Nebraska Man - An Evolution Hoax

The Theory of Evolution has always been a controversial topic, and continues to be in modern times as well. While scientists clamor to find the missing link or the bones of ancient human ancestors to add to the fossil record and collect even more data to back up their ideas, others have tried to take matters into their own hands and create fossils they claim are the missing link of human evolution. Most notably, Piltdown Man had the scientific community talking for 40 years before it was finally definitively debunked. Another discovery of the missing link that turned out to be a hoax was called Nebraska Man. Maybe the word hoax is a bit harsh to use in the case of Nebraska Man, because it was more of a case of mistaken identity than an all out fraud like the Piltdown Man turned out to be. In 1917, a farmer and part time geologist named Harold Cook who lived in Nebraska found a single tooth that looked remarkably similar to an ape or a human molar. About five years later, he sent it to be examined by Henry Osborn at Columbia University. Osborn excitedly declared this fossil to be a tooth from the first ever discovered ape-like man in North America. The single tooth grew in popularity and throughout the world and it wasnt long before a drawing of the Nebraska Man showed up in a London periodical. The disclaimer on the article that accompanied the illustration made it clear that the drawing was the artists imagining of what the Nebraska Man may have looked like, even though the only anatomical evidence of its existence was a single molar. Osborn was very adamant that there was no way anyone could know what this newly discovered hominid could look like based on a single tooth and denounced the picture publicly. Many in England who saw the drawings were quite skeptical that a hominid had been discovered in North America. In fact, one of the primary scientists who had examined and presented the Piltdown Man hoax was vocally skeptical and said that a hominid in North America just did not make sense in the timeline of the history of life on Earth. After some time had passed, Osborn agreed that the tooth may not be a human ancestor, but was convinced it was at least a tooth from an ape that had branched off from a common ancestor as the human lines did. In 1927, after examining the area the tooth was discovered and uncovering more fossils in the area, it was finally decided the Nebraska Man tooth was not from a hominid after all. In fact, it was not even from an ape or any ancestor on the human evolution timeline. The tooth turned out to belong to a pig ancestor from the Pleistocene time period. The rest of the skeleton was found at the same site the tooth had originally come from and it was found to fit the skull. Even though Nebraska Man was a short lived missing link, it tells of a very important lesson to paleontologists and archaeologists working in the field. Even though a single piece of evidence looks to be something that could fit into a hole in the fossil record, it needs to be studied and more than one piece of evidence needs uncovered before declaring the existence of something that actually does not exist. This is a basic tenet of science where discoveries of a scientific nature must be verified and tested by outside scientists in order to prove its veracity. Without this checks and balances system, many hoaxes or mistakes will pop up and stall out the true scientific discoveries.

Optimizing Pilot Planning and Training for Continental Airlines Free Essays

Optimizing Pilot Planning and Training for Continental Airlines Summary Continental Airlines is the fifth largest airline based on passenger volume in United States. It provides over 1,100 daily flight services to five continents. Effective manpower planning is a key component for the success of Continental Airlines. We will write a custom essay sample on Optimizing Pilot Planning and Training for Continental Airlines or any similar topic only for you Order Now It is essential for Airline Company to adjust its need for pilots constantly in different position in response to new market opportunities, changing passenger demand, acquisition and retirement of aircraft and training resources and evolving economic conditions. Therefore, the company collected information from several separate database systems and built the training plans by using spreadsheet. However, this development method was time consuming and complicated and the database used was not capable for training plan as it was used for more 10 years. In order for solving the complicated, large-scale pilot planning and training program and increasing the competitive advantage in air transportation market, Continental Airlines replaced the old database system and spreadsheets by the Crew Resource-Solver integrated decision-support system. It includes four main modules to handle staffing, vacation, planning and training. The staff-administration module and vacation-administration module maintain crew records including all current and past assignments, absences and training while the planning-optimization module and training optimization module provides information of pilot-planning and training functions (Yu, Pachon, Thengvall, Chandler and Wilson 2004). Generally, Continental Airlines uses system bid award to determine the needs of staff changing to different positions and handle the pilots’ requests to change positions. It mainly uses seniority-based rules for decision making. In an average system bid award, 15 to 20 percent of the airline’s pilots receive new positions. As long with system bid award, the Crew Resource-Solver system can build the training program that establishes the timing of training, advancements, releases, and new pilot hires. The Crew Resource-Solver system includes two phase to solve the pilot training problem. The pilot-transitioning phase determines the timing of pilot transitions by using limited information about training capacities to restrict the number of pilots assigned to training. The training-class-scheduling phase produces the detailed training schedule taking as input the solution from the pilot transitioning phase. As a result, the training program contains a set of detailed training schedules including all training events for each student and each training resource. The training program must satisfy all the constraints set by Continental Airlines such as pilots training will not be assigned during their vacations and other scheduled absences. Planners are able to use system to customize the training plans by changing the objectives and options (Verbeek 1991). Analysis The main objectives of the Crew Resource-Solver system are: 1. The improvement of the efficiency of the training programs 2. The forecast of future airline pilots’ needs 3. The maximization of the cost savings There are a number of advantages in using the Crew-Resource Solver system. First, the system improves the airline’s processes by enhancing information sharing within the organization and by simplifying system maintenance. Second, the system enhances data integrity by eliminating duplicate data storage and automating processes. Third, the system saves time compared to the old manual approach as it can produce a complete, optimized training plan that includes both the pilot transitions and the training class schedules within an hour (Yu et al 2004). Moreover, the system increases the flexibility of the training program as it is able to customize by adjusting objectives and setting options. The Crew-Resource Solver system provides an optimal set of components that can satisfy all training program requirements. However, there are several limitations to the Crew-Resource Solver system. First, the training program constraint is based on the traditional training plan which highlights the inherent weakness of any optimization model as it relies upon sound data for accurate outputs (Sarker 2008, p. 5). Second, the potential sources of savings vary depending on different system bids. It is the fact that a bid will have no cost components associated with those activities when it is no required on new hires and pilot releases. Third, even using the system, there is a trade-off between block-hour shortages and other costs on the training plans. Therefore, when block-hour shortages cost increases, the training cost will decrease, vice versa. It is unable to decrease both block-hour shortages cost and training costs together. Finally, the final decision of the training program is not automated and requires management to select the best option for each training program. Result The Crew Resource-Solver system is an important investment of Continental Airlines to upgrade the management of manpower-planning needs by resource optimization and operation and financial performance improvement. Based on the evidence given in the article, the Crew-Resource Solver integrated decision-support system is a successful program for Continental Airlines to achieve its above objectives. First, there are three ways for the cost savings. Training classes’ schedules become more efficiently and the number of pilots sending to training decrease. Second, there is reduction in pay-protection costs as promoting pilots in new positions in seniority order. Third, it reduces payroll costs because the system can provide the optimized training plans which can use exiting pilots more efficiently and reduce the chances to hire new pilots. In fact, many recommendations derived from the Crew Resource-Solver integrated decision-support system have already been applied and have helped Continental Airlines to save approximately $10 million each year. Second, the integrated system have focused process improvement and improved data integrity, and it is easier to maintain than the numerous legacy systems and spreadsheet application it replaced (Yu et al 2004). References Sarker, R Newton, C 2008, Optimization Modelling: A Practical Approach, CRC Press, Florida. Verbeek, P. (1991) Decision support systems – An Application in strategic manpower planning of airline pilots. Eur. J. Oper. Res. (55)3, 368-381 Yu, G. , Pachon, J. , Thengvall, B. , Chandler, D. Wilson, A. (2004) Optimizing Pilot Planning and Training for Continental Airlines. Interfaces, Vol. 34, No. 4, July-August, p. 253-264 How to cite Optimizing Pilot Planning and Training for Continental Airlines, Essay examples

Oliver Cromwell Essays (843 words) - Stuart England,

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell, a Puritan fundamentalist and undefeated commander of the Ironsides, forever changed the history of England with, perhaps, what he did not do, rather than what he did do after the success of the insurrection he led against Charles. Though rather unsuccessful as a politician, Cromwell, single-handedly redefining the art of war and military strategy, proved to be one of the greatest military geniuses of all time. Despite the professionally trained forces that often outnumbered him three to one in battle, he struck fear in his opposition and maintained an untarnished record in battle that proved the degree of his skill. Historians traditionally fail to classify his genius because of a desire to try to accredit him with political gains and historical precedence he did not earn. Unfortunately, in these attempts to elevate his stature from godly to God, the positive affects on society he did attribute go seemingly untold and underscored. The most highly contested argument d ebated today revolves around the Oliver Cromwell's advancement of political freedom in 17th-Century England. Peter Gaunt, in his book Oliver Cromwell, and John Morrill, in the Introduction of the book Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution, take sides and present their cases as to whether or not Cromwell advanced political freedom. Though, John Morrill asserts the most historically accurate answer, he is still equally as guilty of misrepresenting opinions as facts and offers great leaps in logic as does Peter Gaunt. Gaunt's logic develops on the assumption that never before had the world seen democracy and that people in general had no freedom before the rule of the Lord Protectorate. He also suggests that the English all enjoyed the same rights as citizens of England and the oppression of the reign of Charles I had ceased. However, none of these assertions was true. In fact, historically because of things did not change after the defeat of Charles I, the legacy Cromwell envisioned leaving the country never even formulated because of the corruption of others. Gaunt's work, a rather weak source to base such lofty claims as Cromwell's advance of the political freedom, lacked clear presentation and focused more on the appearance of Cromwell than his influence. At most, the only legitimate claim that can be made is that Cromwell served as a hero to the people and a man of God and he fought for a fair and just society in accordance to the word of God. Professor Blair Worden of the University of Susse x offers some clarification: For him the earlier Cromwell, the warrior-hero and agent of divine destruction, had transcended politics. As protector, charged not with destruction but with reconstruction, Oliver was obliged, as a merely mortal ruler would have been, to haggle with parliament... Cromwell merely as the most heroic representative of that heroic movement, which itself was the representative because it represented the best of England. Thus, it is clear that Cromwell commanded the respect of the people. Unfortunately, he also faced a political system unwilling to change. Essentially, John Morrill presents arguments that are just as unfounded; however, his overall conclusion provides a foundation for true insight into the situation. John Morrill makes preconceived judgments on the character of Oliver Cromwell. Throughout his introduction to Cromwell, Morrill focuses on undermining every aspect of Cromwell, all in order to make a seemingly well-founded conclusion. Because very little first hand information remains on Cromwell, Morrill makes belligerent assumptions of historically weak evidence. Such a strategy proves to only undercut the authors credibility to educated readers. Granted that the Cromwell's policies did not produce the results that he intended, his successes and influence on the government remain historically strategic in changing the ideology in the world, particularly in the New World where his ideals took shape in the forming governments. Oliver Cromwell did not advance political freedom. Rather than break down the authoritarian rule of the elite, Cromwell relied on it for support and charity. Although he generally looked out for the good of the common person, Oliver could not, or would not, control the caustic behavior of those in control under his rule. He attempt to adjust the system by disestablishing the Rump and creating the Protectorate Parliament but this

Principal Quantum Number Definition

Principal Quantum Number Definition The principal quantum number is the  quantum number denoted by n and which indirectly describes the size of the electron orbital.  It is always assigned an integer value (e.g., n 1, 2, 3...), but its value may never be 0.  An orbital for which n 2 is larger, for example, than an orbital for which n 1. Energy must be absorbed in order for an electron to be excited from an orbital near the nucleus (n 1) to get to an orbital further from the nucleus (n 2). The principal quantum number is cited first in the set of four quantum numbers associated with an electron. The principal quantum number  has the greatest effect on the energy of the electron. It was first designed to distinguish between different energy levels in the Bohr model of the atom  but remains applicable to the modern atomic orbital theory. Source Andrew, A. V. (2006). 2. Schrà ¶dinger equation. Atomic spectroscopy. Introduction of theory to Hyperfine Structure. p. 274. ISBN 978-0-387-25573-6.

Building a Complete School Retention Form

Building a Complete School Retention Form Student retention is always highly debated. There are clear-cut pros and cons that teachers and parents must take into consideration when making such an important decision. Teachers and parents should work together to come up with a consensus as to whether or not retention is the right decision for a particular student. Retention will not work for every student.   You must have strong parental support and an individualized academic plan that promotes an alternative to how that student is taught as compared to previous years. Each retention decision should be made on an individual basis. No two students are alike, thus retention must be examined taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of each individual student.   Teachers and parents must examine a wide array of factors before deciding whether or not retention is the right decision.   Once a retention decision has been made, it is important to explore how the students individual needs are going to be met at a deeper level than before. If the decision is made to retain, it is important that you adhere to all guidelines laid out in the districts retention policy. If you have a retention policy, it is equally important that you have a retention form that gives a brief description of the reasons the teacher believes the student should be retained. The form should also provide a place for to sign and then either agree or disagree with the teachers placement decision. The retention form should summarize placement concerns. However, teachers are strongly encouraged to add additional documentation to support their decision including work samples, test scores, teacher notes, etc. Sample Retention Form The primary goal of Any Where Public Schools is to educate and prepare our students for a brighter tomorrow. We know that each child develops physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially at an individual rate. Additionally, not all children will complete twelve grades levels of work according to the same pace and at the same time. Grade level placement will be based on the child’s maturity (emotional, social, mental and physical), chronological age, school attendance, effort, and marks achieved. Standardized testing results can be used as one means of the judging process. The grade marks earned, direct observations made by the teacher, and academic progress made by the student throughout the year shall reflect the probable assignment for the coming year. Students Name _____________________________ Date of Birth _____/_____/_____ Age _____ _____________________ (Student Name) is recommended to be placed in __________ (Grade) for the _________________ school year. Conference Date ___________________________________ Reason(s) for Recommendation of Placement by Teacher: _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Outline of Strategic Plan for Addressing Deficiencies During Retention Year: _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____ See attachment for additional information _____ I accept the placement of my child. _____ I do not accept the school’s placement of my child. I understand that I may appeal this decision by complying with the school district’s appeal process. Parent Signature____________________________ Date ______________ Teacher Signature __________________________ Date ______________

Electronic systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Electronic systems - Essay Example These filters produce gain and usually consist only of resistors, capacitors and operational amplifiers. The most common classes of filters that can either be passive or active are the low pass, high pass, band pass, and band stop filters. Ideal low pass filters allow frequencies up to a given limit to pass and attenuate frequencies above that limit. Ideal high pass filters on the other hand, pass frequencies above a specified limit and attenuate those below. Ideal band pass filters allow only a particular band of frequencies to pass and attenuate the remaining frequencies. Ideal band stop filters are the reverse; this class of filters rejects frequencies within a specified band and passes those frequencies outside it. The figure below can be interpreted as first order active filters connected in series. By cascading a 20 dB-gain first order bi-linear filter and another first order bi-linear filter with unity-gain, we can construct a low pass filter whose frequency response is that in Figure 1. When universal filters are cascaded, they form a shaped filter. It is specified that the output signal MUST NOT BE INVERTED. Notice that the transfer function of a bi-linear filter includes a NEGATIVE sign. When two bi-linear filters are cascaded, this eliminates the negative sign thus there is NO NEED for an inverter. From the Transfer Function, where ω denotes the cut-off RADIAN frequency, we can get the cut-off frequency. Since the radian frequency ω =2πf then, . When ω is at the numerator, it denotes a zero and if it is a the denominator, it denotes a pole. A filter is designed based on a given transfer characteristic. An active low pass filter with a gain of 20dB below 10 Hz, 0 dB gain from 160Hz to 48 kHz and -20 dB attenuation above 500 kHz is the subject of this paper. This filter is composed of cascaded components. The transfer characteristic of each of these components is multiplied to obtain the transfer function of the low pass filter. The

Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous by Berkeley Essay

Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous by Berkeley - Essay Example Further on I will explain the importance of both materialistic and immaterialistic explanations of the objects and trying to find the most persuading argument, either materialistic or sensual one. Part A The main argument of Berkley is that idealism refers to daily practices and is inconsistent with science, while materialism is focused on the identity of the object and is a trigger for studying the laws of nature. Hylas claims that different senses provide individuals with diversity of perceptions and knowledge about the one and the same thing. He is a materialist in his essence and throughout the dialogue he tries to persuade Philonus of the need to be closer to the matter and not to the wanderings of one’s mind. The unity of ideas about a particular thing is an integrative element for delving into the depth of the nature of things.. He introduces a character of Hylas, which is a materialist and Philonous, which is an immaterialist. Hylas claims that from a materialistic poi nt of view to see something with the help of the microscope is to see the same thing, which can be seen with the naked eye. Philonous opposes to him and argues that if to refer to our senses and emotions, we will see different things with and without microscopes. Still, the role of microscope cannot be denied. It plays a role of correlation of different perceptions of one thing. This is one of the strongest points suggested by Hylas. Further discussion between Hylas and Philonous concerns different perception of the word â€Å"same† for philosophers and linguists. Both interlocutors are not focused on the meaning of the word â€Å"same†. There is a deeper discussion about correlation of different perceptions of abstracted ideas of identity. Individuals may perceive diversity or identity in different abstract ideas. In case a correlation of different visions of one thing occurs, then idealistic and materialistic visions are correlated. In other words, empirical evidence found by the scientists refers to idealistic intentions. Both Hylas and Philonous establish the same connections, but for the former different visions of the object do not change its essence and for the latter different visions make the object different. Hylas claims that the naked eye and the microscope are two different means for perception of one thing. On the one hand, there is essence in different subjects and there is a limit of knowledge. Materialists refer to complex explanations and there is no need for this type of deep and profound interpretations, because matter transcends the limits of one’s knowledge. Thus, knowledge about the world cannot be deeper in case of complex knowledge about matter occurs. On the other hand, ideas of matter are opposed to unseen or unperceived ideas. There is a good question: whether these ideas consist of molecules and atoms? The laws of nature and their hidden sides are unseen and Berkeley claims that there are only some assertions t hat God defines. A measure between perceived and unperceived objects or ideas is vague. Philonous claims that different sensations are appropriate for existence of a real object. Moreover, these sensations assure individuals of existence of certain objects (example with a cherry). Berkley underlines that in case an object is unperceived, it does not exist for sure. In the same way he undermines theoretical developments of science. Berkley underlin