How to make the most of the holidays

Being a university student offers you a unique opportunity that you'll probably never get again in your working life: extended holiday periods. The three or four weeks that you get off at Christmas and Easter are usually used for studying and getting on top of your coursework, as well as catching up with friends and family back home. However, the summer holidays are a different story. Most courses break up for summer in late May or early June, and the new academic year doesn't start until mid to late September, leaving students with the best part of three months on their hands. It may only be April now but it's never too early to start planning how you'll make the most of your summer break from university. Here are a few ideas to help you get more from your extended break this year...    Do some travelling Once you graduate and start working it's unlikely that you'll ever have the opportunity to indulge in carefree travel again. In most jobs you'll get four or five weeks holiday per year but many employers prefer you to spread this out over the year rather than taking it in one go. So being a working post-graduate adult kind of puts a spanner in your travel plans. Use the two or three months of â€Å"free time† in between academic years to see the world and make some fantastic memories. Travelling gives you a great insight into how other cultures operate, which can then help to shape your own development and life path.   As a student your budget will be tight so you probably won't be travelling in luxury, but living out of a backpack helps you to prioritise what's important to you and increases your independence and your freedom.    Get some work experience There are around 300,000 graduates in the UK each year so competition for jobs is tough. Having a degree is important, but it's not a guaranteed ticket straight into your dream job. You need something that sets you apart from the competition; something that will really make your CV stand out to potential employers. Use the rest of your Easter break to research and make contact with companies in your chosen field that might be offering work experience to undergraduates. Even if you can't get any experience in the field you want to go into then you should still try to get some work over the summer. Any work experience at all will help to bolster your CV and prepare you for the real world. Working throughout the holidays is also a huge help to your bank balance too. Set up a savings account and put a large chunk of your holiday earnings into it so that you've got something to fall back on when your student loan just won't stretch far enough next semester.    Do some volunteering Volunteering can take up as much or as little of your time as you like, and it's a really worthwhile way to enhance your CV whilst giving something back to the community. Start by thinking of something that you're interested in, then find out what schemes are running near you. For example if you're interested in conservation then look for tree-planting schemes or community recycling initiatives that you can get involved in; vInspired is a good place to start. You could even incorporate your volunteering goals into your travel goals and look for volunteer schemes abroad. From teaching English to children in Africa, to working with animals in Argentina, there are hundreds of ways in which you can see the world and do something worthwhile with your time simultaneously.    Do some studying University terms take up just over half of the calendar year, so studying during the holidays could mean the difference between a first and a 2:2. Spending the Christmas and Easter breaks studying is a given as you're still in the thick of the current academic year. However, studying in the summer break could be what gives you the extra edge when it comes to degree results. We're not saying that you don't deserve to take time off during the summer, because you do. It's important to carry on reading though in preparation for the next year. Set aside one day or a couple of afternoons each week to read newly-published journals or familiarise yourself with the literature that you'll be working with next semester.    Make some memories You've got almost three months of free time away from university so you've not really got much of an excuse for not catching up with family and friends! Plan some road trips and days out; have games night with the family; go camping; bake cakes – whatever makes you happy! After graduation most of your time will be spent looking for a job, if you don't already have one lined up, and once you're working full time you'll regret not making the most of your last carefree summer of your youth. Heed this advice and make sure you've got a couple of really fun, worthwhile summers to look back on!

TWA Flight 800 Essays

TWA Flight 800 Essays TWA Flight 800 Essay TWA Flight 800 Essay Essay Topic: Flight TWA Flight 800 Name: Course: Date: TWA Flight 800 Causes of Accident The Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight 800 on July 17 1996 crashed near the city of New York, specifically in the Atlantic Ocean in proximity to East Moriches. The plane was scheduled to leave John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to Charles DeGaulle International Airport in the capital city of France, Paris. All the 230 passengers on board comprising even the pilots, engineers and the flight attendants died. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the plausible cause for the accident was attributed to the detonation of the fuel tank in the center wing (CWT). The explosion led to the inflammation of the combustible mixture of fuel and air in the CWT (NTSB, 1996). Structural and Mechanical Factors The structural and mechanical factors involved in the accident involved the indication of a faulty circuit that aggravated the explosion in the fuel tank. The faulty circuit was situated exterior of the center wing fuel tank. Due to a short circuit, there was a production of intense energy, which was high enough to produce an ignition that triggered the explosion. Apparently, the short circuit caused a disproportionate electric voltage that entered through the electrical cabling. Consequently, the electrical wiring system was associated with the indication mechanism for fuel quantity. Thus, the excessive voltage triggered a surge in the electrical wiring near the fuel tank that sparked ignition of the inflammable fuel and air mixture (NTSB, 1996). Contributing Factors The contributing factors associated with the TWA Flight 800 accident were attributed to the certification and design concept of the fuel tank. Specifically, the design and qualifications were based on the prevention of explosions resulting from fuel tanks. The concept encompassing the design and certification concentrated on the prevention of fuel tank detonations. The prevention of the explosions was to be carried out by excluding all ignition supplies. Additionally, another preventive measure regarding the design and certification of the plane was the exclusion of planes with heat sources beneath the fuel tank and insufficient means to lessen the heat transmitted into the tank or the degree of flammability of the fuel vapor in the CWT (NTSB, 1996). Investigation Board Findings The NTSB was one of the main bodies involved with the investigation of the TWA Flight 800 Crash. Additionally, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also performed investigations for the cause of the crash. This is because the evidence from a significant number of eyewitnesses indicated that a missile hit the plane and caused the crash. Since NTSB did not have the authorization to carry out a criminal investigation, the FBI became involved. The findings showed that explosive components consistent with the ones used in explosives and missiles were evident in the debris. The findings by the FBI collided with the NTSB findings since the FBI purported that a criminal attack was performed through the discovery of explosive traces evident in warheads and bombs (Milton, 2000). Recommendations The recommendations spiraling from the investigation of the NTSB were mostly centered on the design and certification standards of the plane, maintenance of aircraft systems, fuel tank and ignition sources and inflammability of the fuel tank. The key recommendation provided is the reduction of the temperature in the CWT. This could be done by relocating the air conditioning units, which are the chief heat supply, way from the CWT. Insulation, can also be added between the CWT and the conditioners. Efficient insulation would decrease the transmission of heat to the CWT (United States, 2000). Outcomes One of the major outcomes resulting from the TWA Flight 800 accident was the implementation of the sturdy and novel security protocols at the nation’s airports due to the missile theory asserted by the FBI. Up to date, the protocols are still observed strictly in all airports, in the country. Consequently, strict regulations regarding maintenance and inspections have been implemented which prevent the upsurge of hazardous conductors. Moreover, the use of fuel with lower flashpoints has been emphasized (United States, 2000). For instance, JP-5 has been provided as a substitute to Jet A fuel. JP-5 is less flammable than the Jet A fuel and hence can stall explosions in the fuel tank. References Milton, P. (2000). In the blink of an eye: The FBI investigation of TWA flight 800. New York: Random House. National Transportation Safety Board (1996, July 17). Aircraft Accident Report. Retrieved from ntsb.gov/investigations/summary/AAR0003.html/ United States. (2000). TWA flight 800: July 17, 1996: Accident investigation. Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB.

Violence, Surveillance & Power Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Violence, Surveillance & Power - Assignment Example The training gives the soldiers the mentality to control, conduct surveillance, and cause crisis which leads to violence. The society is framed in such a way that male species are considered dominant over their female counterparts, possessing the ability to kill, albeit emotionally. Even with revolutions caused by modernity and feminist unions, the aspect of male dominance still exists today. Men are trained to kill psychologically, by exerting emotional intimidation to their subject. Violence is a form of expressing dominance over weaker subjects, which may cut across the gender line. This is why government focuses on putting soldiers in extremely difficult situation to revenge, by exerting his presence just by just the way they conduct their business. The society is always watching out, and this controls behavior. As O’Brien observes in â€Å"Speaking of Courage†, men can use intimidation; either through imposing silence on what he feels is not pleasing him or threatening the speaker. Although killing physically is what is considered real killing, the emotional killing men have been trained to adopt has become their trademark. However, it is not always the best solution to exert power because it is only temporary. Examples of those exercising violence are dictators who feel they must force subjects to comply with their decisions. Violence is exercised and not possessed. Most men have abused their superiority over women and violated women’s rights. Females, on the other hand exercise emotional and mental violence to assert their prowess over men. However, this is not as devastating as emotional violence is to men. When the government trains its soldiers to go to the battlefield, images of combat gears is enough to kill the fearful individuals. In the film Full Metal Jacket, a soldier is wearing â€Å"Born to Kill†