Journalism and Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Journalism and Ethics - Essay Example The power that the media holds can at times be abused and tainted to the degree that its very core duty of protecting the people’s democracy is threatened. In fact, this factor has made some media outlets to turn into propaganda bullhorns for dangerous and corrupt politicians in power. In addition, other outlets have even been used as vehicles of inciting violence and xenophobic against vulnerable groups of individuals and minorities.Essentially, the media outlet Democracy Now! Was established in 1996, becoming the solitary broadcasting company that was devoted to cover and inform the public on the precedents of the presidential elections. The outlet basically began as an investigation on why most people, by then, did not seem to actively participate in or care about political activities and politics respectively. For that reason, the outlet gathered enthralling stories all of which pointed out that democratic activities were not getting any media coverage. The outlet thus foc used on this deserted region, broadcasting elections and other democratic functions. Today, Democracy Now! Broadcasts on averagely over 850 television and radio stations internationally as well as through the use of an online platform.Comparatively, ethical journalism is concerned in the way through which various parties such as editors, presenters, anchors, and reporters deliver commentary on issues which can shape the lives of people in the society. Ethical journalism is thus rooted in moral values and thus journalists, as well as governments, should ensure that they work towards improving journalism as well as improving the rights and standards of human beings. Â  Democracy Now! Reveals the importance of ethical journalism through its insistence on media independence and democracy. For true democracy to come into effect, there is a need for the citizens to gain access to both independent and diverse sources of information and news.

Freud and the ideas of the Enlightenment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Freud and the ideas of the Enlightenment - Essay Example Sigmund Freud was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1856 in Jewish family background. His father was a freethinker while Freud was a vowed atheist. Freud is regarded as the most famous, influential, and controversial thinker in figure in psychology (PBS, 1998). Sigmund Freud has many works and theories to his credit that has helped in shaping our childhood, personality, memory, sexuality, and therapy views.  Indeed, Sigmund Freud has made immense contribution to the understanding of irrationalism. Through Sigmund Freud and Charles Darwin, irrationalism began to explore subconscious and biological roots of experience. Though he did not invent the theory of consciousness, Sigmund Freud introduced the wider public to the notion of the unconscious mind. He noted that unconscious is the source of our motivations for food or sex, artist, or scientist (Boeree, 2009). He theorized the idea that forgetfulness/ repression or slips of the tongue are not accidental but a revelation of dyn amic unconscious. This was an articulation of the concept of unconscious. Freud claims that human behavior relies on drives or instincts, which are the neurological representations of physical needs. He also theorized the idea that sexual drive was the most powerful shaper of a persons psychology, and that sexuality manifests itself from childhood. Indeed, he claims that young boys develop attraction to their mothers and develop hate towards the fathers and vice versa for girls. This refined the concept of the infantile sexuality. Additionally, Sigmund Freud devised innovative treatment of human dreams, actions, and cultural artifacts (Liukkonen, 2008). This innovation has significantly brought relevant input in the fields of psychology, semiotics, appreciation, anthropology, and artistic creativity (Thornton, 2010). Most of these fields seek to define irrationalism. Freud also classified anxiety that is a feeling that signals ego into realistic, moral, and neurotic anxiety.

A Study On Promotional Strategies Of Kent Water Marketing Essay

A Study On Promotional Strategies Of Kent Water Marketing Essay The Sales promotion strategy of KENT WATER PURIFIERS is not the mark in the industry, to know the unique system to do effective sales compared to other players. So the comprehensive statement of the problem can be stated as a study on sales promotion strategy of an Organization in Bangalore 2. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To know the promotional strategies of KENT WATER PURIFIERS. To understand measure the impact of advertising in the market. To measure the effectiveness of promotional activities for a particular product class and corporate advertising. To understand and measure the affect of promotional strategies in brand-building, brand re-call and finally the choice of a plan while buying it. To understand the attitudes and perception of respondents towards the brand image of the insurance products. To know the present consumer trend prevailing in the market. To study respondents brand awareness towards insurance products. 3. LITERATURE REVIEW DEFINITION OF MARKETING : P.Kotler defines Marketing As the set of human activities directed at facilitating and consummating exchanges. The essence of marketing is exchange of products and the transaction is to satisfy human needs and wants. MARKETING MIX : It is the set of controllable marketing variables at the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market. The variables can be collected into four groups known as 4 Ps. These 4 Ps are : Product Mix Price Mix Sales Mix Promotion Mix IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING Marketing is recognized as the most significant activity in our society. A wide range of marketing activities continuously affects our life styles. Marketing can put goods and services we want and need at our doorsteps. Marketing as achieved the social importance because it is entrusted with the task of creation and delivery of standard of living to society. Marketing is the vital connecting link between producers and consumers. Marketing is directing responsible to maintain the equilibrium between mask productions and mask consumption. Marketing system place the unique role in transforming the benefits of mass production in terms of rising living standards and life style of all people through the best system of physical distribution. MARKETING FUNCTIONS The manufacturer and all middle man in the machinery of distribution perform marketing functions. Some of the important marketing functions are: SELLING BUYING STANDARDISATION AND GRADING FINANCING SALES PROMOTION MEANING: Sales promotion is another importance component of marketing communication mix. It is essential a direct and immediate inducement. It adds the extra value to the product and hence promotes the dealer / customer to buy the product. In specific sales, sales promotion includes those sales activities that supplement both personal selling and advertising, and co-ordinate them and make them effective, such as display, shows, and other non-recurrent selling effort not in the ordinary routine. DEFINTION: Sales promotion includes incentive- offering and interest-creating activities which are generally short-term marketing events other than advertising, personal selling, publicity and direct marketing. The purpose of sales promotion is to stimulate, motivate and influence the purchase and other desired behavioral responses of the firms customers MEASURES, TOOLS AND TECHNIQUE TRADE FAIRS AND EXHIBITIONS: Trade fair and exhibitions are extensively used sales promotion tools. They also form one of the oldest practices in sales promotion. They provide companies with the opportunity of introducing and displaying their products. This brings the companies products and the consumers in direct contacts with each other. Seeing believes is the underlying concept here. Incase of high cost industrial products, trade fairs have become a handy and effective sales promotion tools. This is a especially so in international marketing. Orders and inquiries worth billions get generated at international trade fairs. COUPONS: Coupons are certificates which offer price reductions to consumers for specified items. Coupons are distributed through newspapers and magazine advertisement, or through the package of the merchandise, or by direct mail. Firstly, they enthuse the consumers to exploit the bargain. Secondly, they served as an inducement to that trade for stocking the items. They are useful for introducing a new product as well as strengthening the sale of an existing product. EXCHANGE SCHEMES: In the consumer durables market, this has become the latest sales promotion tools. Customer can surrender their old models and take home new models. SALES PROMOTION ON INTERNET: On advertising management, we saw that the internet is emerging as the new advertising medium. For sales promotions too, people are turning to internet. Marketers run promotion on specific sides that attract audience who are interested in promotions and contests. 4.INSTITUTE KENT Mineral RO Water purifiers. 4th Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore 560 011. SAMPLING TECHNIQUE: The sampling methods will be adopted here is convenience sampling method. In this method, the easiest method population members are selected from different segment to obtain information. 5. MAIN RESEARCH QUESTIONS QUESTIONNAIRE The questionnaire included both open and close ended questions and also multiple choice answers to be chosen by the respondents. The questionnaire will be filled by the customers of KENT WATER PURIFIERS giving their opinion without any promoting on my part. 6. PRIMARY DATA Primary data will be collected through questionnaire and direct communication with customers and official staffs of KENT WATER PURIFIERS. SAMPLE SIZE: 100 respondents will be selected according to convenience. 7. REFERENCE JOURNALS: BUSINESS STANDARD BUSINESS WORLD

Edwin Arlington Robinsons Richard Cory Essay -- Edwin Arlington Robin

Edwin Arlington Robinson's Richard Cory I have always secretly envied my dearest high school friend Erin.   It was easy to be jealous of Erin since she was tall with beautiful blonde hair that turned many heads.   She possessed grace and style and had the coolest car.   Though people try to resist envy, most succumb to it from time to time.   As people focus on all that they lack, they tend to ignore the flaws in those they envy.   The observers in the poem Richard Cory allow envy to cloud their perception of themselves.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cory appears to have it all.   The poor townspeople look at him and they see the qualities that they themselves lack.   An ugly person may believe that if they were beautiful then happiness would be secure.   A lonely person believes that finding someone to end his loneliness would diminish his sadness.   This is evident in the first three stanzas.   The townspeople notice Cory’s appearance as superior to their own.   â€Å"He glittered when he walked† (Robinson 986).   They also noted the main character’s manner and abundance of material possessions.   The observers were too busy working to have time to put effort in improving manners and could not even think of saving money when they were lucky not to starve.   Many people want to be more outwardly beautiful or to have more money.   My aunt and uncle were coming home to Indiana from Iowa for the Thanksgiving holiday six years ago when they met a drunk driver in a head-on collision.   I remember the anguish my family felt for the following few days when we were unsure whether my uncle was going to survive.   He did survive though he was altered for the next few years and suffered permanent damage to his body.   Insurance companies are set up to right wrongs wit... ...een fulfilled.   The observers’ separate Cory and isolate him because of their perceptions of him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I learned a very important lesson about envy a few years after becoming friends with Erin.   After spending a few years wishing to be more like her, I expressed my feeling of envy.   To my amazement, she expressed shock at the idea of my jealousy.   She then told me of how before she became my friend that she was envious of me.   I was friendly and possessed an outgoing personality whereas she was very timid.   If the townspeople had the opportunity to develop a relationship with Richard Cory as I had with my schoolmate, they likely would have discovered their enviable qualities as well.   Reference: Robinson, Edwin Arlington. â€Å"Richard Cory† Literature Reading, Reacting, Writing.   4th Ed. Ed. Camille Adkins. Orlando: Harcourt College Publishers, 2001. 986.

Early childhood deprivation Essay

Early childhood deprivation varies from the areas of health, nutrition and education (Biller and Solomon, 1996). However various intonations have been put forward to improve children’s welfare that aim at promoting early childhood care and foster holistic development and realization of child’s potential. Early childhood deprivations hamper child’s development and thus killing the future viable generation. In this regard, there’s need to invest in children welfare. During early childhood, child’s deprivation has the most profound negative influence on child’s development in terms of physical, mental and social domains. In most cases of children deprivation, the children usually lack essential interventions responsible to promote healthy development, thus there is hardly any pre-existing normalcy. Although deprivation occurs in children across all human race; black or white, girls or boys, rich or poor, the worst form of deprivation occurs in children who come from economically poor background. The tangible impact of childhood deprivation is in terms of mental health damage since most incidences of deprivation are interpreted as threats to the child, thereby causing trauma. However, in extreme cases of deprivation in childhood the children are deprived off stimulation or nurture. Types of Deprivation Child deprivation during the tender age can be classified in terms of Absolute deprivation, Relative deprivation and Perceived deprivation. Absolute deprivation entails lack of or preventing the child from gaining access to absolute development needs such as food, water, protection touch of who without the children usually dies the challenge with absolute deprivation is how much quantity is enough for the infants. For instance, studies show that infants or children who are not touched usually develop â€Å"nonorganic failure to thrive† syndrome (Brooks-Gunn, J. et al. , 2004, p. 106) that make then refuse to eat and became suicidal. Additionally, touch is necessary for emotional bond for the child that is responsible for creation of brain patten to support interaction behaviors and form basic for later empathy development, therefore, abosute deprivation is critical especially to child development and sustainability. Relative deprivation described as lack of child’s developmental needs that are determined by subculture and culture in which the child resides. Unfortunately, developmental expectations in relation to children development usually changes overtime. For instance in United States of America it has been a norm culture that children at age of 6 years are ready and expected to enter the first grade in order to learn how to write, read and do basic mathematics. Unfortunately, research by Biller and Solomon (1996) indicates that 20-30% of all children are not ready by this time. Moreover culture also oblige the parents give special attention to their children in terms of facilitating celebrating children status like birthday in order to promote children social conscious development, therefore in circumstances where the culture through parents denies children typical opportunity which is considered essential for a healthy child development it becomes deprivation. Moreover, children worldwide live in varied living conditions with resources never been equitably distributed to all children depending on familial social, ethnic identity, social economic and county of origin, this inequity hampers children development physically, socially and mentally precisely most children who are deprived off relatively usually develop maternal depression, abuse and family violence. Perceived deprivation results from children’s and parents feeling that the children are deprived due to frustrated desires as opposed to unmet needs. For instance, in a family set up there is child rivalry because it is normal parents usually favor some children than others. As a result, the child that is not favored feels unwanted no matter how hard parents can convince them. For instance, studies show that children who are taken good care of after incidences of neglect, despite sufficient supply of food and emotional support, they tend to exhibit signs of mistrust due to perceived deprivation (Biller and Solomon, 1996). The causes of deprivation The causes of deprivation vary across populations and societies. However, the most causes are familiar such as low skills and education, membership in minority groups, undevelopment and unemployment, social isolate from society’s mainstream and persistent and interrogational transmission of poverty to tolerate this factor (Brooks-Gunn, J. et al. , 2004), studies reveal that children in neigh hood without deprivation signs exhibited good growth and development outcomes as opposed to those with signs of deprivation. However, there are a number of additional aspects that greatly contribute to childhood deprivation, child neglect in the welfare system is a common form of child neglect in us where parents are givers fail to give the child essential resources as food, medical care, shelter and clothing which endanger child wellbeing. Development impacts of Deprivation Response of children to deprivation varies from one individual to another in the sense that human beings are shaped by the interaction of their genetic predisposition with stimulation, nurture, threats and other ennental forces. It should be noted that infancy experiences of children have a profound and long term effect on mental, physical, social and emotional characteristics, therefore, when deprivation is chronically and insidious pervasive the results are diastoles irreparable intellectual deficits, chromic health problem, mental illness, physical disabilities (Biller and Solomon, 1996), emotional disturbances and behavioral problem. Conclusion The paper has discussed early childhood deprivation and its major dimensions and its related effects. Fortunately, the effects of early childhood deprivation are treatable (Brooks-Gunn, J. et al. , 2004) by placing deprived child on a long-term and well structured relationship where the child learn or relearn that positive social interaction to offset the negative impact. It is encouraging also that across US there are various programs and interventions that are aimed at ensuring those children and/or individual degraded by deprivation are returned to normalcy. Link to Articles 1. http://jech. bmj. com/cgi/content/full/62/7/599 (CNN article) 2. http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/health/2180874. stm (BCC ) References 3. Biller, B. & Solomon, S. (1996). Child deprivation and maltreatment: Lexington, Lexington Books press. 4. Brooks-Gunn, J. et al. (2004). â€Å"Effect of Economic deprivation to early childhood development†: Journal of Child Development, 13, p. 214-219

Oedipus Rex – Entrapment of Mankind Through Reasoning

For example, when Alias and Oedipus Rexes were reveled with their prophecies, they tried to divert themselves away from it. As a result, they reverted themselves into the prophecy, therefore fulfilling it. Although man tries to control their own fate, in reality, such control is impossible and cannot be possessed. Through the use of Oedipus' life decisions, diction, and connotation of words to display the idea that man's most powerful attribute fails mankind. In other words, through Oedipus Rexes, Sophocles shows that reasoning cannot give mankind the power and control they sire. Therefore, such control and power for mankind does not exist.Oedipus Rexes proves that man's most powerful attribute Is reasoning. Sophocles gives his readers the idea that mankind is trapped through their most powerful attribute. Oedipus Rexes believed that he could escape the reality of his prophecy through his attempts to reason throughout it. However, his aim to avoid the prophecy using reason failed him . As the prophecy was revealed to Oedipus, he believed he could avoid it by leaving Corinth and the family whom he believed was his own blood. However, this thought of his is what failed him and lead to Oedipus actually fulfilling the prophecy.This decision leads mankind to believe that they can control their life through reasoning. As Oedipus moves onto Thebes, he crosses through the road where three roads meet. At this exact road, he meets Alias, his father, whom he does not know. Alias and Oedipus begin a feud start brawling with one another. Thus, completed. Although Oedipus continues onto Thebes and solves the sphinx's riddle, his success leads him into the second part of his prophecy being fulfilled as he meets Coast, marries her, bears children with her, and birth children of incest.In spite of the fact that Oedipus' best characteristic is his constant attempt to reason, it's his exact reasoning and questioning that lead him to the â€Å"truth† of the prophecy. Despite Oedipus' failed attempts to control the prophecy, Alias is also another culprit of failed attempts to reason. Alias, King of Thebes, birth a child with Coast and believed that he could become the next ruler of Thebes. However, a prophecy was told to Alias that his own son would soon murder him and take over. At this very moment, he decides It's best to bind Oedipus' feet and send him away to die.He does not realize, however, that this decision leads him Into the entrapment of his own life. He fulfills the actual prophecy when he tries to take Oedipus out of his life. This Is another failed attempt of reason. Therefore, man's most powerful attribute of proves that reasoning brings mankind doom. As Alias did not want his baby to kill him, he sends the baby away. The Old man sees the baby and picks it up because no mortal being would see a baby hurt and abandoned without having to pick it up. He gives the baby to his King of Thebes because he knows they cannot bare a child, feeling pi ty for them all.Oedipus himself hears about the prophecy and runs away from it. All these people, all these steps were made from attempts to reason and control the world, when in reality, it ultimately failed. Mankind cannot use their so- called â€Å"most powerful attribute of reasoning† to control their lives. If reasoning brings doom to mankind, what is the purpose of reasoning itself? Sophocles answers this question by proving through Oedipus Rexes that reasoning traps mankind, making mankind limited. The Chorus, whom supports Oedipus the most out of all characters of the play, reveal their thoughts and true emotion towards the doom of Oedipus.Through their character, Sophocles conveys the pity one may feel towards Oedipus whom was a great man dealt with UN inevitable doom. In a passage by the Chorus on pig. 18, they stated, â€Å"A prince of men/ Whose loot what citizen/ Did not with Emmy see,] How Deep the billows of calamity/Above him roll/Watch therefore and regard t hat supreme day;/And of no mortal say/That man is happy,† datelined by no grievous ill/He pass Life's goal In this passage, the Chorus shows how great of a man Oedipus was, nonetheless, how great of a King he was.He was not only great because of his role as King, he was great because he reasons. However, this characteristic of constant reasoning, to pursue and search for the truth leads to the fulfillment of the prophecy. When the Chorus says, â€Å"billows of calamity', they talk about the mass destruction Oedipus was placed in. On that day, he was realized he entrapped himself into the prophecy. Therefore, Oedipus acts as a representation of mankind, conveying the idea that seasoning dooms us all and traps mankind. Mankind is under the illusion that control exists and reason works.Through the first half of the stanza, the Chorus exemplifies their support for Oedipus. He was a Prince out of all the men, who gained respect and order from his people. After Oedipus discovered h is tragic state in the prophecy, such a situation could not be explained. It was disastrous, catastrophic, devastating, but all these words do not show how grievous this day was for Oedipus. He believed he escaped the prophecy and lead to be a King, a King of whom many honored. He set out to believe that he must save his city from disaster, from the plague, when he was the plague himself.The Chorus tells the readers to watch the day Oedipus fell into the prophecy and learn that no human being is lucky. No man has a goal, for their most powerful attribute fails them ultimately. Therefore, no man is lucky until they are dead. Sophocles shows through Oedipus Rexes that reasoning cannot give mankind the power and control that they desire. Through the understanding of the way Alias and Oedipus both failed at their attempts to reason and the Journey Oedipus invests myself into throughout the play, readers are able to see how Oedipus portrays a representation of mankind.Through his represe ntation, one may find that although doom upon him. This leads to the idea that reasoning fails mankind and the purpose of reasoning is invalid. Sophocles uses Oedipus life decisions, diction, and connotation of words to display the idea that man's most powerful attribute fails mankind. Although man tries to control their own fate, in reality, such control is impossible and cannot be be possessed.

French Expression With Three Apples

French Expression With Three Apples The French expression haut comme trois pommes (pronounced [o  kuhm  trwa  puhm]) literally means high like three apples. It is used the same way as the English expression knee-high to a grasshopper and is used to  describe someone  very  young or  short. It has an informal  register. Haut  Comme  Trois  Pommes  and Smurfs Youre probably familiar with the Smurfs, comic book characters introduced in Le Journal de Spirou in 1958, by the Belgian artist Peyo. Known as Schtroumpfs in French, Smurfs were exported to the US in the 80s in the form of popular cartoons and figurines. One thing you might remember about Smurfs (other than that they were blue), was that they were described as three apples tall. Peyo obviously said that they were hauts comme trois pommes, and the literal translation was used in the American adaptation to describe their height. The idiomatic English equivalent, however, can only be used figuratively: knee-high to a grasshopper cant literally describe a persons height, but rather means (when I was) a young child. Examples and Variations   Ã‚  Ã‚  La dernià ¨re fois que je lai vu, jà ©tais haut  comme  trois pommes.The last time I saw him, I was knee-high to a grasshopper.   Ã‚  Le pà ¨re de Sandrine a dà ©mà ©nagà © Paris quand elle à ©tait haute comme trois pommes.Sandrines father moved to Paris when she was knee-high to a grasshopper. You may see the following variations: Grand comme trois pommes genouxHaut comme trois pommes genouxHaut comme trois pommes couchà ©esï » ¿Haut comme deux pommes (expression quà ©bà ©coise)

Challenges of Enron Essays

Challenges of Enron Essays Challenges of Enron Essay Challenges of Enron Essay Challenges of the Enron Organization LDR 531 October 21, 2010 Doreen Gournaris Introduction To be effective as a team, team members need to communicate with each other. Enron lacked good leadership within their organization and the leaders in executive levels allowed accounting fraud and decentralized corporate departments. Enron’s team was faced with communications, collaboration and conflict management and top leadership had issues dealing with this situation. This paper will (1) describe how to develop a training program to increase the effectiveness of Enron’s groups and teams, (2) how the training program would work for Enron and how it could have helped Enron from failing, (3) the unique challenges it would address to Enron, and (4) how this particular training program would not have helped Enron and the reasons. A training program to increase the effectiveness of Enron If a training program is to be effective the program needs proper communication collaboration and conflict management from its leaders. Training plans are necessary in business and education to solve complex problems. Enron was notorious for taking the easy way out and ignoring the finer points of running a business. Training plans are necessary in business and education to solve complex problems. John Hewitt states: When a project requires expertise that the team involved does not currently possess a training plan details actionable steps to correct that deficiency. In agile, growing businesses, all employees incorporate regular training into their schedules to sharpen their own skills and empower the company as a whole (para. ). Enron’s leadership needed to adapt a proper ethics training program not only for the workforce but also for upper management. Ethics are very important for a business as it helps to determine how the company is perceived by others. . Benefits of a proper training program for Enron Ethics training could have prevented the Enron scandal from ever happening. The training plan proposed w ould have trained the executives properly and would have instilled the vision and integrity that the founders of the company had in mind. The ethics training plan would also give incentives to the employees and help them better understand the goals of the company. Employees frequently develop a greater sense of self-worth, dignity and well being because they become more valuable to the firm and to society. Generally, they will receive a greater share of the material gains that result from their increased productivity. Enron needed to provide ethics training for all employee programs as it would have provided insights for liability protection as well as improve employee morale. This training would have helped Enron provide employees with information with regard to reporting ethics violation to specific personnel and reassure them that offenders will be punished severely. This would have inhibited the leadership of Enron from giving into temptation to violate ethical code of the business. Alex Gordan states: When the ethics training for employees is carefully planned and executed, the employees will have a clear idea of the companys code of ethics as well as being intimidated with punishment techniques for those guilty of violations. Thus, ethics training for employees is an integral part of any training program provided to employees (para. 6). Unique Challenges of an Ethics training plan Ethics training program are designed for business leaders, executives, and senior managers who are hoping to instill a culture of ethical behavior throughout all levels of their organization. Enron faces this unique challenge as the leadership had a lack of integrity and no sense for proper ethics. To be effective, Enron needed to reach out to the employees and inspire them in a meaningful way. Thomas states â€Å"On the surface, the motives and attitudes behind decisions and events leading to Enron’s eventual downfall appear simple enough: individual and collective greed born in an atmosphere of market euphoria and corporate arrogance† (Thomas, 2002, The Rise and Fall of Enron, para. 4). Enron’s corporate culture provides yet another unique challenge to an effective training plan. Enron’s reputation to the business world continued to grow, whereas the internal culture apparently began to take a darker tone. Enron’s arrogance to the business world also provided challenges to the ethics training plan. Enron officials believe that they cannot be forced to take the training therefore providing employees to follow suit. Why Ethics training would not have helped Enron Enron was famous for playing it fast and loose and ethics training could not have prevented such a scandal. According to a survey: Only one percent of the ethics executives thought it would have stopped the scandal from ever happening, and more than half believe it would have made little or no difference. Unquestionably, the Enron implosion has wreaked more havoc on the accounting profession than any other case in U. S. history (Thomas, 2002). Enron collapsed chiefly because its managers were paid to aim at the wrong financial measures, and consequently, its internal system of financial controls was a shambles. Front-line leadership was more interested in the value of risks and creativity that led to more aggressive partnership arrangements that maximized share value and ignored the aspect of business integrity. The company contributed to the myth of invulnerability so effectively and bough into the belief that the stock would never fall. Enrons problem was lack of integrity and a strong desired to find alternative resolution to a problem was nonexistent. Even if the company wanted to instill ethics training, the arrogance of the leadership would have overcome its value. Enron’s arrogance contributed to the nature of their problems and lack of communication is still discussed today as one of their major downfalls. Enron’s code of ethics states: As officers and Enron Corp, its subsidiaries, and its affiliated companies, we are responsible for conducting the business affairs of the companies in accordance with all applicable laws and in a moral and honest manner We want to be proud of Enron and to know that it enjoys a reputation for fairness and honesty and that it is respected (para. 2). The previous quotes shows that a code of ethics is meaningless unless it is made more genuine for everyone in the organization. Conclusion Training programs are implemented so that companies can teach vocational and technical skills to their employees to better to fit competencies that the ob requires. In this aspect, Enron proved to be its own worst enemy. Arrogance and the lack of a proper culture were the contributing factors to their downfall. To this day, Enron’s code of ethics is used as a historic factor of what not to do in the business world. The previous paragraphs make an argument that a proper ethics training plan, the be nefits of the training plan, and the reasons it would have helped them are discussed in detail above, but in reality nothing would have kept that company from failing. Even where an ethics plan could institute compliance training and programs, little is being done by Enron’s leadership to enforce it. Sims and Brinkman quote â€Å"Enron ethics means (still ironically) that business ethics is a question of organizational deep culture rather than of cultural artifacts like ethics codes, ethics officers and the like† (p. 243). Enron faced the challenges of communication, collaboration and conflict management internally to their group, and the outcome was disaster. References Bastone, W. Enron’s Code of Ethics: The Smoking Gun. 2006. ww. soxfirst. com/enrons_code_of_ethics. Gordon, A. (2006, December 24). Ethics Training Programs For Employees. Retrieved Oct 17, 2010, from htpp://ezinearticles. com/? Ethics-Training Programs-For-Employeesid=395220 Hewitt, J. How to Develop a Training Plan. August 19, 2009 Sims, R. , Brinkman, J. Enron ethics: Culture matters more than codes. Journal Of Business Ethics, Jul 2003. Vol. 45, Iss. 3; pg . 243. Thomas, W. 2002. The Rise and Fall of Enron. Journal of Accountancy, 31(3) Appeared in the March/April issue of Today’s CPA; Texas Society of CPA’s.

Heart Idioms and Expressions for ESL Learners

Heart Idioms and Expressions for ESL Learners The following English idioms and expressions use the noun heart. Each idiom or expression has a definition and two example sentences to help you  understand these common idiomatic expressions. Once you have studied these expressions, test your knowledge with a  quiz testing idioms and expressions with heart. Break Someones Heart Definition: Hurt someone, usually romantically, or to cause some great disappointment. Angela broke Brads heart last year. He cant get over her.I think losing the job broke his heart. Cross Your Heart and Hope to Die Definition: Phrase meaning that you swear you are telling the truth. I cross my heart and hope to die. Shes coming tomorrow!Do you cross your heart and hope to die? I wont believe you otherwise. Eat Your Heart Out Definition: To be jealous or envious of someone else. Im going to New York next week. Eat your heart out!When he hears about your promotion hell eat his heart out. Follow Your Heart Definition: Do what you believe is right. I think you should follow your heart and move to Chicago.She said she had to follow her heart and marry Peter, even if her parents didnt approve. From the Bottom of My Heart Definition: Usually used in the first person, this phrase means that you are completely sincere. Youre the best player on the basketball team. I mean that from the bottom of my heart.I think you are a wonderful person. Really, I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Get at the Heart of the Matter Definition: Discuss the main issue, concern. Id like to get at the heart of the matter by discussing our marketing proposals.She didnt waste any time and got right to the heart of the matter. Be Halfhearted About Something Definition: Not do or take something completely seriously. I wish you werent so halfhearted about this new project! Get serious!She was rather halfhearted in her attempts to find a job. Have a Change of Heart Definition: Change ones mind. Fred had a change of heart and invited the young boy into his home.I wish you would have a change of heart about Tim. He really deserves some help. Have a Heart of Gold Definition: Be very trustworthy and well-meaning. Peter has a heart of gold if you give him the chance to prove himself.You can trust her. She has a heart of gold. Have a Heart of Stone Definition: Be cold, unforgiving. Shell never understand your position. She has a heart of stone.Dont expect any pity from me. I have a heart of stone. Have a Heart-to-Heart Talk Definition: Have an open and honest discussion with someone. I think its time we had a heart-to-heart talk about your grades.She called her friend Betty to have a heart-to-heart talk with her about her problems. Have Your Heart in the Right Place / Ones Heart in the Right Place Definition: To mean well, have the right intentions. Come on, you know John has his heart in the right place. He just made a mistake. Know Something by Heart /Learn Something by Heart Definition: Know something such as lines in a play, or music perfectly, to be able to perform something by memory. He knew all his lines by heart two weeks before the performance.You need to learn this piece by heart next week. Have Ones Heart Set on Something /Set Against Something Definition: Absolutely want something / Absolutely not want something. She has her heart set on winning the medal.Frank has his heart set against his promotion. Theres nothing I can do to help him. Ones Heart Misses a Beat / Ones Heart Skips a Beat Definition: To be completely surprised by something. My heart missed a beat when I heard the news that she was pregnant.She was so surprised by the announcement that her heart skipped a beat. Pour Ones Heart Out Definition: Confess or confide in someone. I poured my heart out to Tim when I discovered that I hadnt received the promotion.I wish you would pour your heart out to someone. You need to get these feelings out. Take Heart Definition: Have courage. You should take heart and try your best.Take heart. The worst is over.

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 9

Case Study Example Robert Eaton could have protected himself by drafting a contract that would protect the rights of Chrysler employees and should have proceeded with the merger only after Daimler complied. 3. A firm can protect itself from cannibalization by accurately balancing demand and supply of their product. They should ensure that inventory levels are such that an existing product is gradually sold out before a new one is introduced. However investments in R&D would ensure that they introduce innovative products before the competition. 4. Cultural problems could be avoided with introducing a superior organizational culture that would supersede other cultural values. This can be accomplished by making employees feel as if they are a part of a family and the organization is their home. Once they are at the work place they need to forget individual differences and embrace a common organizational culture. 5. Zetsche’s move to fire the head of sales and marketing immediately was wrong. Although Zetsche was advised to make drastic change (Hartley 207) and indulge in cost-cutting, firing a person of this position would lower the morale and motivation of the other employees. Furthermore, there was no evidence that Sales and marketing was responsible for loses, on the contrary loses were as a result of the overstocking decision by Schrempp. 6. Rebates are a better choice than regular price reductions. In case of price reductions the customer may perceive that the price is low because the product has lower quality or it will be replaced by a newer version. Furthermore, price reductions can hinder the ability of a manufacturer to take the price back to its original (Lamb et al. 235). 7. Yes, I agree that the use of parts of Mercedes in Chrysler cars would damage the perception of the Mercedes brand. Chrysler makes cars for people with varying purchasing power and quality expectation. Mercedes on the other hand was known for its prestige and class. By

Without positive freedom, it is impossible to lead a valuable life. Do Essay

Without positive freedom, it is impossible to lead a valuable life. Do you agree - Essay Example Therefore, it is true that valuable life might not be achieved in absence of positive freedom, people need to choose the course of their life and destiny without restrictions, freedom is essential also where individual potential is harnessed for the benefit of the whole society although in the process of enjoying this freedom care should be taken to make sure that other peoples liberty is not violated. In the process of enjoying positive freedom equity in opportunity must be regulated or observed, state may intervene to enforce equity and root out other social evils due to positive freedom (Raz, 1988). In a nutshell, complete absence of positive freedom leads to bad and impossible valuable life because every individual wants to operate in an environment which they feel free not intimidating surroundings, this will increase their productivity that in return improve the living condition and life at large for the whole society. A society that feels able to function without interruption although certain aspects must be observed as mentioned above (MacCallum, 1967). Positive freedom acts as an inner driving force in individuals. This equates and augers well autonomy. At the same time, autonomy many a time equates with several aspects that include individuality, integrity, and freedom of the will, responsibility, and critical reflection. In the same way, factors like self-knowledge, independence, freedom from compulsion, lack of external causation and self assertion play vital roles in perpetuating positive freedom. Different people have got varied notions about the steps that others should take to shape their lives. This is because individuals get involved in activities that portray absence of good morals. It has forced researchers to attempt to identify standing reasons that lie behind dissimilar nature of crimes that individuals commit. Even for all their attempts, the researchers are not able to impose their findings about criminology and its associated

Gangs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Gangs - Essay Example They are therefore a center of violence and poor morals in a society. Many innocent lives have perished in their hands after being assaulted with firearms and crude weapons. They commit these atrocities in order to gain control of the areas they dominate and to instill fear or intimidate authorities and the general public. Gangs are now everywhere; streets, in almost all neighborhoods, schools, internet and other spheres of everyday life. In United States it has been found that of all crimes committed, gangs are responsible for 80 percent of them. This paper aims at discussing gangs, why they form and who is attracted to them and why. Gang statistics United States has a high prevalence of gang violence together with a number of its neighbors like Mexico and Brazil. Gang members totaled slightly above one million by the end of 2010 who are affiliated to more than 25,000 groups (Larence, 2010). Unfortunately, only 15 percent of the gang population is behind bars considering the waves o f crime they commit year after year in the US. Another fact is that juveniles form 40 percent while the rest are adults while more than 90 percent of all members are males with females taking an average of 8 percent. It is important to note that about 60 percent of gangs disallow female membership. Gang activities seem to be more prevalent in cities with at least 250,000 residents although gang related crimes are also high at 86 percent in those cities averaging 100,000 inhabitants (Larence, 2010). Gang formation In considering why gangs form it is important to appreciate that gangs are groups of two or more people with the intension of supporting each other in the commission of delinquent or criminal activities (Larence, 2010). These group behaviors can be lowly organized while others can be quite sophisticated as to be termed as organized criminal gangs with organized crime networks as the case is with big cities in the US. There are many reasons why gangs are formed with some bei ng more significant than others. The following are the major reasons why they are formed together with what they offer to their members. Social discrimination and rejection In the United States there is considerable ethnic and racial discrimination due to the presence of Hispanic, White, Indian and Black populations (Larence, 2010). There has been tension among these groups and gangs are formed to cater for the interests of each. Some of the interests range from the need for dominance and control of one race or ethnic group over another to offering security in neighbors. In the process gangs find themselves indulging in criminal activities of robbing and killing people from other races or ethnic origins. Members of these gangs then feel accepted for who they are and the sense of belonging tends to raise their self esteem. Acceptance is therefore what the group will offer which in turn increases the racial and ethnic gaps among people. Absence of family connection and other values Th e family unit has failed in many affluent nations with increasing divorce cases, disunity among family members, lack parental love and adult role models and disciplinarians. All people require to be loved and be respected. The current family units have failed to offer unconditional love to the youths resulting into many of them turning to gangs which acts as surrogate families. There have been many social constraints as well as economic ones

Sap Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Sap - Essay Example Pan African Health Organization (PAHO) gave the process of vaccine and the types even the challenges of vaccine as a response to preventing the outbreak. CHARACTERISTICS: Cholera is an asymptomatic infection because by the time the symptoms appear, the disease is already widespread. It affects young children, older ones and even adults. Its characterized by watery diarrhea , creamps in the limbs and it leads to dehydration of the patient. Treatment: Vaccination is recommended to those at risk of being infected. Those infected should have continued eating speeds to recover the normal intestinal function. Its treated with Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT). ORT is the easiest and simplest way of treatment since its effective and safe. "http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article.cfm?id=6362HYPERLINK "http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article.cfm?id=6362&cat=field-news"&HYPERLINK "http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article.cfm?id=6362&cat=field-news"cat=field-news" For Haitians, Cholera Remains a Major Public Health Problem, Medecins Sans Frontieres. PROBLEMS: Cholera in Haiti continues to be widespread due to reduced international funding which has slowed down the delivery of medical care and provision of clean water and sanitation services. Measures taken to prevent and treat cholera are not enough because its still far from being

Rip Van Winkle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rip Van Winkle - Essay Example Rip Van Winkle: the Passive Protagonist. On the surface, Washington Irving’s A Posthumous Writing of Diedrich Knickerbocker  appears to be a fairy tale which requires the reader to willingly suspend his disbelief. However, further reading gives it a deeper meaning. Rip Van Winkle, the protagonist of the story, has an out-of-the-ordinary experience in the Catskill Mountain and falls sleeps for twenty years. He returns to his village to find the old order of things changed by the American Revolution. When we consider that the story has been plotted so that the protagonist is absent during such a momentous period of American history, it is evident that the author is attempting to convey a particular message to the reader. I believe that Washington Irving’s purpose in writing Rip Van Winkle is to assert that the old, even when it is not a catalyst of change, can serve as a cherished and valuable agent of continuity with the new. Rip Van Winkle is a passive protagonist, bu t retains his relevance until the end of the narrative. Rip Van Winkle is â€Å"a simple, good-natured fellow† who is â€Å"pliant and malleable† (Washington, 2011, p.32), in his dealings with his fellow-men.

Sales planning and operations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sales planning and operations - Assignment Example In such cases, the exhibition becomes beneficial where the company can test the consumer reaction. However, the exhibition also possesses many disadvantages. For instance, it involves the availability of all the staffs for a particular period and so there is no concentration in other fields. Also, exhibitions are found to be very costly for a company. There is a difference between industrial and consumer divisions. Industrial divisions basically deal with industries whereas consumer divisions deal with various retail outlets. Exhibitions like trade fair, canton fair, conference, as well as exhibitions in overseas can be targeted for a luggage company. The conference programme can be quite effective for a luggage company. The conference held between the company and the customers or distributors could help in taking the sales order and enhancing the demand along with brand loyalty. The exhibition is one of the tools frequently used by companies as their communication strategy. It conve ys about the products’ features and advantages of using it. Basically, the exhibition team is managed by an organization among the employees themselves who can conveniently influence the customers and make them understand the product features. Exhibitions would actually be beneficial for the luggage company because customers in today's context require the detailed explanation for the purchase of products like iPads and tablet computers and moreover it would easily influence the customers and solve their queries at once.... The strategies can include channel segmentation and selection of effective channel for the distribution of the product among others (Boone & Kurtz, 2011). Target Marketing is very essential for the introduction of new product in the market. Target market is generally focussed on a specific market where the probability of buying iPads and tablet computers would be more. The term ‘target market’ involves focusing or evaluating various factors like targeting the current customers, analysing the competition, and evaluating the demographic factors. The target market for the luggage company can be people belonging to 18-40 years group. It can also target travellers like leisure traveller, business traveller and adventurous travellers among others (Boone & Kurtz, 2011). The company must evaluate the marketing mix effectively that is to be used for launch or marketing of the new product. The word mix describes the strategies’ combination of price, product, place and promo tion of the products. The company can make pricing strategies depending on the ability and need of the customer and also evaluating the price fixed by the competitor. Different promotional activities like sales promotion, advertising and publicity can be useful in enhancing the growth. The strategies for product will help in building the features according to the customer requirement and similarly, strategies for place would help it in evaluating the place where the probability of purchase would be higher. The company has to make proper decisions on the utilization of the right marketing mix at the right place (Boone & Kurtz, 2011). Promotional mix generally specifies all the techniques or

Rip Van Winkle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rip Van Winkle - Essay Example Rip Van Winkle: the Passive Protagonist. On the surface, Washington Irving’s A Posthumous Writing of Diedrich Knickerbocker  appears to be a fairy tale which requires the reader to willingly suspend his disbelief. However, further reading gives it a deeper meaning. Rip Van Winkle, the protagonist of the story, has an out-of-the-ordinary experience in the Catskill Mountain and falls sleeps for twenty years. He returns to his village to find the old order of things changed by the American Revolution. When we consider that the story has been plotted so that the protagonist is absent during such a momentous period of American history, it is evident that the author is attempting to convey a particular message to the reader. I believe that Washington Irving’s purpose in writing Rip Van Winkle is to assert that the old, even when it is not a catalyst of change, can serve as a cherished and valuable agent of continuity with the new. Rip Van Winkle is a passive protagonist, bu t retains his relevance until the end of the narrative. Rip Van Winkle is â€Å"a simple, good-natured fellow† who is â€Å"pliant and malleable† (Washington, 2011, p.32), in his dealings with his fellow-men.

Outline the Roman Empires attitude to Christianity Essay Example for Free

Outline the Roman Empires attitude to Christianity Essay Q: Outline the Roman Empires attitude to Christianity until the end of the first century. The Christian church from its outset has faced many challenges as a result of external influences; one of the most important of these influences was the persecution of the Christian people by the Roman Empire. From the year 64AD onwards the church was persecuted by the Roman authorities in an intermittent and sporadic manner, not on account of their beliefs, but was a result of chance and circumstance. Christianity was born out of Judaism and appeared as an entity after the death of Christ. Of course Jews of the time felt threatened by the emergence of Christianity as a faith, and so the earliest persecutions of Christians occurred at the hands of Jewish Sadducees, who branded Christians blasphemous. Indeed it is clear that the Jews played a part in persecution of Christians as late on as AD156 in the persecution of Polycarp. The persecution of Christians in the first century by Jews however were minimal in comparison to the much more widespread and systematic persecutions by the Roman authorities from the year AD64 onwards. Before this date Christians were accepted as a national sect of Judaism, and therefore they enjoyed the status of religio licita- a lawful or tolerated faith. The Roman Empire even protected many Christians against Jewish attack in the early years. This all changed however in the year 64AD, during the reign of the emperor Nero. See more: 5 paragraph essay format 64AD was by general concurrence of early Christians, the beginning of imperial repression of Christianity. This fact was supported by early Christian writers such as Tertullian, Eusebius and Sulpicus Severus. This date coincides with the fire of Rome, a devastating blaze which destroyed almost half of the city. The pagan writer Tacitus reports to us in 115 of the fact that Despite Neros efforts the accusation that the fire was ordered could not be quashed. The mounting suspicion had a disastrous effect on Neros popularity (which had been very high before then), so Nero set about searching for a scapegoat. Christians were perfect candidates for a number of reasons; they were a relatively new group that were small in number and there was already an air of suspicion surrounding allegations of anti social behaviour. However the actual circumstances may have been more complex than will never be understood by ourselves, as banks points out: The reasons behind the persecution of Christians included religious, political and social factors which were so inter-related and inter-dependant that it would be historically misleading to separate them out as isolated issues. There are however some other opposing views on the exact circumstances of the fire of Rome. Critics such as Frend have argued that it is possible that Nero originally put blame on the Jewish community, who in turn blamed Christianity. Yet other critics have also suggested that the fire may well have been started by Christian extremists, anxious to fulfil apocalyptic prophecies. The first persecuted Christians were charged with arson and as Tacitus tells us, immense in number, this charge apparently changed to a charge of hatred for the human race. This in itself indicates the immense suspicion of the Roman population towards Christianity and the ability of Roman authorities to exploit this. Wand indicates to us the state of Roman perceptions of Christianity after Neros reign: By the end of the reign of Nero the state had settled down to an attitude of suspicion towards the church. The persecutions themselves were reported to be gruesome and perverse in nature by Tacitus among others. They were deliberately devised to create amusement for the public as well as humiliate the incumbent. Accounts included victims being covered with the hides of dogs and beasts and set upon by dogs, being crucified and being used as streetlights to illuminate the darkness. Even Tacitus the most ardent of anti Christian writers, could not help but feel pity for them. There is much dispute over the impact that Neros persecution had on the Christian church. Some feel that it represents the beginning of Christianitys status as an illegal religion, and that it set the precedent for a further 2 centuries of imperial persecution. What is certain is that the church lost many of its influential early leaders during Neros reign, including St Peter and St Paul as reported by Eusebius. Some commentators believe that without the writings of early evangelists, the Christian faith may have disappeared altogether. After Neros removal from office there was a period of considerable civil unrest within the Roman Empire, and therefore Christians were not seen as an important priority. It was not until the reign of Domitian that persecution of Christians began in earnest. This time though the persecutions were different in nature in that he did not search out the Christian community as a group but sought out individuals by stealth. Domitian is described by Bernard as: A jealous man who went in fear of his life. He kept power (like Stalin in Russia) by a series of sudden blows against those who he felt were plotting against him. There is evidence to suggest during the end of his reign Domitian began to fervently persecute the Christian community as a whole. Showing the mans deep paranoia and distorted frame of mind. The ancient writer Suetonius writes of the Gladiator Glabrio who was executed by Domitian on Christian charges, although the real reason was the Emperors apparent jealousy of his abilities, underlining the unstable nature of Domitians personality. It is widely regarded by many critics such as Banks that a possible source of conflict between Domitian and the Christian church was his enthusiasm for the imperial cult, and therefore he persecuted them because of their refusal to accord him divine honours. However it still remains in dispute whether Domitian persecuted Christians at all. The early church writer Dio Cassius, wrote from Bythinia, a strong Christian province and yet he never mentions any of Domitians victims as Christians. Furthermore, Pliny, a lawyer working in Rome at the time of Domitians reign tells Trajan many years later that he had never been involved in a Christian trial. This indicates at least that Domitians persecution was not exactly widespread or for reaching, if it existed at all. There is little doubt of the immense impact the early persecutions had on the growth of the Christian church. While some argue that it has helped the church in its growth, others claim that it has actually hindered the churches growth. Tertullian observes the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. I believe that because of the limited nature of early persecutions they did not seriously slow down the expansion of Christianity. What is certain though is that the persecutions at the hands of Nero and Domitian set a precedent for future Christian persecution.

The Rates Of Chemical Reaction

The Rates Of Chemical Reaction The rate of a chemical reaction is a measure of how fast the reaction takes place. So, a rapid reaction is completed in a short time. Some reactions may be very slow, e.g. the rusting of steel. A chemical reaction only occurs when particles collide with each other. Particles which move fast are more likely to collide with each other; you can do this by heating them up (raising temperature). This means more particles collide with each other every second, so the rate of reaction increases. There are more particles of hydrochloric acid atoms if there is a higher concentration of them. More particles means there will be a higher amount of collisions so the reaction should be fast. Other factors that affect the rate of reaction are; temperature, catalysts and surface area. Temperature affects reaction rates as it dictates how much energy the particles in a substance have, at higher temperatures particles have more energy and so move more quickly and collide more. As the particles are moving faster the collisions between them have more energy, this means that they are more likely to create a reaction and so reaction rate increases. Catalysts lower the amount of energy needed for a collision to be successful, so adding a catalyst to a reaction increases the amount of successful collisions and therefore increases reaction rates. The larger the amount of surface area, the faster the reaction rate is. Independent Variable= Hydrochloric acid concentration Dependent Variable= Time taken for magnesium to dissolve Aim To investigate the reaction time between magnesium and hydrochloric acid. Prediction I think that my results will show that the hydrochloric acid with a molarity of 2 will finish reacting the quickest because it is the strongest hydrochloric acid and I predict that the slowest experiment to finish reacting will be the 0.4 molar strength of hydrochloric acid. I think that the results will go slower and slower the nearer they are to the 0.4 strength of hydrochloric acid. The reason that the experiment with hydrochloric acid at 2 molar will dissolve the magnesium ribbon faster is because it is of a stronger concentration and so the molecules in the hydrochloric acid move faster and so react with the magnesium ribbon quicker. Fair Test To make sure my experiment was a fair test, I had to keep these factors the same: Surface area of magnesium Volume of acid used (10ml) Used the same type of beaker (80ml) Length of magnesium (1cm) Clean the magnesium with emery paper before the experiment Temperature of the hydrochloric acid The factor of which I will change is the concentration of the hydrochloric acid. Apparatus I used the following equipment: 80ml beakers (x5) Equal strips of magnesium (x5) Stopwatch Hydrochloric Acid A measuring cylinder Gloves Safety I will need to make my experiment as safe as possible. It will be safe for me and other students around me. Precautions will be made if someone is harmed, such as there will need to be a first aid kit nearby accessible, also a water tap in case acid touches the skin or eyes. This is what I will need to do: Care in using glassware as when broken is sharp and can cut the skin Wear safety goggles as I am using concentrated hydrochloric acid Care in returning all the equipment at the end of the experiment Care to eyes and skin plus to be aware of other students around the class Risk Assessment The acid that we are using in this experiment is of 1.0 molar strength, which is strong enough to at least cause irritation to the skin if spilled on it; the hydrochloric acid would also cause irritation to the eyes and mouth if ever spilled into those. Another risk is that magnesium is flammable especially if in powder form, but we are using it in a ribbon form and we are not using any flames in any part of the experiment. The gas which is given off from the reaction between hydrochloric acid and magnesium ribbon is hydrogen which is a flammable gas. We will reduce the risk of these hazards by wearing protective eyewear for example laboratory goggles, we will also measure out the hydrochloric acid pouring away from the body, over the sink. We will not be using flames in our experiment so the risk is reduced from the hydrogen and magnesium but still other experiments could be using flames so we will still have to be careful and make sure to stay away from any other experiments using flames. Introduction Firstly, we had to record (in a table) the time taken for a 1cm magnesium (Mg) strip to completely dissolve in a beaker containing hydrochloric acid (HCl). I had five different concentrations of the hydrochloric acid: 1.0m, 1.2m, 1.4m, 1.6m, 1.8m and 2.0m. I put 10ml of hydrochloric acid in a glass 80ml beaker, and then one by one I began putting the magnesium strips into each beaker and timing the duration taken for the magnesium to dissolve. The first thing we noticed is that the lower the concentration of the acid, the longer the magnesium took to dissolve. We were trying to find out how the concentration of the acid affected the speed of which the magnesium dissolves. The equation for this experiment was: Magnesium + Hydrochloric Acid à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Magnesium Chloride + Hydrogen Mg + 2HCl à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ MgCl2 + H2 Collision Theory The theory that we use to explain how different variables change the rate of reaction is called the collision theory. For a reaction to take place, the particles of the substances that are reacting have to collide. If they collide, with enough energy then they will react. The minimum amount of kinetic (movement) energy that two particles need if they are going to react when they collide is called the activation energy. Method I needed to collect: Safety goggles, five 80ml beakers, a lab coat, a measuring cylinder, and a pipette. Safety goggles were very important because of the chemicals we were using. Hydrogen gas was also being released, which is highly flammable so we had to be aware if we were to ignite anything near it. This was the method I used: Put on safety goggles and a lab coat Collect (80ml) beakers (x5) Collect a pipette and a measuring cylinder Measure out 10ml of hydrochloric acid with a pipette Release the acid into the beaker Make sure we have a stopwatch at the ready Collect magnesium strips Put the magnesium into the acid and make sure at the exact same time the stop watch has started The hydrogen produced makes the reaction mixture effervesce (fizz). The faster the reaction, the shorter the time taken for the effervescence to stop. My results may not be completely accurate, as the person using the stop watch may not react quickly enough to stop the time. Also the amount of milliliters put into the cylinder may not be exact due to the accuracy of the apparatus. Although the results are likely to be reliable as we used the same type apparatus for each experiment, and concentration we tested on, we followed the method exactly the same for each repeat We used the same method for all five different concentrations of the hydrochloric acid. We used the same pipette and measuring cylinder but made sure they were washed with water and then dried ready for the next concentration. We repeated the whole experiment for a second time to gain a better insight of our results; this would also allow us to spot outliers and discuss how we got them. If we found an outlier we repeated the reading. We then worked out an average between both of our results, although we did not find any outliers so our average wasnt affected. Time taken for the magnesium to dissolve (s) Hydrochloric acid concentration Experiment 1 Experiment 2 My graph which is attached to this document, it shows that the slope of the curve was negative due to the huge decrease in the seconds taken for the magnesium to dissolve (negative correlation, as you increase the concentration of hydrochloric acid, the amount of seconds to dissolve decreases). As seen in my graph the difference within the amount of seconds from concentrations 1.0m and 1.2m is the biggest difference of 51.45 seconds. This similarity continues all the way through until the last two concentrations have a small difference of just 4.3 seconds. Conclusion To conclude I realised the higher the amount of concentration in the beaker, the faster the magnesium dissolved. A scientific explanation to this would be that there were more particles in the beaker meaning the there was less space resulting to larger amount of collisions. More collisions The rate of reaction depends on the rate of successful collisions between reactant particles. The more successful collisions there are, the faster the rate of reaction. Surface area could have affected the experiment, but as these factors were controlled my results werent affected. I predicted that the higher the concentration the faster the reaction. The reason for this is as the concentration increased the rate of reaction increased. The line showing the results of 1.0 molar acid is the steepest. The reaction is faster with stronger acid because it contains more acid particles. The greater number of acid particles the more chances of a collision between acid and magnesium particles therefore the faster the reaction. The strongest acid also produces the most gas because it contains more reactant acid particles. You can see from the graph below the higher the concentration of acid the faster the rate. There is now evidence to back up my prediction. My hypothesis has been proven correct, in that beforehand I believed increasing the concentration means that we have more particles in the same volume of solution. This increases the chance of collisions between reactant particles, resulting in more collisions in any given time and a faster reaction. This can show us a general rule about concentrations and rates of reactions. Analysis During my investigation there is a possibility that I may have come across errors. These errors were linked to my measurements. The timing of the magnesium dissolving in the hydrochloric acid could have plus or minus a second due to the reaction speed of the person timing it. Also the (measurements of the hydrochloric acid volumes were accurate to +/- 1cm ³. Many of the errors are down to human judgement, Measuring of volumes Reaction speed of the timer From the results in the table and the graph we can see a steady increase in the rate of reaction as the concentration of the acid increases. This complies with my prediction. The graph shows that there is an increase in the rate of reaction as the concentration increases because the graph has its largest gradient or it is steepest at this point.). Also we can see that as the reaction continues the concentration of the reactants decrease and so does the rate of the reaction as we can see the decreasing gradient on the graph steadily falling and coming to a stop when the reaction is complete and the magnesium has completely disappeared. Evaluation I think my experiment went well as a whole. I could have possibly improved the accuracy of some of my results I could have used more concentrations of acid to see if the pattern carried on as it did previously or changed, I could have repeated the readings more times to make them more accurate. In some occasions I could have done things to make my experiment a fairer test. I could have repeated my experiment at least one more time to increase reliability. I could have possibly concentrated more on my experiment than get distracted by peers. If I repeated this experiment I could have tried investigating other aspects of the experiment which could change the rate of reaction. One example could be changing the surface area, the concentration of acid and pressure can affect the reaction. I could have also tried using different acids, such as sulphuric acid. Different metals could allow me to investigate their (relativity) reactivity and the affect this has on results and reaction rate. The reaction could relate to a real life situation, such as if someone were to walk into a crowded area, there would be more collisions rather than if the place was empty. Therefore people in the area get more annoyed, which results in even more collisions, therefore this example relates to the rates of reaction. The results lined up very well on the graph with a very close curved line of best fit that all the results fall directly onto or very close to with only two off the line and only 1 second away. This backs up the consistency and reliability of the results, which makes my evidence good enough to support a firm conclusion. To improve my knowledge of reaction rates I could and how concentration affects them I could conduct experiments using different metals and different acids. I could also use a larger range of concentrations to extend my results and give me more evidence. Using smaller gaps between concentrations would also further my evidence as it would improve my rate graph allowing me to draw a more accurate line of best fit therefore allowing me to make more accurate estimates for results of concentrations not yet tested. And it could have been improved by the repetition of each concentration 3 times; instead of the one time I was able to conduct, to eliminate all anomalous results. As from 3 sets of readings, an average can be calculated which will provide a more reliable result as it is based upon 3 readings, not just the one reading which may be wrong. The investigation could be done using one variable and therefore have a set of results which were related in some way. The variables that could be used are: Concentration Particle size/surface area Temperature These variables can be used because: The more concentrated the reactants, the greater the rate of reaction will be. This is because increasing the concentration of the reactants increases the number of collisions between particles and, therefore, increases the rate of reaction. When one of the reactants is a solid, the reaction must take place on the surface area of the solid. By breaking up the solid into smaller pieces, the surface area is increased, giving a greater area of collisions to take place and so causing an increase in the rate of reaction. An increase in temperature produces an increase in the rate of reaction. A rise of 10 ° C approximately doubles the rate of reaction. When a mixture of substances is heated, the particles move faster. This has two effects. Since the particles are moving faster they will travel greater distance in a given time and so will be involved in more collisions. Also, because the particles are moving faster a larger proportion of the collisions will exceed the activation energy and so the rate of reaction increases. Looking at the set of results obtained, you can clearly see that they all follow the expected pattern. This is pattern suggests that the reaction rate increase when the concentration of the acid increases because if you increase the concentration of the acid you are introducing more particles into the reaction which will in turn produce a faster reaction because there will be more collisions between the particles which is what increases the reaction rate. There will always be ways in which you can improve your investigations and the same thing goes to my investigation. Every time I washed a test tube or a measuring cylinder, I did not dry it before using it. This may have affected the rate of reaction, as water would dilute the acid. To improve my results, I could dry the test tubes and the measuring cylinder after they are washed to prevent diluted acids. The size and weight of the magnesium would have affected the rate of reaction. The experiment could be improved by measuring, adjusting and weighing the magnesium ribbons so they all are the same size and weight.

Picasso - Cultural Expression :: essays research papers

Picasso was arguably the most influential artist of the twentieth century. He had some degree of influence in all styles of painting which were used during his time, and was known and respected by almost every art enthusiast on the face of the planet. Pablo Picasso, born Pablo Ruiz y Blasco, came into the world on the 25th of October 1881 in the southern Spanish town of Malaga. Pablo was an artist from early in his life – he was a child prodigy. He began his career as a classical painter. He painted things such as portraits and landscapes. But this style didn’t satisfy Picasso, he was a free man and wanted to express himself and ultimately leave a lasting mark on art as we know it. Picasso turned his attention to cubes. He invented Cubism – a radical art form which used harsh lines and corners to display a picture instead of the usual soft curves (see enclosed picture no. 1). Picasso won a lot of fame for his Cubist paintings, but was criticized for it also. He designed and painted the drop curtain and some giant cubist figures for a ballet in 1917. When the audience saw the huge distorted images on stage, they were angry, they thought the ballet was a joke at their expense. Cubism lived on despite this. Other artists mimicked Picasso’s Cubism, and it took hold. Picasso had only just begun his one-man art revolution. In the late 1920s, Picasso fixed himself upon an even more revolutionary art form – Surrealism. Surrealism emphasized the role of the unconscious mind in creative activity. Surrealists aimed at creating art from dream, visions, and irrational impulses. Their paintings shocked the world – particularly Picasso’s – it was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. Picasso saw his newly found art form as a kind of â€Å"painted literature† or sign language. He took advantage of this fact and also the fact that he was extremely famous, to make a few political statements, statements that would go down in history. 1936 saw the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. Fascist revolutionaries, led by Francisco Franco took hold of Spain and imposed a fascist dictatorship upon the country. Due to poor economic control and disregard for the people on the part of the Fascists, the country went through hell. The unemployment rate was phenomenal. The majority of the population were peasants and lived in appalling conditions.

An investigation to determine which of four alcohols is the most exothermic :: GCSE Chemistry Coursework Investigation

An investigation to determine which of four alcohols is the most exothermic Prediction I predict that the most heat given out per mole burned would be by Propanol because the size of the alcohol molecules might increase with heat. Alcohols produce heat when they burn in oxygen or air. The amount of heat produced per mole of alcohol will be proportional to the amount of air present. Full combustion should generate two products only: carbon dioxide and water vapour. Hypothesis Within a molecule there are bond energies that are holding the atoms together. When the fuel combusts a chemical reaction takes place, this breaks the bonds, this requires energy, and makes new bonds this gives out energy. The energy differences between the two tell us how much energy was given out or taken in. We can show this on a graph. Alcohol particles will break their bonds when they mix with oxygen. This is known as exothermic reaction. Boiling points will be increased because energy is needed bonds can be formed and broken. Breaking bonds need less energy than is needed to form bonds - exothermic reaction. Bigger molecules use high energy to be broken. Methanol and Ethanol have differences as Methanol melts at a higher temperature and boils at a lower temperature than Ethanol. Higher alcohols which include Butanol and Propanol have a higher molecular weight and this is why Butanol is used in perfumes. Ethanol, which is sugar based, with its low freezing point, has a specific use as antifreeze for cars and other vehicles. GRAPH Tripod Matches Goggles Method: - To begin with, I choose one out of the four different alcohols. I weigh beforehand in the spirit burner. This is so I can calculate the mass which is lost in each alcohol. The spirit burner and alcohol which I am using is on a brick under a tripod. On the tripod I place a clay pipe triangle which holds a beaker containing 100ml of water. I light the spirit burner and stir the water with the thermometer constantly. When the temperature has risen to 30Â ºC, I quickly place the top back on the spirit burner. Now I re-weigh the alcohol. o find out how much alcohol has been burned I subtract the finishing mass from the starting mass. Fair Test I will try my best to keep this experiment fair. All the variables must be controlled. These are as follows - The scale reading has to be on zero before weighing the spirit burner

Nursing Theorist Grid Essay

1. Theorist Selected: Florence Nightingale born on 5/12/1820, a writer, a philosopher, a theorist, a â€Å"reformer, a statistician, an administrator, a researcher† (Attewell, 1998), an educator, and a nurse leader. 2. Description of key points of the theory: Nightingale was one of the first theorist to connect the environment with the patient’s well being. Nightingale believed a persons health depended on their environment and that patients will be compliant to treatment because they wanted to be cared for and be healthy. Nightingale believed (as cited by Alligood, 2010, p.101), â€Å"that the person was a holistic individual and thus had a spiritual dimension. She believed nursing was a spiritual calling, and with that belief she assumed that nurses could help those clients who were in spiritual distress.† She believed that the way the home, community or hospital room was kept affected the patient’s healing process. She created â€Å"13 cannons: Ventilation and warmth, light, cleanliness of rooms and walls, health of houses, noise, bed and bedding, personal cleanliness, variety, chattering hopes and advices, taking food, what food, petty management and observation of the sick† (Alligood, 2010, p.101-102) that help aid in the care of the patient and the environment to help promote good health. She also believed that nurses should be caring in nature and want to care for the ill and not for personal gain. Nightingale promoted a well balanced diet to help the patient with the healing process. 3. Theory’s historical background: Nightingale developed her passion young in life. Cook wrote (as cited by Selanders, 2010) â€Å"She records in her diary an interaction with God at age 16 when He â€Å"called her to His service†. Nightingale clarified (as cited by Alligood, 2010, p.98), â€Å"nursing knowledge is distinct from medical knowledge.† Nursing focuses on the patient and the environment to promote health where medicine focuses on disease process and medicinal use for health. In 1854-60 Nightingale cared for the wounded soldiers in the Crimean War with â€Å"emphasis on hygiene† (Attewell, 1998). During her time in the Crimean war she persuaded the education of army soldiers and doctors, which then lead to an opening of a pathology lab. She was an advocate for nursing education and clinical experience. â€Å"In 1860 founded 1st program to educate nurses in St. Thomas Hospital in London† (Alligood, 2010, p.98). In 1882 she wrote 2 articles â€Å"nurses, training of†, â€Å"nursing the sick†, they were in reference to how nursing school should be training. Let us not forget how she help analyze data she collected. â€Å"Statistics were a vital component of Nightingale’s systemic approach to health care† (McDonald, 2010). Complete the following grid based on the selected theorist information. Define each term according to the selected theorist. Explain how the selected theorist’s approach to each element of the metaparadigm applies to the following: Nursing practice Nursing education Nursing research Term Definition Applied to Nursing Practice Applied to Nursing Education Applied to Nursing Research Person According to Alligood (2010, p98), â€Å"most of Nightingale’s writings refer to the person as the one who is receiving care, she did believe that the person is a dynamic and complex being†. The one whose health is affected by the environment. The patient allows the nurse to provide care and help promote a healthier environment. McDonald noted (as cited by Hegge, 2013) â€Å"Nightingale realized that working-class women needed education to become competent nurses, so she began designing educational elements that would later be used in the Nightingale School of Nursing.† Nightingale’s research and data collection was done for the benefit of the patient. Creating evidence based practices. Health According to Alligood (2010, p 98) Nightingale wrote, â€Å"Health is not only to be well, but to be able to use well every power we have.†Ã‚  Nightingale created the 13 canons to help promote health. Getting patients back to their functioning status before they fell ill. Nightingale promoted patient health education, especially in the young women so her children could be healthy. Nightingale statistical expertise help make changes to improve a patients care and overall health. Nursing Whall noted (as cited by Alligood, 2010, p. 99)â€Å"Nightingale saw nursing as the â€Å"science of environmental management.† Nightingale set four steps for nursing process: observation of patient’s health status, identification what needs changing in the environment, implementation of nursing care plan, reassessment of patient’s health status with documentation of all steps. Nightingale advocated for nursing education. Schools taught nurses how to observe a patient, how to alter the environment and implement changes. We report back to the physician from our assessments and reassessments. Nightingale had the hospital collecting data report data such as mortality and length of stay. The data was analyzed and then changes in practices were implemented. Environment Selanders stated (as cited by Alligood, 2010, p98) that â€Å"environment can be defined as anything that can be manipulated to place a patient in the best  possible condition for nature to act†. Placing the patient in the appropriate environment. For example, Creating a pleasant, calm, soothing and quiet environment in a nursery so babies can rest and stay healthy without distress. Schools created to help educate the future nurses. In those teachings were the â€Å"how to change, alter, or improve the patient’s immediate environment. Nightingale’s collected statistics on the environment in which the soldiers dwelled in and analyzed it creating changes. Reference: Alligood, M.R. (2010). Nursing theory: Utilization & application (4th ed.). Maryland Heights, MO: Mosby Elsevier. pgs 98. Retreived from the UOP ebook collection. Attewell, A. (1998). Florence nightingale (1820-1910). Prospects, 28(1), 151-166. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02737786. Retrieved from the UOP online library Selanders, L. C. (2010, March). The Power of Environmental Adaptation: Florence Nightingale’s Original Theory for Nursing Practice. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 28(1), 81-88. doi:10.1177/0898010109360257. Retrieved from the UOP online library Hegge, M. (2013, July). Nightingale’s Environmental Theory. Nursing Science Quarterly, 26(3), 211-219. doi:10.1177/0894318413489255. Retrieved from the UOP online library McDonald, L. (2010, March). Florence Nightingale Passionate Statistician. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 28(1), 92-98. doi:10.1177/0898010109358769. Retrieved from the UOP online library

Deception Point Page 83

Tolland turned to her. â€Å"You okay? You could have stayed onshore. I told you that.† I should have stayed onshore, Rachel thought, knowing pride would never have let her. â€Å"No thanks, I'm fine.† Tolland smiled. â€Å"I'll keep an eye on you.† â€Å"Thanks.† Rachel was surprised how the warmth in his voice made her feel more secure. â€Å"You've seen the Goya on television, right?† She nodded. â€Å"It's a†¦ um†¦ an interesting-looking ship.† Tolland laughed. â€Å"Yeah. She was an extremely progressive prototype in her day, but the design never quite caught on.† â€Å"Can't imagine why,† Rachel joked, picturing the ship's bizarre profile. â€Å"Now NBC is pressuring me to use a newer ship. Something†¦ I don't know, flashier, sexier. Another season or two, and they'll make me part with her.† Tolland sounded melancholy at the thought. â€Å"You wouldn't love a brand-new ship?† â€Å"I don't know†¦ a lot of memories onboard the Goya.† Rachel smiled softly. â€Å"Well, as my mom used to say, sooner or later we've all got to let go of our past.† Tolland's eyes held hers for a long moment. â€Å"Yeah, I know.† 98 â€Å"Shit,† the taxi driver said, looking over his shoulder at Gabrielle. â€Å"Looks like an accident up ahead. We ain't going nowhere. Not for a while.† Gabrielle glanced out the window and saw the spinning lights of emergency vehicles piercing the night. Several policemen stood in the road ahead, halting traffic around the Mall. â€Å"Must be a hell of an accident,† the driver said, motioning toward some flames near the FDR Memorial. Gabrielle frowned at the flickering glow. Now, of all times. She needed to get to Senator Sexton with this new information about PODS and the Canadian geologist. She wondered if NASA's lies about how they found the meteorite would be a big enough scandal to breathe life back into Sexton's campaign. Maybe not for most politicians, she thought, but this was Sedgewick Sexton, a man who had built his campaign on amplifying the failures of others. Gabrielle was not always proud of the senator's ability to put negative ethical spin on opponents' political misfortunes, but it was effective. Sexton's mastery of innuendo and indignity could probably turn this one compartmentalized NASA fib into a sweeping question of character that infected the entire space agency-and by association, the President. Outside the window, the flames at the FDR Memorial seemed to climb higher. Some nearby trees had caught fire, and the fire trucks were now hosing them down. The taxi driver turned on the car radio and began channel-surfing. Sighing, Gabrielle closed her eyes and felt the exhaustion roll over her in waves. When she'd first come to Washington, she'd dreamed of working in politics forever, maybe someday in the White House. At the moment, however, she felt like she'd had enough politics for a lifetime-the duel with Marjorie Tench, the lewd photographs of herself and the senator, all of NASA's lies†¦ A newscaster on the radio was saying something about a car bomb and possible terrorism. I've got to get out of this town, Gabrielle thought for the first time since coming to the nation's capital. 99 The controller seldom felt weary, but today had taken its toll. Nothing had gone as anticipated-the tragic discovery of the insertion shaft in the ice, the difficulties of keeping the information a secret, and now the growing list of victims. Nobody was supposed to die†¦ except the Canadian. It seemed ironic that the most technically difficult part of the plan had turned out to be the least problematic. The insertion, completed months ago, had come off without a hitch. Once the anomaly was in place, all that remained was to wait for the Polar Orbiting Density Scanner (PODS) satellite to launch. PODS was slated to scan enormous sections of the Arctic Circle, and sooner or later the anomaly software onboard would detect the meteorite and give NASA a major find. But the damned software didn't work. When the controller learned that the anomaly software had failed and had no chance of being fixed until after the election, the entire plan was in jeopardy. Without PODS, the meteorite would go undetected. The controller had to come up with some way to surreptitiously alert someone in NASA to the meteorite's existence. The solution involved orchestrating an emergency radio transmission from a Canadian geologist in the general vicinity of the insertion. The geologist, for obvious reasons, had to be killed immediately and his death made to look accidental. Throwing an innocent geologist from a helicopter had been the beginning. Now things were unraveling fast. Wailee Ming. Norah Mangor. Both dead. The bold kill that had just taken place at the FDR Memorial. Soon to be added to the list were Rachel Sexton, Michael Tolland, and Dr. Marlinson. There is no other way, the controller thought, fighting the growing remorse. Far too much is at stake. 100 The Coast Guard Dolphin was still two miles from the Goya's coordinates and flying at three thousand feet when Tolland yelled up to the pilot. â€Å"Do you have NightSight onboard this thing?† The pilot nodded. â€Å"I'm a rescue unit.† Tolland had expected as much. NightSight was Raytheon's marine thermal imaging system, capable of locating wreck survivors in the dark. The heat given off by a swimmer's head would appear as a red speck on an ocean of black. â€Å"Switch it on,† Tolland said. The pilot looked confused. â€Å"Why? You missing someone?† â€Å"No. I want everyone to see something.† â€Å"We won't see a thing on thermal from this high up unless there's a burning oil slick.† â€Å"Just switch it on,† Tolland said. The pilot gave Tolland an odd look and then adjusted some dials, commanding the thermal lens beneath the chopper to survey a three-mile swatch of ocean in front of them. An LCD screen on his dashboard lit up. The image came into focus. â€Å"Holy shit!† The helicopter lurched momentarily as the pilot recoiled in surprise and then recovered, staring at the screen. Rachel and Corky leaned forward, looking at the image with equal surprise. The black background of the ocean was illuminated by an enormous swirling spiral of pulsating red. Rachel turned to Tolland with trepidation. â€Å"It looks like a cyclone.† â€Å"It is,† Tolland said. â€Å"A cyclone of warm currents. About a half mile across.† The Coast Guard pilot chuckled in amazement. â€Å"That's a big one. We see these now and then, but I hadn't heard about this one yet.† â€Å"Just surfaced last week,† Tolland said. â€Å"Probably won't last more than another few days.† â€Å"What causes it?† Rachel asked, understandably perplexed by the huge vortex of swirling water in the middle of the ocean. â€Å"Magma dome,† the pilot said. Rachel turned to Tolland, looking wary. â€Å"A volcano?† â€Å"No,† Tolland said. â€Å"The East Coast typically doesn't have active volcanoes, but occasionally we get rogue pockets of magma that well up under the seafloor and cause hot spots. The hot spot causes a reverse temperature gradient-hot water on the bottom and cooler water on top. It results in these giant spiral currents. They're called megaplumes. They spin for a couple of weeks and then dissipate.† The pilot looked at the pulsating spiral on his LCD screen. â€Å"Looks like this one's still going strong.† He paused, checking the coordinates of Tolland's ship, and then looked over his shoulder in surprise. â€Å"Mr. Tolland, it looks like you're parked fairly near the middle of it.† Tolland nodded. â€Å"Currents are a little slower near the eye. Eighteen knots. Like anchoring in a fast-moving river. Our chain's been getting a real workout this week.†

The Femme Fatale: Ambiguity and Death

The Femme Fatale: Ambiguity and Death In cinema, the femme fatale is an enticing, exquisitely beautiful, erotic character who plays the ultimate trick of nature: she displays her beauty, captures the man and goes in for the kill. Unfortunately for this poisonous flower, male dominated western society interferes and kills the female predator in the end. In western cinema, the femme fatale can never survive, and can never â€Å"win† in the battle of the sexes. But why must this be so? What makes the femme fatale such a dangerously curious character for the hero as well as the viewer? In E.Ann Kaplan’s’ Women in Film Noir, Richard Dyer states â€Å"†¦women in film noir are above all else unknowable. It is not so much their evil as their unknowability (and attractiveness) that makes them fatal for the hero. † (Dyer, p. 92) Dyer’s observation alludes to the connection between the ambiguous female and the desperate need for the male to reveal her in order to possess her; it is the fear of the â€Å"unknowable† woman that makes her a direct target. This essay will explore the notion of ambiguity as a source of life as well as the ultimate reason for the death of the femme fatale.Before delving into the idea of ambiguity and its power of life and death for the femme fatale, an exploration into the actual women behind the character-type is crucial. The actress who portrays an ambiguous woman must herself, possess ambiguity, or she will never be believable and the fantasy of the femme fatale character is broken. Once we can see through the â€Å"bad girl† act, the portrayal becomes completely unsuccessful. Two actresses became infamous for their portrayals of two of the most well known femme fatales: Louise Brooks as Lulu and Rita Hayworth as Gilda. In G. W.Pabst’s Pandora’s Box (1929) Louise Brooks plays Lulu, a young woman who infects men (and women) with her erotic gaze and causes much mayhem in a 192 0’s Weimar Germany. The actress who would play Lulu had to be able to truly depict the kind of femme fatale that Pabst envisioned and would successfully capture on camera. The character of Lulu is a hedonistic carefree spirit who is well aware of her feminine wilds and understands the politics of sex. In the film, we watch as she manipulates many people with her beauty and eroticism and even plays with us, the viewer, as if she is aware we are watching her perform.But the woman we are watching is not Lulu; she is Louise Brooks frolicking on camera. Brooks possess the ambiguity of the Lulu character as opposed to just portraying ambiguity on behalf of the role. Before the film even begins Louise Brooks is presenting an ambiguous persona, being an American actress starring in a German film, the audience is already simultaneously perplexed and intrigued. Molly Haskell writes in her book, From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies, that Pabst â€Å"in his searc h for the ideal Lulu for Pandora’s Box, found [Marlene] Dietrich, his ‘countrywoman,’ too ‘old’ and too ‘knowing. †(Haskell, p. 83) Pabst needed an actress who was unknowable and unknown so that the mystery of the Lulu character would always be present. The audience is wondering who Lulu is as well as who Louise Brooks is; such a game keeps the viewers attention always on Lulu/Louise. If Pabst had used the already famous Dietrich in Pandora’s Box, the initial sense of ambiguity would no longer exist, as Dietrich is a recognizable German actress and the femme fatale that is Lulu, would not be passable.Contributing to the allure of female ambiguity, Molly Haskell writes that directors and critics alike â€Å"find their erotic fancies tickled by women who are at opposite sides of the sexual-cultural pole from themselves. † (Haskell, p. 82-3) The sexual appeal of the â€Å"exotic† woman is apart of the racial ambiguity th at both Louise Brooks- an American actress playing a femme fatale in Germany, and Rita Hayworth- playing an American living in Argentina share.This idea that the men who create these films have a personal sexual investment in the choosing of the actresses who will play these dangerous beauties is a very interesting point Haskell brings about. If Marlene Dietrich couldn’t play Lulu because she isn’t ambiguous enough for Germany, her huge popularity overseas in America seems logical given the ambiguity she possess in front of an American audience. This is where Rita Hayworth’s side of the spectrum plays out in an interesting way. Rita Hayworth was an American actress in the 1940’s and portrayed the classic femme fatale in Gilda (1946) directed by Austrian-born Charles Vidor.Rita Hayworth’s emergence into Hollywood included a grueling physical transformation to, in a sense, â€Å"tone down† her mixed race background of Spanish and Irish parents . What resulted was a lethal combination of exoticism and refined beauty; Rita Hayworth had the physical ability to be racially ambiguous enough to keep people’s attention but not so much as to truly raise questions about her Latin background. She had the curves, lips and sexualized mannerisms of a fantastical Latin woman, mixed with beautiful red hair and fair skin.As Gilda, Hayworth was made for the part of a femme fatale. Hayworth may even possess an ultimate ambiguity because her look remains unique in many parts of the world; her racial ambiguity is transportable. Louise Brooks and Rita Hayworth both brought with them, to their respective film set, their own ambiguities. The rest of the mystery behind these two dangerous female lead characters lies within their stories. In Pandora’s Box, Lulu is a very youthful spirit who emerges on screen and remains on screen with a presence that is dreamlike.Her â€Å"spell† that she seems to cast on all those around her is the elimination of wrongdoing, consequence, sin, etc. All that surrounds Lulu is attention and unexplainable adoration, which she uses to try to maneuver her way out of trouble when she accidently shoots her new husband after a fight over the gun. Lulu effortlessly convinces a group of friends to help her escape the law and run away from all consequence. Lulu carelessly manipulates by seducing the people around her, all to help herself and her own desires.She is an enchantress of sorts, and even as a viewer, watching this from the outside, I found myself growing fond of this whimsical femme fatale. When things don’t turn out well for Lulu, she is starving with her â€Å"father† and her dead husband’s son who’s helped her run away, Lulu doesn’t learn her lesson on being a proper de-sexualized, grounded lady. When starved and stranded in London, she applies make-up to her face and wanders the street for another victim to charm, and on her last vo yage out into the cold, she meets her death at the hand of Jack the Ripper.The character of Lulu is ambiguous in many ways, and the first is in terms of her class. When we first meet Lulu, she is the kept woman of Schon (her soon to be dead husband), and is kept very well in a fancy flat just for her, for whenever he wants to see her. He appears to be of the upper-middle or upper-class and is a media-tycoon, where she eventually gets a part in his son’s production. Contrary to this comfortable life Lulu leads as Schon’s mistress, Lulu’s â€Å"father,† Schigolch, is a sloppy drunk who she tells Schon was her first patron, and helps him whenever he comes to her.Lulu teeters between two very clear class lines: the rich and the very poor, and we as the viewer want to consider her only one of those two categories. The ambiguity of Lulu’s class is interesting when you observe that she probably comes from a poor background, yet she acts like a spoiled lit tle rich girl throughout much of the film. Class ambiguity is also found in the Gilda story. Gilda emerges onto the screen as a game-changer for the main character, whom she sets out to destroy; a cheat gambler turned trusted casino manager named Johnny.Gilda represents the new rock wedged between Johnny and the casino owner Ballin, who doesn’t know that his new wife Gilda and Johnny were an item back in the United States before both coming separately to Buenos Aires. The social and class ambiguity that Gilda has here is that between her wealthy European husband, her ex-beau Johnny who came from next to no money (at the start of the film, Johnny nearly gets robbed of money he scams off of some sailors), and the local South American men she speaks to in Spanish and sings to in the very late hours of the night.She has an unexplained relationship to an older employee of the casino, whom she calls Uncle Pio and is very fond of. Gilda’s ambiguous class ties are no doubt lin ked with Rita/Gilda’s racial ambiguities as she can easily blend in and can clearly function, knowing the language, in the South American country alone from Johnny or Ballin. Sexual ambiguity is found with Lulu’s character, as she has the ability to cast spells on woman as well as she does with men, in particular one friend of Lulu’s, the Countess Geshwitz.Throughout the film when the Countess is present it is very obvious that she is being seduced by Lulu in such a way that it appears the Countess is acting alone, and the vision of Lulu calling on the Countess simply a mirage. The Countess appears more sincere, wanting to dance with Lulu at her wedding to Schon in such a way; it looks as if Lulu and the Countess were the bride and groom. The Countess also gives Lulu money and helps her with whatever Lulu asks when she is on the run. Both Lulu and Gilda’s character’s share an ambiguity on their origin.We, the viewer, have no sense of where these fe mmes fatales came from, and this fact has significance when breaking down the character of the femme fatale. Not having a past is a very large part of Gilda. In a few parts of the film, Gilda, Johnny, and Ballin talk about this idea that they three are beginning anew and that there is no past for Gilda and Johnny before Ballin came into their lives. They toast to the new group of three at dinner one night (referencing an earlier toast before Gilda entered the picture, between Johnny, Ballin, and Ballin’s sword-tipped cane) and this signifies the removal of any history of all three of them.In Lulu’s case, we never learn about her origins either, and with the chaos of the events during much of the film, we don’t seem to care about where she came from. The only key to a past we have of Lulu comes from her first patron, Schigolch. From that we may draw the conclusion that she may have come from the very low class up until she met Schon. But all of this is merely gue ssing, as nothing is really given away and Lulu remains ambiguous and only in the present tense. The persona of the femme fatale is that much like the Greek myth of Pandora’s box and the male anxiety that surrounds the dangerous woman.In fact, Laura Mulvey writes in Fetishism and Curiosity that, â€Å"Pandora is the prototype for the exquisite female android and, as a dangerous enchantress, she is also the prototype for the femme fatale† (Mulvey, p. 55-6). Pandora was made to by the Greek Gods to be brought to man in order to deliver all the evils of the world, which she held in a small box. She was told to never open the box, but was told this with the God’s knowing her curiosity would get the best of her, and she opened the box. Chaos escaped out of the box and the only thing that remained was hope.The femme fatale is a manufactured, cosmetic woman who is placed in a film noir to bring about destruction to the main male character while appearing to seduce him. The femme fatale may go even further and entice the audience, and in a few cases she succeeds- there is an admiration of this figure by both men and women and some to the degree of fetish- but the femme fatale can never live without meeting her demise. This happens in Pandora’s Box with Lulu’s fatal demise, as well as with Gilda in a metaphorical sense.In Gilda, after Ballin skips town abruptly, Johnny and Gilda get back together but only for a brief time until Johnny begins to get controlling. Gilda flees only to return for the famous striptease scene, and later Ballin returns again to avenge the pair for betraying him. When Ballin dies, Johnny and Gilda make up, and Gilda completely changes from this rebellious firebird we’ve watched for three-quarters of the film to a quaint and very quiet woman, ready to go home with Johnny. Here, the femme fatale dies in a figurative sense, as if Gilda were simply wearing a mask and Johnny tore it off her face to reveal he r true wholesome self.So why the abrupt endings in both films? It is possible the directors of both films wanted to keep the fantasy going for as long as possible, feeding into the male and female desire that is being explored on screen yet keep true to western convention and punish the â€Å"bad† while rewarding the â€Å"good. † It is also quite possible that the male dominated western world couldn’t handle the femme fatale winning the battle because as Mulvey observes, â€Å"within this aesthetic, masculine desire is caught in an oscillation between erotic obsession with the female body and fear of the castration that it signifies.It is, of course, the fear of castration, and subsequent disavowal of the woman’s body as castrated that Freud saw as the cause of male fetishism. † (Mulvey, p. 59) It is interesting to think the male dominated film industry at the time of these films may have been playing with an image of woman that could figuratively castrate men while visually pleasing them, creating what Mulvey says Freud observed as earl fetishism. The femme fatale must then represent an object that arouses sexual desire up until the point of castration, and then the femme fatale will always die in order for the male to survive. She was created to please and then destroy, just like Pandora.Works Cited 1) Mulvey, Laura. Fetishism and Curiosity. London: British Film Institute, Indiana University Press, 1996. Print. 2) Haskell, Molly. From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies. Canada. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston of Canada, 1973,1974. Print. 3) Dyer, Richard. â€Å"Resistance through charisma: Rita Hayworth and Gilda. † Women in Film Noir. Ed. E Ann Kaplan. London: British Film Institute, 1978, 1980. 91-100. Print.