Frankenstein and Bladerunner Essay

A holistic understanding of a text can be only be pursued by the audience only when they are able to pinpoint the intended values of the composer and resonate these values with the time and context of the text. It is evident that through a comparative study of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein together with Ridley Scott’s 1992 film Blade Runner, despite the one hundred year gap between the two texts, the values each composer wishes to deliver to the audience echo the concerns of humanity and its susceptibility against themselves.Frankenstein explores how humanity’s obsession with scientific and medical developments in the 19th Century while Blade Runner explores the societal vales of consumerism and capitalism in the 20th Century. Evidently, it is clear through the comparison of the texts as to how the social values of each society bring detrimental outcomes for humanity. A theme that is seen in Frankenstein is the danger of unrestrained scientific progress and creation, a theme most evident when Frankenstein bestows the â€Å"spark of life† upon his creature in his effort to â€Å"pour a torrent of light into our dark world†.Here Shelley alludes to the sciences of the period of enlightenment or in particular, Galvanism which held the belief that corpses could be reanimated through an electrical current, or â€Å"spark†. The characterization of Frankenstein serves to symbolize the desire of humanity to be able to create and control aspects of life which were limited to god. This becomes clearer as Frankenstein states, â€Å"A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. Here, Shelley uses a listing of descriptive language which embeds positive connotations in order to depict the naive hopes of humanity’s desire to create and control life and nature. As the plot unfolds, it becomes evident that this desire only leads to false hopes as Fra nkenstein’s creation states, â€Å"You are my creator, but I am your master; obey! †. Here, the paradoxical statement by the creation is indicative of how humanity’s desires will ultimately backfire when the power to create and control is unchecked and abused.Ultimately, the monster is responsible for the death of many associates of Frankenstein as well as Frankenstein himself which shows the ultimate backfire of scientific progresses on humanity. Scott’s Bladerunner recognizes the same flaws within humanity as Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. He portrays a world where humanity’s hunger for power, control and technological advances ultimately leads to their downfall. In the opening scene, Scott portrays the dominating figure of Tyrell’s building through the use of a panoramic shot, where the large and tall building juxtaposes with the other buildings of the society.In order to give more focus on Tyrell’s building, a dolly shot is us ed and together with eerie background music, the director creates a mysterious atmosphere concerning Tyrell’s practices. Tyrell's company alludes to the rise of capitalism and consumerism in the twentieth century, where this lead to large transnational corporations being one of the dominant forces of globalization. This can be witnessed in the low angle shot of the high rise buildings, which embed Coca Cola and Pan Am Airlines advertisements through neon lighting.The forces of globalization can be further recognized with the oriental background music which accompanies the advertisements together with a follow up mid shot depicting a large screen with a Japanese geisha dominating the screen. This alludes to the dominant Asian culture in LA alludes to the aggressive Asian Tiger Economics of the late 20th century, where the drastic rise of Asian countries such as Japan and China was seen.Hence, by blending these notions of social values with the dystopian depiction of LA, where the continuous rainfall and the absence of sunlight indicates the destruction of nature and its endowments, Scott is foreshadowing a society which humanity has ultimately destroyed with their own hands. Once the responders understand the contextual influence on the two texts, the responders are then able to grasp the core idea of both texts – humanity’s negligence in their power. Both texts indicate the self-destructive nature of humanity’s empowerment to which responders can reflect upon in correlation with their contemporary society.Firstly, Frankenstein portrays how the ambition to redefine human limitations through creation is bound to result in failure, and accordingly create something monstrous. Frankenstein’s Creature is the very embodiment of the monstrosity that humans are capable of creating. The symbolism of light in, â€Å"until from the midst of this darkness a sudden light broke in upon me† conveys Victor’s instinctive awakenin g to the possibility of creating a perfect being impervious to diseases. The contrast between the ‘darkness’ and ‘light’ hints the didactic purpose which Shelley tries to convey to her responders.Such a taboo act of trespassing the domain of the divine providence signifies the beginning of Frankenstein’s blindness. Frankenstein is quick to realize that he has created a monster, as shown by the regretful tone in, â€Å"I beheld the wretch – the miserable monster whom I had created. † This depicts that untamed human ambition can lead to the inadvertent creation of the ‘grotesque’ and through this, Shelly is alluding to the ideology that creation is the work of God and should not be attempted by humanity. Blade Runner examines this notion of the negligence of humanity’s empowerment on a much broader scale than Frankenstein.This is achieved by depicting the detrimental consequences of humanity’s misuse of power up on an entire country. Frankenstein was a forewarning of the dangers of human ambition of that context, but Bladerunner portrays the aftermath of the overambitious quest for knowledge in the future if the misuse of power cannot be contained by depicting a dystopian world. Appropriately, the human beings in this alternate future seem artificial and lacking humanity except for the protagonist Deckard. Deckard is the primary voice of the director, where Scott portrays his ideas on how humanity should be living through the actions of Deckard.In Bladerunner, Deckard is a character who distances himself from the social norm of technology and the rigid structure of society. He is indicative of the traditional ‘human’ who responds emotionally and takes part in conventional human actions. Although this notion is strongly evidenced towards the end of the film, the director foreshadows Deckard’s humanitarian characteristics from the beginning of the film. The idea of Deckard holding human qualities can be witnessed in the scene when Deckard is reading the newspaper. A dolly shot is utilized by Scott in order to capture the setting of the city and gradually focus on Deckard.Through this shot, the responders recognize the strong juxtaposition between the social values and Deckard. Deckard is reading the traditional ‘newspaper’, whilst in the background, numerous television screens showing the news can be seen. This contrast in effect highlights that Deckard abides by the more ‘traditional’ conventions of humanity and through his heroic portrayal, it becomes evident that Scott wishes to address that in order for humanity to survive, it will require us to restrain ourselves from being too consumed with social cults and conventions which invoke control, creation and power.In order to fulfill an understanding of a text, responders need to identify and understand the true intentions of the composer. When both Frankenstein and Blade R unner are read on parallel, although their contexts are different, the problematic issues resonate with each other and furthermore, responders can also illustrate that these texts induces the responders to reflect on the contemporary society to understand that the social values of our time, although they may seem standard may be in fact detrimental for humanity.

How can be a university education be free? Essay

A free college education for all? That’s been the dream of many an idealist. President Obama certainly shares this goal— a year ago he said â€Å"The single most important thing we can do is to make sure we’ve got a world-class education system for everybody. That is a prerequisite for prosperity.† State university systems, particularly in New York and California, are tasked to provide all students— even those of limited means—access to higher education. Many, especially on the political Left, view public support of education as a cornerstone of a free and prosperous society. Thus the current economic hard times have produced great distress. Both SUNY in New York and the three California state systems, along with many others, have been forced to dramatically raise tuition. Many states have cut back on support—the sad and familiar joke being that public institutions have gone from being state supported to merely state located. Federal funds are also threatened: graduate students will no longer receive interest deferments, earmarks (a traditional source of money for higher education) are no longer available, and government grant money is increasingly harder to come by. More financial woe looks likely in the near future. On top of this many questions are raised about the value of higher education. Is college teaching what students really need to know? Will it really be able to guarantee graduates a place in the middle class as it has done in the past? Do the benefits of college justify the increasingly burdensome student loan debt that our nation’s youth is now saddled with? Higher education, already unaffordable, may no longer be worth the cost. It all looks pretty grim. And yet I believe we are on the cusp of a new world in higher education – a world that can provide a free (or nearly free) college education for all. The recession has brought higher education’s woes into sharp relief, but it has not caused them. Colleges, designed for the world in the 1960s and 1970s, have not changed with the times. Colleges are still run as top-down bureaucracies rather than bottom-up communities. Outside of government, few other organizations operate this way. Anybody can publish and sell a book at Amazon.com. Google and Apple let their customers determine most of their content. Walmart empowers even its most junior employees to order products and set prices. Wikipedia allows any reader to write or update an article. Higher ed’s institutional structures aren’t like that at all, featuring top-down, inefficient, bureaucratic command management. Maintaining this old-fashioned system is ever more expensive and increasingly impossible. So here are some suggestions for how higher ed can imitate successful organizations, improve quality, and reduce costs even to zero. Let volunteers teach classes: This isn’t simply about saving labor costs (though it is that, too); it is primarily about crowd-sourcing. Just as Amazon, Google, and Wikipedia are able to tap into the expertise of millions, colleges can do the same by blurring the distinction between faculty, student, town, and gown. In an on-line environment there is no limit on the number of classes that can be taught, and no reason to restrict class offerings to only those taught by paid employees. Founded in 2009, University of the People will exclusively use volunteer faculty. Indeed, the distinction between faculty and student is hopelessly blurred in their model. As a result they aspire to be a tuition-free university open to any high school grad anywhere in the world. Initially they are offering programs in business administration and computer science, and are seeking regional accreditation. While there is no tuition, there are some fees, but the total cost for a bachelor’s degree will likely be a few hundred dollars, depending on where you live. By comparison, Texas’ initiative to offer bachelor’s degrees for $10,000 looks like a very modest goal. While UoPeople exists solely on-line, residential colleges can and should take advantage of volunteers. Indeed, classes intended primarily for personal enrichment (as opposed to career preparation) are possibly better taught by volunteers than paid faculty. Who better to teach Shakespeare than somebody whose primary motivation is a love of Shakespeare? Why not empower the waitress down the street (the one with a PhD in English) to teach a class on Hamlet? Just as with Amazon and Wikipedia, crowd-sourcing results in the best coming forward and leading the way. The university will need to establish rules that enable the winnowing and selection process— just as Amazon does very successfully with the customer reviews and the best-seller rankings—without in any way depriving others of opportunity. Of course volunteers may not be grading papers. Some of that can be avoided by asking peers, with instructor oversight, to grade papers (as UoPeople will certainly be doing), but that brings us to the second requirement of a (nearly) free education. Automate almost everything: In particular, automate grading. There are today few reasons for any human being to be grading math or science homework—at least through the sophomore level. Indeed, faculty graders can be unfair and unreliable— I speak from experience. Computer grading can be more reliable and certainly much cheaper. Even for the â€Å"softer† subjects computers can be an asset. On-line campuses at minimum run English papers through Turnitin and a grammar- and spell-checker before a grader even sees the paper, eliminating the most tedious labor. But where computerization isn’t possible, grading can be out-sourced. Western Governors University hires graders for whom both the student and the faculty member remain anonymous, and who are required to calibrate their work against other graders to ensure consistency. This is not free, but it is cheaper than faculty graders and almost certainly better. For some classes it may even be possible to outsource grading to India or the Philippines to further reduce costs. With volunteer faculty and computerized/outsourced grading, the cost of many classes can approach zero. But there are still some classes that need to be professionally taught and for which grading is not a primary expense. I’m thinking of the core introductions to the disciplines, such as Intro to Psychology, Calculus, or General Chemistry, etc. How can these be taught more cheaply? Let the winner take all: If my grandchildren ever decide to take calculus, I want them to have an excellent instructor. Indeed, I’d like them to have the best instructor in the country. In times past that would require attending an elite liberal arts college. But today (or more likely, tomorrow) there are more and better choices. These already exist for languages. A quirky company called Rosetta Stone has largely put college foreign language instruction out of business. For approximately $200/semester one can learn almost any language one wants—not quite free, but much cheaper and (apparently) more effective than the college classroom. Rosetta Stone is a good example of winner-take-all; it has cornered the market not because of some government license, nor because only their employees know languages, but because they are better and cheaper. Why not do this with calculus, chemistry, psychology and all the rest? This will eventually happen. In each of those disciplines a product (or, hopefully, two or three competing products) will emerge that is manifestly better than anything any individual college can produce in-house. Why has it not already happened? With foreign languages one can either speak the language or not—a short conversation will test. Whether or not one gets credit for the class is completely irrelevant. The Carnegie Units awarded by academic language departments therefore have no value and are unsellable. With general chemistry, on the other hand, it is much harder to know whether or not the student has actually learned anything—a short conversation won’t do. Therefore the Carnegie Units are still valued, and a general chemistry class that doesn’t come with credit will find few takers. What is needed is a recognized way to establish competence independent of Carnegie Units. Once that happens the winner-take-all world quickly follows. A current project at Stanford University offers a path forward. Stanford is teaching a free, on-line class in artificial intelligence. As of August 15th news reports indicated that 58,000 people had registered. I have a friend who is signed up, and he reports that now enrollment is over 100,000. Stanford is not awarding credit for this class—no Carnegie Units involved. Instead they are doing something much cleverer and much more subversive. Stanford will rank the students in order of how well they do in the class and send them a certificate accordingly. Coming in first in a class of 100,000 will be quite an achievement—worth far more than any Carnegie Units. That person (or more likely, thousand people) will have a credential they can take to the bank. More generally, the organizations that offer world class instruction in the disciplines can keep their own records of how well students do. This will serve as a transcript, rendering the college transcript and the associated Carnegie Units irrelevant and unmarketable. Carnegie Units are a problem, and that brings us to the final suggestion. Break the cartel: What might be called the â€Å"Carnegie Cartel† survives because it serves the best interest of existing institutions. Like all good cartels, it reduces competition by raising the cost of entry and by fixing prices. It is enforced by accrediting agencies, appropriately run as voluntary associations of existing institutions, dedicated to keeping newcomers out. Acquiring and retaining accreditation is expensive: including faculty and staff time along with the opportunity cost, a seven-figure price tag for an accreditation visit is not an unreasonable estimate. This does not include considerable efforts spent on on-going assessment, processes for continuous improvement, and collecting all the other ever more arcane documentation demanded by accreditors. A cartel maintains a grip on the market because it controls an essential resource that everybody needs. For the Carnegie Cartel this resource is access to state and federal financial aid—money not available to unaccredited organizations and individuals. But this resource is now threatened by several developments. First, the recession has simply reduced the funds available. Second, many shady for-profit colleges have successfully gamed the system and are now reaping a disproportionate share of funds, corrupting the entire enterprise. Third, the cartel’s currency—Carnegie Units—are no longer a very good proxy for educational achievement. The system is flummoxed by on-line or blended learning, not to mention on-line short courses taught by volunteers. Accrediting agencies have never heard of crowd-sourcing. Finally, and most important, the advent of free or nearly free education eliminates the value of the cartel’s franchise. Federal funds are not necessary. No cartel serves the interest of its customers, and the Carnegie Cartel is no exception. It has frozen an over-priced, outmoded and dysfunctional educational system in place. It needs to be broken up. I believe that is gradually happening now. Breaking the cartel will sharply reduce the cost of higher education across the board. A free college education for all? The UoPeople experiment is testing the free education model today. If it is successful, it will spread more or less rapidly, and even if that particular effort fails it will only be a few years before somebody tries again. So I am not presenting a radical vision for the distant future, but rather describing something that is happening now or very soon. A (nearly) free college education for everybody is not only possible, but likely. But it will be a bare-bones education, and many students will want to pay for something more. What might they pay for? The residential college experience is valuable even if the general chemistry class is out-sourced. The college can provide accompanying laboratory experiences and/or recitation sections. Students need a peer group. Classmates form the beginning of a professional network that will last a lifetime. Attending classes and studying together is valuable, even if the classes themselves are free. Peer group facilitators will be in demand. Some classes— analytical chemistry comes to mind—require expensive equipment along with a technically trained instructor. This will never be free. College faculty won’t get paid much for teaching, but they can still earn a living as tutors, research mentors, coaches, team-leaders, advisers, counselors. These skills cannot be computerized and students will pay for them. I am in favor of a free college education for all, despite the inevitable dislocation in the higher education community. I hope these changes happen sooner rather than later. But I am not starting a political movement. Activism is not necessary—the die is cast and much of what I predict is already taking place. Not that I’m against political activism—if you want to do that be my guest. But could I ask you to please wait for a few years until after I retire?

Project Time and Quality Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Project Time and Quality - Coursework Example Also, a project has a definite product or service that it creates at a given point in time. This defines the uniqueness of projects in the world of business. Projects come with inherent issues and problems. First of all, a project is temporary and due to that, the team members and project stakeholders are not used to working with each other. In practical terms, most projects entail the collaboration between complete strangers who are unified by the need to work together to attain certain defined objectives. Secondly, a project aims at creating a specified deliverable and measurable end and this demands specified processes and activities that must be completed to attain this specific end. Also, projects involve resource constraints. This means that the time, budget and resources for the execution of the project are not infinite but limited. To ensure that these three issues are controlled and optimum results are attained from the project, there is the need for proper planning, co-ordi nation and monitoring (Woodward, 2009). In other words, there should be a plan that will ensure that all team members, irrespective of their diverse backgrounds can work together and attain the objectives of the project. Secondly, there is the need to use planning to ensure that the specific deliverable is created and created according to specification. Finally, there is the need to plan to ensure that resources are judiciously and optimally used for the attainment of the objectives of the research. Thus from the onset of a project, there is the need for the project plan to draw the bottom line or yardsticks and define the scope of the project. This should be spelt out clearly in unambiguous terms and preferably in writing. Personally, I identify three main planning stages in projects. There is the initial planning phase, the contingent planning stage and the monitoring/corrective planning phase. These three planning stages are important in the proper management of projects in organ isations. Initial Planning Phase Project Management is about initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and control and closing processes (Portny, 2010). However, for the attainment of all these stages of project management, there is the need for good planning and monitoring of the project. â€Å"Project Management Plan is a document used to co-ordinate all the project planning documents and help guide the project's execution and control† (Schwalbe, 2010). This means that the Project Management Plan is an integrated set of documents that accommodates all the sub-plans of the project (Knutson, & Bitz, 2006). It is a centralised plan that includes all the various plans for the handling of issues pertaining to the project at hand. Aside being an integrated document, it contains certain centralised matters like the identification of project planning assumptions, decisions on choices and the definitions of resources and constraints (Schwalbe, 2010). So the Project Management plan sets the benchmarks for operations and activities in a project. It identifies the yardsticks and defines 'Where We Are† (WWR) and â€Å"Where We Want to Get† (WW2G). It creates the standard measures for the various activities related to the project at hand. As it sets the standards for what must be achieved through the project, it spells out and clarifies stakeholder rights and responsibilities. In other words, the Project Manag

Analysis of Rembrandt van Rijn's Paintings Essay

Analysis of Rembrandt van Rijn's Paintings - Essay Example The essay "Analysis of Rembrandt van Rijn's Paintings" analyzes two paintings, The Descent from the Cross and Philosopher in Meditation, both found in the art museum of The University of Arizona. The Descent from the Cross refers to a scene from the Gospels reports of Joseph and Nicodemus lowering Christ from the cross following his crucifixion. Artists also refer to it as The Deposition of Christ. Other names not stated in the Gospels who were included in illustrations of this art consist of St. John who is pictured supporting a dimming Mary Magdalene. The Gospels reveal an indeterminate number of women as witnessing the crucifixion. It also included the Three Marys: the Virgin Mary, Mary Salome and also Mary Magdalene who witnessed the burial. These and many other women and unidentified male assistant are shown in the painting. Even in early illustrations the facts and pretense of the work of art and the pose of Christ’s body are different. The scene was incorporated in medi eval cycles of Passion or the Life of Christ, from the crucifixion to the burial of Christ. The weeping of Christ and viewing the body of Christ supported by Mary might intervene between those two. This is widespread in the people’s view, mainly in sculpture. The viewing Christ’s body being moved to his tomb, anointing of Christ and showing the body laid flat on the top of the tomb is another picture that might be thought of in the painting. This is vital in the Orthodox art, where it is revealed on the Epitaph. (Rijn 7). With the resurgence, the painting became accepted for altarpieces, partially because of the challenge of the art work and the fitness of its vertical shape. The Mannerist edition of Russo Florentine is viewed as his most significant painting, and Pontormo’s altarpiece is his most determined painting. This topic of crucifixion was painted many times by both Rembrandt and Rubens. Rembrandt also liked the paintings of Rubens (Rijn 7). Rembrandt ad apted the compositional format for The Descent from the Cross from Ruben’s painting. Rembrandt though sets the theme back in time. The posture of the body Christ is also copied directly from Ruben’s work. His description of the limp and the lifeless Christ discloses a sense of brutality and sorrow which is missing in Rubens painting. Rembrandt used himself as a representation for the boy on the ladder who clings to Christ’s arm (Rijn 7). This signified his emotional connection to the painting and his religious passion. This is the only painting by Rembrandt bearing the dedication of an art dealer and modern publisher, Hedrick Van. Rembrandt’s studio at that time was situated in the publisher's house, and it was there that he met Hedrick Van’s cousin Saki. Rembrandt married Saki in 1634. The Descent from the Cross and the Pendant Christ before Pilate were both published by Cum Privileges. They were approved by the States General and are alike to the recent copyrights (Rijn 7). Philosopher in Meditation Philosopher in Me

The Increased Use of Digital Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Increased Use of Digital Technology - Essay Example These are few of the examples of a revolution that have taken place and given the modern times a totally new appearance. Portability and on the go access has been the order of the day. Twenty years back the world was entering into a phase where computers were a new trend in the commercial world, only mainframe and giant computers existed that were accessible only to the defence departments and scientists. Those were the days that set the foundation for modern day progress and enabled a progressive present. A few megabytes hard disk was considered an achievement, even the technology proponent Bill Gates was misled by his assumptions and stated that â€Å"640 k of memory would be above the suffice level of needs of common person†(Lee, pg 182, 2006). Globalization is another term that aptly fits in this situation; it has made the entire universe a family and the world is a global village now, people are exploring all those dimensions that were never possible before. Today most of the cafes in towns, airports, subway stations have Wi-Fi and other means of internet available that enables staying in touch with people even when on the go, hence digital emergence has contributed towards constant contact and sources of communications in modern times(Wells, et al., 2001). Use of computers gave rise to the internet which in true sense revolutionized the modern times and enabled achieving all that which were once limited to fantasies and wishes list. This was further followed by the introduction of wireless spectrum that totally eliminated the concept of wired communications. Wireless mode meant more ubiquity and less hassle.

Capstone Experience (SWOT Analysis and Strategic Scorecard) Clairol Assignment

Capstone Experience (SWOT Analysis and Strategic Scorecard) Clairol Company 1 - Assignment Example According to Doyle and Bridgewater (2010), the main focus on the confectionery gives them an upper hand in understanding the consumers in the various segments better. The achievement of various acquisitions gave it the opportunity to expand into other markets like Vietnam (Doyle and Bridgewater 2010). P&G has less exposure in the other markets and therefore it will faces difficulty in understanding the new emerging markets compared to its competitors. The release of a high number of brands at the same time also makes it hard for the management to concentrate on the performance of a particular brand within the market. There are new markets with great opportunities that exist and expand into the emerging markets such as India where the population is on the rise. There is an increase of consumer wealth and an increase in the demand for confectionery products thus an increase in the amount of profits (Doyle and Bridgewater, 2012). The markets the company operates have a high rate of acquisitions and merger currently, and there are opportunities that exist to raise market share by means of planned purchases. This will also boost the level of profits at P & G. Increase in the level of efficiency and reduction of costs is the main route to survival within the FMCG market. P & G’s plan towards cost efficiency leads to saving of costs through moving production to countries that have cheaper raw materials and reduce the internal costs The large quantities of goods that need proper storage and management are high in number, but there have been inadequate methods of handling the goods. Thus, some end up getting spoilt in the process resulting to a big loss to the organization since the products will not reach the end users (Percy and Giles, 2007). This paper, therefore, looks into the warehousing process. The demand for the products within the cost environment has increased. This is an

Impact of the Globalization Process in Different Fields Essay

Impact of the Globalization Process in Different Fields - Essay Example This essay outlines the significance of globalization process, that favorably resulted in the rapidity of change, together with different priorities of nations and people. Globalization has boomed in the aftermath of the oil crisis in the 1970s and it changed the relative costs of production inputs and products, gave new impetus to technological innovations, fuelled international financial transactions, as OPEC countries invested their surging revenues in the USA, changed the structure of trade. As economic force, globalization process makes multinational companies (MNCs) the principle vehicle of imperialism’s drive to re-divide the world according to economic power. Economic crisis that is considered to be the greatest since the times of the Great Depression can have negatively impact on the business environment. This is particularly true in countries in transition; moreover, foreign investments can make economics more uneven, with disastrous consequences for both the developing and developed countries. This polarization must be recognized by international business structures and governments through poverty alleviation programmes and strategies designed to reposition marginalized economies to make them possible to participate in current developments. The problem is that even small American enterprises to have an impact on the global market are to think, produce and sell globally. The so-called ‘global firm’ have to link all the small enterprises into global webs of production, distribution and services. The process is rather long-term and complicated one, because the new business model has possess strategic flexibility, competition with co-operation, horizontal, decentralized work structures, and constant communication in real time. [Held D., McGrew A., Goldblatt D. and Perraton J., 1999] The re-organizational process has already begun, that's in why it has got an unstoppable power: it exists at all levels, including economics, politics, social and labor spheres. As economic force, globalization process makes multinational companies (MNCs) the principle vehicle of imperialism's drive to re-divide the world according to economic power. [Douglas I., and Tervio M., 2000] The process of integration of global financial markets has increased capital mobility and global production and distribution structures, but has also weakened the bargaining power of trade unions everywhere - the most key decisions are made by private business that deepened the increase of privatization; such policies have a potential negative impact on jobs and incomes everywhere. [Thomas T., 2000] Through the process of restructuring jobs in some sectors and places have been lost, but the relocation from developed to developing countries has influenced capital mobility and the locational choices of firms, which favors social stability, local infrastructure development, and market proximity. But from the social point of view, the existence of firms with a global reach and profile calls for new business ethics, and over-emphasises on efficiency and technology, that has affected the human element, causing depersonalization and spreading apathy. [Thomas T., 2000] In general, the global economy is to reform the labour market, and its outcomes are directly connected with the way these markets function, with the unionized and non-unionized sectors. There is a close

Statement of Purpose Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 7

Statement of Purpose - Essay Example er, the element finance run in my family as my mother and father handles their own business and my education in finance would aid both of them considerably. It is my mother’s trade in Gold at metatrader software program that invoked me to start a finance related study .On one winter break, I voluntarily started studying the trade market, accustomed myself with the finance news, updated forex calendar, indulged in online trading chart and scrutinized technical analyzing tools. All of these sparked in me a passion to learn more about finance, especially quantitative finance. The uncertainty and fluctuation in the financial field pulled me strongly into it as I found it to be really challenging. This was the moment of truth and I decided to take up a credible course in quantitative financial studies. At the same time, I also realized the importance of finance in this sophisticated world and how much this study can help me in building my future. My excitement in learning finance related course soon turned out into a consolidated passion and solidified my desire to devote my future to the field of finance and investment. The quantitative finance course offered by your esteemed organization impressed me greatly and convinced me to get admission in it in a chase to follow up my dreams and desires. I understood that this quantitative program has the potentiality to manage assets and minimize risk which is the core aim of any business related study. I foresee that finance related course has the power to destroy or flourish the status of a business. This even more strengthened my decision to learn quantitative finance course. Moreover, it is when the financial crisis hit the world in 2009, I completely understood the importance of financial study on an international platform. I would like to confess here that the appropriate course offered by your prestige university has the impeccable ability to construct my future in a positive manner. I can put down in front of you

Strategies and Synergies of Tempur-Pedic International's plan to Case Study

Strategies and Synergies of Tempur-Pedic International's plan to acquire Sealy Corp - Case Study Example These two companies had agreed to merge and create $2.7 billion international bedding provision. This agreement entails an acquisition of $242 million and assumption of $750 million in debt by Tempur-Pedic International from Seal Corp. Apparently, Seal Corp had raised its shares up by 9 per cent in anticipation of the acquisition by the rival firm. The shares traded at $2.33. Tempur-Pedic felt threatened by the rapid up scaling of the Sealy Corp and was determined to recapture the market share. Under the agreement, Sealy Corp would continue with its independent operations under its Chief Executive Officer, Larry Rogers. He will report to the Tempur-Pedic’s Chief Executive Officer, Mark Sarvey. Although Tempur-Pedic Corp and Sealy Corp are both bedding companies, they each took separate paths over the past twenty years. Tempur-Pedic that was founded 1992 and later emerged as the biggest manufacturer of mattresses in 2011. Consequently, its sales revenue rose by 28 per cent attaining a $ 1.42 billion point. Sealy Corp has been operating for 131 years but the rise in Tempur-Pedic resulted in the plunging of its shares by more than ninety per cent in 2006. Consequently, its sales revenue was reduced to $1.23 billion during the 2011 public initial offer (Arora & Mukherjee, 2012). Sealy Corp had H Partners Management LLC as its number one shareholder. The New York based KKR and the Bain Capital are other important shareholders. Tempur-Pedic’s shareholders include Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (myNews, 2012). Tempur-Pedic’s strategic rational Tempur-Pedic aims to expand its operations to cover more than eighty countries globally. Its acquisition of the Seal Corp is a movement towards this direction aimed at strengthening its efficiencies. Its long-term goal is to ensure that its expansion strategy will result in value addition to its global customers, shareholders and retailers. By merging with the Sealy Corp, Tempur-Pedic believes that it will create enough synergy that is instrumental to drive it into attaining this goal. Besides, Tempur-Pedic hopes to take advantage of the two companies’ highly regarded technologies, brands, geographic footprints and products to tap into the significant opportunities (Arora & Mukherjee, 2012). Is the current o ffer of $2.20 per share a fair offer for ZZ? The second quarter of 2012 saw Tempur-Pedic’s cashing $134 million and equivalents. This is despite the fact that it operates with debts, both short and long term of $682 million. This places it in a net debt position of $548 million. However, this position would be increased after merging with the Sealy Corp in the $ 1.3 billion transaction to $1.8 billion. The first half of 2012 saw Tempur-Pedic’s revenue generation attain a $713.9 million mark, giving it a net of $85.3 million. This is equivalent to $1.31 for every share diluted. The firm expects to generate $1.43 billion n revenues independent of Sealy Corp. This will create expected earnings of $2.80 for every diluted share. Based on this valuation methodology, it will be appropriate for Tempur-Pedic to offer its shares at $2.80 instead of $2.20 (Empowered News, 2012). Do you think TPX or ZZ shareholders are getting the better deal at this price and why? The $1.3 billio n transaction between Tempur-Pedic International was not fully welcomed by all the shareholders of the two firms. The Sealy Corp shareholders were only entitled to a cash of $2.20 for each Sealy stock share owned. This represents a 3 per cent premium of the past closing stock and unfavorably lower than the fifty-two week high of $2.45. This has potential of undervaluing the Sealy

Early Computers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Early Computers - Research Paper Example Conventional desktop and laptops have extreme efficiency and storage. Apart from these they have blended in our vehicles, aircrafts, security systems, houses and industries to name a few. The computers we use today are a result of progress and innovation for almost three quarters of a century. The early developments are discussed in detail; 2. The First Computer Konrad Zuse was a German engineer who made Z1, the first programmed digital computer in 1936 (Copeland 5). The computer used electromechanical process to relay data. His original design was based on Vacuum Tubes, but due to lack to funds he could not implement the technology in his design. Because of the electromechanical processing his computer is not considered by many to be the first fully electronic computer (â€Å"Who Invented the Computer† 2). However, Zuse continued work on his computer and in 1941 introduced Z2 and Z3. The machines used telephone relays for sending and receiving data. The breakthrough, however, came from John Atanasoff, who introduced ABC Computer in 1942. According to Null and Lobur, John Atanasoff is credited with the construction of â€Å"first completely electronic computer† (19). The computer used vacuum tubes for relaying data. ... 3. Early Developments 3.1 Vacuum Tubes Vacuum Tubes were the most critical development and the major step towards the development of modern computers. These were used to deliver electric current in a vacuumed environment. The current was passed through the tubes and amplified. These were used for electrical signals by varying the amount of current. Vacuum Tubes were used in different devices and varied as per functionality. The tubes were replaced by transistors for use in computers. They were power efficient than the tubes and were responsible for shrinking the size. Furthermore, they significantly improved reliability of these early systems (Rojas and Hashagen 85). 3.2 Storage The Vacuum Tubes were used to relay data. They could not store data and were very unreliable. The first real storage was by F.C. Williams (Lavington 19). It was simply a charged phosphor film that recorded the pulse from the tubes. The pulse was recorded as a binary with the values differing with the strength of electric signal. The pattern of binary was recorded on the film and could be later used for regeneration. The equipment was known as Williams Cathode Ray Tube and was an electrostatic storage technology. 4. Operation Binary Number System was used for calculations. Programs were based on arithmetic and it was interpreted in binary code for the computer to process any calculation (Introduction to Computers 8). The Binary System has only two values that are 1 and 0. The computers interpret electric signals as 1 and dim signals as 0. The Vacuum Tubes were used to relay the signal and the storage films were used to record the information for later use. These components made the computers extremely big and difficult in

Organization Structure Simulation Essay Example for Free

Organization Structure Simulation Essay Organization Structure simulation Organizational structure is the division of labor and the patterns of coordination, communication, workflow, and formal power that guide organizational activities. An organization’s structure reflects the company’s culture and power relationships and can establish new communication patterns and align employee behavior with the company’s mission, vision and goals. The organizational structure enables effective communication and smooth workflow, but organizational culture is its underpinning. Organizational culture is the basic pattern of shared assumptions, values and beliefs that govern behavior within a particular organization. Organizational culture is a deeply embedded form of social control. It is the social glue that bonds people together and makes them feel part of the organizational experience. The culture of an organization should be compatible with its structure to ensure organizational success. Many teams fail because the organizational structure does not support them. Teams work better when there are few layers of management and teams are given autonomy and responsibility for their work (McShane Von Glinow, 2004). Understanding and addressing the need for alignment of organizational structure and culture with a company’s mission, vision and goals will help business leaders to craft effective strategies for successful change management, enabling them to deal with resistance to change effectively thus increasing the productivity of their organizations. This paper will explore several structures in organization design and organization design choices with emphasis on those that will best suit Synergetic Solutions, the company in the Organization Structure simulation. Company Background Synergetic Solutions is an information technology (IT) solutions company in the business of system integration—assembling and reselling leading computers brands. It has 300 employees most of whom are in the sales and service departments in five locations throughout the East Coast. Most of Synergetic’s employees have only basic computer assembling and troubleshooting skills, while a few higher-skilled individuals work as the specialists. Two years ago when the system integration market was suffering from stagnation Harold Redd, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Synergetic pursued some ventures in the network solutions business of designing and implementing complex computing networks. He had four of Synergetic’s brightest engineers trained and certified on networking technologies, a tactic which proved very profitable for the company. Recently Synergetic won a contract worth $1. 2 million for designing a network, and contracts worth $5 million are already on the horizon. As a result, the networking solution business is now 20% of the total revenues of the company, which currently stand at $6 million. Encouraged by the early success of this tactic, Harold Redd has made an important strategic decision to focus on the networking solutions business and raise its revenues to 80% of total sales, which are targeted at $12 million at the end of the next nine months. He has also set quarterly growth targets for revenue and measures of employee involvement such as productivity and absenteeism, based on industry benchmarks. Harold has given you a clear mandate— turn the business on its head and make Synergetic into a networking design ‘hothouse’ from just a computer trading organization within the next nine months. The challenge of the simulation is to redesign the work environment and organizational structure at Synergetic to move from the present departmental structure to the new team-based structure, developing new HR policies and programs to help employees make the transition. It is also necessary to improve current employee skill sets and/or hire new employees with relevant skills (Apollo Group, Inc. , 2003). Organization Structures In today’s turbulent business environment where most competitive advantages last eighteen months or less, change is the norm rather than the exception. Businesses like Synergetic must focus on building learning organizations that are flexible, open, adaptable, and ready to act (Apollo Group, Inc. , 2003). In the simulation as in real life, sometimes structural changes are necessary to meet the needs of rapidly changing market environment. Making one time changes is no longer enough to meet these needs. Organizations must choose flexible structures that allow for continuous improvement even after they put new processes in place. When an organization is small, a sole proprietorship or partnership where face-to-face communication is frequent, formal structure may not be necessary. As the organization grows larger into a corporation or limited liability company, a more defined structure becomes necessary to facilitate decision making in the delegation of various tasks. Business leaders respond to this need by creating and establishing management procedures and structure to assign responsibilities for essential functions. These decisions and procedures determine the organizational structure within the organization (Jones, 2004). There are several organizational structures that can be implemented by organizations. These organization structures are from two different viewpoints, traditional and contemporary. The traditional models such as hierarchies and bureaucracies are founded on the assumption that organizations exist in a basically calm environment, with changes occurring only as the occasional disturbance. Contemporary organizational structures such as product team structures and multidivisional matrix structures, however, are based on the premise that considers change a natural state and managing change a continuous process (Apollo Group, Inc. 2003). Modern contingency theory holds that to be successful an organization should design its structure and control systems to fit with its operating environment (Jones, 2004). To meet the challenges of an organization’s operating environment, business leaders differentiate and divide workers to match them to tasks that the organization must perform. Differentiation has both vertical and horizontal aspects. Vertical differentiation is the w ay an organization designs its hierarchy of authority. Horizontal differentiation is the way an organization clusters roles into subunits such as functions and divisions (Jones, 2004). A functional structure is a design that groups people because they have similar skills or use the same resources. Functional groups include finance, RD, marketing, and engineering. All organizations begin as functional structures. A functional has the advantage of being simple and straightforward, but it has a disadvantage when it comes to handling complex challenges. An organization needs to adopt a more complex structure when it starts to produce many products or when it confronts special needs, such as the need to produce new products quickly, to deal with different customer groups, or to handle growth into new regions. Synergetic needs a new organization structure because it needs to implement the production of its new product, networking technologies quickly enough to satisfy customer demand. The move to a more complex structure is based on three design choices: increasing vertical differentiation, increasing horizontal differentiation, and increasing integration (Jones, 2004). Most organizations move from a functional structure to some kind of divisional structure: a product structure, a geographic structure, or a market structure. There are three kinds of product structure: product division structure, multidivisional structure, and product team structure. Product division structure is used when an organization produces broadly similar products that use the same set of support functions. Multidivisional structures are available to organizations that are growing rapidly and producing a wide variety of products or are entering totally different kinds of industries. In a multidivisional structure, each product division is a self-contained division with the operating structure that best suits its needs. A central headquarters staff is responsible for coordinating the activities of the divisions in the organization. When a lot of coordination between divisions is required, a company can use a multidivisional matrix structure (Jones, 2004). Product team structures put the focus on the product being produced. Teams of functional specialists are organized around the product to speed product development. Product team structure is the organization structure most suited for Synergetic because the company must transform quickly to deliver a product it has never produced before. The four Synergetic engineers recently trained and certified on networking technologies can be the core of the new product team the company needs to deliver the new product. As the number of products and therefore the number of product teams increases, Synergetic can evolve its organization structure into a multidivisional matrix to more effectively coordinate the efforts of the product teams (Jones, 2004). The team approach has many advantages. One is that lower level employees gain authority and responsibility, and as a result, decision-making becomes much quicker requiring fewer managers. Team members become much more motivated and participate in the change process more often. In addition cross departmental cooperation increases as department barriers come down. It also allows the organization to more quickly adapt to customer requests and environmental changes. The team approach has some disadvantages that Synergetic must take into consideration. The team approach requires the expenditure of larger amounts of time and resources on meetings to coordinate goals rather than on the goals themselves and on productivity. If employees become members of more than one team timing conflicts can become an issue because of increased responsibilities. Because of an increase in decentralization in the team approach, teams may well lose sight of the big picture and commit to decisions that will help their teams but ultimately hurt the organization as a whole (Jones, 2004). Geographic structures are used when organizations expand into new areas or begin to manufacture in many different locations. Market structures are used when organizations wish to group activities to focus on the needs of distinct customer groups(Jones, 2004). Matrix structures group activities by function and product. They are a special kind of structure that is available when an organization needs to deal with new or technically sophisticated products in rapidly changing markets (Jones, 2004). Matrix structure may also be a viable approach for Synergetic because Synergetic is attempting to become a ‘design hothouse’ meaning that the company will need to rapidly develop and market new and technically sophisticated products in the rapidly changing IT market. The matrix structure can be advantageous because it enables total communication between all members of the team allowing for a creative cross-over of ideas and the development of a cohesive corporate culture. The focus is on the success of a particular project or product not the department or team. It is a creativity-based approach that works very well for responding to technological and market changes because it is especially effective at communicating the detail necessary for success in both of those arenas. One of its disadvantages is that the design of total communication may be limited to the senior management only. The matrix structure lacks control from the top and also formal bureaucracy which may become the target of resistance for managers (Jones, 2004). Network structures are formed when an organization forms agreements or contracts with other organizations to perform specific functional value creation activities. The network approach extends attempts to increase horizontal coordination and collaboration beyond the boundaries of the organization. To achieve this organization will create a network structure by means of subcontracting many of its major functions, such as design, transportation, manufacturing and distribution to other companies, and coordinate their activities from a entral headquarters hub. As a result, parts or a networked organization can be added or taken away at any time to meet changing needs (Jones, 2004). The network approach has many advantages. The greatest advantage of a network structure is that it allows an organization to be competitive on a truly global scale. It allows organizations to draw on resources worldwide and as a result achieving the best quality and price. It also allows products and services to be sold worldwide. It promotes flexibility in the work force. Instead of paying a full staff at all times, it allows the company to hire staff as needed. As for the permanent workers, there are challenging opportunities and job varieties because the network approach creates a lean structure in which the organization needs less supervision, smaller teams and fewer administrators (Jones, 2004). The network approach has disadvantages as well. One is that because the company subcontracts some functions, managers do not have control over all operations. Managers must rely on contracts, coordination, negotiation and electronic links to keep operations in order. Another disadvantage is that if one of the subcontracted parts of the organization fails to deliver what the company needs, the entire organization can suffer great losses and even go out of business. Lastly, there can also be a loss of employee loyalty because many employees may feel that they have lost their jobs to contracted companies and services (Jones, 2004). Conclusion Change is the norm for organizations competing in today’s rapidly changing markets. Business leaders in such organizations must have a clear vision of the future, be innovative, be prepared to take risks, and look for new solutions.

Personal Portfolio Essay Example for Free

Personal Portfolio Essay My journey as a student started out as a young child. Coming from nurturing parents, I was always taught my ABC’s, 123’s and colors. I was an eager student and when it was time to go to school, I was excited and motivated. As I moved on in my educational career, I didn’t keep with the same attitude I started with when I was younger. I feel now, I’ve regained my passion to be a student with the maturity I’ve gained over just this past year. I feel that I will always be a student because I will never cease to learn. I’ve been successful and unsuccessful in my efforts in my formal education. With each new endeavor I take, I learn something new about myself and what I can handle. One of the biggest things I’ve accomplished was the completion of high school. For me, my high school years were some of my darkest. I was in regular day school or the first two years and because of personal issues spent the last two years on home instruction. Being able to graduate with a high school diploma in the allotted 4 year time span meant so much to me and still does. Another successful experience I’ve had before coming to MCC was obtaining my Medical Assistant Certification. I worked in the field for some time and decisions I made in my life, lead me to give away what I had worked so hard for. The most recent and successful thing I’ve done thus far is coming to MCC. Before enrolling here, I was in a very lost and dark place in my life. I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to get out. I was given an opportunity at a second chance and I am going to take full advantage of it this time around. I’ve encountered many challenges along the way; some of them I’ve even let stunt me in my growth as a person in society. When I was in grammar school, I lost my father suddenly, as I entered high school I fell into the wrong crowd of friends and my life took a turn down the wrong path for a while and I have a diagnosed mental illness that makes everyday life difficult sometimes. I’ve learned that I need to be open and honest with my life in order to get better. How I’ve learned cope with theses everyday challenges it to just face every day and know my limits. I attend self-help groups that have changed my life and afforded me with nineteen months clean and showed me there is a better way to live. I decided to enroll in Middlesex County College because I need a change of pace. Before coming to MCC, I was stagnant; I wasn’t sure I’d ever move from the dreary place I found myself in. When the Fall 2012 semester was about to close, I had a choice, was I going to participate in life or was another year going to pass me by? I made a decision to put all my fears aside and enroll. Honestly, the first few weeks of that fall semester were great. I felt on top of the world, things were coming so easy. Then reality started to set in. I saw that I was in remedial classes and my friends were in more advanced courses some even in universities. Life started to show up and responsibilities were beginning to knock on my door and tests were on days I wanted to have for myself. I felt trapped and on some days, I really wanted to give up. However, I kept pushing forward because I know that I came this far and wasn’t going to give up over a little pressure. Plus, I had so much support from the people that love me I was doing this more for just selfish reasons this time. I’m not sure how my professors this semester would describe me being we’ve only known each other a short period of time. Going on the opinion of last semester’s professors, I feel they would describe me as outgoing and responsible. I remain accountable for the things I do and the things I don’t do. I’m on time for classes and not shy about asking for help or staying after class to voice a concern. That is something I’ve learned in my short time as a college student and it’s taught me well. An academic goal of mine in the short term has been in the short term to complete my remedial classes and some of my basic psychology classes. In the long term I would then like to matriculate to Rutgers University to complete my Bachelor’s degree. It has always been a dream of mine to graduate from the University my mother did. Although I don’t want to follow in the medical field the same way my mother did, I still want to obtain my doctorate as she did. I feel it is in my blood to help people, just in different ways. I plan to accomplish this goal by staying focused on my plan and using my time wisely. I need to start to identify my weaknesses and work on them more thoroughly. I need to obtain better study skills begin to prepare to the weeks ahead instead of the just the week or the day. Also, I need to get out of the mindset that things will get done for me or over time just go away; in life, things don’t happen like that. In conclusion, I plan to take my new lease on life and my academic career very seriously. I have a pretty good understanding what is ahead of me of me given I keep doing the next right thing. On the other hand I know what is waiting for me if I slip and go back to the life I was leading before I made the decision to change and start this new way of life. The good thing about today is today I am free and have a choice of what I want to do. I no longer have to be dictated to on what I have to get done, it’s my life and from this point on I will decide how I will live each day.

The Whaling And Whale Watching Industry Tourism Essay

The Whaling And Whale Watching Industry Tourism Essay The ecotourism industry, once a niche market for the environmentally concerned travellers is getting more popular in the recent years and the number of tourists participating in this particular tourism segment is increasing (Wood, 2001). Ecotourism initially describe the nature-based travel to relatively undisturbed areas with education as the main purpose. Through the years, the concept of ecotourism has matured to a definition that should comprise of a few elements including nature-based, active participation, progressive education travel, interpretation of natural environments, social and cultural components, involvement and returns for the local community and also the management to be ecologically and environmentally sustainable (Parks, Parks, Allen, 2009). In ecotourism, the activities can range from a few hours of nature appreciation to a long duration tour that will take months. This includes activities such as presentation of the marine biology on a cruise (cetacean-watching), a guided tour in a national park, snorkelling and many more. The main objective of this essay is to further discuss whale-watching, a type of cetacean watching, around the world and if this activity is affecting the behaviours of the whales population near the coastal area. Whale-watching Whale-watching is a commercial activity that is carried out by the tourists to observe, swim with and/or listen to the whales in their natural habitat. These activities are normally for recreation purpose; however whale-watching can also serve scientific and educational purpose. During the past years, a phenomenal growth for whale watching as tourism activity has been observed around the world. This particular activity has involved an estimated of 9 million participants yearly in 87 countries and generates approximately US$1 billion each year (Hoyt, 2000) With the lucrative profit from obtainable from whale-watching activity, this have led to heated debates on the whale-watching and whaling industry. It has been argued that whaling is incompatible with whale-watching (Parsons Draheim, A reason not to support whaling a tourism impact case study from the Dominican Republic, 2009). In a survey conducted, it was found out that 91.4% of whale-watching tourists would not go to countries whereby they hunt whales for commercial purpose to engage in whale watching; and that 79% of them would even boycott visiting the country (Parsons and Rawles, 2003, cited in (Parsons Draheim, A reason not to support whaling a tourism impact case study from the Dominican Republic, 2009)). A few of the more popular sites for whale-watching includes: Kaikoura, New Zealand; Tofino and Telegraph Cove, in British Columbia, Canada; Ogata and Ogasawara, Japan; Friday Harbour, Washington, USA; Hervey Bay, Byron Bay, and Monkey Mia, Australia; Husavik, Iceland and many more. According to Hoyt (2000), the most common focal species for whale-watching industries are the humpback whales, gray whales, northern and southern right whales, blue whales, minke whales, sperm whales, short-finned pilot whales, orcas and bottlenose dolphin. Despite the benefits obtained from whale-watching activity, operators should take caution while carrying out these activities as the recreational activities in the inshore water can pose a major threat to the whales and dolphins. The threats can due to direct cause such as injuries due to accidental cuts by the boatà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s propeller, or an indirect stress to them from the high frequency sounds made by the vesselà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s motor. In order to prevent such harms towards the animals, the operators should follow by the marine code of conduct in order to protect the animalà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s welfare. There are different set of code of conduct that are used across the world but the common rules found in these code includes maintaining a certain distance from the animals, maintain a predictable course and speed when near the animals and also move away if signs of disturbance are displayed by the animals. However, is it sufficient to just adhere to the code of conduct and should there be more actions to be undertaken by the government to aid in the sustainability of this tourism activity. Several studies have been carried out throughout several regions to discuss more on the issues of the whale-watching activities and whether this activity is sustainable. Literature Reviews Whaling and Whale-Watching Debates have been going on worldwide on the issue on whether whaling can co-exist with whale-watching in a region. It has been stated that there is an urgent need to evaluate the cultural and the environmental values of the tourists and find out what are the factors that attracts or discourages them from participating in whale-watching activity (Higham, 2007 and Lusseau, 2008, cited in (Parsons Draheim, A reason not to support whaling a tourism impact case study from the Dominican Republic, 2009)). However, there are rebuttal on such claims, indicating that the fact whereby countries such as Iceland, Japan and Norway all engage in active whaling and yet have whale-watching activities within their countries and thus it is not valid to argue that whaling and whale-watching are incompatible (Corkeron, 2006, cited in (Parsons Draheim, A reason not to support whaling a tourism impact case study from the Dominican Republic, 2009)). According to Parson and Draheim (2009), the tourists whom participated in cetacean tourism tend to hold strong environmental values and thus may have very strong sentiments against whaling. Also, tourism receipts is the major source of economic income for the Dominican Republic, any activity that may affects the stability of this income could have major impacts within the country. The study also shows that with a highly visible national policy towards cetacean conservation, and opposition to the hunting and capture of cetaceans, it would be beneficial in attracting tourists to the country, whereas a visible pro-whaling policy might repel the tourists (Parsons Draheim, A reason not to support whaling a tourism impact case study from the Dominican Republic, 2009). Higham and Lusseau, (2008) also state that the answer to whether whaling and whale-watching activity can coexist depends largely in the perceptions, values and behaviours of the tourists themselves. Effects of whale-watching on the animals Despite the lucrative profits that can be obtained from whale-watching activity, the well-being of the animals involved in the activity, which mainly includes the cetaceans should be emphasised, which thus leads to increasing number of studies focusing on whether the whale-watching activity will cause disturbance to the animals. Disturbance in this case is defined as the negative influence that interferes with the natural behaviour of cetaceans and has a harmful outcome (Ritter, 2003, cited in (Stamation, Croft, Shaughnessy, Waples, Briggs, 2009)). One of such studies was carried out in the whale-watching site at New South Wales (NSW). The main focus of whale-watching in NSW is the humpback whales, although there are also tours to watch other marine mammals such as dolphins and seals. Most of the watching will occur during the whaleà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s southern migration when the whales move much slower than on their passage northwards. Signs of disturbance in the humpback whales around the world include orientation away from the vessel, increased in swimming speeds, prolonged submergence and changes in the respiration behaviour and such avoidance behaviour are observed in this study (Stamation, Croft, Shaughnessy, Waples, Briggs, 2009). As this study is a short term study, it cannot be used to conclude that such avoidance behaviours will cause any detrimental outcome for the whales involved. However, the possibilities of inducing negative long-term effects onto the whales due to the reduction of the time spent foraging; resting, socializing or suckling should not be ignored. Conservative approach on the management of the humpback whale-watching industry should be adopted to ensure that the short term impacts that was discovered in this study does not translate to the long term impacts (Stamation, Croft, Shaughnessy, Waples, Briggs, 2009). Another study has been done on the killer whales to find out the behavioural responses of this species towards the whale-watching boats. It was stated that with the exposure of millions of the tourists to the animals in their natural environment, this may change the attitudes towards the protection of the critical habitat and threatened populations. Guidelines for whale-watching should be based on the actual impacts of the human activity on the whale behaviour instead of the perceived effects. Once again, it have being emphasised that when a whale is been disturbed, it shows sign of avoidance either by varying the duration of its dives, or by swimming faster or altering the direction of swimming. Antagonistic behaviours such as slapping flukes or fins on the surface of the water may also be displayed. Since the changes in behaviours of the whales are observed when boats are near, management of whale-watching should adopt more conservative distance guidelines to present even greater b enefit to the animals (Williams, Trites, Bain, 2002). Sustainability of whale-watching As mentioned above, whale-watching industry has enjoyed a phenomenal growth and brings in lucrative profit for the community that carries out this activity. With that, there are more participants in this industry and hence leading to an increasing number of regulations and guidelines that were developed in an attempt to ensure the sustainability of the industry. The need to develop appropriate guidelines for the commercial whale-watching activities should be attend to. Also, with the limited data available on the species and their behaviours there will be an urgent need to develop new knowledge and understanding to help guide management of the industry (Valentine, Birtles, Curnock, Arnold, Dunstan, 2004). The sustainability of the whale-watching activity and its associated benefits could be significantly affected by the changes in the occurrence of the local cetacean species in response to the global climate change. Global climate change refers to the net change in climate over time which is a consequence of either natural variability or human activity. It has been identified that both direct and indirect means by which changing of the sea surface temperature could affect the cetacean distribution. With that, it can cause the change in range of species distribution, the occurrence and abundance of individuals and the timing and lengths of migrations; the effects on reproductive success and mortality levels. The above have clearly shown the potential implications for both cetacean species and whale-watching tourism (Lambert, Hunter, Pierce, MacLeod, 2010). Findings Studies on the operations of the whale-watching activities in two different regions, New Zealand and Iceland have been done. Whale-watching in New Zealand At Kaikoura, New Zealand, the male sperm whales are the primary focus for the commercially important whale-watching industry. With the growing industry, there is an increase in the concerns over the social, educational and environmental impacts of whale-watching on both the local human and whale populations. The cetacean relies on echolocation for foraging and communication, hence these species becomes exceptionally vulnerable to changes in their acoustic environment. For example, the addition of anthropogenic sound sources via the boats presence (research boat and whale-watching boats) results in a reduction of the mean blow interval of the whales. These tendencies to shorten breath are due to the stress respond by the animals (Richter, Dawson, Slooten, 2006). On top of the decreased respiratory periods, shorter surfacing intervals and sharp directional changes have also been identified as potentially unacceptable changes in behaviour. The above are evidences that are enough to suggest that the whale-watching industry in Kaikoura is having an adverse effect on the whales (Curtin, 2003). Whale-watching in Iceland In Iceland the whale-watching industry did not begin until 1990 and the country is becoming a major player rapidly within the international whale-watching market (Parsons Rawles, 2010). As the coastal water of Iceland host a variety of cetacean species which includes the humpback whales, minke whales, blue whales and killer whales that are the target of whale-watching operations. Although the whaling activity in the Icelandic waters had ceased in 1989, but then whaling resumes during 2003 despite there is no legal process for that. The Icelandic government did little consideration on how the resume of the commercial whaling might impact on the whale-watching industry. And through the studies, it was discovered that the resumption of commercial whaling could cause a massive and critical reduction in the number of whale-watching tourist going on whale-watching trips in Iceland which in turn results in a loss of direct income (Parsons Rawles, 2010). Since whale-watching is currently the pillar of the Icelandic economy, thus care must be taken so that the Icelandic government does not destroy it. Analysis Through the reviews of the studies that have been done on the whale-watching activity in various regions, particularly New Zealand and Iceland, it can be concluded that the whale-watching industry is a growing industry that is bound to bring in high revenue for the community that is conducting such activities. However, the whale-watching activity that is being carried out can cause disturbance to the cetaceans in the regions which leads to the change in behaviours of these animals. These changes in behaviours can cause adverse effect on the animals. On top of that, the whale-watching activity might cause direct injuries to these animals through the cuts by the propeller of the boats. Another issue is that commercial whaling should not coexist with the whale-watching activity. As it has been found out that most of the whale-watchers are very environmentally motivated and they display great interest in the animal welfare issues (Parsons Rawles, 2010). Since majority of the whale-watchers have voiced out that they would boycott visiting a country that conducts hunts for cetaceans, places with whale-watching activity should consider with care regarding the implementation of whaling activity in the region since whale-watching can bring in high revenue for the destination and that introduction of whaling might bring down the benefit of whale-watching. Recommendation Voluntary approaches are being considered as an important tool for the conservation and environmental management. The voluntary approaches towards conservation can include agreements between regulatory agencies and private enterprise, agreements among the industrial firms, or code of conduct within a professional or industrial group (Wiley, Moller, Pace III, Carlson, 2008). Voluntary agreement to the operational procedures can be established for commercial whale-watching vessels that are used to view the endangered or protected species of whales. Guidelines can be created to avoid whale strikes and to prevent the whale-watching boats from disrupting the animals. This is important as in some of the areas, commercial whale-watching boats have a relatively high frequency of collisions with the whales, contributing high noise levels around the whales, disrupting whale behaviour and reducing the reproductive fitness of the whale (Wiley, Moller, Pace III, Carlson, 2008). Besides the use of voluntary approach, collaborative relationships can be established between the whale-watching companies and the related organizations and individuals that make up the organizational field. These collaborations can play an important role in structuring the relationships and understandings of members of the field (Lawrence, Phillips, Hardy, 1999). By collaboration, it refers to a cooperative, inter-organisational relationship that is negotiated in an ongoing communicative method. Science education Conclusion

Workplace Privacy and Employee Monitoring :: Human Resources Managment HRM

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Do we really have our privacy rights in the workplace? In today’s society we are so caught up with our rights that we often forget about work rules. If someone goes into my office or someone reads my email I feel violated and deprived of my rights. But the real question is, are these things my own to do with? In all reality if it is a private organization the person who owns the business is the owner of all offices and computers, so in that case you’re just using his stuff.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sometimes there is no middle ground. Monitoring of employees at the workplace, either you side with the employees or you believe management owns the network and should call the shots. The purpose of this paper is to tackle whether monitoring an employee is an invasion of privacy. How new technology has made monitoring of employees by employers possible. The unfairness of computerized monitoring software used to watch employees. The employers desire to ensure that the times they are paying for to be spent in their service is indeed being spent that way. Why not to monitor employees, as well as tips on balancing privacy rights of employees at the job. First ill start off with talking about electronic monotoring. This as well has its pros and cons. On the good side electronic monitoring offers a huge advantage to the employee: it is objective. This benefits the employee because it provides an unbiased method of performance evaluation and prevents the interference of managers' feelings in a review. Electronically generated information offers uniform and accurate feedback on past performance. This means the evaluation will be strictly based on the quantity and quality of work, rather than on managers' opinions. Another advantage is providing feedback to employees on their work performance. Instead of listening to a manager tell an employee how to do a job, one may review a tape to see exactly what they are doing wrong and judge the employees performance. In this case, monitoring is used as a tool to show employees their work habits and what they need to change to improve their performance. Employees generally like this because they can see for themselves their weak and strong points, and they can use the information to improve their work methods. This knowledge can increase employee performance and efficiency. On the negative end of this employers cold be basing a persons performance on this.

Pat Barkers Regeneration Essay -- Pat Barker Regeneration Essays

Pat Barker's Regeneration Pat Barker's Regeneration focuses on the troubled soldiers' mental status during World War One. Barker introduces the feelings soldiers had about the war and military's involvement with the war effort. While Regeneration mainly looks at the male perspective, Barker includes a small but important female presence. While Second Lieutenant Billy Prior breaks away from Craiglockhart War Hospital for an evening, he finds women at a cafe in the Edinburgh district (Barker 86). He comes to the understanding that the women are munitions workers. Women's involvement in war work in Regeneration shows the potential growth in women's independence, but at the expense of restrictions placed on men while they were on the front lines of battle. Munition-ettes during World War One took the places of their husbands, fathers, and brothers in order for the men to take up positions in the armed services (Braybon 45). Women working in munitions factories were mainly of the lower class; yet, roughly 9 percent of women working in the factories came from the middle to upper classes (Robb 45). Munition-ettes held responsibilities for making and filling shells and cartridges along with other basic cleaning duties, driving, and intense labor ("Twentieth Century"). They acquired some engineering skills that helped them in producing various weapons ("Twentieth Century"). Munition-ettes took the deployed soldiers' places in the factories as a way to show their patriotism as well as to earn a better living than in domestic jobs. Munition-ettes suffered the flaws in the system of gender bias when looking at equal pay: "many [women] left low-skill, low-wage jobs, especially in domestic service, for better paying skilled labor in ... ...atriots or strictly worked to increase their economic status, all these women were a testimonial to the home front effort as well as the effort to further their independence. Works Cited Barker, Pat. Regeneration. New York: Plume, 1993. Braybon, Gail. Women Workers in the First World War. Totowa, New Jersey: Barnes & Noble Books, 1981. Robb, George. British Culture and the First World War. New York: Palgrave, 2002. â€Å"Twentieth Century: Military The First World War 1914-18.† Dartford Town Archive. 13 April 2003 <http://www.dartfordarchive.org.uk/20th_century/military_ww1.shtml>. Home | By Category | By Page Number | Assignment Last update: 30 April 2003 Site Editor: Karin E. Westman, Assistant Professor of English, Kansas State University Contact Site Editor Karin Westman's Homepage | Department of English | Kansas State University

El Cid and Kracauer’s Mass Ornament :: Medievalism Kracauer Film Cinema Movies

The numerous historical films that merely illustrate the past are attempts at deception according to their own terms. Since one always runs the danger, when picturing current events, of turning easily excitable masses against powerful institutions that are in fact often not appealing, one prefers to direct the camera towards a Middle Ages that the audience will find harmlessly edifying. The further back the story is situated historically, the more audacious filmmakers become. They will risk depicting a successful revolution in historical costumes in order to induce people to forget modern revolutions, and they are happy to satisfy the theoretical sense of justice by filming struggles for freedom that are long past.1 Kracauer’s analysis of the historical film culminates in a dismissal of historical, and thereby factual, efficacy. In this circumstance, the period piece can assume an earlier time frame as a departure from the burden of accuracy rather than an acceptance of it. Academic records indicate that El Cid (dir. Anthony Mann, 1961) ignores much of Rodrigo Dà ­az de Bivar’s factual exploits as a warrior for hire, fighting more often for compensation than any religious or moral certitude. Why, then, was this character’s story so appealing as a platform for a historical epic film? El Cid’s historical ambivalence suggests that it’s story is more appropriately detailed for potential aesthetic achievement than realism. Kracauer begins describing the aesthetic condition of the mass ornament as a reference to the Tiller Girls, a performance group based on visual uniformity. He focuses on their performance of emulation and repetition, through which they are â€Å"no longer individual girls, but indissoluble girl clusters whose movements are demonstrations of mathematics.... One need only glance at the screen to learn that the ornaments are composed of thousands of bodies, sexless bodies in bathing suits. The regularity of their patterns is cheered by the masses, 1 This passage is taken from Siegfried Kracauer’s essay â€Å"The Little Shopgirls Go to the Movies.† themselves arranged by the stands in tier upon ordered tier.2† Already, there is an allegory bridging this performance art with the cinema. The masses are clearly the film’s intended audience gathered in a theater, which composes the modern medium for the cinematic ornament. The film’s actors become the performative aspect of this equation, wherein their acting and involvement in a character role, no matter how important, is meager and unnecessary without the remainder of the operative whole. The film opens with a revelatory glance at this phenomenon, as Rodrigo carries a cross through an empty landscape. In retrospect, his great battles and leadership are abstract and ineffectual without the massive army of followers. As the stand-in Christ figure, he showcases the absence of the epic’s ornament: a solitary figure,

Environmental Stressors Essay

The objective of the authors was to identify the psychosocial and environmental factors which young people who receive special education are associated with. The authors conducted a research in Public schools located in Minnesota with the aim of testing the psychosocial and environmental factors between people who have attended special education and those who have not. The total number of adolescents who participated in the research was 121848. The findings revealed that the adolescents who had attended special education experienced higher levels of psychosocial and environmental problems compared to adolescents who had not. This paper aims at analyzing the article â€Å"Environmental stressors and emotional status of adolescents who have been in special eduction classes† by Iris Wagman and Michael Resnick. Introduction. There has been an increase in the number of young people who receive special education, in recent days. This has been attributed to the increase in cases of physical and mental health disability. In the article being analyzed, the authors begin by giving statistics on the number of children who receive special education. They put this figure at ten percent of all children aged between six and seventeen, with another 750000 children being at risk of developing similar disabilities. According to Borowsky and Resnick (1998), bbetween 1976 and 1994, the number of adolescents who receive special education has risen from 3. 7 million to 5. 4 million. Funding for this education has also increased to $2. 32 billion from $373 million in a similar period. The high number of children who suffer from these disorders necessitates the need to improve the welfare of disabled people. Literature review. The authors intend to investigate the difference in psychosocial and environmental factors experienced by adolescents who attend special schools in comparison to those who do not. As has been stated, this was necessitated by the large number of children who experience developmental disability. The increase in the number of students who attend special schools followed the passage of the Handicapped Children Act in 1975, which empowered the disabled children to access appropriate and free education. However, there is limited information on the outcome of special education on these students. This is due to the reason that most surveys that have been carried out in the past have ignored them. Most researches which have been carried out have focused on the welfare of young adults who have received special education. These studies have proved that most of them acquire employment after finishing high school and other training programs. Further studies of children with learning disorders have revealed that there is an association between child neglect and abuse, and learning impairment. However, the extent to which psychosocial and environmental factors which young people who receive special education experience has not been conclusively researched. This is the major reason why the researchers carried out the research on the subject. Methods and procedures. In obtaining the data, all public schools in Minnesota participated, with the exception of one school. A questionnaire was given to 131000 students in public schools in grade six, nine and twelve. About 3% of the surveys had questionable accuracy and were thus excluded. According to Borowsky and Resnick (1998), the questionnaire had a completion time of about an hour, and was designed at the reading level of fifth graders. The questionnaire was given with parental consent, and the students were also allowed to ignore any questions they did not wish to answer. This is commendable, since flexibility enabled the students to be comfortable with the questionnaire. This survey is carried out after every three years, which is consistent and enables results to be comparable. However, the authors do not describe the weaknesses of the use of questionnaires as a source of data collection. According to Kothari (2005), qquestionnaires have many disadvantages and some of them include the fact that the questions are standardized, which presents the risk of misinterpretation by the respondent. Questionnaires do not also present the possibility of probing responses, which limits the extent to which a researcher can get an insight on the opinion of the participant. Another limitation of a questionnaire is that some people only present socially desirable behavior when answering them, which may limit the accuracy of questionnaires. Finally, open ended questions can generate long responses, and this may present difficulties in processing the data. These weaknesses should have been disclosed to people who will rely on this information for decision making. Results and data analysis. The results revealed that 14. 9% of female and 20. 8% of males had attended special education classes. The students who had attended these special classes had higher chances of performing poorly in academics, as compared to the students who had not attended these classes. Boys who had attended special education classes were four times more likely to have difficulties in reading, compared to those who had not attended these classes. On the other hand, girls who had attended special education classes were six times more likely to have difficulties in reading, compared to those who had not attended these classes. Boys who had attended special education classes were three times more likely to have below average grades, compared to those who had not attended these classes. On the other hand, girls who had attended special education classes were also three times more likely to have below average grades, compared to those who had not attended these classes. The students who attended special education classes reported higher instances of not living with their adoptive or biological parents. In the case for boys, 43. 9% of special education students and 31. 8% of children who did not attend special classes reported not living with their adoptive or biological parents respectively. On the other hand, in the case for girls, 42. 4% special education students and 30. 2% of children who did not attend special classes reported not living with their adoptive or biological parents respectively. In terms of family violence, more than one and a half times as many boys and girls who had attended special education school, experienced family violence, compared to those who did not attend these schools. However of the students who experienced abuse, girls outnumbered boys by three times. The levels of emotional status varied between sixth, ninth and twelve graders. These findings reveal that the students who attend special schools experience higher proportions of non traditional and single parent households, compared to those who did not attend these schools. The findings also revealed that the students who attend special schools experience higher proportions of having family members with drug or alcohol problems. They suffered from poor emotional health and sexual abuse. However, female students suffered more than their male peers regarding sexual abuse. These findings are consisted with others which have been done in the past, which reveal that children of parents who either abuse alcohol or experience family violence, are likely to perform poorly as compared to those of families which do not experience these problems. The findings are particularly useful for groups which advocate for the rights of children or disabled people, since they expose the problems which such children experience. Summary and conclusion The authors have presented the research in an internationally acceptable format, though there have been a few weaknesses. The only weakness in the presentation of the paper is the lack of a clear hypotheses statement. Other weaknesses include the fact that the authors did not reveal the weaknesses of the use of questionnaire. The authors did not also give the weaknesses of the use of secondary sources of data when gathering information. They used academic journals to gather information, yet they did not mention the weaknesses of using them in research. Some weaknesses include the fact that there is no possibility of verifying the information gathered. Another weakness is that if the original journal was biased and the authors rely on it for writing the research, then it is likely that the research will also be biased (Kumar, 2005). These weaknesses should have been mentioned since they are useful for people who will use the research to make decisions. However the research has been comprehensively covered. The use of academic journals reduces the chances of bias since they are written by scholars. The references represent a diversity of sources, a fact which makes the research more comprehensive and valid. This research can be used as a basis for future research. For instance, a future research can be carried out with the aim of finding out the causes of disparity between the levels of girls and boys attending special schools, who have been sexually abused. References Kothari, C. R. (2005). Research Methodology: Techniques & Methods. New York: New Age Publishers. Kumar, R. (2005). Research Methodology: A Step-by-step Guide for Beginners. New York: SAGE. Borowsky, I. W. , Resnick, M. D. (1998). Environmental Stressors and Emotional Status of Adolescents Who Have Been in Special Education Classes. Archpediatrics adolesc Med Journal. Retriev

Acid-Base Buffers

CHEMICAL REACTIONS ACID-BASE BUFFERS Short Overview Acids and foots represent devil of the most common classes of compounds. Many studies befuddle been d matchless on these compounds, and their answers argon rattling important. Perhaps the most important reaction is the ane and only(a) in which an acetous and floor be combined, resulting in the spend a pennyation of piddle supply (in sedimentary resolving power) and a salt this reaction is c both tolded neutralization. A weaken reply is a consequence that contains both(prenominal) an sulphurous and a salt containing the merge prow anion in sufficient stringencys so as to economise a relatively unvarying pH when either acrid or base is conveyed.In this experiment you go out prep atomic number 18 a pilot burner store rootage and observe its port when mixed both with an tart and a base. You volition similarly comp be the behaviour with that of tooth roots containing and the acidic. Theory I n his opening of ionization in the 1880s, Svante Arrhenius out draw ind acids are pumps which form H+ and bases as substances which form OH- in piss. He further outlined a salt as a substance other(a) than an acid or base which forms ions in aqueous upshot. much(prenominal)(prenominal) substances are therefore capable of producing an galvanic real and are c onlyed electrolytes.The amount of electricity traind is directly proportional to the concentration of ions in closure. With deliberate to electrolytes we commit learned previously that salubrious acids and strong bases ionize altogether, and are therefore strong electrolytes because they produce a braggy electric current. Soluble salts are the other type of strong electrolytes. We also learned that weak acids and weak bases ionize only partially in solution, producing little quantities of current these substances are called weak electrolytes. Materials which do non produce an electric current are called nonel ectrolytes.To complete our intelligence, we concluded that strong electrolytes pull round primarily as ions in solution, while weak electrolytes exist as both ions and molecules in solution. Nonelectrolytes must exist as polar molecules only in solution. While it is useful, the Arrhenius definition of acids and bases is limited to aqueous solutions. This may seem insignifi digestt to a student in introductory chemistry or general chemistry, but it imposes restrictions for deduceing to a greater extent advanced top outics. As such, we at one time introduce two growthal definitions of acids and bases, which dissipate our under(a)standing. Acid Base Arrhenius forms H+ in water forms OH- in water Bronsted-Lowry donates H+ (proton) to base accepts H+ (proton) from acid Lewis accepts negatron yoke from base donates electron p childs play to acid The Bronsted-Lowry conceit of acids and bases was introduced by Johannes Bronsted and doubting Thomas Lowry in 192 3, and led to an understanding of many a(prenominal) proton slay reactions observed to occur in both non-aqueous and aqueous solutions. Gilbert impudentlyton Lewis quickly recognized that a substance which is a proton acceptor must also be one which contains an unshared valence electron pair to accept the positive charge. He therefore proposed his own theory of acids and bases found upon electron transfer rather than proton transfer. The Lewis acid-base image is the most general and allows us to understand reactions which may not involve proton transfer. However, the Bronsted-Lowry concept provides the simplest description of acid-base buffer zone solutions, and it is this one which we entrust utilize in further discussion.We will use the formula HA for an acid and B for a base in our discussion. Accordingly, the reaction between an acid and base is described by 1. HA + B (A- + BH+ 1 In the reaction higher up, the products which are produced are A-. and BH+. A- is called th e conjugate base of HA because it has donated a proton (H+) to the base B . Likewise, BH+ is the conjugate acid of B since it has accepted the proton from HA. The substances HA and A- are called a conjugate acid-base pair. Likewise, BH+ and B are also a conjugate acid-base pair. close to common acid-base pairs are H3O1+ / waterH2O / OH1-HCl / Cl1- HNO3 / NO31-H2SO4 / HSO41-HSO41- / SO42-CH3COOH / CH3COO1-(ethanoate)NH41+ / NH3(ammonium) H2CO3 / HCO31-(bicarbonate)H2PO41- / HPO42- (phosphate) The first two pairs show that hydronium ion and hydrated oxide ion are the conjugate acid and base, respectively, of water. It is the relative concentration of these two ions that determine whether a solution is sulfurous (H3O+ > OH-), basic (H3O+ < OH-), or neutral (H3O+ = OH-). To happen upon this, we invoice the pH of the solution. A pH < 7 is acidic, pH >7 is saltlike (or basic), and pH = 7 is neutral. pH is defined by the equation pH = -log10 H3O+. An buffer solution must con tain both a weak acid and a salt of its conjugate base.Since HCl, HNO3, and H2SO4 are all strong acids, these substances will ionize completely and their concentrations will be too insignificant to advance constant pH values. On the other hand, a weak acid such as acetic acid, CH3COOH, only ionizes to a small extent, so the both the undissociated acid and its anion can exist in sufficient concentration in solution to maintain constant pH. When the acetic acid-sodium acetate rayon buffer is prepared the following correspondence is established. CH3COOH (aq) + H2O (l) ( H3O1+ + CH3COO1-2 The equilibrium constant style for the reaction is Ka = pic= 1. 75 x 10-5 . Therefore, pH = pKa + log10pic. 3 Equation 3 preceding(prenominal) is called the Henderson-Hasselbach equation.The equation shows that because the acetate/acetic acid ratio does not change significantly during most reactions, thus resulting in a relatively constant pH. When a strong base such as sodium hydroxide is added, the acetic acid in the buffer reacts with the hydroxide ion to produce humanitarianal acetate ion (4). When a strong acid such as HCl is added to the buffer, the acetate ion will react with the hydronium ion to produce additional acetic acid (5). CH3COOH (aq) + OH1- CH3COO1- + H2O (l)4 CH3COO1- + + H3O1+ CH3COOH (aq) + H2O (l)5 The predominant effect of the reactions is that the concentration of H3O+ and OH- do not increase or decrease significantly during the reactions.However, continued addition of NaOH will leveltually consume all of the acetic acid present in the buffer, resulting in a sharp burn down in pH. Likewise, addition of a large quantity of HCl will consume all of the acetate ion in the buffer, ca exploitation the pH to drop sharply. The amount of strong acid or strong base that can be added to a given mound of a buffer system without a significant change in pH (( 1 unit) is known as the buffering capacity. A buffer system such as CH3COOH / CH3COO1- is representa tive of an acidic buffer, because the molecular contribution is a weak acid. On the other hand, a basic buffer solution would contain the acid salt of a weak base in addition to the weak base itself. The NH41+ / NH3 buffer is an typeface of a basic buffer.Biological systems use buffers to maintain ambient physiological conditions. In this regard the bicarbonate and phosphate buffers listed earlier are the two most significant buffers of carcass fluids. (See the article Chemistry and Life line of descent as a Buffered Solution on page 669 of Chemistry The Central Science, 9th Ed. , Brown, LeMay, & Bursten. For more background information, you should review chapter 16 Acid-Base Equilibria in Chemistry The Central Science, 9th Ed. , . Exercise 1. examen of the Buffer Properties of a Diprotic Acid Salt, special K Hydrogen Phthalate picpic super C hydrogen phthalatephthalate A. Chemicals and machineChemicals piddle Solidspotassium hydrogen phthalate (KHC8H4O4 , KHP, 204. 22 g/mo le) Solutions 0. 10 M HCl(aq) , 0. 10 M NaOH(aq) (from Acid-Base Titrations experiment), pH 7 buffer solutions Apparatus Balances, beakers, burettetetes, buret fastens, Erlenmeyer flasks, graduated cylinders, hot plate, pH meters, ring stands, hatfultric pipettetes, pipet pumps, tawdrinesstric flasks Safety Equipment goggles, gloves, roughneck. ObjectivesIn this experiment you will learn to 1. prepare a 0. 10 M KHP solution from a fast(a) and water 2. prepare a solution of the phthalate anion from 0. 10 M KHP and NaOH solutions 3. repare a buffer solution containing both the hydrogen phthalate and the phthalate ions 4. rhythm the pH of the buffer solution 5. measure the pH as HCl is added to the buffer solution 6. measure the pH as NaOH is added to the buffer solution 7. compare the buffer solution with both a strong acid and a weak acid B. single-valued function Part I. Preparation of Solutions CAUTION consumption extreme caution while manipulation the burets, volum etric pipets, and volumetric flasks. (Student 1) 1. Obtain 250 mL of distilled water in a 400-mL beaker from the DW angle at the sink between the two hoods on the side wall. Add 3 teflon boiling chips to the water, and boil the water for atomic number 23 minutes on a hot plate set on medium high.This will drive polish off dissolved CO2 from the water which may interfere with the experiment. Allow the water to coolheaded to room temperature. 2. Obtain a pH meter from the instructor. Remove the rubber intimation from the electrode and place the electrode in a beaker containing 10 mL of pH 7 buffer. overcharge the electrode in the buffer solution for five minutes to condition the electrode. disavow the buffer in the sink. 3. Refer to the instructions for using the pH meter. Standardize the meter to pH 7. 00 using a fresh adjudicate of pH 7 buffer. (Student 2) 4. Obtain the following items from the instructor 1 100-mL volumetric flask, with plug 2 burets, 2 buret clamps, and 2 ring stands 2 10-mL volumetric pipets, and pipet pumpsAttach the buret clamp to the ring stand. 5. jolly the flask with ooze and water, and rinse cautiously with two 10-mL portions of distilled water. 6. Clean the burets with tip water, followed by two rinses with distilled water. Then place severally buret in the buret clamp on the ring stand. tail one of the burets NaOH and the other one HCl. 7. Clean the pipets with tap water, followed by two rinses with distilled water. tail one pipetA and the other B. 8. Pour 125 mL of 0. 10 M NaOH from the hood into a 250-mL beaker. dog the beaker. Record the concentration on line 16 of your research research testing ground report. 9. Pour 80 mL of 0. 10 M HCl from the hood into a 150-mL beaker. Label the beaker. 10.If it is open, close the shaft on the NaOH buret. hold a displace to pour approximately 10 mL of 0. 10 M NaOH into the buret. Remove the buret from the buret clamp and roll the buret in your hands to allow the NaOH to come on the inside of the buret. Discard the rinse into a 30-mL beaker through the shaft. 11. Return the buret to the buret clamp and close the stopcock. Now lodge in the buret with 0. 10 M NaOH to one inch above the 0-mL blade. Open the stopcock to drain the buret to 0. 0 mL in the 30-mL beaker, thus removing any air bubbles in the buret tip. Discard the rinse into the sink. 12. duplicate steps 10 and 11 for the HCl buret, using 0. 0 M HCl sort of of NaOH. The same 30-mL beaker can be employ to collect the drain. (Student 1) Preparation of 0. 10 M KHP(aq) . 13. Using the electronic balance, obtain a render of potassium hydrogen phthalate (KHC8H4O4, KHP) with a mass between 2. 0 g and 2. 1 g. Record the mass of the sample to three decimal places in your notebook. 14. alter the KHP sample to the 100-mL volumetric flask, and dissolve in approximately 40 mL of poached distilled water. Then add boiled distilled water to the flask until the back tooth of the meniscus is even w ith the mark on the neck of the flask. (Use an eyedropper from your desk to add the give-up the ghost few drops of water. ) 15.Stopper the flask, and turn it meridian down three or four-spot times to mix the solution matchly. murder the KHP solution to a easy 250-mL beaker. Label the solution as you have been instructed. 16. visualize the concentration of the KHP solution. Preparation of 0. 025 M KHP / 0. 025 M Phthalate ion Buffer Solution. (Student 1) 17. Use pipet A to transfer 25. 0 mL of the 0. 10 M KHP solution prepared above into a uninfected 250-mL beaker. Record the volume on the lab report. 18. Use a graduated cylinder to add 25. 0 mL of boiled distilled water to the KHP. prance the solution well. (Student 2) 19. Use pipet A to transfer 25. 0 mL of your 0. 10 M KHP solution into a clean 100-mL beaker.Record the volume on the lab report. 20. evince the volume of liquid in the buret to (0. 05 mL. You will need to estimate the last digit remember, buret disciplin es increase from top to bottom. Record the initial buret reading on the lab report. Make trustworthy your eye level is even with the bottom of the meniscus. A piece of white reputation behind the buret will embolden you in reading the volume. 21. dress the beaker under the tip of the buret and add 25. 0 mL of 0. 10 M NaOH from the buret to the solution. nominate the solution as the NaOH is added to thoroughly mix the solution. Record the final buret reading to (0. 05 mL on the lab report. This solution which you just prepared contains 0. 50 M phthalate ion. 22. Refill the buret to the 0-mL mark with 0. 10 M NaOH. 23. Pour the phthalate ion solution which you prepared into the 250-mL beaker containing the KHP solution (Step 18, Student 1). Label the solution as Buffer. You have now prepared 100 mL of a buffer solution containing 0. 025 M potassium hydrogen phthalate (KHP) and 0. 025 M potassium sodium phthalate (phthalate ion). Part II. Measurement of pH and Determination of Buf fer Capacity. (Student 1) 1. Transfer 10. 0 mL of 0. 10 M HCl from the buret to a clean 150-mL beaker. Add 10. 0 mL of boiled distilled water to the beaker. posit the florilegium and measure the pH with the pH meter.Record the measurement on the lab report. 2. Place the beaker under the buret containing the 0. 10 M NaOH. Record the initial volume of NaOH in the buret to (0. 05 mL. Add 1. 0 mL of NaOH to the HCl solution. Stir the mixture and picture the new volume of NaOH in the buret and pH on the lab report. 3. Add another(prenominal) 1. 0 mL of NaOH to the beaker. Stir and record the volume and pH on the lab report. Repeat this process until a total of 15 mL of NaOH has been added. 4. Discard the solution in the sink. Thoroughly clean the beaker with soap and water. Rinse the beaker twice with 5-mL portions of distilled water in the lead proceeding to the next step. (Student 2) 5.Repeat steps 1 4 above using pipet A to transfer 10. 0 mL of 0. 10 M KHP solution to the beaker preferably of 10. 0 mL of HCl. (Student 1) 6. Use pipet B to transfer 20. 0 mL of Buffer to a clean 150-mL beaker. Stir the solution and measure the pH with the pH meter. Record the measurement on the lab report. 7. Place the beaker under the buret containing the 0. 10 M NaOH. Record the initial volume of NaOH in the buret to (0. 05 mL. Add 1. 0 mL of NaOH to the buffer solution. Stir the mixture and record the new volume of NaOH in the buret and pH on the lab report. 8. Add another 1. 0 mL of NaOH to the beaker. Stir and record the volume and pH on the lab report.Repeat this process until a total of 10 mL of NaOH has been added. 9. Discard the solution in the sink. Thoroughly clean the beaker with soap and water. Rinse the beaker twice with 5-mL portions of distilled water before proceeding to the next step. (Student 2) 10. Repeat steps 6 9 above using pipet B to transfer 20. 0 mL of Buffer to the beaker. titrate the buffer with 0. 10 M HCl alternatively of NaOH. C. Disposal All solutions may be discarded in the sink with plenty of running water. D. Data Analysis Use the graphing feature of Microsoft Excel or vernier scale Graphical Analysis to create graphs of pH vs. mmol added for each of the four titrations.