Biography of Katherine Johnson

Biography of Katherine Johnson This autobiography is focused on Katherine Johnson, the human computer and mathematician. Her triumphs were a part of the civil rights movement, as she was one of the few federally employed African Americans specifically by NASA. While continuously fighting for the betterment of her education and career, she was successful in helping put the first man into space. In fact, it was John Glenn himself who requrested Mr. Johnsons confirmation of the BMIs calculations before boarding Friendship 7. She was a necessity in the launch and landing of Americas first space shuttle, providing to millions of Americans that a black person was just as capable as any. She was also the first black women integrated into West Virginia Universitys college. Her contributions to our country rewarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. Katherine Johnson was born in our very own home state on August twenty-sixth in the early fall of nineteen eighteen. She was born and raised in White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier County, West Virginia. Her mother and father were Joshua and Joylette Coleman. She wa the youngest of four siblings, and both of her parents worked; her mother was a teacher and her father worked at the Greenbrier Hotel. They both loved Katherine dearly and wanted to further her education once they realized the great potential that she had. Many African Americans her age did not go past the eighth grade. Quickly, her parents enrolled all four of their children into high school on the campus of West Virginia State College. Traveling back and forth one hundred and fifty miles to White Sulphur Springs and Institute gave Katherine the opportunity to dream big just at the age of ten. Once Katherine graduated high school, she applied and was accepted into West Virginia State College which may also be known as West Virginia State University today. During her childhood she loved numbers, growing up she loved numbers, and as she aged she grew into a mathematician. While attending college, Katherine took advantage of every opportunity given to her. Many of Katherines professors recognized her determination as she took every math course available. A woman named W.W. Schiefflin Claytor even went to lengths to create her new math courses. At the age of eighteen, Katherine graduated college and accepted a teaching position at an African American public school in Virginia. Shortly after graduation, she met her first husband, James Goble, and married him in year of nineteen thirty-nine. Being the first African American in history to desegregate West Virginia University, Katherine enrolled into the graduate program. After one session, she decided to quit and start a family. Luckily at a family gathering, thirteen years later in nineteen fifty-two, a relative mentioned that the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics was hiring mathematicians. The next year, she was offered a job which she accepted and became a part of NASA. Until nineteen fifty-eight, Katherine worked as a computer analyzing topics such as gust alleviation for aircraft. She was then assigned to help the male flight research team temporarily. Blowing away her bosses and colleagues with analytic geometry proved her position there, so she stayed. Taking on racial and gender discrimination was hard for Katherine; however, she persevered by ignoring them and sticking to her work. Throughout her career, she worked as an aerospace technologist, and was promoted to the Spacecraft Control Branch. She contributed and took place in major historical events and accomplishments for America such as John Glenns orbit around Earth, the Mercury mission, and putting the first man into space! She was expected to calculated trajectories, launch windows, and to plot navigational plots for astronauts in case of electronic failures. John Glenn specifically asked officials to have Katherine verify the calculations made by the computer, stating that he refused to fly otherwise. Her work ensured Alan Shepards Freedom 7 Mercury capsule would be found after it had landed. Her trajectories were required for the nineteen sixty-nine Apollo 11 flight to the moon. She helped creating a one-star observation system that would allow astronauts to determine their location with accuracy; After all, her concern was getting them (astronauts) back. Since there, she has worked on the Space Shuttl e program, the Earth Resources Satellite, and on plans for a mission to Mars. West Virginia University presented her with a Presidential Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters for attaining national and international preeminence in the field of astrophysics and providing distinguished leadership and service in her field while the former President of the United States awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Country of Origin

Country Of Origin Image The Country of Origin Image or COO can be described as the motivation behind the tendency for consumers to make buying decisions, guided by their perception of the country which is associated with the purchased product. It is essentially one of the building blocks for brand equity when introducing new products into new markets internationally. This could be attributed to consumer’s need to make quality inferences via brand cues, which will help them move forward faster in the buying process.In recent times, the validity of COO image as a brand metric has become arguably questionable, as the arrival of globalization has diluted the efficacy of the country of origin term. These days, an Apple Iphone could be designed in San Francisco, California and manufactured in Taiwan at lower operating costs. Based on this phenomenon and the study by Essousi and Merunka (2007), the COO concept can be further evaluated on the basis of two sub categories, which are cou ntry of design (COD) and country of manufacture(COM) image.A lot of companies remain ethnocentric in their business operations, this means that they restrict their resources to the initial country of origin, but sell to varying markets on the international scene. This is in contrast to the truly global companies that distribute their resources worldwide and operate in a global market. It begs the question of whether country of design or country of manufacture, is the influencing factor with regards to consumer behaviour and a product’s country of origin image.Referring to the previous example of Apple’s Iphone, is the product quality amplified in the consumers eyes by virtue of its American design or is its value downgraded by Taiwanese production? , considering Taiwan’s COO image as one of cheap but low quality products. Reardon et al (2005) suggest that with the products being unfamiliar to the market, country of origin image becomes the most viable source of quality identification for the consumer, an opinion backed by Balabanis and Diamantopoulos (2008) and Carvalho, et al ( 2011) studies on brand associations with country of origin images, among consumers.This is akin to celebrity endorsement of brands, with countries playing the role of celebrity ambassadors to those new to the brand. Harun et al 2011, proposes a different perspective to the discussion with country of brand origin (COBO). This is far more effective as a brand metric because as the name implies, the focus is placed on the brand itself rather than the product. For a description of the slight differences between the two concepts, Consider a consumer’s choice to buy a virtually unknown suit brand, because it was made in Britain.Britain’s strong COO image for products like suits, is the major player in this purchase decision. On the other hand, the buyer could decide to go for a Louis Vuitton Suit to feel ‘French’, as Louis Vuitton is primarily a French brand, thus illustrating the concept of the COBO effect. From this, it is clear that the country of origin effect still maintains some relevance with regards to influencing purchase decisions, whether it involves the design origins or place of manufacture or even down to the general associations the brands has with a country.Place Brand With the ever constant battle for the consumer’s disposable income and foreign direct investment by businesses, there has been an upsurge in the marketing of entire geographical locations, as suitable places to spend money. According to Medway& Warnaby (2008), the focus of the process is on creating favourable or attractive image associations for places and downplaying any negative images it may already have, unless demand for its resources outgrows supply.It can be argued that products and services become brands by virtue of the benefits they offer. This implies that if the benefits are negative, the product or service gains a negati ve brand image and vice versa. Similarly, places become branded by what they have to offer, usually in terms of culture, heritage, art, natural resources (Kemp et al, 2012) and many other variables. This phenomenon known as place branding, seeks to create identity, differentiation and personality for a place(Kavaratzis & Ashworth, 2005).It typically involves any residential geographic entity, and is usually most evident in the marketing of nations and cities. In examining the tenets of place branding further, the branding of cities can be utilised as a sample from which reasonable inference can be drawn and applied to a larger population such as countries. Pfefferkorn (2005) outlines the effects of branding on cities and the ingredients common to strongly branded cities.Included in the requirements for strong city branding are attractive employment opportunities, affordable cost of living, efficient public transportation and school systems, recreational/ cultural attractions, and go od climatic conditions. These are described by the author as functional values, but for truly strong place brands to exist, there must also be added value that differentiates it from others.The added value is unique to each city, as residents may tend to make meaningful associations between themselves and a place. Examples of this include the marketing of Jerusalem and Mecca as ‘holy cities’ of pilgrimage to devout faithfuls, Rio as a destination of choice for carnival lovers, Paris as the city of love for romantic individuals or in the most popular city branding efforts for sports enthusiasts, English soccer (Edensor & Millington, 2005) and the Olympics (Zhang & Zhao, 2009).An observable common denominator amongst these examples is the presence of images or perceptions, associated with orchestrated activities that result in the brands of a place. (Kavaratzis S& Ashworth, 2005). Global Brands The definition of globalised companies in contrast to international companies lies in the distribution of its resources (Abdulrazak. R, 2013). One of the foremost issues with brand globalization is the standardisation versus adaptation debate.A global brand is one which has been able to extend its brand identity across the world from its country of origin, and therefore the argument falls largely in favour of standardization with an adaptation of certain variables where necessary. Discussion Global brands offer consumers a sense of familiarity and streamlines the decision making process for purchasing from a range of both local and international alternatives. The country of origin image as well as place brands associated with the place brand may further serve to amplify the equity of the global brand. SIRRA

A River Runs Through It - 753 Words

Being skeptical about this type of movie is normal, however, keep an open mind. It tells the story of two children growing up in rural Montana with a strict Minister father. Their father not only taught them the word of God and to put all their faith in their religion, but he also taught them to fly fish. Several times it is mentioned that the line between God and fly fishing was usually blurred or hard to find. Norman Maclean is the eldest son, he also appears to be the protagonist. The movie is in his point of view with an older version of himself providing voice overs as he reflects. The story starts when Norman and his younger brother Paul were children, but it spends most of the time when they are older. Both being out of college and fresh to the world as responsible adults, this movie adds its name to a long list of drama films. What makes a good drama? Three key things to look for in any drama are: conflict, character portrayal, and last, but not least, comic relief. Does this movie have conflict? Any good drama has a conflict in the plot, particularly one that grabs the attention of the audience, and A River Runs Through It is no exception. The main conflict in this film appears to be life itself. The conflict is displayed all throughout the movie, with the struggle of growing up to the struggle of finding your place in this world. The main plot is the conflict of life while the subplots are more about each character doing a little searching of their own. Norman hasShow MoreRelatedRiver Runs Through It1218 Words   |  5 PagesA River Runs Through it A River Runs Through it is a story about the relationship between two brothers. The younger brother Paul has problems. He is a gambler, a drinker, and is short on cash, but his main problem is that he will not allow his older brother, Norman, to help him. Paul refuses to accept his older brothers aid and moreover refuses to even listen to what his brother has to say. In order to make his brother listen Norman will be forced to confront his brother, something that he isRead More A River Runs Through It Essay466 Words   |  2 Pages A River Runs Through It nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Fly fishing is not what this story is all about, although it might seem so at first. Neither is it about religion, even though the father’s first line is: quot;In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing.quot; Yes, these two things are themes that run through the story and add to its power. But there is so much more. It depicts a place of beauty, history, myth, and mystery, it is a triangle of earth in Montana whereRead MoreEssay on A River Runs Through It1223 Words   |  5 PagesAll lives revolve around decisions and instances from ones past. In A River Runs Through It (1992), director Robert Redford uses this idea and applies it to a true story of two brothers from Montana, Norman and Paul Maclean (Craig Sheffer and Brad Pitt, respectively). Based on the autobiographical novel by Norman Maclean himself, River uses Maclean’s metaphysical beliefs about life and nature to present its many themes. Using a longing scor e, various film devices, and a story line involving themesRead MoreThe River Runs Through It Essay840 Words   |  4 Pagesfour-count, to something a bit more innovative, shadow casting. The technique wasnt the only thing he altered. He also caught fish for quality, which leaked with palpability when he told Norman he aspired to catch the most prevalent fish in the river. Another exceptionally nontraditional detail about Pauls fishing has to deal with the fact that he took incredible risks. This trait had particular obviousness when he went into the rapids in order to catch the fish of his dreams. TraditionalisticRead More A River Runs Through Us Essay4120 Words   |  17 PagesA River Runs Through Us 1. â€Å"The Anacostia River is a metaphor for the way poor people and minorities are treated† (Hoover). In 1994, the Anacostia River was fourth on the list of American Rivers â€Å"Most Endangered Rivers† (Rynor). Since the late 19 th century the water quality in this river has slowly declined with the onset of urbanization and industrialization and the pollution that accompanies this growth. The Anacostia is severely polluted with â€Å"sediment, nutrients, pathogens, toxinsRead MoreEssay on Norman Macleans A River Runs Through It925 Words   |  4 PagesNorman Macleans A River Runs Through It Throughout A River Runs Through It, Norman Maclean emphasizes the relationship between nature, art, and faith. The concise, simple sentence with which he chooses to open his story captures the essence of all one hundred pages: in his family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing (1). Reverend Maclean believes that both fly fishing and spiritual belief are exact arts, if such a term can exist without paradox. The Reverend holdsRead MoreA River Runs Through It - The Importance of Fishing Essay638 Words   |  3 Pagespeople who have read A River Runs through It some time in their life, is a gift. Whether fishermen use bait, worms, or Georges flies it is that much sweeter to catch some trout with a brother under one arm and a father on the other. The river and fishing made such a big impact on the Maclean family that it is the root of this book. The Macleans compared the river to life, went fishing to answer questions, and created a river that has a past full of memories. The river and fishing become metaphorsRead MoreNorman Maclean’s A River Runs Through It Essay1308 Words   |  6 PagesA Hobby or a Way of Life Religion and tradition are two ways that families come together. However in Norman Maclean’s novella, A River Runs Through It, the Maclean family’s devotion to their Presbyterian religion and their tradition of fly-fishing is what undeniably brought the family together. Under the father’s strict Presbyterian values, his sons, Norman and Paul used fly-fishing as the link that brought them closer together and helped them bond with their father on a different level. TheRead MoreAnalysis Of A River Runs Through It By Norman Maclean1736 Words   |  7 Pagestestifies to this power in his novella A River Runs Through It. Through his eulogy to the Blackfoot river Norman Maclean captures the human soul and what it means to grow up, his story explaining how a river affects a man. Robert Redford’s movie adaptation, while maintaining the core importance of the Blackfoot river, focuses on the interpersonal relationships Norman develops throughout his life and how t hose affect his character and life choices. A River Runs through it encapsulates the emotional growthRead MoreAnalysis Of Norman Macfords A River Runs Through It1779 Words   |  8 PagesA River Runs Through It The natural world is unparalleled in its power to make one deeply contemplative, introspective, and observant of the surrounding universe. Norman Maclean testifies to this power in his novella, A River Runs Through It. Through his eulogy to the Blackfoot river, Norman Maclean captures his journey from boy to man through his personal and visceral connection to the Blackfoot. Norman’s writing encapsulates his own coming of age through the symbolism and parallels he draws between

Floating Spinach Disks Photosynthesis Demonstration

Watch spinach leaf disks rise  and fall in a baking soda solution in response to photosynthesis. The leaf disks intake carbon dioxide from a baking soda solution and sink to the bottom of a cup of water. When exposed to light, the disks use carbon dioxide and water to produce oxygen and glucose. Oxygen released from the leaves forms tiny bubbles that cause the leaves to float. Photosynthesis Demonstration Materials You can use other leaves for this project besides spinach. Ivy leaves or pokeweed or any smooth-leaf plant work. Avoid fuzzy leaves or areas of leaves that have large veins. fresh spinach leavessingle hole punch or a hard plastic strawbaking soda (sodium bicarbonate)liquid dishwashing detergentplastic syringe (no needle, 10  ccs or larger)clear cup or glasslight source (bright sunlight works or you can use an artificial light) Procedure Prepare a bicarbonate solution by mixing 6.3 grams (about 1/8 teaspoon) baking soda in 300 milliliters of water. The bicarbonate solution acts as a source of dissolved carbon dioxide for photosynthesis.In a separate container, dilute a detergent solution by stirring a drop of dishwashing liquid in about 200 milliliters of water.Fill a cup partly full with the baking soda solution. Add a drop of the detergent solution to this cup. If the solution forms suds, add more baking soda solution until you stop seeing bubbles.Use the hole punch or straw to punch ten to 20 disks from your leaves. Avoid the edges of the leaves or major veins. You want smooth, flat disks.Remove the plunger from the syringe and add the leaf disks.Replace the plunger and slowly depress it to expel as much air as you can without crushing the leaves.Dip the syringe in the baking soda/detergent solution and draw in about 3 ccs of liquid. Tap the syringe to suspend the leaves in the solution.Push the plunger to expel e xcess air, then place your finger over the end of the syringe and pull back on the plunger to create a vacuum.While maintaining the vacuum, swirl the leaf disks in the syringe. After 10 seconds, remove your finger (release the vacuum).You may wish to repeat the vacuum procedure two to three more times to ensure the leaves take up carbon dioxide from the baking soda solution. The disks should sink to the bottom of the syringe when they are ready for the demonstration. If the disks do not sink, use fresh disks and a solution with a higher concentration of baking soda and a bit more detergent.Pour the spinach leaf discs into the cup of baking soda/detergent solution. Dislodge any disks that stick to the side of the container. Initially, the disks should sink to the bottom of the cup.Expose the cup to light. As the leaves produce oxygen, bubbles forming on the surface of the disks will cause them to rise. If you remove the light source from the cup, the leaves eventually will sink.If yo u return the disks to the light, what happens? You can experiment with the intensity and duration of the light and its wavelength. If you would like to set up a control cup, for comparison, prepare a cup containing water with diluted detergent and spinach leaf disks that have not been infiltrated with carbon dioxide.