Successful mentors are those who develop relationships that foster Essay

Successful mentors are those who develop relationships that foster growth & development in others(Walsh 2010).Supporting your an - Essay Example This paper will primarily focus on mentoring in relation to the characteristics or traits that enable mentors to undertake their duties and responsibilities. The paper will also analyse the extent to which successful mentoring is informed by these characteristics or enabling traits, and finally highlight strategies that could see mentors enhance their mentoring qualities. A mentor is expected to exhibit a given level of experience or a set of qualities/attributes that enhance effective and efficient mentorship Walsh (2010). Such attributes allow the parties involved to relate in a way that is mutually beneficial and productive in their respective fields. In a bid to enhance mentees’ growth and development, mentors should build functional relationships that best address the issues, concerns, or interests of the mentees. To do so, mentors require a number of traits, personal characteristics, attributes, or qualities. These aspects allow them to establish strong ties with their m entees, as they work to inspire, encourage, motivate, empower, and challenge the mentees. The first quality or attribute in this line is respect. Mentors have to be respectful to their mentees. Although mentors are most likely more experienced than the mentees, the mentors have a duty to respect their mentees in order to produce the desired results. Without respect, the resultant relationships are less likely to be functional, and the whole mentoring process could fail. It is important to note that the respect factor in this case should be mutual. That is to say that mentors will respect mentees who will show some respect in return. Otherwise, mentors will find it difficult to deal with disrespectful mentees if their respect is not appreciated. According to Elcock and Sharples (2011), respect is a critical factor in any given form of relationship, regardless of the setting within which the relationship is established. The relationship between mentors and mentees is built on trust; t his is according to Hinchliff (2004). Either of the two parties involved should find it easy to confide in the other. Without trust, the entire mentoring process becomes prone to operational difficulties, especially if trust issues emanate from the mentor’s side. Mentors who are trustworthy are highly likely to work cooperatively and collaboratively with the mentees, thereby ensuring that mentoring process achieves its purpose. Trustful grounds are created when mentors accord their efforts towards building the mentees’ life positively. Basing this on inspire, motivate, and challenge mode of mentorship allows the mentor to focus on every aspect of the mentee’s life within and without the learning environment. The form of interaction between mentors and mentees calls for mentors to be understanding. Mentees are normally faced with critical issues, concerns, or interests. Striking a balance between them and the mentee’s personal life can prove to be a diffic ult task. While it may or may not seem to be the case with the mentors, the understanding trait for mentors is fundamental in order to effectively relate with, enhance the growth, and develop their mentees. Working with people whom they do not understand could result in negative results to the mentees. Mentorship, in the light of Aston’s and Hallam’s (2011) arguments, requires that mentors place themselves

Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Final - Essay Example se has helped me to garner information on syntax, diction, style and grammatical concerns which are very important to portray my thoughts into scripts. I was aware of the theoretical nitty-gritty of all these but lacked the proper synchronization of all these rules in order to organize my planning and create something in letters. I have found my writings are grammatically and stylistically correct because I can communicate with my readers in an effective way. I can respond to different writing assignments in ways that do not only streamline my time but also produces better finished writings. I do not have to struggle with the topics as the sentences flow spontaneously in my mind and I simply need to place them in papers. The course has helped me to address my thoughts in such a way that invokes a spirit in me always when I sit with pen and papers. This serves as a great support to harmonize the feelings that were somehow lost in the maze of numerous manuscripts I often studied. Durin g my reading of any book, if any sentence captures my interest I always underline that part and try to recollect and reproduce the same in some of my writings in a similar situation. The course has taught me how to recreate those ideas in my thesis. Above all I have learnt to write with confidence and I know myself as a writer. I would also like to bring certain things to your notice that there are some difficulties which haunt me always whenever I write. First of all, I lack a sense of coherence and cannot string the right words together to produce the insightful content. I am sometimes unable to find those thought provoking phrases which might otherwise result into a marvelous piece of writing. Another potential drawback of my writing is that I cannot illustrate my ideas with simple examples or in trying to do so, I get lost in the labyrinth of winding sentences in which the main thought loses its track. My writings are not always devoid of jargons and this creates some

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Case study - Essay Example Also, the tradition associated with a wine being a family wine with 238 years of history and being the third oldest wine maker in Germany brings charm to the product which could be its advantage over its competitors in the market. Johann is capitalizing on this by holding events in their estate to ensure customer retention. b. Weakness – expensive. Quality comes at a price and this makes the company hesitate to expand its reach in the market because of the cost associated not only in producing the wine, but also in marketing it (a tour in US costs EUR 5,000). c. Opportunities – the liberalization of the wine market provides an opportunity for Fitz-Ritter to expand to other markets abroad that would widen its market and customer base. d. Threat – new entrants in the market from the New World offering comparable taste at a lower price serves as a very potent threat to Fitz-Ritter. PESTEL a. Political – EU is protective of the German wine manufacturer where i t subsidizes the industry. The residue of the George Marshall fund serves as financing assistance to wine manufacturers such as Fitz-Ritter which could help ease the financing of its expansion should the company decide to expand its operation. b. Economic – competitors are flooding the EU market with comparable wines at a lower price which is devastating to the industry. c. Social – there is growing market for the Fitz-Ritter’s wines especially for middle class who would like to partake the wine to have the feeling of being in the upper class. d. Technological – Johann is embarking on the training of his employees to upgrade their technological capability to further improve their wine making. e. Environmental – acreage for growing grapes in Germany has already been allocated. Its implication makes the wine industry less competitive because it meant they have to squeeze more wine from the grape to lower the price which has a devastating effect on qu ality. f. Legal – EU government is on Germany’s wine makers side being protective of the industry from the foreign competition. Fitz-Ritter’s strategy is basically to promote the quality of the product by stressing its history and tradition; that it is a product of craftsmanship not by industrial process. This way, Johann is able to have a niche in the market. 2) What is Fitz- Ritter’s competitive advantage? How did the company manage to survive in a highly competitive wine business? To better determine Fitz-Ritter’s competitive advantage, it would be helpful to consider Porter’s Five Forces of competition to see how it fared in the highly competitive wine business. a. Threat of New Entrants – players from the New World are indeed a threat. They have comparable wines with lower prices. b. Determinants of Supplier Power – Fitz-Ritter grows their own grape and makes their own wine and such, suppliers has very little leverage on t he company. c. Rivalry Among Existing Firms – there may be rivalry among the old wine makers in Germany and EU but the rivalry is not considered to be disastrous to the industry. The threat of rivalry is being brought by new players from the New World instead of the old wine makers. d. Determinants of Buyer Power – Fitz-Ritter use exclusive distributor in the United States whom they can trust and Johann’s mother help in the promotional aspect of the product by giving the product’s comparative advantage which is tradition, quality and history a face whom the customers can

Literary discourses in the modern literary theory Essay

Literary discourses in the modern literary theory - Essay Example It has been maintained that "the reading of literary narratives is best characterized as point driven-a process in which the reader considers what the narrator is getting at [and] that point-driven reading involves a sense of an author seeking to make a point." (Miall, 339) One of the most effective strategies of attaining the literary meaning of piece is reading for point which includes different components such as coherence, attention to surface features, and the transactional stance. It is possible and largely illumining to engage in a literary activity of reading for point in order to arrive at the meaning of the literary creations. The significance of the structural elements in the creation of a cohesive and coherent narrative discourse in fiction is often emphasised. This paper focuses on a profound and reflective analysis of the structural elements in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen with close reference to the novel, which make the piece a cohesive and coherent narrative di scourse. Though different in objective and function, structure and meaning are interconnected and it is the relation between the two which make a literary discourse meaningful. The important relation between structure and meaning in literary discourse needs to be clearly comprehended. ... very work possesses a structure, which is the articulation of elements derived from the different categories of literary discourses; and this structure is at the locus of the meaning." (Todorov et al., 141) An evaluation of the relation between structure and meaning in literary works through the years confirms the significance of readings in literary discourse which focus on these elements. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen provides one of the best illustrations of the pertinent relation between structure and meaning in literary discourse. It is obvious that the structural elements in the novel make it a cohesive and coherent narrative discourse and an analysis of the novel's narrative structure substantiates the point. The structural elements include narrative structure as well as constituents and linkage. In Pride and Prejudice, the best known and probablythebest liked novel by Austen, the narrative structure, the relation among story, plot, structure, system, rules, the cohesion, coherence and congruence in story etc contribute to the structural elements, which ultimately bring about the meaning to the novel. An analysis of the narrative structure of the novel is important and the sociolinguist Labov's Model of Natural Narrative, which is a prolific model of analysis in stylistics, provides with an effective tool in this regard. As Labov's model focuses on the everyday discourse practices of actual speakers in actual social circumstances, it has a great validity in literary analyses. Labov made use of the various stories by informers from many diverse backgrounds and "isolates the core, recurrent features that underpin a fully formed natural narrative. Six key categories are rendered down from this body of data." (Simpson, 114) According to the model, there are

The importance of group work in educational process Essay

The importance of group work in educational process - Essay Example Summarizing is essential to any hand written essay when ever that essay is needed to help people learn about what one might have seen, read or heard. It is used by millions everywhere at every minute in all possible kinds of assignments. What needs to be understood about these summaries is that one needs to recognize when one has to go from explaining and describing to offer a better and a more complex analysis. The group was asked to write on their experience on the work they had done together. And on the time they had spend together as a group working on the assignment that they had been assigned. The few points that this report would signify are: The introduction The makings of a good group-essay A reflective essay Networking and mentoring The Introduction In the start the class was asked to divide into groups of preferably 4 to 5 people. This was the most optimal limit of the groups. The class was also asked to have different personalities in the group, as different personalities brought different aspects to the group. The members chose each other on the basis of nationalities. Though there were almost five different nationalities in the group, the mode of conversation was English as it is understood by most of them. They were Annette, Alan, Rinkesh, and Mohammed. This particular group had quite a few nations, like Hong Kong, India, Arabia, china so they all brought their culture and diversity to the group. The group went through four steps of group work. These four steps are described by Tuckan as ‘forming,’ ‘storming,’ ‘norming’ and ‘performing’ (Hingst & Lowe, 2008, 157-165). Accordingly the group came together and introduced themselves in the first stage of forming. In this stage the discussion was light hearted and the topic of the project was discussed. There was no hierarchy managed. Everyone was given an equal chance to speak and put forward their ideas. During this stage no real work was done. In the next stage, the stage called storming; the members were now more in the form of better ways and means of giving out their opinions. In this stage the members become more comfortable with each other and even start taking up different positions as the leaders or the followers. This stage had more acceptance than any of the other stages did. In the next stage (performing), the members became a lot more alert of their jobs and tried to stick to them more and more, they also tried to get more work done and as soon as possible too. In this stage the members had more conflicts and their resolution led to a better understanding between the members of the group. The makings of a good group-essay As the group was required to work on writing an essay, so they needed to identify what made an essay good and what took it beyond good. They learnt that essay marking is divided into five groups which are: 1. Pre-structural 2. Uni-structural 3. Multi-structural 4. Relational 5. Extended abstract The best essay belongs to the category of either Relational or the Extended Abstracts. A college essay is expected of these levels. In these categories the essay shows the high level of understanding which is demonstrated by the number of and method of collection of data/ideas. This is very much obvious from the way the students write, express and explain themselves and their ideas about any number of situations and scenarios. They also show how much they grasped from the theme of the topic by cross-questioning. Both these categories are awarded Distinctions, and high-awards. Unlike these categories the other essays belong to the first three categories which have essays which either dwindle ion the edge of the topic or are not even close to it. These essays show lack of understanding and comprehension and are usually covered up by mismatched points and stories. A reflective essay A reflective essay is one which describes ones communication experiences acquired during any group-work and helps one to put these experiences into practical use by matching them to the theories and concepts learnt in

Essay Essay Example for Free

Essay Essay THE MOST MEMORIABLE VACATION My most memorable vacation was when I went to NHA TRANG with my family last summer. When my father told me I was excited because NHA TRANG famous for beautiful beaches and delicious foods. After four hours on the train, finally we arrived. Although I felt tired after long hours, I am happy when I was standing in front of a beautiful beach. Firstly, we arranged our bags and after that, we quickly swim in the blue sea. Next, my younger brother and I were building sandcastles while my parents were sunbathing on the sand. For a few hours, we felt hungry so we went to a nearby restaurant to enjoy tasty foods. In the afternoon, we visited some beautiful and famous places such as THAP BA PONAGAR; HON CHONG then went to NHA TRANG center to buy some souvenirs. The day went by so fast. The trip was short but it had a strong impression on me and my family and I have many memories of that day. QUALITY OF A GOOD TEACHER The good teacher has three important qualities. The first quality of a good teacher is that having strong knowledge of his or her subject matter. For instance, teachers have to provide students with specific content knowledge. A good teacher will know how to explain the content that he or she is teaching in a way easy to the most understand for students. Another quality of a good teacher is enthusiastic and caring. For example, he or she always cares academic status of the students and help them more advance in learning. Moreover, they also learn about the family circumstances of the individual students and find ways to help the poor students. The last quality is that confidence. Standing in front of a class, he or she has to the voice clear and full of confidence to their student pay attention to his or her lectures. To sum up, a good teacher need to have three qualities above and ethic good quality. DISADVANTAGES OF LIVING IN THE DOMITORY Living in a college dormitory has several disadvantages. The first disadvantage is narrow space. For example, dormitory in PHU YEN University, there are eight students sharing the room, it becomes crowded and narrow. You do not have much space to learn within a dorm. In addition, your  roommates can be messy, upset, or talkative so you will feel uncomfortable when living together with them. Another disadvantage is food. You are not allowed to cook in the dormitory so you have to eat rice at the canteen or at the restaurant. The amount you have to pay for meals in the dorm expensive than in the motel. In addition, you will feel tired of when you have to eat the same foods every day. Finally, living in a dormitory is noisy. Sometime you cannot concentrate for learn if your roommate opens music loudly. To sum up, you must find the best accommodation for you to convenient for your learning but you should think before deciding to live in the dormitory. A BEAUTIFUL BEACH AT DAWN Beyond a shadow of doubt, NHA TRANG beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in Vietnam, particularly at dawn. Every day, at 5.30pm, the sunrise slowly, it is like yolk rise from the bottom of the sea. At that time, the beach always crowded. Many people get together here very early to do the exercise and bathe in the sea. The beach scenery at dawn is fantastic, with a neglected beauty. The silence covers the whole beach; there is no sound but the sound of breaking waves. If you stand on the sandbank and stare into the distance, in the sun direction, you will have a strange feeling; have something peaceful in the deep of your soul. The atmosphere is so great by the winds, which come from. When the sun has risen completely, you can see some light rays of sunlight; they signal to you that the dawn-time nearly ended. I think words cannot describe how nice this beach is at dawn. If you have a chance to visit somewhere, why do not you try visiting NHA TRANG to enjoy the beach landscape at dawn in the true sense of the word? A BEAUTIFUL BEACH AT DUSK Sitting on the fine sand, I can see the amazing beauty of the beach at dusk. The sun like a fiery orb looks like it is gradually receding into the waters below. The setting sun’s red rays lit up the sky above the western horizon. At the time, the sky consisted of an assortment of shades, a blend of reds, oranges, and yellows. The waters below mirror this effect. The waves are tinted vermilion; the sand under my feet is the same color, the vivid color mix highlights the beauty of the beach at dusk like a perfect picture. I can  hear is the sound of the waves as they crash against the shore, and seagulls, which I cannot see, squawking in the distance. Sometime I can smell the fishy smell of fish. It smells warm and salty, as I breathe in the cold, salty. I just stand there, eyes closed, and feel the moment until the dusk and the warm feeling fades. I wish time could stop to enjoy this wonderful moment longer. HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN RICE You can make a tasty chicken rice dish if you follow these easy steps. The first step is to prepare the necessary ingredient such as haft chicken, rice, three slices ginger, salt, coriander onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, and chilly sauce. Next, cook the rice in the rice cooker. The third step is to cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, and then combine all the other ingredients and mix well in a bowl. After that, pour the mixture over the chicken, cover with foil and bake until the rice is cooked. When the rice is cooked, season to taste with salt, if needed. Finally, scoop a bowl of chicken rice on plate. Place cooked chicken over the rice. Garnish with sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, coriander, and spring onions. Now sit down and enjoy your delicious chicken rice plate with ginger sauce and chilly sauce on the side. HOW TO PREPARE FOR A JOB INTERVIEW Before a job interview, you can be stressful, but you can reduce your stress by following these skills. The first skill is picking out what you are going to wear to your job interview. The first choice an interviewer makes is going to base on how you look and what you are wearing. That is why it is always important to dress appropriately for a job interview. The second skill is that practiced greeting before your interviewer. You should always greet your interviewer with a friendly smile and a firm handshake. It will create a good impression about you to the interviewer. Next, you should prepare some typical interview questions you will probably be asked during a job interview. If you prepare well the answers of the interviewers can ask, you will not be surprised with questions about them. Practice interviewing  with a friend or family member ahead of time and it will be much easier when you are actually in a job interview. To sum up, the interviewers will appreciate what you did and can choice if you have a good preparation. AUSTRALIAN AND VIETNAMESE EDUCATION SYSTEM Australian and Vietnamese have similarities and differences in the education system. We can see that both education systems of Australian and Vietnam are quite similar that they have twelve grades, from one to twelve. In addition, schooling is compulsory for students until the age of fifteen. Despite the similarities, the two educations have some very important differences in system division, school-time. The first major difference between Vietnamese and Australian education is the system division. In Australia, primary school goes from grade one to six and secondary school from grade seven to twelve. In Vietnam, we have primary school (from grade one to five), middle school (from grade six to nine), and high school (from grade ten to twelve). Another obvious difference that we can see from these two educations is school-time. In Australian, the academic year begins in early February for school students and late February/early March for vocational and university students. However, in Vietnamese, the academic year begins in middle August for students and late August/ early September for university students. Although both education systems of Australian and Vietnamese have a lot of differences and similarities, they are good education systems for students. AMERICAN AND VIETNAMESE MEALS American and Vietnamese meals are quite different. One difference is Americans have one big dinner per day but Vietnamese have three meals a day with some snacking on fruits and cakes. Americans always think to take advantage of that time to be effective, breakfast and lunch only eating briefly, in the evening with more spare time, so comfortable chatting happily, and eating dinner together. Another difference is that the Vietnamese have breakfast with soup â€Å"pho,† rice or rice noodles; bean sprouts; greens; boiled eggs; and crusty bread and drink green tea or coffee. The Vietnamese have lunch and dinner with rice, fish, or meat;  vegetable dish with fish sauce then snacks with fruits or cakes. In contrast, Americans eat many foods that are high in calories and fat, such as hamburger, fried chicken, sandwiches. They do not spend much time in preparing food so they choose fast foods or going to the restaurant to eat. All in all, though there are differences between American meal and Vietnamese meal, they are typical culturally in the world.

Transducers used in the Cardiac Ultrasound Machine.

Transducers used in the Cardiac Ultrasound Machine. Transducers used in the Cardiac Ultrasound Machine. Abstract: Ultrasound imaging depends on the ability of piezoelectric crystals to generate sound when excited with alternating current and the reverse effect of charge accumulation or current flow when such crystals are subjected to pressure from sound waves. The first known ultrasound imaging machine was designed by K. T. Dussik in Australia in 1937. However, despite its widespread acceptance today, medical ultrasound did not develop as rapidly as X-ray imaging. Despite the relatively slow start, medical ultrasound imaging is very widely accepted today because there is no ionising radiation involved and hence the procedure is relatively safe. Ultrasound equipment is also cheaper as compared to X-ray imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, MRI and other techniques associated with nuclear medicine. The procedure involves minimal patient discomfort and is very useful for examining the soft tissues or the developing foetus. A dramatic increase in the number of older patients with chronic he art and valve disease has resulted in a prolific demand for the ultrasound cardiac imaging machines which can satisfy the requirements associated with fast and cost effective measurement of cardiac anatomy or function. One of the critical elements in the medical ultrasound imaging system is the ultrasound transducer without which signal processing and visualisation of the soft tissue images is impossible. Although many naturally occurring substances such as quartz exhibit the piezoelectric effect, lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic ferroelectric materials have for many years been used for biomedical applications because of their superior characteristics for soft tissue imaging.   Polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), transducer material has demonstrated advantages as a high frequency receiver. Single or multilayer transducers made of these elements can be used for ultrasound imaging as single transducers operating in A-mode or a two or three dimensional transducer array for B-mode, C-mode or M-mode ultrasound imaging. This brief essay takes a look at transducers for medical ultrasound. The principle of operation of a cardiac ultrasound imaging device is based on the information that is provided by the varying delay times of echoes that are reflected from various depths of the human body tissue as a result of the ultrasound pulses that are generated by an ultrasound transducer being incident on the body tissue. Delay times of echoes from different depths are different and ultrasound is reflected from the interface of different types of tissues. A Doppler shift in frequency is also generated as a result of moving objects and the attenuation of ultrasound waves depends on the type of tissue that the ultrasound wave is travelling through. The ultrasound transducer which is responsible for the generation and detection of reflected ultrasound is, therefore, an essential component of the ultrasound imaging device. Ultrasound transducers work on the basis of the piezoelectric effect in which an alternating voltage applied to piezoelectric crystal material causes the crysta ls to become electrically polarised as a result of the applied electric field and hence vibrate with the alternating voltage to produce sound. Such crystals also become electrically polarised when stress is applied to them and hence any sound waves which are incident on them result in charge accumulation on the crystal surface and hence the generation of an alternating voltage. Thus, an ultrasound transducer consists of a suitable piezoelectric material sandwiched between electrodes that are used to provide a fluctuating electric field when the transducer is required to generate ultrasound. When the transducer is required to detect ultrasound, the electrodes may be used to detect any fluctuating voltages produced as a result of the polarisation of the crystals of the piezoelectric material in response to incident sound which generates fluctuating mechanical stresses on the material. Piezoelectric materials include quartz, ferroelectric crystals such as tourmaline and Rochelle salt a s well as the group of materials known as the piezoelectric ceramics, which include lead titanate (PbTiO3) and lead zirconate (PbZrO3). These materials are also known as piezoelectric ceramics which are used in ultrasound transducers for biomedical applications.Polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) is another transducer material which has demonstrated advantages as a high frequency receiver. Piezoelectric ceramics are sold with the brand name PXE by Philips Company and are solid solutions of lead titanate (PbTiO3), and lead zirconate (PbZrO3) which have been modified by additives which are a group of piezoelectric ceramics known as PZT. PXE materials are hard, chemically inert and unaffected by a humid environment. The crystals in a ferroelectric material of which PXE is made up of align themselves randomly in a number of directions. With such a random orientation of crystals, the material will exhibit no piezoelectric effect. In order to have a piezoelectric material which is capable of being used for ultrasound transducers, the material has to be subjected to a strong electric field at high temperatures. This has the effect of permanently locking the crystals in the direction of the applied electric field and making the crystal piezoelectric in the direction of the electric field. Hence, a piezoelectric ceramic material may be converted into a piezoelectric material in any given direction by applying a strong electric field to the material in the given direction at an elevated temperature. This treatment, which is known as poling, is the final stage in the manufacture of a PXE piezoelectric. Metal electrodes perpendicular to the poling axis are deposited on the material so that an alternating electric field may be applied to generate ultrasound or ultrasound vibrations may be sensed by sensing the electric field across the piezoelectric material. The voltage across a piezoelectric ceramic PXE material is usually directly proportional to the applied stress. The construction of a simple, single element piezoelectric transducer is as shown below. The Construction of a Single Element Piezoelectric Transducer Ultrasound imaging in the A-mode directs a narrow beam of ultrasound into the tissue being scanned and the echo which may be displayed on a CRT screen provides a measure of the distance between reflecting surfaces in the body. In the B-scan mode, the echo signal is brightness modulated which makes it possible for information related to tissue depth to be displayed on the screen in a visually effective manner. An ultrasound transducer array operating in B-mode permits a picture of the tissues within a patient’s body to be displayed on a CRT device. M-mode ultrasound imaging presents tissue movement by scanning an A or B – line on a monitor as a function of time and movements in this line indicate movements in the tissues within the body. In C-mode ultrasound imaging a second transducer is used to detect echoes sent out by the first transducer, presenting a 2-D map of the ultrasound attenuation within tissues. Having discussed the principles of operation of a piezoelectric medical ultrasound transducer, it is now appropriate to consider the practical problems associated with the construction of such transducers. This is done below. The Design of Ultrasound Transducers A transducer which is constructed out of piezoelectric material will have a natural frequency of resonance and it is appropriate that the transducer should be excited with alternating electric field which matches the natural resonant frequency of oscillation of the material. The ultrasound frequencies that are used in medical imaging applications range from 1 MHz to 15 MHz and echocardiography is usually performed at frequencies of 2.5 MHz. Hence, transducers which are used for ultrasound imaging have to be tuned for different frequencies. For a transducer material in which ultrasound waves travel at the speed c, with a resonant frequency f, the thickness of the material is related by the formula f=c/2d. Hence, it is possible to tune various transducers constructed of the same material to different frequencies by adjusting the thickness of the material. The ultrasound transducer can be excited by a continuous wave, a pulsed wave, or a single voltage pulse depending on the requirement s for observing a continuous image, echo ranging or other tissue measurements. The rear face of the piezoelectric crystal material is usually supported by a backing material which is tungsten loaded araldite, so that the vibrations in the piezoelectric material are rapidly damped after the initial excitation. It is important to couple the piezoelectric transducer to the body of a patient so that the incident ultrasound energy can be effectively transmitted into the body tissue that is being scanned. In order to do this, matching layers of suitable acoustic material are used along with a gel which makes it possible for the ultrasound waves to penetrate the tissue more efficiently. As far as possible, the characteristic acoustic impedance of the tissue being scanned is matched with the acoustic impedance of the transducer. The characteristic acoustic impedance of the tissue is defined as: In the formula, c is the speed of ultrasound in human tissue which is about 1540 m/sec with a variation of +/- 6% and   is the tissue density. K is the bulk elastic modulus of the tissue being scanned. The acoustic parameters of an ultrasound transducer include its nominal frequency, the peak frequency which is the highest frequency response measured from the frequency spectrum, the bandwidth of the transducer which is the difference between the highest and the lowest – 6 dB level in the frequency spectrum, the pulse width response time of the transducer, which is the time duration of the time domain envelope which is 20 dB above the rising and decaying cycles of a transducer response, the loop sensitivity for a medium on which a test is performed which is characterised by: Here, Vo is the excitation pulse voltage in volts, while Vx is the received signal voltage from the transducer.   The signal to noise ratio for a biomedical ultrasound transducer is also an important parameter for an ultrasound transducer and this is defined as: In the above expression, Vx is the received signal voltage from the transducer in volts in response to a specified tone burst or pulse and Vn is the noise floor in volts. The signal to noise ratio for an ultrasound transducer is a measure of the noise associated with the transducer, measuring instrument or cables and this is a good measure of how sensitive a transducer is. In addition to the previously mentioned parameters, geometrical parameters for a transducer describe how the acoustic pressure generated by a transducer varies across the axial and cross-sectional fields of a transducer. These variations are illustrated below: Axial Beam Profile for an Ultrasound Transducer Cross – Sectional Beam Profile for an Ultrasound Transducer he detailed construction of an ultrasound transducer for medical applications involving the shaping of the piezoelectric material, matching layers, housing and backing materials etc is presently conducted using computational techniques such as Finite Element Modelling of ultrasound transducers through the use of software packages such as Ultrasim and other commercially available software. In the overall design, efforts have to be made to ensure that the overall design will be optimised so as to deliver a sufficiently high power of ultrasound into the tissue being imaged and as far as possible there is best possible sound impedance matching between the transducer and the scanned tissue. Design of the backing material in an ultrasound transducer is important because this design determines the ring down time of the transducer, which is critical for low noise and optimal axial resolution of the transducer. Trends in Transducer Design for Echocardiography Only the simplest equipment for echocardiography will use a single ultrasound transducer and there is a trend towards design of echocardiography equipment which uses two or even three dimensional arrays of ultrasound transducers to provide superior quality 2 –D or 3-D computer generated pictures of the organ being imaged.   Even the relatively simpler equipment being used these days has two or more ultrasound transducers fitted into the transducer probe. The array of transducers are capable of generating a shaped beam of ultrasound which can be appropriately focused using electronic digital signal processing techniques to provide better images and resolution. Although the relatively simple medical ultrasound scanners cost about  £1000 per piece, reasonably decent transducer assemblies for a decent Philips or Toshiba ultrasound machines can cost  £1500 for the transducer alone. Transducer arrays for two or three dimensional ultrasound imaging equipment can be much more ex pensive because of the large number of transducers that are employed in such imaging equipment.   For better quality ultrasonic imaging to be possible, there is a requirement for enhanced bandwidth transducers, higher frequency transducer arrays and sophisticated digital signal processing circuits. There is also a trend towards transducer miniaturisation which will make intracavitary, intraurethral, or intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) investigation possible. The current imaging frequency range of 1 MHz to 15 MHz is expected to be increased to 20 MHz to 100 MHz and at these frequencies, microsonography devices using miniature ultrasound transducers with higher sensitivities are expected to provide much better and higher resolution images using catheter based transducers which are less then 2mm in diameter and are capable of being placed in veins.   New ultrasound transducer materials are likely to provide transducers which are far more sensitive then those available presently and consume lower power. These transducers can be operated from battery powered portable equipment and th ere are indications in literature that with the availability of such devices, it is likely that the stethoscope will be replaced by miniature ultrasound equipment. New trends in ultrasound transducer construction are also moving towards composite transducer construction in which a composite of two piezoelectric materials is used to design the transducer. Ultrasound transducers are fairly rugged and the piezoelectric material does not loose its properties unless exposed to high temperatures approaching the Curie temperature for the material are reached or there are strong alternating or direct electrical fields opposing the direction of poling for the material. Mechanical stresses imposed on the piezoelectric materials should not exceed the specified limits and although the specified limits vary for different types of materials, mechanical stress in excess of 2.5 MPa may be considered as likely to cause permanent damage. Ultrasound transducers are capable of being designed to operate in liquid mediums and the piezoelectric material does not react with water or gel.   Conclusion Materials with piezoelectric properties such as lead titanate (PbTiO3) and lead zirconate (PbZrO3) lend themselves to being treated by poling to generate as well as detect ultrasound waves when subjected to alternating electric fields or mechanical stresses. 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