A Guide to Solstices and Equinoxes

A Guide to Solstices and Equinoxes Solstices and equinoxes are interesting terms that show up each year on our calendars. They are related to astronomy and the motions of our planet. Most people think of them as the start of a season. Thats true as far as a date on a calendar is concerned, but they dont necessarily predict climate or weather. The terms solstice and equinox are related to specific positions of the Suns in the sky throughout the year. Of course, the Sun doesnt move through our sky. But, it appears to move because Earth is turning on its axis, like a merry-go-round. People on a merry-go-round see people appear to move around them, but its really the ride thats moving. Its the same with Earth. As the planet spins around, people see the Sun appear to rise in the east and set in the west.  The Moon, planets,  and stars all appear to do the same thing, for the same reason.   Precessional movement of Earths pole. Earth turns on its axis once a day (shown by the white arrows). The axis is indicated by the red lines coming out the top and bottom poles. The white line is the imaginary line the pole traces out as Earth wobbles on its axis. NASA Earth Observatory adaptation How Are Solstices and Equinoxes Determined? Watch the sunrise and sunset each day (and remember never to look directly AT our hot, bright Sun), and notice its rise and set points change throughout the year. Notice also that the Suns position in the sky at noon is farther north at some times of year and more southerly at other times. The sunrise, sunset, and zenith points slide slowly to the north from December 21-22 to June 20-21 each year. Then, they appear to pause before starting the slow daily slide toward the south, from June 20-21st (the northernmost point) to December 21-22 (the southernmost point). Those stopping points are called the solstices (from the Latin  sol,  which means sun, and sistere,  which means stand still). These terms stem back to a time when early observers had no knowledge of Earths motions in space but did notice that the Sun appeared to stand still at its northernmost and southernmost points, before resuming its apparent motion south and north (respectively). Solstices Summer solstice is the longest day of the year for each hemisphere. For northern hemisphere observers, the June solstice (the 20th or 21st), marks the beginning of summer. In the southern hemisphere, thats the shortest day of the year and marks the beginning of winter. Six months later, on December 21st or 22nd, winter begins with the shortest day of the year for northern hemisphere people. Its the start of summer and the longest day of the year for people south of the equator. This is why such solstices are now called the December and June solstices, rather than winter or summer solstices. It recognizes that the seasons for each hemisphere correspond to north or south location.   The Greek astronomer Hipparchus was the first to discover and chart the equinoxes. Getty Images   Equinoxes Equinoxes are also connected to this slow change of apparent solar position. The term equinox comes from two Latin words aequus (equal) and nox (night). The Sun rises and sets exactly due east and due west on the equinoxes, and day and night are of equal length. In the northern hemisphere, the March equinox marks the first day of spring, while its the first day of autumn in the southern hemisphere. The September equinox is the first day of fall in the north and the first day of spring in the south.   So, the solstices and equinoxes are important calendar points that come to us from the apparent position of the Sun in our sky. They are also intimately connected to the seasons but are not the sole reason why we have seasons. The reasons for the seasons  are linked to Earths tilt and its position as it orbits the Sun.   Observing the Solstices and Equinoxes Charting the moments of solstice and equinox is a year-long observation project. Take a moment each day to observe the sky; notice sunrise or sunset and mark where those occur along your horizon. After a few weeks, its very easy to note a  very distinct shift of the positions north or south. Check out the appearance points of sunrise and sunset against the printed calendar and see how close they come to matching. Its a great long-term science activity for anyone to do, and has been the subject of more than a few science fair projects!   While the original ideas about solstices and equinoxes hark back to a time in human history when sky observers had no way of knowing about our planets motions in space, they still mark important dates that give people clues about the change of seasons. Today, ancient astronomical markers such as Stonehenge remind us that people have been looking to the sky, and measuring its motions, since the dawn of human history.

JVA Corporation Simulation

JVA Corporation Simulation In analyzing the current position of JVA Corporation and its future performance projections, the best strategy to employ so as to save and preserve the overall net profitability of the company is reviewing the corporation’s performance and revenue after every six months. Under this strategy, the corporation will either increase or reduce the employee pay and review their performance after six months (Noe et al 2010).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on JVA Corporation Simulation specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The corporation’s employees will get a pay increase twice a year depending on individual performance, if the strategy is adopted, unlike the current strategy where employees with satisfactory performance are compensated once in a year. Employees who do not perform will have their compensation package subsequently reduced twice within a year. This will encourage the employees to work hard and improve their performance since; none of them will wish to have their individual pay reduced (Noe et al 2010). The strategy should be in place for a period not exceeding a year given the expected improvement in the performance of the JVA Corporation. It is expected that after this duration, each employee will have improved their performance and thus leading to an upward compensation during the package review. After attaining the required performance standards, it will be wise for the corporation to switch back to annual pay review (Noe et al 2010). The half- year pay and performance review strategy will be applied to both employees within and outside the United States. This is because a very small fraction of the international employees are the managers, who are entitled to a full time salary. Out of the 185,000 corporation employees, 3,500 are management staff employees. This shows that they take a very small percentage of the wage bill to achieve the overall objectives of JVA Corporation. However, the review should be based on the location of the employee since the product market trends differ from one geographic region to another. Proper implementation of the strategy will benefit the corporation in several ways as the corporation will be in a position to evaluate its performance half way through the year. Therefore, it will be able to adopt new performance approaches or continue with the existing ones. The corporation, will also save the cost incurred in compensating employees whose performance are unevenly distributed within a year; those that perform highly either in the first half of the year or the second (Noe et al 2010). The result will be a motivated and improved performance by employees throughout the whole year since each employee will target a double upward pay review. As mentioned earlier, the corporation should swiftly switch over to annual review once the required set standards are attained. In this regard, JVA will be in a position to save a lot from downward pay review on underperforming employees during the initial implementation of the strategy (Noe et al 2010).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On switching over to the annual review, again substantial savings will be made since the compensation packages; earlier paid twice in a year will be available once a year but with same or better performance standards. The strategy is bound to have subsequent effects on the community if adopted. The double pay review will encourage more people to seek employment in the corporation, especially the temporary staff. The motivation given to the employees will automatically lead to better and improved product quality. The community members also stand a chance of getting more job opportunities should the strategy lead to expansion of the corporation, as a result, a need for more labor force. In conclusion, the strategy will be the best remedy for the upward revival of JVA Corporation’s overall profits (Noe et al 2010). Noe, Raymond, John Hollenbeck, Barry Gerhart and Patr Wright. Fundamentals of  Human Resource Management. New Jersey: McGraw Hill, 2010. Print

Change Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Change Management - Essay Example Learning in an organization can be done using two approaches: Firstly, learning with regard to individuals within the organization. Here, efforts are directed towards increasing the employee’s capacity in terms of skill acquisition, knowledge and experiences to perform their individual tasks and responsibilities. Secondly, by creating a learning organization in which the collective state of the organization is continuously improved to achieve optimal objectives. The need for creating a learning organization arises from the fact that it is imperative not only for the firm to set its objectives and visions but that the whole membership of the organization should act in unison as opposed to individual brilliance (O Keeffe, 2002). The following discussion identifies the principles of learning followed by a subsequent analysis of the merits and demerits of introducing learning to an already established organization. In the first approach, the objective is to introduce transformative learning; one that surpasses the mere acquisition of knowledge and skills to one that provides the individual with the ability to think rationally for themselves, creating a high level in the ability of the person to emancipate themselves from â€Å"mob thinking† and as such think independently and consciously about any prevailing scenario. There are several tenets or principles of learning. A summary discussion on some of these principles is as follows: All human beings are born with an inherent ability to increase their capacity. They have the potential to think, do and feel. Acting by doing refers to the ability to interact with the external world while acting by thinking is the ability to engage one’s processes in the mind and soul. The potential to feel refers to one’s ability to interact and connect with other people, places and events. This forms the first and most important principle of learning. Secondly, human being