Financial and Management Accounting Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Financial and Management Accounting - Case Study Example The rise in inventory levels is of particular significance and it is suggested that if a proper stock management plan was put in place, the Company would be able to improve its liquidity and cash flow position. It is also suggested that alternate sources of funding for the Company's expansion, such as debt finance and/or leasing of assets as opposed to relying predominantly on equity finance may have a favourable impact on Foster Ltd., in terms of liquidity and otherwise. Foster Ltd. has gone through rapid expansion over the two years that make up the subject matter of this report. This is evident from the financial statements of the Company as seen from the fact that revenue has grown by 43.75% and the investment in machinery has increased by 60% in 2006. The Company has also increased its long term funding by drawing a '1 Million loan as well as making a share issue. This expansion has reaped benefits in terms of profitability; however the liquidity and cash flow position of the Company has deteriorated. The directors themselves have felt the strain and the Cash Flow Statement prepared for 2006 clearly reflects the problem. The financial statements show further signs of the cash shortage and these will be discussed below. Overtrading is a likely cause for the Company's current unfavourable situation. This refers to the fact that the Company has expanded its sales revenue quite rapidly without securing the additional funds necessary to support the expansion. This report looks to find the underlying causes of the liquidity problem by analysing the available financial statements. Any potential causes found will be discussed and possible remedies suggested. In addition, other ways in which the liquidity position of the Company can be improved will also be considered. Foster Ltd.'s Current Profitability &Liquidity/Cash flow Position As mentioned above, the profitability of Foster Ltd. has seen a commendable increase. The Gross Profit Ratio (GP Ratio) of the Company has increased from 21.88% in 2005 to 26.09% in 2006 (see Appendix). This is a significant rise. It must be noted that just because revenue increases, profitability does not increase as the cost of sales would have increased along with the revenue. However, in Foster Ltd.'s case, the cost of sales has increase in a proportion quite considerably less than that of revenue (36% as compared to 47.35%). It is because of this difference in proportions that Foster Ltd. is exhibiting higher profitability levels. A likely reason for cost of sales increasing by a lower percentage is the achievement of economies of scale. As Foster Ltd. expands and increases production, its cost per unit decreases as it begins to enjoy the benefits of bulk discounts in raw material purchases, as well as being able to spread overhead and other fixed costs over a larger number of u nits thereby reducing the fixed cost per unit. Along with its GP Ratio, the Total Profit ratio has also increased from 8.75% to 8.99% (see Appendix). This may not be a sizable increase but is definitely notable. The reason for the increase in the GP Ratio not being followed through to the Total Profit ratio is that the operating expenses, and the finance and tax costs to a lesser

Crime , justice, society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Crime , justice, society - Essay Example nd promotion of the fundamental freedoms of all people, the human society will be no different from the Animal Kingdom where there is the survival of the fittest.2 One way of bringing equality to the practice of individual freedoms is through the enactment of laws and the running of the criminal system, which defines punishment for people for various offences committed. As much as the criminal system is important in defending the defenceless and ensuring that there is greater level of fairness in society, it cannot be said to be faultless. Recently, attention has been drawn to the limitation of the criminal justice system, particularly when it comes to the issue of miscarriage of justice.3 This is because whiles trying to enforce enacted laws, there have been cases where people who do not deserve punishment and prosecution have unduly received these. With this situation in the criminal justice system recognised and acknowledged, there have been different interventions that have been taken to solving it. In this paper, two major interventions namely the criminal appeal system and the criminal cases review commission are critically assessed in the context of how best they help in solving the problem of miscarriage of justice in England and Wales. The Criminal Appeal System in the U.K is directly vested in the roles and procedures of Her Majesty’s Court of Appeal in England and mandated under the Criminal Appeal Act 1995. As the name implies, the criminal appeal system is in place to ensure that people who have issues with the passage of judgement in other lower courts will have the opportunity of appealing their judgements. In the U.K., there is so much prominence placed on the criminal appeal system such that the Her Majesty’s Court of Appeal is made to come only second to the Supreme Court of the U.K. The Appeal Court and for that matter the criminal appeal system has been in place since 1875 with the purpose of ensuring that no one falls out on the need to

The Historical Evolution of Town and Country Planning in Australia and Internationally Essay Example for Free

The Historical Evolution of Town and Country Planning in Australia and Internationally Essay Despite the profession of planning being a relatively recent creation, Planning has existed in some form since the beginning of human settlement itself. Whether it is the ancient cities of the Old World or the global metropolises of today, every urban environments display some degree of planning in their design and function (Smith, 2007). However, just as cities have evolved over time, so to have the approaches taken to planning and the philosophies behind them. This evolution of Town and Country Planning forms a long and complex history which encompasses a wide breadth of ideas. Reflecting upon this history, several key movements can be identified: The origins of Planning in the 19th century, the Modernist era of the early 20th century and the Postmodernist era that followed. This paper will focus on these key movements. Historical Planning During the 19th century, cities were subject to increasing industrialization accompanied by rapid population growth and urban expansion. This lead to overcrowding, congestion, slums and lack of sanitation (Hall 1992). Growing public protest in the form of protests and labour strikes in countries like Britain led to the implementation of various reform measures such as the Public Health Act of 1848 and the Labouring Classes’ Dwellings Houses Act of 1866. These went some way to relieving these pressures (Maginn 2011) by setting minimal standards for health and housing, resulting in for increased living standards by the century’s end. During this time, planning was used mostly by private companies as a tool to increase productivity by improving the health of the working population (Cowan 2010). The higher living standards and economic prosperity this created lead to planning philosophy changing its focus from providing housing and improving cities to beautifying them (Bluestone M, 1988). This City Beautiful movement focused on civic beautification and the construction of monuments. The term ‘beautility’ was used to describe the theory that a beautiful city must also be functional one. (Freestone et al 2000) However, these changes led some to question if further improvements could be made. By the end of the 19th century, basic ideas about urban planning were well developed. These ideas had ‘underlying utopian aspirations that influenced the attitudes and procedures planners’ (Akoi, K 1993). The Garden City is possibly the best example of this, as an optimistic attempt to unite broad utopian ideals with the planning lessons of the past into a a specific plan. ( http://faculty. tamu-commerce. edu/jsun/racespaceplace. pdf) First outlined by Ebenezer Howard in To-Morrow (1898), the Garden City became a major force in the historical planning era that influenced planners worldwide. According to Hall 1992 (Hall 1992b), Howard argued that a new type of garden-city settlement could uniquely combine all the advantages of the town such as employment and access to services, as well as the advantages of country life, without any of the disadvantages of either. His proposal for creating such a settlement rested on the notion of decentralization, the movement of workers and their places of employment away from the city and into the new settlements isolated by wide greenbelts. Howard proposed the development of numerous Garden Cities, each with 30,000 inhabitants. Despite wide support from planners of the time, only two attempts were made at garden cities, Letchworth in 1903 and Welywyn in 1920, both of which never fully realized the goals of the movement. Mordernist Planning The Radiant City As the world entered the 20th century, planning philosophies evolved further. In Europe, Swiss-born architect Charles Edouard Jenneret, known as Le Corbusier, put forward radical planning proposals, which built on the ideas of Howard and his predecessors. Le Corbusier’s ideas and philosophies are contained in The City of tomorrow (1922) and The Radiant City (1933). These books outlined Le Courbuisers planning philosophies, centered around the idea of high density achieved through the construction of enormous skyscrapers, surrounded by open garden spaces and serviced by a highly efficient transport system of superhighways and railways grade separated from the inhabited realm (Hall 1993c). His proposals for a large-scale implementation of this phisosophy, outlined in his Plan Voisin Pour Paris, were never realized, though his ideas were implemented at a smaller scale around Europe in the postwar period following World War II, such as the Unite dHabitation in Marseilles. By the 1960’s many planners began to question the effectiveness of Le Corbusier’s proposals (Hall 1992d), and today many critics condemn his plans entirely, such as such as Dalrymple 2009 who views them as ‘soulless’ and ‘totalitarian’ in nature. However, it cannot be denied that his radical ideas had a major and lasting impact on the evolution of town and country planning (Hall 1992e). The Broadacre City While Le Corbusier was a proponent of density, American architect Frank Lloyd Wright was not. The two men were influenced by many of the same sources, but their visions were very different. Developed between 1932 and 1959, Broadacre City was a proposal for a sprawling city of large lots, farms and industry spread across the countryside serviced by network of superhighways (Brown 2007) While it was never built, Today’s critics have drawn parallels between it and the sprawling sub-urban expansion that defined the postwar reconstruction period in Australia and around the world. Postmodernist Planning Suburbia Thompson (2007) asserts that the postwar reconstruction of the 1950’s linked town and country planning with housing concerns to an extent not seen since planning’s beginnings in the 19th century. In Australia, master plans were created for cities, all of which reflected international planning philosophies of the time (Thompson 2007), supporting unlimited outward expansion, low-density residential development, car-oriented transport networks. In North America, this evolution was even more pronounced. Similar suburban developments were created, but on an unprecedented scale, with approximately 75 percent of North American housing stock built since World War II (Hirch 1983). These planning practices continued unabated until the 1970’s, when the effects of this planner began to be questioned (Thompson 2007). New Urbanism The end of the 20th century has seen the beginnings of yet another stage in the evolution of Town and Country Planning. Originating in the 1980’s, New Urbanism is a planning philosophy that promotes the construction of dense communities integrated with well-designed public spaces (Maginn 2011). According to Hikichi 2003, It promotes mixed residential unit types that are supportive of differing income levels, protection of the environment, less reliance on automobiles through he use of walking and bicycles for transport as well as the development of public transit and transit oriented development. In addition, New Urbanism supports having a town center that is within walking distance from all residential units that open space for public use. Conclusion It is clear that Town and Country Planning has a long and complex history, influenced by changing social, political, economic and environmental philosophies of both governments and private companies and planners. From its beginnings in 19th century Britain, through its modernist period and into its current postmodernist phase, planning has left both negative and positive impacts upon the urban environment. However, this history has not been ignored and planners of today utilize the lessons learnt from the planners of the past in order to plan as well as possible, as shown in the positive changes to planning practices as it has evolved. All approaches to planning have had a permanent impact on our urban environment, the results of which impact people today and will continue to do so into the future.

Motion-Powered Portable Charger

Motion-Powered Portable Charger The focus of this project is to design a Motion-powered portable charger for electronic mobile devices. The interest in electronic mobile devices has led to power supply problems. Most of the devices need a continuous power supply to be fully functional. This project is thought to design a solution to give almost unlimited power supply to charge the electronic mobile devices through movements of the users themselves. The energy is expected to be harvested from electromechanical devices such as Faradays hand-held generator or piezoelectric. The energy is then converted and altered to electrical energy depending on the required output power. This project would not only give almost unlimited power supply but it also would help in improving green technology and more efficient too. Simulation of the circuits in this project were created using Multisim.   1.1 Project Title Motion-powered Portable Charger 1.2 Aim The aim of this project is to design a motion-powered charger that allows electronic devices users to keep on charging their electronic devices from running movement of the users. To achieve this, the charger is expected to harvest enough motion from running to replenish cell phones or other small gadgets, like GPS devices. 1.3 Objectives The objectives of this project are as follows: Choosing the best electromechanical devices to charge the battery in the portable charger Testing the understanding of charger circuits which also includes AC-DC converters, amplifiers and other many minor circuits of an electronic devices Understanding in method to store energy in lithium-ion battery to be used to charge electronic portable devices Measure the efficiency of the devices ; input and output voltage, current and power of the charger Produce useable motion-powered portable charger 1.4 Learning Outcome Learning outcomes of this project are: Manage to understand the mechanism of charging and discharging condition of lithium-ion battery Understand on how to increase both voltage and current to required voltage and current Improve problem solving and decision-making skills for sudden mistakes discovered throughout the projects Have the confidence in designing an electronic and electrical circuits. Understand on files needed to produce a printed circuit board (PCB) Develop soldering skills so a PCB would be fully functional 1.5 Materials Required 18mm OD x 2mm WT x 12 long Perspex Tube 30 SWG Enamelled Copper Magnet wire LM324N OpAmp LM7812CT Single Linear Voltage Regulator TIP122G NPN Darlington Transistor 1N4148 Diode DC-DC 5V 1A/2A Boost Converter BZX79C 4.7V Zener Diode 10k ÃŽÂ © Potentiometer Resistors: 1 ÃŽÂ © 560 ÃŽÂ © 1k ÃŽÂ © 1.5k ÃŽÂ © 2.7k ÃŽÂ © 4.7k ÃŽÂ © 10k ÃŽÂ © 100k ÃŽÂ © 1M ÃŽÂ © Capacitors 10nF 100nF 1.6 Project Planning With a project with many different schedules and tasks that need to be completed project planning was an essential part to designing and building a functioning system. There is a time plan of the whole project in Appendix A Project Planning. 2.1 Fundamentals of Kinetic Energy and Mechanical to Electrical Energy 2.1.1 Faradays Law Initially, in 1821, a Danish physicist and chemist, Hans Christian Oersted, found a phenomenon so called electromagnetism. Soon after the discovery, a British scientist, William Hyde Wollaston, tried to design an electric motor using the fundamental theory of electromagnetism. However, his effort make no results and failed to create the motor [1]. Michael Faraday who have talked to both initiators of the theory started his experiments and managed to produce the very first electric motor. Since he is the only who published his works, he was credited for discovering the theory of induction in 1831 without acknowledging Wollaston [2]. This law predicts how magnetic field would related to electric field which then could produce electromotive force (EMF), a phenomenon generally called Electromagnetic Induction [2]. This law is applied as the basic fundamental theory for many applications such transformers, inductors, electric motors and in this project case, as a generator [2]. However, most of the scientists rejected the Faradays theory since it was not represented mathematically [1]. But only James Clerk Maxwell accepted the theory and described the law as Faradays Law of Induction mathematically which then later generalized to be called the Faraday-Maxwell Equation1 [1][3]. This equation is one of the four so called Maxwells Equation throughout all of his theory about electromagnetism [1]. Faradays Law of Induction surely needs the magnetic flux through a loop of wire [4]. The definition of magnetic flux is given by: where B is the magnetic field and dA is surface integral enclosed by the loop of wires. In term of graphical definition, magnetic flux through the loop of wire is directly proportional to the number of magnetic flux lines been cut when the magnet pass through the loop of wire [4]. 2.1.2 Lenzs Law The Faradays Law of Induction also states that when the magnetic flux that pass through the loop of wire changed, the loop of wire gained an EMF. Generally, this statement means that the induced EMF in closed circuit is defined as rate of change of magnetic flux made from the circuit [5][6]. The definition in term of equation is as below: where is the EMF while is the magnetic flux The Faradays Law of Induction is then further modified and improved by physicist named Heinrich Lenz. The improvised law is called as Lenzs Law. This law, of which gives the direction of the EMF, states that the direction of the induced current is opposite of the direction of the change that produced it because of the negative sign shown in the equation above [7]. In order to increase the induced EMF, it is known to customize the flux linkage since EMF is also known as rate of change of flux. This can be done by wounding coil of wires tightly producing N turns of wires, which each of the turn have the same magnetic flux. The EMF produced through this method is N times of one single turn of wire [8] [9]. Figure 1: Faradays Law of Induction producing EMF The theory from the Faradays Law of Induction due to magnetic flux linkage been cut by loop of wire then become the fundamental principle in making electrical generators. This could be happened when a conductor or loops of wires is moved relative to permanent magnet or vice versa producing EMF. If both ends of the opened-circuit wires is connected to any electrical devices, current will be produced and electrical energy is produced. This electrical energy is gained from the motion of the magnet which then proves the conversion of mechanical energy to electrical energy. 2.1.3 Piezoelectricity Piezoelectricity is the ion charges which are collected in abundant amount in some solid materials, such as ceramics and crystal, and biological matter, for example DNA and bones [10]. This could only be happened when mechanical stress is applied onto the particular substances. It is understood that piezoelectric effect was a result of linear electromechanical contact between electrical and mechanical state in materials whose structure are in highly microscopic structure order. These materials used for piezoelectricity are normally have no inversion symmetry [11]. During the early mid of 18th century, the early discovery and research was studied by Carl Linnaeus and Franz Aepinus. However, the study was on pyroelectric effect. This pyroelectric shows that an electrical potential of a substances or material are produced whenever there is temperature changes [12]. From this discovery, Rene Just Hauy and Antoine Cesar Becquerel conclude a relationship between electric charge of a substances or materials with mechanical stress applied onto it. Despite of their experimental efforts to prove the relationship, they are likely fail to prove the experiments conclusive [12]. Unable to full understand the principle, in 1880, The Curie brothers, Pierre Curie and Jacques Curie manage to demonstrate the very first direct piezoelectric effect [13]. The brothers manage to predict the behaviour of crystal by combining their knowledge on pyroeletricity with their understanding about the crystal structure. The effect was demonstrated by the brothers using tourmaline (crystalline boron silicate mineral), topaz (silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine), cane sugar and Rochelle salt (sodium potassium tartrate tetrahydrate) Quartz (mineral composed of silicon and oxygen) [13]. However, the converse piezoelectric effect wasnt predicted by the brothers. Only in the next year, 1881, Gabriel Lippmann managed to deduce the converse effect from the basic principles of thermodynamics mathematically [13]. Only then, the Curie brothers got to obtain the verification of the changeability of the deformations in the piezoelectric crystals and thus proved the presence of the converse effect [13]. The very first application of piezoelectric devices was as in sonar. It was first developed by Paul Langevin and his assistants during World War 1 at France which was about 1917 [13]. Starting from this creation where piezoelectric effect was used in sonar, the development of its technology and applications was intensely explored and developed. The most common application was found to be the piezoelectric sensor. Piezoelectric sensor, as known from its name, of course uses piezoelectric. This sensor detects any changes in pressure, force, temperature, stress or strain in form of electrical charge. This is one of the reason why it is called electromechanical devices as it generally converts mechanical energy to electrical energy Figure 2: Electronic and schematic symbol of a piezoelectric sensor The electrical properties of the sensor are that it has very high DC output impedance. This makes the sensor could also be sculpted as proportional voltage source or network filter [14]. Voltage across the source is directly proportional to any force, stress, strain or pressure applied onto it. The current passed through the circuit then will shows as output signal of the sensor of which specifically shows the result of the mechanical force applied [14]. Figure 3: Frequency response of piezoelectric sensor If it is intensely considered, the effects of the mechanical construction and other ingenuity of the sensor are included in the specified model. To make it function as sensor, the straight region (usable region) of the frequency response will normally be used [14]. As an effort to ensure that the low frequencies of interest (straight region) not lost, the leakage and load resistance must be sufficiently large. In this region, a corresponding circuit which has been abbreviated can be used. From the circuit, the capacitance of the sensor is signified by CS of which is defined by the general formula for capacitance of parallel plates [14]. However, the device can also be showed as charge source. This could only be happened if CS is in parallel yet the charge is still directly proportional to applied force [14]. Figure 4: Piezoelectric sensor as voltage source or charge source The principle operation of a piezoelectric material can be divided into 3 main operative modes: Longitudinal effect The total charge displaced does not depend on the dimension and shape of the piezoelectric elements. Yet, the amount charge displaced is directly proportional to the force or pressure. The one and only technique to surge the output charge is by placing a few piezoelectric elements in parallel as from electrical perspective but in series as from mechanical perpective. The output charge is as below: where is the piezoelectric coefficient as a charge in x-axis are being discharged by the forces exerted onto the same x-axis. , is the force exerted in the x-axis while is representing the number of elements that been fixed together. Shear effect The charges formed does not depend on the dimension and size of the piezoelectric elements at all and yet it is totally and directly proportional to the force and pressure exerted. The charge for elements which is placed in parallel as from electrical perspective but in series as from mechanical perspective can be illuminated as below: Transverse effect Charges along x-axis are displaced perpendicularly to a force that been applied along a neutral y-axis. The geometrical proportions of certain piezoelectric component determined the amount of charge displaced, CX. where is the proportion coordinated with the neutral axis, is coordinated with the charge producing axis while is the equivalent coefficient 2.2 Theory of Lithium ion Battery Amongst rechargeable battery that ever exist, lithium ion battery is known to be amongst the battery with highest capability to store energy per unit volume. This is one of the reason why lithium ion battery is considered to be useful for electrical energy storage [15]. Besides, lithium ion battery is also known for its capability and efficiency in charging and discharging [15]. However, there is also disadvantages of using this lithium ion battery. Comparing to capacitors and other different kind of batteries, it is essential for this lithium based battery to be charged using a definite voltage and restricted current [15]. If the condition is not fulfilled, the useful used-to-store-energy battery could be one of the dangerous battery as it could potentially be fire-starting bomb [15]. 2.2.1 Principles of Charging and Discharging Stage of Lithium ion battery The very foremost thing that need to be understood about discharging and charging a battery is its C-rate which is the foundation of battery usage. Generally, the batteries are characterised with nominal capacity which is measured in ampere-hour (Ah). But most of the time, the batteries are labelled in milliampere-hour (mAh) [15]. The label actually explains the amount of current supplied within one hour during the discharging state of the battery before the battery are fully depleted [15]. As an example, a battery labelled with 10000mAh which might be also labelled as 10Ah, could only push 10A to a circuit. If the battery is being discharged through the circuit with 10A but last for 1 hour, it said that the battery would have 1C discharge rate. It is also said to be discharged at rated capacity current. However, the discharge rate would only be 0.5C when the battery only provides 5A or 5000mA to a circuit. However, with 0.5C discharge rate, the battery would last for two hours [15]. Some batteries do tolerate for higher discharging rate compared to 1C, but it couldnt last longer than 1C discharge rate. As for charging condition, the theory is generally the same. At 0.5 charging rate, the same battery that labelled 10000mAh would be charged with maximum current of 50000mA [15]. However, comparing to discharge rate of a battery, most of the batteries are only charged at 0.5 to 0.7C charging rate because of safety and to have long-life battery [15]. Graph 1: Lithium ion battery cycle life, capacity and float voltage are interrelated From the graph above, it is concluded that each cell of most of the lithium ion batteries are only charged to 4.2V maximum. This is because charging using higher voltages might reduce the battery life even though the capacity of the battery are improved [16]. On the other hand, charging the battery using a lower voltage might increase the charge cycles but the run time of the battery are reduced [16]. Many batteries can be classified as over-discharged when the cell voltage of the battery is below 2.8V or 3V. When this happened, the battery can still actually be recharged and used [16]. However, a stage called aconditioning stage need to be done before the battery is charged again. Within the stage, the battery is only charged with 0.1C charging rate [16] Graph 2: The constant current, constant voltage charge profile of lithium ion battery The charge cycle of lithium ion battery is illustrated by the graph above. Generally, every charge cycle of single lithium battery contains two main stages which is Constant Current (CC) and Constant Voltage (CV). However, some chargers which charge series of lithium ion battery have an extra stage that is called Balancing Stage [16]. Explanation for each stage [16] is explained as below: Constant Current (CC) : This stage is always used by all the chargers and it is the one and only stage aimed at the fastest chargers. Generally, the battery is connected to current-limited power supply during this early stage. The limited current is normally 0.5 to 0.7 of the nominal capacity of the battery. The limited current flows continuously and constantly until the voltage of the battery cell reaches 4.2V. At this very moment, the charge of battery is expected to be around 70 to 80% [16]. Constant Voltage (CV) This stage is also known as the saturation stage. In this stage, the charger turns its role into voltage-limited power supply. Contradictly from the previous stage where voltage of the battery continues to be unchanged, the charge current decrease steadily. The battery is only acknowledged to be fully charged when the charge current is valued to be 3 to 10% of the rated capacity [16]. Balancing Stage As told before, this stage is normally only when series of lithium ion batteries need to be charged. In this stage, the charging current is normally lowered or in some cases, the charger is automatically and rapidly turned on and off in order to decrease the average current. At the same time, the charge of each battery cell is kept to the equal level. This was done by a circuit called balancing circuit. The stage will stop only when the batteries are found to be balanced. 2.2.2 Environmental Temperature Generally, lithium-ion battery give best charging performances only at cool temperature. The temperature accepted for the best performances ranging from 5  °C to 45  °C. Sometimes, the battery might even offer fast-charging within the accepted temperature [15]. It is also possible to charge the battery at low temperatures (below 5  °C). However, the cost to charge at low temperature is that the charge current will be reduced and indirectly, it would take long times for the battery to be fully charged. When the battery is charging in the low temperature, any increment in the temperature which is caused by the internal resistance of the cell would highly be beneficial even though it only small increment. On the other hand, charging the lithium ion battery in high temperatures can cause the battery to be degraded. Besides, charging the battery at high temperature (above 45  °C) also might lead to degradation of the battery performances. 3.1 Introduction In order to simplify the design and build the system, the project was split into modules. The project modules were initially designed to be like in the block diagram below. Figure 5: Initial flow chart of the motion-powered portable charger The modules were later adjusted based on the knowledge gained from the literature review. The adjusted modules are shown as below. Figure 6: Final flow chart of the motion-powered portable charger From the flow chart above, it can be seen that the input of the system is made to have two inputs. As for the system, the main input supposed to be the Kinetic/Mechanical to Electrical Energy Converter. However, the other input which is the AC Power Supply is also considered because it is made to be the alternative input just in case if there is any system failure in the main input. From the flow chart, there are three modules that are available in the market and would be useful for the system. The modules are AC Power Supply, Lithium ion Battery and 5V Voltage Regulator. 3.2 Kinetic/Mechanical to Electrical Energy Converter In this module, the design choice to generate the electricity which are harvested from kinetic or mechanical energy have been made. The design choice that have been made uses Faradays Law of Induction and Lenzs Law. Faradays Law of Induction applies that an electromotive force (EMF) will be produced when there is change in magnetic flux when a permanent magnet is passed through a loop of wire. Furthermore, Lenzs Law explained that the electromotive force (EMF) produced have different directions depending on the direction of the movement of the magnet relative to the loop of wire. Lenzs Law also indicates that the EMF can be converted into electricity if both ends of wire are connected to electrical load and it would produce an alternating current. Figure 7: Shake Generator with permanent magnet sealed in the tube From the understanding of the laws, a shake generator is made as in the figure above. The shake generator is made by using 30SWG magnet wire circling around a Perspex tube. A permanent and powerful magnet is then placed in the tube. Both end of the Perspex tube is then sealed using rubber-closed blind. Knowing that the generator would produce alternating current and produce low voltage, a circuit is designed which combined both AC-DC Converter and 12V Output voltage regulator. The AC-DC converter only consists of four 1N4001G diode which combined to form rectifier. On the other hand, the voltage regulator is created by using the LM7812CT Fairchild Semiconductor, 0.1 ÃŽÂ ¼F capacitor and 10 ÃŽÂ ¼F capacitor. Figure 8: AC-DC Converter and 12V 2A Voltage Regulator Circuit 3.3 Battery Charging Circuit Figure 9: Battery Charging Circuit In this circuit, a LM324N Operational Amplifier (op-amp) is used. The op-amp is used to produce a voltage and current limited power supply as in reviewed in the literature review early in this report. In this circuit, the current can be adjusted by using a potentiometer to produce current ranging from 160A to 1600mA. This allows the charger to charge various capacity of lithium ion batteries. The op-amp is used so that the voltage is limited to 4.2V. Thus, the lithium ion batteries will not be damaged. Besides, the circuit also used the TIP122G transistors. This transistor generally is a Darlington bipolar power transistor. This transistor can actually be replaced with any transistor which have pin that compatible with TIP122Gs pin. The transistor also need to have minimum DC current gain more than 100. Besides, the maximum collector current also need to be more than 2A. 3.3.1 Power Supply of the Charger Figure 10: Power Supply Circuit of the Battery Charger The battery charging circuit is mainly power-driven by a charger with rating of 12V 2A as designed in the Kinetic/Mechanical to Electrical Energy Converter module. It is found that the op-amp LM324N is not a rail to rail type. Thus, another voltage rail is needed so that the op-amp could detect the small voltages near the ground (GND). Besides, it is also made the output voltage to be low so that the Darlington transistor (TIP122G) wouldnt turned on when they are not supposed to. By referring to the overall schematic circuit of the Battery Charging Circuit, it can be seen that the transistor, that adjust the flow of the current and voltage across the lithium ion battery (illustrated by the oscilloscope), is not connected to ground but to a voltage rail. This is because the output of the LM324N op-amp couldnt reach the negative voltage supply. It can only reach 1.5 to 2.0V. At this condition, the TIP122G Darlington transistor couldnt be able to turn off and would result in the transistor for not be able to limit the current and voltage appropriately. This is one of the reasons why op-amp U1A and a transistor are used. This is to create a 2.5V rail practically compared to ground (GND). The voltage rail created are further used to sink the current which pass through the charger section of this module. From the circuit, the function of the resistor R2 and R3 are to act as potential divider which gives an average output voltage of 2.5V. However, it is still depending on the tolerance of both resistors. No matter on how the current flow, 2.5V will always loss across the op-amp which controls the transistor. In the circuit, the LED shows whether the charger is on or off. In addition, C2 steadily adjust the voltage out from the charger. In the battery charging circuit module, all of the op-amps and the charging indicator (illustrated by the LED) are precisely powered from the 12V supply. However, the remaining of the circuit is powered with the voltage between 12V and 2.5V rails which is 9.5V. 3.3.2 The charger circuit Figure 11: Actual Charger Circuit This section is the most significant section of the charger because this is the section that responsible in restricting the voltage and current across the lithium ion battery. From the circuit, the limited current can be controlled from the 10k ÃŽÂ © potentiometer. However, the limited voltage will be constantly at 4.2 V unrelatedly to the various kind of the power supply. The potentiometer also effectively works together with the U1C in limiting the current of the battery. The current passing it and the voltage across might be equal since the value of the sense resistor is only 1 ÃŽÂ ©. The potentiometer is above the 1k resistor and the voltage across the 1k ÃŽÂ © resistor is 160mV. This would make the lowest voltage of the output of the potentiometer would be 0.16V. In this condition, this circuit would produce limited current of 160mA which is a suitable condition to charge a lithium ion battery labelled with 300mAh. The highest limited current through the potentiometer can be somewhat more than 1.6A since the voltage drop that been found across it is about 1.6V. Thus, by changing the potentiometer, the possible output voltage obtained can be around 0.16V to 1.6V. On the other hand, this also means that the highest limited current can be ranging around 1600mA to 160A. The transistor will be driven by the op-amp to make the voltage across the sense resistor to have the equal value as in the output of the potentiometer. Besides, the op-amp might get to produce low voltage that is just sufficient to make the transistor turn off and to establish a low limited current all because of the 2.5V rail. Towards the finale phase of the constant current stage, the voltage of the lithium ion battery become closer to the value of 4.2V. At this situation, the limiting voltage stage of the circuit and the constant voltage stage will start to take over the process. A 4.2V situation under 12V (VCC) are created by the BZX79 4.7V Zener diode and the potential divider that consists of R10 and R11. At the moment where the voltage across the lithium ion battery get to 4.2V markings, the U1D op-amp begins to drive voltage into the reversing input of the other op-amp. This process will allow the op-amp to reduce the voltage of the output to the transistor. Thus, the current passing through the lithium ion battery will begin to fall steadily in order to maintain 4.2V across the battery. When the l

Teaching Meditation to Classes in Philosophy :: Education Teacher Educating Philosophical Essays

Teaching Meditation to Classes in Philosophy ABSTRACT: In alignment with the overall theme of the congress, "Philosophy Teaching Humanity," this paper proposes that teachers of philosophy consider instructing their students in simple techniques of meditation. By meditation I mean the practice of mindfulness which typically begins by paying clear, steady, non-reactive attention to the sensations of one's own breathing, and then extending this attention to embrace all bodily sensations, feelings, moods, thoughts, and intentions. I discuss how to integrate meditation practically in the philosophy classroom and then respond to three objections that have been raised to that practice. I then discuss the potential benefits of the practice, arguing first of all that meditation has academic benefits, especially in courses in Asian philosophy. But of much wider application is the wisdom of non-attachment which the mediation naturally evokes primarily through the experience of impermanence. The potential benefits of the paradigm are then briefly indicated as related to our experience of body, mind, society and nature. I conclude by commending the proposal as a small but important practical step philosophy teachers can take to help our fellow humans navigate the challenging transformation of our time. I. A Proposal: Situating the Need and Proposing a Response The grand theme of our Congress is "Philosophy Educating Humanity". It is heartening to see philosophers from all over the world pondering how we can be of service to our species; refocusing on the root meaning of "philosophy" as "love of wisdom", we seek to be of real help in a world in the throes of many transformations. Those of us who teach philosophy in formal academic environments are already in a position to make a direct difference in the lives of our students; like it or not, we are at some level opinion leaders in our communities--what we teach and how we teach matters. And so we ask ourselves how can we best use the power that we have? Clearly we can help our students and fellow human beings by teaching them skills of discursive rationality; when we can define our meanings precisely, use our terms consistently, argue coherently, and adhere to high standards of evidence, then we are better able to avoid dogmatism and bring an effective intelligence to bear on the problems of living that face us. These skills will always be a precious resource philosophy can offer humanity. And yet there is much more to philosophy than this.

Philosophers Impact on Marx and Engels :: Essays Papers

Philosopher's Impact on Marx and Engels One part of human nature is to want to gain more power. Within this idea there are many parts. First is the need for humans to overcome nature. Another part is gaining more territory. The more land a man has, the more powerful he feels. Lastly, having control over their own lives and the lives of others contributes to whether or not they feel powerful. This concept can be seen in The Communist Manifesto. Marx and Engels are discussing the industrial revolution. This may seem far from the ideas of humans overcoming nature and gaining more power; however, it is not. The industrial revolution came about because of the need to expand. The reason they needed to expand was because they wanted more power. The power hungriness in humans, however, can often get out of hand. This is shown in the industrial revolution. People, the bourgeoisie to be more specific, became so greedy that it did not matter whom they used to gain more power. This is the situation that Marx and Engels try to rectify. Not only are human’s actions affecting nature through pollution, but they are also affecting society itself. People are living in poverty and filth, and the upper classes are making no advances to stop it. This is what motivated Marx and Engels to publish their thoughts. Marx and Engels were influenced by many philosophers, the most influential, however, was G. W. F. Hegel. Hegel was so influential that in order to analyze the other philosopher s one must do so through Hegel’s interaction with them. Marx especially, shares many of the same views with Hegel although they do differ on certain issues. â€Å"Despite Marx’s never-ending attack on Hegel, the Marxian conception of history is Hegelian through and through.†1 Hegel’s philosophy is focused on the criticism of Kant and Fichte, two other German philosophers. Engels once wrote â€Å"We German socialists are proud that we trace our descent not only from Saint Simon, Fourier, and Owen, but also from Kant, Fichte, and Hegel.†2 To this list one must also add Ludwig Feuerbach who Engels wrote about later in life. These philosophers had the most influence on Marx and Engels. Their philosophies are all interrelated. In fact many of their works either criticize or build upon one of the others previous works.

Edward Snowden Essay

On June 6, 2013 The Guardian newspaper printed a story alleging that the National Security Agency (NSA) was collecting telephone records of millions of Verizon customers in a top secret government sanctioned program. This would be just the first glimpse at the many disturbing actions revealed by a man named Edward Snowden, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee and NSA contractor who used his computer prowess and security clearance to collect information about how the United States government has been monitoring its own citizens. Mr. Snowden’s actions have prompted the government to file criminal charges against him including theft of government property and espionage. This situation raises serious questions about the legality and ethicality of government surveillance programs as well as security of personal information. There has always been a debate over the trade-off between privacy and security, and this is a perfect example of that discussion. This is an issue that affects anyone who utilizes the technological advancements of today, regardless of the criminality (or lack thereof) of their actions. To better understand this issue we must first take a look at the laws that govern surveillance and the laws that protects our individual freedom from unwarranted surveillance. Two of the most important documents that focus on these issues are the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution, which protects Americans against unwarranted surveillance, and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which was instituted in 1986 as an update to the law governing government wiretapping programs. Since the issue at hand regards government surveillance in general and the Fourth Amendment was written to protect Americans from this act, it is worth quoting in full: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to  be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. According to Jackson Lears (2013), the Board of Governors Professor of History at Rutgers University and Editor in Chief of the Raritan Quarterly Review, this Amendment was â€Å"written by men who had rejected imperial power and were determined to prevent its reassertion in their new nation†¦Nothing could more flagrantly violate those requirements than the NSA dragnet† (p. 4). Although our Constitution was written almost 230 years ago, and the men who wrote this document could not have possibly foreseen the technological advancements that would be made in that time (i.e. the telephone, nuclear weapons or the Internet), they were witness to the abuse of government power and tried to institute broad principles to mitigate the possibility of their new government becoming corrupt in that way. The problem our country faces, however, is that in order to regulate this type of behavior it must first be known, which until Edward Snowden appeared had only been considered speculative, and then addressed (Richards, 2013, p. 1934). The government has made attempts, however feeble, at implementing additional laws to prevent this type of abuse of power in the past, but has not kept up with the times when it comes to updating these safeguards. The Supreme Court ruled in 1928 that warrantless wiretapping was not illegal, but that ruling was overturned in 1967 and it was not until 1968 that Congress passed legislation governing wiretapping. In the same fashion, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act was passed in 1986 as an amendment to the Wiretap Act, but has not been updated in the nearly 30 years since it was enacted (Freiwald & Mà ©tille, 2013, p. 1291). The only two times Congress has clarified what may or not be done in conjunction with the Electronic Communications Privacy Act was in 1994 with the passing of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act and the Patriot Act (passed in 2001 only 6 weeks after the attacks on September 11), which both â€Å"further eased the restrictions on law enforcement surveillance† (Freiwald & Mà ©tille, 2013, p. 1292) and â€Å"ensured[d] that providers of telecommunications services maintained the accessibility of their systems to wiretapping (Freiwald & Mà ©tille, 2013, p. 1293). Friewald and Mà ©tille (2013) also explain that â€Å"surveillance that proceeds outside the bounds of the ECPA (and related statutes), either by virtue of not being historically covered, or by  virtue of being too new to be included, can proceed without any judicial review, so long as a court has not yet held that the Fourth Amendment requires regulation (p. 1295-1296). The question we must ask is whether or not this type of surveillance is necessarily dangerous or if it is necessary to protect our country and national security. According to Neil Richards (2013), â€Å"First, surveillance is harmful because it can chill the exercise of our civil liberties†¦Second, we must recognize that secret surveillance is illegitimate and prohibit the creation of any domestic-surveillance programs whose existence is secret†¦Third, we should recognize that total surveillance is illegitimate and reject the idea that it is acceptable for the government to record all Internet activity without authorization† (p. 1935-1936). The first idea that Richards raises deal with our civil liberties such as freedom of speech. When people are constantly under the fear of government surveillance, they may be less likely to speak their mind when they disagree with public policy because they may fear retaliation or retribution for their dissent. The second point of secret surveillance deals with the idea of accountability for those who are performing the surveillance. If a blank check is written by Congress for surveillance with no oversight as to what surveillance is being performed, then there can be no guarantee that the people performing the surveillance are not violating our personal privacy. If the government wants it’s people to trust them, then they should be comfortable with the idea of â€Å"trust but verify†. Finally, the idea of total surveillance is the most concrete example of the violation of the Fourth Amendment which requires probably cause as a basis for any intrusive action by the government. I am not against the idea of surveillance, especially in the dangerous world we live in, but at the same time we must find a balance and understand our limits. In order to preserve our individual freedoms we must be willing to accept a certain level of insecurity and a certain level of personal responsibility. The level of personal responsibility we must accept is to be willing, and able, to defend ourselves without relying on the government to do it for us all the time. One example of this is the attacks of  September 11, 2001 where 4 planes were hijacked and used as weapons. Out of these 4 planes, only the passengers of one, United flight 93, were willing to stand up for themselves against the hijackers. If the hijackers knew that the passengers on each and every plane would have acted with the bravery and heroism of those on the United flight, I doubt they would have hijacked any of them. As far as accepting a certain level of insecurity goes, that is just a part of life; there is no way we can prevent every horrible thing from happening. I understand the human desire to prevent bad things from happening, but what cost are we willing to pay for it? If we want to prevent car accidents that occur from deer running into the road, does that mean we should kill all the deer? In the words of Benjamin Franklin, one of our Founding Fathers and signatories of our Constitution, â€Å"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.† References Lears, J. (2013). EDITOR’S NOTE. Raritan, 33(1), 1-6. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Richards, N. M. (2013). THE DANGERS OF SURVEILLANCE. Harvard Law Review, 126(7), 1934-1965. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Freiwald, S., & Mà ©tille, S. (2013). REFORMING SURVEILLANCE LAW: THE SWISS MODEL. Berkeley Technology Law Journal, 28(2), 1261-1332. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.