Saturday, August 31, 2019

Edhec Family Business

Family business How to apply your MBA learning in your family business? There are a few EDHEC Global MBA participants who decided to study in this program to search for better understanding of business disciplines in order to improve their quality as managers with the main goal of returning to their countries and continue their family business. Family business can be very large, a big example is Walmart that even after 43 years and being the third largest company in the world, the Walton family still owns 48% of the stake. However, most cases of family business still relate to medium or smaller sizes.The good thing about a family business is that it has a strong sense of commitment and honor from the members. Family businesses are more likely to last because there will always be an effort on the part of the family members not to let it die or fade related to their inner values. Brazilian candidate, Andressa Lass Santos provides us with her testimony on her family business case: †Å"The EDHEC MBA program has been helping me gain a broader perspective in relation to several business facets such as leadership, accounting, management, studying the local economy and the industry and how to combine them all in a strategic manner.Every class has been helping me come up with ideas and is making me notice flaws that I had never perceived before, as well as areas where there are room for improvements in my family business. My father started a construction company and asphalt plant 25 years ago in Curitiba, Brazil. He is an engineer and agrees with me that if I gain more management skills it would be very useful for the company, since he has little time to invest in that, and in fact he is beginning to think to step out of the picture and work more as a counselor.As each single class goes by, I learn something new and try to think how to implement in our family business. My ideas arise from the hiring process, motivations of the employees until thinking globally of mac roeconomics and strategically trying to apply how we could possibly expand our business or even find new ideas related to it, such as maybe starting another business or company that could support the construction company. For that reason I will choose the Entrepreneurship track in the MBA program, I believe it is the track that I will most benefit from when thinking about my family business and how we want to expand it. †

Racism and Self-Identity: A Review of “The Color of Water” Essay

The American South, especially in from the 1930s to the 1960s, is a hard place to live for when you are a â€Å"colored person. † This novel, written by James McBride, discovers the complexities of having a bi-racial activity, especially at a time when blacks and other minorities are hated and discriminated upon by the dominant white society. This novel attempts to reflect at the domination of American society by the white man, and attempts to discover his own identity by looking at his mother’s past: the life of Ruth McBride, a Polish-Jewish immigrant in the South of the 1930s, beset by constant intimidation and violence of the white majority to other racial minorities, especially to Jewish immigrants and to the blacks, who were historically imported by white plantation owners to work as slaves in cotton plantations. However, the journey of Ruth McBride does not end here; she actually continued her journey away from the American South, loving two blacks in the way, and describing the unique complexities of the Harlem district of New York City. The Christian faith also plays a colorful part in this novel, providing the needed comfort and guidance in times of adversity. This background, combined with question about his racial self-identity, will soon lead him to have a violent behavior, including phases of drug use and crime. However, he will soon find value in his life, relying upon the principles of hard work and self improvement, plus additional skills in writing and jazz music. The novel starts with chapters introducing the mother of the author, Ruth McBride, and is already full of symbolisms and drama (McBride, n. pag. ). The first chapter, entitled Dead, describes the Jewish origin of Ruth, and offers a glimpse of the discrimination that they are already experiencing; and she further becomes â€Å"dead† due to her marriage to Dennis McBride, whose race is officially viewed as inferior, and whose race is a victim of an officially-sponsored racial segregation (McBride, n. pag. ). Given that the background of the family of Ruth comes from a conservative one, guided by orthodox Jewish practices, choosing to marry a colored one surely brings in discrimination by society and rejection of the family. In this case, it can be clearly seen that in America of the early twentieth century, your race can actually determine the way you live; being a colored can make you have a miserable life constantly under threat and looked down, even when you may live in the â€Å"land of the free. † This theme continues in the second and third chapters, where the bicycle of Ruth became a medium where she can find constant movement away from the troubles of living a multi-racial family, all while her son James already looked into crime and drugs for escape (McBride, n. ag. ). Ruth also recalls the origins of her family, as symbolized by the Kosher, where Jews are already suffering from discrimination and intimidation in their native land, and where immigration and the practices of orthodox Judaism serves as a convenient escape from the racial discrimination that they are experiencing (McBride, n. pag. ). Such experiences vividly explore the hardships of belonging to a hated race, where escape i s a necessary thing. The point of view of James is also seen in this chapter; James recall that he sees her mother as different at such an early age, although he really cannot fully comprehend why in fact she is different from others. This is highlighted in the account when James already reaches kindergarten; he asks his mother why she is different from him, although her mother refuses to entertain the question (McBride, n. pag. ). Her bitter memories regarding her family influences her not to open the topic later in her life, soon to be understood by James. In the third chapter, entitled Kosher, Ruth recalls the arranged marriage of her mother and her father, which was brought out of convenience, in which she does not make any sense of it at all (McBride, n. pag. ). In addition to this, she also recalls all of the strict practices of Orthodox Judaism, to which she sees it as very suffocating, making her have a very difficult life, combines with a very string fear of death (McBride, n. pag. ). Such experiences will later affect her in raising a family, focusing on hard work to offset the difficulties of their racial origin (McBride, n. pag. ). In the later chapters, such as in Black Power, James began to realize the complexities of being a multi-racial person; torn between the desire of having solidarity with fellow black neighbors striving to fight for black power and concern for his white mother who is unwilling to commit with this movement, emphasizing the importance of privacy, the church, and the family (McBride, n. pag. ). James even asked her mother if he was adopted, due to the fact that he has a different color with her mother. The civil rights movement at that time was very string, with the black community in their area actively supporting and campaigning for more black powers in society, to which her mother is very reluctant to accept (McBride, n. pag. ). Adding to such complexities is a commentary of James upon her mother’s belief, often contradictory because of her Orthodox origins, as well as she being a Christian convert living among a black community (McBride, n. ag. ). After this recall, however, James decides to show sympathy to his mother, ending up punching the face of a son of a member of the militant Black Panther Party, whom he deemed as a threat to his white mother. After all, this episode shows that joining a black power solidarity movement, especially for a multiracial is not always smooth; convictions for black power may conflict with personal beliefs and priorities, provoki ng hesitation despite common discriminatory experiences in a white-dominated society. The book then shifts on how Ruth has found her guidance and inspiration amidst all these contradictions, tracing her Orthodox Jewish origins to her eventual conversion to Christianity (McBride, n. pag. ). Her early experiences are never easy. Contrary to the popular belief that having a new life in America will lead you to the prosperous â€Å"American Dream,† In the chapter entitled the â€Å"Old Testament,† the experiences of Ruth’s family were no American dream; on the contrary, they suffered under constant poverty (McBride, n. pag. ). Her father tried to make a living by being a rabbi, forcing them to move constantly from place to place; until they decided to open a grocery store in the predominantly black town of Suffolk, Virginia. Ruth also had a recollection on her loveless daughter father relationship, especially because of the fact that her father was secretly abusing her sexually. However, she also points out that she still has a positive remembrance of her childhood, which includes her memories with her mother during Jewish holidays (McBride, n. pag. ). In the next chapter, entitled the â€Å"New Testament,† the conversion of Ruth to Christianity is portrayed. This is emphasized in the way how Ruth raised her children, not taking lightly one instance where Billy refused to recite a biblical passage in Easter Sunday (McBride, n. pag. ). However, questions on race is also9 presented in this chapter, with James asking her mother what is the color of God’s spirit, and her mother replying that it has no color, that God is the color of water (McBride, n. pag. ). Such passages reflect how important color is as an issue at that time, for ones’ opportunities and possibilities in life ism not determined by abilities alone, but by color. In addition to this, America at the time of James still sees a society wherein being a colored means being a lesser human being; where black power is being fought for, and being black while having a white mother makes you trapped in questions and confused. This is followed by a recollection in the home of her mother in Suffolk, Virginia, where the absence of opportunities for blacks and Jews alike has lead them to miserable poverty, in addition to the presence of the Klu Klux Klan which presents constant intimidation and violence for them (McBride, n. ag. ). This recollection is then intertwined with the experiences of James with respect to his siblings, highlighting the difficulties of raising a family that explores his/her racial identities (McBride, n. pag. ). The next chapters, especially School, Boys and Daddy explores the personal experiences of both James and Ruth on racial prejudice, with Ruth having to secretly meet with her loved one due to the threat of the Ku Klux Klan, a nd the fears of James in attending a predominantly white school. However, this part of the novel also gives a positive insight; the tremendous work ethic of Ruth, and the exploration of jazz music by James as a new way of escape (McBride, n. pag. ). The next parts of the book explores the devastation of the family with the demise of the second husband of Ruth, especially in its effect to James, and an insight into everyday life in the Harlem district of New York. James then began to seek the origin of his parents in Suffolk, Virginia, and witnesses the poverty and racial complexities in that area intertwined with the early experiences of his mother in love, especially in the chapters The Promise, Old Man Shilsky and A Bird who flies (McBride, n. pag. ). The problems of the interracial marriage Ruth and Dennis, as well as the discovery of the synagogue is highlighted in the chapters A Jew Discovered and Dennis; while the final chapter, Finding Ruthie, emphasizes the fact that being a multiracial is not only difficult, but full of uncertainties (McBride, n. pag. ).

Friday, August 30, 2019

Guidelines Essay

This article was created by: Jocelyn Howard and Jae Major with the purpose of helping teachers, who decided to produce their own teaching materials; they need to observe some advantages and disadvantages, important factors and guidelines. These aspects help them to provide a coherent design for teaching materials. First, different advantages and disadvantages are examined why teacher might choose to design their own materials. These are some advantages: contextualization: it is generic; it means they do not able to take in consideration the learning environment. The coursebook do not aim any specific group of learners, particular culture or educational context. Everybody is able to use that coursebook. There are a lack commercial materials and cost force the teacher-produce their own material as best option for both students and school. Another advantages is individuals needs, it refers to different aspects or needs of learners that must be taken in consideration by teacher-producer at the moment to create material. They are first language skills, multi-cultural groups, experiences, level of English and why they are learning? Also, to increase motivation and knowledge, engagement in learning, freedom are some aspects to take in consideration in personalization, another advantage. In contrast, the disadvantages for teachers who decided to produce materials are organized in three aspects such as: organization, quality and time. Organization: refers to coherence and clear progression, physical organization and storage material and clear direction. If there are not some order in principles and clearly well-organized system will be difficult to locate them for future material’s use. Second, factors to consider when designing materials: learners: teachers find out information about learners’ needs. After that you are able to create the material. In addition, the students learning needs: skill, preferences learning style, literacy level, interests and purpose of learning English as a second language. Also, curriculum and content: it must include the goals and objectives to keep close for going back and check it. Another important factor is the resources and facilities: teachers must be realistic; they need to adapt their materials to the environment where they work. After this, personal confidence and competence: it refers to the skills, knowledge and attitudes, copyright compliance: you must have to give credits when use resources of internet, and time: organized the place that you use for working are another main factors. Third, guidelines for designing effective English teaching materials: in general they provide a coherent design in materials which emphasize the learning skills and knowledge. ELT materials should be contextualized (guideline1): the curriculum is to give address, specific individual’s needs and the topic is meaningful. And then, in a real communication process, professor must be sure the materials they develop have a clear purpose (guideline 2). Guideline 3: teachers should teach how to learn, help to take advantages and opportunities for self-evaluation. So, metalanguage (out of the class) is an example of these opportunities. Besides, guideline 4: materials make the student focus on form. Guideline 5: produce materials and incorporate more than one skill. Guideline 6: it is not only written material, it’s also visual and spoken. Guideline 7: the materials must be connected between what you did and what will you do. Guideline 8: physical appearance of materials must be attractive to the learners. Guideline 9: the instructions must be clear and easy to follow by learners. Guideline 10: the materials must be adapted to the activities and the learners. In summary, when teachers make the decision of creating their own materials they should be taken in account the different advantages and disadvantages presenting in this text. Also, they need to consider the factors and guidelines which provide them the most important point for developing their own teaching materials.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Funding a Non-profit Community Book Festival in a Major United States Essay

Funding a Non-profit Community Book Festival in a Major United States City - Essay Example The festival also aims to showcase writers and their works to fulfill part of their organizational mission. To achieve so, it is essential for managers to investigate into and conceptualize the determinants for nonprofits improved performance which are their strategy styles and organizational structure (e.g. boards, constitutions and volunteers) in their respective prevailing environment (e.g. economical recent recession, public confidence, state/ county laws). Based upon perceptions of the environment (e.g., economy recent conditions, state legislation and public confidence) and organizational attributes (e.g., values and capabilities), managers of nonprofit organizations strategize to improve the performance of their organization by interpreting and framing the environment, developing and implementing programs and services, and creating processes and structures to monitor and control resources for successful deliverance of organizational goals. Improved performance is associated with organizations that systematically adhere to such takings (Ketchen et al., 1997; Miles, Snow, Mathews, Miles, & Coleman, 1997). This means organizational structure has been linked to performance improvements (Harris & Ruefli, 2000; Kushner & Poole, 1996). Conceptual understanding of strategy in nonprofit organizations is becoming more sophisticated to better reflect the unique character of nonprofit organizations (e.g., Backman, Grossman, & Rangan, 2000). To illustrate so, nonprofits need to consider these factors: multiple stakeholders in resource development, the potential for collaborations, and the mixed influences of market forces that can lead to challenges in the process to develop and define product and service strategies. Strategy encompasses interpreting environmental conditions and designing systems to foster success. According to Miles and Snow (1978), the effectiveness of organizational adaptation hinges on the dominant coalition's perceptions of environmental conditions and the decisions it makes concerning how well the organization will cope with these conditions. Based on this definition, successful strategy is of tantamount contingency on appropriate interpretation of environmental conditions and organizational response to those conditions. Furthermore, the lack of uniformed consideration of strategic factors has lead to confusion and contradictory results associated with strategy and its impact on performance (Stone et al., 1999). Miles and Snow (1978) broke down the process of understanding strategy into how organizations interpret and respond to three problems: entrepreneurial, engineering, and administrative. The entrepreneurial problem addresses how the organization defines its "product or service and target market" (Miles & Snow, 1978, p. 21). For nonprofit organizations, this could include how broadly they conceptualize their community responsibility, which influences what services they provide; who they partner with; and who they serve. The engineering problem is developing an operational solution to delivering the services of the organization. This includes selection of a service delivery method (i.e., technology; Hasenfeld, 1983) and alignment of information and communication linkages necessary for effective

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

The process and the steps of pearl farming, including the benefits to Essay

The process and the steps of pearl farming, including the benefits to the environmental surrounding - Essay Example Eventually, the researcher will distinguish the differences between pearl oyster and a regular oyster. Prior to the conclusion, the researcher will discuss the positive impact of pearl farming on eco-tourism business in terms of the need to preserve the natural sea environment. Since the 17th century, the United States has been considered as a major source of fresh-water pearls. The â€Å"Tennessee River Freshwater Pearl Farm† which was founded by John Latendresse back in 1979 is the only freshwater pearl farm in the country. (American Pearl Company, 2008; U.S. Pearl Cultivation, 2008) In general, oyster pearls can either be produced in either fresh- or salt-water or both. Salt-water pearls are rounder, bigger, smoother and have a better luster. (Khulsey, 2008) Aside from the physical characteristics of these pearls, one of the most obvious differences between the two types of pearl is the fact that fresh-water pearls are cheaper as compared to salt-water pearls. Pearls that are bred for only a year is significantly cheaper than pearls bred for 30 years or more. (Journal Wuxi: Pearl of Taihu Lake, 2006) The scientific name of fresh water pearl oysters is known as the ‘Pinctada’ family which is totally different from edible oysters known as the ‘Ostreidae’. (Pacific Island, 2008) Silver- or gold-lip pearls mainly come from ‘Pinctada maxima’ whereas the black-lip pearls come from ‘Pinctada margaritifera.’ Saltwater white pearls in Japan’s white pearls come from ‘Pinctada fucata martensi’ which is also known as the ‘Akoya pearl oysters’. Lastly, the Keshii pearls in Japan can be formed either in fresh- or salt-water. (Khulsey, 2008) The sea water condition and age could greatly affect whether the oysters would have the male or a female sex organ. (Pacific Island, 2008) For this reason, maintaining the cleanliness of both fresh- and sea-waters is an essential part of pearl farming. When pearl

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Surface Structure Space Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Surface Structure Space - Essay Example Thus, Andrew Bolton argued that â€Å"all clothes have social, psychological and physical function†. According to Entwistle (2003, pg 93), there is a strong relationship between dress and body. Basically, dress that is inform of materials such as fabric, jewelry, paint or even feathers closely relate with the body or flesh at all times. Moreover, the body is affected by choice of materials to wear. For instance, some individuals prefer to dress in leather instead of silk, some choose Lycra instead of cotton among other preferences, which they presume match with their bodies well. Notably, the choice of dress for individuals influences their looks and feelings. According to Kornblum & Smith (2011, pg 51), Umberto Eco gives a perfect example about the existing relationship between dress and body. Eco argues that having been used to dressing in Jeans, it becomes very uncomfortable since they pinch and restrict movements even after losing weight thus leading to â€Å"epidermic self awareness†. As a result, Eco has become conversant with the current dress code and as such there h as been strong connection between the lower body and the external world. In light of this, dress could then be described as a form of â€Å"human epidermis† (Entwistle, 2003, pg 93). Going by the fact that human beings do not form self awareness, it is argued that dress forms a presumed second skin, which in most cases do not demonstrate consciousness. Nevertheless, the consciousness of dress is increased when something about it goes amiss. For instance, the consciousness of dress could be influenced by the possibility of dressing in clothes that are not fitting and/or those that do not fit a given occasion. In this regard, some individuals might dress casually when they are expected to be formal thus increasing individuals’ consciousness. Besides, Kornblum &

Monday, August 26, 2019

The Geography of Latin America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Geography of Latin America - Essay Example When it comes to language, Latin America has the world’s largest concentration of romance language speakers, derived from Latin, thus the name Latin America. The romance languages spoken in Latin America include Spanish, Portuguese and French (â€Å"Geography Resources†). Culturally, Latin America is all about a blend of many different cultures. Generations of intermarriage between various ethnic groups produced the Blanco of European ancestry, the Mestizo of mixed ancestry, the Indio of Indian roots, and the Negro of African origins. The Blancos usually represent the elite of the society, although most people are mestizos (â€Å"Geography Resources†). As to religion, there is also a variety of systems of faith in Latin America. These include Roman Catholicism, which includes the largest population of believers. Other religions include the minority Christian groups, and some ancient religions like the Macumba, Voodoo and Camdombe, which were the religions of the African slaves (â€Å"Geography Resources†). Latinos are not without their traditional health beliefs and practices. Some of them include the humoral imbalance for illnesses caused by temperature, empacho or indigestion caused by eating the wrong food at the wrong time, mal de ojo or feelings of fatigue and headache caused by the admiration or jealousy of another person who looks at the victim, envidia or envy that causes bad luck or illness, and susto, or the fear coming from a traumatic experience (â€Å"Building our Understanding†). Latin America actually suffers from high external debts incurred for the financing of large development projects. There is also economic restructuring that is being initiated and enforced by international agencies that lend money. Moreover, the cuts in social programs and services and the rising prices caused many job losses but were countered by communal self-help. The

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Obesity Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Obesity Policy - Essay Example Obesity Policy Obesity can occur in any age group but it tends to increase with age " infants with excessive weight gain have an increased incidence of obesity in later life (Charney etal 1976)4. It has a female preponderance and certain genetic component in its causation as evidenced by twin studies, which show a close relation between the weights of identical twins even when they are reared in dissimilar environments (Falkner 1980)5. Physical activity and fitness's are important modifiers of mortality and morbidity related to over weight and obesity (WHO 2003)6 but according to Falkner it is the reduced energy output that is the main etiological factor behind obesity. Food habits play important role in weight gain and obesity, the composition of the food, the periodicity at which it is consumed and the amount of energy derived from it are the factors, which modulate body weight. A diet containing more energy than needed may lead to prolonged postprandial hyperlipidemia and to deposition of trigly cerides in the adipose tissue resulting in obesity (Oliver 1981)7. Other factors include psychosocial, familial tendency, endocrine, ethnicity and drugs like corticosteroids etc. Its is a positive risk factor for hypertension, diabetes, gall bladder diseases, congestive heart disease and certain cancers (hormonal and large bowel). It also predisposes to other conditions like varicose veins, abdominal hernia, osteoarthritis of knees and hips. Flat feet; sleep apnea and respiratory problems etc. the Framingham Heart Study in United States of America reveals that there is a dramatic increase (20%) in sudden death among overweight adults as compared to those with normal weight. Healthy People 2010 are a comprehensive set of disease prevention and health promotion objectives for the Nation to achieve over the first decade of the new century and one of the objective is to reduce obesity up to 15% in adults by 2010.the objectives are 19-1: - increase the proportion of adults who are at a healthy weight from 42 % to 60% by 2010. 19-2: - Reduce the proportion of adults who are obese from 23% to 15% by 2010. 19-3: - Reduce the proportion of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese from 11% to 5% by 2010. In order to achieve this objective health care planning has to be done and an obesity policy has to be made which has to be implemented at various health care levels, the work done has to be evaluated and depending upon the results relevant modification should be made in the policy to achieve better results. OBESITY POLICY The policy is to educate the American public on the dangers and medical quandaries that obesity causes and to help eradicate this epidemic from our nation. PLAN: Health education is planned in connection with a health service for proper implementation. This health service provides health education about hazards of obesity in the following three methods Individual approach: by personal interviews in hospitals, consultation rooms, and health care centers or peoples houses. Health education is given at every interaction with the patient about the etiology, risk, prevention and control of obesity. It will be the principal duty of the physician and nursing staff to

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Stock Market efficiency (Marks and Spencer) Essay

Stock Market efficiency (Marks and Spencer) - Essay Example Proponents of the efficient market hypothesis suggest that the market has a large number of players out to maximize profits. Each of these players logically analyzes the market information available so as to make an informed investment decision. This ensures that the market quickly and fairly represents all the available market in the prices of securities. There are three types of market efficiency; allocation efficiency, operation efficiency and pricing efficiency (Kraakman, 2003, p.11). Operational efficiency refers to the transactional costs involved in the selling and buying of securities. The operation of the London stock exchange is streamlined and well aligned to ensure operational efficiency. Allocation efficiency follows the premise that there are limited financial resources and therefore the existing resources are invested in the most productive way (Cassedy, 2004, p.6). This suggests that the investors are rational and that available capital is directed to the most profitable stock. Pricing efficiency is based on the premise that the stock fairly and instantly reflects information available in the stock market. Most of the theories developed in the area of market efficiency revolve around pricing efficiency. Pricing efficiency suggests that a security’s price reflects all the available information. Market efficiency can be said to exist in three distinct levels. These are Weak-form efficiency, Semi-strong efficiency and Strong-form efficiency (Banks, 2011, p.3).   The weak-form efficiency suggests a market that reflects all the past market information. The past information is fully and instantly reflected in the price of securities. This view therefore suggests that the past market information cannot be used to predict future prices of securities. This is because listed financial securities already reflect all past market data. Semi strong

Friday, August 23, 2019

Operating a Successful Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Operating a Successful Business - Essay Example In whatever activity an individual engages in, it is usually of substantive importance to ensure that there is always a thought about the future. Thinking about the future prospects from an earlier stage helps in proper planning mechanics. Saving from wages received is an important aspect that helps in providing future solutions, while at the same time, proving finances for the expansion of the prospects of a business plan. Financial constraints and problems are usually recurring and in certain instances abrupt. This therefore, calls for an individual to be ready at all times, in order to evade any unfortunate occurrences. Saving therefore, as a means of protecting the future is indeed a perfect approach towards addressing the issues pertaining to future uncertainties, which is a common challenge for businesses. Wastages as a contribution of unregulated and unplanned expenses are also a contributor to financial crisis in businesses. It is in order for businesses to spend money on different aspects that pertain to the successful running of the entity. However, in certain instances, individuals within the organization go overboard by making expenses that add little or no value into the business. Other aspects that contribute towards financial crisis are inadequate control systems, poor incentives, and inappropriate accounting. It is critical to note that with inappropriate determinants, addressing financial crisis could be a giant problem. Minimization of wastages by appropriate budgeting ensures that proper regulations are made in purchasing items that are of greatest needs, other than those that simply satisfy the common needs. However, little known, individual expense reports are also important for families in enabling appropriate budgeting. Many families tend to engage in impulse buying and therefore, find themselves in instances of continuous wastages and little savings.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Negotiating One's Salary and Benefits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Negotiating One's Salary and Benefits - Essay Example Writing out applications and covering letters, attaching resumes and visiting job interviews till one is selected is a laborious process but one does ultimately learn what works and what doesn’t in the real world. The proof is that one, finally, gets the job - now what comes next? The question of salary and benefits during the selection process has brought out varying reactions from a number of different candidates. While some people embrace it as a way of proving their net worth in the market place, others fear and label it as unpleasant because it is likely to intervene in negotiations and could keep them back from joining a company. Thus, negotiating salary and benefits refers to the ability to know what the worth of your skills is on the marketplace. This is a tremendously essential requirement for job seekers who want to be shown the career paths available in an organization. Salary negotiation typically starts after the candidate has proved of some value or purpose to an employer or even on the basis of his or her job profile, career path adopted so far and prospects and potential for the future that an employer sees in them. Sometimes a candidate can overvalue himself or herself and, thus, disqualify oneself out of the reckoning for the final selection. In an employer’s market especially during a downturn this can leave many worthy, experienced and capable candidates feeling undervalued or not being required. If the candidate relents and joins the organization at a lower salary than he is worth. , no doubt the employer will get excited and eager to welcome the candidate but this euphoria will typically be short-lived since the candidate is liable to switch in the event of a better position available elsewhere at a later juncture. It is clear that the salary and benefits issue remains paramount in the job market, as well as opportunities for promotion and growth in employment because it has been seen that management is already intent about taking the best of value from an employee but hesitates to pay him or her what they are really worth. What organizations don’t realize are that it takes a lot of time and effort to advertise, recruit, interview, select, orient and train every employee and there are a lot of resources involved in training and development of an individual. It is customary for both prospective employer and job seekers to engage in these activities. So if the rewards and promotions are not commensurate with the efforts that the employees are putting in, ultimately they will leave and join other organizations, primarily competitors in the same industry. Looking at salary and benefits as part of the total compensation package is a much better prospect. As long as the emoluments are enough to keep the home fires burning, the inexperienced candidates should understand that their qualifications will be undervalued until they can attach some relevance to it in terms of earned experience or projects handled and completed so that they get some feeling of the real world in action. After spending at least 2 to 3 years in their first job they can claim to have learned the ropes and begin to hold their own in

The Bad Effects of the Internet Development Essay Example for Free

The Bad Effects of the Internet Development Essay An American writer, Rick Warren said, â€Å"I just think the Internet has made us ruder.† What do you think of his words? Modern society is the information-oriented society. Everything changes quickly with numerous information, and people do their ordinary things such as doing homework, chatting with friends, making documents in the workplace, or even making food deliveries with their computers. All these things could be possible because of the advent of the internet. Then, when did the internet start to be used in South Korea? In 1982, the internet was introduced first when System Development Network (SDN) between Seoul National University and the laboratory of electronic communication was connected. After that, the e-mail service which was connected to the United States and Europe was provided, and in 1990 the time of the internet had begun (Ahn and Kim 91). Since then, the internet has developed dramatically. According to Korea Internet and Security Agency, the number of people over three-year-old using the internet has increased about 30 million people from 1999 to 2011 (KISA ISIS). Nowadays, whoever, wherever people are, and whichever the equipment one person has such as personal computers, laptop computers, tablet pc or smartphones, the internet is accessible and available to everybody. The internet made people utilizing hundreds of information freely, enable to interact worldwide, and made people’s lives more convenient. However, there are several negative effects caused by the development of the internet as much as the positive effects. There are three bad effects as a result of the development of the internet in South Korea: the internet addiction, people’s moral paralysis and communication breakdown. First of all, as a result of the development of the Internet, there are problems of internet addiction. Internet addiction is defined as the state of being unable to live daily life because of people’s excessive internet use or being unable to control themselves from using the internet. People are addicted to the internet game, chatting, searching the information, or pornography, so they cannot live ordinary lives as students, sons or daughters, and as workers. According to the research of Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the rate of internet addiction has increased continuously, and 52% of 1,035,000 internet addicts are children and teenagers. The rate of addiction is 14.3% and the number of their rates are  two times more than adults. In addition, the socially vulnerable class such as children of one-parent families and children who are handicapped are even worse, higher as five to eight percent than those who are in ordinary families (Wu). It is one of the biggest effects the internet has caused because it is not just only an individual problem but also it causes the social costs. In 2010, the total social costs was estimated about 2.2 trillion won maximum including the costs of facilities providing pc service, the costs of cure and counseling for addicts and indirect costs which was caused by losing the opportunities of learning (Wu). The internet addiction is a serious problem because it affects teenagers much more. They are not adults yet and very easy to be influenced by provocative things. So, the internet which is full of exciting and sensational things could lead people to be addicted and made teenagers grow as adults not properly. Second, as a result of the development of the Internet, there has been people’s moral paralysis. Under the concept of the anonymity, people gradually do immoral behaviors such as writing aggressive, malicious and hateful comments to other people’s posts, sharing things or data illegally that has the right of ownership and distributing other people’s false information. There were many celebrities of South Korea who committed suicide because of the bad comments for about last few years. In this year, Korean singer, Son Ho Young who was used to be a member of the most famous group, â€Å"GOD,† attempted suicide in May (Jo). It was because he was blamed of his previous girlfriend’s suicide. Until he attempted it, so many people on the internet made him a shameless person and wrote comments aggressively on the articles about him. Also, a new word, â€Å"Il Be,† which is actually the abbreviated form of the community site emerged as a way of expres sing specific people who made malicious and dreadful comments to particular people such as some women and those who are from Jeolla Province. They are even called, â€Å"Il Be roundworm,† because of their shocking behaviors. Until recently, they are making noises on the society of South Korea. Besides, we can see many cases that data and information with property rights are illegally shared and distributed to a lot of people. There are hundreds of P2P sites providing free files of music, movies, publication with the rights of ownership. It could not be solved only by cracking down. According to the  Ministry of Culture and Tourism, even they imposed fine those P2P sites, but it was temporary and returned to former state (Jung). It is because people regard illegal if we steal some goods for sale in a real-world, but in the virtual reality they do not regard downloading and uploading data with property rights as illegal. The development of the internet has caused the invasion of privacy as well by distributing personal information and false data. We can search huge amounts of information via the internet, and even we can easily find what we wrote on the internet few years ago just by typing ID in the sea rch engine. However, using these advantages of the internet, there are problems of personal information leakage. Many people are having trouble in leaking their private information that lots of spam mails and text messages are sent to them with the illegally opened information such as individuals’ e-mail addresses and phone numbers. A lot of celebrities in Korea are suffered by the false information. These are because people’s morality was paralyzed as a result of rapid development of the internet. They are being confused, getting numb of great deal of information and takes for granted that blaming others on the internet and getting information for free without hesitation. Lastly, as a result of the development of the Internet, there has been the breakdown of communication. As the internet has developed rapidly in Korea, a generational gap was made between older people and young people. While the young are getting used to using the internet easily, older people are not. The internet made generational difference and be unable to talk each other. So the communication between older people and young people has decreased. Also, in the family, or even among friends there is not enough communication. Sons and daughters are not trying to talk with their parents and other family members when they are at home, chatting with friends with their computers or smartphones. Many people use Social Network Service (SNS) such as Facebook or Twitter and have a short talk and comments at open posts but do not have earnest conversations among friends and families. Even they are with friends beside, they chat with their smartphones using the mobile internet service, KakaoTal k. It would the biggest negative effect that the internet has made because even though the internet made the society not only more efficient and convenient but hard-hearted and less conversation. In conclusion, as the internet has developed so much in Korea, many people are addicted to the internet, people’s morality is getting cracked, and lots of people are having broken down on real-world communication. The addiction problem affected individuals and the Korea’s society both. Numerous people on the internet are paralyzed of their morality making bad comments, sharing other people’s information illegally and distributing others’ private or wrong information. Also, there is breakdown of communication in generational and real world. Although we are living conveniently in a well-developed society with hundreds of information and having benefits thanks to the internet, there are always two sides to the coin. There are also some negative effects because of the development of the internet. Therefore, we should make the best use of the positive sides of the Internet and try to solve and reduce the negative effects of the Internet.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The Black Sea Region History Essay

The Black Sea Region History Essay On the south-western side of the hill surmounting Lake Ohrid, travelers will find oneof the architectural masterpieces of medieval Orthodox Christianity. The church, that was dedicated to St. John the Theologian, and also known as Kaneno, whose consecration dated back to no later than.1447, is usually known as a legacy of Medieval Slavic empire (whether one calls it as Bulgarian, or, Macedonian, depends on ones fancy). Taking into consideration, however, its unique style that reminds us a highly successful combination of Byzantine and Armenian architectural technologies, it seems more appropriate to calldt.as-a monument of the cultural integrity of the wider Black Sea rim. The Black Sea world, just like the church Kaneno, had been an artifact of cultural mixture, composed of various peoples of different faiths, vernaculars, customs and practices until the first decades of the twentieth century. They had been, moreover, living in a well-integrated and well-organized socio-economic entity that was tightly bound up by common water. Artisans of famous silver ornament in Trabzon would live on the Ukrainian wheat and Bulgarian wine, while the wealthy mercantile famnyin Odessa would enjoy their afternoon tea with dried figs from Anatolia. Life of the people around the Black Sea had been directly resting on the incidents at the opposite side of the water. They had kept watchful eyes on the course of event there. However, such a vivid image of the Black Sea region seems to be quite perplexing, if not alien, for us, people living in the twenty first century. Just like the record inscribing the name of the architect of the church Kaneno had been lost, our knowled ge on the Pontus world is too fragmented to envision a unified picture. The Pontus world also addresses us a perplexing question. Is it a mere accidental coincident that the three mercantile nations, Armenians, Greeks, and Jews, who had once been major lubricants for the organic mechanism in this world, suddenly disappeared from the Black littoral at the very moment when we lost the vivid image of this region? Armenians, Greeks, and Jews were all historical nations well-known by their conspicuous activities in commerce and financing. All of them had their residential centers around the Black Sea before the twentieth century. Armenians had been widely dwelling in the southern Caucasus and the eastern Anatolia, and displayed their strong presence in every commercial centre around the Sea. Greeks had densely populated in the Black Sea littoral as well, and often constituted plurality in major trade entrepots like Istanbul, Trabzon, Odessa, Varna, Constanta and Krasnodar. Until the last decades of the nineteenth century, majority of the world Jewry had lived in the Russian Black provinces and their hinterlands. However, it is an arduous work for us to trace out them on the contemporary ethnic map of the region. It seems as if they had taken away our memory of the region with them when they retreated to the backstage of history of the Black Sea. What kind of process of modern conceptualization prevents us from shaping integrated scenery of the Black Sea region in our mind? The easiest answer might be the one that seeks the root in the nationalization of history. By the word Cemomorski rajon, an ordinary Bulgarian will think of an area the word Karadeniz bolgesi. For both of them, cities like Kisinev, Akkerman, or Batumi are not the part of their Black Sea region, but some unknown foreign cities. The nation-state, as a model for historical thought, has obscured many elements. The area studies, self-styled inter-disciplinary science, seem to have overcome the narrowing views of the national history, as they claim to have adopted an approach that makes it possible to analyze more than one nation-state at the same time. However, they seem, to be suffering from the same type of shortcomings. As for the Black Sea studies, there are too many candidates for the possible frame work, Slavic Studies, Balkan Studies, Caucasus Studies, Russian (and Soviet) .Studies (or its new version Eurasian Studies), Turkish and Islamic Studies, or Mediterranean Studies, but none is enough to cover all aspects of the Black Sea region. In order to comprehend the Black Sea region, it might be necessary to mobilize several area studies, but at the same time, it would mean saturation of methodologies. Such inherent weakness of the area studies seems, partly; to come from their methodological ancestors. Disciplines like Slavic Studies or Russian and Eurasian Studies could not completel y cut off themselves with the tradition of Slavic philology. Both Turkish studies and Iranian Studies are, by and large, nd more than a dummy branch of the Orientalism (as its original meaning 6f the word). Area studies are still accompanying preconceptions that had been inherent to their methodological forefathers. Apart from methodological questions, it seems relevant to interrogate a primordial question: where, at all, is the destination of intellectual endeavors of the area studies, or more simply, for what purpose are they serving? Recent developments may suggest us a part of the answer. There took place a* drastic reshaping of the area studies after 1989. East European studies have already divided into Central European Studies and Balkan Studies. Former Soviet Studies have also transformed themselves into Eurasian Studies. As the change is apparently linked to the shift of geopolitical situation, the answer must be lying somewhere beyond the natural evolution of methodological thinking, or survival strategies of individual researchers. The recent change indeed bears marked similarities to the realignments of traditional disciplines and eventual crystallization into area studies after the World War II. Both of the cognitive processes went through strong impact of the hegemonic shifts that h ad reshaped geopolitical map of the globe. The shift inevitably brought the regions drastic changes. From economic point of view, each region had to modify its trade regulations, financial mechanism, monetary policy, and working practices to be fit into the new situation, thus, it precipitated changes in the structure, and even mode of production. Political systems were also required to accommodate themselves to the new relations. As these changes caused considerable stress to the society, social tissue had to undergo significant metamorphosis. The area studies analyze various aspects of these changes, and provide, as a whole, a systematic knowledge to cope with the new reality. Therefore, they are working, irrespective of the intension of individual researcher, for special concern of particular forces that have common interest in a certain form of regional division of labor. Indeed area studies seem to pay less attention to the phenomena that tend to slip out of the scope of their main concerns, especially those overlapping several areas. By reassessing historical narratives concerning three nations, this paper tries to demonstrate the significance of those phenomena that have been made invisible by the frame of cognizance which was formulated in the course of modernity. The Ottoman Conquest and the Black Sea regional economy The Black Sea and surrounding lands had been playing significant roles as a hinge that bound together the Mediterranean, Central Asian Steppe, and Indian-Middle East economies since antiquity. The economic wealth of the region was an important factor in the political and economic stability of the Macedonian, Roman, and. Byzantine Empires in the Classical and Medieval times. The Black Sea also formed one of the major arteries joining the Islamic world and north-eastern Europe, and served as an important commercial rout between the ninth to early thirteenth century. Within itself, the Black Sea region, together with the Aegean, had formed a closely knit economic entity, as the northern Black Sea region produced and exported grain, meat, fish, and other animal products, while the southern Black Sea and the Aegean exported wine, olive oil, dried fruit, and luxury goods in exchange [Kortepeter, 1966: 86; Peacock, 2007:66-67]. By the time the Byzantine control of the region collapsed at the beginning of the thirteenth century, the Black Sea trade had largely fallen into the hand of the Venetian and Genoese merchants. At first Venetians seemed to have taken upper-hand, but Genoa succeeded in gaining a t near monopoly over the Black Sea commerce after 1261. By the time, Genoa had been building up a network of its colonies covering all lands surrounding the Black Sea. The Genoese BlackSea Empire was, however, relatively short-lived, as there emerged a formidable power in the western corner of Anatolia at the end of the thirteenth century, and it was to bring the Italian hegemony in the Black Sea finally to an end in the course of fifteenth century. Starting as a small warriors state, the Ottomans followed a gradual, but steady course of territorial expansion during the first half of the fourteenth century. They were successful in intruding into the Balkans after crossing the Dardanelles in 1346. By the end of the century, the Ottoman sultans had established themselves firmly on the vast landmass lying at the both sides of the Straits. Although the Ottorrfans at first did not show much interest in controlling the Black Sea commerce, a clear Ottoman policy regarding the Black Sea began to emerge during the reign of the Mehmed II (1451-1481) [Kortepeter, 1966: 88]. Upon assuming the throne the throne, Sultan the Conqueror embarked on a series of campaign to destroy the Latin colonial empires in the eastern Mediterranean, as a part of his project to reassemble the former Byzantine territories. Especially after the takeover (ri AXrooTj) of the Byzantine capital in 1453, Mehmed II felt it necessary to establish a complete control over the resources of the Black Sea region for the reconstruction and development of his new capital. In 1459, the Ottomans first deprived the Genoese of Amasra, the most important port on the Anatolian Black Sea coast, as it formed, together with Caffa, the shortest route in the north-south communication in the sea. After the fall of Amasra, the Genoese colonies were confined to the north western corner of the Black Sea. The seizure of the main Genoese colony of Caffa took place in 1475. Caffa had long been the chief trade and manufacturing centre for the Genoese in the Black Sea. After the fall of Caffa, the Genoese gri p on the Black Sea considerably weakened and the Ottomans captured all of the Italian colonies in the Crimean and the Caucasus within a decade. The only remaining trade centers of significance were two Moldavian port cities, Kilia and Akkerman. Both of them fell to the Ottoman hand in 1484. In this way, by the beginning of the sixteenth century the Ottomans had turned the Black Sear into an Ottoman lake [Inalcik Quataert, 1994: 271-3; Kortepeter, 1966: 92-3]. i The Ottoman conquest brought about a new socio-economic system into the Black Sea region. Now, majority the coastal lands of the Sea were directly connected to the imperial capital, Istanbul, and a new regional division of labor was introduced in order to maintain this extraordinarily large city. Moreover, the Ottoman Empire employed a kind of command economy whose main purpose was to maintain its military predominance. Hence, the government put strong control over the transportation of manufactured goods and raw materials produced within its domain, imposing de facto ban on the export, while, on the other hand, it showed lavish attitude to the imported commodities that its lands could not yield. Under this regime, many parts of the empire constituted an autarkic economic entity. Hence, it was natural that the Black Sea region, along with other part of the Empire, constituted an integrated, but closed to outside, system. Non-Muslim Merchants as coordinating elements One of the most important changes that took place after the Ottoman conquest of the Black Sea region was the termination of the Italian predominance in favor of the native Ottoman subjects. Owing to the poor development of Muslim mercantile class at the beginning of the Ottoman-conquest in this region, it was the non-Muslims that took initiative in forming the: wider regional network. Already during the Italian rule of the Black Sea, the Greeks and other indigenous people, together with Jews and Armenians, played the role of middlemen and widely dwelled in the Genoese trade centers. Many of them were employed as apprentices in the Latin enterprises, and accumulated the knowledge of the business practices in the Levant trade. Even before the fall of Caffa, the Italians were losing their control of the oriental trade in the northern countries, and were being replaced by Ottoman subjects, mostly Armenian Christians, Greek Orthodox Christians and Jews. The Ottoman government found in them reliable traders and contractors as middlemen within the empire. Thus, non-Muslim merchants took advantage of the new opportunity of the closure of the Black Sea to the foreigners in the sixteenth century, and they made use of their privileged position to traverse the Ottoman domain, in order to organize trading networks across southern and western European cities [Kortepeter, 1966: 101; inalcik Quataert, 1994: 272, 209]. The first element that gained most from this new order seemed to be Greeks. The Greek merchants of this period widely operated in Ottoman inter-regional trade. They were in control of a significant portion of the commerce of the eastern half of the Balkan Peninsula. Greeks were particularly active in the Ottoman capital, as traders and sea captains, carrying grain from the Balkan coastal regions adjacent to the Black Sea. The Greek merchants, allegedly descendants of the Byzantine aristocracy, widely engaged in tax farming, large-scale trade and shipping both in international and domestic. However, after the execution of tfye great tycoon in the Greek community of Istanbul, Michael Cantakuzino  §aitanoglu in 1578, the predominant position of the Greek merchants in the imperial economy began to shake [Stoianovich, 1960: 241; Inalcik Quataert, 1994:517]. Instead of Greeks, Jewish bankers and tax-farmers surfaced as predominant elements in Ottoman finance and long-distance trade during the second half of the sixteenth century. The expulsion of the Marrano Jews from the Catholic countries especially contributed to the Jewish prosperity in the Ottoman economy. The Marrano Jews seemed to introduce into the Ottoman Empire the techniques of European capitalism, banking and the mercantilist concept of state economy, and played decisive role in the finances [inalcik Quataert, 1994: 212]. Jews also played a considerable role in the development of the Danube basin. As tax farmers, Jews were managing many Danubian ports and customhouses [Levi, 1982: 26-27]. But the Jewish domination of the Ottoman economy could not last long. Already in the 1650s, Jewish merchants had been less active in Ottoman territory than during the second half of the sixteenth century. The Jews were losing the functions that they had acquired in the sixteenth century, in cluding the farming of custom duties, minting, and the positions of money exchanger for the ottoman notables. Westward Jewish migration that occurred synchronously with the shift of the global economy to the trans-Atlantic trade was a part of reason. Another reason is the renewed expansion of activities of Greek merchants that forced many Jewish merchants out of Balkan trade [Panzac, 1992: 203; inalcik Quataert, 1994: 519]. The presence of the Armenian merchants in the Black Sea region had been strongly felt long before the Ottoman conquest. Armenians had settled in Crimea as early as the eleventh century [Panossian, 2006: 82]. They were important trade partners for the Nogays in the North Caucasus, and engaged widely in the transaction of slaves and large quantities of butter and furs [Kortepeter, 1966: 104]. They were predominant in the Moldavian [Lwow-Akkerman) route of trade during the fourteenth century, and obtained the trade privilege for all Ruthenia in 1402. The leader of the caravan on this route was always an Armenian throughout the fifteenth century. Until that time, Armenians had widely settled in the commercial centers in Crimea and Rumania. According to an Ottoman survey in 1520, there were 2,783 households in Caffa, out of which about 60% was Christian, mostly Armenian [inalcik Quataert, 1994: 280, 286]. The Ottoman conquest of the Black Sea region brought about more favorable conditions for the Armenian merchants. In the Ottoman Empire, Armenians, like Greeks, constituted a Christian community that was accorded with religious and judicial autonomies. Their religion also gave them easier access to the lands of Christian Europe. They had already firmly established themselves in southern Poland and Transylvania, and controlled local commerce. Making use of the Ottoman trade policy as the linchpin, the Armenian traders succeeded in building up their commercial network, extending as far as Venice and Central Europe. The Armenians could also make use of the rivalry between Ottomans and Russians in order to establish their new trade route. Several Armenian merchants played conspicuous role in the court of Ivan the Terrible, and further expanded their commercial activities as far as the northern end of the Grand Duchy of Moscow [Goffman, 2002: 15; Braudel, 1992: 155]. The Armenian merchants had another advantage, as they were going to expand their activities further in the east. The Armenian middlemen settled in Persia found in silk an eminently marketablecommodity. In the seventeenth century, the Ottoman Armenian merchants distinguished themselves by their association with an international trade network basing around New Julfa, a suburban city of Isfahan. Merchants from this city took an active role in the Iranian silk trade which spanned the globe from Narva, Sweden to Shanghais, China. In this way, the Armenian merchants had been successful in establishing their trading network stretching from China to Western Europe by the eighteenth century [McCabe, 2001]. In the course of their expansion, the commercial activities of three non-Muslim merchant communities widely transcended the Ottoman borders. It was, by no means, the loss of weight of the Ottoman commerce for them by the eighteenth century. The commerce on Ottoman territory continued to be crucial for the maintenance of these networks, as the goods they traded were often of Ottoman manufacture or had transited through the Ottoman state. The trade activities of Armenians, just like those of Greeks and Jews, remained intrinsic to the economic system of the Ottoman Empire, and the Ottoman wealth was central to their prosperity [Inalcik Quataert, 1994: 517-8]. As we have, hitherto, surveyed the significance of the non-Muslims merchants in the Ottoman Black Sea trade, it is necessary to emphasize that we should not downplay the importance of the Muslim merchants. Although they were late comers in this region, already in the fifteenth century, Muslim merchants had outnumbered the others at least in the southern section of the south-north trade over the routes of pursa-Istanbul-Caffa or Akkerman by sea and overland by Edime-Kilia-Akkerman [Inalcik Quataert, 1994: 278]. It seems probable that the role of the Muslim merchants constantly gained importance in the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth century, and eventually took over the non-Muslims, especially in the intra-regional trade. The position of the Muslim merchants in the intra-Ottoman trade was much stronger than the non-Muslims during the eighteenth century. The minorities almost always held only a secondary position in the domestic maritime trade. According to an Ottoman document of 1782 or a list of cereal ships to Istanbul provide us an interesting data that out of the total 56 names of merchants, 55 were Turks or other Muslims, only one was Greek or Albanian, and even he was associated with a Turk. The document also shows us that out of 158 ships captains, 136 (86%) were Turks or other Muslims, and 22 (14%) were Greeks or Albanians. Therefore, the Muslim merchants had secured almost total control over the supply of wheat to Istanbul by the Black Sea route [Panzac, 1992: 195, 203]. Socio-economic features of the non-Muslim merchant communities From historical point of view, merchants, especially those who engaged in cross-cultural- trade, possessed, more often than not, ambivalent characters. As frequenters in two or more distinct societies, they had to master several important knowledge and skills that were usually unfamiliar to those who lived inside a particular culture. So, they brought with them, not only a variety of foreign goods and wares, but new technologies and information. These cultural goods often catalyzed a transformation of the host society. In the case of the Ottoman non-Muslim merchants, they became major actors in a technological and cultural interplay between the Ottoman Empire and the rest of Europe. It wa,s their trading network that helped produce a uniform commercial method throughout ti?e Mediterranean and European worlds before the  ¦ nineteenth century [Goffman, 2002: 16]. On the other hand, every society that based principally on the production of use values would inherently harbor antagonism toward the merchant. Such hostilities were often boosted by the stresses that arouse in the course of cultural transformation. Therefore, the position of the cross-cultural merchants was constantly under the threat of eventual outburst of hatred against them. In order to avoid, or at least to alleviate, the tension with the host society, the merchant community had to be adaptive. In the case of the non-Muslim merchants in the Ottoman Empire, we can notice strong tendencies of compliance to the authority. Ottoman Jews and Greeks played major role in the finances during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and even later. They were the major players in the tax-farming, the most important means of capital formation at that time, and their accumulated wealth became indispensable for the state finances and the palace. In return for their service, the Ottoman government conferred them various privileges. Several Jews were appointed the court physicians and imperial treasurers. Greeks were employed as dragomans (official interpreter) and, later, rulers of Moldavia and Wallachia [Inalcik Quataert, 1994: 209], The Ottoman Armenians also played significant role in the palace. The upper strata of their community, often called as amiras, made their presence strongly felt in government as bankers or money lenders. In the tax farming, they provided the capital as sarrafs (bankers), and sold the commodities collected in kind as merchants. After the eighteenth century, they became instrumental in keeping the fragile Ottoman financial system functioning. It is symbolized by the fact that the prominent Dtizian family monopolized the position of superintendent of the state mint office from 1757 until 1880 [Panzac, 1992: 203; Panossian, 2006: 85]. Probably, the most important in this aspect was the role played by their religious authorities. The Ottoman government traditionally granted wide range of religious and judicial autonomies to its Christian and Jewish subjects, calling each of these congregations as millet. The Greek, Jewish, and Armenian mercantile class in Istanbul practically monopolized the posts of the highest priests of their millets, and did their utmost in preserving the imperial order, by securing the loyalty to the sultan among their coreligionists. Thanks to these endeavors, Jews and Armenians were often praised by the authority as millet sadakat, or loyal subjects. In the case of Greek Orthodox, they failed to win this title because of the several unruly elements like semi-nomadic mountaineers or provincial peasants with independent spirits, the upper strata of their community, however, generally earned high esteem among the Muslim authorities. In spite of such functions, non-Muslim merchants did not dare to go over a certain limit of the host societies, because over adaptation to the host society was suicidal to their existence. It would increase the tension with the other society where they made business at the same time. For example, the conversion to Islam might promise better position in the Ottoman society, but it would make very difficult, if not impossible, to earn by the international trade. Thus, probably the best strategy for the merchants was to blur the demarcation line with the host society by making their existence more and more vague and ambiguous. By doing so, they could expect more secure conditionsfor their survival. It was, therefore, no coincidence that the three non-Muslim merchant communities in the Ottoman Empire possessed marked characteristic of special multilingual!sm. As the other Jews in the Western Europe, Jews in the Ottoman Empire adopted the languages of the people among whom they lived. They could, usually quite fluently, communicate in Turkish and other majority languages, but they nevert fully assimilated linguistically to the host societies. The Romaniotes, who had long lived among the Greeks, adopted vernacular Greek as their communal language,.while the, Ashkenazi, East European Jews continued > to speak Yiddish in their home. The most influential element of the Ottoman Jews, the Sephardi, preserved medieval Spanish, where their ancestors had been living until the Catholic take-over. Moreover, all of these Jewish vernaculars contained significant portion of Hebraic expression. Thus, the dialect expresses the two contradictory tendencies: the integration to the surrounding soci ety and the isolation. The Ottoman Armenians shared the same characteristic. While they continued to use ancient Armenian as their spiritual symbol especially in their place of worship, almost all of them were either bilingual or, in some cases, monolingual speakers of Turkish. Turcophone among the Armenians was so strong that Vartan Pasa, an Armenian writer in the nineteenth century, in the preface to his History of Napoleon Bonaparte, justifies the fact that he had written this work in Turkish with the argument that the Armenians who knew ancient language (krapar) were very few and that the new literary language based on the vernacular was still not sufficiently developed thus, that the Turkish language was the best tool to the majority [Strauss, 2003:41, 55]. The case of Greeks was much more complicated, but it might show rather vividly the advantages of linguistic ambiguity for the prosperity of the mercantile community. During the Ottoman period, the word Greeks seldom denoted the linguistic community. Many Greeks in the Anatolian plateau spoke Turkish dialect, Karamanh, while the Greeks in Syria and Egypt used Arabic as their ordinary means of communication. The Greeks in the Balkans were more perplexing. There were many Greeks who spoke Bulgarian, Vlacho-Arouman, Albanian, and Turkish. The linguistic variety derived from the context that the communal identity of the Ottoman Greeks usually conflated with the Rum millet identity. Within the Ottoman Empire, the Greek Orthodox Christians, especially those who composed the urban strata, were collectively referred to Romans, members of the Rum millet, regardless of their ethnic origins. Such tendencies were strongly felt especially among the mercantile class. The notion of the Greek Orthodox Christian was indeed a social category. In many parts of the Balkans, contemporary denomination of nations, like Serbs and Bulgarians, denoted the peasants in particular locations. When Slavs moved into the urban space or became members of the middle class, they generally shifted their identity to Greek. The local Christian higher strata were Grecophone in Serbia. In the Bulgarian lands, the domination of cultural life by the ecumenical patriarchate led to the promotion of Grecophone culture in liturgy, archives, and correspondence [Roudometof, 1998:13-14]. The tendency became more conspicuous after 1750, when the prosperity of the Greek Orthodox merchants was reaching its peak. Owing to the predominance in trade, Greek became the primary language of commerce in the eastern Mediterranean, and Orthodox Christian merchants, regardless of their ethnic origins, generally spoke Greek and often assumed Greek names. The middle class Orthodox Christians were largely acculturated into the Greeks or under heavy Grecophone influences [Stoianovich, 1960: 291]. The ambiguity or ambivalency of the groups seems to have been felt stronger at such elements like new comers, lower members, and/or provincial elites, than at the centre of the community. For example, during the first half of the nineteenth century, the biiingualism, especially with the dialect spoken by the majority member of the surroundings, was more conspicuous among newly immigrated members from local villages than those who had lived in urban space for generations. It reflected in their identities that veteran urban dwellers were adamant in their Greek consciousness in contrast to the new comers with mixed identity with Bulgarian element [Markova, 1976: 43-54]. The same was true for the Greek ecclesiastic circle, where lower clergy tended to remain within the boundary of Metropolitan diocese, while the higher hierarchies rotated several dioceses of different Patriarchates. As a result, high dignities in the Church possessed deep-seated belief in the Hellenic nature of the Ortho doxy; ion the other hand, parish priests widely shared non-Hellenic culture with their parishioners. To summarize our discussion hitherto, the non-Muslim merchants in the Black Sea region bore the following attributes as groups. They were religious congregation as well as occupational category. As for the latter, they were, more often than not, engaged in external trade, or in other words, were agencies tonnecting different cultural, socio-economic entities. The members of these groups were usually quite proficient in special occupational expertise. They knew well specific business and social practices of various places, and they were multilingual for the most of part. They were generally more adaptive to the host society, and, at least on the surface, very compliant to the existing authority. The demarcation line between them and the other groups was vague, and often intentionally blurred. Their ambiguity or ambivalency was more intense, more strongly felt at peripheral or lower strata than at the core. Perhaps, this was the most important attribute that made possible the non-Musli m merchants to maintain their social and economic function, while preserving their identities, without provoking serious conflict with the host societies. The above mentioned characteristics of the Ottoman non-Muslim merchants might seem to fit well into a wider category of Diaspora merchants. But, at the same time, there arises an uncomfortable feeling to call those merchants who dwelled in their homeland as Diaspora, because, except for the Jews, many Greek Orthodox and Armenian merchants lived in the territory of their former Kingdoms or Empire. Moreover, there were many non-Mercantile members within the Greek Orthodox and Armenian communities in the Ottoman Empire (the Jews were exception in this case as well). It does not seem reasonable to separate the merchant groups from the peasant mass when we discuss them as ethno-religious communities. Taking into these inconveniences into consideration, it seems more pertinent to apply the old notion of people-class,1 proposed by Abram Leon, for the case study of the Ottoman non-Muslim merchants. In his work that examined the historical development of the Jewish communities in Europe, Leon 1 turned

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Biosensors Development for Hydrogen Peroxide Detection

Biosensors Development for Hydrogen Peroxide Detection An approach towards clinical diagnosis. 1. Introduction: The molecular oxygen is the basic source of energy for aerobic systems. Its consumption by the living systems produces the radical such as superoxide anion (O2). This is a highly reactive toxic radical and is implicated in numerous pathologies. The toxicity of the triplet oxygen is prevented by the involvement of enzymes. A real paradox is that hydrogen peroxide and superoxide ion have to be present in the living systems but their concentrations have to be controlled precisely so that they persist only for a short period in cells. Hydrogen peroxide belongs to a class of non-radicals reactive oxygen species [1, 2]. It is an important intermediate species in many biological and environmental processes. Moreover, H2O2 which is known as a cell killer due to its oxidizing power is required as a substrate for many enzymes. It has been shown to be present in the atmospheric and hydrospheric environments [3, 4]. H2O2 is a major reactive oxygen species in living organisms, better known for its cytotoxic effects and it also plays an important role as a second messenger in cellular signal transduction. Oxidative damages resulting from the cellular imbalance of H2O2 and other reactive oxygen species are related to aging and severe human diseases such as cancers and cardiovascular disorders. [5, 6] Furthermore, H2O2 is one of the products of reactions mediated by almost all oxidases. [7] H2O2 is generated in response to various stimuli, including cytokines and growth factors and is also involved in regulating diverse biolo gical processes from immune cell activation and vascular remodeling in mammals [8] to stomatal closure and root growth in plants[9]. In unicellular organisms an important response to the increased levels of H2O2 is the increased production of antioxidants and repair proteins to allow adaptation to these oxidative conditions[10]. Most biological sources of H2O2 involve in the spontaneous or catalytic breakdown of superoxide anions, produced by the partial reduction of oxygen during aerobic respiration and following the exposure of cells to a variety of physical, chemical and biological agents. As for example, activation of NADPH oxidase complexes generate superoxide and hence the H2O2. 2. A brief outlook of the hydrogen peroxide assays Unlike other reactive oxygen species H2O2 (a mild reducing and oxidizing agent) needs an initiator for the activation by the transitional metal or enzymes. This robust chemical characteristic of H2O2 made the assay rather difficult in the quantification compared to its other reactive oxygen species such as superoxide, hydroxyl radical, singlet oxygen, peroxyl radical, and such others. Methods useful for its assay include ultra-violet, infrared, Raman scattering, ESR, electro analytical techniques, metal-H2O2 complexes, enzyme mediated reactions, nanotechnogy, flow injection analysis, and biosensors. 2.1 Analytical methods based on the physical properties Numerous methods have been reported in the literature for the quantification of H2O2 based on its physical properties. These include electrochemical, optical thermal, ultrasonic, chromatographic methods and mass spectra [11]. The analytical methods based on its physical properties are rather restricted due to its relatively poor robustness and sensitivity for biomedical application. Methods assessible for the enzyme assay techniques include Synthetic labeled substrates including fluorogenic and chromogenic substrates Isotopically labeled substrates Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) substrates Substrates with fluorescent labels with indirect detection Electrochemical assays Chemiluminiscence assays Bioluminescent assays Mass spectroscopy Nanotechnology Enzyme immobilization techniques For the development of analytical techniques and methods for the hydrogen peroxide assays, analytical chemists play a crucial role as they are mainly devoted to the development of methodologies or have been too much concerned with the analysis of isolated targeted material. 2.2 Quantification based on the electrochemical biosensor The modern concept of biosensors is a rapidly expanding field of instruments to determine the concentration of substances and other parameters of biological interest since the invention by Clark and lyons in 1962. Electrochemical biosensors are the analytical devices that detect biochemical and physiological changes. Early techniques of biosensors in the analysis of chemical and biological species involved reactions that took place in a solution in addition to catalysts and samples. In recent years, however the biosensor techniques have provided alternative systems that allowed the reactions without reagents to take place at a surface of an electrode. The immobilization techniques include physical adsorption, cross-linking, entrapment, covalent-bond or sometimes combination of all the techniques. International Status As it has been mentioned in the introduction of the proposal, a tremendous burst in research activities in the field of hydrogen peroxide measurement has increased over understanding about its role. Over the last few years, studies have suggested that oxidative stress plays a role in the regulation of hematopoietic cell homeostasis.[12] The generation of H2O2 is increased in response to various stresses, in which previous exposure to one stress can induce tolerance of subsequent exposure to the same or different stresses. [13] Oxidative stress is an important cause of cell damage associated with the initiation of many diseases.[14] It is also investigated that tissue injury due to free radical liberated by H2O2 during oxidative stress is the heart of periodontal diseases. [15] Many research papers describes that high levels of H2O2 is cytotoxic to a wide range of animal, plant and bacterial cells. Hydrogen peroxide has the ability to penetrate the cell membrane and form the hydroxyl radical OH. which is capable of causing high levels of DNA damage. [16] Evidences show that increase in the cellular levels of H2O2 play a major role directly or indirectly in sensitizing cancer cells to H2O2-induced cell death. Indeed, there is a growing literature showing that H2O2 can be used as an inter- and intra-cellular signalling molecule. [17] National status: A tremendous growth is taking place in developing hydrogen peroxide biosensor all over the world and also in India. As per the Indian scenario, different national research institutes and private companies have been working in this field. NPL, CEERI Pilani, IISC, IIT, Bengal Engineering and Science University and many more national institutes are working on this. Many of the private sectors like Biosensor Interventional technologies (India) Pvt. Ltd, Clearly a major obstacles in studying the roles of hydrogen peroxide has been the lack of widely available specific tools and methodologies Objectives The whole idea of the project is to develop a new ultrasensitive reagent, versatile, non-carcinogenic easily available so that there are no earlier reports. The proposal of new reagents for enzyme peroxidase based hydrogen peroxide assay. Principal investigator is interested to have an extensive catch over the kinetic assay by developing new kinetic equations by controlling different parameters such as pH, effect of co-substrate concentration etc., (iv) Methodology: The simple oxidative reaction of the H2O2 in the presence of enzyme can be explored by converting the co-substrates into optically detectable product. This includes a variety of oxidizing reagents based on the oxidative property of metals such as Co(II), Fe(II), Cu(II), and other metal ion catalysts. The assay based on simple oxidation comprises the optical methods such as spectrophotometry, spectroflurimetry, and chemiluminiscence. To overcome the relatively poor sensitivity and selectivity of the optical methods described below, peroxidase or metal porphyrins can be introduced to enhance the sensitivity of specific H2O2 detection. It is based on the specific H2O2 reaction with hydrogen donors on the catalysis of peroxidase or metal porphyrins, instead of oxidizing reagents. These optical methods of analysis are sensitive to the extent of micromolar and nanomolar H2O2 concentrations. As one of the most sensitive optical methods, chemiluminiscence is based on the reaction of luminol with H2O2 in basic solution in the presence of metal ions such as Fe(II), Cu(II), Co(II) and other metal ion catalysts [7]. Further chemiluminiscent methods were developed by the use of different oxidizing agents such as KIO4-K2CO3 [8]. Also attempts were made for the enhancement of chemuminiscent reaction by the use of p-iodopenol [9], gold nanoparticles [10], chitosan [11], resin [12] and DNAzyme [13]. Alternatively, fluorescent quantification has been applied to H2O2 based on the oxidation [14]. The generation of oxidized form can be measured by the fluorescent probes such as p-(hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid [15], ÃŽ ²- Cyclodextrin (CD)–hemin [16], N,N’-dicyanomethyl-o-phenylenediamine- hemin [17], Rhodamine B hydrazide-iron(III)-tetrasulfonatophthalocyanine [18], Fluorescein hydrazide [19], Haemin-L-tyrosine [20], Fluorescin [21], and ninhydrin [22]. Another approach was mainly based on the ROS fluorogenic reaction, which generally involves formation of oxidized forms which are highly fluorescent products [23-26]. There are also many spectrophotometric methods for the assay of H2O2 which are based on the oxidation and formation of the colored product. The spectrophotometry involves the methods based on guaiacol [27], 4-amino-5-(p-aminophenyl)-1-methyl-2-phenyl-pyrazol-3-one (DAP) N-ethyl-N-sulpho- propylaniline sodium salt (ALPS) [28], Phenol-AAP [29], Photofenton reaction-metavanadate [30], Fenton reaction [31], Pyrocatecol-aniline [32], H2O2-molybdate [33], Naphthalene-Agrocybe aegerita peroxidase [34], and phenol red-HRP [35]. The sensitivity of these optical methods can be further enhanced by the involvement of sequential flow injection analysis system. Principal investigator is interested to carry out modest research for the development of newer analytical procedures for the enzyme based substrate assay. Implementation of the project proposal involves of developing new reagents for the assay of peroxidase involving the use of amine, phenol related co-substrate assay for peroxidase. The main proposal of the research work will be dealt with alternative reagents to guaiacol, benzidine which are having it own disadvantages such as solubility in water, carcinogenic, economic viability. References: [1] C.L. Murrant, M.B. Reid, Detection of reactive oxygen and reactive nitrogen species in skeletal muscle, Microscopy Research and Technique, 55 (2001) 236-248. [2] M.P. Fink, Role of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in acute respiratory distress syndrome, Current Opinion in Critical Care, 8 (2002) 6-11. [3] D. Price, P.J. Worsfold, R.F. C. Mantoura, Hydrogen peroxide in the marine environment: cycling and methods of analysis, TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 11 (1992) 379-384. [4] J.M. Anglada, P. Aplincourt, J.M. Bofill, D. Cremer, Atmospheric Formation of OH Radicals and H2O2 from Alkene Ozonolysis under Humid Conditions, ChemPhysChem, 3 (2002) 215-221. [5] M.C.Y. Chang, A. Pralle, E.Y. Isacoff, C.J. Chang, A Selective, Cell-Permeable Optical Probe for Hydrogen Peroxide in Living Cells, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 126 (2004) 15392-15393. [6] E.W. Miller, A.E. Albers, A. Pralle, E.Y. Isacoff, C.J. Chang, Boronate-Based Fluorescent Probes for Imaging Cellular Hydrogen Peroxide, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 127 (2005) 16652-16659. [7] D.A. Abramowicz, C.R. Keese, Enzyme-catalyzed reactions involving diphenyl carbonate, in, Google Patents, 1990. [8] M. Geiszt, T.L. Leto, The Nox Family of NAD(P)H Oxidases: Host Defense and Beyond, Journal of Biological Chemistry, 279 (2004) 51715-51718. [9] C. Laloi, K. Apel, A. Danon, Reactive oxygen signalling: the latest news, Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 7 (2004) 323-328. [10] D.J. Jamieson, Oxidative stress responses of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Yeast, 14 (1998) 1511-1527. [11] D. Harms, H. Luftmann, F.K. Muller, B. Krebs, U. Karst, Selective determination of hydrogen peroxide by adduct formation with a dinuclear iron(iii) complex and flow injection analysis/tandem mass spectrometry, Analyst, 127 (2002) 1410-1412. [12] A. Nogueira-Pedro, T.A.M. Cesario, C. Dias, C.S.T. Origassa, L.P.M. Eca, E. Paredes-Gamero, A. Ferreira, Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) induces leukemic but not normal hematopoietic cell death in a dose-dependent manner, Cancer Cell International, 13 (2013) 123. [13] B. Halliwell, M.V. Clement, L.H. Long, Hydrogen peroxide in the human body, FEBS Letters, 486 (2000) 10-13. [14] E.A. Veal, A.M. Day, B.A. Morgan, Hydrogen Peroxide Sensing and Signaling, Molecular Cell, 26 (2007) 1-14. [15] A. Mendi, B. AslÄÂ ±m, Antioxidant Lactobacilli Could Protect Gingival Fibroblasts Against Hydrogen Peroxide: A Preliminary In Vitro Study, Probiotics Antimicro. Prot., (2014) 1-8. [16] B. Halliwell, J.M.C. Gutteridge, Oxygen free radicals and iron in relation to biology and medicine: Some problems and concepts, Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 246 (1986) 501-514. [17] S. Neill, R. Desikan, J. Hancock, Hydrogen peroxide signalling, Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 5 (2002) 388-395.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Rotten Boroughs and Reform :: Victorian Era

Rotten Boroughs and Reform Background A borough was â€Å"a town possessing a municipal corporation and special privileges conferred by royal charter† (Oxford English Dictionary). Among these privileges, boroughs had the right to send representatives to Parliament. No new boroughs had been chartered in England since the 17th century (Corey 371). As the nation aged, its population and industry changed, creating a disparity between the nation's demographics and its system of governmental representation. With the advent and unrestrained growth of the Industrial Revolution, population and wealth concentrated and massed in northern towns and cities. While seats in Parliament remained occupied by representatives from the antiquated boroughs, "no provisions were made to represent the growing commercial and professional classes" (Corey 372). In some cases, boroughs had become severely degraded due to poverty, depopulation, or even natural disasters. â€Å"Another ancient borough, Dunwhich, had for centuries been buried under the North sea,† that sea-side town having long since given way to erosion (Hughes 84). Such boroughs were considered â€Å"rotten,† as they were effectively controlled by one town corporation or large land-owner, as only the propertied upper class was eligible to vote. Such aristocrats often controlled their constituents' votes by bribery and coercion (Corey 372). For example, see William Makepeace Thackeray's installment novel, Vanity Fair. Thackeray uses â€Å"Queen's Crawley† to represent a â€Å"rotten† borough. Reform The 1832 Reform Bill enfranchised lawyers, factory owners, merchants, and other members of the middle class, stipulating as a requirement at least a rental lease of at least fifty pounds per year (Bloy). In addition, fifty-six old boroughs were abolished, their Parliamentary seats redistributed among some new boroughs and counties, somewhat more appropriate to population demographics (Corey 372). Not all of the rotten boroughs were eliminated at this point, however. Widespread enfranchisement occurred slowly, as successive acts made their way through Parliament during the Victorian age. The 1867 Reform Bill lowered the stipulations to five pounds per annum for leaseholders, adding approximately one million voters. The subsequent Reform Bill of 1885 added two million voters to the electorate by enfranchising households in the counties as well (Hughes 84).

Sunday, August 18, 2019

The Theory and Testing of the Reconceptualization of General and Specif

The Theory and Testing of the Reconceptualization of General and Specific Deterrence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the May 1993 issue of the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, the introduction of the reconceptualized deterrence theory was presented, explaining that general and specific deterrence are both functions of crime. Mark C. Stafford, an Associate Professor of Sociology and Associate Rural Sociologist at Washington State University, and Mark Warr, an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Texas in Austin, introduced this theory. They argued that there is no reason to have multiple theories for general and specific deterrence. Rather, a single theory is possible that centers on indirect experience with legal punishment and punishment avoidance and direct experience with legal punishment and avoidance.1 General deterrence includes the knowledge of criminal acts performed by others and the consequences or absence of consequences from the activity. Specific deterrence relies upon personal experience of punishment and the avoidance of punishment for a criminal activity previously committed. Both Stafford and Warr theorized that people are exposed to both types of deterrents, with some people exposed to more of one type than the other. In addition both general and specific deterrence effects may coincide with each other and act as reinforcement.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the May 1995 issue of the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency a preliminary test was conducted on Stafford and Warr’s deterrence theory. Raymond Paternoster and Alex Piquero, both professors in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland, attempted to elaborate on Stafford and Warr’s original findings. They, Paternoster and Piquero, argued that although they could find some support for the basic features of the deterrence theory, there was still a significant component that Paternoster and Piquero could not address. Without being able to measure the consequences of the illegal behavior of their respondents’ peers, they could not separate the effects of indirect punishment avoidance from indirect punishment.2 Furthermore, they claimed that the personal experience of punishment had a definite role in substance abuse, as well as leading to additional criminal activities because of formal sanctions.   &nbs... ...eory. Though further testing needs to establish if this theory is correct, it will provide a single theory for deterrence, eliminating the possibility of accidentally excluding essential issues, and provide more resources to those trying to distinguish between deterrence and defiance. 1 Mark Stafford and Mark Warr, â€Å"A Reconceptualization of General and Specific Deterrence,† Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 30 (1993): 133. 2 Raymond Paternoster and Alex Piquero, â€Å"Reconceptualizing Deterrence: An Empirical Test of Personal and Vicarious Experiences,† Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 32 (1995): 281. 3 Stafford and Warr 123. 4 R.F. Meier and W.T. Johnson, â€Å"Deterrence as a Social Control: The Legal and Extra Legal Production of Conformity,† American Sociological Review 42 (1977): 294-95. 5 Stafford and Warr 125. 6 Stafford and Warr 126. 7 Stafford and Warr 128. 8 Stafford and Warr 128. 9 Stafford and Warr 133. 10 Paternoster and Piquero 261. 11 Paternoster and Piquero 263. 12 Paternoster and Piquero 263. 13 Paternoster and Piquero 264. 14 Paternoster and Piquero 284. 15 Paternoster and Piquero 272. 16 Paternoster and Piquero 278. 17 Paternoster and Piquero 276.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Comparing the Reaction Rates of Alkanes and Alkenes Essay

Introduction Alkanes are hydrocarbons with only single bonds between the atoms. Saturated hydrocarbon is the other term for it. They are used as fuels because they are non-reactive and also do not conduct electricity. For this reason they do not form hydrogen bonds and are insoluble in solvents such as water while alkenes are hydrocarbons that contain at least one carbon-to-carbon double bond. Unsaturated hydrocarbons are the other term for alkenes. They are stable compounds, but more reactive than alkanes due to the presence of carbon-carbon bond. Objectives: * To know if potassium permanganate solution will show reactions with oil and fat samples. * To determine if the results of the performed experiment are saturated or unsaturated and alkane or alkene if the samples are mixed with potassium permanganate. Hypothesis: If the fats and oils will be added by potassium permanganate solution then we will know if it is an alkane or an alkene. Materials and Methods * We obtained 2 full droppers (medicine dropper) of each oil sample, such as coconut oil, canola oil, corn oil, linseed oil and castor oil and placed it in different test tubes each. Different droppers were used to gather each sample. * We then melted the solid samples; butter, lard, and margarine using the warm water bath provided by the laboratory and tested them as liquids. * After getting all the samples needed, we added one dropper full of potassium permanganate solution to each samples and with the use of stirring rod, we stirred it then was covered with stoppers. The solid samples at the room temperature were turned to liquid when it was heated using the warm water bath method, while the liquid samples was still liquid at the room temperature. The butter and lard din not mixed well with the potassium permanganate  (KMnO4) and has some unmixed reactant which was at the bottom of the test tubes. Others, such as canola oil, coconut oil, linseed oil, castor oil, corn oil, and margarine has reactions as seen at table 1. Potassium Permanganate (KMnO4) discharges its color to the samples if it is unsaturated fat, however some have special cases like margarine and coconut oil.  Alkanes are not reactant with most reagentsbecause they have good orbital overlap, and their C-C and C-H bonds are strong. Alkane is not acidic nor basic due to the C-H bond and the electronegativity of both elements. Due to similarities the bond becomes a little polarity. Less polarity mean the proton loss would be difficult. Saturated fats are hydrocarbons consisting of no double bonds between carbon atoms of the datty acid chain. Excessive consumption is not good because of their association with atherosclerosis and heart diseases. Unsaturated fats are considered good to eat if you have control with you cholesterol. It increases good cholesterol or bad cholesterol. The following samples are unsaturated fats based on our results: Lard, Canola Oil, Linseed Oil, Corn Oil and Castor Oil. In chemical sense, fats  are called â€Å"unsaturated† because they have spots that could potentially be filled with hydrogen atoms. â€Å"Monounsaturated† are fats that don’t have hydrogen. â€Å"Polyunsaturated† are fats that have more than one spot of hydrogen. Summary With the use of the Potassium permanganate (KMnO4) the reaction of the samples were compared and determined whether the substance is an alkane or an alkene. It helps saturated fats from unsaturated fats by discharging its colors to the samples. After following the methods of the experiment, we began to research on some facts about the alkanes and alkenes. All of the samples of liquid at the room temperature changed its color including margarine, while butter and lard did not mix well with the Potassium permanganate (KMnO4). Conclusion Therefore we conclude that potassium permanganate (KMnO4) will have a reaction when mixed with unsaturated fats (alkenes), while saturated fats will have less reaction due to its structure because it has no double or triple bond.