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The Computer Revolution/Internet/Communication

News Groups
A News Group is a message board posted in cyberspace where participants exchange information on topics of common interest. The range of subject matter is as limitless as the content of the internet itself; there are News Groups for topics as varied as dance shoes, dog grooming, software and global warming. News Groups differ from news found in the media because they invite the user to contribute to the discussion rather than simply absorbing information. You needn't be a scholar or pundit to participate, you only need to have some pertinent information or question. This is called "Open Source". Open Source is a highly effective way of information exchange because is allows a greater spectrum of people to participate; allowing average Joe to contribute is a good idea because as has been proven,(by Wikipedia and others) the general public is often a greater source of info than a small group of specialists.

When posting a message on a News Group the participant must type in what the message is referring to, (much like a subject box with email) and then write what is called an "Article" or message. The article is the information the participant is offering. An article is not defined by its length but rather by the fact that a contribution to the News Group has been made. It may be a single paragraph, sentence, or word. News Groups often have a series of related topics or sub- categories call "Hierarchies". These hierarchies can supply useful back ground info for News Groups topics and also act as a link to the plethora of other News Group topics available for exploration.

 News Groups are hosted on network of computers called Usenet. A specialized program is required for the user to read and access information. Payment and registration are required and News Groups as a general rule do not edit, regulate, or filter content. See Usenet disclaimer below:

''Please note: Usenet.com does not control the newsgroups on Usenet. We do not post content in the newsgroups or create their names. Each newsgroup and each post that are created are the sole responsibility of those who created them. We do not control what people post to the Usenet newsgroups. Our servers are classified as a "transitory network." A newsgroup name in and of itself does not mean that what is posted to that group corresponds to the name of the newsgroup.''

Email
 Email  becomes more and more popular in modern society. People use email to communicate each other easily comparing with writing a letter. First of all, people using email correctly save a lot of time and using email the right way will get faster responses. Secondly, people can share their experience with email. Advantages for using email

Disadvantages for using email

Spam
Spam is the electronic version of junk mail. It is unsolicited e-mail sent to large groups of people at one time. It is used to sell products or services, but can also be used for fraudulent purposes such as phishing schemes, or counterfeit products. The best way to prevent spam is by using your e-mail address for only trusted sources, such as family, friends and work associates. For activities such as online shopping, or other things that may lead to spam, you can use a second e-mail address, which could be a free account from Yahoo, Hotmail, or Google’s Gmail. These e-mail accounts are often called disposable or throw-away addresses, because once they become too overwhelming, you can quit using it, and start a new one. Some ISPs provide disposable e-mail addresses for their subscribers, and then the subscriber can delete the address when it is no longer wanted or needed. Anonymous e-mail services allow users to create/delete anonymous accounts which are forwarded to an account specified by the user. These companies generally charge a yearly fee for their service.

Blog

 *  What it is

A blog is a means of which people can post information onto the internet and the responding readers can feel free to post comments or their own point of view.Blogs can take many forms for instance online personal journals which allows people to express themselves through there own identity or a username. In some cases entire sites are dedicated to individual blogs, where the topics can be of a political point of view to the simplest comments on a genre of music. One of the key attractions about blogs is the motivation to state your opinion and there is no cost in starting a blog.

 * Who can use it

Blogs for the most part are open to anyone and everyone; however some sites pose age restriction. So that minors have to seek parents' approval and acknowledgement before venturing out onto the World Wide Web. This is in place to protect children from venturing onto blogs with mature content. These are common restriction becoming more active as the internet becomes more available to youth and access at schools and libraries.

 * What the content is

The content in blogs can range from properly planting tomatoes, to a person’s daily journal about life. Blogs content usually depends on the writer of the blog, if the person maybe a retired train engineer the blog could possibly be about years of work and accessing the right resources to becoming a train engineer. Or possibly the online journal of a celebrity keeping her/his fans informed of tour dates and the daily life on a tour bus and the interesting life style.

 * Where the future of blogs is

As blogs have become more evidently popular, people have started to combine blogs and media players together. Individuals are now setting up blogs with the addition of their favorite music or music which they have created. These sites have started to evolve to the point of where millions of users are adding to their own blog and checking on friends or new users. Commenting on not only the blog but the selection of music and leaving comments so that the owner of the blog may start a discussion with the commenting user. An example of one of these sites is http://www.myspace.com, http://www.youtube.com and many more.

 * Resources

myspace.Retrieved september 25 ,2006,from http://www.myspace.com

youtube.Retrieved september 25 ,2006,from http://www.youtube.com

Instant Messaging
IM Introduction

Exchanging messages in real-time between two or more people. Unlike a dial-up system such as the telephone, instant messaging (IM) requires that both parties be logged onto their IM service at the same time. Also known as a "chatting," IM has become very popular for both business and personal use. In business, IM provides a way to contact co-workers any time of the day, providing they are at their computers. Thus, IM is often used as a way to avoid telephone tag, whether the communication continues as text messages or winds up as a traditional phone call.

IM History

Since the early '90s, AOL has always had a form of Instant Messaging but it wasn't until 1996, when they introduced the Buddy List feature, that it really took off. In the same year, ICQ (I Seek You) burst onto the Internet scene and helped popularize Instant Messaging. Whereas AOL Instant Messaging was exclusive to AOL members, ICQ was a free IM software available for download to anyone.

In 1997, AOL introduced AIM (AOL Instant Messenger), which allowed its members to talk with non-members for the first time. AIM eventually usurped ICQ as the prevalent IM client, and in 1998, AOL bought Mirablis (ICQ's creator), thus becoming the dominant player in Instant Messaging.

As the popularity of Instant Messaging grew, other IM clients like MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger and a variety of smaller players eventually entered the mix. However, it's important to point out that there is no interoperability between the different IM clients. Each IM software uses its own proprietary system and network.

Benefits

Instant messaging typically boosts communication and allows easy collaboration. In contrast to e-mails or phone, the parties know whether the peer is available. Most systems allow the user to set an online status or away message so peers get notified whenever the user is available, busy, or away from the computer. On the other hand, people are not forced to reply immediately to incoming messages. This way, communication via instant messaging can be less intrusive than communication via phone, which is partly a reason why instant messaging is becoming more and more important in corporate environments. Also, the fact that instant messages typically get logged in a local message history closes the gap to the persistent nature of e-mails, facilitating quick, safe, and persistent exchange of information such as URLs or document snippets, which can be unwieldy when done using inappropriate media such as phone.

VOIP
Basically VoIP stands for voice over internet protocol; which is when a you use the internet to conduct your phone calls, allowing for video-conferencing through a link to a videophone. The voice signal from your phone is converted into a digital signal that travels through the internet into either another phone using VoIP or through a adapter to a regular phone number. To be able to use this service you require a high speed internet connection through either a cable modem or high speed services and your choice of a microphone which is connected directly into the computer or through a telephone connected to your computer. Since the service is digital there are some advantages and disadvantages that come along with use of VoIP.

The advantages include not needing to maintain and pay the additional cost for a line just to make telephone call, as well with many VoIP plans you can talk for as long as you want with any person in the world, you are also able to talk with many people at the same time without any additional cost. For individuals who are traveling, VoIP provides the advantage of portability, as long as you have access to a broadband connection. With access to a broadband connection you can easily and cheaply keep in touch. Many of the same features that you’ve come to expect as standard with your traditional and cell phone service are available with your VoIP service. These services include call forwarding, call waiting, voicemail, caller ID and more are available through your ip phone . You can also send data, as you would with a broadband internet connection, like pictures and documents, all while talking on the phone.

The disadvantages of this service include some VoIP services not working during power outages and back up power is not guaranteed. As well, not all VoIP service providers connect directly to emergency services through 9-1-1, they require an outside link to receive service. There are also issues with VoIP sound quality and reliability. Just like any data sent over the internet, it is sent through little “packets”. Due to the real-time nature of voice communication, the reassembly process becomes more of a problem with VoIP. In order to minimize the delay of the voice connection, some data packets may occasionally need to be “dropped” if they don’t arrive in time, resulting in periods of silence in the conversation

Microwave and Satellite Transmissions

Microwaves are high frequency radio signals that can send large quantities of data at high speed over long distances. Microwave signals can be sent or received using microwave stations or communication satellites, but only can travel in straight line from one station or one satellite to another without encountering any obstacles, since microwave signals are line of sight. Microwave stations are earth-based stations that can transmit signals directly to each other over distances of up to about 30 miles. To avoid buildings, mountains and the curvature of the earth obstructing the signal, microwave stations are usually placed on tall buildings, towers, mountaintops. Microwave stations contain both a dish-shaped microwave antenna and a transceiver. When one station receives a transmission from another, it amplifies it and passes it on to the next station. Microwave stations can exchange data transmissions with communication satellite and also with other microwave stations. Microwave stations designed specifically to communicate with satellite such as satellite TV and satellite Internet services are also called satellite dishes. Satellite dishes are installed permanently where they are needed. They can also be mounted on trucks, boats, RVs and other types of transportation devices when portable transmission capabilities are necessary such as military or recreational applications.

Communication satellites– are space-based devices launched into orbit around the earth to receive and transmit microwave signals to and from earth. Communication satellite was originally used to facilitate microwave transmissions when microwave stations were not economically viable such as largely populated areas or were physically impractical such as over large bodies of water. Today, communication satellites are used to send and receive transmissions to and from a variety of other devices such as personal satellite dishes used for satellite television and Internet service. GPS receivers, satellite radio receivers and satellite phones.

Webcasts
/What is Webcasting

/Benefits of Webcasting

/Costs of Webcasting


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User talk:Shanekeith

What Can Be Done to Make Teaching an Attractive Profession? Shane Keith Old Dominion University

What Can Be Done to Make Teaching an Attractive Profession?

As a profession, teaching is behind in its ability to attract qualified applicants. The competition for high quality teachers is fierce. Schools have been forced to find new ways to not only attract but keep new teachers. Because of the No Child Left Behind Act that President Bush signed in 2002, states need to have “highly qualified” teachers for all the core academic courses. This needs to be accomplished by the end of the 2006-2007 school year, or states face a loss in federal funding (King, 2006). Because of this urgency, the time is now to face teaching shortages and attract and keep quality professionals. A competitive salary, hiring incentives, and especially more support and consideration for the hardships of new teachers would all make teaching a more attractive profession and help end the problems with finding “highly qualified” teachers.

The most logical way to entice a potential teacher is with a competitive salary. The problem is that for starting teachers, the salary offered is below what they could receive in the business sector. In 2003-04, the estimated starting salary for teachers with a B.A, was $30,496. Beginning salary for accountants that same year was $41,110 and for computer science graduates, $49,691 (Solomon, 2005).

Institutions of public education need to stay more competitive. One of the ways is to not base pay on years of experience, but instead on the need for the particular position. For example, there are fewer applicants for positions teaching physics than there are for positions as English teachers, because someone with a physics degree can earn a lot more in the business sector than someone with an English degree could earn in a field outside education, therefore, the physics position should offer higher salary than the English position. The current pay schedule does not account for this.

More importantly, salaries should be higher for teachers overall. Doctors and nurses have jobs that are very important for our society, and they make high pay. What teachers do, could be argued, is just as important, if not more important, given that all Americans receive an education, and the quality of this education determines the intelligence and ability of our future nation.

Along with salary increases, states should look at ways to offer other rewards to potential teachers. Signing bonuses are a common incentive. These are usually given with the requirement of working as a teacher within the system for a given number of years. More creative ways to offer rewards include helping with student loans, making mortgage subsidies available, and even something small such as offering free or discounted health club memberships.

Private businesses have tried to help with the recruitment of quality teachers. Bank of America offers mortgage loans of up to $252,700 to teachers nationwide. This allows the purchase of a house with little to no down payment (Siskos, 2001).

Competitive salaries and added perks such as bonuses and other incentives will help, but more is needed. The main problem in attracting and keeping qualified teachers is job satisfaction. One third of all new teachers leave the field within three years. Close to half leave teaching after five years (National Education Association, 2003). This kind of turnover costs more than schools can afford. Studies done by the Texas Center for Educational Research state that turnover costs as much as one and a half times the departing teachers salary. Part of that cost is the training, bonuses and benefits that have now been lost with the teacher (Kraus, 2005). With all this considered, it is important to do the things needed to keep new teacher in place.

One of the biggest complaints of new teachers is that they feel lost. There is not adequate guidance and mentoring in most schools. Often, the first year teachers are given the most difficult and challenging students, full loads with little time to prepare, and more than a fair share of extracurricular assignments is areas like coaching and club activities (Columbia Group, 2006). Christina Knowles, a high school English teacher in rural North Carolina, says about her first year teaching:

They made me in charge of the yearbook, which, besides football, is the only thing people around here care about it. (The students and other teachers) all have in their minds how they want this book to be, yet no one wants to help. To make things worse, the staff of students I got to produce this product was an overcrowded class including a kid who dropped out of school, four kids who would come to class stoned, two students who chased me on the highway, a group of five who tried to get me fired, and a bold young man who would do things like spray paint on paper in my classroom while substitute was there or leave an unwrapped condom on my desk just to embarrass me. That was just one of my classes (Knowles 2006).

To help with this, the school systems should make sure that new teachers are not given the most challenging courses. Beginning teachers still need to learn how to run an actual live class full of students. For the first couple years, teachers should have reduced course work so that they can learn their craft at a pace that will not overwhelm them. They should be given time during the day to plan and ask questions of more experienced staff. An organized and structured mentoring system should be in place to help new teachers. Guidance and support are the basic things needed to keep teachers content with the job.

With the timeline established in the No Child Left Behind Act, the problems with attracting quality teachers needs to be solved immediately. To do this, every state needs to offer a competitive salary, more and better hiring incentives, and a strong support system for new teachers. This is possible, but it my take a major change in national mindset.

References

Columbia Group. (2006). Realistic assignments for new teachers. Retrieved September 19, 2006 from: http://www.columbiagroup.org/retention3.htm

Johnson, S. M., et. al. (2001, September/October). Retaining the next generation of teachers: the importance of school-based support. Harvard Education Letter. Retrieved September 12, 2006, from http://www.edletter.org/current/support.shtml

King, L. (2006, April 24). Richer areas more successful in attracting qualified teachers. USA TODAY. Retrieved September 19, 2006 from http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-04-24-education_x.htm

Kraus, L. (2005, 15 March). Attracting teachers starts with retention. Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved September 19, 2006 from http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Mar/15/op/op08p.html/?print=on

National Education Association. (2003, 29 January). Teacher retention key to teacher shortage crisis. NEA Communications. Retrieved September 23, 2006 from http://www.nea.org/nr/nr030129.html

Siskos, C. (2001, May). B is for bonus – attracting new teachers. kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine. Retrieved September 19, 2006 from http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1318/is_5_55/ai_73828271

Solomon, L. (2005, Winter). Recognizing differences: let’s reward good teachers. Education Next. Retrieved September 23, 2006 from http://www.tapschools.org/newsroom.taf?page=tapnews443_recogdiff

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS:

1. Which of the following is NOT an incentive mentioned in this paper? A. Fitness club memberships. B. Zero down payment for mortgages. C. Payment for moving expenses. D. Hiring bonus.

2. Which of the following is NOT a problem faced by first year teachers? A. Getting the most difficult students. B. Overbearing mentoring system. C. Receiving unfair share of extracurricular activities to oversee. D. Too little time to prepare for classes.

3. Which of the following is closest to the average starting teaching salary? A. $20,000 B. $25,000 C. $30,000 D. $40,000

4. When is the deadline for complying with the No Child Left Behind Act in acquiring “highly qualified” teachers for all positions? A. 2006-2007 school year. B. 2007-2008 school year. C. 2008-2009 school year. D. 2009-2010 school year.

5. About what percentage of teachers leave the profession about five years? A. 10% B. 25% C. 35% D. 50%

ESSAY QUESTION:

There are a few hiring incentives listed in this paper, and school systems nationwide have used these. Many schools have come up with new, unique incentives for new employees. In a well-organized essay, choose three to five creative incentives schools could use and why they might be effective in attracting new teachers.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION ANSWERS: 1. C 2. B 3. C 4. A 5. D

SIDEBAR by Steve Moore, copyright 2006 Universal Press Syndicate

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: User talk:Shanekeith


text:
User:Slfinney

Differences in Perception and Reality

The differences in perception and reality in education bring into focus the group of people in our society that are forgotten. In this article some of the differences between perception and reality will be addressed. Lets start with the definition of perception and reality. Reality is that which exists objectively and in fact (American Heritage). Perception is the awareness of directly through any of the senses (American Heritage). To put this simply reality is how things really are and perception is how we comprehend things to be. Within education both of these exist. Lets examine some realities and perceptions within education.

With the multicultural society that is found in the United States there are many teachers and students from various backgrounds. The teachers and students in America’s public institution foster the reality and perception of education. The barriers that students from low-income families are facing are affecting their educational experience. This problem referred to as the digital divide is affecting a proportion of the population that is falling further behind. This is a reality that needs to be addressed. Ethnic differences create literary and language barriers these barriers are directly related to the digital divide ( The Children’s Partnership). These barriers of literary and language are problems, but solutions are in the works. With the use of technology teachers can teach class in closed-captioned settings. This will allow students with literacy and language barriers to learn by the preferred language of choice. The perception of education then changes to allow students that were left behind because of these barriers to embrace technology and put it to use. The digital divide can be eliminated if technology is there to use. This is not always the case. Technology is not in every school to be accessed by every teacher. The process of education needs to be rethought. The idea of the National Experimental School Administration (NESA) as proposed by Dr. Allen and Dr. Cosby in their book “American Schools: The 100 Billion Dollar Challenge” is one way of approaching the digital divide problem. The creation of NESA would allow testing of various teaching styles that could show what would make education current in the 21st century. Then the barriers that were listed above would not matter and all students could have access to current technology if the NESA was successful.

Another perception of education is that the educational preparation students receive is supposed to equip them for the job market. Students are instructed to do their homework and pass the standardized tests to determine their success in life. The does not really guarantee that students will be successful or get a job. This means change in the classroom needs to happen. Teachers need to change their assumptions they have about how students learn. The assumptions that “they are willful and need correction, they are innocent and must be protected from a dangerous or vulgar society, they are empty vessels to be filled with knowledge that only adults can provide, that they are egocentric and in need of socialization, etc.” are long held perceptions (Bruner). These are perceptions about students that need to be rethought and the reality needs to be voiced and put into practice. The reality is that teachers need to stop looking at students as if they do not know anything. Teachers have a lot that could be learned from students with all the information and technology that is in our society. The days that teachers stood in the front of the classroom to give students information that they could not find anywhere else but school have passed. Teachers and students need to be joining together in the learning process. In doing this interesting and useful ways to explore technology would become a reality in preparing students for the job market.

In mentioning students as a forgotten group teachers must not be left out of this classification. Teachers that have professional development training sessions have been found to have a positive impact on students. The reality of positive impact that teachers can make occurs when teacher development meets the following: 1. it is sustained over time; 2. focuses on specific content areas or instructional strategies; 3. supports collection learning; 4. aligns with school and teacher goals; and 5. provides opportunities for teachers to practice and apply new knowledge (Hamilton). When these things become a reality for teachers their attitudes about teaching will become more of a rewarding experience. When the perception that teachers have all the training in college is changed, then can teacher development become a reality. The administration of schools that offer teacher development give the opportunity for teachers to learn from each other. Teachers would cover material that other teachers were applying and gain a comfort level and solid knowledge of what is expected of them. This would also be rewarding for the students having teachers that were excited about the material they were presenting. Teachers would also be aligned with the school goals that were set before them by the administration. The students that are taught by well prepared teachers are going to see improvement. The perception that students are getting further behind would begin to be erased. This would be replaced by the reality of quality improvement in students’ assignments and projects (Gale). This could go a long way to changing how education and teachers are viewed by society. Teacher professional development could allow the ability to lead the way into students successfully being well-educated citizens of the country. These changes will come if we dare change the way teachers are taught by altering our perceptions of how learning should occur.

This article addressed some of the components that show some of the differences in perception and reality in education. The predicament of education is that change in the way students are educated must happen. Perceptions toward education will not be changed until education itself undergoes change. New realities in education will then be acknowledged. Teachers and students could benefit, what is there to lose. The choice is to let education remain where it is or to change it so that no one will be left behind is the turning point that education faces at this time. It is up to us as teachers to decide were to go from here.

Sidebar

“Only the curious will learn and only the resolute will overcome the obstacles to learning.”

~Robert Frost

“We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are.”

~The Talmud

Essay Question

Teachers have an impact on the reality of education. What changes need to be made to allow the perceptions within education to be viewed differently? List one of the things that should be changed and explain.

Multiple Choice Questions

1.	Perception is:

a.	a myth

b.	a thought process

c.	awareness directly through the senses

d.	reality

e.	b and d

2.	Reality is:

a.	how things really are

b.	something that exists objectively and in fact

c.	a perception

d.	a though process

e.	a and b

3.	The United States is a __________ society. a.	multicultural

b.	diverse

c.	educated

d.	none of the above

e.	only a and b

4.	Teachers need _________ development training. a.	one on one

b.	historical

c.	awareness

d.	professional

e.	none of the above

5.	Perception toward education will not change until education undergoes change.

a.	true

b.	false

Sources

Allen, Dr. Dwight and Dr. William H. Cosby. “American Schools: The 100 Billion Dollar Challenge”. October 2000. New York, NY.

American Heritage. Retrieved September 20, 2006, from www.answers.com

Bruner, Jerome. “The Culture of Education”. (1996). Harvard University Press.

Hamilton Project. Identifying Effective Teachers Using Performance on the Job. The Education Innovator. Retrieved September 21, 2006 from, http://find.galegroup.com/proxy.lib.odu.edu

Gale, Thompson. (May 15, 2006). Teacher Quality and Development. Education USA. Retrieved September 21, 2006 from, http://find.galegroup.com/proxy.lib.odu.edu

The Children’s Partnership. Online Content for Low Income and Underserved Americans; Digital Divides New Frontier. (2000).

Multiple Choices Answers

1.	c

2.	e

3.	e

4.	d

5.	a

title: User:Slfinney


text:
User talk:Gulraiz Butt

Their is someone always in your life who whenever comes infront of your eyes your heart starts jumping with joy.

title: User talk:Gulraiz Butt


text:
Talk:Geometry/Chapter 14

How about including some more diagrams which can serve as proof of the theorem, perhaps the one with the three squares on the outside of the center triangle, or the one with three circles. Perhaps I will upload some myself. --Navaburo 01:48, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

There was a time when a certain French mathematics journal (I forget the name) actually banned the use of diagrams in proofs in their articles. Why? Because they found too many authors were drawing figures that were special cases or otherwise fooled the author (and reader) into thinking something not yet proved was proved because "it is obvious from the diagram".

So here, too. Even the first diagram used in the main text of chapter 14 for 'proving' the Pythagorean Theorem obscures the fact that the author of the proof did not prove that the figure formed by all four instances of the hypotenuse c really IS a square. By the time you dot all your i's and cross all your t's, the proof is not that simple after all, even though the symmetry is so highly suggestive. This is one of several reasons Euclid did not do it this way, choosing a proof that at first glance appears more obscure and complicated.

Now if the author had first proved that the only quadrilateral with C4 symmetry is the square, then fixing his proof (of the PT) would have been much easier, so the diagram based proof would still be useful. But as it is...

24.4.133.80 (discuss) 01:59, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

title: Talk:Geometry/Chapter 14


text:
User:Mmowr002

In a time when teachers are being held more and more accountable for how well students learn, it is becoming very important for teachers to be flexible when it comes to their teaching methods. Much of the accountability issue is largely due to the signing of the No Child Left Behind Act, also referred to as NCLB, in 2002 by President George W. Bush. The No Child Left Behind Act was established to “close the achievement gap among all students and ensure high academic standards”(“No Child Left Behind”). The Act went on to list all of the goals and expectations the government expected the national school systems to be able to satisfy by 2005. Included amongst the goals was “Improving Teacher Quality”. The theory behind this goal was that student learning will improve when states set ambitious academic standards, align assessments to the standards, and hold schools and teachers accountable for how well students meet the national and state standards (Cross). Once this law was passed, the education profession, as a whole, was put under greater scrutiny, with much of the focus being drawn to the teachers and the demands for better instruction in the classroom.

In the past few years there have been increasing demands for teachers to be “highly qualified” in all of the subjects in which they teach. By the federal government’s standards, a highly qualified teacher is one who has at least a bachelor’s degree, along with a full teaching certification, and mastery in each subject area they teach. It is up to each state to determine the specifications for both teacher certification and subject mastery in their individual school systems (Schleicher). In order to try and meet the standards that are being set by both the state and federal government, there have been many recommendations on new ways to ensure a better quality of those entering the teaching profession. Future teachers may soon find themselves having to fulfill many new requirements before graduating with their certifications. Some of those requirements may include completing additional courses in general education, attending courses that link instructional method courses with subject-area courses, and participating in longer observations and student-teaching experiences so that they may receive more knowledge of the in-class environment (Cross). Their willingness to comply with these new standards is proof of their continued flexibility in preparing for the demands of the classroom. Up and coming teachers, have already begun to see the need for increased education despite the fact that it is not yet required by many states.

In order to make sure that educators are able to teach their subject in the most efficient and effective ways they can, it is often prudent for them to take developmental classes to further their education even after they have graduated college. According to an American School Board Journal that was released in April of 2002, teachers are expected to teach more demanding standard-based curricula and often find that they too need to be instructed in the new subject area content and effective ways to teach the subject (Cross).

As for those teachers that have already graduated from college and are already working in a classroom environment, there have also been discussions on ways to ensure that they too, are meeting the necessary standards within the classroom. It is important that teachers and the administration work together to ensure that all state standards are met. By discovering new ways to capture the interest of students, presenting curriculum in an easy, comprehensive manner and striving to ensure that each student can reach their full potential; educators are ensuring that no child is left behind.

These days it’s not just the new teachers that have to take additional courses to remain flexible. Many educators teaching with a maximum background of a Bachelor’s Degree have begun taking steps to continue their education and receive their Master’s Degree. Many teachers also attend classes annually to keep informed of all the changes to the curriculum and to learn new techniques to implement in the classroom.

So what does this mean for those going into the field of teaching? How can one remain flexible when the government and society are set on making them accountable for how their students perform? As of now, there are many steps being taken by teachers to stay flexible despite the accountability factor. Because much of the curriculum that is taught in classrooms is based upon the set standards of the state assessment tests, many teachers feel that they are teaching for the assessment tests. One way to work around these tests is to assess the needs of each student. The teacher would need to prepare materials based on the ability of the student to absorb the content being taught. They would also need to be able to provide ample time and patience to create a suitable learning environment (Mowry). According to a policy brief from the Education Commission of the State, otherwise known as the ECS, teachers can significantly impact how a student learns. If teachers take time to make themselves available to their students they can have a great influence on how their students learn and can potentially help shape their lives. Teachers should also be able to help their students become comfortable with the testing process. By helping students prepare for the assessment testing and offering incentives for learning it might be possible for educators to boost assessment test scores. As you can see the flexibility of today’s educators is an important tool in the classroom. As state laws and the need to improve education continues to change so to will the increased need of flexibility within the classroom. Without this flexibility, teachers would fail in their objective to provide a quality education for all students (Mowry).

Bibliography

(n.d.). No Child Left Behind. Retrieved September 18, 2006, from http://www.vbschools.com/schools/nclb/index.asp)

Cross, C. T., & Rigden, D. W. (2002, April). Improving teacher Quality. National School Board Association. Retrieved September 18, 2006, from http://www.asbj.com/2002/04/0402coverstory2.html

Schleicher, A., & Rigden, D. W. (2006, August 30). Teacher Accountability. Retrieved September 18, 2006, from http://www.pbs.org/newhour/bb/education/nclb/accountability.html

Allen, M., & Rigden, D. W. (1999). Student Results and Teacher Accountability. Retrieved September 18, 2006, from http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/12/28/1228..htm

Sidebar: A report released in mid-August, by the Federal Government, stated that no state has yet achieved the goal proposed in the "No Child Left Behind" act of 2002.

Multiple Choice Questions: 1.	Which of the following is not part of the government qualification standards for teachers? A.	Bachelor’s Degree B.	Full teaching certificate C.	Master’s Degree D.	Mastery in subjects taught

2.	What requirements might face new educators in the future? A.	Completion of additional courses in general education B.	Participation in longer classroom observations C.	Participate in longer student teaching experiences D.	All of the above

3.	Rebecca is a third grade teacher. She spent several hours talking with students to see how much they learned last year. This is an example of: A.	Assessing student’s need B.	Creating suitable learning environment C.	Offering incentives for learning D.	Influencing student learning

4.	Which method is not used by educators to ensure that “No Child is Left Behind”? A.	Reading a wide variety of self-help books B.	By discovering new ways to capture interest of students C.	Presenting curriculum in an easy, comprehensive manner D.	Striving to ensure that each student can reach their full potential

5.	Jeff’s class is learning multiplication. Although it’s not required he tells his students, if the memorize their multiplication facts, they can earn a pizza party. This is an example of : A.	Creating suitable learning environment B.	Assessing student needs C.	Offering incentives for learning D.	None of the above

Essay Question: Why is flexibility important? How will you implement it in your classroom?

Multiple Choice Answers:

1.	C

2.	D

3.	A

4.	A

5.	C

title: User:Mmowr002


text:
User:MrC~enwikibooks

I mainly make lessons and animations for math and science. I am also the original author of the Guide to Huxley's Island.

I made a program that converts html format to wikibooks format. It's pretty simple at this point but can save a lot of time. It's written in Visual Basic 5. If anyone wants to use it, wants the code, knows a place I can/should post the code, or knows a better program that has already been written, let me know. My program handles bold, italics, wikipedia links, and page breaks.

title: User:MrC~enwikibooks


text:
Ukrainian Dancing/Central Ukraine/Combination Steps

To add to this page, go to Steps. Click on edit this page, and then highlight and copy the entire template. Return to this page and click on edit this page. Go to the end of the page and paste the template. Update the template with your description of the steps.

Description

 * 1) On the first beat, perform vykhyliasnyk (toe-heel) with the right foot, turning the foot out to the side.  Weight is on the left foot.
 * 2) On the second beat, perform uhynannia (knee-kick) with the right foot.  Weight is on the left foot.

Repeat both beats to the left side, reversing the working and supporting legs.

Description

 * 1) On the first beat, perform vypad (stamp-kick or touch-point) with the right foot.  Weight is on the left foot.  Do not perform pokhid skladnye or bihunets (1-2-3) after the stamp-kick.
 * 2) On the second beat, perform tynok, leading with the right foot (crossing the left foot in front).

Repeat both beats to the left side, stamping with the left foot, and then performing tynok to the left.

Description

 * 1) On the first beat, perform vypad (stamp-kick or touch-point) with the right foot.  Weight is on the left foot.  Do not perform pokhid skladnye or bihunets (1-2-3).
 * 2) On the second beat, perform uhynannia (knee-kick) with the right foot.  Weight is on the left foot.
 * 3) On the third beat, perform cross-kick, crossing the right leg in front of the left leg, and kicking the left leg out to the side.  Weight is shifted to the right foot.
 * 4) On the fourth beat, perform a double-stamp.

Repeat sequence to the left side, reversing the working and supporting legs.

Description

 * 1) On the first beat, perform vypad (stamp-kick or touch-point) with the right foot.  Weight is on the left foot.  Do not perform pokhid skladnye or bihunets (1-2-3).
 * 2) On the second beat, kick the left foot towards the front, and then kick the right foot towards the front.
 * 3) On the third beat, perform cross-kick, crossing the right leg in front of the left leg, and kicking the left leg out to the side.  Weight is shifted to the right foot.
 * 4) On the fourth beat, perform a double-stamp.

Repeat sequence to the left side, reversing the working and supporting legs.


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Geometry/Differential Geometry/Basic Curves

The differential geometry of curves is usual starting point of students in field of differential geometry which is the field concerned with studying curves, surfaces, etc. with the use of the concept of derivatives in calculus. Thus, implicit in the discussion, we assume that the defining functions are sufficiently differentiable, i.e., they have no corners or cusps, etc. Curves are usually studied as subsets of an ambient space with a notion of equivalence. For example, one may study curves in the plane, the usual three dimensional space, curves on a sphere, etc. The most common notion of equivalence is that of rigid or Euclidean motion where two curves may be brought into alignment by a rotation and a translation. There are other interesting notions, however. In particular, in affine differential geometry of curves, two curves are equivalent if the may be brought into alignment through a rotation and a linear transformation. Special affine differential geometry considers two curves equivalent if they may be brought into alignment with a translation and linear transformation of determinant one. All ellipses in the plane are equivalent in affine geometry and are equivalent in special affine geometry if their interior has the same area. We will concentrate on the equivalence under Euclidean motions. In all these notions of equivalency, the ambient space is equipped with some additional structure. In the case of Euclidean motion equivalency, the additional structure is the inner or dot product of vectors.

Plane curves: Curves may defined parametrically, say $$(x(t),y(t)) = (\cos(t),\sin(t))$$ or as the level set of a function $$f(x,y)=c$$, e.g., $$\{ (x,y)|x^2+y^2=1\}$$. These, of course, both define the circle of radius one. The third method of defining curves is that of a graph, $$(x,y=f(x))$$. We will find the parametrically formulation usually easier to work with. Any graph type curve has the parametrization $$(x,y)=(t,f(t))$$. For the most part, we will not concern ourselves with the "speed" of curve, i.e., the actual parametrization of the curve. For example, the map $$t\to 2t$$ defines a curve that traverses the same path only twice as quickly.

Given a plane curve $$\mathbf{x}(t)=(x(t),y(t))$$, one may consider its velocity which is simply the component-wise derivative, $$\mathbf{x}'(t)=(x'(t),y'(t))$$. If one considers a rather simple reparametrization $$t\to e^{tan(t)}$$, one can quickly obtain derivatives which become quite ugly and unwieldy even starting with "easy" curves such as the circle. Thus recognizing that one is dealing with a circle might not be obvious if one looks at these derivatives.

Given a curve with a specific parametrization, there is a special reparametrization (almost unique) that eliminates this freedom that causes our headaches. Again, let $$\mathbf{x}(t)=(x(t),y(t))$$ be our curve. We want $$s$$ to be the reparametrization $$t=t(s)$$ so that the new curve has speed one, i.e., the magnitude of the vector velocity $$= \sqrt{x'(s)^2+y'(s)^2}=1$$. One may determine the function $$t(s)$$ with the chain rule. In order for the curve $$\mathbf{x}(s)=(x(t(s)),y(t(s)))$$ to have unit speed, by the chain rule, we need

$$(\frac{dx}{dt}\frac{dt}{ds})^2+ (\frac{dy}{dt}\frac{dt}{ds})^2=1$$ or

$$\frac{dt}{ds}=\frac{1}{\sqrt{(\frac{dx}{dt})^2+ (\frac{dy}{dt})^2}}$$.

The later is a differential equation, which, for all intents and purposes, cannot be solved explicitly except in very special circumstances. It will, by the standard theory of differential equations, have a solution away from points where the velocity vanishes. We will develop the theory assuming that this equation has been solved but then show how to work in other, non-unit-speed, parameterizations.

Thus, we assume that $$\mathbf{x}=\mathbf{x}(s)=(x(s),y(s))$$. With this parametrization, we have $$\mathbf{x}'(s)=(x'(s),y'(s))$$ is a unit vector, the tangent unit vector. Let us call this vector $$\mathbf{e}_1$$, i.e., $$\mathbf{e}_1(s)=(x'(s),y'(s))$$. We define unit normal vector $$\mathbf{e}_2$$ be the unit vector obtained by rotating $$\mathbf{e}_1$$ by 90° counter clockwise:

$$\mathbf{e}_2(s)=(-y'(s),x'(s))$$.

Because we are in the plane, all vectors that are perpendicular to the vector $$\mathbf{e}_1$$ are necessarily some scalar multiple of $$\mathbf{e}_2$$. We use this observation as follows: The scalar function of $$s$$ given by $$\mathbf{e}_1(s)\cdot \mathbf{e}_1(s)$$ is constant (equal to one). Thus, its derivative vanishes:

$$\frac{d}{ds}(\mathbf{e}_1(s)\cdot \mathbf{e}_1(s))=2\,\mathbf{e}_1(s)\cdot \frac{d}{ds}\mathbf{e}_1(s)=0$$.

Thus, the vector valued function $$\frac{d}{ds}\mathbf{e}_1(s)=(x(s),y(s))$$ is perpendicular to $$\mathbf{e}_1(s)$$, and thus by the above observation, we may write:

$$\frac{d}{ds}\mathbf{e}_1(s)=\kappa(s)\, \mathbf{e}_2(s)$$

for some function $$\kappa(s)$$. The function $$\kappa(s)$$ is intrinsic and may be understood as the amount that the unit vector swings into the unit normal direction.

An example: We consider a circle of radius $$r$$ centered around the origin. This may be parametrized by $$(r\, \cos(t), r\,\sin(t))$$. One can solve the differential equation defining $$s$$ in this case and the unit speed parametrization is given by $$(r\, \cos(s/r), r\,\sin(s/r))$$. (This may have guessed as well.) The unit tangent and normal is given by $$\mathbf{e}_1= \cos(s/r), \sin(s/r),\mathbf{e}_2=(-\sin(s/r), \cos(s/r))$$. One then has:

$$\frac{d}{ds}\mathbf{e}_1(s)=(1/r)(-\sin(s/r), \cos(s/r))=\kappa(s)\, \mathbf{e}_2(s)$$

with $$\kappa(s)$$ being the constant function $$1/r$$. This gives another interpretation of the function $$\kappa(s)$$ as the reciprocal of the radius of the best fitting or osculating circle.

The function $$\kappa(s)$$ characterizes curves up Euclidean motion with the following result:

Theorem: If two curves $$\mathbf{x}_1(s)=(x_1(s),y_1(s))$$ and $$\mathbf{x}_2(s)=(x_1(s),y_2(s))$$ have the same curvature function $$\kappa(s)=\kappa_1(s)=\kappa_2(s)$$ then necessarily there exists a rigid motion involving a rotation and translation taking the curve $$\mathbf{x}_1$$ to $$\mathbf{x}_2$$.


text:
User talk:Zainramadan

Zain Ramadan
Hi, Zainramadan, and welcome to wikibooks. I noticed that you started a book at Zain Ramadan but the content raised some questions that I hope you could help me with.

The content looks a lot like it has been typed out of an existing textbook. If that is the case, there may a copyright issue which bars it from being published here under the site license. If there are no licensing problems, but the book has been published before, it should rather be put up on Wikisource.

I'm also wondering about the name since it is basically the same as your username. You may wish to opt for a more descriptive name to aid users in finding the book.

If you have any questions regarding the book or Wikibooks in general, don't hesitate to drop a note on my talk page or on the Staff lounge. --Swift 06:21, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

 * I'm starting to get a better idea of what is going on here. This page seems to be a part of the Social and Cultural Foundations of American Education project. I noticed that another editor was using his/her userpage for similar work. Please note that your userpage is User:Zainramadan. --Swift 16:46, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

title: User talk:Zainramadan


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Horticulture/Phytolacca americana

The pokeweeds, also known as poke, pokebush, pokeberry, pokeroot, inkberry or ombú, comprise the genus Phytolacca, perennial plants native to North America, South America, East Asia and New Zealand. Pokeweed contains phytolaccatoxin and phytolaccigenin, which are poisonous to mammals. However, the berries are eaten by birds, which are not affected by the toxin.

Description
Pokeweeds are herbs growing from 1-10 ft. tall. They have single alternate leaves, pointed at the end, with crinkled edges. The stems are often colored pink or red. The flowers are greenish-white, in long clusters at the ends of the stems. They develop into dark purple berries.

Ecology
Pokeweed can be a troublesome weed of gardens and pastures. The fruits attract birds when ripe, and the birds then sow the seeds.

Uses
Young pokeweed leaves can be boiled twice to reduce the toxin, discarding the water after the first boiling. The result is known as poke salit, or Poke salad, and is occasionally available commercially. Many authorities advise against eating pokeweed even after twice boiling, as traces of the toxin may still remain. When fried in bacon grease, poke salad is no longer poisonous, and many say it tastes very good, "especially with cornbread". For many decades, Poke salad has been a staple of southern U.S. cuisine, despite campaigns by doctors who believed pokeweed remained toxic even after being boiled. The lingering cultural significance of Poke salad can be seen in the recording of the song "Polk Salad Annie" by Tony Joe White, famously covered by Elvis Presley.

Pokeweed is used as a homeopathic remedy to treat many ailments. It can be applied topically or taken internally. Topical treatments have been used for acne and other ailments. Internal treatments include tonsilitis, swollen glands and weight loss.

Pokeweed berries yield a red ink or dye, which was once used by Native Americans to decorate their horses. The red juice has also been used to symbolize blood, as in the anti-slavery protest of Benjamin Lay.

Pokeweeds are also grown as ornamental plants, mainly for their attractive berries; a number of cultivars have been selected for larger fruit panicles.Pokeweeds are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Giant Leopard Moth.

title: Horticulture/Phytolacca americana


text:
Talk:Horticulture/Phytolacca americana

Transwiki notes
Copied from Pokeweed 11:03, 24 September 2006 (UTC) using this version.

title: Talk:Horticulture/Phytolacca americana


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User:SBJohnny/Sandbox

LMOS boilerplate

This page was created using ??, in order to let new contributors to this book know how the style of the book has been developed (in order to try and keep new chapters uniform with older ones), and to help the "Wikibooks maintenance staff" know what to do in case cleanup is needed.

Policy discussion page for this book
(Default is the talk page of the main page)

Chapter structure
(Default undefined, choose flat or deep structure)

Other naming issues
Default = undefined

Category structure
(Default is

title: User:SBJohnny/Sandbox


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User:SBJohnny/Sandbox2

=Genus profile=

title: User:SBJohnny/Sandbox2


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Horticulture/Edging

Edging is the technique of defining the edges of a garden where it bumps up against lawn, hardscapes, or pathways.

 * Half-moon edgers
 * The most efficient way to use a half-moon edger is to keep one's foot always on the blade on the side opposite to the direction of travel (lifting the foot with the rest of the tool while moving along).

 * String trimmers
 * Edging machines

/Design

title: Horticulture/Edging


text:
User talk:Herrobp

Hello and welcome to Wikibooks! Thanks for cleaning up the morality section on Roman Catholicism. Were you OK with the public domain status of that portion of the wikibook? JBogdan 12:39, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

title: User talk:Herrobp


text:
Talk:Biblical Studies/Christianity/Roman Catholicism/Other Topics

This page is for topics that are not full enough to be their own section yet or just belong on another page and I have not determined which one yet. JBogdan 12:42, 24 September 2006 (UTC)


text:
User:CycloHobo

Just a dirty student writing Wikibooks for the common good!

Also known under the pseudonym 82.18.5.214

title: User:CycloHobo


text:
User talk:KarlBunker

Come introduce yourself at the new users page. If you have any questions, you can ask there or contact me personally. Kellen T 16:16, 24 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Please also check out the Cookbook policy page and the Cookbook talk pages.

title: User talk:KarlBunker


text:
Rhetoric and Composition/Unclear demonstrative pronoun reference

Example
The amount of information that needs to be entered into the database is enormous, and it needs to be entered in a different way for each patient. This will make the design process complex."

What's wrong?
The example uses a demonstrative pronoun (such as this, these, or those), but there are two or more possible antecedents. To which does the pronoun refer?

Consider this example:

The new equipment arrived yesterday, and everything is in working order. This was something of a surprise.

Which is surprising? The fact that the equipment arrived, or that it was in working order, or both?

How to fix this problem
Supply a clarifying noun:

The new equipment arrived yesterday, and everything is in working order. This happy outcome was something of a surprise.


text:
Talk:Rhetoric and Composition/Unclear demonstrative pronoun reference

This page's format
I'd like to ask whether contributors would agree to revising this section along the lines suggested in this entry. If this section were developed this way, teachers could refer students to the various pages as errors crop up. I've developed about 75 of these during the past 20 years, and I'd like for them to have a home.

If they aren't suitable in this section, or if it's felt that this section shouldn't be revised along these lines, where could they go?Pfaff9 18:32, 24 September 2006 (UTC)


text:
User:Pfaff9~enwikibooks

Briefly - I've been teaching writing to college and university students for 35 years. I've developed some materials that I would like to contribute to the Rhetoric and Composition handbook. Pfaff9 18:33, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

title: User:Pfaff9~enwikibooks


text:
Orthopaedic Surgery/Histology of Bone

=Histology of Bone= In simple terms bone is a type of specialised connective tissue. Though bone comes in several shapes and sizes the structure and composition of bone is the same in all.

Gross Structure
The human eye can discern only two types of bone. For a surgeon this distinction is what he encounters in the operating room. A cross section of any bone will demonstrate these two types of bones. 'Compact or cortical bone is usually thick dense bone that forms the outer shell covering almost all bones in the body. The inner aspect consists of bone that is not as dense as cortical bone and has a honeycomb appearance. This is cancellous bone. In tubular bones, long or short, cancellous bone is usually present at either ends. In irregular or flat bones they make up the entire inner body of the bone. Screws used for fracture fixation differ in structure depending on whether they are used to fix cancellous (less dense) or cortical (more dense) areas.

Microscopic Structure
Cross sections of the bone when studied under the microscope reveal quite a different picture. By and large they could be either mineralised or unmineralised (Osteoid). Osteoid is normally found in children with a growing skeleton. In the transition from cartilage to bone at the growing end of a bone, bone first formed is unmineralised and then calcium salts are laid down giving them the strength of normal bone. Bone formed at the site of fracture healing is also osteoid, which eventually gets minerailised. When mineralisation does not occur adequately as in rickets or Osteomalacia the osteoid content of bone increases. Osteoid is not as strong as normal mineralised bone is and either fractures easily (osteomalacia) or deforms (rickets). Mineralised bone could be either Woven Bone (Immature) or Lamellar Bone (mature). The basic microscopic unit of bone is an Osteon. Haversian canals run through the entire length of the bone carrying blood vessels. They are interlinked to each other through the Volkmans canals. On a transverse section of the bone each of these haversian canls is surrounded by a groupd of lacunae, which lodge an Osteocyte. (Fig 3)The entire group of osteocytes link to each other and to the centrally located haversian canal through cytoplasmic extensions that run throug tiny channels called canaliculi. The osteocytes derive their nutrition through their cytoplasmic extensions from the vessels in the haversian canal. In mature bone the osteons are arranged in layers (Lamellar bone) while in developing bone they are arranged randomly (woven bone). Lamellar bone makes up the compact or cortical bone in the skeleton. When the same lamellar bone is loosely arranged it makes up trabecular bone. Its called trabecular bone because of the trabecular pattern that shows up on an x-ray. Woven bone is found on the growing ends of an immature skeleton or at the site of fracture healing.

Compostion
Bone is composed of protein,minerals and cells (see Fig 2)

Matrix
Matrix is the ground substance in which the cells of bone exist. The organic components of matrix would be collagen, mucopolysaccharides and a large non-homogenous group of non-collagenous proteins. The other important constituents of the matrix are the inorganic minerals calcium, phosphorus and to a lesser extent magnesium. The matrix forms the extracellular material that binds all the cellular constituents of bone together.

Cells
Cells in the human body that are specific to bone are the Osteoprogenitor cells, Osteoblasts, Ostecytes and the Osteoclasts.

title: Orthopaedic Surgery/Histology of Bone


text:
Conic Sections/Conic Sections Introduction

An Introduction
There exists a certain group of curves called Conic Sections that are conceptually kin in several astonishing ways. Each member of this group has a certain shape, and can be classified appropriately: as either a circle, an ellipse, a parabola, or a hyperbola. The term "Conic Section" can be applied to any one of these curves, and the study of one curve is not essential to the study of another. However, their correlation to each other is one of the more intriguing coincidences of mathematics.

But that's enough about conic sections. Perhaps you would instead like to view this short dialog between a mathematical novice and an expert about pi ($$\pi$$):

 * Novice: So, what's pi?
 * Expert: Pi a mathematical constant. It's always the same value, about 3.1415926. It's irrational and transcendental.
 * Novice: Great. So what good is it?
 * Expert: Well, the first thing that I can think of is for calculating volumes of surfaces of revolutions. That's calculus. And of course, radian measure.
 * Novice: That's not what I meant. Why does it exist? Does it have a practical definition?
 * Expert: Of course! It's the ratio of a circle's circumference to that circle's diameter. Pi a mathematical constant, you know. It's always the same value. I thought everybody knew that.
 * Novice: (sardonically) Thanks.

This completely conic section-free piece of literature has some sort of application to conic sections. You may have caught that pi can be defined by a series of digits, but that doesn't help one use it, for there are plenty of numbers that can be defined by 3,1,4, and/or other numerals. Why is pi more useful than, for example, 2.7182818, that a letter of the Greek alphabet was chosen to represent it? On the other hand, any conic section can basically be defined with a general equation. On the other hand, most curves can be defined with a general equation. These equations do not get to the issue of what a conic section is any more than a string of digits actually defines pi.

Equations of Conic Sections
Nonetheless, here is just a sample of the sort of equations that are considered conic sections:

$$y^2+8y=2x+4\,$$ $$y^2=3-x^2\,$$ $$x^2+4y^2-6x+16y=171\,$$ $$\frac{x^2}{9}-\frac{y^2}{49}=1\,$$

Browsing this list reveals several subtle similarities. For example, you might see that there are only several types of terms in these equations. A conic section is a quadratic curve, meaning that there are only two variables used, $$x$$ and $$y$$, and these variables only appear as themselves or squared, and possibly multiplied by a constant. One feature of conic sections is that they can be simplified down so that they only have these terms in them! (Another term, $$x$$ times $$y$$, can be used when rotating conic sections, but it's not relevant at the moment.)

Here are a couple of other equations for conic sections: $$(x-3)^2+(y+2)^2-16=0\,$$ $$(y-4)^2=2(x+4)\,$$ $$y=x^2+4\,$$ $$3x^2+3y^2-2xy=8\,$$

The last equation above uses the xy term, which can be eliminated by a rotation. You'll notice that there are squared binomials (terms like $$(x-3)^2 $$) in some of the equations. However, these equations can always be simplified so that $$x^2$$, $$y^2$$, $$x$$, $$y$$, and a constant are the only terms in the equation. This is a conic section's General Form, and looks like $$Ax^2+Cy^2+Dx+Ey+F\,$$, where A, C, D, E, and F are constants.

The use of squared binomials is one way to find graphical information about conic sections. A binomial is any algebraic expression that's the sum or difference of two terms. $$y-4$$, $$5x^2-C$$, and $$ax+6$$ are all binomials. The word binomial means "having two parts", hence the two different terms in a binomial.

Conic sections aren't all that different. Circles, ellipses, parabolas, and hyperbolas have several properties: the existence of foci, the locus of the intersection of a cone and a plane, and the consistency between the multiple definitions of eccentricity, including the ratio between the distance between foci and the distance between vertices, the slant of the plane, and the constant ratio between the distance from a focus to a directrix for any point on the curve. In addition, all conic sections are equations of the second degree or less. You basically can't have one characteristic and not have all the others.

We'll now conclude via the definition of conic sections from whence the term "conic section" derives it name.

A Conic Section Definition
Put simply, a conic section is a shape generated when a cone intersects with a plane. There are four main types of conic sections: parabola, hyperbola, circle, and ellipse. The circle is sometimes categorized as a type of ellipse. (See picture below)


text:
User:Bruss004

Written by: Betty Russell

Public schools vs. Private schools.

Public or private schools; do student do better in private schools than public schools? Do you think your child would do better in private school or public school? I can’t afford to send my child to private school, what can I do about this? Some say that private school students tend to do better on standardized test than children in public school, but also some say that public school children do better in math, than in private schools. What would render your decision if you had to pick one over the other? How much do you know about the difference between the two? Public schools cannot charge tuition. They are funded through federal, state and local taxes. When you pay your taxes, you are paying for your child’s education and the education of other children in your community. Public schools admit all children, by law they must educated all children, including students with special need. To enroll in public school you simply register your child by filling out the necessary paperwork. Public schools must follow all federal, state, and local laws in educating children; such laws usually include specifics about funding, program development and curriculum. Public school teachers also are usually state certifies or at a minimum, working toward certification; certification ensures that a teacher has gone through the training required by the state, which includes student teaching and coursework. Private school teachers may not be required to have certification and instead often have subject area expertise and an undergraduate or graduate degree in the subject they teach. Private schools are not subject to as many state and federal regulation as public school. Private schools are funded independently; they are not subject to the limitations of state education budgets and have more freedom in designing curriculum and instruction. Private school cost money, they do not receive tax revenues, but instead are funded through tuition, fundraising, donations and private grants, and also private schools are selective. They are not obligated to accept every child, and in many private schools admission is very completive. Sarah and Christopher Lubienski, education professors at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did a recent study that concluded that when it comes to math, students in regular public school do as well or significantly better than comparable students in private school. Many private schools will allow students to transfer in even after the school year has begun. School vouchers, also known as scholarships redirect the flow of education funding, channeling it directly to individual families rather than to the school districts. This allows families to select the public or private schools of their choice and have all or part of the tuition paid. Scholarships give parental choice and competition between public and private schools. School vouchers may not be for private schools, because once private schools start taking government funds, the government is going to tell them how they have to spend those funds. They are also going to put all kinds of condition and standards on private schools to keep getting those funds. A school voucher system would lead to the elimination of private and religious education. The different between private schools is that they run on private money and public schools run on public money. Once a private school gets hooked on public money they will slowly lose all the freedom of being a private school. Private schools are called private for a reason – they can exclude the poor, disadvantages, troublesome, disabled, and other undesirable classes of kids that bring down the averages. The students that attend private schools are from families that have more money and are willing to spend it on their children. Are these the things that make private school better schools? President Bush called school vouchers a “great victory to parents and students.” “He said vouchers give “freedom to parent,” If the lesson of history can be distilled to a single observation, it is that the institution of public schooling is not, after all the best system for advancing our ideals of public education. After 150 years of experimentation and decades of disappointment, is it not time that we consider alternatives to the public school system? (Coulson) Public school or private school, the choice is yours. I believe either can beneficiate a child that is willing to learn.

Sidebar:

Questions 1.	Who said that school vouchers give victory to parents and students? A.	 Bill Clinton B.	President Bush C.	Bill Cosby D.	None of the above

2.	Private schools can exclude what type of people. A.	Blacks B.	Poor’s and troublesome C.	Disabled and undesirable D.	Both b and c E.	All the above 3.	School vouches are called A.	government funding B.	scholarships C.	freedom for parents and students D.	welfare

4.	Sarah and Christopher Lubienski are educators from A.	South America B.	ODU C.	University of Illinois D.	Pittsburg

5.	Public school teachers are required by law to A.	Be state certified B.	Only be certified in the subject area they are teaching C.	Attend 2 years of college D.	Have a drivers license

Essay Question: Do you feel that the government should offer school vouches for children to attend private schools? Also should private schools have the right to pick who attends their school even with a school voucher?

Answers: 1. B, 2. D, 3. B, 4. C,  5. A

Work Citied Page Andrew J. Coulson – Are public schools hazardous to public education? Greatschools.net Derrick Z. Jackson – Boston Globe - Common Dreams new center(The Realities of school Vouchers) MSNBC – School debate: Public vs. Private

title: User:Bruss004


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User talk:MrC~enwikibooks

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The developer team at Wikimedia is making some changes to how accounts work, as part of our on-going efforts to provide new and better tools for our users like cross-wiki notifications. These changes will mean you have the same account name everywhere. This will let us give you new features that will help you edit and discuss better, and allow more flexible user permissions for tools. One of the side-effects of this is that user accounts will now have to be unique across all 900 Wikimedia wikis. See the announcement for more information.

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title: User talk:MrC~enwikibooks


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User:Centrx

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User talk:Centrx

See w:User talk:Centrx

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User:Redux

I am Redux, a Bureaucrat and Administrator on Wikipedia. Please visit my User page on the English-language Wikipedia.

title: User:Redux


text:
Plato/Republic

Plato's Republic is often referred to as the cornerstone of all Western philosophy. It is in the form of a dialogue. The use of dialogue was a common device for framing philosophical arguments and Plato's use of the dialogue is considered a classic in structure and clarity. When reading The Republic is must be borne in mind that Plato was writing 2,500 years ago and that the views he expresses are very much of their time. The main protagonist is Socrates who is cast as the narrator. He is detained by the enquiring minds of Cephalus, Polemarchus (the text takes place at his home), Thrasymachus, Lysias, Euthydemus, Niceratus, Charmantides and Cleitophon. Socrates has arrived to atttend the festival and at first tries to dissuade his friends from detaining him any further. To the Ancient Greeks festivals were very important occasions and the very human quality that Plato's imparts to the character of Socrates as he tries to fend off his friend's questions is remarkably familiar to modern readers.

The book explores the notion of an ideal society that is created and disputed throughout the book. The purpose of imagining the society is in order to discover the true meaning of Justice. The book starts when Socrates encounters Polemarchus and is invited back to his home, there, Cephalus, Polemarchus' father, greets Socrates and talks about ageing. Cephalus eventually leaves and Polemarchus is left to take up the debate and the theme turns to that of Justice.

Thrasymachus then takes up the argument complaining of how Socrates is simply asking more questions rather than answering. After Thrasymachus' argument Glaucon provides another view of Justice where Socrates then sets about depicting his ideal city state. In this state the rulers or 'guardians' as they are known, receive a special education and attention. The book then continues on this theme until Socrates realizes that until philosophers are kings or vice-versa, society will always keep its problems.

title: Plato/Republic


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Nanotechnology/Introduction

=Introduction to Nanotechnology= Nanotechnology, often shortened to "nanotech," is the study of the control of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with structures of the size 100 nanometers or smaller in at least one dimension, and involves developing materials or devices within that size. Nanotechnology is very diverse, encompassing numerous fields in the natural sciences.

There has been much debate on the future implications of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology has the potential to create many new materials and devices with a vast range of applications, such as in medicine, electronics and energy production. On the other hand, nanotechnology raises many of the same issues as with any introduction of new technology, including concerns about the toxicity and environmental impact of nanomaterials, and their potential effects on global economics, as well as speculation about various doomsday scenarios. These concerns have led to a debate among advocacy groups and governments on whether special regulation of nanotechnology is warranted.

This open source handbook on nanoscience and nanotechnology is divided into the following chapters, each dealing with a particular facet of nanotechnology:

 * Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION - A general overview.
 * Chapter 2: SEEING 'NANO' - How to observe what is going on on the nanoscale.
 * Chapter 3: PHYSICS -ON THE NANOSCALE - How do things move and what are the important forces on the nanoscale.
 * Chapter 4: NANOMATERIALS - The typical nanostructures and their functionality
 * Chapter 5: NANOSYSTEMS - Fundamental electronic, optical, mechanical, and fluidic systems that can be made with nanostructures.
 * Chapter 6: NANOENGINEERING - How to make nanostructures integrated into useful devices.
 * Chapter 7: NANO-BIO PRIMER - An important part of nanotechnology is to interface with living organisms.
 * Chapter 8: ENVIRONMENTAL NANOTECHNOLOGY - The environmental issues regarding this emerging technology.
 * Chapter 9: NANO AND SOCIETY - Should we worry about nanotechnology?

=References=

See also notes on editing this book Nanotechnology/About.

title: Nanotechnology/Introduction


text:
Nanotechnology/Seeing Nano

=The eyes in nanotech= Without being able to 'see' the nanoscale objects, nanotechnology would be very difficult. In this part, the different microscope techniques are reviewed along with various spectroscopic and diffraction methods that can tell us more about the nanoscale structure of matter.

Visible light is only a part of the electromagnetic spectrum and useful information about different physical interactions in nanostructures can be acquired from the different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Seeing 'nano' can be done in different ways, but not with the naked eye which normally cannot see things much smaller than 100µm (though a single atom can be seen if it lights up in a dark room). Instead of our eyes, we use various instruments to 'see' for us, and they 'see' different things depending on how they are made:

=Microscopy= Microscopy uses microscopes to create an image of the specimen. The image is rarely an image as you see it with your eyes, but rather how some physical probe interacts differently with the specimen as function of position on it. The physical probe can be an AFM cantilever, a beam of light or electrons, or something completely different.

Overview of Microscopes

Optical: The beam from a light source is focused onto a sample and either the transmitted or scattered light is collected by an objective lens and the image is magnified onto a camera or to the observer's eye. The resolution can be down to about 200 nm, and the microscopes can be fairly cheap, small and easy to use.

Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM): Electrons from a very bright electron source are directed to a very thin sample that is transparent to the high energy electrons (100-300 keV) and the electron beam is then magnified by electromagnetic lenses and sent onto a fluorescent screen or a camera to observe the image. The resolution can be less than 0.1 nm on expensive high-end instruments where even individual atoms can be imaged. The samples must be very thin (typically less than 200 nm) and the whole system must be under high vacuum.

Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM): A focused electron beam is scanned over a sample and the scattered electrons are detected. The detector current is used to give an image depending on the electron beam position on the sample. The resolution can be down to about 5 nm and the sample can be much larger than in the TEM because the electrons do not have to pass through the sample.

Scanning Probe Microscopes (SPM) move a very sharp probe across a sample in a raster pattern while recording how the probe interacts with the sample. The typical SPMs are the AFM, STM and SNOM:

Atomic Force Microscope (AFM): An almost atomically sharp tip is protruding from a cantilever and is scanned over the sample. When the cantilever deflects, a laser beam reflected off the backside of the cantilever will change directions and this will be measured by a photodetector. The laser position can be used to control the force between the tip and the sample, and the AFM is often used to measure both topography and forces on the nanoscale. The resolution is normally down to about 1 nm, but even subatomic resolution is possible. The AFM can work with both dry and wet, conducting and isolating samples.

Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM): An atomically sharp tip is moved within atomic distance of a sample that has a voltage applied to it. When the tip-sample distance becomes so small that the electron clouds of the tip and sample touch, electrons can much more easily tunnel between the two and this gives rise to a tip-sample current (often a few pA at a 1V bias voltage). This current can be used to maintain a fixed tip-sample distance when the tip is scanned over the sample, and this can give images of conducting surfaces with atomic resolution.

Scanning Near-field Optical Microscope (SNOM): As electrons can tunnel between electrical conductors in the STM, photons can tunnel between optical guiding structures. The SNOM uses a narrow light guide to measure how the optical electromagnetic field changes as the guide is moved across the sample. For instance, light can be sent from below the sample and then scattered into the scanning light guide above it. The resolution can be much smaller than the wavelength of light.

Point-Projection Microscopes: The Field Emission Microscope (FEM), Field Ion Microscope (FIM) and the atom probe are examples of point-projection microscopes where ions are excited from a needle-shaped specimen and hit a detector. The Atom-Probe Tomograph (APT) is the most modern incarnation and allows a three-dimensional atom-by-atom (with chemical elements identified) reconstruction with sub-nanometer resolution.

=Spectroscopy= Spectroscopy uses spectrometers to tell how radiation interacts with the specimen as function of the energy/wavelength of the radiation

=Diffraction= Diffraction uses radiation to observe how it is scattered in different directions from the specimen. This can be used to tell about the order of the atoms in the sample.

=Surface analysis= Many of these methods are used for 'macroscopic' surface analysis where the outmost nanometers of a material is being studied over larger areas. The methods can be combined with microscopes to give spectrometrical information from a well defined location on the sample - for instance when doing diffraction measurements in a TEM or level spectroscopy in an STM on a single atom.

=References=

See also notes on editing this book about how to add references Nanotechnology/About.

title: Nanotechnology/Seeing Nano


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Nanotechnology/Physics

Quantum mechanics and classical mechanics are still valid on the nanoscale - but many assumptions we are used to take for granted are no longer valid. This makes many traditional systems difficult to make on the atomic scale -if for instance you scale down a car the new relation between adhesion forces and gravity or changes in heat conduction will very likely make it perform very poorly if at all - but at the same time a wealth of other new possibilities open up!

Scaling laws can be used to determine how the physical properties vary as the dimensions are changed. At some point the scaling law no longer can be applied because the assumptions behind it become invalid at some large or small scale.

So, scaling is one thing - the end of scaling another, and surfaces a third! For instance at some point the idealized classical point of view on a system being downscaled will need quantum mechanics to describe what's going on in a proper way, but as the scale is decreased the system might also be very different because the interaction at the surface becomes very significant compared to the bulk.

This part will try to give an overview of these effects.

=Scaling laws= Scaling laws can be used to describe how the physical properties of a system change as the dimensions are changed.

=Quantized Nano Systems= Quantum wires are examples of nanosystems where the quantum effects become very important.

Break junctions is another example.

Resources
 * Simple model of conduction - the classical case

=Bulk matter and the end of bulk: surfaces=

 * Surface states are electronic states on the surface of a material, which can have radically different properties than the underlying bulk material. For instance, a semiconductor can have superconducting surface states.

The surface of a material can be very different from the bulk because the surface atoms rearrange themselves to lower their energy rather than stay in the bulk lattice and have dangling bonds extending into space where there is no more material. Atoms from the surroundings will easily bind to such surfaces and for example for silicon, more than 2000 surface reconstructions have been found, depending on what additional atoms and conditions are present.
 * Surface reconstruction

Plasmons are collective oscillations of the electrons in matter, and the electrons on the surfaces can also make local plasmons that propagate on the surface.
 * Surface plasmons

=The Tyndall Effect= The Tyndall Effect is caused by reflection of light off of small particles such as dust or mist. This is also seen off of dust when sunlight comes through windows and clouds or when headlight beams go through fog. The Tyndall Effect can only be seen through colloidal suspensions. A colloid is a substance that consists of particles dispersed throughout another substance, which are too small for resolution with an ordinary light microscope but are incapable of passing through a semi permeable membrane. The Tyndall Effect is most easily visible through liquid using a laser pointer. The Tyndall Effect is named after its discoverer, the 19th-century British physicist John Tyndall.

=References=

See also notes on editing this book about how to add references Nanotechnology/About.

title: Nanotechnology/Physics


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Nanotechnology/Nanomaterials

This part will give an overview of nanomaterials - the production methods, their properties, brief examples of applications and demonstrations of their capabilities.

Apart from a general overview of production methods, we have divided the materials as A division that might be up for revision shortly.
 * Semiconducting
 * Metallic
 * Organic

=Overview of nanomaterials=

title: Nanotechnology/Nanomaterials


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Nanotechnology/Nanosystems

This part describes the subfields of nanotechnology with a very technological aim:
 * Nanomechanics
 * Nano-optics and Nanophotonics
 * Nanofluidics
 * Nanoelectronics

=References=

See also notes on editing this book about how to add references Nanotechnology/About.

title: Nanotechnology/Nanosystems


text:
Talk:Feminism/Men

You can't hope to answer the question of whether or not men can be feminists unless you know what a feminist is. You need a definition. A set of (female) examples can't answer the question.

It's like asking whether it's possible to be French and have Krangspiel, if you have only German examples. Unless you know what "Krangspiel" is, you cannot tell whether it is a cultural thing restricted to Germans or a general human emotion that everyone can share. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 212.159.16.190 (talk • contribs) 22:14, 24 September 2006.
 * I agree. In order to answer this question, we need a definition. I think this section out to be laid out more or less as follows: first a definition, or a discussion of several possible definitions, then an explanation of whether or not by that or those definition(s), men could be feminists, and then a discussion of why some men who hold feminist views and some female feminists may prefer to use or not to use the term 'feminist' to describe a man who otherwise matches the definition, assuming the chosen definition does not inherently exclude men.

 * I'm new to this Wikibook (and haven't been around Wikibooks much) so I don't know whether there's a clear definition laid out earlier in the book. In any case, I'm leaving these suggestions in the hope that even if I don't do something about it, someone else will.

 * My own reaction to the question is to say that of course men can be feminists. I would define a feminist as someone who believes that people hold different and unequal positions in society based on their genders, that women generally get the short end of the stick compared to men, and that this is a bad situation that needs to change. Said person should also describe themself as a feminist in order to be considered one (mainly in order to avoid associating people with the historical and ideological complexities of the feminist movement when they disavow the connection, though I feel ambivalent about this part of the definition). This is a working definition and would need to be cleaned up to be at all usable in the article, for what it's worth. BooksihAcolyte (talk) 06:31, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

title: Talk:Feminism/Men


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Talk:Ordinary Differential Equations/Homogenous 1

incorrect general snl?
Many times under Class 3a, the claim is made that the general sln to

 * $$\frac{d^2y}{dx^2}+\omega^2 y=0$$

is

 * $$y=A\sin \omega x+B\sin \omega x \,$$

I believe this to be wrong, as you can simplify this to

 * $$y=(A+B)\sin \omega x \,$$

leaving yourself with an incomplete sln. I made the edit, then noticed 3 places where this (mistake?) occurs and decided to revert my edit and ask here. I do believe (via mo knowledge of the subject and following the math leading up to the sln) that the correct sln is

 * $$y=A\sin \omega x+B\cos \omega x \,$$

Am I missing something, or was this a mistake?

Slithytove2 22:18, 24 September 2006 (UTC)


text:
Nanotechnology/Nanoengineering

This chapter takes a look into the engineering aspects of nanotechnology: how to integrate the nanostructures with our known technology, the creation of nanomaterials and simple systems in the laboratory, and the development of functional devices that can be used by society.

=References=

See also notes on editing this book about how to add references Nanotechnology/About.

title: Nanotechnology/Nanoengineering


text:
User talk:68.157.5.147

Thanks for experimenting with the page Wikijunior Ancient Civilizations/Mayans on Wikibooks. Your test worked, and has been reverted or removed. Please use the sandbox for any other tests you want to do. Take a look at the welcome page if you would like to learn more about contributing to our project. Thanks.

--Az1568 22:20, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

title: User talk:68.157.5.147


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Nanotechnology/Nano-bio Primer

=Bio-nanotechnology=
 * Nanobiotechnology
 * Bionanotechnology
 * Nanomedicine
 * Basics of biochemistry an E handbook from Lund University

Biological 'units'

 * The wiki book on Cell Biology
 * Bacteria
 * Virus
 * Cell biology and another wiki entry on Cell Biology
 * The brain and neurons
 * Molecular Biology of the Cell a great text book with full text search freely available on the net.
 * Cells alive

Biosystem building blocks
make up cell membranes and these are the very important barriers that control what can enter and exit a cell. The importance can be seen in the fact that one third of all proteins are membrane proteins.
 * DNA
 * proteins, see also wikibook on Proteomics
 * liposomes

Cell Energy Supply and Consumption
The cell organelle the mitochondria is the power plant of the cell energy metabolism.

It synthesises ATP, the basic energy source for numerous processes in cells. The synthesis proces is driven by an electric potential (~150mV) across the mithocondrial inner membrane that is maintained by ion pumps in the membrane that make the outside more acidic while the inner matrix region is more alkaline. The gradient is ~0.5 pH units . The membrane potential is not homogeneous over the mitochondria

The Chemiosmotic theory of the ATP synthesis was developed by Peter Mitchell in 1961, who was later rewarded the chemistry Nobel prize for it in 1978.

Current research on Mitocondria was reviewed eg. in Science 28 aug 1998 and 5 mar 1999.

The membrane potential difference is small, but the menbrane is also very thin; approx 5-7nm, giving an electrical field across the membrane of the order 30MV/m - which will make any physicist designing high energy particle accelerators quite envious - the value is huge compared to electrical fields that would make large scale matter break down. Its is on contrast to the otherwise weak forces normally encountered when talking about the physical properties of lipid membranes. Despite being a thin and soft membrane that can easily be ruptured by mechanical contact, it is capable of withstanding extreme electrical fields.

The membrane potential can be observed by using the fluorescent probe JC-1 -or more verbosely 5,5’,6,6’-tetrachloro-1,1’,3,3’-tetraethylbenzimidazolylcarbocyanine iodide. JC-1 is a lipophilic cation that can penetrate the (lipo)membrane of the cell and mitochondria. JC-1 can be excited by green laser light and emit fluorescent green light at 530nm when it is in a monomeric form, but if the membrane potential is increased above a threshold around 80-100mV, JC-1 will aggregate and the fluorescense becomes increasingly orange at 590nm . JC-1 is a very tested and reliable marker for the membrane potential . A recipe for the use of JC-1 can be found in.

The immunesystem

 * Immunology
 * Antigen, antibody.

=Fluorescent Markers= Natural cells and biological structures often have very little contrast when seen in optical microscopes. Take a normal yeast cell and look at it under a microscope and you will only see small balls with no structure. Fluorescent markers and dyes can be used to stain specific substances inside the cell which would otherwise not give an appreciable optical signal. Such markers have for many years been essential to get proper images of biological samples. No matter what type of microscope is used, the fluorescent markers are widely used to enhance the contrast and signal to noise ratio in measurements.

Using fluorescent dyes and recording spectra of light emitted from whole or selected parts of cells can give valuable information, such as:

 * The functional and structural characteristics of normal or malignant cells
 * The intracellular dynamics of molecules that are naturally occurring, or added to the cell such as drugs.
 * Characterization of the interactions between cells, or the cell and its surrounding media.
 * Intracellular dynamics of ions such as Ca++, Mg++, or other important variables such as pH or membrane potentials by using fluorescent markers for the chemicals and potentials under investigation.

The fluorescent markers are used for many other techniques than just microscopy. A method called flow cytometry is very efficient for analyzing large numbers of individual cells. One by one, individual cells pass through a thin channel where they are exposed to the exciting laser light and the emitted fluorescense and absorption is detected by light sensors. The technique gives very good statistical results, but does not allow the detection of eg. individual mithocondria inside a well functioning cell but will rather give an average value of the state of all mithocondria in a single cell.

Ressources
 * The Handbook — A Guide to Fluorescent Probes and Labeling Technologies

=Lengths and Masses in biochemistry=

1Da is one atomic mass unit and approximately the mass of a proton. It is about one thousandth of a zeptogram = 10^-24g

 * 1 Da Hydrogen
 * 8-30 kDa Cytokine
 * 950 kDa typical long PMMA polymer chain
 * 10.000 DNA base pairs weighs about 40ng
 * An organism typically has tens of chromosomes chromosomes, which each can have up to 1000s of  genes, and be made from up to 100 million  base pairs.

Sizes of small life forms

 * Nanobes Nanobes are tiny filamental structures first found in some rocks and sediments. from 20 nm.
 * Parvovirus - a family of viruses down to 20 nm
 * 'Nanobacteria' or 'Calicifying Nanoparticles (CNP)' - a recently discovered class of nanoparticles that seem related to various calcification processes in the body and may be living [see also new scientist 23 june 2007 p38]. 50-100nm
 * Nanoscale microbes (Nanoarchaeota a kind of archaea) [science vol 314 p1933]
 * Smallest bacterium ' mycoplasma genitalium' -M. genitalium was also considered to be the organism with the smallest genome. 300 nm
 * Nanoarchaeum equitans a thermophile 400 nm
 * The largest virus 'mimivirus', that infects amoebaes 400nm
 * Possibly the most abundant organism on earth, the marine bacterium 'pelagibacter ubique (SAR11)' 500 nm
 * Typical gut bacteria 'E. Coli' 2000-6000 nm.

=References=

See also notes on editing this book about how to add references Nanotechnology/About.

title: Nanotechnology/Nano-bio Primer


text:
Nanotechnology/Environmental

How will nanotechnology affect our lives - this part will not look in terms of the technological impact such as faster and cheaper computers, but at the very important health and environmental effects that necessarily must be considered.

When will it help cure cancer or and when might it cause it? Will the apparent ecological benefit of a nanoparticle that improves catalytic reactions be futile when we consider the ecological footprint of the nanoaparticles' life cycle? There are many open questions where the search for answers has only just begun!

Nanotechnology has been proclaimed to imply a wealth of potential benefits for society many of which will have direct or indirect positive effects on the environment. Of specific environmental importance is the potential improved efficiency of energy production, reduced energy use of products, reduced use of chemicals due to e.g. functionalization of surfaces, remediation of soil pollution, improved sensoring and monitoring of the environment and improved functionality of materials.

Additionally, principles of green engineering and chemistry are beginning to be integrated into the development of nanomaterials, meaning that nanotechnology may also lead to more environmental beneficial production methods (Schmidt, 2007) .

There are a lot of opportunities but as with many other nanotechnologies there is still a large gap from the research labs to manufacturing and real life use of nanotechnological products and solutions.

The focus here will however be at the potential health and environmental impacts. For a more thorough review of ecopotentials see e.g. Malsch , Dionysiou , Masciangioli ,and Schmidt.

=References=

See also notes on editing this book about how to add references Nanotechnology/About.

title: Nanotechnology/Environmental