Short analytical memo report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Short analytical memo report - Essay Example The research investigated three charitable organizations within the Halifax regional municipality to establish ways through which the company can support the organizations humanitarian activities through other charitable acts in addition to direct fiscal assistance. The investigative undertaking took advantage of various research methods such carrying out surveys, correlation and a case study of two charitable organizations within the Halifax region, Research Methods (2011).The report begins by an individual description of the two charitable organizations followed by an attempt to match the organizations activities and the company’s objectives. This forms the main body of the report while the summary explains how the particular charity is more beneficial to the company than the rest. Finally, the report concludes by declaring a recommendation. According to Parker Street (2011), this registered non profit agency is responsible for the provision of food, furnishings, skills improvement, and mentoring and support assistance to residents of Halifax regional Municipality. The organization commenced its operations in early nineteen eighties as a food bank. The furniture part commenced operation in mid nineteen nineties at a dissimilar location before combining to form the present major organization. Over the years, it has progressively participated in charitable activities. Parker Street is charity organizations that respect the existence of individuals and are involved in activities to eliminate racism, poverty and other social ills and injustices. They strive to build societies that are concerned about people’s welfare irrespective of their areas of origin, devout affiliations or social and political stand, (Parker Street, 2011). Notably, it formed the IT program in the year 2001 in collaboration with the local Nova Scotia Community college through which scores of students

Land Pollution Essay Example for Free

Land Pollution Essay Land pollution, in other words, means degradation or destruction of earth’s surface and soil, directly or indirectly as a result of human activities. Anthropogenic activities are conducted citing development, and the same affects the land drastically, we witness land pollution; by drastic we are referring to any activity that lessens the quality and/or productivity of the land as an ideal place for agriculture, forestation, construction etc. The degradation of land that could be used constructively in other words is land pollution. Land Pollution has led to a series of issues that we have come to realize in recent times, after decades of neglect. The increasing numbers of barren land plots and the decreasing numbers of forest cover is at an alarming ratio. Moreover the extension of cities and towns due to increasing population is leading to further exploitation of the land. Land fills and reclamations are being planned and executed to meet the increased demand of lands. This leads to further deterioration of land, and pollution caused by the land fill contents. Also due to the lack of green cover, the land gets affected in several ways like soil erosion occurs washing away the fertile portions of the land. Or even a landslide can be seen as an example. Causes of Land Pollution Below are the sources of land pollution: 1. Deforestation and soil erosion: Deforestation carried out to create dry lands is one of the major concerns. Land that is once converted into a dry or barren land, can never be made fertile again, whatever the magnitude of measures to redeem it are. Land conversion, meaning the alteration or modification of the original properties of the land to make it use-worthy for a specific purpose is another major cause. This hampers the land immensely. Also there is a constant waste of land. Unused available land over the years turns barren; this land then cannot be used. So in search of more land, potent land is hunted and its indigenous state is compromised with . 2. Agricultural activities: With growing human population, demand for food has increased considerably. Farmers often use highly toxic fertilizers and pesticides to get rid off insects, fungi and bacteria from their crops. However with the overuse of these chemicals, they result in contamination  and poisoning of soil. 3. Mining activities: During extraction and mining activities, several land spaces are created beneath the surface. We constant hear about land caving in; this is nothing but nature’s way of filling the spaces left out after mining or extraction activity. 4. Overcrowded landfills: Each household produces tonnes of garbage each year. Garbage like aluminium, plastic, paper, cloth, wood is collected and sent to the local recycling unit. Items that can not be recycled become a part of the landfills that hampers the beauty of the city and cause land pollution. 5. Industrialization: Due to increase in demand for food, shelter and house, more goods are produced. This resulted in creation of more waste that needs to be disposed of. To meet the demand of the growing population, more industries were developed which led to deforestation. Research and development paved the way for modern fertilizers and chemicals that were highly toxic and led to soil contamination. 6. Construction activities: Due to urbanization, large amount of construction activities are taking place which has resulted in large waste articles like wood, metal, bricks, plastic that can be seen by naked eyes outside any building or office which is under construction. 7. Nuclear waste: Nuclear plants can produce huge amount of energy through nuclear fission and fusion. The left over radioactive material contains harmful and toxic chemicals that can affect human health. They are dumped beneath the earth to avoid any casualty. 8. Sewage treatment: Large amount of solid waste is leftover once the sewage has been treated. The leftover material is sent to landfill site which end up in polluting the environment. Effects of Land Pollution 1. Soil pollution: Soil pollution is another form of land pollution, where the upper layer of the soil is damaged. This is caused by the overuse of chemical fertilizers, soil erosion caused by running water and other pest control measures; this leads to loss of fertile land for agriculture, forest cover, fodder patches for grazing etc. 2. Change in climate patterns: The effects of land pollution are very hazardous and can lead to the loss of ecosystems. When land is polluted, it directly or indirectly affects the climate patterns. 3. Environmental Impact: When deforestation is committed, the tree cover is compromised on. This leads to a steep imbalance in the rain cycle. A disturbed rain cycle affects a lot of factors. To begin with,  the green cover is reduced. Trees and plants help balance the atmosphere, without them we are subjected to various concerns like Global warming, the green house effect, irregular rainfall and flash floods among other imbalances. 4. Effect on human hea lth: The land when contaminated with toxic chemicals and pesticides lead to problem of skin cancer and human respiratory system. The toxic chemicals can reach our body through foods and vegetables that we eat as they are grown in polluted soil. 5. Cause Air pollution: Landfills across the city keep on growing due to increase in waste and are later burned which leads to air pollution. They become home for rodents, mice etc which in turn transmit diseases. 6. Distraction for Tourist: The city looses its attraction as tourist destination as landfills do not look good when you move around the city. It leads to loss of revenue for the state government. 7. Effect on wildlife: The animal kingdom has suffered mostly in the past decades. They face a serious threat with regards to loss of habitat and natural environment. The constant human activity on land, is leaving it polluted; forcing these species to move further away and adapt to new regions or die trying to adjust. Several species are pushed to the verge of extinction, due to no homeland. Other issues that we face include increased temperature, unseasonal weather activity, acid rains etc. The discharge of chemicals on land, makes it dangerous for the ecosystem too. These chemi cals are consumed by the animals and plants and thereby make their way in the ecosystem. This process is called bio magnification and is a serious threat to the ecology. Solutions for Land Pollution 1. Make people aware about the concept of Reduce, Recycle and Reuse. 2. Reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers in agricultural activities. 3. Avoid buying packages items as they will lead to garbage and end up in landfill site. 4. Ensure that you do not litter on the ground and do proper disposal of garbage. 5. Buy biodegradable products. 6. Do Organic gardening and eat organic food that will be grown without the use of pesticides. 7. Create dumping ground away from residential areas.

Implementation of User-Pairing Algorithm for OFDMA

Implementation of User-Pairing Algorithm for OFDMA Table of Contents (Jump to) Introduction Literature Survey Problem Formulation References CHAPTER 1:  INTRODUCTION Introduction Orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) is an encouraging technology that supports high data rate transmission. The blend of OFDMA with the relay technology has expanded a large extend of potential to develop the overall network performance, and therefore has received a lot of intension in the recent years. Network resources that may include bandwidth and transmission power are limited; hence how to efficiently and fairly allocate these resources to users with guaranteed quality of service is a key issue. The models used while dealing with the partnering problem usually involve some form of orthogonality across the user pairs, so that the pairs can cooperate without causing interference to each other. OFDMA, has a lot of essential properties due to which it has gained a lot of acceptance and popularity in the recent years, and because of its orthogonal structure it is considered as a good candidate for realizing practical cooperation. As we already know that huge amount of research is done on sub-channel and power allocation schemes for OFDMA. Yet, encoding techniques, and resource allocation for mutually cooperative OFDMA systems, have not been investigated much until rather recently. For cooperative OFDMA systems containing only two users, achievable rates based on mutual cooperation across sub-channels were characterized in [3], and for such systems, optimal power allocation algorithms are used. Relay-assisted cooperative communication Relay-assisted cooperative communication has turn out to be very effective in several wireless systems [1]. This communication system is capable to enhance the overall system performance that includes spectral efficiency, network lifetime and coverage area. Efficient wireless resource allocation is critical to fully realize these benefits in cooperative communication systems. Resource allocation in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) based relay communication systems involve even more technical challenges. Single-hop OFDM or OFDMA which are traditional systems when compared then we must carefully and accurately coordinate the power and subcarrier allocations across different hops resulting from multiple relays. Compared with single-carrier relay systems, in this we are able to assign multiple orthogonal subcarriers in every single hop, which not only gives more design freedoms but also typically higher design complexity or intricacy. In this paper, we will take a close look on the power control problem, joint relay selection, and subcarrier assignment for a cooperative two-hop multi-relay OFDM system using the protocol called amplify-and-forward. The main aim is to make the most of the transmission rate subject to an individual power constraint of each transmit node. Recently, a number of results have been described on relay selection in two-hop multi-relay systems. A common selection strategy is to choose the relay with the best equivalent end-to-end channel gain. Similar strategy can be used in OFDM systems, where a relay is selected based on the channel condition of the whole OFDM symbol. However, such symbol based relay selection may not be efficient as the differences of channel conditions amongst diverse subcarriers are not completely utilized. The subcarrier-based relay selection, which selects one best relay for each subcarrier, was then proposed to exploit both frequency diversity and node diversity. [2] Two-way relay network In this type of network, two users or operators communicate with each other via one or multiple relays. There are three two-way relaying protocols which differ in the number of required phases. The first protocol is called as the simple four phase protocol consisting two one-way relaying protocols. The second protocol is named as the time-division broadcast (TDBC) protocol which consists of three phases. The third protocol is the multiple-access broadcast (MABC) protocol which consists of two phases. The MABC protocol is more bandwidth efficient compared with the other two protocols. Orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) is one of efficient techniques to mitigate the problems of frequency selective fading. In an OFDMA network, a complete obtainable bandwidth is separated into a number of orthogonal subcarriers and multiple users transmit their information simultaneously using the different subcarriers without inter-user interference. Generally, it is assumed that the bandwidth of each subcarrier is much smaller than the coherence bandwidth of the channel, and so the channel of each subcarrier has a flat fading. In addition, the OFDMA network uses the method of adaptive resource allocation and thus delivers improved performance [4]-[5]. In a two-way OFDM relay network having a single user pair and a single relay, the sum capacity for both users over all subcarriers is maximized by power allocation and tone permutation. In resource allocation for a multiuser two-way OFDMA relay network is investigated to support two-way communication between the base station and each of multiple users. In several relay selection policies for a MABC DF two-way relay network are proposed. The subcarrier based relay selection usually assumes that signals received over one subcarrier is amplified (or decoded) and forwarded by a relay over the same subcarrier in the next hop. However this is not optimal in terms of system performance. An improved performance can be attained if subcarriers in the first and second hops are paired according to the conditions of their channel. Such a subcarrier pairing approach was proposed in [1]. AF-based two-hop multi-relay OFDM system An AF-based two-hop multi-relay OFDM system in which we optimally and mutually assign the three types of resources: subcarriers, relay nodes, and power. Such joint optimization hasn’t been well thought of or considered in the literature as far as we know. We formulate it as a joint relay power allocation problem, subcarrier pairing, and selection with an objective of exploiting the transmission rate under specific power constraints. A dual nature can be used for solving the optimization problem in three phases. First, we find the optimal power allocation for any given strategy of subcarrier pairing and relay assignment. In the second phase, we determine the optimal relay assignment when subcarrier pairing is given. And in the last or third phase, we obtain the optimal subcarrier paring by means of the Hungarian method. The overall complexity of the optimal algorithm is polynomial in the number of subcarriers and relay nodes. Based on the intuition derived from the optimal algo rithm, we further propose two suboptimal algorithms that have lower complexity but can achieve close to optimal performances. PRACTICAL SUBOPTIMAL PAIRING ALGORITHMS In our model, the locations of the users, and their distances to each other are the major factors that affect their transmission rates. The impacts of Rayleigh fading and noise variances on the rates are negligible in comparison to path loss. This forces the power allocation and partner selection to be mostly dependent on the topology of the network, which means that a suboptimal but fast algorithm can be derived based only on user locations as an alternative to the maximum weighted matching algorithm. But then, the weights of the graph will not be needed to match the users, and this will decrease the time consumed by the matching algorithm drastically. We will be dealing with 5 algorithms as following:- Select Nearest to Receiver algorithm:- The two users nearest to the receiver get matched. These users are removed from the pool, and the algorithm repeatedly matches the rest of users with the same method until every user is matched. Select Farthest from Receiver algorithm:- The two users farthest from the receiver get matched. These users are removed from the pool, and the algorithm repeatedly matches the rest of users with the same method until every user is matched. Maximum Matching on Nearest Four to Receiver algorithm:- The user nearest to the receiver is selected. Then, three users which are nearest to it are selected. Maximum weighted matching algorithm runs on those users and the users get matched. The algorithm repeatedly matches the rest of users with the same method until every user is matched. Maximum Matching on Farthest Four from Receiver algorithm:- The user farthest from the receiver is selected. Then, three users which are nearest to it are selected. Maximum weighted matching algorithm runs on those users and the users get matched. The algorithm repeatedly matches the rest of users with the same method until every user is matched. Select Nearest and Farthest to Receiver algorithm:- The user farthest to the receiver gets matched with the nearest to the receiver. These users are removed from the pool, and the algorithm repeatedly matches the rest of users with the same method until every user is matched. The performance comparisons of the above algorithms are presented in this section. CHAPTER 2:  LITERATURE SURVEY In 2010, N. Balasubramanian, A. Carroll and G. Heiser et al, proposed that:- A rich body of literature has been dedicated to measuring the power consumption of cellular and WiFi interfaces for mobile users. Although a variety of power consumption models have been proposed and studied, one general conclusion is that, in spite of comparable power consumption (typically around 1 W), WiFi is much more power efficient in sending/receiving the same amount of data because of the higher data rates (e.g., a few Mbps for 3G while ten or more Mbps for 802.11n) [6]–[7]. Assuming that the wireless link is experiencing path loss as well as Rayleigh fading during the process is totally unacceptable. Note that, the data rate of the wireless link varies for different distances as well as channel realizations. In 2005, L. Shao and S. Roy, T. Thanabalasingham, S. Hanly, L. Andrew et al, proposed:- Resource allocation and interference management of multi-cell downlink OFDMA systems were presented. A key focus of these works is on interference management among multiple cells. Our general formulation includes the case where resource coordination leads to no interference among different cells/sectors/sites. In our model, this is achieved by dynamically partitioning the sub channels across the different cells/sectors/sites. In addition to being easier to implement, the interference free operation assumed in our model allows us to optimize over a large class of achievable rate regions for this problem. If the interference strength is of the order of the signal strength, as would be typical in the broadband wireless setting, then this partitioning approach could also be the better option in information theoretic sense [9][7]. In 2004, A. Nosratinia, G. Tsoulos et al proposed that:- A. Nosratinia, G. Tsoulos et al proposed MIMO systems because in recent years, MIMO systems [10] have been widely accepted as the ultimate approach to fulfilling the high performance demands of current and future generation of wireless systems. Using multiple antennas at the transmitter or/and receiver dramatically increases the spectral eà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã†â€™ciency and enables the system to achieve very high data rates. It is also widely accepted that the majority of multi-antenna spatial diversity techniques are mainly applicable in downlink transmissions due to the size and complexity constraints that limit their implementation in small mobile units [11]. However, to achieve spatial diversity on the uplink without the need to have more than one antenna per mobile unit, cooperative transmission is the answer. In this case, the mobile units help each other to emulate a multiple transmit antenna system. In 2006, Yang and Belfiore proposed that:- Yang and Belfiore present a near optimal AF scheme which in certain conditions is able to achieve the diversity multiplexing trade-off (DMT) upper bound introduced. In [13], cooperative diversity protocols which are based on DF relaying are developed. The relay nodes that can fully decode the received transmission relay to the destination using a space time code. The idea of cooperative diversity under asynchronous channel conditions was suggested. The authors in [12] proposed a simple DF relay technique in a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system where the relay nodes detect and forward the transmission regardless of whether successful decoding has occurred or not. In [13] a 2 hop asynchronous cooperative diversity technique is introduced where the authors propose two different protocols to determine the participating nodes. In this technique, the set of participating relays that receive the packet without errors is the only set of nodes involved in the relaying process. In 2004, Sendonaris et al proposed that:- The second type of uplink cooperation, which will be the main focus of this chapter, is based on pairing each user with a neighboring user, a â€Å"partner†, to create a MIMO-like effect on the uplink transmission. This was first suggested by Sendonaris et al. [14] in a synchronous full-duplex CDMA system utilizing orthogonal spreading codes. The technique was for a two user system where at the first transmission instance both users transmit their symbol to the other user and the base station. The symbol is then received and processed by the other user and in the following transmission instance the users transmit a composite signal consisting of their own symbol and a detected estimate of their partner’s symbol, each spread with its user’s spreading code, to the base station. In 2003, A. J. Jahromi, et. Al proposed that:- In this case at each transmitting instance, each user transmits a composite signal of both his new symbol along with a detected estimate of his partner’s previous symbol. In this method, to maintain the total transmit power constant, the joint transmit-power is manipulated such that at the base station, the average received power and the received power per user remains constant. In [15], the authors propose a new multiuser uplink pairing CDMA technique in which each user transmits its own signal to the base station and follows that by relaying a processed estimate of his partner’s information. At the receiving end, an algorithm is utilized to achieve near optimum ML performance with reduced complexity. CHAPTER 3:  PROBLEM FORMULATION 3. Problem formulation Scheduling and resource allocation are essential components of wireless data systems. Here by scheduling we refer the problem of determining which user will be active in a given time-slot; resource allocation refers to the problem of allocating physical layer resources such as bandwidth and power among these active users. In modern wireless data systems, frequent channel quality feedback is available enabling both the scheduled users and the allocation of physical layer resources to be dynamically adapted based on the users channel conditions and quality of service (QoS) requirements. This has led to a great deal of interest both in practice and in the research community on various channel aware scheduling and resource allocation algorithms. Many of these algorithms can be viewed as gradient-based algorithms, which select the transmission rate vector that maximizes the projection onto the gradient of the systems total utility. REFERENCES [1] A. Nosratinia, T. E. Hunter, and A. Hedayat, â€Å"Cooperative communication in wireless networks,† IEEE Comm. Magazine, vol. 42, no. 10, pp. 74–80, Oct. 2004. [2] A. Bletsas, A. Khisti, D. P. Reed, and A. Lippman, â€Å"A simple cooperative diversity method based on network path selection,† IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Comm., vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 659–672, March 2006. [3] S. BakÄ ±m and O. Kaya. â€Å"Cooperative Strategies and Achievable Rates for Two User OFDMA Channels.† IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., 10(12): 4029–4034, Dec. 2011. [4] C. Y. Wong, R. S. Cheng, K. B. Letaief, and R. D. Murch, â€Å"Multiuser OFDM with adaptive subcarrier, bit, and power allocation,† IEEE J. Sel. Areas Commun., vol. 17, no. 10, pp. 1747-1758, Oct. 1999. [5] Z. Shen, J. G. Andrews, and B. L. Evans, â€Å"Adaptive resource allocation in multiuser OFDM systems with proportional rate constraints,† IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 4, no. 6, pp. 2726-2737, Nov. 2005. [6] A. Carroll and G. Heiser, â€Å"An analysis of power consumption in a smartphone,† in Proc. USENIX, June 2010. [7] N. Balasubramanian, A. Balasubramanian, and A. Venkataramani, â€Å"Energy consumption in mobile phones: a measurement study and implications for network applications,† in Proc. IMC, Nov. 2010. [8] L. Shao and S. Roy, Downlink multicell MIMO-OFDM: an architecture for next generation wireless networks, IEEE WCNC, vol. 2, pp. 1120 { 1125 Vol. 2, Feb 2005. [9] T. Thanabalasingham, S. Hanly, L. Andrew, and J. Papandriopoulos, Joint allocation of subcarriers and transmit powers in a multiuser OFDM cellular network, IEEE ICC, vol. 1, pp. 269 { 274, Jun 2006. [10] G. Tsoulos, 2006. MIMO System Technology for Wireless Communications. Boca Raton: Taylor Francis Group [11] A. Nosratinia, T. E. Hunter and A. Hedayat, Cooperative communication in wireless networks , IEEE Commun. Magazine, vol. 42, no. 10, pp. 74—80, Oct. 2004 [12] K. Vardhe and D. Reynolds, The Performance of Multi-User Cooperative Diversity in an Asynchronous CDMA Uplink, IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 7, no. 5, pp. 1930—1940, May 2008. [13] S. Wei, D. L. Goeckel and M. C. Valenti, Asynchronous Cooperative Diversity, IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 1930—1940, Jun. 2006. [14] A. Sendonaris, E. Erkip, and B. Aazhang, User cooperation diversity — Part I: System description, IEEE Trans. Commun., vol. 51, pp. 1927 — 1938, Nov. 2003. [15] A. J. Jahromi, et. al., On multi-user detection in CDMA based cooperative networks, IEEE Sarnoff Symposium, 2009, SARNOFF ’09, 30 Mar. 1 Apr. 2009

Exploring Earth Creationist Claims for the Age of the Earth :: Creationism Science Essays

The relative age of the earth is not often seen as a topic of controversy. Much of the scientific data published in school textbooks and taught to students indicate an age on the order of billions of years. Radiometric dating, as well as geological rock studies, have been used as evidence to support such a large expanse of time. However, a small but determined minority, mostly composed of fundamentalist Christians, has been vehemently challenging this age. These so-called â€Å"creation-scientists† have disputed the evidence in support of a young earth. They have added their own measurements and observations, as well as interpreted other scientists’ data, in an attempt to convince others of the possibility and ultimately, the â€Å"truth† of a young earth, one that is no more than 6,000 to 10,000 years old. The young earth idea has its roots in the Bible. If the lineages and families were traced back from known dates in the not-to-distant past, the creation of the world by the eternal Creator would have been around 4000 B.C. Because these creationists call their endeavors scientific, the question arises as to their method for making the claim of a young earth. Creation-science discussions of the age of the earth usually contain several standard items. The first is usually a criticism of the standard evolutionist methods for age determination, radiometric dating. Radiometric dating is the process of determining the age of a substance based on the ratio of isotopes in a given sample. The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom defines a particular element. However, the number of neutrons in the nucleus can vary, giving rise to different isotopes of the same element. Some of these isotopes are stable, while others are not. These unstable isotopes radioactively decay to more stable, often lighter elements, called daughter atoms, thereby releasing energy in the form of high-energy particles or electromagnetic waves. A particular isotope will have a characteristic half-life, based on the time that it takes for half of the population of the isotope to decay into the daughter elements.

Coastal Managment

A coastal environment (Small/Regional Scale) the processes affecting this coast, Its landforms and Its management Key Questions from the GEESE syllabus: Key Questions from the GEESE syllabus: Why do coastal processes need to be managed? How are coastlines managed? Why does coastal management create controversy? The Forth-Hymnals coastline Is an area currently undergoing a major change In the way It Is managed. Your task is to find out: 1. A description of the location of this stretch of coastline 2. What coastal features are found along this stretch of coastline 3.What management strategies are being developed 4. Why they are being developed 5. Collect a set of specific facts about the management strategies 6. Who will benefit from the new strategies 7. Who will be disadvantaged by the new strategies Your research must have all of this information, as the exam board may ask a case study question on any of the above aspects of this case study. You will be writing a timed Case Study an swer following this work, which will only use part of your research information: For a named area of coastline, describe the management strategies being used and explain how different groups of people will be affected.Your work will be assessed using the case study Mark scheme My Hymnals Coastal management Case Study 1) A description of the location of this stretch of coastline Site Location – The site location on the beach on the seaward side of lower forth village Hymnals is located In Wales 8 miles (1 3 km) north of Abernathy and It Is 1. 5 miles north of forth. The Hymnals coast line stretches over 2 miles and Is located In the county of Correction . Hymnals is situated right next to a number of small towns and is unconnected to the main road the AAA. ) What coastal features are found along this stretch of coastline To the north of this coast lies a large estuary with a embryonic split occurring towards the mouth of the estuary. A spit is formed from alongshore drift movi ng material along the beaches and the material is deposited and overtime the spit forms a right angle shape 4. Waves cannot get past a spit, which creates a extends about km from the southern side of the defy estuary. The main line of the spit is formed by gravels that are exposed at high water level along the southern part f the spit. 3) What management strategies are being developed?Work began early autumn 2010. The aim of Correction council is to protect the beaches from erosion and flooding and the surrounding communities. On cardigan bay there are around 1500 homes and about 7000 to protect from the natural elements of living near to and visiting the coast. Forth village has developed on a mobile shingle beach with many properties built on the beach, this means it is more vulnerable to flooding. Wooden Grosses Grosses protect against alongshore drift and backwash which means the beach will be fee from erosion and the beach material being washed downer by alongshore drift.In the ass's Correction county council built some wooden grosses and breastwork defenses however they have recently been deemed as coming to the end of their life and there then was a further need for protection of the km frontage. Rock Grosses Constructed near the Craig y Delay cliffs to the south of forth. Grosses do not add extra material to a beach, but merely retain some of the existing sediment on the updraft side of the grosses At the southern end Another strategy to protect against erosion from the waves the council built a series of onshore rock breakwater grosses. The grosses are mm long each Greene is followed by a breakwater.The rock grosses are made of rock obviously and commonly are basalt. â€Å"Two rock grosses and two rock breakwaters will be placed at intervals along the beach, and these will retain the shingle, in much the same way as the timber grosses do now. † – Correction council The present coastal defenses were designed in the sass, and the timber gr osses and breastworks directly fronting the village were constructed in stages urine the early sass's, with the grosses reducing the alongshore drift of sediment, and the breastwork providing a back stop to protect the shingle bank on which so much of Forth has been founded.The Multi-Purpose Reef The multi-purpose reef is located mm offshore which will be unobstructed and only to be seen when the shore is out. The idea is that the waves brake over the reef which will reduce the energy in the waves so they arrive at the beach with less force therefore reducing the amount of erosion and to encourage the development of a broader beach inshore. The reef has been created to protect the shingle beach from erosion however it has created a better surfing facility and so encouraging surfers to the area.Beach Nourishment â€Å"Sand and shingle will be placed on the beach to increase its width. This will provide Forth Village with more protection from incoming waves, as waves will be breaking further offshore and they will therefore have a wider beach over which their energy is released. † – Correction council Beach nourishment took place along all of the lower forth village frontage. The shingle was imported and placed along the village frontage to create a stable beach.Along the village frontage , the aim was to create and sustain a shingle beer with a minimum crest width of mm. Multipurpose reef – The reasons behind the construction of the multipurpose reef is to encourage the waves to brake on the reef and so losing their energy out offshore so when they reach the beach they have little energy therefore minimizing the chance of erosion by hydrophilic action.Another benefit of the reef is that it provides a very good surfing facility as it acts to focus and shape the waves to improve curability. The final aim of the reef was to encourage a wider beach inshore which is nether coast protection component. Beach Rock Grosses and Rock Breakwaters They placed to rock Grosses and two break waters in intervals along the beach which will stop long shore drift and protect the shingle beach the same as the timber ones but obviously much more durable.Beach Nourishment Sand and shingles will be bought by Correction council and deposited on the beach to extend its width. This therefore will increase the protection of Forth village from the incoming waves as they will be breaking further offshore and also have more beach for the waves to break their energy down on. 5. Collect a set of specific facts about the management strategies See within questions three and four 6.Who will benefit from the new strategies There are many people who will benefit for example The Locals It has become evident throughout my research that there is a main concern concerning this locals and the protection of their homes and businesses. All the protection elements of the scheme aim to protect against the erosion of the beaches which would eventually get further i nland and destroy their homes. Tourists The beach nourishment means that there is a wider beach therefore making it deter for tourists as there will be more room for more people and the beach will be more appealing to them.Also the construction of the multi purpose reef means there is a better surf facility for surfer visiting the forth coastline. Entrepreneurs of Forth and Hymnals Inevitably the Attraction of tourists to the beaches will benefit the local shop owners and restaurant owners and also holiday makers as there will be more people interested in visiting forth and hymnals because of the better coast conditions and so therefore more people to spend money in the local businesses

How Depth of Knowledge Drives Learning and Assessment

How Depth of Knowledge Drives Learning and Assessment Depth of Knowledge- also referred to as DOK- refers to the depth of understanding required to answer or explain an assessment-related item or a classroom activity. The concept of depth of knowledge was developed in the 1990s through research by Norman L. Webb,  a scientist at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. DOK Background Webb originally developed depth of knowledge for mathematics and science standards. However, the model has been expanded and used in language arts, mathematics, science, and history/social studies. His model has increasingly become more popular in state assessment circles. The complexity of an assessment task is increasingly more difficult because the level often increases requiring multiple steps to complete. Does this mean that learning and assessment should not include level 1 tasks? On the contrary, learning and assessment should include a diversified set of tasks requiring students to exhibit a range of problem-solving skills within each level of complexity.  Webb identified four distinct depth of knowledge levels. Level 1 Level 1 includes basic recall of facts, concepts, information, or procedures- the rote learning or memorization of facts- an essential component of learning. Without a strong foundation of basic knowledge, students find it difficult to perform more complex tasks. Mastering level 1 tasks builds a foundation allowing students to attempt to complete higher-level tasks successfully. An example of level 1 knowledge would be: Grover Cleveland was the 22nd president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889. Cleveland was also the 24th president from 1893 to 1897. Level 2 Level 2 depth of knowledge  includes skills and concepts such as the use of information (graphs) or solving problems that require two or more steps with decision points along the way. The foundation of level 2 is that it often requires multiple steps to solve. You must be able to take what is there and fill in certain gaps. Students cannot simply recall the answer though some prior knowledge, as is the case with level 1. Students must be able to explain how or why in level 2 items. An example of a level 2 DOK would be: Compare and contrast a composite, cinder cone, and shield volcano. Level 3 Level 3 DOK includes strategic thinking that requires reasoning and is abstract and complex. Students must analyze and evaluate complex real-world problems with predictable outcomes. They must be able to reason their way through the problem logically.  Level 3 questions often require students to pull from multiple subject areas using a range of skills to come up with a solution that works. An example would be: Write a persuasive essay, citing evidence from other sources such as text, to convince your school principal to allow students to have and use their cell phones in class. Level 4 Level 4 includes extended thinking such as an investigation or application to solve complex real-world problems with unpredictable outcomes. Students must strategically analyze, evaluate, and reflect over time often having to change their approach on their way to coming up with an amicable solution. An  example of this level of knowledge would be: Invent a new product or create a solution that solves a problem or helps make things easier for someone within the confines of your school. DOK in the Classroom Most classroom assessments consist of level 1 or level 2 type questions. Level 3 and 4 assessments are more complex to develop, and they are also more difficult for teachers to score.  Yet, students need to be exposed to a variety of tasks at differing levels of complexity to learn and grow. Level 3 and 4 activities are challenging in different ways for both students and teachers, but they also offer many benefits that level 1 and level 2 activities cannot provide. Teachers would be best served by using a balanced approach when deciding how to implement depth of knowledge into their classrooms.