Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Social Meida Addiction Essay - 1962 Words

On the night of my first Media and Society class, my instructor Ann, sternly stated (while going over the class syllabus) that we were not to use our, smart phones, computers, etc. for personal use only class related reasons or taking notes. No social media networks, tweeting or sending messages. I found myself thinking this is an adult college program; why was it necessary for her to tell us that? Is there a problem here that required such a statement? Ann then asked how many of us use â€Å"Social Media† (that is what the class is about, media and its effect on society) what we use it for, how often we use it and if we ever turned our connection off. When I heard some of the answers I was concerned. Several students admitted that they would†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"As many as 1 in 8 Americans suffer from problematic social media usage,† according to Stanford University,† not only are people obsessed and over use it, but they are actually becoming addi cted. There are several online social medias that people are becoming addicted to; the five most prevalent are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Dating sites and online gaming, in particular Warcraft. Anyone who has access to technology, a computer, smart phone etc. and access to the internet is at stake in this new-aged addiction, regardless of age, race or gender. Social Media Addiction is now being recognized as a psychological disorder all over the world, not just here in the U.S. In the 90’s studies were focused on Internet Addiction (IA), but the new decade with its advances in social media sites have now added yet another addiction to study. Facebook seems to be the number one social web site that has the highest addiction count. Facebook has 800 million active users, two billion posts are liked and commented on per day and approximately 10 billion minutes (all together) are logged on the site each day. It is so addictive for so many that is has been said to be as addictive as smoking. Studies have revealed that people feel upset, fidgety and agitated if they are denied access to the internet and their social media sites. Some even stating that they feel lonely, depressed and anxious if they are unable to access their Facebook account. Like other

Monday, December 16, 2019

Functions of Human Resources Free Essays

Human Resources, or HR, can at times, be something of a mystery if you have not had any reason to interact with the human resource staff. What do they accomplish in the human resources department? What is their contribution to the company? Every day the human resources department is making decisions that affect the employees. Wages and salaries, hiring and firing, handling employee grievances, and employee training are functions of the human resources department. We will write a custom essay sample on Functions of Human Resources or any similar topic only for you Order Now Wages and Salaries Human resources follows the patterns of other employers to help them determine what they pay the company employees. Competitive wages are important to employees when they are job searching or moving up within the company. According to the HR Council for the Nonprofit Sector, â€Å"Salary surveys are conducted with employers in the same labor market to determine pay levels for specific job categories† (â€Å"Wages,† â€Å"n. d. ,†, p. 2). Surveys are a function of HR to determine if they are offering competitive wages with other companies. Hiring and Firing Hiring new employees is directly affected by human resources. Creating job descriptions and determining the skills needed to qualify for a position is a function of the human resources department. Job descriptions describe what is expected from the person applying for the position. This written job description also gives the human resources guidelines if discipline is needed in the future. Established expectations are used to coach an employee and if necessary fire the employee. Firing Firing an employee is not as easy as it may seem. Documentation is necessary to build a history of coaching an employee into the correct behavior. If the correct behavior is not reached a historical case has been created to support firing the employee. If the action or behavior violates company policy, immediate firing of the employee can happen. Employee Grievances Listening to employee grievances is an important function of human resources. Linking management with workers who have an issue that needs addressing is handled within human resources. Management may not be aware of an employee’s grievance without the connection that human resources can make between the two levels of employees. Documentation of the grievance and steps toward a solution is a function of human resources. Employee Training Training employees and supplying current job information should be a continual process of the human resources department. Keeping employees trained is a vital step in running a good company. â€Å"In order to improve the efficiency level of the employees they have go undergo regular trainings and development programs† (â€Å"Training,† â€Å"n. d. ,†, p. 2). Employees who can complete their jobs to the highest level possible keep the company running efficiently. It is the responsibility and function of the human resources department to supply training to the company’s employees. Conclusion There are many functions of the human resources department. Hiring employees, training, and coaching are a few functions of human resources. Human resources support the company in ways not always seen, but the effects are implemented with the workers. Creating a productive work environment requires constant work from the human resources department that may not always be noticed. How to cite Functions of Human Resources, Papers

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Examine the Key Ideas of Utilitarianism free essay sample

Examine the key ideas of utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a relativist, consequentialist and teleological system of ethics based on the idea of ‘utility’. This means usefulness and utilitarian suggest that everyone should be the most useful thing. The theory was devised by Jeremy Bentham who said â€Å"an action is right if it produces the greatest good for the greatest number†. He believed human beings are motivated by pleasure and pain. Bentham lived in an era of great social and scientific change and unrest; he wanted to produce a modern and rational approach to morality. He was hedonist and believed that humans naturally pursued pleased and tried to avoid pain, he created the hedonic calculus in which happiness is measured with seven different elements including duration of happiness, the intensity of it and the purity of it. His theory is also known as the act utilitarianism – this is the belief that solutions to situations might change depending on the consequences of the act. He says ‘by utility is meant that property of any object whereby it tends to produce benefit, advantage, pleasure, good or happiness’ which summarizes Bentham’s view on his entire belief of utilitarianism. John Mill Stuart modified the theory and criticised Bentham’s theory of utilitarianism and maintained that the well-being of a person was the greatest importance as Bentham’s theory allows sadistic pleasure for example, under Bentham’s theory, if 10 rapists were to rape the same woman, then using the hedonic calculus their action would be justified because more people are gaining pleasure at the pain of one woman, however, this would be morally wrong. Mills then developed higher pleasure and lower pleasure; lower pleasures would be physical pleasures such as sex, alcohol while higher pleasures would be things like love and friendship and believed everyone would desire higher pleasure ‘it is better to be a pig dissatisfied than a pig satisfied’. Therefore, rule utilitarianism fits more with John Mills theory as this means moral rules are formulated based on utilitarian principles and the individual can apply these situations to judge whether the act is acceptable or not. Preference utilitarianism believes that you should take into account the preferences of the person concerned in each case until they are outweighed by the preference of others. This allows people to define what pleasure and pain is for them. R. M Hare argued for preference utilitarianism as he believes the â€Å"right thing† to do is to maximise the satisfaction of the preference of each individual involved. Peter Singer states ‘our own preferences cannot count any more than the preference of others’ showing that he was more concerned about the best possible consequence rather than ‘the greatest good for the greatest number. There is also negative utilitarianism which aims to bring about the least amount of pain or to prevent the greater harm for the greatest number. However, there are good things that cannot be experienced without some element of pain and a final branch of utilitarianism is descriptive utilitarianism which analyses how we behave rather than prescribing what we ought to do. Utilitarianism doesn’t say that the moral action is the one that maximizes the benefits or happiness of the person doing the action. It must be the benefits and the happiness of everyone involved and each person count equally. All consequences must be counted including short-term and long-term consequences so that the extent can be foreseen. To what extent has this theory survived the challenges which it has faced? A straightforward advantage to the theory is that it’s based on a single principle of minimising pain and maximising pleasure and happiness; a system which obviously aims to create a happier life for individuals and groups. Nevertheless, Bentham’s theory can be viewed as a swine ethic where there is a lack of protection for the minority like Phillip Petit says ‘so long as they promised the best consequence, it would forbid absolutely nothing: not rape, not torture, not even murder’ because under this theory if 10 rapists were to rape 1 woman, their action can be justified. Other advantages to the theory are that it encourages a democratic approach to decision-making as the majority’s interest is always considered therefore it’s likely to yield results that are in line with common sense. However, approaches to the theory are subjective, for example John Mills theory is based on lower and higher pleasure to which Henry Sidgewick stated â€Å"in practice it is hard to distinguish between higher and lower pleasures† because of the subjectivity of ‘pleasure’ not everyone would find the same things pleasurable. The theory also brings about other ethical issues such as â€Å"prima-facie† duties – deciding between someone that might bring about the greatest good such as one family member or a man with the cure to cancer; one would be inclined to ave their family member. Therefore, the theory seems to ignore the importance of duty. In contrast, preference utilitarianism gives the valuable principle of being an impartial observer as it thinks about others interest or preferences as long as one also includes behaving justly which is what Bentham’s theory fails to bring across. In conclusion, it seems that the theory hasn’t been a ble to survive the challenges which it has faced. The fact that Bentham’s theory allows for sadistic pleasure makes it seem extremely immoral. Whereas, Mills theory provides no option out of Bentham’s theory as it lacks the flexibility to make sensible choices in different situations. Moreover, the whole theory is based on the principle of pain and pleasure which is very subjective and therefore not everyone would believe in the same thing and for the theory to work; everyone would have to agree with each other. Although it does have its strengths, the flaw lies in the key features and as such it’s not practical and it’s very difficult to apply.

Saturday, November 30, 2019

What would you do if you were dying from an incura Essay Example For Students

What would you do if you were dying from an incura Essay ble disease, and you knew that you were going to suffer? Would you choose to go through all of the pain and suffering or would you look at other options, such as Euthanasia? Also known as Doctor Assisted-Suicide. People choose the way that they live, so they should be able to choose the way that they die. Why should someone else have the authority to force people to live in suffering or indignity if they dont want to? Some believe that Euthanasia should be outlawed because it is an invalid form of death. However, others think that Euthanasia should be practiced. When people are suffering they have the right to make their own decisions. Euthanasia will eliminate the suffering of a person whos dying, and decrease the trauma of family members and loved ones. We will write a custom essay on What would you do if you were dying from an incura specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The word Euthanasia means a good death, beneficial death or a dignified death.-Neal Bernards, page 153. However many who think Euthanasia is inhumane turn to vicious name- calling about the doctors, such as cruel, heartless and barbaric murderers. Euthanasia is the practice of painlessly ending the lives of people who have uncurable, painful or distressing disease or handicaps. Euthanasia may occur when permanently ill patients ask a doctor, friend or family member to put them to death. There are many different kinds of Euthanasia such as Passive Euthanasia, Voluntary Euthanasia, and Active Voluntary Euthanasia. Most people dont want to die. They arent suicidal. They just want to know that they will have a good life right up to their last breath. Many people choose Euthanasia because they want to escape unnecessary suffering, and the main reason is because they are afraid that they will loose their dignity. If people cant find a doctor that will break the law they will stoop to a lower level to end their suffering. Such as taking high doses of drugs or suffocation by a plastic bag. Rational Suicide. Ten percent or 1 in 5 physicians admitted that they have deliberately taken action to cause a patients death according to a survey conducted by the American Society of International Medicine- Gary E. McCuen Page: 143. That means that almost 90% of all terminally ill patients are committing suicide. That is why Euthanasia should be legal. There will be less pain and suffering for the ill patients and their families. Also less trauma of knowing that their loved one committed suicide because they found no other way out. When a person is going to die a painful death and going through massive suffering they might look at options such as Euthanasia. Today, scientific advancements and medical technology in most industrialized countries have helped people live longer. -Kathlyn Gay page: 10. This decreased the dying rate. As a result of this, terminally ill patients will stay alive longer in tragic pain for months and maybe even years. There are many cases of patients that are kept alive by artificial means, which increases the debate about the right to die. Its not fair for a person to have to suffer against their will. When a person is lying there in their hospital bed, dying a painful death they should be able to decide whether they want to continue to suffer or be put to rest. Even though its against the law, its in the best interest of the patient. Once people who are suffering know how to make final exit and have the opportunity to do so, they will often regotiate with themselves the conditions of their dying. When a persons body is destroyed with disease sometimes its just not even worth living. People fight their entire life to live, why should they fight to die when in the end everyone looses because its a part of life. .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c , .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c .postImageUrl , .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c , .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c:hover , .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c:visited , .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c:active { border:0!important; } .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c:active , .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u446c146e5d44a00dadcefc9b0155ab3c:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: There are many aspects of the automotive industrie EssayThere are two ways of Doctor Assisted- Suicide. A lethal drug for a person physically capable of ending his or her own life and injecting a lethal drug if the patient is physically incapable of causing their death.-Gary E. McCuen page: 128. The lethal drug is preferred over the injection because the doctor is less directly involved as a casual agent. Letting the person do the dirty work is less stress on the physician. There are psychological reasons why doctors prefer the patients control over physician administered lethal injection.- Gary E. McCuen page: 67. This is because when the patient has control, and the pill s are in their hands they will have the opportunity to sleep on their decision to die or continue to suffer and the pills will still be there in the morning. They wont loose their means of escape through delay.-Gary E. McCuen page:129. However if there is no possible way of taking the pills then they really have no control. When its time, its time, and if their family members and loved ones are at their bedside and the doctor is ready to give the patient their injection and they have second thoughts about whether or not to be put to their good death they might feel obligated and make their decision even though they arent positive about what they are doing. When a person who is terminally ill goes into a doctors office and requests Euthanasia they have to be able to make a reasoned decision about which type of Euthanasia they would like, then there will be papers that the patient has to sign. Preferably before a life threatening condition is diagnosed, however if it is too late for that there will be exceptions. And it must be witnesses by at least two people and maybe video recorded. Then there is a one month waiting period called cooling off so the patient has time to think things over thourally and make the decision whether what there doing is ethical. The patient is reviewed and updated periodically. Then, it is computer recorded for the patients lawyer, doctor, close family and friends. Lastly, it is noted on their drivers license, social security, health, medical information cards, bank, insurance forms, and passports etc. So they are informed of the procedure. There are many steps that the patient has to take before the actual pr ocedure takes place. They cant just walk in and expect to die that some day. It takes a lot of time and a lot of thought. In conclusion Euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands under certain circumstances and it has always been legal in Switzerland, Germany, and Norway, so why cant it be legal in the U.S.? If a person is terminally ill and has no chance of living and suffering and pain is what they have to look forward to before their final breath then they should be laid to rest and put out of their misery. Then they have the opportunity to have a peaceful death without pain and suffering. Human beings have the right to decide what they want in life, and if Euthanasia is at the top of their list then so be it. They have the knowledge and free will to do what they choose. Euthanasia isnt a terrible thing. Its a fact of life, and if people choose to do it then let them. Doctors are just trying to help people that feel that they cant go on. Plus, not just anyone can go in and request Euthanasia. They must be terminally ill and have a few months to live. Euthanasia helps people who are in need of getting out while they can. Its not murder, its Death with Dignity!

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

102 Research and The Conversation Professor Ramos Blog

102 Research and The Conversation Quick Write Quick Write What do you think is the difference between writing in high school and writing in college? The Conversation We have already learned several important concepts. The next concept is the metaphor of The Unending Conversation. What we are studying now, has a long history. People have been writing and researching everything you can think of. For example, the conversation on how to speak well goes back a couple thousand years to Aristotle, Plato, and others that came before. How does this relate to writing? Everything you will write about from now on, needs to be based in a conversation. A scholarly one, a scientific one, a popular one. To know what has been said before, you need to read and research. Why does this matter? Burke’s â€Å"Unending Conversation† Metaphor Kenneth Burke writes: Imagine that you enter a parlor. You come late. When you arrive, others have long preceded you, and they are engaged in a heated discussion, a discussion too heated for them to pause and tell you exactly what it is about. In fact, the discussion had already begun long before any of them got there, so that no one present is qualified to retrace for you all the steps that had gone before. You listen for a while, until you decide that you have caught the tenor of the argument; then you put in your oar. Someone answers; you answer him; another comes to your defense; another aligns himself against you, to either the embarrassment or gratification of your opponent, depending upon the quality of your ally’s assistance. However, the discussion is interminable. The hour grows late, you must depart. And you do depart, with the discussion still vigorously in progress. Weekly Journals week 2 Intro to Research Scholarly research is research that is published by people with specialized knowledge on what they are researching. It is peer reviewed, reviewed by other researchers and specialist in the field, and is generally trustworthy. Blogs, Newspapers, Magazines are not Scholarly but are popular sources. ProCon.org  No subscription needed. Good place to look at the main issues around a topic. Occupational Outlook Handbook  The OOH can help you find career information on duties, education and training, pay, and outlook for hundreds of occupations. Google Scholar  Google academic database search. Great place to start. Crafton Hills Library Databases  Ã‚  You have to sign in to access the library databases off campus. Annotated Bibliography The annotated bibliography is intended to help you with your research project. An annotated bib is a works cited or references page with additional information added to each citation. You begin with the correct reference citation for your sources. For this assignment we will have three to five sources. Here is a good explanation of  citations in MLA. Explanation and example of an  Annotated Bibliography  from Cornell Example 2  Annotated Bibliography  from Purdue OWL Here is the format: Author(s). â€Å"Article Title.†Ã‚  Source, vol. #, no. #, season year, pp. xx-xx.  Database,  URL. Example: Kong, Les. â€Å"Business Sources for Education Majors.†Ã‚  Education Graduate Students Journal, vol. 75, no. 4, 2014, pp. 12-19.  JSTOR,  jstor.org/stable/52506788. To each entry you will add the annotation, the paragraph or two that explains the source, why you are using it, and its reliability. Each professor you will have in the future may have specific guidelines for what to include in an annotated bibliographic entry. Always follow their instructions. For this assignment, you should include: Summary of Source, 2-4 sentences How you are using it in your report, 1-3 sentences Reliability of source, 1-3 sentences Krikorian, Mark. â€Å"Two Immigration Priorities.†Ã‚  National Review, Dec, 2016, pp. 18-20, SIRS Issues Researcher,  www.sks.sirs.com. This article goes into detail on some of the other less talked about factors of the changes in how we deal with illegal immigrants under our new president and his policies. The author is the director of the Center for Immigration Studies so I assume he is a credible expert in immigration. I will use this source to get more specific in my critique of the border wall proposal. Krikorian, Mark. â€Å"Two Immigration Priorities.†Ã‚  National Review, Dec, 2016, pp. 18-20, SIRS Issues Researcher,  www.sks.sirs.com. This article goes into detail on some of the other less talked about factors of the changes in how we deal with illegal immigrants under our new president and his policies. The author is the director of the Center for Immigration Studies so I assume he is a credible expert in immigration. I will use this source to get more specific in my critique of the border wall proposal. In total, you should have a short paragraph, 4-10 sentences, explaining the three points above. Homework Write the Annotated Bib 5 Sources Tuesday Rough Draft of Proposal Essay

Friday, November 22, 2019

Using Sentence Connectors to Express Complex Ideas

Using Sentence Connectors to Express Complex Ideas Once you have mastered the basics of correct usage in written English, you will want to express yourself in increasingly complex ways. Sentence connectors are used to express relationships between ideas and to combine sentences and are one of the best ways to improve and add sophistication to your writing.   Sentence connectors are also referred to as linking language. There are a number of forms of sentence connections such as: Conjunctions, which connect two simple ideas: The teacher discussed French and German history. Coordinating conjunctions, which  connect two phrases or simple sentences: Jennifer would like to visit Rome, and she would like to spend some time in Naples. Subordinating conjunctions, which  connect a dependent and an independent clause: Just as its important to win, its important to play the game.   Conjunctive adverbs are used to connect one sentence to another: Children get plenty of exercise at our school. Similarly, they enjoy extensive art programs. Prepositions must be used with nouns rather than full phrases: Like Seattle, Tacoma is located on the Puget Sound in the state of Washington. Sentence connectors are used for many tasks. For example they can indicate  additional information. Not only do students have to take weekly tests, but they are also required to take pop-quizzes throughout the term.The company needs to invest more heavily in research and development. In addition, we need to improve our manufacturing facilities. Sentence connectors can indicate opposition  or contrast between ideas.   Mary asked for another week to complete the project although she had already spent three weeks in preparation.Despite the economic growth of the past eight years, most middle class citizens are having difficult making ends meet.    Connectors can also  show the cause and effect  of certain actions or when explaining the reasons for decisions. We decided to hire three more employees because sales were increasing rapidly.The sales department developed a new marketing campaign. As a result, sales have risen by more than 50% over the last six months.   English also uses sentence connectors to  contrast information. On the one hand, they have improved their language skills. On the other hand, they still need to improve their understanding of basic math.Unlike the nineteenth century, the twentieth century saw science become the leading subject in universities around the world.   Finally, use subordinating conjunctions such as if or unless to  express conditions  when connecting ideas in English.   Unless Tom can complete the project by the end of next week, we wont win the contract with the city government.  Focus your energies on your studies while at college. Otherwise, youll be left with a lot of debt and no diploma.   Type of Connector Connector(s) Examples Coordinating Conjunction and...too High level positions are stressful, and can be harmful to your health too.Customers are satisfied with our sales, and they feel our marketing team is friendly too. Subordinating conjunction just as Just as high level positions are stressful, they can be harmful to your health.Just as students need a vacation from studies, employees require some downtime in order to bring their best efforts to work. Conjunctive adverbs similarly, in comparison High level positions are stressful at times. Similarly, they can be harmful to your health.Students from Asian countries tend to be excellent at grammar. In comparison, European students often excel in conversational skills. Prepositions like, similar to Similar to other important professions, high level business positions are stressful at times.Like the healthy pursuit of free time activities, success in the workplace or at school is essential to a well-rounded individual.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Explaining a Concept Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Explaining a Concept Research Paper - Essay Example Human activities that cause an increase in the amount of green house gases in the atmosphere include: industrial farming, cutting down of trees and burning of fossil fuels. This paper will give an overview of the issue of global warming and will highlight its impacts and measures developed to contain the issue. Green house gases are described as atmospheric gases that absorb and release radiation within the range of the thermal infrared through a process identified as the green house effect (Bhatia 124). The main green house gases in the atmosphere are carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, ozone and methane. Green house gases tend to increase atmospheric temperatures as they allow incoming solar radiation to get into the atmosphere but they trap the outgoing wave radiation of heat preventing it from escaping. This will cause heating of the atmosphere leading to global warming. Research has been carried out by scientists to determine the effects of global warming which include s ediment research, tree- ring research and ice- core analysis. The sediment research has identified that water levels in the oceans are reducing compared to water levels about 400,000 years ago. The tree ring research, on the other hand, shows the levels of atmospheric precipitation (Siegfried and Avery 128). These researches have provided sufficient evidence to show that global warming has resulted in changes in climate. Researchers have therefore concluded that human activities and unregulated release of green house gases into the atmosphere are the main causes of global warming and climate change. Governments, researchers and conservationists have acknowledged the adverse impacts that global warming may have on the environment if corrective measures are not put into place. Global warming is a serious problem that has adverse impacts on sustainable development of the nation. Adaptation has been identified as a strategy that can be applied to enable the nation to deal with climate c hange. Adaptation will involve making necessary adjustments in the human as well as natural systems in response to expected changes in climate. According to research carried out by scientists, levels of global warming and climate change are highest in temperate and polar regions (Siegfried and Avery 275). The Polar Regions have thick and large masses of slow moving ice known as glaciers. Glaciers cover a significant proportion of the earth surface. Ice carps and valley glaciers found in the Polar Regions contain more than 50 % of the world’s fresh water. Scientists have predicted that the rate of melting of glaciers and ice carps has increased in recent times due to increased global temperatures. The rate of melting is expected to increase in coming years if effective mitigation measures are not initiated to contain global warming. Scientists have also predicted that if the worldwide ‘business as usual’ culture continues, global warming will lead to a rise in the sea levels of approximately 25 inches. Other research shows that sea levels will rise as soon as in 2040. Rising sea levels, however, will rise depending on the rate with which glaciers and ice carps are melting. If the rate of global warming continues to increase, the rates with which glacie

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

The Historyof the Calendar Then and Now Research Paper

The Historyof the Calendar Then and Now - Research Paper Example Nevertheless, history reports that the Romans were the first to use the calendar. The Romans painted the calendar on their house walls (Timeline: Ancient Rome). Roman calendars were commonly called the fasti, which means a list of court sittings. The name calendar was from the word, â€Å"calendarium,† which originally meant a list of debts owed. The term relates to the word â€Å"kalendae or calendae,† which referred to the first day of the month when loans were issued and interest payments were due. During the reign of Romulus, the Roman calendar consisted of ten months, and the number of days varied from twenty to thirty-five days. There was quite a mess in the use of the original Roman calendar (Timeline: Ancient Rome) in that they had no knowledge of the motions of the moon and the sun, and they knew that there were 360 days in a year. As such, they observed the so-called intercalary month to fill in the gap between the seasons. Moreover, according to Rupke (31) an d the web site, Timeline: Ancient Rome, Numa was the first one to calculate the eleven-day difference between the lunar and the solar years, and he was the first to note that the moon completed its cycle in 365 days. In addition, Numa was the one who added the two months, namely, January and February, and altered the order of the months, making March the third month instead of the first and January as the first instead of the eleventh month. Later on, the Julian calendar, which was designed by Julius Caesar, replaced the Roman calendar. All the months in the Julian system had either 30 or 31 days, except for February or Februalia, which had either 29 or 30 days depending on the leap year. July was named after Julius Caesar himself, and August took from the Octavian ruler, Augustus. The latter made August consist of 31 days, thus taking one day from the month of February (Who Invented the Calendar We Have Today?). The Julian Calendar was used until 1582, when the Gregorian calendar r eplaced it. The Gregorian calendar that was designed according to Chrisian tradition is what is commonly used now in the West. This calendar was named after Pope Gregory XIII who approved it during his reign, whereas the calendar was originally designed by Aloysius Lilius. Lilius was an Italian astronomer, physician and chronologist from Ziro in Calabrio, Italy (Who Invented the Calendar We Have Today)? He was fascinated by timekeeping and noted some problems with the Julian calendar, thus made his own version of it, and submitted for the approval of the pope. The Gregorian calendar corrects the mistakes of the Julian Calendar by adopting the four-year leap cycle. In the modern world, the calendar serves as an important material for keeping records or documentation in all fields such as education, business, government, and practically all human transactions. Almost every event requires the use of the calendar to calculate the length of time needed in every endeavor. In the school, c alendars serve various functions. In the field of education, calendars are used as an important tool for holding important reminders as for

Saturday, November 16, 2019

The Bluetooth SIG and specifications Essay Example for Free

The Bluetooth SIG and specifications Essay If the success of Bluetooth is measured by its initial interest alone then its prominence has already been assured. Before products were on sale, hundreds of companies joined the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) and the Bluetooth brand became recognized worldwide. Before investigating the technology further it is appropriate to comment about the role played by the SIG, the administrative structure of which is outlined in Figure 3. With membership of the SIG nearing 2500 members it is only right to look at how the SIG works to promote, shape and define the specification and position Bluetooth in the market place. Positioning of the technology is important when you consider other wireless technologies that share the same ISM band, e.g. IEEE802.11b, HomeRF and DECT. Differentiation is key in avoiding confusion of potential users. Figure 3: Bluetooth SIG Administrative Structure In 1994, Ericsson Mobile Communications began to examine alternatives to cables linking accessories with their mobile phones. This study produced the initial specification for wireless technology, with the Bluetooth SIG founded in February 1998 by the core promoters: Ericsson Mobile Communications AB. Intel Corp. IBM Corp. Toshiba Corp. Nokia Mobile Phones. The core promoters announced the global SIG in May 1998 and invited other companies to join as Bluetooth adopters. In July 1999 the core promoters published version 1.0 of the specification and further enlarged the core promoter group in December 1998 with the inclusion of: v Microsoft v Lucent (now Agere) v 3Com. v Motorola. The responsibility for the various Bluetooth specifications is in the hands of the individual technical working groups. Once a specification reaches a version level 0.5 it is made visible to associate members. An associate members must be recommended by a promoter, and submit a fee. When a specification reaches version 1.0 it gets a higher level of visibility. Now adopters have visibility and any company can become an adopter by joining the SIG, signing and submitting the membership agreement (see â€Å"Bluetooth†). The Bluetooth specifications are open specifications for wireless communications that are free to download and use; however to use it royalty free you do have to join the SIG. By joining the group you sign up to an adopter’s agreement sharing any patents essential for implementing Bluetooth. The specifications define minimum functionality allowing devices from different companies to communicate (see â€Å"Bluetooth†). . They provide the following: o  Ã‚   Protocol definitions for interoperability o  Ã‚   Host controller interface o  Ã‚   Bearer services for higher layer protocols o  Ã‚   Profiles o  Ã‚   Qualification o  Ã‚   Production test o  Ã‚   Brand book The Bluetooth specifications define the concept of a Personal Area Network (PAN), what they do not provide helps to position it in the ISM band. It is not focussed on Wide Area Networking (WAN) as it has a limited range and currently there is no hand over mechanism, though there is a working group. They do not provide implementation instructions at the application programming interfaces, user interfaces or a definition of hardware and software split. Although it could be argued there is guidance in the profiles’ specification. The rest of this section breaks down the specifications encompassing the key aspects of Bluetooth in order to explain the features (see â€Å"Bluetooth†). A.2.1 The Protocol Stack The Bluetooth specifications define not only a radio system but cover the underlying structure. The Core Specification contains a software protocol stack similar to the more familiar Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) standard reference model for communication protocol stacks. It permits applications to discover devices, the services they offer and permission to use these services. The stack is a sequence of layers with features crossing single or multiple layered boundaries. Figure 4 outlines the stack with each block corresponding to a Core Specification chapter. Other remaining chapters relate to compliance requirements, test modes and test control interface (see â€Å"Bluetooth†). If we ascend the stack, we first come across the fundamental component, the radio. The radio modulates and demodulates data for transmitting and receiving over the air. The operating band of the radio is divided into 1 MHz spaced channels with a chosen modulation scheme of Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying (GFSK). Each channel is specified to signal at 1mega symbols per second, equivalent to 1 Mb/s. Above the radio are the Baseband and Link Controller, they are responsible for controlling the physical links via the radio, and assembling the packets and controlling the frequency hopping (see â€Å"Bluetooth†. Progressing through the layers, the Link Manager (LM) controls and configures links to other devices. The Host Controller Interface (HCI) is above the LM layer and is probably one of the most important layers to consider as a designer. It handles communication between host and the module. The standard defines the HCI command packets that the host uses to control the module, the event packets used by the host to inform lower protocol layers of changes, the data packets for voice and data traffic between host and module and the transport layer used by the HCI packets. The transport layer can be USB (H2), RS232 (H3), UART (4) or a robust proprietary standard such as BCSP (BlueCore Serial Protocol). The Logical Link Control and Adaptation (L2CAP) is a multiplexor, adapting data from higher layers and converting between different packet sizes. The next 4 layers could be loosely grouped as communication interfaces. These are RFCOMM (Radio Frequency COMMunication port) which provides an RS232 like serial interface. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and OBject EXchange (OBEX) are responsible for providing interfaces to other Communications Protocols. The final member of this rough grouping is the Telephony Control protocol Specification (TCS) providing telephony services. Service Discovery Protocol (SDP) lets devices discover the services available on another Bluetooth device (see â€Å"Bluetooth†). Figure 4: The Bluetooth Protocol Stack The application layer is probably obvious, but the standard provides Profiles laying out rules for how applications use the protocol stack, ensuring interoperability at application level (see â€Å"Bluetooth†).

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Free Trade Essays -- Economy, Developing Countries

What is free trade? Many American’s have a broad and sometimes-false idea of what free trade actually is. Free trade â€Å"refers to the economic philosophy and practice of reducing barriers such as tariffs, taxes, subsidies and quotas so that raw materials, goods and services can move unhampered across national borders.† (68) Various options have arisen about whether or not free trade benefits developing counties or not. I believe that free trade is not favorable or helpful towards developing counties. Free trade benefits few but not the masses, is in favor of rich companies with large corporations, means a loss of power and political control on a national, regional and local levels of government, as well as allows for child labor and there for loses out economically. Many people here in the United States are not well informed about Free Trade or its drawbacks. By giving people the information and steering them toward a better form of trade such as Fair Trade we could possible help those other counties that are dealing with the effects of free trade. When dealing with free trade the commercial benefits are hard to miss, more choices on cars and products, lower coasts on goods so consumers can by more products and live the good life. (p.68) However, digging deep in to the effects of free trade shows us that that it benefits few but not the masses. For example, the US will benefit from cheap labor and low tariff cost, paying less for more but the workers in the countries where the product is being manufactured will not benefit and neither will the country. (p. 71) By having cheap labor those people cannot afford to buy luxury items or even basic items, which in turn will affect that counties economy. By having youth workers not in sc... ...or those who did have jobs. (p. 95) This is an example of how free trade can be harmful to developing countries. When consumers lose jobs they can no long afford to pay for not just luxury items but basic living expenses that other industry are selling which sends a county into economic tailspin. I propose that rich nations should be more morally accountable for manufacturing companies they have around the world. Places like Wal-Mart and the gap here in the US should be paying workers fair wages, have decent working hours, no children worker under 16, and safe working conditions. U.S companies should follow the laws we have in our own country and abide by them in others. I believe that the government should reward socially responsible companies at first and then create laws here stating that when having companies abroad you must follow the laws we have here.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Death penalty Essay

Today I want to inform you about a very, very serious topic. This topic deals with live and death. I want to give you my personal opinion as well as some basic facts against the death penalty in the USA that is still used as a normal punishment for murderers in many states – for example Ohio. I think the death penalty is a very cruel, violent and in human way to punish a person. For me it seems more as a revenge than doing justice.  It is not morally or religious excusable to take away someone’s life – no matter what he or she did. Every one of you, who is Christian or maybe belongs to another religion is actually supposed to be AGAINST the death penalty – just like me – as it is a clear violation against the commandments in the bible. The 6. Rule says: Do not Murder. Also, I really cannot understand, how the government can still enforce the death penalty, while it should actually have the responsibility to protect the society. By trying to judge what the right action is and thereby deciding about live or death of a human being, the government plays god. NOONE is able to be so sure and know what was and is right or wrong – and there is always -always – a chance that the person who is going to die is actually innocent. By using death as punishment the government also impinges upon its own human rights: Article 3 of the human rights, established by the United Nations and signed by the USA says: Every human being has the right of live, of freedom, and of personal safety. In my opinion the state should make better provisions against daily murders, rather than doing revenge afterwards. Furthermore, so far, no studies could ever prove that the death penalty is scaring the people enough not to commit crimes. In fact, there are even many states WITH death penalty that have less murders than states where it still exists. – if you want to commit a crime – f. ex. Terrorists Neither has any study ever proved that persons who are guilty of murder will kill again. So, the death penalty is pointless and make no sense. The committer has no chance to rethink, probably regret his action, and start a better life in the future. Don’t you think like me? I can really not understand how there can be so much violence in this world, when it is sometimes so easy to prevent it. Help make this world more fair. Be against the death penalty

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Chemistry and Biotechnology Essay

ABSTRACT Elemental analysis of organic compounds determine the elements present in them but they do not give the actual structure or the functional groups present. Since all organic compounds contain hydrogen and carbon, most tests consist of only the determination of oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen and halogens – elements that are most of the time the only ones involved in organic compounds. The experiment focused on the Sodium Fusion test, which tested for all elements except oxygen. In the test, the test compound is broken down into its elements, which then bond individually with sodium. The presence of sulfur was tested either with lead acetate or sodium nitroprusside. The presence of nitrogen was tested with ferrous ammonium sulfate and potassium fluoride. The presence of any halogen was tested by a flame test with copper wire and the identification of the exact halogen was done using silver nitrate. Careful experimentation was needed in order to avoid false positive and false negative r esults. Keywords: elemental analysis, oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, halogens, sodium fusion, lead acetate, sodium nitroprusside, flame test[pic] INTRODUCTION Organic compounds are composed mainly of carbon and hydrogen, and in certain functional groups, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and halogens. When presented with an unknown organic compound, it is at times enough to determine the elements present in the compound and not the exact functional groups. The process in which the elements of a compound are determined is called elemental analysis. One of the tests done to conduct elemental analysis is the Sodium Fusion Test. In this experiment, sodium fusion test is used in elemental analysis of qualitative determination of elemental halogens, sulphur and nitrogen in a sample. Sodium is a very strong reducing agent that will able to break up the organic compounds carbon atom chain. It also will convert the atoms which are covalently bonded to the carbon chain to inorganic ions. The elements are detected by sodium fusion test. The organic compound is fused with metallic sodium to convert these elements into ionic mixture which dissolved in water and the filtrate is used to perform the tests. The sodium fusion test, in some texts known as the Lassaigne’s test, was developed by the French chemist, Jean Louis Lassaigne in the 1800’s. It is a general test performed in order to determine the presence of nitrogen, sulfur and halogens. The principle behind the test is the breakdown of the compound into its elements at high temperatures. The breakdown of a compound into its elements is possible for organic compounds as they do not dissociate and form ions when dissolved in a liquid unlike salts and other ionic compounds. These elements then fuse with sodium. These sodium compounds are then the ones tested with different solutions that reveal the presence or absence of the above elements. A limitation of this test is that it cannot test for the presence of oxygen, however, the presence of oxygen can easily be determined through the determination of the actual functional groups in the compound. It is a general test for the detection of halogens, nitrogen and sulphur in an organic compound. These elements are covalently bonded to the organic compounds. In order to detect them, these have to be converted into their ionic forms. This is done by fusing the organic compound with sodium metal. The ionic compounds formed during the fusion are extracted in aqueous solution and can be detected by simple chemical tests. The extract is called sodium fusion extract or Lassaigne’s extract (Wikipedia, 2012.) When an organic compound is heated strongly with sodium, any halogens, nitrogen, and sulfur will be converted into inorganic sodium salts such as sodium halide (for halides), sodium cyanide (for nitrogen), sodium sulfide (for sulfur), and sodium thiocyanate (for sulfur and nitrogen).The nitrogen is confirmed with ferrous sulfate i.e. iron sulfate. In this experiment, the Sodium Fusion Test was used in order to determine the elements present in an unknown compound. MATERIALS AND METHODS The experiment was divided into 2 parts; the first part was the sodium fusion test while the second part consisted of the tests for specific elements. For the first part of the experiment, a piece of sodium metal was washed with hexane and then placed in a completely dry test tube. It was made sure that the test tube was completely dry because any drop of water in the test tube would result to an explosion due to the highly reactive property of sodium. The test tube with the sodium metal was then heated until the metal has melted. Once the vapor has reached a third of the test tube, it was removed from heating and 0.5g/15ml of the sample was added to it. The mixture was then reheated until the fusion has been completed. A successful fusion was noted by a small explosion or flash. The mixture was removed from heating. Once the mixture has cooled to room temperature, 1ml of ethanol was added to it and the mixture was again heated until a dull red mixture was obtained. This was done with constant stirring. Once the dull red mixture was obtained, the test tube was immersed in 10ml distilled water and was broken using a glass rod. The mixture was stirred and it was made sure that no residue was left on the stirring rod.; it was then heated to boiling and filtered using an ashless filter paper and the residue was kept aside. For the second part of the experiment, tests for sulfur, nitrogen and halogens were performed. The test for sulfur could be done in two ways: the lead acetate test and the sodium nitroprusside test. For the lead acetate test, 1ml of the sodium fusion filtrate was first tested with blue litmus paper. Acetic acid was then added dropwise until the solution becomes acidic. A few drops of 1% lead acetate solution were added to the solution and the formation of a black precipitate indicated the presence of sulfur. The sodium nitroprusside test was done by adding 2 drops of 2% sodium nitroprusside to 1ml of the sodium fusion filtrate, with the formation of a deep blue-violet color an indication of the presence of sulfur. The test for nitrogen was done through the Lassaigne Test or the Prussian Blue Test. 1ml of the sodium fusion filtrate was adjusted to pH13 through the addition of 10% NaOH solution. 2 drops of each freshly prepared ferrous ammonium sulfate solution and 30% potassium fluoride solution. The mixture was then heated to boiling and acidified through the addition of 3M sulfuric acid drop wise until the iron hydroxides have been dissolved. A positive result was indicated by the formation of a dark blue solution or precipitate. The test for halogens was done in two parts – the first part, called the Beilstein’s test was the test for the presence of halogens while the second test was the test for the identity of the halogen if it is present. For the Beilstein’s test, a copper wire with a loop at the end was heated using a Bunsen burner until no color was imparted on the flame. It was then cooled and dipped into the sodium fusion filtrate and then burned again. The appearance of a green flame was the indication of the presence of halogens. For the test for the specific halogen present, 2ml of the sodium fusion filtrate was tested with blue litmus paper. It was then acidified through the drop wise addition of 5% nitric acid solution and boiled slowly for a few minutes. The solution was then cooled and filtered if a precipitate was formed. 2 drops of 0.1M silver nitrate solution was then added to the filtrate. The formation of white, pale yellow or yellow precipitate indicated the presence of chlorine, bromine and iodine respectively. The results can be further verified through the continuous addition of 0.1M silver nitrate in ethanol in order to precipitate all the halogens. The precipitate was then tested with 2ml of 5% ammonium hydroxide. Dissolving of the precipitate indicated the presence of chlorine. Slight dissolving indicated the presence of bromine while insolubility indicated the presence of iodine. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS The following table shows the results of the elemental analysis tests and the flowchart shows the correct steps of the elemental analysis (basing on the identity of the unknown and not on the experimental results): |Cl |- |S |- | |Br |- |N |Present | |I |- |Metal |- | |F |− | | | During the sodium fusion test, the unknown organic compound was heated to very high temperatures and as a consequence, was broken down into its elements. In the presence of sodium, the compound can form different products depending on the elements present. These products can be NaCN, Na2S, NaI, NaCl or NaBr, since the most common elements found in organic compounds other than carbon,hydrogen and oxygen are nitrogen, sulfur and the halogens. For the unknown compound, sulfur was present and so Na2S was formed. If the sulfur was tested with lead acetate, the following reaction occurred: [pic] The reaction leads to the formation of PbS, which is a black precipitate. If sulfur was tested with sodium nitroprusside, the following reaction occurred: [pic] The ionic solution formed was of a deep violet color. For the unknown compound, nitrogen was presend and so NaCN was formed. For the test for nitrogen, the following reaction occurred: [pic] [pic] [pic] The resulting product is of the Prussian blue color; it was either a solution or a precipitate. The unknown compound did not contain halogens but if it did, the following reaction would have occurred for the Beilstein’s Test: [pic] In determining the actual halogen present, the following reactions occurred: AgCl, AgBr and AgI are while, pale yellow and yellow precipitates respectively. If the sodium fusion test was done in limiting sodium and both sulfur and nitrogen were present in the compound, the thiocyanate ion would be formed during the fusion instead of the cyanate ion. A blood color would emerge from the nitrogen test due to the following reaction: [pic] The organic compounds to be analyzed consist of basically of a chain of carbon atoms which various other atoms are attached. Since these elements are covalently bonded to the carbon chain, it is unable to dissolve in water to form cations and anions. However, sodium fusion test can be used to reduce those atoms that are covalently bonded to the carbon chain to inorganic soluble ions since sodium is a very strong reducing agent. In the Lassaigne’s test, the nitrogen can be reduced to form cyanide ions, CN-: [pic] For sulphur, it had been reduced to form sulfide ion, S2- in Lassaigne’s test as shown in the following: [pic] If both nitrogen and sulphur are present in the organic compound at the same time, then the chemical reaction below will take place in the test: [pic] If halogens (Cl, Br, I) are present in the compound, the halogens will be reduced to form halide ions (Cl-, Br-, I-) during the sodium fusion test. [pic] The inorganic ions in aqueous solution could be easily observed after undergo certain tests which can indicates the presence of elements in the particular compounds. In the cyanide test, the filtrate of compound A was added with ferrous sulfate, a dark green precipitate was formed. The formation of ferrous hydroxide was produced from the reaction between ferrous sulfate and sodium hydroxide. [pic] The sodium hydroxide was formed by the reaction of unreacted sodium metal with water due to incomplete reaction of sodium fusion with compound A. [pic] The FeSO4 solution was added to confirm the presence of NaOH and to react completely with it in the filtrate. At the same time, a small amount of black precipitate was formed at the bottom but it was disappeared after more ferrous sulphate was added. The formation of black precipitate may be due to the ferrous sulphide exists in the mixture. [pic] The equation below shows that the ferrous sulphate was reacted with the sodium cyanide to form sodium ferrocyanide as the main product. [pic] The sulphuric acid and increase in temperature was used to increase the suitable medium for the formation of complex. As a result, ferric-ferrocyanide complex with the colour of Prussian blue was precipitated out after ferric chloride is added to oxidize the Fe2+ to become Fe3+. This Prussian blue precipitate indicates that the unknown A contains nitrogen in the compound. [pic] Some of the Fe3+ was formed before the oxidation of ferric chloride. This might be due to the air oxidation of iron(II) ions in the mixture before the ferric chloride is added. For compounds B and C, a negative result is obtained which end up with colourless solution as results. Hence, these shown nitrogen are absent in the both organic compounds. The reduced sulfide ion can be confirmed by using two different tests which were sodium nitroprusside test and lead(II) acetate test. For the first test, the appearance of deep purple solution shows the positive result. The formation of sodium sulphonitroprusside is a complex that was formed between the sodium nitroprusside and sodium sulphide. [pic] In another test, the black precipitate will be formed if the sulphur is present in the compound. The formation of black precipitate shows a positive result for this test. [pic] There are various possible sources of errors for the experiment. One of these is the incomplete or improper fusion of the compound with sodium. If this happens, then the proper compounds would not be formed and therefore would give negative or even false positive results in the tests. Another possible source of error for the test is from the Prussian blue test. The solution must be basic because the test does not run in an acidic medium. If the solution is left acidic, the reaction will not occur and would give a false negative result. Another source of error is the determination of the flame color in the Beilstein’s test. The color should be blue-green because a blue flame indicates Cu1+ ions while a green flame indicates Cu-(non-halide). If the color of the flame was observed incorrectly, then it may give a false positive if it is observed to be blue-green instead of blue or green or it may give a false negative if it is not observed as blue-green. This was the main source of error for this trial since the presence of halogens was incorrectly deduced. Conclusion From the experiment, several conclusions could be made. First, the sodium fusion tests consist of various tests, which determine the presence of nitrogen, sulfur and halogens in an organic compound. The presence of nitrogen was confirmed by the formation of a Prussian blue precipitate or solution. The presence of sulfur was confirmed through the formation of the black precipitate PbS or the formation of a deep violet solution from sodium nitroprusside. The presence of a halogen in the compound was confirmed by a blue-green flame, when the flame test was performed with a copper wire while the exact identity of the halogen was determined by the different colors of precipitate formed with silver nitrate. It can also concluded that the experiment should be done in accuracy and care since the results can give false positive or false negative results when seemingly minor details are incorrectly deduced, for instance the pH of the solution or the color of the flame. Also, sodium is highly reactive and just a small area of contact with water can cause an explosion. REFERENCES 1. Lancashire, Robert John (2005) Qualitative Analysis of Organic Compounds., http://wwwchem.uwimona.edu.jm/lab_manuals/c10expt25.html 2. Baluyut John Y. G., De Castro Kathlia A., Organic Chemistry Laboratory for Chemical Engineering Students Part 2, 2004 3. Klein, David (2012). Organic Chemistry. Danvers. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 4. Wikipedia (2012). Sodium Fusion Test. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_fusion_test

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Huckleberry Finn Racism essays

Huckleberry Finn Racism essays In Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the main character Huck, makes two very important decisions. The first one is how he treats Jim when he first meets him at Jacksons Island and the second is to tear up the letter to Miss Watson because he cares deeply for Jim. When Huck first runs away from Pap he goes to Jacksons Island and thinks that he is the only person there. He soon finds out that this is not true, and that "Miss Watsons Jim"1 , is taking crap there as well. Many people would hate to be alone on an island with a "nigger"2 , but Huck is happy to have someone to talk with. At first Jim thinks he sees Hucks ghost and is scared. Huck gets Jims feelings by changing the subject and saying "Its good daylight, les get breakfast"3 , showing that Huck is not only real but he does not mind that Jim is black. Jim feels that Huck might tell on him for running away, but he then decides that it will be okay to tell him why he ran away from Miss Watson. Jim keeps asking Hu ck if he is going to tell anyone about his running away, and Huck says "People would call me a low down abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum but that dont make no difference I aint gonna tell"4 . Hucks response truly shows that his ignorance has no showing over his kindness. When taken into consideration good decisions are much more important in the long run than being the smartest person. After traveling with Jim for quite some time Huck begins to feel bad about harboring a runaway slave. He decides to write a letter to Miss Watson explaining the whole story, because Jim had been sold and he does not know where he is. Huck was indeed confused about what he should do so he dropped he dropped to his knees and began to pray. He felt by helping Jim he was committing a sin, but he later realized "you cant pray a lie"5 . Huck saying this shows that he feels what he has done for Jim is not wrong; instead wha ...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

The Difference Between will and shall

The Difference Between will and shall The Difference Between will and shall The Difference Between will and shall By Maeve Maddox Reader Eric wonders about the uses of will and shall. When do you use will and shall? I know that [they] mean the same thing, but I would like to know when to use them in the correct grammatical sense. In modern English will and shall are helping verbs. They are used with other verbs, but lack conjugations of their own. Both are signs of the future tense. The old Walsh English Handbook that I used in high school gives this rule for forming the future: Use shall in the first person and will in the second and third persons for the simple future tense: I shall sing this afternoon. You will succeed. He will stay at home. My observations suggest that shall is rarely used by American speakers. The two words existed as separate verbs in Old English, the form of English spoken from 450-1150 C.E. The verb willan meant wish, be willing, be about to. The verb sculan (pronounced [shu-lan], had the meanings be obliged to, have to, must, be destined to, be supposed to. In modern usage traces of the old meanings persist for speakers who use both forms. Will can imply volition or intention, while shall can imply necessity: I will scale Mount Everest. (and no one can stop me!) You shall take the garbage out before you do anything else. (You have no choice, Junior!) A second element enters into the use of shall and will. As a matter of courtesy, a difference exists according to whether the verb is used with a first or second person subject. Which to use depends upon the relationship between speakers. Parents, teachers, employers, and staff sergeants are within their rights to tell someone You shall complete this assignment by 9 p.m. Such a construction offers no alternative. It is the same as saying You must complete this assignment. In speaking to an equal, however, the choice is left up to the other person: I shall drive to Tulsa today. You will follow on Tuesday. (Its still up to you.) Heres a frequently quoted joke that illustrates the consequences of using shall and will incorrectly: A foreign tourist was swimming in an English lake. Taken by cramps, he began to sink. He called out for help: Attention! Attention! I will drown and no one shall save me! Many people were within earshot, but, being well-brought up Englishmen and women, they honored his wishes and permitted him to drown. All of which is the short answer to Erics question. For the long answer, take a look at Fowler (Modern English Usage) and the OED. By the way, the verb will in the sense of bequeath derives from the noun will in the sense of wish. A will expresses the wishes of the person who writes it. The verb will (bequeath) does possess a complete conjugation. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Types and Forms of Humor"Wracking" or "Racking" Your Brain?Careful with Words Used as Noun and Verb

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Writing about writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Writing about writing - Essay Example In this paper, comparisons will be made between two articles that discuss Walter Isaacson’s retelling of the life of Steve Jobs, one of the most influential men in this century. It is curious to note that although both articles are presented in the same form of media, that is, online newspapers, the piece written by Janet Maslin for the New York Times appears more convincing and appropriate because of the words she used, how she presented her topic and the way she wrote her article. Since Walter Isaacson wrote best-selling biographies of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, it was not a big surprise that Steve Jobs wanted the Isaacson to write his life story. Nevertheless, because Jobs was as popular as his inventions, Isaacson’s book, which came out only a few weeks after the Apple inventor died, had expectations to meet. In October 2011, two articles came out online from Reuter and New York Times discussing Isaacson’s â€Å"Steve Jobs.† Penned by Fred Schruers and Janet Maslin, respectively, the articles gave contrasting opinions on Isaacson’s most recent best-seller. ... Given the hype surrounding the literary work, it is easy to assume the need for the book review. Steve Jobs was not only well-known because of his Apple creations. His personal life and work ethics are also public knowledge. Readers worldwide would be very interested to read about how the man built one of the most trusted names in the world of technology. The question is would their money be worth it. Would the book be a good buy? Janet Maslin addresses this curiosity when she says, â€Å"His story calls for a book that is clear, elegant and concise enough to qualify as an iBio. Mr. Isaacson’s â€Å"Steve Jobs† does its solid best to hit that target. (Maslin)† In effect, she is telling her audience that the book is as satisfying as the other â€Å"i† products from Apple, namely: the iPad, iTunes and iPhone. Since almost everyone around the world has an iPad and/or an iPhone, wanting to have the iBio would appear to be a given reaction. Maslin repeats her a pproval of the book writing, â€Å"So, â€Å"Steve Jobs†... must reach across time in more ways than one. And it does, in a well-ordered, if not streamline, fashion.† Maslin also makes it easy for the viewers to get an idea of how Steve Jobs is presented in the book by allotting each paragraph of her article to specific topics the book covers. One paragraph describes how the Isaacson tells about the beginnings of each Apple product. Another paragraph mentions Jobs’ rival, Bill Gates. Yet another one talks about how Jobs’, through the book, talks to the past, present and future generations. Employing very familiar words such as iPod, iPad, iMac, NeXT, Pixar and iTunes, Maslin was able to introduce the book to the general public, her

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Reversal of gender roles in Macbeth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reversal of gender roles in Macbeth - Essay Example One can see that Lady Macbeth is feminine in outlook but masculine in character. Thesis statement: The gender role of Lady Macbeth is reversed because of her masculine character and conscious denial of femininity (special reference to the conceptions of gender in the early modern period and the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare). The gender role of Lady Macbeth in the play is totally against the traditional conceptions on femininity and motherhood. For instance, femininity is generally regarded as tender natured and motherly affection. In the play, Lady Macbeth does not possess the qualities of femininity. She totally denies her gender role as a woman. Besides, Shakespeare did give equal focus to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth because he was aware of the fact that Macbeth does not possess masculine qualities. So, there must a powerful character (say, Lady Macbeth) to compensate the loss of masculinity in Macbeth. In the play, Lady Macbeth is portrayed as an immoral character, without any moral consideration. She cunningly manipulates her husband to fulfill her selfish motive. She was aware of her husband’s strengths and weaknesses. But the element of ambitiousness was inherent in Macbeth; his wife ignited the same and corrupted him totally. Her ultimate aim was to become the queen of Scotland. So, she made use of her husband as an instrument/ medium to attain her aim. In addition, Macbeth’s masculine failure is exploited by his wife. Macbeth loved his wife so dearly but she made use of the same to influence him in a negative way. One can identify that the first half of the play is under Lady Macbeth’s control. So, Lady Macbeth’s gender role is totally against her femininity and she made use of the same to manipulate her husband and to fulfill her selfish motives. First of all, Lady Macbeth was ambitious like her husband. Her desire to be the queen of Scotland resulted in her ultimate doom. Lady Macbeth requests the spirits to unsex her because her

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

What are the special developmental needs of children in public care Essay

What are the special developmental needs of children in public care Outline the role of social work in meeting these needs - Essay Example It refers to the full-time parenting of children by individuals related by blood, law, or marriage. In some contexts, it also includes care provided by â€Å"members of [a] tribe or clan, godparents, stepparents, or other adults who have a kinship blood with a child† (CWLA 1994), although these caregivers are more widely referred to as â€Å"kith†. While gaining increasing contemporary attention in social-policy circles, the practice of rearing a relative’s child is ancient and global. In early Hawaiian cultures, for example, paternal grandparents typically claimed the first-born son, and maternal grandparents the first-born daughter, as their own (Luomala 1987, p. 1-45). In many African nations, kinship care has been widely practices for decades (Hegar 1999), and in colonial America children who lost their parents to death or incapacity were typically reared by grandparents or other relatives (Trattner 1994, p. 39-49). Public-policy makers generally appreciate the role of relatives in the lives of children; without their assistance, many children might otherwise be forced into the arms of the state and/or strangers for custody and support. Yet efforts to affirm grandparent’s labors in a no-strings-attached policy environment, where parents are tacitly discouraged from raising their children, may have unwittingly contributed to the development of social trends in family patterns and unregulated care for children that is less than ideal. Instead, acknowledgement of the role grandparents play in the lives of children can be balanced by a combination of social recognition, financial support, and modest bureaucratic regulation. The more generous financial support, and the fewer obligations attached to the funding, the greater the concern that such assistance may create opportunities for and pressures on parents to move children into more economically stable environments in the homes of relatives .

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Analysis of the community psychology field

Analysis of the community psychology field The Swampscott conference in 1965 highlighted a growing need for psychologists to be political activists and agents of social change this conference is considered the birthplace of community psychology (Barry, 2008). The ultimate aim of community psychology is to enhance the quality of life through collaborative research and action. Community psychology consists of three dominant perspectives namely, the ecological perspective, the social constructionist perspective and the critical perspective. Community psychologists use these perspectives to structure research and formulate interventions. Community psychology focuses much attention on health and creating interventions to alleviate health concerns. Health, is not just physical well being, but is a state of complete physical and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (Petee Asch, 1949) As the discussions progresses, the three perspectives will be explored in detail, the case study Deadly Cells: The struggle of HIV positive prisoners will then be utilized to contextualise the three perspectives in formulating HIV/AIDS health interventions within prisons. Before we dive into the complexities that underlie these interventions it is important to have an accurate understanding of the three perspectives that are considered to be the foundation of community psychology interventions. Urie Bronfrenbrenner was the first to propose the ecological model based on a nested level of analysis. Bronfrenbrenner asserted that the individual does not exist as a static entity but is at the core of various levels of analysis that are all in constant interaction with each other thus an individuals behaviour does not exist in a vacuum and is influenced by the environment. The levels of influence include: the microsystem (refers to interpersonal relations), the mesosystem (refers to interaction among the systems that the individual is involved in), the exosystem (this involves the larger social system) and the macrosystem (refers to cultural and religious beliefs). James Kelly evolved Bronfenbrenners theory by shifting the focus from the individual and the levels of analysis to develop an understanding of how human communities function (Kelly, 1966, p. 537). Kelly highlighted four important principles that govern the behavior of individuals in different contexts. The four princi ples are as follows: adaptation (individuals need to adapt to the demands of change); succession (acknowledges the history (values, culture etc.) of a context history helps understand the present); cycling of resources (this is the identification and utilization of the resources available within a context the central aim being, to focus on the strengths of the particular context and its constituents) and interdependence (change is directly proportional to the other systems, thus change in one part of the system may cause negative or positive effects in other parts of the system). The ecological perspective helps stress that systems are not static entities, thus effective interventions can only be achieved by adopting a holistic stance. Social constructionism are sociological theories of knowledge that consider how social phenomena or objects of consciousness develop in social contexts (Daniel, 1998, p. 126).Therefore, our world has been constructed, through social interactions within our environment Social constructionism has many underlying principles that help accurately understand this theoretical paradigm. Social constructionism is anti-naturalism, which according to Bruner states that: It is culture not biology that shapes the human mind that gives meaning to action by situating its underlying intentional states in an interpretive system (Gergen, 1999, p. 27).This point illustrates that there is a danger involved if we treat individuals and societies as mere objects, to probe and study (as in biology), agency and interaction need to be considered. Secondly, is the use of language. Language is not just a means of communication, but a complex tool of symbolic representation that we utilize to construct our social reality, to define roles, formulate traditions and develop unique systems of representation. Closely tied to language is the third principle of meaning. Food is food because we have socially constructed it as an edible substance within our culture we gave it meaning (e.g.: the stomach of the sheep is a delicacy in Indian culture, however in Western culture it may be incomprehensible to eat). Fourth is power, power is closely tied to the notion of discourse (Refers to how people operationalize language within a culture (Freedman Combs, 1996).The various discourses of a particular culture dominate the culture, and knowledge of such discourses create a sense of power. Power and discourse is utilized to normalize individuals within a culture. Each and every culture contains a grand narrative which can be defined as the dominant, overarching ideology that exists within a culture. Grand narratives are sustained and constructed through the use of guiding metaphors, which refers to the selective use of language to actualize our realities. The fifth principle is that there is no si ngle truth. This can be illustrated by the speech entitled The Danger of a single story, delivered by famous Nigerian author Chimamande Adichie. In her speech Adichie speaks of her childhood and the books that she read which were chiefly British and American. These books influenced her overall view of the world to such an extent that when she began writing (at 7 years old), all her characters were predominantly white and lived in their white world. It is important to note that she developed a single story of the world devoid of her African heritage. Her unilateral views were confirmed when she entered university and her American roommate was awestruck, that she, a Nigerian girl could speak fluent English. As her roommates view of Africa was nothing but poverty and war a single story of Africa. Coupled with the single story notion is the issue of power. Power is the ability not just to tell a story of another person, but to make it the definitive story of that person (Adichie, 2002) . It is evident that a single story robs all the colour of any painting. The consequence of a single story is it robs people of dignity and emphasizes how we are different than how we are similar (Adichie, 2002). The above illustration illuminates the notion that there are multiple sides to any story ,however what may be the most important side is the underlying dynamics that are absent from sight. From the above discussion on social constructionism it is clear that this perspective by no means objectifies reality, but subjectifies experiences, interactions and social construction within a particular context. Critical psychology can be understood as a metadiscipline that urges the discipline of psychology to critically evaluate its moral and political implications (Painter Terre Blanche, 2006, p. 215) Critical psychology places importance on challenging the dominant values of mainstream psychology. Critical psychology points out that the roles of professionals (e.g. politicians, psychologists etc.) are not value free roles and the values of professionals need consideration. Therefore, it is evident that critical psychology poses a much needed criticism of mainstream psychology. Critical psychology and mainstream psychology differ in the following aspects: Traditional psychology attributes problems to particular individuals and their contribution to the emergence of a problem ,conversely critical psychology identifies a problem within a particular system and the existing power differentials, secondly, mainstream psychology emphasizes individualism and capitalist values, critical psycholog y challenges this view, asserting that this view stunts the search for self-actualization and the final aspect is power. Power according to mainstream psychology is attained through professional training and knowledge, however critical psychology asserts that power should be shared and not exist within individuals. Critical psychology highlights that power can either empower or marginalize individuals and all interventions do not benefit all individuals. Thus from the above discussion it is clear that critical psychology is a coupling of the previous two perspectives with ultimate goal of freedom and empowerment. Now that a clear understanding of the three perspectives community psychologists utilize in formulating interventions has been developed, it will be used to contextualise the case study : Deadly Cells: The struggle of HIV positive prisoners The article Deadly cells, illustrate the plight of HIV positive prisoners in a South African prison (Westville). The article states that infected inmates were denied access to anti-retroviral treatment (ARVs) robbed of their human right of access to appropriate healthcare. The Department of Correction when notified of the issue responded by stating that prisoners need their identification documents (which they did not have) and that there was limited access to hospitals that would treat the prisoners. After much contention the matter reached the courts. Due to the harsh conditions (rape, unprotected sex, overcrowding, gang life etc.) in prisons, infection of the disease was exacerbated. In 2006, after much deliberation the government agreed to provide ARV treatment, however this conclusion does nothing to curb the problem of the rapid increase of HIV/AIDS victims in prisons. The above case study will now be contextualised with the use of the three perspectives discussed earlier and interventions will be suggested to alleviate the problem. A community psychologist working from an ecological perspective will define the prisoners perception of their environment, analyse the characteristics of the environment and then adopt a transactional analysis of how the perceptions and external characteristics interact to produce the problem a holistic systemic view. The researcher will spend time at the prison in a participatory manner, engaging collaboratively with the prisoners to understand their problem on various levels. The ecological intervention will promote participation and instil the belief that the affected can indeed effect change. An example of an appropriate ecological intervention to alleviate the problem of HIV/AIDS at the Westville prison includes the following: first and foremost the prisoners need to be made aware of their rights and the laws that protect their health; this can be done by running education programs. The prison staff (officers, wardens etc.) need to play a proactive role in the prevention of rap e, discrimination and the alleviation of gang fights in the prisons, this can be achieved through training programs for the staff. The issue of overcrowding within the prison needs to be referred to the authorities or community based organisations (CBOs) in order to create awareness and mass media attention. The prison authorities need to provide lubricants and condoms to prisoners teaching them to be proactive. Pressure should be put on the Department of Health for ARVs and in-house HIV/AIDS care centres by creating media attention. Lastly, an external officer needs to monitor that the interventions are in place (by weekly visits). The above suggestions emphasise that the problem is not just a health issue and in order to alleviate the problem a holistic, nested stance needs to be adopted. The social constructionist perspective differs from the ecological model as the values of the participants are central to the formation of an intervention. A researcher working from the social constructionist perspective will work closely with prisoners, in order to understand their subjective experiences, through qualitative methodologies. The researcher will search to uncover the prisoners discourses, utilisation of language and their grand narratives in relation to the causation and treatment of HIV/AIDS. Once a contextually specific view has been developed the researcher will begin to build a context specific intervention. An example of an intervention that may alleviate the problem at the Westville prison includes the following: A researcher may begin by conducting focus group interviews with the prisoners to gain an empathic understanding of the plight of the prisoners. Once a clear understanding of the problem (rape, overcrowding and the lack of proper healthcare) has been dev eloped, the researcher will then collaboratively formulate possible solutions to the problem with the prisoners. Possible solutions may include: a prisoner awareness programme carried out by the prisoners, practicing safe sex, alleviating gang violence and rape through creating awareness and reporting incidences and by involving CBOs- thus taking responsibility for their own health. The lack of medical treatment can be alleviated by forming a campaign that emphasises the disabled healthcare rights of the prisoners, the ultimate aim being to gain media attention, ultimately government fulfilment of the laws that protect prisoners. The social constructionist view places importance on the value structure within a context, once these structures have been unwrapped, they can solve the problem by building new structures that are proactive thus the answer may lie within discourses or narratives. The critical perspective differs as it is an integration of the above two paradigms with the ultimate goal of freedom and empowerment. Critical psychology like social constructionism values the subjective experiences of the prisoners and therefore, can be considered to be value-driven. A key goal of critical psychology is to transform the problem and therefore, has political connotations. The aim of the researcher begins with a transformative stance, understanding the plight of the prisoners and to empower and liberate them to action, by enlightening them on the possible solutions. An example of an intervention to alleviate the problem at the Westville prison includes: Participation Action Research (PAR) is a collaborative approach, with research aimed at social change, researcher and participants are partners and communication is central to successful intervention (McTaggart, 1997). PAR is an activist approach. The prisoners could form a mass demonstration (protest) and form allianc es with CBOs that can create awareness outside the prisons, thus jointly accessing media attention. Once attention is attained the CBOS can appeal to the relevant legal authorities and international organisations such as the United Nations and the World Health Organisation ultimately this would push the government to act. Therefore, it can be seen that the critical approach emphasises transformation and activism. From the above discussion it can be deduced that community psychology is a multidimensional field that employs the use of various perspectives namely, ecological (a holistic systemic view), social (value-driven, constructed reality) and the critical perspective (a critical, activist view). Each perspective sheds new theoretical light on the plight of the Westville prisoners all emphasising the need for stronger health systems, a need for coordination and cooperation between authorities, CBOs, prisoners and prison staff and a limited exercising of rights related to healthcare and laws protecting the well-being of prisoners. Therefore it can be concluded that community psychology with the utilization of the three perspectives can help the marginalized prisoners break free from the stigma that prisoners have dissolved their rights to healthcare.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Bondage and Escape in Sons and Lovers :: Lawrence Sons and Lovers Essays

Bondage and Escape in Sons & Lovers A major theme in "Sons & Lovers" is bondage and escape. Every major character is held hostage by another character or by their environment. Her husband, her family and her anger at the family's social status hold Mrs. Morel hostage. She has no friends to be seen or money of her own to use. Her escape from her bondage is her death. She was unhappy her whole life and lived though another human as a source of happiness. She essentially lived her life through William and, after his death, through Paul, which in a twist of irony, by doing so she is essentially keeping them in bondage. She wants William to move to town to get a good job and a good wife to help up their social status. When he does move and bring home a woman, she thinks she has finally arrived, only to be pushed back down with his death. William, who found a good upper class woman with Lily, brings her back to his family's home. He loves Lily, until he sees her behavior to his sister; Lily treats Annie like a servant. Although his mother likes Lily, he cannot stay with her and soon leaves her and then falls ill and dies. William's death is his great escape from the bonds of his mother. When William dies Paul replaces him as Mrs. Morel's dummy; Paul leads his life as his mother wants him to, she keeps him in check, approves who he dates and even goes with him and speaks for him on his first job interview. The only thing redeeming Paul in this is that he knows that he is being tied down by his mother and is fighting a silent fight against her for his whole life. Although Mrs. Morel doesn't like Miriam, he keeps his relationship with her. Although Mrs. Morel doesn't want Paul to stay out late, on most occasions he breaks this rule also. The only thing that ever releases Paul from Mrs. Morel's grasp is her death. Mr. Morel's captivity is the most literal. He is held captive by the mine; every day he must work in the mine and the harder and longer he works, the more money he makes.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

A Soldier’s Play

Title: A Soldier’s Play Professor: Wallace Bridges I really enjoyed this play as it kept me wondering what will happen next and taught me some life lessons on how people react or make decisions. As I read on this play goes into the man Sergeant Vernon C. Waters personality and who he really was. We learn that Sergeant Waters hates being black and anyone who may exhibit black characteristics or stereotypes for example. For example in Act Two we learn that Sergeant Waters does not really like C. J. as he frames him and provokes him to attack so that he could be arrested for any reason. Sergeant Waters admits to this is Act Two and wanted C,J. rrested so the world would be free of one more simpleton colored boy. In Sergeant Waters’s eyes he wanted to prepare his men to survive in a white man’s world and by having his men adopt the white man’s culture or characteristics would help them survive. The theme of A Soldier’s Play in my eyes would be racism. I f racism exists in a community, then racism will affect the behaviors and ideals of others within the community. Starting with the white soldiers and Sergeant Waters racism is the main source of violence at this army post as the black soldiers are not welcomed at this dominated white community.Captain Davenport who is assigned to this murder assignment is black and is not welcomed very warmly and they do not want a black captain arresting a white soldier. The murder is first blamed on the Klu Klux Klan and the white officers and soldiers are all aligned against the blacks and as mentioned there is racism within the black community as Sergeant Waters’s turns against C. J. who thought Waters liked him. For example in Act Two we learn that Sergeant Waters has Private James Wilkie plant a gun under C,J’s pillow that could earn three stripes back that he had lost.This in turn contributes to C. J. getting arrested and eventually killing himself all because of what Sergeant W aters perceived C. J. to be as another black holding other blacks back. It is not said that Sergeant Waters wanted C. J. dead but he wanted him arrested because of his viewpoint of surviving through white characteristics. The protagonist of A Soldier’s play is Captain Davidson who is a black officer. After a black Sergeant is murdered Vernon Waters, Captain Davidson is assigned to solve this murder.His superobjective is to interview other officers and soldiers, learn about Sergeant Waters, and find out who and why Waters was murdered. In Act One his superobjective begins with Corporal Ellis who is assigned with Davidson to bring the officers or soldiers into questioning and get answers. Davidson asks Ellis of any informal theories of Sergeant Waters’s death and all Ellis has come up with is the Klu Klux Klan is responsible but there are rumors of two white officers. The investigation stalled but they continue to investigate and bring soldiers in for questioning.Captain Davidson does accomplish his superobjective through investigating and questioning other soldiers. As Davidson questions soldiers he learns more about Sergeant Waters as Waters believed the way to success was the white man’s way. He also learned that Waters was a drunk and abusive towards his own men but did this to mold them into white characteristics. In Act Two when Smalls has gone A-W-O-L Davidson questions him and wants to know why he has gone A-W-O-L and as Davidson questions Smalls he breaks down and admits to watching Peterson shoot Waters as he did nothing to stop it.One of the Afrocentric Objectives in a Soldier’s play is storytelling when Davidson is speaking with Wilkie. In Act two Wilkie tells Davidson that Waters told him a story involving a colored soldier in France during World War I. Waters told Wilkie that the white soldiers told the women that all the colored soldiers had tails like monkeys. So the white soldiers played a game and paid a black soldie r to tape a tail to his behind, they placed the balck soldier on a table with a reed in his hand and a crown on his head.They called the black soldier moonshine, king of the monkeys. Later on Waters and some other soldiers cut the soldiers throat and none of the other soldiers knew what the black soldier had done wrong. This is where we learn more about Waters and possibly the straw that broke the camel’s back to stand for what he believed in. Waters vowed to eliminate all matter demeaning simpleton behavior from people of his own race. If I were to direct this play I would manipulate the lighting to reinforce the theme of the play.As stated I believe one of the themes to be racism in this play as there are struggles of racism within the black soldiers as there leader Sergeant Waters believes the only way to success is by adopting the white way. In Act 2 when Wilkie admits to Davidson that Waters had him plant the gun under C. J. ’s pillow so he could earn his stripes back that were taken away and this could lead to C. J. being taken to jail. I would manipulate the lighting here to set the mood and direction of the play which is Waters hates being black and his plan to eliminate simpleton black men.Waters would get his way by eliminating another simpleton black man and this would show the racism that existed within the blacks because Waters himself hated being black and he took it out on his soldiers. When Charles Fuller wrote this play in 1981 the military was the largest equal opportunity employer for blacks for many years. But historically it was not always this way as blacks fought for freedoms and made sacrifices for nothing because none of this was going to be theirs (land or opportunities in America).Many blacks viewed World War II as a white man’s war but in the play Sergeant Waters viewed it as a chance for blacks to prosper. This is why he was so hard on his men and wanted them to adapt the white man’s way, but this also a ffected his and his men’s behavior and ideals. The contemporary significance of the production’s primary theme is racism existed during the plays time and setting but was viewed as a way blacks could try and eliminate racism and slowly but surely be accepted and be honored for their sacrifices they made for a country that they belong to as the white’s.Today racism still exists but we have made tremendous strides and came a long way to distance ourselves from racism an example is today the military is one of the largest equal opportunity employer for blacks as everyone is recognized as one and they are a family watching each other’s back. Even though strides have been made racism does still exist and it affects behaviors and ideals.