Digital Powerhouse: How Technology Takes Hold of the 21st Century

Since its inception, digital technology has proven to be a catalyst in growth and success across all fields of business. In the post-WWII era, the countries quickest in recovering their economies and rebuilding their gross domestic product had the highest amounts of technological usage (Comin, 242). The introduction of products such as the cellphone and computer initiated a new way of accessing information as well as communicating with other individuals within the click of a button. Now, present day society is constantly inundated with technology: from e-readers to virtual reality headsets to smart-TVs to endless more gadgets and gizmos. As of 2011, there are approximately 1.97 billion Internet users (Cher Ping Lim, 60), with that number growing exponentially as time progresses. This equates to a mass network of people interacting directly with media, other individuals, or both 24/7. While this may sound terrifying to the average consumer, for media companies, this provides a perfect platform to target their consumers with brand-new content to both share and dissipate at a lightening rate across the Internet. Individuals have become so engrossed in technology that it has changed from being a want to a need, and that need is both immediate and permanent. Consumers are actively searching out the content that they want to see, using search engines such as Google and Yahoo to find the news that they want to read (De, 1939). Since technology has now become the primary medium by which information is collected and shared, consumers are now accustomed to finding the news they want, all within the span of a nanosecond.

Figure 1. Technology usage separated by media.

Additionally, consumers are now demanding rather than requesting some element of technology incorporated into every aspect of their lives. As a result, businesses must fight to stay relevant in an ever-expanding industry of the latest apps and new digital enhancements that provide both new and original functionalities for the user (Ahearne, 298).

Nevertheless, it is important to know that there is some novelty in traditional methods of information gathering. In fact, one study concluded that students prefer utility over accessory when it came to the question of whether or not libraries should integrate technological components (i.e. self-search kiosks, e-reader compatibility) into their services (Cassidy, 390). The main argument was that as long as libraries were able to fulfill their main purpose—to provide students with access to information about any and all topics—then it did not matter whether or not technology was involved in the process. This is a lesson that media companies should also take note of; that the technological revolution should not downplay the essence of a company’s mission, but rather supplement it. The Wall Street Journal should not change its mission to solely focusing on maintaining its online database with secondary components because its main purpose is to inform readers about the events happening in the world.

In a world of .coms and hashtags, balancing traditional practices with new technologies is a precarious act that could make or break a company. The businesses that are able to carefully integrate the two realms together are the ones that have been the most successful in their trajectories in the new age of digital. Soon, online will be the only way that we get our news, respond to loved ones, and share our thoughts about the world. In this way, technology becomes a double-edged sword; both a fountain of possibility and an abyss of mindless chatter. For communication to grow and for media to stay up-to-date, it must be able to decipher and analyze how exactly technology can be used to its full potential.

Works Cited:

1. Comin, D., & Hobijn, B. (2011). Technology Diffusion and Postwar Growth. NBER Macroeconomics Annual,25(1), 209-246. doi:1. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/657531 doi:1
2. De, P., Yu (Jeffrey) Hu, & Rahman, M. (2010). Technology Usage and Online Sales: An Empirical Study. Management Science,56(11), 1930-1945. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40959565
3. Cher Ping Lim, Yong Zhao, Jo Tondeur, Ching Sing Chai, & Chin-Chung Tsai. (2013). Bridging the Gap: Technology Trends and Use of Technology in Schools. Journal of Educational Technology & Society,16(2), 59-68. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/jeductechsoci.16.2.59
4. Ahearne, M., Srinivasan, N., & Weinstein, L. (2004). Effect of Technology on Sales Performance: Progressing from Technology Acceptance to Technology Usage and Consequence. The Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management,24(4), 297-310. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40471971
5. Cassidy, E., Britsch, J., Griffin, G., Manolovitz, T., Shen, L., & Turney, L. (2011). Higher Education and Emerging Technologies: Student Usage, Preferences, and Lessons for Library Services. Reference & User Services Quarterly,50(4), 380-391. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20865428

The Outdated Laws of Outer Space

Outer space is abound with a virtually infinite supply of materials that could redefine life on Earth. As noted by Reynolds, “The smallest known near-Earth metal asteroid contains more metal than has been mined by humanity since the beginning of time” (Reinstein 1999). One of the most valuable resources in our solar neighborhood is Helium-3 on the Moon, with reserves estimated to be capable of creating ten times as much energy as the Earth’s fossil fuels (Reinstein 1999). It seems like the sky is next frontier of business – but where are all the competitors?

It turns out that the basis of international law regarding outer space comes from the Cold War. The United States and USSR created the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Outer Celestial Bodies, OST for short, in an attempt to stop each other from militarizing space (McDougal et. al 1963). One-hundred other nations have signed onto this treaty, making it weakly international law (Reinstein 1999).

The OST essentially approves of “exploration and use” of space and its celestial bodies, but “carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development, and [for] the province of all mankind” (Reinstein 1999). Since the goal of the treaty was to prevent militarization, and not promote private business, many of the terms are left vague – even “outer space” is not properly defined (Keefe 1995). This poor wording makes the legal risk of colonizing and excavating sections of celestial bodies outweigh any potential benefits for modern business.

Even worse is the OST’s outlook on property rights. “For the benefit and in the interests of all countries” implies that every country will be given equal geological footing in outer space; that is, no country will be able to claim any land as theirs. But because countries maintain jurisdiction over the astronauts they send to this land, the astronauts themselves are not allowed to claim any land for themselves (Reinstein 1999). Any resources mined or materials otherwise gained by a business would need to somehow be partitioned among all countries, even if funded privately (Reynolds et. al 1989). This partitioning would likely require an international committee, and it is not hard to see how quickly the OST complicates every aspect of space colonization (Reinstein 1999). Since this treaty disincentivizes individual effort, it is highly unlikely that any cosmic exploration mission will be launched anytime soon (Keefe 1995).

Gruner suggests the opposite ethical approach to the OST – focus on the ambitions of the first-world countries. He argues that we must colonize space before overpopulation and resource depletion start destabilizing our world. Expansion of the human race into outer space, if done right, could remedy both of these problems. Motivation for potential colonizers and miners would draw upon the 19th century American ideas of land ownership. Instead of racing out west, however, settlers would be racing to the Moon and to Mars (Gruner 2004).

The current set of treaties outlining the laws of outer space are so outdated that many nations nowadays view them more as guidelines for future laws than as laws themselves (Gruner 2004). Whether humanity comes together and puts every country on equal footing or chooses to expedite the efforts of richer countries, the overall format and effect of our laws regarding outer space exploration need to be redrafted if we wish to ever settle another planet.

References

Reinstein EJ. 1999. Owning Outer Space 59:74

McDougal MS, Lasswell HD, Vlasic IA, Smith JC. 1963. The Enjoyment and Acquisition of Resources in Outer Space 541:560

Reynolds GH, Merges RP. 1989. Outer Space: Problems of Law and Policy 275:278

Keefe H. 1995. Making the Final Frontier Feasible: A Critical Look at the Current Body of Outer Space Law 345:371

Gruner BC. 2004. A New Hope For International Space Law: Incorporating Nineteenth Century First Possession Principles Into The 1967 Space Treaty For The Colonization Of Outer Space In The Twenty-First Century 299:357

Method of Instruction and Effective Teaching

Effective teaching is a rare sight nowadays. Effective teaching is when a professor can correctly gauge their students’ performances, and appropriately assist them in their learning and understanding of new material. “Too often the assumption is made that because the instructor has a M.S. or Ph.D. degree, he is ready to take over teaching any subject in his field without advanced preparation… Teaching is the organization of learning. Thus, any instructor, regardless of his knowledge of subject matter, must spend considerable time organizing his courses before effective teaching is attained in his classes” (Gibson, 1954).

A professor’s method of teaching arguably has the greatest impact on how a student learns. Every single professor has his/her own style of teaching. Whether it be by oral lecture, reading off presentation slides, exercise-heavy lectures, class discussions, or hands-on instruction, every style has its own pros and cons. Studies show the learning environment, such as how accessible the instructor is, feedback, engagement and activity, etc., has the greatest impact on student performance (Bell, 2013).

Though professors and students both have preferred teaching methods, the hands-on instruction method generally has positive effects. “Hands-on science… is an educational experience that actively involves people in manipulating objects to gain knowledge or understanding. The key word is ‘actively’. Learning is not a passive activity. When studies are involved in hands-on science, they are engaged in their science learning, and thus promoting scientific literacy” (Bigler, 2011). This makes a good point in that having actively engaged students is one of the key components to effective teaching.

Hands-on instruction is great, but is only viable for specific classes such as the sciences. For other courses, such as Discrete Mathematics and Psychology, one has to be exceptionally creative to design a hands-on lesson. In this case, there are other ways to improve teaching technique. Just to name a few: “Begin each class presentation with something easy, something all students can grasp or accomplish.”, “Informal notes set a better atmosphere than does a script; they also allow for student interaction, interruption, and dialog.”, “Be available regularly and consistently to your students. Keep your office or lab hours!” (Kelly, 1973).

An experimented was conducted that used teacher instruction as the independent variable. In the CMI group, immediate proctor feedback on quizzes was provided to students. In the CMI Lecture group, a weekly rotation of immediate feedback was provided one week, followed by a lecture discussion the next week. In the Independent Study group, students worked at their own pace on assigned texts. In the Contact Control group, lecture discussion, as well as small group discussions and lectures were used. In the Delayed Contact group, students took the pretest and posttest before studying course material and texts. After their studying, they wrote unite summaries

Figure 1: Shows the results of five different teaching methods on students (Moore, 1976).

Figure 1 shows that the CMI group performed the best, while the Delay Contact group performed the worst. The CMI group with immediate feedback performed the best and had the greatest gains. The CMI Lecture group with biweekly feedback performed second best. The Independent Study group had the same gain as the Contact Control group. And the Delayed Contact group performed the worst. A trend can be made where the group that had the more effective feedback had better posttest scores and greater gains than the rest.

References

Bell, B., & Federman, J. (2013). E-Learning in Postsecondary Education. The Future of Children,23(1), 165-185.

Bigler, A. M., & Hanegan, N. L. (2011, June). Student Content Knowledge Increases After Participation in a Hands-on Biotechnology Intervention. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 20(3), 246-257.

Gibson, W. L., Jr. (1954, December). Improved Teaching Techniques. Journal of Farm Economics, 36(5), 877-882.

Kelly, S. P. (1973, Summer). Effective College Teaching Techniques. Improving College and University Teaching, 21(3), 229-232.

Moore, R. S. (1976, Autumn). Effect of Differential Teaching Techniques on Achievement, Attitude, and Teaching Skills. Journal of Research in Music Education, 24(3), 129-141.

Sentiment Analysis of Online Reviews

It is a given that computers aren’t naturally smart. They aren’t able to understand the intricacies of human languages. However, we are able to use machine learning to allow computers to be able to extract data from our language. Sentiment analysis, as the name suggests, allows us to teach computers how to analyze data to return a value that would determine whether a given text is written in a positive, negative, or neutral manner. Using sentiment analysis, we are able to use computers for opinion mining. Opinion mining and sentiment analysis become more possible as social media websites are uploading more data that can be used. Therefore, we will discuss sentiment analysis on reviews that we can find on social media. This has significance not only in a research aspect due to the nature of machine learning, but also in an economic aspect because it will allow business leaders to make more informed decisions using data that is more reliable.

The source of our text will from social media websites such as Yelp because they allow users to crowdsource influence. For example, if you’re looking to purchase something or eat at a specific restaurant, you are able to read the thoughts of past customers rather than asking your friends who have a lower chance of having purchased the item or visited the place. (Liu) More than 70% of readers of reviews say that they’re largely influenced by the reviews of their purchases (Pang et al., 2) While reviews may be impactful on readers, it’s important to acknowledge the existence of “fake” reviews that are fabricated for the benefit of the business as well as spam reviews that are written to advertise another business.

When data mining from social media websites such as Yelp, we can parse the text in different ways for sentiment analysis. By categorizing text using categories, we will be able to use that when we give a sentiment rating (Pak et al.). For example, if we have text that has many words from the positive set of words, we will know that it is written in a positive sense. While this may seem simple, it is more complicated when the human language can use seemingly positive words in a negative sense and vice versa (Vinodhini et al.). For example, the phrase “not bad” is written with a positive intent. This is where we have to take into consideration other cases of sentiment when we’re opinion mining texts online.

Figure 1: Sentiment Analysis using text from a review (Gundy)

There are different types of opinions. There are regular/comparative and explicit/implicit opinions. (Liu) When we parse texts our data, it is wise to determine what types of opinions are in our data set. Regular opinions consist of direct and indirect opinions that either state a sentiment about something or a sentiment as a result of something. Comparative opinions simply compare something over another thing. Explicit and implicit opinions deal with objective and subjective statements that would yield an opinion. Given these different types of opinions, sentiment analysis becomes more difficult and more prone to error if these aren’t accounted for. There are undoubtedly going to be problems with sentiment analysis. As previously mentioned, computers are only as intelligent as we make them to be.

As the texts get longer and more linguistically complex, we will have to evaluate the expressions separately. For example, if a given text has more than one expression, it is difficult to determine the sentiment if the expressions have contradicting sentiments. Therefore, it is better to segment the text into different expressions so that we can determine the polarity of each expression to retrieve the contextual polarity (Wilson et al.). By using the polarity of certain expressions to modify the polarity of others, we will be able to achieve a more precise result that fits the context of the expression itself.

Machine learning, sentiment analysis, and opinion learning will allow us to learn more about the human language on a larger scale due to the processing power of computers. There are many Computer Science and Natural Language Processing problems that need to be dealt with in order to be able to achieve successful results. Nevertheless, it is interesting what the results tell us about our own language. By applying these concepts, we are able to break down our language and subjectively evaluate linguistics by objective means.

Works Cited

1. Liu, Bing. “Sentiment analysis and opinion mining.” Synthesis lectures on human language technologies 5.1 (2012): 1-167.

2. Pak, Alexander, and Patrick Paroubek. “Twitter as a Corpus for Sentiment Analysis and Opinion Mining.” LREc. Vol. 10. 2010.

3. Pang, Bo, and Lillian Lee. “Opinion mining and sentiment analysis.” Foundations and trends in information retrieval 2.1-2 (2008): 1-135.

4. Vinodhini, G., and R. M. Chandrasekaran. “Sentiment analysis and opinion mining: a survey.” International Journal 2.6 (2012).

5. Wilson, Theresa, Janyce Wiebe, and Paul Hoffmann. “Recognizing contextual polarity in phrase-level sentiment analysis.” Proceedings of the conference on human language technology and empirical methods in natural language processing. Association for Computational Linguistics, 2005.

Why Tanning and Smoking Are Popular Even Though the Public Knows They Cause Cancer

Despite the increasing awareness that tanning and smoking can cause cancer, people still continue to do them. Tanning beds expose users to ultraviolet (UV) light, which can lead to cancer, but they are still very popular. The dangers of smoking are in many advertisements and newspapers. There is an increase on smoking restrictions, including restrictions on smoking in public places in the United States. However, the tobacco industry continues to thrive. It is important to understand why people continue to go to tanning salons and smoke despite warnings of side effects to find a more efficient way to promote a healthy lifestyle for cancer prevention.

Figure 1 – This is the pathway that UV light takes in the skin. The tumor-suppressor gene p53 is activated. This leads to a transcription of target genes including the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) gene that increases the release of alpha-melanocyte-releasing hormone. The hormone then signals the melanocortin 1 receptor on the melanocyte, creating the tanning response.
(Source: Dermatology Today. Reproduced from The New York Journal of Medicine and originally from Barsh and Attardi)

The general public needs to be more aware of the dangers of tanning. Studies have shown that the majority of indoor tanners are motivated to tan for attractive skin, relaxation, and warmth (Mathys 1999). Some people believe that tanning beds are a way to get a “safe tan” in which people can take advantage of being in sunlight without being in danger of getting too little or too much sun (Koo 2010). However, according to Figure 1, tanning cannot happen without DNA damage (Koo 2010).  Even if there is no sign of physical damage such as sunburn, there is still a higher risk of skin cancer because levels UV radiation needed to cause damage are lower than the levels needed to cause inflammation (Koo 2010). Doing indoor tanning is associated with a higher risk of the skin cancer melanoma and is especially risky for those under 35 (International Agency for Research 2006). In addition, indoor tanning has an addictive quality because UV light causes endorphin release (Robinson 2008). This may explain findings that even though from 1986 to 1996 the public became more aware of that tanning can cause skin cancer, there was an increase in the regular use of tanning booths (Warthan 2005). Tanning produces immediate results that bring happiness while getting skin cancer can take years or decades. Those who want to tan despite the evidence that tanning can cause skin cancer should look for alternatives such as spray tanning.

Smoking is a widely known cause of lung cancer, but it is still a serious problem. Young adults from ages 16 to 24, both smokers and non-smokers, participated in a focus group study that had a goal of studying why some young adults smoked despite cancer risks (Gough 2009). There are stickers on cigarette boxes that have health warnings, but they became so normalized that some young adults have become desensitized to those health warnings (Gough 2009). Smoking is an everyday occurrence in some places so health warnings don’t have any influence. In addition, there are so many studies that pinpoint many things such as diet coke and alcohol as causes of cancer that smoking seems tamer comparison (Gough 2009). The advertisements against smoking can actually cause people to smoke more because they instigate anxiety and stress (Gough 2009). They also don’t feel that smoking is an immediate health concern. They feel that they will get sick decades later, when they turn fifty (Gough 2009). The immediate benefits of relief from stress and anxiety and the benefits of being accepted into a society in which virtually everyone smokes are more important. There needs to be research into changing advertisements into something more influential and impactful, without making smokers want to go for another smoke. There needs to be a way to teach young adults that bad health from smoking doesn’t happen in the far future, but that it starts with the first cigarette.

Tanning and smoking may not lead to cancer for years or decades, but the risks of bad health begin from the first day. The general public knows about the risks, but the immediate results of having attractive skin, feeling great, and fitting in are more important for day to day life. Finding a way for people to feel the urgency of stopping tanning or smoking needs to be researched.

Works Cited

Mathys P, Moser M, Bressoud D, Ackermann-Liebrich U, Braun-Fahrländer C. Frequency, duration and motivation of sun-bed use in Switzerland. Epidemiology 1999: 10: S.117.

Robinson JK, Kim J, Rosenbaum S, Ortiz S. Indoor tanning knowledge, attitudes, and behavior among young adults from 1988–2007. Arch Dermatol 2008: 144: 484–488.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer on Cancer Working Group on Artificial Ultraviolet (UV). The association of use of sunbeds with cutaneous malignant melanoma and other skin cancers: A systematic review. International Journal of Cancer 2006: 120: 1116-1122.

Warthan MM, Uchida T, Wagner Jr RF. UV Light Tanning as a Type of Substance-Related Disorder. Arch Dermatol 2005: 141: 963-966.

Woo DK, Eide MJ. Tanning beds, skin cancer, and Vitamin D: an examination of the scientific evidence and public health implications. Dermatologic Therapy 2010: 23: 61-71.

The Definition and Management Risks of Medical Waste

Medical waste is known as any solid waste that is generated from health care facilities during diagnosis and the treatment process of humans and animals (Diaz and Savage, 2003). Medical waste can be classified into six categories: sharps, laboratory, animals, pathological radioactive, chemical, and residual after incineration or microwave treatment. Medical waste contains high amount of plastic, and is hazardous and infectious. Due to the potential risks of its management process, the cost of transportation of medical waste  is much higher than that of regular solid waste (Lee et al., 2003). Hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and human immunodeficiency virus were the three most commonly transmitted diseases to health care workers. Approximately 6 million out of the 35 million health care workers were infected by one of these three diseases, and more than 90% of the cases took place in developing counties (WHO, 2002). Some of the infectious wastes include blood-soaked bandages, discarded surgical gloves and instruments, glassware, removed body parts and organs, and needles that were used to give injections and draw blood. Many of these incidences were caused by uncontained needles from collected wastes (Diaz and Savage, 2003).

Over the past decades, medical waste has become a less significant problem due to the ongoing research on different ways to minimize the possible negative impacts that medical waste can bring to society. Separation techniques have been invented for this purpose: to correctly identify medical waste from health care facilities and separate the infectious materials that require expensive special care from other regular solid wastes (Lee et al., 2003). For instance, waste generated from hospital cafeteria is not medical waste because it is not hazardous and can be disposed through recycling, landfilling, or composting and therefore its cost is low. A study published in 2003 reveals that the cafeteria from hospital B at Massachusetts produced more waste than operating room and emergency room (Table 1) (Lee et al., 2003). After imposing separation techniques, there was a steady decrease in the amount of identified medical wastes (Garcia, 1999). The separation techniques successfully reduce the amount of materials that needed to be treated by incineration, a process that provides oxygen and temperature to convert combustible components into water vapor and carbon dioxide. Incineration emits toxic that are harmful to the human body such as acid gases, dioxins, furans, and heavy metals. The high plastic content creates the even greater potential of acid gas and dioxin emission (Lauber, 1987).

Table 1. Treatment and disposal characteristics of medical waste produced from different waste generation department in hospital B.
Table taken from Lee, 2004.

Another way of spilling medical waste is the accidental breakage of medical equipment. Mercury is a toxic pollutant that can severely harm fish’s central nervous system and causes symptoms such as paralysis, insomnia, and even death. Thermometers, gastroenterology, sphygmomanometers, and many other nonclinical equipment contain mercury. There was an average of 18 mercury spills every year in UCLA. To prevent future accidents, many facilities are encouraging to use more expensive alternatives to avoid toxic pollutants. Although this initiation could be expensive, the hazardous material unit can eventually save time and money by mitigating similar incidence (Environmental Best Practices for Health Care Facilities, 2002).

Figure 1. The percentage of different medical equipment that contain mercury from seven Northern Carolina hospitals. Figure taken from Environmental Best Practices for Health Care Facilities, 2002.

Figure 2. UCLA mercury spill frequency form 1997 to 1999. Figure taken from Environmental Best Practices for Health Care Facilities, 2002.

New methods are constantly developing to reduce medical wastes and pollution. Incineration was used to eradicate potential infection that can occur, but it emits toxic substances that are harmful to life. Separation technique was invented as a solution to reduce the use of incineration, but there are potential risks to its management process. The risks of medical waste cannot be completely eliminated, however, more research can still be done on this topic to improve the situation.

References

1. Environmental Best Practices for Health Care Facilities. (Nov 2002). Eliminating Mercury in Hospitals. Environmental Protection Agency. USA.
2. Diaz, L.F., Savage, G.M. (Dec 2003). Risks and Costs Associated with The Management of Infectious Wastes. WHO/WPRO. Philippines.
3. Garcia, R. (1999). Effective Cost-Reduction Strategies in the Management of Regulated Medical Waste. Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemology, Inc. New York.
4. Lauber, J.D. (Feb 1987). New Perspectives on Toxic Emissions from Hospital Incinerators. The New York State Legislative Commission on Solid Waste Management Conference on Solid Waste Management & materials Policy. NY.
5. Lee, B.K., Ellenbecker, M.J., Moure-Ersaso, R. (Oct 2003). Alternatives for treatment and disposal cost reduction of regulated medical wastes. Elsevier. Universtiy of Ulsan from South Korea, and University of Massachusetts, USA.
6. WHO. (Jan 2002). The World Health Report 2002: Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life. World Health Organization. Geneva, Switzerland.

The Vast Stars In The Universe and Some of Their Unique Properties

With the vast cosmos ever so present in the vision of the most complex telescopes available on the Earth, we will always see an abundance of stars. As such there will always be vast differences amongst these stars due to the fact that they are all originally different stars. They each have their primary differences such as size, shape (when observed very closely), mass, color, temperature, and magnetic properties. Consequently these different property stars get assigned different names and types depending on their key features, primarily including temperature, size, and color. For example, “a star’s color depends on its surface temperature” and these colors varying from white, yellow, orange, red, blue, and some other slight variations, along with their different magnitudes (Star Dome).

Another property concerning stars that involves their shape is their “smoothness” as they “are not smooth” and are “covered by granulation pattern(s) associated with the heat transport by convection” and these “convection related surface structures have different size, depth, and temporal variations” (Chiavassa & Bigot, 2015). Evolved stars such as Red Super Giants (RSG) display this underlying granulation pattern, due to their “large diameter, proximity, and high infrared luminosity” along with “effective temperatures lower than ~4000 K” (Chiavassa & Bigot, 2015).

Another distinguishing trait of a star is its mass and the properties that arise due to it. Neutron stars and other superdense objects “often spin fast and sweep a pulse of radio emission across us with each turn” and these become known as pulsars, as “they draw their radio energy from a magnetic braking mechanism that is gradually slowing down their spin” (A Magnetar In Sheep’s Clothing, 2008). Pulsars are unique in the sense that they do “not undergo any significant field decay during their lifetimes” (Konar & Bhattacharya, 1999). A different kind of neutron star, that spins slower and draws emitted energy from a different source, which is the intense magnetic field, became known as a magnetar and are known to be the most magnetic objects in the universe (A Magnetar In Sheep’s Clothing, 2008).

Neutron stars showcase an evolutionary state beyond isolated radio pulsars, and this evolutionary link can be seen as a unified picture of the evolution of their spin and their magnetic field (Konar & Bhattacharya, 1999). Another variation that take part are the High-amplitude delta scuti stars, and they have different rates of pulsating, as there has to be “effective temperatures” for “diffusion and other processes” to cause segregation of chemical elements, thus modifying the “excitation of the pulsations” (Handler , 2009). Overall the stars show these unique properties and consequently some are assigned defining names as a result. These properties haven’t been fully explored yet and are still questioned to this day as we try to learn more about them.

Figure 1: Evolution of the surface inhomogeneities during the stellar evolution (Chiavassa & Bigot, 2015).

Works Cited:

“A Magnetar In Sheep’s Clothing.” Sky & Telescope 115.6 (2008): 14.

Chiavassa, A., and L. Bigot. “Stellar Granulation And Interferometry.” EAS Publications Series 69/70.(2015): 151-175.

Konar, Sushan, and Dipankar Bhattacharya. “Magnetic Field Evolution Of Accreting Neutron Stars — II.” Monthly Notices Of The Royal Astronomical Society 303.3 (1999): 588.

“Star Dome.” Astronomy 44.6 (2016): 38-41.

The Economic Benefits of Sustainable Building

Green building offers more than environmental benefits to society. Various studies have shown that green building has significant economic benefits as well. Figure 1 shows and categorizes some of these benefits. Green building lowers the costs for energy, waste disposal, water, operations, maintenance, and saves money by increasing productivity and improving the indoor environmental quality of the building (Spivey, 2004). Since green rating organizations have only been around for the past two decade, there are no statistics that demonstrate the actual economic benefits obtained throughout a sustainable building’s lifecycle. Instead, expenses and savings are estimated based on sets of data collected in the past.

Figure 1: Advantages of Green Building, Source: Dailey, J. (2013, May 07). An Introduction to the Cost Benefits of Green Buildings. Retrieved from http://ny.curbed.com/2013/5/7/10246368/an-introduction-to-the-cost-benefits-of-green-buildings