Business Organisations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Business Organisations - Essay Example This leadership is not about taking turns running the meeting. It is rather about promoting a better way of doing things or a new product." Many studies have shown that good leaders tend to have certain qualities such as: they have technical and specific skill of some task, have a clear sense of purpose, they are optimistic, work well with others, and believe that they can make a difference, can nurture the people around them i.e. delegate tasks, aware of the environment and themselves, are empathetic, direct all actions towards the goals and the mission and are role models for others. There are many theories on which leadership style should be adopted, but each leadership style or approach used depends on the culture of the organisation and the task at hand. As all things, these approaches have their advantages and disadvantages, and in some situations it is better to use a particular type of approach over another. Leadership has been broadly categorized into classical approaches, behavioural approaches, trait approaches, transformational approaches and contingency approaches. Each approach has many theories within it. The classical approach contains the autocratic style, bureaucratic style, democratic style and the Laissez-faire. The autocratic style is the one in which the leader or manager retains control and power of decision making. Studies have shown that an autocratic leadership style leads to high absenteeism and labour turnover. There is low employee morale and the employees become dependent on the manager for decision making. Bureaucratic is when the manager goes by the book, follows procedure and policy, and if something is not in the book than he refers to his senior. This type of leadership style can be used when the job is routine, or when working with dangerous equipment and hazardous chemicals. It should not be used when employees start to lose interest in their job and do only what is expected of them and no more. A democratic style encourages participation, sharing of information and problem solving responsibilities. It is a way of coaching the employees to reach their full potential, although the final say lies with the coach. It is appropriate to use this style when the employee is skilled and the leader wants to provide the employees with opportunities, encourage team work, the task is very complex and requires input form all employees or when an organisational change needs to be made. It is not effective when there is a lack of time, it costs more to get everybody's input, the business in not in a condition to make mistakes, employee safety is vital and the manager feels insecure about delegating. Laissez-faire style is a do it yourself style. The leader provides no guidance. This is effective when the employees are highly skilled and know what they are doing. They are trustworthy and have experience in the field, and are experts. An example of this can be engineers and scientists working in the research and development department. They know what they want and how they want the end result to look like. It should not be used when the manager himself is unclear about his responsibilities and wants the employees to do his work, when the manager can not provide feedback; managers are unable to thank their employees and when the employees need the presence of the manager to guide them. Each of these

Cause and Effect Analysis of Information Data

Cause and Effect Analysis of Information Data Cause and Effect Analysis System Improvement Objectives Problem or Opportunity Causes and Effects System Objective System Constraint 1. Information contained in quarterly publish employee directory becomes out of date quickly 1. Companys rapid growth with new employees make quarterly publish directory constantly out of date. Lessen the impact on the administrator from 12 hours weekly to 1 or 2 hours Delete the micro system Enable e-mail system accessibility Dispose of hardcopy directory savings of $27,000 Engage employees to enter data in real time Maintain security of the system to prevent unauthorized access from all locations All computer desktops from all locations must be independently accessible to the system Reduce the redundancy of keying in employee information into the mirco and System Improvement Objectives Problem or Opportunity Causes and Effects System Objective System Constraint 2. Duplicate employee information in the micro and mainframe systems 1. Automation is non existent between the micro and mainframe systems user interface 2. Employees information is not centrally stored in one location Eliminate the need for the micro system Develop single source of entering employee information to eliminate duplicate keying information Maintain security of the system to prevent unauthorized access from all locations All computer desktops from all locations must be independently accessible to the system Cause and Effect Analysis System Improvement Objectives Problem or Opportunity Causes and Effects System Objective System Constraint 3. Maintaining and operating Mainframe system cost are high Out of date technology of the system increases costs to maintain Transactions are source of high cost with constant reprocessing to correct discrepancies 1. Decrease operating cost to a more manageable   level goal of 50% reduction 1. None   noted Cause and Effect Analysis System Improvement Objectives Problem or Opportunity Causes and Effects System Objective System Constraint 4. Employee data not current throughout current system Administrator has to key in information on each employee submitted form causing a delay in system accuracy Employee data is not available in real time Allow employees to enter their own information into the system Develop single point of entry to ensure employee data is in real time and made available to other legacy systems 1. Interfaces need to meet legacy specifications Cause and Effect Analysis System Improvement Objectives Problem or Opportunity Causes and Effects System Objective System Constraint 5. Employee information processing done by HR department is costly 1. HR staff labor is very extensive thus driving cost upward because of having to interface with each employee to fix discrepancies and input their data into the system Eliminate the need for the micro system Allow employees to enter their own information into the system Develop single point of entry to ensure employee data is in real time and made available to other legacy systems Maintain security of the system to prevent unauthorized access from all locations All computer desktops from all locations must be independently accessible to the system Cause and Effect Analysis System Improvement Objectives Problem or Opportunity Causes and Effects System Objective System Constraint 6. Employees information is stored in different databases across the system Employee data is not being stored in a single repository Databases for storing employee data are application specific 1. Develop a database that is single source for employee information storage Single source employee database will exceed the $225,000 budget when modifying the legacy application. Provide the appropriate interfaces in lieu of modifying legacy applications Cause and Effect Analysis System Improvement Objectives Problem or Opportunity Causes and Effects System Objective System Constraint 7. Reports are not accessible when users need them Current system does not have the capability to submit a query or ad-hoc function Backlogs and priorities prohibit IS from responding on reporting requests 1. Provide a feature to enable the ad-hoc and query function to the users Maintain security of the system to prevent unauthorized access from all locations Cause and Effect Analysis System Improvement Objectives Problem or Opportunity Causes and Effects System Objective System Constraint 8. United Way lacking employee participation 1. No means to track employee contributions Provide management the means to monitor contributions and status by the use inquiries and reports Enable each employee the ability to make contributions online Maintain security of the system to prevent unauthorized access from all locations All computer desktops from all locations must be independently accessible to the system

Free Affirmative Action Essays - Affirmative Action is Against the Bibl

Affirmative Action is Against the Bible America was known as the Land of Opportunity. Then it became evident that "opportunity" was only available to white men. Later, laws were passed to ensure equal opportunity regardless of race, sex, or religion. These Affirmative Action laws were set in place by our government with the intent of correcting the social evil know as prejudice; but in doing so, they created a monster. Affirmative action has become an ineffective, outdated, and socially harmful policy that is weakening our great nation. "The adoption of Affirmative Action programs in the 1960s reflected our national aspiration to overcome long-entrenched injustices and become a society where equal opportunity, or at least a fair opportunity, was a reality for more of our citizens. These programs were a response to economic, political and cultural circumstances that demanded, then encouraged, and then tolerated widespread discrimination on the basis of such factors as color, gender and ethnic background. The common hope was that these programs would be transitory in nature and would enable us as a society to reach a point, at some future date, when they would no longer be needed" (Shapiro). It is my opinion that we have now reached that date. Continued use of the policy is much like continued use of a strong medication. When a patient is suffering from a terrible disease, as was the United States suffering from discrimination, strong medication is sometimes needed to cure the problem. But once the disease is taken care of, further use of the medication does not help... ...e right course of action. This is an ideal that has always been true, but is quite often broken, resulting is negative effects and more problems. A course of action that is morally wrong, ethically wrong, and economically wrong, is not the correct way, but an easier way. Often, the correct way is more difficult and requires more work, but nevertheless, it is the correct way. Two wrongs do not make a right, but they do make more problems and prolong an actual resolution to the problem. Works Cited Shapiro, Harold. "Affirmative Action: A continuing discussion / A continuing commitment" Internet Source. Available at: http://humanitas.ucsb.edu/projects/aa/docs/shapiro.html Websters Dictionary Harbor House Publishers Inc. Baltimore. 1984

LGBT: Standing for Their Rights and What’s Right Essay

If you were to see a student in need what would you do? You would most likely step in and help that person. Am I right? Now what if that student was an LGBT student? You would most likely require more time to process the benefits and consequences of stepping in and making a difference right? Well when it comes to that statement I have to say that you are incorrect. It is the responsibility of every person, including you, to help a student in need no matter who that student is and regardless of the consequences. Nevertheless, LGBT individuals, including students, are the minority that is the most targeted against. We can no longer afford to let this injustice continue as long as there are people that exist who can make a difference. My friends the time for change is HERE and NOW. With those words I say this. Every individual who supports the rights of a fellow student, the LGBT student, should donate their time and money to the Southern Poverty Law Center as they strive to ensure the rights of LGBT students through the use of legal action, educational campaigns and combating the so called conversion therapy. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) campaigns for rights for LGBT students through their educational campaign known as the Teaching Tolerance Program. The Teaching Tolerance Program is a project of the SPLC whose purpose is to help educators improve their teaching methods through methods such as professional development and various activities within the classroom in order to compose a more complete and cultivating environment. The program has recently released Bullied in 2010. â€Å"Bullied† is a documentary for anti-bullying release throughout the United States. The document is made for use in the classroom and improvement for educators and highlights the tale of a student who struggled to stand up for what’s right against his anti-gay torturers. Although many know about the need for rights for LGBT students, on the other hand, there are those who may comment that there are those that refuse to listen to those who attempt to campaign peacefully and with reason. But it’s easy to see that there are many people out there who show absolute support for rights of ALL fellow citizens if we took a look back at history. An excellent example is Abraham Lincoln, who worked to end slavery once and for all. If a president is able to take the time out of his schedule to accomplish this feat, then we as Americans should be able to do the same for LGBT rights. After all is this no the land of the FREE and the home of the BRAVE? Let’s follow the examples of our forefathers and campaign to make this world a little better each day. In addition to educational campaigns, the SPLC exerts their energy, time, and resources for the rights of LGBT students through the use of legal action which includes but is not limited to proceedings against policies hostile to LGBT students. This is done thanks to the help of our very own Constitution. For example, let’s say that a student wants to wear clothing or any accessories that show their support for LGBT rights but the school that he or she attends will not allow him or her to wear it. It is then clearly evident that the school is in violation of that student’s natural first amendment rights which allows the right to free expression. The only time that the school can prevent you from wearing anything is if the clothing is obscene or has gang related elements. However some may say that legal action will only continue to heighten backlash against the LGBT community and therefore only make the situation worse. On the contrary legal action has helped hundreds of students for the rights when there are times that ultimately call for legal action. After all, now and again there have been occasions where words of expression and educational campaigns just aren’t enough. Furthermore, the SPLC alleviates LGBT students by function to put a stop to this so called conversion therapy. Conversion therapy is a lethal practice based on the presupposition that people can alter their sexual orientation. However this cannot be true. Why? Everyone, including the SPLC knows for a fact that people are BORN gay or straight not made or altered. Being gay, lesbian, or bisexual is not a form of mental disease or a pathological condition. Sometimes we as human beings do not realize that we do not have the power or the right to manipulate any of God’s creatures whatsoever. Luckily, Conversion therapy has been discredited by every major medical organization as there us nearly no evidence that conversion therapy is even successful. Yet there are some who articulate depending on their point of view that if an LGBT individual wishes to convert his or herself then we should let them. However it is unmistakably clear that most LGBT individuals do not want to be converted. People who went through conversion therapy have had increased anxiety, depression, and even suicidal intention. In a study made in 2002, 88% of individuals failed to turn homosexual, while only 3% changed their orientation. The rest had no change whatsoever. In the end, The Southern Poverty Law Center uses educational campaigns, legal action, and combat of conversion therapy. LGBT students are just like us. They are us. They are a part of this world just as much as we are. They are a prime example of what the United States of America are all about: the freedom of each individual to choose just how they want to live regardless of the consequences and obstacles that stand in their way. Therefore let us illuminate the problem of attacks on LGBT students so that we may better grasp the situation and work together to fight for a noble cause. For if we do not learn from history and change ourselves for the better, then we can never truly overcome our obstacles and we will ultimately end up within the remnants of our own downfall. Think about it.

Bowlbys Attachment Theory

Introduction For the purpose of this assignment I will begin with a discussion of John Bowl by’s theory of attachment, this is one of the most used theories in children’s social work today. I will then discuss the origins of attachment theory, with giving an overview of what attachment theory consists of. In addition I will critically analyse this theory by incorporating other theorist’s views. Further I will give a brief account of how Mary Ainsworth researched attachment and her outcomes and classifications, which strengthened and widened the theory. Finally I will discuss how this theory is used within social work settings, together with influencing policy initiatives . A brief overview is given regarding the ethical approach used together with its relevance to anti discriminatory practise. Bowlby initially began his career as a child psychiatrist, which later led him to undertake training at the British Psychoanalytic Institute. These early experiences contributed positively in Bowlby’s research, which then led to the origins of attachment theory. This was his first empirical study to be undertaken. He examined cases of maladjusted children in a school. Bowlby then linked the children who were committing petty crime, also suffered with affectionless emotions. He then noted that all of these children had a history of separation and maternal deprivation Bowlby then proceeded to expand his research, influenced by Konrad Lorenz’s (1935) paper on imprinting. In which Lorenz researched behaviour of baby geese, where he stated is a phrase sensitive learning which is implied within a â€Å"_critical period† (Lorenz 1935). _Bowlby’s research was then one compromising concepts from ethologic, cybernetics and psychoanalysis methods. Thus making him believe that, humans are also born with tendencies to naturally promote attachment. The main concepts which Bowlby mainly focused on was; monotropy a tendency to attach to one particular care giver usually the mother. In addition he stated â€Å"_the propensity to make strong emotional bonds to one particular individual is a basic component of human nature† (Bowlby 1988). _He also goes on to state attachment â€Å"aids in survival†. Bowlby had distinguished four categories that consisted in attachment. The proximity Maintenance: Desire to be near the people we are attached to. Safe Haven: Returning to the attachment figure for comfort and safety in the face of fear or threat Secure Base: The attachment figure acts as a base of security from which the child can explore the surrounding environment. Separation Distress: Anxiety that occurs in the absence of the attachment figure. Ambivalent Attachment: _Where the child usually become very distressed when parents leave. This type is un common, normally a result of poor maternal availability. _ After Ainsworth’s research, (Main, Solomon 1986) added a fourth attachment style from their own research Conclusion

management Information Systems essays

management Information Systems essays Running a business on your own requires a whole lot of work. One has to set their own hours and be their own boss. Yeah that may sound like fun, but speaking from experience its hand full. The high percentage of business failures clearly shows that while the intentions of wanting to run a successful business are good, the carrying out process is poor. Its almost like building a house without a blueprint and you'll have a lopsided construction that could crumple at any given time. Run a business with the same approach, and you'll get a similar result. If you're going to do it, do it right. One of the most important factors in running a business is knowing how to interpret data. One must know how to turn insignificant numbers into valuable information. As the owner of an aircraft component manufacturer I come across sheets and sheets of data that I must convert to significant information. To help you better understand the process Ive attached our most recent orders and suppliers data form, and I will explain the steps to follow so that you can turn those numbers into information. Here are the steps you need to consider: First you need to study the data, and understand what each number represents. Then you have to choose what factors are necessary for comparison to help improve your business. The first thing I chose to compare was the number of times I opted to use each company. To do this all we need to use is the name of each vendor. An easy way to count how many times they are on the list is to sort the data by vendor number. That gives you every vendor in order. This process will tell you which Vendor is more popular with my firm. I discovered that Fast-Tie Aerospace is the vendor me buy most often from. This will help my company discover where all our shopping is done. Second, I wanted to discover if I was doing the right thing by buying most of my supplies from Fast-Tie Aerospace. The...

What Is an AP Scholar Advantages and Requirements

What Is an AP Scholar Advantages and Requirements SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips You might think the term â€Å"AP Scholar† just refers to anyone who takes studying for AP exams really seriously. But it’s actually an awards program offered by the College Board.In this article, I’ll go over what an AP Scholar is, what you need to achieve to become one, what it means to be one, and some tips on getting the award if it’s something you’re interested in. What Is an AP Scholar? An AP Scholar is, broadly speaking, someone who has received an award from the College Board for doing well on several AP exams. There are several award levels according to how many exams the student scored highly on, as well as their average AP score. What Does It Mean to Be an AP Scholar? If you have an AP Scholar award, you can list it on resumes and college applications. It will signal that you did well on multiple AP exams. The designation will appear on your official AP exam scores, and you will receive a certificate in the mail the September following the time you receive the designation. Sadly, you do not get any money from this award, but it’s nice to have recognition of all your hard work!Of course, the higher-up your designation, the more impressive it is. Gold star for you! AP Scholar Awards and How You Earn Them What â€Å"level† of award you are offered generally depends on three criteria: How many AP exams you have gotten a score of 3 or higher on. Your average AP exam score. Where your high school is located. You can receive the next â€Å"level† of award in subsequent years as you take more AP exams.In this table, I’ll lay out all the criteria for the different AP Scholar award tiers- the AP Scholar requirements, if you will. AP Scholar Requirements Award Designation School Location Requirements Score/Number Requirements Required Average AP Score on all APs taken AP Scholar (none) 3 or better on 3+ AP exams (n/a) AP Scholar with Honor (none) 3 or better on 4+ AP exams 3.25 AP Scholar with Distinction (none) 3 or better on 5+ AP exams 3.5 National AP Scholar United States 4 or better on 8+ AP exams 4 National AP Scholar (Canada) Canada 4 or better on 5+ AP exams 4 National AP Scholar (Bermuda) Bermuda 4 or better on 5+ AP exams 4 State AP Scholar (granted to 1 male and 1 female student per state) Each US state Greatest number of exams with scores of 3 or higher in the state Highest average of those who took the greatest number of exams with scores 3+ DoDEA AP Scholar (granted to 1 male and 1 female student) DoDEA(Department of Defense Education Activity) school students Greatest number of exams with scores of 3 or higher in DoDEA schools Highest average of those who took the greatest number of exams with scores 3+ International AP Scholar (granted to 1 male and 1 female student) Attends school outside US or Canada that is not DoDEA school Greatest number of exams with scores of 3 or higher in international schools Highest average of those who took the greatest number of exams with scores 3+ Step one to becoming an AP Scholar: pick your books off the floor. How to Becomean AP Scholar If you want to be an AP Scholar, at the most basic level you need to take AP exams! You also need to make an effort to score a 3 or higher on every exam you take, not just the minimum number for the Scholar designation you’re going for since lower scores will bring your average down and limit your ability to meet the score average requirements to be an AP Scholar. If you want to meet a certain level before you apply to college, you’ll need to take the requisite AP exams by the end of your junior year, so that you’ll get the award by your senior fall. However, my recommendation would be not to stress too much about the AP Scholar program. For one thing, when you get to the highest levels of the award, whether you get the award or not is somewhat outside of your control, since you can’t control how many AP exams other people take or what their average score is. If you get an AP Scholar award, great! But colleges will be able to see your complete AP score report either way, and they know which APs and AP courses are most challenging. It’s better to take a rigorous course of study and not quite qualify for the next Scholar level than to front-load with content-light APs to get the award. This strange baby-man is actually a National AP Scholar. Key Takeaways The AP Scholar awards are a series of awards given by the College Board for students who have gotten high scores on a number of AP exams. There are different â€Å"levels† of the award depending on the number of AP exams a student has gotten a high score on, their average AP exam score, and where they go to school. If you want to be an AP Scholar, you’ll need to take AP classes and be sure to do well on your exams! However, I don’t recommend stressing too much about these awards - your time is better spent on other projects that will be more impressive to colleges. What's Next? To prep for AP success, see when you should start studying for AP exams, and how you should prepare. If you're thinking about other AP achievements, you might be wondering if you need an AP test perfect score.Or you may want to know the average score for each AP exam, or even how AP exams are scored. Trying to figure out your AP schedule? See our guides to which AP exams to take, and how many APs you should plan on taking. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Information on Education and Schools in Connecticut

Information on Education and Schools in Connecticut Education varies from state to state as individual states control much of the educational policy that governs the school districts across their state. Even still, school districts within an individual state often offer key differences from their neighboring counterparts as local control also plays a critical role in shaping school policy and implementing educational programs.   Because of this, a student in one state or even a single district can receive a drastically different education than a student in a neighboring state or district. State legislators shape education policy and reform for individual states. Highly debated educational topics such as standardized testing, teacher evaluations, charter schools, school choice, and even teacher pay vary from state to state and typically aligns with the controlling political parties views on education. For many states, education reform is in continuous flux, often causing uncertainty and instability for educators, parents, and students. Constant change can also make it difficult to compare the quality of education students are receiving in one state compared to another. This profile focuses on breaking down education and schools in Connecticut. Connecticut Education and Schools Connecticut State Department of Education Connecticut Commissioner of Education Dr. Dianna R. Wentzell District/School Information Length of School Year: A minimum of 180 school days is required by Connecticut state law. Number of Public School Districts: There are 169 public school districts in Connecticut. Number of Public Schools: There are 1174 public schools in Connecticut. **** Number of Students Served in Public Schools: There are 554,437 public school students in Connecticut. **** Number of Teachers in Public Schools: There are 43,805 public school teachers in Connecticut.**** Number of Charter Schools: There are 17 charter schools in Connecticut. Per Pupil Spending: Connecticut spends $16,125 per pupil in public education. **** Average Class Size: The average class size In Connecticut is 12.6 students per 1 teacher. **** % of Title I Schools: 48.3% of schools in Connecticut are Title I Schools.**** % With Individualized Education Programs (IEP): 12.3% of students in Connecticut are on IEPs. **** % in Limited-English Proficiency Programs: 5.4% of students in Connecticut are in limited-English Proficient Programs.**** % of Student Eligible for Free/Reduced Lunches: 35.0% of student in Connecticut schools are eligible for free/reduced lunches.**** Ethnic/Racial Student Breakdown**** White: 60.8% Black: 13.0% Hispanic: 19.5% Asian: 4.4% Pacific Islander: 0.0% American Indian/Alaskan Native: 0.3% School Assessment Data Graduation Rate: 75.1% of all students entering high school in Connecticut graduate. ** Average ACT/SAT score: Average ACT Composite Score: 24.4*** Average Combined SAT Score: 1514***** 8th grade NAEP assessment scores:**** Math: 284 is the scaled score for 8th grade students in Connecticut. The U.S. average was 281. Reading: 273 is the scaled score for 8th grade students in Connecticut. The U.S. average was 264. % of Students Who Attend College after High School: 78.7% of students in Connecticut go on to attend some level of college. *** Private Schools Number of Private Schools: There are 388 private schools in Connecticut.* Number of Students Served in Private Schools: There are 73,623 private school students in Connecticut.* Homeschooling Number of Students Served Through Homeschooling: There were an estimated 1,753 students that were homeschooled in Connecticut in 2015.# Teacher Pay The average teacher pay for the state of Connecticut was $69,766 in 2013.## Each individual district in the state of Connecticut negotiates teacher salaries and establishes their own teacher salary schedule. The following is an example of a teacher salary schedule in Connecticut provided by the Granby Public Schools District (p.33)    *Data courtesy of Education Bug . **Data courtesy of ED.gov ***Data courtesy of PrepScholar. ****Data courtesy of the National Center for Education Statistics ******Data courtesy of The Commonwealth Foundation #Data courtesy of A2ZHomeschooling.com ##Average salary courtesy of National Center of Education Statistics ###Disclaimer:   The information provided on this page changes frequently.   It will be updated regularly as new information and data becomes available.

Ways of knowing are a check on our instinctive judgments To what Essay

Ways of knowing are a check on our instinctive judgments To what extent do you agree with this statement - Essay Example Undeniably, life comprises a series of instinctive judgements; nevertheless, the sources of these decisions have attracted attention from different scholars. Despite many theories and publications, ways of knowing are a check to our instinctive judgements as proven in the paper. Notably, different ways of knowing exists depending on various factors. Consciousness is a moral obligation to make rational choices in life regarding certain topics. It is the ability to configure internal aspects of brain to conform to the ever-changing external environment. However, the key question separating imagination from institution presents various ways of knowing that complement instinctive judgment. To start with is reason or logic. Notably, reason is a privilege of knowing in the contemporary life. It is a quality of life dated back to the 18th century and can be traced to fathers of philosophy like Plato and Socrates. Enlightenment in the ways of knowing makes reason an important aspect of life. Conceivably, the uncertainties surrounding knowledge justifies the application of reason to deduce the instinctive decisions from many perspectives. Apparently, the use of senses to make important decisions can be challenging without higher capacities to reason (Pickstone 41). Many senses deceive while others cloud people’s judgement. It, therefore, is important to find the right way to reason and rationally make the right decisions. From this perspective, reason proves to be a reliable element of knowing. Undeniably, every area of knowledge is only valid and remains rational in the presence of a reason. It is a non-contested fact that mathematics is an argument of formulas and claims, which must have proof. The summation of one and one cannot be five, three or any other number apart from two. The answer traces back to the numerical strength of knowledge that only

The big sleep Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The big sleep - Essay Example This theme is carried on further by locations tied to Marlowe. From his eyes, we are offered a glimpse of his old office building with its iron work and wood interiors. Here, there was demonstration of glamour or a spark of life that struggled to exist in the face of an obviously dying city. Then, there were also the observations from other characters, confirmed by Marlowe’s assent and body language. In his interview with the general, for example, the latter’s first impression of Marlowe was that of â€Å"a man with blood on his veins.† (p. 7) A little while later, Mrs. Regan would say to Marlowe’s face that he is a handsome man and Marlowe acknowledged it with a grunt. Chandler effectively built his protagonist’s character very early in the story. The protagonist’s background – an underpaid drudge – made a lot of sense why the style of the narrative was what it was, simple, straightforward but vivid in describing the richness, luxury and corruption of the period. After, all, it was from Marlowe’s eyes that the reader learn of the tale. There are numerous points wherein the narration resembled crisp, staccato rhythms demonstrating Marlowe’s personality. This was pretty surprising, however, especially when one takes into account that Chandler is British and the narratives that immediately preceded his work where firmly in the tradition of elaborate and almost floral prose. In a scene from the book, there was an instance when Harry Jones was recounting a narrative testimony about Mr. Canino, Eddie Mars and the mysterious Mona Mars. Afterwards, when he was alone in his office, Marlowe was quoted as saying: I went upstairs again and sat in my chair thinking about Harry Jones and his story. It seemed a little too pat. It had the austere simplicity of fiction rather than the tangled woof of fact.† (p. 115) Here, Chandler clearly expressed his view of fiction or at least its

Role of Women in Ministry Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Role of Women in Ministry - Research Paper Example It will also elaborate the challenges faced by women leader in the church as well as identify the different women serving in the ministry today. 2. Introduction There has been continued controversy concerning the role of women in the ministry. This has been created by the Biblical teachings on the place of the woman in the church. In the Scriptures of Paul to the Corinth church, women were expected to be silent and submissive to their husbands. However, in other Scriptures, women take an active role in the activities of the church. This conflict on the role of women has created an ongoing debate on the subject of women as leaders in the church. Many churches deny women the opportunity to take up an active role in the church while others only permits them to undertake specific positions. 3.1 Positions in the Role of Women 3.1.1 Resistance of Women in the Ministry The values and beliefs of the society are continuously evolving. This has been attributed to the globalization of the society which contributes to the exchange of culture and believes. The role of women in the society has continuously changed, especially in the Western World. Women in the society are fighting for equality in terms of job opportunities, duties and positions in the society. Currently, women in the western world are allowed to hold both social and political offices in the society. Therefore, it is inevitable that the women in the church will also fight for equality in the ministry. Traditionally, the Jewish traditions did not acknowledge the women in the church. The Jews believed that God intentionally created the woman from the man’s rib rather than from his head. This was because women were not created to be the head. They were expected to hide as they were extracted from the hidden rib of man. According to the Jews, women are not expected to voice their though ts or make people listen to them. Furthermore, the Jewish men prayed to God every morning thanking Him for not being born a woman. The beliefs and values of the Jews have had a significant impact on the modern church. Today, there are various schools of thoughts that disregard women in the ministry. According to this school of thought, the Bible does not acknowledge women as leaders in the ministry. They believe that if women were supposed to lead the world as well as the church, then Christ ought to have been female. In addition, they believe that the story of creation clearly elaborates on the societal position of women. This school of thought argues that allowing women to take up leadership in the church is a misinterpretation on the Biblical teachings.1 In his teachings, Paul greatly contradicted himself concerning the role of women in evangelism. In his letters to the Romans, he acknowledged the women as crucial people in spreading of the word. However, in his Letters to the Co rinth Church, Paul indicated that the woman should be silent and obedient to their husband. If they were to learn anything concerning the church, they should obtain consent from their husbands. These teachings from Paul have contributed to the

Annotated Bibliography for Utilitarianism in the health care system Essay

Annotated Bibliography for Utilitarianism in the health care system - Essay Example The book further illustrates that utilitarianism leads to maximization of the common goods. In this case, the author uses the word â€Å"good† referring to optimal achievement that all members of the society tend to receive in matters related to health. This situation emerges because of various political interests and agendas in the health care system. Moreover, the book further discusses that the utilitarian perspective does not support the desired good in the healthcare system. This means that the utilitarianism does not support access to affordable and essential health care services. This is because utilitarian perspective tends to concentrate much on the policy priorities. Another significant issue discussed in the book is the fact that the concept utilitarianism is far behind access to recommendable healthcare services. This is because individuals tend to put their personal priorities ahead of health issues. This book tends to be of significant important in relation to the issues associated with utilitarianism especially in the health sector. The book will be of significant help in my research work because it supports the fact utilitarianism is not of any importance in the health sector. Utilitarianism only indicates negative outcomes especially in relation to health

Health Care Delivery Model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Health Care Delivery Model - Essay Example This essay declares that United States of America have numerous key health care models which are based on organization, social life, economy and public health care. Both individuals and the organizations have developed quite a number of perceptions regarding the perspective of issues like health access, the quality itself, availability of health services, and its efficiency too, effectiveness and finally the quality of health services. The health care delivery model is composed of a composition of if various informal systems which are interchangeable separated into various segments and at the same time, not coordinated at all. This model also focuses on the resources of the four components of health care. This paper makes a conclusion that the computerized clinical support systems have generally improved decision making process among physicians and doctors themselves for proper patient care. It also provides physicians with patients’ information and recommendations through analysis of specific patients’information. Therefore characteristic of individuals patients are matched to computerized knowledge base and software algorithms will generate patients’ specific recommendations.These recommendations can be delivered through electronic medical records for retrieval of patient characteristics. The success of implementing electronic decision making technology, however, depends on a greater deal on whether clinicians have a role to play in designing such solutions.

Reflect on Challenges and Successes Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reflect on Challenges and Successes - Assignment Example How they would overcome the challenges to boost the learning process as a whole. Modifying of the curriculum to fit the learners’ best interest was part of the research. This paper was prepared from materials and articles obtained in the library. Other data collected was direct to the field study at near local schools where I attended their full-time curriculum and interacted with the learners as well. I also used books on education to relate to my field study. Through the interaction with students, also had questionnaires that were both oral and others were in written form to those who wanted confidentiality. Most of the learners came out freely and told their mind of what they thought education was like (Hopkins 2008). According to, Philpott, a Masters student from the University of Edinburgh, she comes out clearly and explains the challenges that are facing the school system. Also from the researching policy, I found that despite the existence of the comprehensive structure of roles and responsibility, several policies do advocate for educational issues of health and HIV/AIDS and biased gender. Subsequently, there is seen to be the lack of effectiveness of the communication flows, monitoring of the learners, training of the teachers and overall evaluation of the education curriculum system (Radin, 2006). Lack of trained personnel and lack of essential learning equipment to both teachers and the students due to increased poverty level that has resonated the entire school environment. Most institutions lacked qualified trained personnel. Scarcity of reading and learning materials by the developing nations is seen to be a challenging factor as well (Radin, 2006). Socio-cultural practices are also witnessed to paralyzes the education system where in some ethnic groups do not offer education to the girl child terming it a misuse of finical resources. Cases of school dropout are amongst the most

Health Care Delivery Model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Health Care Delivery Model - Essay Example This essay declares that United States of America have numerous key health care models which are based on organization, social life, economy and public health care. Both individuals and the organizations have developed quite a number of perceptions regarding the perspective of issues like health access, the quality itself, availability of health services, and its efficiency too, effectiveness and finally the quality of health services. The health care delivery model is composed of a composition of if various informal systems which are interchangeable separated into various segments and at the same time, not coordinated at all. This model also focuses on the resources of the four components of health care. This paper makes a conclusion that the computerized clinical support systems have generally improved decision making process among physicians and doctors themselves for proper patient care. It also provides physicians with patients’ information and recommendations through analysis of specific patients’information. Therefore characteristic of individuals patients are matched to computerized knowledge base and software algorithms will generate patients’ specific recommendations.These recommendations can be delivered through electronic medical records for retrieval of patient characteristics. The success of implementing electronic decision making technology, however, depends on a greater deal on whether clinicians have a role to play in designing such solutions.

Islamic Banking and the Financial Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Islamic Banking and the Financial Crisis - Essay Example The following verses of the Quran illustrate Islamic prohibitions on riba or usury: â€Å"And for practicing usury, which was forbidden, and for consuming the people’s money illicitly, We have prepared for the disbelievers among them painful retribution.† Al-Nisa 4:161 â€Å"Those who charge usury are in the same position as those controlled by the devil’s influence. This is because they claim that usury is the same as commerce. However, God permits commerce and prohibits usury.† Al-Baqarah 2:275 â€Å"The usury that is practiced to increase some people’s wealth does not gain anything at God. ... Background and Key Concepts of Islamic Banking Holden (2007) states that riba was a pre-Islamic practice that required that when a borrower could not repay a loan owed to another by a specified date, the amount of the loan increased in lieu of an extension in the repayment date. However, such an arrangement presented a problem because borrowers who could not repay a loan were in danger of owing huge sums in perpetuity to lenders. Thus, those that turned to moneylenders in an informal barter economy of the pre-Islamic era at times of famine, disasters or crop failure were in danger of entrapment in a vicious cycle of indebtedness, poverty and deprivation that could result in perpetual slavery for those that could not repay their loans. High risks associated with entrapment in a vicious cycle of indebtedness did not encourage risk-taking in commerce, and this was not beneficial for the society. It is important to note that the concept of a limited liability company in the United Kingdo m had evolved due to a societal need for managing better business risks for the betterment of the society and Islamic response for risk management related to the removal of the concept of riba from society. Holden (2007) goes further to suggest that the Quran prohibits profiting from idle money, and a prohibition exists for the practice of riba in Islam. In addition, Islamic law or the Shariah prohibits transactions that carry substantial risk or uncertainty at the time of inception, such as gambling or other forms of risk that present a potential for exploitation. Prohibition under the Shariah also extends to transactions that involve immorality,

The Prader-Willi syndrome

The Prader-Willi syndrome Prader-Willi Syndrome is a serious genetic disorder that begins at birth with no known cure ; causing mental retardation,short stature,low muscle tone,incomplete sexual development,and its main charecteristic,the desire to eat everything and anything in sight. Prader-Willi syndrome was first known as Prader-Labhart-Willi Syndrome after three Swiss doctors who first described the disorder in 1956. The doctors described a small group of kids with obesity, short stature and mental deficiency , neonatal hypotonia (floppiness) and a desire to constantly eat because they are always hungry. Many other features of PWS have since been described, but extreme obesity and the health problems associated with being fat are the most prominent features. Individuals with PWS have some but not all of the same features and symptoms. PWS is a birth defect. A defect in the hypothalamus, a region of the brain, is suspected to be the cause.The hypothalamus determines hunger and satiety.They cant fell satiety,so they always have a urge to eat.Some PWS cases are so out of control thay will eat bottlecaps,glass,pencils,garbage,bugs,dogfood, and anything else they can stuff in their mouths. The ingenuity and determination of PWS children in surreptitiously obtaining edibles is almost legendary and belies their cognitive defects. Serial weighing may be the only way to discover whether such a child is, in fact, stealing food(Finey,1983). PWS occurs in about l in 10,000 births. It occurs in both males and females equally and is found in people of all races and all nations.It is one of the ten most common conditions seen in genetics clinics. Young people with PWS resemble each other very much.Most of the time, they look like brother and sister. Most of PWS people have almond shaped eyes, narrow foreheads, downturned mouth, thin upper lip and a small chin. Other common features are : obesity , they may be short; they have small hands and feet; have a skin picking habit, thick and sticky saliiva,incomplete sexual development, a curved spine (scoliosis),and chronic sleepiness. PWS patients also have similar personalities: talkative, friendly,extreme attempts towards getting food,arguementivness,repetitve thoughts and behavior, stubbornness, frequent temper tantrums, and sometimes sudden acts of violence. Most people with PWS have some degree of mental deficiency. The average IQ of people with PWS is 65 ,and it ranges from 20 to 90. 41% of PWS people have IQs in the normal or borderline range.Specific academic weakness in math and writing are common, but reading and art are considered strengths.A delay in getting to early developmental milestones is common in PWS. The average IQ testing shows that people with PWS are mildly retarded, the range is from severely retarded to not retarded, with 40% having borderline retardation or just a low normal intelligence. Most affected children, besides their IQ scores, will have many, severe learning disabilities,and will show poor academic performance no matter what their IQ shows to their mental abilities. There are many signs and symptoms of PWS that show up before birth.some are decreased fetal movement in 80-90% and having an abnormal delivery in 20-30% due to having a really floppy baby. There are two distinct clinical stages of PWS. Stage 1 Babys with PWS are called floppy babies a lot. Thats because they have weak muscles, officially it is known as hypotonia. This hypotonia,which almost always occurs, could be mild to severe. Neonatal hypotonia makes sucking difficult, and a special feeding method called a gavage is used.A gavage the placing of a tube into the stomach through the mouth.They use it during the first days of life a lot.. Decreased caloric intake from the special feeding difficulties may lead to failure to gain weight. To keep the babys weight under control supervision by a professional nutritionist or a specialist who understands the syndrome might be necessary. Physical therapy is strongly recommended to improve muscle tone. When the muscle tone improves enough, an increased appetite and weight gain starts.The beginning of the second stage has begun. This hypotonia does not progress and begins to improve between 8 and 11 months of age in most cases.It improves,but it is never completly normal. Stage 2 Stage 2 occurs between one and two years of age and is characterized by an appetite that can not be satisfied whic causes excessive weight gain. Speech problems, sleepiness, decreased pain sensitivity, skin picking habits and decreased growth are also characteristics of the second stage of PWS. The personality problems develop between ages 3 and 5 years also. Most parents who have a kid with PWS do not have another kid affected with PWS. The cases of PWS are thought by scientist to have occured by chance in isolated flukes of nature. But, there have been reports of families with more than one kid with PWS, but it is not common. Fewer than a dozen families with more than one affected offspring have ever been reported. A blood sample for high resolution chromosome analysis is drawn on anyone who is though to have PWS.This will check out the chromosones. Chromosomes are packages of information found in the cells of our bodies. Each cell has a set of 46 chromosomes, which come in pairs numbered from 1 to 23. Parents contribute with one chromosome from each pair.Okay,now Prader-Willi Syndrome is caused by the absence of some genes on one of the chromosones that affect the functionimg of the hypothalamus.Many laboratories around the world are researching this. About three-fourths of people with PWS have a tiny piece missing from one member of the pair of chromosone fifteens (the one inherited by the father).The other one fourth are missing the dads contribution to this part of the chromosone by missing all of the fathers chromosone fifteen and having two copies the mothers chromosone fifteen.The genes in this region are not functional and noone understands why. As soon an the kid has improved muscle tone, and has increased its appetite, and is old enough to get move on the floor,than any food that can be easily gotten must be moved to a safer,out-of-reach place. To make inappropriate food unavailable to the kid with PWS, parents must learn special patterns of food storage and handling Sleepiness during the day and napping a lot are some of the common features of PWS. Recently, studies have show that there is a strong link between this and sleep quality. Some of the types of sleep disorders that have been described in PWS affected people are: disturbance to the sleep wake cycle, obstructive sleep apnea, hypoventilation syndromes and narcolepsy. Although patients with PWS fall asleep very quickly, their sleep period is significantly disrupted with frequent awakenings and abnormal patterns of rapid eye movements sleep (rems). Obstructive sleep apnea occurs with increased upper airways resistance, either from enlarged tonsils , relaxation of the upper airway musculature, or from structural airway anomalies. Sometimes actual pauses in breathing during sleep can occur.. Narcolepsy, which involves sleep attacks and occasional loss of muscle tone, Short stature is also a common feature of almost all PWS affected people (80- 100%), but birth height is usually normal. The average adult height is 59 inches in women and 61 inches in men. Abnormal growth hormone response suggests a possible dysfunction of the hypothalamus and, growth hormone deficiency as a contributing factor in short stature. Improvement in growth rate and decreased rate of weight gain have recently been demonstrated in several growth hormone- deficient children with PWS after six months of growth hormone treatment Other significant actions of growth hormone that have been reported is an improvement of muscle mass, muscle strength, energy expenditure, bone mineralization ,sexual development ,and also a decrease in fat mass ,have led to further investigations in people with PWS. Children with PWS have distinct behavioral abnormalities because of all the frustrations associated with the syndrome. These behaviors may begin as early as two years of age. They will get a variety of different eating behaviors like foraging for food, secretly eating large amounts of food, and other attempts to continue eating. Other problems include verbally and physically aggressive behaviors such as lying, stealing, scratching and skin picking. Tantrums and unprovoked outbursts are common among children and youths with PWS. People with mild cases of PWS can do many things their normal peers can do,such as go to school,get jobs,and sometimes even move away from home.However they need a lot of help.Kids going to school would need to be enrolled in special education programs(Otherwise theyd be eating their pencil and paper).They need to be constantly supervised.

The Age of Reason Essay -- history

The Age of Reason The Age of Reason was a period in time that took place from the Peace of Utrecht (1713), to the French Revolution of 1789. It was a period when reason basically replaced religion as the guiding principle in art, thought, and the governance of men. Unquestioned acceptance of the old order of society and the old ways of statecraft yielded to a new spirit of critical inquiry which demanded some rational justification for the existing social system. People thought that the general application of reason would free Europe from the artificialities, restrictions, injustices, and superstitions which that was inherited from the Dark Ages. Reason would create a society of law and order. The traditions, customs, and autonomous rights of the nobility and the church were essentially alien to the spirit of rationalism and operated to block the establishment of centralized, well ordered states. In central and eastern Europe and many minor states of the continent, the main contenders against the powers of the nobility and the clergy were the dynastic sovereigns. Competition between the great states was ruthless and the monarchy which failed to overhaul its internal administration, faced dismemberment. Seeking to focus on their own authority, the crowned heads struggled with the separatism of provinces, which their royal houses had inherited through medieval and 17th century wars and marriages. They tried to introduce uniformity in law and administration th...

The Earth’s Nuclear Core Essay -- Easrth Geology Geological Essays

The Earth’s Nuclear Core The Earth’s core is like a massive nuclear reactor, burning uranium into lighter elements, and producing much of the geological phenomenon observed on the Earth. This fission reactor is responsible for producing most of the Earth’s heat and energy, as well as, the phenomenon of geomagnetism. There is substantial reason to believe that the center of the Earth is a massive nuclear reactor derived from empirical data observed in the earth, and logical evidence to prove that the theory is true. The theory started when geologists in the fifties began whether natural occurring nuclear fission was possible. Eventually, empirical evidence presented itself. In 1972 at the Oklo uranium mine in western Africa, a natural nuclear fission reactor was discovered deep within the earth. The discovery provided an answer to the possibility of naturally occurring nuclear fission in the earth. Based on this discovery and other logical observations, the geophysicist, J. Marvin Herndon, proposed his theory in 1972, of massive planetary nuclear reactors. Recently Herndon proposed his newest theory. The theory is that the Earth has an estimated, five mile diameter, nuclear fission reactor in it’s core. This theory contradicts many traditional theories of geophysics, but is not with out ample evidence and reason to testify to it’s likely hood. Herndon, explains the conditions that must be present for a natural fission process to occur. The process of fission is the simply put, the breaking apart of heavy atoms to create lighter more stable atoms. Most elements try to become more stable through the processes of fusion or fission. These elements will generally form into a noble gas, those elements in ... ...m is that nobody has been able to disprove this theory. The founder of the theory, J. M. Herndon says, â€Å"I wish someone would respond, tell me that the science is wrong, but I just get nothing.† This says a great deal about the validity of these arguments. Anyone who would disagree would simply be ignoring the plethora of evidence stacked against other arguments. With so much evidence, and an apparent lack of serious opposition, it is difficult for any reasonable person to disagree with the idea of nuclear fission at the core of the Earth. This theory explains many phenomenon as well as answers old questions about the Earth. It should be understood that this theory is feasible and logical. So much evidence is certainly too convincing to ignore, and ignoring such an amount of evidence would be entirely foolish, for a scientist, institution, or any other person.

Sociology practice

This situation Is an example of: Selected Answer: d. Both a and c Question 2 0. 5 out of 0. 5 points Sarah works as a lawyer in a prominent law firm in New York City. She has more awards and recognition in her field than any of her colleagues, and has also been with the firm the longest (aside from the partners). When one of the partners retires, Sarah applies for the promotion.She assumes that with her numerous awards and years with the firm, she will get the promotion to partner. However, John, a far less experienced and qualified lawyer Is given the promotion Instead. Sarah may be the victim of: Selected Answer: c. Glass ceiling Question 3 O out of 0. 5 points Mexican Americans, Irish Americans, and Muslims are all examples of: Selected Answer: c. Both racial and ethnic groups Question 4 whereas women. Is a relationship in which one woman is married to multiple men, s a relationship in which one man is married to multiple Selected Answer: b.Polyandry; polygon Question 5 Sally has worked at General Motors for many years. She started off as a factory worker, worker her way up to factory manager In Just a few years, and Is now a regional director for all GM factories in the Midwest. This scenario is an example Selected Answer: a. Upward intergenerational mobility Question 6 The trend of credentials in the U. S. Has disadvantaged Blacks and Latino. These groups are less likely to be able to afford a college education, and as a result, re finding it increasingly difficult to find a well-paying Job.Which theoretical perspective would be most likely to make this argument? Selected Answer: a. Hidden Curriculum Question 7 The former caste system in India, in which people were unable to marry and work outside of the caste they were born into, is an example of what kind of stratification system? Selected Answer: c. Closed System Question 8 Ryan holds strong beliefs about people and is always willing to voice his opinion. For example, whenever a conversation about drivi ng comes up, Ryan is always quick o share his opinion that females and Asian-Americans are bad drivers and make it more difficult for White males to drive safely.Which concept best describes Ryan's beliefs? Selected Answer: d. Stereotype Question 9 Increasingly, the number of degrees/diplomas needed for many Jobs has increased over time. For example, Jobs that only required a high school diploma in the past now require a bachelor's degree. This trend is known as what? Selected Answer: b. Credentials Gender is not socially constructed; gender is determined by biological differences between males and females. Selected Answer.

Electric Bike

Our Electric Bicycle Project I have added an electric power assist onto a GT mountain bike. With a 3 HP peak motor, it is much more powerful than typical electric bicycles. The basic motivation to build an electric bike was to have a fun and efficient and environmentally friendly way to stay out my car for short trips around town, and also as a silent trail bike for exploring the hills. I wanted to get some exercise – this bike  can still be pedaled. When I first put this together it was even more of a blast to ride than I had envisioned.I have seen 70 year old people get on this bike and laugh like little kids – it's like a magic hand is silently boosting you along. This website will describe the background of this little electric vehicle, offer some reflections on the electric and hybrid vehicle scene, and detail  most of the design and motor and batteries should you be interested in making one yourself. Though it's a bit of a project, a number of people have actu ally made very similar bikes based on my basic design. The Beauty of the Electric BikeNo noise – no vibration – no smog – no smog checks – no registration – no insurance – no driver's license No gasoline – no oil – no tune-ups – no parking hassles – no car payments – no more exercise (use the pedals)  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  no brainer Background: Why build an electric bike? Why use such a big motor? I love the idea of electric vehicles in general and would love to have a pure electric car. I have a Prius, currently just about the closest thing available. However, battery technology hasn't advanced enough to make a pure electric car affordable yet.I do think, however, that light-weight, low-speed, short-range vehicles are wellt within the limits of current battery-electric technology, so I set out to see what could be done to make a more powerful and longer-range motorized bike. Since I live about 3 miles from my fav ourite grocery store and my house is at the top of a fairly long and steep hill, biking and walking is just strenuous enough to be discouraging to me on a spur-of-the-moment basis. However I love biking. I have mountain bikes and folding bikes.In looking for a motor to add to one of my bikes, I rode some ready-made bikes and noticed that they are really fun to ride. The silence and effortless cruising along is just  magical. But the electric bikes and motor kits for sale at the time, such as the Curry USProDrive, the eBike, etc. were fairly low power and really aren't that much faster up a steep hill than an unassisted bicycle. The Wave crest was the first decently powerful ready-made bike, though the company didn't last long. (Electric vehicle companies seem to have a curious habit of making a big splash – and then vanishing beneath the waves.   Now you can buy decent electric motor kits from Wilderness Energy and Crystallite, among others, but I was curious about the nu ts and bolts of things, and wanted to learn more about exactly what it takes to drive a vehicle with pure electric power. I am a great fan of all electric vehicles and watch the new technologies closely. Hybrid cars are a tremendous technology that in my opinion is the first step on the road to all-electric vehicles. Hybrids will necessarily drive the development of better and cheaper batteries, which is the only missing link to the puzzle.Hybrids of today that are only charged by their gasoline engines will lead to ‘plug-in' hybrids that can be partially recharged at home or at charging stations. This will lead to astonishingly frugal use of fuel, but these cars will need much  larger battery packs, which means  better and cheaper batteries will have to be produced. This  will  happen and is probably happening right now. Eventually batteries will become so much better that the auto companies will start to produce cars that simply leave out the combustion engine altoge ther – the pure battery electric vehicle.Don't get me started on fuel cells and the much hyped future ‘hydrogen economy. ‘ This is interesting technology, but suffice it to say that there are so many technical breakthroughs and logistic problems yet to be solved, that I simply don't see it happening within the next ten or fifteen years. In other parts of this website and in the Electric Bicycle FAQ, I elaborate a little more on the near and far term technology, where I see it going, and what the most promising developments are. This is not really a build manual, however. . Experienced tinkerers may glean a lot of ideas and solutions from my pages if they want to use them and adapt them. There are parts lists and plenty of photos. This driveline is now extremely robust and probably suitable for larger electric vehicles, not just bikes, up to three to five horsepower. Over the course of this project I've made many interesting discoveries, encountered issues and prob lems which all electric vehicle builders must face, and finally figured out some fairly simple solutions.I've fitted a number of different driveline systems which range from simple single vee-belts to the present double reduction using a  heavy-duty  toothed belt and chain. Earlier versions are shown on following pages. This bike performs well, is stone-reliable and nearly silent, and all the major components are available online or at power transmission supply houses. Note that I had to weld and machine key components like the jackshaft mount using ball bearings, and the chain sprocket that clamps on to the spokes at the wheel hub.The right components and design solutions to this project were hard to come by, and I just want to share what I've learned to promote what I consider a pretty amazing form of transportation. V1. 5 – Dual Reduction Belt/Chain Drive The current  version is what I am calling v1. 5, which is the same bike as v1. 4 but with some basic changes: a n ew timing belt drive system with a chain final drive. Basically, the motor drives a belt that spins an intermediate shaft or ‘jackshaft' mounted next to the motor and spinning on ball bearings. This shaft then drives a chain going down to the rear bike wheel. Same motor and all other components. Earlier versions are documented on following pages. ) BASIC SPECS OF V1. 5Scott 24 V DC, 1 hp motor (3 hp max) – still available from cloudelectric. com   * Gates Power Grip GT2 belt primary drive * 1/2†³ steel jackshaft on custom shaft ball bearing mount – 3:1 reduction * #35 chain final drive to rear wheel – 2. 77:1 reduction * 8. 44:1 overall gearing gives top speed of about 27 mph * 2 x 12V Hawker AGM-type lead acid batteries, 13 Ah each; later replaced by B&B 12v 16Ah batteries (also AGM) * 4QD â€Å"Scooter 180† speed controller – 180 amp with optional regenerative braking * 24 V charger charges in 2-5 hours typically pedal in all 18 spee ds * batteries and motor removable in 10 minutes * range 15 miles on the flat depending on pedal assist * weight 85 lbs. Motor The Scott motor is 24 V DC, brushed, and is rated at 1 hp (746 watts) continuous power and draws 41 amps. It cost about $250, however in 2008 I see the price is closer to $350. This model no. 4BB-02488. This motor is available still from cloudelectric. com. Don't let the rating fool you, this motor will put out 2. 5HP peak and can even be over-volted (judiciously) to 36V where it will put out 1. 5 HP continuous and around 4HP peak.If you're crazy enough to gear it up, it would propel a bike to around 50mph (please don't do this. ) So the Scott is pretty heavy and suitable for slightly larger vehicles; for a bicycle, a better alternative might be one of the motors at evdeals. com such as the 500 watt 36V motor for only $60. Cloud electric also has a selection of motors from $80 to $170 that would be very suitable according to your budget and power desired. A very interesting choice is their ‘Motor 36 Volt 1000 Watt' model that has an integral freewheeling clutch. This can also be run at 24V to get 535 watts of power. I may have to switch over, these sounds like an ideal motor for a project like this. )   You cannot just use any old motor to drive a bike. People often ask me, can I use a motor from an electric drill, or a starter motor from a motorcycle or a car. The short answer is no, these motors are generally not suitable at all. The efficiency is poor, they will overheat, they are not powerful enough, the speed is too high, they're too noisy, or any number of other reasons. The Scott is a very high quality motor with high efficiency, good cooling, and ball bearings.At 16 pounds it is pretty heavy but motors in this power range were hard to find five years ago. If I were doing this today I would undoubtedly use a lighter motor of the type that has subsequently become available. There has been a tremendous influx of scooters a nd smaller electric vehicles, and many of the motors on these vehicles would be suitable for a bike. There are also a number of motors used by people making combat robots or battelbots. These are generally high power and  quite tough. However battlebots don't really need efficiency so this is something to look out for.Efficiency of greater that 80% should be looked for at a wide range of speeds and currents. In my opinion, a bike needs a motor of at least 400 watts and probably not more than 1000 watts. Any less and you might as well not bother, and any more and the motor will probably be large, heavy, expensive, deplete your batteries in a flash, or all of the above. The reason for a motor this powerful is simple: hills. I live on a steep hill. While a Zap or a US ProDrive bike rated at 400 watts goes a decent 17 mph on flat land, they slow to 3 to 5 mph on a decent hill. I can pedal that fast.I have ridden a Schwinn with the Currie US Pro drive. It was actually great, I would re commend it to anyone as a very good turn-key kit solution. However I wanted to go faster and be able to get up a hill. The simple fact is that you need from 5   to 10 times as much power to go a given speed on a decent grade. This is why a car that only needs 12 hp to go 60 mph on flat roads has an engine that can put out 100 to 200 hp. The Scott motor was used in many go-carts and Electrathon vehicles. (Electrathons are efficiency competitions using ultralight closed-course battery electric vehicles carrying one person.The point is to go the farthest distance in a given amount of time. ) So the efficiency is obviously pretty good. The motor cost $269 total shipped, and weighs about 16 pounds. It has ball bearings and massive cooling fins and is built to last. Brushes do not wear out very fast at all, this is not really a concern. It draws around 41 amps while producing a continuous 1 hp. Put a greater load on it and will draw well over 100 amps and produce up to 3 hp. This is why it needs a 180 amp controller. More about controllers later. Speed Reduction and Gearing: a big issueI will spend quite a bit of time here describing the speed reduction scheme, as this is the most difficult problem to solve in fitting a motor to a bike or other small EV. The big issue with all motorization schemes on bikes is this: how to reduce the speed of a typical motor, which may turn at upwards of 3000 rpm, to the necessary speed of a bicycle rear wheel. A 26†³ mountain bike wheel at 20 mph is turning only about 265 rpm. The overall reduction required is therefore between roughly 8:1 and 11:1 depending on what top speed you wish to achieve.Now it is certainly possible to simply bolt, say, a 130-tooth chain sprocket to the rear wheel and drive it with a 13-tooth drive sprocket off the motor. But this is a very large wheel sprocket (about 15†³ in diameter) and, critically, the chain would be unbearably noisy. My basic observation about chain drive is that if any chai n sprocket turns faster than about 750 rpm, it will start to make a racket. If only there were a good quiet 3:1 gearbox you could bolt on to the Scott, the final 3:1 or 4:1 ratio could be easily achieved with a chain and sprockets to the rear wheel.However I don't know of such a gearbox ready made, and a gear box is very difficult to machine from scratch. Straight cut gears also tend to make a whining noise. This big problem of gearing down the motor has lead to the development of the hub motor. This is simply a bicycle wheel hub with a motor built in, which can then be spoked to a rim. Such hub motors either have gears built in, or they are very particularly designed to just turn at a very low speed while still having good power and torque. This is a difficult trick. It's much easier to make a motor that derives its power from spinning at higher rpm.At any rate, at the time I could not find many hub motors, and the few that were available were expensive, made a gear whine, and were underpowered. Also, a hub motor has one set gearing by design, and you can't alter it. I wanted something where I could experiment with different gear ratios, top speeds, and hill climbing ability. I have come up with this belt drive to achieve the primary speed reduction of 3:1. The dual-reduction drive system is much more solid than anything I have tried before. It's a little more complicated but slippage is absolutely eliminated and I feel confident that this system would be able to take even more power.This is important because the Scott motor is often bumped up to 36 volts rather than 24 and I may eventually switch over. Why belt primary drive? Wouldn't two chains be easier? Basically, as I say, belts are much quieter at high RPM. At 3000 rpm a chain would be about as loud as many small gas engines. An electric bike should be whisper quiet, and this belt drive is. Many electric go-carts use a single straight chain drive; however, they go faster while having smaller wheels, so they  need less speed reduction,  and the wind and tire noise and speed tend to mask the racket the chain makes. Plus, carters don't really care much about noise.I used a Gates PowerGrip GT2 belt. This timing belt has rounded teeth so it's quieter than other belts. The teeth are closely spaced for better grip on small sprocket wheels. This is the 5mm pitch type. At 25mm wide, the short belt is much less likely to stretch and is easily tensioned by pivoting the jackshaft mount slightly – three of the mounting holes are slotted, so the mount can pivot around the un-slotted fourth hole. Does this wide belt seem like overkill? The Gates Co. has  very nice simple little engineering software they give away on their website that will tell you what size and type of belt you will need.You plug in the power, gear reduction, speed, and a couple of other things and the program will give you some recommendations. I used the program and this was one of the recommendations and what do you know, it has been great. Has never been adjusted and and has never slipped or worn. The jackshaft itself is a 1/2†³ steel shaft running on two R8 sealed ball bearings. The mounting plate and bearing housing is welded aluminum. Sorry that I don't have a diagram of this but hopefully you get the general layout from the photos. If belts are so great, then why chain final drive?Since the jackshaft is now speed-reduced to 1000 rpm max, running a chain down to the rear wheel now makes sense. There is a reason so many bikes and motorcycles still use steel chain final drive. It makes sense here because the run is longer and the available space narrower, and chain is much stronger and less stretchy than a long narrow belt. At this speed the chain may be slightly audible at top speed, but not noisy, and the wind and tire noise while riding will actually be louder. A chain doesn't need to be tensioned nearly as tightly as a belt.Finally, chains have a master link which makes assembly and removal much easier, like when changing tires and repairing flats. (Belts are endless. ) The #35 chain is a very common American size. It has a shorter pitch than bicycle chain but is much stronger. (Bicycle chain is made flexible to allow for the side to side misalignment resulting from different derailleur gear combinations. ) You will notice the extra bar running in between the chain, from the jackshaft to the axle. This is a reinforcement and has an adjuster nut at the lower end to establish proper chain tension.The bar acts to maintain proper driveline rigidity – the Scott motor can put out a tremendous amount of torque and the motor mount and bicycle frame will twist and compress under heavy power loads without this bar. Actually it attaches to the bike frame near the axle using the stock rack mount on the dropout. The driveline parts are as follows They were ordered from Bearing Belt Chain in Las Vegas at  Ã‚  www. bearing. com. * belt:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   GATES POW ER GRIP GT2 5MR-400-25  Ã‚   Gates part # 9390-8080  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   $11. 35 * motor sprocket:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   GATES P21-5MGT-25-MPB  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gates part # 7709-5021  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   $17. 0 * jackshaft sprocketGATES P64-5MGT-25-1610  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gates part # 7709-2064  Ã‚  Ã‚   $30. 52 * sprocket hub mount   for above:   GATES 1610 1/2†³ TAPER LOCK BUSHING part # 7858-1608 * jackshaft ball bearings:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   MRC part # R8Z  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   $11. 56 ea. (2) * jackshaft:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   machined from 1/2†³ stainless steel stock * jackshaft chain sprocket:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   #35 chain, 13 tooth   MARTIN 35BS13HT 1/2†³ bore  Ã‚  Ã‚   $6. 91 * rear wheel chain sprocket:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   #35 chain, 36 tooth MARTIN 35B36  Ã‚  Ã‚   $11. 56   (modified on my lathe to fit) * chain:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   #35 chain that I had lying around – length is 50 links (100 rollers) – 37-1/2†³ longA number of machining, fabrications,  and modification s I had to do myself. The jackshaft mount is the most elaborate part to make and took some time. The jackshaft and motor need to be very rigidly connected and aligned, yet adjustable to set the belt tension. I used a 1/4†³ aluminum plate and welded a 1-1/4†³ alum. tube to this. There are two diagonal braces welded to these – you can only see the upper one in the photos. The braces just clear the motor. Then the tube was bored in the lathe for the two ball bearings. It also has ring grooves for retaining rings to hold the bearing in place.The 1/2†³ shaft is about 5†³ long, also with ring grooves. There are a total of 4 stainless steel 1/4-20 allen bolts holding the whole thing to the face of the Scott motor using the existing tapped holes. As I mentioned, three of the holes in the jackshaft plate are actually curved slots to allow for adjustment to tension the belt, the whole thing pivoting a little around the fourth bolt. The 21-tooth motor sprocket was bo red to 5/8†³ on my lathe. It is fixed to the motor shaft with a 1/8†³ steel split pin or ‘roll pin'. I had to drill a hole for this pin through the sprocket and motor shaft.Roll pins are much stronger than set screws, and they are pressed or driven in, so they don't come loose. They're also easier to machine than Woodruff key-ways. The large 64 tooth belt sprocket arrived in solid steel and was ridiculously heavy. Aluminum was not available. So I drilled it out extensively to lighten it as you can see. The chain sprocket bolts to the hub of the belt sprocket with two 10-32 allen screws, the holes for which I drilled and tapped. The motor is mounted to the bicycle frame on a specially made 1/8†³ thick stainless steel bracket. The whole bracket bolts to tabs welded to the bike frame with three allen bolts.The chain, drive belt and motor can be removed from the bike in about 3 minutes. Finally, I had to attach a sprocket to the rear wheel. I finally decided to just try clamping a sprocket to the spokes. This may seem like a clumsy solution but I have seen it done on a number of other applications. It has been reliable and has not damaged the spokes at all. Sometimes simple and direct wins the day. For those of you familiar with the Currie US ProDrive, a very popular electric drive kit for bikes, this is basically the same way they bolt their motor plate to the bike wheel.Looks somewhat unsophisticated? Fine, but it works, bolts quickly to a completely unmodified bike wheel, and has been  trouble free. I started by boring out a standard type-B 36-tooth sprocket (the kind with an integral offset hub) to where the hole would just fit around the protruding wheel hub. This locates the sprocket nicely on the hub center. Then I basically faced the hub down to nearly nothing on the lathe, just enough to space the sprocket out away from the spokes. Then I drilled 9 holes for 10-32 screws. The screws go through the spaces where the spokes cross.I mad e three curved clamp plates with three holes each for the inside of the wheel. For off-road use I intend to get a different wheel with a knobby tire and a larger sprocket to lower the gearing for better hill climbing. A couple of extra chain links will make it easy to switch out. The net of all this is that finally I have got it really right. I can whack the throttle open and closed at any speed and there will be no belt slippage of any kind. The first thing I did was to go down the street and climb this steep rocky trail that gave the old bike problems. Even with the relatively igh gearing, the new driveline shot me right up the thing. I even popped a little wheelie over the top of it. That sure never happened before. Now I can finally use all of the torque this Scott motor can put out.DESIGN & COMPONENT DETAILS BATTERIESThere is no question that the battery is the single thing,  the one and only, overriding thing, that is holding back the development and mass proliferation of el ectric vehicles. At this point in time most of us are still stuck with using lead acid batteries. I am now using B&B 16 Ah batteries, made in China.Originally I used Hawker Odyssey batteries model PC545, 12 lbs. each, which are basically the same as the Hawker Genesis G13EP. All of the batteries I have used are deep-cycling, AGM (Absorbed Glass Matt) sealed lead acid batteries (SLA) and are about the best quality lead acid battery available. They can be mounted in any position except upside down and they are sealed and maintenance free. They are much like the Optima batteries used in many advanced electric vehicles like the EV-1 and the Sparrow but are available in a wider variety of smaller sizes. I got them at Thunderstruck-EV. com.They now run about $50 each. It is nice that there is some competition now in this type of battery and the prices are coming down by about half from what I paid for my first set. Of course lithium ion batteries of some kind would be the great enabler. L ithium is just now entering the market, they are still quite expensive and something of a question mark. Conventional lithium cells, as used in laptops, have a thermal runaway potential – meaning they tend to catch fire, in some cases like a Roman candle. New materials and chemistries based on lithium are attempting to address the safety problem.I have seen batteries called LiFePo4 – lithium iron phosphate – offered for sale at various websites selling electric bikes and accessories. They are claiming no fire problems, At this point, it looks like a decent battery pack for a bike like this would cost around $1000 or more. That is a lot of money to spend on a battery with a 1-year or 2-year warranty. In my opinion, these batteries need to come down to the sub-$300 range before I would really be interested. A battery is rated in voltage and amp-hours. Voltage times amps times hours equals watt-hours and this is the total energy available from the battery.So my bat tery pack has 2 x 12V x 16Ah = 384 watt hours. In other words it will give 384 watts for an hour. But actually, it won't. The â€Å"16 Ah† is a rating to be taken with a very large grain of salt. An essential thing to know about batteries is that  they give a lesser amount of total energy when discharged at a high rate. Read that last sentence again and absorb it, it's important. A battery's electrical power is not like a glass of water. If you drain that glass quickly or slowly, it contains the same amount of water. Batteries, not so. Draw high amperage, and your total amount of energy is less!Because of this, batteries are often rated nominally at a slow 10-hour discharge rate, in which case they will give more total energy and thus seem like a better battery. Bikes and all electric vehicles use energy at a very high rate. A bike can easily draw enough current to discharge a battery pack fully in under half an hour, so batteries will not give their rated output under thes e conditions. Another tempting choice for cheap batteries might be Panasonic or Powersonic or Sonnenschein gel-cell /lead acid batteries. Gel cells are the typical batteries that come with most stock electric bicycles and kits.They are not AGM. Longevity is not as good, though the stated juice per weight ratio seems better, and they are available in a variety of smaller sizes if weight were more of an issue than range. Hawker makes slightly larger AGM batteries such as the G16EP like my B&B which have a little more juice but are also heavier. The Hawkers are very well made. Another great thing about AGM type batteries is that they can be charged quickly at much higher amps than other kinds of lead acid batteries. Likewise they have the ability to give high current with no problems.AGM batteries are also unique among almost all battery types in that they retain a full charge for months with no ‘charge leakage. ‘ One of the big drawbacks of of NiMH batteries is that they d ischarge about 1% to 2% per day. Regular lead acid batteries will just go dead in a few months as well. Because of this, AGM batteries are also marketed to people with antique cars and snow plows – vehicles that aren't used very often and are likely to have a dead battery when you finally want to start it up. All lead acid batteries have two big drawbacks. They are quite heavy for the total amount of power they deliver.And even these so called â€Å"deep cycle† batteries really should not be deep-cycled too often, as repeated deep discharging dramatically shortens their useful lifespan. This is where NiCads have lead acid beat, as they are more power dense and can be run down pretty much all the way without much damage. Of course large NiCads are much more expensive and must be recycled carefully due to the toxic cadmium. So until better batteries like NiMH or Lithium Ion are more widely available in vehicle sizes and less expensive, Hawkers and other AGM type lead aci d are about the best we can do.More ruminations on the Great Battery Quest below. Batteries and 120 amp speed controller mounted in the main frame space. SPEED CONTROLLER A speed controller or motor controller is essential in applying the voltage and power that is delivered to the motor from the batteries. All decent electric vehicles need a motor controller of some kind. On a bike with a very small motor it might be possible to just have an on-off arrangement, and I suppose there are other less expensive and much cruder ways to control speed but I feel that a decent controller is absolutely necessary with a powerful motor like this.The controller is a rather expensive electronic black box with no moving parts. A modern PWM or ‘pulse width modulation† controller is very reliable  as long as it's current limit is not exceeded. Unfortunately a high ampere capable controller is not cheap and may cost about as much as the motor. Curtis controllers are well known in golf ca rts and other industrial vehicles, however I am using a Scoota 180 amp speed controller from 4QD. –  www. 4QD. co. uk  . This is a small company in England, that specializes in smaller and cheaper controllers for light electric vehicles. The controller with a matching thumb-lever throttle was $248.It is capable of regenerative braking, thought you can easily disable this function. Previously I tried a Scoota 120 amp model that was nearly identical. It failed after a few months. I was just working it too hard and the output connections overheated and melted. The 4QD factory has a nice policy of repairing their controllers and exchanging them for different ones if you want, with a very fair exchange allowance. The new 180 amp model gets a little warm but has been quite dependable for well over three years now. I originally used an Eagle 80 amp controller from the same company. It was $120.It failed due to overheating but that was completely my fault for using a much too-sma ll controller. If I lived on flat terrain I think it would have been fine and would have lasted a long time, especially since I added a finned aluminum heat sink from an audio power amplifier – try a decent electronics store, maybe even Radio Shack. You need to size your controller at about 3 times the rated power of your motor. My motor is rated at 41 amps continuous, HOWEVER it will draw a lot more than that at full throttle under load. Manufacturers tend to state their controllers at intermittent current limits.For example a Scoota 120 will put out 120 amps  for a short time  but should not be run that high continuously. Regenerative braking – nice idea but . . . A lot of people inquire about regenerative braking. Hybrid car manufacturers often tout the ability to reclaim electrical energy when the car is going downhill. I don't know how much energy they are getting back in a car, but on a little electric bicycle, it is almost certainly never worth the added tro uble, expense, and operational hassles. You would be much better off with a freewheeling setup. Let me explain how I've come to this conclusion.The speed controller I use  has regenerative braking available. After trying it out for a while, adjusting it and testing it every which way, I ended up  disabling it. Regenerative braking means that as you brake or coast downhill the controller will use the motor in reverse as a generator to re-charge the batteries. On my route to the market, for instance, I am on flat terrain for a while and then go downhill for about a mile to reach the store. Conceivably this could mean that I arrive at the store with nearly full batteries, which would make the ride back less likely to drain the batteries completely.However, the regenerative braking is a function of the speed controller. If you have the region set up for maximum regeneration, the throttle can be quite touchy. And if you just suddenly release the throttle, which is fairly normal behav iour, the braking effect would be full. It is really not very good to have the throttle set up to brake that hard. I found myself about launching over the handle bars every time I lost forgot and snapped the throttle off. Also, this is a good way to have other people ride your bike and crash it. Note there is no freewheel on the electric side of my bicycle.A custom freewheel is yet another surprisingly difficult mechanical part to machine or to buy. Of course the pedal-drive freewheel still works, which means that you can motor without the pedals being forced to turn. However, it  you pedal the motor will necessarily be turning, which is a drawback if the batteries die. The regenerative braking function requires a solid connection to the wheel. However, after some time with this bike, using the regen function of the special speed controller, I came to a surprising conclusion  against  using regen. As I say I bought a controller with regenerative braking.With this set-up, I cou ld basically use the thumb-throttle carefully as a fairly powerful rear brake. The amount of braking could be adjusted to make it less grabby, but I never could get it to the point where I liked it at all. It was obtrusive and difficult to control. I suppose if you could hook it up to a pressure sensitive brake lever, it would work better, however, that is a bit beyond the level of sophistication I think is really necessary on a little electric bike. Luckily the regen function can be defeated which is what I finally decided to do. Realize, all vehicles are â€Å"regenerative† going down a hill.Turning the engine off down a long hill in your car and coasting – this is reclaiming the energy spent to climb the hill. Unless the vehicle is very heavy and/or has great aerodynamics, most of the energy going down a hill will just be used to overcome air resistance, with little left over to recharge the batteries. Normally on a bicycle, very little braking is ever necessary, an d top speed down most hills is quickly limited by poor aerodynamics. The net result, I felt, is that the regen on my ebike was just slowing me down and creating heavy backloading on the drive train needlessly.It would be better to put the motor on a freewheel and adopt a method of getting up to speed and coasting as often as possible with the motor shut off. This riding technique is apparently very effective at extending your range, probably more so than having regen. Many people who deal even with larger EVs and hybrids have also formed the opinion that a pure freewheeling function would be better in many instances than regenerative braking. The regenerative braking function of hybrid cars, for instance, is vastly overstated. Hybrids work by generating their lectric power onboard using the gas engine; they have a power generation function built-in, it is central to the entire concept. So why not use it for braking as well? Sure, but in reality this produces very little in the way o f reclaimed power. The batteries in hybrid cars are charged at least 95% by the using the gas engine as a generator; and the reason they are so efficient in city driving is simply because they can run at slow speeds very efficiently on predominantly electric power. It is only while driving at higher speeds down long steep grades that any decent power is truly regenerated to the batteries.How much of this describes typical driving conditions? Coasting with minimal drag from the motor is actually much more efficient. While coasting the vehicle uses no juice whatsoever. It is common practice during mileage or efficiency runs with a hybrid like the Honda Insight, to accelerate to speed, then go into neutral and coast for a ways. This actually produces the greatest mileage and efficiency. On an electric bike it is undoubtedly most efficient to pulse the motor on till you get up to speed, and coast on downhills, or pedal on the flat to maintain speed. Having the motor freewheel would be a big advantage.Unfortunately, a decent ready made right-hand drive doesn't seem to be available, at least for a reasonable price. A minor drawback. THROTTLE At first I simply got a $2. 00 10K potentiometer from Radio Shack, wired it up to the 4QD wiring and mounted it on a plastic spacer beneath the right-hand hand grip. There was no spring return, you had to turn it down to slow down, but on the other hand it was cheap and simple and the brakes can easily overcome the motor in an emergency stopping situation. Also, it worked perfectly as a cruise control. Then with the new larger motor controller I got a box-mounted thumb lever throttle.This is just a short-throw 10k pot with a return spring and lever mounted on the end. There are now motorcycle-style twist grip throttles with built in pots widely available at scooter shops for about $50, such as the Magura. The Scoota controller requires an on-off switch – I got a small rocker thumb switch from an electronics store, and mou nted it in the throttle box. thumb-lever throttle and on-off switch BATTERY CHARGER I found a great 24-volt 5 amp automatic charger made for the now-defunct e-bike EV Warrior from All Electronics surplus in LA. It was 20 bucks, it's compact and works wonderfully.What a bargain – I got two. These may not still be available but there are a few sites that deal with scooters and electric bikes now that have similar chargers for $50 to $80. When I was first building this bike, in the new world of electric vehicle hobbyists, a good non-12V charger (or any decent component for that matter) was hard to come by cheaply. For instance, I scoured the surplus electric suppliers looking for a decent, powerful, cheap 12V or 24V motor and basically came up empty. Before this I used a Sears 12V auto battery charger, charging each battery separately.This worked fine but remembering to go out and switch the charger between batteries was very inconvenient. The EV Warrior charger shuts off automa tically, the bike is always charged and ready to ride.COST AND CONSTRUCTION DETAILSI used high quality parts and the total cost of all the added components including charger came to about $950. Not cheap, but my new mountain bike cost more than that – and you have to pedal it. You can get a turn-key electric motor kit for around $400-700, or a readymade e-bike for $1000-2000, but of course the motors and batteries are all only 1/3 as powerful as this. WeightAt 85 pounds, this is pretty heavy for a â€Å"bicycle,† but I think of it more as an ultra light moped. And it is a true â€Å"mo-ped† in that you can still meaningfully pedal it. Plus I can still lift it into my pickup or my car trunk if needed. My old Peugeot moped weighed twice as much at 150 pounds with similar speed capability, and pedalling it was a joke – the pedals were geared really low, purely for starting the motor. Brakes The old brakes on this bike were okay for 12 mph but hair-raising at 30 mph. A new side pull â€Å"vee brake† as used on decent Modern Mountain bikes luckily bolted right onto the old brake mount posts.Regular bicycles are too light and top heavy to use the front brake as the main squeeze, but as any motorcyclist can tell you, on any heavier two wheeler the front brake does 90% of the work. The vee-brake kit was about 25 bucks on sale at a bike dealer, and came with a new lever for the handle bar. I only replaced the front brake, as the rear posts are in the wrong place. A number of people have written to ask me where the rear brake is – it looks like there is no rear brake at all. Look closely in the photos: the rear brake on this GT mountain bike in mounted down low, on the chain stays, just aft of the pedal crank.Frame I would encourage people doing this kind of conversion to use a heavy duty steel mountain bike frame. The components can take the added force and weight of the motor system. Mountain bike components now are amazingly strong and durable – they are made to take off-road abuse. The wider wheels especially are much better for the additional weight and power. Also, a steel frame is easier to weld or braze motor and battery mounts onto. Stay away from aluminum unless you can figure a way to bolt or clamp everything on without welding. Welding onto an aluminum frame will likely ruint the tempering and severely weaken it.It's quite difficult to weld on thin aluminum. My old GT was too heavy for a good mountain bike these days but just the ticket for an electric motor project. The peculiar geometry of the GT rear frame design actually makes a perfect place for the motor. Construction I had to weld a motor mount onto the rear frame behind the seat. The chain just clears the wheel and frame and it was critical to get the motor solidly mounted. With such a powerful motor,   the motor mount must be strong, and it's really pretty important to have a ball-bearing motor. The motor mount is removable fr om the frame with three allen head screws.I have a TIG welder and lots of metal working tools so it was not a big deal for me but I don't see why all this couldn't be done on a steel bike frame with silver solder or brazing rod and a gas torch. The batteries also have a very solid welded-on mount with a screw-down top retaining rail. The batteries are heavy and need a good solid mount with shock padding. These batteries are narrow and don't interfere at all with pedalling. In this arrangement they are also low and keep the center of gravity down. LEGAL ISSUES OF ELECTRIC BICYCLES At 20 mph this bike is basically legal as an unregistered motorized bicycle in Calif.I believe the Federal laws now allow up to a 750 watt motor, which is what the Scott is (1 horsepower = 746 watts. )   Also, the Federal Law limits such bikes to 20 mph. I fully expected the Feds to cripple these vehicles with a something like a 400 watt limit, but for once was pleasantly surprised – it's actually a rational and reasonable law and probably promotes good electric bikes rather than underpowered toys that no one will buy. Geared for 30 mph this would technically have to be registered and insured as a motorized cycle or possibly as a full motorcycle.Not sure exactly what the difference is but I believe there is a technical distinction. However, used judiciously, most people are still going to assume that it's just a particularly fast bicycle, especially if it's being pedaled. Actually I have no problem with a legal limit of 20 mph. Slow is not bad. The wind noise is less and you can actually hear the world. A bike limited to 20 with no registration and no insurance and no driver's license (and no noise and no vibration and no gasoline and no mechanics and no smog checks and no smog and no parking hassles and no car payments . . . )   Not a bad tradeoff, to put it mildly.I would not recommend riding on bike paths or foot trails. Most of these bar motorized vehicles of any kind, even if it's not posted. It is tempting since the bike is silent and by pedaling, most people will not even notice that you've got a motor. I think speed is the key. If I must ride on a bike path, I use the pedals and just don't go any faster than a gently pedaled bicycle. It is hard to argue with that, and no one ever has. I think eventually there will be a lot more electric bicycles and other small powered vehicles and it will probably become a problem competing with pedestrians, roller bladers, etc.The advent of affordable lithium batteries will mean that electric vehicles of all kinds will be become radically better, and immensely popular. It's just inevitable. There's already enough friction between these groups on crowded paths and trails. This is another reason why keeping maximum speeds under 20 mph is probably a good idea. FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS, VARIATIONS AND POSSIBILITIES It's the batteries, stupid. This bike is great fun right now but I can see a lot of room for improvemen t. Ah, batteries, ever the Achilles' heel of the electric vehicle.Oh how I hate lead acid batteries but – still stuck with them. NiMH, Lithium Ion, or Nickel Zinc batteries would improve the juice-to-weight ratio enormously, and would probably double the range, which is the single least satisfactory thing about this and all electric bikes. The batteries now weigh over 25 pounds and are the heaviest single component. There are some reasons for hope. The increasing numbers of hybrid cars are generally using NiMH batteries which should trickle down eventually and be very suitable for electric bikes.Other battery chemistries as well have made it to market, though success always seems elusive. The biggest promise right now is that GM and Toyota are really pushing to put lithium batteries in the next generations of hybrid cars and plug-in hybrids. GM's Chevy Volt, due out by 2010, will only work if they succeed in mass producing lithium ions, and getting the cost down. It's kind of a chicken and egg problem: huge mass production will bring the cost down, but until they're cheaper, there isn't enough demand to mass produce them.The soaring price of motor fuels and the resulting demand for more and better hybrid cars is probably what will convince manufacturers to bite the bullet and build the factories. The promise of lithium ion. Certainly the lithium battery has the greatest potential of all the next-generation chemistries. It has the most energy per pound and is well proven in smaller applications like cell phones and laptops. A practical battery with this capacity would almost instantly put battery vehicles on a competitive footing with gasoline powered ones.Current conventional lithium ions have a serious weakness – they die completely after about 2 to 3 years, no matter what. But again, if GM and Toyota succeed in getting lithium batteries into hybrids, as they say they will within the next two years, it will mean that they have largely eliminated or minimized these drawbacks. Progress with this battery seems to be steady. They are now being used in some cordless power tools, which use bigger cell sizes and draw heavier loads than electronic devices. They don't use any heavy metals. There re a number of new types of lithium cells that don't burst into flames when overheated or pierced. A123 has some of the most successful new cells, and Toshiba has even demonstrated cells that can be recharged almost fully in just a few minutes. Chinese cells are now on the market especially for bicycles called LiFePo4. These cells are available in a battery pack for small electric vehicles called the Eonyx, as well as from other packagers. They are still something of an unknown quantity. Once these get into more people's hands, we will be able to get a reading on their longevity and performance.Right now they are still about  ten or fifteen times as expensive as lead acid batteries. Well, what about fuel cells? Of course the concept and d emonstrations of this still-experimental technology is very compelling, but there has been so much hype on the subject that it is still hard to say if this is all just incredibly successful marketing spin by the FC developers. I also think that in the early 2000's there was an element of clever subterfuge by the auto industry to take the heat off the fact that average fuel economy in this country was decreasing due to ever more popular and larger SUVs.It is so much easier and cheaper for an auto company like GM to run a relatively small early research project on fuel cells, than it is to do serious engineering on real live production-ready hybrid development. Even in 2006 there are still basically no economically practical fuel cells in actual use and even their promoters say that any commercially viable model is at least 5 years off and maybe 10. It is the running joke that the day of widespread fuel cells and the hydrogen economy always seems to be 20 years off –   no mat ter when the question is asked.And then, where do we get all the hydrogen? Seems to me hydrogen is and will remain way more expensive than any petro fuel and I have never seen any realistic ideas to overcome this problem. And we store it in 10,000 psi cylinders in the trunk? Uh, OK . . . Believe me I would love to be proved wrong and initially was excited about this technology like everyone else, but increasingly I am thinking the emperor has no clothes. Maybe a loincloth. Motors are already pretty much perfected, right? Well, yes and no. My Scott motor is starting to look like a dinosaur, it ould stand to lose some weight. The power is actually about right for a bicycle but just look at it, it's too big and heavy. There are tons of little scooters out there and it would be possible to get a 500 watt or 750 watt scooter motor, which is would undoubtedly work well. Currently (July 2009) I see that a 24V Currie 600 watt motor is available for around $130. It is compact and powerful. T he MAC 600W motor might be a better choice but is $279. Try evdeals. com for an updated motor availability. I would love to get a Lemco pancake motor, www. lemcoltd. om   – they are light, powerful, and efficient but expensive. This company is now making even smaller motors that would be perfect for high-powered bikes but $800 for a motor is a bit much. And of course my whole motorization scheme, with the belt and chain, is not terribly clean or elegant. I personally think  the â€Å"hub motor†Ã‚  is the obvious solution for electric bikes, as used on Lee Iacocca's E-bike and the Wavecrest (which seems to have died and resurrected as the E+) and others. Heinzmann of Germany seems to still be making a variety of hub motors, as are other companies.Try Heinzmann's site www. estelle. de for some pretty interesting ideas – I guess they are now selling bikes, complete kits, motors, batteries and controllers. However, at this point they are still only about 300 wat ts = 1/3 HP which is about 1/3 of what they ought to be. Also, Heinzmann motors tend to be a little noisy and expensive. A hub wheel motor replaces the normal wheel hub and obviously needs no other transmission, chain, or belt which is a huge simplification – although of course this can also be a slight drawback in that the gear ratio can't be changed.A very popular and reasonably priced hub motor made in China seems to be the  Crystalyte, though I haven't used one myself. There is a similar system sold by  Wilderness Energy. These are  sold in kits where the hub motor is basically spoked to a bike wheel rim  of your choice and you just replace your old wheel with the motorized one. They tend to go on the front wheel but can also be installed at the rear. The kits include a pretty slick speed controller, throttle, and brake-switches to cut the power. Often batteries are a separate purchase.The hubs themselves are made in various voltages, powers, and rotational speeds to match various wheel sizes and top speed requirements. This seems to be a decent site with links to dealers in the US and Canada – www. evsolutions. net. The gearing, for my use, could certainly benefit from a nice simple  two-speed transmission. One speed for the hill and the other for the flat. Electric motors have such great torque throughout the RPM range that more than two speeds just isn't necessary unless the motor is severely underpowered. The obvious thing to me would be a hub motor with two or three speeds built in. I have never seen such a beast.I think with better batteries and motor, this bike could easily weigh 25 pounds less or have twice the range, maybe both. The frame and wheels are no lightweights either, at 36 pounds. That's a good 10 pounds more than my new mountain bike, and it's got a suspension fork. So in short with modern components this type of bike could easily weigh less than 50 lbs. Performance would improve, it would be easier to pedal and you could even carry it on a car roof rack. How about a  solar cell battery charger? They sell these to RV owners. Actually there's no reason why you couldn't throw a solar cell on your roof and charge the batteries all day.Imagine – this is real-world fully solar powered transportation, doable today. As further work on the existing bike, I would love to put a suspension fork on the front and maybe a suspension seat post. Lights would be nice. At this point this bike would be an amazing transportation unit by any standards, not just electric vehicles. Also, this starts to become a pretty intriguing possibility for a trail bike. I used to have dirt bikes but they are dirty and noisy and environmentally a big problem. A dirt bike is a blast but you're not exactly communing with nature.A completely silent electric trail bike would be much more like hiking aesthetically, and would open up long-range trails – can't wait to get some better batteries and go up to the mounta ins. I can also see going to a  higher voltage system. 36 or even 48 volts  would be a lot better and keep the current draw down. I started with a 12 V system for simplicity's sake but the power was low and the current draw was high. I won't go into the basics of electric power except to say that lower voltage is bad because it leads to higher current which creates more heat and requires a much bigger motor controller.Controllers are basically sold by amperage or current capacity, and high amperage controllers are much more expensive than lower amperage ones. The same controller can put out twice as much power at the same amperage level if the system voltage is doubled. I have even considered simply adding another battery on this bike and just over-volting the motor to 36 volts. The motor is probably able to take it (though I'm sure the manufacturer wouldn't recommend it) and my controller can easily be switched to 36 V. The bike would be heavier, faster, and have better range.I t's just a trade off. Intriguing. (Note that most controllers have voltage limitations and must be altered or jumpered to make system voltage changes. )   That's what's neat about electrics for the tinkerer – you can change motors, change batteries, change controllers, change gearing – it's all so easy and interchangeable compared to an internal combustion vehicle. Imagine a having an old Vespa scooter, and you think one day â€Å"Gee, wouldn't it be interesting to put a nice new Honda 200cc engine in that thing† – you'd have to be half nuts to even consider it.Turnkey solutions. So you don't have a TIG welder and a metal lathe? You just want to bolt something onto your bicycle? As I've mentioned the turnkey kits made by Wilderness Energy and Crystalyte seem to be the simplest and cleanest ways to electrify a bicycle. Since I made this bike there have been some developments in the electric bike world. The popular Curry USProDrive bolt-on kit that I esch ewed as too undepowered was always a decent kit but I don't think it's available at all anymore.The batteries were not AGM quality, the stock controller was jerky and mounted inside the motor where it's hard to keep cool, and the drive train was not terribly robust, but all in all a decent kit, and they sold quite a few of them. A similar concept called Lashout seems to be available. This kit has a built-in freewheel on the motor which is nice. MISCELLANEOUS THOUGHTS Here in 2008, with the cost of gas now at $4. 50 a gallon, true pain is being felt by almost everyone at the fuel pumps, and by the sellers of old fashioned gas burning vehicles. Big cars and SUV's are sitting on dealers lots. There are 4 month waits  .There is now tremendous pressure to come up with solutions. This should, finally, lead to some real improvements in pure electric transportation. I love the idea of electric vehicles but the practical electric car is still not quite a reality. The electric bike to me is now a real-world, affordable and practical solution. The limited range is not a big deal for errands around town and short commutes. Given that really nice batteries are going to be expensive for the foreseeable future, it makes so much more sense to use a couple of small ones on a bike than try to pay for 300 big ones for a car.Most people won't justify a limited range full-size electric car just for groceries and errands, but many people could throw an e-bike or two in their garage without thinking twice. Grown adults giggle when they ride my bike. It is very quiet –   it's like some genie is pedaling for you. The silence is very important – it just completely changes the whole picture. You can actually hear things and stop and pull up onto the sidewalk and talk to your neighbors when you ride down the street. I have pulled up directly into my ATM booth and people hardly give me a second glance – not even thinkable on a motorcycle.Electrics are not intimida ting like a motorcycle or even a scooter – to most people, they're just a bicycle you don't have to pedal. Theres no clutch, no gears to shift, no kickstarter. They aren't just environmentally friendly – they're neighborhood and people friendly. Another amazing thing to me: this is not rocket science technology. This is lead acid batteries powering a DC motor on a steel bike frame –  this bike could pretty much have been made 80 or 100 years ago! Those new-fangled high pressure pneumatic tires may be the most modern component! Why has it taken so long for e-bikes to take off?I offer these design and component ideas to anyone who can make use of them and encourage anyone with a garage and some tools to make an electric bike or buy a kit or a ready-made. At my house we have a very fast motorcycle, a hybrid car and a pickup, but the e-bike is the most fun – I use it almost every day. And the most amazing thing that I have learned after all of this   â₠¬â€œ you really don't need 4000 pounds of gasoline powered steel-rubber-plastic-and-glass, $30,000-120-mph marvel-of-modern-transportation-engineering to go a mile and a half for a quart of milk, a loaf of bread and a newspaper.EARLY VERSIONS V1. 0   had just one long vee-belt from the motor to the rear wheel. It had a top speed of around 30 which was great but slowed to about 12 mph on the steep hill near my house. However, other people building their own have asked about using the single vee-belt because it is easier to put together without machine tools, and it works pretty well on the flat. The goals were these: * gear reduction from a 3000 rpm motor – in the neighborhood of 8:1 to 10:1 * retain existing pedal function – derailleur and freewheel * rear wheel drive * simplicity * quiet operation * use available parts can be grafted onto the existing bike wheel * power transmission efficiency * stay away from friction tire-drive – too much slippage and tire wear * stay away from chain drive – at 3000 rpm a chain is too noisy The single belt reduction runs from a 1. 75†³ drive wheel on the motor directly to a 16†³ driven pulley mounted to the left side of the rear wheel. This is actually a 20†³ bicycle rim mounted to the wheel hub using half of the rim's spokes through additional spoke holes drilled into the wheel hub. This setup gives a reduction of about 8 to 1. ^ The vee-belt setup, giving a reduction ratio of 8:1 V1.   Ã‚  Ã‚  After using the single vee-belt reduction for a while, it seemed   that I needed to gear the bike down some more. At full throttle the belt would slip on really steep hills off-road. Also it was overheating on my hill and ended up burning out my 80 amp controller. So after some thought I added an idler shaft or â€Å"jackshaft† for an initial belt reduction. I have a metal lathe and fabricated a bearing housing for a 1/2†³ shaft running on ball bearings. This is mounted on a pivoting system in order to get the belt tensioned correctly. With the pulley combination pictured below I have an overall reduction of 17 to 1.This translates into a top speed of 13 mph and good hill climbing ability. The most critical thing on a setup like this is to mount the jackshaft very solidly so that it stays parallel to the motor shaft under belt tension and during high power loads. This required a lot of reinforcement of the mounting bracket, as the whole thing mounts to the motor   face using two bolts, and flex was a problem. Double reduction using toothed belt to a jackshaft running on ball bearings I suspected the ideal gear ratio for my needs lies somewhere in the middle. I will probably settle on a top speed of about 20 mph. The good thing about his setup is that I can change the gearing fairly easily with just a couple of different toothed belt wheels and possibly a slightly different length belt. The primary belt I added is a Gates Powergrip XL belt. I actual ly had a bunch of belts and wheels lying around from other motorization projects but these are available from ball bearing and rubber belt industrial suppliers. This belt is really way too small and narrow for a motor this size at full throttle, but hey it was free. 80 AMP CONTROLLER Controller with added heat sink mounted to the top tube This is the previous Eagle 80 amp controller from 4QD.It melted down from driving over 100 amps for extended lengths of time. It is really too small for the Scott 1hp motor but worked surprisingly well for quite a while. Like the Scooter 120, it has adjustable acceleration and deceleration curves, but no regenerative function. V1. 4  Ã‚  Ã‚  had a single long timing belt. After experimenting with a single vee-belt and an earlier two stage belt reduction, I tried to simplify in the name of efficiency. I especially wanted to get rid of the vee-belt completely, which would slip on really steep hills and also is less efficient than a timing belt.This setup was less than ideal because the belt is so long. There was not enough room for a wider belt and this belt was simply not strong enough for the amount of power being delivered. Also, this Type L timing belt was noisier than I had expected. The trapezoidal tooth shape is noisy, and the idler tensioning wheel added a surprising amount of racket even though it was running on the â€Å"flat† side of the belt. I. WHAT IS MEANT BY â€Å"POWER ASSIST†? A power assist is any vehicle with any number of wheels that is primarily or partly human powered, and assisted by a small motor.An electric bicycle is probably the most common such vehicle. Power assist enthusiasts are typically interested in simple human-scaled transportation that is earth-friendly, fun, non-intimidating, and affordable. Transportation that either extends the range of their bicycling, allows them to arrive at work without needing a shower, or allows them to leave the car at home more often. Many people are somewhat familiar with old-style mopeds, which are technically power assists. However they are too heavy to really be pedalled more than to start the engine.Mopeds are really lightweight scooters with pedals and limited top speeds which allow them to qualify in most parts of the world for lesser registration and insurance classifications. Many people feel that  a more useful set of pedals is important. This means the vehicle must be light enough to pedal meaningfully, either with or without the motor energized. Practically speaking it should weigh less than 75 lbs. or 35 kg and of course the lighter, the better. A power assist is not meant to entirely replace human power. The exact amount of assist desired, however, is really up to the individual.Today electric vehicles are becoming more popular, but there are still internal combustion engine (ICE) power assists that perform well. They both have their adherents, but really they each have their place as their strengths and weak nesses are in different areas. ELECTRIC ASSISTS  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  today’s practical electric vehicle The practical electric car has become a kind of Holy Grail and is the subjec