Cosmos Episode 1 Viewing Worksheet

Once in awhile, it is necessary to have a movie day in class. Perhaps you have a substitute teacher and want to make sure your students are still learning and reinforcing concepts youve been studying. Other times call for a reward of a movie day or as a supplement to a unit that may be particularly difficult to grasp. Whatever the reason, a great show to watch on these movie days is Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey with host Neil deGrasse Tyson. He makes science accessible and exciting for all ages and levels of learning. The first episode of Cosmos, called Standing Up in the Milky Way,  was an overview of science from the beginning of time. It touches on everything from the Big Bang Theory to the Geologic Time Scale to Evolution and Astronomy. Below are questions that can be copy and pasted into a worksheet and modified as necessary for students to fill in as they watch Episode 1 of Cosmos. These questions are designed to check understanding of some of the most important parts while hopefully not taking away from the experience of watching the show.    Cosmos Episode 1 Worksheet  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Name:___________________    Directions: Answer the questions as you watch episode 1 of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey    1.  What is the name of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s â€Å"spaceship†?          2.  What is responsible for creating wind and keeping everything in the solar system in its clutches?          3.  What lies between Mars and Jupiter?          4.  How big is the centuries-old hurricane on Jupiter?          5.  What had to be invented before we could discover Saturn and Neptune?          6.  What is the name of the spacecraft that has traveled the farthest away from Earth?          7.  What is the Oort Cloud?          8.  How far from the center of the Milky Way Galaxy do we live?          9.  What is the â€Å"address† of Earth in the cosmos?          10.  Why do we not know yet if we live in a â€Å"multiverse†?          11.  Who wrote the banned book that Giordano Bruno read that gave him the idea that the Universe was infinite?          12.  How long was Bruno jailed and tortured?          13.  What happened to Bruno after he refused to change his mind about his beliefs of an infinite Universe?          14.  Who was able to prove Bruno right 10 years after his death?          15.  How many years does one month symbolize on the â€Å"cosmic calendar†?          16.  What date on the â€Å"cosmic calendar† did the Milky Way Galaxy appear?          17.  What date on the â€Å"cosmic calendar† was our Sun born?          18.  What day and time did human ancestors first evolve on the â€Å"cosmic calendar†?          19.  What do the last 14 seconds on the â€Å"cosmic calendar† represent?          20.  How many seconds ago on the â€Å"cosmic calendar† did the two halves of the world find each other?          21.  How old was Neil deGrasse Tyson when he met Carl Sagan in Ithaca, New York?          22. What is Carl Sagan most famous for?

Literary Elements Of Maya Angelou - 1976 Words

Literary Elements of Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. She was a writer and civil rights activist best known for her 1969 memoir, â€Å"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.† As a young child Angelou witnessed her parents’ divorce and she and her brother were sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. While in Arkansas, she constantly experienced racism and discrimination, and she was able to translate the emotions that she felt, into her works. Toni Morrison was on February 14, 1931 in Lorain, Ohio. She was a novelist and a Professor at Princeton University. Her novels kept her audience’s attention because of the vivid dialogue and epic themes used in her stories. Some of her best known novels were Beloved, The Bluest Eye, and Song of Solomon. In Morrison’s and Angelou’s novels, they showed similar styles of writing, through the use of racism, symbols, and epic themes. Maya Ange lou was a phenomenal writer. In her novel, â€Å"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings†, she wrote about the situations that she experienced from childhood to adulthood. In the novel, she expressed that she experienced racism at a very young age. Maya talks about the fact that she had to live on one side of town with the black people, and white people lived on the other side. As a child she had the idea that straight, blonde hair was beautiful. In the story she says, â€Å"Wouldn’t they be surprised when one day I woke out of my black ugly dream,Show MoreRelatedMaya Angelou And Langston Hughes1193 Words   |  5 Pagesin poetry. Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes are both African American poets that have made tremendously positive names for themselves in the literature department. Their significant signature in the poetic community has been made by their passion and commitment to produce poetry that speaks to the emotions the public faces on a daily basis. Maya Angelou was brought into this world on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. She grew up in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas (Maya Angelou Biography 1)Read MoreAnalysis of the poem Still I Rise1268 Words   |  6 PagesRise by Maya Angelou African Americans have been oppressed for centuries. Despite this discrimination, people of this race have fought hard for their freedom and respect. This pursuit of equality is evident inMaya Angelou’s poem, â€Å"Still I Rise†. Angelou integrates numerous literary ideas such as various sounds, poetry forms, and key concepts.The poetic devices incorporated in Maya Angelou’s work, â€Å"Still I Rise†,heightens the overall effectiveness of the poem. Maya AngelouRead MoreEssay on The Interpretation of None the Other, Maya Angelou1508 Words   |  7 Pagesworld holds. Dr. Maya Angelou is one of the most renowned and influential voices of our time. Hailed as a global renaissance woman, Dr. Angelou is a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. As a strong African-American woman, she has experienced the brutality of racial discrimination, yet also absorbed the unshakable faith and values of traditional African-American family, community, and culture. Dr. Maya Angelou’s notoriousRead MoreThe Celebration Of Womanhood By Maya Angelou1331 Words   |  6 PagesThe Celebration of Womanhood Women’s beauty has been one of the favorite subjects of many literary works. Many genius authors have admired women’s physical beauty according to their imaginations. However, their literary works, the male dominated society and the female community have also served as accomplices in creating notion about the beauty of women. In our society, it is believed that a woman should have fair-skin, hourglass figure and long hair to attain the title of ‘a beautiful woman’Read MoreEssay on Maya Angelou1185 Words   |  5 PagesDistress in Maya Angelous Life Marguerite Ann Johnson, commonly known as Maya Angelou, was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. She is a famous African-American poet, novelist, and playwright and also worked during the civil rights: Angelou is a very remarkable Renaissance woman who hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary literature (www.mayaangelou.com). She is also an activist in civil-rights. Angelou went through many controversies during her childhood and adulthood; herRead MoreLiterary And Non Literary Works1721 Words   |  7 PagesLiterary Non literary works â€Å"A Brave and Startling Truth Keep Holding On Patch Adams Literary Work A Brave and Startling Truth By: Maya Angelou Music Keep Holding On By: Avril Lavigne, 2007 Film Patch Adams, 1998 The Brave and Startling Truth This poem was written by Maya Angelou in 1995 Summary In this poem that paints a picture of how it can be when the fight is over. When we lower our weapons and stop reaching for them and look at the outcome of the fight. This poem is tellingRead MoreMaya Angelous Poems Essay1288 Words   |  6 PagesMaya Angelou’s Poems Maya Angelou’s poetry occupies a very special position in her development as a writer (Chow 1). As a child, Angelou went through five years of complete silence after she was raped at the age of seven years old, by a man named, Mr. Freeman. As a result of telling about her traumatic experience, her uncle’s literally kicked the man that raped her to death. Beings she spoke of her traumatic experience and the result of the man dying, she then imagined that her voice had the potentialRead MoreAnalysis Of Graduation By Maya Angelou960 Words   |  4 PagesEssay on â€Å"Graduation† by Maya Angelou Racial segregation was very dominant in the United States in the mid nineteen hundreds. This is the time that Maya Angelou was graduating from the eighth grade in Stamps Arkansas. The theme of racial segregation is well shown by the how different the schools of the African-Americans was compared to that of whites in the essay â€Å"Graduation† by Maya Angelou. In the essay the Angelou points out that Lafayette County Training School didn’t have a lawn, hedges, tennisRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Phenomenal Woman By Maya Angelou1353 Words   |  6 PagesIn the poem â€Å"Phenomenal Woman† written by Maya Angelou, the poem is strong, it is about womanhood, the strength not the weakness that describes Maya Angelou. Although Maya Angelou is describing herself, she is in fact describing all women and is therefore a poem of feminism and the feminist perspective. The structure of this poem is loosely arranged into four stanzas. The idea of this poem is that physical beauty is not what makes a woman phenomenal but the way she has confidence in herself and herRead MoreEssay On Maya Angelou1400 Words   |  6 PagesOctober 2017 America’s Poet The life experiences of the late Maya Angelou —author, poet, actress, singer, dancer, playwright, director, producer — became the key element of her most prominent work, a lyrical poet telling the stories of what it means to be an African American; having a wide range, multi-series autobiographies that lays the foundation of her identity as a American black woman. The acclaimed Maya Angelou’s legacy not only impacted American culture that will resonate with

The Motivational Factor Free Essays

Motivation is a process in which the individual’s attention and interests are aroused and directed towards definite goals. One’s attention and interest can be evoked to the extent that the person’s needs, May it be basic or acquired are the ones involved (Bustos, 1996). Learning is a process inferred from relatively stable changes in behavior that result through practice or interaction with and adaptation to the environment (Goodwin and Klausmeier, 1975; 1978). We will write a custom essay sample on The Motivational Factor or any similar topic only for you Order Now It is the modification of organism’s behavior as a result of maturation and environmental experiences (Garrison and Magoon, 1975). It has been said that the most effective learning takes place when there is a maximum mental activity on the part of the learner. This mental activity can be best achieved through strong motivation thus motivation is basic to learning. A motivational factor varies according to age, needs, attitudes, intelligence, training and experience. An individual may respond to a particular stimulus due to some changes in his/her environment or something unusual is noticed. These factors that catch the attention of the learner can be utilized by the teacher in order to motivate learning. Since motivational factors varies, the   teacher should take into consideration then the nature of the child, past experiences, the environment, the needs and wants, as well as the individual differences. For instance if you are teaching 3rd graders the teacher should look into their developmental tasks so he/she (the teacher) would be able to associate his/her activities to the subject matter which the students attention are evoked. An intrinsic motivation are internal desires to perform a particular task, people do certain activities because it gives them pleasure, develops a particular skill, or it’s morally the right thing to do. However extrinsic motivations are external factors that are not related to the task they are performing. The more attached the person to the task he/she is performing the eager he/she does the work for the sense of fulfillment while people who are awarded with external things in order to perform a particular task (Deci and Ryan, 1985) would not be able to appreciate the job he/she performed but more likely to be bribed and would not feel fulfilled with his performance but rather with the thing he/she got because of it. Teacher’s especially teaching children who are still in their formation years should be very careful as to how they deal with their students. Intrinsic motivation should likely be done in order for them to grow as responsible human beings who will do good things without bribing them of anything just to provoke them in doing a particular stuff. On the other hand, parents as well must do the same thing at home since discipline starts at home. Activities at school must possess more on the affective domain of the learner and the rest follows. Motivation at this early stage on the development of the child lies more on his/her environment. The very concern of the teacher now is the knowledge and application of motivation and its sustainability. A lesson plan without a motivation is considered as incomplete. A teacher carries out the potentialities of the students with the motivation he/she has in store and so therefore he/she should be very well oriented with the factor that affects motivation to motivate his/her learners effectively. References: Bustos, Alicia S.Ed.D and Espiritu, Socoro PhD. (1996). Anthrpological, and Sociological Foundations of Education.   Quezon City, Philippines. KATHA Publishing Inc. Deci   and Ryan.1985.Intrinsic Motivation. ChangingMinds.Org. http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/intrinsic_motivation.htm          How to cite The Motivational Factor, Essay examples

Collaborate with Your Competitors and Win free essay sample

Collaborate with your Competitors and Win Gary Hamel, Yves L. Doz, and C. K. Prahalad Summary This article discusses that collaboration between competitors can be a beneficial experience for all member companies. Three conditions are specified for creating a positive collaborative environment, first that the partners goals converge while their competitive goals diverge. If the two firms are working on similar technologies to support different core businesses, then there is a higher chance for successful collaboration and a lower chance for competitive disturbance. If, both companies are hasing a larger player in the industry, then both companies are motivated to work with each other to stand against the larger player. If both collaborators believe that they can learn key skills from the other collaborator without giving up too much proprietary information, then the chance of success for the Joint venture is higher. The article describes how an organization can prepare defences to protect against negative technology transfer to the other firm. The authors discuss how Western culture is prone to sharing while Eastern cultures are more closed. The ability for echnology transfer to occur differs based on the complexity and portability of an idea. If a firm has a better technology where its blueprint can be downloaded onto a disk and emailed to a competitor, then there is a high degree of risk for that firm. If one firms advantage is in its holistic process, then this is something that can be identified and studied but not easily replicated. The major findings are that the key to successful collaboration is in an organizations ability to learn. It must have the willingness to closely examine the functions of its partner and be able to circulate its earnings throughout its organization to maximize gain. In this analysis we will be discussing various types of collaborations, the reasons why competitors should collaborate and not collaborate. How to create defences for excessive passage of knowledge amongst competitors and principles of successful collaborations? Table of Contents 1 . The Meaning and types of Competitive Collaboration 2. Why Collaborate 3. General Argument 4. How to Build Secure Defenses 5. Winning through collaboration 6. Questions 7. References Collaboration with competitors Collaboration is a strategic coalition among two firms with the purpose of providing elling similar products and are each others competition come together to achieve a similar goal. Collaborating with your competitors with the right approach of give-and- take and without compromising each of the firms competitive position in the industry is highly successful. Sharing between companies is a clever strategy as long as there is clear understanding that the relationship is of give and take and both companies benefit equally without compromising their competitive position in the industry. A few examples of companies collaborating NUMMI (General Motors + Toyota) Sony Ericsson (Sony + Ericsson) Verizon Wireless (Verizon communications + Vodafone) XFL (NBC + World wrestling entertainment) Nokia Siemens Network (Nokia + Siemens AG) A few more JVC and Kenwood develop car audio and home audio products Siemens and Philips develop semi conductors Canon supplies photocopiers to Kodak There are four types of competitive collaborations 1 . Joint Ventures A Joint venture is an entity formed between two or more parties to undertake economic activity together. The parties agree to create a new entity by both contributing equity, and they then share in the revenues, expenses, and control of the enterprise. 2. Outsourcing Contracts Outsourcing is subcontracting a process, such as product design or manufacturing, to a third-party company. The decision to outsource is often made in the interest of lowering cost or making better use of time and energy costs. 3. Product Licensing business arrangement in which one company gives another company permission to manufacture its product for a specified payment 4. Strategic Alliance A strategic alliance is a cooperative strategy wherein allying firms pool their resources in order to pursue specific market opportunities The analysis of 1 5 mergers of three main types: four intra-European alliances, two European-Japanese alliances, and seven U. S. -Japanese alliances found that collaboration is often used by successful businesses. Alliances between Asian companies and Western rivals seem to work against the Western partner. Collaboration is competition in a different form. Companies have to enter collaborations knowing that competition still exists. They must have clear strategic objectives, and understand how their partners objectives will affect their success. Harmony is not the most important measure of success. Most winning alliances do not always have win-win circumstances. As competitive competencies expand, rewards of the partnership. Cooperation has limits. Organizations must protect against competitive compromise. Companies need to ensure that workers at all levels recognize what corporate information is off limits to the collaborator. Providing access to too much information can make one more open to losing market share to your collaborator. Learning from partners is paramount. Remember that Asian companies focus on learning, while Western companies want to demonstrate their superiority and leadership. This provides partners with knowledge that will benefit hem in the long-term. You cannot make a Western company want to learn. Western companies have certain arrogance after decades of leadership that detracts from their ability to learn. Why should one collaborate with competitors? . 1. In order to strengthen competitive advantages or core competencies A competitive advantage is an advantage gained over competitors by offering customers greater value, either through lower prices or by providing additional benefits and service that Justify similar, or possibly higher, prices. When two companies collaborate they become more equipped to face the big competitor in the arket by gaining access to a unique feature that was missing for them to cater to a huge or a bigger market. 2. Expand technological evolution at a reasonably low cost Creating a separate team to develop technology adds to a lot of cost, it makes more sense to utilize the technology that is already available in the market and customize it as per your needs. Collaborating with competitors gives easy access to the required technology and also a chance to the collaborator to learn from the other partners mistake. . Grow market access at a low cost Collaborators can gain easy access to arkets through their partners who already have access to desired consumers and markets. The collaborators can save money and time that they would have otherwise invested on research and development in order to access the same market and to create distribution networks. 4. Gain knowledge of partners business practices and strategies Easy access to the knowledge that the partner already possesses. Both parties can easily learn from each others mistakes, learn each others way of doing business and understand the approach they follow to earn maximum profits. 5. Develop standards through examination of the practices of the partner firm Risks of Competitors collaborating Competitive Collaboration can strengthen both companies against the competition outside however it has created uneasiness about the long-term outcomes. A companys competitive position may grow weaker as compared to the partner company through operations or strategic exposure. Unintentional competencies are transferred or compromised. * Dependence on the alliance firm often increases. * The employees start becoming local while working on the alliance firms territory. with industry leaders. This usually forces the partners to accept that they are mutually dependent upon each other. Long-term collaboration may be so important to both that neither will risk provoking the other. * Both partners need to consider that th ere is an equivalent chance for gain. * The alliance firms strategic goals meet while their competitive goals deviate. Each collaborator believes it can learn from the other and at the same time limit access to proprietary skills. Businesses may think that to collaborate with a competitor to steal their secrets and use them to their profit is deceitful. However, forming a strategic alliance is usually advantageous to companies, each sharing what they know and learning what they eed to know from the other company to achieve a goal that is not likely otherwise. Competitive partnerships can strengthen both companies against the other big competitors in the market. However at times it has activated unease about the long- term consequences. Western firms usually reveal a lack of strategic aim in collaborative efforts. Western firms primary goal is often cost reductions when entering into collaborative agreements. The strategic intent problem is amplified by the fact that Western firms generally place little or no emphasis on learning from the alliance partner. It is believed that Western firms often seek quick and easy fixes to organizational problems when they enter into a collaborative situation. Western firms often take on the teacher role in a collaborative situation and are quick to demonstrate and explain aspects of their business strategies and competitive advantage. The contribution of a Western firm in a collaboration effort is often in the form of technology and is relatively easy for the alliance firm to transfer. In many instances, Western firms are less skilled at limiting unintended competency transfer than their Japanese counterparts. How to ensure that a strategic alliance doesnt work against your company * Possibility of transfer is bigger when a partners input is easily transported, easily understood, and easily captivated. Limit unintended transfers at the operating level * Have a collaboration division * Control information flows to a partner * Limit the number of gateways * Dispute is to create a balance in a way that it become easier to allocate skills that will create benefit to the partnership and will also prevent an extensive transmit of core skills to the partner. Limit the scope of the formal agreement to cover only a ingle technology * Part of a product line rather than an entire line * Limit distribution toa few markets at a time * Make sure all participating/non-participating employees understand the objectives and risks of the alliance * Agreements must establish specific performance requirements Establish specific performance requirements with incremental, incentive-based Rewards for effective technology transfer. For example, an agreement between Motorola and Toshiba required Motorola to transfer microprocessor technology incrementally as Toshiba achieved specific semiconductor market share targets in Japan for Motorola. Restrict access to key facilities and Partnerships run smoothly when one partner is intent on learning and the other is intent on avoidance, or when one partner is willing to grow dependent on the other. Such sort of arrangement is similar to that of outsourcing, wherein a large company gives a smaller company the information necessary to develop a defined item for the parent company. Examples of this include Siemens buying computers from Fujitsu, or Apple buying laser printer engines from Canon. Japanese firms emerge from cooperation stronger than their Western counterpart because the focus on learning. NEC enters partnerships to learn about areas in which they lack competence. NEC is the only company in the world that is a leader in telecommunications, computers, and semiconductor markets. Western companies, by contrast, typically enter collaborations to ignore short term investment related to entering a new market or business. Western firms are least bothered about learning a new business or technology. Western firms seek a comfortable relationship, forgetting that the merger may not last. Japanese companies always see Joint ventures as a way to progress in areas where they are weak. Mergers fail when doubt and disagreement spoils the relationship. Japanese firms tend to collaborate for very dissimilar reasons than their Western counterparts. Western firms typically have a technology to transfer, whereas Asian companies most often have ability, like manufacturing expertise. There has been very little collaboration between Korean and Japanese companies, since both countries seek to improve their weaknesses without revealing much to the partner. A collaboration in which one side avoids investment and the other side seeks to learn work out the best. Asian companies protect proprietary nformation from being shared with a partner. Western firms hardly ever limit the extent of information to be passed to the partner due to lack of communications. Top management and lawyers put together cooperative agreements, but technology transfer takes place within the organization. Asian companies often supply manufacturing skill to a coalition, which tends to be a nontransferable ability. Manufacturing skills often result from a complex web of employee training, workforce involvement, mixing with suppliers, statistical process controls, value engineering and design for manufacture. Western firms tend to supply a distinct, separate technology that is more easily learned and mastered by Asian partner. Common aspects of successful collaborations * In order for a strategic alliance and collaboration to be successful is for both parties to be able to transfer something distinctive to the other party: basic research, product development skills, manufacturing capacity, access to distribution. * The strategies of the collated companies unite as their competitive goals depart. * In most winning collaborative situations the collaborated firms are relatively small ompared to the industry leaders. Every alliance partner is generally certain in its capability to intake knowledge from the other, while at the same time defending against competitive compromise. * Clear Strategic objectives and deep understanding of partners objectives. Successful collaborators enter alliances with clear strategic objectives and understand their partners objectives. * Harmony is not important measure for success. Occasional conflict may be the best evidence of successful collaboration. * Understand that co-opera tion has limits. Must defend against competitive ompromise, with on and off-limits knowledge clearly identified and monitored by all employees. * Learning from the partner is the objective (goal). Successful companies view each alliance as a window into their partners broad capabilities and build skills in areas outside the formal agreement diffuse this knowledge into their own company. Questions * What advantages do competitors get when they collaborate? * In what scenarios strategic alliance can work against a partner? And how can it be prevented? * What are the 4 key factors of a successful collaboration of competitors? References