss above, however some benefits are; A.Develop Emotional Intelligence When taking time to self-reflect you are looking inwards. Self-awareness gives you the ability the ability to understand your emotions, strengths, weaknesses, drives, values and goals, and recognize their impact on others you are leading. Being self-aware will aid you in controlling or redirecting your disruptive emotions and impulses and adapt to changing circumstances. Building these emotional intelligence components will improve your leadership. B. ASSISTS IN BECOMING EFFECTIVE LEADER Authentic leaders are clear on their core values, and this will help to strengthen leadership integrity and lead you to better decisions. Understanding your core values will build followers trust in you as a leader and this will make decision making easier as our integrity is often put to the test during stressful and difficult times. C. BUILD SELF-CONFIDENCE Confidence is crucial for leaders. It helps in effective communications, decision making, and influence building. People will see you as you see yourself, being aware of your strength as leader will build self-confidence and this will increase team effectiveness.

Essay example --

Palmore v. Sidoti(1984),the court ruled that it was unconstitutional to transfer custody of white children to their father solely on the fact that the mother lived with a colored (black) man. The court did acknowledge the fact it may not be in the â€Å"best interest† for the child to actually live in a transracial family but held the equal protection doctrine preventing consideration that the race of a potential parent could hinder in the making of custody decisions. Around the 60’s and 70’s, other courts prohibited legal state bans on transracial, seeing them as inconsistent with equal protection doctrine. South Africa today has a related development lifting transracial adoption bans in order to move toward abolishment of racism. â€Å"The quickest cure for racism would be to have everyone in the country adopt a child of another race. No matter what your beliefs, when you hold a four-day-old infant, love him, and care for him, you don’t see skin color, you see a little person that is very much in need of your love.†(Robert Dale Morrison). In 1972 something strange happened within the U.S; a...

John Miltons Life and Writing Essay -- John Milton biographies Essays

John Milton's Life and Writing John Milton did not just write poetry. He put his life, his thoughts, into words. Milton began his life in Cheapside, England, because his father’s wealthy family was Roman Catholic and John Milton Sr., Milton’s father, decided to become Protestant, therefore he was disinherited (Muir). However, the Milton family did not remain poor, John Milton Sr. was able to establish a wealthy family once more. He became a scrivener, which is a law writer, and was also a music composer on the side (Liukkonen). After money was no longer a threat, Milton attended Christ’s College in Cambridge (Browning). Milton’s works seem to be split into four distinct phases; these phases are a direct result of events taking place in his life. The first phase that Milton’s life went through was virtually nothing. Literally meaning that Milton did nothing, â€Å"he adopted no profession but spent six years at leisure in his father's home†(Muir). Milton’s first works were done in ancient languages, such as Latin, Greek and Italian, but these were done before he graduated when he was not considering a profession in writing. The first phase of his writings were done during the time he had no job. The works best reflecting this period of his life are L’Allegro, Il Penseroso and Lycidas, which were written up to year 1637. These poems were not specifically focused on what was occurring in the world at that time, because at that time Milton was not very involved with the world. These poems had themes focused on thoughts that ran through Milton’s mind. Among Milton’s most famous first works are L’Allegro and Il Penseroso, which are companions to one another. He uses these poems to focus on two different lifestyles. L’Allegro is the... ... a completely majestic lifestyle, but he used his poetry to express himself, and expression can always help to lighten any morbid emotions. Not only was Milton able to express himself, writing granted him a goal, and having a goal to strive for makes life worth living no matter how bad it seems to get. As soon as Milton realized what he wanted to do with his life, write, his goal was to create such an exemplary piece of work that it would never be forgotten, and he succeeded. Works Cited Browning, Mark. â€Å"John Milton (1608-1674).† 1 Dec. 2003 . â€Å"The Dream of the Rood.† The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Seventh Edition. Volume 1. Ed. by M.H. Abrams, et al. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2000. 100-102. Liukkonen, Petri. â€Å"John Milton (1608-1674).† Books and Writers.1 Dec. 2003 . Muir, Kenneth. â€Å"John ‘The Lady’ Milton.† Incompetech. 1 Dec. 2003 .

Comparison of the Chinese and American Cultures Essay

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, culture is defined as â€Å"the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations. † Culture is an aspect all groups of humans have and even though it is an aspect our species shares, the supposed differences make it seem like we are of different species! Culture is something that both connects and separates us. Culture is something distinct enough to create barriers among us, such as: linguistic barriers and behavioral barriers. And this is especially seen between the American and Chinese cultures. River Town, by Peter Hessler, is a non-fiction novel that depicts Peter’s experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in Fuling, China. He was sent to Fuling (a poor town on the banks of the Yangtze River) in 1996 and taught English and American literature for two years at a teachers college. This novel, in reading, seems more of a journal and thus, his writing of China puts the people and his experiences on a more personal level. He describes, with immense detail, his observations of the social, political and cultural issues of China and his experience as a waiguoren (foreigner). At his arrival, the people of the teachers college showered him and his fellow Peace Corps volunteer with many gifts and did everything they could to make them feel comfortable and welcome. However, alternately, whenever Peter would walk outside the campus of the school, the people would stare and gawk at him and yell, â€Å"outsider! † and â€Å"hello† out of curiosity and their own amusement. This made him dedicate a large part of his day solely to learning Chinese. As he becomes more proficient in Chinese, he develops friendships and connections and begins to feel more accepted. He talks about the troubled history of China: the struggles of land reform, decades of misguided economic policies and especially the damaging effects of the Cultural Revolution. Peter spends a good deal discussing the, then, upcoming project of the Three Gorges Dam, which has an immense, detrimental impact on the people. The project will require millions of villagers to be displaced and will destroy centuries worth of meaningful history. The author gives a very vivid illustration of the beautiful landscape, history and the people he meets. He also portrays the, especially political, perspectives of the Chinese quite well through learning from his students and teachers. According to Francis Hsu, the two sets of contrasts are: individual-centered versus situation-centered and the prominence of emotions versus the underplay of all matters regarding the heart. He believed Americans are concerned only of themselves and act according to what would be beneficial to them, and that the Chinese acted according to the situation at hand. The Chinese avoid direct confrontation, open criticism and controversial topics to maintain harmony. â€Å"In America, he saw the blind, often excessive pursuit of self-reliance and the inherent, permanent instability of human relationships as the root cause of many intractable social ills, including crime, racial discord, and the sale of influence in government. In China, he saw the traditional narrow focus on kinship based relationships had rendered their society unable to effectively counter Western colonialism, widespread poverty and famine, and even the practice of foot binding of women. † (Tong 2001) One aspect of the book that really interested me was the education system and different cultural differences of how education is looked upon. In the book, the students all had the same thoughts on almost every issue and those opinions would be unwavering. However, â€Å"Perhaps by my standards they were politically brainwashed, but compared to the past they were remarkably free. † (Hessler 2001:23) They would also communicate indirectly to Hessler; often times via their journals. Not only is the learning environment in China highly competitive and demanding, but expectations are high of students, forcing them to simply learn to achieve the highest grade possible. Also, Chinese students do not have electives they can choose from, they are assigned classes that best correspond to their scores on tests. Whereas in America, individualism and self-expression if looked high upon. Thus, in America, the individual student’s abilities and skills determine where they go in the future, and in China, what society or their parents want determines where they go. This is exactly what Francis Hsu talked about. I believe Peter Hessler was relatively objective in his journaling. Whenever he brought up thoughts or opinions of his students or any of the Fuling people, he briefly gave the history and background of them so we can understand where they are coming from. However, there were a few times where you could sense his extreme bias, but this was never fully evident in his writing. The difference between American and Chinese homes reflects the contrasting patterns of behavior in the family. In the US, children are highly regarded, cared for and have privilege, so far as to have laws and regulations protecting them. In China, children are taken for granted and have little to no reason to expect protection. Pediatrics was not a branch of medicine in China until just recently. In America, what is important is what parents should do for their parents; in China, what is important is what the children should do for their parents. This is a major reason why Chinese students are so focused on getting the best grades, so they can get a good job and take care of their elders. This is the basis for Filial Piety (virtue of respect for one’s parents and ancestors). American students focus on what is best for them and will usually move out the house at age 18 with no regard to taking care of their elders. Another difference between the two cultures is social relationships. The Chinese have formal, hierarchal relationships in which they feel most comfortable knowing their position. Americans have informal, egalitarian relationships in which they feel most comfortable among their equals and social ranking is not important. Ironically however, the Chinese tend to have a few, very close friends to whom they feel obligated to when it comes to helping them; Americans tend to have numerous â€Å"friends† and acquaintances that changes over time and to whom they feel no obligations. Works Cited 2001 River Town: Two years on the Yangtze. HarperCollins Publishers. Aguilar, Leslie, and Linda Stokes 1996. Multicultural Customer Service: Providing Outstanding. Service Across Cultures. Chicago: Times Mirror Higher Education Group, Inc â€Å"CultureAbout Our Definitions: All Forms of a Word (noun, Verb, Etc. ) Are Now Displayed on One Page. † Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n. d. Web. 18 Apr. 2013 Li Qing 1995. â€Å"Face, Guanxi, Houmen(r) & Elastic Rules: Insight into the Chinese Culture. † Presentation at conference of NAFSA: Association of International Educators. Tong, William K. â€Å"Excerpts from Americans & Chinese by Francis Hsu. † Excerpts from Americans & Chinese by Francis Hsu. Oakton Community College, 2001. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.   

No silver bullet essays

No silver bullet essays The objectives of this essay are to examine whether or not Brooks original scepticism that no single new development in the next ten years would give software developers an order-of-magnitude improvement in productivity, reliability, or simplicity and ...future progress depends upon addressing the data are reversible. We will discuss Brooks original thoughts and we will try to give alternative solutions (if any). This essay, in general, accepts Brooks thoughts as he worked on OS/360 one of the most known, for their size, software projects. Before we discuss what Fred Brooks is arguing, we ought to refer to the differences between software engineering and programming. These two concepts are, in fact, totally different. On one hand, programming is primarily a personal activity while on the other hand software engineering is essentially a team activity. In other words, a software engineering team, which is working on a project, may consist of many programmers. On the contrary, a programmer writes a complete program while a software engineer writes a software component that will be combined with components written by other software engineers to build a system. Furthermore, the component one writes may be modified by others in the software engineering team and it may also be used by others to build different versions of the system long after one has left the project. Finally, we must say that programming is just one aspect of software development. Most of the projects, including software projects, are usually running out of time, the budget limit is much higher than it was prearranged and also the delivered product is not remarkable. For that reason, before a project is implemented its objectives, scope and deliverables should be addressed and defined. It is very important to have a clear understanding of what you are going to build and the most important thing is to build it on time. At this...

Free Essays on Rabbit Hill

The terms and criteria for receiving a Newbery Award are well defined. Each year the Medal is awarded to what is considered the author of â€Å"the most distinguished contribution to American Literature for Children published in the United States during the preceding year.† (ALSC, ) â€Å"A. Committee members are asked to consider the following: Interpretation of theme or concept, Presentation of information including accuracy, clarity, and organization, Development of plot, Delineation of characters, Delineation of setting, Appropriateness of style. B. Committee members must consider excellence of presentation for a child audience.† (ALSC) Rabbit Hill met these standards in 1945, and has since stood the test of time, remaining to this day a favorite of children. It’s steady readership has kept it in print along with six other of Robert Lawson’s books, and this combined with the fact that he is the only author to win both the Newbery and Caldecott Medals, assure his place as a significant contributor to twentieth century children’s literature. (Cech) The premise of the book surrounds a community of animals that live on Rabbit Hill. The farmhouse has been empty for a while and the previous tenants were slovenly and derelict. Times have been hard of late for the animals, and provisions scarce. Mr. Lawson introduces the reader to the animal characters one by one as news of â€Å" New Folk Coming†, to live in the farmhouse passes from one to another. The animal’s personalities are based somewhat on man’s conception of each species’ general characteristics and are further fleshed out by lively dialogue. Thus, the reader is able to see the regality and aloofness, in Red Buck’s stately nature and Phewie’s low-class, comic relief in the following exchange. â€Å"â€Å"You do have such low tastes, Phewie,† said the Buck. â€Å"er-by the way, the breeze seems to have shifted-would you mind? There, that’s fine, thanks, as I w... Free Essays on Rabbit Hill Free Essays on Rabbit Hill The terms and criteria for receiving a Newbery Award are well defined. Each year the Medal is awarded to what is considered the author of â€Å"the most distinguished contribution to American Literature for Children published in the United States during the preceding year.† (ALSC, ) â€Å"A. Committee members are asked to consider the following: Interpretation of theme or concept, Presentation of information including accuracy, clarity, and organization, Development of plot, Delineation of characters, Delineation of setting, Appropriateness of style. B. Committee members must consider excellence of presentation for a child audience.† (ALSC) Rabbit Hill met these standards in 1945, and has since stood the test of time, remaining to this day a favorite of children. It’s steady readership has kept it in print along with six other of Robert Lawson’s books, and this combined with the fact that he is the only author to win both the Newbery and Caldecott Medals, assure his place as a significant contributor to twentieth century children’s literature. (Cech) The premise of the book surrounds a community of animals that live on Rabbit Hill. The farmhouse has been empty for a while and the previous tenants were slovenly and derelict. Times have been hard of late for the animals, and provisions scarce. Mr. Lawson introduces the reader to the animal characters one by one as news of â€Å" New Folk Coming†, to live in the farmhouse passes from one to another. The animal’s personalities are based somewhat on man’s conception of each species’ general characteristics and are further fleshed out by lively dialogue. Thus, the reader is able to see the regality and aloofness, in Red Buck’s stately nature and Phewie’s low-class, comic relief in the following exchange. â€Å"â€Å"You do have such low tastes, Phewie,† said the Buck. â€Å"er-by the way, the breeze seems to have shifted-would you mind? There, that’s fine, thanks, as I w...