Religions summary Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Religions summary - Assignment Example Hinduism is known as the most ancient religion of the world. And therefore the Hindu religious texts are perhaps the most ancient religious texts still surviving today. The primary sacred texts of the Hindus are the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, Atharva Veda. The Rig Veda is the oldest of the four. An important text in Hinduism is the Ramayana. It is a moving love story with moral and spiritual themes that has deep appeal in India. Ramayana was written by Valmiki. Another important text in Hinduism is the Mahabharata which is a group of books written by Vyasa. Hindus are normally viewed as Trinitarian because Brahma is considered as the god with three persons – Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver), and Shiva (the destroyer). The four main aims of Hinduism are called the ‘doctrine of the fourfold end of the life’ which are – dharma (righteousness in the religious life), artha (success in the economic life), kama (gratification of the senses, moksa (liberation from the world). Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world. It has nearly 365 million followers. Buddhism was founded in India (northern India) by Siddharta Gautama. Buddhism is not a monolithic religion. It is a combination of the teachings of the Buddha with local religious rituals, beliefs and customs. After the death of Buddha splits occurred in the religion. It was divided into three main systems of thoughts within Buddhism which are geographically and philosophically separated. The three groups are – Theravada Buddhism which is otherwise known are southern Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism which is otherwise known as northern Buddhism, Vajrayana Buddhism which is otherwise known as Tantric Buddhism. Buddha preached the four noble truths of Buddhism which are – there is suffering, there is cause for suffering, there is cessation of suffering, and there is path leading to the

Terrorism and Ordinary People Essay Example for Free

Terrorism and Ordinary People Essay How to Defeat Terrorism Terrorism is a tactic used by a small set of extremists to fight against an overwhelmingly powerful opponent while surrounded by a large population that mostly just wants peace and quiet. Terrorism can be defeated. To do this, ï ¬ rst we need to understand how terrorists are kept away in the best case, then how terrorists can ï ¬ ght against this mechanism, and ï ¬ nally what works and what doesn’t work to foil those aims. The Thin Blue Line Although terrorists are not merely criminals, it is helpful to think about what keeps criminals under control in our society. Ask any police ofï ¬ cer: it is not the police and the courts who keep criminals at bay. It is the society as a whole. It is the ordinary people who call the police when they hear a problem starting. It is the ordinary people who trust the police and cooperate with them to bring criminals to justice. The â€Å"thin blue line† only works when it is backed up by the vast majority of ordinary people. This, by the way, is why police brutality is so damaging to law and order in our society. If ordinary people lose trust in the police, they won’t call and they won’t cooperate. If they fear that calling the police to quiet down a loud party could result in their neighbors’ kids being shot dead, they won’t call. And they also won’t cooperate in more serious cases. Without community backup, the â€Å"thin blue line† starts to feel very thin indeed. And criminals become bolder. Law Enforcement Executive Forum †¢ 2006 †¢ 6(5) 189 Likewise with terrorists. Terrorists are defeated when the large majority of the community feels that they can trust the local authorities to maintain law and order and work for the common good. Then, ordinary people will turn the terrorists in to the authorities when, or even before, they strike. The Unabomber was an insane but highly intelligent man living alone in the woods, writing a manifesto, and killing and maiming people with mail bombs. After his manifesto was published, he was turned in to the FBI by his brother, who recognized the writing and made the correct but agonizing decision to be loyal to society over blood. We can only wish that a relative or neighbor of Timothy McVeigh had been in a position to make a similar decision before he struck in Oklahoma City. In even the best, most civilized, law-abiding society one can imagine, there will be small numbers of extremists tempted by terrorist tactics. Ideally, the vast majority of people will see them as marginal nut-cases and will report them to trusted authorities if they show signs of turning extreme ideas into dangerous action. Terrorist acts can never be totally eliminated, but a cohesive community that trusts its authorities can defeat a continuing terrorist movement. One Man’s Terrorist Is Another Man’s Freedom-Fighter But what if the society is not civilized? What if the authorities are hated and feared rather than trusted? Then, the true terrorist can always ï ¬ nd support and hiding places among sympathizers who are not willing to become terrorists themselves but are not willing to support the authorities either. The terrorists’ best strategy is to drive a wedge between the people and the authorities. Then, the â€Å"thin blue line† becomes thinner and weaker. The ordinary people, or at least some of them, protect and support those they see as ï ¬ ghting for freedom, religious faith, patri otism, or some other deep value, against overwhelming odds. The biggest danger to the terrorist is the trust the people have in the authorities. As that trust is weakened or destroyed, the terrorists gain strength and freedom of action. Their primary goal must be to eliminate the trust between the people and the authorities. How can they act most effectively to eliminate that trust? Here is where the meaning of terrorist violence is often misunderstood. The classic terrorist act is to blow up some innocent victims, but the actual destruction is not the goal, in a military sense. There is a symbolic goal of showing that the more-powerful enemy can be touched and deeply harmed, but even that is not the real goal. The real goal is to provoke massive retaliation. The tiny group of terrorists who actually committed the act may escape entirely, may take casualties, or may even be entirely destroyed, but the larger terrorist movement feeds on the retaliation. The important thing (from the terrorists’ perspective) is for the massive retaliation to harm many people in the general population, even among their own supporters. The point is to incite the authorities to act in a way that erodes the people’s trust in them. The people lose trust; the terrorists are seen as freedom-ï ¬ ghters; and they gain support, cover, strength, and freedom of action. From the terrorists’ perspective, the more horrible the original strike, the better, since it will provoke a more drastic retaliation. And the more horrible the retaliation, the better, since it will destroy the people’s trust in the authorities and strengthen the terrorists. From the terrorists’ perspective, the actual damage to their own people is a beneï ¬ t, not a cost, of terrorist action. Those Who Do Not Learn from History Are Condemned to Repeat It Sadly, case studies of this strange dynamic are easy to come by, once you realize what to look for. Israel-Palestine The Israeli-Palestinian conï ¬â€šict is a textbook case. There is no military beneï ¬ t to a suicide bomber killing people at a cafe, a wedding, or on a bus. The beneï ¬ t to Hamas comes from the massive retaliation, killing the innocent along with the guilty, bulldozing homes and farms, and creating major economic hardship for the large masses of Palestinians who would gladly live in pea ce with Israel. Israel pegs the price of peace to stopping the terrorists, which ordinary Palestinians have no way of doing. And the immediate impact of the retaliation is to solidify hatred against the Israelis. (We’re long past the point of talking about â€Å"trust† here.) So, Hamas has reached the successful point of being able to provoke the Israeli Army to act to build up its strength among the Palestinians. The vicious cycle in that region is that hardliners in Israel use precisely the same method. When Israeli extremists create new settlements in Palestinian territory or commit terrorist acts against ordinary Palestinians, they provoke the strongest retaliation the Palestinians are capable of, which is more suicide bombers to slaughter innocents among the ordinary people of Israel. This eliminates any trust in the Palestinian authorities (small a) and solidiï ¬ es hatred against Palestine. This elegant pair of mutually reinforcing feedback cycles strengthens terrorism on both sides and makes the chances for peace remote. Iraq Now let’s think about Iraq. Terrorists strike U.S. troops, provoking retaliation. The retaliation almost certainly involves collateral damage, eroding trust in Americans and inï ¬â€šaming hatred. By now, this cycle should look familiar. The terrorists’ goal is the erosion of trust in the U.S. authorities and our attempt to rebuild Iraq, even more than physical destruction. It’s hard to imagine Al Qaeda coming up with something more effective than the pictures from Abu Ghraib prison for destroying the trust of the ordinary Iraqi people in the civil authority of the U.S. troops. Because this abuse does such direct strategic damage to our mission in Iraq, the soldiers directly involved must be punished, of course, but so should the entire chain of command. Since our overall mission explicitly requires winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, it is military professional malpractice to fail to anticipate the pressures on the front-line troops and put discipline in place to prevent such abuse. This abuse is due to more than â€Å"a few bad apples,† but even if it were only that, a military commander is responsible for knowing that a few soldiers may be â€Å"bad apples† and having controls in place to prevent them from acting out. The decapitation of Nick Berg was a miscalculation on the terrorists’ part. (They aren’t all geniuses either, of course!) Ordinary Iraqis were revolted and offended by having this crime done in their name. Furthermore, the decapitation took attention away from the Abu Ghraib pictures, which were doing real damage to the U.S. cause. We could still save their cookies by some sort of massive retaliation, but the responsible authorities seem to be handling this in a more controlled way. Finding and prosecuting the speciï ¬ c individuals involved and their accomplices would strengthen the U.S. position signiï ¬ cantly. There are signs that not all the news from Iraq is bad. First, there is measurable progress in restoring the Iraqi infrastructure and providing water, sewers, electricity, oil pipelines, local government, and eventually jobs. [This is where the real war is fought. The soldiers are mostly there to keep the bad guys from interfering with the engineers and t heir work.] Second, the ordinary people of Najf have demonstrated against the religious extremists and in favor of the moderates and of course in favor of peace and quiet. 9/11 This view of terrorists, retaliation, and trust also helps us understand the terrible events of 9/11 and who has proï ¬ ted from the aftermath. The destruction of the World Trade Center and the murder of 3,000 people was a horrifying act that devastated the victims’ families and shook the economy for a while. The symbolic impact on the United States and its effect on our national confidence was massive, but from a military perspective, the blow was not signiï ¬ cant. Compare it with the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, which crippled the Paciï ¬ c ï ¬â€šeet as we entered a war with Japan. Osama bin Laden’s purpose for the 9/11 attack was (and is) to provoke massive retaliation from the United States against Islam. He hoped that our retaliation would ï ¬ nally unite Islam against the United States as a common enemy and that his vision for a fundamentalist pan-Islamic state would sweep away all the more moderate governments in the region, as well as movements toward a pluralistic culture. In the ï ¬ nal chapter of his book Against All Enemies, Richard Clarke gives an excellent description of the conï ¬â€šict we should have pursued after 9/11 and contrasts it with the wars we actually did pursue. The invasion of Iraq is not only a distraction from more important goals but a provocation that is making Osama bin Laden’s dream come true. The purpose of the original attack was to provoke our retaliation, which would affect primarily the ordinary Islamic people, destroying what trust they had for the United States, and making them more willing to give aid and comfort to the terrorists among them. To a surprising extent, we have fallen right into Osama bin Laden’s trap. The future of the world depends on ï ¬ nding our way out. How to Win the War on Terrorism When terrorists are isolated criminals, viewed with suspicion by the vast majority of the general public, and reported to the authorities when they turn violent, then the war on terrorism has been won. What weapons will it take to win this war? Just as the Maginot Line in France was impotent against Nazi blitzkrieg at the beginning of World War II, purely military tactics and strategy will fail against the terrorists and will even be exploited to their advantage. It appears to me that our current professional military leaders generally understand this point, while our hawkish civilian leaders without military experience generally do not. It’s tempting to think that a war against terrorism can be won by killing all the terrorists. In the real world, this naive plan doesn’t work. A serious attempt to ï ¬ nd and kill all the terrorists also sweeps up many ordinary people, and some of them and their relatives become new terrorists, creating more terrorists than were destroyed. The harder the authorities pursue this strategy, the more it looks like genocide, and the more effectively they recruit new terrorists. The â€Å"weapon† we need is the trust and cooperation of the general population of the country where the terrorists are based. As we have seen, terrorists understand this and use ï ¬ endishly clever strategies for eroding this trust and fomenting resentment and hatred. (Incidentally, most terrorists are not clever enough to invent this. But they read about strategy and tactics in the writings of Mao Tze Tung and Ho Chi Minh, who were. Fortunately, these same sources are required reading for our professional military leaders.) The â€Å"simple† strategy for defeating terrorism is as follows: †¢ Avoid getting killed by them; make clear that overwhelming power is available, but avoid using it. †¢ Gain the trust and cooperation of the general population. †¢ Refute the terrorists’ lies; demonstrate truth and openness to criticism. †¢ Create, publicize, enforce, and obey a simple â€Å"Bill of Rights†; demonstrate evenhandedness in local disputes. †¢ Demonstrate justice, even when treated unjustly; avoid massive retaliation, even when taking casualties. †¢ Visibly work for economic justice for the oppressed. The people will turn the terrorists in for trial and prosecution. Obviously, implementing this strategy is far from simple. There are trade-offs between the actions required to avoid getting killed and the ones needed to gain trust. Since gaining trust is building the â€Å"weapon† that wins the war, however, it takes priority, and one can’t be absolutely safe. Whether you call it nation-building or peace-making, it’s a dangerous line of work, actively opposed by unfriendly people. Avoid Getting Killed Aside from the obvious personal motivation to stay alive, the strategic reason to prevent terrorist attacks is to foil their attempt to provoke massive retaliation. Impotence is the worst-case outcome for a terrorist, not death. We need good enough intelligence to detect and prevent terrorist acts, but this cannot take absolute priority since it trades off against being a free and trustworthy society. Therefore, some attacks will occur, and there will be casualties. It is important for both the terrorists and the general population to understand clearly that terrorist acts cannot possibly defeat our forces militarily. Failing to attend to this point led to disastrous errors by Reagan in Beirut and Clinton in Somalia. Currently in Iraq, terrorists can reasonably conclude that the United States will leave under sufï ¬ cient pressure. They may or may not be correct, but their ability to draw that conclusion is dangerous to us in itself. The hardest part about a war on terrorism comes when a terrorist attack succeeds. The whole point of the attack is to do something horriï ¬ c to provoke massive retaliation. The right response must be measured, deliberate, and appropriate. President Bush’s speech on September 20, 2001, was a brilliant example of the correct response to a successful terrorist attack. (Sadly, he did not stay that particular course, as he and his administration demonstrated their obsession with Iraq.) Gain Trust and Cooperation A measured, deliberate, and appropriate response gains the trust and the cooperation of the people. To do this, we must be trustworthy. It also means that the training of our troops for this kind of war must be very different from past wars. Our soldiers must be more than warriors who kill people and destroy things. They must also serve as community police, and even as social workers and political advisors. News reports from Iraq make it clear that our soldiers are vividly aware of this dual role, and they are vividly aware of the fact that they are well-trained and equipped as warriors but not as community police. Above, I’ve outlined some of the speciï ¬ c methods for building trust and cooperation from the people. †¢ Refute the terrorists’ lies; demonstrate truth and openness to criticism. †¢ Create, publicize, enforce, and obey a simple â€Å"Bill of Rights†; demonstrate evenhandedness in local disputes. †¢ Demonstrate justice, even when treated unjustly; avoid massive retaliation, even when taking casualties. †¢ Visibly work for economic justice for the oppressed. There are surely many other effective methods to be identiï ¬ ed, improved, evaluated, and applied. The People Will Turn in the Terrorists If the people trust the authorities and respect the efforts taken to make their lives secure and safe, they will turn in suspected terrorists, knowing that they will receive fair trials. The Unabomber’s brother turned him in because he was willing to trust the government’s pledge not to seek the death penalty. Terrorists are not merely criminals. Their extremist ideological motivation makes them far more dangerous than even large organized criminal gangs. Even so, to win against terrorism, in the end they must be treated as ordinary criminals. They must be tried and punished, with full legal rights and protections, not for their extremist beliefs, but for their terrorist actions that disrupt the safe conduct of society for ordinary citizens. The Unabomber sits in federal prison for his bombs that killed and maimed. Timothy McVeigh was executed for murder many times over. Their public trials and the public safeguarding of their rights were not out of soft-heartedness or compassion for criminals. They are public ceremonies, reafï ¬ rming the value of law and order in our society. They both represent and cultivate the trust that the people have in their government. That trust is the weapon that defeats terrorism. They cannot stand against it. We must not throw it away. What Should We Do? If we understand which weapons actually work against terrorists and if we understand how terrorists try to destroy our weapons, we can see what we need to do and what we need to avoid doing. We can see why the Abu Ghraib prison photos are so damaging to us. Traditional war is not easy or certain. And the new ways are not easy or certain either. The â€Å"simple† strategy above for defeating terrorism requires great knowledge, cleverness, and wisdom to put into action. War requires discipline. War requires sacriï ¬ ce. War requires restraint at certain times and carefully planned action at others. A war against terrorism is unlike the major wars of the past. If we try to ï ¬ ght like we fought wars in the past, we will lose, and we won’t understand how or why. We need to learn how to ï ¬ ght with new weapons. The alternative is a world of perpetual conï ¬â€šict between opposing groups of extremists, locked in a deadly embrace in which each side conï ¬ rms the beliefs of the other and helps in recruiting more extremists. The ordinary people in the middle, who just want peace and law and order, are repeatedly savaged to cultivate more recruits for one side or the other. This is indeed a â€Å"clash of civilizations† but not between Islam and the West. The clash is between extremists of all kinds on the one side and the forces of pluralism, tolerance, peace, and law and order on the other. Identifying Terrorists as a Diagnosis Problem Consider the problem of identifying terrorists as a problem in diagnosis. Out of a large population, you want to diagnose the very few cases of a rare disease called â€Å"terrorism.† Your diagnostic tests are automated data-mining methods, supervised and checked by humans. (The analogy is sending blood or tissue samples to a laboratory.) This type of diagnostic problem, screening a large population to look for a rare disease, has some very counter-intuitive properties. Suppose the tests are highly accurate and speciï ¬ c: †¢ 99.9% of the time, examining a terrorist, the test says â€Å"terrorist.† †¢ 99.9% of the time, examining an innocent civilian, the test says â€Å"innocent.† Terrorists are rare: let’s say, 250 out of 250 million people in the United States. †¢ When the tests are applied to the terrorists, they will be detected 99.9% of the time, which means that almost certainly 249 will be detected, and with only a 25% chance of missing the last one. Great! †¢ However, out of the remaining 249,999,750 innocent civilians, 99.9% accuracy means 0.1% error, which means that 250,000 of them will be incorrectly labeled â€Å"terrorist.† Uh, oh! (These are called â€Å"false positives.†) The law enforcement problem is now that we have 250,250 people who have been labeled as â€Å"terrorist† by our diagnostic tests. Only about 1 in 1,000 of them is actually a terrorist. If we were mini ng for gold, we would say that the ore has been considerably enriched, since 1 in 1,000 is better than 1 in 1,000,000. There’s still a long way to go, though, before ï ¬ nding a nugget. But we are talking about people’s lives, freedom, and livelihoods here. The consequences to an innocent person of being incorrectly labeled a â€Å"terrorist† (or even â€Å"suspected terrorist†) can be very large. Suppose, out of the innocent people incorrectly labeled â€Å"terrorist,† 1 in 1,000 is sufï ¬ ciently traumatized by the experience so that they, or a relative, actually becomes a terrorist. (This is analogous to catching polio from the polio vaccine: extremely rare, and impossible with killed-virus vaccine, but a real phenomenon.) In this case, even after catching all 250 original terrorists, 250 new ones have been created by the screening process! The numbers I’ve used give a break-even scenario, but 99.9% accuracy and speciï ¬ city is unrealistically high. More realistic numbers make the problem worse. Nobody knows what fraction of people traumatized as innocent victims of a government process are seriously radicalized. One in 1,000 is an uninformed guess, but the number could be signiï ¬ cantly higher. A mass screening process like this is very likely to have costs that are much higher than the beneï ¬ ts, even restricting the costs to â€Å"number of free terrorists† as I have done here. Adding costs in dollars and the suffering of innocents just makes it harder to reach the break-even level. Ask your neighborhood epidemiologist to conï ¬ rm this analysis. It is applied routinely to public health policy and applies no less to seeking out terrorists. There are alternative ways to detect and defend against terrorists. Mass screening for something very rare is seriously questionable in terms of costs and beneï ¬ ts, exactly because the true positives can be completely swamped by the false positives. The Seeds of War (A Parable) I offer a parable to illustrate the seeds of war. The point of this is not to say that the West is somehow responsible for terrorism. Obviously, the terrorists are responsible, and they must be brought to justice; however, we need to understand the mechanisms in place that feed terrorism and that would be invoked by certain types of retaliation. It makes no sense to act without understanding the context. The purpose of this parable is to provide intuition about one such mechanism. Written 10/2/2001 in the aftermath of September 11. Think about the aftermaths of Afghanistan and Iraq, too. To ï ¬ ght terrorism, you must know where it comes from. Imagine that you and your family live in a really bad neighborhood. You struggle every day to make ends meet. You try to keep your children safe from the criminals who live in your area. You work hard to teach your children to be good people, and to live right, even though they are surrounded by examples of people who get rich through immoral ity and crime. You go to church with your neighbors and try to support each other in the same struggle, since the odds against each of you are overwhelming, but together you may have a slightly better chance. You watch TV, and you see rich people in the suburbs who have everything you ever wanted, who worry about crabgrass in the lawn instead of gunï ¬ re in the street. You work two jobs at minimum wage, hating the fact that your children are home alone, while the people on TV complain about the high cost of gas for the SUV to take the kids to soccer games. You and the members of your church tell each other and try to believe that different people have different lots in life, and each follows his or her own path to salvation. Meanwhile, on TV, you hear the people in the suburbs complaining about how all the people in your neighborhood are criminals and lazy and should be run out of town. You try hard to remember that they don’t understand and to forgive them. Then, one day, a really terrible crime is committed by a gang from your neighborhood. A bomb goes off in the suburbs, and many innocent people are killed. You are shocked, and your heart goes out to the families who are suffering. A few of your meaner-hearted neighbors say that they are glad that the suburbs now know what it’s like. You shut them up, telling them to have compassion for anyone who suffers. A few particularly foolish kids dance in the street and show up on the evening news. Your church holds a prayer service for the victims of the bomb. The police barricade the streets around your neighborhood and won’t let any of you out, though a few sneak past. On TV, you hear some of the rich people in the suburbs say they want to bomb your entire neighborhood to kill the whole gang. If that also kills innocent people like you and your family, well, that’s too bad, they say. How do you feel? What do you do? Now, suppose the police actually do bomb your neighborhood. The bombs kill your parents, your wife, your daughters, and your sons. In your family, the only survivors are you and your youngest son. How do you feel? What do you do? Benjamin Kuipers, PhD, holds an endowed professorship in computer sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. He investigates the representation of commonsense and expert knowledge with particular emphasis on the effective use of incomplete knowledge. He received his BA from Swarthmore College, and his PhD from MIT. He is a fellow of AAAI and IEEE and has served as department chairman.

The Role of Participation in Budgeting Essay -- essays research papers

The Role of Participation in Budgeting Introduction Although participation in budgeting may enforce the managerial performance, it has constrains and can cause some problems as well. This article analyses the possible advantages and limitations of the role of participation in budget setting. In the next section, the possible merits of budgetary participation are demonstrated. This is followed by a section that explains the equivocation existing in the relationship between budgetary participation and performance. Then, in the following section, some negative effects on the application of participation in budgeting progress are illustrated. The final section is the conclusion of the study. The Possible Advantages of Budgetary Participation According to the definition of budgeting, it is the  ¡Ã‚ ®estimation of all income and expenses for an accounting period or financial forecasting, planning, and controlling ¡Ã‚ ¯. (http://www.yourwebassistant.net/glossary/b11.htm#budgeting) Comparing the budget with the real achievement of the company, it is possible to improve the decision-making process for the future development of the enterprise. So budgeting takes a crucial role in management accounting. Therefore, studying how to make budget setting more effective is important for the benefit of the enterprise. Participation in budgeting is one of the useful approaches. It bears some possible advantages, which may enhance manager ¡Ã‚ ¯s commitment to budget objectives. The following discussion (adapted from Lecture notes by Professor S. G. Ogden, 2004) bears the assumption that there is positive relationship between participation and performance. The contradictions will be discussed later in the following sections. First of all, participation in budget setting can inspire the enthusiasm of the managers. Then they will intend to input more energy and time into the work to meet the budget targets. Because if they are involved in the process of budget setting, they will link it with their own knowledge, experience, and so on to make the judgment. This linkage renders the target of the company to be the participator ¡Ã‚ ¯s personal target. Secondly, participation may encourage the creation of the participators. Creation is the characteristic of human beings. However, not everybody at any time has the motivation to create. When the budget is settled, and what the managers and employ... ...nteraction of budget characteristics and personality variables with budget response attitudes ¡Ã‚ ¯. The Accounting Review. Vol. 53. pp. 324-335. Dunk, A. S. (1989).  ¡Ã‚ ®Budget emphasis, budgetary participation and managerial performance: A note ¡Ã‚ ¯. Accounting, Organizations and Society. Vol. 14. pp. 321-324 Dunk, A. S. (1993).  ¡Ã‚ ®The effects of job-related tension on managerial performance in participative budgetary settings ¡Ã‚ ®. Accounting, Organizations and Society. Vol. 18. pp. 575-585. Hartmann, F. G. H. (2000).  ¡Ã‚ ®The appropriateness of RAPM: toward the further development of theory ¡Ã‚ ¯. Accounting, Organizations and Society. Vol. 25. pp. 451-482. Lau, M. C. (2001).  ¡Ã‚ ®Budget emphasis, participation, task difficulty and performance: the effect of diversity within culture ¡Ã‚ ¯. Accounting and Business Research. Vol. 31. pp. 37. Abstract. Merchant, K. A. (1981).  ¡Ã‚ ®The Design of the Corporate Budgeting System: Influences on Managerial Behavior and Performance ¡Ã‚ ¯. The Accounting Review. Vol. 56. pp. 813-829. Milani, K. (1975).  ¡Ã‚ ®The relationship of participation in budget setting to industrial supervisor performance and attitudes: a field study ¡Ã‚ ¯. The Accounting Review. Vol. 50. pp. 274-284.

Verbal Abuse

Sabrina Minton Mrs. Laura Ahmed English 3A 10-25-10 Verbal Abuse The reason why I choose this topic is because I have been a victim of verbal abuse. Many people know or have heard of someone that has been verbally abused. Many people including myself be suffer in silence and feel isolated. Many parts of human action, include the mind and heart. â€Å"As he thinks within himself, so he is†. What does a person think in his or her mind, and heart will be reflected and his or her words or actions. In this paper, I want to address this very important issue in an effort to understand this phenomenon and provide answers.Verbal abuse and physical abuse result from a world view that is clearly not biblical. The difficulty of verbal abuse is that there are no visible signs. The majority cases; verbal abusers are often male and the victim is usually female. Kerby Anderson who wrote â€Å"Verbal Abuse† has many degrees. He has a B. S. from Oregon State University, M. F. S from Yale University, and M. A. from Georgetown University. And has authored many books (Anderson). Patricia Evan has written many books and has been seen on KTLA5THECW, FOX11 NEWS, Oprah Winfrey Show, Sonya Live-CNN and NEWS TALK.She has done over two hundred radio programs, and seventeen national television shows (Evans). Kerby Anderson says he writes his paper from an educated point of view but more importantly he is man. Men are most often the abuser in a relationship; with women being the victim. Mr. Anderson has several degrees and advocates that both the victim and abuser seek help and support within their religious faith. He feels that this behavior is often learned at home and that devotion to family and church and help train these abusers.He also suggests that godly men and women gather together to lovingly confront the person who is verbally abusing the victim. He suggests that the abuser confronts their sin and make an attempt to change with the support of the church. Patricia Ev ans does not have an educational degree but has written several books and established a foundation for support and workshops for people who feel that have been abused. Ms. Evans is a woman and has a very therapeutic point of treatment. She feels angry or critical words will destroy your confidence or self-esteem. She views verbal abuse s a boiling cauldron of pain and anguish in possibly millions of homes. She worries that a person who might cross from verbal to physical abuse is likely to show signs of an impending physical assault by launching intense and repeated verbal attacks, by indulging in rages or by becoming abusive in public. She tends to address the needs of the abuser with support groups, workshops and books to help identify behavior and help recognize and deal with abusive people. I wrote my paper with a personal bias, as I have been the victim of verbal abuse. I decided to compare two different authors based on approach, education and gender.Although only Mr. Anderson has degrees, both have written books and have excellent references. I really liked that both people had a written books. Often time’s victims are of low income and self help books can be a great resource. Mr. Anderson suggests the church as s support group and for many people this would probably be a workable option. I personally prefer a more therapeutic approach. I thought the establishment of workshops with people who had experienced similar situations and the added support of therapists and staff; would make for a better option to help stop the pattern of abuse.The workshops would seem to be the best way to educate yourself and learn the behavior skills to help assure you avoid future situations. I felt both authors had excellent information. Mr. Anderson's information was in a book  form with 7 pages that read like a textbook. Ms. Evans information was keyed to specific questions that a person would answer, according to their feeling and situation. Again there are que stions that redirect the reader  to another page with topic specific information with a set of questions to see if you needed more information; or had obtained the information you needed.The pages also linked to workshops, support groups, self help books, and videos. Mr. Anderson's advice and information may suit some people well and they may already attend a church. To be fair Mr. Anderson's information is relevant for anyone, just as Ms Evans would be appropriate for a religious person. If someone was looking for good information and options of the subject, either author would be able to provide that.Works Cited Anderson, Kerby. Probe Ministries Verbal Abuse. 14 July 2002. ;lt;www. leaderu. com;gt;. Patricia, Evans. Verbal Abuse Survivors Speak Out: On Relationship and Recovery . 1993.

Nutrition †Flavor Essay

Science tells you what nutrients do in your body and how nutrients work together Explain why people who enjoy their food may absorb more nutrients from it. The brain reacts from the senses (sight and smell). It instructs your mouth and stomach to make chemicals that help digest food. What 5 factors contribute to different cultures having such different cuisines and food customs? Geography, Economics, Foreign Contacts, Religious Belief, Technology. List the 4 main components of the food chain and explain the function of each. Sun: The sun supplies the original energy for the planer in the form of light. This energy is needed to make food. Producers: Some organisms make or produce food. Green plants are important producers. Plants use the sun’s energy to produce food for themselves. Consumers: Organisms that must eat other organisms. Decomposers: Organisms such as bacteria and fungi that break down dead matter and return the nutrients to the environment. List the 5 reasons for using food additives. 1. Additive flavoring 2. Improving nutrition 3. Increase shelf life 4. Maintaining texture 5. Helping foods age Define the following: Nutrient – a chemical substance that your body needs to function, grow, repair itself, and create energy Wellness – good health and positive well-being. Includes physical, mental, and emotional health Comfort foods – are familiar foods that make people fell good Culture – the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively Cuisines – may be particular to a country or region, or it may be a blend from different areas. Staple food – the most widely produced and eaten food in an area Ecosystem – an environment and its community of organisms, which all depends on each other for survival Food chain – is the flow of food energy from simpler to more complex organisms Shelf stable – able to be stored at room temperature for weeks or months in the original, unopened containers Shelf life – the length of time food holds its flavor and quality Food additives – A substance added to food for a specific reason during processing. Food is essential for survival and affects the quality of your life. Healthy food choices promote wellness. Food offers more than nutrition. It also offers enjoyment. Comfort foods may slow the release of stress hormones, making people feel better. Preparing and serving food lets you express your creativity. Different cultures have more than individuals ingredients and dishes, they have entire cuisines. Income had/has an influence on what people have/had to cook certain meals. Cultures absorb new foods through immigration, travel, and trade with other people. The food we eat depends on the health of the world’s ecosystem. The U. S. is fortunate to have abundant resources for raising food. What is one of the most important roles of food processing? To keep perishable foods from spoiling Food additives include natural and artificial flavors. When vitamins and minerals are added to foods like milk, this is labeled as improving nutrition. Increasing shelf life and delaying spoilage is known as shelf-stable.

Your complete guide to landing a job in retail

Your complete guide to landing a job in retail When you think about it, retail is kind of a choose-your-own-adventure career, like those old kids’ books. There are so many ways you can go (working in a traditional store, working in online fulfillment, being a behind-the-scenes logistics person, or providing valuable services), and so many options for doing it (part-time, full-time, short-term, long-term, seasonal). Whether it’s your right career or your right-now career, retail can be a great growth option. So how do you get started? One of the best things about working in retail is that you don’t need to complete years of education before you begin, and introductory training is often offered on the job. If you have the skills and the commitment, you can start in one place and work your way up to management, or take those developed skills and bring them with you to whatever path you take next. And if you’re just getting started in retail (or thinking about it), we’ve got you covered.Is retail ri ght for you?The first step is deciding whether retail is your next step. And let’s be honest- it’s not for everybody. If you hate the idea of talking to the public or your major philosophy in life is â€Å"my way or the highway,† well, then customer service might not be for you. Start by taking an honest look at your skills and goals- as well as some of the hard truths about working in retail- and see if that retail choice is a good fit.8 Skills You’ll Need for Your Future Retail Career6 Job Skills You Need To Be A Sales Associate10 of the Most Annoying Things about Working in Retail What You Need to Know to Succeed in the Retail IndustryAnd if you don’t happen to have some of these skills just yet, don’t worry- you can certainly start working on them, with the retail job goal in mind.How to find retail jobs  Once you’ve decided to go for a retail job and narrowed down your skills, it’s time to look for the right opportunitie s. Start by researching companies you want to target, based on your location or the type of retail you want to focus on. If you need some ideas for starting points, we’ve got information on some of the best retail jobs out there, and how to ferret them out.A Comprehensive Guide to Getting Different Types of Retail JobsTop 5 Less Crowded Sites to Look For Retail JobsTop 70 Customer Service Jobs That Are Hiring Today10 of the Best Jobs in Retail Nationwide8 Best Jobs in Retail (And How to Get Them)Because retail is one of the industries that changes quickly with the times, be sure to consider all of your options- both traditional and digital.Top Opportunities in the Online Retail RevolutionIf you start thinking beyond the store, so to speak, you may find that there are retail jobs that wouldn’t even have occurred to you before.How to score retail jobsLike any job search, the core elements of your retail job search will likely sound familiar: resume and interview. The per fect retail resume showcases your skills, even if you don’t yet have tons of experience.How to Create a Perfect Retail ResumeHow to Write a Perfect Cashier Resume (Examples Included)How to Write a Perfect Sales Associate Resume (Examples Included)After your resume has scored you an interview, make sure you’re ready to rock it by preparing for certain types of questions ahead of time.5 Questions to Expect in a Retail Job InterviewThe Most Popular Macy’s Interview QuestionsHow to get a seasonal retail jobIf you’re not looking for a long-term retail option or you’re seeking to break into the field as a newbie, seasonal retail work can be a great, flexible option. Many stores bulk up their staffs during busy seasons, like back to school or the holidays. The hours may be crazy (and so might the customers), but in a month or two of chaos, you’ll be making connections, building necessary retail skills, and making extra money.3 Essential Steps to La nding a Seasonal Job10 Summer Retail Jobs- And How to Get Them6 Supercharged Strategies to Finding a Seasonal JobEverything You Need to Know About Working During the HolidaysHow to level up in your retail careerIf you’ve already got some retail experience under your belt or you’re figuring out if the career path has long-term potential for you, it’s important to know where you can go in the future with your retail skills, leadership experience, and know-how.How to Move Up the Retail Ladder Without College5 Great Career Paths You Can Take if You’re Working in RetailRetail Management: Your Complete Guide to Starting Your CareerWhether you’re just starting out or starting to think about what your retail future looks like, we’ve got the resources you need, from our Resume Library to our comprehensive job search. Good luck!

The Life Of Nick Drake essays

The Life Of Nick Drake essays There are many sad stories in the history of the music industry- tales of failed ambitions, wasted talent, broken souls and tragic endings. I am sure there are many that have never and will never be known to all but few, but I believe it safe to say that every person knows of one particular case. Be it Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon or Ian Aitkin (a truly spectacular local guitarist whose sudden decline and death shocked many people I know, including myself). However, one tale has fascinated me for many years and I have chosen this as the topic for my final term research project. In this essay I am going to recount the life and death of an extremely gifted and troubled musician- Nick Drake. Born into a middle class, close knit family, the tragic story does not have the beginnings one would expect to justify the ends, working class upbringings and hardened youth have no place here. Just a young man unable to relate to his world, frustrated by the lack of public interest in his work, predisposed to heavy depression. The story of Nick Drake has such an air of mystery, and his music only complements the haunting qualities that have kept me enthralled with this tragic character. Born in 1908, Rodney Shuttleworth Drake was the son of a wealthy doctor. He worked for several years for the Bombay Burmah Trading Company in Burmah, dealing mostly in Teak. Rodney met Molly Lloyd in Rangoon and, in 1937, they married. Their firstborn, a daughter named Gabrielle, was born in India whilst the couple were travelling for Rodneys work, and then a son was born on June 19th, 1948 in Rangoon. It was not until 1951 that Rodney felt it time to return back to England, his home and birthplace. Warwickshire was to be the settling place for the Drake family, in the small, idyllic village of Tanworth-in-Arden. The Drakes were a musical family- both Rodney and Molly played and composed, encouraging their offspring to d ...

Diary - Definition and Examples

Diary s A diary is a personal record of events, experiences, thoughts, and observations. We converse with the absent by letters, and with ourselves by diaries, says Isaac DIsraeli in Curiosities of Literature (1793). These books of account, he says preserve what wear out in the memory, and . . . render to a man an account of himself to himself. In this sense, diary-writing may be regarded as a type of conversation or monologue as well as a form of autobiography. Although the reader of a diary is usually only the author herself, on occasion diaries are published (in most cases after an authors death). Well-known diarists include Samuel Pepys (1633-1703), Dorothy Wordsworth (1771-1855), Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), Anne Frank (1929-1945), and Anaà ¯s Nin (1903-1977). In recent years, growing numbers of people have begun keeping online diaries, usually in the form of blogs or web journals. Diaries are sometimes used in conducting research, particularly in the social sciences and in medicine. Research diaries (also called field notes) serve as records of the research process itself. Respondent diaries may be kept by the individual subjects participating in a research project. Etymology:  From the Latin, daily allowance, daily journal Excerpts From Famous Diaries Excerpt From Virginia Woolfs DiaryEaster Sunday, April 20th, 1919. . . The habit of writing for my eye only is good practice. It loosens the ligaments. . . What sort of diary should I like mine to be? Something loose knit and yet not slovenly, so elastic that it will embrace anything, solemn, slight or beautiful that comes into my mind. I should like it to resemble some deep old desk, or capacious hold-all, in which one flings a mass of odds and ends without looking them through. I should like to come back, after a year or two, and find that the collection had sorted itself and refined itself and coalesced, as such deposits mysteriously do, into a mould, transparent enough to reflect the light of our life, and yet steady, tranquil compounds with the aloofness of a work of art.(Virginia Woolf, A Writers Diary. Harcourt, 1953)I get courage by reading [Virginia Woolfs Diary]. I feel very akin to her.(Sylvia Plath, quoted by Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar in No Mans Land. Yale Univers ity Press, 1994) Excerpt From Sylvia Plaths DiaryJuly 1950. I may never be happy, but tonight I am content. Nothing more than an empty house, the warm hazy weariness from a day spent setting strawberry runners in the sun, a glass of cool sweet milk, and a shallow dish of blueberries bathed in cream. When one is so tired at the end of a day one must sleep, and at the next dawn there are more strawberry runners to set, and so one goes on living, near the earth. At times like this Id call myself a fool to ask for more . . ..(Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath, ed. Karen V. Kukil. Anchor Books, 2000)Excerpts From Anne Franks DiaryNow Im back to the point that prompted me to keep a diary in the first place: I dont have a friend.â€Å"Who else but me is ever going to read these letters?†(Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl, ed. by Otto H. Frank and Mirjam Pressler. Doubleday, 1995) Thoughts and Observations on Diaries Safires Rules for Keeping a DiaryFor people intimidated by their own diaries, here are a handful of rules:Four rules are enough rules. Above all, write about what got to you that day . . ..(William Safire, On Keeping a Diary. The New York Times, September. 9, 1974)You own the diary, the diary doesnt own you. There are many days in all our lives about which the less written the better. If you are the sort of person who can only keep a diary on a regular schedule, filling up two pages just before you go to bed, become another sort of person.Write for yourself. The central idea of a diary is that you are not writing for critics or for posterity but are writing a private letter to your future self. If you are petty, or wrongheaded, or hopelessly emotional, relax–if there is anybody who will understand and forgive, it is your future self.Put down what cannot be reconstructed. . . . [R]emind yourself of the poignant personal moment, the remark you wish you had made, your predictions about the outcome of your own tribulations.Write legibly. . . . Vita Sackville-West on Capturing Moments[T]he fingers which have once grown accustomed to a pen soon itch to hold one again: it is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by. How else, indeed, to clap the net over the butterfly of the moment? For the moment passes, it is forgotten; the mood is gone; life itself is gone. That is where the writer scores over his fellows: he catches the changes of his mind on on the hop.(Vita Sackville-West, Twelve Days, 1928)David Sedariss DiariesAt the start of my second year [of college]. I signed up for a creative-writing class. The instructor, a woman named Lynn, demanded that we each keep a journal and that we surrender it twice during the course of the semester. This meant that Id be writing two diaries, one for myself and a second, heavily edited one, for her.The entries I ultimately handed in are the sorts I read onstage sometimes, the .01 percent that might possibly qualify as entertaining: a joke I heard, a T-shirt slogan, a b it of inside information passed on by a waitress or cabdriver.(David Sedaris, Lets Explore Diabetes With Owls. Hachette, 2013) Research DiariesA research diary should be a log or record of everything that you do in your research project, for example, recording ideas about possible research topics, database searches you undertake, your contacts with research study sites, access and and approval processes and difficulties you encounter and overcome, etc. The research diary is the place where you should also record your thoughts, personal reflections and insights into the research process.(Nicholas Walliman and Jane Appleton, Your Undergraduate Dissertation in Health and Social Care. Sage, 2009)Christopher Morley on DiaristsThey catalogue their minutes: Now, now, now,Is Actual, amid the fugitive;Take ink and pen (they say) for that is howWe snare this flying life, and make it live.So to their little pictures, and they sieveTheir happinesses: fields turned by the plough,The afterglow that summer sunsets give,The razor concave of a great ships bow.O gallant instinct, folly for mens mirth!Type cannot burn and spar kle on the page.No glittering ink can make this written wordShine clear enough to speak the noble rageAnd instancy of life. All sonnets blurredThe sudden mood of truth that gave them birth.(Christopher Morley, Diarists. Chimneysmoke, George H. Doran, 1921) â€Å"I never travel without my  diary. One should always have something sensational to read  in  the train.†(Oscar Wilde,  The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895)It seems to me that the problem with  diaries, and the reason that most of them are so boring, is that every day we vacillate between examining our hangnails and speculating on cosmic order.(Ann Beattie,  Picturing Will, 1989)

The great gatsby Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The great gatsby - Movie Review Example The important credits of the American Dream as presented in the novel are hope and perseverance and aspiration for success facing all difficult challenges. To be ambitious and work hard with an unquenchable thirst about adventurous life! Jay Gatsby is supposed to pursue all these qualities and he is the main character in the novel representing American Dream. He is fired by the everlasting hope and craves to win Daisy’s love in tandem with the spirit of the American Dream. A pre-decided goal and the relentless pursuit of that goal! His introduction in the novel is dramatic and the author describes it thus: "†¦[with] his hands in his pockets†¦ out to determine what share was his of our local heavens †¦.he [Gatsby] stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way,†¦ he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward-and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock" (Fitzgerald 21). The restless spirit of Gatsby is evident in this description. The green light is the symbol for his intense desire to possess Daisy, craze for money and he is not satisfied with his present possessions; he craves to achieve and accumulate more. But what is the reality? Nick describes it and argues that the green light is the symbol for success that he is anticipating in the future, by further accelerating the efforts. Undoubtedly, Gatsby’s goal provides him with a direction in life, but in his aggression to move forward he has no time to pause, review or look backward. He chases his dream of securing eternal company with Daisy and, subsequently, he waits patiently for a long time near her house but she has abandoned him. In his effort to emulate the modern face of the American Dream, he has lost touch with the pure, original American Dream. Loss of ethical values is the cause for the shattering of the

Artillery used by the NORTH During the Civil War (Gettysburg) Research Paper

Artillery used by the NORTH During the Civil War (Gettysburg) - Research Paper Example The general classification of Artillery was based on caliber and weight. The other factors considered include mobility, as well as the carriage form or mounting. Notably, "Field" artillery was regarded ordnance light, as well as mobile to help in maneuvering during battle. Numerous larger guns used by the North and South were locked permanently in fortifications. The defense in Washington alone had 98 mortars and 807 guns. Many of such fortification guns were never used in attacking the enemy via the entire war. Regarding the Northern armies, they were uniformly equipped with the 12-pounder Napoleon, 10- pounder, or 3-inch rifle parrots. Although the Northern were armed, their artillery batteries usually had a number of non-standard guns, and all every gun called for different ammunitions. The North had many advantages compared to the South in acquiring small arms. The advantages were the resultant of the fact that the Confederacy entirely relied on the smuggled imports following the advanced naval blockade. The North thus accessed different models from England and France as the Confederate army imported them. According to Allen, in the article Artillery, the organization of Artillery fell into two categories, the union and confederate. Batteries for the union artillery were often constituted of six guns used in three, sections, involving two guns. There were three sections; right, middle, and right sections. Battery for Confederate constituted of four guns. The four guns were of different types, and therefore, supply for the Confederate ammunition to artillery batteries became very difficult to implement. Each Confederate composed of almost sixty-eight men. A Field Artillery battery incorporated six guns at full strength. All guns were linked to a limber being pulled by horses; a caisson was also used to offer more support. There were two chests

Applies the lesson to analyse a real world issue Assignment

Applies the lesson to analyse a real world issue - Assignment Example This phenomenon is not unique as during the Great Depression in 1930’s the world economy underwent a similar occurrence. According to Hazlitt (1946), there is a difference between economists; good economists and bad economists. The bad economists observe the direct impacts of proposed course, whereas the good one focuses on long and indirect consequence. Teiying economic to long term predictions is the foundations of a good economist and as Brux, (2005) predicted long term economic eventualities such as poverty marks such characteristics.   This argument cannot be further from the truth. Economists have always been grouped into different groups, but the world’s most prominent group is the Keynesian school of thought. Other economic schools of thoughts that have dominated academic thoughts throughout the 20th century and even the 21st century are the monetarist school of thought and the Harvard economic school of thought. According to the Keynesian school of thought, private capital investment decreased as a result of more capacity and the deficiency in good investment opportunities (Hetzel, 2012).   In fact, the concept of Secular Stagnation, a term coined by the Keynesian school of economics and it attributed the recession to inadequate capital investment hindering full employment of labour and other economic resources. Aptly referred to as the secular stagnation theory as articulated by the Keynesian school of economics, is a marketed different from the notion propagated by the monetarist school of economics. According to the monetarist theorists the recession was as a result of the tendency of the rate of profit to decrease, and as such businesses will block investments in manufacturing plants with a decreasing rate of return. Theorists have provided different arguments on the phenomenon of low economic growth, and especially that regards the same that was realized in the industrialized

Research and Analysis Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

And Analysis - Research Paper Example The subsidiaries of the company are usually consolidated from the acquisition date to the date that the company stops controlling the subsidiary (Gulf times.com). The accounts for the subsidiaries are prepared at the same time as that of the mother company. The accounting policies used are consistent. The group usually eliminates all its balances, losses, gains, and transactions that arise from intra group transactions. The dividends are also fully eliminated. The losses that are found in a subsidiary are usually attributable to the non controlling interest of the company even if the results may lead to a deficit balance. If there occur a change in ownership of the subsidiary without any losses, the transaction is recorded as an equity transaction. When Mannai corp. losses a subsidiary, it derecognizes its liabilities and assets that were attributable to the subsidiary. It also derecognizes the non controlling interest that was associated with the subsidiary. The translational differ ences that were recorded in equity are also derecognized. At the same time, it recognizes fair value of the consideration that it receives, fair value that is attributable to investments received and recognizes profits or losses that are associated with the subsidiary loss. The company then reclassifies its share of components in other income generating avenues. Acquisition policy The company celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2010 and it was named as the largest service and trading company in Qatar (mannai.com) The company refocused its business in 2001 by divesting its interest that were overseas and reducing the dependence on cyclical activities. The company achieved its restructuring goal in 2004 when the company was able to attain the capacity of delivering sustainable earnings for its shareholders. The company became a public company in 2007. In 2011, the company acquired 35% controlling interest in Axiom Company. In the year 2012, mannai corp. and EFG Hermes acquired majority stake in DAMAS Ltd. Motivation for Acquisitions Although it is not directly mentioned in the consolidated statements, from the analysis, the company has motivation for acquisitions for many reasons. First, to enhance the ability of the Group to continue as a going concern based on the fact that this can only happen if the Group has enough resources to continue operating or doing business for the foreseeable future. This is evident in the way the consolidated financial statements of the group continue to be made on a basis of going concern. Second, acquisitions help the group in minimize liquidity risk. The Group has been engaged in acquisitions with the main intention of having or consolidating adequate liquidity to help meet its liabilities, under both stressed and normal conditions, without registering unacceptable risking damage or losses to the Group reputation and operations. Thirdly, since the group depends on financing from shareholders and banks loans, the acquisitions serv es to strengthen the security or collateral base for securing loans from banks. In fact, one of the risks of the group is credit risk where financial liabilities accrue as a result of banks loans or overdrafts (pp. 34). Fourthly, its motivation for acquisition is to increase market share or simply reduce competition. This is because, apart from Axiom Limited which is engaged in import, wholesale and retail sale of various mobile phones brands as well as related

Prominent Leaders Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Prominent Leaders - Research Paper Example All the same we are fortunate enough to have enough positive leadership to reflect upon it helps to overshadow all of those that are not. Nelson Mandela is a fantastic example of what positive leadership should look like, strongly empathetic, goal oriented, and eager to bring about positive and productive change, and bring greater equality to his country, in Mandela’s case, this is South Africa. In order to understand Mandela’s leadership better it is important to review his life and experiences. Nelson Mandela was born Rolihlahla Mandela in July of 1918 to his mother and father, the latter was a councilman to the current king of the existing Provence. Even as a child it is said that he reveled in stories of brave heroes fighting for what is right and making change. He hoped he might, also, make changes to improve the lives of the peoples in his communities someday. It was not until he entered primary school, the equivalent to elementary school in the United States, tha t he received a â€Å"Christian† name from his teacher, a common tradition at the time, Nelson. He did well in his educational pursuits and began his goal of gaining his Bachelors degree at the University College at Fort Hare, however he was expelled for his participation in a protest (The Life and Times of Nelson Mandela, 2013). He went back to college on several occasions but never complete his degree. In 1942 he joined the African National Congress and in 1944 when he helped formed the ANC Youth League. Nelson Mandela rose quickly through the ranks of the ANCYL and through its work the ANC was adopted in 1949, which was a more radical mass-based policy, a Programme of Action. In 1952 he was chosen as the National Volunteer in-Chief of the Defiance Campaign, which was a campaign of civil disobedience focused on, decidedly, six unjust laws. This campaign was a joint endeavor between the ANC and the South African Indian Congress. Nelson Mandela and neatly 20 others were charg ed and sentences for their their involvement. It was later that year that Mandela was able to earn a degree that allowed him to practice law, he and colleague, Oliver Tambo, opened South Africa’s first black owned and operated law firm, Mandela and Tambo. From hear he continued to push forward, always with the goal, of improving the quality and equality of the black South Africans under the minority rule of white South Africans. He was arrested, detained, and served time on multiple occasions through the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, for his efforts; at one point or another, he even, at one time, continued his pursuits under a false name so that he might continue to inspire and lead others (The Life and Times of Nelson Mandela, 2013). There are two standard categories that leadership styles are attributed, either transactional or transformational leadership. The former, transactional leadership focuses on the goals and desires of the leader; all things revolve around that leadershi p as supervision and group performance. It is less focused on changing the future but on maintaining the â€Å"status quo† (Aarons, 2007). Transformational leadership focuses on changing the future, inspiring others to share their goals, and motivating people to take greater ownership in their

David irving Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

David irving - Essay Example His main action scene is in America. According to him, the happenings in the concentration camps have been exaggerated. Whatever are the cruel actions of Adolph Hitler, he is a great European and a morally decent individual. Irving has a friend in Richard Williamson, the Holocaust-denying bishop of the Society of Saint Pius X, and he has written to Irving to let him know the â€Å"the objective truth about what happened in Auschwitz and other concentration camps.† In response, Irving provided a summary of his views on the killings of Jews during World War II, asserting that Auschwitz has been â€Å"hyped† and that it had no gas chambers, but that mass killings of Jews did occur at other camps.†(www.adl.org) Now this is an important observation and I think, all those who are interested in researching the reality about the holocaust, must welcome his investigative spirit. Irving takes serious exception to the actions of Allied Forces, in his book â€Å"The Destruction of Dresden†, wherein many thousands of German civilians are killed. His question is, is this not holocaust? I agree with his view point. He has also provided studied explanations about the weak leadership of Hitler as for the internal administration of Germany. His assertion that Hitter personally is not aware of the concentration camps operating in occupied German territory is worth detailed investigation and research by the

Prominent Leaders Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Prominent Leaders - Research Paper Example All the same we are fortunate enough to have enough positive leadership to reflect upon it helps to overshadow all of those that are not. Nelson Mandela is a fantastic example of what positive leadership should look like, strongly empathetic, goal oriented, and eager to bring about positive and productive change, and bring greater equality to his country, in Mandela’s case, this is South Africa. In order to understand Mandela’s leadership better it is important to review his life and experiences. Nelson Mandela was born Rolihlahla Mandela in July of 1918 to his mother and father, the latter was a councilman to the current king of the existing Provence. Even as a child it is said that he reveled in stories of brave heroes fighting for what is right and making change. He hoped he might, also, make changes to improve the lives of the peoples in his communities someday. It was not until he entered primary school, the equivalent to elementary school in the United States, tha t he received a â€Å"Christian† name from his teacher, a common tradition at the time, Nelson. He did well in his educational pursuits and began his goal of gaining his Bachelors degree at the University College at Fort Hare, however he was expelled for his participation in a protest (The Life and Times of Nelson Mandela, 2013). He went back to college on several occasions but never complete his degree. In 1942 he joined the African National Congress and in 1944 when he helped formed the ANC Youth League. Nelson Mandela rose quickly through the ranks of the ANCYL and through its work the ANC was adopted in 1949, which was a more radical mass-based policy, a Programme of Action. In 1952 he was chosen as the National Volunteer in-Chief of the Defiance Campaign, which was a campaign of civil disobedience focused on, decidedly, six unjust laws. This campaign was a joint endeavor between the ANC and the South African Indian Congress. Nelson Mandela and neatly 20 others were charg ed and sentences for their their involvement. It was later that year that Mandela was able to earn a degree that allowed him to practice law, he and colleague, Oliver Tambo, opened South Africa’s first black owned and operated law firm, Mandela and Tambo. From hear he continued to push forward, always with the goal, of improving the quality and equality of the black South Africans under the minority rule of white South Africans. He was arrested, detained, and served time on multiple occasions through the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, for his efforts; at one point or another, he even, at one time, continued his pursuits under a false name so that he might continue to inspire and lead others (The Life and Times of Nelson Mandela, 2013). There are two standard categories that leadership styles are attributed, either transactional or transformational leadership. The former, transactional leadership focuses on the goals and desires of the leader; all things revolve around that leadershi p as supervision and group performance. It is less focused on changing the future but on maintaining the â€Å"status quo† (Aarons, 2007). Transformational leadership focuses on changing the future, inspiring others to share their goals, and motivating people to take greater ownership in their

Symbolism in the swimmer by John Cheever Research Paper

Symbolism in the swimmer by John Cheever - Research Paper Example The real meaning of the story is revealed through the use of symbolic elements. The Story starts with couples gathered near a pool to get rid of the weariness of the cocktail party which they attended the previous night. Neddy Merril is an athlete who wishes to do extraordinary things. The youthfulness in him leads to do adventurous things like reaching his home by swimming in fifteen pools to the south. As he changes pools his total experiences also change. The story begins with realistic note. The energy of the youth, his power etc adds to the initial exhilaration of the story. The pleasant time and mood of the couples symbolizes the optimism, the swimmer has in his mind at the beginning of the journey. â€Å" It was one of those midsummer Sundays when everyone sits around saying â€Å" I drank too much last night â€Å" (Cheever 1) . Thus the story begins with a realistic note. With the paces of the ‘swimmer’, the mood of the story also changes. In the third paragr aph we see the lovely mood again. â€Å"...the day was lovely, and that he lived in a world so generously supplied with water seemed like a clemency , a beneficence. His heart was high and he ran across the grass (Cheever 515). The readers feel the pleasant mood of the writer and also that of Neddy. The’ light green water ‘waiting for such a swimmer symbolizes the freshness of his mind when he started the journey. The swimming pools that Neddy has to go through stand for the journey of life itself. It is essential for him to be adventurous to ‘swim the country ‘. The destiny of man to complete his life journey to reach the end is very effectively symbolized with the phrase â€Å"‘swimming the country’. Neddy expresses the high level of optimism that he considers himself as a legendary figure. Neddy is running from pool to pool. At Graham’s pool he was a guest to whom they want to give drink and share their mind. The image of happiness a nd blissfulness slowly disappears, and Neddy meets emptiness at Welcher’s house.† the pool furniture was folded, stacked, and covered with tarpaulin. The bath house was locked. All the windows of the house were shut , and when we went around to the driveway in front he saw a For Sale sign nailed to a tree† ( (Cheever 518) . The protagonist begins to feel the loss. It is a fact that he is addicted to alcohol and is living in an imaginary world. But now he slowly faces the reality. He sees the board ‘For Sale ‘. Neddy slowly deteriorates. Cheever uses weak dictions to convey the plight of Neddy. Neddy’s arms were lame â€Å". His legs felt rubbery and ached at the joints ( Cheever 520). The slow movement of the time and the resultant transformation occurs to Neddy, is shown in the words. The mind of the readers also moves with Neddy. The weakness in body and mind is the symbol of his social decline. In the words of Hal Blythe and Charlie Sweet; à ¢â‚¬Ëœa montage of Neddy Merrill’s physical and social decline’ is carefully drawn by the writer. Neddy denies the universal fact that disability, both physical and mental, is part of growing old. He is swimming to his own home. But the journey through water symbolizes a kind of escape from the realities he meets in the land. Thus water, in other term alcohol itself, keeps him away from his family and his friends. The different pools he swims across symbolize the

Lim Goh Tong - Genting Essay Example for Free

Lim Goh Tong Genting Essay The best way to address the topic of successful tourism entrepreneur is the story of Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong which is the founder of Genting Highlands and how he as a local tourism entrepreneur has succeeded globally. Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong (February 28, 1918 – October 23, 2007) was a prominent wealthy Malaysian Chinese businessman. He was once the 3rd richest man in Malaysia with a net worth estimated to be 4. 2 billion USD, making him the 204th richest person in the billionaire list compiled by Forbes. The Japanese invaded Malaya in 1942 and caused Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong to have a few near-death occasions. During the early Japanese Occupation, he earned a living as a vegetable farmer, but decided to switch to petty trading for a better living. Later on Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong ventured into scrap-metal and hardware trading. When the Japanese Occupation ended, there was an urgent demand for heavy machinery for resumed operations in mines and rubber plantations, he seized the opportunity and engaged in second-hand machinery trading, making his first fortune. From used machinery trading, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong strayed into iron mining fortuitously. Tan Sri joined as a partner in an iron mining company which couldnt settle the outstanding payment of two bulldozers with him, and this proved to be a successful venture as he earned a substantial amount of profit from the mining industry, including forming a joint-venture tin mining company which was one of the first Chinese tin companies to utilize dredges in mining tin. While dealing in heavy machinery, Tan Sri accumulated a wide range of reconditioned machines as well as a substantial amount of cash to move into the construction and related industries. In the name of his family construction company, Kien Huat Private Limited, he began taking on several contracting jobs with help and guidance from his uncles. Kien Huat won accolades and became recognized as one of the leading construction companies after successfully completing many major projects. Among the biggest projects completed was the Ayer Itam Dam, the first time a local contractor had been given the construction job of such magnitude. He went on the brink of bankruptcy when construction work was facing problems in the Kemubu Irrigation Scheme, but managed to overcome the obstacles and completed the project. In 1964, when Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong was working on a hydroelectric power project in Cameron Highlands, amidst the cool mountain air, he had a vision. The idea of building a hilltop resort was first conceived when Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong was in Cameron Highlands. As he was enjoying the soothing cool breeze of Cameron Highlands, an idea struck him that as the standard of living rose steadily in Malaysia, more and more people would visit mountain resorts for relaxation and recreation, but Cameron Highlands was too far away from the capital city Kuala Lumpur, therefore building a mountain resort nearer to Kuala Lumpur would have great business potential. He envisaged Malaysia would develop and prosper in the near future and why not develop a cool mountain resort at the doorstep of KL, within the reach of all Malaysians. What is now one of the most popular tourist destinations in Asia and Malaysia is the realization of one man’s dream. He is a man of vision who had seen further and beyond about the world. Without wasting any time he started working on transforming his vision into reality. Upon conceiving this idea, many naysayers were skeptical of Tan Sri turning a wilderness into a tourist resort. Most thought it was really risky and reckoned Tan Sri who was financially comfortable to be foolish to invest heavily in money and time to develop Genting, but he brushed off all these negativities and went ahead firmly with his plan. Then he indulgent to take a further step in studying the maps of the vicinity of Kuala Lumpur, he located the ideal site, which was the Ulu Kali Mountain, just 58 Kilometers from KL. In order to have first hand experience of the terrain and surroundings, Tan Sri Lim spearheaded an advance party guided by some aborigines; he set off on the arduous journey. They struggled through dense jungles, climbed over many mountains and crossed numerous rivers before successfully reaching the Ulu Kali Mountain top. During the expedition that lasted nine days, he explored the placed, gathered a wealth of data on the topography, drainage, soil conditions and other relevant aspects of the region about the site which proved to be very useful in drawing up the plan for developing the resort. Setting up a private company called Genting Highlands Berhad in 1965, Tan Sri Lim successfully obtained approval for the alienation of almost 5,000 hectares of land from the Pahang and Selangor state governments respectively. In August 1965, he and his team began the project in the face of mammoth and colossal task. Among the problems were building the access road towards the hilltop, water and electricity supplies, sewerage system and fire safety. He managed to build the access road from Genting Sempah to the Peak of Ulu Kali Mountain towards the summit in three years when it was estimated to take fifteen years. Several sources of water in the mountain were identified, water supply was secured by building water-collection stations and water filtration plants with treated water stored in reservoirs. Electricity is supplied through a central electricity generation system with 12 big generators. He and his construction team worked in two shifts round the clock, 7 days a week because during the construction, he survived six close brushes with death. Meanwhile, Tan Sri Lim had to administer another major project in Kelantan, the Kemubu Irrigation Scheme at the same time. This stretched his physical endurance to the limits as he had to shuttle between Kuala Lumpur and Kelantan. While the first team carry out the survey in front, the other do the tree-felling, bulldozing and building the road behind. In order to save time and money, they built make-shift 1 quarters in the jungle, camped along the way and even stayed in caves. They even have tales to tell about their encounters with tigers in the jungle. He devoted all his time, capital and resources including the reserves of his family company, to ensure smooth and prompt construction of his dream resort. After working day and night for 3 years, the first access road was completed in 1969. Tan Sri was so relieved, because his whole vision for Genting Highlands depended on the successful completion of the access road. The whole Genting project was completed in January 1971, but prior to officially commencing business, Kuala Lumpur and its surrounding areas were hit by the worst rainstorms in a century, the road to Genting was closed by landslides at 180 locations, and the damaged sections took four months to repair. Genting opened its door for business on May 8, 1971. During the Genting project, Tan Sri spent all he had without earning any income. He sold an 810-hectare rubber estate to raise RM2. 5 million. In addition, he invested all the money he had made from iron mining, sub-contracting and hardware business. The project was a heavy drain on Tan Sri Lims finances. When asked to invest in this project, his friends turned him down and counseled him to drop the entire scheme instead. The project received well-deserved boost on 31stMarch 1969, on the occasion of the laying of foundation stone for the company’s pioneer hotel, by the late Tunku Abdul Rahman. Impressed that a private company, without the assistance of the Government could develop a mountain resort for the enjoyment of all Malaysians, a gaming license was suggested to help accelerate the development of this remote area, transforming the initial idea of a 38-room hotel to a 200 room hotel. In 1971, the Highlands Hotel, now renamed as Theme Park Hotel was successfully completed. To cope with the rapidly growing tourists, more hotels were built which included the 700 rooms Genting Hotel, a landmark structure recognized by all Malaysians. Following a corporate restructure exercise, the resort and leisure related activities were transferred to Resorts World Bhd. This was the beginning of the next development phase to transform the hill resort into a City of Entertainment. A meticulously planned development programme was implemented to enhance and expand the resort facilities, which included the development of Awana Chain of Hotels namely Awana Genting, Awana Kijal, Terengganu and Awana Porto Malai, Langkawi. In 1993, at the suggestion of Tun Mahathir, the prime minister of Malaysia then, a township was developed on an 81-hectare piece of land around the site of the Genting Skyway cable car station. It was named Gohtong Jaya after Tan Sri as a token of remembrance for his efforts in the development of Genting Highlands. In 1997, Genting Highlands Resort further boosted its facility attraction with Genting Skyway cable car system that provides a 3. 38 km transport to the hilltop. Genting Skyway is also recognized as the Worlds Fastest Mono Cable Car System with a maximum speed of 21. 6 km per hour and the Longest Cable Car in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Despite the recession in 1997, Resorts World decided to forge ahead with the ambitious billion-ringgit mega project, the First World Hotel and Plaza. Of course many skeptics questioned why need to expand development during an economic downturn. And the answer was simple during such times, labor costs and skilled resources were relatively cheaper and easier to get. And by embarking on new construction and development activities, also can provide job opportunities and stimulating the construction industry during crucial economic times. The First World Hotel now is the largest hotel in the world with 6,200 rooms. First World Plaza marks a new era for the Genting Theme Park as it features newer and more exciting attractions for families to have fun at the peak. Just in the last 10 years, Genting Berhad has spent over 4 billion ringgit to develop Genting into Asia’s leading integrated leisure and entertainment resort. Throughout the years, Genting have kept firm with their vision: to be the leading leisure, hospitality and entertainment corporation in the world. After 42 years, crown jewel Genting Highlands Resort has since grown from a single hill top hotel with 200 rooms to a world-class integrated leisure and entertainment resort offering more than 10,000 rooms ranging from 3, 4, 5 star and super luxurious 6 star accommodation, over 90 dining outlets, 80 retail outlets, convention and international standard show facilities and many fun rides at the indoor and outdoor theme parks. We catered to over 18 million visitors in 2006 alone. They take pride in being one of the major contributors of tourism sector in the country and that are playing a significant role as a net earner of revenue and foreign exchange for the Malaysian economy. Genting Group is by no means limited to the leisure and tourism business. The company, infact began to diversify as early as the late 70s. With leisure and tourism as its core business, the company also ventured into the plantation, property development, paper manufacturing, power generation, oil and gas exploration. Being a determined entrepreneur and a man of vision, Tan Sri Lim aspired to explore further. He knew, with the strong foundation and wealth of experience accumulated over the years, Genting was well equipped to venture abroad. He encouraged and supported his second son Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, who is our current Chairman to expand the business overseas. With the strong support and backing from his father, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay (fondly known as Tan Sri KT Lim) swiftly spread his wings. Since then, he has been instrumental in globalizing Genting Group and has been the key driver behind the development of the Group’s resort and gaming-related projects worldwide, such as the Burswood International Resort Casino, the Adelaide Casino 3 in Australia, Lucayan Beach Resort Casino in the Bahamas and the Subic Bay Resort Casino in the Philippines. In Australia, he had set up the Adelaide Casino and the Burswood Island Resort in Perth. In their first year of operations, these projects chalked up some RM100 million in profits. However, his intuitive decision to dispose of the hotel and casinos in Australia to a Japanese company after only 18 months in operation proved to be the correct decision. The money was reinvested in other overseas ventures, including the Foxwoods Casino Venture with the Native American tribe, which has become the largest resort casino in the world. Due to Genting early success, later extended financial assistance to another US-based Native American tribe to build their casino in the location of Niagara Falls. Genting was granted the only casino license after Tunku Abdul Rahman, the prime minister of Malaysia then, visited Genting Highlands and commended his effort to develop a resort contributing to Malaysias tourism industry without government help. Tan Sri managed to obtain a pioneer status for Genting Highlands and tax incentives despite its resort development not qualifying for it. He did so by convincing the government that tax incentives in the early stage of development of Genting Highlands were not only vital for them but also profitable to the government later on. Tan Sri KT Lim visionary foresight, commitment to excellence, entrepreneurial skills and hard work resulted in the birth of Star Cruises. Capitalizing on its leisure-related expertise and experience, Genting Group expanded from land-based resorts to cruise the high seas by providing a truly comprehensive leisure and entertainment offering. At a time when no one was bullish about the prospects of the global cruise industry, his debut as a cruise operator in Asia raised many eyebrows. However, both Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong and Tan Sri KT Lim saw that again, they would be the pioneers and there was no competition in Asia. Given the rising prosperity and spending power of the people here, Asians would take to cruising readily as a form of recreation and tourism if an operator could provide good, affordable services. Moreover, with many beautiful islands and waters comparable to those in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, the richly diversified Asia is able to offer exotic destinations with multicultural experiences. Star Cruises Limited was incorporated in September 2003. At a press briefing in December the same year, many local and foreign journalists questioned Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong’s wisdom in bringing in mega cruise ships when there was no industry in Asia and the idea of a cruise holiday was rather alien to an average Asian. One foreign journalist went as far as prophesying the demise of our cruise venture in eight months’ time. His reasoning was simple: How is Star Cruises going to find 1,700 passengers, the equivalent of five 747 plane-loads, each time it sets sail? Tan Sri Lim calmly said â€Å"When I decided to develop Genting about 38 years ago, there were also people who said I was mad and doomed to failure. But I went on to build it up steadily into an internationally renowned holiday resort. As for the cruise industry, isn’t Miami a success story? If the Westerners can do it, so can we Asians,† this statement drew a huge applause from the floor. In November 2000, Star Cruises was listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. At the peak, the market capitalization of Star Cruises hit US$2. 9 billion, even larger than that of Genting Berhad. As part of his expansion, Star Cruises acquired Norwegian Cruise Line in a takeover exercise that was completed in 2000. Today Star Cruises has grown to become the third largest cruise line in the world and the leading cruise operator in Asia-Pacific. The various brands under Star Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, NCL America, Orient Lines and Cruise Ferries together operates 21 cruise ships with over 32,000 lower berths and calls at close to 200 4 destinations globally in the Asia Pacific, North and South America, Hawaii, the Caribbean, Alaska, Europe, Bermuda and Antarctica. Part of his global expansion plan was to start an investment arm to exclusively handle all his overseas investments. Hence, Genting International was incorporated in 1984 to invest in leisure and gaming-related businesses outside of Malaysia. Genting International currently owns and operates 46 casinos in the UK under the Stanley Leisure brand names. This includes four of the most prestigious casinos in London – Crockfords, The Colony Club, The Palm Beach and Maxims. Another exciting boost for international venture is the recent success in bid to build an integrated resort in Singapore. The integrated Resort, located on Sentosa is named Resorts World at Sentosa and is expected to commence operation by early 2010. As of now, Genting Highlands is one of the most successful casino resorts in the world and is one of the primary tourist attractions in Malaysia. Tan Sri Lims company, Genting Group operates Genting Highlands and has diversified into many other industries. In the process new company brands were created that have become distinctive names in their respective fields, namely Asiatic, Genting Sanyen and Star Cruises. In the next 30 years, he continued to develop and expand Genting Highlands beyond its original idea of a hotel with basic tourist facilities. A new road was built to shorten the journey to Genting from the northern states, and RM120 million was invested to widen a 10 km stretch of the access road to reduce congestion. Another RM128 million was spent on constructing a cable car system to provide visitors with an alternative mode of transportation. Today Genting is far more than just one winning concept and one celebrated destination. It is one of Asia’s leading and best managed multinational corporations with strong management, financial prudence and sound investment discipline. Genting will continue to be a leading leisure and entertainment corporation in the world.

Two Nation: The War Continues... Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"So the question for white Americans is essentially moral: is it right to impose on members of an entire race a lesser start in life and then to expect from them a certain degree of resolution that has never been demanded from your own race?† With this question the author concludes his book. The book is called â€Å"Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal.† The author is Andrew Hacker, a professor of political science at Queens College. He has written many books along with this one mostly dealing with race and other social problems faced in America. He believes that race plays a larger role in America than it does anywhere else in the world. The title has many sources and foreshadows some of the conclusions he makes in the book. The â€Å"two nations† being discussed are the White nation and the African-American (Black) nation. It has been said many times in history that the two major races in this country have been separ ate, hostile and unequal. It is interesting to find out what Mr. Hacker thinks about all of this as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book is separated into three parts. In the first part Hacker wishes to give the reader insight on how â€Å"we† define and divide people into races. He will also discuss what it feels like to be black in this country and why white Americans act the way they do to those of African-American descent. In the second part he will focus more on the role race plays in such areas as education, family life, economy, politics and crime. In the third section there are statistics based on race and an index. In the opening chapter of the book Hacker discusses the â€Å"origin† of races. Separation and the giving of names to peoples belonging to a group have been done since the first time differences in physical appearance began to appear. He argues that the Native Americans have been at a low population but the population suddenly increased when many individuals began to claim their race as being Native American. He also says that the race once known as â€Å"mongoloid† and other races from the Asian continent have all been combined and renamed by the majority white race to â€Å"Asian-American†. The author then discusses how ridiculous it is that the people in this country have designated everyone in the world to a separate group. Defining them before they can define themselves.   Ã‚   ... ...urban areas anymore. After going to public schools for almost 16 years I can say that there is a lot of segregation everywhere because people feel more comfortable among those of their own race. Does this mean that if there are a group of white kids hanging out together that they are racist? No, this just means that all they are is a group of kids. For someone to point out their race and the fact that they are all the same and then to judge them and their beliefs without knowing anything for sure is a racist statement in itself. Overall, Andrew Hacker is a good writer. I don’t agree with all of his beliefs but he makes a very good argument. There are many people that feel strongly about an issue and do not speak up. The admirable thing about Hacker is that he said what he feels and he is not scared to speak his mind. That is a respectable trait. Don’t you agree? â€Å"A huge racial chasm remains, and there are few signs that he coming century will see it closed. A century and a quarter after slavery, white America continues to ask of its black citizens an extra patience and perseverance that whites have never required of themselves† -Andrew Hacker (On the final paragraph of his book)

internship Essay -- essays research papers

I had many responsibilities and duties as a teacher assistant/chaperone. Such as arriving at the assigned school for bus and student pick-up at 8:00 a.m. assisting teachers and counselors with Daily Opening Activity, with Math and Reading as well as Arts/Folklore classes. Escorting students to and from the bathroom. Supervising students during breakfast and lunch and assisting with clean up. Being responsible for picking up and returning materials to the GEAR UP office. Attending weekly Staff and Team meetings to discuss the past week and plan for the weeks ahead.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This internship opened many doors leading to my future. This would not only help me academically and financially, but would also provide me with necessary experience in real world situations. This internship with this program, is well established and a brilliant source of knowledge. Firstly, I will be able to physically see and experience the concepts that I have learned through out my life. This provides me a chance to reflect upon what I have learned in the past. On the other hand, I will be able to gain some very important insights of working with seniors officials in reality. I would be able to utilize their experience as a guide to correct my mistakes and discovering more skills that might be of use in the future. Another exciting feature about this internship program is that, I will actually realize what my duties would be when I would start as an employee for a similar organizat...

Metals are electropositive chemical elements

Metals are electropositive chemical elements that are characterised by the following qualities: ductility, malleability, luster, opacity, and conductance of heat and electricity. They can replace the hydrogen of an acid and form bases with hydroxyl radicals. Density is defined as a material's mass divided by its volume. Metals typically have relatively high densities, particularly when compared to polymers. Often, materials with high densities contain atoms with high atomic numbers, such as gold or lead. However, some metals such as aluminum or magnesium have low densities. These metals are useful in applications requiring other metallic properties but in which low weight is also beneficial. Fracture Toughness can be described as a material's ability to avoid fracture, especially when a flaw is introduced. Glass, for example, has low fracture toughness (although it exhibits high strength in the absence of flaws). Metals typically have high fracture toughness. Metals can generally contain nicks and dents without weakening very much. They are also impact resistant. A football player relies on this fact to ensure that his facemask won't shatter. The roll cage on a racecar, for example, is created from steel. This steel should remain intact in a crash, protecting the driver. The ability of a material to bend or deform before breaking is known as plastic deformation. Some materials are designed so that they don't deform under normal conditions. You don't want your car to lean to the east after a strong west wind, for example. However, sometimes we can take advantage of plastic deformation. The crumple zones in a car absorb energy by undergoing plastic deformation before they break. Stress takes place when forces pull (this is known as tension), push (compression) or act in combination on a material. Once the force is applied, the material responds by distorting, counterbalancing the force. With a larger force, there will be a correspondingly greater distortion until the item breaks. Stress is the force applied per unit of cross-sectional area square to the force. This can be expressed mathematically as:: Stress (s) = Force / unit of area The metric system units for stress are Newton per square meter (N/m2) and imperial system units are pounds per square inch (psi). Strain is the amount the material deforms from the unloaded state when the force is applied. Its formula is: Strain (x) = Change in length / original length Since strain is a ratio of length divided by a length, it has no units. By the formula, we can see that it represents a proportional change in size. Deformation occurs when a force is applied to a metal. The metal is therefore strained. The greater the force – the more the deformation (strain). This relationship is recognised in Hooke's Law. Hooke's Law describes an elastic region where stress and strain are proportional (a straight line on a graph). In this region the metal acts like a spring and when the load is removed the deformation (strain) reduces and it returns to its original shape. If instead the load increases, the strain (deformation) rises and the metal undergoes uniform plastic deformation. The stress-strain graph is curved in this region. Eventually, a maximum stress is reached when the metal when the material reaches its limit of necking. Necking is localized thinning that occurs during sheet metal forming prior to fracture. The onset of localized necking is dependent upon the stress state which is affected by geometric factors. Finally, past the maximum stress point, a point is reached where the metal can no longer sustain the load and it yields. The behavior of metals under load is a result of their atomic arrangement. When a material is loaded it deforms minutely in reaction to the load. The atoms in the material move closer together in compression and further apart in tension. The amount an atom moves from its neighbor is its strain. As a force is applied the atoms change a proportionate distance. This model however, does not explain why there is sudden yielding. With most modern metals yielding usually occurs at about 1% of the theoretic strength of the atomic bonds. Many materials yield at about 0.1% of the theoretic strength. Rather, metals exhibit such low strengths because of imperfect atomic structures in the crystal lattices which comprise them. A row of atoms will often stop mid crystal, creating a gap in the atomic structure. These gaps act as dislocations, which are huge stress raising points in the metal. These dislocations move when the metal is stressed. A dislocation is defined as allowing atoms to slip one at a time, making it easier to deform metals. Dislocation interactions within a metal are a primary means by which metals are deformed and strengthened. When metals deform by dislocation motion, the more barriers the dislocations meet, the stronger the metal. The presence of dislocations in metal allows deformation at low levels of stress. However, eventually so many dislocations accumulate that insufficient atoms are left to take the load. This causes the metal to yield. Plastic deformation causes the formation of more dislocations in the metal lattice. This has the potential to create a decrease in the mobility of these dislocations due to their tendency to become tangled or pinned. When plastic deformation occurs at temperatures low enough that atoms cannot rearrange, the metal can be strengthened as a result of this effect. Unfortunately, this also causes the metal to become more brittle. As a metal is used, it tends to form and grow cracks, which eventually cause it to break or fracture. Atoms of melted metal pack together to form a crystal lattice at the freezing point. As this occurs, groups of these atoms form tiny crystals. These crystals have their size increased by progressively adding atoms. The resulting solid, instead of being a single crystal, is actually many smaller crystals, called grains. These grains will then grow until they impose upon neighbouring growing crystals. The interface between the grains is called a grain boundary. Dislocations cannot easily cross grain boundaries. If a metal is heated, the grains can grow larger and the material becomes softer. Heating a metal and cooling it quickly (quenching), followed by gentle heating (tempering), results in a harder material due to the formation of many small Fe3C precipitates which block dislocations. The atomic bonding of metals also affects their properties. Metal atoms are attached to each other by strong, delocalized bonds. These bonds are formed by a cloud of valence electrons that are shared between positive metal ions (cations) in a crystal lattice. These outer valence electrons are also very mobile. This explains why electrons can conduct heat and electricity – the free electrons are easily able to transfer energy through the material. As a result, metals make good cooking pans and electrical wires. In the crystal lattice, metal atoms are packed closely together to maximize the strength of the bonds. It is also impossible to see through metals, since the valence electrons absorb any photons of light hitting the metal. Thus, no photons pass through. Alloys are compounds consisting of more than one metal. Creating alloys of metals can affect the density, strength, fracture toughness, plastic deformation, electrical conductivity and environmental degradation. As an example, adding a small amount of iron to aluminum will make it stronger. Alternatively, adding some chromium to steel will slow the rusting process, but will make it more brittle. Some alloys have a higher resistance to corrosion. Corrosion, by the way, is a major problem with most metals. It occurs due to an oxidation-reduction reaction in which metal atoms form ions causing the metal to weaken. The following technique that has been developed to combat corrosion in structural applications: sacrificial anode made of a metal with a higher oxidation potential is attached to the metal. Using this procedure, the sacrificial anode corrodes, leaving the structural part, the cathode, undamaged. Corrosion can also be resisted by the formation of a protective coating on the outside of a metal. For example, steels that contain chromium metal form a protective coating of chromium oxide. Aluminum is also exhibits corrosion resistant properties because of the formation of a strong oxide coating. The familiar green patina formed by copper is created through a reaction with sulfur and oxygen in the air. In nature, only a few pure metals are found. Most metals in nature exist as ores, which are compounds of the metal with oxygen or sulfur. The separation of the pure metal from the ore typically requires large amounts of energy as heat and/or electricity. Because of this large expenditure of energy, recycling metals is very important. Many metals have high strength, high stiffness, and have good ductility. Some metals, such as iron, cobalt and nickel are magnetic. Finally, at extremely low temperatures, some metals and intermetallic compounds become superconductors. Ceramic: Ceramic materials are inorganic, nonmetallic materials, typically oxides, nitrides, or carbides. Most ceramics are compounds between metallic and nonmetallic elements in which the interatomic bonds are either totally ionic, or predominantly ionic but having some covalent character. While many adopt crystalline structures, some form glasses. The properties of the ceramics are due to their bonding and structure. The term ceramic comes from the Greek word keramikos, which means burnt stuff! This signifies that the desirable properties of these materials are typically achieved through a high-temperature heat treatment process. This process is called firing. Ceramics are often defined to simply be any inorganic nonmetallic material. By this definition, glasses are also ceramic materials. However, some materials scientists state that a true ceramic must also be crystalline, which excludes glasses. The term â€Å"ceramic† once referred only to clay-based materials. However, new generations of ceramic materials have tremendously expanded the scope and number of possible applications, broadening the definition significantly. Many of these new materials have a major impact on our daily lives and on our society. Ceramics and glasses possess the following useful properties: high melting temperature, low density, high strength, stiffness, hardness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance. Additionally, ceramics are often good electrical and thermal insulators. Since they are good thermal insulators, ceramics can withstand high temperatures and do not expand greatly when heated. This makes them excellent thermal barriers. The applications of this property range from lining industrial furnaces, to covering the space shuttle, shielding it from high reentry temperatures. The aforementioned glasses are transparent, amorphous ceramics which are extensively used in windows and lenses, as well as many other familiar applications. Light can induce an electrical response in some ceramics. This response is called photoconductivity. An example of photoconductivity occurs in fiber optic cable. Fiber optic cable is speedily replacing copper for communications – optical fibers can transmit more information for longer distances, and have less interference and signal loss than traditional copper wires. Ceramics are also typically strong, hard, and durable materials. As a result, they are attractive structural materials. One significant drawback to their use is their brittleness. However, this problem is being addressed by the creation of new materials such as composites. While ceramics are typically good insulators, some ceramics can actually act as superconductors. Thus, they are used in a wide range of applications. Some (the good insulators) are capacitors, others semiconductors in electronic devices. Some ceramics are piezoelectric materials, which convert mechanical pressure into an electrical signal. These are extremely useful for sensors. For superconducting ceramics, there is a strong research effort to discover new high Tc superconductors and to then develop possible applications. Processing of crystalline ceramics is based on the basic steps which have been used for ages to make clay products. The materials are first selected, then prepared, formed into a required shape, and finally sintered at high temperatures. Glasses, on the other hand, are typically processed by pouring while in a molten state. They are then worked into shape while hot, and finally cooled. There are also new methods, such as chemical vapor deposition and sol-gel processing, currently being developed. Ceramics have a wide range of applications. For example, ceramic tiles cover the space shuttle as well as our kitchen floors. Ceramic electronic devices make possible high-tech instruments for everything from medicine to entertainment. There are also some special properties which a few ceramics possess. For example, some ceramics are magnetic materials and, as mentioned above, some have piezoelectric properties. The one major drawback of ceramics and glasses is that they are brittle. As mentioned above, certain types of ceramics possess superconducting properties at extremely low temperatures. For example, there are high-temperature superconducting ceramic materials that have recently been discovered. These materials exhibit virtually no electrical resistance below 100 degrees Kelvin. Also, these materials exhibit what is known as the Meissner effect. This means that they repel magnetic flux lines, allowing a magnet to hang in the space above the superconductor. An example of special group of crystalline ceramics is the group called Perovskites. They have captured the interest of geologists due to the information they can yield about Earth's history. The most intensely studied Perovskites at the present time are those that superconduct at liquid nitrogen temperatures. Ceramics were historically used for creating pottery and artwork, largely because the brittleness and difficulty of manufacturing ceramics restricted them from other uses until recently. However, the market requirement for microelectronics and structural composite components has risen, causing the demand for ceramic materials to likewise increase. Fiber-reinforced composites, an example of a modern ceramic application, are being created from ceramic fibers with extremely high stiffness, such as graphite and aluminum oxide. Polymers: Polymers are substances which contain a large number of structural units joined by the same type of linkage. They are any of many natural and synthetic compounds, usually of high molecular weight. They typically consist of up to millions of repeated linked units, each a relatively light and simple molecule. These substances often form into a chain-like structure. Some polymers have been around since the beginning of time in the natural world. For example, starch, cellulose, and rubber all possess polymeric properties. Man-made polymers, a relatively recent development, have been studied since 1832. However, the polymer industry today has is larger than the aluminum, copper and steel industries combined. Polymers have a huge range of applications that greatly surpasses that of any other class of material available to man. Current applications include adhesives, coatings, foams, packaging materials, textile and industrial fibers, elastomers, and structural plastics. Polymers are also widely used for many composites, electronic devices, biomedical devices, optical devices, and precursors for many newly developed high-tech ceramics (such as the fiber-reinforced composite mentioned at the end of the ceramic section). The word polymer literally has the meaning â€Å"many parts.† A polymeric solid material can be considered to be one containing many chemically bonded parts or units, themselves which are bonded together to form a solid. Polymers are typically good insulators. While a large variety of polymer applications were described above, two of the most industrially important polymeric materials are plastics and elastomers. Plastics are a large and varied group of synthetic materials. They are processed by forming or molding into shape. There are many types of plastics such as polyethylene and nylon. Polymers can be separated into two different groups depending on their behaviour when heated. Polymers with linear molecules are often thermoplastic. Thermoplastic substances soften upon heating and can be remolded and recycled. They can be semi-crystalline or amorphous. The other group of polymers is the thermosets. In contast to thermoplastics, these substances do not soften under heat and pressure and cannot be remolded or recycled. Instead, they must be remachined, used as fillers, or incinerated to remove them from the environment. Thermoplastics are typically carbon-containing polymers which are synthesized by addition or condensation polymerization. This procedure forms strong covalent bonds within the chains and weaker secondary Van der Waals bonds between the chains. Normally, the secondary forces can be easily overcome by thermal energy, which makes thermoplastics moldable at high temperatures. After cooling, thermoplastics will also retain their newly reformed shape. Common applications of thermoplastics include parts for common household appliances, bottles, cable insulators, tape, blender and mixer bowls, medical syringes, mugs, textiles, packaging, and insulation. Thermosets exhibit the same Van der Waals bonds that thermoplastics do. They also have a stronger linkage to other chains. Different chains together in a thermoset material are chemically held together by strong covalent bonds. The chains may be directly bonded to each other, or alternatively may be bonded through other molecules. This â€Å"cross-linking† between the chains is what allows the material to resist softening upon heating. Thus, thermosets must be machined into a new shape if they are to be reused or they can serve as powdered fillers. However, while thermosets are difficult to reform, they have many distinct advantages in engineering design applications. These include high thermal stability and insulating properties, high rigidity and dimensional stability, resistance to creep and deformation under load, and low weight. A few common applications for thermosets include epoxies (glues), automobile body parts, adhesives for plywood and particle board, and as a matrix for composites in boat hulls and tanks. The polymer molecule, a long chain of covalent-bonded atoms, is the basic building block of a plastic. Polymers are typically carbon based and have relatively low melting points. Polymers have a very wide range of properties that enable them to be extensively used in society. Some uses include car parts, food storage, electronic packaging, optical components, and adhesives. Synthetic fabrics are essentially man-made copies of natural fabrics. Synthetic fibers do not occur in nature as themselves. They are usually derivatives of petroleum products. Examples of common synthetic fabrics are polyester, spandex, rayon, and velcro. Recent technological developments have lead to electrically conductive polymers. The behaviour of semiconductors can now be achieved with polymeric systems. For example, there are semiconducting polymers which, when sandwiched between two electrodes, can generate light of any color. This technology has the potential of leading to OLED (organic light-emitting diode) flat panel displays. This display would be light in weight, have low power consumption, and perhaps be flexible. Liquid crystals are another example of polymeric materials. As the name suggests, a liquid crystal is a state of matter intermediate between a standard liquid and a solid. Liquid crystal phases are formed from geometrically anisotropic molecules. This typically means they are cigar shaped, although other shapes are possible. The polymer molecules have a certain degree of order in a liquid crystal phase. Take the simplest case, the Nematic phase, in which the molecules generally point in the same direction but still move around with respect to one another as would be expected in a liquid. However, under the influence of an applied electric field, the alignment of the polymer molecules gives rise to light absorption. Composites: Composites are materials, usually man-made, that are a three-dimensional combination of at least two chemically distinct materials, with a distinct interface separating the components. They are created to obtain properties that cannot be achieved by any of the components acting alone. In composites, one of the materials, called the reinforcing phase, is in the form of fibers, sheets, or particles. This material is embedded in the other materials, called the matrix phase. The reinforcing material and the matrix material can be metal, ceramic, or polymer. Typically, reinforcing materials are strong with low densities while the matrix is usually a ductile, or tough, material. The purpose of the composite, when it is designed and fabricated correctly, is to combine the strength of the reinforcement with the toughness of the matrix to achieve a combination of desirable properties not available in any single conventional material. The downside is that such composites are often more expensive than conventional materials. Some examples of current applications of composites include the diesel piston, brake-shoes and pads, tires and the Beechcraft aircraft in which 100% of the structural components are composites. A structural composite often begins with lay-up of prepreg. At this point, the choice of fiber will influence the basic tensile and compressive strength and stiffness, electrical and thermal conductivity, and thermal expansion of the final pre-preg material. The cost of the composite can also be strongly influenced by the fiber selected. The resin/fiber composite's strength depends primarily on the amount, arrangement and type of fiber (or particle) reinforcement in the resin. Typically, the higher the reinforcement content, the greater the strength. There are also some cases in which glass fibers are combined with other fibers, such as carbon or aramid, to create a hybrid composite that combines the properties of more than one reinforcing material. Additionally, the composite is typically formulated with fillers and additives that change processing or performance parameters. Integrating the ceramic, metallic, plastic and semiconductor materials is a necessary requirement to the fabrication of the micro-electronics package. This is an example of a composite system whose function is to provide interface between the central IC (Integrated Chip) and the other items on, for example, a PCB (printed circuit board). Semiconductors: There is a relatively small group of elements and compounds that has an important electrical property, semi-conduction, which makes them neither good electrical conductors nor good electrical insulators. Instead, their ability to conduct electricity is intermediate. These materials are called semiconductors, and in general, they do not fit into any of the structural materials categories based on atomic bonding. For example, metals are inherently good electrical conductors. Ceramics and polymers (non-metals) are generally poor conductors but good insulators. The semiconducting elements (Si, Ge, and Sn) from column IV of the periodic table serve as a kind of boundary between metallic and nonmetallic elements. Silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge), widely used elemental semiconductors, are outstanding examples of this class of materials. These elemental semiconductors are also known as Mono Semiconductors. Binary semiconductors are formed by a compound of two elements, normally an element from group III combined with an element from group V (such as CdS), or a element from group II combined with an element from group VI (such as GaAs). Tertiary semiconductors are formed by a compound of three elements. These semiconductors are typically compounds of elements from groups I, III and VI (such as AgInS) or elements from groups II, IV and V (such as ZnGeAs). All materials have energy bands in which their electrons can exist. In metals, as stated above, the valence band is partially-filled, and the electrons can move through the material. In semiconductors, on the other hand, there is a band gap that exists, and electrons cannot jump the gap easily at low temperatures. At higher temperatures, more of the semiconductor`s electrons can jump the gap. This causes its conductivity to go up accordingly. Electrical properties can also be changed by doping This too, is one of their great assets. Putting impurities in a semiconductor material can result in two different types of electrical behaviour. These are the so-called n (negative) and p (positive) type materials. Group V elements like arsenic added to a group IV element, such as silicon or germanium, to produce n-type materials. This occurs due to the extra valence electron in group V materials. On the other hand, group III materials like boron produce the p-type because they have only three valence electrons. When n-type material is connected to a p-type material, the device then exhibits diode behaviour. In other words, current can flow in one direction across the interface but not in the other. Diodes can act as rectifiers, but they have also led to the development of the transistor. A bipolar junction transistor (BJT) is a diode with an added third material which creates a second interface. While both npn or pnp types exist, their basic operation is essentially the same as two diodes connected to each other. With proper biasing of the voltages across each diode of the device, large current amplification can be produced. Today, metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETS) have become widely used and have replaced the BJT in many applications. As a result, millions of transistors can be placed on a single silicon chip or integrated circuit. These IC chips have better reliability and consume less power than the large vacuum tube circuits of the past. The fabrication of electronic devices from the raw materials requires two major steps. The semiconductor is first melted, and a seed crystal is used to draw a large crystal of pure, solid semiconductor from the liquid. Wafers of the semiconductor are sliced and polished. Second, the circuit pattern is etched or deposited using a photolithographic process. The individual chips are finally sectioned from the initial wafer. Semiconductors experience covalent bonding. Their electrons are more tightly bound than the electrons in metals, but much more loosely bound than the electrons in insulators. The atoms in semiconductors are typically arranged in a crystal structure: a diamond-like tetrahedral (in which each atom is bonded to 4 others). Semiconductors are also typically semi-shiny. The intermediate ability of semiconductors to conduct electricity at room temperature makes them very useful for electronic applications. For example, the modern computing industry was made possible by the capability of silicon transistors to act as fast on/off switches. Electronic computing speed has greatly increased with the integrated circuit. For example, the cycle times of today's computers are now measured in nanoseconds. Opto-electronic (laser diode) research is extending the already huge rate at which information can be transmitted. Biomaterials: A biomaterial is any nondrug material that can be used to treat, enhance, or replace any tissue, organ, or function in an organism. The term biomaterial refers to a biologically derived material that is used for its structural rather than its biological properties. It also refers to any material, natural or man-made, that comprises whole or part of a living structure, or biomedical device which performs, augments, or replaces a natural function. A biomaterial can be a metal, ceramic, polymer or composite. They may be distinguished from other materials because they possess a combination of properties, including chemical, mechanical physical and biological properties, which allow them to be suitable for safe, effective and reliable use within a physiological environment. For example, collagen, the protein found in bone and connective tissues, can be used as a cosmetic ingredient. A second example is carbohydrates modified with biotechnological processes that have been used as lubricants for biomedical applications or as bulking agents in food manufacture. The performance of biomaterials depends on material properties, design, biocompatibility, surgical technique, and the health of patient. In particular, biocompatibility relies on the acceptance of the device by the body. Ideally, there should be no irritation, inflammation, or allergic response Both biomaterials and biomechanical expertise are needed to perform in vitro testing of spinal implants. Endo-vascular stents provide structural support vessels following angioplasty and other major medical procedures. After an angioplasty procedure, vessels can experience re-stenosis and eventually return to their original pre-operative diameter. In as many as 10% of the procedures, the vessels may even collapse immediately. To prevent the vessels from shrinking, endo-vascular prosthesis or stents are used. These stents are examples of biomaterials. Stents are tubular structures consisting of a spring, wire mesh or slotted tubes that are deployed inside the vessel. Depending on the design and intended use (coronary/ peripheral), they can range in diameter from several millimeters to many times that size. A biomaterial must be typically have the following properties: it must be inert or specifically interactive, biocompatible, mechanically and chemically stable (or biodegradable), processable (for manufacturability), have good shelf life, be nonthrombogenic (does not cause clot formation) if it is blood-contacting, and be sterilizable. There are examples of biomaterials and compatibility problems which arise from the materials not having the above properties. These include dialysis tubing made of cellulose acetate, a â€Å"commodity plastic†, which is known to activate platelets and blood complement. Additionally, Dacron, a polymer widely used in textiles, has been used in vascular grafts, but only gives occlusion-free service for diameters larger than 6 mm. Finally, commercial grade polyurethanes, initially used in artificial hearts, can be thrombogenic (they cause clot formation). There are many prominent applications of biomaterials used in the medical profession today. Biomaterials are used in orthopedics for joint replacements (hip, knee), bone cements, bone defect fillers, fracture fixation plates, and artificial tendons and ligaments. They are also used for cardiovascular vascular grafts, heart valves, pacemakers, artificial heart and ventricular assist device components, stents, balloons, and blood substitutes. Another application is in ophthalmics, for contact lenses, corneal implants and artificial corneas, and intraocular lenses. They can also have cosmetic applications, such as in augmentation mammoplasty. Finally, other applications include dental implants, cochlear implants, tissue screws and tacks, burn and wound dressings and artificial skin, tissue adhesives and sealants, drug-delivery systems, matrices for cell encapsulation and tissue engineering, and sutures. 2). The following paragraphs will provide an analysis of the modern pop can and the considerations taken by the manufacturer in its design. The overall design of the can has several advantages over another popular beverage container, the glass bottle. The pop can is inherently light weight and cheap due to the aluminum or steel alloys that are used in its creation. The cost of a can accounts for only about 4 cents of the price of a canned beverage. About 10 cents goes for advertising. The 12 ounces of beverage in the container typically costs less than a penny to produce. It is also not easily breakable, unlike glass. The shape of the can is easy to hold in the hand, making it much easier for a customer to use. The aluminum or steel alloys of the can also have the ability to undergo expansion without breaking the container. Thus, if a pop can is frozen, it will not explode, it will simply deform. Glass, on the other hand, would not as easily deform and would likely break in this situation. Pop cans are also allow cheaper packaging methods than bottles to be used. This is because the cans can come into contact with each other without breaking, unlike bottles. This allows many cans to be transported without the need for extensive protective barriers between the individual cans. An additional feature that allows the cans to be more easily transported and organised is the shape of the bottom and top of the can. Both the bottom and top have a lip. This lip protrudes upward from the top and downwards from the bottom. In other words, there is a indentation in both the top and bottom of the can, as shown in the following figure: The radii of the top and bottom lips are matched so that one can is able to be stacked on top of another can. In other words, the top lip of one can fits neatly into the bottom lip of the second can. This is shown in the following diagram. This stacking feature is not possible with bottles, since the bottom base of a bottle does not resemble its top spout. The pop-top soda, with their attached tab, can provide an excellent example of inherently safer design from everyday life. When soda in cans was first introduced, a separate device was required to open these cans, and the first â€Å"pop-tops† represented a major advance in convenience (and environmentalism). The initial pop-tops were scored tear strips in the can top with attached rings or levers to grasp and tear the metal tab from the can. The top was completely removed from the can once the tab was opened, and this top was then discarded. These tabs were therefore environmental hazards when discarded. Alternatively, some people would dispose of the tab by placing it into the can before drinking the soda. This caused the tab to occasionally be swallowed when drinking from the can, so it sometimes had to be surgically removed. The current design of the pop-top soda can, where the tab remains an integral part of the can after opening, represents an inherently safer design. While the tab can be detached by flexing it back and forth until the metal fails, this requires some additional effort to do. It is therefore easier to use the can safely. The procedure involved in creating pop cans will now be outlined. This procedure demonstrates some of the major components of the cans. Modern pop cans are made from either steel or aluminium using advanced engineering and sophisticated technology. There is a special grade of low-carbon steel is used for steel drink cans, which is coated on each side with a very thin layer of tin. This tin allows the surface to be protected against corrosion. It also acts as a lubricant while the can is being formed. In aluminium cans, the aluminium is alloyed with magnese and magnesium, providing greater strength and ductility. Aluminium alloys of different strengths and thickness are used for making the can body and the end. The reason that the alloy used from the end must be stronger than that used for the body will be described shortly. The steps involved in manufacturing cans are illustrated in a simplified way below: The aluminium or steel strip arrives at the can manufacturing plant in huge coils. A thin film of oil is then used to lubricate the strip. The strip is then fed continuously through a cupping press that blanks and draws thousands of shallow cups every minute. Each cup is pressed through a set of tungsten carbide rings. This ironing process redraws and literally thins and raises the walls of the cans into their final can shape. Trimmers are then used to remove the surplus irregular edge and cut each can to a precise, specific height. The excess can material is recycled. These trimmed can bodies are passed through highly efficient washers. They are then dried. As a result, all traces of oil are removed in preparation for coating internally and externally. The clean cans are coated externally with a clear or pigment base coat. This coat provides a good surface for the printing inks. The cans are then passed through a hot air oven to dry the lacquer onto the surface. Next, a highly sophisticated printer/decorator applies the printed design in up to six colours. A varnish is also applied. 9.A coat of varnish is also applied to the base of each can by a rim-coater. 10.The cans pass through a second oven which dries the inks and varnish. 11.The inside of each can is sprayed with lacquer. This special layer is to protect the can itself from corrosion and its contents from any possibility of interaction with the metal. 12.Once again, lacquered internal and external surfaces are dried in an oven. 13.The cans are passed through a necker/flanger. Here the diameter of the wall is reduced or ‘necked-in'. The top of the can is flanged outwards to accept the end once the can has been filled. 14.Every can is tested at each stage of manufacture. At the final stage it passes through a light tester which automatically rejects any cans with pinholes or fractures. 15.The finished can bodies are then transferred to the warehouse to be automatically palletised before dispatch to filling plant. The Can End 1.Can end manufacture begins with a coil of special alloy aluminum sheet. 2.The sheet is fed through a press which stamps out thousands of ends every minute. 3.At the same stage the edges are curled. 4.The newly formed ends are passed through a lining machine which applies a very precise bead of compound sealant around the inside of the curl. 5.A video inspection system checks the ends to ensure they are perfect. TAB.The pull tabs are made from a narrow width coil of aluminum. The strip is first pierced and cut and the tab is formed in two further stages before being joined to the can end. 6.The ends pass through a series of dies which score them and attach the tabs, which are fed in from a separate source. 7.The final product is the retained ring pull end. 8.The finished ends, ready for capping the filled cans, are packaged in paper sleeves and palletised for shipment to the can filler. As mentioned above, a printer/decorator is used in the manufacturing of cans to apply a printed design in up to six colours to the can body. A varnish is then applied. A varnish is a viscid liquid, consisting of a solution of resinous matter in an oil, or a volatile liquid, typically laid on work with a brush. Once it is applied, the varnish soon dries, either by evaporation or chemical action, and the resinous part forms thus a smooth, hard surface, with a beautiful gloss, capable of resisting, to a greater or less degree, the influences of air and moisture. The varnish therefore improves the appearance of the printed design on the can. It also increases the durability of the design by ensuring that it is more resistant to the wearing effects of the elements. This can be readily observed through common experience. Even old, used pop cans retain their printed designs very well, despite being subjected to the elements such as moisture or air. Bottles, on the other hand, typically have paper labels attached with glue. This requires glue and paper. These bottle labels also do not possess the glossy sheen of the pop can design. Finally, they are more easily susceptible to the influences of the elements, particularly air and moisture. For example, placing a glass bottle and its label in water will cause the label to saturate with water. This degrades the legibility and appearance of the label, and greatly increases the chance that it will tear or fall off the bottle. In contrast, placing a pop can in water has no effect on the legibility, appearance, or durability of the printed design. The base-coater gives the can an exterior coat to enable the printing colours to fix properly (the base coat is sometimes The of the pop can is a separate piece to allow filling by the beverage maker prior to the top being installed. It can now be revealed why bottled beer and beer from a tap tastes different from beer in a can. Be forewarned: if you're a six-pack enthusiast, you're not going to like the explanation. When you sip a can of your favorite brew, you are savoring not only fermented grain and hops but just a hint of the same preservative that kept the frog you dissected in 10th-grade biology class lily-pad fresh: formaldehyde. What is formaldehyde doing in beer? The same thing it's doing in pop and other food and drink packaged in steel and aluminum cans: killing bacteria. But not the bacteria in the drink, the bacteria that attacks a lubricant used in the manufacture of the can. Notre Dame's Steven R. Schmid, associate professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering, is an expert in tribology – the study of friction, wear and the lubrication – applied to manufacturing and machine design. The co-author of two textbooks, Fundamentals of Machine Elements and Manufacturing Engineering and Technology (considered the bible of manufacturing engineering), Schmid has conducted extensive research on the manufacturing processes used in the production of beverage and other kinds of cans. Schmid explains that back in the 1940s, when brewers and other beverage makers began putting drinks in steel (and, later, aluminum) cans, the can makers added formaldehyde to a milk-like mixture of 95 percent water and 5 percent oil that's employed in the can manufacturing process. The mixture, called an emulsion, bathes the can material and the can-shaping tooling, cooling and lubricating both. Additives in the oil part are certain bacteria's favorite food. But if the bacteria eat the emulsion, it won't work as a lubricant anymore. So can makers add a biocide to the emulsion to kill the bacteria. Before a can is filled and the top attached, this emulsion is rinsed off, but a small residue of the oil-water mixture is inevitably left behind, including trace amounts of the biocide. The amounts remaining are not enough to be a health hazard, but they are enough to taste, and the first biocide used back in the 1940s was formaldehyde. In the decades since, can makers have devised new formulas for emulsions, always with an eye toward making them more effective, more environmentally friendly and less costly. But because formaldehyde was in the original recipe, people got used to their canned Budweiser or whatever having a hint of the famous preservative's flavor. For this reason, Schmid says, every new emulsion formula since then has had to be made to taste like formaldehyde, â€Å"or else people aren't going to accept it.† Extensive tests are run to make sure the lubricant and additives taste like formaldehyde. â€Å"It's not that it tastes okay. It's just what people are used to tasting,† he says. (Miller Genuine Draft and similar brews, Schmid says, use biocides that have no flavor.) The formaldehyde flavor legacy is one little-known aspect of can-making. Another involves the smooth coating applied to the inside of cans. The rinse cycle that attempts to wash off the emulsion also aims to remove particulate metal debris that forms on the metal's surface during the bending and shaping of a can. Like the emulsion, some of the microscopic debris always remains after rinsing. Unlike the emulsion, it can be dangerous to swallow. To keep powdered metal out of a can's contents, Schmid says, manufacturers spray-coat the inside with a polymer dissolved in a solvent. When the can is heated, the solvent boils away, leaving only the protective polymer coating. The coating not only plasters any microscopic debris to the can wall and away from the food, it keeps the food from interacting with can material, an especially important consideration with steel cans. â€Å"Say you've got tomato soup in this steel can. You don't want that acidic soup corroding your can. It would kill your can, and the can would adulterate your food,† Schmid says. â€Å"It's also why you're advised that when you go camping and you have Spaghettios you don't cook them in the can, because the polymer will degrade and you're going to be eating polymer.† (Industry sources tell Schmid that the typical consequences of such a culinary blunder are headaches and constipation.) Schmid says can manufacturers are forever searching for ways to improve efficiency in their struggle to stay price competitive with plastic and glass bottles. A single can-tooling machine can form 400 cans a minute. In a typical process, all but the top is shaped during a single stroke through a disk of aluminum or steel. The top, seamed on after filling, is made of a more expensive aluminum alloy, rich in magnesium. The added ductile strength of the magnesium is necessary so another machine can mash down a pillar of the metal to form the rivet that attaches the pop top. Today's beverage cans are â€Å"necked† near the top for a reason. The narrower-diameter means less of the expensive lid alloy is needed. It saves a minuscule fraction of a cent per can, but it adds up, Schmid says. â€Å"In this country alone we use about a can per person per day, so you have to make 250 million cans per day. It's an amazing thing to watch these machines kick out these cans.† Rivet is likely a separate part from the tab. It should be strong enough to attach the tab to the can and to ensure that it does not break when the can is opened. Lip on top of can prevents liquid from flowing down the side of the can. Bottom is indented to enable stacking even when the tab has been opened. The indent provides the necessary room for the open tab. For recycling purposes, pop cans can be neatly compacted flat, and are easy to transport using a wide range of containers. Rivet is a separate piece which connects the tab to the can top. Top of the pop can is stamped with words such as â€Å"recyclable† and â€Å"return for refund†. Thus, the alloy of the top must be soft enough to allow this stamping to occur. Aluminum costs more than steel, and the price has been rising. Steel â€Å"minimills† now have continuous casting processes that make sheet steel thin enough to form seamless cans. And there is competition from other materials as well. â€Å"We h ave to find ways to make cans lighter and lighter to keep fending off polymers, steel and glass. Lighter cans means lower prices to the consumer, who's then more likely to buy cans off the grocery shelf instead of two-liter bottles or glass.† ALCOA's answer is lightweighting, designing cans to use the thinnest aluminum possible within the constraints of strength and appearance. In 1993, Americans recycled 59.5 billion aluminum cans, 3 billion more than in 1991, and raised the national aluminum can recycling rate to 2 out of every 3 cans. Aluminum can recycling saves 95% of the energy needed to make aluminum from bauxite ore. Energy savings in 1993 alone were enough to light a city the size of Pittsburgh for 6 years. Special pallets and stacking techniques are used to protect can bodies from crushing stresses and to enable quick and efficient loading into the filling machine line. The first beverage can, filled by a brewer in Newark, New Jersey in 1935, weighed three ounces. Today, an aluminum beverage can weighs one half ounce – 600% less than the original beverage can. Can manufacturers strive to do even better through a process called â€Å"light weighting†-the use of lighter can ends and thinner body walls. Using less material at the beginning of the manufacturing process results in a more effective means of creating safe, reliable, performance-driven packaging. This results in less waste once the packages' contents have been consumed. It also saves manufacturers money – an added incentive. 3). The diameter of the bar is 12.7 mm. Its radius is half the diameter. Therefore, its radius can be calculated to be (12.7 mm)/ 2 = 6.35 mm. By applying the conversion factor that 1000 mm = 1 m, this radius can also be expressed as (6.35 mm) * (1 m / 1000 mm) = 6.35 x 10-3 m. The bar has a cross-sectional area given by the following formula: Cross-sectional area = ?r2 where r is the radius of the steel bar. Using this formula, the cross-sectional area of the bar can be calculated to be: Cross-sectional area = ?(6.35 x 10-3 m)2 Cross-sectional area = 1.266768698 x 10-4 m2 (Cross-sectional area = 1.27 x 10-4 m2 when significant figures are applied). Gravity applies a force to the bar proportional to the bar's mass. This force is given by the formula: Force due to Gravity = (Mass of object) * (Acceleration of Gravity) If we assume that the steel bar is located at the surface of the earth, the acceleration of gravity is approximately 9.8 m/s2 at this elevation. Therefore, the force applied to the bar by gravity can be calculated to be: Force due to Gravity = (7000 kg) * (9.8 m/s2) Force due to Gravity = 68600 kg*m/s2 (Force due to Gravity = 70000 kg*m/s2 when significant figures are applied) The stress placed on the bar is given by the following formula: Stress = (force) / (unit area) Therefore, the stress placed on the bar can be calculated to be: Stress = (68600 kg*m/s2) / (1.266768698 x 10-4 m2) Stress = 541535326.2 kg/(m*s2) (Stress = 500000000 kg/(m*s2) when significant figures are applied) The steel bar has a modulus of elasticity of 205,000 Mpa. 1 Pa is defined to be equal to 1 kg/(m*s2). Using the conversion factor that 1 x 106 Pa = 1 Mpa, 1 Mpa is defined to be equal to 1 x 106 kg/(m*s2). We can therefore express the modulus of elasticity of the steel bar in Pa as (205,000 Mpa) * (1 x 106 Pa / 1 Mpa) = 2.05 x 1012 Pa. The strain experienced by the steel bar is the fractional deformation it undergoes when a stress is applied. This strain can be represented mathematically by the following formula: where l represents the length of bar, and ?l represents the change in length of the bar due to the applied stress. The elastic region of the stress-strain curve refers to the portion of the curve in which an increase in stress will cause a linearly proportional increase in strain. Within this elastic region, removal of the stress will cause the strain to be reduced to zero as well. In other words, the material is not permanently deformed, and removal of the stress causes the material to return to its original dimensions. The strain is therefore reversible, or elastic. In the elastic region, therefore, stress and strain can be related by a proportionality coefficient. This proportionality coefficient relating the reversible strain to stress in the elastic region of the stress-strain curve is known as the modulus of elasticity. This modulus of elasticity can be represented mathematically as: Modulus of Elasticity = (Elastic Stress) / (Unit Strain) This equation can be rearranged to solve for the unit strain. This rearranged equation is expressed as: Unit Strain = (Elastic Stress) / (Modulus of Elasticity) Assuming the stress applied to the bar is small enough to ensure that the bar is still operating in the elastic region of the stress-strain curve, we can use the above equation to determine how much the bar will be strained by the load. Mathematically, this solution takes the following form: Unit Strain = (541535326.2 kg/(m*s2)) / (2.05 x 1012 Pa) Unit Strain = (541535326.2 kg/(m*s2)) / (2.05 x 1012 kg/(m*s2)) Unit Strain = 2.641635738 x 10-4 (Unit Strain = 3 x 10-4 when significant figures are applied) This strain is unitless because it represents the fractional deformation of the bar when the stress is applied.