Developing Hybrid Vehicles at General Motors Research Proposal

Developing Hybrid Vehicles at General Motors - Research Proposal Example The new product paradigm is based on combining technologies so that vehicles use a less expensive and more environmentally friendly way to operate. These new technologies include burning fuels such as alcohol or hydrogen or combine the use of electricity and gasoline. In some new models, the vehicle will start off using its gasoline engine and, when the driver has reached cruising speed, the batteries power the car while the primary engine idles. This greatly reduces the use of gasoline and lessens the amount of pollution from the car. The objectives of this research will be to gauge the demand for hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles by conducting surveys of consumers and collecting data on the impact of providing such products to the market. Specifically, the research will focus on those individuals who are likely to purchase a vehicle in the next 12 months and are either concerned about the price of fuel or about the environmental impact of fossil fuel consumption; the research will seek to quantify the percentage of American consumers who are likely to respond positively to a new hybrid vehicle from GM and determine what features would be most attractive to them. Study Type. The research proposed in this study will be structured along the lines of standard exploratory methods, combining both primary and secondary research scopes.The overall aim of the research is to come to a general understanding of consumer demand for a proposed new vehicle that operates on alternative fuels and/or provides the consumer with superior performance in terms of fuel consumption. This inquiry will be combined with an investigation into the feasibility and cost of designing and producing such a product. The initial focus of the research will be primary; it will focus directly on consumer demand for the special features of the product. Further, there will be a secondary research component that will seek to use current independent research into the costs and benefits associated with providing this type of product to the American consumer.Target Population and Sample Size. The target population for this study will be American consumers who fall into three categorie s. First, the individuals surveyed must be likely to purchase a new vehicle within the next 12 months. This will inform the research with the opinions of actual prospective consumers and prevent the introduction of inaccurate information from those who are not within the target market. Second, the target population members will have to have more than just the intention to purchase a new vehicle. They must have a strong opinion on one of two other areas; either they are very concerned about the price of gasoline because of the increased expenses they incur OR they are concerned about the environment and the impact of fossil fuel consumption on the future of the planet. Any person who is likely to purchase a new vehicle within the next year AND is concerned about gas prices or the environment will be considered a valid member of the target population.

Relationship change Essay Example for Free

Relationship change Essay 1. Why do Maggie, the first-person narrator, the mother, and Dee do not have a very close relationship? Maggie and mother (on the one hand) and Dee on the other do not have a good relationship because of their differing beliefs about the function of heritage and culture. Dee’s arrogance has led her away from her roots, and her belief about the relics of their heritage is to place them on show. Her mother and sister, on the other hand, are one with their heritage and believe they should continue to practice their traditions. What do the quilts and the butter churn symbolize? The quilts and butter churn are the symbols of the heritage that Dee would like to put on display, but which Maggie and their mother would like to continue to embrace and use. 3. How would you describe Maggie and Moms interaction? Maggie and her mother understood each other well and agreed in their perspective toward their situation and history. They were close, as both felt themselves distanced in their â€Å"ignorance† from the station to which Dee supposed herself to have risen. Maggie read to her mother and it comforted her, which is in contrast to the inferiority Dee made them both feel when she used to read to them. Maggie’s mother feels protective of her, and knows that she understands the true meaning of their heritage. This is shown in the way she takes the quilts from Dee and turns them over firmly to Maggie. 4. By what incident was Maggie traumatized? Maggie was traumatized when she was burned badly in a fire that consumed the house the family had previously live in. 5. Does Maggie and Moms relationship change throughout the story? If yes, why does the relationship change? The relationship between Maggie and her mother deepen near the end of the story when her mother realizes the sacrificial nature that Maggie has. She comes to understand how many things have been reserved for Dee and yet how few have ever been reserved for Maggie. The mother perceives a lack of entitlement in her character—that is, Maggie never feels anything should rightly happen in her favor. The two become closer when the mother begins trying to bolster the girl’s self esteem by making her believe her feelings are worth denying Dee some of her desires.

Responsibilities Of Man In The Family

Responsibilities Of Man In The Family Family is an assembly of people who have marital relation and blood related individuals, living under the same roof. A group of many families living together is considered a society. In other words, family is a cell of a modern society. Each and every individual has the responsibility of building up the family in order to create a happy family. In the current world, the man plays a very special role which affects not only his current family but also later generations. There is a saying in Vietnamese: Men are the ones who build the house, while women are the one who create the home, we can see that the man is always the strong one, who does the heaviest work for his family, but it does not mean that the mans role is just to support the family in financing, building the house, providing settlement then living all the rest of the familys duties to the woman to do all the household chores such as raising children or house caring, the man and the woman have to share with each other about every aspect of living life and familys side. Being a man of the family is not a simple thing, he has to show all of his strengths to build up his family which seems to be a difficult work for all men in the world. Marriage is a combination of the man and the woman, according to Mignon McLaughlin, a successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. To become the man of the family, firstly, he has to be a good husband. A good husband is the man who understands his wifes needs and wants. Any woman wants her husband to be a successful man and always willing to share with her all problems in life, like Zig Ziglar (also known as Hilary Hinton Ziglar) said before: Many marriages would be better if the husband and the wife clearly understood that they are on the same side. For the Christians, when a man and a woman are getting married, they always promise to love each other forever and be side by side through sickness, poverty, even the hardest times of life, richness or healthy in the church. So, we can easily see that love is the first requirement of being a husband. The husband needs to give his wife the love and regards her like a woman and a person, not a maid for free in the house. Intense love, compassion, altruism, understanding of the husband is the thing woman wants the most. A man who has a warm heart, always opens his mind to listen to his wife is an ideal husband. Listening and understanding is always the important thing to do for his wife because Shared joy is a double joy, shared sorrow is half a sorrow said by Swedish Proverb. Woman loves by eyes and ears, thus she will be very happy when she gets a good compliment from the husband. When the wife feels happy, she will do everything to make her family become happier and happier, fully fi lled with love. Dividing the responsibilities in a family is different, depend on the culture. For instance, it is common for a Japanese household that the husband is the one who goes to work, giving financial support for the whole family, while the wife usually retreats from her previous work, willingly take care of all the house chores and raising children. Rarely, the husband will do some part of the chores when he feels like to, or under pressure from other parties (his spouse, children, etc.). In this situation, the man of the family becomes the main financial provider. In the modern life, other hard works, such as fixing or maintaining the houses equipments can be done by paying to a third party service, thus making money becomes the most important assignment that the man has to concentrate on. Aside from that, the man in the house must also have well personality, good insight and knowledgeable. Moreover, contributing to the emotional, spiritual, physical and mental well-being of his family are all necessary. In order to do this, he must recognise that there are other elements other than money are needed to be provided. The man mainly takes this part in familys duties. When the need of love and financial are fulfilled, the woman will need a strong man to protect her family. That is an important duty of the husband. Not only protecting the family, the man should also be the first one to solve all the problems. That does not mean that the husband is the only one who has to do all the problem-solving part, but that he should do it instead of waiting for his partner to ask for help or push him up. A role-model husband is not the one who knows everything or does everything, but the one who has the ability to balance every duty, giving it the most suitable priority. Nowadays, there are many women choose to be single mothers. They are confident that even when lacking the support of the men, they can still be able to live well, raising the children to become good people without the need of their childrens father. However, that will not give the children all the care they need, as a proverb in Vietnamese: the child without his/her father is similar to the house without its roof. On the other hand, the mother cannot teach her child all the skills that the childs father can do. No matter how masculine the woman is, there are always tasks that only men can do. Become a mother is a proof of how the feminine she is already. How can she raise her son to become a real man, without the affection of all the feminine she has? And how can she give her precious girl a good imagine of the daughters future partner? They will just simply take all the trait of their only parent, thus hardening all the tasks on the mother, will may not relevant at early age, but become more clearly as they grow up. Furthermore, children are always longed more love and care, and will easily get jealous if they see that they are not getting as much attention as other kids. Whenever they see other childrens fathers sending them to school, or playing sport together, immediately there will be countless questions arise in the lonely child mind: Do I have a father? Who is my father? Why had he never appeared in my life? As the consequence, all that questions will be turned to the mother, which will surely be in an uncomfortable situation when being asked like that. At that time, is there any explanation that understand able to the children without hurting them, or will other lies be given that put the children in deeper confusion? A life without a man in the family will cause many difficulties to the woman. For now she will have to do all the house works, while taking care of the kids and keeping the familys financial situation at an acceptable rate. How does she suppose to do all that jobs at the same time? If the woman is in a rich family, or she already has a well paying job, then the tasks can be less pressuring. However, those are only rare exceptions. On the contradict, many single mothers having trouble balancing the duties all at once. Hence, she will need a man to share all the weight on her shoulder, in order to keep the family happy and affluent at all time. Taking care of the children must not come from the though that is it the duty as the parents, but from the immeasurable and unconditional love to their blood related children. Educating the kids is not an individual task. It must be done by both the parents, taken will well care and be treasured. Children are especially sensitive, and always eager to learn new things from the world. Every little thing from the outer environment will affect their perspective, which decides the childrens behaviour when they grow up. They will just simply mimic all what they think that are interesting. The worst thing is, the actions that the children try to mimic may not be all right. Supposedly there may be bad behaviours such as bullying or pick pocketing. As time goes by, they will consider that those actions are the righteous, without regarding its true meaning. Therefore, as the nearest source of affection the children, parents always have to act as role model, not only while teaching their kid, but in everyday actions. Similar to growing a tree, if well tended had not been taken since it was a seed, the tree might not give out its expected juicy fruit. For example, considering a family of the sporty type, in which there are many sports activities are done by both the father and the son. The boy will soon get the habit of doing sport, and keep practicing them when he grows up. Soon enough, that man will spread his hobby to the next generation, when he starts having family on his own. In the family of the arguing type, where parents always shout at each other for every trivial, the children will pick up that pattern, and become ill-mannered in no time. That cycle will continue for ever, until there are changes in the new family. However, that does not mean that any successful man will also success in being a father. Sometime, the mans mind sways away with his busy career, thus forgetting his duty as a father, neglecting his responsibility of teaching the kids. Only when he is at the top of the career ladder, and his children have already on the completely wrong track, he will realise his own carelessness. Therefore, it is necessary for the man to balance between the family and the job. For a girl, the father is usually taken as the model for her boy friend or future life partner. If the relationship between father and daughter is close and they often have conservations together, the girl will be more confident in choosing boyfriend, better understanding of the opposite gender, thus avoid misunderstandings and unnecessary worries. As a female, when the girl gets dressed, she wants to be the centre of the attentions, so if the father can understand and commend on her dresses, it will affect to her way of dressing and living and then leading to a familiar life suitable to her family and society. A boy always has his secret which is not easy to say out and he is easy to be influent by his friends bad habits, if he has a good guider who encourage his mind and knowledge, he will be prevented from the wrong way in his life. And the boy is deeply getting his father characters effect. If a boy grow up without a father, he cannot get along well with all the boys problems, mother cannot share all the secrets with her son. Boys are more difficult, they often act like his father does. In conclusion, the man in the family plays a very important role in the family. He has to perform the duty of not only the husband, the father but also the mental leader. As a husband, he has to understands and sympathises with his wife, his soul-mate. As a father, he has the responsibility to teach his son and daughter the skills needed to become good people. As a mental leader, he has to remain calm and strong in any situations. It is not easy to perform all those tasks perfectly simultaneously, but with a strong heart and a clear determination, nothing is impossible. BIBLIOGRAPHIES Cohen D., 2001, The fathers book :being a good dad in the 21st century, Wileys, ISBN: 0470841338 Dubowitz H., MD, MS; Black M.M., PhD; Kerr M.A., MS; 2000; Father and Child Neglect; Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2000; pp.154:135-141 Garfield C. F., Issaco A., Fathers and the Well-Child Visit, PEDIATRICS Vol. 117 No. 4 April 2006, pp. e637-e645 Garner P., Clough P., 2008, Fathers and sons: in and about education, Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books Ltd., ISBN: 9781858563701 Gilbert L. A., Rachlin V., 1987, Mental health and psychological functioning of dual-career families, The Counseling Psychologist 15 (1987), pp. 7-49. Katiereich, 7-7-2009, Support the man in your life [Online resource], reference link: http://missionalwife.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/support-the-man-in-your-life/, last accessed 16-04-2010 McGrail A., 1996, Becoming a family (National Childbirth Trust Guide), Stationery Office Books, ISBN: 0117019348 Michael D., 1999, The name assigned to the document by the author. This field may also contain sub-titles, series names, and report numbers.Parenting and Child Development in Nontraditional Families, Publisher name and contact information, as provided by the publisher; updated only if notified by the publisher.Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, ISBN: 0-8058-2748-X

Le Corbusier Essays -- Essays Papers

Le Corbusier Architecture is the design of individual building and garden projects that make the realm of the voids visible, memorable and ultimately, useful. Crucial to the making of any city is the clear distinction of such projects by scale and character. Firstly, the definition of buildings and landscape that builds an urban collective form, a fabric. And secondly, civic and community buildings and gardens, physically distinguishable by their institutional purpose. Architecture and Urbanism are bound into one another through the kinds of open space, buildings and landscape, the constituent parts that they hold in common. These are types of form as opposed to particular designs. Cities depend on the repetition of these types for the heterogeneity, the redundancy and the complexity of their structure. Le Corbusier, the great Swiss Architect is often mistaken as being of French origin. In actuality, he was born in 1887 as Charles Edouard Jeanneret in La Chaux-de-fonds, a watch-making city in Switzerland. He left school at age 13 to learn the trade of engraving watch faces. Encouraged by a local art teacher he taught himself architecture, travelling throughout Europe to observe architectural styles. Settling in Paris in 1917, he met Ozenfant, who introduced him to Purism, and with whom he collaborated in writing several articles under his pseudonym (the name of a relative on his father's side). His main interest was large urban projects and city planning. Many of his designs were rejected, but they influenced other architects throughout the world. Examples of his work are the Unità © d'habitation, Marseille (1945--50); Chandigarh, the new capital of the Punjab; the Swiss Dormitory in the Cità © Universitaire in Paris; and the Exposition Pavilion in Zà ¼rich. In 1920 he started publishing his magazine L'Esprit Nouveau, until his death in 1965. He inspired several generations of architects not only in Europe but also around the world. He was more than a mercurial innovator. Irascible, caustic, Calvinistic, Corbusier was modern architecture's conscience. One of the most famous houses of the modern movement in architecture, the Villa Savoye is a masterpiece of Le Corbusier's purist design. It is perhaps the best example of Le Corbusier's goal to create a house which would be a "machine a habiter," a machine for living (in). Located in a suburb near P... ... history makes a lot more sense than starting from zero. It has been an expensive lesson, and not one that Le Corbusier intended, but it too is part of his legacy. He died in the Mediterranean in 1965. The following are celebrated quotes form Le Corbusier: â€Å"Architecture is the learned game, correct and magnificent, of forms assembled in the light.† (1) â€Å"I prefer drawing to talking. Drawing is faster, and allows less room for lies.† (2) â€Å"The materials of city planning are: sky, space, trees, steel and cement; in that order and that hierarchy.† (3) â€Å"Our own epoch is determining, day by day, its own style. Our eyes, unhappily, are unable yet to discern it.† (4) â€Å"A hundred times have I thought New York is a catastrophe and fifty times: It is a beautiful catastrophe.† (5) Le Corbusier himself considered his creations in the domain of visual arts of primary importance and proclaimed that his architectural creations flowed from them. His noteworthy statement "there are no sculptors only, no painters only, no architects only, the plastic incident fulfills itself in an overall form in the service of poetry." explains his global commitment to the visual arts.

Investigation and prevention of child abuse Essay

Child abuse is one of the most common human right violations in the human community. According to UNCEF reports, at least one child dies every day as a result of child abuse. Nevertheless, the exact number of child deaths as a result of chilled abuse is hindered by the fact that most cases of child deaths in the communities goes without investigation. Still, an estimated over 30, 000 child in America are put under protection registers annually (American Prosecution Research Institute 12). The world is approximated to have over 100 million abused children most of whom are from the developing nations. However, these are just but a few of child abuse cases which are reported. There are numerous types of child abuse practices in the society. They range from infant shaking, to child battering, to child negligence, to child sexual abuse (Perona, Bottoms, and Vieth 42). Such practices are blamed for having a negative impact on the psychological, physical, and social development of the child. The process of preventing child abuse effectively dictates for the participation of all members of the community in ensuring early identification of such problems (Perona, Bottoms, and Vieth 51). Creating awareness among children as well as other members of the community on the rights of children plays an instrumental role in mitigating child abuse in the community. Investigation of child abuse for legal charges involves numerous methods depending on the type and magnitude of the act. For instance, Physical sexual abuse on kids can either be self evident or call for medical procedures to qualify (Myers 46). The history of family relations plays a crucial role in child abuse investigation practices by law enforcement. This paper seeks to give a detailed discussion on the prevention and investigation of child abuse. Prevention of child abuse The realization of effective child abuse prevention entails the creation of awareness on the forms and how to identify child abuse as well as engaging efforts in mitigating risk factors to child abuse in the community (Perona, Bottoms, and Vieth 51). The problem of child abuse in the community is increased by lack of awareness by the public. According to available statistics for example, child sexual abuse incidences in the American society has its peak between the onset of puberty and adolescence (American Prosecution Research Institute 67). At this age, most of the victims have mental capability to identify and avoid being victims of sexual abuse. Based on this reasoning, creating adequate awareness among the child can greatly aid in mitigating child abuse practice in the community. In this pursuit, since 1983, the American nation has set April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. In addition, the government funds child-abuse prevention initiatives through its Community-Based Grants for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (CBCAP) (American Prosecution Research Institute 71). Still on awareness, society cohesion factor plays an important role in preventing child (Myers 102). Just as is the case with other forms of crime prevention practices, the local community members find much advantage in the early identification and thus controlling of child abuse in their neighborhoods. This is because; they are the ones living close to the sources of child abuse; the family unit. Therefore, encouraging communal living among members of the community is instrumental in preventing child abuse. Another common practice of preventing child abuse is enforcing zero tolerance policies on domestic violence. According to numerous research findings, it is established that families marked with couple violence have a higher prevalence of child abuse; both physically and emotionally (Myers 112). There are numerous risk factors identified for causing child abuse practices. Such include the social and economic position of the family and the local community and the effectiveness of the law enforcement and criminal justice system in addressing child abuse cases (Myers 108). It has been sufficiently claimed that poverty in the in family plays an instrumental factor in perpetuating child abuse practices such as neglect. Financial constrains in the family also serves to cause stress and depression among parent, a factor that negatively impacts on the parent-child relationship. Still, an idle mind is the devils workshop. Therefore, the sustainable prevention of child abuse dictates for resolving eminent economic problems that affecting members of the local community. Also found to influence the level of child abuse is the character and gender of the child. Statistical evidence indicates that most mentally or physically disabled children are found to be at risk of child abuse (Perona, Bottoms, and Vieth 61). The statistics also establish substantial evidence connecting gender classification as a clear cause of child abuse in the community. In particular, the girl child is prone to child abuse and neglect. In some countries, the girl child is rarely provided with equal education as the boy child. This is a denial of the children right to education. In addition, girls are common victims to forced marriages as well as prostitution. On the other hand, the boy child is commonly marked with forced labor. They are also the main victims of corporal punishment compared to girls. These are the reasons behind the enactment and enforcement of numerous laws mitigating practices such as child pornography and prostitution and child labor (American Prosecution Research Institute 61). Many nations across the globe including the United States have banned corporal punishment of children both in the schools and in the family. This serves the purpose of limiting inhuman punishments on children. It is worth noting that the United Nations initiative on providing basic education to all children has taken cause in many countries across the globe. This initiative is quite instrumental in influencing prevention of anti-girl child education practices in the nation as much of its emphasis is on the girl child. Such an initiative is supported by numerous community based non-governmental organization. The war on drug abuse in the community is an important tool in mitigating child abuse. According to numerous research findings, drug abuse like alcoholism is among the leading causes of domestic violence as well as child sexual abuse in the community (Myers 121). This claim has been evidently supported by the fact that drugs function in compromising the reasoning and judgmental ability of an individual. Such can also be explained by the fact that drugs enhance aggression and temper of the victim. In a move to mitigate this practice of drug abuse as a potential cause for child abuse, the American nation is found to spend billions of dollars on the war against drugs in the society. Investigation of child abuse The process of investigating child abuse is heavily dependent on the availability of claimed evidence of physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse. According to the available legal provisions; some forms of child abuse such as child labor neglect, and failure to provide education as well as some forms physical abuse of are self evident (Myers 132). Therefore, the investigation of such practices is mainly based on reported evidence rather than dictating for medical procedures. Also commonly involved in the investigation practices is identifying the history of a child abuse problem. According to psychological principles, human problems such as emotional stress and depression are a direct result of long term abuse in children. Based on this, the period over which such abuse on a particular child should be provided as qualifying evidence against the defendants charged with child abuse (Myers 136). As per the requirements of the law, this evidence can be self proclaimed by the victim, given by a member of the local community or from a doctor. The doctor should conduct an extensive diagnosis on the subject matter to give admissible evidence. Such might cover but not limited to the extent of physical or emotional damage impacted on the child. However, the laws protecting children against abuse prohibit against even the slightest form of action against a child that can compromise their social, emotional, academic and physical development. Conclusion Despite the numerous efforts by governments and other community-based non-governmental organizations, child abuse remains a major problem in the global community. There are various causes of child abuse in the community. Such include; domestic violence, cultural beliefs, economic status, and social practices in the community. The problem is further complicated by failure by the victims or members of the community to reports such cases to the relevant authorities for legal action against the perpetrators. Therefore, effective child abuse prevention strategies must take into account the need for creating public awareness on the problem. It should also devote much emphasis on resolving the main social and economic factors which promote child abuse. It is only through consulted cooperation among all stakeholders in the community that the war against child abuse can be successful.

Political Philosophy and Government Essay

Name SOPA: The Unconstitutional Law Teacher Class/Period Date SOPA is a law that is trying to be passed by the United States of America. SOPA stands for Stop Online Piracy Act. While this may seem like a good thing, there are many reasons it is a bad thing. It is extremely vague, it can kill the internet, and the government can take advantage of this law. One thing about SOPA is it is extremely vague. The law is very vague about what the government can and cannot do. The government can enforce laws that are unreasonable with this act. They can also shut down any website completely. With this act live, the government includes a private right of action with little control over abuse. The government can abuse the power they gain through this act. The government can literally take down any website with links on it with this act live. The government will also be able to censor the internet to their liking. This would resemble the media in China or Syria. The internet would never be the same. Allowing SOPA to be passed would give the government the power to do all of these things. Another thing is many websites would be shut down. Many websites would be wiped out due to SOPA. Many websites protested SOPA due to this. Most of the most famous websites would be shut down. YouTube, Wikipedia, and many more websites have â€Å"copyrighted material. † User created things would be taken down. The internet would also be killed. Most things on Google would be wiped out. Over 90% of the internet is considered a violation to SOPA’s rules. Passing SOPA would completely kill the internet. Passing SOPA would give the government lots of power. Passing SOPA would give the government more power than before! Giving the government more power could result in abuse of power. That’s what happens in communist countries! Passing SOPA would take away some of our rights! The government would be allowed to search our belongings for â€Å"copyrighted material. † The law states that the government cannot commit unreasonable search and seizure. Giving the government more power can result in them taking too much power into their own hands. The more we give, the more they take. Too much power is never good. Passing this law would give the government too much power. While most of SOPA is bad, there are some â€Å"good† things about it. First off, people say it’s good because online piracy is another form of stealing, but while it may be similar to stealing, somebody had to purchase the item so others could use it. Some people also state it is a good act because you aren’t supporting the artist or creator of the item, but in reality, online piracy is by definition, sharing. While stopping online piracy may sound good, SOPA has many bad sides to it. SOPA must be stopped!