Behaviorism, Cognitivism and Humanism Essay

Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Behaviorism, Cognitivism and Humanism belong perhaps to the most extensively developed theories in the field of early Psychology. Their roots are said to draw from a heritage of scholarships developed by key thinkers as early as the 1900’s. And as specific facets of science, their unifying goal is to explicate human behavior neither through arbitrary and random observations nor unsubstantiated conclusions, but through a more rigorous process of â€Å"scientific investigation† (Moskowitz & Orgel, 1967, p. 107).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This paper attempts to successfully describe the three theories cited, and thus put them in conversation with one another. In the process, this paper wishes to bring into the fore key similarities and relative differences that may be gleaned from such a presentation. Three Psychological Theories .  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Behaviorism is a theory that operates on the underlying assumption that the concrete manifestations of human behavior are nothing but the result of identifiable causes or influences. Put in other words, the core contention of behaviorism lies in understanding human behavior in the context of its reactions to various stimuli (Behaviorism, 2007). Key to this theory is operative principle of external reinforcements; i.e., behaviorism takes the nature of human behavior as sufficiently explainable through the outside forces acting on it. For instance, Ivan Pavlov in 1900 was able to demonstrate in his experiment that the â€Å"salivation reflexes† of dogs can be â€Å"controlled† using external conditioning. By associating dog feeding sessions with secondary stimuli (say, bell ringing) it was learned that dogs eventually tended to react to these â€Å"secondary† forces inasmuch as they do with primary stimuli. The idea that goes with the experiment was to establish the â€Å"prediction and control of behavior† (Wozniak, 1997). As a result, many thinkers picked up this admirable concept, and, using Pavlov’s investigation, a number of psychologists began studying the how â€Å"classical conditioning† can be applied to human beings. (Moskowitz & Orgel, 1967, p. 107). If only to mention, other notable proponents of this theory include J. Watson, B.F. Skinner, and E. Thorndlike.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since behaviorism gives higher premium than most on the importance of looking at the external forces affecting human behavior, it has a tendency to depreciate, if not all together deny the concept of human consciousness, or internal workings of the mind (Wozniak, 1997). Behaviorism â€Å"assumes that the learner is essentially passive†, in that one’s behavior relies heavily on external forces to achieve its concrete form. In many ways, this theory takes human behavior as tabula rasa; i.e., a sheet wiped clean for external experiences to start building into. Thus, it claims that human behavior â€Å"can be explained without the need to consider internal mental states† (Behaviorism, 2007). In what appears to be a direct critique to the behaviorist theory, the Cognitive psychological theory meanwhile believes that human learning is a process that involves putting into use what already is present within the human framework. Put in other words, instead of taking the human person as a tabula rasa, adherents of the cognitive theory seem to understand a person as a black box – a repository of internal processors that enable one to achieve learning. Cognitivism was said to gain a fair amount of attention from among the diverse psychological circles in the 1960’s. And noted theorists affiliated to this theory include Merill, Reigeluth, Gagne, Briggs, Wager, among others (Cognitivism, 2007). A few significant differences may be gleaned from juxtaposing the two theories cited thus far. First, unlike behaviorism, cognitivism tends to pay closer attention to establishing inner mental workings of a person to explain human behavior. Cognitivists reject the notion that the behavioral manifestations of a human person are explainable by solely citing external factors. One can perhaps consider how human persons possess a unique manner of gaining insights apart from outside experiences. For instance, if a child were to be given Lego constructs to play with, it would be utterly difficult to explain how he or she can in the process end up building certain formation such as dolls, guns or planes if one were to only see a child from the perspective of stimulus-response perspective. If only to argue, there is no stimulus-response framework to begin with. Instead, one needs to look at the whole experience of the child from the point of view of insight building. For, according to Moskowitz and Orgel, â€Å"the ability of the organism to manipulate symbols seems to be an essential component in insightful behavior† (1967, p. 135). Second, unlike behaviorism, cognitivism does not subscribe to the concept of persons as â€Å"programmed animals† (Cognitivism, 2007). Far more critical, cognitive theorists reject any notion claiming that human persons are but passive recipients of external forces – helpless, as they were, in the entire process of behavior formation or learning process. On the contrary, cognitive theorists believe that human persons are very much involved in their learning process and progress, inasmuch as they take part and are highly responsible in their actions. In sum, cognitivists take â€Å"mental processes such as thinking, memory, knowing, and problem-solving† as issues of paramount importance (Cognitivism, 2007). It can be noted that the psychological theories thus far cited involve attempts to resolve the tension between external and internal forces affecting human behavior. In view of the foregoing discussions, it seems that the Humanistic psychological perspective can prove to be a theory that can somewhat integrate the conflicting claims of both the Behaviorist and Cognitivist theories. The basic contention of Humanistic perspective lies in seeing human persons as organisms drawn towards motivational learning. Popular proponents of this theory include A. Maslow, K. Rogers, and M. Knowles (Humanist Theories, 2007). Under this scheme, a person’s behavior is taken within the context of his or her aspirations, motivations, needs, and values. And these aspects, if only to argue, stem from the a person’s interaction with his or her environment, coupled with an inherent capacity to appropriate these influences into one’s own worldview (Moskowitz & Orgel, 1967, p. 340). Like Behaviorism, this theory affirms the crucial role of external influences in the manner a person comes up with value system. Like Cognitivism, this theory also affirms the fact that learning uses â€Å"reflection†¦(as) guides for active experimentation and the choice of new experience† (Humanistic Theories, 2007). Unlike the two theories however, Humanistic psychology does not confine itself to a more restricted approach to understanding human behavior. Key to understanding this theory therefore lies in the concept of self-appropriation – a process that involves putting into a successful integration both the external and internal aspects of human behavior. Conclusion This paper now ends with a thought that indeed, the three psychological theories that were discussed hereinabove do manifest distinctive differences. But two strains of similarities can be drawn between and among them nevertheless. The first points to the fact that all the above cited theories employ scientific methods in arriving at their sacred contentions. In fact, like most behavioral sciences, Behaviorism, Cognitivism and Humanism rely heavily on scientific methodologies to substantiate their proposed theories. Secondly, it needs to be acknowledged that these theories all contribute to the furthering of knowledge pertinent to the science of human behavior. Despite their differences, their contribution to the already rich heritage of the science of psychology seems very patent, if not all together undeniable. References Learning Theories Knowledgebase. (2007). â€Å"Behaviorism†. Retrieved from,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   < http://www.learning-theories.com/category/behaviorist-theories> Learning Theories Knowledgebase. (2007). â€Å"Cognitivism†. Retrieved from,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Learning Theories Knowledgebase. (2007). â€Å"Humanist Theories†. Retrieved from,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Moskowitz, M. and Orgel, A. (1969). General Psychology. A Core Text in Human Behavior.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company. Wozniak, R. (1997). â€Å"Behaviourism: The Early Years†. Retrieved from,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Meaning of Underworld in the Odyssey and Aeneid Essay

In both Odyssey and Aeneid the protagonists visit the Underworld and for both this is a turning point of their life and the turning point of the plot. For Odyssey the unusual travel marks his symbolic â€Å"cleansing† from blood he has shed at Troy and from anger of gods, making it possible for him to return to Ithaca. Before traveling to the Underworld Aeneas is an expellee, who strives â€Å"in vain against the seas and wind† (Aeneid, 5: 21). After the travel he is a father of the new glorious people. Both heroes receive new knowledge and rise to the higher level of personality. Visiting the world of the dead is important for Odyssey and Aeneas because it marks the choice of scenario for the future. For example, Aeneas’s fate as a leader of the newborn Roman people has been predetermined, yet to start walking this new way he has to go to the underworld. His father shows him many great souls who are to be reincarnated in future to become great Roman heroes, so future is predetermined not only by Aeneas’s effort, but by the spirit of those great heroes. In contrast, Odyssey enters the kingdom of the dead in search of his friend Tiresias whom he has to speak to in order to return to Ithaca. His travel is not so fateful for the people, but it is fateful for Odyssey himself. Aeneas is told to go to the Underworld in a dream by the spirit of his dead father. Odyssey also has a kind of dream on Circe’s island where he spends seven years thinking that only seven days have passed. But when Circe learns that Odyssey has no love for her, she nobly explains him that the only man who knows the way to Ithaca is Tiresias who can be found only in the afterworld. Odyssey is driven by â€Å"unhappy fate below the sunlight† (Odyssey 11:798-799), and his ultimate purpose is finding the way. He would perhaps never go to Hades, in case there was another way to Ithaca. He says that he â€Å"had to come down here to Hades’ home, to meet the he shade of Teiresias of Thebes, and hear his prophecy†. (Odyssey, 11: 199-201). In Hades he meets his mother of whom he did not know that she was dead. Her suicide and sorrowful events in Ithaca is a kind of punishment for Odyssey’s false pride. In contrast to Odyssey, Aeneas’s purpose is choosing the way. Meeting his father he symbolically passes through the golden gate to become a recognized ruler, and a tool of destiny that has chosen to make Aeneas’s people great. Homer describes the underworld as a dull place of suffering, where warriors who died in battle have to continue carrying their wounds. In fact, for Homer living after death is just a continuation of earthly vain. For example, when Odyssey meets Trojan heroes like Patroclus, they run away frightened, as if the struggle for Troy still went on. Odyssey’s dead friends the can only tell how they died and got to this dark kingdom. Homer has a gloomy idea of the underworld. Achilles says that he would rather be a living serf and a landless peasant than a King of the Dead. So Odyssey becomes aware of futility of war that sends heroes to this dark place. In contrast, Aeneas returns with the vision of the great future and he is now decisive to work hard for it. â€Å"Within the hero’s mind his joys renew’d† (Aeneid 5: 904) and so he eagerly sets sails for the new homeland.

Gender roles in leadership and how they impact behavior Research Paper

Gender roles in leadership and how they impact behavior - Research Paper Example Action of any leader has been always dependent on the response given by the followers, and these actions also responsible to control the leader’s future activities. Therefore according to Sullivan leadership in a mutual process of influence between an individual (leader) and the followers to achieve a certain goal. (Sullivan, 2009, abstract). With the development of society and work culture, it is now very clear that the opportunity to free both men and women from the concept of gender stereotype is already there, to understand the implication of this change it is quite essential to discuss about the history of gender roles in respect to leadership. According to Perschel (2009), There was a long standing though that men were strong and assertive where as women were communal, strong and understanding, this was the thought process presented to describe why the successful women were not the leaders. But according to her, this concept brought few questions such as why in the first place leadership was only associated with men and so on (Perschel, 2009). History of leadership: During 1900 most of the people were not well educated and therefore he leadership role was associated with only a few men, the theory of the great man clarified the fact that due to that less education only a handful of men was associated with leadership power and enjoy superiorintelectual and moral capabilities. But after world war I and II, the scenery started to change as more people get well educated and different industry all over the world was in search for more leaders. During the middle of 1900 century people who was acting as the leaders were used the military style and command .These were also noticed in different hierarchialorganizations where the prevalence of command and control level were established. Most of the leaders were men and the power was distributed among them. They used to be dominative, aggressive and individualistic. By the late 20th century women used to take part in the management activities but at the beginning they have to learn how they could survive in the culture of command and control of men. The minority group of female, who entered the management structure are initially recognized just as tokens. Perschel refers to the concept of â€Å" rules of three†- there was a necessity to have at least two people supporting the thoughts of minority groups, before it could be heard by the dominant male management team. According to her, women needed to show their power-both individualism and assertiveness with a proper balance of feminity, softness and community orientation to be heard and get proper attention by the top management (Perschel, 2009). Change in Gender Stereotype in Leadership: With the development of the world economy and standard of work culture it is at present absolutely necessary that every organization has to be fast and nimble in order to be successful. leaders of the top management need to create a work culture where the employees feel comfortable and adapt quickly.the high performing work force can only be managed by a leader who have qualities that ensured 6the belief on each and

Economcs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Economcs - Essay Example The company is especially famous for its contribution of the assembly line, granting the mass production of automobiles by 1913 (Ford motor, n.d.). For decades, it remained to be the second largest automaker worldwide, only behind General Motors (Freysennet, 1998). Today Ford has major operations in America, Asia Pacific Africa, and Europe. It used to manufacture diverse car and truck brands, to wit, Ford, Lincoln, Mazda, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Volvo, Land Rover and Mercury (Freysennet, 1998). Recently, however, it is streamlining (though less than an overhauling) its global and domestic approach to avert unwanted outcomes. Ford sold off Jaguar, Aston Martin, Land Rover, Volvo; and conclusive in ceasing the production of Mercury by the end of this year (Weaver, 2010). Threat of Substitutes. Automobiles give the end-users a sense of individuality which other modes of transportation (e.g. trains, and buses) don’t inherently offer. However this doesn’t give them an entire advantage. Owning private vehicles doesn’t only involve a costly purchase but also entails a probably costly responsibility as well in sustaining its usability mainly in times like repairing damaged parts/areas, or supplying gasoline. Moreover, in a global perspective, people are culturally and/or socially distinct (Bradley, et al., 2005). Not all people find automobiles a commodity. Thus, the threat of substitutes is only fair and varies greatly in different geographic market locations. Rivalry between Established Competitors. Though the oligopolistic structure of the automotive industry should partly eliminate price-based competition, the concentration ratios could no longer disguise the ongoing competition (Bradley, et al., 2005). This may not even be some sleazy plan to reinforce competition but a by-product of the economic slumps such that companies ultimately attempted to generate maximum sales to finance its operations. With Honda, Toyota,

Strategic decision making (Paper Subject) Assignment

Strategic decision making (Paper Subject) - Assignment Example There were four groups of most unprofitable customers in 1999, as presented in Exhibit 3 of the case study. These were young professionals with 82% unprofitable households, boomers with 59% unprofitable households, others with 56% unprofitable households and retirees with less than one $100,000 in assets with 55% unprofitable households. Least unprofitable were retirees with assets above $100,000 with 9% unprofitable households. Changes occurred since 1999. Exhibit 3 shows that in 1999, the wealthiest customers were not the worst performing. In 2000, wealthiest customers were among the worst performing customers. Retirees remained the best performing customers in the tenth decile for both periods. However, the solution to unprofitable customers might be retention. Unprofitable customers can be turned into profitable once some of the services available to them are either eliminated or a fee is charged. Once turned profitable, in the long run they can increase company’s profits. If customer retention is high and acquisition is done wisely so that no new unprofitable customers are attracted and retained, the company can increase the number of customers, as well as their profits. AIMS is one of the larger services providing companies in the USA. In 2000 they had 3.9 million customers and over $500 billion in assets (AIMS, p.1). They span two different product lines: mutual funds and full – line brokerage services. They have three different distribution channels and different types of customers based on age, activity and wealth. There are six main types of customers. Six main types are retirees, active traders, wealthy customers with over $2 million in assets, then less wealthy customers with assets ranging from $500,000 to $2 million, boomers and young professionals. Largest group are the boomers, with 1.8 million customers (AIMS,

Role of genetics in childhood obesity Research Paper

Role of genetics in childhood obesity - Research Paper Example This essay "Role of genetics in childhood obesity" outlines if the children of obese parents are susceptible to obesity. Even in old times, when the science of genetics did not exist, it was a common knowledge that children inherited many things from their parents, families and ancestors like the color of their hair, the color of the eyes, height, physique and many other things. In the light of this common observation, it would not be wrong to conclude that like the color of their eyes, color of their hair, height, children also inherit a strain for obesity from their parents and families. The more recent scientific studies in the field of genetics have further established that like many other health problems and attributes, obesity in children could also be attributed to a genetic or in other words hereditary link (Smith 1). A recent scientific research which happened to be based on a close collaboration between many related studies has found out that obesity also tends to have a ge netic component. Till a few decades ago, it was strongly believed that people or families who had faulty lifestyles and unhealthy dietary preferences were more likely to get obese. However, this study and many other such studies are forcefully pointing towards the fact that childhood obesity may not be the result of defective lifestyles, but rather a defective gene or genes. Even if people with faulty lifestyles are more prone to obesity, it may that a particular gene in their genetic makeup may be pushing them to stick to unhealthy diet and lifestyles.

Health Assessment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health Assessment - Research Paper Example Sometimes, the condition is irreversible, and operation is the only resort to solve the problem. Nevertheless, with prompt medical treatment, proper diet and exercise, the disease could be controlled or even cured in time. This paper discusses nursing practices in dealing with patients with plantar fasciitis, a condition common to people who had history of heavy walking and running. The paper details the complaints of the client, subjective and objective data to be collected, rationale for collecting additional data, and health promotion strategies that a nurse can give to the client. The Patient’s Complaint Waking up with painful heel and finding it difficult to walk and climb down the stairs in the morning have become the usual scenarios in the life of Cynthia. At age 35, Cynthia wondered why she developed arthritis. She thought that the pain in her heel was due to arthritis, given the fact that arthritis is common among her father’s relatives. Her father has been suf fering from arthritis for nine years, and he is now 73. Cynthia first felt the pain three years ago when she started working as a freelance writer for several publishing companies. Working at home, she did not go out frequently and only did so when attending meetings, conferences and the like. She submitted write-ups through email, allowing her to stay at home without needing to dress up smartly. That time, Cynthia gained some weight, thus making her quite obese. She did not think of her ailment as permanent; she barely thought that she got the pain from walking as she did her shopping twice monthly. Three years passed and the pain occurred from time to time whenever she went out to do the grocery. Six months ago, she found a new job as a full-time office-based editorial manager. This time around, she has to wear office clothes and use shoes to pair with them. She has been using ballet flats for three months prior to the consultation. Thinking ballet flats look cute and feel comfort able, she bought three pairs of the shoes. Ballet flats are trendy; they are very popular especially among youngsters and are preferred by those who do walking most of the time. These shoes are very colorful and nice to wear because they are usually made of cotton or textile materials so the feet can breath even with long-time wear. The smooth material does not cause blisters unlike leather shoes. Most of all, ballet flats are cheap so one can practically change shoes everyday. Cynthia was attracted to this kind of shoes, not knowing that they could aggravate her condition. When she consulted with an orthopaedist, Cynthia was instructed to undergo x-ray of both feet to find out if bone spurs grew in her heels. The results are positive. Cynthia has inferior calcaneal exostoses or heel spurs on both feet. These results gave the doctor an impression that she has plantar fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis, otherwise known as â€Å"policeman’s heel,† is the painful condition of t he plantar fascia, the connective tissue found on the soul of the foot, usually at the heel part. According to Roxas (2005), the cause of this pain is multifactorial, including excessive mobility, wearing tough shoes, walking or running on hard surfaces, and being overweight. These characteristics of plantar fasciitis determine the additional data required to be collected. Additional Objective and Subjective Data to be Collected Identifying plantar fasciitis is easy in consideration of the

Well logging Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Well logging - Assignment Example ards the transverse plane present, which is achieved by applying an external magnetic field that is in resonance with the precessing protons, which are polarized. The protons will then continue in their precession process, after rotation, but in a plane that is perpendicular to the aligned protons, which creates a changeable and detectable magnetic field. Dephrasing of the protons may result due to interferences resulting from the polarized magnetic field at the proton’s location. The dephrasing factors can then be quantified, and used to prevent further dephrasing by another time constant (T2). Focused electrons moving horizontally through the formation: Laterlogs are utilized in low-resistive muds. A focused current is made to flow horizontally by placing two guard electrodes that are located above and below the electrode’s current. The central generating electrode and the guard electrodes are balanced and a sheet of current then penetrates the formation. High frequency alternating current: these logs are used in oil-based or fresh-water muds. A high frequency current flows through the transmitter when a receiver coil and transmitter coil are placed at the ends of sonde. This creates a magnetic field, which, in turn, generates an alternating current. The generated current alternates depending on formation resistivity and the quantifiable parameters are recorded in the receiver coil. Rt: is obtained by using Dual Laterlog Borehole correction (both deep and shallow laterlogs). In order to achieve this, Rs, Rm, RLLD, RLLS, Rw, and RSFL should be known. The obtained data must be calculated to substitute the following formulas: Rw: SP log is used to identify the clan sand lines and shale baseline on the SP log. Temperature is then determined to convert (Rm)Tm to (Rmf)Tf. SSP is then calculated by using the invaded resistivity Rf, and the bed thickness, h. the formula for this conversion is converting Rmf@Tf to Rmfe @ Tf, then Calculate Rwe: Rwe=

The disclosure structure and its effect on performance Essay

The disclosure structure and its effect on performance - Essay Example The research combined content examination of CSR reports, and corporate performance data of various companies covered in the Accountability Rating statistics of the period 2004 to 2007 to facilitate the study. The study utilized a multifaceted approach to analyze influential variables capable of informing the analysis. Particularly, the research related the level, and structure of environmental and societal disclosure to CSP. The research utilized a design capable of addressing study objectives accordingly. The research sample was developed by following informed procedures leading to the establishment of an inclusive sample. The research identified influential variables for measuring the effect of practice on the firm’s performance to examine the effect of the disclosure level and the structure on the company’s CSP. According to Panneerselvam, an ideal study must define all essential variables that when examined can help one develop an informed conclusion. The researche r should acknowledge different types of variables to propose ideal method for assessing each. Researchers conducting the analysis considered the variables while setting a sample for their study. This is evident in the study’s approach of focusing on a sample of organization with essential statistics that allowed researchers assess all necessary variables consistently. The study sourced data from a diverse population of global companies included in reliable business statistics to develop a longitudinal dataset for the study.

Legal Department Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Legal Department - Essay Example As Adoranti (2006) explains, business to business and commercial contracts explicitly define the obligations of sellers and buyers. This includes the specifications of the contacted for products/services, their quality and time/place of delivery. The violation of contractual obligations, on either side, can be cause for the invalidation of the contract and grounds for the payment of financial penalties (Adoranti, 2006). As our organization's legal councilor emphasized, the binding form of contracts implies that it is incumbent upon the organization to ensure that a contract works in its favor and not against it. Hence, within the context of our organization, the policy is that no sales contract is signed prior to the formulation of an inter-departmental business plan which details how the organization will fulfill the contract and whether, indeed, it can. Only following a thorough review of this plan does the legal department authorize the signature of the contract. The regulations which the legal department has imposed upon contractual commitments are an outcome of prior negative experiences. Two years ago an overenthusiastic sales department committed the company to the supply of more than it could produce within a specified time period. As the Sales Director had the authority to conclude contracts, the outcome was the overextension of corporate resources in a bid to satisfy its contractual obligations and, ultimately, a failure to meet the time of delivery, resulting in the imposition of fines upon the company. This incident, as the corporate legal councilor informed me, instigated a revision of corporate policy, whereby contracts could only be entered into following inter-departmental meetings and the formulation of business plans which outline strategies for the fulfillment of contractual obligations. Contracts, however, do not represent the extent of the legal department's involvement in corporate and business processes and relations. Indeed, one of the department's primary concerns is employee relations, the implementation of corporate policy and the assurance of adherence. Insofar as the aforementioned is concerned, Poole (2004) identifies it as one of the more important of any corporate legal department's responsibilities, comparable to the implementation of law and order. As such, the legal department governs/supervises employee relations and ensures adherence to a specific code of conduct. This code of conduct extends to company-related behavior following the termination of the employee-employer relation. For example, in the event of an employee's dismissal for non performance of job related responsibilities, he/she is, as per the employment contract signed, warned against both defaming the company and exposing company business secrets. This, as the legal councilor advised m e, was standard practice in most organizations but, without doubt, one of the more important of the legal department's responsibilities as it involved the safeguarding of the company from disgruntled former employees. The protection of the company against defamation, not just by former employees but by competitors and the media consumes much of the legal depa

A Revelation to me Essay Example for Free

A Revelation to me Essay When I was a kid, I got almost anything I wanted. I had travelled to China and seen the Great Wall. I travelled to Brisbane to see the Coral Reef and I even travelled to Italy and saw places like the Coliseum and the Sistine Chapel. However, to me, Singapore was the be all and end all of the world. I had lived there for 11 years and all my wants and needs were met on that small island. I could walk anywhere without worrying about getting kidnapped. I could take a taxi and not worry about the driver cheating you. I could even leave the house 10 minutes for a lesson and not worry about being late. I had a lovely school, a nice group of international friends and moreover a house in a pristine location. All was good. One day, my dad was at work and my brother was at a sleepover. My mother took me to my favorite restaurant at that timeMcDonalds. I knew something was fishy, because I hadnt done anything good, but I went along with it. Then she brought me a FULL Meal. Hmmmmsuspicious but I again parried it off. Then she upsized it. Ok! Something was wrong. So when I went to the table to eat my Upsized, full meal of McDonalds, I asked my mum Whats going on? Whats the special occasion? And she replied, Nothing Rushad. Cant we just have a mother, son outing? I looked at her in the eye and I could tell something was wrong. Ok, fine. She said. Paused. Took a bite from her burger. Swallowed. Then said We are moving from Singapore. Dont lie. I laughed. You cant be serious! MUM! But she just shook her head, like a bothered elephant and said Im sorry. But I dont want to move. And she told me the words I will never forget: Life is like McDonalds. One day you get the Big Mac, whilst others you just get simple Chicken Nuggets. However, sometimes, you only get whats available and have no say in the matter. Do you think a chicken wants to be killed to fill your stomach? Or a cow slaughtered to fill you up? No, sometimes, you have to accept defeat and walk along the path your life has chosen. This was a turning point in my life. I realized that in life, you dont always get what you wanted. Fortunately, some people learn this in simple ways such as not winning the game you wanted, or not getting that pretty girl to go out with you. Unfortunately for me, I learnt this the hard way. Leaving all that I knew behind, to start a fresh life in Jakarta. Sometimes you only want something, like staying in Singapore, because its the safe way out. However, moving to Jakarta was a risk and a scary adventure.

PETRONAS Company Overview and Analysis

PETRONAS Company Overview and Analysis PETRONAS is the short for Petroliam National Berhad. As an incorporated company, it was founded on the 17th of August 1974. It was wholly owned and controlled by the government of Malaysia. PETRONAS has ventured into more than 32 countries including Argentina, Russia and Egypt. It currently employs over 30, 000 employees of 38 nationalities. PETRONAS has involved in the entire petroleum activities. From managing the sharing contractors of the foreign production, it has been changed into developing its own capabilities in the upstream sector allow it to take the lead in the exploration and production of the nations oil and gas resources. Vested with the entire oil and gas resources in Malaysia, PETRONAS is entrusted by the government to develop and add value to these resources. Besides that, it also ventured into downstream activities. It seeks to maximize value creation and strengthen of its operations all the way down the value chain. The range downstream activities of PETRONAS includes oil refining, gas processing and liquefaction, gas transmission pipeline operations, petrochemical manufacturing and marketing, property investment, shipping, marketing of liquefied natural gas, marketing and distribution of petroleum products, and trading. Internal Environment There is a high level of interdependence between an organization and its internal environment. The internal environment comprises elements that have a direct influence on the operations of the organization. They have an impact on the achievement of the organizations goals. The Micro forces of the environment are: Vision and Mission PETRONAS is a big organization and a corporation which is widely known to the world as a company that exports Malaysian oil. Being a big organization, PETRONAS has its very own vision and mission to achieve its common goal and to serve its customers the best service they can provide. As we all know vision is a long-term plan that exists in almost every company or organization. PETRONASs vision statement is to be a leading oil and gas multinational of choice. It is hoping to become a worldwide known organization and also the first choice among all other oil companies present so far. PETRONAS mission statements, on the other hand, are as follows: We are a business entity. Petroleum is our core business. Our primary responsibility is to develop and add value to this national resource. Our objective is to contribute to the well-being of the people and the nation. (PETRONAS, 2010) The mission and vision PETRONAS believes has made it grows tremendously since it was incorporated in the month of August on the 17th in the year 1974. It is now a fully-integrated oil and gas corporation which is ranked among FORTUNE Global 500s largest corporation in the world. Organizational structure Organizational structure is the internal, formal framework of a business that shows the way in which management is linked together and how authority is transmitted. (Stimpson, 2006) PETRONAS adopts the functional organization structure. It enables specialization and allowing its employees to focus on their respective areas. There is cross functional bonds between the respective divisions and departments. It is the bond and process of specialization that has led to the success of the organization. Team work is encouraged, all the departments work together to achieve the companys goals and targets. This has proved to rewarding for the organization as a whole and the employees, customers, suppliers and the community as a whole. The line of authority is clearly drawn, orders are sent from the top most level, the president and the CEO. PETRONAS has also hired consultants to improve business and organization results. Functional Strategies Corporate Planning and development division This division plans long term and short term business strategies which lead to the development of the organization. Education division This division undertakes the responsibility of all the educational activities associated with PETRONAS. It involves the scholarships provided by University Technology PETRONAS and the education programs provided to the underserved community. Finance division The Finance division provides the company with its accounting and financial reporting backbone of the company. Its role is to identify financial sources to finance the operations of the company and to locate profitable areas where the business can invest their money to get higher returns. PETRONAS is involved in the sports world through its investment with Mercedes F1team. It has also contributed towards the development of Turkmenistan economy, by investing US dollar $ 1.8 billion in the oil and gas industries. Technical Services division This division is set up to drive and manage the technological activities of PETRONAS. Human Resource division The most important function of the human resource department is recruitment, selection and training of employees among others. PETRONAS selects the best and brightest of employees through talent searches amongst local and overseas graduate. PETRONAS trains and molds its own employees through technical training and innovative program provided in University Technology PETRONAS. Shareholders Shareholders of a firm can directly influence its policies and activities. PETRONAS shareholder is the government. It generates income and value for its shareholder. PETRONAS gave the government RM 52.3 billion from its RM86.8 billion pre-tax profit, in the form royalty, dividends, corporate tax, income tax and export duty. PETRONAS provides shareholders with the opportunity to gain first hand exposure on the Companys operations by organizing several visits to its Gas Processing Plants. Such two-way communication increases corporate transparency and helps shareholders take a longer term view of their investment based on a better understanding of the companys corporate strategy and operation. PETRONAS recognizes the importance of timely and equal dissemination of information to shareholders. Therefore they arrange the Annual General Meeting (AGM) which is a crucial mechanism in shareholders communication. Employees PETRONAS must be committed to enhancing the capability of its employees, as a corporation is only as good as the people who work for it. This phrase is from PETRONAS mission statement. Employees are the most important asset of an organization, since it is the dedication, motivation and skills of an employee that make a business successful. PETRONAS highly values its employees and understands the importance of their motivation. Therefore it arranges various programmes to encourage and support its employees by involving them in voluntary work. Programmes such as Sentuhan Kasih and Jalinan Insan allow their employees to contribute to homes for disadvantaged children and orphans in the areas of their operations. These programmes provide the employees with job satisfaction, which in return highly motivates them to perform better. Community Lord Holme and Richard Watts used the following definition. Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large The culture now is to be generous by giving back to the community. Therefore organizations have certain responsibility towards the community they work in. PETRONAS is a responsible citizen of the community, thus is has successfully imitated and supported various social, environmental and community projects. PETRONAS and Education PETRONAS is committed is developing the people and they operate in by providing education particularly in the field on science and technology. They are determined to create a skilled human resource base for Malaysia through various schemes. Scholarships University technology PETRONAS (UTP) provides hands on technical training and innovative programs to help employees build skills and competencies. PETROSAINS provides a rich and motivating environment for the public to acquire knowledge about science and technology. PETRONAS benefits from this program since they are molding their own workforce, by educating them in standards which are important to PETRONAS. PETRONAS and Environment PETRONAS recognizes the importance of conserving biological diversity in order to ensure people, animals and plants. Therefore they developed the KUALA LUMPUR CITY CENTRE (KLCC) PARK, to balance the challenging demands of growing urban populations, with the environmental conservation. A much needed public park and green lung for the city of Kuala Lumpur. External Environment External environment refers to the factors that happen outside the business which cannot be controlled by the business. These factors will influence the internal functions of the business and its strategies to adapt itself to the changing environment. Political Environment The Malaysian government chose to create a state company, rather than using taxes, production limits, leasing, or other familiar instruments of supervision. The government sought to assert national rights over the use of the countrys resources. A state company, having both supervisory powers over the majors and production activities of its own, was a workable compromise between allowing the majors full rein and excluding them, along with their capital and expertise, altogether. PETRONAS is given full trust by Malaysia government to conduct business independently from the government. Government holds 100% of PETRONAS and formulates and implements energy policies including oil gas. The company cooperates with the government for the common purpose to develop the country to achieve the level of advanced countries. Regarding the relationship between PETRONAS and the government, one executive in the company said, There is a world, especially in the Third World, where only the government and the government (GG) can open the first door. He claimed that there is the world which does not function well with the absence of mutual trust between the government and the national oil company. Legal Environment Legal concepts, principles and issues are affecting everyday business decisions of all organizations. PETRONAS is a multinational organization. Therefore the company is subjected to laws in all of its host countries. Petroleum Development Act 1974 To regulate the oil and gas industry to achieve Malaysias economic development needs, Petroleum Development Act 1974 was formulated, and PETRONAS was established under this act. Through this act, PETRONAS owns the exclusive right of ownership, exploration and production of petroleum and gas. Under the direct purview of Malaysias Prime Minister, PETRONAS is responsible for its planning, investment and regulation of all up-stream activities. Government Taxation PETRONAS is liable to pay to the Federal and State Government in terms of dividends, taxes, export duties and royalties. In the year of 2009, PETRONAS has paid RM 30.0 billion as dividends, RM20.3 billion as income tax, RM 9.1 billion as corporate income tax, RM 2.2 billion as export duties and RM 6.2 billion as royalties to the government (PETRONAS: Media Release, 2009). Laws Regarding Employee Benefits On the other hand, nearly all government pass laws to control recruitment, employment, minimum wages, health and safety at work, and trade union rights of employees. One of its aims is to protect the workers from any kind of physical injuries. It requires the working environment in PETRONAS to be safe with adequate equipment and sanitation. However, these requirements usually add up to the business cost. Consumer Rights In addition, PETRONAS has to protect consumer rights. The Consumer rights seek to protect the rights and interest of consumers, as well as to prevent them from receiving products that do not reach a reasonable level of safety. PETRONAS sternly practices this as to ensure maximum popularity amongst other oil and gas company as well as looking after customer satisfaction. Economical Environment Economical environment refers to the collective of the nature of economic system in the country. It would affect a business in terms of recession, interest rates, exchange rates and global economic factors. Recession Recession is the process when values of goods and services decline in an economy. It results in the fall of demand for certain products, as income is reduced. To keep the demand on going, the prices of products are lowered. According to an article by Jane Lee in 2009, net income of PETRONAS in the year ended March 31 dropped 14%. It was its first annual profit decline in 7 years due to sapped energy demand in global recession and high production cost. Interest rates During inflation, there will be increase in the supply of money associated to the amount of goods available. This will result in a rise in prices of goods and services in the economy over a period of time. For PETRONAS, the high interest rates and fall of purchasing power would consequently affect the cash flow of the organization. Oil Price Oil Price has strong relationship with PETRONAS sales performance. When oil price in Malaysia increase, its sales will strongly increase, and when oil price in Malaysia decrease, its sales also decrease. Technological Environment In order to adapt itself to the rapid growing technological environment, an organization has to be versatile and recognises the value of technology to its business growth. PETRONAS is a technology dependent organization that promotes and uses technology vastly for research and development. It pursues the strategic deployment and application of technology to further enhance operational excellence and maximize the potential of its existing assets and emerging opportunities. Technology in Gas Business In the Gas Business, PETRONASs technology emphasizes on mercury management. With the initiatives to remove mercury from raw condensates, the onshore mercury removal system, a technology that is among the first in the world, has been installed at PETRONAS Onshore Gas Terminal in Kertih. This system is able to treat raw condensates at the terminal, to improve operational and Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) performance as well as to assure product quality. Technology in Oil Business In the Oil Business, PETRONAS continue to pursue leading edge technologies to enhance its fuels and lubricants businesses. PRIMAX 3, the unleaded petrol, was developed in-house utilizing a superior quality fuel formulation innovated by optimising base fuel properties through the addition of the Sinar G-05 additive (PETRONAS: Oil Business, 2010). While meeting environmental standards, it enhances engine performance and efficiency. In addition, PETRONAS also believes there are opportunities in alternative energy resources and continue to explore the potential of hydrocarbon resources as well as solar energy and bio-fuels. In building a long term and sustainable energy business, the company looks toward Green Technologies to prepare for the future low-carbon economy. These technologies are believed to be providing a strong competitive advantage for PETRONAS to strengthen its position in global business. Competition In any of the industry, there must be competition among organizations. An organization will try to get more customers to buy their product instead of the one offered by the competitors. The success of organizations depends on which one makes the most attractive products at lower prices. The major competitors to PETRONAS are Shell and Caltex. They produce different type and efficiency of petrol. PETRONAS PETRONAS has designed PETRONAS PRIMAX 3 to provide maximum protection and performance for your car. By formulating with unique additive components, PETRONAS PRIMAX 3 efficiently protects the engine against injector fouling and corrosion, reinstating the car to its peak performance to improve fuel economy. Shell However, Shell is the leader in developing high quality fuels. Shell Super with fuel economy formula is specially designed by Shell experts to give you extra miles at no extra cost. It is formulated with Shells Synthetic Viscous Friction Improver, designed to reduce friction in this crucial part of your engine, helping to improve its efficiency. Caltex On the other hand, all Caltex petrols now include technologically-advanced, patented fuel ingredient, Techron ®. Caltex Techron with cleaning agent is unsurpassed at keeping engines clean and cleaning up deposits to help reinstate original performance. It contains powerful detergents which help in removing deposits from fuel injectors intake ports and valves. The key benefits for using Techron ® are improved performance, enhanced reliability, smoother drive, restored fuel economy and lower emissions. Comparing these petrol brands, each of them has its own strengths. They are having a healthy competition in the petrol industry with the same goal to provide the best petrol they could produce. Social Environment Social environment refers to the factors regarding the society as well as the environment. An organization needs to have social responsibilities in order to contribute to the people of the society and to protect natural environment. Social Responsibility on Consumer Many companies are affected by society and vice-versa. For PETRONAS, it was noticed that consumers are the foundation of the entire business, and dissatisfied customer could be a warning signal to the business. Therefore, it has to take care of societal needs and safeguard human rights. For example, it concerns about the safety and health of consumers. It has to make sure that it supplies safe products to the consumers and provides product knowledge via advertisements, as well as ensures product utility and performance as advertised. Social Responsibility on Environment In undertaking its business activities, PETRONAS cares for the environment by adopting responsible environmental management practices in its operations. At the same time, it also contributes to the biodiversity and conservation of the environment for the sake of the community. PETRONAS is taking every practicable and reasonable step to prevent the risk of injuries, health hazards and damages to properties in according to international Health, Safety and Environment standards. It is also investing in community-related initiatives in environmental conservation and urban renewal, both in Malaysia and other countries. These community projects aimed to create sustainable benefit and tangible value to the communities. Conclusion Over the years, PETRONASs unique experience and expertise, coupled with its technical and operational competencies have allowed it to be accepted as the preferred strategic partner by international companies and the host countries. Facing the adverse business and economic environment, PETRONAS is still able to integrate, add value and globalize its operations. These would bring the company towards the realization of its vision to become a Leading Oil and Gas Multinational of Choice. Moving forward, PETRONAS will continue to improve its business performance, strengthen its resilience and enhance its capabilities to confront the challenges in delivering a sustainable energy future for all its stakeholders. Moreover, it will guided by its objective to serve the nation and people with high standards of ethics and integrity, while at the same time maximizing shareholders returns. (3022 words)

Oxidative Decolourisation of Rosaniline Hydrochloride (RAH)

Oxidative Decolourisation of Rosaniline Hydrochloride (RAH) Kinetic, thermodynamic studies for oxidation of rosaniline hydrochloride dye by persulphate in ambient temperatures Z. M. Abou-Gamra* Abstract The kinetics of the oxidative decolourisation of rosaniline hydrochloride (RAH) by sodium persulphate was studied spectrophotometrically over pH range 3.5-9.5 at 30-45 oC. The reaction was second order with respect to dye and half order to persulphate. Increasing the pH of the medium increased the rate of decolourisation dramatically in alkaline medium. The Activation Parameters were found to be 62.11 kJ mol-1, 90.33 kJ mol-1 and -98.44J K-1 mol-1 with respect to activation energy, free energy and entropy respectively. Addition of sodium chloride and sodium sulphate had no effect on the rate of decolourisation. Key wards: Kinetics, Mechanism, Degradation, Rosaniline, Persulphate. 1. Introduction Textile dyeing process is significant source of environmental pollution. It produces large amounts of highly colored effluents, which generally toxic resistant to destruction by biological treatment methods. Many physical, chemical processes such as adsorption [1], electrochemical [2], photocatalytic [3] are used to remove the dyes from waste water. Chemical oxidative processes seem to provide an opportunity for future use in industrial wastewater. Examples of such potentially effective chemical oxidants for oxidative processes include Fenton reagent [4-5], KBrO3 [6-7] and KClO3 [8]. *corresponding author e-mail: [emailprotected] The use of persulfate has recently attention as an alternative oxidant in the chemical oxidation of contaminants [9-12]. Persulphate (KPS) is one of the strongest oxidants known in aqueous solution and has a higher potential (Eo = 2.01 V) than H2O2 (Eo = 1.76 V) [13] Table 1. It offers some advantages over other oxidants as a solid chemical at ambient temperature with ease of storage and transport, high stability, high aqueous solubility and relatively low cost. It has great capability for degrading numerous organic contaminants through free radicals ( SO4-. and HO.) generated in the persulphate system [12]. Basic dyes, such as, crystal violet, malachite green and roseaniline hydrochloride are used cotton tannin, mordant printing and dyeing in textile. Rosaniline is triphenylmethane dyes with amino group on each phenyl ring. Its structure is easily reducible where the chromophore group is destroyed and the compound loses its colour. Redox reaction of rosaniline hydrochloride by sulphite and nitrite ions are reported earlier [14-16]. This work focused on the kinetic study of oxidation of rosaniline hydrochloride with persulphate at ambient temperature spectrophotometrically. The effects of pH, dye, persulphate concentrations and temperature were studied. Also mechanism as well as rate law equation for the reaction is proposed. 2. Experimental 2.1. Reagents and materials All chemicals were of pure grade and were used without further purification. Rosaniline hydrochloride BDH (molecular weight =337.8, à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¬max = 540 nm). The chemical structure of (RAH) is given in (Fig.1). NaCl and Na2SO4 were purchased from Merck. All solutions were prepared using bidistilled water. Stock solutions of dye (1 mM), K2S2O8 (100mM) were prepared. The pH is adjusted by HCl and NaOH solutions. 2.2. Kinetic experiments All kinetic measurements were carried out using a Cecil 292 spectrophotometer equipped with a water-jacketed cell holder. The reactants (dye and K2S2O8+NaOH) were thermostated for 15 min., then mixed thoroughly and quickly transferred to an absorption cell. The progress of the reaction was monitored at 540 nm. The pH of the reaction was adjusted using Griffin pH-meter fitted with a combined glass calomel electrode. 3. Results and Discussion Kinetic study for oxidation of (RAH) by (KPS) was followed at à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¬max= 540nm. Figure 2 shows the decreasing of absorbance with time. Figure 2 also shows that about 85% of rosaniline is removed in 60 minutes at temperature 25 oC. 3.1 Kinetic study In the present study, zero-, first- and second-order reaction kinetics were used to study the decolourization kinetics of (RAH) by (KPS). The individual expression were represented below Ct = Co– kot lnCt = -k1t + ln Co 1/Ct = 1/Co+ k2t where Ct is the concentration of (RAH) at reaction time t. Regression analysis based on the zero-, first- and second-order reaction kinetics for the decolourization of (RAH) by (KPS) was conducted and the results were shown in (Fig. 3). Since plotting of At versus time did not give straight line zero-order kinetics is excluded. Comparing the regression coefficients (R2) obtained from (Fig. 3b) and (Fig. c), it can be seen that R2 of the second-order reaction kinetics (Fig. 3c) was 0.9995, which was obviously much better than that based on the first-order (R2 = 0.9394) reaction kinetics. The results indicated that the decolorization kinetics of (RAH) followed the second-order kinetics well. Based on the above analysis, the second-order kinetic rate constants for the decolourization of (RAH) at different reaction conditions were shown in Table 2. 3.2. Effect of pH A thermally activated persulphate oxidation system is known to involve SO4. and HO. radicals depending on the pH of the medium. According to literature survey, SO4. is predominant oxidant radicals at pHà ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¼ 7, both SO4. and HO. are present at neutral pH and HO. is predominant radical at pH à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¾ 9[9]. Keeping the concentration of (RAH), (KPS) and temperature constant and change the pH in range 3.5 to 9.5, the rate of reaction is increased by increasing the pH value, (Fig. 4). Increasing the pH in range 3.5 to 9.5 increased observed rate constant from 6.7x 10-4 to 6.8 x 10-3 mol dm3 s-1, Table 2. This is probably attributed to the effect of hydroxyl ion on (RAH) which converting it to a carbinol base with no conjugation structure. All studies have done at pH = 9 since dyeing cotton performed in alkaline medium [17]. 3.3. Effect of dye concentration The effect of initial (RAH) concentration of aqueous solution of rosaniline on oxidation process by persulphate was investigated since pollutant concentration is important parameter in wastewater treatment. The observed rate constant decreases linearly with increasing the initial concentration of rosaniline, (Fig. 5). This is attributed to relatively lower of SO4-. and HO. results from the increasing of rosaline concentration while concentration of persulphate and hydroxyl ions remains the same. The obtained results was in good agreement earlier reported [18-19]. 3.4. Effect of persulphate concentration Increasing the persulphate concentration in rang 410-3 to 2.4x 10-2 mol dm-3 increasing the rate constant from 3.1310-3 to 9.9210-3 mol-1dm3 s-1 at pH= 9 and temperature 40oC, Table 2. Plotting of log kobs versus log [K2S2O8] give straight line of slope equals 0.63 indicating the order of reaction with respect to persulphate is half, (Fig. 6). This is similar to results obtained by T. Mushinga and S. Jonnalagadda [20]. Also the fraction order ( n = 0.779) with respect to persulphate is obtained by M. Ahmadi et al[19]. 3.5. Effect of temperature The variation of the temperature in range of 303-318 K increases the rate of decolourization of rosaniline, (Fig. 7). The activation energy was calculated from Arrhenius plot and Eyring equation and was found to be 62.11 kJ mol-1. The activation energy for decolourisation of RY84 was 45.84 kJ mol-1[19] while for decolourisation of CV by persulphate was 28.9 kJ mol-1[18]. Chen-Ju Liang and Shun-Chin Huang demonstrated that the activation energy for MB with persulphate was 87 and 90 kJ mol-1 in acidic and alkaline medium respectively [9]. The other activation parameters were determined and are found to be 90.33 kJ mol-1 and -98.44 JK-1 for free energy and entropy respectively. 3.6. Effect of inorganic anions The potent effect of persulphate as oxidizing agent in destroying the organic contaminants is high redox potential of sulphate free radical. The presence of other species in waste water such as chloride, sulphate and phosphate could reduce its oxidation efficiency. It is reported earlier [21] that chloride can react with sulphate free radicals according to the following mechanism: Chloride concentrations had insignificant effect in studied range [0.008- 0.08 mol dm-3]. Also the presence of sulphate did not reduce the decolourisation rate. Similar results are observed earlier [21-23]. 4. Reaction Mechanism and Rate Law The probable mechanism of reaction involves the break of conjugation of roseaniline hydrochloride. Since the fraction order of persulphate is observed, It likely that the initial reaction is thermal decomposition of persulphate, Applying equilibrium approximation and assuming an equilibrium between the reactant and product of (eq. 1) From (eqs.5 6) If the proposed mechanism and rate low are probable, so plotting of kobs versus [S2O82-]1/2 should yielded straight line passing by origin and the slope should be equals k x K1/2. Using the data in Table 3 and the plot gave straight line passing by the origin with slope =0.065 (R2 = 0.9557) which support the proposed mechanism. Conclusion In this study, (RAH) was successfully degraded in aqueous solutions by the persulphate and it was found that the reaction of (RAH) degradation follows the second-order kinetic model with respect to (RAH) and half order to persulphate. The activation energy for (RAH) degradation with the persulphate was determined to be 62.11 kJ mol-1.The presence of inorganic ions such as NaCl and Na2SO4 had no effects on the (RAH) degradation. References 1- Z. M. A bou-Gamra, H. A. Medien, Kinetic, thermodynamic and equilibrium studies of Rhodamine B adsorption by low cost of biosorbent sugar cane bagasse Eur. Chem. Bull., 2(7) (2013) 417-422. 2-M. JoviĆ¡, D. StankoviĆ¡, D. ManojloviĆ¡, I. AnÄ‘elkoviĆ¡, A. MiliĆ¡, B. DojÄ inoviĆ¡1, G. RogliĆ¡, Study of the electrochemical oxidation of reactive textile dyes using platinum electrode, Int. J. Electrochem. Sci., 8 (2013) 168-183. 3-J. Ã…  Ãƒ ­ma, P. Hasal, Photocatalytic degradation of textile dyes in aTiO2/UV system chemical engineering transaction 32 (2013) 79-84. 4- Z. M. Abou-Gamra, Kinetic of decoloration of alizarine red S in aqueous media by Fenton like mechanism, Eur. Chem. Bull., 3(1) (2014) 108-112. 5- H. A. Medien, S. M. E. Khalil, Kinetics of the oxidative decolorization of some organic dyes utilizing Fenton-like reaction in water J. King Saud Univ. (Science), 22 (2010) 147-153. 6-A.H. Gemeay, G.R. El-Ghrabawy, A.B. Zaki, Kinetics of the oxidative decolorization of Reactive Blue-19 by acidic bromate in homogeneous and heterogeneous media Dyes Pigments 73 (2007) 90-97. 7-M. Nasiruddin Khan, Z. Siddiqui, F. Uddin, Kinetic and mechanism study of the oxidative decolorization of neutral Red by bromate in micellar Medium, J. Iran. Chem. Soc., 6(3) (2009), 533-541. 8- Y. Mohammed, A.C. Etonihu, V.A. Tsa, Hexamethylpararosaniline chloride (crystal violet) oxidation by chlorate ions in aqueous acidic medium: approach to the mechanism of reaction, Trakia J. Sci. 9 (2011) 1-7. 9-C. Liang, S. Huang, Kinetic model for sulfate/hydroxyl radical oxidation of methylene blue in a thermally-activated persulfate system at various pH and temperatures, Sustain Environ. Res., 22(4) (2012) 199-208. 10-C. Liang, Z. Wang, C. J. Bruell, Influence of pH on persulfate oxidation of TCE at ambient temperatures, Chemosphere 66 (2007) 106-113. 11-X. Xu, X. Li, Degradation of azo dye Orange G in aqueous solutions by persulfate with ferrous ion, Separation and Purification Technology 72 (2010) 105-111. 12-X. Xu, S. Li, J. Liu, Y. Yu, H. Li, Activation of persulfate and Its environmental application, International J. of Environment and Bioenergy, 1(1) (2012) 60-81. 13- D.C. Harris, Quantitative Chemical Analysis, 4th Edition, W.H. Freeman and Company, New York, 1995. 14- J.F. Iyun,. H.M. Lawal, Non- metal redox kinetics; the reduction of pararosaniline chloride by sulphite ions acidic solutions, J. Chem. Soc. Nigeria 22(1997)155-159. 15- O.A. Babatunde, Kinetics and mechanism of reduction of parafuchsin by nitrite Ions in aqueous Acid Medium, World Journal of Chemistry 4 (1) (2009) 39-44. 16- J.F. Iyun, O.D. Onu, Nigerian J. Chem. Research, 3 (1998), 24. 17- A. Walters, D. Santillo, P. Johnston, â€Å"An Overview of Textiles Processing and Related Environmental Concerns†. Greenpeace Research Laboratories, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4PS, UK, 2005, p.16. 18-L.M.A. Fayoumi, M.A. Ezzedine, H.H. Akel, M.M. El Jamal, Kinetic study of the degradation of crystal violet by K2S2O8 comparison with malachite green, Portugaliae Electrochimica Acta 30(2) (2012) 121-133. 19- M. Ahmadi, J. Behin, A. R. Mahnam, Kinetics and thermodynamics of peroxydisulfate oxidation of reactive yellow 84, Journal of Saudi Chemical Society (2013), in press. 20- T. Mushinga, S. B. Jonnalagadda, A kinetic approach for the mechanism of malachite green-peroxydisulphate reaction in aqueous solution, International Journal of Chemical Kinetics, 24 (1992), 41-49. 21-Y. Lee, S. Lo, J. Kuo, C. Hsieh, Decomposition of perfluorooctanoic acid by microwave activated persulfate: Effects of temperature, pH, and chloride ions, Frontiers Environ. Sci. Engin., 6(1) (2012), 17-25. 22-B. E. T. Soares, M. A. Lansarin, C. C. Moro, A study of process variables for catalytic degradation, Braz. J. Chem. Eng., 24(1) (2007) 29- 36. 23-A. H. Mcheik, M. M. El Jamal, Kinetic study of the decolorization of rhodamine B with persulphate, iron activation, Journal of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 48(4) (2013) 357-365. 1

Isolation of a Urea Degrading Bacteria :: Biology

Isolation of a Urea Degrading Bacteria Introduction Urea was the first organic chemical to be synthetically produced1, previously it was thought that only living creatures could produce organic compounds Urea is naturally produced by the kidneys as waste from the degradation of amino acids. It is because of this that urea is commonly found in soils and is a useful nutrient source for bacteria that are able to utilise it, such as, Helicobacter pylori, Klebsiella pneumonia, all species of Proteus and Micrococcus luteus. These bacteria degrade urea in a reaction catalysed by the urease enzyme, CO(NH2)2 + H2O Ã  CO2 + 2NH3. this process benefits the bacteria in several ways. The bacteria use the ammonia that is produced for respiration, the products also raise the pH of the environment. This promotes the growth of many urea degrading bacteria and inhibits competition from many other bacterial species. M. luteus is commonly found on mammalian skin and it is unusual for a member of the natural human flora to degrade urea. It is believed that M. luteus has this ability as an evolutionary hangover from its life in its ancestral soil habitat. In this environment urea is readily available and the ability to degrade it is a distinct advantage. As the species evolved to live on skin the trait remained, as it had no negative effect on survivability. Micrococcus is a genus within the Micrococcaceae family. With the use of 16s RNA in bacterial taxonomy the genus has recently been revised2. The genus now includes three species, M. luteus, M. lylae and M. antarcticus3. M. luteus is a common yellow gram-positive coccus and roughly 0.5-2.0mm in diameter. Cells appear in pairs, tetrads and irregular clusters but never in chains.4 Method of Isolation * Isolate a variety of organisms from soil and skin. By taking samples from four different sources (three skin and one soil) the chance of urea degrading bacteria being present was increased. * Culture in nutrient broth. This allowed all isolated microbes to grow. * Plate sample onto urea plates. On these plates urea was the only nutrient available, this meant that any bacteria that grew could degrade urea. * Perform urease test. Isolated bacteria are grown in a broth containing phosphate buffer, yeast extract, 2% urea and phenol red. An agar slope of the medium is heavily inoculated and incubated at 370c for at least four hours. If the organism only has low urease activity the phosphate buffer will neutralise the NH3 produced. A red colour indicates that NH3 has been produced and the result is positive5. * Perform Gram stain. This is the most important stain in bacteriology and differentiates between gram positive and gram-negative cell walls, which indicates

The Effects of Aerobic Exercise Among Adolescents with Mild to Moderate

The Effects of Aerobic Exercise Among Adolescents with Mild to Moderate Depression Kaplan and Sadock (as cited in Brollier, Hamrick & Jacobson, 1994) stated that depression, during the teen years, has become an increasing area of concern in psychiatry (Kaplan & Sadock, 1991. Kashani, Carlson, Beck, Hoeper, Corcoran, McAllister, Fallahi, Rosenberg and Reid (as cited in Brollier, Hamrick ,& Jacobson, 1994) studied the prevalence of depression in adolescents and reported that approximately 8% of adolescents experienced depressive disorders. Kaplan and Sadock (as cited in Brollier et al., 1994) suggested that new forms of treatment are needed when dealing with adolescents because adolescents often do not respond well to medications, electroconvulsive therapy, and psychotherapy, which are used on adults. Exercise, or physical activity, of an aerobic nature has been widely used as part of the recommended medical treatment for many health problems, and the physiological health benefits associated with exercise have been well documented. Brown, Ramierez,, and Taub (as cited in Mihevic, 1982) have stated that within recent years, exercise has been increasingly used for the treatment of depression as well. The results of a study conducted by Maroulakis and Zerva (1993) have shown that all dimensions of mood were positively affected by exercise to a significant extent. They went further to say that exercise is the most important natural mood modulator. Many studies have been conducted which examine the effects of aerobic exercise on depression scores of normal adult patients, and adult patients with depression. One such study, conducted by McCann and Holmes (1984), concluded that participation in a program of strenuous aerobi... ... on mood of adult women. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 76, 795-801. McCann, I.L., & Holmes, D.S. (1984). Influence of aerobic exercise on depression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 1142-1147. Milhevic, P.M. (1982). Anxiety, depression and exercise. Quest, 33, 140-153. Norris, R., Carroll, D., & Cochrane, R. (1990). The effects of aerobic and anaerobic training on fitness, blood pressure, and psychological stress and well-being. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 34, 367-375. Norris, R., Carroll, D., & Cochrane, R. (1991). The effects of physical activity and exercise training on psychological stress and well-being in the adolescent population. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 36, 55-65. Stein, P.N., & Motta, R.W. (1992). Effects of aerobic and nonaerobic exercise on depression and self-concept. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 74, 79-89.

Arhurian Romances Essay -- essays research papers

Chretein de Troyes, Arthurian Romances   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From the Classical age through the medieval age, women were greatly disrespected. They did not have any say in anything and were not appreciated. In Classical texts such as The Odyssey, the women were treated as if they were animals. They did not have the respect of others and some were thought of as whores. In the stories of Erec and Enide, Lancelot, and Perceval, we see a dramatic change in this, due to the system of government that Arthur entails giving them the freedom and rights they deserved. The new man to woman relationship brought about in these stories is very different then the past stories we have read from the classical age. This system gave great honor and respect to women, which became part of the chivalric code that was followed by the knights and royalty of that time.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The courtly relationship between man and woman is the theme created throughout the stories in the Arthurian Romances. The ideas of courtly love and chivalry are su mmarized in these stories. We see many instances where knights go out of their way to please their woman. Once a knight chooses his woman, she thought of as his chattel, or property. He can do what he pleases with her and she must listen to him or possibly be killed. He respects and loves her as long as she is loyal and faithful to him. If someone were to interfere in his or her relationship, they would fight ‘til death or until someone begs for mercy. The knights fought for the most beautiful and did what they pleased with them. They fought for them if necessary to keep respect for themselves and for their maiden. This is what the chivalric ideology was based on and so the knights followed and respected it.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the story of Erec and Enide we see how some women affect the lifestyle and choices that the knights make due to their love. The woman was the prize possession to every man. They were won in various games that were played by the knights. Different cere monies were held to award to the winner the most beautiful woman in the land. We can see here that women were so important that a knight had to prove he was the best at what he did to gain her hand. These types of games were normal in this time since the woman was respected so much more. Competition was also based on who was th... ...confess all his sins and feels guilty about all he has done. He meets up with the lady he raped and her knight on a quest. He confesses all he has done to her along with his other sins and this infuriates the knight. They battle and Perceval defeats him and sends him to his maiden. All he defeats he send to his maiden as a gift to show her that he still loves her. Through his atonement and courtly love, Perceval returns back to normal and remains King Arthur’s faithful knight. In conclusion I feel that the medieval period allowed the women to gain a powerful status in society. They gained honorable reputations and were respected by everyone. The chivalric attitudes that the knights obtained allowed for an uprising of the public status between the sexes. Their attitudes toward each other had a tremendous change from the classical era to the Medieval one. We can still see the medieval attitude today towards some women. Some men go out of their way to help the lady. Men open doors for ladies and keep them warm. Instead of them being called knights, they are called gentlemen. This can be an indication of the existence of medieval knights and the chivalric code they followed.

Article on the Discussions of the EMC Problems

The purpose of this article is to discuss the EMC problem and to briefly illustrate its relevance in the development, manufacturing and sale of commercial escalator components in Australia. The intent audiences of this report are engineers and managers from WTM, an escalator development company planning on entering the Australian market. Electromagnetic interference or EMI caused by radiation has been a known problem ever since the very earlier days of the electronic age. In some cases, electromagnetic interference can cause severe conflicts between electronic devices operating in the same environment. Today, with the rapid spread of electrical and electronic devices, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) has become a subject gathering ever increasing interests and attention. Electromagnetic compatibility is known as the discipline of designing, analysing and testing of electronic equipment, to ensure that they are compatible with their electromagnetic environment. By conforming to the EMC regulations in the design stage, we reduce the potential of discovering design problem after the design has left the development laboratory. The definition of EMC can also be described using the terms EMI and EMS. MES is electromagnetic susceptibility or immunity. Thus, a electronic device must have an EMI emission below that of the defined maximum limit and must remain in fault-free operation with interference below the EMS limit. In a carefully controlled environment, such as in an airliner, passengers can be kept from using equipment which might cause interference with the airliners navigational and communication system. But this is not a realistic solution for an escalator system. The use of some electronic equipment in the close proximity of the elevator is inevitable and necessary. Hence, the main problem facing all elevator equipment developers is the need for sufficient equipment and component shielding thus preventing unwanted electromagnetic frequencies from entering or exiting devices and interfering with other control circuitry. This limits the unwanted electromagnetic radiation and ensures that components will continue to function in the presence of EMI from other electronic devices. To accomplish this, equipment designer and manufacturers must take reasonable precautions and be aware of the issues and regulations explained in the following section. In today†s world of electronics, it is necessary to deal with standards for electronic emission and susceptibility levels. The standards are guidelines for emission and susceptibility limits allowing electronic devices to coexist in the same environment. These standards are not static, as technology improves, new standards are established while existing standards are abolished. Manufacturers should refer to the suite of mandatory standards to determine the standards applying to the product. An escalator as a product comprises of many component parts, it is physically large and widely distributed. It is impossible to test a lift for compliance on site due to the fact that the test results are not reproducible. Thus, generic EMC standards are not appropriate. In this case product-specific standard which has been tailored to the specific circumstance and design of the product would apply and take precedence over generic standard. Normally, a product†s conformity has to be proof-read by a type test on EMI and EMS. The results must be within the allowed tolerances and must be independent from when and where it was performed. The EMC standards define the artificial interfaces, test equipment to be used and the set up of the test environment allowing reproducible measurements to be done on EMI and EMS. Developers should only use accredited ad trustworthy test laboratories for EMC tests. Once verification is complete, manufacturers is entitled to a Conformity Declaration. Each product must then be labelled according to the label specification. The label allows the origin of the product to be traced. In Australia and most other industrialise nations, devices without certification can not be sold. It is the responsibilities of the suppliers or manufacturers to ensure that all products on the market satisfy the technical requirement of the Australian EMC framework. Most of the time, a elevator comprises of components sourced from many manufacturers, in this case, the installer is considered the manufacturer. Thus, the components manufacturer must provide the installer with a declaration of conformity. Generally, the earlier EMC is taken into account during development, the lower the expense. From test cases, additional production costs fall between 1-5%. If the issue of EMC is considered after the development phase, the production costs can be significant higher. And if measures were taken after production, the costs will increase by another 30%. Apart from suffering lower profit, the entire manufacturing process will experience long delays, thus reduced market share. Due to high EMC test equipment cost, sometimes EMC measures are given to an external consultant. However, highest flexibility is achieved by doing pre-compliance testing and basic EMC measures in the company during development and give compliance testing and EMC fine tuning to the experts of EMC consultant. In any case, there should be at least one person in the company responsible for the management of EMC regulations, engineering and contacts to the consultants. For a product containing electric or electronic components, EMC is a quality feature just like others. Products without EMC certification do not have a standing ground on the Australia market. To be compliant with the Australian EMC regulations, work need to be carried out in every stage of the development cycle, from the design phase right through to the marketing and installation phase. Thus it is very important for TWM to consult the Australian Spectrum Management Agency of the Australian Communications Authority for a more concise reference for implementing measures which must be taken to assure that the products complies to the Australia EMC Standards.

Are humanities relevant to the 21st century Essay

In this annotated bibliography I will be trying to answer the question of the importance of humanities in the 21st century. I will be using sources from newspapers, books and blogs in which I found either in the UEA library, internet and other sources of information. I will be making summaries of the content which I read and evaluate the source as a whole, for this annotated bibliography most of the sources which I came across coincidently were about the usefulness of the humanities in education or in the work place in the 21st century. In addition, I incorporated film, literature, art and history making my range of sources broad. 1) Arnheirn Rudolf, 1932, film as Art, London, university of California press This book is mainly about theory, the authors main argument is that human beings are losing their ability of creativity. For example, the author talks about the â€Å"limitations of the medium, the absence of sound, the absence of colour and the lack of three dimensional depth† Arnheirn Rudolf (1932), these limitations created a new distinct art however due to advancement everything is about realism and because of these advancement creativity has been lost in the world of film. â€Å"The thoughts that made the picture move† Arnheirn Rudolf (1932) can be interpreted as realism bringing truths of world into the limelight such as the violence which occurred around the world. As a source it has very little relevance to the humanities in the 21st century, when reading this book it seemed very personal to the author the way he wrote it seemed as if he is defending something very important to him. Also, from what I had read there wasn’t much evidence to support his claims and was more like an aggressive rant about the mechanical advancements in the film industry. 2) Belfiore Elenora and Upchurch Anna, 2013, Humanities in the 21st century, Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan This book is mainly a collection of essays and articles from different authors that has been edited by the authors. They talk mainly about the connection between the markets and the humanities. Their main aim was to â€Å"exercise of critiquing the present state of the humanities within and outside of the academic practise† Belfiore Elenora and Upchurch Anna (2013). The authors describe the history of the humanities and stated that the humanities came from the united states which spread to great Britain and then explained that social science came out of humanities which is why the humanities is the parent of the social science. The two authors compiled a collection of original essays that tackle the question however I did not read any views the authors had. 3) Corrigan timothy, 2012, film and literature: and introduction and reader, second edition, Abingdon, Routledge. Timothy Corrigan’s main argument is that he argues without the literature there will be no film and they need each other. â€Å"While the blockbusters harry potter films would constantly draw masses of young people/readers to the movie theatres and lines of moviegoers into the bookstore† Corrigan timothy (2012). He also argues there is a renewed interest in literature and film as â€Å"30% of movies today derive from novels and 50% of books classified as best sellers have been adapted to cinema† which enforces his argument that literature in fact is still important. Later in the chapter he gives disadvantages of turning novels into film by stating it destroys our imagination. When reading a novel we use our imagination to create a reality in the novels world however when watching a film adaption of that same novel your imagined world becomes the film directors interpretation and your imagined creation is lost. In this book the author clearly states 4 disadvantages of literature and not one positive or advantages to literature making me think that his views to a certain extent is biased. In addition, this book contains bucket loads of information from theories to history of film and this book is an educational one therefore contains information directed to students and is also the second edition generally meaning is an improvement to the first edition. 4) Grafton Anthony, (2010), 05/11/2013, Defending the Humanities, www. youtube. com Grafton Anthony is a historian that delivered a lecture in the University of Hampshire. He argues against a claim that humanities as a subject is ‘dying’. His argument boldly states that professors teaching the humanity  subjects are being force feed useless knowledge and information which will not help undergraduates in the future. He states that humanists should be creators of conversations between the graduates, the historical thinkers, ancient musicians and great artists which is critical and exciting, instead of creating of theories and drop everything we teach though it ‘like a sausage grinder’. He concludes, and states that humanities as a subject is improving and is always being rewritten when new information is available. Grafton Anthony uses the American civil war as an example, as a child Grafton Anthony in school had never heard of the presence of the African Americans in the civil war and parents would never take their children to historic battle sites because they felt offended. However, in today’s age African American parents joyfully take their children to these sites due to historians re-writing history and creating a true story that African Americans were in fact involved in the civil war. This lecture was really about promoting humanities as a subject. This is a good source as it emphases the problems of humanities being taught in the 21st century and also gives information on how to improve humanities in general in addition; his points are being reinforced by Bill Smoot who also had similar ideologies. 5) Grafton t. Anthony and Grossman James, 2013, the chronicle of higher education: the humanities dubious battle, 19th October 2013, pages 13. The authors as a summary basically belittles the humanities and talks about history are not needed in the economic and capitalist world. He quotes â€Å"Why would a company like Enterprise Rent-A-Car care if a prospective employee took the initiative to read the company history? What could the study of the past contribute to a career in, say, medicine? † Grafton t. Anthony and Grossman James (2013). He also makes the point that the humanities do not lead into any clear cut career than let’s say engineering, medicine and law. They then go on to say that the humanities is not totally dead as from a Harvard report stated that there are more people studying humanities in private universities and are mainly for the ‘elites’ â€Å"Humanities education provides the foundation for leadership, and wider access to such education implies wider access to positions of leadership. † Grafton t. Anthony and Grossman James (2013). Personally I didn’t like this source as the authors slightly changed their view from stating that the humanities is a rubbish subject to learn to the humanities being this epic subject that only the ‘elites’ should learn. The source was very simple to read and it seem to ‘speak’ to you as if you were having a conversation with the writer and made you think about subject. In addition, an article which finally sits on the other side for a change, It was interesting to find a source and authors who argued that humanities is useless so reading from an objective view it was a new insight into the subject of the relevance of humanities in the 21st century. 6) Kagan Jeome. (2009) The Three Cultures: Natural Science, Social Sciences, and the Humanities in the 21st Century, Cambridge: Cambridge University press. This book defines the three cultures and then compares them to one another. The author’s main argument is that the three cultures cannot survive without the fuel each culture provides. One example used is climate change kagon Jeome (2009) stated 50,000 years ago climate changed in northern Europe which destroyed our protein supplies and in turn the human population in northern Europe dropped drastically therefore if humans were involved in climate change it would be more rapid. The author then concludes that the sciences and humanities need each other and are both important to the 21st century as without the literature humanities provided the less likely research may have taken place. The author is American psychologist suggesting that he is very well educated and has written many books in regard to psychology, the book was also published by the Cambridge university press meaning that it is more likely to be intellectual. The book was written in 2009 which in regard to humanities and his major points is not too long ago. However, this book was basically a revamp C. P. Snow’s work who was a chemist and novelist who published â€Å"the two cultures and scientific revolution† which was written in 1959. 7) Pring Richard, 1999, oxford review of education, political education: relevance of the humanities, p71-87, volume 25 issue, Taylor and Francis. In this article the Richard Pring puts an emphasis on education being used as tool to control the young to becoming a model citizen and uses the phrase â€Å"developing desirable attitudes†. He next explains why he used that phrase and backs up his point by stating the â€Å"government is worried about the consumption of drugs amongst young people; therefore, schools are being instructed to teach about their evil effects†. Furthermore later on in the article he explains why the humanities is important not only because the humanities teaches us how to be †Human† but it gives us the skills to incorporate into politics such as critical writing and analysis. This journal is very detailed but is rather old compared to evidence I can acquire from books, blogs or other forms of sources. A lot of things have changed since 1999 such as the economy, which has gone through major changes during this time so views have changed. In terms of relevance to the question is that it is relevant to a strong extent from a cultural view. He describes that humanities is all around us and is impossible to miss. 8) Small Helen, 2013, the value of the humanities, oxford, oxford university press The book value of the humanities provides a critical account of the principal arguments used to defend the value of the Humanities. The claims considered are: that the Humanities study the meaning-making practices of culture, and bring to their work a distinctive understanding of what constitutes knowledge and understanding. The authors of this book made a very deep arguments from the contribution of human happiness to the â€Å"driving force for democracy† Small Helen (2013). She later concludes that the purpose of the humanities is to explore the grounds for each argument, and test its validity for the present day and â€Å"promise to sharpen the terms of public debate† Small Helen (2013). I believe this a very good source, firstly because it is very modern and up to date, academic slightly hard to read aimed at the educated and scholars. The author is a professor of the English literature at the University of Oxford which suggests she is smart enough to look at this question from an objective view. 9) Smoot Bill, (2011), 04/11/2013, Humanities in the 21st century, http://www. edutopia. org/blog/humanities-twenty-first-century-bill-smoot , Online Blog This blog offers information about the humanities in the 21st century, the author writes about his personal experience and feelings to the killing of Osama Bin Laden. He writes about how he felt satisfied for the killing of a man who may or may not of deserved it and as a English teacher he takes an objective look on different people’s reactions to the news and states he saw people crying and praising the death of a man, another group were indifferent and quoted â€Å"it is unholy to gloat over the bodies of the dead† Smoot Bill (2011). He later explains that we need humanities to teach the students habits ‘of critical thought and the historical perspective necessary for citizenship in a democracy’. The blog is aimed for people in the position of power. In terms, of relevance to the question I believe it answers the question because his simplistic writing explains why humanities are needed in the 21st century. However, a blog is an individual record of opinions so it does not carry weight as a good source but it gives an opinion so in that respect it becomes useful but not very reliable. 10) Stern Nicholas, Mon 22 July 2013, Don’t neglect the importance of the humanities, the independent, pages 7. In this source, the message is a lot more political. Firstly Nicolas Stern describes that there is a shift in every subject due to the lack of trust in intuition and lack of confidence in existing ideas and models and politicians are not inspiring the younger generations. He later describes the Science, engineering and medicine are vital drivers of human progress and we must celebrate and nurture them. However, without the humanities and social sciences we can never find responses to the urgent issues that trouble us. He then backs up his points with facts and figures for example â€Å"The UK economy is now 75 per cent services, hugely reliant on the analytical, negotiating and communication skills which humanities and social sciences disciplines develop in people† Nicolas Stern (2013) and â€Å"Most of the leaders in public life – government, commerce, public sector – were educated in humanities and social science disciplines. † Nicolas Stern (2013). In my opinion I believe this is a very good source as the author makes a point and then backs up his points with evidence and statistics. It is also a newspaper article meaning that the general public have access to it and create an opinion about the matter. However, the only disadvantage about this article is that the author doesn’t write about the advantages and disadvantages of humanities and only keeps to the positives and belittles other subjects. 11) Vianello Andrea 16/11/2013, http://www. bronzeage. org. uk/the-value-of-the-arts-and-humanities-in-the-21st-century-a-report. aspx, blog The author of the blog describes that he went to a debate about the importance of the arts and humanities in the modern day life and business. During this debate the author states that at this debate everyone assumed that they all agreed on the fact that â€Å"the humanities in modern day society are pretty much over due to the subject having no impact on modern society† Vianello Andrea (2013). The author concludes; with his own personal opinion which was that the value of the humanities is unique in terms of the way humanists’ think and its potential for sciences and businesses and that graduates who have studied the humanities have been equipped with transferable skills and a unique way to approach and solve problems. The author makes valid points with evidence which makes the author argument about this subject stronger however, he criticized in a negative light all the researchers and educated opinion that did not agree with his side of the argument making his view very personal not hold a lot of weight as a source. In terms of relevance to the question it is very relevant however due to his opinion being very personal and biased it’s a useless source and weak in terms of argument. 12) Warwick Clare, Terras Mellissa, Nyhan Julianne, 2012, Digital humanities in practise, London, Facat publishing. The authors open up with the definition of what digital humanities is and defined it as â€Å"the collaboration of the arts and humanities with computing† Warwick Clare, Terras Mellissa, Nyhan Julianne (2012). The book mainly talks about the experience of three people in the University of City London which is the leading university for digital humanities.

Diversity in America Essay

Being in a diverse world I learned ethnic groups went through a lot during slavery. The way minorities were treated in the past was torture no person should experience in their life time. I learned every race has different ways of thinking and beliefs they feel strongly about in their culture [ (Jiwani, 1996) ]. When it comes to being a success some cultures feel you need to be happy and positive to get to the top and others disagree. Important facts I have learned about my racial ethnicity is my culture arrive in the 19th century and they were stereotyped. They were not recognized on applications for employment [ (Jiwani, 1996) ]. My race did not give up and ignored the stereotyped that others thought of them. I also discovered my heritage celebrates in March and we are considered to be 2 years older than the average American. According to (Joel), 2010. In 2050 America will have added 100 million to its population [ (kotkin, 2010) ]. The fertility rate supposes to be less than ever before when the time comes. I think there will be less people having babies because of the recession going on in America. People in the U.S is suffering and struggling to make ends meet. There is too many babies starving in different countries including in the U.S. Americans are being laid off making minimum wage and it hard for them to survive and take care of the children they have now [ (Jiwani, 1996) ]. Older Adults have to live with their children now because they were unable to receive full benefits when they retired. Senior citizens are having such difficulty in today’s society and have to live on social security checks that constantly raise the money than take it away leaving them stuck. Fertility will decrease because America is already over populated now. The challenges America face when it comes to diversity is prejudice and discrimination. People’s lack of knowledge for other people’s culture and beliefs leaves a lot of Americans in the dark because of their ignorance. People who promote ignorance to their children, family, and friends about different cultures and beliefs will never have the privilege to see beyond the color of one’s skin and religion [ (Jiwani, 1996) ]. No one is alike and different groups think different of others who are not similar to them. I feel those who see everyone as equal have respect for others beliefs. Diversity in America brings problems and fighting between people who hate other because of their skin color and beliefs. When hate is involved this brings on discrimination. Discrimination brings on hate crimes  and hurting other people. People who hate other due to their race believe others groups are less then them. Stereotyping of ethnic groups helps continue the ignorance in society ways of thinking. The benefits of diversity are people of all races, belief, and religion can continue to educate themselves about others. Society can learn to see beyond the color of one’s skin and heritage. People will then get to know who an individual or group is by the way they interact with them. I have a friend as well as myself who face racism everyday because of the color of my skin. It hurts both of us at time but we have learned through the way we were taught to have pride and one’ self and keep our head up. Society can learn to see beyond the color of one’s skin and heritage. People will then get to know who an individual or group is by the way they interact with them. I learned my culture was looked down for many of years until the government decided to consider us to join a race. They felt we finally was worthy of being recognized in the way to accept diversity when it comes to culture in America. The people in the United States need to come together and stop trying to separate each other in groups. Teachers, parents, and our communities need to be open-minded to everyone no matter how they look, act, walk, or talk. There is no one perfect in America and if we can just realize no group or person from a different race is better than the other it may work. Hope is all I have and I want my children to see me as a positive role model and not a racist. I have always believed in being a fair person. I feel I have been treated in a mean way from plenty of people because of my race but I believe in god and that’s what helps me smile. People need to learn how to love one another instead of hate each other. Americans need to raise their children in the correct way by showing them its okay to play and be friend with other children who are different and of a different race. A lot of children I find today are afraid to play with other children who don’t look like them because the way they were raised. I remember a time when I was little and I made a friend in class and she told me her mom said not to play with children of my race and if she did she will get in trouble. I was so confused until I went home and asked my mom and she explained to me about how the world viewed me. I then understood and learned to ignore the ignorance of the way people made me feel or looked down on me because of my  skin color. I always found my self trying to prove to others of a different race I was not the lazy person who grew up not wanting to work and make nothing of my life. I have learned I will face this discrimination until I die so I will have to work twice as hard to become a success in life. Media perpetuate prejudice and stereotyping in a negative way. When it comes to ethnic groups the media always show minorities committing crimes and robbing people [ (kareem, 2013) ]. Media help promote hate to people who has lack of education about minority groups so they feel they have a right to be ignorant. This kind of stereotyping makes people continue the hate in schools, communities, and on the internet. Ethnic groups are always showed in the media living in low-income area’s and they make it look like they are lazy, stupid, dangerous and unable to comprehend anything a smart person suppose to be telling or teaching them [ (kareem, 2013) ]. White Americans suppose to be ethnic people’s translators to explain what minorities are trying to say to them. Media promote appreciation for diversity in February when they want America to acknowledge minorities for more than being a problem in America [ (kareem, 2013) ]. I think it’s really contradicting what’s being told for so long about minorities and really making ethnic groups look like a joke. I feel this way because they constantly try to make ethnic groups or a person of an ethnic group look bad. I feel the media tries to make it look like everyone in society is treated the same in America when this is not the case. When the media reports the news I see a low percentage of Black Americans reporting the news and when they do their talking about their own race to put them down. The way people In America can work together to reduce prejudice and accept diversity is by teaching their families in their homes and their neighbors how to embrace others who are not like them [ (kareem, 2013) ]. I will continue to treat others with respect and dignity. I will show those who come around me the same how to treat people of different cultures and beliefs and how they are equal to us.